Suggest a book to me.

[AuroraGyps]

This is an excellant post. I'm moving into a new place and will finally be able to organize all my books that came with me from Buffalo to join up with all the ones my mom's been storing. Boxes and boxes and boxes. These suggestions will help me weed out what I should keep, what to keep looking for, and what to not bother with.

Anyways, my suggestion is Jane Linskold's "Brother of Dragons, Companion to Owls". It is set a bit in the future, but the main character's concept is really interesting and the way Linskold writes her is amazing.

I'd also like to recommend Locus magazine. The website is locusmag.com and there is some great info there. Mostly you find out what books are coming out and when (new books and reprints), along with news, reviews, and recommendations. A subscription is pricey ($60 for 12 issues), but it's a really hard magazine to find in stores... although if you do spot a copy, grab it.

 

[Urizen]

Robin Hobb's The Farseer Trilogy
Steven Erikson's The Malazan Books of the Fallen - Lots of high-magic battles, explosions, gods, dragons, and demons running around. Okay to subpar characters (though he has some pretty good ones), read it for the superbly expansive history, the big battles, and a great sense of epic scale. Start with Gardens of the Moon.

Steven Erickson is amazing. I'm reading the House of Chains now. So far it's the best one in the series with Dead House gates coming a close second.

 

[Urizen]

Song of Ice and Fire: A very good book with an interesting plot and some great characters. My only problem with the books is that Martin tries too hard to be morally ambiguous at times with the characters performing actions that don't seem natural.

I agree. Also, I love the books, but I hate liking his characters, because you never know when you're going to see one die.

Conan stories: Pick up a volume of Robert E. Howard Conan tales. Howard writes great prose. The stories are good. You get to see where the inspiration for the Conan movie came from.

Can't go wrong here.

 

[Urizen]

Fantasy(ish) :

Roger Zelazny - The Chronicles of Amber
Bring Me the Head of Prince Charming (a very humerous take on the eternal struggle between the forces of good and evil)

I'm going to add Damnation Alley to this list of Zelazny's must-read stuff.

Very cool Post Apocalypse science fiction.

 

[Pozatronic]

A bunch of people have already recommended George R.R. Martin and Guy Gavriel Kay. I whole-heartedly agree with both. Two of my favorite "fantasy" authors out there. They're both so character driven and realistic it's almost like they're historical novels. From Kay, I strongly suggest Tigana and The Last Light Of The Sun. The Sarantine Mosaic is a duology, and also very very good. Out of the Fionavar Tapestry, I really only liked the first one.

If you looking for something that's just a little different, I suggest Jeff Vandermeer and his collection of stories "The City Of Saints And Madmen". It's not atypical fantasy, and I think it transcends the genre. There's also China Mieville. M. John Harrison has a novel that's more um...mystical? I can't describe it, but it's called "The Course Of The Heart" and it's one of my favorite books ever. I kind of want to compare it something written by Neil Gaiman, but I'm only familiar with his comic book work. Another very good collection of short stories is "Last Weeks Apocalypse" by Douglas Lain. As a matter of fact, most of these authors I just mentioned have been published by Night Shade Books. You should check out their website. You might find something that interests you there.