Mine is the wings of fire series, it is a “kids” novel (think like warrior cats age range)
But Tui T sutherland is so good at writing characters and introducing and describing worlds and characters that i reread it every so often. Like, she managed to write a book from the pov of a mind reader and it works.
Every book is from a different character’s pov and each character feels wholly unique.
The main issue with the series is that the plot is kinda average at best, the characters really carry the story.
Villains by Necessity by Eve Forward. After the ultimate triumph of good over evil, a group of villains save the world from good. It’s a total inversion of the standard fantasy trope. Highly recommend it for any fantasy fan, doubly so for Dragonlance fans.
Welp, I’m sold, this is totally going on my list! I’ve kind of been itching for something like Dragonlance and this sounds like what I’ve been looking for.
Oh man, that’s a lot of what I read.
Maybe the ‘My Teacher Is An Alien’ series by Bruce Coville, the ‘Blood Oath’ series by Christopher Farnsworth, and the Serpentwar Series by Raymond Feist.
Bruce Coville is such an incredibly fun read for young Sci-Fi fans. I flipped through some of the Aliens Ate My Homework series recently now that I’m older and it’s still a great time. Coville really did well at writing in a way that makes it understandable and enjoyable for kids without dumbing down ideas that would help spark the imagination and garner understanding for more advanced works.
I should flip back through the My Teacher is an Alien series too at some point. I’m pretty sure I at least still have a copy of My Teacher Flunked the Planet here somewhere.
george rr martin’s wildcard series
its actually written by many authors so the quality/styles fluctuate. no real ending either as its more an episodic alternate reality. feels like its missing cohesion.
My kid is devouring the wings of fire series.
For me I’d say the Children of Man series by Elizabeth C. Mock. I hadn’t read Wheel of Time before starting Children of Man. Now that I have I see a lot of Wheel of Time influence, so in that genre Children of Man isn’t really groundbreaking.
That said though, I still really enjoy the characters and the story, and am anxiously waiting for the release of the 4th (and final) book.
My favorite book is Galactic Pot-Healer by Philip K Dick. Objectively, it’s not even his best book, but it’s the one I personally connect with most strongly. It’s lovely and heartbreaking and funny and very quotable.
I liked the Dresden Files. Just campy magic gumshoe stuff.
Also a fan of Lamb and Blood Sucking Fiends. Good reads, but not any big huge life shaking moments like other books. But I remember loving the style.
I was going to offer another Jim Butcher series, the Codex Alera. It’s a hack-and-slash mix of Roman fantasy and Pokemon. Fantastic stuff.
Gaijin Smash by Azrael. It was a blog, but you can read it start to finish now. A key read if you wanna move to Japan.
My Losing Season by Pat Conroy. The best sport book I’ve ever read, but it’s not famous.
The sword of Shannara
The Phantom Tollbooth
It’s an amazing book, but no one would consider it a masterpiece.
I absolutely consider Phantom Tollbooth a masterpiece. There’s nothing else like it, and it has extraordinary persistence.
We are Legion (We are Bob). It’s probably the most fun I’ve had reading science fiction. It’s not a masterpiece, but damn is it entertaining! The whole series is pretty great, and there’s another book coming any month now.
I just found this can be downloaded from archive.org. Does anyone know whether this is legal / OK? https://archive.org/details/taylor-dennis-e-bobiverse-1-we-are-legion/Taylor_Dennis_E_-_Bobiverse_1_-_We_Are_Legion
I have no idea. Sorry. But if you can’t afford to buy the book in a better format, then just read it from there! I don’t think Dennis will miss nine dollars or whatever the book costs.
I love this series as well. Definitely not a masterpiece, but it is great sci fi.
In a similar vein I’m really enjoying the Murderbot series by Martha Wells. It has a similar feel and it has an addictive action pace with snippets of deadpan humor and wit. If it was a movie it would be a popcorn muncher.
Thanks for the recommendation! I’ll check that out after I finish A Little Bit of Hatred.
I loved the Black Jewels books even though I don’t think they are good. The worldbuilding was vivid.
Kind of feel that way about all the Brandon Sanderson books. I can’t say they are good but good to read just because you do drop right into those worlds.
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind. I read it years ago and still remember how gripping it was, not sure how well the movie has aged, but it was a fantastic book.
I do hope you didn’t properly read the question? It’s what book you love despite its somewhat low quality/ not being a “masterpiece”.
Perfume is on all major literature and best books of all time lists.
The title remained in bestseller lists for about nine years and received almost unanimously positive national and international critical acclaim. Wikipedia
This is one of the great books of the 20th century. Who are you to imply its not of quality?!
The Harry Potter main series, for which I have a major case of nostalgia. I’ll happily and accurately slag JKR off for being a dimwit with terribly stupid opinions, who would need to be both smarter and more committed to make her “make it up as you go along” worldbuilding make any sort of sense at all. Which, bluntly, it doesn’t.
But considering how much of a turnip she is, parts of her worldbuilding is strangely compelling while others fail basic self-consistency.
I was thinking about this. JKR is really a terrible writer. All of the later ret-conning to fix the plot holes is worse than just letting the plot holes lie. (like breaking all the time turners so they don’t get used again).
But it is amazing how captivating these books are inspite of the fact of how poor they are. It’s an imaginative world with exceptionally clear flaws, but one I want to revisit regularly.
But fuck JKR and her shitty politics.
Edit: maybe it’s not technically ret-conning. But the whole two book gap or whatever is just so lazy.
If you really think about those books as a grown up some of the plot holes are big enough to drive a goddam truck through.
As a kid having their first experience of a magical universe though they were goddam incredible
If you enjoyed HP, you might like the Tapestry series by Henry Neff.
Excellent story with some similar themes, and even better, he’s a genuinely good person.
My favorite book is The Golden Ass by Apuleius, it’s not qualified as a masterpiece but it is one I guess.
“Night Soldiers” by Allan Furst. After his younger brother is killed by a fascist mob, a Bulgarian fisherman is recruited to join Russian intelligence. Trained as a spy in Moscow, he begins to question his trainers and their motives. After being sent to fight in the Spanish Civil War, he makes his way to Paris.
Great book. Reads like Franz Kafka and Ian Fleming decided to collaborate.
