Books?

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**boogeyman**

Can anyone recommend any good books?

I like fantasy mostly. I've read most of the early Forgotten Realms books (still read all the Salvatore ones (Drizzt)). A friend got me into urban fantasy (present time with supernatural creatures), I liked the Harry Potter series, Twilight, Anita Blake, Merideth Gentry?(I think that was the main character from Laurell K Hamilton), Kim Harrison's "Hollows" series. Just a warning, those Hamilton books get smutty

I read the first 3 books of the Heresy series, but stopped to read something else and never went back. Was thinking about picking up Malekith and the Shadow King, are they any good?

Any way do you guys have any favorites? Preferably urban fantasy.

**dogma**

Dresden Files fits into that urban fantasy genre.

**Kanluwen**

Dresden Files, quite frankly, is amazing.

The Nightside series by Simon Green isn't too bad either.

**Lordhat**

Not 'urban fantasy', but I highly recommend the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan, and the series "A Song of Ice and Fire" by George R. R. Martin.

**Fateweaver**

I second "Wheel of Time"...12 books in the series and each is between 900-1000's pages if read in paperback so it'll take a while to get through.

Great read, although the first 25% of book 1 starts slow as all hell while Jordan builds the characters but after that very hard to put down.

**garret**

Read the world is flat. a nice educational book.

**boogeyman**

How could I forget the Dresden Files? I had just finished the first book when the tv series started, I had picked up the next 2 books, but didn't read them because I was watching the series. I need to find those books, I remember liking the first one. I even liked the show.

I think someone else recommended the Wheel of Time series too.

I think I have a book by Martin floating around too, but I think it was something about a Game of Thrones or something.

Geez

It looks like I need to track down some of these books in my own house.

Thanks for the recommendations. Keep them coming.

**Lukus83**

Anything by David Gemmell.

**dogma**

boogeyman wrote:
I think I have a book by Martin floating around too, but I think it was something about a Game of Thrones or something.

That's the first book in the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series.

**Lukus83**

The Redemption of Althalus is also very good, but very long. Will try to think of more...

**Albatross**

Not urban fantasy (or fantasy/sci-fi at all...), but Martin Amis is a brilliant author. Start with 'London Fields'.

Or why not try Will Self's 'The Book of Dave'?

Automatically Appended Next Post:
Oh, and Iain Banks' 'The Bridge' is awesome, too.

**boogeyman**

Any particular Gemmel book series? Which one is the best? I have a book store going out of business and have the day off tomorrow, unfortunately the GW store is also closed, so I was going to hit the store to see what I could still find.

**Golden Eyed Scout**

Sunrise Over Fallujah by Walter Dean Myers, The Dark Tower series by Stephen King, and of course, The Zombie Survival Guide.

**sevend3f**

If you don't mind a bit (Really a lot of) humor try some of Terry Pratchett's Discworld books. Good, not so serious fantasy.

(Someone had to say it.)

**BloodofOrks**

I second the Dark Tower series. I would also highly recommend anything by Neil Gaiman. Neverwhere is very good urban fantasy.

**lord of the ghosts**

Golden Eyed Scout wrote:Sunrise Over Fallujah by Walter Dean Myers, The Dark Tower series by Stephen King, and of course, The Zombie Survival Guide.

Buy it now. Right now.

**Lukus83**

For Gemmell I would suggest the Waylander and Druss series.

The Rigante series "Sword in the Storm" and "Midnight Falcon" are also excellent. Just don't bother reading any more of them after that though.

**Kilkrazy**

His Dark Materials trilogy. (Phillip Pullman.)

You can download the whole lot of Edgar Rice Burroughs's John Carter on Mars series for free in the USA. They are a good laugh.

Susan Cooper's The Dark Rising series.

**MeanGreenStompa**

Perdido Street Station by China Mieville. Very fresh and new world. Very interesting book. I really enjoyed it.

**bigfood**

,,Gas,Sewer and Electricity" by Matt Ruff. It´s a massive book (I think it has around 1000 pages) the author worked many years on. It´s the strangest and most grotesque book I´ve ever read.
Good summary from Amazon:

Sewer, Gas & Electric is the exuberant follow-up to Matt Ruff's cult classic and critically acclaimed debut Fool on the Hill. High above Manhattan android and human steelworkers are constructing a new Tower of Babel for billionaire Harry Gant, as a monument to humanity's power to dream. In the festering sewers below a darker game is afoot: a Wall Street takeover artist has been murdered, and Gant's crusading ex-wife, Joan Fine, has been hired to find out why. The year is 2023, and Ayn Rand has been resurrected and bottled in a hurricane lamp to serve as Joan's assistant; an eco-terrorist named Philo Dufrense travels in a pink-and-green submarine designed by Howard Hughes; a Volkswagen Beetle is possessed by the spirit of Abbie Hoffman; Meisterbrau, a mutant great white shark, is running loose in the sewers beneath Times Square; and a one-armed 181-year-old Civil War veteran joins Joan and Ayn in their quest for the truth. All of whom, and many more besides, are caught up in a vast conspiracy involving Walt Disney, J. Edgar Hoover, and a mob of homicidal robots.

