A general outline of what I like:
-I liked George R.R. Martin
-Brian Jacques is okay
-Robert Jordan is shit
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Vernaltemptress got all f'ed up on Angel Dust and wrote:
One question: what do you think of Crytonomicron, Snow Crash, Tigana, and/or American Gods?
My ma recommends American Gods. Never hoid of the others.
I'm sure others here will chime in with their choices.
Try Sir ApSir Apropos Of Nothing For something a bit lighter.
Those books blew me away. They are, in order:
Lion of Senet
Eye of the Labyrinth
Lord of Shadows
Her talent at writing is amazing.
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Vernaltemptress had this to say about Punky Brewster:
One question: what do you think of Crytonomicron, Snow Crash, Tigana, and/or American Gods?
The first two also aren't fantasy, but cyberpunk. Still, Neal Stephenson, their author, is a great writer. Snow Crash is THE book to read if you like the cyberpunk genre.
Have you tried steampunk? There are some good stories out there for that sort of thing. Mercedes Lackey has a nice series of retold fairy tales that also involve Elemental Magic. I don't think the series has a real title, but some books are The Gates of Sleep (Sleeping Beauty), The Fire Rose (Beauty and the Beast), The Serpent's Shadow (An excellent Snow White adaptation involving Hindu gods and with a half-Hindu protagonist), and I've drawn a blank on the others. Also, her The Black Swan, an adaptation of Swan Lake, is one of my favorite books.
Lyinar Ka`Bael, Piney Fresh Druidess - Luclin
But it's generally accepted that the keynote novel of the true "Cyberpunk" genre (and be careful with your definition) is still "Neuromancer" by William Gibson.
That's just me the literature guy splitting hairs, though. I *HIGHLY* recommend Stephenson. I had trouble with Cryptonomicon at the start...he walks you through a lot of number theory and cryptography, which to a non-math guy like me was a major turn-off, but it was an IMMENSELY satisfying read. From what Lyinar and our friend Quin tell me, Snow Crash is a much easier read.
As for Steampunk, I highly recommend it for the fantasy/history buff. I enjoy steampunk fantasy, but no one really seems to write Steampunk fantasy. It's either fantasy with disguised technology (the very enjoyable Archangel line of books was like that) or it's science with an element of fantasy (a la the Force in Star Wars). Again, my literature critic is cropping up.
And now my comic nerd is cropping up. Snoota and I can recommend some truly enjoyable comics that will run you about $10-$15 a pop that you'll enjoy and re-read time and again. Here's a few:
Watchmen by Alan Moore: Political, Superheroic, EXTREMELY realistic, pulls no punches. If you get through it without liking Rorschach you're a freak.
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volumes 1 and 2 by Alan Moore and some other guy: One of the only steampunk tales I've seen done that got it right. Ignore the movie. The comic was so much better, more in-depth, and is full of literary references that will tickle the literature fancier in you
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns: Quintessential Batman tale. It redefined comics, helping pull them out of the public's opinion of them being kid stuff into the realm of being legitimate literature for a more mature audience. Very noirish, with the internal dialogue of Batman running at all times
sigpic courtesy of This Guy, original modified by me
Personally I enjoyed both.
Another good series is the Myth Adventures series by Robert Aspirin, 12 books in all, sorta short. It's more of a light, humorous series with a lot of tounge-in-cheek humor. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
sigpic courtesy of This Guy, original modified by me
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Fizodeth spewed forth this undeniable truth:
The Belgariad and the Mallorean are great, but some people don't like em as much as his other series, The Elenium.Personally I enjoyed both.
Another good series is the Myth Adventures series by Robert Aspirin, 12 books in all, sorta short. It's more of a light, humorous series with a lot of tounge-in-cheek humor. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Myth Adventures kicks ass. Aahz rocks. If you can find the Phil Foglio-drawn "Myth Adventures" volume 1 and 2 (covers the first novel) it is SUPREMELY worth it. But the novels in and of themselves kick serious booty.
