What is your favorite sci-fi or fantasy series and who wrote it? Why do you like it?

Question

Abbey, Adams, Aldiss, Anderson, Anthony, Asaro, Asimov, Asprin, Auel, Bakker, Barclay, Bishop, Bradley, Brin, Brooks, Brust, Bujold, Burroughs, Canavan, Card, Carey, Carter, Chalker, Chandler, Chapman, Cherryh, Chester, Cook, Crowley, Cunningham, Dalmas, Dart-Thornton, deCamp, deLint, Dennis, Dickson, Donaldson, Duncan, Egan, Eddings, Elliott, Erikson, Fallon, Farland, Feist, Flewelling, Forsyth, Friedman, Gear, Gemmell, Goodkind, Haldeman, Hambly, Harrison, Haydon, Heinlein, Herbert, Hobb, Hubbard, Jacques, Jones, Jordan, Kay, Kennealy, Kerr, Keyes, Knaak, Kurtz, L'Engle, LeGuin, Leiber, Lisle, Llywelyn, Lustbader, Marillier, Martin, May, McCaffrey, McKenna, McKiernan, McKillip, Modesitt, Moon, Moorcock, Morwood, Niven, Nix, Norton, Piper, Pohl, Pullman, Radford, Rawn, Rice, Roberson, Robinson, Russell, Saberhagen, Salvatore, Shaw, Simak, Simmons, Smith, Stackpole, Stanek, Strauss, Tolkien, Vance, Van Vogt, Volsky, Weber, Weis, Wells, West, Williams, Wolfe, Wrede, Wurts. (Other?)

Answer 1

Its great that you included Edgar Rice burroughs in your list.So many people dismiss him because he's not new.But I think that he's terrific.

I'll go with readingredhead and recommend Jim Butcher's Dresden files book series.There are 8 books in the series beginning with stormfront.It narrates the story of Harry Dresden,chicago's only professional wizard who works as a detective.He stands between the general population who is ignorant about the supernatural world and the monsters - vampires,werewolves,fallen angels,fey.He is aided by Bob,a talking skull.Karrin Murphy-a police officer and Thomas-a white court vampire.

Dragonjousters series(joust,alta,sanctuary) by Mercedes Lackey.The setting is ancient Egypt.Hunger, anger, and hatred are constants for young Vetch, rendered a brutally mistreated and overworked serf by the Tian conquest of his homeland. But everything improves when a Tian jouster requisitions Vetch to become the first serf ever to be a dragon boy. His training is intense, and his duty clear-cut: to tend his jouster, Ari, and his dragon, Kashet. He discovers that, because Ari himself had hatched Kashet, the dragon is different from others that have been captured live in the wild and must be drugged to be made tractable. Vetch finds he really likes and understands dragons, and soon he becomes the best dragon boy of all. He still harbors anger, however, toward the Tian invasion. Could he, perhaps, hatch a dragon, and then escape to help his people

I liked the Valdemar series by Mercedes Lackey.The books I liked in the series are Exile's honor,Exile's valor and Take a thief.

The review given below is about Exile's honor.
Valdemar and Karse have long been enemies. The Karse have made an art of it, sending bandits to plunder Valdemar, having their priests train the people to believe that anyone with a Herald's Gift is a demon in need of death. Alberich of Karse, newly-made captain and gifted with a handsome white stallion, has never formally committed himself to battle with his hereditary enemy. He has the gift of foresight, which he has long tried long to hide, but cannot when he sees that a village is about to be attacked and destroyed. He rallies his men, and saves the lives of many, only to forfeit his own. Two men who wanted his commission take advantage of the situation and have a Priest condemn him as a demon. They throw him in a small barn, planning to burn him to death. His white stallion charges in to save him, but he is still badly burned. This stallion, a Companion named Kantor takes him to Valdemar, where he is healed... only to find himself facing a whole new set of problems.

Mercedes Lackey's Take a Thief is the tale of Skif, a young orphan reminiscent of Oliver Twist, making his way in the knock-and-tumble neighborhood between two of Haven's outermost walls. Skif is intelligent, good-hearted and creative enough to forage up three meals a day in a place where food is scarce and kindness almost unheard of. After a chain of events leave him homeless, Skif lands in the lair of Bazie, an Faginish ex-mercenary who trains thieves...until he is "Chosen" by one of Valdemar's magical horses and becomes a Herald serving the Queen.

Furies of Calderon (Codex Alera, Book 1) by Jim Butcher.(From Publishers Weekly)At the start of Butcher's absorbing fantasy, the first in a new series, the barbarians are at the gates of the land of Alera, which has a distinct flavor of the Roman Empire (its ruler is named Quintus Sextus and its soldiers are organized in legions). Fortunately, Alera has magical defenses, involving the furies or elementals of water, earth, air, fire and metal, that protect against foes both internal and external. Amara, a young female spy, and her companion, Odiana, go into some of the land's remoter territories to discover if military commander Atticus Quentin is a traitor—another classic trope from ancient Rome. She encounters a troubled young man, Tavi, who has hitherto been concerned mostly with the vividly depicted predatory "herdbanes" that threaten his sheep.Thinking that Amara is an escaping slave, Tavi decides to help her and is immediately sucked in over his head into a morass of intrigues, military, magical and otherwise.Warning:A character gets raped.

Allan Cole wrote the Timura triology.(review from Amazon)
Warrior Iraj Protarus was a boyhood friend of Safar Timura, who, raised to be a potter, turned out to have an at first unsuspected talent for sorcery. The visions they share and the battles they fight side by side as they set off on a journey impeded by intrigue, enemies, plots, betrayals, adventures, and all the other trappings of the fantasy quest are the basic stuff of the book. Eventually, Iraj has a throne and Safar is his high magician, but realistically, the tale cannot end there, for the friends have hardly seen the last of the host of enemies who customarily badger the possessors of power.

