I was sending a list of sci-fi and fantasy books that I have read to someone, and thought I’d dump it here as well. It’s by no means everything I’ve ready, but some of the big series.
Dragon Prince
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0886774500
The Star Scroll
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0886773490
Sun-Runner’s Fire
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0886774039
Other things that may be good:
All the Ender books, including the newest:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0312857586
Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time (as we were talking about).
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/408712
Everything in the Belgariad and Malloreon:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/listmania/list-browse/-/28896JPBM3K8S
Terry Goodkind’s Sword of Truth, which are pretty heavy, but good:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/408716
The main Dragonlance books:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/guides/guide-display/-/3GKV809NNU2I8
The various Dark Elf books by R.A. Salvatore are good, but violent:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/guides/guide-display/-/1HDA8ZQ5CY8NN
The “Honorverse” books by David Weber are really good, but a bit
heavy on the made-up-science:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/listmania/list-browse/-/11FKI8TAGWYHS
Everything on this list is really good. It includes Asimov’s
Foundation books, and Arthur C Clarke’s Rama books:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/guides/guide-display/-/37ZKU1XR1898B
The Order War, by L. E. Modesitt Jr are good, but very repetitive
after the first 5 or 6. The back-story does build with each book, but
its the same plot again and again. If you like the plot, that’s fine,
there’s 13 of them to read. If not, you’ll never read more than one.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/listmania/list-browse/-/22XHK89AUQ7R7/
Anne Mccaffry’s Dragonriders of Pern books are good reasonably light
fantasy:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/listmania/list-browse/-/191IODV23QVIX
Someone may like George Martin’s “A song of ice and fire” although I
couldn’t get into them at all:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/15583
Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy. I could never get into
these either, but they’re supposed to be good:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0440238609
That’s more than a start. It’s what, 100 books? 🙂 If you buy
anything, I’d definitely try to get everything in a series at the
same time. At least within each set. For instance, the Belgariad is 5
books, and the Malloreon is another 5 books. The Dragonlance books
are a half dozen trilogies (and a couple pairs), etc. There’s
nothing I hate more than reading a book or two in a series and not
being able to get the rest. Or worse, reading something in the middle
of a series.
Oh, another place you may point people who have a computer at home:
http://www.baen.com/library
This is a free library of books ( some of which I listed above ) that
can be read online or downloaded to read later. The Belisarius series
has several books included there, by David Drake and Eric Flint.
They’re pretty good, easy reads, but quite violent. It’s a (very)
alternative history of Roman times. Book six is due out soon.