NationStates Jolt Archive

Well i just want to know if there any good, Fansity book out there. i read all the mainstream (terry prattett, George r.r.martin Rob grant... etc) i now need some new one's and want to see something different, aka not mainstream. Any suggestion?
please say why you recommend if poss without giving the story away thanks Gothicbob

I would recommend any book of "The Dresden Files" by Jim Butcher. I just got done with Book 5 "The Death Mask" and it was awesome. I should be buying Book Six sometimes soon. :)

Well i just want to know if there any good, Fansity book out there. i read all the mainstream (terry prattett, George r.r.martin Rob grant... etc) i now need some new one's and want to see something different, aka not mainstream. Any suggestion?
please say why you recommend if poss without giving the story away thanks Gothicbob

You can read? Really? :p

China Mieville has done some goodwork. It's more steampunk than fantasy...definitely not your run-of-the-mill Wagnerian dungeon crawl. I'd recommend The Scar, and to a lesser extent Perdido Street Station.

The Dying Earth series, by Jack Vance. It can be found collected in one volume titled Tales from the Dying Earth. The four books take place far in the future, when the sun is going-out and magic is rampant.

Asm of eight-fangs: “Flee if you wish! I need the exercise."

Captain Baunt: “This is unreasonable! If he felt dejection, why not simply jump into the sea? Why suborn our valuable worm to his personal and private uses?”

Cugel: "I am not one to crouch passively with my hind-quarters raised, awaiting either the kick or the caress of destiny! I am Cugel! Fearless and indomitable, I confront every adversity!"

Bubach Angh: “A man I will kill for my eye! Do I toil thirty-one years for the benefit of a vagabond!”

Bunderwal: "I am a dignified citizen of the area, not a fox-faced vagabond in an over-fancy hat."

Chief Elder: “Though formerly a vagabond and a cut-throat, you are now a prince, a man of responsibility.”

Deodand: “I desire the one who has entered. I hunger for her flesh.”

Doulka: “Must your disgust be so blatant? True: we are anthropophages. True: we put strangers to succulent use. Is this truly good cause for hostility? The world is as it is and each of must hope to in some fashion to be of service to his fellows, even if only in the form of soup.”

Drofo: “After a hundred worms and ten-thousand leagues, then with justice you may say, 'I am wise!' or, to precisely the same effect: 'I am a worminger!'

Funambule: “Inconsequential claptrap!”

Fuscule: "I am a worminger, not a student of weird physiological mysteries.”

Guyal of Sfere: “My eye went to you like the nectar moth flits to jacynth.”

Iolo: “Surely you agree that this hole is half my property!”

Kindive the Golden: “Out of the room quickly! Mischief lurks somewhere and I must blast it with magic!”

Krasnark: " I suggest that Master Chernitz retract the term 'moral leaper' and Cugel his 'tree-weasel', and there let the matter rest."

Liane the Wayfarer: “I can suffocate you in pearls, blind you with diamonds.”

Lodermulch: “What have we here? I thought to detect knavery, and here is justification! Return my money on the instant!”

Morreion: ”To inflict but a pin prick upon a single one of my enemies I would have died by torture a hundred times!”

Mermalant: “Do you carry beer? We are beer-drinkers of nobles repute and show our bellies to all.”

Nisbet: “Two: hours of lose philosophizing will never tilt the scale against the worth of one sound belch.”

Duk Orbal: “…your exhibit seems somewhat makeshift and impromptu. Contrast, if you will, the precision of Zaraflam’s cockroaches!”

Pharesm: “Ah! Five hundred years I have toiled to entice this creature, despairing, doubting, brooding by night, yet never abandoning hope that my calculations were accurate and my great talisman cogent. Then, when it finally appears, you fall upon it for no other reason then to sate your repulsive gluttony...! I can define the gravity of your act in this manner: should I explode you on this instant into the most minute of your parts the atonement would measure one ten-millionth of your offense. A more stringent retribution becomes necessary.”

