Shout out

[sylvari]

To all my amazingly smart and well read f-list

The Shiny boi is looking to expand his sci-fi reading. So any suggestions for good science fiction books to read would be most appreciated.
 Fantasy books would be appreciated too. Classic "must reads" are at the top of his list of books to start with and I know all you people out there in lj land have some fairly extensive book lists and some excellent taste.

So list me kiddos ...

Comments

[ayalanya.livejournal.com]

- Sabriel by Garth Nix. And the following two, to a lesser degree (Lirael and Abhorsen), but not a significantly lesser degree. (This is fantasy, not sci-fi).

- The Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold. Probably specific books (I know I loved Cordelia's Honor, a lot), but I haven't read enough of the series to know if there's anything less than awesome. (Sci-fi)

- Books about the Liaden. Again, haven't read enough of the series, but what I have read is fantastic (Pilot's Choice comes to mind). It's by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller. (Sci-fi)

[maverick-weirdo.livejournal.com]

Elantris

[tonysalieri.livejournal.com]

I liked Richard K. Morgan's "Takeshi Kovacs" series. The first one, Altered Carbon, being the most accessible. Broken Angels gets a little weird, but it picks up well again in Woken Furies. Lot of interesting ideas about what society might be like if we could digitally store, transfer, and clone minds and bodies, but we hadn't, as a society, gotten our personal shit together before we started colonizing the immediate galaxy.

Dune, is of course, worth reading. I'm not sure I would bother much past the first book, and I've not heard great things about the stuff Herbert's kid did. But I've always been fascinated by the almost "low-tech" vision of the future, with it's weird Buddhist-Islam-Catholic worldview, and it's moral about the inexorable nature of impermanence.

Fred Pohl's Gateway series is a fun read, although I've only done about two and a half books of it. The Deathgate Cycle is also interesting, it's sort of sci-fi masquerading as fantasy. Maybe the other way around.

[sultana-de-maz.livejournal.com]

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, if he hasn't read it already, and 1984 by George Orwell. But be warned, both are pretty depressing. And Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, also a bit of a downer - make sure it's a copy with 21 chapters, as sometimes the last chapter (which changes the whole tone of the story) is expurgated.

[amberjeansays.livejournal.com]

HARRY POTTER.
oh god, just kidding :D

[glaucos.livejournal.com]

*glare*

[sentry-to-you.livejournal.com]

The entire library by William Gibson, start with Neuromancer and work your way through them. They are all loosely related in background.

[anaquana.livejournal.com]

Must reads...

The Belgariad Saga by David Eddings

The Hitchhiker's Trilogy

Dune

Most anything by Heinlein

I really enjoyed most of Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth Series and I think that he would as well.

Terry Pratchett

Neil Gaiman

C.S. Friedman's Coldfire Trilogy

R.A. Salvatore's Drizzt Series (I have them all if he wants to borrow them)

I'll have to go pawing through my bookcases to find more.

[entropyastaroth.livejournal.com]

I don't like Orson Scott Card these days, but Ender's Game still needs to be read. I think it's amazing.

And for some fantasy recommendations

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, Stephen Donaldson
The Deeds of Paksenarrion, Elizabeth Moon

[octoberland.livejournal.com]

Is he on LJ? You or him should go check out my book group.

specficbooks

Otherwise my own suggestions coming soon...

[sothe.livejournal.com]

Most anything by Vernor Vinge is excellent reading in the sci-fi area.

Steel Beach, by John Varley (sci-fi)

Blood Music by Greg Bear (sci-fi)

Any book by Robin Hobb.

Alien Earth by Megan Lindholm( sci-fi) (same person as Robin Hobb, different name)

These are but a few. If you want more, ask.

Steve

[pixel.livejournal.com]

-Louis McMaster Bujold's "Vorkosiga" series. They are excellent books with the worst being merely very good and the best being truely glorious reads. I personally would read "The Warriors Apprentice" and work forward from there, going back and reading the two earlier books after reading at least to Brothers In Arms. But I'm guessing they will work at least as well if read in chronological order.

-Terry Pratchett's Discworld books, but start at either "Wyrd Sisters" or "Guards! Guards!" as in the earlier books he is still finding his style.

-Spider Robinson. Specifically "Callahans Crosstime Saloon" (and onwards but the quality is all over the map as they go on, peaking again at "Callahan's Key")

-Neal Stephenson. Pretty much anything, I particularly like "Snow Crash" & "Cryptonomicon"(this is ~1150pages, as a warning). Many people liked "Diamond Age", I thought it was good but not amazing. I couldn't get into his Baroque Cycle at all.

-William Gibson. In paticular "Neourmancer" & "The Difference Engine"

that's off the top of my head.

[eevieivy.livejournal.com]

Since I didn't see it on glance-through,

"The Obsidian Trilogy," by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory

The first book is "The Outstretched Shadow."

Elves, wildmages, demons, war, and tea.

[nicbemused.livejournal.com]

LE Modesitt Jr. All of his sci-fi.

Marion Zimmer Bradley.