Conquer Club

I'm looking for a new book series to get into, as I have read all the books I have multiple times. These include;
Ender's Game series (first one good, but proceeds to get weirder and weirder)
Ender's Shadow series (Similar to Game, but it becomes more about politics later on)
Wheel of Time Series (read it twice full way)
Temeraire Series (alternate history series, having intelligent dragons is what alternates it)
Lord of the Rings (classic series)
The Hobbit (classic prequal to LOTR)
Sister Alice (yeah, this one was just weird)
Vampire Earth Series (Not a fan of Post Apocalytic settings, and this series cemented that)
Lucky Dragon series (in between books right now)
Funny in Farsi (open to similar books, where it is light hearted, but based on true stories)
The Help (I will forever remember this, and the movie adaptation, as the "Pie Book/Movie")


I guess I'm looking more for Fantasy series that are similar to Lord of the Rings and The Wheel of Time series. I have tried to read the one book where the antogonist has all of these runes/tatoos giving him looks, intelligence, voice, strength, etc. Just did not interest me, even though there are several more books. Same with a book of Fire/Song whatever it's called. Didn't much care for that. Not much interested in biographies either. So fantasy series are mainly what I'm looking for.

I can personally vouch for the Star Wars books. There are some really good Boba Fett books. He is like Batman. But my favorite Star Wars series goes back a couple thousand years before the battle of Yavin, to a character named Darth Bane. He is a Sith Lord of the highest order. But the book takes you through the journey of him learning and developing his power with archeological holecrons that beckon him from beyond many parsecs. During his climb to power there are 10's of thousands of Siths battling 10's of thousands of Jedi. The Jedi are led by General Hoth on a lush green planet (planet in the opening scene of Empire Strikes Back).

The author is skilled at describing characters thoughts and detailed "Force" battles. You won't be disappointed.


For another genre, I recommend all of Alexander Dumas. Whether he stole his novel from other writersis up for debate, yet good reads. Favorite: Count of Monte Cristo.

Sir Conan Doyle is an excellent choice. Any Agatha Christ murder mysteries.

Even Harry Potter was a delight.
But I never get tired of reading the Bible.

*****

universalchiro wrote:I can personally vouch for the Star Wars books. There are some really good Boba Fett books. He is like Batman. But my favorite Star Wars series goes back a couple thousand years before the battle of Yavin, to a character named Darth Bane. He is a Sith Lord of the highest order. But the book takes you through the journey of him learning and developing his power with archeological holecrons that beckon him from beyond many parsecs. During his climb to power there are 10's of thousands of Siths battling 10's of thousands of Jedi. The Jedi are led by General Hoth on a lush green planet (planet in the opening scene of Empire Strikes Back).

The author is skilled at describing characters thoughts and detailed "Force" battles. You won't be disappointed.


For another genre, I recommend all of Alexander Dumas. Whether he stole his novel from other writersis up for debate, yet good reads. Favorite: Count of Monte Cristo.

Sir Conan Doyle is an excellent choice. Any Agatha Christ murder mysteries.

Even Harry Potter was a delight.
But I never get tired of reading the Bible.

I knew I forgot something, I have read the Harry Potter series, a couple times. And for Star Wars, I have also read the Apprentice Series (takes place from the time that Obi-Wan became apprenticed to Qui-Gon and their adventures, to the time between Star Wars Ep 1 and 2 as Anakin is apprenticed to Obi-Wan). I may check out that series.

Agatha Christy, mystery novels are kind of in between. I'll check them out.

BGtheBrain wrote:The name of the wind by Patrick rothfuss is awesome. I also will recommend wool by Hugh howey, but that's not really in the fantasy genre

What is "The Name of the Wind" about? Just a quick summary will do.

Amber series by Roger Zelasny

The Tales of Alvin Maker is a decent series. It's by Orson Scott Card, the guy who wrote the Ender books, and it's a fantasy version of 19th century North America.

Have you read any Edgar Rice Burroughs? I dig his John Carter series. I grew up on his Tarzan books, but those are more self-contained.

There's a fun alt-history series called 1632 about a group of late 20th century West Virginia coal miners transported to 17th century Europe. The Guns of the South is another interesting alt-history series that looks at a US Civil War with a very different ending.

If you haven't read it, Neil Gaiman's Stardust is a beautiful fantasy story, but it's just one volume.

Are you open to comics? Have you read Fables, where characters from fairy tales end up living in modern New York? It's not for kids, but it's a highly enjoyable read. Gaiman's Sandman series is also good fantasy, but it can be fairly dark, particularly the first book, which is more horror. Castle Waiting is a fantasy comic about what happens to the castle's inhabitants when Sleeping Beauty wakes up (she's only in the first part).

Have you read Douglas Adams? His Hitchhiker's Guide trilogy is great fun, although it's sci fi, not fantasy.

Oh! Man! Have you read Terry Pratchett's Discworld series? You probably have, but if you haven't, you can start with The Colour of Magic (not the best of the books, but it's the first), or pick up any of them. I really like the Watch series, starting with Guards! Guards!, but you needn't read them in order. If you're looking for light-hearted fantasy, it might just be the ticket.

