[tschmidlin]

I'm looking for scifi/fantasy book recommendations.  I want to buy a couple for my kindle, but I haven't been paying attention to newly published books for years so I have no idea what new authors are good and which books are "must reads".  I wandered through a book store the other day and many of the books appeared to be crappy series where the authors churned out books.  At least half of them were about vampires, I'm sure of it.

Help!  Any suggestions?

[1vertical]

I'm looking for scifi/fantasy book recommendations.  I want to buy a couple for my kindle, but I haven't been paying attention to newly published books for years so I have no idea what new authors are good and which books are "must reads".  I wandered through a book store the other day and many of the books appeared to be crappy series where the authors churned out books.  At least half of them were about vampires, I'm sure of it.

Help!  Any suggestions?

Wife said for you to get the unabridged version of "the Stand" by S. King.  available on your kindle.

I say Read "EON" by G. Bear  $6.99.  Have not read it, by the same author,"The Forge of God".

Now get buzy  

[tygo]

If you haven't read King's The Dark Tower series I highly recommend it.  That would keep you busy for a good long while.

[tubercle]

Don't forget the SiFI classics. Most of the H.G. Wells are free and many of the other authors. Much better than a lot of the new stuff too.

[euge]

I love my kindle!

Anything by:

Neal Stephenson
William Gibson
Alastair Reynolds
Neal Asher
Charles Stross
Rudy Rucker
Jack Vance (The Demon Princes and Planet of Adventure are easy to find and great reads- but alas not kindlized yet)
Gene Wolfe (also lean in the kindle dept but the Book of The New Sun tetralogy is fantastic)

To name a few...

[1vertical]

Tom,
My wife said here are some "free" ones. She is adept at the kindle thing and so here goes...
Astra:syncronicity....lisa eskra
to the stars.....thomas stone
the making of legend......richard barrs
resurrection of liberty.......michael wentz
right ascention.......David derrico
The honour of the Knights.....stephen sweeney
 Ok....1vertical bows out...

[tschmidlin]

Awesome, thanks.  I read the unabridged "The Stand" years ago, I liked it but have no desire to go through it again.  The copy I read had one whole section (about 50 pages) switched front to back - like it went from page 150 to 700 for a while, and then back.  If you skipped to the back of the book the missing pages were there.  I've never seen that before, if you didn't notice it made it hard to read.

I've read a lot of Greg Bear too, and the Dark Tower, and Stephenson.

I'll check out the free classics you mention tubercle, as well as your list 1vert.

Euge - I'll do some poking around for those authors, thanks for the recommendations.  I thought I had read the New Sun, but after looking it up I am thinking of some other book.

Now I have some work to do.

[tygo]

Another one to check out is Asimov's Foundation series.  I'm about halfway through right now.  I'm reading the paper version though 

[jeffy]

My lovely wife is an avid sic fi reader.  She recommends just about any book by Terry Pratchett.
She also points out that NPR put out a list of the top 100 reader recommendations this summer.  (I would copy and paste the link to it here, but I have trouble with this new touch screen device sometimes.)

edit: http://www.npr.org/2011/08/11/139085843/your-picks-top-100-science-fiction-fantasy-books
It's a pretty good list.

[Hokerer]

Another one to check out is Asimov's Foundation series.  I'm about halfway through right now.  I'm reading the paper version though 

Yeah, knocked the whole trilogy this summer.  Have also read "Prelude to Foundation".  None of the others yet, though

[narcout]

On the off chance that you haven't read them already, the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan and a Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin are both fantastic.

I also recently enjoyed The Magicians by Lev Grossman. 

Additionally, the Otherland series by Tad Williams is pretty amazing.

[gmac]

Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin are both fantastic.

+ 1 - I couldnt' agree more.  I'm 1/2 way through the 2nd book and they are great. 
My wife loved "The Hunger Games" series and has gotten our friends hooked on them too but I haven't read them yet.  No vampires that I'm aware of.

[tubercle]

If you want to read non-fiction, I suggest reading John E. Douglas, the guy who started the profile unit for the F.B.I.
 As a former LEO I have read them all. - see also:Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal Lecter & the Red Dragon

 You will be surprized, you will say"OMG, I know that guy!!!!".

 "Sexual Homicide: Patterns and Motives."
"Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit."...read this one first
."Journey into Darkness."....and this one second.
"Obsession: The FBI's Legendary Profiler Probes the Psyches of Killers, Rapists and Stalkers and Their Victims and Tells How to Fight Back."
"The Anatomy of Motive: The FBI's Legendary Mindhunter Explores the Key to Understanding and Catching Violent Criminals."
"The Cases That Haunt Us."

I'm telling you, you read these profiles, you will know someone who fit them. Everyone has a Jeffery Dalmer intheir family.  This is real life. Much more scary that fiction!!!!

[tschmidlin]

Thanks guys!

The Asimov series was great, I read them (and many of his books) years ago and loved them.

I'll check out Pratchett, and that list Jeff, thanks.

I've read most of the Wheel of Time, and have all of the books but can't remember where I left off.  Around 10 or 11 I think.  The George RR Martin books . . . I loved the first one but felt it went downhill after that.  I think by the third one all of the characters I liked had been killed off.  It became more of a chore than fun to read it.  I might pick it back up though, my wife is starting the series so we'll see if she can convince me to keep going.

I've read some Tad Williams but not Otherland, so I'll check that out.  The Magicians and Hunger Games too, thanks.

Tubercle - thanks for the recommendations, but I prefer to remain blissfully ignorant of the psychopathy of those around me

[euge]

I certainly know what you mean about vampires Tom

So now that we got the recs out of the way what is your opinion of the Kindle? There are other options out there and the K2 has some flaws IMO. I'm particularly enamored with the app which has further enhanced my reading.

I'm telling you, you read these profiles, you will know someone who fit them. Everyone has a Jeffery Dalmer intheir family.  This is real life. Much more scary that fiction!!!!

Pick up the DSM IV and start looking at the conditions and their symptoms. Then look at your friends.