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On June 19 2013 05:01 Rimstalker wrote:Show nested quote +On April 30 2013 10:01 {CC}StealthBlue wrote:
Are there any books that TL would recommend in terms of Aliens but from from the Alien's POV? Do such books exist? I have read a huge space saga that is partially described with a kind of observer view on how the aliens came to be what they are, from blobs in puddles to space faring and warmongering. But it has been years, and details, especially about the extent of the descriptions are quite blurry.
Could this be Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained by Peter F. Hamilton? The saga contains what you describe, as well as a chapter dedicated to aliens disecting two humans from the aliens' POV. Though brief (I think all in all 2-3 chapters out of two 1200-page books are from an alien POV) this is one of the coolest things I have ever read.
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Raymond Feist:
~Riftwar saga
~Demonwar Saga (at this order)
Robin Hobb's:
~Farseer trilogy
Jordan's
~Wheel of Time
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Ok I have not read the whole thread, but while a lot of good books have been named, I didn't find the Hyperion/Endymion saga by Dan Simmons in the first few pages. Which is a shame!
My favorite reads (won't be very original, but i feel that you HAVE to read those if you like the genre):
-LOTR (duh)
-Foundation by Asimov
-The dark tower by King (who would have thought, that saga is awesome)
-Dune by Herbert
-Hyperion by Simmons
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This thread needs more Iain M. banks. Space opera king.
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On June 19 2013 07:42 Solaris.playgu wrote:Show nested quote +On June 19 2013 05:01 Rimstalker wrote:On April 30 2013 10:01 {CC}StealthBlue wrote:
Are there any books that TL would recommend in terms of Aliens but from from the Alien's POV? Do such books exist? I have read a huge space saga that is partially described with a kind of observer view on how the aliens came to be what they are, from blobs in puddles to space faring and warmongering. But it has been years, and details, especially about the extent of the descriptions are quite blurry. Could this be Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained by Peter F. Hamilton? The saga contains what you describe, as well as a chapter dedicated to aliens disecting two humans from the aliens' POV. Though brief (I think all in all 2-3 chapters out of two 1200-page books are from an alien POV) this is one of the coolest things I have ever read.
yep, that's the one
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Lets see, and sorry if some or all of these have been mentioned already. I cant remember the name of all the books off the top of my head right now but google the authors or something.
Arthur C Clarke and all his books, especially the Rama books. Rendezvous with Rama is insanely good!
Gene Wolfe and the saga of the sun or what its called. Reading these books made me fell abit stupid because its so good and I didnt understand all of it and felt I was missing out on something really epic.
Stephen Baxter and the Time trilogy (very good and for the one asking for scifi from an aliens perspective the last one offers that somewhat)
Allistair Reynolds have some really grand scifi books. Ill come a editing when I find them and remember theire names.
The Ragnarok trilogy from John Meany. There are only two books out so far. Also offers perspective from aliens.
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Looking for some recommendations in Sci Fi.
What I like in Sci-Fi so far:
-Red Mars
-The Takeshi Kovacs trilogy (Altered Carbon)
My problem is that half of the book I'm getting through searches fall in the same story about some girl/guy or fleet going on a quest to save the world/universe and most of the time its in a middle of a war. I'm getting really bored of that story. I'm not really into aliens either, by I'm willing to be surprised.
What I LOVED about the books from Richard Morgan (Altered Carbon) is that the story isn't about a greater goal. Altered Carbon is about a detective/action story that happens in the future. It's a personal story that doesn't change the world. A bit like Blade Runner if you will. That's also probably why I like P:Torment the most when it comes to RPG, it's a personal story in a crazy world but the world acts on the protagonist, not the other way around.
When it comes to Fantasy, these are the reasons why Abercrombie is one of my favorite author, especially his last three books.
Edit: Should have a good pace too.
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I am not sure if this flow charts has been posted already, but I will do it at the risk of repeating what someone else might have posted already.
It is a flow chart with the top 100 books in fantasy and science fiction.
http://www.geekosystem.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Optimized-SFSignalNPR100Flowchart-1-1.jpg
It's interesting, because it helps you decide what could be a fun read for you and to also monitor how involved you are in these genres.
Personally I have read about 16 of the 100 books (note that book series, such as ASOIAF, or LOTR are equal to one "book") in this flow chart, heavily leaning to the eastern and southern part.