Here's a handy reading guide, but seriously, just pick a couple. (I started at Eric, not the best place to start, but I still made it through ok. (= )

Star Wars, Agatha Christie, Harry Potter, the Bible. UC's subconscious is heckling him.

universalchiro wrote:I can personally vouch for the Star Wars books. There are some really good Boba Fett books. He is like Batman. But my favorite Star Wars series goes back a couple thousand years before the battle of Yavin, to a character named Darth Bane. He is a Sith Lord of the highest order. But the book takes you through the journey of him learning and developing his power with archeological holecrons that beckon him from beyond many parsecs. During his climb to power there are 10's of thousands of Siths battling 10's of thousands of Jedi. The Jedi are led by General Hoth on a lush green planet (planet in the opening scene of Empire Strikes Back).

The author is skilled at describing characters thoughts and detailed "Force" battles. You won't be disappointed.

Xactly! I read every single book up to the black fleet crisis, but I was hooked on those for a good year. One of them I even read in 2 days because I couldn't put it down. I still have them all even though I know I will never read them again, but until someone wants to take them no way can I toss them out. I really should as guests tease me all the time for having 2 huge bookshelves full of awesome books on history philosophy economics politics etc etc, and then there is a doublewide row of star wars books lol! Usually I try not to waste time with fiction but I guess those books were my bit o guilty pleasures. The Thrawn trilogy was my fav, and Shadow of the Empire was a lot of fun too (tells the story from Empire to Return)

I never got into the Boba Fett ones, I tried the X-wing series but there weren't enough 'force battles' I guess. And I did read a Star Wars book that came out in like 1979, before Empire Strikes Back, it was called Splinter of the Mind's Eye. Wasn't that greatest, but Luke ended up boning Leia!

mrswdk wrote:Star Wars, Agatha Christie, Harry Potter, the Bible. UC's subconscious is heckling him.

LOL my subconscious always heckles me

Phatscotty wrote:

universalchiro wrote:I can personally vouch for the Star Wars books. There are some really good Boba Fett books. He is like Batman. But my favorite Star Wars series goes back a couple thousand years before the battle of Yavin, to a character named Darth Bane. He is a Sith Lord of the highest order. But the book takes you through the journey of him learning and developing his power with archeological holecrons that beckon him from beyond many parsecs. During his climb to power there are 10's of thousands of Siths battling 10's of thousands of Jedi. The Jedi are led by General Hoth on a lush green planet (planet in the opening scene of Empire Strikes Back).

The author is skilled at describing characters thoughts and detailed "Force" battles. You won't be disappointed.

Xactly! I read every single book up to the black fleet crisis, but I was hooked on those for a good year. One of them I even read in 2 days because I couldn't put it down. I still have them all even though I know I will never read them again, but until someone wants to take them no way can I toss them out. I really should as guests tease me all the time for having 2 huge bookshelves full of awesome books on history philosophy economics politics etc etc, and then there is a doublewide row of star wars books lol! Usually I try not to waste time with fiction but I guess those books were my bit o guilty pleasures. The Thrawn trilogy was my fav, and Shadow of the Empire was a lot of fun too (tells the story from Empire to Return)

I never got into the Boba Fett ones, I tried the X-wing series but there weren't enough 'force battles' I guess. And I did read a Star Wars book that came out in like 1979, before Empire Strikes Back, it was called Splinter of the Mind's Eye. Wasn't that greatest, but Luke ended up boning Leia!

Nice! I'll have to read it, or at least check to see if I've read it, I've read so many now. LOL

Have you heard of the Grand Admiral Thrawn series?

He is the smartest character in Wookiepedia. When he negotiates, plans, takes actions, deploys troops, etc he is always 6-7 steps ahead of everyone mentally. It's like he is playing chess with them and they don't know. He was one of my favorite characters to read. It's like he was a mixture of Gary Kasparov and Erwin Rommel. I couldn't wait to see how he solved a problem or destroyed a superior attacking force with his wits.

If you haven't read them, put them on your list just after reading the Darth Bane series.

I edited my previous post at the last minute to be sure to include the Thrawn series as my fav.

Bane? I like it already

I edited my previous post at the last minute to be sure to include the Thrawn series as my fav.

Bane? I like it already

Phatscotty wrote: Usually I try not to waste time with fiction but I guess those books were my bit o guilty pleasures. The Thrawn trilogy was my fav, and Shadow of the Empire was a lot of fun too (tells the story from Empire to Return)

WHAT? it's fiction? No way man, Star Wars is real! Even President Ronald Reagan talked about it

I responded before you edited and added the Admiral Thrawn trilogy. Yes I agree, excellent character.

Here is the cover of Darth Bane 1 of 3. After finishing the third book, I let out a loud yell in slow motion, "NNNNOOOOOO!!!!" I wanted the reading to keep going.

Once he becomes powerful and takes on an apprentice, and you're thinking the book can't get better...it does. The story of Darth Bane is even applicable to the 7 films. From the Hoth planet, to master and apprentice, to even Darth Sidious. Clear your Saturday, grab a soda or two and enjoy.

Whoa, sorry for the extra big picture

edited to reduce picture size.

