NFT: Book Discussion - Fiction/Fantasy

Shackleton’s Antarctica expedition. Amazing story. Highly recommended.

now not so sure, I re-read 1984. Easy read now compared to the torture it was in 10th grade English and far more relevant today or at least obviously relevant vs 10th grade.

Once I finished 1984 I went back and re-read the Iliad and the Odyssey and I'm glad I did. Those took longer.

Ending was a little weak in my opinion.

Much different than the Amazon series. Long...and loses focus in the middle...but really great if you keep going. GM and Robert Jordan were fans of each other's work.

His first book is a bit rough with the prose (it's still an enjoyable read though) and he gets better as he matures as a writer. The stand-alones are all good too and are quasi-direct sequels to the First Law trilogy, so I'd highly recommend reading them in published order. There's a sequel First Law trilogy also, so there's a lot of books to get through. Take your time with it all and mix other stuff in there so you don't get burnt out.

If you're itching for more fantasy, check out anything by Guy Gavriel Kay, he writes fantasy/historical fiction hybrids. He generally writes stand alone books, not series. Tigana is a good book of his to start with.

Hyperion (and the sequel the Fall of Hyperion) by Dan Simmons is a mix of sci-fi fantasy, but some of the best stuff I read. Definitely worth a read.

and shift to Mistborn - the Cosmere is really intriguing and I’d like to lay the ground work to get into the Stormlight Archive next year sometime.

Anyone read the Farseer trilogy? That also seems like something I’d enjoy.

I can't recommend it enough, but it is long with 10 main series books. Besides that there's the Novels of the Malazan Empire books, two prequel trilogies, and the start of a sequel series.

In comment 16556913 UConn4523 said:

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and shift to Mistborn - the Cosmere is really intriguing and I’d like to lay the ground work to get into the Stormlight Archive next year sometime. Anyone read the Farseer trilogy? That also seems like something I’d enjoy.

Farseer is good too, i enjoyed it. She also wrote a ton of books on that, so you can keep going if you like it. It's all one POV, which is different from a lot of other books.

I'm not really a Sanderson fan. Mistborn is a solid work and I enjoyed it, but his characters are really one-note shallow and eventually I found myself hastily skimming large parts of some of the Cosmere books to get to the big parts. Mistborn is a manageable length to enjoy, but his larger books just wear me down.

Hainish novels. They are very different for sci-fi insofar as they're more anthropological; the plot often involves an outsider on a new world learning about it.

Her short novel, The Lathe of Heaven, is one of my favorites in any genre.

So long ago, I was considering reading it again. I think the show may have killed that for me though... lol

- Wheel of Time
- I really like John Gwynn - The Faithful and the fallen and Of Blood and Bone series are fantastic. I read the 1st two Bloodsworn books, I am not as big a fan of this series vs. the 1st two though, and still waiting for the final book to be released.
- Patrick Rothfuss Kingkiller chronicle is so SO good, but he never finished the series, and at this point (last book was 2011) I have my doubts that he ever will.
- I have been trudging my way through Jim Butcher's Dresden files. I'm on book 6 of like 17... like it but it's not my favorite.
- I will often go back to Conan of Cimmeria books, the L. Sprague deCamp/Lin Carter compilation of Robert E. Howard's works is fantastic, but also so many great writers (Robert Jordan, etc.) have taken a swing at Conan that there are some really great books out there.

I really enjoyed the Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series.

.

In comment 16556924 Johnny5 said:

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... - Patrick Rothfuss Kingkiller chronicle is so SO good, but he never finished the series, and at this point (last book was 2011) I have my doubts that he ever will. ...

I have given up hope for "Doors of Stone", GRRMs next book and "Thorn of Emberlain" by Scott Lynch. They are all just not happening.

That said, I really liked Lynch's first three books of the Gentleman Bastards series. Really fun fantasy heist books.

was looking up book 6 GoT news and saw a ton of people listing Abercrombie as someone who should finish the series for GRRM. Within a couple chapters of the Blade Itself I learned why - he’d be a great choice to finish the last 2 books.

was recommended to me not too long ago, and it has become my favorite Fantasy series.

