Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with books and fantasy

Please tell me what to read!

Janta — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 08:22:54 -0800

Book-recommendation-filter: Can you help me find something to read? Parameters to follow. I'm desperate for new reading material. I typically read SF/Fantasy and some mysteries (innovative and edgy, I know), and lately I've found myself reading more non-fiction, simply because it seems like most of the SF/F out there has a lot of hackneyed, overblown prose and predictable plots. What I'd really like to find is SF/Fantasy that plays with the genre's conventions a little bit, I think -- actually, I'm interested in any book that twists the conventions of its genre. Additionally, I prefer books with a good deal of action, and absolutely love it when the characters engage in "witty banter" (it should be genuinely smart dialog, though). I'm not super-fond of hard/military SF, though if it focuses on the people more than the science and tech, I'll give it a try.

SF/F that I've enjoyed recently: everything by Terry Pratchett, most of Lois Bujold's books, Scott Lynch, John Scalzi, John Varley, Charles Stross, Guy Kay, George Martin, and Ken Scholes.

Bonus-round: I just re-read Soon I WIll Be Invincible; do you know of any books that mess around with the whole superhero/supervillain/metahuman concept?

Thanks, MeFites!

p.s. -- I've done the usual googling, looked at past questions, tried BookSeer and What Should I Read Next, and haven't had much luck.

Book suggestions for a 19 year old

blaynerb — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 17:40:07 -0800

I'm looking for something new to read. I'm 19, any suggestions? For the first time in many years, I'm without a book to read. I'm a college student and need a reprieve from school work. I've looked on a lot of book websites but I'd like suggestions based on my actual preferences and I've seen a lot of successful book suggestion questions on here.

I'm in the phase where I still like some YA books but I'm not a big fan of obnoxiously angsty teenagers or messages of purity and abstinence. Some of my favorites:
Harry Potter
Eragon
Twilight
The Golden Compass

I like fantasy novels but not really science fiction, and I like action, mystery, and really need a romance aspect to keep my interest as well (sexual tension, steamy bedroom scenes, etc), unless the story is a good mystery or makes you think.

Some of these types of books I enjoyed:
The Historian
The Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons, The Lost Symbol
Jane Austin's books
Jane Eyre
Heart of Darkness
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
Stranger in A Strange Land

Some Book I didn't like:
Chronicles of Narnia (thought I only read The Magician's Nephew)
All The Pretty Horses
Little Women

Although I sound picky, I'm pretty open-minded and try most books before discounting them.

Back when it was OK to read fantasy novels in English class....

otolith — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:02:32 -0800

Okay, fantasy novel ID two-fer. Book One: people live in villages that are suspended on the side of an enormous cliff and a girl is born who has wings. Book Two: set in a world made up of bits of earth suspended in a void, cape-fighters, a spider-god.... I read both of these books sometime around 1992-93.

More on book one: specifically, the villages are attached to the cliff by the roots of enormous plants or trees. The axiom "measure twice, cut once" is used when setting up the plot, to underscore the precision it takes to engineer the support system for the villages out of these roots. The title of the book may have been something like "_____ Descends" or "_____ Falls", where the blank is the name of the winged, female protagonist. I seem to recall that the book had sort of a "Ursula LeGuin" feel, rather than a more standard fantasy novel.

More on book two: the bits of earth suspended in the void are of varying sizes, some are big enough to hold whole cities. The plot involves a thief stealing something of great value from a castle or mansion, then trying to escape with it. In the void surrounding the floating earth are "vampires", which, in this book, are small parasitic creatures. There is a character who is a "cape-fighter", who fights using a weighted cape that maybe has some blades on it. There is also some kind of spider-god who lives on one level of the void and I seem to remember the book ending on his "world". This book definitely had the feel of being a book in a larger series and I recall that it maybe wasn't very well written.

I was reminded of the first book over a year ago while reading about the hanging coffins in China and then the second book popped to mind as something I read at about the same time. It's been killing me that I can't track these down.

Name that book series I barely remember

nomisxid — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:41:18 -0800

Back in the 70's/80's, I remember seeing a series of scifi/fantasy books, where the cover art for all the books had a consistent theme of a red/orange sun that figured prominently. What was it? I remember there seemed like a lot of books in the series.
As I recall, most of the covers were pictures of a character, with the omnipresent red dot in the background sky. At the time, I shied away from them because I was more into hard sci-fi, and it looked likely to be very fantasy-y.