Peasant: “Notice: I drink wine, though I may not live to become drunk. Does this deter me? No! I reject the future; I drink now, I become drunk as circumstances dictate.”

Rhialto: “Pryffwyd, your vision is dim; you do not recognize me for Rhialto. I am working to place your eyes at the end of foot-long stalks. You will soon be able to see in all directions at one.”

Shierl: “You are not uncomely.”

Shilko: “What do you perceive? Goblins disguised as pick rats? Or centipedes dancing the kazatska?”

Slaye: “I will make you a grandee of the realm! You shall have a barge of carved ivory, and two hundred maidens shall serve your wants; your enemies shall be clamped into a rotating cauldron—only give me the amulet!”

T’Sain: “I know not know how to explain beauty. You seem to find joy in nothing. Does nothing give you satisfaction?”

T’Sais: “Only killing and destruction. So these must be beautiful.”

Varmous: "I am not apt for magic; weirdness makes me ery."

Voynod: “Take care, you dunghill-cocks!”

You can read? Really? :p

it a scary thought considering my spelling but i somehow contrive meaning from the jumble of symbol i find when reading those book. I have to say, picture are always welcome

it a scary thought considering my spelling but i somehow contrive meaning from the jumble of symbol i find when reading those book. I have to say, picture are always welcome

Asm (http://www.dyingearth.com/complayout.pdf).

it a scary thought considering my spelling but i somehow contrive meaning from the jumble of symbol i find when reading those book. I have to say, picture are always welcome

I can understand it if English isn't your first language. Sounds like your first was an Asian language, yes? Anyway, it's good to be reading, no matter how much or little you take away from it. :)

I can understand it if English isn't your first language. Sounds like your first was an Asian language, yes? Anyway, it's good to be reading, no matter how much or little you take away from it. :)

no my first language is english. i guess you just looking at the bad syntax and spelling in my post. it a combination of dyslexia and laziness. My i.q in the 91 percentile according to an psychologist. It not very i.q but high enough to boost about!

no my first language is english. i guess you just looking at the bad syntax and spelling in my post. it a combination of dyslexia and laziness. My i.q in the 91 percentile according to an psychologist. It not very i.q but high enough to boost about!

Is 100 not average?

no you have to be 98 percentile to be in mensa! 100 is the average iq though my iq about 130 ish (i took the test 10 year ago so can't remember where sorry)

no my first language is english. i guess you just looking at the bad syntax and spelling in my post. it a combination of dyslexia and laziness. My i.q in the 91 percentile according to an psychologist. It not very i.q but high enough to boost about!

That, and the lack of pluralization, which is absent in some Asian languages, as I recall. Don't be afraid of grammar, though - it's never too late to learn.

Is 100 not average?

He said percentile.

That, and the lack of pluralization, which is absent in some Asian languages, as I recall. Don't be afraid of grammar, though - it's never too late to learn.
But i lazy (and dyslexic but mainly lazy), i don't want learn, its so9 much effort!:(

Any more suggestion?

The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss.
The Death Gate Cycle, by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

I could probably think of more if I weren't exhausted.

Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.
Connie Willis's To Say Nothing of the Dog.
Everything Neil Gaiman has ever written, since he appears inexplicably to have been left out of your list.

Almost anything by J.R.R. Tolkien.
I don't read a lot of fantasy ( mostly science fiction and historical fiction) so I wouldn't know what else to recoomend (book-wise that is)

Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.
Connie Willis's To Say Nothing of the Dog.
Everything Neil Gaiman has ever written, since he appears inexplicably to have been left out of your list.

if it any help i read everthing i could find that Neil Gaiman written including his comics (sorry count Neil Gaimen as the norm, if he not force read at school (therefore ruining him for most people in the future) but get the point
Oh and american god still his best full novel

J.R.R. Salvatore. He´s good.
Caiseal Mór too.

no my first language is english. i guess you just looking at the bad syntax and spelling in my post. it a combination of dyslexia and laziness. My i.q in the 91 percentile according to an psychologist. It not very i.q but high enough to boost about!

