Favourite fantasy/sci-fi novels!

[togre]

Man, am I glad someone unearthed this thread, because it was fun to peruse.

Some of my favorite sci fi/fantasy authors are

JRR Tolkien -- The epic scale of his stories, the colossal struggle of good and evil, the imperfect characters called to do deeds greater than themselves--there is a part of me the always yearns to be there.

CS Lewis -- I love Naria, but his Space Trilogy is truly thought-provoking.

Anne McCaffrey -- As much as I love her accounts of Pern, it was the Ship Who Sings and the books in that series that cemented her place in my heart.

Tad Williams -- His Memory, Sorrow, Thorn "Trilogy" [Book 1- 300 pages, Book 2-- 400 pages, Book 3-Part I -600 pages, Book 3-PartII - 600 pages--seriously dude, just call it a series] is exquisite and his War of the Flowers was very unique.

David Weber -- He is a madman when it comes to volume, but his Honor Harrington series and his Safehold series both have me captivated. A writer who is very thorough and deliberate with his technology.

H. Beam Piper -- The Little Fuzzy books are endearing and his (unfinished) Lord Calvin of Otherwhen series and short stories have endeared him to me since high school. Not enough to shell out $50 + a book for the completion of the series as written by other authors, but still a lot.

There are tons more books I love (some of real worth, others not) and tons more I hate or simply don't care for (some of real worth, others not). I find the genre ( both sci fi and fantasy) amazing. It is often used for pure escapism and a story for the sake of enjoyment, but also has the unrivaled potential to be used for exploring the human condition or delving into the soul or that sort of stuff.

[Babyguile]

Besides Tolkien, Robin Hobb. I see she is quite high on the list in the OP and the tag is totally accurate. She writes character based fantasy. Exceptionally talented at developing totally real characters. I read the Farseer Trilogy and I found myself hating and loving Fitz (narrator, protagonist) with equal measure at every chapter, sometimes more frwquently. But don't be lulled into a false sense of security: her plots get thicker and intricate towards the conclusion. But not in a bad way, only to a degree that's just right.

She has a passion for this fantasy lark and boy it really shows. Read her.

[Babyguile]

i really liked the first book, but the the other two came across as, uh, pointless. what is up with the weird creatures and whatshername in the last book?

Yeeea I felt that. He was trying to forcibly push some metaphor or allegory onto us with excessive and endless discriptions of this frankly ridiculous cast of creatures and just, yea, he abandones the story a bit.

[Mariamosis]

George R.R. Martin [The most critically acclaimed (among fantasy buffs anyway) fantasy writer on Internet]

'A Game of Thrones' was excellent and I have 'A Clash of Kings on my shelf and cannot wait!

[irinmisfit92]

Philip Pullman's books are great, but I particularly like Philip K. Dick's novels. Amazing **** Best sci-fi novel EVER.

[Red-Headed]

Olaf Stapledon's Star Maker.

[Paulclem]

Neil Asher and Iain M banks are my favourite Sci Fi authors at the moment. Jo Halder is good too. The only one I've read by him is the Forever war, but it had some interesting comments and speculations on social issues.

[Des Essientes]

The "Hainish Series" of novels and short stories by Ursula Leguin. They are truly wonderful and profound.

[Chris 73]

Robert Holdstock-Mythago Wood/Lavondyss is beautiful and haunting but also slightly depressing at times.
Gene Wolfe-Soldier Of The Mist-ditto.

[irinmisfit92]

Whoa that's a really long list XD If it's science fiction then it's obviously Philip K. Dick because no one can beat him When it comes to fantasy; I've never read Lord of the Rings before but I'm sure it's a really great epic trilogy. I love the movie and how it's extremely detailed; and many people tell me that the movie still leaves out a lot of complex characters. Alice in Wonderland was very good and thought-provoking; better than I expected as I've always seen it as a Disney happy-go-lucky story, and I was VERY wrong when I read it.

Darren Shan is awesome; his books are meant to be for young readers so his language is extremely simple, however his stories are awesome.

[irinmisfit92]

Oh yes C.S. Lewis, Susan Cooper, and Philip Pullman are also amazing!

[Chris 73]

KJ Parker is great, particularly The Folding Knife and The Scavenger Series. Very little actual 'fantasy' in her work funnily enough. Some of her work is a bit of a slog though.

[spikepipsqueak]

Sorry for the necromancy.

Adrian Tchaikovsky FTW