(no subject)

[cymry]

i've decided i'm fed up of reading fantasy, and i'm determined to pick up a few sci-fi/mystery/suspense/historical/regular fiction books to give myself a change of pace. any suggestions? (note: i'm not guaranteeing i'll read them, just that i'll look into them).

Comments

Ooo! Ooo!

[fearsclave.livejournal.com]

SF: Anything by Iain M. Banks. I'd start with maybe Excession, Inversions, The Player of Games, or Look to Windward. Or Use of Weapons.
Historical fiction: Master and Commander, by Patrick O'Brian. The man rocks my world. Also, Flashman, by George MacDonald Fraser. Both are the first books in lengthy and highly enjoyable series.

Did you say Sci-fi? *grin*

[eiresunrise.livejournal.com]

Well, if I were to recommend anything, first off I'd have to say Orson Scott Card: start with Ender's Game, and follw the tale(s) from there....If you prefer more stand alone, there's Robert J. Sawyer's Flashforward and Calculating God; Alison Sinclair's Cavalcade (why Cube and Cube 2 seemed vaguely familiar when I saw em); other names: Poul Anderson, Irvine Welsh, and old standbys like Kurt Vonnegut, and Phillip K. Dick- Do androids dream of electric sheep aka Bladerunner, or the one I'm packing with me...Man in the High Castle...

Between this and the fisheman's comment, I'm sure that's something to get you going....

Re: Did you say Sci-fi? *grin*

[(Anonymous)]

I totally back the ender's game suggestion (the enemy gate is DOWN). The other books in the four book series are more uneven, but still have good stuff in them.

--- Ouro

Re: Did you say Sci-fi? *grin*

[neotrixan.livejournal.com]

ooooh calculating god
i forgot that one

[muahdib.livejournal.com]

The Gollum thing is damn funny! Now I'd like to see Yoda swearing his ass off!

hehe

[lindvior.livejournal.com]

the whole MTV awards was really good for a chance. yea to hear him go off swearing like that was really good, I've been telling the world but no one believes me.

[neotrixan.livejournal.com]

heheheh
sf: ok um anything by neal stephenson, especially snow crash; neil gaiman is kinda cool too, ok ok im into cyber punk so sue me:P ; absolutely ANYTHING by david brin, cuz hes amazing; the ender wiggins saga; i liked lisanne norman - heheh think psychic kitty people; there's the star of the guardians series, its a weis/hickman thingy but its kinda cool, they're OP though so youd have to borrow them from me; um theres always DUNE; then there's the mars series by kim stanley robinson - not exactly light reading between the politics, psychology and technobabble, but interesting nonetheless and a rather astute examination of human culture and interaction in stressed environments; always isaac asimov; and at over a thousand pages, battlefield earth was actually a really good BOOK, the movie not so much - that was by L Ron Hubbard ; greg bear is ok ; i liked psion, cat's eye and dreamfall, a trilogy of books by Joan D Vinge, even though i read them years ago. there's the 2001 series, which is okay. very dated though. or yeah cyber punk is a great way to go, its a cult offshoot fo mainstream sci-fi so there isnt thatlarge a selection, bu ti mean if you want to read abou the zany, crazy adventures of master hacker/pizza delivery man for a mafia owned franchise Hiro Protagonist, there's nowhere else you'll find that kind of amusing, thought provoking drivel. :) anyway if you want ill walk you through my closet o' books or the sf section at chapters and go oooooh you have to read this, and this and this was good, oooooh!, no not that, oh god no!, oh you absolutely HAVE to read this, this was just FAH-BU-LOUS! etc etc etc...

yeah im not great at genres other than scifi/fantasy but here goes nothing

historical fic:
the pillars of the earth -ken follet its one of my favorite books period, you shoudl check it out

the power of one - bryce courtenay not sure how historical it is, but its set at aroun the beginning of the 20th century (i think)or well sometime after the boer war in south africa - very good i always reccomended to customers, in fasct ive had customers come up while i was recomending and reccomend it themselves... repeatedly...

