Book Suggestions 2008

I don't think we've had one of these for a long time, and with the vast number of new authors or authors which have only recently really come into popularity we're terribly overdue for a new one.

I made a similar thread not long after I joined (I've just realised that on Saturday I became one of those old, four year vet persons ), and the premise of this one is the same - suggest books for others. I know there are a lot of readers on the forums, so we should have no shortage of suggestions, whether they be the Forgotten Realms series, Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game, or even G.R.R.M's A Sword of Ice and Fire.

Oh, and no spam or mindless shite, please - I won't bother splitting it, I'll just trash it.

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Frank Herbert - The Great Dune Trilogy

I want to begin with a Science Fiction trilogy which I've recently been reading - Frank Herbert's Dune trilogy: Dune, Dune Messiah and Children of Dune. He wrote a second trilogy, the first book of which carries on directly from CoD, but I've not got that far yet.

The Dune trilogy starts by following Paul Atreides, the son of a Duke of one of the Major Houses in the Universe, as he and his family move to the planet Dune, also known as Arrakis. Political intrigue is in play, however, and they soon find themselves on the run. Dune Messiah stays with Paul and new political intrique (I don't want to give too much away here), whilst Children of Dune very much deals with Paul's shadow.

The trilogy (and second trilogy) itself is extremely well written and, in my opinion, is one of the best examples of political sci-fi that you'll ever find. Well worth the read, and even though the first book was published in the mid-60s, many of the ideas in it are in no way outdated.

His son, Brian Herbert, has written a further two trilogies with a Star Wars fan-fic writer Kevin J. Anderson based on notes left by Frank Herbert... but these should be avoided at all costs.

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Steven Erikson - Tales of the Malazan Book of the Fallen
Ian C. Esslemont - Tales of Malazan

The second series I want to suggest is still being written, but should see completion within the next two years - Tales of the Malazan Book of the Fallen by Canadian author Steven Erikson. There is also a sister series by Ian C. Esslemont (with whom Erikson built the Universe of Malaz) which is onto its second book.

The TotMBotF series is an exercise in epic fantasy, and a truly enormous one at that. I've never before come across a more immersive series. The eighth book, Toll the Hounds, was recently published, and continues to follow the people of the Malazan Empire under the rule of Empress Lasseen. Each book is around 1000 pages in length, contains over a hundred characters and combines three or four story arcs which usually meet at the end. The series itself also combines a number of story arcs, the first of which you don't notice until you're onto the fourth book, by which time another half dozen have been woven into the magnificent tapestry of Erikson's stories.

It starts with Gardens of the Moon, and then moves on to Deadhouse Gates. If you can make it through those two, then the rest of the series comes naturally - I warn you now though, that a lot of people can find it very hard to get into GotM.

Erikson has been compared to G.R.R.M in the past but, unlike Martin, Erikson produces a book a year and doesn't kill off every 'good' character for giggles.

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I'll add more at a later date, and until then it's over to you lot. Suggest whatever you want - it doesn't have to be fantasy or Sci-Fi, but I reckon that's what the majority of you read.

I've actually never heard of either of these ! I'd like to add to the list but unfortunately I haven't read anything in the longest time. Ugh. But if I see either of these at the Campus library I'll consider picking them up.. Hmm.

Let's see. I'll give two authors for those who are looking Spiritually interested in the occult. Dr. Clymer and Paschal Beverly Randolph. A good easy read as well as a good book would have to be in my opinion Riptide by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.

what the hell lenny, i thought i just made a thread for people to talk about books.

he made this one before you

damnit, a day ahead. grr. i never saw it though, i swears

just delete my thread lenny, i feel like an r-tard now!

I thought you mentioned before that you read "The Hytrun Chronicles".

I need to pick up book three "Harshini" and was wondering what you take is on the last 3 books of the trilogy compared to the first three if you've read them Lenny.

Im goignt o go buy Harshini ina few days, but wanted to know if the last three are as good.

I've only read Wolfblade, actually.

