What was the last great sci-fi/fantasy novel you read?

[Evilyn]

Just finished the whole Hunger Games trilogy. Where were these books when I was 16!?

A few months ago I read Roadside Picnic by the Strugatsky Bros., a random pick from the library. A classic (so said the cover), I loved this seemingly modern and sublte and sad and occasionally ironic book. I'll probably give this another read to pick up on the less explicit plot points hidden behind the bigger post apocoto color.

Also read a novel called Light by an author I can't recall. The prose stretches into that kind of arty literature stuff, but it's a decent space opera. The three main protagonists may be hard to like (one of them a serial killer), but I still enjoyed it.

Also to add I'm a huge Stross fan. I also crammed in a few months ago Glasshouse and Singularity, so good.

And okay, I caved and bought the whole e-book compilation of Song of Fire & Ice. It's been decades since I read fantasy but i'm enjoying it far more than expected.

And, I feel like I'm forever reading Dune. But for the first time. It's taken me probably over 20 years to get through this book. I don't know why this book reads like molasses for me, but I'm determined to do it once.

[boredoom]

A few months ago I read Roadside Picnic by the Strugatsky Bros., a random pick from the library. A classic (so said the cover), I loved this seemingly modern and sublte and sad and occasionally ironic book. I'll probably give this another read to pick up on the less explicit plot points hidden behind the bigger post apocoto color.

This story is the inspiration for Andrey Tarkovsky's movie Stalker, which is awesome, though it breaks down into ridiculous philosophizing at the end.

[Evilyn]

A few months ago I read Roadside Picnic by the Strugatsky Bros., a random pick from the library. A classic (so said the cover), I loved this seemingly modern and sublte and sad and occasionally ironic book. I'll probably give this another read to pick up on the less explicit plot points hidden behind the bigger post apocoto color.

This story is the inspiration for Andrey Tarkovsky's movie Stalker, which is awesome, though it breaks down into ridiculous philosophizing at the end.

Yes! The ending is a fucking mess. I remember reading about that movie, now I need to re-remember to find it.

[Eppy]

I just finished the first Jungle Book and I'm about to finish the second. Totally not vegan.

[Jeppe]

Just reread American Gods, in the 10th anniversary edition. Still an excellent book.

I also reread Kraken recently. It really is great, and one of my favorites by Miéville.

[E.T.Smith]

I've read a lot of good books lately, and some bad ones, but only a couple really stand out as great.

The Blue World, by Jack Vance. Admittedly an acquired taste, because I'm a Vance fan, and his characters are never very complex. They're really just a means with which to explore alien worlds he creates, which are always exotic and well thought out. The Blue World in particular is a planet with no dry land, where a society has evolved on clusters of giant lily-pads and developed technology without metal and stone.

Permanence, by Karl Schroeder. Actually read this about a year-and-a-half ago, but it its still the last great read I had. A great epic space opera with wide vistas and cosmic stakes, that at the same time aggressively examines the logic behind star-spanning empires and what the ultimate point of settling the stars would be.

[Falgrim]

First ever:
The Chanur Trilogy by CJ Cherryh and the Dragonlance Chronicles Trilogy were two of the first series I ever read strictly for pleasure, rather than for school book reports. The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings followed soon after.

Most recent:
As for the last one's I've read that would have to be "A Wise Man's Fears by Patrick Rothfuss and The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie.

[Questionor]

First ever:
The Chanur Trilogy by CJ Cherryh and the Dragonlance Chronicles Trilogy were two of the first series I ever read strictly for pleasure, rather than for school book reports. The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings followed soon after.

Most recent:
As for the last one's I've read that would have to be "A Wise Man's Fears by Patrick Rothfuss and The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie.

Dragonlance for me too! I'm a slow reader and never had time to read books of my own choice during grade school. I remember being so happy when I was finally done with high school and went to a book store to pick something I wanted and I ended up with Dragonlance.

[Questionor]

And, I feel like I'm forever reading Dune. But for the first time. It's taken me probably over 20 years to get through this book. I don't know why this book reads like molasses for me, but I'm determined to do it once.

I remember the first time I tried to read Dune. It must have been college. I had to read each page like 3 times to understand what was going on and finally gave up. I went back to it many years later and it's definitely worth it. =) In fact with the exception of Winds of Dune, I was surprised that the ones put out buy Herbert's son were all quite good too. (Winds of Dune was the only one the felt like it was solely to suck as much money as possible out of fans)

[staceyinastoria]

And, I feel like I'm forever reading Dune. But for the first time. It's taken me probably over 20 years to get through this book. I don't know why this book reads like molasses for me, but I'm determined to do it once.

I remember the first time I tried to read Dune. It must have been college. I had to read each page like 3 times to understand what was going on and finally gave up. I went back to it many years later and it's definitely worth it. =) In fact with the exception of Winds of Dune, I was surprised that the ones put out buy Herbert's son were all quite good too. (Winds of Dune was the only one the felt like it was solely to suck as much money as possible out of fans)

I have never had a problem reading Dune, but I have never been able to get anywhere else in the series.