This is not surprising, since I am more of a scifi geek.
Edit: Since the image has a huuuuge resolution and it is not represented correctly if embedded, I just replaced it with the url of the image.
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Guys the point of this thread is not to find lists of good books.
Is to find A list of good books in the opinion of other persons sharing same interests and passions.
I do not care about the median rating of 1000 books evaluated by 100 experts in literature.
I want a cold and personal opinion of another fellow tl`er.
Read recently "The forever war" Joe Haldeman, and liked it.
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On June 20 2013 08:39 Nineball wrote:
Lets see, and sorry if some or all of these have been mentioned already. I cant remember the name of all the books off the top of my head right now but google the authors or something.
Arthur C Clarke and all his books, especially the Rama books. Rendezvous with Rama is insanely good!
Gene Wolfe and the saga of the sun or what its called. Reading these books made me fell abit stupid because its so good and I didnt understand all of it and felt I was missing out on something really epic.
Stephen Baxter and the Time trilogy (very good and for the one asking for scifi from an aliens perspective the last one offers that somewhat)
Allistair Reynolds have some really grand scifi books. Ill come a editing when I find them and remember theire names.
The Ragnarok trilogy from John Meany. There are only two books out so far. Also offers perspective from aliens.
I think you mean The Book of the New Sun, a series of four books, and it rocks. One of my favourite series ever.
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On June 22 2013 00:05 Restrider wrote:I am not sure if this flow charts has been posted already, but I will do it at the risk of repeating what someone else might have posted already. It is a flow chart with the top 100 books in fantasy and science fiction. http://www.geekosystem.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Optimized-SFSignalNPR100Flowchart-1-1.jpgIt's interesting, because it helps you decide what could be a fun read for you and to also monitor how involved you are in these genres. Personally I have read about 16 of the 100 books (note that book series, such as ASOIAF, or LOTR are equal to one "book") in this flow chart, heavily leaning to the eastern and southern part. This is not surprising, since I am more of a scifi geek. Edit: Since the image has a huuuuge resolution and it is not represented correctly if embedded, I just replaced it with the url of the image.
I found that list a while ago, and have been really enjoying it. I was at about 40/100 when I first saw it (what can I say, I'm a nerd) and have since worked my way up to 60/100 or so. I don't know if I'll ever make it to all 100, but it's been fun to have as a goal. It also introduced me to Neal Stephenson, who is now one of my favorite authors. Can't get enough cyberpunk.
I'm having a little more trouble on the fantasy side of things, because they count so many series as one book. Still, gives me a good place to start. I've felt like there's been a real dearth of good fantasy books recently, but it helps to know that part of the issue was just my ignorance of the good ones.
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On that matter I just have to add that I also enjoy reading books written by Neal Stephenson.
I think I've most of his books including:
- Snow Crash
- Diamond Age
- The Barock Cycle
- Cryptonomicon (all time favourite)
- Anathem
- Zodiac
- Big U
- and recently Error (not really SciFi, but on par with Snow Crash, Cryptonomicon, Barock Cycle, Big U and Anathem when it comes to the typical Neal Stephenson craziness)
I've heard that he also wrote parts of the Mongoliad, but the comments that I've seen were mixed.
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So I'll add my personal opinion on the Fantasy/Sci-Fi Genre which is my favorite.
Here is my list of fantastic fantasy/sci-fi in no particular order
-A Song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin. Everyone has heard of it and its for a reason. Probably one of the best fantasy series ever written. If you haven't read it I can only assume you have been under a rock.
-Malazan the Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson. Probably one of the most Epic fantasy series ever conceived. The series begins to wain near the end because the world has become so vast but it is still phenomenal and a series to which others are measured.
-The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss. Such a great series. Pat is probably one of the most gifted writers in the fantasy genre. His word play is like poetry not to mention he has created one of the most fully realized worlds in may years. Not to mention Kvothe is a badass.
-The Stormlight Archives by Brandon Sanderson. Only one book is out in a planned 10 book series but the 1st book is phenomenal. The Way of Kings is most certainly the start of something great book 2 comes out in the fall and should be even better.
-The First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie. In the vein of ASOIAF except with a little more magic. A great series with great characters I can't reccomend it enough. Also the stand alone novels set in the same world are very good as well especially Best Served Cold.
-The Long Price Quartet and The Dagger and the Coin by Daniel Abraham are both fantastic series and the settings in both books are so amazing. A fantastic writer.