In the Demon Child trilogy, Harshini is probably the weakest, but it's by no means a bad book - I just think that Medalon and Treason Keep are better. Regardless of how good the book is, it's one that has to be read, simply because without it there's so much which goes untold.

The three Jennifer Fallon books I like more than any make up the Second Son trilogy: Lion of Senet, Eye of the Labyrinth and Lord of Shadows. Pure political fantasy at its best - not a single bit of magic in it at all. Fantastic trilogy.

Yea, I read the Second Sons trilogy first actually. family friend ent them to me and thats why I came back to her books adn started reading The Demon Child trilogy. I def want to read the last four books, so im going to slowly pick em up one by one and read it.

I have to agree that TSS Trilogy was amazing too.

Two more suggestions from me, but not books - rather, I'm suggesting authors.

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Terry Pratchett

pTerry, as some of us call him, is, quite frankly, "freakin' awesome"! He's most well known for his Discworld novels, but has also written a trilogy centred around a fella called Johnny, a trilogy about gnomes, a standalone book about other gnomes, a few Sci-Fi books, a book about cats, a fantastic short story about chickens crossing a motorway, and an absolutely stunning co-op effort with Neil Gaiman.

First, Discworld. Discworld is a world shaped like a disc, carried by four elephants, all of which is balanced on the back of a huge space-turtle, the Great A'Tuin. On the Discworld anything goes - magic wars turn trees sapient, the wood of which can make suitcases that follow their owners around on hundreds of tiny legs; belief can create Gods from nothing and turn myths and legends into physical things; Orangutans run libraries, and a Wizzard runs about with the knowledge of only one spell. There are a number of main arcs in the Discworld series, including the City Guard, the Witches, and Rincewind the Wizzard. Pratchett has also created a new one about Moist von Lipwig, who is slowly turning the public sectors of Ankh Morpork around.

If any of you see a book with the name "Terry Pratchett" on the spine, pick it up and read it. No questions, just do it.

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Robin Hobb

Hobb has written four trilogies, three of which are linked. Nothing particularly special in itself but, rather like the Grand Theft Auto games, it's the little intricacies that make them fantastic. For Robin Hobb is an absolute master when it comes to character development - I haven't read a single book in my years of reading that comes even relatively close to her standard in the field of character development.

Her Realms of the Elderlings trilogies are linked by one character, the Fool, but that's not the one who steals the show (well, s/he comes close in the Liveship Traders trilogy). Ho no. FitzChivalry Farseer, the bastard son of the King-in-Waiting, is the main attraction. The first book in the first trilogy (Assassin's Apprentice, The Farseer Trilogy), follows Fitz from his arrival on the scene, through boyhood, and into his years as a teen. We are thrown into a community of political intrigue and war, seen through the eyes of a character who is not only an assassin (eventually), but a user of the two forms of magic in the world - the Skill and the Wit. The second two books in the trilogy, and all three in the Tawny Man trilogy (which does centre more on the Fool, but still follows Fitz as the main character) see Fitz develop immensely, his life becoming a thing ruled by not only the actions he takes, but also the actions taken by others. Rarely is a character crafted so well, and with so much thought. Rarely is a character crafted by his history.

The books are gritty, and can be depressing, but I rank them among the best I've read.

Oh, and the Fool is the only truly androgynous character that I've read about. I don't know for sure whether s/he is man or woman, no-one online knows for sure, and I'm not convinced that Robin Hobb knows for sure - she writes him/her so brilliantly in each gender, that we'll never know for sure.

Coming close is Hobbs fourth trilogy, set in a different world entirely, and following a different character, Nevare Burvell. However, Hobbs trademark character development is still present, and Nevare is developed throughout all three books in the trilogy (Soldier Son trilogy), right up to the last page.

Here is about 9 books. I forget how many there are.


The Demonata by Darren Shan


It is a great series filled with blood, gore, and plenty of story for those who like it all.

I've read the first trilogy of his Darren Shan Saga (the vampire one), and they weren't bad. How does The Demonata compare to them?

And it's currently eight books (the eighth actually comes out next month), with the ninth out in May 2009 and the tenth out in October 2009.