Book recommendations? (sci-fi or fantasy)

[Tommie]

So I used to read a lot of sci-fi, back in the day (in the 70s), then stopped, then read a lot in the 90s, and stopped again. I'm looking to find some good, recent sci-fi or fantasy, preferably a series.

Here's what I like: hard science without clichéd dialog; fantasy without wizards and magic (such as the Dark Tower series; one of my favorites, though I love the Lord of the Rings - the problem with fantasy is that most of it just copies LotR); space operas that don't have too much weirdness in them.

Very much not recent, otherwise fulfilling your criteria: Stanisław Lem
however, you will already have read it.

ditto: Philip K. Dick

Nevertheless I wanted to mention them.

[POGO]

Well here are a few books i really enjoyed.

Cloud of sparrows and autum bridge (its a 2 books fantasy baised in the turn of japan)

And Icefire by reeve steven's...

[Bartleby]

You did say "recent," but there have been some recommendations of oldies but goodies here, so I thought I'd chime in. I read a lot of the science fiction and most of the good fantasy published in English up through the early 1980s, then I pretty much stopped except for a random book now and then, so my recommendations are a bit dated.

The best adult fantasy series I ever read was the Gormenghast trilogy by Mervyn Peake. (Warning, if you don't like books by Charles Dickens, you probably won't like this series.)

The best utopian fantasy I ever read was a book called Islandia, by Austin Tappan Wright. (People usually either love this book or they can't finish it.)

My favorite (although probably not the best) dystopian fantasy is a book called "Rumors of Spring" by Richard Grant. (Not a pure dystopian fantasy but with many of the elements.)

The best hard science fiction book I ever read was Rendezvous With Rama by Arthur C. Clarke. (A bit dated now, perhaps.)

My favorite post-nuclear holocaust science fiction would be a tie between "Alas, Babylon" by Pat Frank, and "A Canticle for Leibowitz" by Walter Miller.

My favorite "space adventure" (not quite a space opera, but close) book is harder to decide, but I would probably vote for a little-known book called "The Warriors of Dawn" by M.A. Foster.

It's hard to pick my favorite shorter science fiction works, there are so many good ones. If I had to pick just three, they would probably be "A Boy and His Dog" by Harlan Ellison, "The Star" by Arthur C. Clarke, and "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes. (Okay, the last is a kid's book, but it was one of the first science fiction books I read and it really pulled me into the genre.)

[Redundant]

For fantasy I'd recommend Joe Abercrombie. He has a trilogy (called the First Law; the first book is The Blade Itself) and a stand alone (Best Served Cold). His work is in the Bakker, Erikson, and Martin style, in that it's fairly dark, and definitely not Tolkienesque. Also, I would say that he beats out Martin in how cruel he can be to his characters.

[Andreas]

One recent fantasy trilogy I really liked was "Stone Dance of the Chameleon" by Ricardo Pinto. No magic, creates a fascinating, epic world without relying much on fantasy stereotypes (no true heir, no "good" and "evil"). The only thing about the series that might turn off some readers is that the main characters are homosexual (like the author) which shouldnt be a problem to somebody who already read books in the 70s.

A more conventional trilogy I really enjoyed was the Empire Trilogy by Raimond Feist and Jenny Wurts (1992, not that new). In my opinion, its much better than the books that Raimond Feist or Jenny Wurts have written alone. Maybe its not what youre looking for because it actually does contain magic.

About Eddings: rereading Eddings made me want to make an essay about common clichees in fantasy literature. Same goes for the "Eragon" series. Theyre not bad, but if Youve read some fantasy before, its the same all over again.

About Robert Jordan: I used to like Robert Jordan when I was a Teenager, but stopped to buy the "Wheel of Time" after a few years. From reading the first 6 or 7 books of the series, I got the feeling that the author totally lost control of the story, which seems quite unprofessional. The Wheel of Time DOES contain our favourite game, though, in the disguise of "stones".

