[Hammerhead88]

Hi All,




Apologies I know there are a lot of these types of threads and I have read through them all, however mine (I think/hope) is slightly different and I know we all love to talk about books anyway!

Unfortunately I only started reading properly in January 2016 when I was 27. I had read a bit when I was much younger (although that was only Harry Potter in my early teens and Dahl books etc when I was a child). Between 18-27 I didn't read at all and as a result I feel like I am well behind everyone one here in terms of what I have read and what I can talk about etc.

As I said, I only started reading properly in Jan 2016 when I happened to pick up Gardens of the Moon (not knowing what it was or ever having heard about it) and fell in love with it, and as a result fell in love with reading and particularly reading fantasy. I find reading an absolute joy and part of that joy is trawling through this forum at least a few times a week looking for what to read next, so thank you all for that!




As I said above, I feel like I am well behind everyone as a result of starting so late, so I really want to focus my reading this year and cover a lot of the 'essentials' that I haven't read yet. So, my question in this thread is what are the absolute essentials I need to read that I haven't already.




The stuff I have read so far is:

- Malazan up to the end of Bonehunters (currently reading Reapers Gale). I have also read NoK.

- Frankenstein (which I absolutely adore).

- Gentlemen Bastards.

- First Law Trilogy (not the other books in that world though - although I have them).

- Discworld 1-5.

- Greatcoats.

- American Gods (and Neverwhere)

- Good Omens

- Hobbit and LOTR

- Dresden 1-4

- Master and Margarita

- 2001: Space Odyssey

- Dune (1 only, need to read the rest!)




I think that is about it. I've also stared reading some non-fantasy stuff in between which is why I haven't read a huge amount (and why I haven't even finished Malazan yet!!).




Apologies if people have contributed to these type of threads before and don't want to again!

[Macros]

Feist?

Stop chronologically after rage of a demon king.

David Gemmell.

Start with legend, then read them all

This post has been edited by Macros: 25 January 2018 - 01:03 PM

[Morgoth]

Shit, I wouldn't even know where to start.

I'd say Vandermeer's first trilogy is some of the better stuff out there. City of Saints and Madmen, Shriek: An Afterword, and Finch.

[Andorion]

If you liked Discworld and Dresden, finish them.

Read Glen Cook - Black Company - extremely influential for Erikson for Malazan

Mark Lawrence - 3 series, 2 complete, 1 ongoing. Dark, funny, clever.

Max Gladstone - extremely unique writing - chaotic fantasy lawyers.

N K Jemisin - Broken Earth is one of the best trilogies I have ever read, her other books are also great.

Dip your toes into Pat Rothfuss and GRRM with the usual disclaimer that we don't know if either series will ever be finished.

If you want extra dark, try R Scott Bakker.

If you want gunpowder fantasy, try Django Wexler and Brian McClellan.

If you want something pretty unique, like Gaiman on crack, read Scott Hawkins.

There are looots more in fantasy, but this is a lot to start with.

In sci-fi, you can read the three old greats - Asimov, Clarke and Frank Herbert. Definitely read Dune.

Alastair Reynolds, Iain M Banks, Peter F Hamilton are all pretty great, also Neal Asher.

Lois Bujold and Adrian Tchaikovsky are great both for science fiction and fantasy. Bujold's Vorkosigan books are extremely entertaining, and Tchaikovsky does a wide variety of fantasy and one absolutely stellar science fiction - Children of Time.

[End of Disc One]

Here is Reddit's last top fantasy books list. I visit a handful of fantasy communities, and this list is a pretty good representation of all of them. The only one that is surprisingly high, and the only one in the top 20 I haven't read, is the web serial Worm.

Here is the list: https://www.reddit.c..._now_with_star/

My biggest beef with the list is that Bakker is so far down. Stover too, but that's expected. Otherwise I don't think you'll find a better list based on user votes.

This post has been edited by End of Disc One: 25 January 2018 - 01:36 PM

[champ]

My first thoughts have been mentioned...

David Gemmell and Mark Lawrence.

