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24 Responses to “Books!”

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1. err, pick up “Liquor”, by Poppy Z. Brite. (or, check it out of the library, whatever). It’s not the same goth that she was known for in “lost souls”, but it’s still damned good story telling. and, there’s a sequel forthcoming.

   I loved heraldmage series by Mercedes. I was a big Pern freak, too, for awhile. And, somewhat in the collaborative series that chronologically took place after the herald mage trilogy, but was still in the same vein.

   Comment by spycedtx — September 20, 2004 @ 4:37 am

2. have you tried Kathy Reichs’ series?

   I haven’t read any Anne Rice yet (I don’t know how the hell that’s happened), but I’m bidding on The Witching Hour on ebay.

   Comment by chynafox — September 20, 2004 @ 4:45 am

3. If you like history, I’m reading How Few Remain by Harry Turtledove. It’s alternate-civil-war history, where the US lost and the CSA became independant and now there’s a second War Between the States. This leads into World War I in the Great War series where the US joins with Germany against the CSA/England/France. And it’s all thanks to the lovely whom I’ve used to get all 10 books. Dating a book wholesaler rules.

   Comment by rasputinaxp — September 20, 2004 @ 5:13 am

4. I’ve read the Vampire Chronicles and Cry to Heaven. I really like Anne Rice and her character development, when she’s really in love with her character, is incredible. But after reading a few books, I start to notice how many traits her characters have in common and I kind of wish she’d branch out a bit. But oh well.

   Hrm… Mercedes Lackey. You into fantasy, then? I recommend the Empire Trilogy, written by Raymond Feist and Janny Wurts. It’s a spin-off of Feist’s Riftwar saga, but it most definitely stands alone. The first book is called “Daughter of the Empire.” Pick it up and see how you like it. It’s become my favorite fantasy series. I like that there’s not a lot of “traditional” fantasy elements about it. There are no elves, no dwarves, etc. It’s a very alien human society that’s fallen into stagnation and doesn’t know it yet. The books are about a very young woman who’s abruptly thrown into the most merciless aspects of her society… how she first fights to stay alive while living by the rules her society values above all else, and then how she eventually becomes horrified by those rules and fights to change her entire society. There’s also an awesome alien insectoid race called the Cho’ja that Feist and Wurts created. It goes pretty indepth into their incredibly fascinating culture and totally alien perspective.

   All in all, many elements contribute to it being such an incredible trilogy. And you’ll fall in love with the heroine, Mara. The most misogynistic asshole in the world couldn’t help but admire this chick.

   Gah. Now I wanna go read them again.

   Go forth and buy it. Read it. READ IT I SAY!

   Comment by kemidra — September 20, 2004 @ 5:48 am

5. Oh yes. One more series I’d recommend. Go to a bookstore; pick up Clan of the Cave Bear. Sit down someplace comfy and read the first few pages. If you’re not into the book by the time you’ve gotten 3 pages, you won’t like the series. It’s written by an anthropologist, Jean Auel. It’s about the period of time around the last ice age, about 30,000 years ago, when neanderthals and cro-magnons were believed to exist on earth at the same time and in some places, within miles of each other. There’s a *lot* of speculation about how they might have interacted. Were they friendly? Were they enemies? How did they determine who got what land? That kind of thing. Auel takes everything we know about that period, and all the accepted theories, and spins an incredible, INCREDIBLE fictional story that fits the facts as we know them. The books are exhaustively researched and you’ll find a lot of pages describing intricacies of the various societies (the neanderthals chiefly, at least in the first book, but the main character, Ayla, eventually makes a year-long journey across Europe from the Black Sea to France, which allows Auel to spin more fiction about the cro-magnon people they encounter, based on archeological findings scattered throughout Europe), descriptions of the environment the characters are living in, etc. It’s not for everyone. But trust me, it’s definitely worth picking up the first book and reading a couple pages to see how you like it.

   That series has been my all-time favorite for years now. I can’t recommend it enough.

   Comment by kemidra — September 20, 2004 @ 5:56 am

6. I’ve read the herald mage series, and all the Pern books too. Well, all of them up until about a year or so ago and then I just got tired of them.

   I’ll look for the Poppy book - Thanks

   Comment by jaxia — September 20, 2004 @ 6:11 am

7. Kathy Reichs - Nope, I haven’t. Looks interesting. Are they anything like Patricia Cornwell? I like her stuff.

   Do ya’ll have any used book stores? Her stuff will be all over them. You can probably get it cheaper there than off of ebay if you have to pay for shipping. Also, since she is so popular, you can probably get it from the library.

