Hidden 6 yrs ago 6 yrs ago Post by POOHEAD189
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F*ck Yeah Book Recommendations!


Hello fellow readers and writers! This is a thread where you list and discuss various books you have read/books you recommend to others to check out and read. I thought for a site of writers there was very little discussion on what they read, since that's usually how people start writing to begin with. This has probably been made before, but I felt like it. Try to differentiate between topics and genres, and give explanations when you feel like ranting or gushing. For example:

Non Fiction: (Historical)
Swordsmen of the British Empire by D.A. Kinsley: If you're looking for a book about accounts of primary sources on swordsmen and their swords, and how warfare/duels were truly conducted in the British Empire, check this book out. It spans from the 17th to the 20th centuries and you'll not get tired of it. A very good source for your research if you're into that.

Fiction: (Dark Fantasy)
Gotrek & Felix: Trollslayer by William King: If you haven't read any books on Warhammer Fantasy, this is a great place to start, or just another good read if you're familiar with the lore. It's got a gruff and grim Dwarf who seeks a mighty doom, followed around by reluctant young poet/duelist who swore an oath to record his doom, and who now needs to follow the Dwarf into insanely violent situations seeking worse and more dangerous foes. It's so fricken good. There's about 15 books in the series, but Trollslayer is book one with a bunch of short stories.

Go ahead and regale us with a few books you enjoy!
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Fiction: Romance
The Fault In Our Stars by John Green: Yes, yes I know. What kind of white girl fuckery is this? But hear me out guys. While this may be a very "mainstream" book that basically everyone has heard of and knows the plot to, it is the single most inspiring, heart wrenching, beautiful pieces of fiction I have ever had the pleasure of reading. When I first started reading I expected this to be your typical romance novel, but it is anything but that. It has adventure, it makes you laugh, cry, question your existence, and help you find a little bit of beauty in this cruel, cruel world. 10/10 recommend, I've personally read it at least 8 times by now, it's amazing. The main character is so sarcastic and relatable, they make fun of the cliches, it's beautiful.
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Fiction: Fantasy

Baptism of Fire (Third in the Witcher Saga) by Andrzej Sapkowski -- A continuation of the previous excellence in The Time of Contempt (#2) and Blood of Elves (#1). Really, as far as anti-hero grey morality fantasy narratives go, these books are the best. They have the flavor of traditional fantasy twisted into something different. It takes the pristine picture of honor and heroism but shows chinks in the armor, a rot festering underneath. To summarize, it's about a monster hunter who encounters various different problems revolving around a girl he raised and took in as his own daughter by the name of Ciri. He needs to find her, and he's going to do all the things he needs to do to get her back. The plots are simple in these books, but the characters and their characterizations are perhaps the finest pieces of fantasy literature I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing. If you want to be moved by Sapkowski's brilliant understanding of the full range that the human condition displays, then look no further. Read them all. READ THEM ALLLLLLL.

Note: Obviously I hate the Witcher.

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@Dark Wind I assume you read them in English? I was always kind of hesitant to read them because they'd be translations and some of the storytelling flair would be lost when transferred to English.
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Non Fiction: History

A Distant Mirror - Barbara W Tuchman

An extraordinary slice of Medieval History organised around the life of one of the Peers of France. It touches on every strata of medieval life in France as well as dealing with the major calamities of the the era, the Hundred Years War, The Papal Schism and the Black Death. As well as being extraordinarily evocative, it is extremely well researched and well referenced. Unlike a lot of historical works, Tuchman's prose is amazing and the way she organises the work around the life of Enguerrand de Coucy VII gives it an immediacy and personal stakes which are rare in historical texts.

Fiction: Sci Fi

With the Lightnings - David Drake

With the Lightnings is the first book in the Republic Of Cinnibar Navy (RCN) series. It follows the adventures of two young nobles of the space nation of Cinnibar as they are thrust into leadership rolls during a coup on an important strategic ally. The protagonists are explicitly modeled on the Aubrey/Martin books by Patrick O'Brien but the characters leap of the page with a verve and vigor you rarely see. The two protagonists provide vastly different lenses for viewing the same events which creates a contrast and a tension that I found extremely enjoyable. Drake has an incredible ability to evoke detail and writes brutal action scenes (based on his own experience in Vietnam). It uses the same psuedo-napoleonic conceits that alot of space opera uses but because it is so upfront about it I didn't find it nearly as tough to swallow as something like Honor Harrington.
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@Dark Wind I assume you read them in English? I was always kind of hesitant to read them because they'd be translations and some of the storytelling flair would be lost when transferred to English.


