[Lani]

I am really sorry for puting up a new topic for reccomendations. Some will probably say that I should go and review old topics that are here on the board. And I can say I did it. Unfortunately, it's really hard to make a decision that way. Many people reccomend a number of books, but it is hard to choose from those since there is no clue what kind of book it is and what it is about. That is why I ask for some reccomendations here and I would really appreciate if when you reccomend a book you tell me something about it, so I wouldn't have to make a decision with my eyes closed. (Since books are not very cheap now).
I already read Tolkien, Martin, Jordan, Goodkind, Eddings, Zelazny, Bujold, Hobb, LeGuin, and some others.
It would be nice though to get exposed to some good, but less well known authors.

Thanks in advance.

[This message has been edited by Lani (edited July 24, 2001).]

[Keyoke]

Perhaps if you could give us a lil criteria for what you are looking for? Myself, I'd rather just have people say it's a great book. To much info can ruin a book for me. =)

Keyoke

[Rob B]

Bad Lani! J/K http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif

One thing that I usually do is if somebody recommends a book to me, title alone, I check some descriptive info and reviews of the book on amazon.

What kind of book are you looking for?

If you like GRR Martin I would suggest John Marco.

If you Tolkein and Hobb, I would try Tad Williams.

Hope that helped.

[Lani]

I'm looking for something original. I'm a bit tired of all that "good guy goes on a quest stuff".
FitzFlagg, thanks for recomendation, but I already read Tad Williams. I liked both MSaT and Otherland and if you would reccomend something else of the kind I would want to try it.
As for what I would like to see is something with an interesting plot, the book where you can't predict after the first chapter what will happen at the end.
Also, I would be interested in something with a female as a main character. It would be a nice change.
I wouldn't want the nain theme of the book to be about war. Violence is fine, I have nothing against it, but army tactics on fifteen pages is not something I would want to get http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif

OMG, I sound so picky!

[starcrzr]

How about ("Rhapsody: Child of Blood")
by Elizabeth Haydon. It has three main charactors and one is female. I enjoyed reading it and the second book "Prophecy : Child of Earth" here is the amazon review for "Child of Blood"

Amazon.com
Rhapsody is high fantasy, descended from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings through Eddings's Belgariad and Malloreon series, complete with an elf-like people, cannibalistic giants, fire-born demons, and dragons. Inquiring fantasy readers will wonder whether it can live up to such distinguished predecessors. The answer is yes. Haydon's first fantasy is a palpable hit. The three protagonists are well-realized characters whose adventures are by turns hilarious, horrific, and breathtaking. Best of all, though elements are drawn from familiar sources ranging from Norse myth to Mozart's The Magic Flute, Haydon's magic worldbuilding is convincing, consistent, and interesting.

Rhapsody, a young woman trained as a Namer, can attune herself to the vibrations of all things, tap the power of true names, and rename people, changing their basic identities. Her magic lies in music: "Music is nothing more than the maps through the vibrations that make up all the world. If you have the right map, it will take you wherever you want to go," she tells her adoptive brothers. They are "the Brother," a professional assassin able to sense and track the heartbeats of all natives of the doomed Island of Seren, their homeland, and his giant sidekick Grunthor, a green-skinned Sergeant Major who enjoys making jokes, using edged weapons, and honing his cannibalistic palate. Inadvertently, Rhapsody has renamed the Brother Achmed the Snake, breaking his enslavement to Tsoltan the F'dor (a fire-born demon). Tsoltan sends minions in pursuit to rebind Achmed. The three escape into the roots of a World Tree, Sagia, emerging transformed into another country and century. But have they truly escaped the F'dor's evil? And how does all this relate to the prologue's story of Gwydion and Emily, two young lovers brought together across history and then separated by the mysterious Meridion?

Like most first volumes, Rhapsody contains a lot of background information and foreshadowing, though Haydon ties up numerous plot lines at the end. The dislocations in time can be confusing, and some readers may find that the very 1990s dialogue clashes with the epic storytelling of the descriptive passages. Overall, however, Rhapsody is a smashing debut that delivers hours of great reading and will have you impatient to read the rest of the series. --Nona Vero --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Publishers Weekly
Distinguished by superior wit and intelligence, this fantasy debut opens what looks to be an outstanding saga. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.



[This message has been edited by starcrzr (edited July 24, 2001).]

[Gabe]

I would suggest Guy Gavriel Kay's Tigana. The novel does not have any more war and violence than necessary for a fantasy epic. The book follows two semi-disjoint story lines--the characters in the two story lines don't meet until the very end, though they share a sort of common past. The former story line is pretty good, though in and of itself it does not warrant a reccomendation.

The latter, however, is nothing short of superlative. It features a female protagonist, and there is a poetry to its prose seldom achieved in literature.

[Keyoke]

Sounds like you would enjoy Robin Hobb's Assassin Series, or her Liveship series.

Both series have great developing characters, and are quite orginal in their content. I truly enjoyed the Assassin series (Assassin's Apprentice, Royal Assassin, and Assassin's Quest).

The Liveship trader series is a little more fanatastic, meaning, much more magic than the Assassin series. Amazing STORY! I truly loved this series. After reading Ship of Magic, she became (Robin Hobb) one of the few authors that I would pick up a book on sight. (Neil Gaiman, and Tad Williams are the other s)..

Keyoke

[Shehzad]

FitzFlagg and Neologik: I got my hands on Perdido Street Station yesterday, and it seems all it was promised to be so far...

Let's see how it turns out.

[Shadowen]

I would recommend JV Jones 'A Cavern of Black Ice' - one of the main characters is female. Juliet mcKenna's Thief's Gamble also has a female lead, the second and third books, 'Swordsman's Oath and Gambler's Fortune are pretty good.

[Rob B]

Lani, tough for me to compare anybody to Tad Williams, I think he is about the best Fantasy writer.

However, I'll agree w/starcrzr and recommend Elizabeth Haydon. Not the absolute best, but they make for pretty decent reading. Some interesting concepts.

Shezhad, glad you're enjoying Perdido.