Book rec time!

[telophase]

The last time I asked for recs, having $20 in Amazon gift certificates, I never actually got around to buying the books. Which is good, because it now means I have $60 in Amazon gift certificates. :D

And Amazon is having a 4-for-3 sale, so I'm especially looking for paperback books.

My previous list of elements I'm currently looking for in a book needs to have a couple of things added on: no shapeshifting as I have a weird, bizarre Thing against that*, and no anthropomorphic animals**, ditto.

ETA: I know I'm known 'round these parts for manga, but I'm not actually reading too many right now ad not willing to take on new series unless they're stunningly good, because it takes me about 20 minutes to read one volume, and I almost never feel like I got my money's worth. I want something I can sink into for a couple of hours (yes, I read damn fast, when it engages my attention).





* OK, I've read some books with shapeshifting and liked them, but they really need to have other things I'm looking for as prominent parts of the book, to make up for the shapeshifting. Yeah, I'm weird. I know.

** Ditto as for shapeshifting. I have to admit that ursulav's book Black Dogs Part One: The House of Diamond is exactly the sort of book I'm looking for, except that there exists both anthropomorphic animals and inadvertent shapeshifting. However, Vernon's quirky sense of humor, plot, and ineffable something hits me in exactly the right ways.

Comments

[forvrin.livejournal.com]

This is probably a very Guy List, but still...

The Secret Atlas Trilogy - A Secret Atlas, Cartomancy, The New World. Kind of a Chinese inspired fantasy Trilogy by Michael A. Stackpole. I like it very much.

The Dies The Fire / Emberverse Series by S.M. Stirling: Dies the Fire / The Protector's War / A Meeting at Corvalis - Then world ends when all high energy technology dies. Takes place in the world Nantucket leaves behind if you've read the Oceans of Eternity series.

The Saxon Chronicles, by Bernard Cornwell: The Last Kingdom / The Pale Horseman / Lords of the North / Sword Song. 9th Century England is invaded by the Norse, and it follows the story of Uhtred son of Uhtred, Eorldomann of Bebanburg, a Saxon raised by Danes.

The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher: Stormfront / Fool Moon / Grave Peril and others. Modern magic meets crime Noir set in Chicago. They made a bad Sci Fi TV series out of it.

[tprjones.livejournal.com]

It sounds like you would quite like Steven Brust's Khaavren Romances (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khaavren_Romances).

I think you would also like the Jhereg series (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Brust#The_Dragaeran_books), but they're s bit further off the specific mark defined by your list.

Although, I give about an 85% chance that you've already read these works I've mentioned. :)

[loolaa.livejournal.com]

Looking at your 'list of elements' I highly recommend the Abhorsen Triology by Garth Nix (Sabriel, Lirael and Abhorsen) if you haven't already read them.

[tool-of-satan.livejournal.com]

I have two recommendations based on your list, but I don't know if you can use Amazon GCs for used books. So I may be extremely unhelpful. (I also have no idea if you've read them or not.)

The recommendations are Dave Duncan's The Reaver Road and The Hunter's Haunt and Yves Menard's The Book of Knights. Running down your list of criteria:

Something closer to traditional other-world fantasy, by which I mean not our world with the serial numbers hastily filed off, nor a historical, nor someone from our world going into another, not contemporary or urban fantasy.

The first Duncan takes place in a city which is somewhat reminiscent of ancient Sumeria but is clearly a fantasy world. The second takes place mostly in a land not particularly reminiscent of anything historical. The Menard takes place in a world which is vaguely European but is full of fantastic beings and events - very much in the old knightly tale mode.

Relatively few viewpoint characters. I don't much like multi-viewpoint novels full of characters. I like to find one or two I like, then stick with them. I prefer third person to first, because it's very very hard not to sound too contemporary in first.

