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In no order:
It - Stephen King. Bettered only by the Dark Tower series, but for a single novel, this is King (excuse the pun)
The call of Cthulu and Other Weird Stories - H P Lovecraft. Ok, not a novel, but the short stories are superb. Especially The Shadow over Innsmouth. A true work of Love (excuse the second pun)
Gulliver's Travels - Jonathan Swift. Some of the old ones are the best, and this is surely up there as a true great. (no pun this time, couldn't think of one swiftly enough. haha)
top three books?
#22
frookenhauer 
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Posted 17 July 2008 - 12:02 AM
hi, to those who want a top 100 list that is pretty damn good look here:
http://home.austarnet.com.au/petersykes/to...ooks_rank1.html
My top 3 are
The gap series by Stephen Donaldson, the best sci fi ever, its so full of holes that its like swiss cheese, but excellent nonetheless. Book 4, A gap into Madness: Chaos and order is my pick of the bunch.
Malazan book of the fallen: Memories of ice - need i say more?
George r r martin - a song of ice and fire, its a toss up between a clash of kings and a storm of swords as to which one is the best of the series and i'm not sure which i'd choose. feast for crows was a shit pile lets hope he comes back with something halfway decent in dance with dragons.
http://home.austarnet.com.au/petersykes/to...ooks_rank1.html
My top 3 are
The gap series by Stephen Donaldson, the best sci fi ever, its so full of holes that its like swiss cheese, but excellent nonetheless. Book 4, A gap into Madness: Chaos and order is my pick of the bunch.
Malazan book of the fallen: Memories of ice - need i say more?
George r r martin - a song of ice and fire, its a toss up between a clash of kings and a storm of swords as to which one is the best of the series and i'm not sure which i'd choose. feast for crows was a shit pile lets hope he comes back with something halfway decent in dance with dragons.
#23
anothevilbadguy
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Posted 17 July 2008 - 12:25 AM
Discounting books in the MBotF, ASoIaF and Wheel of Time Series (otherwise my list would be plain boring i.e. pretty much all those books in a row (excluding a few WoT)) then:
1.The Warrior Prophet by R Scott Bakker, as it is the best of the trilogy taking the best from the first and third, and I found the detailed style of writing great, and thought he created numerous memorable and well thought out characters.
2. Joint between the Lies of Locke Lamorra by Scott Lynch and The Last Arguments of Kings by Joe Abercrombie, as Lynch wrote such an amazingly playful fantasy book that really managed to combine fantasy with dark and epic elements, with a lighthearted crime caper; and Abercrombie as subverted by expectation, or at least the genre, so many times with the third book. After introducing many excellent characters in the first book, and reasonably successfully building up the story in the second, I just couldn't believe he had the balls to give the overall story such a cynical ending with Bayaz. Plus, the full circle cliff-hangar finish for the Bloody-Nine is hands down my favorite ending to a book.
1.The Warrior Prophet by R Scott Bakker, as it is the best of the trilogy taking the best from the first and third, and I found the detailed style of writing great, and thought he created numerous memorable and well thought out characters.
2. Joint between the Lies of Locke Lamorra by Scott Lynch and The Last Arguments of Kings by Joe Abercrombie, as Lynch wrote such an amazingly playful fantasy book that really managed to combine fantasy with dark and epic elements, with a lighthearted crime caper; and Abercrombie as subverted by expectation, or at least the genre, so many times with the third book. After introducing many excellent characters in the first book, and reasonably successfully building up the story in the second, I just couldn't believe he had the balls to give the overall story such a cynical ending with Bayaz. Plus, the full circle cliff-hangar finish for the Bloody-Nine is hands down my favorite ending to a book.
#24
Raymond Luxury Yacht
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Posted 17 July 2008 - 12:37 AM
frookenhauer;352904 said:
hi, to those who want a top 100 list that is pretty damn good look here:
http://home.austarnet.com.au/petersykes/to...ooks_rank1.html
My top 3 are
The gap series by Stephen Donaldson, the best sci fi ever, its so full of holes that its like swiss cheese, but excellent nonetheless. Book 4, A gap into Madness: Chaos and order is my pick of the bunch.
Malazan book of the fallen: Memories of ice - need i say more?
George r r martin - a song of ice and fire, its a toss up between a clash of kings and a storm of swords as to which one is the best of the series and i'm not sure which i'd choose. feast for crows was a shit pile lets hope he comes back with something halfway decent in dance with dragons.
http://home.austarnet.com.au/petersykes/to...ooks_rank1.html
My top 3 are
The gap series by Stephen Donaldson, the best sci fi ever, its so full of holes that its like swiss cheese, but excellent nonetheless. Book 4, A gap into Madness: Chaos and order is my pick of the bunch.
Malazan book of the fallen: Memories of ice - need i say more?
George r r martin - a song of ice and fire, its a toss up between a clash of kings and a storm of swords as to which one is the best of the series and i'm not sure which i'd choose. feast for crows was a shit pile lets hope he comes back with something halfway decent in dance with dragons.
The SRD army is growing!
Error: Signature not valid
#25
frookenhauer
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Posted 18 July 2008 - 11:02 PM
Raymond Luxury Yacht;352922 said:
The SRD army is growing!
Hi dude, I must be a little dense this evening, but i'm going to need a pointer on the SRD army, I will probably kick myself when you tell me...
#26
Raymond Luxury Yacht
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Posted 18 July 2008 - 11:19 PM
Stephen
R
Donaldson
His initials.
R
Donaldson
His initials.
Error: Signature not valid
#27
frookenhauer
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Posted 18 July 2008 - 11:30 PM
Okay, I just kicked myself. deservedly. Quick question though, are you as peeved at his latest trilogy as i am? i'm secretly praying very hard to the god of writing that he pulls it together for the final part. we shall see...
#28
Salt-Man Z
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Posted 19 July 2008 - 05:29 AM
It's not a trilogy; there will be 4 books in the Last Chronicles.
"Here is light. You will say that it is not a living entity, but you miss the point that it is more, not less. Without occupying space, it fills the universe. It nourishes everything, yet itself feeds upon destruction. We claim to control it, but does it not perhaps cultivate us as a source of food? May it not be that all wood grows so that it can be set ablaze, and that men and women are born to kindle fires?"
―Gene Wolfe, The Citadel of the Autarch
―Gene Wolfe, The Citadel of the Autarch
#29
HoosierDaddy
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Posted 19 July 2008 - 06:25 AM
Salt-Man Z;354860 said:
It's not a trilogy; there will be 4 books in the Last Chronicles.
Really? Didn't know that. SRD is breaking form.
Trouble arrives when the opponents to such a system institute its extreme opposite, where individualism becomes godlike and sacrosanct, and no greater service to any other ideal (including community) is possible. In such a system rapacious greed thrives behind the guise of freedom, and the worst aspects of human nature come to the fore....
#30
Macros
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Posted 19 July 2008 - 12:39 PM
Tough call.
Actual favourite books: (books I can pick up at any time and read)
1 - Honoured Enemy - Fiest
2 - Troy, Shield of Thunder - Gemmel
3 - Memories of Ice - Erikson
Favourite books as in they've been read the most and I wouldnt be adverse to reading them again
1 - LotR - tolkien
2 - Magician - fiest
3 - Sharpes Gold - cornwell
Actual favourite books: (books I can pick up at any time and read)
1 - Honoured Enemy - Fiest
2 - Troy, Shield of Thunder - Gemmel
3 - Memories of Ice - Erikson
Favourite books as in they've been read the most and I wouldnt be adverse to reading them again
1 - LotR - tolkien
2 - Magician - fiest
3 - Sharpes Gold - cornwell
2012
"Imperial Gothos, Imperial"
"Imperial Gothos, Imperial"
#31
Salt-Man Z
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Posted 19 July 2008 - 05:52 PM
HoosierDaddy;354884 said:
Really? Didn't know that. SRD is breaking form.
You should check out his "gradual interview" on his website, where he answers questions from fans and discusses topics like this. According to SRD, outside of the original Covenant trilogy, he prefers to work in fours. The 2nd Chronicles were intended as 4 books, but Lester Del Rey made him squeeze it into 3. Mordant's Need is 4 books published in two volumes. The Gap Cycle is basically 4 books with an extended prologue. (And the Man Who... books are currently at 4, but of course, that story isn't totally finished yet...)
"Here is light. You will say that it is not a living entity, but you miss the point that it is more, not less. Without occupying space, it fills the universe. It nourishes everything, yet itself feeds upon destruction. We claim to control it, but does it not perhaps cultivate us as a source of food? May it not be that all wood grows so that it can be set ablaze, and that men and women are born to kindle fires?"
―Gene Wolfe, The Citadel of the Autarch
―Gene Wolfe, The Citadel of the Autarch
#32
Dolorous Menhir
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Posted 19 July 2008 - 06:10 PM
Midshipman's Hope - David Feintuch
The Stars My Destination - Alfred Bester
Starship Troopers - Robert Heinlein
Books that I can, and have, read time and time again.
The Stars My Destination - Alfred Bester
Starship Troopers - Robert Heinlein
Books that I can, and have, read time and time again.
#33
Raymond Luxury Yacht
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Posted 19 July 2008 - 06:27 PM
frookenhauer;354740 said:
Okay, I just kicked myself. deservedly. Quick question though, are you as peeved at his latest trilogy as i am? i'm secretly praying very hard to the god of writing that he pulls it together for the final part. we shall see...
Peeved? Hardly. Giddy as a schoolgirl? Quite.
Error: Signature not valid
#34
frookenhauer
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Posted 19 July 2008 - 11:23 PM
Salt-Man Z;354860 said:
It's not a trilogy; there will be 4 books in the Last Chronicles.
Thats awesome news man, you are officially the coolest kid at the party. BTW which transformer are you? And am I right in thinking that Soundwave had the coolest voice and concept in the whole Transformer universe? I mean razerbeak? and ravage and was it rumble?
I'd have loved to have been as giddy as you Raymond L Y, but I wasn't quite as thrilled with Runes or Revenant as I should have been, would have been, could have been - shoulda?woulda?coulda? - I'm through and through a SRD fan and I reckon he can do better. I was on a training course recently and I was arguing/swapping authors with one of the gang. Surprisingly he'd never read Donaldson, Martin or Erikson and after describing the shortfalls of Goodkind and Tolkien in comparison to The Big Three, he retaliated by saying that I ask for too much, expect less and I might enjoy things more.
#35
Salt-Man Z
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Posted 20 July 2008 - 08:59 PM
"Here is light. You will say that it is not a living entity, but you miss the point that it is more, not less. Without occupying space, it fills the universe. It nourishes everything, yet itself feeds upon destruction. We claim to control it, but does it not perhaps cultivate us as a source of food? May it not be that all wood grows so that it can be set ablaze, and that men and women are born to kindle fires?"
―Gene Wolfe, The Citadel of the Autarch
―Gene Wolfe, The Citadel of the Autarch
#36
frookenhauer
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Posted 20 July 2008 - 11:02 PM
Salt-Man Z;355633 said:
Salt-Man Z, of course. 
Nice...never heard of him until now - Bet he's handy at DIY. :-)
#39
stone monkey
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Posted 22 July 2008 - 01:20 PM
Which translation of the Iliad are you reading it in. Unless you're reading it in the Greek that is, in which case...Well done!
I'm quite partial to the Robert Fagles one myself, it's very immediate and visceral. I also own the EV & DCH Rieu prose translation which doesn't float my boat all that much but does have its moments. I've had a translation by Richmond Lattimore recommended to me which, I'm told, is also very good and may even be as effective as the Fagles one.
I'm quite partial to the Robert Fagles one myself, it's very immediate and visceral. I also own the EV & DCH Rieu prose translation which doesn't float my boat all that much but does have its moments. I've had a translation by Richmond Lattimore recommended to me which, I'm told, is also very good and may even be as effective as the Fagles one.
If an opinion contrary to your own makes you angry, that is a sign that you are subconsciously aware of having no good reason for thinking as you do. If some one maintains that two and two are five, or that Iceland is on the equator, you feel pity rather than anger, unless you know so little of arithmetic or geography that his opinion shakes your own contrary conviction. … So whenever you find yourself getting angry about a difference of opinion, be on your guard; you will probably find, on examination, that your belief is going beyond what the evidence warrants. Bertrand Russell
#40
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Posted 22 July 2008 - 01:32 PM
I've read a couple of different versions over the years, to be frank I'd have to go and look. To expand on what I said a little, I just loved it cos I felt like by reading it you are somehow standing in history/myth itself.
I can't remember if you had arrived but at the Manc signing when I asked SE a question about a history Baruk was reading in TtH and what influenced it and he said the Illiad. I was secretly really pleased because it had a big influence on me.
It's not that I love the book or the story per se that much it's what it represents to me and meant to me as a 16 year old when i first read it.
I think I feel the same about Legend, it's not like it's even a great example of the fantasy genre, Erikson is superior in almost every respect, it just brings back vague remembered summers aged 13 destroying Gemmell after Gemmell and being hooked.
Wipes away tear...
Oh and dude, you've met me do I seem like the type of guy who can read Homer in the original greek!!
I can't remember if you had arrived but at the Manc signing when I asked SE a question about a history Baruk was reading in TtH and what influenced it and he said the Illiad. I was secretly really pleased because it had a big influence on me.
It's not that I love the book or the story per se that much it's what it represents to me and meant to me as a 16 year old when i first read it.
I think I feel the same about Legend, it's not like it's even a great example of the fantasy genre, Erikson is superior in almost every respect, it just brings back vague remembered summers aged 13 destroying Gemmell after Gemmell and being hooked.
Wipes away tear...
Oh and dude, you've met me do I seem like the type of guy who can read Homer in the original greek!!
I AM A TWAT
