since you call yourself Kalam I am going to assume you have been reading Steven Erikson.
The enitre
Crippled God Series : Steven Eriksonspeaks for itself.... its great. nothing more needs to be said
Anything by
K.J ParkerI have read everything he has published so far, and I think he is a very level author when it comes to presenting a tory. He definately doesnt play favorites, and likes to show his readers how ugly he thinks human nature can be.
Here is a HUGE list of favorites....
I read too much. seriously.
Series:
The Sun Sword 6 books total. Michelle Sagara West
Book 1 is:
the broken crownAwesome series. The first book is a little slow, but very necessary to the overall plot and understanding of the different factions, and WHY they are fighting
Series ends the plotline very well. Leaves many many story lines still open and waiting to be finished. But those will be in a different series. This one is about the sun sword.
Starts AND finishes very strong. Good reading.
Perdido Street Station China Mieville
One of the best Fing novels you will read
Very good steampunk/horror book. Once the scientist gets the butterfly, its pretty much not put downable. I like the spider.
The Scar China Mieville
Same universe, different char
Fantastic novel. Love the possibility engine. Uthor Doul. UTHOR DOUL!!!!! Floating cities are awesome. The end.
Dont really bother reading the third book (the Iron Council) not even the same caliber. Some cool ideas about golems, but not cool enough to read again.
Pandora Star Peter F Hamilton
Judas Unchained Peter F Hamilton
Bad. Ass. Series. Man vs aliens. There are more books in this universe, but they get all existential like the ender books did after the first one. These 2 are a must read. This dude has such a good grasp on science fiction, its a shame these are the only 2 out of the 7 books of his I have read that I am recommending. The second book ends really well, and is totally action packed. Both space and personal combat. Its great. Good wrap up. I love the wormhole transitions, and the progress to space travel (re-progress, I should say).
His other series that I read was the Neutronium Alchemist books. Awesome plot lines, and some of the best ideas for realistic space combat I have ever read. WORST. ENDINGS. EVER. EVAR!
Seriously. The Stephen King of shitty endings. If you are going to be writing about Sci FI, then dont give me a deus ex machina. I would bet all my future paychecks that he couldnt figure out how to end this meandering beast, so he shot it with a godlike event horizon with superpowers and called it a day. What a copout. Read at your own peril.
The Snow Queen Joan D Vinge
The Summer Queen Joan D Vinge
Not really advanced reading, but some really cool ideas. I loved the biotechnology, and some of the ideas about nanoware getting out of control.
Snow Crash Neal Stephenson
Read this book. Its really outdated in terms of actual technology, kinda like how Tron relates to modern computing. But really entertaining. Well worth the read
Series:
First Law 5 books Joe Abercrombie
Book 1 is:
The Blade ItselfRead all the books by Joe. They were very entertaining. Even though First law only has three books, there are 5 books in the setting so far. I liked them all. You will like the Bloody Nine. I did. Cool setting, cool sword fighting, subtle magic. Very good combination.
Series:
The Prince of Nothing 5 books. So far. R. Scott Bakker
Book 1 is:
The Darkness that Comes BeforeLet me preface this by saying I absolutely HATE Khellus. Very good series. The Mandate Schoolman is my favorite character. When you finally see what he is capable of
. Its awesome. The three book series ended in a way that made me rage and want to do evil things to bad people. It makes for GREAT reading. Its not over yet after this series. He is only half way through the second series in this cycle. It starts with The Judging Eye (the Aspect Emperor), and the second book comes out this month. Continues where the first series ended.
The use of magic in this series is compelling. And the way normal people look at magicians makes for a really cool setting. Not to mention the sci-fi aspects only hinted at throughout this entire series. The ark from heaven?? The spear of light?? Yeah
. Judge for yourself. I loved these books.
Series:
The Crossroads 3 books Kate Elliot
The Crown of Stars 7 books Kate Elliot
I have liked everything that I have read by Kate Elliot. Nothing spectacular, but 2 very solid series by Kate. I like the crossroads better, but the crown of stars kept me interested the entire time. I could write a ton about these books, so you will just have to read them.
Books 1 are:
Spirit Gate, and
Kings DragonBanewreaker Jacqueline Carey
Godslayer Jacqueline Carey
Fantastic mini-series. Probably the only thing she has written worth reading. A little similar to LOTR, but WELL worth the reading. This series is great, and so tragic.
