So, in no apparent order, here are some of my favorites:
Lessa wakes to a sense of danger. The dragon riders come on search, and she's off to the Weyr, where F'lar insists she'll be the next Queen Rider, though there's no guarantee. And what of the rumors of the return of Thread, the deadly rain that eats anything living. She and F'lar seem to be the only ones who believe in those old stories anymore. If it does come, can they restore the Weyr in time to save everyone?
I love this book. It has great characters, a fully developed word, and, at the time, a different take on dragons. It also has an almost poetic or lyrical flow to the words that makes it almost magical to read. Sadly, this isn't repeated in the rest of the series, though the storytelling improves and the depth and scope of the world increase to epic proportions. (Though the books can still be enjoyed individually. I really like that. You can pick up a Pern book and read it and love it without reading the rest of the series... well, you'll want to when you're done, but...)
My Mom introduced me to this series when I was in junior high. I've tried to re-read the whole series every year since (with varying degrees of success. ;) )
Coran Horn is despondent when his wife is kidnapped. Being a member of Rouge Squadron, though, he does everything he can to get her back. He has a bit of an identity crisis though. A former member of CorSec, he tries to use police methods. This gets him nowhere, as the kidnappers are one of the fragments of the Empire, and they've got Darkside force-users. So he learns about his past, and taps into his own families' jedi history. To save his wife, though, he has to learn to be walk his own path, and be true to himself, instead of following what others want him to be.
I grew up watching Star Wars. My Grandma had in on VHS tape, and we'd watch it every time we went over to her house. (Roughly once a week...) Naturally, I devoured everything Star Wars. Star Wars books can be really good, or really bad. Most of them are"meh". This is one of the really good ones. It's a story about true love and being true to yourself, and it's excellent writing. I'd recommend this book even if you aren't a Star Wars fan.
From the back of the book:
"Two hundred years ago, the Aolanian home world exploded and a remnant of survivors escaped. As their convoy combed the galaxy looking for a new world to colonize, they discovered Earth and were given permission to establish a temporary base while they continued their search for a new home world. When an Aolanian exploration vessel goes missing after transmitting a garbled distress call, the uneasy alliance between the humans and the Aolanians is put to the test as two anti-Aolanian groups jockey to use this opportunity to press their own agendas by foiling the rescue mission.
Because his daughter was onboard the Kesha when it vanished, Calonti Sora reluctantly signs on as an astrogator with the Gyrfalcon, one of the ships in the search party. There he meets up with an old human friend, Kirsten Abbott. Together, they work to overcome prejudice and political plots as they race toward an enemy no one could expect. "
Most of the books on this list I've loved since I was a kid and have re-read multiple times. This one's rather new. I first met Cindy in an online writing critique group. Lots of my author friends have books out, and I try to read all of them, by reading time is sadly limited by work and family and such. Cindy posted an "interview" with the characters, and that hooked me. I'm a sucker for great characters. I'll even read bad stories if I love the characters. So, I tried Remnant.
I was blown away. The book is set in a future universe with spaceships, aliens, and bad guys, and it has a wonderful sense of adventure.
The story is primarily about Sora, an self-outcast alien who's daughter has gone missing, but it has a great ensemble cast whose characters are all fleshed out (naturally, some get more character development than others, but there's a nice balance.)
The rest of the cast of main characters include Kirsten, a pilot who's having trouble with her replacement arm; Peter, the ex-military gunner; Derek, the freelance captain who's always dreamed of having his own ship; Janice, the engineer with a love for puns; and Vince the doctor.
The book feels similar to a combination of Han Solo (and Chewie and the Falcon) and Cowboy Bebop, with a storyline that's serious but still humorous at the same time.
I love it, and want more in the series! This book reminds me of why I love sci-fi.
This was apparently supposed to be your favorite historical fiction books, long before I was tagged. So here's my favorite (Almost all of G.A Henty's work would also go here).
William Marshal is one of my heroes. In a very turbulent political time, he still stood for loyalty, virtue, and honor. On top of that, women were considered more of a commodity than a person back then. Despite this, Marshal and his wife were still very close. By all accounts, he consulted with her about major decisions, and she went with him almost everywhere he went. When she didn't accompany him, he left her in charge of the castle instead of one of his knights.
Okay, so that's some of the virtues that knights were supposed to embody, but most didn't. That's still only part of what being a knight is about. So why's he called "The Greatest Knight," anyway? Heh, well, Chadwick didn't make up that title for him. That's what he was called by a few of his contemporaries, and most historians. For one, he was undefeated on the tourney circuit. How many knights did he defeat? All of them.
He also served King Richard the Lion-hearted. When Prince John tried to run the kingdom while Richard was off to the crusades, Marshal helped to hold the kingdom for Richard. Oddly enough, when Richard died and John became king, he kept Marshal at court. After John died, and his son Henry became king, Marshal was made regent of the kingdom.
During Marshall's time as Regent a bunch of uppity earls (with the help of the French) tried to take the throne from the young king. All it took was a then 60 year old William Marshal leading the king's troops into battle. Apparently the upstarts saw Marshal leading the battle, collectively crapped their pants, and went home. (Remember that at that time, 60 wasn't just a senior citizen, it was gezzer status... and he was still kicking butt and taking names!)
Anyway, Chadwick's novelization of Marshall's life is excellently done. There's only one scene near the beginning that I have a problem with (He has a bit of a fling with a questionable young lady. There is NO evidence that this ever happened at all. Even Chadwick admits that it "probably" never happened, but she felt she needed to make the character more human, since all the primary source accounts tell of a man that could beat up Chuck Norris with one hand tied behind his back.... and still defeat the whole French army at the same time.)
This is why I love historical fiction. You get real history, but it reads and engages like a novel.
I could go on all day about books I love, but it's supposed to be five. So we'll close out with Jules Verne. Really, all his books, but this one's my favorite.
We'll just take a moment to say, if you've only seen a movie based on this book, and haven't actually read it, I feel a great deal of pity for you. (Well, this applies to ANY movie based on a book, but...) Seriously. Go read it right now. You can even get the eBook for free.
I'll not bother to sum up the story, as you should be familiar with it. I love the book because, like all Verne's work, it not only has great characters and a fun plot, but because Verne pretty much invented sci-fi. 20,000 Leagues, more than Verne's other books, it predicted the future (okay, not as much as most people think, but still.... more on that topic elsewhere...). Verne really nailed what sci-fi is: great stories that explore the human condition, and do so with imagination and cool tech.
The best part is Verne really did understand this. When interviewed about his books later, he said they weren't science-fiction, they were stories. (Either sci-fi got quickly filled with hacks, or Verne was just a crotchety old man... I'll leave that decision up to you...;) )
Ah, so many more I want to list, so little time...
So, what are some of your favorite books?
Do you also love, or hate anything on this list?
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