You cannot go wrong with either.

[Cause]

Continue Dresden! - It gets better every book. Consider the authors other works, the furies of Calderon and a steampunk book whose name escapes me.

Consider R Scott Bakker- Though be warned people either love his work or hate. Generally people know by book 1.

Life is too short to continue to read the greatcoats

George R R Martin, the Song of Ice and Fire. Amazing

Peter V Brent -Book about a world overrun by demons and humanity on the brink of extinction.

Brandon Sanderson - See if you like his work. If you do great because he writes it faster than you can read it so you will have something to read for the rest of your life

[Hammerhead88]

End of Disc One, on 25 January 2018 - 01:33 PM, said:

Here is Reddit's last top fantasy books list. I visit a handful of fantasy communities, and this list is a pretty good representation of all of them. The only one that is surprisingly high, and the only one in the top 20 I haven't read, is the web serial Worm.

Here is the list: https://www.reddit.c..._now_with_star/

My biggest beef with the list is that Bakker is so far down. Stover too, but that's expected. Otherwise I don't think you'll find a better list based on user votes.

Would you say Sanderson is worth it, given all the poor reviews for Oathbringer I have seen on here?

[Hammerhead88]

Cause, on 25 January 2018 - 01:40 PM, said:

Continue Dresden! - It gets better every book. Consider the authors other works, the furies of Calderon and a steampunk book whose name escapes me.

Consider R Scott Bakker- Though be warned people either love his work or hate. Generally people know by book 1.

Life is too short to continue to read the greatcoats

George R R Martin, the Song of Ice and Fire. Amazing

Peter V Brent -Book about a world overrun by demons and humanity on the brink of extinction.

Brandon Sanderson - See if you like his work. If you do great because he writes it faster than you can read it so you will have something to read for the rest of your life

I actually bought the Prince of Nothing books from a library sale for £1, so am going to read those soon I think!

[Aptorian]

You read the first 4 Dresden books and stopped? It's only getting better from there up until around book 10. Keep reading.

The best Sci-fi I have ever read was when I was a teenager and read Dan Simmons Hyperion Cantos quadrology. Fantastic mix of very hard sci-fi, history, mythology and poetry. If you like what he does with religion and literary works you might also enjoy the duology Illium and Olympus.

The Acts of Cain books by Matthew Stover is bound to knock your boots off if you're into a mix of low fantasy and future dystopia.

I've read Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy and the first book in his Steelheart series and was thoroughly underwhelmed. Sanderson can certainly write but I don't think he can tell a good story.

This post has been edited by Alternative Goose: 25 January 2018 - 01:48 PM

[Obdigore]

Ignore what everyone else says, because, as is traditional in book snob threads, only I'm right.


First, if you like Dresden and Malazan, read 'The Garrett P.I. Files' by Glen Cook.

Second, if you like Sci-Fi, Iain M Banks' Culture novels are by far the best stuff out there.

If you can tell us stuff you really like, not just what you've tried, we can tailor recommendations for you. Are you looking for popcorn action books? Deep ideas discussed? Navel-Gazing? Rage-fueled Curse-laced Blood-soaked slaughterfests?

[Hammerhead88]

Alternative Goose, on 25 January 2018 - 01:46 PM, said:

You read the first 4 Dresden books and stopped? It's only getting better from there up until around book 10. Keep reading.

The best Sci-fi I have ever read was when I was a teenager and read Dan Simmons Hyperion Cantos quadrology. Fantastic mix of very hard sci-fi, history, mythology and poetry. If you like what he does with religion and literary works you might also enjoy the duology Illium and Olympus.

The Acts of Cain books by Matthew Stover is bound to knock your boots off if you're into a mix of low fantasy and future dystopia.

I've read Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy and the first book in his Steelheart series and was thoroughly underwhelmed. Sanderson can certainly write but I don't think he can tell a good story.

No I didn't stop! Should have clarified that, I am still reading them (albeit slowly)!




Acts of Cain I have seen mentioned a lot and is high on my list to read soon.