[kirkmc]

About Robert Jordan: I used to like Robert Jordan when I was a Teenager, but stopped to buy the "Wheel of Time" after a few years. From reading the first 6 or 7 books of the series, I got the feeling that the author totally lost control of the story, which seems quite unprofessional. The Wheel of Time DOES contain our favourite game, though, in the disguise of "stones".

Most readers, with the exception of die-hard fans (of which there are many), gave up around that point in the series. I think I got through the first 6 books. I have to say that the first few were truly brilliant. I might be tempted to try and reread a couple again, but I must admit, I'm leaning more toward rereading The Dark Tower right now.

"The man in black fled across the desert and the Gunslinger followed."

Best opening line in genre fiction. (If you've read the entire series, you understand why.)

[sumiyaka]

I haven't finished the series, but that is one of the best opening lines I have read....

I had an English professor tell us we should pay particular attention to the opening lines in books... and I have. But... its only a few that I really remember.

That is one of them.

The others... opening to Neuromancer, HitchHiker's Guide, and Beowulf -- the Seamus Heaney translation.

[schultz]

(snip)
"The man in black fled across the desert and the Gunslinger followed."

Best opening line in genre fiction. (If you've read the entire series, you understand why.)

Just one more recommendation for me to pick this up and finally read it. I'll get there eventually.

Also, I haven't seen anyone else recommend it, so I'll throw out Orson Scott Card. I really enjoyed both the Ender series (Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, Children of the Mind), and the Bean series (Ender's Shadow, Shadow of the Hegemon, Shadow Puppets, Shadow of the Giant).

His endings can be a little campy ("Xenocide" and "Children of the Mind" anyone?), but I still enjoyed all of those.

[sumiyaka]

(snip)
"The man in black fled across the desert and the Gunslinger followed."

Best opening line in genre fiction. (If you've read the entire series, you understand why.)

Just one more recommendation for me to pick this up and finally read it. I'll get there eventually.

The first book "drags" a bit the first time you read it. But, its worth it to get into the series. Others I know have read the series more than once, and say the first book is better the second time around.

[Marcus]

Bear with me, I do have recommendations at the end.

In the science fiction genre, I really liked "The Mote in God's Eye" by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle.

Very good book. I enjoyed it very much. Not sure how old it is, though.

About Robert Jordan: I used to like Robert Jordan when I was a Teenager, but stopped to buy the "Wheel of Time" after a few years. From reading the first 6 or 7 books of the series, I got the feeling that the author totally lost control of the story, which seems quite unprofessional. The Wheel of Time DOES contain our favourite game, though, in the disguise of "stones".

Most readers, with the exception of die-hard fans (of which there are many), gave up around that point in the series. I think I got through the first 6 books. I have to say that the first few were truly brilliant.

I don't count myself among the die-hards, but I do enjoy the series. I sold off my copies, though, and just borrow from the library when I get the urge to re-read them. Currently re-reading them in preparation for the 12th book, which I have a hold on at the library (#53 in line now, I think, giving me ample time to finish re-reading the others).

(snip)
"The man in black fled across the desert and the Gunslinger followed."

Best opening line in genre fiction. (If you've read the entire series, you understand why.)

Just one more recommendation for me to pick this up and finally read it. I'll get there eventually.

The first book "drags" a bit the first time you read it. But, its worth it to get into the series. Others I know have read the series more than once, and say the first book is better the second time around.

Heh, my parents bought me the 4th book for Christmas one year, not realizing it was the 4th ... I read the riddle game in the opening (I love riddles) but waited until I could borrow the first 3 before reading the 4th ... that was all that were out at the time, and I never got back to reading the 5th-7th books.

I'll borrow those next time I'm at the library.

Recommendations

In terms of newer sci-fi, you may have already read these, but you could check out:

The Gap Cycle by Stephen R. Donaldson. Five books, and a little bit dark, but I found them interesting. Not as hard sci-fi as some that I've read, but I enjoyed it.

Author: Jack McDevitt has been a bit of a focus for me lately. I read The Hercules Text a long while ago and really enjoyed it. When I noticed another book by him (Polaris) on the library shelf, I decided to pick it up for reading. Haven't finished yet, and I've just noticed that it's a part of a series. I'll have to find the first book sometime soon. Can't recommend it yet, though it seems promising.

