posted
Hello everyone. It's great to finally be a part of this forum. I have been a long time OSC fan and a regular visitor to Hatrack.com. I see a lot of people give a quick history of themselves when first posting so let me not break that pattern.
Enders Game was the book that opened my eyes to the wonders of the written word. It was the seventh grade and I can still remember sitting up all night to finish it. It was the first book that I ever read cover to cover without being forced to by a teacher. Since that day I have been hooked. I have read most of Cards books. Enders Game remains my favorite book but the Alvin series is my favorite series done by OSC.
I am currently a elementary teacher who specializes in reading and writing, but am currently teaching math at the area high school due to some unfortunate cut backs and district rearangements.
So anyway let me get to my topic. I am one of those people who finds an author they like and will read everything i can by that author and then jump to another author. So needless to say I am always on the lookout for a new name. Some of the authors I have read recently and enjoyed are; Robin Hobb, Robert Jordan, Melanie Rawn, Terry Brooks, and Anne McCaffrey. i know there are a lot of other great authors out there I just have a hard time finding them because there are not a lot of big SF/Fantasy fan who I work with. So, Who's out there I should definately read?
As a side note, I have found OSC reviews very helpfull in finding good authors(I found Robin Hobb there who I absolutely loved and recommend as a must for anyone who hasn't read her)Does OSC have a comiled list of his favorite authors?
Posts: 1294 | Registered: Oct 2003
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Let me be the first to welcome you to Hatrack (assuming that somebody doesn't beat me to the punch)!
Other authors you would probably enjoy, given those you listed, include Octavia Butler, George R. R. Martin, Tad Williams, and Pat Murphy.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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So other people get acolytes and minions, and I get flunkies? How'd that happen?
Another author well worth reading is Maureen McHugh. She's actually the author of what remains my favorite stand alone novel, China Mountain Zhang. Erik, have you read any of her stuff?
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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At this point I sure like the title. But I'm not familiar. I'll have to stash it away in my head till I see it....
Posts: 2506 | Registered: Jul 2003
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I never got into the minion thing, but maybe I could go with being a flunkie. Can I be Zanemon?
I second Martin. Since you listed Jordan, you must be OK with reading unfinished series.
If you have not read Tolkien yet, you must stop posting and only return when you have finished the Lord of the Rings. Some see it as a requirement to post here at Hatrack.
Posts: 4625 | Registered: Jul 2002
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It was her first novel, and still stands out, in my mind, as her best. Her later Mission Child is pretty damned good, but it doesn't come together as...beautifully as CMZ. I also like her most recent novel, Necropolis quite a bit, but somehow it just doesn't have quite enough meat, if you know what I mean. Still a fascinating read though (and one I need to reread, come to think of it).
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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If you like Anne MacCaffrey you will very much like science fiction by Elizabeth Moon and by Debra Doyle. If you like your science fiction exciting and peppered with strong female characters, and if this is more important than scientific foundation or profound social statements, these are good choices.
Posts: 1001 | Registered: Dec 2002
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My list of authors is only a recent list, over the last years or so. I have most definetly read tolkien. I would have to kick my own, um, butt (don't want to offend any one with my mouth quite yet) if i hadn't.
So let me get this straight, I need to pledge my allegence to a higher being in the forum world to survive here? Sounds kind of like prison, be someones girlfriend, join a gang, or shank someone in the first week to be accepted. Never realized how dangerous this was going to be.
Posts: 1294 | Registered: Oct 2003
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It's worth pointing out that there is no shortage of strong female characters in Octavia Butler's work. I find her writing to be better than that of McCaffery or Moon, more on par with OSC's work (although quite different from it).
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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I've heard a lot about Robin Hobb. If I decided to try some of his/her work, what book would be a good place to start?
Posts: 7 | Registered: Oct 2003
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Ignore these little fish and their little games. Welcome to the forum. *grin*
And yes, there's a pretty good list of fantasy authors, here. I'm not sure you'll like all of them, though, because you DO like Brooks and Jordan -- which suggests to me that you have tastes very different from my own. (Me, my faves are Tad Williams, George Martin, Stephen King, and Steven Brust.)
You might consider David Eddings' Belgariad or Dave Duncan's A Man of His Word, if you're a Jordan or Brooks fan.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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My introduction to her, under that name, was the first book of the Liveship Traders series, and that worked fairly well for me. The Assasin series takes place in the same world, and I've heard from some that the Liveship Traders series was a little richer with the background from the earlier series, but I enjoyed it well enough on its own.
My introduction to Hobb under her real name, Megan Lindholm, was Wizard of the Pigeons, which is a damned good book in its own right.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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You absolutely need to read Steven Saylor's Roma Sub Rosa mystery series, starting with Roman Blood.
Actually, since every novel is pretty well self contained, you can start anywhere in the series. I started with A Murder on the Appian Way. But, RB starts the series chronologically.
Posts: 3852 | Registered: Feb 2002
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In case it wasn't clear, we're just being silly. Hatrack's a pretty safe place, generally (although you probably don't want to ask people whether Jake Lloyd or Hally Joel Osmet should play Ender in the movie version of Ender's Game, and you probably shouldn't try to bully OSC into letting you write the screenplay).
