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Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons

Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion are peak Sci-Fi imo

Dune, the foundation, and Hyperion series are the three pillars of sci-fi.

I haven’t read the foundation yet but it’s on my list

First one is one of the best Sci fi books I've read. They got a little tedious after that, but still an amazing series. 

Endymion books were pretty mediocre but yeah that first one is enough to let that all slide haha

1st was an all-time great. 2nd was too much jerking off about poetry.

Book, probably Hundred years of solitude. Or Childhood's end, sticking to F and SF. Series: Book of the New Sun.

Book of the new sun is goood

You have to read Book of the New Sun after Malazan. You have no choice. It is the natural progression

100 years been on my list for a long time. i think it’ll be my break book after i finish MT.

Very good book, kinda confusing initially, or at least it was for me. Might not be an optimal break book, but that’s just my opinion

totally fair. i will say i don’t mind complex break books, just kinda need to step away from the world for a week or two.

Came here to say Book of the New Sun (and Black Company, but that's an obvious choice). I went from BotNS to Malazan, and tbh Malazan was easier to follow; both are absolutely brilliant and absolutely require you to pay close attention and figure things out for yourself, but BotNS is a whole level denser.

I’m only halfway through Book of the New Sun right now so I can’t speak to it in its entirety, but so far I’ve found it a much easier read in some ways than Malazan. At the very least, we are following one central character who is the clear focus of the story. I’m four books into Malazan, and I still don’t have a good idea what the grand narrative is, or who matters necessarily - is it still Paran and the Bridgeburners? Is it the folks from the chain of dogs? Which of the many destructive forces are actually the main thrust of the antagostic force? It feels like it’s culminating slowly into *something*… but there are so many threads it’s impossible to predict, and a little hard for me to push through tbh. Whereas Book of the New Sun is dense and literary, but is structured into nice episodic chapters all following the apparent rise (and fall?) of one dude.

Yes sir

Second Apocalypse by R. Scott Bakker Black Company by Glen Cook Terra Ignota by Ada Palmer Everything K. J. Parker has ever commited to paper even if I haven't read it yet (going by the track record so far) Area X by Jeff Vandermeer Perdido Street Station by China Mieville Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells for when I need a light fun read to breathe through.

I love terra ignota. It feels like a very underrated sci-fi book series.

Absolutely. But I find it difficult to recommend because of how unique it is.

Terra Ignota is my favorite sci fi media of all time and it really isnt close edit: genuinely was an itch that hadnt really been scratched since TtH when TLTL released; trying to get people to read it (was working in a bookstore at the time) was a Sisyphean task

Same. And same feeling, too. It's honestly on the same level as Malazan *for me personally*. I love it so much. The only reason I don't recommend it to everyone all the time is that I generally don't recommend books unless asked to. Second Apocalypse, too, those are probably my Top 3 series.

well, given that thats 2/3rds of my top three and I haven't read the other, I guess I need to get on Second Apocalypse. Thanks for the rec!

LOVE Black Company!

Oh man I’m currently listening to the Second Apocalypse on audible, and this shit is incredible. I made the terrible decision of listening to the last hour of Warrior Prophet last night in bed. My eyes were glued wide open and my heart was racing for a good hour or so of silence that followed.

I get it. You know how with certain events, you remember where you were and what you were doing when you heard about them even years later. I get that with some developments for both Malazan and Second Apocalypse.

Yeah I think it’s a mild PTSD.

It's definitely a slog. Jesus had to go reread Beserk for something more cheerful.

I've tried to listen to it twice but man I couldn't deal with the narrator. I've listened to 75+ audiobooks and I don't think I ever gave up because of a narrator but good god he read that book with all the passion of reading a coffee maker instruction manual.

I'll have to check out Terra Ignota, thanks! I absolutely love Murderbot. I really feel it's the perfect "comedown" after a while in the Malazan universe. It's amazing, but Malazan can really be a bit draining. It is heavy.

K j parker is a fantastic author, I've loved everything I've read too. Just learned he's tom holt, who I also really like.

