top 5 must read books

[Darkhorse]

Top 5 must read books. Series are acceptable. Must include genre and a line or two about the story. Marianne's books are a given so try harder. Also, don't give me the normal Lord of the Rings, Neuromancer, Wheel of time,nonsense. No soft/hard-core bdsm erotic fiction( not excluding good stories but you decide where the line is.....) Anyone mentioning star trek, star wars, or a harlequin romance will be beaten, drawn and quartered, and sold in the Tert as food supplement.

List books(series) you loved but think some people might not know about.

My start:

1. Apprentice Adept and Tawny man trilogies by Robin Hobb-
Romantic fantasy with enough actions, twists and turns to keep Robert Ludlum scratching his head.

2. Eisenhorn trilogy( recommend the omnibus edition) by Dan Abnett- Military SF-never written better. Forget the fact that it's a Warhammer 40k book. I didn't know anything about the game but the series is worth losing sleep over.

3. Drizzt Do'urden series by Robert Salvatore. Fantasy. First 3 books are legendary- The Crystal Shard, Streams of Silver, and The Halfling's Gem. The rest of the series isn't bad either.

4. Vampire Earth series by E.E. knight. Post-apocalypse SF-alien vampires and their masters take over the earth. Like eating twinkies- a bit too sweet but you can't help reaching for another one(page.)

5. Dhampir series by Barb and J.C Hendee- Dark Fantasy- Think half vampire, half human vamp hunter with Parrish's attitude.

Nominate away.

[Sheyana]

Approval of the Robin Hobb and Dhampir ones Darkhorse - though probably not on my top 5..

please note...this isn't in order, and is by no means exclusive...it's just the top 5 I could think of at the moment.

1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Classic! I suppose romance and Comedy - c'mon, who hasn't heard of it? (I know Darkhorse said you tihkn others might't have heard of...but whose actually read it - in a none-school frame of mind)

2. The Magicians Guild Trilogy (I think that's what it's called) by Trudi Canavan
Fantasy - About a commoner who becomes a mage in a strictly noble-mages only society...includes some peer-abuse, cool magic, dark magic and other cool stuff

3. A Wizard in Rhyme series by Christopher Stasheff
Fantasy - slight comic and sci-fi elements. A guy gets transported to a world where poetry is magic, Remus killed Romulus and the continents haven't drifted apart like they did for us...

4. Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith (also published as two books - Crown and Court Duel)
Medieval Fantasy - evil tyrant, feisty woman, strange elf-like things, a battle for the crown and a stranger who isn't quite so strange

5. Beauty by Robin McKinley
Fantasy/Romance - a really good re-write of Beauty and the Beast (NOT the Disney version) complete with invisible servants, dreams and rose bushes.

NOTE: I can't write good summaries - the books are much better than my summaries

[marianne]

Hmmmm....

These are books I have enjoyed. I can't say 'best' because my perspective shifts all the time.

Octavia Butler : Parable of the Sower, Parable of the Talents

Jonathon Lethem: Amnesia Moon

Scott Westerfeld - Evolution's Darling

Vernor Vinge : most of them

Ian McDonald: Chaga and Kirinya

[Chirugal]

Ooh, yikes. *wants to put Nylon Angel* *thinks*

1) Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce. I have a soft spot for YA series, and this is my favourite book from my favourite fantasy series.

2) Bitten by Kelley Armstrong (hence the squeeing when she guested here!) - it's clever and believeable and it has werewolves.

3) The Kushiel series by Jaqueline Carey - one of the most detailed and well-plotted books I've read.

4) Phantoms by Dean Koontz - ah, horror, how I love thee.

5) Girl, Interrupted by Susannah Kaysen - the book they based the movie off. It manages to be sad and funny and very real, all at once.

Sheyana, I've read the Magician's Guild too! It made me cry at the end... it's a gorgeous series.

[Sheyana]

yep - I loved that ending...Tamora Pierce is cool too, but I thought of other more obscure books. (and I'd just want to put most of hers)

[Chirugal]

Which was your favourite? ^_^

[Sheyana]

hmm, probably the protector of the small and the immortals series'....but then the trickster ones were good, and so were some of the circle ones, and then there's alanna....