   Comment by jaxia — September 20, 2004 @ 6:13 am

8. I like historical fiction. I recently read the first book in a series about Nazi Germany and two brothers, but for the life of me, I cannot think of the name of it. Let me ponder…

   How’s the character dev? That’s the most important part to me. I need a good hero/ine

   Comment by jaxia — September 20, 2004 @ 6:15 am

9. I’d agree on Anne Rice. I’ve read all her books, including Memnoch The Devil. I actually suggest MTD to people who are intersted in religious fiction.

   Fantasy is what I like best. I haven’t read that trilogy, but I will buy it soon! It sounds really awesome and right up my ally.

   Comment by jaxia — September 20, 2004 @ 6:17 am

10. I’ve actually read the first 4, but haven’t gotten around to reading the Stone book yet. Have you read it? I’ve really enjoyed the ones I have read, but didn’t realize that there was another one out until recently.

    Comment by jaxia — September 20, 2004 @ 6:21 am

11. Dark Tower? Stephen King?
    am I thinking something else?

    I’m not all that into fantasy. I have a hard time with all of those made up names.
    Although- I’d recommend anything by Douglas Adams & this Terry Pratchet book is pretty good so far.

    A must read for anyone is The Screwtape Letters (C.S. Lewis) it’s a far departure from The Chronicles of Narnia- which I loved as a kid. Who knew it was all about Jesus & junk? (That shouldn’t stop anyone from reading it though)

    And didn’t Madeline L’Engle (A Wrinkle In Time) just put out another book? Adult fiction- not kids?

    Comment by filterfactor — September 20, 2004 @ 6:28 am

12. I meant Darkover, by MZB. My bad. I will fix it. I think I have read everything SK wrote.

    I don’t remember the name of the TP book. Which one is it?

    Comment by jaxia — September 20, 2004 @ 6:31 am

13. The one I’m reading is Sourcery- but there is a whole series - Discworld- & the one I’m reading is like the 6th or 7th in the series.

    It’s pretty funny- & the names are not all that difficult to pronounce.

    Comment by filterfactor — September 20, 2004 @ 6:39 am

14. Ah, ok.

    Shelters of Stone was a dismal disappointment, especially for the myriad of die-hard Auel fans who have been waiting for this book for a decade. Almost nothing happens in it; the entire book basically consists of Ayla and Jondalar retelling stories of their adventures that the reader already knows about.

    Seriously. I counted; you listen to Ayla or Jondalar explain the spear-thrower at least 3 times to different people, the firestones 3 or 4 times, and the needle no less than countem’ 5 times! She spends just page after page doing… nothing. Just taking up space.

    It is worth reading, just to have a few questions answered. You always wonder what will happen when Ayla meets the people Jondalar always talks about, like Marthona, Marona, and Zelandoni. How they’ll get along, etc. But it’s pretty much the same as all the other books. If I have any beefs with Auels writing style, its that 1) Ayla can practically do no wrong. There’s NOTHING that she doesn’t excel at. She’s super-human. And 2) Every new person they encounter, they explain some of the “new” stuff (not new to the readers) that they invented/learned. And we’re treated to another description of just how much Ayla rules, this time from the point of view from another stranger admiring her beauty, intelligence, courage, wit, etc.

    And that’s pretty much all Shelters is. Just that, over and over and over again. Gah.

    Comment by kemidra — September 20, 2004 @ 6:44 am

15. Well, you know most of the characters already. The development we get is impressive though, since, for example, Lincoln’s a battered, tired old man who’s hated by North and South. He’s also a Marxist.

    Samuel Clemens (aka Mark Twain) never went back to Tennessee since it’s part of the CSA and is still a newspaper editor in San Francisco with a wife (there’s a sex scene, I was much surprised; Sam’s a gentleman though and his wife gets hers first) and has two kids.

    Ulysses S. Grant makes a cameo appearance as an old drunk street bum.

    Teddy Roosevelt is pretty cool too. Raising his own army and what have you.

    Lots of heroes to choose from. Oh, Frederick Douglass, too. very good storyline there.

    Pick up the paperback of How Few Remain, it’s $7.99 coverprice or starting at .99 on Amazon Used.

    Comment by rasputinaxp — September 20, 2004 @ 6:51 am

16. Sourcery is 5th. Wyrd Sisters is 6, Pyramids is 7th, and one of the best early books. Guards! Guards! (#8) kicked some ass.

    I also highly recommend Soul Music (#16) but only after reading Mort (#4) and possibly Reaper Man.

    http://www.ie.lspace.org/books/reviews/index.html

    I love Pterry.

