Winter is Coming

[Doc Thunder]

Well, it may already be here

As the nights draw short, or long if you are Shigy, the temptation to curl up with a good book and half a bottle of brandy while listening to your favorite DJ may happen (or am I getting old).

I was wondering if people would like to share or reccomend a book or series, or several, to lose yourselves in.

My own are;

The Belgariad/The Mallorean - David Eddings ... seriously tell me another fantasy writer who make sure the main characters have a bath every now and then

The Winter King/Warlord Chronicles - Bernard Cromwell ... A seriously researched and plausible Arthurian story. One of my Desert Island books.

Bio of a Space Tyrant - Piers Anthony ... One of the first series I read of my own will, and is still a yardstick series.

Okay over to you guys lets have em

[Dasch]

I remember trying to get in to Bio of A Space Tryant while I was at Uni, but I found it too heavy going. I gues SI'm more of a light reading kind of guy.

So, here's some light reading:
The G.O.D Inc. Trilogy
The Riftwar Saga (although my favourite book is a spin off from this saga Honored Enemy

If you're tastes run to Star Wars I can't recommend this series enough:
The Republic Commando Series - its less 'space opera' than the movies, and more gritty, following the soldiers, and well written. It works well despite the lack of the traditional and well known Star Wars names.

[Shigy]

If your looking for a series I recommend the Ender's Game Series (and the shadow series). If your looking for a single book that will screw with your perception of reality I recommend Quarantine by Greg Egan. I read Wool earlier this year which was originally written as 5 shorts stories and has now been put together as a novel. It's a good read but can be fairly depressing at times.

[Ashval]

The Belgariad/The Mallorean - David Eddings ... seriously tell me another fantasy writer who make sure the main characters have a bath every now and then

Great series!

I know it's mainstream now, but I loved A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin (AKA - A Game of Thrones) way before HBO found it. Highly recommended...since, as you said...winter is coming.

[Mariposita]

The Kingkiller Chronicle trilogy by Patrick Rothfuss is awesome... so far. He's currently working on book 3.

[Innari]

I'd also recommend:

The Sword of Truth Series by Terry Goodkind

And please, don't watch the abomination of the television series.

(PS ... my husband is backwards ... Shigy's nights are getting shorter, whereas ... ours are getting longer.)

[Thiefofsouls]

This series is a good one.

The Symphony of Ages

[edit] The Rhapsody Trilogy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Haydon

[Cherri]

I read Wool earlier this year which was originally written as 5 shorts stories and has now been put together as a novel. It's a good read but can be fairly depressing at times.

+1 for Wool

I've been into audiobooks lately since I can get through a fairly big chunk on my workday commute. I've been listening to the League of Peoples books by James Alan Gardner and been really enjoying them.

For the steampunk setting, I enjoyed the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences books. Unfortunately there are only two novels. I'm not big on short stories, but there are a lot of them for that series (not always by the novel authors).

For some fantasy, I enjoyed the Green Rider series by Kristen Britain. My warning is that the series is unfinished and she takes a long time getting a new book out. By the time book 5 comes out, I'll have to go reread book 4 to remember what was happening.

And for anyone who likes satirical comedy, you've probably already read every Discworld book available, but that's definitely one of my favorite series.

A few other series I've enjoyed over the years...
Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan Saga - Sort of space opera, but loved most of them
Piers Anthony's Incarnations of Immortality - Apparently there's now an 8th book published like 16 years after book #7, but I've never read it.
Kate Elliott's Crown of Stars - This is a long read. It has a slow pace occasionally broken by bouts of action. The protagonists have to go through a lot of crap that will make you very frustrated (and really helps to make you hate the people you're supposed to hate), but the series has a very satisfying resolution.

[Cherri]

This series is a good one.

The Symphony of Ages

[edit] The Rhapsody Trilogy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Haydon

Seconded. I loved this series.

[Nopheros]

Would anyone recommend anything somewhat bite sized? I still have the 12 year old mentality that books are stupid and I have no time when in reality I would love to get down with a good book, especially with this being the slow season for my job and it affords me more time to chill. I tried A Song of Ice and Fire after watching the show but I got so bogged down that I tried to find other things to do besides read. I think the last book I actually read was A Prophet Without Honor and got 4 books into the Harry Potter series.

[Mariposita]

Would anyone recommend anything somewhat bite sized? I still have the 12 year old mentality that books are stupid and I have no time when in reality I would love to get down with a good book, especially with this being the slow season for my job and it affords me more time to chill. I tried A Song of Ice and Fire after watching the show but I got so bogged down that I tried to find other things to do besides read. I think the last book I actually read was A Prophet Without Honor and got 4 books into the Harry Potter series.

The Dresden Files books by Jim Butcher are a nice length (though there are many of them). I'm not sure how many pages the books actually are, but my collection of books 1-6 on my e-reader is 1762 "pages" so assume about 300 pages/book. They're urban fantasy (ie, modern-day, but with wizards and vampires and werewolves. Takes place in Chicago). The style of writing isn't all detailed like some of the other fantasy books, and the characters are relateable, clever, and funny. He has a kind of playful writing style that I adore. The first book is called Storm Front.

A similar type of series is the Sandman Slim trilogy by Richard Kadrey. The first book (Sandman Slim) is less than 242 "pages" on my Nexus7 tablet so I'd guess around 200-230 pages in actual book form.