There are total of seven books in the series. It starts with a trilogy then is followed by two volumes of novellas and finishes up with two books in an anthology.

I highly recommend trying out the series with the first book, The Cloud Roads.

Also, Martha Wells is the writer of the Murderbot series, which is being made into an Apple TV show.

completing the Danny Ryan saga. Great series.

Also a friend loaned me "The Last Mona Lisa" by Jonathan Santlofer. Really enjoyable yarn about the fictional great grandson of the man who helped steal the painting from the Louvre trying to uncover the truth

but as others have said, it's been such a long time since the last book. There are some mini stories he's done about side characters, so I guess he hasn't completely abandoned the world? Idk. At one point he was supposed to work with Lin-Manuel Miranda on a tv show about it, but that was also a long time ago.

Project Hail Mary (Soon to be a movie)
World Without End (from the Pillars of the Earth trilogy)
Dark Matter
Going Home (12 book Survivalist Series) - post EMP world


Non fiction:
Fate is the Hunter
Skygods - the Fall of Pan Am

In comment 16556894 djm said:

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Shackleton’s Antarctica expedition. Amazing story. Highly recommended.

Unless you like penguins. 😆

In comment 16556925 Johnny5 said:

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I really enjoyed the Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series.

I always warn people the first 60 pages of MST are brutally boring. My brother and one of my friends would have stopped reading without that heads up. After that though the series is great.

Also liked the Gentleman Bastards by Lynch books. Good thing too is you could read Lies of Locke Lamora and it could live as a stand alone if you wanted. I read the other books because I liked the characters.

a non-fiction recommendation, I just read the Glass Factory by Braxton McCoy, a wounded Gulf War veteran.

Should be required reading IMO for all males of adolescent/young adult age (all people really, but males I think will connect with it more).

Broken Empire series - Lawrence
Sword of Truth series - Goodkind
Riftwar saga - Feist
Night Angel series - Weeks

In comment 16556979 slickwilly said:

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In comment 16556925 Johnny5 said: Quote: I really enjoyed the Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series. I always warn people the first 60 pages of MST are brutally boring. My brother and one of my friends would have stopped reading without that heads up. After that though the series is great. Also liked the Gentleman Bastards by Lynch books. Good thing too is you could read Lies of Locke Lamora and it could live as a stand alone if you wanted. I read the other books because I liked the characters.

I agree with the first Gentleman bastards book working stand alone. The other books are more or less the continuing adventures of the characters. They're all pretty stand alone, I think (haven't read them since they came out, so not sure). We aren't waiting for stuff like we are in ASOIAF and Kingkiller. So if you start reading those, you're not setting yourself up for a massive cliffhanger, I think.

"Endurance" is non fiction but it reads like an amazing story fwiw.

In comment 16556955 dlauster said:

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In comment 16556894 djm said: Quote: Shackleton’s Antarctica expedition. Amazing story. Highly recommended. Unless you like penguins. 😆

Yea and seals. “Steak.” lol.

In comment 16556894 djm said:

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Shackleton’s Antarctica expedition. Amazing story. Highly recommended.

Very familiar with Shackleton and his astounding story.

I just recently finished a similar but much less well known story of the Greeley Polar Expedition called The Labyrinth of Ice, by Buddy Levy. Superb.

Available on Kindle Unlimited BTW....
The Labyrinth of Ice by Buddy Levy - ( New Window )

In comment 16556915 Scooter185 said:

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I can't recommend it enough, but it is long with 10 main series books. Besides that there's the Novels of the Malazan Empire books, two prequel trilogies, and the start of a sequel series.

I will second the Book of the Fallen. I love the way the author, Steven Erikson, just throws the reader right into the action, with no real buildup or scene setting. The reader is just as bewildered as to just what the hell is going on as the characters are in the book. You are there.

And as the story progresses, you do indeed learn just what the hell is going on, naturally.

So many unforgettable characters Erikson created. Anomander Rake, Bellurdan Skullcrusher and Caladan Brood just to name a few of my favorites.

