The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. One of the best stories I've ever experienced.
And please don't touch the TV show version.
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One of the few fantasy books i've read is The Demon Awakens and The Demon Spirit from "The DemonWars Saga" written by R.A. Salvatore
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_DemonWars_Saga
Or the Dragonlance Legends, though i've read only the second book "War of the Twins".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragonlance_Legends
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I'm a big fan of fantasy novels by Diana Wynne Jones.
If urban fantasy is more your speed, try Seanan McGuire.
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Again, Brandon Sanderson, but The Way of Kings ;)
Also, all of his series can be related (so it's fun to find people in another world). Not necessary, but good
Oh, and Stories from Meekhanese Border by Robert Wegner, if you can find it. For some people it is like Malazan Book of the Fallen, but less descriptions, more action
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I liked what Brandon Sanderson did with Robert Jordan's work.
I have Mistborn on my ereader now, if I like it I will pick up his other works.
Cnat find anything on Robert Wegne, just some deer hunting books but I dont know if its the same writer.
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Patrick Lee's "Breach" trilogy. http://patrickleefiction.com/books.php
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I'm not much of a reader but I've enjoyed the first book of "A Song of Fire and Ice", Trying to read the rest now.
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Game of Thrones has gotten me back into fantasy over the last couple of years. Right now I'm reading The Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss and really enjoying it. Also, you might want to check out the Otherland series starting with City of Golden Shadow by Tad Williams, it's a sci-fi series set in a virtual reality universe. Another series I've enjoyed is The Passage by Justin Cronin, it's a post apocalyptic vampire novel with fantasy and scifi elements.
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Don't hold your breath for a Neuromancer flick, it's been in pre-production hell since the 80s.
My book suggestion is House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski, prepare to question everything about your reality.
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Personally I'm praying for nobody to make shitty movies that will spoil my favourite William Gibson books...
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Yeah, this is kind of where I am too. I just don't think any kind of adaptation would really work.
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That's where I'm at with Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age - The SciFi channel (whatever it's named now) was gong to do it as a mini series, but it dropped into limbo.
I can picture Neuromancer more easily with all its cyberpunk conventions and Gibson's strong visuals more easily translated to film than how Stephenson's digressions into intricate nanotech devices you only see almost-magical effects of at the macroscopic level: cookie cutters, the dog pod grid, veils, what's up with the Drummers, and of course the Young Lady's Illustrated Primer itself. Many things would likely need to be skipped over entirely or expositioned. They could do encyclopedic exposition breaks from the Primer, like The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but the latter's work in part because they are parody of falling back on exposition and satirizing the usefulness a guide book telling you very handy things for situations you aren't in while not help you out in your current circumstances one bit (very Douglas Adams, like a toolbox with a complete set of screwdrivers, except for a note in place of the one you need reminding yourself that you left it where you knew you would need it, which is probably inside the thing you're trying to open...which gets you nowhere but wondering how you sealed it back up...).
With a Neuromancer movie, I'm more concerned that it's like returning to a place in a childhood memory. I'm afraid it's going to seem like cliche cyberpunk, since many of its ideas were re-used later (there should be a term for reverse-cliches, where the original gets blamed for being an imitator...happens all the time with movies and popular music).
Speaking of Neuromancer memories, to anyone who hasn't read the sequel, Count Zero, here's it's opening, burned into my brain, to get you hooked:
They set a slamhound on Turner's trail in New Delhi, slotted it to his pheromones and the color of his hair. It caught up with him on a street called Chandni Chauk and came scrambling for his rented BMW through a forest of bare brown legs and pedicab tires. Its core was a kilogram of recrystallized hexogene and flaked TNT.
He didn't see it coming. The last he saw of India was the pink stucco facade of a place called the Khush-Oil Hotel.
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Have to agree with you on pretty much every point. So much of Stephenson's and Gibson's work is playing with the language too. As you say, I can't see the subtleties or periodic rabbit-holes feeling at all satisfying in the visual medium. If it must be done, I think animated films would probably be the best avenue. That way, you aren't as limited by the cost and aging factors of CGI and the story can be less compromising in terms of that wide scope (especially for Diamond Age).
