Post by Monk on Jun 22, 2007 16:23:06 GMT -5
I went back about 5 pages of threads to see what sort of fantasy and science fiction novels were being talked about, and I was a bit alarmed by a lack of some truly great works not being discussed. Know that this is not my main forum. My primary forum is dedicated to George R.R. Martin's book series A Song of Ice and Fire. The forum has some incredible discussion, but the actual book discussion is almost a newbie filter zone and eventually after rehashing the same threads over and over go to the Miscellaneous discussion where it really begins. Anyway, there were a ton of great books that were recommended to me that I will now highly recommend to you in this thread.
A Song of Ice and Fire
Author: George R.R. Martin
1st Book: A Game of Thrones
Premise: An alternative medieval England and War of the Roses that involves the coming of a dark winter and a civil war for the throne, and the potential return of the deposed line of kings.
The Lies of Locke Lamora
Author: Scott Lynch
1st Book: This is book the first in the series
Premise: A Venice-like city with an uneasy truce between the gangs and the nobility, and a band of thieves dedicated to the God of Thieves, who do not still for wealth but simply because they enjoy stealing, and they have no qualms with stealing from the nobility. Locke Lamora is one of these thieves and is something of a cross between Robin Hood & James Bond.
The Prince of Nothing
Author: R. Scott Bakker
1st Book: Darkness that Comes Before
Premise: One-thousand years after the first apocalypse, the threats of the past have been forgotten and the Inrithi nations are planning a crusade to retake the holy lands from the Fanim. This series has clear real-life parallels with the real crusades. Amidst it all is a sorcerer of the Mandate school of sorcery, which has been sworn to eradicate the disappearing Consult and prevent the 2nd Apocalypse. And arriving for the crusade is a mysterious warrior-monk from the north dedicated to the understanding of causality ("That which comes before determines that which comes after."). The book series can be a bit dense sometimes, as it is like reading a philosophy book within a fantasy book.
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant
Author: Stephan Donaldson
1st Book: Lord Foul's Bane
Premise: Something of an alternative take on Lord of the Rings, the story's protagonist is a cynical leper who wakes up in the living world of The Land only to be healed of his leprosy and told that he is the hero of a world that he refuses to believe exists.
Book of the New Sun
Author: Gene Wolfe
1st Book: Shadow & Claw
Premise: In a dying future earth, Severian is a journeyman torturer who has been exiled from his profession for showing a "client" mercy. His exile takes him across the world. Severian tells the story in 1st person and claims that he has a perfect eidetic memory, but the reader can never be sure if he is actually telling the truth. Gene Wolfe enjoys deceiving and guiding the reader, which he does as a master of the writing craft, and he tends to use real obscure words for ordinary things.
To be continued...
A Song of Ice and Fire
Author: George R.R. Martin
1st Book: A Game of Thrones
Premise: An alternative medieval England and War of the Roses that involves the coming of a dark winter and a civil war for the throne, and the potential return of the deposed line of kings.
The Lies of Locke Lamora
Author: Scott Lynch
1st Book: This is book the first in the series
Premise: A Venice-like city with an uneasy truce between the gangs and the nobility, and a band of thieves dedicated to the God of Thieves, who do not still for wealth but simply because they enjoy stealing, and they have no qualms with stealing from the nobility. Locke Lamora is one of these thieves and is something of a cross between Robin Hood & James Bond.
The Prince of Nothing
Author: R. Scott Bakker
1st Book: Darkness that Comes Before
Premise: One-thousand years after the first apocalypse, the threats of the past have been forgotten and the Inrithi nations are planning a crusade to retake the holy lands from the Fanim. This series has clear real-life parallels with the real crusades. Amidst it all is a sorcerer of the Mandate school of sorcery, which has been sworn to eradicate the disappearing Consult and prevent the 2nd Apocalypse. And arriving for the crusade is a mysterious warrior-monk from the north dedicated to the understanding of causality ("That which comes before determines that which comes after."). The book series can be a bit dense sometimes, as it is like reading a philosophy book within a fantasy book.
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant
Author: Stephan Donaldson
1st Book: Lord Foul's Bane
Premise: Something of an alternative take on Lord of the Rings, the story's protagonist is a cynical leper who wakes up in the living world of The Land only to be healed of his leprosy and told that he is the hero of a world that he refuses to believe exists.
Book of the New Sun
Author: Gene Wolfe
1st Book: Shadow & Claw
Premise: In a dying future earth, Severian is a journeyman torturer who has been exiled from his profession for showing a "client" mercy. His exile takes him across the world. Severian tells the story in 1st person and claims that he has a perfect eidetic memory, but the reader can never be sure if he is actually telling the truth. Gene Wolfe enjoys deceiving and guiding the reader, which he does as a master of the writing craft, and he tends to use real obscure words for ordinary things.
To be continued...