    Comment by rasputinaxp — September 20, 2004 @ 7:02 am

17. 5,6,7… I was close! =>

    It’s a library book- & I’m suprised as to how difficult it is to get them in order. I’m still confused as to which one is the first one.

    i guess it’s a good thing that you don’t need to read them in order to figure out what’s going on.

    at first i thought he was trying too hard to be like Douglas Adams (ther can be only one!) but he is pretty funny in his own right.

    Comment by filterfactor — September 20, 2004 @ 7:07 am

18. I read Anne Rice and she is awesome. Have you ever heard of Poppy Z. Brite? Her book “Lost Souls” is definitly one of my faves (next to the Harry Potter series of course). I am obsessed with the occult….vampires,witches,etc. Good stuff.
    As far as the Wayfarer’s Redemption *thinks* I haven’t read the whole series but the books I did read were awesome. Maybe try a used book store?

    Comment by mister_fister — September 20, 2004 @ 8:04 am

19. If you don’t like any other Stephen King novels , and you like fantasy I recomend the Darktower series . It is so good ! But if you start the Darktower series , I sugjest picking up The Tailsman , The Black House , Everythings Eventual , and Hearts in Antlantis . All these books tie into the series ( Everythings Eventual has a short story that will give some back ground and the first part of Hearts in Antlantis does as well . ) . I am an avid Stephen king reader , and would go so far as to say a freak for his books . I have the whole series save the newest release , and I am looking to get that one in the next few weeks .

    I have read the Vampire Cronicles from Anne Rice , but really haven’t checked out anything else from her yet . Another good read would be the Rhapsody Trilogy by Elizabeth Haydon , along with the two complimentary books that come after the trilogy . One more sugjestion before I drive everyone crazy with my books ( hehe ) is the Star of the Gardians series by Margret Wies . This is sorta like outer space fantasy , and it is also very good . I have read the books I have so much pages are falling out and I need to get new copies .

    Comment by earmgr — September 20, 2004 @ 8:13 am

20. If SK wrote it, I’ve read it, pretty much. When the movie The Green Mile came out, I won a lot of money off of bets because nobody believed me when I told them it was based on a SK book. When I was in HS, I read The Shining and The Stand in one weekend. I didn’t do much else. Heh. The only book I know that he’s written that I haven’t read is the one that talks about how to write. I want to get it though. I picked it up in B&N a week or so ago but kept putting it down. Stupid being responsible.

    The Darkover books are by Marion Zimmer Bradley - She wrote The Mists of Avalon, a book that makes my all time best books list.

    I LOVE LOVE LOVE Elizabeth Haydon. I frequent her EZboard fan site, and I am a member of the LJ comm for her too One of my fav quotes ever is in the first book. I’ll have to dig the book out and post it. Did you want her to wind up with Ashe or Achmed?

    I will look for that series. Have you read anything by Robin Hobbs? If not - GO GET The Farseer Trilogy. There are actually 3 trilogies that all go together. Book 9 just came out not too long ago. I cried and I laughed and I prayed and I ranted. Her characters are so vivid and real to me. Anyone who loves fantasy should read them. I just reread Fool’s Fate (book 9) about a week ago and wept again. God, I love those books. *stops gushing*

    Comment by jaxia — September 20, 2004 @ 8:40 am

21. Since someone else suggested Poppy, I’ll have to check her out I just read a different book by Sara Douglas, and I liked it, so I guess I will have to find a copy of Wayfarer’s Redemption.

    Yeah, I’ll try Half Price Books. I just spend way too much money on books, and have been trying to save money.

    Comment by jaxia — September 20, 2004 @ 8:44 am

22. Have you read the Richard Bachman books? Bachman is a name Stephen King wrote a few stories under, and 2 of them were made into movies (Thinner and Running Man) I really enjoyed Rage and The Long Walk.

    Joel Rosenberg’s Guardian of the Flame series is one I have enjoyed for years. Probalby the role player nerd in my likeing the idea of being transported into the game as my character and seeing what happens. But excellent stories.

    Fred Saberhagen wrote 2 interesting Dracula stories. The Holmes-Dracula file chronicals Dracula’s 2nd visit to Victorian London and runs into Sherlock. and The Dracula Tape. The “true” story of Dracula, told from Dracula’s point of view. I guess Saberhagen also has a few chronicals of Dracula’s life in Italy and Hungry as well as a retelling of the Frankenstein story that are also good reads.

    Comment by grizzilla — September 20, 2004 @ 2:03 pm

23. I think I OD-ed on fantasy. Haven’t picked one up in forever. All I’ve been reading is history: modern, Russian, WWI, 17th century.

    Yarha, Hysterical Society

    Comment by yarha — September 21, 2004 @ 2:38 am

24. Yeah, I break it up. I read other things along the way. I like historical fiction.

    Comment by jaxia — September 21, 2004 @ 3:46 am

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