Each book has just one viewpoint character. The Duncans are in first person but don't sound too contemporary me, although YMMV. The Menard is in third. I am cheating a bit with the second Duncan as it includes lots of stories told by the characters, so arguably it has lots of viewpoint characters. However, it doesn't have multiple threads or anything - each story is a one-shot.

Travel. I don't know why, but for some reason, travel is often in the sort of books I'm thinking of. Not always, though.

There is little actual travel in the first Duncan but the protagonist (being an itinerant storyteller) talks and thinks a lot about previous travels. The second one includes a fair amount of (recounted) travel. The Menard is all about the travel.

A fairly unsophisticated protagonist. Er, that may not be quite what I mean but I can't come up with a better word. Note that I do not mean not complex nor do I mean simple. I don't mean that the character is necessarily young, either - this quality does tend to go along with YA protagonists, but Croaker from The Black Company is someone I would call unsophisticated, but complex. (Lady, however, would be sophisticated.) Same with Vimes from Pratchett's Watch books. (and the Croaker/Vimes character is another character type I love. XD) I'm not with the court intrigues or nobility or maneuvering to accumulate votes in the council or whatnot.

The protagonist of the Duncan books is, as noted, an itinerant storyteller, who believes in taking life as it comes and trusting to the gods. (The books have a little court/temple intrigue, but there aren't endless discussions about it.) The protagonist of the Menard starts as a boy.

Landscape as character. This could be a city, like Tai-tastigon in God Stalk.

They are a bit weak on this point, although there are interesting settings in all of them.

A sensawunda, which is again hard to define because it takes different things to achieve it for different people. For me, it often comes with a sense of deep time, or mysteries not fully explained. It tends to go along with the numinous - Mushishi has it in spades, Spirited Away to a lesser extent.

They all have elements of the numinous, the Menard probably more than the Duncans.

No obviously Celtic or Viking (or faux-Celtic/Viking) elements. I burned out on those long ago.

Not a scrap of these as far as I can recall.

I rather like quest novels, although the Saving the World bit is getting old. I told sartorias a couple of days ago that I think perhaps A Comet in Moominland just might be my ideal quest novel. XD Travel, unsophisticated protagonist, sensawunda`, the object is not to Save the World but to find out what's going on, landscape as character, etc. If only it were longer and I were encountering it for the first time!

None of these are what I think of as typical quest novels.

[tool-of-satan.livejournal.com]

I forgot to mention - none of these has any anthropomorphic animals as far as I can recall, and if there is any shapeshifting it is a minor element.

[badnoodles.livejournal.com]

If you're looking for a little harder sci-fi, I cannot recommend Robert Charles Wilson's Spin highly enough. Looking at your previous list, it would seem to hit many of the marks you're looking for, except that it's not a quest.

[raucousraven.livejournal.com]

YMMV, but I really enjoyed Neal Stephenson's Anathem. Math as religious statement/frat pledge! Jules Verne and his Monifeeks! Ahem.

The Diamond Age is actually really good too, and I like what happens with the steampunk, but while it sticks primarily to its young narrator, it does switch between several POVs.

[kutsuwamushi.livejournal.com]

By anthropomorphic animals, do you mean physically human-like, doing things that humans might do (like attacking people with swords), or does mentally human-like cross the line? And does it matter if the animal is mystical or real?

The example I'm thinking of is the Temeraire novels, where the dragons aren't physically human, but they are mentally similar (with some differences). And of course, dragons don't exist.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

I've read the Temeraire novels, so that's technically moot. :D I'm more concerned with not reading about animals walking upright and wearing clothes than animals with human or near-human intelligence. Unless, like Black Dogs above, other things make up for it. :) Mystical might be a different breed altogether, to coin a phrase - they're not really animals, in that case. Hmmm.

[kutsuwamushi.livejournal.com]

I figure that most people who read a lot of fantasy have read the Temeraire series, since it's so highly recommended by so many people, but it was the best example I could immediately think of.

(That or Pern. Which, uh. Let's stay away from it.)

When I get home I'll have to try to remember if I've read anything that fit your criteria.

