Hey, I literally don't know what to read next. Help me out and give me some suggestions.

[TheColorPurple]

Sorry if this doesn't belong here, but I'm hoping that I can find some good books to read right now. Does anyone have anything atm? For the record, I'm pretty new to reading stuff that isn't popular at this point. I've just finished Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft and it was... good? I guess. But I really need something meaty. Something that, popular or not, I can sink my teeth into. Or maybe I can get a good author. Just any author or book series or piece of fiction (doesn't have to be a book or book-related) that's worth a watch or read.

I know jack-shit unless we're talking about Marxism or China or Soviet film or what have you. So I want to sort of "broaden my horizons," a bit anyways.

Also, hey everyone: I'm new here. Nice to meet y'all.

 

[TheColorPurple]

So I'm reading N.K. Jemisin's series The Fifth Season, but other than that, I don't know what to read and I want to use my time as much as possible before school starts. Just gonna bump this thread for any recommendations but I don't know whether or not that's allowed in this forum as I'm still trying to memorize the rules here.

You guys can list anything you want.

 

[RoboRenee]

Ann Leckie's Ancillary Justice/Sword/Mercy series is pretty good throughout, though the first is leagues better than its sequels.

She has another novel, Provenance, in the same sci-fi setting that I haven't read yet but also looked great.

Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel is also pretty good (and also the first in a trilogy, though I haven't gotten to its sequels yet).

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire is the first in a series of children's books that are absolutely fantastic.

Lies of Locke Lamora was a good fantasy crime book, and IIRC the start of a series again.

Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero is this fantastic Scooby Doo/Lovecraft mashup.

The Mists of Avalon is a retelling/reworking of Arthurian myth through the lens of its female characters by Marion Zimmer Bradley and is pretty great.

If you haven't read anything by Ursula K. Le Guin you should check her out, fantastic author whose written several great novels of fantasy/scifi stuff.



Leaving the realm of fiction, Legacy of Ashes by Tim Weiner is an absolutely fantastic and gripping history of the CIA which is also extremely critical of the organization. Enemies by the same author is a similar (and similarly critical) history of the FBI. Richard J. Evans' The Coming of the Third Reich, The Third Reich in Power, and The Third Reich at War are a very interesting in-depth breakdown of, well, Nazi Germany. Disney War by James Stewart is supposed to be a dramatic and interesting book about internal conflicts within the Disney corporation which will eventually own us all body and soul, though I've also not started it yet.

 

[bluntblade]

Ann Leckie's Ancillary Justice/Sword/Mercy series is pretty good throughout, though the first is leagues better than its sequels.

She has another novel, Provenance, in the same sci-fi setting that I haven't read yet but also looked great.

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Provenance is relatively lightweight but in an enjoyable way. It's also got a pleasantly unlaboured romantic subplot.

If you want a lot of meat, may I introduce you to the gnarly sci-fi of Iain M. Banks? I'd suggest either beginning his Culture Novels (which is more a setting than a series) with Consider Plebas or The Player of Games, or his standalone The Algebraist.

 

[TheColorPurple]

Ann Leckie's Ancillary Justice/Sword/Mercy series is pretty good throughout, though the first is leagues better than its sequels.

She has another novel, Provenance, in the same sci-fi setting that I haven't read yet but also looked great.

Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel is also pretty good (and also the first in a trilogy, though I haven't gotten to its sequels yet).

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire is the first in a series of children's books that are absolutely fantastic.

Lies of Locke Lamora was a good fantasy crime book, and IIRC the start of a series again.

Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero is this fantastic Scooby Doo/Lovecraft mashup.

The Mists of Avalon is a retelling/reworking of Arthurian myth through the lens of its female characters by Marion Zimmer Bradley and is pretty great.

If you haven't read anything by Ursula K. Le Guin you should check her out, fantastic author whose written several great novels of fantasy/scifi stuff.



Leaving the realm of fiction, Legacy of Ashes by Tim Weiner is an absolutely fantastic and gripping history of the CIA which is also extremely critical of the organization. Enemies by the same author is a similar (and similarly critical) history of the FBI. Richard J. Evans' The Coming of the Third Reich, The Third Reich in Power, and The Third Reich at War are a very interesting in-depth breakdown of, well, Nazi Germany. Disney War by James Stewart is supposed to be a dramatic and interesting book about internal conflicts within the Disney corporation which will eventually own us all body and soul, though I've also not started it yet.

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Yes! Thank you!

And honestly, I've already read The CIA as Organized Crime by Douglas Valentine. I think my opinion of the CIA (and the FBI as well) are about as low as they can possibly get. But I'm not here to talk politics so thank you. This really helps out. I'm going to jot these all down on a list, though I'll probably end up making a Google Doc eventually anyways. Definitely with you on the Lies of Locke Lamora series, Seanan McGuire's recent series, and Ann Leckie's work, as I've already had my sights on them, though this just makes me want to read them even more. I'll probably order one of the novels from either series right now, actually.

