Favourite Science Fiction and Fantasy Series

[Dreamer_D]

Okay I will admit that I am a big sci-fi/fantasy nut, are you? If so, I thought it would be fun if we all posted our favourite book series of all time and gave a little overview of the storylines so that others can look for them and enjoy them too!

I''ll start.

My number one all-time favourite series is "A Song of Ice and Fire" by George R.R. Martin. This is a fantasy series and so has a little magic, some dragons, and lots of Knights in shining armour, but what I love about it is that it is a "realistic" fantasy world. It is a gritty, medieval world where there just happens to be a little magic creeping in. It is truly epic, with about 8 concurrent story lines following the lives of the nobility involved in a civil war much like the war of the roses in medieval England... except that there are about six factions vieing for the throne, not only two!

The narrative perspective jumps from character to character with each chapter, so we learn about the events unfolding in the country from different perspectives and in different parts of the country. What I really love is that at least half the main characters are female, something you rarely see in fantasy, and they are strong, wonderful women. Nevertheless, all the characters live within the constraints of a medieval, feudal culture, and this is really grounding for the fantasy elements.

So far there have been 4 books: "A Game of Thrones", "A Clash of Kings", "A Storm of Swords", and "A Feast for Crows". Book six comes out in September: "A Dance With Dragons". He plans two additional books to complete the series. Go pick it up today!

So what are your favourite series?

 

[Circe]

A woman after my own heart! I''m a huge Martin fan: I resisted for years and years, thinking that anything that got that much hype couldn''t possibly be worth it ... man, was I wrong. Luckily for me, I came in just after A Storm of Swords: being the instant gratification junkie that I am, I don''t think that I would have made it if I''d had to wait for the story to be parceled out in bits and pieces over all those years. As it is, waiting for A Dance With Dragons is killing me softly - I want to know what happens to Tyrion, damnit!

Other favorite series ... hm. Well, let''s see - my main interest is in the fairy tale, so Windling and Datlow''s collections of short stories top my list (though they''re not technically "series" books). Tanith Lee''s stuff is beautiful, all of it, and she has too many excellent series to list. Jonathan Stroud''s Bartimaeus trilogy is genius (sort of like Harry Potter for grown-ups, despite which it''s still published in YA - it''s told from the shifting perspective of a young wizard and the demon who grudgingly serves him). Likewise, in YA, Phillip Pullman''s His Dark Materials, though the ending makes me froth at the mouth. And, OH! If you''re a GRRM fan and you haven''t read Mary Gentle''s Lost Chronicles of Burgandy already, get thee to a Borders! You''ll love it - it redefines "alternate history," and is all about a female mercenary captain in 16th c. England. Genius!

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

There are a few as I am a voracious reader.

Anything by Douglas Adams is at the top of my list. The increasingly inaccurately named trilogy of Hitchhiker’s guide to the Galaxy (his term) is the funniest thing I have ever encountered in my entire life. I have read the first book in the series more than any other book and I still fall off the bed in a fit of giggles when I read chapter nine. In a nutshell, the world is destroyed and Arthur Dent, the most boring, average person ever, catches a ride on a spaceship with his best friend. The book is about Dent and his friend''s travels all over the universe. It is very British and does have a certain monty python feel to it with the randomness. His other series I love are about Dirk Gently, a detective, and his random adventures. Long dark teatime of the soul is the best. It is about the lives of the Norse gods in the modern world and Dirk Gently''s investigation of a murder and how they all tie together. At one point, he buys an I ching calculator that will give your fortune, but if you try to do a math problem with an answer greater than 4, it will answer "an infusion of yellow" http://www.douglasadams.com/creations/

The next are the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde. There are four at the moment and I love them. They are set in a parallel universe that is similar, but not identical to our own. The series is about Thursday''s travels in books. She saves Jane in Jane Eyre, apprentices under Mrs Habersham from Great Expectations, saves Pride and Prejudice, etc. She also tries to help her father who is a rogue time traveler, get back with her love Landon, takes care of granny Next and many others. The books are amazing if you have read great literature. For example, I felt Mr. Rochester''s love for Jane just as clearly in the first book as I did in the original. http://www.thursdaynext.com/index2.html will give you a better idea.