I did. I have no doubt that there is probably something lost within the translations. Even still, the writing is top tier.
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<Snipped quote by POOHEAD189>

I did. I have no doubt that there is probably something lost within the translations. Even still, the writing is top tier.

Noted, I might give them a go then. Love the games and the lore.

@Penny Well I'm sold. They sounds awesome and are right up my ally.




Here's a few Fantasy books I highly recommend.

The Crystal Shard by my favorite author R.A. Salvatore. It's set in the Forgotten Realms, and is the first book in an incredibly long but highly praised (deserving imo) series. If you've played D&D, you've no doubt heard of Drizzt Do'Urden the Dark Elf renegade. This is the first book about him and his Companions of the Hall. Granted, this was before Drizzt became the main character, but it was his start to becoming an ensemble darkhorse. The writing is rich yet simple, and the book begins in the icy tundra of Icewind Dale, where a coalition of 10 settlements collected around a lake survive and trade in the far north. The closest people apart from them are a small clan of Dwarves led by Bruenor Battlehammer. Orcs, Yetis, and Giants are a constant threat, as are the nomadic, war-like barbarian tribes. The Barbarians gather together and attack 'Ten-Towns', only to be halted by townsfolk and aid from the Dwaves. A young Barbarian is beaten on the battlefield by Bruenor and taken it as an indentured servant. On his last day of his 5 year service, he is taught to fight by the Dark Elf Drizzt. They, along with Regis the ex-thief Halfling and Cattie-Brie, Bruenor's adopted human daughter, thwart an evil, unaccomplished wizard called Akar Kessel who has gained incredible power from finding the sentient Crystal Shard, an item of intense power that bends the wills the Goblins, Orcs, Trolls, and Giants of the tundra in his dream of conquest. I recommend at least reading the first trilogy, with Streams of Silver and the Halfling's Gem, respectively. I've read all 30 books in the series thrice over, which should tell you something.

The Eye of the World, by Robert Jordan. A masterfully written series of 12 books called the 'Wheel of Time' series. Robert Jordan is an incredible writer, and he has created a world that rivals Tolkein's, with intricate plots and a vast array of characters. The world is run by what is known as the 'wheel' of time, and among the people there are magic users called 'Channelers.' Men wielding Saidan and women wielding Saidar. The history of the series is vast, but to put it in simple terms, long ago Shai'Tan corrupted the futuristic utopia that is essentially our future, caused a great schism in the world and ending the peace and prosperity of the world. Lewis Therin, labeled 'The Dragon' and the most powerful male channeler, became the authority of the uncorrupted faction, and in a last ditch effort he sealed Shai'Tan back out of the material universe, only for the backlash to effect all of Saidar, which means male magic users are cursed to become insane, and insane they became after Shai'Tan was sealed, which wrecked most of the world, a world that was licking its wounds from a war. Technology devolved, and it essentially became medieval again. But because time is a wheel, The Dragon Reborn was destined to return in the form of another young man as the prophecies say...
I couldn't even begin to describe the series, but I do recommend reading book one at least. In my opinion, it is one of the greatest stand alone fantasy novels out there, and the rest of the series does not disappoint either. It goes from unlikely heroes to politics and wonders on a global scale, in a divisive world of magic, trying not to shatter as it once did. Be warned though. There's a lot of "men are from mars, women are from venus" themes. The female channelers are essentially the diplomats and U.N. of the world. The characters are wonderfully written, and the cultures are interesting region to region.

Swordmage by Richard Baker. Another Forgotten Realms book. It's only a trilogy of the same name, and while the other two are good, they pale in comparison to book one. It's about a 30 year old Swordmage, nephew to the noble, coming home after disgracing himself in the land of the Elves and making himself into a mercenary, only to hear his oldest friend back home has died. He returns to the funeral, to find the city has become under siege by corrupt merchants and their interests, the restless dead prowl the forests, his old flame has a child and is being threatened out of her shop, and he cannot even trust his own family in the myriad of different plots. That, and add Orc tribes being led under one ruler that are now encroaching upon the city, and you have yourself a hell of a story.
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@POOHEAD189 Oh god the Wheel of Time. A series which reminds me that once I had copious free time. Now I shall raise my chin at you while wearing a dress that has three paragraphs of description.
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@POOHEAD189 Oh god the Wheel of Time. A series which reminds me that once I had copious free time. Now I shall raise my chin at you while wearing a dress that has three paragraphs of description.

