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the Unofficial Recommendation Thread


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The Dark Tower by Stephen King

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Imajica by Clive Barker

Weaveworld by Clive Barker

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest by Ken Kesey

Junk by Melvin Burgess

Spares by Michael Marshall Smith

Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Eisenhorn by Dan Abnett

The Merlin Trilogy by Mary Stewart

Intensity by Dean Koonzt

Albion: The White Phantom by Patrick McCormack

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Historical fiction: I, Claudius by Robert Graves

Par le Fer ou le Poison by Juliette Benzoni

The Crusader by Michael Alexander Eisner

Imprimatur by Monaldi & Sorti

Quo Vadis? by Henryk Sienkiewitcz

With Fire and Sword by Henryk Sienkiewitcz

Fiction: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte

Shopacholic series by Sophie Kinsella

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

Recommended authors: Joanne Harris

Alexander Dumas (father)

Pearl Buck

Bill Bryson

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The Bone Doll's Twin; Hidden Warrier (Lynn Flewelling) - first two books of trilogy, last book will be out this summer

His Dark Materials trilogy (Philip Pullman)

Merlin trilogy (Mary Stewart)

The Once and Future King; The Book of Merlyn (THWhite)

Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series (Tad Williams)

fellow Watership Down fans might like:

Traveller (Richard Adams) - now out of print but well worth searching for!

Tailchaser's Song (Tad Williams)

The Wild Road; The Golden Cat (Gabriel King)

Firebringer (David Clement-Davies)

The Last Unicorn (Peter Beagle)

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Nonfiction

Science books, mostly about humans. (No maths, physics, computer science or other traditional science topics.)

Jared Diamond: Guns, Germs, and Steel: the fate of human societies

Stephen Pinker: The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature, The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language

Richard Dawkins: The Blind Watchmaker

Simon Baron-Cohen: The Essential Difference

Judith Rich-Harris: The Nurture Assumption

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If you like Philip Pullman's HIS DARK MATERIALS:

Paul Park, A Princess in Roumania (Tor, 2005)

The second book, The Tourmaline, will be out in July.

There will be at least one more, The White Tyger, maybe even a fourth book.

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hammer and the cross trilogy by harry harrison:alternate history-vikings, christians, gods

wyvern by a.a. attanasio:shamans, jungles, pirates, oceans

the pillars of the earth by ken follett:monks, royals, war, peace

brothers by chaym zeldis:don't wanna give anything away. if you can actually find this, read it. good shit.

foucault's pendulum by umberto eco:da vinci code-ish. i like it more actually. can't say too much though. they might be listening.

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1. A Song of Ice and Fire, by G.R.R. Martin

2. The Lord of the Rings, by Tolkien

3. Isavalta, by Sarah Zettel

4. His Dark Materials, by Phillip Pullman

5. The Silmarillion, by Tolkien

6. Paradise Lost, by John Milton

7. Castaways of the Flyman Dutchman, by Brian Jaques

8. The Dark is Rising Sequence

9. The Time Quartet, by Madeleine L'Engle

10. King Arthur and His Knights, by Howard Pyle

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1) The Tower of Fear - Glen Cook

2) Neverwhere – Neil Gaiman

3) Snow Crash – Neal Stephenson

4) Our Band Could Be your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981-1991 - Michael Azerrad

5) The Portable Henry Rollins – Henry Rollins (great intro to the man, the myth, the legend)

6) A Brief History of Time – Stephen Hawking

7) The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark – Carl Sagan

8) The Panda’s Thumb – Stephen Jay Gould

9) The Physics of Star Trek – Lawrence M. Krauss

10) The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century – Thomas Friedman ( or read his The Lexus and the Olive Tree)

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  • 2 weeks later...

