Series reccomendations

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by HappyMartin

Some things buying off the net still annoy me, like why cant series of books all be clearly marked as to the order.

If you ever want to know the order of books in a series, go to:

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk

and look up the author. They list virtually every author you've ever heard of, living and dead, and conveniently list series in order with publication dates, etc. It's a web site that I use constantly when I'm doing conversions of PG books. A fabulous resource.

[HappyMartin]

Checked out that site Harry and it is truly marvelous.

[yvanleterrible]

Originally Posted by slayda

I'd recommend C.J. Cherryh's "Chanur" series. And if you want something weird, try Jack Chalker's "Soul Rider" series. It seems like pure fantasy until the last (5th) when the science behind it is explained. Anyhow, two of my favorites.

Chanur is great, I haven't read the last two though, I would recommend it for kids too.

@neko How can you forget Cherryh's 'Foreigner' series?

[HappyMartin]

For those interested the 6th book in the seven suns series "Metal Swarm" can be preordered at BooksOnBoard and will apparently be available for download on the 10th December.

[nekokami]

Originally Posted by yvanleterrible

@neko How can you forget Cherryh's 'Foreigner' series?

I still haven't read them! (They're on my wishlist.)

[The GreatGonzo]

Originally Posted by HarryT

If you ever want to know the order of books in a series, go to:

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk

Thanks, Harry, I've been looking for something like this for YEARS!

[AnemicOak]

FWIW, Fictionwise is currently offering a 100% micropay rebate on pre-orders of 'Metal Swarm'.

[Dave Berk]

I don't think you can get them as ebooks but I would recommend (all of them are completed series so you won't have to wait till next book is out ):

Riddle-Master by Patricia A. McKillip
The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon
The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb
The Dying Earth by Jack Vance
The Complete Amber Chronicles, 1-10 by Roger Zelazny
The Prince of Nothing by Scott Bakker

They are all good fantasy series. I tried to pick series with different styles so it's not the same plot over an over again with different characters...

[igorsk]

The Deed of Paksenarrion is available DRM-free from Baen, and you can read the complete first book for free.

[Penforhire]

Modern Sci Fi you say?

Have you tried Iain Banks' "culture" books? Not strictly a series, and no idea if available as e-books, but several books by an amazing author.

Another favorite -- Richard Morgan's "Altered Carbon" and the couple of following Takeshi Kovacs books.

Have you read Sergei Lukyenanko's translated Watch series? Probably more fantasy than Sci Fi but I liked 'em.

I enjoyed all the Baen-published series noted above but there is something slightly simple about many of them. John Ringo is my guilty pleasure. I enjoy his books but I shouldn't. He writes as if he was Tom Clancey at age 13, a touch juvenile. I think his low point was Ghost and the following books with the same character. I haven't checked to see if this was his earliest work. I thought his Council Wars series was his best so far but he needs a stronger editor (or listen to his current editor more). His weaknesses are tempered when he works with someone else. The Empire of Man series ("March to...") was entertaining and consistent.

Baen seems to make it their misson to not challenge my mind as much as, say, Neal Stephenson or Robert Wilson while feeding my Freudian id more (e.g. bad guys brought to justice).

[Xenophon]

Originally Posted by Penforhire

SNIP

I enjoyed all the Baen-published series noted above but there is something slightly simple about many of them. John Ringo is my guilty pleasure. I enjoy his books but I shouldn't. He writes as if he was Tom Clancey at age 13, a touch juvenile. I think his low point was Ghost and the following books with the same character. I haven't checked to see if this was his earliest work. I thought his Council Wars series was his best so far but he needs a stronger editor (or listen to his current editor more). His weaknesses are tempered when he works with someone else. The Empire of Man series ("March to...") was entertaining and consistent.

Baen seems to make it their misson to not challenge my mind as much as, say, Neal Stephenson or Robert Wilson while feeding my Freudian id more (e.g. bad guys brought to justice).

Ghost first showed up in Ringo's brain while he was on deadline for another project entirely. He wrote it to 'get it out of his head' so that he could finish the other book. When he complained to his fans at Baen's bar about the 'wanker book' that was preventing him from finishing the other project, various fans begged him to post some snippets -- How bad could it be? We should have known. After all, when the author calls it "the wanker book" that should be a hint.

The answer was Ghost. Ringo wanted to publish it elsewhere under a pseudonym, but Jim Baen insisted on having a look, and bought it. That seems to have been a wise choice (commercially speaking) as every book in the series has hit the NYT extended best-seller list. Ghost is clearly the weakest book of the batch (and probably Ringo's weakest book, period), with quality of writing improving over the course of the series. That said, Ringo describes these books as "airport novel fantasies" in which he makes no attempt to be accurate, consistent, realistic, or anything else other than telling the story. He once commented (paraphrasing here) that for this particular series "If I need the sun to rise in the South, that's what'll happen."

As for Baen's books challenging your mind, well... The 163x series can be read as a fun romp. Or it could get you seriously engaged in Early Modern European history. Ringo's Posleen novels are just carnography. Except when he and co-author Kratman dive into moral questions, like "How far should you be willing to go when survival of humanity is at stake?" You may not like their answers, but the questions are legitimately thought provoking. I can probably find similar examples from many of Baen's other books (but pretty much not from the wanker... er... Ghost series).

Xenophon

[Penforhire]

Thanks for the inside perspective! At the end of the day I've put as much money in Ringo's pocket as his most avid fan (not even owning an e-reader yet) and I'll keep buying. I just hope he continues to mature.

[igorsk]

If you havent't read it yet, get David Weber's Honor Harrington series. I liked it even better than Bujold's Vorkosigan books, which was probably my favorite before. The first few books are available in the Free Library, and you can find the rest on BaenCD servers (free and legal!).

[Inna]

Sorry, the post is deleted... It was offtopic.

FORGIVE ME, dear moderators

[HappyMartin]

Two things.

I am all excited because the 6th book in the Saga of seven suns series will be available for download on Monday.

I pre-ordered and paid for this book about two weeks ago and have been wondering why ever since. It's not like they are going to run out of the e book edition now are they?