looking for book recs...

[ratcreature]

My to-read pile of actual books is getting rather smallish. I mean, I still haven't read Water Logic by Laurie Marks, and Amazon assures me that my copy of the newest Dresden Files will get to me in the near(ish) future, but I'm looking for recommendations what to read after that. And since my f-list is much more widely read than me, I thought it can't hurt to ask.

As for what I'm looking for, the most important thing for me to enjoy a book is that there is at least one likable main POV character to identify with. Generally I can't stand books where the hero is a jerk, or you end up hating everybody. I also dislike ambiguous endings. There are exceptions to that, but in general I prefer plots to be resolved when the book ends, unless it's setup for the sequel. Also, I prefer there to actually be a plot with stuff happening rather than all internal and relationship conflicts. And for the plot to make sense and have not too many holes. OTOH I can overlook slightly clunky language (see the above example of the Dresden Files, though the later novels aren't quite as bad as the earlier ones). I guess I'm rather lacking in avantgarde sensibilities...

As for genres, I like sf and fantasy, unless the worldbuilding sucks, but I also like mysteries, though not so much the serial killer genre. Thrillers rarely do anything for me, nor does romance as the main plot. Another of my quirks is that I don't cope well if a ton of characters are introduced in quick succession. I have nothing against an epic scale in principle, if characters are added slowly, but I don't remember names easily, something which results in me being confused a lot with a certain kind of mystery for example, where you'd be introduced to a dozen people over a few pages.

So do you have any suggestions for me?

Comments

[marag.livejournal.com]

Knowing my memory, you've probably not only read all of these, but we've probably had extensive conversations about them ;) However, I'll list some of my favorite series, in case you haven't read them yet.

1) Miles Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold (Great characters and amazing plots)
2) Liaden universe novels by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (Same! Some of the books include romances, some do not.)
3) Karen Pelletier mysteries by Joanne Dobson (Murder mysteries set in academia)
4) Amelia Peabody mysteries by Elizabeth Peters (Very charming characters and excellent mysteries, with archaeology as a background)
5) Wizard books by Diane Duane (Great plotting and worldbuilding, as well as good characters)

I could go on for hours, but I must go back to work now :)

[ratcreature]

No, I actually haven't read them. (I did mention being less widely read than my flist...*g*) I'll take a look at these. Unfortunately the first volumes of the Liaden universe novels aren't available anymore it seems from my quick glance at Amazon? So I guess I won't be reading those.

[(Anonymous)]

The first four Liadan books don't have to be read in any particular order, if you're interested in them. Local Custom, Scout's Progress, Conflicts of Honour and Agent of Change are all stand alone, dealing with different sets of characters. There are also two compendium volumes; Pilot's Choice has the first two books, Partners in Necessity has the next two and the sequel to them both, Carpe Diem.

I also recommend Doris Egan's Ivory books, starting with Gate of Ivory, which I love for the marvellous heroine.

And, like everyone else, I love Bujold ;).

[ratcreature]

Thanks for pointing that out about the Liaden books, and for the recs.

[jacquez.livejournal.com]

I like Bujold quite a bit; not just the Vorkosigan works but her other stuff as well. The Spirit Ring I liked particularly. I am also, perhaps, odd in that I prefer Miles's mother to Miles himself -- she's the protagonist of the first two books in the series, Shards of Honor and Barrayar. Miles is wonderful, but Cordelia is Cordelia.

Duane is lovely but the wizard books are YA, ratcreature, so as long as you expect advanced-YA complexity from them, I shouldn't think you'd be disappointed. I liked the second of the whole series best, fwiw.

My husband likes Iain Banks a lot, and CJ Cherryh. I think the Foreigner/Invader/Inheritor stuff by Cherryh might suit; the main characters are surrounded by quite the supporting cast, but I don't think the introductions were too quick.

I like Robin McKinley a lot, but I wonder if some of her stuff (retellings of fairy tales) might be too romance-y for you? I'd disrecommend her Sunshine specifically on that front, I think, but the Damar novels (The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown) and the retelling of "Donkeyskin" set in the same universe (Deerskin) are good, and you might like her second retelling of "Beauty & the Beast", Rose Daughter.

You say thrillers don't do much for you...how about Creepy Maybe Haunted House books? House of Leaves and The Haunting of Hill House are the two freakiest, scariest, bar-none haunted house stories I've ever read, and not a single drop of gore to be found. House of Leaves will make people on public transportation think you are insane, though, because it has tunnels. I don't know how else to describe it. It's got at least four dimensions, possibly five.

[ratcreature]

I generally don't like reading horror, I have enough nightmares as it is (frequently featuring scary, convoluted architecture too!), so I think I'll pass on those. And I admit that retold fairy tales rarely do much for me. I mean, I enjoyed reading real fairy tales a lot as a kid, and still have a shlf with collections of fairy tales from around the world, but I like them as fairy tales, not as novels which need real characters and solid worldbuilding and such.

Thanks for the Bujold link, and the other recs though.

[jacquez.livejournal.com]

Oh, I forgot to mention -- if you want to sample Bujold, her novella "The Mountains of Mourning" (http://www.baen.com/library/1011250002/1011250002.htm) is up at the Baen Free Library.