Karsa Orlong

I spend every movie wanting to punch Mel Gibson. Even if he's not in it.

I spent most of that film wanting to punch Patsy Kensit

Thanks Poppy Please don't make a habit of it Nah, that's only because we don't read the same types of books. If we did I'm sure we'd agree more!

Both those are by Banks Mwahahahaha!

Hmm, well - of the ones I have read so far - I'd go for 'Legend' or 'Sword in the Storm'. 'Legend' was his very first book and it's regarded as a classic. For me, 'Sword in the Storm' is his most accomplished novel that I've read to date. It was one of his later ones, so his writing style had developed by then. I haven't read a bad one by him yet, though, so I don't think you can really go wrong

Can't get the chorus of this one out of my head at the moment.

Great lists there, Devi! Nice to see David Gemmell getting a mention

Well both Dune and A Fire Upon the Deep (and Ender's Game, for that matter) are classics of the genre, so I'm not surprised. I'd imagine they'd make most sf fans' top 10s I'll have to find some a bit more obscure I think I've only done lists for the past three years ... 2010: http://www.bookclubf...post__p__231754 2011: http://www.bookclubf...post__p__242642 2012: um, start of this thread

What are you trying to say? I read A Fire Upon the Deep many, many years ago and it seriously fecked with my brain I've got it sitting on my Kindle waiting to be re-read, must get around to it one day. Ender's Game I read a long, long time ago, as well - must re-read that, too. <<puts thinking cap back on>>

Dammit!

I was naturally tempted, cos they're my favourite fantasy books of all, but it is safe to say that Gardens of the Moon is probably the weakest book in the series. Lots of reasons for that, but it's mainly because it was written a long time (10 years, I think) before the rest of the series. I still think it's an awesome book, though - I loved it from the very first page. That's why I was only tempted I have come up with two, though: Dune and Ender's Game. Hmmm. I shall dwell on those for a bit.

It's definitely the same with Play.com, as they're based in Jersey. I suspect this largely applies to CDs and DVDs/blu-rays, as I'd heard about Amazon dodging VAT by sourcing those items from the Channel Islands. I'm not sure that applies to books, though, as there's no VAT on paperbacks/hardbacks, by HMRC rules. There is VAT on ebooks, though, so Kindle books attract it, and Amazon certainly charge it!

Super 8. Enjoyed it. It had an old school Spielberg feel about it that I liked.

Thanks Given how much Poppy hated what she read of Gardens of the Moon I'm not sure I'd recommend it as an introduction to the genre. Oh, I was tempted, though I did think about Iain M. Banks, yeah. But he's not my favourite, much as I like his books, and Peter F. Hamilton might be a bit too hefty. Hmmm. I'm almost tempted to recommend The Day of the Triffids

Frankie, I've just realised - now that we've removed Hyperion from my suggestions - there's no science fiction there! So I'll have a think of a couple to replace Hyperion and Roman Blood

Saw an article about him in the paper today - he's 63 now and working in a supermarket earning £6 an hour because the recession forced him to sell the fish and chip restaurant he and his wife owned

I must admit I've always avoided those kinds of tie-in books cos they never seem to do what they promise

Oh blimey. I wonder if that's the start of another trilogy, then. For some reason I've got images of Thomas shooting arrows at an army of Sydney Poitier clones Thanks for the info, Timstar I'm still planning to read his Saxon series next, although I've got some other historical novels I want to fit in first. I've got another Rory Clements one (Prince), and I've Robert Harris's Imperium and Pompeii, and I've also got the first two of Jack Whyte's Arthurian 'Camulod Chronicles', too. Plus I want to read some more Steven Saylor and Steven Pressfield. And I've got Karen Maitland's The Owl Killers on my Kindle. It's never-ending

I tried to watch Battle: Los Angeles last night. Turned it off after half an hour. Rubbish.

Fair enough, then. Probably best if it goes to someone who really wants it, I'd say, but thank you for the offer Well, it was supposed to be a trilogy originally, then it expanded to seven books, so there's two more to go based on that. It took him six years to write the last book, and now there's a rumour that it may go beyond seven books, so who knows? If you want to read it, go ahead. Just be prepared to have forgotten lots by the time the last book comes out! One thing I found, from re-reading AGoT, was that it didn't vastly improve. It was as good as it was on my initial read, but I wasn't spotting stuff in it that I missed first time around - unlike with Steven Erikson. I discovered so much in his books when I re-read them that it was a revelation, and I can't wait to read them again. I have two paperback copies and a Kindle version Me too!

That's very generous of you, Frankie, thank you. I hadn't even thought of it, tbh. Don't you want it anymore? Cool. Well I reviewed it when I re-read it last year, see what you think: http://www.bookclubf...post__p__254757 Bear in mind that he's nowhere near finished writing the series yet so, if you did get into it, you'd probably end up as frustrated with the waiting as the rest of us. I have a similarly battered copy of it that I can send to you, if you like I'm learning

It's just a terrific read, and it's another genre I like. Timstar got me thinking about it yesterday when he mentioned that he thinks historical fiction is a little overlooked on here. But actually, you're right, the idea was to get you into fantasy and sf, so I'll strike that one off the list ... for now Yes - especially as I haven't read it myself! It's kind of like what Tim said upthread about LoTR. Now people are reading A Game of Thrones and probably not delving into the genre any further. It's the 'in thing' because of the tv series, rather than because it's a fantastic book. And it is a fantastic book. I'd say that if you want to read it anyway, let's leave it off the list and have some different types of fantasy on there. I mean, looking at the books I've chosen so far, none of them are what you'd probably consider traditional fantasy. Not one of them. No, it's definitely a curry ... but I never seem to have all the ingredients I need so I 'make do' with what I've got As Han Solo would say:

Righto, I'll remove that one and think of another one Go on, tell me, I'll see what I think Well, if you had one of my curries ... you'd still never have had a real curry But mine aren't bad An absolute classic

Oi! I'll send one of my curries - that'll teach you You've got some pretty good books there already! Do Androids and The Time Machine are both fantastic. Which Wyndham do you have? Actually, I have given it some thought. I'd like to offer you a choice of 4 or 5 books so you can have a look and choose the one you like the sound of the most Now, finalising that list is another matter So far I've come up with: The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers (time travel, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Egyptian gods on the loose in 19th century London) Hyperion by Dan Simmons (kind of the sf equivalent to The Canterbury Tales, but this one does have sequels) Replay by Ken Grimwood (43 year old man dies and wakes up back in the 60s in his 18 year old body, with all his memories of the next 25 years intact) A Song for Arbonne by Guy Gavriel Kay (historical fantasy based on the troubadour culture of Middle Age Provence) Roman Blood by Steven Saylor (this one is neither sf nor fantasy, it's history!) I think I've written reviews of most of these, so I'll try and find them and post links I get what you're saying about series, but I'd rather not do that to you unless you really want to!

Yeah, that'll teach me to try and be funny As in 'Steve's Bookshelf', not 'Steve's Top Shelf'