Books ineffable and otherwise

[amberley.livejournal.com]

If it weren't for the "no shapeshifting" clause I'd highly recommend Janni Lee Simner's recent and wonderful Bones of Faerie (http://www.amazon.com/Bones-Faerie-Janni-Lee-Simner/dp/0375845631/) (free first chapter (http://www.simner.com/bonesoffaerie/excerpt.html)) so instead I'll second the recommendation of Garth Nix's Abhorsen trilogy (http://www.amazon.com/Abhorsen-Trilogy-Box-Set/dp/0060734191/): Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorsen, and add Scott Westerfeld's Uglies / Pretties / Specials (http://www.amazon.com/Uglies-Boxed-Set-Pretties-Specials/dp/1416936408/) and Extras. Westerfeld's Midnighters trilogy is also excellent but doesn't match your preferences, so never mind those.

And you probably already know about Ursula Vernon's Nurk: The Strange, Surprising Adventures of a (Somewhat) Brave Shrew (http://www.amazon.com/Nurk-Strange-Surprising-Adventures-Somewhat/dp/0152063757/), then.

Re: Books ineffable and otherwise

[octopedingenue]

NURK SOCUTE SNAILBOAT!

[octopedingenue]

He is not in any regard a leopard! He just happens to have a leopard mask for a head!

(No, I shall not explain that further, audience. BURN WITH CURIOUSITY, BURN!)

[octopedingenue]

I highly recommend The City & The City by China Mieville only it's not out until May, dammit.

If you can buy used, The Dragon Waiting by John M. Ford is AU European history, most of which flew over my head, but I had a great time anyway.

Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist matches relatively few of your tropes, but it as an excellent piece of Vampire Fiction For People Burned Out On Vampire Fiction. Swedish vampires! I do not link to the Amazon page so that you may avoid with all caution the listed Publishers Weekly review/summary, which manages to both A)LIE and B)spoil a plot twist in two sentences.

[aquatic-party.livejournal.com]

Kinda random, but your Sai icon makes me squee~! <3 How cute.

[estara.livejournal.com]

While I stand by my previous Chronicles of Hawklan recommendation, they do have a talking raven necessary to the plot as a character. Oh well.

[estara.livejournal.com]

"'m more concerned with not reading about animals walking upright and wearing clothes than animals with human or near-human intelligence" oh well he doesn't walk upright or anything, he's just very virile and sarcastic ^^

[seawolf10.livejournal.com]

Just reread China Mieville's Perdido Street Station a couple days ago. I think it hits most if not all of your criteria, and it's an excellent book. If you read it and like it, he has two other novels (not a trilogy in the usual sense, but you should ideally read "Station" first) set in the same world: I read The Scar, which was as good as "Station," maybe better, and I got started on Iron Council, but didn't really get into it, although I've been meaning to try again.

Fair warning, though, Mieville's an incredibly inventive/original world-builder, but his plots are really bleak. Lot of character death, suffering, and emotional misery.

[seawolf10.livejournal.com]

P.S: Not sure about "Iron Council," but I know "Station" and "The Scar" are available in standard paperback format.

P.P.S: I didn't recommend these to you at some other time, did I? I got a weird sense of deja vu writing my post.

[aquatic-party.livejournal.com]

I'll recommend Michael Stackpole's Talion: Revenant again in case it slipped by you in the last post (and still assuming you haven't already read it, lol). Also, as far as manga goes, I can't recommend enough a title called Me and the Devil Blues: The Unreal Life of Robert Johnson, by Akira Hiramoto. The art is gorgeous (if disturbing at times), and the story needs to be absorbed over time. I keep going back to this first volume and catching things I've missed during previous reads. It'll definitely take you more than 20 minutes to read the first volume anyway, because DelRay stuck vol. 1 and 2 together.



_{Brought to you by the reCAPTCHA of the day: Coreili Augusta. Which is kinda pretty!}