Looking for books to read!

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FleshMasher said:
Night Watch is great, very unorthodox fantasy, and the setting in Moscow gives it a unique flair. Tip: Don't watch the movies.
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I actually liked the movies also, might have to do with the fact I saw them before reading the book. If you mentally set yourself up to view them as separate entities having nothing to do with each other it's possible to enjoy them both. But yeah, the book is better.
 
If you like Japan, samurai and ninja... try the Young Samurai Series by Chris Bradford. Excellent stuff! There are 8 books in total so far in the series with Book 8, the Ring of Sky, releasing August this year.



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Luneth22 said:
If you like Japan, samurai and ninja... try the Young Samurai Series by Chris Bradford. Excellent stuff! There are 8 books in total so far in the series with Book 8, the Ring of Sky, releasing August this year.



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What?!?!? Theres 8? I only thought there was 3! Where would you get the other 5 cause I can't find them anywhere!
 
One I finished recently, and it's probably been mentioned, is The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.

It was very good. Set in Nazi Germany during the Holocaust and the entire story is narrated by Death, who really wants a vacation.
 
I just read the Hunger Games trilogy while I was on vacation with my family. I really loved it. IDC if that makes me a hipster lol. Harry Potter was also top notch. There's a reason they're so popular.

As far as stuff that's not so obvious, um, I liked the Abhorsen trilogy by Garth Nix. It was really original. The Uglies quatrology by Scott Westerfeld was fun, but a little similar to Hunger Games. I'm just starting on the Skinjacker trilogy. IDK how it is yet, but I've heard it's good.

For something really obscure, try The Gods of Pegana, by Dunsany. I imagine being on drugs might make it even better, if you're into that, but it's pretty trippy all by itself.

For a book that will make you bawl your eyes out, "The Cat Who Went to Heaven." It's a classic and won some kind of award I think too.
 
I finished up Skinjackers. It's fair, but not nearly as good as Hunger Games. I'm on the third book of Maze Runner now. It starts off really slow, and I almost didn't bother with the second book, but it seems to be getting better as it goes along.
 
I agree with google, The Hunger Games is a great book, and so are the 2 sequels.

My personal favorite series is The Rangers Apprentice, written by John Flannagan. It is fictional. I highly recommend it. the story takes place in the castles and kingdom days. The main characters are very like-able and if you're like me and hate books without sequels this book has 9 (;
 
If you're into rushed, disappointing endings, then sure, read the Hunger Games trilogy.

Obligatory mention goes to the Song of Ice and Fire series because it's just THAT good.

Would also recommend "The Book Thief", which I need to re-read now, and also "His Dark Materials" trilogy (Philip Pullman) for some easy, but interesting reading.

Also, Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" is a good, thought provoking tome.

Others include:

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night time
Cloud Atlas
Shades of Grey (Not the porny "50 Shades of Grey" one) is one my boyfriend says to read. It sounds pretty interesting.
Anything by Terry Pratchett, if you've got an off-kilter sense of humour.
 
Song of Ice and Fire got me in the mood to look for more grim, gritty fantasy. I found some really good stuff.

First up, The Black Company series by Glen Cook. It's a big fantasy epic, but instead of following the VIP's around you get the story from the perspective of the mercenaries on the front line.

Here's the best review quote I can find.

"With the Black Company series Glen Cook single-handedly changed the face of fantasy--something a lot of people didn't notice and maybe still don't. He brought the story down to a human level, dispensing with the cliché archetypes of princes, kings, and evil sorcerers. Reading his stuff was like reading Vietnam War fiction on peyote."

Tor printed four omnibuses:

Chronicles of The Black Company
-The Black Company
-Shadows Linger
-The White Rose

The Books of the South
-Shadow Games
-Dreams of Steel
-The Silver Spike

Return of the Black Company
-Bleak Seasons
-She is the Darkness

The Many Deaths of the Black Company
-Water Sleeps
-Soldiers Live

Another good one for ya. The First Law series, by Jon Abercrombie. His character Logen Ninefingers would be right at home in George R.R. Martin's world.

Found a good description of this one too.

"[A] highly readable fantasy that isn't going to scare off mainstream readers or newcomers to the genre....a whole banquet of violent action and intrigue."

No omnibus for this one yet:

The First Law Series
-The Blade Itself
-Before They are Hanged
-Last Argument of Kings

That'll keep you busy for a while. :P
 
Le_Bello said:
If you're into rushed, disappointing endings, then sure, read the Hunger Games trilogy.

Obligatory mention goes to the Song of Ice and Fire series because it's just THAT good.

Would also recommend "The Book Thief", which I need to re-read now, and also "His Dark Materials" trilogy (Philip Pullman) for some easy, but interesting reading.

Also, Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" is a good, thought provoking tome.