I'll have to read fast before school re-starts with the new semester, but that shouldn't be a problem as I left my job a few months ago already.

Oh yes, as for Ursula Le Guin, I know her, but for now I'll avoid reading the "classics" as I'm trying to read recent works. I've already read a lot of old stuff from H.P. Lovecraft and Algernon Blackwood and even have the complete works of Lord Dunsany. Too much old stuff, even if Le Guin's works are more recent. But your suggestion is noted.

Again, thanks.

 

[bluntblade]

If you'd like a modern, very British spin on Lovecraftian subject matter with merges with spy fiction, I recommend Charles Stross' Laundry Archive.

 

[Gul Damar]

Alphabet Squadron by Alexander Freed, a suprisingly deep Star Wars novel about a ragtag unit of defectors, mercenaries and loners tracking down an elite Imperial squadron in the post-Endor days, that just got it's sequel released.

Bitter Seeds by Ian Tregilis, Nazi superhumans vs British warlocks vs Eldritch Abominations.

The Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence, about a prince-turned-bandit in a post-apocalyptic fantasy setting seeking to reunite the Hundred Kingdoms no matter the cost.

The Red Knight by Miles Cameron, where a mercenary company gets contracted to protect a convent from an army made up from faerie knights, wyverns, insectoid goblins and other beings of the Wild.

 

[bluntblade]

Has anyone got something to recommend with some dungeon crawling/tomb-raiding?

 

[TheColorPurple]

Alphabet Squadron by Alexander Freed, a suprisingly deep Star Wars novel about a ragtag unit of defectors, mercenaries and loners tracking down an elite Imperial squadron in the post-Endor days, that just got it's sequel released.

Bitter Seeds by Ian Tregilis, Nazi superhumans vs British warlocks vs Eldritch Abominations.

The Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence, about a prince-turned-bandit in a post-apocalyptic fantasy setting seeking to reunite the Hundred Kingdoms no matter the cost.

The Red Knight by Miles Cameron, where a mercenary company gets contracted to protect a convent from an army made up from faerie knights, wyverns, insectoid goblins and other beings of the Wild.

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Mark Lawrence's reputation precedes him. I'll have to read his books sometime. I also heard good things about Miles Cameron. Alphabet Squadron is probably going to be good since it's written by Alexander Freed. Overall, I'm also interested in the High Republic novels, so I might just skip Freed's book and go for those instead. Don't know about Bitter Seeds, but I'll consider it.

Thank you!

 

[Gul Damar]

Mark Lawrence's reputation precedes him. I'll have to read his books sometime. I also heard good things about Miles Cameron. Alphabet Squadron is probably going to be good since it's written by Alexander Freed. Overall, I'm also interested in the High Republic novels, so I might just skip Freed's book and go for those instead. Don't know about Bitter Seeds, but I'll consider it.

Thank you!

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Fair warning about Prince of Thorns, the first chapter is a rather rough start with the protagonist shown at his absolute lowest which I think the author did deliberately, which has turned some people off but I promise the read is worthwhile enough to get past it.

I would also recommend Lawrence's The Red Queen's War trilogy that has a different cast/plot but takes place in the same setting during the same timeline as Thorns with a few cameos, aswell as The Book of the Ancestor trilogy that is a whole new setting about warrior nuns on a world that is freezing over.

 

[TheColorPurple]

Fair warning about Prince of Thorns, the first chapter is a rather rough start with the protagonist shown at his absolute lowest which I think the author did deliberately, which has turned some people off but I promise the read is worthwhile enough to get past it.

I would also recommend Lawrence's The Red Queen's War trilogy that has a different cast/plot but takes place in the same setting during the same timeline as Thorns with a few cameos, aswell as The Book of the Ancestor trilogy that is a whole new setting about warrior nuns on a world that is freezing over.

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In that case, how's the chronological order? Does The Red Queen's War come first or afterwards? I prefer to read them in as chronological an order as possible. I mean, which series came out first?

 

[Gul Damar]

In that case, how's the chronological order? Does The Red Queen's War come first or afterwards? I prefer to read them in as chronological an order as possible. I mean, which series came out first?

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Prince of Thorns came first and should be read beforehand, even when they technically start at the same time because they go to different places with different goals, and there are some references from Thorns you wouldn't appreciate if you read Red Queen's War first.

 

[TheColorPurple]

Prince of Thorns came first and should be read beforehand, even when they technically start at the same time because they go to different places with different goals, and there are some references from Thorns you wouldn't appreciate if you read Red Queen's War first.

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Makes sense, and that's what I'm looking for. Alright, I'll get to that first.