Books or Lit-r-cha Recommendations

Similar to the pure concentrated awesome in Jim Butcher's stuff. Not sure what exactly Sanderson's stuff can be boiled down to, so use your own judgement in recommending stuff like his works.

Well, when I think of Sanderson I think of interesting magic systems, urban low fantasy, and the Brandon Avalanche. Gentleman Bastard hits two out of three. :P

My experience with Jim Butcher is limited to The Dresden Files, but the Nightside series is definitely the best imitator of that that I've read.

Maybe check out the Night Watch series. Anton (and most of the other Others) fits the Pop-Cultured Badass trope well and is a magic user.

Terry Pratchett's Tiffany Aching books plus The Amazing Maurice And His Educated Rodents.

After skulking trough the thread I ended up reading Gentlemen Bastards and quite enjoyed it. Had a well realized world and the writer could pretty much pull off a smarter than average MC which is always a huge win since when it fails it can be quite embarrassing.

Anyone want to recommend something in somewhat a similar vein?

To be more specific what I'd like to see in a book/series:

1. Length (For some reason I dislike investing time on characters I'll only spend an evening with)
2. A main character that isn't universally gifted. They might have one or two areas where they excel but lack in other aspects. Smart but weak characters are an usual staple of this group. Examples would be Locke from the aforementioned Bastards and Miles from Vorkosigan saga.
3. Strong characters in general (I don't automatically dislike books with an ensemble cast like Game of Thrones (rather I quite love that one) but with a too large a cast usually none of them makes an impact which leaves me cold. Or other reason for weak characters might be just bad writing)
4. World building. I love fantasy but am quite bored of the traditional elves and dwarves spin. I love intricate magic systems and complex cultures in books.
5. No power creep. I really hate it when you get to the third book in a series and that character who started super gifted in magic finally reaches the point where she can pull moons from the sky at whim and drop them on enemies (and before hitting her fifties too!). I just lose interest. Mistborn was a particular offender in this where as for some reason it doesn't bother me so much in Kingkiller Chronicles (though I have the nagging feeling we'll eventually get there as the books come along.)

Examples of things I've loved thus far that also work as my recommendations which I'd happily expand upon, but this thing is getting rather lengthy as it is:

• His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
• Vorkosigan Saga - Lois Mc Master Bujold
• Stardust, Neverwhere, American Gods - Neil Gaiman
• Archer's Goon, Fire and Hemlock - Diana Wynne Jones

And I used to adore Eddings when I was younger tho I've grown to see his limitations with age. Would recommend starting with Elenium rather than Belgariad since it's slightly Darker and Grittier.

Oh and if it wasn't clear, I'm not too picky about the genre as long as it doesn't claim to be autobiographical. Also if it's been mentioned in this thread more than once, I've probably looked at it/read it.

... I'll shut up now.

edited 30th Apr '12 10:25:05 AM by GabrieltheThird

I think Discworld is just perfect for you. Wonder if you've read the series. If you liked Eddings, I think you will love Pratchett.

edited 30th Apr '12 9:40:07 AM by Nightwire

What he said. Discworld would be PERFECT for you.

Agreed, and on hindsight I should've added it to the list. I've read every Discworld book but two which I've yet to be able to locate. That situation will be remedied within the next few months. My personal favourite is Witches Abroad.

But hey, clearly the list is working as you're able to come up with stuff that perfectly fits my taste.

The reason I didn't list Discworld was that I consider it such an elementary a series to fantasy that anyone who actively reads the genre has already picked up a book or two and made up their mind on it.

Other books of similar significance to the genre that I left out due to same rationale are:

• The Game of Thrones (Though I do mention it in passing)
• Harry Potter (Younger the Harry, better the book)
• Lord of the Rings (Which I've read one and a half times but I just can't enjoy, even if I acknowledge the historical significance. I did however enjoy Hobbit a good deal)
• Duglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (I have a copy that's printed to look like a bible with glossy paper and faux leather cover that I feel disproportionately proud of.)
• Narnia

I'm probably forgetting something and end up feeling stupid for overlooking it later and I recognize that they're not entirely uncontested suggestions for essentials, but well...

Another reason I left them out was because my post was already so blooody long and I didn't want to clutter the thread needlessly. Ended up doing that anyway.

Edit: Oh oh oh, another series that's so good that I must mention it as a recommendation even thought I promised myself to stop writing already:

• Books of Abarat by Clive Barker

edited 30th Apr '12 2:13:48 PM by GabrieltheThird

Have you read any of the Dirk Gently books? They are also by Douglas Adams, and they are around the same quality as his Hitchhiker's Guide stuff.