I've read the entire series at least once, and several of the books, like the superb Deadhouse Gates, multiple times. I would dare to say there are many aspects of Erikson's writing and ideas to be superior to those of GRRM. And I say that as a reader and huge fan of A Song of Ice and Fire as the book series was originally released, well before the HBO version came out.

Erikson is a fantastically complex writer, with a lot more emphasis on the military aspects of his world.

By Dan Simmons. On the first book (I’ve heard the first 2 in the series are classics, this is the Hyperion Cantos, then the 3rd and 4th books are maybe not such classics). Enjoying it so far and I usually don’t go for sci-fi

and Mistborn in the past 2 years. Took a chance on Mistborn after hating Way of the Kings. Mistborn was so much better than I expected. especially the second group of books. If you haven't worked through both of those series I would highly recommend them.

I am aware UConn4523 seems more like a Fantasy fan then SciFi, but as an avid reader of both genres, I'd like to plug some excellent Science Fiction, because in general, I find the most amazing ideas, and some of the best and most compelling writers around, are in Sci Fi.

From the classical older writers like HG Wells, Arthur C. Clarke, Ray Bradbury, Issac Asimov and Frank Herbert, through Frederick Pohl, the wonderful Larry Niven among many others, I have read and enjoyed them all. (such a nerd lol)

One writer who I absolutely think stands with the icons listed is Iain M. Banks and his astonishing Culture series. I think we're all about to finally get to see some of Mr.Bank's incredible ideas on film with Amazon Prime currently in production for the amazing roller coaster ride/James Bond film Consider Phlebas. I really hope they are able to do justice to his stunning vision of the far future...

In comment 16557070 Spyder said:

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In comment 16556894 djm said: Quote: Shackleton’s Antarctica expedition. Amazing story. Highly recommended. Very familiar with Shackleton and his astounding story. I just recently finished a similar but much less well known story of the Greeley Polar Expedition called The Labyrinth of Ice, by Buddy Levy. Superb. Available on Kindle Unlimited BTW.... The Labyrinth of Ice by Buddy Levy - ( New Window )

Plus 1. This is a great non fiction book.

I loved Dune and will probably read Messiah before the next movie comes out.

In comment 16556920 Mike from SI said:

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Hainish novels. They are very different for sci-fi insofar as they're more anthropological; the plot often involves an outsider on a new world learning about it. Her short novel, The Lathe of Heaven, is one of my favorites in any genre.

It was done as a TV movie. Bruce Davison in the lead. I think you can get it on Prime.

In comment 16557098 Dave in PA said:

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By Dan Simmons. On the first book (I’ve heard the first 2 in the series are classics, this is the Hyperion Cantos, then the 3rd and 4th books are maybe not such classics). Enjoying it so far and I usually don’t go for sci-fi

This book blew me away when I read it. Hadn't heard of it before until a random person recommended it during a dry reading spell for me and it's one of my favorite books ever now. The sequel is a worthy follow up also.

In comment 16557144 UConn4523 said:

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I loved Dune and will probably read Messiah before the next movie comes out.

You would love Project Hail Mary. Same guy (Weir) who wrote The Martian

It may make it easier to provide a list of authors. Once I found a book I liked, I’d pick up his or her other books. Some misses, but mostly hits using that methodology.

Here you go (in no particular order):

George RR Martin
Raymond Feist
Robin Hobb
Tad Williams
Brandon Sanderson
Robert Jordan
Brent Weeks
Joe Abercrombie
Anthony Ryan
Mark Lawrence
Michael J Sullivan
Scott Lynch
Patrick Rothfuss
Terry Brooks
Naomi Novik
Brian McClellan
Dave Duncan
Richard Swan
Ryan Cahil


I kept a few off this list who I just couldn’t get into.
Steven Erikson
Ursula Le Guin
Anne McCaffrey
NK Jemisin
Mercedes Lackey
RA Salvatore

I’m sure I’ve missed a bunch of good authors too, but if you tackle the list above, you’ll have years of awesome reading ahead of you.

In comment 16557144 UConn4523 said:

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I loved Dune and will probably read Messiah before the next movie comes out.

I would strongly recommend you read both Messiah and Children. They start to get pretty freaky after that, but Messiah is very short and Children may be touched on in the next film.