Darwin's Radio by Greg Bear was also quite good. I haven't read the sequel yet.

In terms of Fantasy, lately I've stuck to re-reading old favourites. As I'm not very old, those "old favourites" are mostly "swords n' magic" type fantasy, most notably by Weis and Hickman or by Salvatore. If I were to make a recommendation, though, concerning fantasy, it would be Weis and Hickman's Deathgate Cycle. Again, this is still "swords and sorcery" style fantasy, but I really enjoyed the series, and it's less about the setting (though the setting itself is interesting) and more about the characters than anything else.

[Suji]

(snip)
"The man in black fled across the desert and the Gunslinger followed."

Best opening line in genre fiction. (If you've read the entire series, you understand why.)

Just one more recommendation for me to pick this up and finally read it. I'll get there eventually.

Also, I haven't seen anyone else recommend it, so I'll throw out Orson Scott Card. I really enjoyed both the Ender series (Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, Children of the Mind), and the Bean series (Ender's Shadow, Shadow of the Hegemon, Shadow Puppets, Shadow of the Giant).

His endings can be a little campy ("Xenocide" and "Children of the Mind" anyone?), but I still enjoyed all of those.

I'll second Orson Scott Card. What do you mean by "campy"?

[Phelan]

Also, I haven't seen anyone else recommend it, so I'll throw out Orson Scott Card. I really enjoyed both the Ender series (Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead, (...)

I've read the first two and I've been hooked.(the use of Portuguese in the second is a bit off, and strange to a native speaker even when it is used right)

Although I'm not sure that is "hard sci-fi", the books are more philosophical, I think. However, if you don't mind that, try Robert Silverberg's Starborne. Features a lot of Go, as a bonus. It's what got me into the game.

One recent fantasy trilogy I really liked was "Stone Dance of the Chameleon" by Ricardo Pinto. No magic, creates a fascinating, epic world without relying much on fantasy stereotypes (no true heir, no "good" and "evil"). The only thing about the series that might turn off some readers is that the main characters are homosexual (like the author) which shouldnt be a problem to somebody who already read books in the 70s.

A portuguese author being recommended here? I'll have to check it out.

[Andreas]

I liked Silverberg a lot in the 90s. One of those I remember especially fondly would translate as "Gypsies Star". I also liked Orson Scott Card. Reading this thread revives a lot of memories, I was a public library junkie back in my school and Zivildienst (civil service?) time.

Actually, Ricardo Pinto is living in Scotland and the book was originally written in English. The Portuguese version is a translation, Im not sure if the author did it himself.

[Phelan]

I don't mind reading it in the original language.

[schultz]

(snip)
"The man in black fled across the desert and the Gunslinger followed."

Best opening line in genre fiction. (If you've read the entire series, you understand why.)

Just one more recommendation for me to pick this up and finally read it. I'll get there eventually.

Also, I haven't seen anyone else recommend it, so I'll throw out Orson Scott Card. I really enjoyed both the Ender series (Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, Children of the Mind), and the Bean series (Ender's Shadow, Shadow of the Hegemon, Shadow Puppets, Shadow of the Giant).

His endings can be a little campy ("Xenocide" and "Children of the Mind" anyone?), but I still enjoyed all of those.

I'll second Orson Scott Card. What do you mean by "campy"?

I found out there are quite a few different possible readings for "campy", but the one I'm going for was: "overdone; out of fashion and intriguing. : Most camp entertainment is pretentious and overdrawn."

I personally thought the endings to both of those books were pretty weak, and quite cliche; especially when compared with the rest of the book leading up to those endings. They came up really quick and felt like they were rushed too much. Of course that is my personal opinion.

Either way, though, I still loved all of those books.

And I agree Phelan. Definitely not a hard sci-fi. I'd put them as a pretty soft sci-fi with a lot of philosophical elements added in. Especially in "Speaker for the Dead." It's all tied together with sci-fi elements, though. And his use of a number of different foreign languages (the Portuguese!) is quite interesting, though has always made it a pain for me to try and remember how to pronounce everything.