What do I need to read?

[kennahijja]

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 :).

Comments

[deralte.livejournal.com]

I third the American Gods rec, and suggest Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell if you haven't read it. Jim Butcher's Dresden Files as well. Also, not fantasy, but if you like your stories dark, you'll like the Dexter series by Jeff Lindsay.

And to slightly change the subject, I love the Riddlemaster of Hed series. I used to reread it religiously every year and lament that it was out of print and that I never met anyone who had read it. Thankfully, such is not the case any more.

[kennahijja.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed 'Good Omens' and really prefered the non-Pratchett parts (in the way that when picking from two *very* good voices I liked one better, not that those parts were in any way bad) and have seen but never picked up Dresden Files. Thanks!!!

Out of print? Well, I picked a three-in-one collection up a few years back in a London bookstore to give to Chthonia, but well, some years back. Still have my old German translations which (*very* unusually so) are as amazing as the original and feel so much more familiar ;). But I'm almost sure I've read Riddlemaster fanfic drabbles on my flist a year or so back :(.

[kennahijja.livejournal.com]

Umyes... that smiley should've gone the other way 'round...