I'm currently finishing up "Fall of Hyperion" by Dan Simmons. Good books, but I don't think I'm going to go on to Endymion and the others. A bit too complex for my brain to handle at the moment.
I've decided I may go more into urban fantasy, since the only examples of urban fantasy I've read are the October Daye books by Seanan McGuire and the Harry Dresden books by Jim Butcher, both of which are great series. So I need suggestions for good urban fantasy.
I'm also looking for suggestions in YA fantasy or scifi. I also like YA conventional fiction as well. YA authors I like: J. K. Rowling, Philip Pullman, Monica Hughes, Gary Paulsen, and Maureen Johnson. There may be others, but if so, I forget offhand.
I also liked "Mockingbird" by Kathryn Erskine and "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher.
I've decided I may go more into urban fantasy, since the only examples of urban fantasy I've read are the October Daye books by Seanan McGuire and the Harry Dresden books by Jim Butcher, both of which are great series. So I need suggestions for good urban fantasy.
I'm also looking for suggestions in YA fantasy or scifi. I also like YA conventional fiction as well. YA authors I like: J. K. Rowling, Philip Pullman, Monica Hughes, Gary Paulsen, and Maureen Johnson. There may be others, but if so, I forget offhand.
I also liked "Mockingbird" by Kathryn Erskine and "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher.
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- 19 Jun 2022, 02:27looks interesting
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- 16 May 2022, 00:42The more the merrier!
- 16 May 2022, 00:11I read a blurb where Martin said the next book is going to be the biggest so far...😲 I'm several books behind, so I can give him some time, as long as he survives to finish!
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Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi.
Little Brother, by Cory Doctorow.
Second favorite urban fantasy is War for the Oaks by Emma Bull. Her other books - and the ones she writes with Steven Brust - are good too.
Wicked Lovely and sequels by Melissa Marr. - Modern day urban fantasy, dealing with the fae
A Great and Terrible Beauty (trilogy) by Libba Bray-- urban fantasy set during the Victorian era. Very interesting characters and world.
The Warrior Heir trilogy by Cinda Williams Chima. Urban fantasy-- fun world building and characters.
Inkheart trilogy by Cornelia Funke. Very cool world, very cool characters.
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. Also the Graveyard Book.
I'm a big fan of YA, but I'm pretty picky about it, too, so I hope this helps.
Thanks!
I listened to the audiobooks of all of these, by the way, and do not recommend the Inkheart sequels as audio, but you should definitely check out Neil Gaiman, audio or otherwise. I don't think he's written anything bad his entire career.
Also, saw recommendations for Pendragon below, and I really enjoyed that series, but it did get a little tedious in places. I read the first 7, I believe.
-The Pendragon series by D.J. MacHale. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this series. Some more than others, of course, but on the whole, I really liked it. (Liked Book 3 the best, I think.)
-Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card
-Tamir trilogy by Lynn Flewelling
-Darkest Powers trilogy by Kelley Armstrong. Actually, Kelley Armstrong has quite a bit of urban fantasy. Some YA, some (most?) not.
Tradiional/Non-Fantasy
Room by Emma Donoghue
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
I'll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan
The Outsiders - S.E. Hinton
Edited at 2011-11-21 03:36 am (UTC)
I second The Book Thief, btw. Absolutely one of the most beautiful books ever written.
And Ender's Game is amazing, but I read it before I knew anything about OSC (1998, 7th grade). I'm not sure I can rec it in good conscience, but it is a cool story.
Specifically:
The Colour of Magic(not all takes place in the city, but a decent amount does)
Guards! Guards!
Men At Arms
Feet of Clay
The Truth
and lots more
Also Mike Carey's Felix Castor series. It may seem like horror from the description, but it really is not. Yes demons and ghost and exorcism is involved, but its not horror. Its basically a modern noir detective novel with fantastical elements. Really brilliant stuff.
Urban Fantasy:
Vicki Pettersson's Sign of the Zodiac series (superheroes in Las Vegas trying to live normal lives)
Patricia Briggs' Mercy Thompson series (shapeshifter mechanic gets involved with werewolf and vampire politics)
Fun books:
Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series (indescribable, but a lot of fun)
Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate series (steampunk and vampires and werewolves, oh my!)
One of the best urban fantasy series I've read in a while is a trilogy by Sarah Rees Brennan which is made up of The Demon's Lexicon, The Demon's Covenant and The Demon's Surrender. It's YA and paranormal (mainly demons and magicians). Four of the main characters are two sets of siblings (family is an important underlying theme). Each book is from a different person's perspective, but they're all really well written and the changes don't impact the story at all. Since you like Maureen Johnson, I feel you'll like Sarah because many of my friends love both of them.
You might also like The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare (again, YA urban fantasy).
In terms of 'traditional' YA fantasy, one of my favourite authors is Diana Wynne Jones (I also love J.K. Rowling and Philip Pullman). The series I'd recommend in particular are Howl's Moving Castle and its sequels and the Chrestomanci books. She also has some more sci-fi leaning books.
My absolute favourite YA fantasy author is Tamora Pierce.