Foglio's "Girl Genius" is also good.
sigpic courtesy of This Guy, original modified by me
Sci-fi, gotta go for the classics like Robert Heinlein or Isaac Asimov. I've read most of their books more than once. Time Enough For Love or Job: A Comedy of Justice are two of Heinlein's I've read through at least 4 times. Asimov's Robot series is great and defined the genre, while his Foundation series won the 1960 Hugo Award as the Best Science Fiction Series Ever.
If you're not into classics, David Webber or Johnny Ringo write some pretty good books, too, though I can't remember any off-hand.
As always I'm reccomending Sean Stewart, but nobody listens to me. (digression: Has anyone read the Star Wars book he wrote? I am intrigued, because I absolutely love this author, but again I am checked, as all I know of Star Wars is from the first three movies and Episode 1 - I have never read the books and know NOTHING of the lore beyond that. Still, reading the blurbs about it I smile, as it IS textbook Stewart, but then again, I kinda want to know if I'm going to drown and die in a sea of undone homework.)
Also: I have a copy of Cryptonomicon in my room and I did, in fact, get stuck right at the beginning. Or should I say, read a bit, then discovered a copy of Tex & Molly in the Afterlife under my bookcase and proceeded to be engrossed. I should probably get back into it, but then again... I sort of don't want to read the beginning-stuff I've already read, and sort of don't want to jump in after a bit of forgetting everything. Fleh.
It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the beans of Java the thoughts aquire speed, the teeth acquire stains, the stains become a warning. It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.
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Lyinar Ka`Bael had this to say about Duck Tales:
Snow Crash is THE book to read if you like the cyberpunk genre.
Whatever happened to Neuromancer, huh?
Edit: Ja'deth beat me to it. Have a cookie.
Also: I never really enjoyed The Dark Knight returns because I loathe the artwork. It's really, really ugly. And the story was only ok. Tarquinn fucked around with this message on 02-24-2005 at 02:18 AM.
First one is Gardens of the Moon.
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Jens had this to say about Jimmy Carter:
You want the Malazan books by Steven Erikson. There's five or so so far, and they're all rad as hell.First one is Gardens of the Moon.
I've read Gardens of the Moon so far. Its a pretty good series..but doesn't make sense for most of the series!
They don't explain much to you in the first book. 
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Tarquinn had this to say about the Spice Girls:
Whatever happened to Neuromancer, huh?
General consensus these days seems to be that Neuromancer paved the way, and Snow Crash perfected it.
I think Snow Crash is a great book anyway, so whether you like cyberpunk or not, it's a nice read. So's the follow-up, The Diamond Age.
Lyinar Ka`Bael, Piney Fresh Druidess - Luclin
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Katrinity's unholy Backstreet Boys obsession manifested in:
Since we seem to be on a cyber theme, I recommend Tad Williams' 'Otherland' trilogy. Takes place in the not very distance future where people jack into the web instead of using a computer. Children while on the web seem to start disappearing one day, leaving their bodies empty living husks back in the real world. Very good series with fantasy, scifi, cyberpunk, and mystery themes.
For whatever reason I just could NOT get into the first book at all. One of the few books I haven't found the will to go on with. /shrug
Not just American Gods, but virtually anything by Gaiman is good.
I've recently been reading through some of Elaine Cunningham's Forgotten Relams books. They're good.
On the note of franchises, might pick up the WarCraft books if you haven't already. All the ones out are pretty good.
Eddings books are alright, but they don't mind telling the same story over and over at all. If you thought Jordan used too many literary cliches, then possibly the Belgariad, Mallorean, and definitely The Redemption of Althalus are better avoided. MorbId fucked around with this message on 02-24-2005 at 06:57 PM.
I like it, and if you do a search on google you can read a synopsis.
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We were all impressed when Nicole wrote:
My reccomendations: forget what everyone else said, avoid Eddings. He/they have this annoying habit wherein, while not ALL the good guys are uberpowered, they all have perfect reasoning and flawless logic and can easily plan and strategize their way out of every situation. I've read the Belgariad and The Malloreon, STARTED on the Elenium but then I lost my library card, and this trend is sadly pretty much prevalent throughout. I'd like to read a bit more just to check, but then again, I sort of DON'T because it feels like a slog, especially with big giant books.
The Elenium is way better than the Belgariad.
However he's a lot better in the Elenium.
