What to read, what to read...

[Thanee]

A Song of Ice and Fire, if you havn't read it.

You can have both... fantasy *and* realistic.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Wyn A'rienh]

Ever read any Tom Robbins? If not, Another Roadside Attraction would be my suggestion.

FROM THE PUBLISHER
What if the Second Coming didn't quite come off as advertised? What if "the Corpse" on display in that funky roadside zoo is really who they say it is—what does that portent for the future of western civilization? And what if a young clairvoyant named Amanda reestablishes the flea circus as popular entertainment and fertility worship as the principal religious form of our high-tech age? Another Roadside Attraction answers those questions and a lot more. It tells us, for example, what the sixties were truly all about, not by reporting on the psychedelic decade but by recreating it, from the inside out. In the process, this stunningly original seriocomic thriller eating a literary hotdog and eroding the borders of the mind.

 

[Wyn A'rienh]

Oh, and I completely agree with everybody who is suggesting Neil Gaiman, but I would go with Smoke and Mirrors. It's a short story collection - some are very "realistic", some are horror, some are just plain weird. It's got a little of everything and it's Neil Gaiman, so every bit of it is brilliant.

 

[Corwyn]

I'd recomend "The Wasp Factory" by Iain Banks very gritty but non SF/Fantasy.

 

[MaxKaladin]

Besides that, what are some other books that might be interesting? Just name a few and a basic info on the story.

A few years back I hooked onto historical mysteries and more historical fiction in general. My favorites have been the various mystery series set in ancient Rome. My favorites include:

* SPQR series by John Maddox Roberts. This series revolves around Decius Caecilius Metellus, member of a powerful family in Rome and eventually a Senator (he starts out too young for the office, as I recall). It is set near the end of the Republic around the time of Julius Caesar and many historical characters (including Caesar himself) pop up from time to time. Decisu has a knack for solving mysteries and tends to get called on when questions need to be answered. One of the things I love about the books is the wit of the main character, who does not take himself or Rome too seriously. Great Books.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SPQR_(series)

* Falco series by Lindsey Davis. This series is about Marcus Didius Falco, a plebian in Vespasian's Rome (70s AD) who is a private detective (yes, the romans had them -- they were called informers. The first books are written in a very "Sam Spade" "noir" style though not with language that breaks the suspention of disbelief. Falco is pretty cynical and has a whole cast of regulars ranging from his friend Petronius through his colorful family to the inhabitants of his neighborhood. Often the side stories about family problems or something are as entertaining as the mysteries.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Didius_Falco

* Colleen McCullough wrote her "Masters of Rome" series, which is a big epic series of novels that follows a huge cast of historical characters for most of a century before and immediately after the fall of the Roman Republic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masters_of_Rome

* Harry Turteltaub (pseudonym for Harry Turtledove) has his "Wine Dark Sea" books about the Greek cousins Sostratos and Menedemos set in the 300s BC a decade or so after Alexander's death. The cousins are merchants from Rhodes and each book covers a years merchant voyage. They're not action filled books but they're a fascinating look into the ancient greek world -- Turteldove/Turteltaub is a scholar who has extensively researched the period.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.N._Turteltaub

Just my two coppers.

 

[RaceBannon42]

I second Thanee's suggestion

George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire is the best I have ever read.

It is fantasy, but is low fantasy, the magic is for the most part not present.
I have hooked several of my friends on this series, and am trying to get several more to take it up.