Answer 2

Stephen R. Donaldson's Gap Series.

It's a masterpiece of character development, and a character-driven, exciting plot that twists and turns without ever seeming formulaic (*cough DaVinci Code cough*). I can think of maybe twenty characters off the top of my head from those five books alone (actually, they're more like one really long book, and it's important to read them in order, unlike some series) that he thoroughly develops. Even his "side" characters that are only explored in a single chapter can be more stirring and complex than the main characters of wildly successful, other works.

Responses to other comments: The Gunslinger and the Dark Tower series by King were absolutely amazing. And I LIKED the Mode series! I was on the young side when I read it, though. And Good Omens and the Hitchhiker's Guide are, of course, priceless.

Answer 3

Good list but you forgot the Greg Bear books: Eon, Anvil of the Stars and The Forge of God.
Also: by Kim Stanley Robinson - Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars and Antarctica
C.S. Lewis: Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, That Hideous Strength
Philip K Dick's books and stories.
James Blish - Cities in Flight

Answer 4

Well - I'd have to say Star Trek created by Gene Roddenberry wins the prize.

Star-Trek is appealing to me on many levels. One, it shows a vision and an imagination for a future in which we unite as a planet and reach out to the stars. It challenges us to dream about cool sci-fi stuff 'today' that becomes reality tomorrow.

I think you can also find a lot of interesting political and societal commentary and insights in the series - and it can also be a metaphor for experiences and tribulations we go through in everyday life.

I'm definitely fond of the various series - some more than others.

Note: It can be enjoyable to identify things that don't make sense in the series as well - like sound in space, etc...

Answer 5

Here are 4, 3 of which are not referred to on your list:

1) The Galactic Center, by Gregory Benford - consists of:
-In the Ocean of Night
-Across the Sea of Suns
-Great Sky River
-Furious Gulf
-Sailing Bright Eternity

Hard Science Fiction of the best kind- scientifically plausible and filled with interesting characters and deep philosophical meaning

2) The Forever War Series, by Joe Haldeman, consisting of:
-The Forever War
-Forever Peace
-Forever Free

Haldeman is the SF Tim O'Brien (and Philip Caputo for that matter) and writes with a skill and intensity that rival Hemingway. These books are incredibly moving

3) The Chronicles of Amber, by Roger Zelazny.
-10 novels all set in the world of Amber, the one true reality, of which all other worlds, including ours, are but shadows.

A post modern fantasy filled with cinematic writing, numerous literary allusions and in jokes, a loopy sense of humor, and finally, a moving sense of transience and fragility. Zelazny was one of the great "new wave" SF writers; he died much too soon.

4) John Brunner -
-Stand on Zanzibar
-The Jagged Orbit
-The Sheep Look Up
-The Shockwave Rider

Not so much a series as 4 inter-related novels about a frightening near future viewed pessimistically; written in a bravura, fragmentary style that succeeds as literary collage. McLuhan would love these; they are the fictional equivalent of Future Shock.

Answer 6

I just went through my top five sff writers and only one (McCaffrey) was on your list.

Favorite sci-fi writer is definitely Julie E. Czerneda. With three trilogies plus a stand-alone novel now published, she's been quickly rising in the world of sci-fi. Before she began to write she worked as a biologist, and I'm always astounded by the biological explanations for the exotic aliens she creates. Most everything about her aliens is entertaining; they seem human enough for me to relate to, yet inhuman enough to be refreshingly different from normal. Also, most of her stuff does have some romantic plotline in it, which I thoroughly enjoy. My favorite trilogy of hers begins with the book A Thousand Words for Stranger, and my second favorite trilogy begins with the book Survival. You can see her stuff on the web at www.czerneda.com.

My favorite sci-fi/fantasy (harder to classify her work as one or the other) writer is Diane Duane. Specifically, her Young Wizards series contains several of my favorite books of all time. You'll find her books in the "young adult" section of the library or bookstore, but don't let that fool you -- in my opinion, they're misplaced there. The characters might be teens but the stories deal with intensely human affairs. You can find out more about her on the web at www.youngwizards.com.

If you're looking for fiction with more of a supernatural/mystery bent, check out Jim Butcher's Dresden Files, the first book of which is Storm Front. These books follow the escapades of Harry Dresden, "Chicago's only practicing wizard," as he battles the forces of evil and has a consulting business on the side -- hey, even wizards have to make a living. I really enjoy the characters in Butcher's tales, and how he manages to mix the natural and the supernatural in a sensible manner. His website is www.jim-butcher.com.

Answer 7

Aprentice Adept series was good, untill Piers Anthony decided he could make a few more bucks by adding more after the first three,,,then it went downhill,,,on the other hand his Modes series was the biggest bunch of C R A P Ive ever read

Answer 8

Don't forget also Neil Gaimon and Terry Pratchett - they wrote "Good Omens" together. Gaimon wrote "neverwhere," Anansi Boys, American Gods, and Stardust (Ithink) among others. And Terry Pratchett's DiscWorld series are up there with Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, actually I like Pratchett better.

Answer 9

Jennifer Roberson- The Sword Singer series, because the characters are so strong.

Answer 10

I love Orson Scott Card. Ender's Game was required reading in school, and I've loved him ever since. I guess my favorite series would be the Ender/Shadow series. (Some people count it as one series while others count it as two.) But without a doubt, Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow are two of my favorites. The sequels of both remain interesting, but they do require more attention and are more complex.