Time won't fill itself...

zennoshinjou — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 05:54:05 -0800

Fantasy recommendations based on previously enjoyed books. So I enjoy a good fantasy yarn from time to time and would like some recommendations since like all genre fiction there is probably more crap than quality and would rather focus on the good stuff. Here is what I like:
George Martin - A Song of Ice and Fire (the last book was a little eh but otherwise I enjoyed this series quite a bit)
Robin Hobb - I enjoyed all the books the Fool was in (all 9.. great characters, good story)
Main storyline in Dragonlance/Forgotten Realms (including the ridiculous amount of Drizzt books) (admittedly I read this a long time ago so it could just be fond memories)
Wheel of Time - I only liked the first couple and then it all just became a blatant cash grab full of cliches and painful 2 dimensional characters and gender stereotypes.

Basically I like complex, well written stories with compelling characters (don't we all?) that don't start to feel like "hey I'm not sure when this is going to end so I'll drag it out to line my pockets." I would kind of prefer a longer series so long as it has direction but one offs are fine as well.

If it helps, I also really enjoy Neal Stephenson (basically everything hes written) and William Gibson (ditto). Things in this vein would be good also (for example I was effusively enthusiastic about the Baroque Cycle).

As a bonus question, are the ancillary Forgotten Realms/Dragonlance series any good? I never got into them.

Superpowerdown

sio42 — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 11:07:35 -0800

ComicsFilter: I like Harvey Birdman and recently picked up Incognito. I think it's a neat question to ponder what superheroes/villains do when they have to pretend to be normal. What else can you recommend in this genre? I'm looking for stuff about beings with superpowers that have to be mundane or retire and their struggles with doing so. Any kind of media is fine. Movies, cartoons, comics, graphic novels, regular novels.... It just occurred to me the Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul was kinda like what I'm looking for as well. The gods kinda didn't really lose their powers but sort of went into retirement.

It can be funny and silly like Harvey Birdman or more serious.

Please feel free to ask me questions about what I'm looking for in case I haven't been clear. I'm not really sure what to call what I'm looking for.

Recommendations for erotica

ninebelow — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 04:56:03 -0800

Recommendations for erotica I'm interested in reading erotic novels but I need a bit of guidance. Virgin Books are the biggest erotica publisher in the UK and I've dipped into a few of their titles at random but they've been uniformly awful. Google has not been my friend either because there is a lot of chaff out there. So I am looking for (ideally) a good reviews/recommendation site or (failing that) individual recommendations for novels, authors or publishers.

I'm a straight male interested in the porn rather than romance end of the spectrum and when I say novels I mean actual printed books. Bonus points for science fiction or fantasy recommendations (although I am not after a million recommendations for Jacqueline Carey).

Book ID: Painters trap their subjects in paintings by using bodily fluids.

snoogles — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 14:20:15 -0800

IDThisBookFilter: I'm looking for a fantasy book by several authors which features a family of painters who can trap people in a painting if they mix their bodily fluids in with the paint. The author(s) must have names in the second half of the alphabet, if I remember my library's old filing system correctly.
There's a scene where painters who make paintings as a way of recording contracts/transaction have an argument over what kind of style is most appropriate. I think there might be a girl who becomes a painter even though it's usually a man's job... (oh, the feminism of fantasy novels).

(I think the word gold or golden might be in the title, but it's a big stretch).

Harry Dresden, Repairman Jack, Felix Castor, then?

robocop is bleeding — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 09:38:27 -0800

I'm looking for some book recommendations: Urban fantasy stories featuring investigators vs the supernatural. I've already read all of Butcher's Dresden Files, Wilson's Repairman Jack, and Carey's Felix Castor series. I'd like to continue to read books about lone investigator/private eyes combating the supernatural in an urban fantasy setting, but after a bit of experimentation, I keep on stumbling upon series that either devolve into softcore porn or are not very well written, or both (so Anita Blake is right out).

So where do I go from here? Spring is finally springing and I'd like some light, entertaining reading.

