Recent Additions
Tony Hillerman -- Anything and everything by this man, including non-fiction, is great. Especially interesting if you have an interest in the Navajo culture. Hillerman has earned the respect of the Navajo (including being named a “Friend of the Navajo”) for his portrayal of their culture. Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn are terrific characters, and make fine detectives too.
Joseph Hansen -- I am on the last of the 12 Dave Brandstetter mystery series, having devoured them all with great enthusiasm. Hansen’s tight, brilliant descriptions, excellent stories and empathy-worthy characters (especially Dave, who after a book or two feels like an old friend) are well worth the read. Although the books were published between 1970 and 1992, they hardly feel dated (only now and then did I think, these days Dave would have a cell phone and that problem wouldn’t happen :P). And while the longest was, I believe, 202 pages, the stories are complete and strong. The only note I feel I must make here relates less to the books and more to the reader: if you are not comfortable with homosexuality, these might not be good books for you to read. There is nothing actually explicit in them -- they are detective novels after all, not smut -- but Dave is gay and the subject is there, sometimes actively, in the books. Having no qualms with that issue myself, I have loved each novel. I am looking forward to delving into his other work, including sets of mystery stories in the Bohannon series.
Terry Pratchett -- Sometimes described as the “Monty Python of Fantasy Fiction,” and also called the Douglas Adams of Fantasy, Pratchett is a real hoot. The Discworld novels give me much needed smiles and laughter. My personal favorites include Soul Music, Guards, Guards (spontaneously combusting dragons, anyone?) and Moving Pictures. May Pratchett live long and continue writing his very twisted and amusing stories.
The rest are in no particular order, just a jumble of stuff I like and a little synopsis why:
The Highlander Novels -- Okay, this was an obvious one. But I've pretty much liked them. My favorite is Jason Henderson's "Element of Fire."
Gabaldon, Diana, "Outlander" -- the first of a series of (as of right now) 4 books. Basic story is a woman going back in time 200 years to (at least in this novel) just before Culloden. I love the characters. Jamie Fraser ranks right up there with DM & CM. Gotta love intelligent but warrior-hearted Scots. I'm only 1/2 way through the second book, so I've only listed "Outlander." I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Harris, Deborah Turner, "Caledon of the Mists," "Queen of Ashes," "City of Exile" (trilogy) -- another good writer of "almost Scotland" stories, or at least near-Scot characters (it's all fantasy fic). I like Harris' style, and she writes a good action story with strong characters. (See next entry for more.) In this, she creates a fantasy world from the pages of Scottish history, which she has so wonderfully tweaked.
Harris, Deborah Turner, "Mages of Garillion" series -- a total fantasy story, but at least a couple of Scots characters (she writes the brogue so well sometimes that you have to read it out loud to understand it!). Like I said, I love her style. Harris has also written a series of "Adept" books (with Katherine Kurtz -- they're usually found under Kurtz's name), which are great character-wise, but a little weak in plot. I still like 'em, though. =)
Williams, Tad, "The Dragonbone Chair," "Stone of Farewell," "To Green Angel Tower" -- A thick trilogy that wanders quite a bit, but Williams is an engaging writer who, although taking his time pouring the foundation (first 100 pgs or so of the first book), builds a huge, magnificent palace of a series on top of that foundation.
Radford, Irene, "The Glass Dragon" -- A good bit of fantasy fic. Magic powers are genetic, and red hair means you have the potential for magic powers. This is also the first of a series, which has 2 follow-ups and now two prequels. I'm a dragon freak as well, so this is a good start. Speaking of...
McCaffrey, Anne - just about anything she's written, but primarily the "Dragonriders of Pern" series -- what can I say, this lady is the queen of dragon tales. If you haven't read her stuff, all I can say is, "do it!"
King, Stephen, "Eyes of the Dragon" -- Not the typical Stephen King book, I heard he wrote it for his daughter because she didn't like his other stuff. Very engaging fairy tale. Two words if you've read it: "King's Iron." That just cracked me up. (If you don't understand, read it and find out!)
Bradbury, Ray, "Fahrenheit 451" -- A classic and a must-read. It was originally written in 1950, and sounds so much like our society that it scares me. He was definitely more dead-on than a lot of the futuristic writers of the time. If Big Brother scares you, then this book will too. An all-time fave of mine.
Clarke, Arthur C., "2001," "2010," "2061" -- I really liked this series, as weird as it was. I haven't read 3001 yet, couldn't tell you if that's worth reading. 2061 didn't quite live up to its predecessors, IMHO, but still a good read.