Looking for Fantasy or Sci-Fi Recommendations?

Question

I read quite a bit of fantasy and science fiction, and I'm looking for some recommendations. I used to work in a bookstore, so I've read the more commonly available or recommended titles, so please don't answer with popular stuff like The Lord of the Rings or The Wheel of Time series. I'm looking for stuff that I haven't already heard of.

Authors I've read and enjoyed: Asimov, Lackey, McCaffrey, Weber, Gemmell, Brust, Laurell Hamilton, Zelazny, Anne Bishop, Orson Scott Card, Simon Green, Salvatore, Eddings, Alan Dean Foster, Goodkind, Spider Robinson, JD Robb, Modesitt, John Ringo,

Answer 1

Jim Butcher http://www.jim-butcher.com/
Charlaine Harris http://www.charlaineharris.com/
Kate Forsyth http://members.ozemail.com.au/~kforsyth/index.html

Mark Anthony
Whitley Strieber
Guy Gavriel Kay
Melanie Rawn
Glen Cook
Jack McDevitt
Jennifer Fallon
Lian Hearn

Answer 2

Ursula K. Le Guin, either her "Wizard of Earthsea" series or some of her works like "The Left Hand of Darkness" or "The Dispossed." There's also the "Dune" series from Frank Herbert, and some of the Heinlein fiction-- my particular favorite is "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress."

"A Canticle for Leibowitz" is a great book, by Walter M. Miller Jr.

If you want to shift gears a little and get into some speculative historical fiction, you could try some of Mary Renault's fiction, particularly "The King Must Die" and "The Bull From the Sea."

Answer 3

well nobody's mentioned Jim Butcher, Terry Goodkind or Jacqueline Carey. Also you might try Kelley Armstrong.

Im sure you've heard of Terry Goodkind.

Jim Butcher: the published author of the Dresden Files, telling the story of wizard Harry Dresden, who solves crimes in modern-day Chicago. The series is published by Roc, and its eighth book, Proven Guilty, came out May 2006, in hardcover.

Jacqueline Carey: Kushiel's dart is the first in the series. (regardless of what most sites say.... its not a trilogy there's at least 4 books out so far.
http://www.amazon.com/Kushiels-Dart-Legacy-Jacqueline-Carey/dp/0765342987/sr=1-2/qid=1163820893/ref=sr_1_2/102-1133428-9562534?ie=UTF8&s=books


Kelley Armstrong: Women of the Otherworld is the series name. The first 2 books are about werewolves but she mixes it up through out the series with witches and vampires among others.

Now that i think more about this. You also might try Kim Harrison. She has a series of books about a girl named Rachel Morgan and bounty hunting partners a pixie named Jenks and a vampire named Ivy.


Hope all this helps.

Answer 4

McKiernan, Trudi Canavan, Raymond Feist, H. Rider Haggard, H. Beam Piper, Robert E. Howard, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Eric Flint, Lois McMaster Bujold, Jane Lindskold, Mercedes Lackey, Andre Norton, Ursula K. LeGuin, L. Sprague DeCamp, and the list goes on and on and on. Happy reading.

Answer 5

I don't think you or anyone else has mentioned Robin Hobb ... but you must have heard of her, working in the bookstore.

You've probably also heard of Elizabeth Moon, Holly Lisle, David Weber & David Feintuch too.

I'm assuming that you have, obviously because I enjoyed reading them & therefore think that they must be popular stuff (lol)

Why not try the Baen Free LIbrary - you can read a sample of an authors work & decide whether or not you like his or her style. A great introduction & it doesn't cost you more than your connection to the internet fee.

http://www.baen.com/library/

Answer 6

I have several authors I love. Here's a list with one book from each author that you might enjoy, but check out anything they've written.

Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik
Neuromancer by William Gibson
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
Grass by Sheri S Tepper
The Wood Wife by Terri Windling
Greenmantle by Charles DeLint

Answer 7

Duncton Wood By William Horwood

Answer 8

Thanks for asking this question, I've noted down quite a few of the recommendations.

One I didn't see was the "His Dark Materials" trilogy by Philip Pullman, "Northern Lights", "The Subtle Knife","The Amber Spyglass".

The things that make it good... a war in heaven, armoured polar bears, a knife that cuts between worlds. Daemons, kind of familiars, or animal expressions of animus and anima. It's kind of for kids, it's kind of a rip-off of Dante, it's just really damn fantastic, and I recommended it to EVERYONE for months after I read it.

And now to you.

Also I concur with the Thomas Covenant ones...
Also Imagica by Clive Barker.
Also The Fionavar Trilogy by Guy Gavriel Kay (that's very satisfactory fantasy, with quite sophisticated personal relationships, and Arthurian legend woven in in a really useful and non-gratuitous way)
The Halfmen of O by Maurice Gee. (A NZ writer)

Also have you considered reading "Collected Short Stories" by Peter Carey. They're not all sf or fantasy... but some are and all of them are like lightning from the pen of god. He also writes novels.

Hope you enjoy.

Answer 9

Well, you didn't mention him, but if yu worked in a book store, you may already know Piers Anthony. His work is very good & I have read a lot of it! The Xanth series is great, as are allof his! I have read so much of his I can't even remember all of them! Good stuff though! Spider Robinson is/was good, Rober Heinlien, but he is gone so no more new ones. Asimov as always!

Answer 10

Sci-fi: The starvation video games by Suzanne Collins. the 1st (and basically) Sci-fi e book i've got ever examine, and boy became into it dazzling. A conceivable destiny, no extraordinary new slang or something, sensible characters (exceedingly the main character, who's the two super and imperfect, exceedingly along with her thoughts), and a dazzling sort of writing. that's set in an unknown time contained sooner or later. there's a fact television practice occurring; in it, 24 youngsters, 2 from each and every of the twelve Districts surrounding the Capitol which replaced what became into as quickly as North united states of america of america. there is largely one rule: be the final one status. while Katniss Everdeen, elderly sixteen, volunteers to take her twelve-year-previous sister's place, she knows she is dealing with her death. yet Katniss has been close to death till now. For her, survival is 2nd nature. that's action-packed and internet site-turning. I swear -- from internet site a million, i became into hooked and examine till 2 contained in the morning (ignoring the actuality that I had college the following day). fantasy: The Farseer Trilogy and the Tawny guy Trilogy (set some years later) by Robin Hobb. Now there's a worldwide you have in no way seen till now, with new magic, new names, new each and every thing. VERY engrossing. that's advised contained in the 1st man or woman. the main character is a Prince's bastard son and boy, he's in problem. With a royal out to kill him and him out to kill others for his king, Fitz has plenty on his plate. that's sort of medievalistic (yet set in yet another worldwide), so anticipate horses and tunics and hose extremely of vehicles and motorcycles and denims. that's severe writing, very stylish, in line with threat slightly wordy. even with the undeniable fact that that's exciting; i could no longer drop the books. have you ever examine Artemis hen by Eoin Colfer? i'm thinking you likely have, yet in case you haven't any longer, you prefer to p.c.. it up precise now. unique magical creatures, a genius for a considerable character, an austere bodyguard and a spunky lady elf, what greater are you able to ask for?