The Red Rising series was recommended to me by many people, and I was skeptical. But they are a fun read. I read the first 4.

I very strongly recommend the Silo series that the Apple+ TV show is based on.

love Silo, Furgeson is awesome. She’s also the rumored lead role for Best Served Cold, the first film for Abercrombies universe. Hope that project becomes official.

A Deepness in the Sky
Vernor Vinge

"Hard" Sci-fi, at least it was for me!

A little plot description..

There is a planet which is sometimes warm and light, and sometimes goes into a dark, cold state (when it moves too far from the sun I think?).
Two factions of humans have a spacewar near the planet, which ends with both factions crippled.
Unknown to them, it turns out spider-like alien creatures live on the planet below. They hibernate during the cold periods and live during the warm ones. Throughout the book their society and civilization advances quite a bit.

In comment 16557255 Stephen in Sofla said:

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A Deepness in the Sky Vernor Vinge "Hard" Sci-fi, at least it was for me! A little plot description.. There is a planet which is sometimes warm and light, and sometimes goes into a dark, cold state (when it moves too far from the sun I think?). Two factions of humans have a spacewar near the planet, which ends with both factions crippled. Unknown to them, it turns out spider-like alien creatures live on the planet below. They hibernate during the cold periods and live during the warm ones. Throughout the book their society and civilization advances quite a bit.

I read all 3 of these, and they are amazing. (The third one was oddly hard to find online, I had to pay over like $50 for a used copy--which I do not regret.) The next book has one of the same characters. I'll leave it at that.

Of 6:20 man from David Baldacci.

Does anyone know if Dan Brown will release his new Robert Langdon book?

So last time we did this, I mentioned "and I haven't even gotten to fantasy yet..." Well here we are. Again I am going to avoid the well-known classic series, and try to throw out stuff that I have read and really enjoyed that you may not have encountered.

First and foremost, see if you can find a used copy of Silverlock by John Meyers Meyers. There is no audiobook (which is a tragedy) and it's been long out of print. This is a very old work, I think it was written in the 1940's, republished in the 60's and maybe again in the 70's?

It's been a pretty long time since I last read it but I recall it as being an epic "I can't believe this isn't a celebrated classic" kind of book. It is pretty clearly modeled after classical myth / heroic tales, as it follows the trope of the self centered amoral anti-hero loser who is forced into self discovery causing him to tear down and rebuild himself as a empathetic, moral and righteous person (Thomas Covenant anyone?) Characters from ancient myth, classical literature, the bible, guide the protagonist along his journey, each highlighting his moral flaws and teaching how to be a better person. You'll also be a better person from reading it.

I have a feeling this is sort of "your favorite author's favorite book". I read it long ago when I too was a self centered amoral loser and it changed me.

If you want a great blend of sci-fi and fantasy, and enjoy a very entertaining and somewhat brain bending tale of layered realities, then check out Arcadia by Iain Piers. I am not sure I can describe the uniqueness here, but basically it is about multiple realities that somewhat influence and "rewrite" each other, including one reality that is evolving in real time, being written by a fantasy author in another reality. Not sure I described that right and even so, it would make no sense at all until you have read Arcadia. It's outstanding.

Those two books have special place in my heart and are among my favorites.

Now the issue with Fantasy, like every other genre, is there is so much that is generic, derivative and tropey. Not bad, but just too much sameness. Briefly enjoyable but ultimately forgettable.

Here are some books and series that I think are as special, well written and unique as any classic series you may name, and a few maybe are classics in their own right. I mean they stand right up there with Tolkien, CS Lewis, Robert Jordan, George RR Martin, Prachett... right there. These are not too derivative, if at all, and each having some special magic that you should not miss out on. You won't forget the following books.

After Silverlock and Arcadia, the next highest recommendation I can give is the Gentleman Bastards series by Scott Lynch. Not sure you can find better than those books, honestly. Do you remember the Michael Douglas movie The Game? Take that + Ocean's 11, put that in a quasi-medieval generic fantasy setting and upscale those two movies by 1000. Basically this is a series about the most epically talented and clever con artist thieves that ever existed. And at no point do the books state this, it 100% shows you, over and over and over. It's awesome.

