Sci-fi/Fantasy recommendations

[Darth Wagtaros]

There is the Sword of Truth wich was apparently good:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sword_of_Truth

That series has 14 books & they were not created equal. The first one is pretty good tho.

Oh, for fuck's sake!  That book was most misogynistic crap I've seen!  AVOID! AVOID!

Too friggin right. It's trash.

[viper37]

Did you read it?

I said that I did not.  I saw the tv series and I liked the second season

Weird.  I do not remember any gang rape of the confessors.

[PRC]

For some newer hard sci-fi i'd suggest Greg Egan: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1/182-4577466-1414124?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=greg+egan

[Ed Anger]

Jack Vance died.

[Siege]

1- The Change series, by S M Stirling. The world laws of physics change and people cannot use electricity or gunpowder.

2- The Safehold series, by David Drake. Planet safehold is the last human outpost surviving the Gbaba onslaught, but the humans there have been brainwashed into believing they have just been created by the Archangels (the leaders of the colonial expedition) and a medieval tech civilization have been forced on the planet under an opressing religion led by the inquisition.

3- The Destroyermen series by some dude. A WW2 destroyer, the USS Walker, crosses through a wormhole to an alternate Earth in which there are no humans, but a primitive reptile civilization is trying to conquer a primitive lemur-like civ.

4- Honorverse crap. Still mildly interesting, now that the Star Kingdom of Manticore have allied with the bastards of the Republic of Haven against the corrupted Solarian alliance.

[Darth Wagtaros]

Safehold is David Weber. 

I liked The Destroyermen.  It is interesting. 

Honverse was fun for awhile, but it is beginning to show its age. 

[The Brain]

My impression of Honorverse is that I'd puke all over it. This may or may not be deserved.

[Grallon]

My suggestions Sheilbh:


- All the Tolkien material on Middle-Earth - including the Silmarillion and the 12 volumes of the History of Middle-Earth - these last for the fascinating evolution of Tolkien's ideas and writing style;

- The Dune Chronicles - that is the 6 books written by Frank Herbert - *nothing* by his son Brian and that hack Kevin J. Anderson as it's utter crap;

- The Prince of Nothing and the Aspect Emperor trilogies by Scott Bakker - the first one is complete - the second one has 2 books out with the 3rd and last to come out next year - a brilliant rehash of both the above.  That is he clearly was inspired by both Tolkien and Herbert but managed to make it his own in a fresh new way.  And the prose - if you like lyricism - is fantastic;

- the Mars Trilogy from Kim Stanley Robinson - his best work IMO - and quite a compelling argument to explore and colonize Mars;

- The Stone Dance of the Chameleon trilogy by Ricardo Pinto, something different when it comes to fantasy, set in the Cretaceous period in Antarctica according the the author - with an Aztec feel to it.  I should re-read it in fact;

- The Monarchies of God by Paul Kearney, an alternate Europe in the late XV-XVIth century with mages and werewolves - and above all with a Napoleon/Frederick the Great like character... very moving;

- CS Friedman who writes both fantasy and sc-fi has made some very compelling characters in : This Alien Shore - The Coldfire Trilogy and The Magister Trilogy;

- CJ Cherryth for her gift at creating alien mindsets in the Chanur Saga, The Deep Beyond and other works - where humans are mostly secondary characters;

- David Gemmel  for his Troy Series, a re-imagining of the Trojan War.




G.

[Grallon]

How could I forget!

Guy Gavriel Kay - all his alternate universe work - especially the Sarantium duology (Byzantium) and Under Heaven (medieval China).  All his work is laced with nostalgia which personally I find very compelling.  Incidentally he was co-editor of Tolkien' Silmarillion alongside Tolkien' son Christopher.



G.

[ulmont]

Shielbh,

I'd suggest looking at the goodreads and similar lists and ignoring the recommendations here.  There has been some good stuff recommended, but also a lot of shit.

[grumbler]

2- The Safehold series, by David Drake. Planet safehold is the last human outpost surviving the Gbaba onslaught, but the humans there have been brainwashed into believing they have just been created by the Archangels (the leaders of the colonial expedition) and a medieval tech civilization have been forced on the planet under an opressing religion led by the inquisition.

The first book is okay, but the series sinks quickly under turgid prose.  Too much pure good and pure evil.

[Darth Wagtaros]

Yeah, Safehold crapped out is a whole lot of filler. I second Guy Gavriel Kay. Sarantium and the Fiovanar Tapestry are both worth a read or a re-read.

Also, the Mistborn books.

[Neil]

You know, I've enjoyed some of Stirling's work, but the idea of the laws of physics changing in such a way that electricity and gunpowder don't work, but life on earth can survive is silly.

[Darth Wagtaros]

I liked the Raj Whitehall books, basically Belisarius on a colony world int he future. 

[Razgovory]

You know, I've enjoyed some of Stirling's work, but the idea of the laws of physics changing in such a way that electricity and gunpowder don't work, but life on earth can survive is silly.

I thought it was silly that SCA nerds would take over.