And yes, everyone should read the Sprawl trilogy. I think Mona Lisa Overdrive is my favorite, I really love how the whole emergent AIs thing plays out. Diamond Age is by far my favorite Stephenson book (it makes Snow Crash look like child's play). The prose is absolutely brilliant; Dickens meets sci-fi. I was truly impressed with how much his writing had evolved.
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Witcher books are great.
Also The Kingkiller Chronicle but I have yet to read that one myself.
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The Dark Tower by Stephen King (mixture of fantasy / end time / western)
The Night Watch series by Sergej Lukjanenko/Lukyanenko (just the main series; there are new short stories from this universe, but though his name is on the book cover, the stories are written by other authors)
The Orcs series by Stan Nicholls (especially the first part)
Series for children, but might also appeal to adults:
Magic Moon by Heike and Wolfgang Hohlbein (nowadays he writes more books than other people writing shopping lists, but there are a few gems, mostly the older ones)
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
Additions that were already listed by other users in that thread:
The Dwarves by Markus Heitz (there's a also a game)
Otherland by Tad Williams (VR/Sci-fi/fantasy mixture)
The Witcher series
Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz (low fantasy in present time, the first part has also been adapted to a movie)
After seeing The Shannara Chronicles TV show (could be less teeny sighs) last weekend, I ordered the first three parts today.
Gaming related:
DAEMON books by Daniel Suarez
Thanks for the GA!
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Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman is possibly the greatest novel ever. David Eddings made many excellent fantasy novels. Terry Brooks wrote many great fantasy books - especially the Shanarra series. For me Mary Gentle wrote some of the most underrated fantasy novels. As a Warhammer 40k fan I'd also recommend much of the associated literature by Dan Abnett,
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Not sure if this is what you mean by videogame books, but I just started reading "The Console Wars" by Blake J. Harris. It's about the console wars between Sega and Nintendo in the 90s. I'm not very far in, but so far it's a very good read if you're into that type of book. If you're not sure, you can get a sample from the Google Play Store. Pretty sure it gives you the first 60 pages or so for free (the book is 650 pages). The book is also $2 on the Google Play Store if you like reading books electronically.
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i came here to recommend hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy but of course it has been already said.
i am currently reading foundation series (*cough* i'm still on the first book *cough*) and i also recommend Ursula Le Guin's earthsea.
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odd that no one has mentioned (or maybe I missed it) The Pillars of the Earth.
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I've just started reading the Runestaff series by Michael Moorcock who wrote the excellent Elric novels and one of my favorite books by him is The War Hound And The World's Pain.
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I'm currently reading The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski and it's a very good read so far!
I finished American Gods by Neil Gaiman and it was a rather slow burner but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
I recently bought Get Ready Player One... I should pick it up soon
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And Neuromancer (also gonna be a movie) by William Gibson.
It is already have 3, by Wachowskies
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The Mortal Instruments/Infernal Devices/Dark Artifices by Cassandra Clare?
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I'm reading these now. Pretty fun sci-fantasy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Shadowrun_books#Novels_and_other_fiction
LotR elf reference?
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Thank you for the giveaway.
I recommend the Witcher books. http://witcher.wikia.com/wiki/Witcher_series
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Try this from the author of the Metro 2033 universe (my wife's saying it's the best she's read in her entire life and I may soon share this opinion):
http://www.futu.re/
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I just finished the Robin Hobb catalogue and am looking for something new to read.
I've been reading mostly fantasy novels last 25 years. Started with Lord of the Rings when I was 12 and read many many fantasy books since then.
Maybe you guys know something I havent read yet. And yes my nick Mallorn originates from Tolkiens work.
I also like a good horror/thriller book like "HEX" (Thomas Olde Heuvelt), for which the movie rights were purchased by Warner Bros. I'm curious what they will make of it.
And gaming related books like "Ready Player One" by Ernest Cline. Movie rights also purchased by Warner Bros btw and directed by Steven Spielberg. trailer here . And Neuromancer (also gonna be a movie) by William Gibson.
Advice please! I need a new book or books to sink some hours in. Lets see if you can come up whith something I havent read yet.
Level 3 GA here
EDIT: Oh damn, thats a lot to check out. Thanks and keep em coming. I'll read every post eventually, might take some time though
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