A Song of Ice and Fire is a great series (so far), but the books are also so incredibly detailed - 20+ characters with their own stories that you have to try to keep straight because it jumps from perspective to perspective.... so getting bogged down reading those makes sense. I found myself rushing through certain chapters and perhaps not giving them the attention they deserved because I wanted to get to the next chapter starring x character because i wanted to know what happened to them.

[Cherri]

Oh remembered another. I've been reading the Anno Dracula series. So far the first was the best, but I've enjoyed the others I've read, too. I've also enjoyed the Abhorsen series. Everyone needs a good necromancy story. Be warned that the series isn't complete (although most of the books have fairly satisfying endings for closure).

Would anyone recommend anything somewhat bite sized?

Are you sticking with fantasy or are there other genres you'd be interested in? The first few Discworld books aren't that long, are an easy read, and if you enjoy them they go fast. *I shuffle back through my Goodreads list* Er... how many pages constitutes a short story? Anyone? I'm way too lazy to go look. Anyway, Sci Fi. I enjoyed Redshift Rendezvous by John E. Stith and it seemed short. Someone else mentioned Wool which is several short stories. Falling Free is a prequel to the Vorkosigan Saga and it's pretty short but very interesting (well, to me it was). I, Robot by Isaac Asimov is a set of good (and classic) short stories focused, obviously, on robots. For what might qualify as "Sci Fi Fantasy", the Harper Hall trilogy in the Pern series is made up of short books, but it's still one of my favorite sets of Pern stories. I think they're technically young adult fiction, but I never let that stop me if the story is good. For more comedy fiction, if you've never read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or its sequel Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, I recommend them. They're short books but very fun. I like the second book even more than the one the movies are based on.

Hmm I don't know if any of those will be the kind of thing you're looking for. Best of luck in finding something!

[Doc Thunder]

Would anyone recommend anything somewhat bite sized? I still have the 12 year old mentality that books are stupid and I have no time when in reality I would love to get down with a good book, especially with this being the slow season for my job and it affords me more time to chill. I tried A Song of Ice and Fire after watching the show but I got so bogged down that I tried to find other things to do besides read. I think the last book I actually read was A Prophet Without Honor and got 4 books into the Harry Potter series.

Nopheros it all depends on where you want to go ....

I would again suggest the David Eddings books, they are light and easy reading but with deep undercurrents that take you by surprise .. not your average fantasy by any means.

For the sci-fi fantasy I would throw The Tower and the Hive at you ... They are wriiten by one of the best sci-fi fantasists ever and completely readable.

For a more historical read I would recommend the Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell. If you are more nautically minded, there is the Hornblowerseries by C S Forester. Both of these series are split into nice sized books and are engrossing once you get into them.

[Caliana]

The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher (urban fantasy, but I thoroughly enjoyed it)

Dragonlance (just the stuff by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman)

Swordspoint & Privilege of the Sword by Ellen Kushner

I love reading Young Adult books as well. Some of them have real good, and simplistic/easy to burn through.

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow (retelling of East of the Sun, West of the Moon by Jessica Day George)

Tamora Pierce's Song of the Lioness, The Immortals, and Protector of the Small series (in that order, they're linear)

[Ashval]

Allow me to second the recommendations for The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind and The Dragonlance series (as Cali said....only what's done by Hickman & Weiss).

[Kriegshammer]

A nice book for around Christmas: Hogfather by Terry Pratchett, one of his Discworld novels and probably my favourite. Death fills in for Santa who's gone missing.

[Cherri]

A nice book for around Christmas: Hogfather by Terry Pratchett, one of his Discworld novels and probably my favourite. Death fills in for Santa who's gone missing.

And I'd suggest reading it before you watch the made-for-tv movie. I love Pratchett books but think the movies would be hard to understand if you hadn't already read the books. But yeah, one of my faves. Great xmas recommendation, Ham!

[Kriegshammer]

Definitely read the book first, yes. The movies are well done but there's a lot of background you get only from the books.

[Phaeton]

Wow, I suddenly feel as if I do not have enough books!

I am very surprised and happy that someone else has heard of the Belgariad/Mallorean series by David Eddings :O I actually haven't read the Mallorean set yet, but I have all ten of those books, two hardcover, the rest paperback.

My all time favourite though, Dragonlance I've read the Chronicles, Lost Chronicles, and Legends. I think someone suggested the War of Souls to me so that'll be one of the next sets I look for. I've always ben a little hesitant reading a series not starring the original group from Chronicles, as I've grown pretty attached to my little Raist

I should look into the 'Game of Thrones' books though. I haven't watched any of the TV series yet either.

I've been slowly getting back to reading lately, since I got my tablet. Last few books I've read are all short stories set in the StarCraft universe (pre-broodwar era) and they are kinda hit and miss for me. I got surprised to find that Tracy Hickman even wrote one of them (Speed of Darkness). It was a decent book, but I wasn't a huge fan of it. I couldn't relate to the main character, and a lot of people end up dead by the end of the book :S

[Innari]

Re: Song of Ice and Fire ...

The TV series is well and truly great. The books are a million times better. A million.


I am currently pushing myself through Wheel of Time again ... I will finish the series this time, dang it. I have started to read it a half dozen times...and get bored with book 5 ...

Admittedly, I am not a single book person ... if it's not a series, these days ... I pretty much won't read it. I get too invested in characters to see them gone in a book.

Oh, outside of fantasy, sci-fi ...

Read The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series. Amazing books.