Anything By Neil Gaiman I love. Neverwhere is about the secret world that exists under cities. It is an amazing story of Door, a girl from the underworld and her travels through the London underground. She teams up with a man from above ground, a huntress of the great beasts that live under all major cities and the coolest count ever who keeps his life in a box. http://www.neilgaiman.com/works/Books/Neverwhere/
American Gods is about a war of the gods brewing in the US. On one side, are the old gods like Odin and Bast. On the other are new gods like the one of television. It also has the greatest speech about faith and belief I have ever read. http://www.neilgaiman.com/works/Books/American+Gods/ He also co wrote Good Omens with Terry Pratchett about the apocalypse. It is a very funny take on the apocalypse, sort of the opposite of “the omen”. http://www.neilgaiman.com/works/Books/Good+Omens/
He also wrote Stardust, which is much better than the movie of the same name, but a similar plot.
It is VERY late where I am so I apologize if these make very little sense; that’s why I included the links, so these books would get the great descriptions they deserve.

 

[D2B]

I love RR martin as well, great books. the other fantasy series I love is from Robert Jordan "the wheel of time" series. The first 8 books are brilliant. hmm, who else ..... Raymond Feist, "The Magician" - great fantasy with dragongs, magic, etc.

I am really looking forward to reading everyones recommendations as I am dying to find a new series.

D2B

 

[perry]

I may be dating myself severely with this list (as if any of you even know of some of these series):

There have been so many; but key ones that stand out.... (note that I grew up on the Hardy Boys and Tarzan - neither of which are considered SF&F)

The Lensman series by E.E. Doc Smith (E.E Doc Smith is known as the "father" of space opera). This was probably the first SF series I ever read.

Foundation Series by Asimov

The Lord of the Ring (& the Hobbit) by Tolkien

Andrey Norton

Robot Series, Rama Series, and other books by Arthur C Clark.

Robert Heinlein

While some of these series predated me - many of what are considered classic SF&F books came out as first editions when I was actively reading (and I can remember when this was only a small section in a major book store - about 1/5 of the current size - and owning everything that was on the shelf).


Recent series that I enjoyed:

Terry Goodkind - Sword of Truth series

Elizabeth Moon - Vatta''s war (although I really liked previous Elizebeth Moon''s works as well from the Deed of Pakenarron, through Sassinak, and Serranno.

The Harry Potter Series.


There are many many series in the middle - but who can not be a serious SF&F series fan without loving the Dragon Riders of Pern series...

(and I wrote this without looking in all my boxes downstairs for hints).


It is probably a good thing that the SF&F market is now so large that I long ago stopped reading everything published. I now only read perhaps a dozen new SF&F books a year (I also read a couple dozen of other books each year too).

It is really interesting to see how many old (classic) books are still in print - and to remember when they just came out and I read them for the first time.


Perry

 

[princesss]

I''m a big Sword of Truth fan. Other than that I don''t read too much fantasy/sci-fi.

 

[Selkie]

Oh, so many! Brazen, I was introduced to Neil Gaiman''s work by my college boyfriend, starting with the Sandman comic book series. It''s since been collected into 10 graphic novels and it''s almost impossible to describe. The main character is Morpheus, the immortal Lord of Dreams. He is one of the seven "Endless;" his brothers and sisters are all anthropomorphized human emotions and experiences (Death, Desire, Despair, Destruction, etc.) It travels through time and alternate universes, and you never know where you''ll end up next. My favorite story is that of Hob Gadling, who is granted immortality by Death in the 14th century and meets up with Dream every hundred years to report on his experiences.

Anansi Boys is the follow-up to American Gods, and is about the twin sons of the African trickster spider god Anansi. I would love to see it as a movie with the actor Chiwetel Ejiofor (Kinky Boots, Serenity, Dirty Pretty Things) in the lead role.

I''m reading Outlander by Diana Gabaldon now, and was hooked by page 2, so there''s a new series for me. I forget who it was, but
someone on PS summarized it and I immediately knew I''d love it. It starts out in 1945, when a former war nurse named Claire Randall accidentally steps through a mystical standing stone and ends up in 1743 Scotland, before the Battle of Culloden. She marries and falls in love with, in that order, a young Scot named Jamie Fraser. A.MA.ZING.

