Books or Lit-r-cha Recommendations

Books I thought were great... Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson if you want a doorstopper, The Emperor's Soul if you would like a novella by the same writer.

The Farseer trilogy by Robin Hobb. I would list some Pratchett, but he is pretty frequently recommended already.

So much for fantasy... scifi... The Expanse.

EDIT: Oh yeah, and Rivers Of London by Ben Aaronovitch if you like urban fantasy stuff.

edited 22nd Apr '15 4:06:06 PM by LoniJay

The Emperor's Soul is a good choice for a summer read as it's not too long and doesn't rely on reading any other Sanderson book to make sense. http://www.skjam.com/2015/04/26/book-review-the-emperors-soul/

Can anyone recommend a good heist novel, preferably one for teens? Alternately, a teen novel that's genuinely funny.

Please Don't Tell My Parents I'm a Supervillain is a hilarious teen novel. It has one or two heist elements, but it's definitely not a heist novel in general.

I've heard about it being an e-book. Can I also find it in print?

Yes, it also exists in print. It should be available on Amazon.

edited 28th Apr '15 11:34:39 AM by Discar

Sadly, I can't find it in my library's system.

Ah, yes, it's a tad too indie for libraries. It's still a little on the new side, so they might get it eventually. Maybe put in a request? I know my library is always looking for good books to buy.

I'll try.

Hodor2, you might like John Biggin's Otto Prohaska series (4 books). It focuses on the title character's military service in the last years of the Austro-Hungarian Empire as a submariner, pilot, and unintentional troublemaker.

I am searching for a book or series focusing on military-political conflict set within a 18th-19th-early 20th century-style constructed world. Many fantasy and science fiction writers have crafted amazingly detailed worlds to set their stories in (e.g. Weber, Jordan, Stirling's "The General"), but the vast majority I've read are set in pre-industrial or futuristic worlds.

Have you read Perdido Street Station? It takes place in what is basically a post-industrial revolution fantasy London.

Thanks for your response. Two thoughts about your request:

Only just started it, but City of Stairs is set in a secondary world that's sort of reminiscent of early 20th century Europe and is basically Spy Fiction (stale beer style) in a fantasy world.

I'd also recommend the Craft Sequence by Max Gladstone. Also a secondary world fantasy, this time with legal fiction themes (overall lighter than the above). The setting feels a lot more modern, but there's definitely ancient touches.

edited 8th May '15 7:34:25 AM by Hodor2

^^^The Alloy Of Law is a fantasy Western, if that fits. You can read it without having read the previous Mistborn books.

Seconding Max Gladstone's Craft Sequence. Very well written, intelligent and creative worldbuilding.

Thanks for the recommendations guys! I've also been eyeing at some titles belonging to the "Flintlock Fantasy" genre like The Powder Mage Trilogy.

edited 13th May '15 3:54:49 PM by Breakerchase

I'm going to the public library tomorrow, and I pretty much NEED books over the next few days.

I generally enjoy sci-fi and fantasy, and I really like stories that combine the fantastic and the mundane. So basically Urban Fantasy. I'm also not the biggest fan of stories driven by romance.

Besides ASOIAF, the last series I found on my own that I REALLY enjoyed was The Secrets Of The Immortal Nicholas Flamel. Of course, that finished quite a few years ago, but if anyone has read a book similar to that, that would be really cool.

Have you read Rivers Of London? It's somewhere under the Urban Fantasy umbrella - it's about a young London police officer who joins a small, secret branch of the police dedicated to magic. I really liked it.

(I presume that "ASOIAF" is "A Song of Ice and Fire"—if not, then my mistake!)

If you enjoyed A Song of Ice and Fire, you might consider the Broken Kingdom trilogy—The Prince of Thorns and its sequels. It's low-fantasy, with magic being rather rare during the first book, at least.

Be prepared for the depiction of some very horrible and potentially-disturbing events, however. For a relatively mild example, early in the first book we find our protagonist—then a young teenager—leading a group of bandits in sacking a town, and murdering those townsfolk that they encounter, if I'm not much mistaken.

(I should note, however, that I haven't yet gotten around to reading the third book, so I don't know how well the trilogy ends.)

edited 21st May '15 7:22:57 AM by ArsThaumaturgis

Books I think are great ... well, the Hurog duology by Patricia Briggs is awesome. Fantasy with dragons is always great, but this one has an interesting plot, too. It's not about saving the world from some anonymous evil, it's about defeating the most hateable antagonist ever. Which makes it all very satisfying. (It is also quite similar to A Song of Ice and Fire in that it is much about politics and the things that happen when people don't get along politically.)

Hey guys. I'm having trouble remembering a name of a novel. It's about a teen who doesn't believe in love at first sight but then, in the middle of class, a girl stands up against his argument and he promptly falls in love with her. Eventually they get together and investigate something about Indian injustice. Can anyone help me?

I recommend for Urban Fantasy needs: The Valducan Books, Dead Eye: Pennies for the Ferryman, The Dresden Files, The Ethan Banning novels, the Laundry series, and...

Well, why not, if you like off-beat there's MY book, "The Rules of Supervillainy" which is superheroes meet Urban Fantasy.

• SHAMEELLLLLESSSS PLUG*

For urban fantasy, Generation V by ML Brennan, Daniel Faust series by Craig Schaefer, The Laundry Files by Charles Stross, and Kate Daniels by Ilona Andrews.

Pax Arcana's first book by Elliott James is pretty good, although the second one is pretty fucked up.

I'm looking for some sci-fi novels with interesting concepts to read over the summer holidays it is preferable if they are long because I am a very fast reader and want them to last

Dune by Frank Herbert, if you've never read it. One of my personal faves, and definitely a seminal science fiction novel. And pretty hefty, too!

Anathem by Neal Stephenson comes to mind—that had a concept that I recall finding rather interesting.

Neal Stephenson writes some rather long books in general, I believe, but as Anathem is the only one of his books that I've read myself (that I recall), I'm not in a position to personally comment on his other books.

edited 31st Jul '15 7:35:30 AM by ArsThaumaturgis