Can you reccomend some good SciFi or Fantasy books? What's Stephen King like?

Question

Hey!

I love shows such as Buffy, Angel and Supernatural, but tend not to like really scary stuff. I like easy to read books that don't have lots of confusing charecters and storylines - Lord of the Rings, for example, confused me! I like to be able to get lost in a book, so for me, making it difficult to follow and enjoy seems a bit pointless.

I'm not much into Trekkie or anything like that (space stuff) but I do like Vampires, genetically modified warriors, that kinda thing, and i'm not opposed to lightly sexual or erotic content.

Can anyone reccomend an author I might like?

Also, i've been meaning to read Stephen King for a while, since he's so well-known - what's his work like? Typical storylines or example storylines etc :o)

Thanks!

Answer 1

So you like Buffy and Angel.Seems like we have the same taste.I'll recommend all my fav vampire/fantasy books.

Dresden file book series by Jim Butcher.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.

Another supernatural detective series is Nightside book series by Simon R.Green.John Taylor, the main character, is a private eye specializing in finding things. He literally has a private eye, one he can open and find anything. This power only works in the nightside, but anytime he opens it, his enemies (and he does not know who they are, but they have been hunting him since he was young) pick up on his presence like his gift is a homing devise. He as quite a reputation, some of which is true, some not and it gets him into trouble, or sometimes out of it, but it is the fact that some of it has nothing to do with him so much as that he is his mother's son. A mother he never knew and no one will tell him about. One big case is covered in each book, but underlying tensions build up higher and higher running through out the series.

Another good series is the Dark Hunter series by Sherrilyn Kenyon.The books provide an alternate take on vampires.People who are unjustly murdered call upon Artemis(Greek goddess) and she grants them a day to avenge themselves.After that they are recruited to her army to fight against evil.This series is romance based.Best of the series are 'Dance with the devil' and 'Seize the night'.

Werehunter series by Sherrilyn Kenyon.The books in the series are Nightplay,Dragonswan,Stroke of midnight,Unleash the night.These are romance novels.You can read not only about were-wolves but also about were-dragons,were-panthers,wer... and were-tigers.The heros are handsome,powerful and with a mysterious past.Interesting reading.The best of the lot is Night play.

Hunter's moon,Moon's web are novels written by Cathy Clamp and C.T. Adams about a werewolf Tony Giodone who is an assassin-for-hire by profession.It is written from Tony's first person POV (point of view).Tony meets his new client, one Suzi Quentin. She wanted someone offed. Well, this is child's play to our boy...um...wolf...Tony. Only she knocks him for a loop when she tells him the name of the person she wants killed - herself!So begins the story.

For a really funny vampire romance books read Argeneau book series by Lynsay Sands.The first one of the lot is 'Single white vampire'.Recluse vampire and novelist Lucern Argeneau finds his lair being invaded by his determined editor Kate.He has to hide the fact that he is a vampire from Kate,partake his daily blood quota and manage his family.His interfering all-vampire family doesn’t make things easier.Infact his mom thinks that Kate is perfectly suitable for him.

Prime vampire novels by Susan Sizemore is interesting.The best of the lot is the 4th book 'Master of Darkness.' Reluctant vampire hunter Eden Faveau thinks Laurent is her new partner in an investigation to take down a local vampire drug ring. Laurent is really a renegade vampire from the Tribe Manticore and he is in the right place at the right time to take advantage of Eden. He needs her computer expertise to hack a laptop that he stole from the Tribe leader, Justinian.

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.(its a bit long-winded)
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.

The door to december by Dean Koontz.A psychiatrist's daughter was kidnapped by her ex-husband years ago. When the daughter is finally found, the real fight begins. One by one the people who held her captive become mysteriously tortured and killed. Everyone is afraid the young girl will be next.

The mystery unravels as to what happened to the young girl while she was kidnapped. The young girl, Melanie, is unable to speak, but her mother soon learns that the young girl went through extreme torture as her father used her for a rat in his experiments.