In no particular order:

1) The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

2) Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

3) Ishmael by Daniel Quinn

4) The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum

5) Forever by Pete Hamill (particularly for epic fantasy fans)

6) The Monkeywrench Gang by Edward Abbey

7) Treasure by Clive Cussler

8) Interview with the Vampire by Ann Rice

9) Mystic River by Dennis Lehane

10) Ball Four by Jim Bouton (for sports fans)

And just in case they weren't standard:

A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin

Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

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In no particular order (except leading with a few that haven't appeared above)

Sci-Fi/ Fantasy

Foundation - Asimov

The Elric Saga - Michael Moorcock

The Dragon and the Unicorn - AA Attanasio

Guns of the South - Harry Turtledove

The Worthing Saga - Orson Scott Card

American Gods - Neil Gaiman

Song of Ice anf Fire - George RR Martin

The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul - Douglas Adams

Other Books:

Freakanomics - Steven D Leavitt - read it in two days, excellent point of view on diverse subjects

The Demon Haunted World - Carl Sagan - a handbook for the professional skeptic

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Embers - Sándor Márai

Steppenwolf - Hermann Hesse

Arch of Triumph - Erich Maria Remarque

Foucault's Pendulum - Umberto Eco

The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien

A Song of Ice and Fire (Series) - GRR Martin

For whom the Bell Tolls - Ernest Hemingway

The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruis Zafon

Thomas Mann - Buddenbrooks: The decline of a family

Heinrich Mann - Loyal Subject

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Dondarrion:

5) Forever by Pete Hamill (particularly for epic fantasy fans)

Why is it a recommendation for epic Fantasy fans? I've been checking the book out on Amazon and through some reviews and it doesn't seem to resemble epic Fantasy much...

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Fantasy recommendations:

* The Song of Ice and Fire-Martin

* The LoTR and the Silmarillion-Tolkien

* The Farseer and Tawny Man trilogy-Hobb

* Lions of Al-Rassan, Tigana and the Fionavar Tapestry-Kay

* Prince of Nothing-Bakker

* Memory, Sorrow and Thorn as well as War of the Flowers-Williams

* Sword of Shadows-Jones

* Kingdom of Thorne and Bone-Keyes

* Malazan Book of the Fallen- Erikson

* The Dark Tower saga-King

* American Gods as well as Anansi Boys-Gaiman

* Mythago Wood and Lavondyss-Holdstock

* Riddle-Master trilogy-McKillip

* Riftwar saga-Feist

* Rigante-Gemmell

* Girl in the glass-Ford

* Song of Albion-Lawhead

Arthurian Legends:

* The Merlin trilogy-Stewart

* The Warlord trilogy-Cornwell

* The Pendragon cycle (first three)-Lawhead

* The Dragonharpers-Donaldson

* Mammoth book of King Arthur- M. Ashley

* Merlin- J. Matthews (2004 edition)

Animal fantasy:

* Watership Down/The Plague dogs-Adams

* Wolves of Time/Duncton Wood-Horwood

* Jack London's Call of the Wild/White Fang

Sci-fi:

* Dune-Herbert

* Golden Age trilogy-Wright

* Risen Empire-Westerfeld

* Forge of God-Bear

* Hyperion-Simmons

* The Culture series-Banks

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Books (or series) I re-read every year (in no particular order):

1) Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny

2) A Night in the Lonesome October, Roger Zelazny

3) The Chronicles of Amber, Roger Zelazny

4) Flashman series, George MacDonald Fraser

5) Travis McGee series, John D. MacDonald

6) The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Robert Heinlein

7) Lord of the Rings/The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkein

8) A Song for Arbonne, G.G. Kay

9) The Garrett Files, Glen Cook

10) Discworld series, Terry Pratchett

There are more than ten, but these are the ones that occur to me at present.

Books (or Series) not previously recommended in this thread:

1) Up the Down Staircase, Bel Kaufman (something rare: an epistilary novel that actually works!)

2) Treblinka, Jean-Francois Steiner

3) The Cross of Iron (and other works), Willi Heinrich

4) Stephanie Plum series, Janet Evanovich

5) Catch-22, Joseph Heller

6) Kenzie/Gennaro series, Dennis Lehane

7) The Source, James Michener

8) Vorkosigan series, Lois McMaster Bujold

9) Mezentian trilogy (unfinished), E.R. Eddison

10) The Baroque Cycle, Neal Stephenson

-- Mal

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Trying to list some things not yet mentioned, though I'll probably repeat something I didn't notice. This is by no means my top ten.