The Harry Potter series gets re-read every other year or two, the Pern series is about due for a reading, and I want to read more Sheri Tepper.

 

[Circe]

Dreamer! Yoo-hoo! Just thought I''d follow up on the question about Feast for Crows from the Creative/Ironic thread ... read it, and loved it, though I''m wishing he''d give us some answers, as opposed to just more questions! Aaaaaaaaaaaaand now I want to discuss details without fear of spoiling for others who haven''t read yet (new thread? or wait for Sept.?), but suffice it to say that I''m hoping B. had the good sense to shriek out A.''s name in that last scene ....

 

[mercoledi]

Date: 6/1/2008 2:40:26 PM
Author: Circe
Dreamer! Yoo-hoo! Just thought I'd follow up on the question about Feast for Crows from the Creative/Ironic thread ... read it, and loved it, though I'm wishing he'd give us some answers, as opposed to just more questions! Aaaaaaaaaaaaand now I want to discuss details without fear of spoiling for others who haven't read yet (new thread? or wait for Sept.?), but suffice it to say that I'm hoping B. had the good sense to shriek out A.'s name in that last scene ....

I always wondered if there were others on here addicted to a song of ice and fire. New thread? Much chatting? The Westeros boards get wayy too snarky and intense for me.

Oh, and ditto on the first 8 books of ' the wheel of time ' but after that it got weird and slow. I never understood why Ran was still alive after all that...


Any Orson Scott Card fans?

 

[Circe]

Date: 6/1/2008 2:45:25 PM
Author: mercoledi

Date: 6/1/2008 2:40:26 PM

I always wondered if there were others on here addicted to a song of ice and fire. New thread? Much chatting? The Westeros boards get wayy too snarky and intense for me.

Any Orson Scott Card fans?

Me likee this first thought: I''ve poked my nose into the fan sites, but they seem a little too ... vociferous for me (though, they''re great places to confirm that my freaky theories about, say, Jon''s origins, are not just the products of an overactive imagination).

And, YES - I teach Ender''s Game every term, and the only reason I didn''t sneak Enchantment into my other class was to make room for Witches Abroad. Oooo, Pratchett? Are there any Pratchett fans in the room?

 

[Aloros]

Yay! I LOVE fantasy/sci-fi. Though I read other genres, this is what really got me into reading when I was a kid.

I adore Martin. I got to meet him once at a book signing, but it was very crowded, so it was sort of like "next!" Wish I could have talked to him more and can''t wait for the TV series to come out.

Melanie Rawn is another of my favorites. She writes epic fantasy as well, and her books are excellent. Just don''t start on her Mageborn trilogy yet...she hasn''t finished it yet! It''s been so long that I know I''ll have to re-read the first two. I hate being left hanging. I got to meet her once too, at a less crowded signing. She''s a lovely lady, very friendly, which was a little surprising, considering how ruthlessly she kills off characters. After one of my favorites died, I was left depressed for about two days. No one is safe, and I love that aspect. It makes her books very exciting to read.

I''ve read Ender''s Game, but haven''t read any more of Orson Scott Card. Was really impressed with it, but have heard the others aren''t as good.

Frank Herbert - Dune. Again, haven''t read the others since I don''t want to be disappointed.

Terry Pratchett is a riot - discovered him through my fiance. I found his earlier works a bit disjointed and difficult to follow at times, but his later stuff is just spot on. So funny!

I also enjoy the Kushiel series by Jacqueline Carey. Very graphic, written from first-person. Great plot, great characters, and a very rich world.

That''s all I can think of for now!

 

[laine]

Love Orson Scott Card! I went to a Mormon singles retreat just because he was speaking (i wasn't mormon or single). Enders game and the first several sequels are great, but then it starts to drag out. Liked the seventh son series. Skip the memory of earth series and the religious ones. I liked alot of the other books that weren't in any series.

Heinlein is another favorite, anything and everything he wrote. Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. John Barnes. Neal Stephenson. Never got much into the fantasy, but I'm a big sci-fi fan. Mostly older stuff (probably because most of my books come from used bookstores). I tend to be oblivious to whats current.