-The Black Company by Glen Cook. The Books of the North are awesome. The Books of the South are kinda mediocre and it goes down hill from there. The writing isnt that good but the story is great.
-Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny. Very unique fantasy in which multiple worlds exist and the royal bloodline of AMber can travel between them. Very interesting and refreshing great read.
Then there are of course the standards such as Lord of the Rings and Wheel of Time which need no explaination.
On to great Sci-Fi
-Dune by Frank Herbert. There is not much to be said about this everyone knows about it and knows of the greatness. The series kind of wains in my opinion but the first book especially is fantastic.
-Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein. Don't be fooled by the movie the book is far more brutal and far more badass. A must read for lovers of Sci-Fi.
-Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. Children trained to be soldiers to fight aliens. Enough said.
-Hyperion by Dan Simmons. Everyone knows about this series kinda bizarre but all in all a good read.
-Night's Dawn Saga by Peter Hamilton. Probably the greatest Space Opera every written. It spans dozens of planets and a multitude of characters. What makes it better than other Space Operas is that the writers focus so much on the universe they are creating that their characters suffer for it and are usually dull and lifeless. This series suffers from no such problem. THe universe is massive and stunning yet teh characters are brilliant.A must read. However strap yourself in each book is about 1200 pages.
-Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. Interesting cyberpunk sci-fi set in a dystopian future. The main character is a hacker, samaurai sword weilding pizza delivery boy. Such a great book.
-The Forever War by Joe Haldman. War is hell. It is trivial and pointless this book lays that out for all to see.
-The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe. One of the only fantasy or sci-fi books that could ever be considered literature. The man is one of the greatest living authors and this is his masterpiece.
-Foundation by Issac Asimov. If you know anything about Sci-fi then you know why this is on the list the man was a genius and a brilliant writer.
There are a few other series worth mentioning but this post is getting very long. So lets move on to garbage authors who you should stay away from.
The Following authors are either 1. Poor writers with bland stories and underdeveloped worlds and/or characters. 2. Overhyped, good when your young but garbage to an older more sophisticated reader. or 3. Both
Robert Stanek - How the hell did this man ever get published. All of his books are utter trash it would be a great service to humanity and book lovers everywhere if his work was just burned.
Terry Goodkind - Terribly written books and far to overhyped. His characters are such garbage. His hero is completely untouchable and invulnerable to harm all who stand before him crumble at his ferocious might. THe bad guys are often caped in black and shrouded in mystery the shit is so cheezy you could catch mice with it. Do yourself a favor and skip right over him at the book store.
The Iron Tower Trilogy by Dennis McKiernan. The series is a complete rip off of the Lord of the Rings. The man should be ashamed of himself and the Tolkien estate should honestly sue him. THey would win.
Dragonlance. THat good when you were young but simply a childs fantasy book.
Forgotten Realms by R.A. Salvatore. Another childs fantasy not for adult readers. Any book series in general from a game or based on a movie is usually terrible.
Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks. ALot of people seem to like him and I don't understand why. His mythos is a complete rip off of Tolkien and his books are about as intellectually stimulatinga as an episode of Beavis and ButtHead.
Anything by Raymond Feist is pretty shitty especially his newer his complete garbage but even his older stuff such as The Magician Trilogy and The Empire Trilogy are overhyped and mediocre at best.
Hoped this cleared things up for some of you who are so obviously confused by what good Fantasy and Sci-Fi are
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Stephen King's Dark Tower definitely doesn't get enough love among fantasy readers, it's a bit of a different vein with the guns/transitioning genres every book but I'm reading it right now, and it's a series I think every reader should experience.
The above is great as well though. I've read nearly all the fantasy reccs. I haven't gone past the first book on black company, just did not engage me at all, but I'll probably give it another go in a series or two. Malazan I loved at the time, but in hindsight it's a bit absurdly convoluted.
I do think that list is seriously missing some Scott Lynch (Locke Lamora), and Mistborn (more Sanderson) as well though.
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On June 22 2013 06:48 Stoli wrote:
Stephen King's Dark Tower definitely doesn't get enough love among fantasy readers, it's a bit of a different vein with the guns/transitioning genres every book but I'm reading it right now, and it's a series I think every reader should experience.