Read both Odd thomas and Forever odd by Dean Thomas.These books are about Odd Thomas who see dead people and is compelled to solve crimes.

Answer 2

You'd be surprised how much stuff is out there for you! I share a lot of the same tastes you do. The Anita Blake series by Laurell K. Hamilton is decent, the endings always unravel though, but you gotta love Anita. "The Silver Wolf" is another good supernatural book. It's by Anne Rice's sister! Try reading some classic Sci-Fi like "Fahrenheit 451", "Brave New World" and "1984." And if you're in a mood for satire "Hitch hiker's Guide to the Galaxy", but just the first one.
Some more teenage oriented stuff is "The Big Empty" an excellent series. "Sorcerers of the Nightwing" is also very good. And if all else fails pick up some manga or a "Buffy" tie in novel, some of which are pretty good like "Little Things."

Can't say I've read a lot of King, but my mom really likes his older pre-crash stuff, so anything published before 1999. Says the crash made his writing safer and it lacks an edge. Of course I might look into "Cell" anyway because it just sounds like a good read.

Answer 3

You'd like "Narcissus in Chains" by Laurell K. Hamilton. The protagonist is a vampire hunter....light reading with some sex.

For Sci-Fi, you can't go wrong with the Foundation Trilogy (just the original 3), Stranger in a Strange Land, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, or I, Robot.

Fantasy: you might like Piers Anthony. He's nice and light reading and his stories are enjoyable. "A Spell for Chameleon" is the first in the Xanth series, and this one's a classic. You also might try "The Apprentice Adept" Series. Blend of sci-fi and fantasy. Very good reading.

Stephen King is ok, but he's not one of my favorites. Though I will say that if you're going to read anything of his, I'd go with "The Eyes of the Dragon" (not typical of his work, fantasy). I would NOT recommend "The Stand"; it was overrated. (Mentioning this because so many people think it was King's masterpiece). Builds up for a long time and pisses you off at the end. "Needful things" is pretty good. Also, "Four Past Midnight" is a quick read and suspenseful. A bit on the scary side though.

Happy reading!

Answer 4

Hi. I am hooked on Dean Koontz right now. 4 out of my favorite books read last year was by him.
#1 Intensity
#2 The Face
#3 The Taking
#4 Velocity
other good books by him. Dragon Tears, Dark Rivers of the Heart, Tick Tock, Mr. Murder, and Life Expectancy. Some are straight it could happen in the real world (Intensity, Velocity) and others are a little on the supernatural side (The Face, The Taking, Tick Tock). You have to read some Dean Koontz if you haven't already. But I like Koontz a lot better than Stephen King. A Stephen King book is just 50% BS that he could of left out. Get on with the story already! If you read King I suggest The Stand or Cell. I still haven't finished his Gunslinger/Dark Tower novels. I like Douglas Preston/Lincoln Child also. Riptide is my favorite. Read the Relic and Reliquary. They're a little out there and kind of scary. Happy Reading. P.S. Thanks for the 10 pts last time (Was I really the best answer or did I get it because I was the ONLY answer). :) P.S.S. Check out my 360 page.
http://360.yahoo.com/rapink49

Answer 5

Stephen King is horror, not sci-fi / fantasy. If you don't like scary, then you probably would not like most of his work. But, you might want to give it a shot, you never know! I would suggest starting out with Carrie, FireStarter, Misery and perhaps some of the short story books.

For vampirism, have you read Anne Rice? Before "Interview With a Vampire" was a Tom Cruise movie, it was a great book!

For Sci-Fi, Issac Asimov's Foundation series is good and really makes you think (it's about robots and humans). Robert A. Heinlein is a great sci-fi author also, some really trippy books including messing with your head about time travel (Time Enough for Love - excellent book!). Arthur C. Clarke's Venus Prime has a female lead character - rare in early sci-fi! - and is a nice series of books (summer reading!).