ETA: my exBF kept all of our Heinlein and Orson Scott Card when we broke up--that was a sad loss...

 

[princesss]

Date: 6/1/2008 12:04:13 PM
Author: Selkie

I''m reading Outlander by Diana Gabaldon now, and was hooked by page 2, so there''s a new series for me. I forget who it was, but someone on PS summarized it and I immediately knew I''d love it. It starts out in 1945, when a former war nurse named Claire Randall accidentally steps through a mystical standing stone and ends up in 1743 Scotland, before the Battle of Culloden. She marries and falls in love with, in that order, a young Scot named Jamie Fraser. A.MA.ZING.

Oh, I didn''t know we were counting Outlander! I love that series. It''s amazing, but watch out when you start Dragonfly in Amber (the second book). It''ll make you throw the book against the wall. I love those books so much. Have you been to the fan forums? They''re a lot like PS. Positive, and driven by a common love of the books. I can''t wait for the next book to come out!

 

[Selkie]

Ooh, me me! Pratchett fan here! I think it was Gypsy who said he''s got early onset Alzheimers??

Date: 6/1/2008 4:50:49 PM
Author: princesss

Oh, I didn''t know we were counting Outlander! I love that series. It''s amazing, but watch out when you start Dragonfly in Amber (the second book). It''ll make you throw the book against the wall. I love those books so much. Have you been to the fan forums? They''re a lot like PS. Positive, and driven by a common love of the books. I can''t wait for the next book to come out!

Sure, I consider it a historical fantasy novel. Uh oh, I''ve got DiA on order from Amazon; is it going to piss me off? I think I ran across a fansite called Ladies of Lallybroch a couple weeks ago, it looked interesting.

 

[princesss]

That''s it! Ladies of Lallybroch is great. If I remember right, there''s the site and then from there you can jump to the forums. I skip to the forums straight away, so I forget. Definitely check it out.

And yeah, DIA...the first paragraph made me throw the book against the wall. And then I had to run over, pick it up, and read a ton to figure out how what happened (to make me throw the book) had happened.

 

[Fancy605]

My, I enjoy a good fantasy/sci fi read now and again. My husband is also an AVID reader, so he''s gottern me sold on several series as well.

For Fantasy:

I of course adore CS Lewis; I have since I was a little girl.

I love anything George McDonald--He writes LOVELY stories

When I was a kid, my FAVORITE series was Redwall by Brian Jaques

I enjoyed the Harry Potter books very much.

When I was young, I also enjoyed Patricia Wrede''s Dealing With Dragons books. Very cute.

And I am still trying to finish wading through the Wheel of Time Books (Robert Jordan)

For Sci Fi:

I like Stephen King''s Dark Tower Series (and I like some of his fantasy novels as well such as Eyes of the Dragon)

I also have enjoyed Orson Scott Card and Robert Heinlen

I used to read everything by Anne Mccafry, but it began to get repetitive. I still use one of her short stories each year with my students though.

 

[MonkeyPie]

I REALLY like the Anita Blake series by Laurell K. Hamilton. It has everything fun - were-creatures of all kinds, vampires, faeries, witches, magic galore, and the main character is a vampire executioner. And the best part is that it is set in today''s time, as though all these things were commonplace. There is even one set where I live, called Obsidian Butterfly. It''s my absolute favorite of all time.

 

[pjean]

I heartily recommend anything by Lois McMaster Bujold, but especially the Miles Vorkosigan series. They''re really really good character driven space opera. If Georgette Heyer had written space opera, she might have come up with something similar. They''re so much fun! They''ve all been re-released in 2 or 3 book omnibuses. You can start with Cordelia''s Honor, or with Young Miles. Definitely a must read!

I also enjoyed the first 3 GRRM books, although I have yet to get to the fourth one. I think I''ll wait for the 5th, and then I can swallow them whole. Part of the problem is that I''ll have to reread the first 3, since a lot has faded, and I remember them being distinctly stressful to read!

Recently, I read the first of Jim Butcher''s Codex Alera series, Furies of Caleron. It has something of the feel of the GRRM books, and is clearly influenced by them. The protagonists are slightly more likely to be stupid, and unlike GRRM''s books, not everyone dies. So I''d cautiously recommend them.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Sorry I disappeared from this thread! I went away and then forgot!