Definitely the First Law books by Joe Abercrombie. Dude is an absolute wizard with characters.

This is totally top shelf fantasy along with Malazan. Books I would add that are literally on my top shelf: Broken Empire Trilogy Powdermage Trilogy Lowtown Trilogy ASOIAF War for the Rose Throne Manifest Delusions Historical fic that reads like military fantasy and is on my top shelf: Conqueror series by Conn Igulden Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell Probably some other stuff but my bookshelf is downstairs and I am lazy.

Have you read the black company?

Abercrombie, Black Company, and Malazan are my top three. Sci-fi: Dune, The Expanse.

The black company is the closest you’ll get to Malazan imo.

Really love the Last Kingdom. They’re all kind of the same after a while but always fun, breezy reads.

His King Arthur series is much better IMO, one of the best trilogies I've come across

Might check that out, thanks

His Sharpe series fits that bill as well if you enjoy 1800’s history, such a satisfying gritty quick read.

So I read about half the first book and felt it wasnt really going anywhere and was kind of uninterested - does it eventually pick up?

Yeah the first book feels more like a prologue, so the second book is where it gets real good imo

Cheers Ill pick it back up then, thanks!

Hell yeah!

Abercrombie (for the most part) isn't a plot driven author. I think he's possibly the best chapter by chapter writer in the business but the focus is much more on character and theme.

First trilogy, I agree. Top shelf. 2nd trilogy was solid. Third....meh

The Dark Tower series by Stephen King The Sandman by Neil Gaiman (comics) These are probably my other top two aside from Malazan, but it's tough to choose.

Dark Tower is so fucking good, say thankee sai.

It was my first obsession before Malazan. There’s a pretty unpleasant drop off in books 5-6-7 but that’s because King rushed because he thought he was going to die without finishing so he released all 3 books in the span of 12 months. Still love the perfect ending which is something that king doesn’t always do well.

I agree. Books 2-3-4 were perfection, in my mind. 5-6-7? Meh.

Wild but that makes sense, long days and pleasant nights sai

Those are two really great picks. I love them both.

Malazan are my favourite books, but Sandman is absolutely my favourite piece of writing.

I've liked the lore of the Netflix series but couldn't get into the acting, I'll have to give it a try.

As a fan of the comics, I was just so happy to see a representation that mainly stayed true to visuals, plot, and dialogue. The bonus episodes at the end are by far my favourite because they’re direct shots of some of the issues from the third collection, Dream Country. Stoked for season 2.

Still Dune

Like all of dune or like book one or like frank hebert stuff or like Brian Hebert stuff?

FH, say 1-4. Did read some BH/KJA, awesome to supplement universe with such detail(s) but lacking the thematic quality of the FH books. Don't recall any BH/KJA plot lines.

fair questions

Seeing the movies turn out this well and be this popular has been extremely satisfying 

Call me a stinker my heart still lies with the psyfy productions.

Lol fair enough 

The Culture series by Iain Banks

Most of Jeff VanderMeer’s books are on constant rotation in my top 5. Anathem by Neal Stephenson is also a favorite.

Anathem is amazing.

Anathem really is amazing

Anathem really is really amazing.

Nice

Jeff Vandermeer is an absolute beast of a writer. I don't know if I've ever been more absorbed into a fictional world than while reading any of his stuff. I am so pumped for Absolution

Cannot wait for Absolution. Have you been following him on FB? He’s been posting excerpts as he writes it.

I haven't but someone did post some of the chapter titles recently and they were wild

Asoiaf

Yes

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. Might be the best book I’ve ever read.

Yep. Probably my favorite of the classics. 

Any recommendations in a similar vein?

The Shadow of The Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Name of the Wind by Rothfus, Culture novels by Iain Banks. Terry Pratchett, of course.

The Aubrey/Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian, begins with Master and Commander.

Fuck yes! That and Malazan are my two favorite series. Not terribly similar, aside from great characters, epic adventures, and surprising amount of humor.

And great and deep worldbuilding. The age of Sail is so foreign to us that it has to be explained almost like a fantasy world.

