Ask Lemmy

Such good recommendations so far. If you like comics, I will add:

Saga

Lucifer

And since I don't see him mentioned here: anything by Ian McDonald is wonderful, and I like everything by Mike Carey too. Not swords & dragons but fantasy books.

• The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever
• Earth's Children, technically “prehistorical fiction” but I think that qualifies as fantasy.

I'm going for Michael Moorcock's "Dancers at the End of Time" series. In the far future, Earth's human population is like 120 immortal people who possess science that is indistinguishable from magic, powered by some kind of Dyson Sphere. They've long forgotten how the tech works and lead lives of leisure in which their main activity is amusing each other. Although old (1970s, I think), it feels contemporary in that is has many gender-fluid elements and seems like the kind of world tech bros dream of. It has a Sci-fi premise but it's pure Famtas It's philosophical and also quite funny.

Ok, I know the author is full of his own ego and probably won’t finish the series in his lifetime but “A Song of Ice and Fire” series (Game of Thrones) were some amazing books. I really enjoyed the first 3 of them. He’s finished 5 of 7 so I guess that isn’t too bad.

If you want something with low magic, everything Michael J Sullivan is writing. He's got about 18 completed books in the world of Elan, we 3 distinct series, and he's starting on a 4th one.

Ryiria Revalations - original series, 6 books, combined into 3 duplexes. first Duplex is Theft of Sword. The series starts about 3 years into Royce and Hadrian's story.

Ryiria Cronicles - His wife wanted more of Royce and Hadrian, so he wrote a prequel series starting with their first job together. 5 books currently, and we will probably get another at some point. First book is The Crown Tower.

Legends of the first empire - set 3000 years before Ryiria, making the setting late ag rev/early bronze age. 6 books, but I've only read the first 2 right when they started releasing and need to get back to the series. also has a couple novelas I just discovered.

He is now working on a sequel series to Ryiria, codenamed The Cycle, which he anticipates being a novela and 5 full books.

and now for something completely different, a sci-fi recommendation. Andy Weir is quite popular right now with the movie adaptation of Project Hail Mary coming out, but I'm going to recommend The Martian. very great scifi book, even better if your a numbers guy. Also a well done movie adaptation and the 3rd movie in the unofficial "Saving Matt Damon" trilogy, the other 2 of course being saving Private Ryan and Interstellar.

• Robert Silverberg, Lord Valentine’s Castle, et al
• Andre Norton, Sargasso of Space series
• Andre Norton, Catseye

Ascendance of a Bookworm!

As a warning though, you have to be comfortable with pre-Renaissance era attitudes towards marriage.

My wife got into reading via the sword of truth by Terry goodkind.

Lots of good stuff mentioned already, but nobody mentioned the Rivers Of London series yet. It is about a young police constabulary who solves crime using magic. Sounds pretty silly, but it's pretty good. The author, Ben Aaronovitch, also wrote some scripts for Doctor Who (Remembrance of the Daleks, for instance) and Blake's 7, so there's that.

Note: I just reread your post mentioning you read Hitchhikers and Dungeon Crawler Carl and started Discworld. Leaving those in anyway because idk maybe someone else will benefit from the recommendations. Plus I’ve already taken the time to write this.

The Expanse by James S A Corey has to be my favorite sci-fi series. Fantastic space drama about humanities spread among the stars in a galaxy left behind by an extinct alien civilization.

We Are Legion (We Are Bob), aka Bobiverse by Dennis E Taylor is a very light and silly sci-fi about a nerdy dude who becomes a sentient AI and spreads out like a god among worlds.

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky is a very detailed sci-fi written by a guy who loves entomology. It’s about humanities rise up to its space exploration and terraforming peak, and subsequent fall back to the Stone Age, and the simultaneous evolution of new life on the worlds it abandoned.

Dune by Frank Herbert of course is a must if you’re into heavy world building, deep lore, and discussions about politics, religion, and government.

Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, and the follow up sequel by Eoin Colfer (author of Artemis Fowl) is also of course a wonderful satire on sci-fi and space. Easy read you won’t want to put down.

———

Discworld by Terry Prachett is a massive “series” that can be read in no particular order. Books all exist in the same world but are independent of each other, but there’s a timeline to them for people who read a lot of them. Personally I liked the first two books, The Color of Magic and The Light Fantastic, but many say not to start there as the author was still figuring out his writing. Probably Guards, Guards would be a better choice. Maybe other people have different opinions. He’s the best satirical fantasy author out there.

The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan, and finished by Brandon Sanderson (author of the Cosmere novels) is a massive series that has a similar feel to Tolkien at its start. Every book has you wondering how the next one could possibly get any better. 13 books and my only regret is that I can’t experience it for the first time again. Sanderson does a decent job of wrapping things up based on Jordan’s notes, tho you can tell where Sanderson adds his own touches (and characters).

Mistborn & The Stormlight Archives aka The Cosmere by Brandon Sanderson is a bunch of different series of books that all tie together as they exist within the same universe. Sort of a Marvel style setup where at some point they will all come together for a massive conflict. You don’t actually have to read all the different series, but they’re really enjoyable and make you want to read the others. Each has its own unique setting and writing style and each world he creates has its own unique magic system. Definitely recommend. Great for light reading.

Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman. Absolutely read these. High entertaining. Absolutely fantastic on audiobook as well. Soundbooth Theater does such a great job on these that they will ruin you for audiobooks. Next book comes out in May and it’s being adapted into a TV show, which I’ve always felt it was really written for. Humanity is gone in the blink of an eye, aliens mine the Earth for resources, and the survivors are given a choice: live on an Earth wiped clean of all traces of civilization, or participate in a game show complete with powers, leveling, and loot for the entertainment of the wider universe.

——————- Other mentions, because I’m actually supposed to be working so I’ll be brief:

American Gods by Neil Gaiman Good Omens by Neil Gaiman Both are great for interesting fantasy’s about gods, devils, and angels.

It Can’t Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis If you want something that predicted the current dystopia we are living in over 60 years ago

Have Space Suit - Will Travel by Robert Heinlein Citizen of the Galaxy by Robert Heinlein The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein Enjoyed them all for their world building.

Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein note it’s very different from the movies

Armor by John Steakley Interesting to compare with Starship Troopers, but it takes a very different approach. A great sci-fi.

Vampire$ by John Steakley the $ is important in the book title do not buy a copy that doesn’t have that. Some bs with royalties where a publisher stripped that out. Spaghetti western with vampires and vampire hunting. Think there was a movie adaptation of this too, tho I never saw it.

Maybe a bit of a stretch, but I just got into the Dungeon Crawler Carl series and it's been fun. It's litRPG. I had never heard of the genre till a few weeks ago, but imagine playing an RPG game in book form.

im a piers anthony fan and these books won't necessarily help with pop culture but he is very prolific and I feel he has some stand out work. First his geooddysey series to me is his best work but likely not recognized as so. The incarnations of immortality I would take second but is likely more generally viewed as his best and I would agree it was before geoodyseey, kirilian quest is really neat along with many of his other earlier series. His most prolific and possibly well known is xanth. One thing is over time its leaned into its main thing which is puns and is very light hearted and fanciful. If you read from the start its a bit more serious but I think he did not intend to go beyond a trilogy. Its like ti was a trilogy and then a trilogy of trilogies and now the series number in the 40's or something. I have not read them all. Another stand out is split infinity which is both fantasy and scifi. In short geodessey is a story or realy series of stories across time. incarnations is a world where magic is just another force of nature and magic and technology grew up together, kirilian quest is an intergalactic story where the speed of light cannot be exceeded by physical means, I think I explained xanth enough already.

Honestly the Harry Potter series. The author is a piece of shit, so get the books from your local library, don't support her.

Constitution.