Next up is, read everything by Michael J. Sullivan, again in published order. While somewhat tropey, these are unique unique enough, very clever, and so immensely *fun* that I consider these must read. What's interesting about these books is that, if I recall correctly, Sullivan tried and failed to find a publisher, so he self published, I think as PDF's, and once people started reading and recommending to each other, his first few books took off and there quickly became a huge and dedicated following, and hey well now here come the publishers... And now he is well known.

If you like First Law, then read everything by Duncan Hamilton, in the order published. These are the Society of the Sword / First Sword books. I liked the second series better than the first, which is good, because you'll know it only gets better.

Fred Saberhagen Book of Swords series... Really cool stuff there, lots and lots of interconnected stories, call backs, reappearing characters... Very iconic, probably considered a classic, but maybe not that well known. Will stick with you. Must read.

Stephen R. Donaldson is known for the epic Thomas Covenant trilogies, and if you haven't ever read those, well get to it, because those are absolute classics and well-known. But his other series, Mirror of Her Dreams is also excellent and I think often overlooked. That's the one I an recommending here. Did you ever stare into a mirror and just lose yourself in that and wonder if there is something separately real on the other side? And is it the other side? Or inside... That's what this is about, what's on the other side of the mirror. Also, did you ever play Age of Empires, and use the cheat with the futuristic laser rifle soldier? Just drop that guy into the Bronze age? Yeah, that guy is in here. He kicks their asses. Until his battery runs down. It's pretty cool.

Guy Gavariel Kay's Sarantine Mosaic is... how is this series not considered a classic, known to all? I think this was Game of Thrones before GoT. It's amazing. Maybe it is considered a classic and I just don't realize that? Pretty much all of Kay's work is excellent.

Anthony Ryan's Raven's Shadow series is really good.

Bounds of Redemption series by M.D. Ireman is as well.

The Dagger and the Coin, Daniel Abraham, maybe these last three are somewhat derivative, at least have a lot of tropes, but these are all great... definitely worth your time.

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey is a single novel which is very good and very unique. Takes place in Alaska BTW, kind of an unusual fantasy setting. Maybe not fantasy in the usual sense, but I put it down as fantasy. Feels like a modern fairy tale. Not sure why this isn't yet a movie.

Not sure if this would be fantasy or sci-fi, maybe both, but given the author, Lathe of Heaven by Ursula Le Guin is a very good novel that has unique ideas and presentation.

Off to be the Wizard series by Scott Meyer is more than a bit silly, lots of puns, much goofiness, kind of a YA series, but it is really fun and has a great hook. I mean, to me, that hook has to be one of the coolest ideas ever, and has inserted itself right into my own personal mythos. Just like using the force. And I don't even need to explain that one because that's the perfect example of something classic. I try to use the force, and I try also to do the thing that people do in this book. Neither work of course but it's fun to pretend. At least the first two books should not be missed.

I like Robin Hobb's books, especially the Liveship series. The character of the Fool is one of the most interesting in fantasy literature I feel. And the whole seer and the catalyst thing is pretty epic. As is pouring yourself into a magic dragon. And sentient livewood, made of dragon seeds.

Now here are a some series that I must mention, though either I haven't read them myself, or I did but didn't care for them, but I should them include anyway.

Orson Scott Card. Some individual books, or parts of his books, I think are among the best things I have read. Some of his writing I really dislike and there is a bunch of his writing that just doesn't work for me. Now that said, his Alvin Maker series is considered fantasy and is considered amazing. It has it's spots for sure, the first couple of books especially, but I didn't love the whole thing.

I haven't read these yet, but a lot of reviewers say that the Queen of Hearts series by Colleen Oakes has the political machinations to please George RR Martin fans, and the alice in wonderland setting will please people that like fairy tale / mythos kind of flavor. It is a pretty highly rated fantasy series and is on my to-read list.

Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, is supposedly super fantastic. But I only do audiobooks these days and I cannot stand that narrator, so I couldn't go there. I wish I could, I want to read these.

