Is that maia in the same series as the ring of something dragons? With the bald dudes?

I second Laurel K. Hamilton. Also, the Dresden Files are awesome. Sherrilyn Kenyon is fun too, if you can handle going from fantasy focused on romance to romance focused on fantasy.

The First Man in Rome by Colleen McCullough.

The Godfather by Mario Puzo was also a good book.

Me too...

Anyhow, some of my favs.

I'm sad nobody's mentioned David Brin yet. He's an awesome author, I've read 2 or 3 of his books, all good, those being Heart of the Comet and Earth. Heart of the Comet was ok, but Earth was just freaking amazing. Gravity lasers, microsingularities in the mantle of our little planet, cranky old people equipped with video recording goggles and nothing better to do than be vigilantes.... booyah.

I also liked Kiln People (forget who it was by), a story that explores the meaning of the soul in a sci-fi setting. Don't worry, it's not overly philisophical, and there's plenty of goodness if you don't want to think about stuff.

There was another series, Dark is Rising or something like that, that I was really fond of when I was in middle school. It's got wizards and cool stuff like that. To help people find 'em, some of the books were, in as best the order that I can remember, Over Sea and Under Stone, The Dark is Rising, and... uh... I forget the rest.

Dune. Must read. Stop asking questions. the Ender's Game series also goes without saying. The really sad part was that I owned the last three of the original quartet before I owned the first, but I got it from the library way too many times so my mom was like "screw it" and got me a copy.

Another of my more recent finds was the Terminal Experiment. Another philisophical sci-fi with plenty of other good stuff in it. Some guy copies his brainwaves/consciousness and "edits" them somehow to simulate various theoretical states of being (aka Immortal , Spirit, and an unedited version) and one of them goes out and hires hitmen to kill people "he" really hates (as in the guy his wife was seeing). So yeah, it was pretty good.

I also shamefully admit to having read just aboute very single Star Wars novel... No comment on the RotJ poster, fighter models, TCG cards, Guide to weapons and technology, etc etc etc in my room.....


EDIT: Yeeghh... that was a messy non-double post.

I read the Dark is Rising in middle school too. Wasn't fond of it at all though. It seemed just like another dark fantasy mixed in with people from normal reality.

The Dark is Rising is an okay series, only liked three of them though. The Dark is Rising, the Grey King I think its called and Silver on..something cant remember.

Its a weird mix of old English mythology and Authorian legends which is darkened greatly by the Dark.

I dont think so... O_O

Gasp! We're on page 3 of a sci-fi book thread and no one's mentioned Philip K. Dick yet? Anathema.

A Scanner Darkly and The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch are excellent places to start: they're two of my favourite books, and utterly readable. (Three Stigmata is the sober acid trip. You've never read a mind quite like this one!) VALIS is amazing, but, umm... somewhat less readable for most people. Then there's UBIK, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Blade Runner), Time Out of Joint, and his short stories...

There's a reason Hollywood keeps ripping him off.

I hope it is still selling well.

Over Sea, Under Stone
Greenwitch
The Dark is Rising
The Grey King
Silver on the Tree

All by Susan Cooper. Very good series, especially for the age range it's written for.

Ooo, also, the Westmark trilogy by Lloyd Alexander is pretty good, I liked it better than the Prydain Chronicles, though they're not bad either.

Moorcock is a good writer! The Elric series is very well written. Even though, the Elric saga seems a bit short to me. The Elric Saga Part 1, 2, Fortress of the Pearl and the Revenge of the Rose are the books. Pearl and Rose were written after the Parts but they are apart of his journies.

Mercedes Lackey is a good fantasy writer. The Valdemar books, such as To Catch a Thief, The Last Herald-Mage, as well as the Gryphon series, and the Bardic Voices are a few of the series she's written.

Denis Jones made a good book called the Stone and the Maiden. I thought it was good, but short.

Artemis Fowl is good. The author is awesome at writing. The four books are Artemis Fowl, the Artic Incident, The Eternity Code and the Opal Deception. Eoin Colfer does a wonderful job at developing Fowl. The Fowl files are also a good read and is a side book. The Supernaturalist is a good book too.

Tamora Pierce is a good writer but she's more for teenagers, but her books are well written. The Song of the Lioness Quartet is for girls but y'never know boys might read it too. The Circle of Magic, The Immortals(haven't read it but I've heard its good), The Circle Opens quartets are some of her series. She's good writer and her books are found in the Teenager section but pick one of 'em up and read it! They're good.

I started to read the Dark is Rising series and I found it to be good, but I haven't been able to buy the rest so I've only read the Dark is Rising.

Artermis the character annoyed me

Artemis is becoming a better person as the story progresses. My favorite character though has to be Holly, she's awesome.

I just think Artermis is over done. The Highest IQ In Europe? Come on. He just doesn't deserve a friend like Butler. I like the centuar.

The Wheel of Time series!

The duo of Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman introduce me to the whole fantasy genre with their Dragonlance series (the chronicles, the legends and later the war of souls). I feel their best work however was the Death Gate Cycle. Though I have a fondness for their Darksword and their Rose of the Prophet trilogies.

I was in love with the Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan but I hate to say this but the romance has lessen of late, agreeing with a previous post. Still a good read.

There is Robin Hobb's Farseer and The Tawny Man trilogies which I enjoyed reading.

Also the Amber Chronicles by Roger Zelanzny is not bad.

Is you like humour in your reading then there is the entire Xanth universe by Piers Anthony. I keep rolling in laughter each time I read one of his Xanth books.

But my favourite, because of the humour found, would be the sifi-occult Bereau 13 series by Nick Pollota.

LOVE BOOKS!!!! And I LOVE YOGI BEAR!!!!

Yeah Xanth... Kinda odd... and all about --- judging by the amount of stuff that comes into the stories. But ignoring what happens with that, the continuous pun/life reality is amusing.

Foaly and Root are my favorite characters in Artemis Fowl. I have to say, the third one kind of sucked, but the fourth one was right on top.

*chuckle* yes, Xanth can get alittle peevish at times. 'The colour of her panties' was a title of one the books, I think. *rolls in laughter* But honestly if you look past all the cheekiness, Peirs Anthony is(was?) a really smart writer. *mutter* Colour of her panties... *shakes head and laughs*

Foaly! Foaly! Foaly! Foaly! Whooooo!

And the dwarves rock in general. When they aren't digging... Even then they rock.