Extra-points for Kindle content.

Odd tales

Rinku — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 14:21:43 -0800

I'd like recommendations for short stories that are strange, humorous, or have a surprising twist. I'm in an english class where we're reading long, kind of dull, "straight" novels, one after the other. I'm enjoying the class but I need some antidotes - stories that are off the wall, exotic, mysterious, or... something like that. They need to be short enough that I can read them in one sitting.

My favorite short story ever, which definitely qualifies, is Borges' The Secret Miracle. Donald Barthelme's short stories, which I've been reading recently (and enjoying very much), would also count. Recommendations for genre short stories - fantasy, science fiction, horror, whatever - would be very much appreciated as well.

Recommendations for specific short stories, rather than collections or authors, would be appreciated - but if everything an author's done is amazing, well... go for it.

The perfect week-long read...

WidgetAlley — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 10:26:00 -0800

Help me find just the right book for a week spent rebuilding the Appalachian trail... In March, on my spring break, I'm going down to Georgia to help rebuild the Appalachian trail head. It's going to be six days of awesome already, but I would like to have just the right book to seal the deal.

Specifications are: I would like historical fiction, fantasy, travelogue, sci-fi or something similar. I need to be able to finish it in six days (six days with ample time for reading, however, and I read quite fast), so that I'm not blowing off homework for it once school starts again. I'm looking for something tremendously exciting, escapist and engrossing-- bonus points if it makes me think a lot, extra super-bonus points if it's swashbuckling AND makes me think a lot.

I am not looking for: "modern" fiction; any huge series; anything under 250 pages (and preferably 350+); generally speaking 'the classics', unless you mean Dumas and not, say, Proust; non-fiction unless it is an engrossing biography. You get the idea.

Thank you in advance!

Fantasy books set during/between the world wars

honeydew — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 21:34:46 -0800

I'm looking for books and/or movies that have a supernatural/fantasy aspect and are set in the era between the World Wars. Faries, werewolves, sorcery, the living dead. Carnies, hobos, shellshock, Bolsheviks, Nazis. I have no books to offer up as an example because I've never encountered one. Any suggestions?

Stand-Alone Fantasy Novels?

Jaybo — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 11:46:02 -0800

Stand-alone fantasy book recommendations? So many fantasy books are parts of series so I'm looking for suggestions of fantasy books that are engaging, stand-alone works.

Bonus points if they have medieval settings and characters who use magic.

Finally, although it *is* part of a series, the person I'm asking on behalf of cites "Ink Death" as an example of the type of book they're looking for.

Tell me your fantasy football experiences

TravellingCari — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 20:39:30 -0800

I'm not looking for how-tos, but rather books about people's experiences playing fantasy sports. Any recommendations? I've read Mark St. Amant's Committed, which is a wonderful recount of his 2002 season, coupled with interviews of other fantasy "notables". Any recommendations for other books in the same vein? Football or baseball preferred but I'll take any recommendations.

I've read other reading recommendations that come up in the search results(no not all, yet, but most) and they seem to be how-tos and other strategy books. I'm not looking for strategy -- but experiences and/or anecdotes.

Not looking especially for blogs, but I'll take those recs too.

Thanks all!

Do you remember a fantasy novel where a princess describes soldiers as looking like plastic soldiers?

Kattullus — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 21:07:31 -0800

Help me find the first book I hated. When I was about 12 years old (IIRC, it may have been a couple of years later) I read a fantasy novel that I absolutely hated. It was the first time I disliked a book for aesthetic reasons. It was a fantasy novel set in a largely magic-less faux-medieval world with a princess as the main protagonist. What I remember best is that there were a lot of completely inappropriate descriptions from the point of the view of the princess. The one that's really stayed in my memory was that the protagonist likened marching soldiers to plastic soldiers (the world of the novel had no plastics).