I think my laugh nearly woke my roommates up. I kind of bullshitted on my description as I never got passed book 8 because the descriptions were so long after that.

Book 1-6 are incredible though.
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@POOHEAD189 I read the whole extant series (till about book 9 billion?) when I was a girl more than once and I recently read the final book just in the interest of completeness. Robert Jordan had actually died by that point and Branderon Sanderson did a good job of finishing it off although I could sense him feverishly tying off the 10 billion plotlines Jordan had laid down. Did anyone still care that Perrin once killed some Whitecloaks? Apparently so many people...

I should point out that I'm not badmouthing the series, the books are wonderful and I love the world even if Rand is sort of a woolheaded fool!
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@Penny I think he died just before the last book. I'll be honest and say I know all of the spoilers on what happened, though. I have the series companion and everything. I've read the first 7 to 8 books three times but either life or the descriptions kept me from completing it. Rand is great, but Perrin and Matt are my favs. Thom, Lan, and Moraine too.

I should point out that I'm not badmouthing the series, the books are wonderful and I love the world even if Rand is sort of a woolheaded fool!

I think he's played too many games of Maiden's Kiss. ;)
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Fiction (dark fantasy)
Lord of Ruin: A Tale of Malus Darkblade
I saw Warhammer Fantasy get mentioned, so I can't help but bring up my own favorite from that fandom. This is the sorta book for people who like the constant back-stabbing treachery and outright cruelty in the drow-esque cultures. While they are really just "dark elves" and not quite the iconic D&D drow, the parallels in culture are pretty close. Basically, big head honcho backstabbing mean jerkman dark elf Malus goes and gets his soul stolen by a daemon and needs to scheme and murder himself a path to retrieving five artifacts for said daemon in order to maybe get his soul back. Or to just get betrayed, as is a recurring theme in this series. Either way, tis a good read if you're not looking for something light and heartwarming at the moment.

I'm actually on book ten of Wheel of Time right now. I have a subscription to audible and end up listening to audiobooks when I go walking every day, with this series being my current pick. I am thoroughly enjoying it so far and will certainly stick with the series since to the end. That being said, I could certainly do with fewer paragraphs dedicated to pulling on braids and inane bickering (though I am amused that every chapter from a female perspective has them going "MEN, amirite? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯", then every chapter from a male perspective has them going: "WOMEN, amirite? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯" at least once or twice). I don't think I've quite gotten to the point where Brandon Sanderson takes over, but going by the Mistborn Trilogy and Stormlight Archive, I doubt I will be disappointed. That being said, while I would also recommend reading at least one book to see how you feel, I would make mention that I found the first section to move at a glacial pace. It also likes to drop piles of random names on you which may or may not one day be important to the plot to an extent which could put Game of Thrones to shame. XD
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Ive been procrastinating reading Malus Darkblade forever. I always hear its great though. Good reviews my friend.@0 Azzy 0
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Of course, I gotta also mention some straight up drow books to go along with the drow-like rudeballs elves of Warhammer.

Fiction: (Fantasy)
War of the Spider Queen
This is a six book series written by six different authors, with R.A Salvatore as editor or something. The basic premise is that the Underdark is a crapsack subterranean world, full of mean-as-hell races who constantly fight and enslave one another. Some of the biggest and baddest kids on the block are the drow, who have their own matriarchal society centered around the worship of their demon-goddess: Lolth. The story starts off focusing on the city of Menzoberranzan, which happens to be the largest and most powerful of drow cities in the Underdark. Sucks for the drow, cuz Lolth has decided to go completely silent, without so much as a break-up text. So, for a race with an entire civilization that exists due to the will of a single divine being, the fact that this being is now AWOL very rapidly starts to cause problems. The main conflicts vary- the typical drow-on-drow noble house powergrabs, the priestesses of Lolth attempting to prevent as many people from finding out and taking advantage of the fact that they are abruptly bereft of their goddess-granted powers, as well as the other races of the underdark attempting to take advantage of Lolth's un-announced sabbatical. The main "player character" sort of group (I can't not think of them as such when it is a D&D setting with s group of named main characters who travel together) is an assorted bunch of drow from Menzoberranzan (I hate typing out this name so much I swear to god I spell-checked it like ten times and I'm still convinced it is wrong) who are ostensibly on a mission to discover what has happened to Lolth, though of course each one brings their own baggage and bits of intrigue along for the ride.
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I swear I haven't meant to comment on almost every post, but I'm currently on Insurrection in that series atm. @0 Azzy 0 I'm going back and forth between finishing this series and rereading my Ultramarine novels.
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@POOHEAD189 You gave a bunch of nerds a platform to gush about their favorite books. And so it continues. XD