The Sun Sword series by Michelle West might do it for you. I just picked the first book up again after a long time, so I don't remember the plot perfectly and it's pretty complicated anyhow. There's an unregarded heir (not lost, but hostage in a hostile land and not well thought of back home), a couple of different magic systems including demidivines and some not completely evil demons, a female protaganist in a misogynistic society who uses the very rules that handicap her to take revenge against her father and his allies, and more I don't recall at the moment.

Oh, another series you might like are the Temeraire books, set about the time of the Napoleonic wars; but with dragons. It's got a lot of military stuff, particularly in the first books, then some exploration of the world in the later ones. Dragons can vary from highly intelligent to pretty stupid and are all bonded to a particular person. It's an unusual and interesting take on fantasy.

Um. I'll try to shut up now.

And, while it doesn't fit your desire for a lengthy series, if you like stories about underpowered characters then you should read some of the older Lawrence Watt-Evens. The Misenchanted Sword and With a Single Spell are classic. Both are set in the same world, but with different characters; there are several others that share the same world too, but IMO these two are the best. These are light, fun reads that zoom along.

Another excellent world-building set of books are Jaqueline Carey's books which start with Kushiel's Dart I think. But fair warning, the heroine is a masochistic prostitute; albeit in a world where that is a respected profession. But the writing is simply gorgeous. She writes in trilogies, at least for this world; and you get three about this character, then three about her son, then three about a more distant relation later in the timeline. There's a lot of complicated similarities to our world and our religions without there being anything exactly parallel.

edited 30th Apr '12 10:27:48 PM by Lightningnettle

Robin Hobb does some fantastic fantasy with less powerful characters, with a strong focus on character development and relationships. I particularly recommend her Farseer books - the original Assassin trilogy and the Fool sequels.

Dirk Gently books are great. I've read both of the complete ones but stayed away from Salmon of Doubt due to its unfinished nature. But any Adams is good Adams so might finally go about finding that somewhere.

I think I tried to find a copy of the first Temeraire book a few years back but was unsuccessful and proceeded to forget all about it. I'll be more persistent about it this time and make it my next project since I really like the concept of it.

I'm not familiar with the other three authors in Lightningnettle's post either, which is a great thing. Will see how easily I can get my hands on a book or two.

On Robin Hobb, man I haven't thought of her in like a decade. My has she been prolific since then. I actually have the Assassin books laying around here somewhere but I must've mentally blocked myself from thinking about them due to the blood vein popping rage that the third book induced in me.

I really loved the first one and the second was good but I remember her treatment of the characters and the piling on of misery had me seeing red by the end of the series. Still, that was over a decade ago so the reaction might be different now and that fist book alone was so good that she deserves a revisit. Shame most of her newer stuff seems to be of a fairly direct continuation so I'd have to reread those first three books to refresh them and risk repeating history.

She does seem to have a new trilogy set in a different world, Soldier Son. That might be a good place to start. Anyone with any experience?

All help thus far has been greatly appreciated and has allowed me to get a good head start on building my ink scented fortress of solitude for the coming summer.

edited 1st May '12 11:51:38 AM by GabrieltheThird

I picked up The Secret History of Moscow on a comparison to Neverwhere. I thought the latter was better, but the comparison was definitely appropriate.

If you hated the last book in Robin Hobb's Assassin trilogy, for pities sake do not read the second one, the Tawny Man trilogy as it will make you want to strangle her. What she does to the Fool is unforgiveable.

It isn't as bad as the last few pages of the Dark Tower books by Stephen King but pretty damned close as far as blind rage inducing things go for me.

Hello! Can anyone recommend:

1) A good mystery, preferably fair play or Golden Age style. Something with good plot twists (a la Agatha Christie) but also good characterization and nice writing style. Something similar to Dorothy L. Sayer's Lord Peter Wimsey series would be great.

2) A fantasy/sci-fi novel or series that has interesting world-building, good prose and strong female characters without being a doorstopper. Like Garth Nix's Old Kingdom series.

3) Something fun with lots of Xanatos Gambit s.

or 4) Any combination of the above.

edited 17th May '12 7:22:07 PM by whimsyful

I hear Snuff is 1 and 2.

The Gentleman Bastard series is 2 and 3, as is Mistborn. (Sorry, Mistborn is kind of a doorstopper. But it's totally worth it.)

...like Snuff?

edited 17th May '12 7:42:51 PM by Noaqiyeum

Have you read Discworld? Especially the Watch and Witches books. I think the series will be perfect for you.

