Recommend me some books and I shall do the same

[m_mcgregor]

Being rather ill lately has made me want to curl up with a good book (or audiobook, thanks to migraines), but the problem is I tend to have a hard time finding a book I can really get into. For the last two years I've asked all of you out there to recommend TV shows to me, and I've gotten into some great shows because of that - Avatar: The Last

Comments

Recommendations

[bgibbons]

Following up a few of the authors you cited:

- For a weekend of cognitive dissonance, you should read _Starship Troopers_ and _Forever War_ back-to-back, along with John Steakley's _Armor_. You should also note that, while _Forever Peace_ is unrelated to _Forever War_, _Forever Free_ is a sequel to _War_. Haldeman also has some other good books, of which the most recent one I enjoyed was _Camouflage_.

- If you like Margaret Weis, you should take a look at the space fantasy series she wrote solo, The Star of the Guardians, of which the first is _The Lost King_.

- Most anything that Zelazny has written is worth reading, in particular _Lord of Light_ and _A Night in the Lonesome October_.

Your tastes seem to run toward epic fantasy. A few authors you may want to take a look at, and a particular good starting point for each are:
- Steven Brust (_Jhereg_); lighter epic fantasy;
- Guy Gavriel Kay (_The Summer Tree_); Celtic-flavored fantasy, one of my favorite authors;
- Dave Duncan (_The Gilded Chain_ or _Magic Casement_); rollicking-good adventure fantasy;
- C.S. Friedman (_When True Night Falls_); SF with a fantasy mindset, there's generally always some kind of vampire in one of her books;
- Terry Pratchett (_Mort_), humorous fantasy;
- Naomi Novik (_His Majesty's Dragon_), dragonriders vs. Napoleon; you probably need to enjoy Hornblower or other British seafaring books to like this.

I should mention a few SF recommendations, in case you're looking in that direction:
- Donald Kingsbury's _Courtship Rite_ is a heart-warming tale of cannibalism and group marriage;
- Walter Jon Williams' _Metropolitan_ describes itself as SF noir (which I'm glad it came up with a description, since otherwise I'm at a loss as how to categorize it other than damn good);
- John Barnes (_A Million Open Doors_) writes classic-ish SF, but in a mature manner, where the characterization is actually as good as the plot.

This should give you a few starting places.

Re: Recommendations

[rudyhenkel]

Mort is another good book by Pratchett, but I stand by my recommendation of the Tiffany Aching books as superior. When it comes to reading his Discworld books, Mort is a better comedy than Night Watch, but Night Watch is a more unified combination of his talents as a serious and comedic author.

I strongly second the recommendation of Jhereg by Steven Brust. The author is skillfully able to insert you into a brand new fantasy world and tell a complete story in a relatively short number of pages. A master of showing, rather than telling.

Re: Recommendations

[m_mcgregor]

Actually I originally read The Forever War as basically a counterpoint to Starship Troopers. I was reading reviews about Troopers after I'd finished it and found someone who said a great counter to it was TFW. They were definitely right, and I enjoyed The Forever War a whole heck of a lot more. I wasn't aware that he'd actually written a sequel to it, so I'll definitely check into that.

I also have actually tried to read Lord of Light several times, but just could never seem to get into it. Maybe I'll give it another shot, since you're right that almost anything Zelazny's written is pretty damn decent.

As far as my apparent love of epic fantasy goes, I guess that's mostly because I like a story that doesn't end quickly. I'm a fast reader, and a three-hundred page book will not even last me an afternoon. A nice big fantasy series can keep me occupied for over a week, and I love the feeling of being fully engrossed in another world. It doesn't necessarily have to be a fantasy book (sci-fi works too), but I just like having a nice long story to sink my teeth into.

I will definitely look at a lot of the books you've listed here, cause they sound like good possibilities. Thanks.