I've been browsing Amazon for the past 2 days and I can't find anything that is sparking my interest to try. I need books! I went through a Zombie phase a few weeks ago and read about 7 Zombie books and need a break from them. I've also been on a Superhero/Comic bender recently and think I've gone through all of those that interest me. I usually read Fantasy or Sci-Fi, have deep my feet in Urban Fantasy but find that it basically just turns into Porn towards the middle of the books.
I think what I would really like is a good Sci-Fi Military style adventure or Star Wars-esqu (I don't want to read Star Wars Novels, however). Oh, if anybody knows of any Epic Fantasy with a badass main character (not a whiny Garion Punk). A well written Mystery or Thiller that isn't main stream could work too.
I really would like suggestions but I will tell you that I read about 3-5 books a week and so I'm pretty up on most of this genre (hence my problem) and also it must be available on Kindle because I refuse to ever touch paper again!
Help me Obi-Wan GearHeads, you're my only hope.
P.S. Firefox Spell Checker underlines GearHeads but not Obi-Wan
You might try Ian Irvine's View from the Mirror series. I have no idea if it's on Kindle though. Also, Sergei Lukyanenko's Night Watch series is really good, though you've probably already come across it. You might also check out Sean Russell if you haven't either -- he's got a very understated style of fantasy. Also, have you read Alan Dean Foster's Flinx series? I always thought those were fun.
For mystery, I like Boris Akunin (e.g. Murder on the Leviathan), though I'm not as well versed in the genre.
And I imagine you've read everything you can get your hands on of the bigger-name folks like Dan Simmons, Neil Gaimon, Philip Dick, CJ Cherryh (or you've decided you're not that into them).
That was a bit of a ramble, but I thought I just toss out some names that I could think of off the top of my head.
I recommend "I Am America, and So Can You!".
Read that Vataro and loved it! Really, you don't think I would have been camping out the night that a Steven Colbert book came out?
Kjeld, thank you. I had forgotten about the Flinx Series and have always wanted to check it out. It was suggested to me a long time ago and I just forgot. Holy Long Running Series? Since the mid 70's? It seems like just the right kind of combination of fluff and not fluff that I am looking for.
Keep the suggestions coming, however. I need lots of books because otherwise I will have to actually do work at work and we can't let that happen. I'm trying to not make maps for a while since I have so many released already and also because I think I have run out of ideas. Heck, I made a space map with Emoticons as planets.....it that's not a clear sign of running out of ideas I don't know what is.
i'll try to get a list of the authors i have on my bookshelves tonight. (curses meself *again* for not having all of them cataloged already for occasions just as this!)
Robin Hobb's Assassin series, Risky. You'll love it.
I'm a big fan of Harry Turtledove's alternate history novels, especially his Southern Victory timeline (CSA wins the Civil War - what happens?). You can view the titles here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline-191
Also, there's the WorldWar and Colonization group, which is where aliens invade Earth during World War 2. I don't know about you, but I'm all about mixing Nazis and aliens... y'know, as long as it doesn't involve Indy.
asm wrote:I... can't find anything wrong with this line of reasoning...
Â
I read the Assassin Series and really enjoyed it. I think I read 3 of them or so. I did enjoy them.
I have tried a few of Turtledove's books and I got really into them at the beginning but my interest faded half way through them. I think I get so wrapped up in the initial retelling of the History but then start comparing and arguing with the book about stuff. It's silly, but that's what I've found. I think he is a very good writer and his ideas are cool but they just don't work for me.
I recently read and very much enjoyed The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss. Unfortunately, it's part of a trilogy and only this first book is out.
Also, one of my favorite series is the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik. It's a re-imagining of the Napoleonic Wars if there had been dragons.
Read the Temeraire series and enjoyed it. Unlike my issues with Turtledove I think because it focused on the Dragons I didn't really think of it as a re-telling of the History, just using the same names. I think there is a difference between using a Historical setting vs a What IF? sorta of story line.
Name of the Wind keeps coming up on my suggestions but I haven't checked it out yet. I'm trying to avoid series right at the moment because the ones that I am reading now keep pissing me off by waiting years between books (SMTN Scott Lynch). I've become so anti-series that I actually have 2 books that just came out in series I have read and I have no interest in reading them right now.
Reading is pretty important to me, if you haven't noticed.
Speaking of re-writing history, did anyone one else read Gregory Keyes' Age of Unreason series? I read the first two, and then kind of forgot about it (it was before book 3 came out), but this thread reminded me again. Is it worth going back and reading the rest of the series?
It seems silly to even suggest it to you, Risky, but have you read Starship Troopers lately? (No, not the graphic novel based on the movie of the same name.)
Or any Robert Heinlein novel, for that matter. I seem to recall we had a conversation about Stranger in a Strange land once before...
Also, here is a reasonable shopping list:
http://thisrecording.com/today/2010/1/18/in-which-we-count-down-the-100-greatest-science-fiction-or-f.html
Some interesting stuff on there, but an awful lot of incredible authors mysteriously missing (many of whom are mentioned in the comments), and a number way overrepresented, IMO.
Kjeld wrote: Some interesting stuff on there, but an awful lot of incredible authors mysteriously missing (many of whom are mentioned in the comments), and a number way overrepresented, IMO.
Such is the way of "best of" lists. YMMV.
ITT: Risky shows he has read just about every book in existence.
How about the Towing Jehovah trilogy by James Morrow? Not exactly in your genre, but as Vatara points out you've read everything else.
I have a problem with Snow Crash being at 97 on the list to begin with. Yes, it took me 3 times trying to read it before I was able to get through it without needing to self-medicate but after it was finally done it has since become one of those books that changes the way I view other books and what they could be.
I read an awful lot of crap and I know it. Most of the "Classics" were read many many years ago just so I could say that I've read them but I wasn't really at a stage in my intellect to be able to fully appreciate them. Slaughterhouse 5, for example, can be put on my list of "Books I've Read" but I couldn't really tell you much about it. That's one I should go back to.
I find myself wanting certain things and then go on benders for that genre for a while. I like Epic Fantasy a lot but it always seems to have a reluctant hero and I'm just sick of that. "but I don't want to be a Wizard!"....shut the hell up and save the world you waste of words!
I just read an interesting book called "Rick and Bobo" about 2 brothers who become unrealistically rich and decide to become Batman. The author wrote it like a screenplay and so it is very jumpy at the beginning but I really grew to like the story and the characters and got used to the (poor) writing style. If you Google the book you'll get to the books website and see that these authors are trying WAY too hard to create a marketable franchise. If you wanna buy me a Rick and Bobo coffee mug or Messenger Bag, I won't complain.
Cram, I haven't read Starship Troopers in a long time and doubt I would again just because the novelty of the story would be ruined now, but it's a great book. Heinlein is fantastic. I read a book that was based off of his notes of a book he wanted to write but never did. Unfortunately I can't remember the name and can't find it in a search but it was really the best take on otherworld currency and economics I had ever read (and I've read a few).
What I should do is finish writing one of my books because now you can self-publish on E-readers for nothing and just soak in the praise and adoration of both people who stumble upon it.
i just started a book that you may find intresting. "prince of india" it was written in the late 1800s but from what ive read its based in the roman era i think. the language is a bit hard to read but it seems intresting.
RiskyBack wrote: I read the Assassin Series and really enjoyed it. I think I read 3 of them or so. I did enjoy them.
The subsequent trilogy ("Golden Fool" I think) is also very good.
I hated Snow Crash. Ugh.