Help me find an old fantasy book?

brindel — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 00:09:28 -0800

I'm desperately trying to remember a fantasy book I read back in the 1980's or early 1990's. This may actually have been part of a series of two or three books. As I recall, the protagonist was a wizard of indeterminate skill who had secured a position as Court Wizard in a small outlying Kingdom/Duchy. He tried to downplay his 'abilities' as much as possible, but he did have some random skill. At some point he invents something like a 'glass telephone' that more easily communicates with the 'Wizard University' than any other method. My tenuous memory also has this story as something of a murder mystery? A Duke or somesuch dies and Our Hero tries to figure out whodunit. The Court Priest/Monk/Holy Man plays a role as foil to Our Hero too, he's also trying to figure out whodunit, but is morally opposed to wizards. I think I'm remembering them developing some sort of uneasy truce by the end.

The 'glass telephone' device was a part of the book's artwork, which I recall as somewhat cartoony, in bright yellows and greens. Does any of this ring any bells for anybody?

Random snippits of memory I also associate with this book:

The 'glass telephone' was goof made by mixing several spells, but it worked better than anybody expected. You could see an image of whoever you were 'calling' inside the body of the phone, that's why it was glass.

The 'Head Wizard' at the local 'Wizard University' seemed to be involved in some kind of plot around Our Hero. The impression was he believed Our Hero to be much more talented/powerful than he let on, as proven by the glass phone, and there was some kind of conspiracy regarding that.

The wizard's power has something to do with demons?

There was also some jealousy towards Our Hero because of his position as Court Wizard, even if it was a small Kingdom/Duchy.

Our Hero uses his ability at one point as Court Entertainment by making sparkles/lights in the Great Hall as well as moving images of people/things. This was a scene that illustrated his iffy ability, because others could have done the same, but with sound added.

The Queen/Dutchess of the Small Kingdom/Duchy was quite power-hungry and ruthless. (I think I remember *her* as being the one who dun it.)

The Court Priest/Monk/Holy Man had a secret in his past, something to do with a scar or brand on his arm?

Our Hero dies and comes back while saving someone's life, possibly the Priest/Monk/Holy Man? (This was the source of the truce between them.)

Hope these snippets actually help as opposed to muddying the waters. Thanks!

Recommendations for SF/Fantasy books that deal with "lost civilizations"

papercake — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 09:44:37 -0800

Recommend me some SF/Fantasy books that deal with "lost civilizations" I'm a sucker for stories with mysterious lost civilizations as the focus, or the backdrop. Can't get enough of 'em. I know that's a pretty general requirement and that they've become a kind of a SF/Fantasy cliché at this point, but what are people's favorite books that deal with lost civs?

For instance, I love Richard Morgan's Takeshi Kovacs novels with the Martian technology strewn around all over the place. (Although am frustrated that we never find out more than we do about the Martians.)

Elantris was an interesting idea that, ultimately, fizzled to me.

Love the LOTR's deep history and, yes, have read the Silmarillion and love it as well.

So, Mefites, any suggestions?

Who's that frog-licker?

bettafish — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 13:16:16 -0800

WhatWasThatBookFilter: a friend of mine needs help tracking down a fantasy/sci-fi paperback she read back in 1997. Full description below. Quoth my friend:

"What I Remember
-- the cover was of an orange-y sky with a grey-purple rock face with a large stone with a hole through it that might have been called 'The Eye of ----'?
-- their was a rich, Baron Harkonnen-type guy who licked frogs either for drug or vision-inducing properties.
-- the lead might have been involved in some sort of Gladiator-style combat.
-- there was something to do with the sea? Ship-travel?
-- it was the first of a series/trilogy.
-- if you looked through the stone-eye-thing, then sometimes people (prophets?) could see the future.
-- the stone eye thing looks like the thing from Star Trek's City on the Edge of Forever, except it's up on a cliff or a mountain."

Does this ring a bell for anyone?

Bandwagon Jumper R' Me

TheOtherGuy — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 07:22:37 -0800

What epic fantasy/sci-fi series (think Wheel of Time, Song of Ice and Fire) are only just starting out? So the Wheel of Time is coming to an end, George R R Martin continues his Song of Ice and Fire and Steven Erikson is only a couple of books away from finishing the Malazan Book of the Fallen.

So what epic series are only just starting out? What bandwagon should I jump on and earn those oh-so-important bragging rights about 'liking them first'. :)

I know most fantasy is in a series of 2-3 books, and that it can often be hard to gauge whether a series is going to be epic or not (Remember when A Song of Ice and Fire was only going to be a trilogy?).