The above is great as well though. I've read nearly all the fantasy reccs. I haven't gone past the first book on black company, just did not engage me at all, but I'll probably give it another go in a series or two. Malazan I loved at the time, but in hindsight it's a bit absurdly convoluted.
I do think that list is seriously missing some Scott Lynch (Locke Lamora), and Mistborn (more Sanderson) as well though.
Wow how did I forget The Lies of Locke Lamora. Its even on my bookcase. Lol I don't know how I missed it. I mean book two is pirate fantasy which is awesome lol. It is a great series and Locke is a great character. I enjoy the entire structure of society in that world. I am also really looking forward to book 3 gonna have to reread the first two to prepare myself.
The way you described Malazan is fairly accurate I will probably never read it again except maybe books two and three.
Sanderson is a phenomenal writer and I love The Way of Kings. His ending to the Wheel of Time series I also felt did Jordan justice. Mistborn however never did anything for me. I only read the first book and I didn't enjoy it enough to continue the series. Perhaps it deserves another read but my plate is rather full at this time.
Edit: In response to your comment about The Dark Tower series. I personally don't like King's writing style I feel like he dramatizes too much. For this reason I never read The Dark Tower. I'm sure the series is most likely fantastic and I know he can tell a fantastic story his style just puts me off and makes me not able to enjoy his works.
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Canada5565 Posts
On June 20 2013 14:33 rezoacken wrote:
Looking for some recommendations in Sci Fi.
What I like in Sci-Fi so far:
-Red Mars
-The Takeshi Kovacs trilogy (Altered Carbon)
My problem is that half of the book I'm getting through searches fall in the same story about some girl/guy or fleet going on a quest to save the world/universe and most of the time its in a middle of a war. I'm getting really bored of that story. I'm not really into aliens either, by I'm willing to be surprised.
What I LOVED about the books from Richard Morgan (Altered Carbon) is that the story isn't about a greater goal. Altered Carbon is about a detective/action story that happens in the future. It's a personal story that doesn't change the world. A bit like Blade Runner if you will. That's also probably why I like P:Torment the most when it comes to RPG, it's a personal story in a crazy world but the world acts on the protagonist, not the other way around.
When it comes to Fantasy, these are the reasons why Abercrombie is one of my favorite author, especially his last three books.
Edit: Should have a good pace too.
You might enjoy 2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson (which recently won the Nebula award for best novel) and Anathem by Neal Stephenson. And, of course, there is also Robert Heinlein. His books would be closest to what you're looking for, if you haven't read them already.
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On June 22 2013 10:50 Panda86 wrote:Show nested quote +On June 22 2013 06:48 Stoli wrote:
Stephen King's Dark Tower definitely doesn't get enough love among fantasy readers, it's a bit of a different vein with the guns/transitioning genres every book but I'm reading it right now, and it's a series I think every reader should experience.
The above is great as well though. I've read nearly all the fantasy reccs. I haven't gone past the first book on black company, just did not engage me at all, but I'll probably give it another go in a series or two. Malazan I loved at the time, but in hindsight it's a bit absurdly convoluted.
I do think that list is seriously missing some Scott Lynch (Locke Lamora), and Mistborn (more Sanderson) as well though. Wow how did I forget The Lies of Locke Lamora. Its even on my bookcase. Lol I don't know how I missed it. I mean book two is pirate fantasy which is awesome lol. It is a great series and Locke is a great character. I enjoy the entire structure of society in that world. I am also really looking forward to book 3 gonna have to reread the first two to prepare myself. The way you described Malazan is fairly accurate I will probably never read it again except maybe books two and three. Sanderson is a phenomenal writer and I love The Way of Kings. His ending to the Wheel of Time series I also felt did Jordan justice. Mistborn however never did anything for me. I only read the first book and I didn't enjoy it enough to continue the series. Perhaps it deserves another read but my plate is rather full at this time. Edit: In response to your comment about The Dark Tower series. I personally don't like King's writing style I feel like he dramatizes too much. For this reason I never read The Dark Tower. I'm sure the series is most likely fantastic and I know he can tell a fantastic story his style just puts me off and makes me not able to enjoy his works.
Ya, my only problem with Rothfuss is the whole hooking up with a sex goddess nymph. Still, fantastic.
Mistborn is definitely.. overly accessible. I was also thinking "damn that was like watching a Michael Bay movie" after the first book, but it got a little more nuanced in the 2nd/3rd . I can see why you stopped though, I was through the series in no time so I didn't really give myself a chance to pause and decide if it was worth continuing.