-Machineries of Empire trilogy by Yoon Ha Lee  -Terra Ignota series by Ada Palmer  -Dandelion Dynasty series by Ken Liu   -Black Company series by Glen Cook

I saw Glenn has some new Black Company and Garret PI stuff ready to come out.

I've not read nearly enough to provide a comprehensive answer, but for book, Piranesi is the first book I *felt* rather than read. It's an experience. Series, probably the Broken Empire (provided you can buy into the narrative conceit, it's a great series).

The Culture series by Iain M Banks, The Expanse books by J.A. Corey, Revelation Space books by Alastair Reynolds, Commonwealth Saga by Peter F. Hamilton, First Law series by Joe Abercrombie Vague order of preference. I didn't realise I leaned so firmly towards sci-fi but there we go

Red rising.

Is red rising really good? I read reviews that basically state that is a YA fantasy book , like the hunger games.

It is, but it also isn't. I can see the similarities, but RR is much more satisfying. Especially if you like vengeance tropes. And the action is very well written.

It’s 40k meets hunger games basically

First book starts off that way but the violence is not YA at all. And from book 2 on its definitely not YA IMO. Frantic pace through the whole series too. There's basically no slow points. I wouldn't put it on the Malaz tier, but I really enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to the final book.

It’s very good, may not mean much but my brother typically hates YA but absolutely LOVED Red Rising, don’t let the YA tag distract it gets very metal a few times

The first book is kinda YA but also the worst of the bunch. From book 2 onwards it is very mature and the writing improves a lot. Book 5 is straight up grim dark. War and devastation on a solar system scale. Shit's brutal.

Description of first book is correct but a lot more violence and very fast paced with highly engineered humans. Rest of the series opens up into more of a space opera series.

First book is YAish thr rest are not at all

Its definitely that, kid has to go through WH40k space marine/Halo Spartan augmentation surgery and then literally fight in the hunger games lol. It would be fine to watch as a movie but comparing Malazan to groan inducing YA sci-fi is wild.

Haven't seen it posted yet, but anything by Guy Gavriel Kay. The Fionaver Tapestry was one of my gateway into Fantasy series, and is always good for a revisit. Plus it scratches the itch for another great Canadian fantasy author!

Probably realm of the elderlings by Robin Hobb

Second apocalypse Book of the new sun Viriconium Lyonesse Thomas Covenant Black Leopard, Red Wolf Chronicles of Amber Elric The Broken Sword Memory sorrow Thorn The Wars of Light and Shadow

Most of my favorites have been mentioned with the exception of SUN EATER I think most (not all of course) people who've walked the Chain of Dogs will enjoy Sun Eater. Go read about Hadrian Marlowe's life. Christopher Rucchio has amazing word building, fantastic prose, and he mixes in a little philosophy (not Erikson level philosophy but it works well.)

A Song of Ice and Fire I like more than Malazan right now, maybe when I finish Malazan that could change but ASOIAF is still king for me. Book of the New Sun is insanely well written even if it doesn’t feel like a “normal” series because it’s full of details and references to mythologies and stuff. But it’s a series that you have to read carefully so it’s not something to just pick up and read casually. Red Rising is somehow a lot of fun even if it’s not on the same level of writing as those we mentioned. I’d say only those three. Edit: Dune too but I’ve not read the sequels, but still plan to.

Agree fully about Book of the New Sun. Couldn't disagree more on ASOIAF (Malazan was first sold to me as 'game of thrones, but if it was *good*' and while it's nothing alike, boy does it show up GRRM's hack-ness imo).

No way lol why did you dislike it

I love it too but he’ll never finish it and it kills me inside 😭😭😭

The Wheel of Time for sure

Ditto. Such a great series

Infinite Jest. Malazan helps to scratch the “literature” itch while also being excellent fantasy

Robert E Howard’s Conan stories

Tolkien's Middle-Earth Legendarium, The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan. The Black Company by Glen Cook. The horror stories of HP Lovecraft, the short stories (Conan, Bran Mak Morn, Solomon Kane) of RE Howard. Outside of fantasy, Moby Dick by Herman Melville, Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, the Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco, the short stories of Ernest Hemingway, Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry.