These are great suggestions everyone, I actually haven''t read too many, though I do love Douglas Adams, Anne McCaffrey, and Orson Scott Card. I am looking forward to reading some of your suggestions!

I have a couple other recommendations!

Spider Robinson has a series that starts with "Callahan''s Crosstime Saloon". It is a bunch of short SF stories set in, you guessed it, Callahan''s Crosstime Saloon! Hilarious and witty, there are a number of other books that follow and have a similar format. HIGHLY recommended.

I am now reading David Eddings "Belgariad" series. Although it is an easy read it is great... nice quick paced story and he obviously planned the whole thing before writting because the books are well integrated and one starts immediately after the previous one ends. Best of all, Circe, the whole series is already in print. No waiting!

Anyhoo, any other suggestions are much appreciated!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 6/1/2008 3:29:14 PM
Author: Aloros
Yay! I LOVE fantasy/sci-fi. Though I read other genres, this is what really got me into reading when I was a kid.

I adore Martin. I got to meet him once at a book signing, but it was very crowded, so it was sort of like ''next!'' Wish I could have talked to him more and can''t wait for the TV series to come out.

Tell me more! Tell me more! I haven''t heard this!??!!

 

[John P]

Oh wow. I don’t know how I can possibly do this subject justice.

As a science geek in a musical family my parents were both proud and disturbed about my obsession on this stuff. Asimov was the catalyst in JH. I’ll never forget the end of the Foundation series. “Preem Palver…[spoiler omitted]” It rocked my world. Tolkien and Robert Heinlein were natural progressions. My parents noticed that Star Trek reruns (of no interest before) became must-sees for me. When Star Wars came out the local theater was giving free admission to any kid who brought 100 cans in a bag to be recycled. I made a Herculean effort and saw it 3X in one day. Nowdays I can pay my admission and I'm still there baby!

(geeking out for EpIII)

Frank Herbert (God rest his soul) lived 50 miles away from my hometown. My father was chair of the college humanities department and arranged for us to meet so I could interview him for my high school paper. I had all this bubbling confidence and edgy questions prepared but when the moment came I was like a deer frozen in headlights. Duhhh... Thankfully he was a prince of a man. He spoke into my tape recorder the whole time while I drooled onto my Pee Chee.

So many of you brought up familiar works! I have these series’ on my shelves in the other room: Terry Brooks (Shannara), Stephen Donaldson (Thomas Covenant), C.J. Cherryh (Morgaine), David Eddings (The Belgariad), Orson Scott Card (Alvin Maker), Harry Turtledove (Videssos & Krispos), Barbara Hambly (Darwath), Fred Saberhagen (Books of Swords), Philip Farmer (Dungeon), Fritz Lieber (Fafhrd & the Mouser), Raymond Feist (The Riftwar Saga). TH White (The Once & Future King). What a flood of memories.

Has anyone had a "dead zone" where you left the genre behind for a time? In my senior year in college I wrote a term paper comparing Eschenbach’s “Parzifal” to Cervantes’ “Don Quixote.” That project almost did me in. After completing it I retreated to light reading. I did discover an entertaining set of books by Harry Harrison: “The Stainless Steel Rat” - among others I have forgotten. I had read the first Douglas Adams so I laughed my way through the rest (though “Fish” was pretty “meh” to me). A few years ago I made my way through the Tad Williams “Otherland” series (long!). None of those gave me the thrill the old Sci-Fan books did, but for a long time I set them aside.

In recent years I have read the Terry Goodkind and George RR Martin series'. “A Song of Ice and Fire” was recommended to me by someone beloved and it’s my recent favorite. What a fantastic series. I love the phrase “he’s in his cups.”

My million-dollar question, as I have not seen him mentioned... How about Michael Moorcock? For some twisted reason I bought all of his books in college, even tracking some down that are out of print. I’m not sure why, he is far from my favorite, but I can’t seem to turn away. If anyone has read “Behold The Man” you know where his head’s at. He definitely needs a hug.


Dachsie, I am so glad you started this. After next week I’ll be spending time on a beach in shorts with no pockets and I'm going to use your thread to load up on suggestions. Thanks for a great topic.