04-04-2013, 11:20 PM
Seeing as we seem to be on the verge of losing yet another well-known sci-fi author (Iain Banks) I thought to create this thread (forgive me if there is a duplicate somewhere I missed in search)
I'd like to recommend the following:
Fantasy
Jacqueline Carey (Kushiel's Trilogy - only the first three books and perhaps one or two of the second trilogy worth looking at, Kushiel's Dart remains a favorite, Banewreaker is a fun inversion of classical fantasy tropes)
Carol Berg (only for The Collegia Magica series so far, which is like Renaissance fantasy-mystery)
China Mieville (Bas Lag series and others, brilliant, twisted writing, prose rich with imagery, though I think Perdido Street Station set a standard his other novels are hard put to match, some magical elements difficult to like; very steampunk-y writing)
Guy Gavriel Kay (one of the older, more well-known fantasy favorites, read and liked Tigana, A Song for Arbonne and Lions of Al-Rassan, though a -very- optimistic sort of writer if you dislike that kind of thing)
Catherynn M. Valente (whimsical, mythology-driven tales and children's stories, beautifully crafted language)
Sci-Fi
Gene Wolfe (Book of the New Sun - Cerebral sci-fi/fantasy that reads very strangely, surreal, one of the hardest authors I've read but also very satisfying)
M. John Harrison (Viriconium, similar in style to the previous I think)
John C. Wright (The Golden Age trilogy, fantasy in similar vein to old-school optimistic sci-fi albeit "hard" sci-fi with sweeping space opera themes, author's political bent tends to influence his writing. Love the lush prose though)
My "old favorites" are Frank Herbert, Tolkien, etc. and am currently on Book Five of ASOIAF. :)
I'd like to recommend the following:
Fantasy
Jacqueline Carey (Kushiel's Trilogy - only the first three books and perhaps one or two of the second trilogy worth looking at, Kushiel's Dart remains a favorite, Banewreaker is a fun inversion of classical fantasy tropes)
Carol Berg (only for The Collegia Magica series so far, which is like Renaissance fantasy-mystery)
China Mieville (Bas Lag series and others, brilliant, twisted writing, prose rich with imagery, though I think Perdido Street Station set a standard his other novels are hard put to match, some magical elements difficult to like; very steampunk-y writing)
Guy Gavriel Kay (one of the older, more well-known fantasy favorites, read and liked Tigana, A Song for Arbonne and Lions of Al-Rassan, though a -very- optimistic sort of writer if you dislike that kind of thing)
Catherynn M. Valente (whimsical, mythology-driven tales and children's stories, beautifully crafted language)
Sci-Fi
Gene Wolfe (Book of the New Sun - Cerebral sci-fi/fantasy that reads very strangely, surreal, one of the hardest authors I've read but also very satisfying)
M. John Harrison (Viriconium, similar in style to the previous I think)
John C. Wright (The Golden Age trilogy, fantasy in similar vein to old-school optimistic sci-fi albeit "hard" sci-fi with sweeping space opera themes, author's political bent tends to influence his writing. Love the lush prose though)
My "old favorites" are Frank Herbert, Tolkien, etc. and am currently on Book Five of ASOIAF. :)
“Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were, but without it we go nowhere.” - Carl Sagan
WIP/Sketches | FB
WIP/Sketches | FB