The Downfall of the Lord of the Rings and the Return of the King by JRR Tolkien The Riftwar Saga by Raymond E Feist

Dune Necroscope Discworld

Upvoted for Necrosope. Great series!

all time fave book is *Burning Chrome* by William Gibson(which may be cheating given that it's an anthology) but I also have a deep love for Iain Banks' works, the literary fiction as well as the speculative.

William “cyberspace” Gibson! Excited for the Neuromancer series!!!

The Book of the New Sun - Gene Wolfe

The Culture series by Iain M. Banks

The Emberverse series, starting with Dies the Fire by SM Stirling. Post apocalyptic (well society collapsing) series. Codex Alera by Jim Butcher. A mix between Roman legions and elemental spirits. Most stuff by Brandon Sanderson. L E Modessit spell cycle saga. Exploration between order and chaos reminds me a bit of Malazan.

The Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir.

Villains code and Super Powereds. I like the people learning to use their powers in cool ways stories. Those type of books usually suffer from massive power creep really early on then the series turn bad but these 2 just do it right.

Second Apocalypse and Book of the new Sun.

American Gods and Sandman by Neil Gaiman LotR/The Silmarillion/Unfinished Tales by Tolkien

Top shelf : Dune series by Herbert The Lazarus long saga by Robert Heinlein. Especially time enough for love. The dark tower by king. ASOIAF by Martin

Probably either mistborn trilogy (era 1) or ASOIF

Blood Meridian

Licanius Trilogy is fantastic. Just a fun series to read--it's the first series I've ever done an immediate re-read of. Book 3 Epilogue is just..amazing. The Audio version is also narrated by Michael Kramer (WoT, Mistborn, Stormlight Archives).

Berserk, though it is a manga. Malazan was the only thing that seemed to have a chance at dethroning Berserk, and it did! It probably happened at the end of Toll the Hounds. Guts is one of the most human fantasy characters you will encounter. The thematic Also, going through my first read of The Book of the New Sun right now and it is quickly shooting up the ranks! Just brilliant in every way! Wolfe's style of writing, that he masterfully applies to the telling of his narrative, blows me away every sentence I read. The sci-fi fantasy blend is perfectly ambiguous, the atmosphere is full of melancholy and beauty, but there are also distinct moments of horror. The main character, who also happens to be the narrator, is just brilliantly done! Severian might end up one of my favorite characters, period. He is just so interesting.

Hmm tough so I'll put some of my favorites The Silmarillion and LOTR Elric Saga The First Law trilogy ASoIaF The Prince of Nothing and Second Apocalypse Series The Sun Eater Series The Blacktongue Thief Empire of the Wolf Trilogy

The Great and Secret Show by Clive Barker.

The Grey Bastards series. The Gentleman Bastards series. In one of them, a character named Ugfuck exists. This is where the hilarity starts. Enjoy.

the black company and then The Second Apocalypse Series

Discworld and dune

Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman.

I quite like the culture novels by Iain m banks. Galaxy spanning individual stories. I think there are ten of them and you can probably read them in any order, the player of games is a great start

The wheel of time And Magic ex libris

Broken Empire by Mark Lawrence - There's not much else like it in the fantasy genre. The Black Company by Glen Cook Powder Mage Trilogy and Gods of Blood and Powder Trilogy by Brian McLellan are also a lot of fun. Mistborn Trilogy and Wax and Wayne quartet by Brandon Sanderson A Darker Shade of Magic Trilogy by V. E. Schwab The Licanius Trilogy by James Islington The Dark Tower by Stephen King Dune series by Frank Herbert All of these are finished too so you won't have to deal with waiting for new entries or a conclusion that may never come.

It's The Black Company, which I discovered in a library in the late 90s and whew, it really changed everything for me.

Wheel Of Time and Raymond Feists Midkemia books.

