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I'm not sure I finished that series, but I was disappointed, too. And really, I wasn't very happy with the turns taken in the "Handful of Men" series, either. But Duncan is on a strong run with the King's Blades series, so don't give up on him yet! O

I was quite fortunate in actually having a small hand in publishing John Barnes's first novel, The Man Who Brought Down the Sky. He was hailed at that time as another Heinlein, which is great praise but also limiting and hard to live up to. He has done very well and has a number of terrific...

One for the Morning Glory by John Barnes is a very solid fantasy in 318 pages. From Booklist: "Known for his breathtakingly innovative hard sf, Barnes offers a surprising change of pace in his new novel, a delightfully entertaining regal fantasy." May need to check it out at your library! O

A fairly new writer I really like is Charles Stross: Singularity Sky and Iron Sunset. The concepts fly fast and furious, great suspenseful storytelling and credible quirky characters. O

Th3y changed my life! JRR Tolkien SR Donaldson F Herbert S King D Duncan I simply reread their work more often than anyone else. O

Magical creatures or magical swordsmen ... Either The Magic Casement or The Guilded Chain would be excellent choices from his list.

Sharon Shinn brings a great blend of fantasy and sf mixed with complicated characters in her Samaria series about angels. Archangel is where you start. She also has a wonderful standalone book My Summers at Castle Auburn, which is medieval-tinged fantasy. The lack of feline-furred ladies doesn't...

He's from Scotland. Nuff said! :D :cool:

With more than thirty novels, Dave Duncan is a well-established writer of fantasy novels. Master of extended stories: "A Man of His Word" (includes The Magic Casement) and "A Handful of Men," he has also created a series of stand-alone novels that share the world of "The King's Blades" (The...

Getting back to C. J. Cherryh: Downbelow Station and Finity's End are solid sf stories with human relationships strained by the usual things only in a setting of a space station or space ship. Complex plotting and wonderful suspense and humor. Sharon Shinn is a terrific writer who has blended...

The Shining I recall reading that Stanley Kubrick would call SK with very odd questions in the middle of the night (calling Maine from CA can do that, I suppose!). He asked SK if he believed in the supernatural. Kubrick took the book as a starting point and made his own vision of the story, so...

What I really enjoy about Crichton's books isn't his science but his commentary on scientists, academia, and the politics of research. On that, he's probably closer to the mark and that's what is absolutely chilling about his stories: man's arrogance before nature is astonishing. What I found...

From Yahoo!/E!Online: "Among the restored scenes: The scouring of the Shire, where we learn the fate of Saruman, the evil white wizard played by Christopher Lee, who was MIA from King after being deposed at the conclusion of The Two Towers; a subplot on the emerging romance between Faramir and...

When intelligent SF is mentioned ... ... I think of Arthur C. Clarke's Rendevous with Rama. .... Dune by Frank Herbert .... Ringworld by Larry Niven .... Neuromancer by William Gibson .... Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson .... The Mote in God's Eye by Pournelle and Niven .... Legacy of...

I've read most of the books several times ... I found the Shadow series entertaining and clever but not as layered and meaningful as the orginal series. As much as I love OSC, I think he doesn't know when to let go. His Alvin Maker series settled into a state of complacency where you knew things...

Bump it up for Charles Stross Sing Sky is a wonderful book; Stross is strong writer and will get more nominations. Wouldn't expect him to win a Hugo for first novel. Glad to see he made the short list!

Aha! Your librarian has other ways of finding books! Give it a try in person or via an e-mail request. Reference librarians love challenges. (As one who works for the American Library Association ... ;) O

Intro to Fantasy I'm really surprised no one has mentioned Ursula LeGuinn's Earthsea Trilogy for a lighter introduction to fantasy. Three slim books of wonderful tales! For alternate reality fantasy, Orson Scott Card's "Tales of Alvin Maker" is excellent, although I confess that I dropped...

Singularity Sky ... :rolleyes: not sure I'd go with the cyberpunk label with that book. It's a great read and has a very hip sensibility with cellphones falling from the sky, AI lifeforms and nanotechnology, FTL warfare tactics, the Singularity, and so on. The Singularity is an Event but only...

Roger Zelazny is another reliable short story writer, particularly The Doors of His Face, the Lamps of His Mouth. Harlan Ellison is more of an acquired taste: Repent, Harlequin! Said the Ticktockman is most noted. He was also a tremendous editor of anthologies, with Dangerous Visions being...