The thread of book recommendations

I also recommend any/all of stephen king's short story compilations. I also really liked The Stand, Desperation, IT, the dark tower series, etc. I', a big fan of his and the books are always available if you are held over at an airport or anywhere.

jeb wrote:

FOUCAULT'S PENDULUM by Umberto Eco. A trio of publishers decide to make some dough allowing conspiracy theorists to self-publish. The money's so good, they cook up their own--or do they? Fucking mindbending.

Eco has great ideas, but he needs four editors... one to verify his historical research, one to trim his manuscripts down with a meat cleaver, and two to hold Eco still during the meat cleaver usage.

Michael Barnes wrote:

Just started reading THE BLADE ITSELF, recommended by a F:ATtie in the last book thread we ran...130 pages in and I love it. It's written on a much more mainstream keel than most fantasy- very on-the-level and modern. Actually pretty funny, too.

That was me. Glad you like it so far.

I just finished THE GRAVEYARD BOOK, by Neil Gaiman. I really like his stuff. NEVERWHERE, STARDUST, AMERICAN GODS and ANANSI BOYS are all excellent. Oh, and of course SANDMAN.

Yeah, Gaiman is pretty good. I enjoyed Neverwhere the most, followed by his short story collection Smoke and Mirrors. I haven't read his latest short story collection or Anasi Boys, but they're both on my list.

benny lava wrote:

I just finished THE GRAVEYARD BOOK, by Neil Gaiman. I really like his stuff. NEVERWHERE, STARDUST, AMERICAN GODS and ANANSI BOYS are all excellent. Oh, and of course SANDMAN.

I loved, loved. loved Neverwhere and Coraline. I didn't care for Anansi Boys at all and I'm reading American Gods right now. I'm hoping the Coraline movie comes off as creepy as the book.

The Graveyard Book is my next "must read." It just won The Newbery Medal which is a big, big deal. Here's an interesting article about it:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2009/jan/27/neil-gaiman-newbery-medal-controversy

dan daly wrote:

6 Messiahs is a sequel. I didn't think it was as good as List of 7 but it was still pretty good. Second Objective is the author's take on a historical fiction action story featuring Nazi "werewolves" during the battle of the bulge.

Nazi werewolves!? where were you in October when I was looking for werewolf books?

jeb wrote:

THE SHINING by Stephen King. This is the only Stephen King novel I would recommend. The others are kind of generic, and often overlong. This book, on the other hand, is the modern American gothic novel. His short story collections are breathtaking: NIGHT SHIFT, SKELETON CREW, and DIFFERENT SEASONS are all excellent.

The Dark Tower series is generic? Nah man, the Dark Tower is where it's at! Literally.

I would like to recommend some Robert E Howard. In the past few years Del Ray has released some awesome volumes compiling his short stories. The three conan volumes are highly recommended. The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian, The Conquering Sword of Conan and The Bloody Crown of Conan. These books contain all of the Conan short stories unedited and unaltered as well as a few unfinished drafts. The Kull volume as well is a must buy. Sword & sorcery does not get better than this.

benny lava wrote:

I just finished THE GRAVEYARD BOOK, by Neil Gaiman. I really like his stuff. NEVERWHERE, STARDUST, AMERICAN GODS and ANANSI BOYS are all excellent. Oh, and of course SANDMAN.

I dunno about Gaiman. I read Stardust after watching the movie, then I read American Gods, and I've read maybe two volumes of Sandman. He comes up with some really amazing story ideas but the endings always just sort of fizzle. There's no climax, he just sort of pulls out.

What I've been reading:

The Black Company: I'm almost finished with the first book myself. I dig the story. It's not orcs and elves stuff, it's "dark fantasy," it's gritty. I'll probably read the rest of the series.

The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick: I was going to read VALIS, but it was checked out at the library. Man in the High Castle is good. I liked the meta fiction how in the book there was a book that was a "What if the Allies won WWII." Also great commentary on how objects obtain their value based upon the people who value them. I didn't really get the ending though.

The Road: Pretty good. Although I think I was too influenced by all the buzz/hype surrounding it. I think I'll enjoy it more on a second read. I was too concerned with searching for clues on what disaster happened to the world and what would befall the Man and the Boy. All good signs of excellent writing, but I didn't really take the time to appreciate the prose.

Invincible Hardcover Collection vol. 2 (graphic novel): I really dig Invincible. I like teen superhero comics in general. It's too bad Runaways sucks now.

Fray (graphic novel): Pretty good, futuristic Buffy stuff.

Fables vol. 11 (graphic novel): Man, Fables is probably my favorite comic series.

Dracula: I read this back in November for the first time. I was actually surprised how spooky parts were. I look forward to the next time I play Fury of Dracula.

Fevre Dream: Somebody on here recommended this and it was a good one! Excellent vampire story by George R.R. Martin of the Song of Fire and Ice fame. But I liked this one better than any in his fantasy series.

Storm Front: The Dresden Files Book 1: I actually enjoyed this one about a wizard private eye. The writing is cheesy but in a good way. I didn't really feel like Jim Butcher was taking himself too seriously. If he is ... well, joke is on him.

BeneathTheEarth wrote:

I would like to recommend some Robert E Howard. In the past few years Del Ray has released some awesome volumes compiling his short stories. The three conan volumes are highly recommended. The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian, The Conquering Sword of Conan and The Bloody Crown of Conan. These books contain all of the Conan short stories unedited and unaltered as well as a few unfinished drafts. The Kull volume as well is a must buy. Sword & sorcery does not get better than this.

I love those too. I'm a short story whore, because I tend to read in small portions.

Michael Barnes wrote:
"I just finished the first omnibus of Glen Cook's CHRONICLES OF THE BLACK COMPANY series...I didn't really care for it at first, but getting into the second and third books it's almost written like a cross between a crime novel and a war story. It's pretty good stuff. It's not incredible writing or anything but it's a cool story with good characters and some crazy action. Good fantasy, no frills."
Shellhead wrote:
"Barnes, make sure that you read The Silver Spike. I don't know if it will get collected in an omnibus, because it's kind of an offshoot of the main storyline. After the events of The White Rose (the third book), there is a split between the main characters. Most of them head south for the adventures of the rest of the Black Company series, but a few stay in the North for one kickass story told in The Silver Spike. Take the intensity of the second book and dial it up to 11.
When the Black Company heads south, it's rough going for the reader for a couple of books, with lots of new characters and schemes introduced. It's worth the trouble, though, as Cook eventually takes the story to some very interesting situations and places.
Apparently there is now a prequel trilogy that chronicles life under the Dread Empire. Not sure if that is the Lady's operation, or the one that her "husband" ran long before that."
Columbob wrote:
"Naw, Dread Empire is a completely unrelated series to Black Company, written previously by Glen Cook.
BTW, Cook has one or two more BC books up his sleeve, although he's finishing some other projects before he gets there."

Dread Empire is not a trilogy, there are seven books before The Black Company. And it is not completely unrelated (e.g. Mocker appears in it). You guys seem to be only mentioning about a third of the books as there are also ten Black Company ones, making a total of seventeen.
I think I have the reading sequence correct:-
A Shadow of All Night Falling, Berkley, 1979.
October's Baby, Berkley, 1980.
All Darkness Met, , Berkley, 1980.
The Fire in His Hands, Timescape 1984.
With Mercy Towards None, Baen, 1985.
Reap the East Wind, Tor, 1987.
An Ill Fate Marshalling, Tor, 1988.
The Black Company, Tor, 1984.
Shadows Linger, Tor, 1984.
The White Rose, Tor, 1985.
The Silver Spike, Tor, 1989.
Shadow Games, Tor, 1989.
Dreams of Steel, Tor, 1990.
Bleak Seasons, Tor, 1996.
She is the Darkness, Tor, 1997.
Water Sleeps, Tor, 1999.
Soldiers Live, Tor, 2000.
Please post any novels that I've missed (the last one was dated 2000 after all).

And if you want to read a unique fantasy series, I strongly recommend the novels based on the 1975 RPG Empire of the Petal Throne:-
Man of Gold, Daw, 1984.
Flamesong, Daw, 1985.
Lords of Tsamra, Zottola Publishing, 2003.
Prince of Skulls, Zottola Publishing, 2002.
A Death of Kings, Zottola Publishing, 2003.

drmabuse00 wrote:

hancock.tom wrote:

Has anyone read Riddley Walker, by Russell Hoban? I keep looking at it but can't decide.

I really dug it, it's been a few years since but it was one of my faves that I mean to go back to eventually.

My strong recommendations

The Grifters by Jim Thompson
Last Exit to Brooklyn by Hubert Selby
Battle Royale by Koushun Takami
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Black Hole by Charles Burns
Shane by Jack Schaefer (i fucking hated the movie!)
True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Alan Moore, Kevin O'Neill & Co.

Black Hole is awesome! You should chcek the movie Fears of the Dark, it's a collection of short animated movies from various artists and the story by Burns is great.
I like: Choke by Chuck Palahniuk
A confederacy of dunces by John Kennedy Toole
The Day of the triffids by John Wyndham (Yes, I know everybody has read it but there can always be someone who missed it)
Gomorrah by Roberto Saviano
Under the skin by Michel Faber

metalface13 wrote:

What I've been reading:
Fables vol. 11 (graphic novel): Man, Fables is probably my favorite comic series.

Storm Front: The Dresden Files Book 1: I actually enjoyed this one about a wizard private eye. The writing is cheesy but in a good way. I didn't really feel like Jim Butcher was taking himself too seriously. If he is ... well, joke is on him.

You have excellent taste in comics.

Butcher gets better with each book, so if you liked Storm Front, definitely check out the rest of the series. His fantasy series is really good as well.