Vlad Taltos series - Steven Brust

Khaavren Romances - Steven Brust - In which the esteemed reader, much to his delight, is confronted with an absolute deluge of incomparable verbosity

Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson - probably the greatest opening sequence ever for anything.

Good Omens - Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

The Sun Sword series - Michelle West

Crown of Stars series - Kate Elliott

The Fall of Ile-Rien trilogy - Martha Wells (there are prequels that I have heard are even better, but they are out of print)

Fevre Dream - George R. R. Martin

Sword of Shadows series - J. V. Jones

The Gap series - Stephen R. Donaldson

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Ten Books/Series I was able to get into

A Song of Ice and Fire (series), by George R. R. Martin

The Asian Saga (series), by James Clavell

The Wheel of Time (series), by Robert Jordan

Magician (series), by Raymond E. Feist

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (series), by Douglas Adams

The Discworld Series (series), by Terry Pratchett

The Drenai Saga (series), by David Gemmell

His Dark Materials (series), by Philip Pullman

A Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein

Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card

Hmm, I know I'm going past ten, but I also recommend anything else by GRRM, some of Dan Brown's stuff (if you mentally chuck the "real factor" before you sit to read, and Terry Pratchett's collaboration novels, such as Good Omens (with Neil Gaiman.)

Quick EDIT: Oh, I also forgot to mention Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury. Great book.

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Dondarrion:

Why is it a recommendation for epic Fantasy fans? I've been checking the book out on Amazon and through some reviews and it doesn't seem to resemble epic Fantasy much...

Sorry for the late reply.

Pete Hamill's book, Forever, isn't what most would consider epic fantasy, but I think it appeals well to those who love ASoIaF. The reviews were misleading to me. I wouldn't have bought the book if it didn't cost $1.50 in a used book store and I didn't know who Pete Hamill was. I was hugely and pleasantly surprised.

Basically, Hamill has written VERY detailed historical fiction w/ a sudden twinge of the fantastical that gives the book an epic scope, spanning three centuries, following one man's dealing with life, family, vengeance, etc. The basic premise of the story is an Irishman from the early 18th century who becomes immortal. Sounds ordinary, but it's not. The reviews talk about New York City and seeing New York City, but these reviewers seem to think the book's all about NYC, which it's not.

If any more questions, message me w/ more question, so we don't hijack this thread. :)

--D

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Pre-Tolkien Top Ten

1 - Jack Vance/ The Dying Earth (well alright, just after)

2 - Robert Howard/ Conan Chronicles

3 - Fritz Lieber/ Lankhmar Series

4 - Dunsany/ The King of Elflands Daughter

" Lord Dunsany – whose style somehow turns the systematic disregard of every rule of good prose writing into a virtue, and whose work, consequently, aspiring writers should on no account be permitted to read. Overwrought descriptive passages, minimal use of dialogue, every second sentence beginning with "and" – he ought to sound bombastic and tedious. Instead he sounds like William Blake's younger brother. " *

5 - Eddison/ The Worm Ouroborus

" We're also talking an elevated archaic style beyond anything you'll find in Tolkien. Eddison is the only 20th-century author I know of to write convincing Elizabethan English: entirely counterfeit, but entirely real. For lovers of language, he's strong meat and drink, and if you like Eddison, generally you're fanatical about him. " *

6 - Poul Anderson/ The Broken Sword

7 - Isaac Asimov/ Foundation Original Trilogy

8 - Lovecraft/ The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadeth

9 - Mervyn Peake/ Gormenghast Trilogy

10 - C.S.lewis/ Chronicles of Narnia

* Just some adequate descriptions, i couldn't do them justice!

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The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

Dune - Frank Herbert

A Song of Ice and Fire - George RR Martin

Talion: Revenant - Michael A. Stackpole

Eyes of Silver - Michael A. Stackpole

Age of Discovery Series (ASecret Atlas; Cartomancy) - Michael A. Stackpole

Wheel of Time - Robert Jordan

The Big Show - Dan Partick and Keith Olberman

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