The Sword and Laser discussion

Hi guys, sorry if this is in the wrong section but I wasn't overly sure and I felt this would be the best.

OK, so I find myself without a book to read and no idea what to read next. I checked out Fuzzy Nation but I'm not sure it's quite for me and I've already finished the latest Martin. So I find myself without anything to read! Can anyone make some recommendations?

I love a mix of sci-fi and fantasy. My core authors are:

- Douglas Adams
- Terry Pratchett
- Neil Gaiman
- Gene Wolfe
- Patrick Rothfuss
- George R.R. Martin
- Frank Herbert
- Raymond E. Feist
- Brent Weeks
- Peter V. Brett
- Gail Z. Martin

I've also read and enjoyed Alistair Reynolds as well.

So, generally, I like a pretty good cross-section of authors. I know, Tolkien isn't on the list and while I do love the books, it's not to the same level that I love Rthfuss's works or (to an even greater degree) Douglas Adams. Mostly, it's in the style. I'm not one for fluffy, flowing prose of the kind Tolkien was fond.

Weeks is one of my newer authors and the thing I love about him most is his characters. The same for Rothfuss. Both have amazingly deep characters that feel like they're real people. Martin does the same for many of his but, if we're honest, he is a master of his craft.

So I would love any and all recommendations. I'm hoping to order 3+ books on Amazon either today or tomorrow (yay for Prime!). The only book I'm adding to that list on my own is the upcoming Pratchett which hits early October.

I know I don't have a ready list on Good Reads yet, but I'm rather new to the site and haven't gotten around to it just yet. Though, I'm bored now so maybe that's what I'll do.

Mistborn Trilogy Boxed Set by Brandon Sanderson

Ooo... Quick bit of reading up on that and it hit all of the right buttons. I expected this to take a couple hours. It took you 12 minutes to find something that is exactly what I wanted.

Kudos, good sir, kudos.

This will give me a good bit to read for now, hopefully until the next Sword and Laser book is announced. However, if there are any other books anyone can recommend I'd really appreciate it!

Germline seems 'gritty'.

hi Doug

I see you haven't got Joe Abercrombie on your list; His First Law trilogy are excellent, gritty fantasy with some wonderful characterisation and humour.

Less on the humour, but I keep pitching KJ Parker to people. The Scavenger trilogy and Engineer trilogy are both superb, hefty reads.

For SF, I'd definitely check out Richard K Morgan's Altered Carbon and Jon Courtenay Grimwood. His Arabesk books are a slightly cyberpunk alternative reality set in the middle east, and 9Tail Fox a neo-noir thriller mixing Chinese cyberpunk and Chinese myth. Both superb.

That's just what springs to mind, I'll force myself to a stop there. Hope you find some good stuff!

Nick Harkaway's The Gone-Away World, anything by Jasper Fforde, although I'd recommend to start with The Eyre Affair, anything by China Miéville (I haven't read everything and heard that the quality varies, so just check out what appeals to you), The Zamonia books by Walter Moers, if you can find them.

Not sure if that fits in completely with the list of authors you mentioned, but they are my favorites and I guess if you enjoy Douglas Adams and Neil Gaiman, they might be something for you as well.

I agree with Anne - if there is one book you must read its Nick Harkaway's the Gone away World.

Levi wrote: "I agree with Anne - if there is one book you must read its Nick Harkaway's the Gone away World."

Finally! Someone who read and liked it, too. I thought it would never happen.

Yeah - i LOVED it! I actually downloaded the Audiobook also which is read by a gifted narrator called Corey Heybourne and it is even better and has you on a roller coaster of emotion particularly during the Mr Woo scene and the famous bruschetta quote. I spent over 20 hours laughing, crying and laughing again -
PS Ike Thermite rocks my world...

The Gone-Away World ticks alot of boxes for me and you've made it sound so good I've added it 'to read'.

Boots wrote: "The Gone-Away World ticks alot of boxes for me and you've made it sound so good I've added it 'to read'."

I've been trying to pimp this as an S&L group read, but I think I'll wait for the right moment so that I don't sound like a broken record. I'd actually love to read it again with the group.

Boots wrote: "The Gone-Away World ticks alot of boxes for me and you've made it sound so good I've added it 'to read'."

Gah! can't believe i forgot this one. Harkaway's second book is due out soon and i'll be queuing up for it

Paul 'Pezter' wrote: "Boots wrote: "The Gone-Away World ticks alot of boxes for me and you've made it sound so good I've added it 'to read'."

Gah! can't believe i forgot this one. Harkaway's second book is due out soon..."

There is always that forgotten great "Geek Love" but it's not really on the same vibe.

You guys rock! I ordered the first round of books last night and the ones I didn't order I'll be adding to the list for the next round.

I should have joined this community YEARS ago!

My thoughts were much the same on finding this place :D

And remember, there is no extra charge for awesomeness...

I'll add Steven Erikson and Janny Wurts :)

Also I would add Jim Butcher's Dresden Files and anything by Peter F Hamilton

Didn't Janny Wurts do the Empire Trilogy with Raymond E. Feist? What's her other stuff like?

Yeah, she did.

She's currently writing the Wars of Light and Shadow series, book 9 is coming out now soon and another two to go before it's done. Curse of the Mistwraith is the first (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28...)

I find the series awesome, but it's not a fast, easy read. It's very deep and layered and most of it won't make sense at the beginning. So it's a bit of a challenging read, but well worth it ;)

Kris wrote: "Also I would add Jim Butcher's Dresden Files and anything by Peter F Hamilton"

Hamilton has a few different series which are quite good. However, I came across one of his books (not a series) that is a good introduction to his style. That would be Fallen Dragon. It is a moderate length and won't be overwhelming if you find you don't like Hamilton.

Peter F. Hamilton's The Mandel Files just came out. It's a reprint of 2 novels from the old Mandel series.

Try anything by Mike Resnick. He is the most awarded living sci-fi author today. I have yet to read anything of his I didn't like. I even like his short stories, and I usually can't stand short stories.

He has a very long 30 year career to read from, and a very substantial amount of his books are available electronically. He has even gone back and put his out of print works up on Amazon for the Kindle at extremely reasonable prices.