Mar 012010
I need a good,worthwhile,scienfiction book.I’ve already read these science fiction series: The Cronicals of Narnia,and Harry Potter.I want somthing new,exciting,and made for young adults.I prefer the book authors: Erin Hunter,Louise May Alcott,J.K. Rowling,Dodie Smith,and writer of the Hank the Cowdog series.I need books written by the listed authors or books including any of this information.Thank You for all your wonderfull suggestions!
Try the Dune series. There are lots of sequels so plenty to read.
Although not by the authors you suggest, two extremely good choices are THE CHRONICLES OF THOMAS COVENANT by Stephen R. Donaldson and THE IMMORTAL series by JJ Dewey.
Sci-Fi/Fantasy is my favorite genre. Finding something written for young adults is a little tough. You’ve mentioned a few authors that I read in my early teens. And the Potter series does deal with some pretty intense themes, so I’ll still recommend some of my standard favorites. These are my suggestions in no particular order,
On the Fantasy side
1) Everything by Tolkien http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tolkien
2) The Thomas Covenant Chronicles, The Unbeliever http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Covenant
by Stephen R. Donaldson http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_R._Donaldson
starting with “Lord Foul’s Bane”
3) Ursula Le Guin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursula_LeGuin
She’s a great writer. If you liked Narnia, then you would also enjoy Le Guin’s “Earthsea Trilogy”. In fact, this would probably be my top recommendation for a good summer read that is made for young adults.
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For Sci-Fi,
1) Anything by the grand masters:
Isaac Asimov http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_asimov
Robert Heinlein http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_heinlein
Arthur C. Clarke http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_C_Clarke
Ray Bradbury http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Bradbury
2) James P. Hogan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_P._Hogan_%28writer%29
One of my personal favorites. He does hard science fiction. The kind where the fictional science is almost believable. I own all of his books and it would be difficult to pick a favorite. Some that come immediately to mind are “Inherit the Stars”, “Thrice Upone a Time”, “The Genesis Machine”, “The Two Faces of Tomorrow”
3) Frederik Pohl http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederik_Pohl
The Heechee Series is a great read starting with “Gateway” which won both the Hugo and Nebula awards sometime in the mid-70’s
4) Frank Herbert http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Herbert
Dune. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dune_%28novel%29
If you haven’t already, then at some point you must read this. It is a bona fide classic. Period.
5) Orson Scott Card http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orson_scott_card
The Ender Saga starting with “Ender’s Game”
6) William Gibson http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Ford_Gibson
The Sprawl Trilogy starting with the classic “Neuromancer”. I believe “cyberspace” was first coined in this book, and there is also reference to “the matrix – Mankind’s unthinkably complex consensual hallucination representing cyberspace”
7) Anne McCaffrey http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_McCaffrey
She writes good stories and her lead character is female, which is a switch from most scifi. I’d recommend anything in her Dragonriders of Pern series starting with “Dragonflight”. I’d also recommend her Crystal Singer Series starting with “Crystal Singer”.
.. that’s just for starters. I have about 700 sci-fi novels in my personal library. I won’t list them all for you!
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Here’s a lot of references for you to find the kinds of scifi/fantasy books that interest you.
About the Hugo awards:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Award
List of Hugo award winning authors:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Hugo_Award_winning_authors
List of Hugo award winning novels:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Award_for_Best_Novel
About the Nebula awards:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebula_Award
List of Nebula award winning authors:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Nebula_Award_winning_authors
List of Nebula award winning novels:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebula_Award_for_Best_Novel
List of works that have won both the Hugo and Nebula awards:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_joint_winners_of_the_Hugo_and_Nebula_awards
I commend the Roswell series. Its Sci- Fi and Romance and never boring. Read them- especially the firs book- The Outsider. It was a show years ago.
i would say either the dune series or star trek series
Hi!
As a huge Science fiction fan since the age of seven, I’ve done rather a lot of reading in the field.
First off, do you have an ipod or other mp3 player? If so, a website called http://www.escapepod.org releases a science fiction short story every week, completely free. This is a good way to read current new authors of science fiction and see what you like, without ever having to pay anything. When you’re a young adult, your pocket book can be rather thin; free stuff is always an advantage.
Continuing on the free ways to get good books theme, a website called the Baen Free Library (at http://www.baen.com/library) offers free ebooks of famous and excelent published Science Fiction. I especially recommend _Rats, Bats, and Vats_, as well as the stuff they’ve got by James H. Schmit. You can read these ebooks either on your computer, or any portable device you might have (cell phone, pocket pc, etc) that can read text. If you find authors you enjoy, you can usually purchase more ebooks by them from Baen’s sister website, http://www.webscription.net for extremely reasonable prices. I’ve been a happy Baen reader for a long time, and much of what they publish is okay for young readers.
If you’re looking for printed books, one author you might enjoy is Mercedes Lackey. She writes fantasy, similar in tone to Harry Potter. I especially recommend starting with the Queen’s Own series, _Arrows of the Queen_, _Arrows Flight_, and _Arrows Fall_. These books are quite popular; try asking your local librarian about them.
If you’re looking for something more science fiction in tone, check out _Jumper_ by Steven Gould. It’s a book with a teenaged character that fully explores the aspects of teleportation, from unlimitted wealth to government work. This is a recent book, so it shouldn’t be particularly hard to find.
I also recommend the “grand master” to you, Robert Heinlein, but with some strong reservations. First off, some of his books are now out of print and hard to find. Second off, you probably want to stick to his young adult books. Many of his adult books are extremely preachy, and spend a lot of time dealing with rather explicit sexual matters (everything from sex out of wedlock to incest and prostitution) that both you and your parent/guardian are likely to find uncomfortable. They also have strong libertarian leanings, that aren’t always based on the world as we know it.
If you think you’d enjoy a book that is science fiction, but with a strong philosophical message, check out _Right of Passage_ by Alexei Panshin, if you can find it. Be aware, however, that I’m not sure if the book is in print anymore.
Last, but far from least, try Piers Anthony. He writes light, easy to read science fiction and fantasy. Nearly all of his books are fine for young adult readers (I define fine for young adult readers as stuff that doesn’t make me uncomfortable; I still qualify as a young adult reader
), and his popularity means that most of his stuff is either still in print, or can be found in your community library. His most notable series, xanth, comprises over 30 books. He also wrote several other more serious serieses, as well as many stand alone books.
Tolkien of course, and Terry Pratchett: the best two fiction writers ever, then Neil Gaiman and, probably the closest to those you have read, Eoin Colfer’s Artemis Fowl series…
Hi there. I’m the author of a new medieval fantasy book that you might like. It’s a coming of age story about a young Scot and his Irish love interest, but it’s also a terrific fantasy adventure. It has received excellent reviews in the national media and is being considered for a movie deal.
The title is THE BLACKGLOOM BOUNTY. It’s 445 pages of action, adventure, magic, mystery and mayhem. If you like Conan style books and you’re not afraid of a little blood being spilled, you’ll like this book. If you liked the length of Harry Potter books, this is not quite as long but it’s every bit as good. It’s rated PG-13 by most libraries.
If you want to try it out, request my FREE, illustrated four chapter pdf eBook demo from FiveStarAuthor@aol.com. That way, you can see if you like the story without spending a dime. Fair enough?
Good luck, whatever you decide to read! Oh, and have a great summer, too.
Jon Baxley
Author, THE BLACKGLOOM BOUNTY
(A new medieval fantasy epic from Thomson Gale and Five Star Publishing–available now in hard cover and eBook)