Others include:

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night time
Cloud Atlas
Shades of Grey (Not the porny "50 Shades of Grey" one) is one my boyfriend says to read. It sounds pretty interesting.
Anything by Terry Pratchett, if you've got an off-kilter sense of humour.
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Just because mockingjay sucked didn't mean the whole trilogy did! Catching fire was an amazing book.

Has anyone read the Artemis Fowl series? That was a great series too.
 
The_Landslide said:
Cloud Atlas is such a fun read. Props for mentioning that one.
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Admittedly I'd forgotten about it until it was mentioned earlier. But yes, it's a superb book, once you get into it.


EternalArcadia said:
Just because mockingjay sucked didn't mean the whole trilogy did! Catching fire was an amazing book.
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Catching Fire was the best of the three, for sure. And yeah it was a good book, it's just that in the case of a series, I find rating them individually somewhat belies their nature. Hunger Games is ok, Catching Fire is fantastic, Mockingjay made me almost regret reading the previous two. To be honest, were it not for Finnick, Johanna and Haymitch, I'd likely not have read on.
 
Le_Bello said:
Catching Fire was the best of the three, for sure. And yeah it was a good book, it's just that in the case of a series, I find rating them individually somewhat belies their nature. Hunger Games is ok, Catching Fire is fantastic, Mockingjay made me almost regret reading the previous two. To be honest, were it not for Finnick, Johanna and Haymitch, I'd likely not have read on.
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I wasn't disappointed by Mockingjay. I still couldn't put it down. I agree the expository ending didn't seem written with the same personality as the rest of the books, but I was satisfied with it.

I was disappointed by The Amber Spyglass though. I read it before the days when I could have just gotten on the internet and learned about what Pullman was trying to pull. So I, as a Christian, read the first two and was enthralled, then read the third one and felt like I had been tricked. Like someone handed me a sucker and upon putting it in my mouth I found out it was dirt-flavored.
 
UnseenWombat said:
I wasn't disappointed by Mockingjay. I still couldn't put it down. I agree the expository ending didn't seem written with the same personality as the rest of the books, but I was satisfied with it.

I was disappointed by The Amber Spyglass though. I read it before the days when I could have just gotten on the internet and learned about what Pullman was trying to pull. So I, as a Christian, read the first two and was enthralled, then read the third one and felt like I had been tricked. Like someone handed me a sucker and upon putting it in my mouth I found out it was dirt-flavored.
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It was the way things were really building up and then, in an almost literal boom, the ending was cut to... To THAT. Also, I'm hoping it wasn't a plot twist that she chooses to [LOLSPOILERS]
kill Coin and not Snow.
Because if it were, then it was the most predictable twist I've ever experienced.

At the end, part of me wanted her to (KIND OF SPOILER. NOT REALLY.
wake up, not in hospital, but back in the first Hunger Games, recovering from the Tracker Jacker venom after the three days.
.

As for Pullman, yeah I can see how it might be from a Christian p.o.v, must have felt betrayed?
 
Le_Bello said:
It was the way things were really building up and then, in an almost literal boom, the ending was cut to... To THAT.
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Yeah, I know what you mean. Sorta felt like she was running up to a deadline and had to cut out 3/4 of the story, Taki, Talim, Yun Sung... Oh wait, I'm thinking of something else.

Also, I'm hoping it wasn't a plot twist that she chooses to [LOLSPOILERS]
kill Coin and not Snow.
Because if it were, then it was the most predictable twist I've ever experienced.
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I didn't feel satisfied even by that after what happened to Prim. I wasn't even totally sure Coin was responsible, though she probably was.

At the end, part of me wanted her to (KIND OF SPOILER. NOT REALLY.
wake up, not in hospital, but back in the first Hunger Games, recovering from the Tracker Jacker venom after the three days.
.
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Now that would have been a twist!

As for Pullman, yeah I can see how it might be from a Christian p.o.v, must have felt betrayed?
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I felt like I had been reading a completely different story up about to the point where
they killed God.
It would have been nice if he had written in some kind of hints to let us know that this was as much atheist propaganda as Narnia is Christian. Maybe it's just me, but I still think Narnia was better. Dark Materials left me feeling hopeless and depressed. Narnia made me feel joyful and wanting to become a better person.
 
UnseenWombat said:
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:P It DOES feel like she was pressed to finish it. But even then all the sudden deaths with not warning or real reflection on? No love. Only GRRM pulls that off.

But I blame Coin regardless. I'm certain only she would have that authority. I still prefer my ending ;D

See, Pullman's twist took me completely by surprise, though possibly because I was younger, but even then I realised it was quite controversial. It should've been toned down.
 
I don't understand why the end of Mockingjay had to be rushed so badly when it felt like the stay at District 13 lasted so damn long. That book is full of wasted space that forces important events to the sideline. Decent series as a whole, but some wasted potential at the end.
 
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