My favorite reading experiences have been reading great series such as The Dark Tower books, Harry Potter, Narnia, and Lord of the Rings. I am due for another great series and am looking for recommendations. Something like The Dark Tower would be great. I know there are a lot of Science Fiction series out there but I dont like things that are too SF like Star Trek. Any recommendations for me? Any care to list the best series of books they have ever read?
Some folks on the boards here pointed me to Terry Pratchett earlier this year. I am a dozen books into the Discworld series and no letup yet. Funny, clever, thought provoking even. And different enough that it isn't really a "series" but set in the same general place. Death is a fantastic character. I recently read the six Uplift books by David Brinn. Two trilogies, really - I loved these.
We've talked about it elsewhere, but Colleen McCullough's Masters of Rome series, a historical fiction series which goes from the rise of Gaius Marius to the life and death of Julius Caesar to Octavian's defeat of Antony has been my best find of the last 5 years. Highly recommended.
I just finished Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy. Great stuff, though I'm still mulling over what I thought of the ending. Terry Pratchett is also highly recommended for the reasons Ismitje said. I would recommend The Wheel of Time if someone could condense books 8-11 into 2 books.
Has anyone read the Aztec series? I forgot I have the first book of that series. I also have Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet which is apparently apart of a decent series. Anyone read those? Thank you for the recommendations, keep them coming. I want to find the perfect series to read. I read the Dark Tower series 4 years ago and havent read a good series since. I am due for one.
The Millennium Series: Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Girl Who Played with Fire, Girl who kicked the Hornet's Nest. There's 6 different people in my office now who have read the whole series in a row. And all 6 of us have vastly different tastes in books. It's part crime drama, part suspense, a little bit James Bond/Jason Bourne. The first part of the first book is a little slow as it's setting everything up, but after that, it doesn't really let up. Great characters, enjoyable (non-irritating) heroine, and with the backdrop as Sweden, even the usually mundane things are interesting. It's not exactly fantasy/sci-fi, but definitely worth a read.
Pillars of the Earth is not a series. It was a single book for many, many years. A couple years ago, a sequel was written and published, but I wouldn't think two books is a series. I absolutely love Pillars though. There was a miniseries of it that, I think, was released in England. It's just coming to the US this month on the Starz network. Please read the book before you see it on tv. I have, but have not read, the sequel. As for series. I have two trilogies to recommend - both of which I absolutely love. 1. Fantasy - The Abhorsen trilogy by Garth Nix. You might find these in the juvenile fiction section, but I think they are well suited for adult reading. I love these books. Sabriel, Lirael, and Abhorsen. They're a fantasy trilogy, but they're pretty different, I think. 2. Sci-Fi - While I did enjoy the first part of John DeChancie's Castle Perilous series, the last couple were so awful. Before he wrote those, he wrote one of my favorite trilogies ever. This is the Skyway Trilogy. Starrigger, Red Limit Freeway, and Paradox Alley. So good. I love them. Great characters, great plotlines, and it uses time in a way that I often enjoy. 3. Another fantasy series that I enjoy... though, again, the last couple were pretty bad... well,l actually, the last one was kind of enjoyable... Christopher Stasheff's A Wizard in Rhyme series. They start with Her Majesty's Wizard.
If you like Tolkien and King, definitely check out Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter of Mars series. I remember tearing through them back in middle school when I was really into LOTR and the Dark Tower series. Burroughs also created the Tarzan series, which he's better known, for obviously, but I've never read those. I think there's 12 books in the series (about a Civil War vet who inexplicably ends up on Mars with superhuman fighting powers). Really fun and pulpy and very very fast reads. Lots of battles that will remind you of action scenes like Helm's Deep. Also, it'll be a timely read, as the big screen versions are coming out in 2 years. I'm hopeful for the movies, as Andrew Stanton of Pixar is directing and Michael Chabon worked on the script, and the cast looks pretty good. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barsoom
That series is becoming incredibly popular and I havent heard a bad word about them. I am currently on the waiting list at the library for the first book. Guess what number I am in line? 646. Luckily, they now have 100 copies of the book since they recently ordered 75 new ones. I think that says something about the popularity.
Surprised no one mentioned it yet...maybe it's already 'jumped the shark', but The Song of Ice and Fire series (ongoing) from George R.R. Martin sounds like it might be your thing. It's been called - a bit disparagingly - The Lord of the Rings with sex, but there's a touch of accuracy there. The thing I like about the series is the loose inspiration Martin took from the historical English War of the Roses - it makes for an interesting basis with contending aspirants to the throne. Disclaimer, Martin started out with a bang, but as with many other fantasy novelists, has started to take some criticism for drawing out plot resolution. Can't be that dubious as HBO is on board. Does the actor playing the character in the picture remind you of anyone? Also, for the Potter itch, there's the Nightwatch series from Sergei Lukyanenko. Interesting story about this one was that Fox thought it was going to have a massive hit in the U.S. for the film adaption, based on the fact that it was the most successful movie ever made in Russia when created 6 years ago. Didn't work out quite as planned...but the series is all about good v. evil with characters in possession of magical powers. There's a subtext of political philosophy that Lukyanenko is thought to be exploring.
I've added the first book of all of these to my Bookmooch wishlist. We will see what comes available first. I have been digging through my books and realized that I never started Dune so I think I will work on that series right now. Any other suggestions? Anything that is not fantasy/sci-fi?
Not mentioned but extremely well done is Jim Butcher's Dresden Files. First book is called Storm Front. He is 12 books into it. The other series I've recently discovered is written by a new author named Taylor Anderson called Destroyermen. First book is called Into the storm. If you want to borrow either of them, let me know and I'll bring them to a Wizards game for you.
I completely forgot about Dresden Files. Someone recommended that to me when I was reading the Dark Tower series and your post reminded me of it. Yeah, I would love to borrow the first book if you dont mind so I can check it out. I take good care of books. Shoot me a PM if you bring it out and I will come over and get it from you.
It's not a complete series, but close enough. American Gods by Neil Gaiman, followed by Anansi Boys. American Gods, broadly speaking, is about how when immigrants came to the U.S., they brought their gods with them. These gods kind of evolve with the times and the new country and how new gods emerge. While AG is more of a serious drama/quest kind of book, Anansi Boys is more humorous. It's not directly an extension/sequel of AG, but more of a side story, using some of the characters from American Gods. There's also a short story in 'Fragile Things' that uses the main character from AG as he goes off on another little adventure of his own.
I've read American Gods; it was probably about a year ago. I wasnt aware that Anansi Boys was a sequel to that book. I might have to check that out as I enjoyed American Gods.
Well, it didn't continue the storyline with Shadow, but it picks up with Anansi (Mr. Nancy) and his kids. It's a nice change from the dark and dramatic AG. While my boss never could get into AG, she loved Anansi Boys.
I highly recommend the young adult trilogy The Hunger Games --- I think I have suggested it to you before... The 1st book came out 2 years ago, the 2nd came out last year, the 3rd comes out in a month or two... The movie rights have already been sold and I suggest reading it before it gets butchered by Hollywood... I used to own them both, but then students liked the 1st one so much they kept both copies of it... so i only have the second, which you are more than welcome to borrow...
That series ran through my mind when I posted this thread as well. I wasnt aware that it was a young adult series though. Not that it matters. I will try to get my hands on the first book. I started reading Dune last night.
Dune is great. I thought about recommending that, but I'm not sure it's worth it to read the following books. I got through Children and maybe half of God Emperor (or the other way around...forget the order), but they never quite lived up to the original, IMO. Might be best as a stand-alone masterpiece. And since you asked for non-fantasy stuff, here goes: Lonesome Dove series by Larry McMurtry - about as fun a reading experience as you'll ever have. Stories about 2 Texas rangers and their adventures over many years. Deserving Pullitzer winner, for sure. Aubrey/Maturin series by Patrick O'Brien - Napoleonic era British navy captain and his pal, a botanist/spy have adventures all over the world. The writing is pitch perfect, and the characters are as well drawn as any in English lit. And of course, if you haven't ever read the complete Sherlock Holmes novels and stories, then definitely dip into those at some point. Start with A Study in Scarlet and then make your way. There's 4 novels and 56 short stories total. I'm currently reading Colleen McCullough's Masters of Rome series, which is very good too, and I'm 1/3 of the way through that Girl with Dragon Tatoo book. The Girl series seems well plotted, but more along the lines of Grisham in terms of writing quality. Maybe a step up from Grisham/Dan Brown, but not a big one.
Some of the series I've read or am currently reading: T.A. Baron's The Lost Years of Merlin Orson Scott Card's Ender series / Shadow series Orson Scott Card's Tales of Alvin Maker Stephen King's The Dark Tower George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire (waiting for next) Frank Herbert's Dune series (finished the second) As you can see, my preference is science fiction and fantasy (or a blend)
Has anyone read the Ashes series by William Johnstone? There is 35 books in the series and is suppose to be pretty good.
A song of Ice and Fire is certainly my favorite series as well. Not sure why the criticism exists, people just need to be patient, I feel no quality in the story has been lost, there's just so much going on, why not make it as detailed as it deserves
I read the first 100 pages last night and really liked it. I already know I am going to like this series. Has anyone read the sequels to Dune? Are they worth reading? Some people tell me no and some tell me yes. I really enjoyed Dune, the amount of detail put into that world by the author is amazing.
Suprised no ones mentioned The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny, read these years ago and loved them.