Quote Originally Posted by ForeverAutumn
That movie thread was pretty interesting. In fact, I'm going to print it off as there were a lot of good recs there.

So, we've done the movie recs, now it's time for some book recs. I'm looking for some good summer reading. What are your favourite books and/or authors?
I always get into the freaky stuff during summer. If you're into fantasy then you should know the event of the decade is George R.R. Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire" series. Some have called it the best fantasy since Donaldson's Thomas Covenant books. I wouldn't know because it's the only new fantasy I've read since the Covenant series; I usually go for the older stuff. What I can tell you is it isn't like anything else I've ever read. We're talking serious violence, the worst I've ever read - as in don't get attached to any character because everything is unpredictable. Gawd, what a twisted mess. Extreme political intrigue in a decaying medieval setting and just about everybody sucks. The books are huge but you'll rip through them because they're page-turners. I think he's up to the fourth book out of a six-book series. These books should come with seat belts 'cause it's a helluva ride.

Davey mentioned hard sf but he didn't mention Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars Trilogy. Hands down, Stan's the man and the Mars Trilogy is easily equal to Dune or Lord of the Rings. The best sf I've ever read. NASA even designed the offical flag of Mars after the Red, Green & Blue books. How 'bout that for promotion?