BellaOnline Forums Books and Music Sci Fi/Fantasy Books Know of a good read?

Someone already mentioned Mercedes Lackey's "Valdemar" series - I really liked that one - although I did start to get a little tired of it towards the end. I thought she maybe stretched it out a little farther then it should have gone.

Lois McMaster Bujold - she has a couple of series that I really like, one fantasy and one scifi. The scifi is based one her character "Miles Vorkosigan", and they are the perfect mix of adventure, mystery, comedy - you name it. Vokosigan is not your typical hero, either - he's short, slightly physically deformed from having been exposed to a toxin while in utero. But he makes up for his physical limitations with extreme intelligence and hyperactivity! <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> I never get tired of reading this series - its' just fun!

And then there's Brian Lumley, which along with a vampire series has also written a couple of books called "the House of Doors" and it sequel (can't remember its name right now) but they're both really cool, too!

My latest reads have been a few titles by Ian Banks, although he is also sometimes listed as Ian M. Banks. He's compared to J.G. Ballard sometimes.

I enjoy The Litrix Reading Room , they have quite a few titles. There is a small sci-fi section, I don't really read sci-fi but I browsed through it. Most of it seems to be HG Wells but there are other authors too. You should def check it out if you are an avid reader. <img src="/images/graemlins/beamedup.gif" alt="" />

I've read Lumley (the Necroscope series and then the vampire ones-- I want to say Blood Brothers is the series) I also read House of Doors and I tried to read the sequel, but just couldn't get into it.

I just finished a book last night, so now I have to find a new one to read <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> I've been thinking of looking up some Lois McMasters Bujold, but I may slip in a Terry Pratchett since I haven't read one in a while.

I really recommend Greg Egan, although his books are seriously hardcore Science Fiction. Schild's Ladder is my favourite but is so intense he's included scientific diagrams in one part. I would suggest starting with Terranesia which is an interesting look at genetic mutation and biology.

Another book I recommend is Greg Bear's Darwin's Children, a story of evolution in the near future. I found it an easy read - my only criticism of the book is that as soon as the story gets interesting in terms of character development Bear seems to lose interest and skips ahead in time a few years to continue the "storyline". Since the characters he introduces are absolutely fascinating I was very disappointed by that.

Oh, and have you read any Asimov? Start with Prelude to Foundation. (I'm hooked on that series, and his Robot books - Caves of Steel is good if you're into robots, but Prelude to Foundation will help you to understand CoS a little better.)

I should reread some Asimov. I used to read him a lot in high school, but I'm sure I didn't get it all back then. I've been meaning to pick up Darwin's Children. I'll have to test out Greg Egan, though. Sometimes I have trouble with really hardcore SF. I don't have a huge science background <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Any book by Terry Pratchett is worth a read if you like humor and fantasy (Diskworld novels especially, and Good Omens that he collaborated on with Neil Gaiman is also an excellent read), umm Stardust by Gaiman also is among my favorites...lol i could go on forever as my husband and I have a large collection of fantasy (not so much sci-fi) books, but i'll quit right here before the post is 2 miles long <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Baen Books has a great free library. I'd also check out the writers and mags at SFReader.com for new authors.

I particularly like Michael Moorcock (steady, no tittering at the back). More science fantasy than science fiction, but he does have a cracking beard.

My favorite Sci-Fi fantasy writers (in no particular order) are:
1. Anne McCaffrey - she has many different series, but my favorite is The Crystal Singer. You could also try her Dragon books, the brainship books (ex The Ship who sang) the "Acorna" books, "The Rowan" series or "The Powers that be" series.
2. Raymond Feist - start with Magician: Apprentice (book 1 of The Riftwar Saga)
3. David Eddings - start with Pawn of Prophecy (book 1 of The Belgariad)
4. Mercedes Lackey (mentioned previously) - in addition to the Valdemar books, I also like her Bardic Voices books (Book 1 is "The Lark and the wren") and the Obsidian Trilogy (book 1 is called "The Outstretched Shadow").