[End of Disc One]

Hammerhead88, on 25 January 2018 - 01:43 PM, said:

End of Disc One, on 25 January 2018 - 01:33 PM, said:

Here is Reddit's last top fantasy books list. I visit a handful of fantasy communities, and this list is a pretty good representation of all of them. The only one that is surprisingly high, and the only one in the top 20 I haven't read, is the web serial Worm.

Here is the list: https://www.reddit.c..._now_with_star/

My biggest beef with the list is that Bakker is so far down. Stover too, but that's expected. Otherwise I don't think you'll find a better list based on user votes.

Would you say Sanderson is worth it, given all the poor reviews for Oathbringer I have seen on here?

I don't think the handful of dissenters you've seen on this site are representative of all readers. Words of Radiance is one of my favorite books of all time. Oathbringer is not quite on that level but it's still very good. I will say that it's great to be a Sanderson fan since he's so prolific and he understands what most of his fans want in his books.

[Obdigore]

Hammerhead88, on 25 January 2018 - 01:43 PM, said:

Would you say Sanderson is worth it, given all the poor reviews for Oathbringer I have seen on here?

People who didn't like Oathbringer are people trying to be edgy and cool. Or people who have never read the Malazan series. If people thought Oathbringer was slow I'm shocked they manage to get to Tehol in the Malazan series, because both series have slow parts and fast parts. Honestly I'm wondering how people made it through the first book of Sanderson's if they thought Oathbringer was abnormally slow.

[Gorefest]

Robin Hobb - The Farseer Trilogy and the Liveship Trader trilogy.

Raymond Feist - The Riftwar saga (magician, silverthorn, a darkness at sethanon)

GRRM - Song of Ice and Fire series (unfinished)

Robert Jordan - Wheel of Time series

Dan Simmons - Hyperion

Terry Pratchett - anything and everything that you can get your hands on

Frank Herbert - Dune

Jack Vance - The Lyonesse Trilogy

Guy Gavriel Kay - The lions of Al-Rassan, Tigana, The Sarantine mosaic

[End of Disc One]

Obdigore, on 25 January 2018 - 01:53 PM, said:

I'm wondering how people made it through the first book of Sanderson's if they thought Oathbringer was abnormally slow.

Yup I've been saying the same thing (assuming you're talking about The Way of Kings).

[Hammerhead88]

Obdigore, on 25 January 2018 - 01:49 PM, said:

Ignore what everyone else says, because, as is traditional in book snob threads, only I'm right.


First, if you like Dresden and Malazan, read 'The Garrett P.I. Files' by Glen Cook.

Second, if you like Sci-Fi, Iain M Banks' Culture novels are by far the best stuff out there.

If you can tell us stuff you really like, not just what you've tried, we can tailor recommendations for you. Are you looking for popcorn action books? Deep ideas discussed? Navel-Gazing? Rage-fueled Curse-laced Blood-soaked slaughterfests?

Well, I don't want to restrict myself too much as I don't think I have read enough to do so, but so far I prefer what I would term the 'heavier stuff', Malazan being the obvious example. Also love a good slaughterfest - Think that's why I was hooked on the First Law as there was a great fight scene on the first few pages.

[Obdigore]

End of Disc One, on 25 January 2018 - 01:56 PM, said:

Obdigore, on 25 January 2018 - 01:53 PM, said:

I'm wondering how people made it through the first book of Sanderson's if they thought Oathbringer was abnormally slow.

Yup I've been saying the same thing (assuming you're talking about The Way of Kings).

Although I didn't make it clear, I was indeed referring to The Way of Kings.

[Mentalist]

Hammerhead88, on 25 January 2018 - 02:00 PM, said:

Obdigore, on 25 January 2018 - 01:49 PM, said:

Ignore what everyone else says, because, as is traditional in book snob threads, only I'm right.


First, if you like Dresden and Malazan, read 'The Garrett P.I. Files' by Glen Cook.

Second, if you like Sci-Fi, Iain M Banks' Culture novels are by far the best stuff out there.