But I really want to know what series are starting out now.. and will be continuing for the next 5+ years. Ideally they should only be 1-3 books in, with enough plot lines to carry them on through to the long term.

My tastes are pretty broad. but I do have a soft spot for wars and battles.. whether they be in a magical land.. or in outer space. I am a guy.. (obviously from the nick).. so fantasy authors like Anita Blake and Jacqueline Carey is not really my cup of tea. (sorry ladies). As are fantasy frachises like Dragonlance and such..

Thanks in advance

How can I get a copy of Carmody's "The Stone Key" outside Australia?

modernnomad — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 01:28:48 -0800

How can I get a copy of Isobelle Carmody's "The Stone Key"? So, my girlfriend is apparently into this series of fantasy books by Carmody. I don't really know anything about them since fantasy is not my cup of tea, but she apparently has read them since she was a kid. I guess a new one was released in January, called "The Stone Key". She can't buy it in Canada, apparently, and I'd like to get her a copy if I can.

It does not seem to be available online outside Australia in all the places I have looked. My girlfriend is currently in Toronto, but I am in Oxford right now, so if anyone knows of someway to get a copy shipped to either of those locations, that would be great. Actually, even shipping to the US would be fine too.

For the record, I tried amazon.ca, amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, and blackwells (both online and in the shop). So far, no luck.

Thanks!

Finding Two Forgotten Fantasies

BT — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 18:24:13 -0800

A familiar kind of question -- anyone know the titles/authors of two fantasy novels I read as a kid in the late 1970s or early 1980s? Book 1: I remember only one scene: a pair of children in a boat, in an outing that begins as a pleasant row or sail out on a lake, becoming aware of some unspeakable (and I think magical) menace growing around them, or possibly back at home.

They may have been royalty or nobility of some kind. I believe they were brother and sister, and may even have lived in a castle?. I’ve searched in vain for this scene in all manner of young adult/kids fantasy novels, but haven’t located it. It’s possible that I’ve misremember some of the details or conflated bits of more than one book. I remember finding the scene itself memorably chilling for some reason.

Book 2: Group of kids plant a pear(?) seed and a the resulting magical tree that grows becomes a kind of fantastic playhouse. Not a picture book, but a short novel.

Anyone? Anyone?

Alternate London Fantasy

signal — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 17:46:24 -0800

Need Longform Alternate London Fantasy, please. I recently finished Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, and am jonesing for some more reading, and I figured that: I've enjoyed the aforementioned book, as well as Perdido Street Station and Macleod's The Light Ages, so I seem to have a pattern: I like long, literate, dark, fantastic novels set in an Alternate (or surrogate) London.
Would you be so kind as to recommend others? Long is good, say at least 800 pages. I have already read all of mr. Nieville's novels. Extra points of said novels are available on BookMooch.

Pageturners with insightful character development?

Malad — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 16:47:45 -0800

I'm looking for novels that are pageturners (genres preferred: science fiction/fantasy, magic realism, mystery/suspense/thriller) but also have psychologically acute character development. Any recs?

Fantasy Books with Anthropomorphic Rabbits?

d13t_p3ps1 — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 10:36:42 -0800

I can't remember this 70's/80's fantasy book series! It's driving me nuts. I've been searching google and amazon for about two hours and I keep hitting dead ends. The details I remember:

The main character was a stoner type who got dragged into a fantasy world.
A female he went to school with followed him.
His magic was music-based.
He and the female were the only humans, all the other characters were anthropomorphic rabbits and foxes and other animals.
One of the main animal characters was a rabbit.
There was a large salamander that was a communist.
A strip club featuring a stripping mink (i think)

I am pretty sure I'm not thinking of Discworld. I got the paperback versions of the books from a library sale, the covers looked like typical Tor fantasy novels from that time period.

Books with bumbling wizards?

killjoy — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 15:38:37 -0800

Recommendations for books with bumbling wizards? I'm looking for light, entertaining reads in the fantasy vein. Think Douglas Adams with magic. Bumbling wizards are a must--extra points for talking dragons and unicorns.

I enjoyed Terry Pratchett's Discworld series and most of Terry Brooks' Kingdom for Sale series.

Most recent books read were Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows and Martin Amis' Money.