You write like you've read The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress one too many times. And if you never have, you should, even if it's sci-fi and not fantasy.

As for fantasy recs... my favorite fantasy novel is called The Cage, and it's by Shirley Meier and S.M. Stirling. I don't think it's in publication anymore, but it's easy to find online and sometimes in used bookstores. Also Blue Moon Rising by Simon Green, but not anything else by him.

J.R.R. Salvatore. He´s good.

Do you mean R. A. Salvatore?

The Dying Earth series, by Jack Vance. It can be found collected in one volume titled Tales from the Dying Earth. The four books take place far in the future, when the sun is going-out and magic is rampant.

Every time you post quotes from that series, it's like someone speaking Danish. It seems so close to English that I feel like I should be able to understand it... but I don't. This isn't a criticism of you or the book, btw. Or the Danish.

Every time you post quotes from that series, it's like someone speaking Danish. It seems so close to English that I feel like I should be able to understand it... but I don't. This isn't a criticism of you or the book, btw. Or the Danish.

I am a quarter Danish.

Aside: Your opinion is not new to me. Most people hate the books because of the vocabulary.

The creature displayed the qualities reminiscent of both coelenterate and echinoderm. A terrene nudibranch? A mollusc deprived of its shell? More importantly, was the creature edible?

Anne McCaffery (Dragonriders of Pern series)
Marion Zimmer Bradley (Darkover Series)
Mercedes Lackey (usually trite and overly simplistic, but occasionally she gets it right)
Lois McMaster Bujold (The Vorkosigan Saga)
Robert A. Heinlein - (not fantasy, but damned good sci.fi. and socio-political commentary)
Robert Zelazny (Nine Princes in Amber)
Michael Moorcock - (Elric of Melnibone)

I could go on, so could everyone else here - there will be more books than can be read in a lifetime.

Hmmm - Death Gate Cycle, a very good idea gone awry :p It is mostly a good read though, if you can look past the classical MW and TH (rather unsuccessful) attempts at "shocking twists."

Oooh - Michael Moorcock, good'un! Unique and very detailed storyline that feels like a real-life mythology read :)

I'd also recommend
The Magician (both the Apprentice and The Master and if you like the series, other books that complete the cycle of course) by Raymond E. Feist. Good old fantasy with a good background - magicians, a cool and detailed ancient history and intense storyline.
The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. Very, very detailed history, plot and character developments. He is one of the most talented mystery writers I've ever read.
Tad Williams' pseudo sci-fi (really fantasy) The Otherlands series. Kinda sci-fi, kinda matrix, detailed and powerful storyline.
If you like good old Conan, Robert Jordan's Conan novels. Crom! Count the dead!
If you want to get wild a bit, Anne Rice - The Vampire Chronicles or Mayfair Witches series. A bit too "harlequin" but good story-line and impressive use of words - also, lots of New Orleans :)
I know you said "no mainstream" but Stephen King's Black Tower is very, very good fantasy.


If I think of anything good, I'll add them as well...

Cheerio!

I would recommend any book of "The Dresden Files" by Jim Butcher. I just got done with Book 5 "The Death Mask" and it was awesome. I should be buying Book Six sometimes soon. :)

I have to add that the first couple books in the series are good but nothing special. Then the third, fourth and fifth ones are incredible.

Hmmm - Death Gate Cycle, a very good idea gone awry :p It is mostly a good read though, if you can look past the classical MW and TH (rather unsuccessful) attempts at "shocking twists."

My first read was too long ago to remember what was and wasn't shocking. I recommend them because (at least for me) they have had lasting value, quite unlike most of the fantasy I read at the time.

My first read was too long ago to remember what was and wasn't shocking. I recommend them because (at least for me) they have had lasting value, quite unlike most of the fantasy I read at the time.Yea, well, at the very least your recommendation made me feel like reading them again :) I just don't like MW and TH as writers - Dragon Lance is my favorite D&D setting for instance, I have everything they have published about it until the 5th age crap and I know some of the novels by heart - still I think MW and TH should be kept away from typewriters/computers/pens.