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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I would say start at the beginning, the assasin trilogy, then read the live ship traders trilogy, I am currently waiting on the final book in the fool's trilogy. They all relate and read in cronological order.
I know she original wrote as meghan lindholm, which is her real name, but I have not yet read anyof those books. They are proving to be a bit hard to find.
Posts: 1294 | Registered: Oct 2003
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I've never read anything by the authors you mentioned (although some of their books are on my ever-growing To-Be-Read List), so I don't know what type of book they represent. But some of my personal favorites are Philip Pullman, Garth Nix, Douglas Adams, Stephen R. Donaldson, and Terry Pratchett. And Tolkien, of course. But that goes without saying.
I've also enjoyed some books by Mary Stewart, and I liked Marion Zimmer Bradley's Avalon series (I've never read any of her other books).
And there's always J.K. Rowling, if you're into the Harry Potter craze...
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Ooo, Pullman, I'll second that one! Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising series is great too.
If you want to find stuff that she wrote as Lindholm, inter-library loan is probably your best bet. That's how I've gotten ahold of her stuff.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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Well i appreciate all suggestions. In nameing my list of authors I've read recently I can see I definaelty lean towards a more epic fantasy type of story but in reality I really enjoy any book that is well writen and emotionally told. In fact some of the best reading I've ever done has been in the young adult section. As a fifth grade teacher over the last two years I have read some wonderful stories. These books are very strong in the way that they have great characters, stong plot lines, and they move QUICKLY, no meaningless detail and rediculous amount of character development that stretches a good story too thin (i.e. R. Jordan)A couple great authors are Jerry spinelli, Philbrick Rodman, obviously, C.S. Lewis, Lloyd Alexander, and many more.
Posts: 1294 | Registered: Oct 2003
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Ok, I forgot J.K Rowling. As a teacher I have no choice but to be into that craze but I am happily a part of it. Expspecially the audio books. If you are into books on tape the reader for the potter books is probably the best I've ever heard.
Posts: 1294 | Registered: Oct 2003
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quote: You absolutely need to read Steven Saylor's Roma Sub Rosa mystery series, starting with Roman Blood.
Another Steven Saylor fan! YES! Those are wonderful books! There ought to be more of them. *high-fives Javert*
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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They are detective novels, written in first person. They are set in Rome (of about 70 CE) and/or nearby. (One takes place mostly in Pompeii.) They have a wonderful undercurrent of humor.
And they're wonderfully researched -- the details of daily life of members of various classes in Roman society were pronounced by my Classics prof to be very accurate. He had never heard of the books before I asked him about them, but then proceeded to read all of 'em.
Saylor's novels are great murder mysteries, with all the twists and turns you could hope for; excellent historical fiction, which makes you almost feel like you've experienced the Rome of 2000 years ago. And they're well-written and really fun to read.
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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May I recommend the books of Kage Baker? She writes a wonderful series about an entity called the Company which, in the 24th century, has discovered the secrets of both time travel and immortality. There are four novels and a collection of short stories in the series so far, beginning with a gem called In the Garden of Iden, which takes place in the England of Bloody Mary. It is not your usual period piece, however. But, beware. These books are addicting.
Posts: 2454 | Registered: Jan 2003
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Neil Gaiman. Lisa Goldstein. I think these would fit in well with your taste. American Gods has been mentioned in these forums a lot - I was quite impressed with this book's blend of character, plot, idea and myth.
I've read two of Goldstein's*, and can't wait to read more (hey Sharpie, let me borrow yours when you're done? ) She is a little less polished, and less 'epic,' but does a very entertaining job of blending fantasy and reality.
*Strange Devices of the Sun and Moon (out of print) was great.
Posts: 431 | Registered: Oct 2003
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I think you would probably enjoy the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy, by Tad Williams.
I definitely second any George R.R. Martin recommendations. His song of ice and fire series is quite possibly the best fantasy series ever written.
John Varley, Clive Barker, Larry Niven, and Robin Hobb are some of my other favorites.
I haven't really been reading much sci-fi or fantasy lately, but I am also looking forward to the last book in Hobb's Tawny Man trilogy.
Posts: 1855 | Registered: Mar 2003
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Might I suggest Mark Twain, particularly his short stories and essays that often get ignored? Roughing It is a forgotten gem of a book and a hoot to read.
Posts: 2848 | Registered: Feb 2003
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In general I love to read essays by fiction authors I like. Twain's essays are great, as has just been pointed out. Vonnegut's essays I actually prefer to his fiction, and the same goes for those of Niven. Orwell's essays I would highly recommend.
If anybody knows of collections of essays by fiction authors, especially SF authors, I'd love to know the titles.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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I haven't read Kage Baker, but I've been meaning to. She's really cool; posts a fair bit on this forum I frequent.
Posts: 2443 | Registered: Apr 2002
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) She is a little less polished, and less 'epic,' but does a very entertaining job of blending fantasy and reality.