It´s like Douglas Adams on crack, and scenes about disturbed war-veterans who hide pornography in public libraries go hand-in-hand with philosophy-discussions which fill whole pages. You need to read this book in one go, if you start reading something else in the meantime, you will get lost in the awesome but confusig plot.

**Emperors Faithful**

Anything by C.S. Goto.

**Albatross**

Oh, Terry Pratchett is a good shout.

**Shane**

I'll second the "Perdido Street Station." Mieville is one of the best authors I've run across in the last decade. His other works are fine as well.

Another very good fantasy (though it's not "Urban Fantasy") is the First Law trilogy by Joe Abercrombie. It's a very mature series, maybe in the same vein as The Song of Ice and Fire.

Another that can only barely be considered fantasy, if at all, is the Warlord Trilogy by Bernard Cornwell. It's his retelling of the Arthurian saga, placing it almost into the realm of historical fiction. He is definitely one of the best writers of historical fiction, and I've heard this described as the "story he was born to tell."

**SilverMK2**

Lukus83 wrote:The Redemption of Althalus is also very good, but very long. Will try to think of more...

That is not so bad, though the style of writing is sometimes a bit "teenage reader" for my tastes. Though if you like that, you might enjoy "Gentleman Bastards" (I think that is the title), as it was reasonably enjoyable, and the world seemed quite interesting.

Spoiler:

If you want to break into some really mind warping science fantasy, try pretty much anything my Michael Moorcock (though I recommend the Count Brass and Hawkmoon books to start out on, as they are a bit more tame than some of his other stuff).

**Wolfstan**

Shane wrote:I'll second the "Perdido Street Station." Mieville is one of the best authors I've run across in the last decade. His other works are fine as well.

Another very good fantasy (though it's not "Urban Fantasy") is the First Law trilogy by Joe Abercrombie. It's a very mature series, maybe in the same vein as The Song of Ice and Fire.

Another that can only barely be considered fantasy, if at all, is the Warlord Trilogy by Bernard Cornwell. It's his retelling of the Arthurian saga, placing it almost into the realm of historical fiction. He is definitely one of the best writers of historical fiction, and I've heard this described as the "story he was born to tell."

Don't forget his Saxon Stories, Uhtred is an awesome character!

**Shane**

Wolfstan wrote:Don't forget his Saxon Stories, Uhtred is an awesome character!

I should perhaps have mentioned that anything by Cornwell is worth reading. The Warlord trilogy just seemed to fit most closely into the fantasy genre.

**HellsGuardian316**

Try "The Dictionary" Amazing book and had an unexpected plot twist "Spoiler" The Zebra did it.

In seriousness. Its not Urban Fantasy, its Future Sci-Fi. I only mention it because I found it so easy to read and its use of mini chapters allowed you to keep track of all the main 40plus charactors. Was extremely enjoyable, it wasn't filled with predictable storylines, and those that were, weren't obvious on how they would come to be.

7 books with 700 pages each, thoroughly enjoyable. only book I've read to get a 10/10 score from me. I'm a hard person to please

Failing that, the obvious can't fail. Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit

**Cannerus_The_Unbearable**

Goblin Hero and the whole related series for traditional fantasy. If you like Goblins, you'll absolutely love it

My girl would suggest the Mortal Instruments series (she reads a looooot) but I dunno how chickish it is.

**boogeyman**

@HellsGuardian316, Do you have an author for that? Sidenote; I might be the only person here not to have read the Lord of the Rings all the way through. I've read the Hobbit a couple of times and tried to get through the Fellowship a 2nd time but couldn't do it. I only made it half way through the 2 towers twice

Every time I got to Frodo and Sam, I started to claw my eyes out.

Anyway, it was a disappointing trip to the book store, everything was pretty much picked over. I only found some of the more current Terry Pratchett, but wasn't sure if I should start with the first one or not. I will keep the list I made though and look for some next time I get to the bookstore that isn't closing. Would love to hear about some more great reads.

**avantgarde**

The Strain by Guillermo del Toro & Chuck Hogan

Old school style vampire arrives in NYC.