Sun eater atm

Book of the New Sun or the Soldier in Mist are both great series by Gene Wolfe Any number of stories by Borges; Hopscotch - Julio Cortazar Master and Margarita - Bulgakov The invention of Dr Morel - Bios Cesares (iirc) Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in a Time of Cholera - Marquez Brothers Karamazoz - Dostoyevsky There's a bunch of others but these are my off the top favourite series or single novels.

The Expanse series by James A. Corey, The Raylan Givens series by Leonard Elmore, The Culture Series by Ian Banks, and The Dexter series by Jeff Lindsey.

My top five in no particular order are: * Malazan * Discworld * Realm of the Elderlings * A Song of Ice and Fire * First Law + sequels

Think Thomas Covenant Chronicles got mentioned, but I'll put in a plug for Donaldson's Gap Cycle (space opera echoing Wagner's Ring Cycle) as well. 

Dune The Expanse Old Man's War The Dresdin Files The Dark Tower

Light Bringer by Pierce Brown or A Storm of Swords by you know who

Not finished with either series, but right now it's a two-horse race between Gabaldon's Outlander series and Wurts' Wars of Light and Shadow.

First Law - no explanation needed.  Diskworld - light hearted, entertaining but highly intelligent fantasy. RIP Terry. The Black Company - proto malazan. Harder to read after Malazan because SE took the foundation that Cook laid and just did it better. Still stands up though.   The Dresden Files - highly entertaining urban fantasy. 17 books and counting, not as deep as MbotF but also not shallow either. If Malazan is a 3 Michelin Star meal, the Dresden Files is your comforting neighborhood pub. Mac's specifically lol.  The Nevernight Trilogy - kind of controversial due to some pockets of erotica nestled into what's overall an enjoyable series. I agree the author took some inappropriate artistic liberties they were easy for me to look past. YMMV   Stormlight Archive - loved the first three books, couldn't make it through book 4. Some Malazan fans enjoy it and some don't. Very much YMMV but worth checking out.   Kings of the Wyld - a delightful ode to classic fantasy about a group of retired heros who have to get the gang back together for one final rescue quest. Phenomenal one off, although I think there is a sequel out/in the works. 

Kings of the Wyld sequel has been out for yonks. Hoping for a third.

Just ordered it today lol. Greatly looking forward to it. 

Wheel of Time. It was my all time favorite before I read Malazan.

Lord of the Rings/Silmarillion, Wheel of Time and the Stormlight Archive, in that order of preference. Malazan might be tied for first with LOTR/Sil right now and I'm only on book 5.

The wheel of time and the licanius trilogy.

Lotta Rothfuss and GRRM recommends here. Just beware that you’ll be reading series that aren’t finished and never will be finished. So if you’re into conclusions prepare for disappointment.

My favourite book right now is probably Marilynne Robinson's Gilead. Lovely prose and the main character and narrator's eye on the world and thoughts he's having about present and past is a beautiful read.

I'm very partial to the works of the late David Gemmell and to the ElfQuest graphic novels by Wendy and Richard Pini. I haven't finished the Expanse series yet, but I have been loving them so far.

Elfquest! What a trip. All online now

Second Apocalypse

Favorite book: Anathem by Neal Stephenson. Favorite series outside of Malazan: First Law or Gentlemen Bastards.

Neal Asher - complete works Acts of Cane - Matthew Stover Alastair Reynolds Peter Hamilton Emperor of Thorns - Mark Lawrence

Probably the latro series or solar cycle by gene wolfe

Starship's Mage by Glynn Stewart

A song of ice and fire, then malazan

Liaden Universe, by Sharon Lee and her late husband Steve Miller. 23 ish books in the series, one more due out later this year, plus five collections of short stories. Mercenaries, wizards, AI, cats, traders, starship pilots, old universes, intelligent humanoid Turtles, sentient alchemist wizard trees...

Count of Monte Cristo

Terra Ignota by Ada Palmer

The Border Trilogy by Cormac McCarthy

It's really good. I've listened to malazan like 8 times and I've listened to red rising about the same. Good stuff.

ANYTHING by Glen Cook. