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Fantasy and Sci-fi books? 50 dollars...what to get?

So, Barnes and Nobles is closing down (well, they are for sell...which isn't a good sign at all)...and I have 50 dollars worth of gift cards to buy books with. Want to use them before BaN close or whatever happens with them.

 

I'm mostly into Fantasy/Sci-fi books...only other genre that I branch into is History...I love Romans/Greeks/Nordic (I have Viking in me from my dad's side)...greatly dislike modern history. 

 

I don't have many history books (I kind of like a lot of pictures to go with them by the way)... because I incorperate a lot of medieval stuff into my books...especially Nordic related things. And pictures help a lot with visualizing and stuff.

 

For Fantasy/Sci-fi...I have tons of books. I got the Sword of Truth series, but they were a bit...too adult oriented. 

 

I LOVE Dune (have whole series, my favorite books ever), first Fantasy books were Dragonlance (love them)...I have Wheel of Time series (like them). I have some of the books made by Terry Brooks, I really like the first book in the series...but haven't finished it yet. 

 

I have some other Sci-fi books, but I can't find them now. I have quite a bit of books really, but I listed the ones I can see on my book shelf.

 

Any recommendations? I might already have them, but maybe not.

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Comments

  • GTwanderGTwander Member UncommonPosts: 6,035

    Reading is for suckas.

    I keed. Personally, I am only into James Clavell, so I'd say get Shogun or King Rat.

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  • ExploriumExplorium Member Posts: 395

    Shogun is a good one, my teacher actually recommended me that a few months ago and I totally forgot about it. I read a bit of it and I liked what I read. I'll take a look at the other one you mentioned as well.

     

    Thanks :)

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  • EronakisEronakis Member UncommonPosts: 2,248

    If you enjoy fantasy books that are more magic oriented, I highly recommend anything from David Eddings. I'd start with this Belgraid Series

     

    Pawn of Prophecy

    Queen of Sorcerery

    Magicians Gambit

    Castle of Wizardry

    Enchanters End Game

     

    If you enjoy long novels check out Robert Jordan lol The Wheel of Time series. Another fantasy author that is great is Terry Brooks.  I hope this helps.

  • AsheramAsheram Member EpicPosts: 5,071

    The Dark Tower series by Stephen King

    http://www.stephenking.com/darktower/

  • pyrofreakpyrofreak Member UncommonPosts: 1,481

    Codex Alera by Jim Butcher

    His Majesty's Dragon

    Mistborn by Sanderson

    The Black Griffon by Lackey and Dixon

     

    Some recommendations that aren't too adult oriented. Heavy violence is a given, but they don't get too sexual or anything.

     

    *How bad is it that people have no problems with violence, but a little bit of sex and they lose their minds?

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  • GTwanderGTwander Member UncommonPosts: 6,035

    Originally posted by pyrofreak

    *How bad is it that people have no problems with violence, but a little bit of sex and they lose their minds?

    Welcome to America.

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  • pyrofreakpyrofreak Member UncommonPosts: 1,481

    Originally posted by GTwander

    Originally posted by pyrofreak



    *How bad is it that people have no problems with violence, but a little bit of sex and they lose their minds?

    Welcome to America.

    I was raised in a family that figured sex was natural, let me watch rated R movies etc, so it always comes as a bit of a surprise that other people have such problems with it.

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  • GTwanderGTwander Member UncommonPosts: 6,035

    Originally posted by pyrofreak

    Originally posted by GTwander


    Originally posted by pyrofreak



    *How bad is it that people have no problems with violence, but a little bit of sex and they lose their minds?

    Welcome to America.

    I was raised in a family that figured sex was natural, let me watch rated R movies etc, so it always comes as a bit of a surprise that other people have such problems with it.

    Well I was raised in a family that figured war movies and gore was natural, let me watch rated R movies etc, but the moment some naked titties came on screen, I wasn't old enough to be watching it.

    Welcome to America.

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  • IlliusIllius Member UncommonPosts: 4,142

    With my upbringing titties were celebrated and violence was not.  I think that's a better way and if I ever have children of my own they will get the same treatment.

    No required quests! And if I decide I want to be an assassin-cartographer-dancer-pastry chef who lives only to stalk and kill interior decorators, then that's who I want to be, even if it takes me four years to max all the skills and everyone else thinks I'm freaking nuts. -Madimorga-

  • pyrofreakpyrofreak Member UncommonPosts: 1,481

    Originally posted by Illius

    With my upbringing titties were celebrated and violence was not.  I think that's a better way and if I ever have children of my own they will get the same treatment.

    Titties are awesome, aren't they?

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  • AsheramAsheram Member EpicPosts: 5,071

    Tittie twisters where pretty violent.

  • WolfjunkieWolfjunkie Member, Newbie CommonPosts: 985

    The First Law triology by Joe Abercrombie

    Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie

    The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie (well, it's going to be released in Januar 2011, but i have no doubts that it'll be an most excelent book)

    The Dark Tower (7 books) by Stephen King

  • ExploriumExplorium Member Posts: 395

    Thanks for the recommendations :)

     

    As for "against" the sexual stuff...I'm just personally not into reading things like that, I thought the Sword of Truth books went too far for me. But having said that...I watch porn and don't care if I see nudity/sex on TV or somewhere else. But I don't really want to read about it. Hard to explain, but guess thats just my preference...hope it makes sense.

     

    But, then again, I was like 12 or 13 if I remember right, when I got Sword of Truth, so I was probably way too young for them anyway...maybe my preferences have changed since then...but yeah, in any case...hope that clears that up.

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  • EnigmaEnigma Member UncommonPosts: 11,384

    Originally posted by Wolfjunkie

    The First Law triology by Joe Abercrombie

    Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie

    The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie (well, it's going to be released in Januar 2011, but i have no doubts that it'll be an most excelent book)

     he's not the guy who started the clothing chain is he? :P

    People who have to create conspiracy and hate threads to further a cause lacks in intellectual comprehension of diversity.

  • LaserwolfLaserwolf Member Posts: 2,383

    These threads always really take off, but the lists are great to hang on to.

     

    Personally I'll recommend the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series for the fantasy, however it is likely much more "adult" than the Sword of Truth series, and so if you want lighter fare I'd sugest a relatively unheard of series from Brent Weeks called "The Night Angel Trilogy". It's about a street rat that becomes a legendary assassin.

     

    For the Sci-Fi I'll recommend the series I'm reading now since I am enjoying it so much. The first book is called Quarter Share and it is basically about an 18 year old in the distant future who joins the crew of a trade/cargo ship that travels among the many spaceports and planets. What's really amazing about it is that the protagonist is just the cook's assistant and everything is from his point of view. Basically this means no aliens, no space battles, no adventure, just the day to day life of an 18 year old serving aboard a cargo ship. This may sound dull but it really is hard to put down and as the series continues things should get a little more "big picture".

    Lastly, I feel I can't finish without recommending the book Pompeii by Robert Harris. You mentioned that this period of history interested you, and I can honestly say that I've never read a book that feels so historically accurate in everything from the setting to even how the main character thinks. It came very close to being made into a movie a few years ago but apparently nothing came of it. I strongly urge you to give this one a shot. Sort of a mix between an end of days disaster movie like The Day After Tomorrow or 2012, and a kind of follow-the-clues story like The Davinci Code.

    image

  • pyrofreakpyrofreak Member UncommonPosts: 1,481

    Originally posted by Laserwolf

     

    Personally I'll recommend the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series for the fantasy, however it is likely much more "adult" than the Sword of Truth series, and so if you want lighter fare I'd sugest a relatively unheard of series from Brent Weeks called "The Night Angel Trilogy". It's about a street rat that becomes a legendary assassin.

     

    A great series, but I left it out for simply that reason. It's about as adult as any given fantasy series can get. Also I don't think Martin is ever gonna finish it.

     

    Edit: Except for Magic's Pawn, which features not only sex, but gay sex throughout.

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  • ExploriumExplorium Member Posts: 395

    Well actually...can you give me a "preview" so to speak of Song of Ice and Fire? And by that, I mean like a paragraph or two or whatever of an "adult" part to it. If its too R rated for the forums, you can just PM it to me.

     

    I see there are 4 books in that series, and one of my teachers recommended it to me. I don't really know anything about it though. I mean I did take a quick look at it, and it sounds good...guess its different than most fantasy books? At least that is what my teacher said. Thats a plus.

     

    I don't have Sword of Truth series anymore so I can't go back and re-read it...but hey, like I said, I was 12 or 13 back then and I hated that kinda stuff. But I've matured since then, being 22...so maybe I won't care about those kinda things in books now. 

     

    I think I'm definitely getting Shogun.  I'll check out Pompeii too, that sounds really interesting.

     

    I do have the Dark Tower series, I have to go back and re-read them though...been too long and don't remember much about them now.

     

    (edit)

     

    Quarter Share does sound a bit dull, but hey, I'll read through part of it at the book store and see what I think.

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  • pyrofreakpyrofreak Member UncommonPosts: 1,481

    A Song of Ice and Fire is heavy. It deals a lot with politics, children get killed, parents are beheaded while children watch, etc. RRMartin has no problem killing off major characters. The book deals with some very touchy subjects like incest and rape, though I can't off the top of my head remember how graphic the books are about it.

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  • ExploriumExplorium Member Posts: 395

    Oh, yeah I doubt I would like it then.

     

    Well, onto looking at other books suggested

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  • GTwanderGTwander Member UncommonPosts: 6,035

    Originally posted by Explorium

    I think I'm definitely getting Shogun.

    Shogun is deffo a bang-for-buck book thats 1100 pages of awesome, but I highly recommend King Rat even more. I read it for a book report back in like 8th grade, then later saw the movie starring George Segel and honestly don't know which one I like more. The people in that movie brought it, hard. You either need to read the book, or see the movie, it's just too damn good to not experience in your lifetime.

    As a primer; it's a story about a Japanese PoW camp in WWII where it focuses on daily life and struggles. James Clavell had a huge fascination with Japan, and it's why his three main books (Shogun, Taipei and King Rat) always focused on it. Man it's such a good story, and you'll really get hit by the ending - which I won't ruin - but must say that it's just amazing. It's like when all you know is a certain way of life, it's hard to see anything else. God that guy was a hell of a writer.

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  • HiromantHiromant Member UncommonPosts: 99

    Great science fiction authors:

    Dan Simmons

    Peter F. Hamilton

    Alastair Reynolds

    Iain M. Banks

  • ArbadacarbaArbadacarba Member Posts: 304

    Isaac Asimov is widely considered a master of hard science fiction and, along with Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke, he was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers during his lifetime. Asimov's most famous work is the Foundation series; his other major series are the Galactic Empire series and the Robot series, both of which he later tied into the same fictional universe as the Foundation Series to create a unified "future history" for his stories much like those pioneered by Robert A. Heinlein and previously produced by Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 9,000 letters and postcards. His works have been published in nine of the ten major categories of the Dewey Decimal System. Asimov believed that his most enduring contributions would be his "Three Laws of Robotics" and the Foundation series  (Wikipedia).

     

  • ExploriumExplorium Member Posts: 395

    So as an update if anyone was/is curious...

     

    Got Shogun, The Dark Tower and the four books in A Song of Ice and Fire series. And I already have the Isaac Asimov book somewhere, forgot what the book name was...but I know I have at least one of his books. 

     

    I was reading up on A Song of Ice and Fire, and was reading some of it at the bookstore...I actually really like it. And the blood and stuff doesn't nearly bother me as much as it did when I was young and reading Sword of Truth. Actually makes the world feel a lot more realistic.

     

    Shogun I already know I'll like as I've read part of it before, same with Dark Tower (its by Stephen King, one of my favorite authors)

     

    I can say about A Song of Ice and Fire...damn thick books lol...all four of them. Definitely will give me something to do for a while

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