Christmas reading list


Every year at this point, I seem to be repeating myself. But you guys keep on asking me for recommendations, so here we go again!

To make sure that no one blows their budget, every suggestion on the list is available as a trade paperback or a mass market paperback. They make for great stocking stuffers!

You can give anything on this list a shot. Chances are you won't be disappointed! And why not try something by lesser known SFF authors such as Hal Duncan, David Louis Edelman, or Joel Shepherd???

- Anything by Guy Gavriel Kay

The Fionavar Tapestry

- The Summer Tree (Canada, USA, Europe)
- The Wandering Fire (Canada, USA, Europe)
- The Darkest Road (Canada, USA, Europe)

- Tigana (Canada, USA, Europe)

- A Song for Arbonne (Canada, USA, Europe)

- The Lions of Al-Rassan (Canada, USA, Europe)

The Sarantine Mosaic

- Sailing to Sarantium (Canada, USA, Europe)
- Lord of Emperors (Canada, USA, Europe)

- The Last Light of the Sun (Canada, USA, Europe)

- Beyond this Dark House (Canada, USA, Europe)

- Ysabel (Canada, USA, Europe)

- The Book of All Hours by Hal Duncan

- Vellum (Canada, USA, Europe)
- Ink (Canada, USA, Europe)

- The Cassandra Kresnov series by Joel Shepherd

- Crossover (Canada, USA, Europe)
- Breakaway (Canada, USA, Europe)
- Killswitch (Canada, USA, Europe)

- The Jump 225 Trilogy by David Louis Edelman

- Infoquake (Canada, USA, Europe)
- MultiReal (Canada, USA, Europe)
- Geosynchron (Canada, USA, Europe)

- The Black Company by Glen Cook

- Chronicles of the Black Company (Canada, USA, Europe)
- The Books of the South (Canada, USA, Europe.)
- The Return of the Black Company (Canada, USA, Europe)
- The Many Deaths of the Black Company (Canada, USA, Europe)

- Otherland by Tad Williams

- City of Golden Shadow: Canada, USA, Europe
- River of Blue Fire: Canada, USA, Europe
- Mountain of Black Glass: Canada, USA, Europe
- Sea of Silver Light: Canada, USA, Europe

- The Magisters Trilogy by C. S. Friedman

- Feast of Souls (Canada, USA, Europe)
- Wings of Wrath (Canada, USA, Europe)

- The Prince of Nothing by R. Scott Bakker

- The Darkness that Comes Before (Canada, USA, Europe)
- The Warrior-Prophet (Canada, USA, Europe)
- The Thousandfold Thought (Canada, USA, Europe)

- The Judging Eye (Canada, USA, Europe)

- The Saga of Recluce by L. E. Modesitt, jr.

- The Magic of Recluce (Canada, USA, Europe)
- The Towers of the Sunset (Canada, USA, Europe)
- The Magic Engineer (Canada, USA, Europe)
- The Order War (Canada, USA, Europe)
- The Death of Chaos (Canada, USA, Europe)
- Fall of Angels (Canada, USA, Europe)
- The Chaos Balance (Canada, USA, Europe)
- The White Order (Canada, USA, Europe)
- Colors of Chaos (Canada, USA, Europe)
- Magi'i of Cyador (Canada, USA, Europe)
- Scion of Cyador (Canada, USA, Europe)
- Wellspring of Chaos (Canada, USA, Europe)
- Ordermaster (Canada, USA, Europe)
- Natural Ordermage (Canada, USA, Europe)
- Mage-Guard of Hamor (Canada, USA, Europe)

- Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn by Tad Williams

- The Dragonbone Chair (Canada, USA, Europe)
- Stone of Farewell (Canada, USA, Europe)
- To Green Angel Tower part 1 (Canada, USA, Europe)
- To Green Angel Tower part 2 (Canada, USA, Europe)

- The Gap Saga by Stephen R. Donaldson

- The Real Story (Canada, USA, Europe)
- Forbidden Knowledge (Canada, USA, Europe)
- A Dark and Hungry God Arises (Canada, USA, Europe)
- Chaos and Order (Canada, USA, Europe)
- This Day All Gods Die (Canada, USA, Europe)

- The Deryni Saga by Katherine Kurtz

The Chronicles of the Deryni

- Deryni Rising (Canada, USA, Europe)
- Deryni Checkmate (Canada, USA, Europe)
- High Deryni (Canada, USA, Europe)

The Legends of Camber of Culdi

- Camber of Culdi (Canada, USA, Europe)
- Saint Camber (Canada, USA, Europe)
- Camber the Heretic (Canada, USA, Europe)

The Histories of King Kelson

- The Bishop's Heir (Canada, USA, Europe)
- The King's Justice (Canada, USA, Europe)
- The Quest for Saint Camber (Canada, USA, Europe)

The Heirs of Saint Camber

- The Harrowing of Gwynedd (Canada, USA, Europe)
- King Javan's Year (Canada, USA, Europe)
- The Bastard Prince (Canada, USA, Europe)

King Kelson's Bride (Canada, USA, Europe)

In the King's Service (Canada, USA, Europe)

Childe Morgan (Canada, USA, Europe)

Deryni Anthologies

- The Deryni Archives (Canada, USA, Europe)
- Deryni Magic (Canada, USA, Europe)
- Deryni Tales (Canada, USA, Europe)

- The Coldfire Trilogy by C. S. Friedman

- Black Sun Rising: Canada, USA, Europe
- When True Night Falls: Canada, USA, Europe
- Crown of Shadows: Canada, USA, Europe

- The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant by Stephen R. Donaldson

- Lord Foul's Bane (Canada, USA, Europe)
- The Illearth War (Canada, USA, Europe)
- The Power that Preserves (Canada, USA, Europe)

- The Wounded Land (Canada, USA, Europe)
- The One Tree (Canada, USA, Europe)
- White Gold Wielder (Canada, USA, Europe)

- The Godless World by Brian Ruckley

- Winterbirth (Canada, USA, Europe)
- Bloodheir (Canada, USA, Europe)
- Fall of Thanes (Canada, USA, Europe)

20 commentaires:

Will said...