If you can tell us stuff you really like, not just what you've tried, we can tailor recommendations for you. Are you looking for popcorn action books? Deep ideas discussed? Navel-Gazing? Rage-fueled Curse-laced Blood-soaked slaughterfests?

Well, I don't want to restrict myself too much as I don't think I have read enough to do so, but so far I prefer what I would term the 'heavier stuff', Malazan being the obvious example. Also love a good slaughterfest - Think that's why I was hooked on the First Law as there was a great fight scene on the first few pages.

"Heavier" ? Hmmkay

Glen Cook

Gene Wolfe- The Solar cycle

Alastair Reynolds- Revelation Space/Galactic North series, other works

Peter Hamilton- Night's Dawn trilo + the Commonwealth books.

Stephen Donaldson- Gap Cycle

Robin Hobb's Farseer + etc books- The Elderings contains 4 separate series by now.

Neal Asher- specifically the Polity books (Cormac, Spatterjay, etc)

As Morgoth mentioned, Jeff Vandermeer's Amberghris trilo is a pretty unique. And awesome.

China Mieville- the Bas-Lag trilogy (Perdido Street Station, The Scar, Iron Council)

My personal recco to pretty much everyone- "Godsdoom" by Nick Perumov

Paul Kearney- "Monarchies of God"

Bakker's "Second Apocalypse" stuff

ASOIAF- well, the first 3 are "essential", after that I think you can just watch the series.

Similar to First Law:
-Alex Marshall's " Crimson Empire"
-Stephen Hunt's "Far-called" trilo
-on some level, Mark Lawrence's first 2 trilogies

Other "essentials" this board is likely to suggest:
-Acts of Cain
-N.K. Jemisin
-Sanderson (hit or miss. Solid magic, okay action, terrible characters, usually)
-Adrian Tchaikovsky (his first and biggest work starts out with REALLY poor characterization, but he really improved as a writer)
-Guy Gabriel Kay (opinions vary wildly on which books are good, except everyone agrees "Ysabel" was terrible and "Sarantine Mosaic" was great)
-Charles Stross- Laundry Files

I think that's enough to start with...

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 25 January 2018 - 04:04 PM

[Tattersail_]

I like threads like this. I get a lot of what I read from this site.

Jim Butcher - The Dresden Files, as mentioned, needs to be fully finished. If you do like them and want something similar set in England then i'd recommend Benedict Jacka, The Alex Verus novels. Great "popcorn" reading. Plus The Codex Alera is completed by Butcher and that is fantastic, too.


Llona Andrews, Kate Daniels series is much fun, and should be added to the popcorn reading list. Fast paced books that can be read quickly with much enjoyment.

Stephen King's, The Dark Tower is worth a read, i'm not a fan of the last book but everything before it is good. These are not as fast paced as any of the above though.

Peter Clines Ex Heroes series combines Super-Heroes, Zombies and the Apocalypse like nothing you'll have read before and is quite enjoyable and different.

Mark Lawrence. Whatever he writes I recommend you read. Some of his characters are just amazing. In fact, most of his characters are and his story telling leaves you wanting more from him. He released a new book late last year called Red Sister and that is unbelievably good.

Scott Lynch is in a similar league to Mark Lawrence. I started with The Gentleman Bastard trology and was thoroughly entertained.

Go a bit darker and have a torturer become a hero? Why not hey, most people, I'd think, would recommend Joe Abercrombie, The First Law Trilogy. The books themselves actually look and feel cool too. I am under-selling how good this read will be.

The Fucking Acts of Fucking Caine. You may think, "mind your language" and if you fucking do then these books would not be for you. You cannot even buy these books on paperback. When I got my kindle these were the first books I chose to purchase. Matthew Stover writes one of the best stories ever. So get The Acts of Caine and thank the Abyss you did later.

People mentioned Glen Cook, The Black Company to me years ago. I ignored them. What a mistake to make that was. Yes they may have inspired Malazan Book of the Fallen but don't let that fool you into thinking it would be the same sort of thing. It's not, it different and epic in its own way.