Awesome fantasy and scifi trilogies

#1 Harvester

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Posted 13 March 2012 - 01:37 PM

I am tired of long series and so I am looking for, you guessed it, trilogies (completed ones, mind you) or awesome stand-alone novels. I haven't read THAT much fantasy in my life and close to nothing from the scifi genre, so I am open for recommendations from any of you long-term fantasy and scifi readers.

#2 Mentalist

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Posted 13 March 2012 - 01:58 PM

for an intersting sci-fi Fantasy mix, try Coldfire Trilogy, by C.S. Friedman.

for epic Sci-Fi, try the Night's Dawn Trilogy by Peter Hamilton.

I'm sure you'll get tons of responses, but right now's too early in the morning for me to think of anyhting else.

except for Paul Kearney's "Monarchies of God". Technically, it's 5 books, but they fit into 2 mmpb-sized "omnibuses". And they are very good.

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#3 Baco Xtath

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Posted 13 March 2012 - 02:19 PM

Daniel Abraham's Long Price Quartet, awesome, 4 books each about 350 pgs.
Felix Gilman's steampunk/fantasy Thunderer and Gears of the City, damn good stuff
Dan Simmon's Hyperion cantos, 4 books, awesome
Richard Morgan's Kovacs trilogy
Everything by Joe Abercrombie (1 kickass trilogy and 2 stand-alones)
Everything by China Mieville (all kind of stand-alone-ish and great)
Alastair Reynolds Terminal World, House of Suns, Pushing Ice, and all his Revelations Space books

All of these are fairly fast reads (except Reynolds)and all are great, in my opinion.

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#4 rhulad

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Posted 13 March 2012 - 02:30 PM

Apart from what was already suggested, I would add Brent Weeks' Night Angel Trilogy.
The first three Dune chronicles by Frank Herbert if you haven't already.
Ringworld by Larry Niven.

#5 Serenity

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Posted 13 March 2012 - 02:56 PM

I'll echo Peter F Hamilton's Night's Dawn trilogy, Dan Simmons' Hyperion, Alastair Reynolds Revelation Space books, and Dune.

I'll add Neal Asher's Cormac, Polity and Spatterjay novels.

These are stand-alones, or can at least be read in isolation:

Iain M Banks's Culture novels
Guy Gavriel Kay's The Lions of Al-Rassan, Tigana, A Song for Arbonne, The Sarantine Mosaic
Joe Haldeman's The Forever War
Alfred Bester's The Stars My Destination
Tim Powers' The Anubis Gates
Richard Matheson's I Am Legend
Roger Zelazny's Lord of Light
Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game
Ken Grimwood's Replay
John Wyndham's The Midwich Cuckoos, The Kraken Wakes, The Day of the Triffids
H. G. Wells's The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, The Island of Doctor Moreau

#6 McLovin

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Posted 13 March 2012 - 03:27 PM

Quick reco's

Sci-fi: Walter Jon Williams' PRAXIS trilogy.

Fantasy: Raymond Feist's RIFTWAR books. You can stop at the MAGICIAN duology, or go up to book 4: A DARKNESS AT SETHANON.

OK, I think I got it, but just in case, can you say the whole thing over again? I wasn't really listening.

#7 Abyss

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Posted 13 March 2012 - 03:49 PM

Some rock solid suggestions upthread, COLDFIRE, SARANTINE, NIGHT ANGEL and the Kovacs books esp worth your time and money imnsho.

I'll add...

David Weber's BAHZELL trilogy, starts with OATH OF SWORDS. Classic hero smites bad guys til they bleed a lot fantasy. Good fun. It's available for free on the Baen books website.

Stackpole's DRAGONCROWN WAR series is complete in four books (the first, DARK GLORY WAR, is more of a prologue to the trilo, but really it's four books) and another that's a fun read. It has some flaws, and trope-heavy, but fuckit it also has cannons, magic swords, dragons and killer ostriches...

Jim Butcher's ALERA series. Six books (which is really just two trilogies

) and done. First is weak. Second is great. Then it gets better. And better. And holyfuck.

On the sf side, i cannot possibly recommend Patrick Lee's BREACH trilogy highly enough. THE BREACH, GHOST COUNTRY and DEEP SKY. Each is like a 3 hr episode of FRINGE as directed by Bruckheimer hop'd up on crystal meth with a massive fx budget and Ahnuld Shwarzeneger possessed by Hunter S Thompson's LSD tripping ghost sitting on the sidelines yelling 'BLOW MORE SHIT UP YOU PUNY BASTAHDS BLOW MOHR SHIT UP' just for good measure. No, really.

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#8 Use Of Weapons

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Posted 13 March 2012 - 05:21 PM

Scott Westerfeld's RISEN EMPIRE (_Risen Empire_; _The Killing of Worlds_) duology
Julian May's SAGA OF PLIOCENE EXILES (_The Many-coloured Land_; _The Golden Torc_ ; _The Nonborn King_; _The Adversary_) and GALACTIC MILIEU (_Intervention_; _Jack The Bodiless_; _Diamond Mask_; _Magnificat_)
Melanie Rawn's DRAGON PRINCE (_Dragon Prince_; _The Star Scroll_; _Sunrunner's Fire_) and DRAGON STAR (_Stronghold_; _The Dragon Token_; _Skybowl_) trilogies
Janny Wurts's CYCLE OF FIRE (_Stormwarden_; _Keeper Of The Keys_; _Shadowfane_) trilogy
Joe Abercrombie's FIRST LAW (_The Blade Itself_; _Before they Are Hanged_; _The Last Argument Of Kings_) trilogy

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#9 Salt-Man Z

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Posted 13 March 2012 - 05:35 PM

Stephen R. Donaldson's Mordant's Need duology
Richard Adams' Shardik

"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?"
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#10 Harvester

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Posted 13 March 2012 - 07:37 PM

Wow, that's awesome, guys! Thank you so much!

// Now I'll have to take my pick. Why don't I have 10 pairs of eyes and ten brains, damn it.

This post has been edited by Harvester: 13 March 2012 - 07:40 PM

#11 Macros

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Posted 14 March 2012 - 05:49 AM

no prizes for guessing what i'm going to suggest
David Gemmells 'Troy' trilogy is superb
and if you do read Feists 'magician' then be sure to read the 'empire' trilogy by feist and wurts.
the second you finish mistress of the empire read the novella 'honoured enemy' by feist and forscten

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