I tried to read Otherland, but I gave up after the first hundred or so pages. I might try again, because I really like Tad Williams, but I haven't decided yet. Is it worth another shot?

Blodeuedd said...

Interesting, I have to look up some I do not know :)

Cecrow said...

Unknowing readers should be made aware, "Beyond this Dark House" is a poetry collection and thus not anything like the rest of Kay's work, which are all (excellent) fantasy novels.

Anonymous said...

Don't read Hal Duncan it's awful.

Luke said...

Thats a big Christmas list, They all seem like interesting novels, but for someone with a tight schedule which 3 are the best of the best? :D

Patrick said...

Hal Duncan's VELLUM and INK are great, if difficult at times, reads!

Will: Do give Otherland another go, as for my money it's Tad Williams' signature work.

Luke: Three picks, you ask? Hmmm. . . Go for Guy Gavriel Kay's TIGANE for sure.

Then you could give Bakker's THE DARKNESS THAT COMES BEFORE or Hal Duncan's VELLUM a shot if you're up for a more challenging read.

For the sake of variety, the third selection could be Joel Shepherd's CROSSOVER or David Louis Edelman's INFOQUAKE to add science fiction to the mix.

If you are looking for quick quality fantasy reads, you could try Katherine Kurtz's The Legends of Camber of Culdi trilogy.

As I said, anything taken off this list makes for great reading experiences! =)

Jebus said...

I just read Tigana and really liked it )despite what seemed to be too neat an ending) which is a surprise because I almost HATED The Fionavar Tapestry.

My December / January is filled with Stonewielder and then some Dreamsongs and The Ten Thousand.

Elfy said...

I'd give Otherland another try. I foudn the first book a bit of a slog, but once I got into it I ripped through entire series.

Anonymous said...

Pat, I just got to know - Where is that Tigana cover from?

I own all Guy's books except for the Fionavar Tapestry but it's the first time that I see that cover.

Anonymous said...

That Tigana cover is fantastic.. I wish I didn't already own a copy so I could buy it!

I'm in the middle of reading Hawkewood and the Kings, what a fantastic series from Paul Kearney! Highly recommend now that it's finally being printed again

Bryon said...

That's the new Canadian cover. All of Guy Kay's books, except perhaps the Fionavar Tapestry, have been re-released with similar covers to match Under Heaven.

Also, I tried (I really did!) to get through Vellum, but I ended up putting it down half-finished.

The Count said...

Just a heads up, the Brian Ruckley trilogy is actually pretty bad.

Like, it's ok. But really forgettable. The main character is a 15 year old boy and he falls in love with an elegant "elven" (some stupid analogous race) archer who has a badass warrior brother.

But everything else is awesome, great taste Pat.

fbelic said...

How are those Deryni books, I never heard about them before? Some comparison?

Wikipedia states they are historical fantasy; does that mean they are similar to Kay's books (although he says that his books are not historical fantasy)?

Caligula_K said...

Jebus: I'm a huge Kay fan but I can't stand the Fionavar trilogy- his other works tend to have very little in common with it, thankfully. If you want to read more Kay, I reccomend the Lions of Al-Rassan and the Sarantine Mosaic

Jebus said...

Yeah Caligula_K - after Fionavar (which actually made me angry when I was reading it, only Goodkind has previously managed that) I was very wary but some friends insisted I give him another go. I found a cheap copy of Tigana a few years ago and finally got into it and like I said, quite enjoyed it. Now said friends are also pushing his other works and I'm certainly more inclined to give them a go.

I guess Fionavar was his first go at fantasy so I can forgive that - certainly better than anything I could ever attempt to write!

Caligula_K said...

Ha, you're bringing back fond memories of me shouting at the Fionavar Trilogy: "Goddamn it, real people don't act like this!" "Wow, that was fucking lame." "Could prose get any more pretentious?" Yep, definitely made me angry too. Very good thing Kay grew out of that style of writing and story.

Kevin A. Smith said...

Pat, I don't know if you read the Fionovar Tapestry when it came out in the 1980's but it definitely doesn't stand the test of time. It reads today like bad young adult fantasy. I hardly ever give up on a book but I couldn't make it through even the first book (I had bought the trilogy at the same time).

I would give a shout out for the Wheel of Time. Brandon Sanderson is doing an outstanding job of wrapping up the series. You will still need to wade through about 3 books that don't do much to advance the plot but the complex world and array of characters and races are worth it.

Also, Joe Abercrombie's First Law Trilogy is the best thing I've read outside of GRRM. I would recommend him highly for anyone looking for something to read as we wait for A Dance with Dragons.

Paul Skelding said...

Pat... you forgot Kay's Under Heaven which is the best he's written in my opinion. (I do happen to live in China though...)

Anonymous said...

Michelle West - anything absolutely anything. Well written densely plotted.

MarcD said...

I will definitely buy Under Heaven. Love GGK, especially the Sarantine Mosaic, which was sublime.

Tad Williams' Otherland *is* his signature work. Powerful stuff.

Donaldson is fantastic. Gap saga and Thomas Covenant are both epic. By the way, "This Day All Gods Die" is one of the best novel titles of all time.