I saw Raymond Feist mentioned. Just want to say that personally I am not at all a Raymond Feist fan, though as a young guy I read all the books (to that point) and there are some parts that I did like. But it is popular and others might enjoy. Same with Terry Brooks, Anne McCaffrey, Mercedes Lackey, RA Salvatore... just didn't work for me.

And finally, I want to mention Gene Wolfe - Book of the New Sun series. This is considered sci-fi, but I consider it fantasy. Or at least a blend. I think there are as much fantasy elements or more, than sci-fi. This is a very weird and pretty dark series that reads more like a sequence of hallucinatory dreams than a typical narrative story. But the imagery, the concepts and the story it weaves, these are really wild and make a very strong impression.

Ok I wasn't quite done. Two of my "guilty pleasure" series for you.

I have to say, I did enjoy the first four or so books in the Alex Hawk / Kragdon-Ah books, by Shawn Inmom. These are totally silly and preposterous, but in a really good way. And the author realizes this and writes this into the story, where the protagonist is often like, WTF, really? You can just imagine him looking out through the fourth wall (in TV terms) and just raising his hands to the author and audience like, oh come on now. When the modern Alex Hawk was remodeling his basement and found behind some wall paneling, a brick wall with a door behind it, and a note basically saying "definitely do not open this door", of course he opens it, and all hell breaks loose. I was hooked at that point. Because I would open that door, of course I would. Anyone would. How to guarantee that someone opens a door that should NOT be opened? Put a note on it that says definitely do not open this door under any circumstance. Guaranteed.

One of my other guilty pleasure fantasy series is The Iron Druid series by Kevin Hearne. Here we have apparently a laid back college dude who owns an eclectic bookstore and has a huge irish wolfhound and right now you know something weird is going on, and this is because he's actually a two thousand year old Druid, one of the very last in existence, and his dog can talk and is quite funny. While this series takes place in modern times, it weaves in the last vestiges of a mishmash of irish, norse and greek (I think) mythology, as these remnants still have their various realms of diminishing relevance. If you liked the TV series Grimm, this is right along those lines. Basically Grimm + Odd Thomas.

And finally finally, I would like to mention... I've been reading fantasy series since I was like 10 I think. Back when we had yellow bookmobiles. And one series that goes really far back, which I am not sure anyone would still recall, but was absolutely influential on me as a young teen, in locking down my fiction, computer gaming, tv and movie genre preferences, was Robert Asprin (et al) Thieves' World. I do not like Robert Asprin generally, but this series as a collaboration of leading writers, as I recall long ago, was great. And it really made a strong impression on my young self, for the stories as well as just, the idea.

If I recall, Robert Asprin and Lynn Abbey created a universe, starting with a few books, then many other leading writers contributed and it became basically a shared universe where storylines and events were coordinated among the different authors. That setup really blew my mind as a kid. And it introduced me to the major sci fi and fantasy writers of 70's and 80's and gave me lots of rabbit holes to go down, through each of those writers' works. I need to go back and read that series again because I can still vividly remember characters and scenes from those books. ~ 40 years later.

In comment 16557200 Chris in Philly said:

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In comment 16557144 UConn4523 said: Quote: I loved Dune and will probably read Messiah before the next movie comes out. I would strongly recommend you read both Messiah and Children. They start to get pretty freaky after that, but Messiah is very short and Children may be touched on in the next film. The Red Rising series was recommended to me by many people, and I was skeptical. But they are a fun read. I read the first 4. I very strongly recommend the Silo series that the Apple+ TV show is based on.

Agree with this (re Dune books)

In comment 16557312 D HOS said:

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First and foremost, see if you can find a used copy of Silverlock by John Meyers Meyers. There is no audiobook (which is a tragedy) and it's been long out of print. This is a very old work, I think it was written in the 1940's, republished in the 60's and maybe again in the 70's? It's been a pretty long time since I last read it but I recall it as being an epic "I can't believe this isn't a celebrated classic" kind of book. It is pretty clearly modeled after classical myth / heroic tales, as it follows the trope of the self centered amoral anti-hero loser who is forced into self discovery causing him to tear down and rebuild himself as a empathetic, moral and righteous person (Thomas Covenant anyone?) Characters from ancient myth, classical literature, the bible, guide the protagonist along his journey, each highlighting his moral flaws and teaching how to be a better person. You'll also be a better person from reading it.

