My favorite stand-alone sci-fi book. I say stand-alone because even though Card has turned the book into a series, the two sequels, Speaker for the Dead, and Xenocide never captured my heart and mind like the original Ender in Ender's Game. In fact I thought they were downright weird and didn't remotely resemble their predecessor.
The book is about a young boy who is singled out to be a soldier and strategist and who will command the combined forces of Earth in order to develop a defense against the Buggers, a hostile alien race, and their next attack on Earth. This book has everything from battles to politics to technology. Yet it is first and foremost a tale of humanity; of a boy struggling to grow up into someone he can respect while living in a military environment dedicated to destruction and survival. It is a Hugo and Nebula Award winner.
Ender's Game is a must-read book for science fiction and those who "don't read sci-fi." I can't stress that enough. If you haven't read it yet, make it the next book you read. You won't forget it.
Years after Card wrote the original series, he has written two other books set in the same universe. And while I didn't like the two sequels to Ender's Game, this book is a 180 degree turn from them and closely follows the style and scope of his original masterpiece, Ender's Game.
The first book (I haven't read the second) is called Ender's Shadow and is set at the exact same time as Ender's Game, only from the perspective of another child genius at the Battle School, Bean. Bean is the friend of Ender and this is his story. It is one of the best books I have read in a long time.
The second book in the series (I have not yet read) is Shadow of the Hegemon and it is still a story about Bean, but it takes place directly after Ender's Game/Ender's Shadow.
This is by far the best trilogy I have ever read. It is amazing. These books are (to quote several of my church leaders) about living in the world but not of the world. They narrate the life and adventures and struggles of a dark elf named Drizzt Do'Urden. The moment I picked up the first book, I couldn't do anything but read till I had read the entire series. R.A. Salvatore created an incredibly complex and terrifying and massive culture, then created a character who could not live with it and whose conscience couldn't comprehend. This is his story. It is one of hate, horror, betrayal, and absolute love and devotion. It is surprising just how many moral dissertations he get the reader to devour amid the intense swordplay and beautifully created plots.
If you have never read a fantasy novel before, or swords and magic just aren't your thing, you should still read these books. It will be an incredible journey.
This trilogy was actually written before he wrote the Dark Elf Trilogy, but the books take place after the events in said trilogy. They are all very well written and after you read the Dark Elf Trilogy, you will want to read all the books you can get your hands on that have Drizzt Do'Urden in them. While the Dark Elf Trilogy is his story of how he came to be on the surface (sort of...), the Icewind Dale Trilogy is mostly (I use that term loosely) concerned with his life on the surface. This trilogy is an excellent and fun read. And like I said, you will want to read it as soon as you get to know Drizzt Do'Urden.
The wonderful thing about Star Trek is that the universe that Gene Robenburry created is so huge, complex and detailed that it provides that perfect backdrop and history for someone to pen a little more into the continueing saga. And the authors do a fabulous job at it. The general Star Trek story line is so vast and varried that an author can create practically any plot and character: vilian or hero. Or you can pick and choose from the vast miryade of technology, aliances, wars, bad-guys, and plots that came standard and ready made. Add some of the worlds best sci-fi writers to the mix and the result is a massive collection of excellent sci-fi, thriller, romance, mystery and horror books.
Click here to see the books in the Star Trek Megaverse
But if you are going to read just one book in the Star Trek Collection, read Dreadnought! by Diane Carey. It is was one of my favorites when I read it in Middle School and it still ranks up in the top 5 ST books ever. Carey grabs the essence of Star Trek as Gene Rodenburry wanted it. Unlike some other novels which attempt to minimize Star Fleet into a future U.S. military, Dreadnought keeps the truth of Trek right on track - Starfleet is NOT a military organization as we know it, not based on fighting, but on exploration, science, and of course, human beings at their best. Please read this novel. Carey really knows her stuff.