Still, I thought the steampunk in the 4th book was fucking awesome. Again, you have to like the style of magic system, but honestly you could take this book without the first 3, you would just miss one concept from the finale of the 3.
As for King, I definitely find his writing style quite different, but I liked it. Keep in mind I've never read another book by Stephen King.. I wouldn't call anything he stated overly dramatic; if anything given the plot, he downplays the drama.
It also essentially changes genres. The first book is almost a western, around the middle is an alice in wonderland style fantasy, and near the end it's more nature of the universe world is gonna end fantasy.
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On June 24 2013 08:29 Stoli wrote:Show nested quote +On June 22 2013 10:50 Panda86 wrote:On June 22 2013 06:48 Stoli wrote:
Stephen King's Dark Tower definitely doesn't get enough love among fantasy readers, it's a bit of a different vein with the guns/transitioning genres every book but I'm reading it right now, and it's a series I think every reader should experience.
The above is great as well though. I've read nearly all the fantasy reccs. I haven't gone past the first book on black company, just did not engage me at all, but I'll probably give it another go in a series or two. Malazan I loved at the time, but in hindsight it's a bit absurdly convoluted.
I do think that list is seriously missing some Scott Lynch (Locke Lamora), and Mistborn (more Sanderson) as well though. Wow how did I forget The Lies of Locke Lamora. Its even on my bookcase. Lol I don't know how I missed it. I mean book two is pirate fantasy which is awesome lol. It is a great series and Locke is a great character. I enjoy the entire structure of society in that world. I am also really looking forward to book 3 gonna have to reread the first two to prepare myself. The way you described Malazan is fairly accurate I will probably never read it again except maybe books two and three. Sanderson is a phenomenal writer and I love The Way of Kings. His ending to the Wheel of Time series I also felt did Jordan justice. Mistborn however never did anything for me. I only read the first book and I didn't enjoy it enough to continue the series. Perhaps it deserves another read but my plate is rather full at this time. Edit: In response to your comment about The Dark Tower series. I personally don't like King's writing style I feel like he dramatizes too much. For this reason I never read The Dark Tower. I'm sure the series is most likely fantastic and I know he can tell a fantastic story his style just puts me off and makes me not able to enjoy his works. Ya, my only problem with Rothfuss is the whole hooking up with a sex goddess nymph. Still, fantastic. Mistborn is definitely.. overly accessible. I was also thinking "damn that was like watching a Michael Bay movie" after the first book, but it got a little more nuanced in the 2nd/3rd . I can see why you stopped though, I was through the series in no time so I didn't really give myself a chance to pause and decide if it was worth continuing. Still, I thought the steampunk in the 4th book was fucking awesome. Again, you have to like the style of magic system, but honestly you could take this book without the first 3, you would just miss one concept from the finale of the 3. As for King, I definitely find his writing style quite different, but I liked it. Keep in mind I've never read another book by Stephen King.. I wouldn't call anything he stated overly dramatic; if anything given the plot, he downplays the drama. It also essentially changes genres. The first book is almost a western, around the middle is an alice in wonderland style fantasy, and near the end it's more nature of the universe world is gonna end fantasy.
Ya the entire sequence of Kvothe stumbling through the forest and winding up with Felurian was very iffy to me it seemed a little forced.
As for King I can't speak on The Dark Tower series but I have read about 4 or 5 of his other books and he most certainly over dramatizes in his other work. What I mean by that is in situations in which he can move through something quickly he spends alot of time detailing and emphasizing on things that are unimportant in a scene and could just be briefly mentioned and moved past. He spends too much time on details that are unimportant to the story and it makes his work drag at times. Also he makes some odd decisions in his work. The Stand especially is a very odd book. He is building up two groups of characters for more than half the book then all of a sudden one group is wiped out by a bomb. It was unepected and didn't really seem to serve any purpose. In my opinion the groups storyline was stagnating and he was just like how am I going to fix this and he said ahhhh ill just blow them all up.
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The Kingkiller books are a good series, but they're pretty much the story of a super smart, super fit, pretty attractive guy who gets friendzoned super hard and then still can't get laid so he goes and bangs a porn star instead. Rothfuss is a good writer though, if he wasn't the books would be terrible.
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EPT