- you see my problem?

[Chirugal]

Yup. I'm a bit like that. Though The Immortals will always be my favourite.

[Neko]

Ok The Damphir series is totally fun.
The Vampire Earth series just rocks.
Has anyone read the Dresden files series by Jim Butcher? Wizards, Demons, Elves, and Vampires. Does it get any better.
How about the Rachel Morgan series by Kim Harrison? Vampires, Weres, Witches, Demons, and several totally power hungry Government Orgs.
Last but not least The Dissapeared series by Kristine Katheryn Rusch. A new futuristic twist on the life of a P.I.

[Chirugal]

I'm ashamed to say I haven't read any of those, neko... >_< When I move house this summer, I'll go somewhere with a decent library and see what I can get a hold of!

[Neko]

No biggie. After the surgery i had a few years ago i spend a LOT of time reading. I am sure we have each read some the other has not. That's what friends are for, giving suggestions on books to read to lose yourself in. I just started a new series by Yasmine Galenorn, The Otherworld series. It's about the lives of three sisters, A witch, a vampire, and a were-cat. The first is called Witchling, the second Changling. Still waiting to hear about the third. I am a big fan of almost anything Sci-fi or Fantasy. Mercedes Lackey's Bard series and what not. If you have any suggestions speak out, it may be something i would be interested in. ;D

[JM]

All of my "Must read" books are the ones that inspire me every time I read them. I am attempting to write a few books (as any self deluded person does until they become a best seller and inspire the next round of novels). Each time I read them I have to put them down after two pages to start writing my own stuff, something in the way great writers arrange the world gets my blood pumping.

Too bad I can't place the Parrish Plessis books in the list, they would be my first and foremost. But anyone on this forum knows why.
And I won't add Dhampir because it has had so many mentions, Doesn't stop me from loving it any less than I do.

1: Neuromancer by William Gibson. He inspired almost the entire CyberPunk movement, and this book was one of his first. It has a real world, gritty design that draws you in because you don't have to change the world by much to see it the way he writes it.

2: Lost Souls by Poppy Z Brite. Many people obsess over this book because of it's contents or just because of the hype put upon it; I don't go that far but I do love it because of the language and imagery used. I love vampire lore and this book gave it such a unique twist that made it special to me.

3: Only Forward by Micheal Marshall Smith. This is one of those books that inspires me so much I ended up writing for three hours straight after reading only a few pages. The story twists and turns and is so graphicly awkward that it can't help but be on my list.

4: Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. An amazing view of society gone mad, a country made of city states owned by every other country in the world, technology so advanced that a single computer virus could destroy everything, and a sword wielding ex-pizza deliveryman taking on psychotic yet charming villans. Now I read it again whenever I can.

Finally, 5: Snakes and Earrings by Hitomi Kanehara. A book about piercings, tattoos, tongue splittings and a very fun plot. This book is only about 100 pages long but more than worth the breathtaking pricetag (I paid $22 AU for it and it is thinner than my little finger is deep). The plot is obscene and perverse and paints such a modern picture of Japan that I wanted to sell my computer and buy a plane ticket as soon as I read it.
What inspires me the most though is that this book was written by a 21 year old Japanese woman with no schooling past the age of 11, who still managed to recieve the top Japanese literary award for a book 118 pages long. Which is one of the few things that keep me writing when everything else falls apart.

This list is by no means definate for me, and there is no telling what book is going to enter my life to change it. But no matter what book takes first place or wipes the list clean completly these books will remain some of the greatest in the world.

[Darkhorse]

loved Snow Crash, liked Vampire Earth series(haven't read the last one).
Been reading the John Rain series by Barrry Eisler. Lot of good real world trade caft hidden in there

[bluetyson]

Here's some short story collections, anyway :-

Luminous - Greg Egan
Rynosseros - Terry Dowling
The Complete Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle
Wild Cards - George R. R. Martin
The Complete Chronicles of Conan - Robert E. Howard

I have read way too many books to pick just a few, in general.