Silverlock is a GREAT book, I also highly recommend it (I have my well worn 70's paperback on my shelf!). You can still find a paperback on Amazon, and ebooks from various sites here

My own suggestions would be pretty much forgotten classics. Everyone has probably read Robert E. Howard's Conan (and th stories are incredibly good, better than the movies)...but he wrote several other great stories. Almuric is one of the best high testosterone stories you'll ever read.

Other suggestions:

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The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss Retribution Falls by Chris Wooding Chronicles of Thomas Covenant by Stephen R. Donaldson The Witches of Karres by James H. Schmitz A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.

In comment 16557070 Spyder said:

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In comment 16556894 djm said: Quote: Shackleton’s Antarctica expedition. Amazing story. Highly recommended. Very familiar with Shackleton and his astounding story. I just recently finished a similar but much less well known story of the Greeley Polar Expedition called The Labyrinth of Ice, by Buddy Levy. Superb. Available on Kindle Unlimited BTW.... The Labyrinth of Ice by Buddy Levy - ( New Window )

If you liked those, check out "In the Heart of the Sea," by Nathaniel Philbrick and "The Wager" by David Grann. Both are page turners, the first about a whaling ship that sinks after being rammed by a whale (the impetus for Melville to write Moby Dick), the latter about a British warship that sinks off South America.

In comment 16557200 Chris in Philly said:

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In comment 16557144 UConn4523 said: Quote: I loved Dune and will probably read Messiah before the next movie comes out. I would strongly recommend you read both Messiah and Children. They start to get pretty freaky after that, but Messiah is very short and Children may be touched on in the next film. The Red Rising series was recommended to me by many people, and I was skeptical. But they are a fun read. I read the first 4. I very strongly recommend the Silo series that the Apple+ TV show is based on.

If you thought Red Rising series was fun through the first four books, keep going. Dark Age is the best in the series by far, Iron Gold was really just to reboot and set up all of the epic things that happen going forward. Can’t wait for the finale next year hopefully.

Looking forward to checking some of these out. Current goal is to read a book per month, should finish up The Blade Itself by next week and then Before They are Hanged while on vacation.

type of book. It was a good read but I didn't think much of it. Each book has gotten progressively closer to grimdark. The sequel series was a real reboot and has been excellent. Lots of huge set pieces and plot twists throughout the series. Looking forward to the conclusion book coming out early next year.

In comment 16557356 rebel yell said:

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In comment 16557070 Spyder said: Quote: In comment 16556894 djm said: Quote: Shackleton’s Antarctica expedition. Amazing story. Highly recommended. Very familiar with Shackleton and his astounding story. I just recently finished a similar but much less well known story of the Greeley Polar Expedition called The Labyrinth of Ice, by Buddy Levy. Superb. Available on Kindle Unlimited BTW.... The Labyrinth of Ice by Buddy Levy - ( New Window ) If you liked those, check out "In the Heart of the Sea," by Nathaniel Philbrick and "The Wager" by David Grann. Both are page turners, the first about a whaling ship that sinks after being rammed by a whale (the impetus for Melville to write Moby Dick), the latter about a British warship that sinks off South America.

Thanks. I just recently finished "The Wager" and I agree, a real page turner. Have to check out "In the Heart of the Sea." Ron Howard made a decent movie out of the same tale in 2015 with Chris Hemsworth.

Back to Fantasy, DHOS mentioned Stephen Donaldson, and his Thomas Covenant series, I would not be surprised to see this epic fantasy on film some day. His SciFi series "The Gap Cycle" is also excellent.

I really liked Retribution Falls by Chris Wooding.

If you liked Firefly, it's the same basic premise. Steampunk instead of hard scifi, but a ragtag crew of bounty hunters on a ship. It's part of a series called the Ketty Jay or something.

Other than that, I'd stay away from Rothfuss. Name of the Wind is great, but he isn't going to finish that series. I think he doesn't know how to land that plane.