kennahijja | What do I need to read?

My f-list is wise and perceptive and well-read, so here's the problem:

I'm badly out of good books. That, and my birthday isn't all that far off, so I would have an excuse for hitting Amazon. But as it is, I'm even out of books I know I desire madly. Hence, I'll ask you. What would you rec? What excited you recently?

What *do* I like? Fantasy, horror, SF if it's character-driven and not technology-heavy. Slashy, dark, unusual, stylistically beautiful, erotic. Other genres if the themes fit.

Examples that rocked my world... Carey's 'Kushiel' series, Friedman's 'Coldfire', McMaster Bujold's 'Miles Vorkosigan' series, McKillip's 'Riddlemaster' trilogy. General fondness for MZB, Guy Gavriel Kay, C J Cherryh, Octavia Butler... Storm Constantine, apart from the undisciplined plots. Liked Lynn Flewelling's 'Nightrunner' series for the slash, but otherwise it's too cliched for me... Not much into the Tolkien clone type stuff...

Suggestions will be lovingly huggled! :)

And if anyone ever stumbled across a list of homoerotic fantasy novels, I'd so love to see that :).

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I second Wicked Gentlemen (http://www.amazon.com/Wicked-Gentlemen-Ginn-Hale/dp/0978986113/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233629225&sr=1-1), which is a homoerotic fantasy set in an AU Victorian England. It's not as explicit as the description on the back of the book makes it sound, but it's got very lush, descriptive language, and appealing characters.

I noticed that someone already recced Dragonhaven (http://www.amazon.com/Dragonhaven-Robin-McKinley/dp/044101643X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233629271&sr=1-1), which is good, but not Mckinley's (http://www.robinmckinley.com/) best. I'd start with Sunshine (http://www.amazon.com/Sunshine-Robin-McKinley/dp/0425224015/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233629349&sr=1-1), her vampire novel. It's very character driven, so if whole chapters of character development with very little happening in the plot drive you nuts then it isn't for you. On the other hand, the characters are very appealing, it's set in a facinating AU (one of Mckinley's better qualities is how well she writes AUs) and it has the best descriptions of food that I've ever read. My mouth waters just thinking about that book.

And someone's already mentioned Swordspoint (http://www.amazon.com/Swordspoint-Ellen-Kushner/dp/0553585495/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233628927&sr=8-1), a homoerotic, clever fantasy novel. The characters always remain a little distanced from the reader, but the plot is so clever it's easy to overlook. I actually liked the sequel (http://www.amazon.com/Privilege-Sword-Ellen-Kushner/dp/0553586963/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233629409&sr=1-2) better, because it's more character driven, less stand-offish, but just as clever.

My favorite Tanya Huff (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanya_Huff) novel (homoerotic) is <http://www.amazon.com/fires-stone-tanya-huff/dp/0886774454/ref=sr_1_1?ie=utf8&s=books&qid=1233629491&sr=1-1">The Fire's Stone. Actually, it's the only Tanya Huff book that I've read, and I may be biased because I've had it since I was 12, but it's yummy. It's high fantasy, and a tease the whole way through, since nothing actually happens, probably a good thing, since 12-year-olds are reading it.

If you haven't already read them you'd probably like anything by Neil Gaiman (http://www.neilgaiman.com/), especially American Gods (http://www.amazon.com/American-Gods-Novel-Neil-Gaiman/dp/0060558121/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233629596&sr=1-1) and Good Omens (http://www.amazon.com/Good-Omens-Accurate-Prophecies-Nutter/dp/0060853972/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233629637&sr=1-1). American Gods is a very clever and philosophical drama. It pits the old gods against the new gods, teaching the reader a thing or two about various mythologies along the way. Good Omens is pure cracky religious-fantasy comedy. Watch The Omen (http://www.amazon.com/Omen-Two-Disc-Collectors-Gregory-Peck/dp/B000EYK4KS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1233630669&sr=1-1) first for full effect.

And finally, if you have any inclination to try manga, I really enjoy the Finder series (http://www.amazon.com/Finder-1-Target-Yaoi/dp/1933440007/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233629686&sr=1-1); it's homoerotic and explicit! A photographer comes to the attention of a mafia crime lord when he snaps incriminating photos of said crime lord. The photographer is taught a lesson. The plot advances from there.

Ah, I think I've seen 'Wicked Gentlemen' pop up too often in this thread to ignore :). And I loved 'Good Omens' for exactly the 'Omen'-parody you mention! Many thanks for the others - now I have quite a bit to check out on Amazon.

And damn! I really dislike manga, but that last rec of yours sounds *so* up my alley it's not possible...

And finally, if you have any inclination to try manga, I really enjoy the Finder series; it's homoerotic and explicit! A photographer comes to the attention of a mafia crime lord when he snaps incriminating photos of said crime lord. The photographer is taught a lesson. The plot advances from there.

Holy heck, woman, I managed to hunt that down and it's *amazing*. So much that I spent the last couple of days looking at nothing else! Beautifully drawn (apart from the bits where real art slips into baby!sketch type of thing, which I get why it's there for, but distracting as hell). But I loved the story (although apart from gender, it's rather traditional), and the sex, and the characters. Wow. That's the second Manga series *ever* that I really fell for :). Thanks *so* very much for reccing it!!!

Out of curiosity, what's the first manga series that you fell for? I ask because the Finder series is really the only manga that I've ever found that I liked, although those labyrinth sequels are intriguing.....

Again, my thanks for the fic links! The only other Manga I fell for was Cantarella, for the historical content and the twisted/tragic yaoi elements most of all...

Cantarella looks *facinating*, thank you for the rec :)

Mm, also, there is a fair amount of decent Finder fic out there.

ingenius-inc (http://ingenius-inc.livejournal.com/tag/viewfinder) has some good stuff (although some of it's friends-locked, and so does Petronia (http://www.kekkai.org/sabina/NnY/fiction/viewfinder.html), though her stuff is more about Asami and Feilong. Fair warning, some of that fic will have spoilers for the later books.

Again, thank you! I looked at some of

ingenius_inc's fics and they're awesome! Guess I've read all of it now, so spoilers don't apply any longer :).

What do I need to read?

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