Anyways, I firmly believe that any fantasy enthusiast should read the Death Gate cycle, lots of fresh and powerful ideas there ;)

Cheerio!

Patricia Briggs' Mercedes Thompson series (Moon Called, Blood Bound, Iron Kissed)

It's about a mechanic named Mercedes Thompson. Her next-door neighbor is a werewolf. The VW she's working on belongs to a vampire. Her ex-boss is a gremlin. She has the local witch on her speed-dial. And she can turn into a coyote.

Do you mean R. A. Salvatore?

Aaaahhhh, fuck, I confused the names.:mad:

Sorry, but yeah, thanks Soheran, I meant R.A. Salvatore. LOL!:D

Aaaahhhh, fuck, I confused the names.:mad:

Sorry, but yeah, thanks Soheran, I meant R.A. Salvatore. LOL!:D

Otra razón a parecido el español bonito, le gusta la misma clase de libros que mí.

Y otra vez IMTranslator atornillado en género.



Lawrence Watt-Evans - Legends of Ethshar series

I would recommend any book of "The Dresden Files" by Jim Butcher. I just got done with Book 5 "The Death Mask" and it was awesome. I should be buying Book Six sometimes soon. :)

They're pretty good, but I have one major complaint about them.

He takes way too long to come out with them. Once I heard of them I devoured them all in 3 weeks. Then I had to wait almost a year for the most recent one.

Don't start with just any one. Read them in order. They are not stand alone novels. They're a serial.

Otra razón a parecido el español bonito, le gusta la misma clase de libros que mí.

Y otra vez IMTranslator atornillado en género.



Lawrence Watt-Evans - Legends of Ethshar series

LMAO! A darle un ostiazo al traductor!:D
Pero sí, al parecer nos gusta la misma clase de libros. Qué bien!

Just to say Thank you to everyone, a lot of new authors to get into and you making me want to reread alot of authors i have'nt read in ages thanks again

By the way, been going through my Tad Williams collection lately and of course, personally related authors came up :) Do you like not-so-hard-boiled Sci-Fi?

I have some very good authors to ad about :)

Cheerio!

By the way, been going through my Tad Williams collection lately and of course, personally related authors came up :) Do you like not-so-hard-boiled Sci-Fi?

I have some very good authors to ad about :)

Cheerio!

I give any thing a go, i put fantasy as it's my favorite genre, but any thing that good i give a go. Tad William Otherland books are among my favs so any related i should love

Scott Lynch, The Gentleman Bastards Sequence. Only two books out so far but they're good. Most exciting new author I've seen in a while.

Trust me. ;)

I give any thing a go, i put fantasy as it's my favorite genre, but any thing that good i give a go. Tad William Otherland books are among my favs so any related i should love

I would also suggest L. E. Modesitt and Esther Friesner

Ian Irvine's books are good: I prefer the Three Worlds books, a fantasy series that are well written and are a healthy length. There are 13 of them so far - 2 quartets and a 2/3 finished trilogy, with the last book in the trilogy and another book (set between the two quartets) to go.

A few good minor-futuristic (20-40 years in the future I think) books as well.

Ian Irvine books (wikipedia page). (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Irvine#The_Three_Worlds_Cycle_Series)

Anne Rice or her sister, Alice Borchardt. Both are very good. Caiséal Mór is very good too, and Gabriel García Márquez (http://www.themodernword.com/gabo/)'s work has been translated into English, so I reccomend him too.

Mervyn Peake

Peake wrote an excellent trilogy commonly referred to as the Gormenghast trilogy, though that's the title of the second book.

Titus Groan
Gormenghast
Titus Alone

Read those. Everyone should.

I rather enjoyed R. Scott Bakker's The Prince of Nothing trilogy.