memoirs of a geisha - arthur golden its really good in my opinion

namako:sea cucumber - Linda Watanabe McFerrin about an asian-american girl growing up in the states and i japan and how she didnt fit in in either place i think it was a post war one - i can lend it to you

Wilbur Smith

one hundred years of solitude - gabriel garcia marquez

the gabaldon books are supposed to be really good, as are the pauline gedge ones and havent you read the guinevere ones? if i can thin kof anything else ill let you know... wasnt name of a rose historical...


i dont really read mystery/suspense it never really interested me so id actually be open to anyoen suggestions on this as well... um my mom likes the alphabet murder books, i dont remember the series the whole a is for alibi thing, the number ones too, and kathy reichs. if thats any help :P also diana mott mason and her cookie related mysteries...

general fic: to kill a mocking bird is still one of my favorite books ever, and catcher in the rye, im sure youve read them but if not, do

um catch 22 - joseph heller
cat's cradle and slaughterhouse-5 - kurt vonnegut for both
although those are insane enough that they overlap scifi in some ways
the alchemist - paulo coelho
chocolat was good
sadly i enjoy clive cussler's dirk pitt novels and teh wholesome american adventurerNESS of this whole thing
um ...
the unbearable lightness of being - milan kundera - amazing book



well im tapped out for now. give me time though. heheheh

Re:

[cymry.livejournal.com]

good gods. how much time do you think i HAVE? *lol*

thanxs for the suggestions. i may even take some of them. =)

[(Anonymous)]

Some good suggestions already. I'll also second Neil Stephenson's Snow Crash (POOR IMPULSE CONTROL), and the Vonnegut recommendations.

He is arguably more fantasy than science fiction, but picking up Ray Bradbury would be a good idea.

I'm sure you saw it recommended on Alikat's site, but Tad William's Otherland books were good.

Left Hand of Darkness, by Ursula K. Le Guin is a good 'un.

William Gibson is really exceptional. His earlier books may not be as accessible though... you may want to start with something published more recently.

Arthur C. Clarke is a great 'hard science fiction' writer, though avoid most of his recent works. Go to him if you want some old school science fiction. Rendevous with Rama is good. And some of his short stories are fantastic (Childhood's End is a classic). The other Rama books (written by Gentry Lee) are also pretty decent.

Speaking of shorts, I tend to like collections of science fiction short stories. This is especially useful for finding authors you may like before you go purchasing their novels.

You may also want to check the Nebula awards for the last few years for potential reading material.

--- Ouro

[neotrixan.livejournal.com]

william gibson is good, but they are a little heavy handed and twisted... then again i did reccomend vonnegut.... ill shut up now :)

[(Anonymous)]

as though you don't have enough suggestions already...but i just finished reading two historical fictions which i posted about on my site...take a look if you're interested. for mystery, peter lovesy is actually pretty good, i don't usually read mystery but my supervisor at the museum recommended him and lent me a book, the false inspector dew, and i was pleasantly surprised :*)

alikat

[tigglet.livejournal.com]

I really enjoyed the Ender series too. Kurt Vonnegut is good. George Orwell-1984, Ray Bradbury *they're kinda old sci-fi*. If you like fantasy like LOTR you might like Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. There's 10 books and they're pretty good. Anyway, looks like you've got a pretty big selection to choose from now. Good luck and happy reading!! :)

That was neat.

[thugfish.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I must expose my sis to that speech.
I will recommend the same sci fi book I recommend to everyone: War With the Newts by Capek. One of the best books I have ever read, and certainly the funniest sci fi books ever written. Well, if you're into apocalypse, that is.

[neotrixan.livejournal.com]

i cant believe i didnt list this and no one else did either

THE HITCHHIKERS GUIDE TO THE GALAXY!!!!!!!!!!! douglas adams

Re:

[cymry.livejournal.com]

well, that one was a given!

[(Anonymous)]

The spaceship hovered on the horizon much like a brick wouldn't.

--- Ouro

Re:

[neotrixan.livejournal.com]

"My doctor says that I have a malformed public-duty gland and a natural deficiency in moral fibre and that I am therefore excused from saving universes."


I HAVE OODLES AND OODLES OF EM