Fiction: (fantasy)
Dawn of Wonder
I'm not gunna lie, the primary reason I ended up with this book is because I had only just started my audible account and was looking for a long enough book to ideally overlap into the next month (since the subscription give you one book per month). I was pleasantly surprised with how much I liked this book, even if it is still the only book in the series. Essentially, the main character is a surprisingly competent young lad from ye olde backwater town. His town gets attacked by rudedude slavers, who ultimately end up carrying off his best friend. He ends up on a sort of coming-of-age-ish story to go to the nation's capital and join yonder elite royal academy to try becoming a badass mofo so he wreak super revenge on the jerks what ninja'd his bestie. Meanwhile, bigger things are happening in the world that tangentially end up evolving out hero, whilst crayballz magical mumbo-jumbo is stirring in the wilds and threatening to break away from the otherwise super low-magic fantasy setting that exists throughout most of the book.

On another note, I just realized there is a release date next month for the third Stormlight Archive book: Oathbringer.
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Fiction: (Fantasy)

The Name of the Wind - Patrick Rothfuss

I shouldn't even really need to recommend this as I think it stands as one of the greatest fantasy novels ever written. The story follows the story of Kvothe, an astonishingly talented young gypsy. When his parents are killed by mysterious assassins he embarks on a quest that will turn him into a legend.

Despite the conventional set up the text is deliberately subversive of many fantasy tropes. It is very slice of lifey without being boring with the primary revenge plot threaded only lightly throughout. The romance plot is believable and well written and the major characters are both likable and believable. Alot of the action turn around the University, a sort of steampunk/arcane school at which Kvothe studies to find answers in his quest.

It is extraordinarily well written and hangs together amazingly well despite the unconventional plot. Each and every plot twist and wrinkle is delightful and sweeps you into the world with amazing effectiveness.
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Oh boy. XD

I feel like my own review of The Name of the Wind would go in a somewhat different direction.
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It helps most of us have read the same/similar shit! @0 Azzy 0

Though I've not read The Name of the Wind. I'll add one of my own, however.


The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks, and the series of books that follow. The first book was published in 1977. I started this series in 10th grade and really started to love it. It's the series that convinced contemporary media that fantasy books had a real shot in being a major genre in literature. There's a lot of similarities in the book to Lord of the Rings, but it's very different in a lot of ways and the following two books in the initial trilogy are quite different. I'll say the 2nd book The Elfstones of Shannara is my favorite, actually. It has unlikely heroes with unlikely magic, a demon army and an implacable demon assassin fighting Elven rangers, edltritch creatures, and it also has a cool gypsy too.

The setting is a post apocalyptic world. Thousands of years before the current day, magic was awake and alive in our world, and the world was populated by various races and magical beasts. But as the younger race of man grew strong, the other races waned and magic fell asleep, turning into legend. Only the Elves survived, secluded and small in number in the deeper forests of the world. We grew technologically advanced, reaching lifespans of 150 years at least and traveling across planets, making advanced AI war machines to fight our wars. But one day, the last war of the world ended in 3 moments, nuclear warheads shattering the world and driving the human race close to extinction. Continents shifted, and humanity evolved into subraces.

The humans in the North transformed into Trolls from the radiation and rocky terrain. The east had humans who traveled underground and lived in swamps, evolving into Dwarves and Gnomes. The West, Elves returned from their seclusion and grew in number again, magic returning to the world. In the Southlands, the last untainted humans made their home. This led to a world full of magical beasts warped with lost technology, spirits and demons returning within the ruins of the ancient human civilization. It's very well written with a great setting. I have the companion for this series too, though I've only read 6 books out of the 18+ that have been written.

The first book, the one I mentioned, is about a Warlock Lord returning to create another world war of the races. Two unlikely young men with elven blood need to seek the Sword of Shannara to slay him, and they get caught in the midst of the returning war and the intrigue that follows. They're protected by a prince from the small highland Kingdom of Leah, and they're guided by Gandalf-expy Allanon, though I will say Allanon is really badass in his own right.

The series has a really cool take on Dwarves, making them forest loving guerilla fighters and gardeners. After they had emerged from their caves when the world was habitable again, they resolved never to be without the open sky and the natural world again, shunning the underground. Though if memory serves they're still good smiths.
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I've not read The Name of the Wind.


Why do I even associate with you!
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