I got myself a Borders gift card for Christmas. Yay! Now the dillemma. What books to get? Except for the Dresden Files and a few Mangas, I haven't really been reading all that much. One, because fanfic distracts me. Two, because I've yet to find anything that really, really pulls me in like Dresden Files has. I'm incredibly picky, and have stopped reading books for little more than them being too wordy or trying to be too philosophical.
So I need book recs - fantasy and/or Sci-fi. Can be adult or young adult. And not "yeah, this was kind of an amusing story" types, but something you felt was really, really, really good. I'm looking for something that will catch my attention, hold it and never let go. Something full of action and adventure. Bonus points if there are no heavy sex scenes, which is basically my only squick when it comes to published books (sex scenes in general but the smaller, barely detailed ones are easier to skip over.)
I would really appreciate the help.
So I need book recs - fantasy and/or Sci-fi. Can be adult or young adult. And not "yeah, this was kind of an amusing story" types, but something you felt was really, really, really good. I'm looking for something that will catch my attention, hold it and never let go. Something full of action and adventure. Bonus points if there are no heavy sex scenes, which is basically my only squick when it comes to published books (sex scenes in general but the smaller, barely detailed ones are easier to skip over.)
I would really appreciate the help.
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Date: 2007-12-26 07:51 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2007-12-26 10:36 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2007-12-26 01:37 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2007-12-26 10:39 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2007-12-26 03:09 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2007-12-26 10:40 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2007-12-26 03:34 pm (UTC)From:Timothy Zahn writes excellent sci-fi mystery/thrillers, with lots of action. The Icarus Hunt is one of my favorite modern sci-fi novels, and Zahn's protagonists tend to be tough, smart, and usually get kicked around a fair bit.
For a classic, I'd highly recommend Isaac Asimov's The Fantastic Voyage, which takes the premise of a very lame movie and turns it into a non-stop "who's the saboteur" story. Again, a protagonist who can both think and roll with the punches.
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Date: 2007-12-26 10:41 pm (UTC)From:My dad has been curious about Asimov. I shoudl tell him about that book.
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Date: 2007-12-26 11:47 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2007-12-26 11:56 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2007-12-27 06:04 am (UTC)From:Or go read Going Postal, which is about a conman who's given the task of resurrecting the quite defunct postal service, and is probably my favorite Pratchett.
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Date: 2007-12-27 02:10 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2007-12-27 05:02 am (UTC)From:The Death Gate Cycle by Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman is one of my very favorite fantasy series (from whence this icon comes). It starts out slow and doesn't really hit its stride until book 3, but it's got it all -- great world-building, great characters, reformed villains, unlikely heroes, dragons, h/c ...
Transformation by Carol Berg (fantasy) - really loved the first book, didn't care for the next two books in the series at all. But the first one is another for my all-time-favorite-fantasy list. Great characters and character interactions.
Roger Zelazny's Amber series - I have adored these books ever since I was a kid. Unfortunately he died without really finishing the series. *whine* But they are colorful and imaginative and just fantastically good. *I* want a magic deck of playing cards too!
Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan series - there are a *lot* of them, and there are a number of books you can start with, although you'll probably be lost if you read the most recent ones first, because there's so much character history to them. For the record, it was "Brothers in Arms" and "Mirror Dance" that really, truly sold me on the series.
I am a really big fan of Diana Wynne Jones's YA fantasies. My favorite books of hers include Hexwood, The Ogre Downstairs and the first two Crestomanci books.
If you have not read "Good Omens" by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, you absolutely must! (But most people have, or at least have heard of it.) Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman is also fantastically good.
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Date: 2007-12-29 10:25 pm (UTC)From:If you can't find the book, let me know and I'll lend you a copy. The earlier books in the series are in the process of being reprinted. More info can be found at http://www.korval.com/liad.htm which is the authors website.