Whatever can be said about the Star Trek Universe, can almost always be said about the Star Wars Universe. Gifted authors, a huge, complex and detailed background story line and universe, the list can go on and on. You just have to read some of the books to understand. With few exceptions, the books capture the spirit of Star Wars and take it far further. Just like Star Trek, the books are a masterful mix of sci-fi, thriller, romance and mystery. There is sure to be something in them for everyone.
Click here to see the books in the Star Wars Megaverse
But if you are going to read just one series, or even one book in the Star Wars Collection, read The Thrawn Trilogy (listed below). It is increadible. I loved it so much I bought them in German as well to practice my German reading skills. These are the books that created the character Mara Jade and who is now in almost all the subsequent books even by other authors. Read this trilogy, you will not be able to put it down.
There are two words to describe all the books in this series. "Inspired Insanity". Hillarius and fun also work nicely. Anthony has written and amazing 24 books in this series. Just read the first one. You will be suprised. I can't really explain how cool they are.
Click here to see the books in the Xanath Series
Although this author is normally known for his westerns, he has also written a few other books outside of his normal geanra. This book is fantastic. It occurs in the 12th century and is a tale of the adventurer Kerbouchard as he travells across Europe and the Byzantine Empire. Louis L'amour did a fantastic job on this book and created so many intricate plots working at once that it is amazing. L'Amour is a master story-teller and this is one of his best.
I never thought that sci-fi and King Arthur could be meshed into one novel but Kennealy has done just that: Kelts in space. Everything from high-technology to high-sorcery. The first time I read this series, it struck me how well these books were written. Everyhting from plot to sub-plot to characters to twinsts and turns to keep you guessing. This isn't a hastily slapped together trilogy, the writer goes into great detail in describing the society, background, core beliefs, political structure and culture of Keltia. The amount of detail is in itself facinating. You have a vivid picture of the setting - both time and place, which in turn brings the characters, their motivations and the setting to life.
Chronologicly, the order of the books are The Silver Branch, The Copper Crown, The Throne of Scone. However, I would strongly suggest that you should read The Copper Crown and The Throne of Scone before The Silver Branch as I believe The Silver Branch is intended to be a flashback.
I don't remember too much about this trilogy. It was too long ago, but I do remember that the first book was good enough to get me hooked on the trilogy and the trilogy was even good enough to get me hooked on his second series set in Shannara.
As above, I don't remember this series too well, but the original trilogy was good enough to make want to read all the book set in Shannara and they were all good enough to stick in my mind till now. And that is quite a bit more noteworthy that on first glance: I have read literaly hundreds of books in my rather shirt life and just a few actually stick out.
This series is simply fun. Really fun. You know how some books almost seem a chore to read? They are interesting, but you have to exert your own will power just to finish the book? These books are the extreame polar opposite of that! They are well written and seem to pull you along in them. They are humorus and serius at the same time. Simply a joy to read them
This is the very first sci-fi book I read. It was in the 7th grade and I have been hooked ever since. Don't get me wrong, I might have been in the 7th grade but Sten is not a children's book. It is the real thing and by the time I got done with it, I was starving for more. Real character development, plots and sub-plots, intrigue... the world of books was far better than the watered-down version I was getting in school! So this book definatly has a place in my heart. It isn't in print any more and I can't find it anywhere. If you know of a copy, please email me!
Book Description. Text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text.
There are lots of books set in the Dragonlance world, but this second trilogy (Legends) is one of the better ones. In fact I would sugjest reading Chronicles 1-3 (the original trilogy), Legends and then the last book in Chronicles. All other Dragonlance books derive from these 2 trilogies. In fact they almost all refer to what heppend in them and I got lost several times before I read the core books.
Tolkien started it all and Jordon picked up where he left off and stated to run. He hasn't quit running since.
Book Description. Text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text.
Book Description. Text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text.
Inspired Lunacy. Book Description. Text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text.
Book Description. Text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text.