SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

Hi! I've been quietly lurking, reading the forums here for awhile but have never posted. I've only joined Goodreads this year and have been adding some really exciting books to my "to read" list but am a little bit overwhelmed with what to read next! I don't get a chance to read as often as I would like so have surely missed some must reads. I love fantasy over sci-fi, Name of the Wind/Kingkiller Chronicles are my favourites, i have a soft spot for dragons/adventures/mythical creatures. Would love any suggestions you could give for me! :)

Perhaps try Brandon Sanderson - I can highly recommend the first two books of the Stormlight Archives (The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance) and everything else of his, come to think of it...

I also really enjoy Janny Wurts and Melanie Rawn's Dragonprince series. (I'd avoid starting her other series, because none of them are complete or look like being so at any time in the near future, which is a pity, as the Exiles trilogy in particular was really good.)

Leonie wrote: "Perhaps try Brandon Sanderson - I can highly recommend the first two books of the Stormlight Archives (The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance) and everything else of his, come to thi..."

Hi Leonie! Thanks for your reply. I've read the Mistborn trilogy... honestly I was less than impressed when I started though I did really grow to love these books. I found some parts to be a little slow so I've been tossing up whether the way of kings will be like this in parts...it's hard to get into when you don't get a huge amount of time to read. What do you think?

I haven't heard of the Dragonprince series so will check it out! Thanks so much

I would recommend Carol Berg, especially Flesh and Spirit and Breath and Bone and also, since you like dragons, Song of the Beast. I also second the recommendation for Brandon Sanderson.

Alyce wrote: "Hi! I've been quietly lurking, reading the forums here for awhile but have never posted. I've only joined Goodreads this year and have been adding some really exciting books to my "to read" list bu..."

I thoroughly enjoyed the Heralds of Valdemar trilogy by Mercedes Lackey, which begins with Arrows of the Queen. No dragons, but some nifty horse-like "companions" and some very good writing. If you like the trilogy, the good news is that Lackey is extremely prolific and has written related series and whole bunch of other series. http://www.mercedeslackey.com/biblio_...

For dragons it is hard to beat the Dragonrider and Dragonsinger books of Anne McCaffrey, though they aren't particularly fantastical.

I really loved The Way of Kings, and didn't find it slow at all. It is complex, and there are a number of characters, so it depends if you like multiple points of view. I just realised that I've never reviewed it, but my review on Words of Radiance is here https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

They are massive books though, over a thousand pages for Words of Radiance!

The first book that really captured my attention like Rothfuss did after finishing The Wise Man's Fear was The Warded Man. Something about the writing style and pacing reminds me of the Kingkiller Chronicles, even though the plot and setting is drastically different. I really don't know what the similarity is, maybe just their type of prose? Anyways I would definitely recommend giving it a try if you haven't already.

I'd recommend the graphic novel The Griff: A Graphic Novel, which is about dragons which invade Earth from outer space. And as silly as that sounds, Christopher Moore makes it work. (Moore also writes humorous fantasy novels if you like this one.)

Although Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern books are often called science fiction, they're really science fantasy. I only really like the first three, but there are many of them if you enjoy the original trilogy. There's an omnibus edition, but the first three books are Dragonflight, Dragonquest and The White Dragon.

And, of course, the best dragon movie ever made is Dragonslayer.

This thread has a lot of good suggestions:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Kaitlynn wrote: "Has anyone read the mortal instruments?
Can anyone tell me if there's any good romance going on there with the characters?
c:
thank you"

I've read nearly all of them. There's certainly romance, but it depends on what you mean by good - if you're into instantaneous love and desperate love with 'gorgeous' protagonists, then yes. I haven't finished the series, but I'm withholding judgement on it until I have.

Are we, as authors, allowed to whimper and beg for someone to read our novels? Is that uncouth?

There's a new British author, Anthony Ryan who last year published Blood Song, and has just released Tower Lord on 3 July.

I'm not even halfway through the new book yet, but it's just as powerful as the first one (aka stupendous fantasy!!) The world build is one of the best I've read recently (although the names take a bit of getting used to); there's a fair amount of blood and violence (it IS set during a war); but there's also the odd (aka clever!) bit of magic thrown in too. (No dragons, sorry; but there are some 'mythical/magic' beasts appearing occasionally.)

I suppose in a way, there will be comparison to Gemmell, but IMHO I find these books so VERY unlike most of the other stuff I read (but in a VERY GOOD way).

Oh, almost forgot: anything by Brent Weeks is amazing!

William wrote: "Are we, as authors, allowed to whimper and beg for someone to read our novels? Is that uncouth?"

You should probably read this post https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Carole-Ann wrote: "Oh, almost forgot: anything by Brent Weeks is amazing!"

I've only recently discovered Brent Weeks! Really enjoying his stories!

Would definitely second Scott Lynch's The Lies of the Locke Lomora and Anthony Ryan's Blood Song to someone who really liked The Name of the Wind. You absolutely cannot go wrong with either of those. Both are very good writers. The books aren't similar in plot, characters and themes but they are both excellent stories.

For something unique, you may wish to read The Inverted World by the British author Christopher Priest.

It was first published in 1974; however, the subject matter and story are such, that it will never be considered dated or irrelevant.

If you like long books The Curse of the Mistwraith by Janny Wurts and its sequels. However, the series hasn't been completed.

Scott wrote: "Would definitely second Scott Lynch's The Lies of the Locke Lomora and Anthony Ryan's Blood Song to someone who really liked The Name of the Wind. You absolutely cannot go wrong with either of thos..."

Second both of these.

You could read the Bartimaeus trilogy by Jonathan Stroud. Like crack cocaine between book covers; I promise you you will not be able to just read the first volume.

Alyce,

Sarah A. Hoyt has a series of three books now, with a dragon who lives in an invented Colorado city called Draw One in the Dark, Second Edition, Gentleman Takes a Chance and now Noah's Boy.

Also look at The Painted Boy by Charles de Lint.

Can anyone help me find single books and/or books in a series that have Faeries or pertain to the Fae? I'd prefer them to be Supernatural, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Urban-Fantasy, and Paranormal primarily. I suppose a little romance would be alright, if it's secondary to the abovementioned genres. Also, I'd prefer it to be Adult (as opposed to Young Adult), unless it's a New Adult. =D

Thanking you in advance!
~A

Alisha wrote: "Can anyone help me find single books and/or books in a series that have Faeries or pertain to the Fae? "

You might like Charles de Lint's Newford books. They can all be read as stand-alones (if I remember right), and incorporate a few different mythologies, but the Fae make pretty regular appearances.

Jen wrote: "Alisha wrote: "Can anyone help me find single books and/or books in a series that have Faeries or pertain to the Fae? "

You might like Charles de Lint's Newford books. They can al..."

Also the Jack the Giant Killer books, which I read as a single-volume duo called Jack of Kinrowan. In this retelling, Jack is a girl.

Thank you for taking the time to help me everyone. Keep the suggestions coming!! =D

Technically they are SF, but they read a lot like fantasy. Try The "Pern" series by Anne McCaffrey.