For Fantasy, I have really been enjoying Anne McCaffrey's Pern series (about dragons and a distant planet in the future). Also, Piers Anthony has 3 series that I have thoroughly enjoyed - the Incarnations of Immortality series (what if Death, Time, War, etc. were actual people?), the Mode series (a teenage girl travels through different dimensions and universes) and the Xanth series (about a land where everyone does magic - but beware, if you don't like puns and lighthearted reading, you probably wouldn't enjoy this series).
Happy reading!

Answer 6

I see that you tend not to like really scary stuff yet want to try Stephen King?
Ok, well his best books were written in the 80's & early 90's. He was the "King" and scaring the pants off his readers and denying my teenage self many hours of sleep while I watched the corners of the room for moving shadows!
But if you like a thriller without the gore he is your man.
One of his latest books "Cell" was a great read. Makes me think he is back in the swing of things. His writing style is smooth and easy without extraneous details which make him an easy read.
Cell is about a man who is travelling in another city. Happy and just landed a good contract for a comic book (?) but a strange virus/signal is transmitted via everyone's cell phones in an instant. If they are on a call or try to make a call they are infected. It is a story about him and the people he meets and his treck to find his wife and son.
Of the same genre is another writer which I prefer - Peter Straub.
Ghost Story ( I have two copies of this one because I overread the first and wrecked it !) and Mystery will capture your attention to start.

Then of course there is Dean Koontz which is of the same genre but not as scarey as King.

My latest re-read was Clive Barker's The Great and Secret Show.

If you want vampire mixed with light sexual content then Anne Rice is your lady.

Happy reading!

Answer 7

I love Stephen King he's more of a horror writer.
I've read every book he's ever written . I can't say that I loved them all. Some of his later books weren't up to par but his older books are great. I consider him the Edgar Allen Poe of this century, also an excellent writer not really horror more on the weird and morbid side. If you want to try Kings books I would start with "The Talisman" co wrote with Peter Straub another great writer you might like. Those are just a few examples. Happy Reading.

Answer 8

I really like the Moonshae Trilogy written by Douglas Niles. Stephen King is a great author. My favourite books are "The Tommyknockers" and "IT". These books are very long but have great storylines. Some of Stephen King's stuff I would recommend not reading before you go to sleep. I did that once and had nightmares.

Answer 9

Stephen King's probably too scary for you.
A Wizard Of Earthsea by Ursela Le Guin is really good, It's easy to get lost in the islands. . .
The Witches Of Karres by James Schmitz isn't about the kind of witches you'd think. While it is a 'spacey' book, it has a really fun storyline, and very memorable characters. His book, The Demon Breed, is also good. Again, they aren't really demons, but there is a lot of genetic alterations going on, and two talking otters.
Tom Disch's The Businessman, The Sub, The Priest and the M.D. are really good, too.

Answer 10

King's books can range from disturbing to scary to really scary. Since you're gong to be a first-time reader I would suggest that you start with some of his short stories like Skeleton Crew. If you like those then you can try Rose Madder , or The Talisman. Some of his earlier works that I've liked are Pet Sematary, Cudjoe, The Running Man, The Long Walk, Night Shift.(A lot of these you may find written under his pseudonym Richard Bachman) Have a hauntingly good read.

Answer 11

I would recomend the "Sword of Truth" series by Terry Goodkind. The first book is called "Wizzar's first Rule". Not a lot of characters, easy to follow what is going on. In the later books you do not have to remember every little thing that has happened (like in the "Wheel of Time" series by Robert Jordan - great books, just way full of little details that end up playing a huge role later on in the series!)

Check out the classic Chinese novel "Journey to the West" - more along the mythological, but it would be classified fantasy nowadays. The story of a priest in China going to get the Buddhist scriptures from India. Full of differnet adventures that he and his three disciples (Monkey, Pig, and Friar Sand - Go Monkey!) have.

Stephen king, I would recomend his "Dark Tower" series. Good plot and storylines in it - story of Roland the last Gun slinger. Has a bit of a westren feel at times, but is amazing!

happy reading!