I've read The Color of Magic and Wyrd Sisters. Liked the latter better than the former.

What's the prose like in Mistborn? Is it long-but-easy-to-read-through like Harry Potter and The Three Musketeers or dense like Heart Of Darkness?

Hmmm, The Lies of Locke Lamora sounds interesting. *adds to reading list*

Err, I'd say the former. (I haven't read Heart Of Darkness, so my standard for density is Foucaults Pendulum, and it's nowhere near that bad good.)

I usually recommend starting to read Discworld with Men At Arms, Thief Of Time, The Hogfather, or Going Postal.

edited 17th May '12 8:51:44 PM by Noaqiyeum

Those two you have read are early Discworld novels, thus they're not indicative of what Terry Pratchett is truly capable of. The series is an excellent example of Growing the Beard. I recommend checking out all of the Discworld, you ought to find something you'd love!

whimsyful,

Regarding your first catagory, have you read any John Dickson Carr/Carter Dickson? I particularly like the ones with Gideon Fell and Sir Henry Merrivale. The Arabian Nights Murder would be a good starting place, as would The Case of the Constant Suicides; but I like most of his stuff. His women are strong characters for the time he wrote in as well. He clearly likes and respects women, despite the detectives throwing around the word "wench" frequently.

In your second catagory, if you're willing to go for YA stuff, Tamora Pierce is excellent, as are the Telzey Amberdon books by James Schmitz (he also wrote the Witches of Karres, another good book).

If you can find them, Elizabeth Boyer's books are good light reading set in a fantasy Norse/Scandanavian world; they probably work for catagory three too.

I also like PC Hodgell's series starting with Godstalk and Dark of the Moon, though it is dark in places. But, hey how can anyone not like a series with an insane, ivory-plated unicorn?

Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover books might suit you as well, if you haven't run across them yet, they cover the history of a world from colonization to rediscovery by the human empire; and range from feeling like fantasy early on to more of an SF vibe later.

A pure example of your third catagory would be the Retief books by Keith Laumer, they are very, very silly books. They do lack strong women characters from what I recall, it's been a few years. The Parti-Colored Unicorn by John De Cles is also pure and enjoyable fluff.

Editing to add: How could I possibly have forgotten Randall Garrett's Lord Darcy books. They are mysteries set in a world of magic, with forensic sorcery a large part of cases getting solved. He has a light touch, treating people with good humor and understanding.

edited 19th May '12 6:51:42 AM by Lightningnettle

I second the John Dickson Carr/Carter Dickson recommendation. I'd recommend to start with He Who Whispers, a Dr. Fell mystery, because of two reasons. One, it's one of his best books, and two, it's very easy to find compared to his other works. It's also available on kindle, which is pretty nice.

Ellery Queen's novels could also work, but in my opinion while his mystery building is top notch his characterization and prose aren't very good, while Carr has both amazing mystery building skills and amazing atmosphere for his darker locked-room mysteries.

Oh, and if you want a lighter atmosphere then you could also go with And So To Murder by Carr. It's a Sir Henry Merrival mystery and it uses a somewhat whimsical narration that makes the book really fun to read. The best way I can describe the book is as The Princess Bride but as a murder mystery. Not that it uses a framing device or anything like that, just that its narration is sort of similar in tone.

I prefer Carr's darker novels though.

For your second category I think most people have got the topic covered already, so I'll refrain from making any suggestions.

For the third topic, I think you could enjoy "I am not a serial killer" by Dan Wells. It's about a sixteen year old sociopath fascinated with serial killers to the point where he constantly worries that he might one day become one. Then, people start to die in his town. Some of the best thriller writing I've read ensures after that.

@ Lightningnettle and Lestrade Thanks for all the recommendations! I have read some John Dickson Carr and enjoyed it. Don't think I can find them all at the library, but that's what dusty used books stores are for. I've also read quite a bit of Ellery Queen, though I agree that his(their?) plots are better than his(their?) prose.

"..The Princess Bride but as a murder mystery" That sounds awesome. *adds*

I've read alot of Tamora Pierce, but PC Hodgell, the Lord Darcy and the Dan Wells all sound good.

Yay! I always like sharing the news about good writers. I haven't actually read Ellery Queen, not sure why.

As has been mentioned above, his plots are very very good. His earlier books contained a Challenge to the Reader at the point where all the clues needed to solve the (usually incredibly convoluted) crime has been given, but the prose for those is usually unengaging. If you do want to try, I suggest Calamity Town which is more character-driven, or the short story collection The Adventures of Ellery Queen.