Dude, use the bigimg tag for that please.

I can vouch for discworld series that Macbone mentioned. It is very good.

Anyone hanging around this forum must LOVE reading fiction.

Phatscotty wrote: Wasn't the greatest, but Luke ended up boning Leia!

Oopsie.

You could get some Gene Simmons' books from the library. I recommend Ace Frehly's book.

I also recently read a buddy's copy of Red Rocker by Sam Hagar, fairly disturbing and interesting.

One of my all time favorite series' is the Elric of Melnibone books. I'm reading the Malazan Book of the Fallen. It's pretty good, but I'm only on the first book.

I would also recommend the Discworld series, especially the trilogies relating to the city guard and the wizards. Funny stuff.

3 recomendations for Discworld so far. I've heard it's a parody/funny series, is that true?

Yes, it is quite comical, yet innovative and different than most sci-fantasy.

Oh man....here we go.....

I've read approx 2 books / week for the last 40 years (yes I have a problem)....I am 90% sci fi and 10% fantasy. As far as fantasy goes, the one author that springs to mind (books good enough that I remember them) is Lois McMaster Bujold.....she is unbelievable......

-(fantasy) The Chalion Universe series
-(fantasy) The Sharing Knife series

She also did sci fi that is great

-The Miles Vorkosigan saga (15 + novels)

I am a huge "space opera" fan....Peter F. Hamilton....absolutely stunning author. I cant say enough.

-The Void Trilogy
-The Nights Dawn Trilogy
-Greg Mandel Trilogy
-The Commonwealth Saga
-(single noel) Fallen Dragon

Special mention - Alastair Reynolds - Pushing Ice is one of the FINEST stand alone books i have ever read; his other works are dandy as well

Orson Scott Card (writer of Enders Game) has a new series out called Pathfinder and they are excellent.

....must......stop........

Do you want the list? This man really wants the list.. Okay, here we go.

Glen Cook's The Black Company series. I've read someone describing it as Vietnam-fiction on peyote. One of the most influential fantasy novels for a long way around. It doesn't get a ton of credit, but it legitimately should. Mr. Cook was doing gritty fantasy world building before A Game of Thrones was a twinkle in G.R.R. Martin's eye. Honestly one of my favorites of all time, and I've read a lot. The main series consists of nine novels and one spin-off, which follows a group of mercenaries who are employed by various horrific baddies. If you want a fairly small dose first, the first three novels + the spinoff make for a tidy series by themselves, and none of them are long reads by any means. They are, however, extremely thought provoking, so don't be surprised if you end up reading them a couple of times. Lord knows I have.

Patrick Rothfuss' The Kingkiller Chronicle, currently only containing The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man's Fear (we're all waiting for the last book Rothfuss! I will hunt you down and force you to finish it if you don't hurry!). This is the one fantasy series we've all waited for. The best way I could describe it is a beautiful love letter to fantasy fiction. Rothfuss has succeeded in redefining the genre. Its told from the perspective of the owner of a tavern, as he describes his past and upbringing to a biographer, whose managed to track him down. It turns out that this barkeeper is more than he appears, and was once probably the most influential individual in all the kingdoms. Now he's "just" a regular barkeeper, but appearances can be deceiving. These books are not short by any measure, but I promise you won't notice once you start reading. The only problem with the trilogy is that its not freaking finished yet. I have a sneaking suspicion it will end up being a quadrilogy at least.

Mark Z. Danielewski's House of Leaves is the last book I'll recommend with a full description, mainly cuz holy crap I've typed a ton already. This one is... difficult to accurately describe. Basically, its a horror story (the only book that's ever made me actually scared) within a love story within an I don't know what. But its good. Really good. It makes you think, and that's part of its greatness. Its also a full on mindscrew. Somehow Danielewski managed to bring everything a good horror movies does into print form. At its core, its a story about a family that find a room inside their house that didn't exist before, and soon they go on to discover even more under their basement, a gigantic labyrinth that constantly changes itself and those who go into it. Its a story that constantly challenges the nature of human psychology and the bonds of the family. If I had to recommend only one single book for the aspiring fiction-reader, it would be this one.

I could go on and on, if I needed to. There's tons of great stuff out there for someone with unlimited time and resources. The Chronicles of Amber by the master Roger Zelazny, Talion: Revenant and The Dragoncrown War Series by Michael Stackpole, The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, Malazan Book of the Fallen series by Steven Erikson and the related Novels of the Malazan Empire by his co-conspirator Ian Esslemont, The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant by Stephen Donaldson, The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud, if you like steampunk I'd recommend Jay Krioff's Lotus War Books and Felix Gilman's The Half-Made World and its semi-sequel The Rise of Ransom City. Geez, I could go on forever. But these are the ones of the top of my head that I would thoroughly recommend as a great start.

As was mentioned above, The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. Great series about an anti-hero. First 4 books well worth it. After that, not so much.

Came to mention Night's Dawn trilogy by Peter F. Hamilton and The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant by Stephen R. Donaldson, but they were already mentioned, so I second them.

Thomas Covenant in particular is heavily influenced by LOTR, but the main character is pretty dislikable.

-TG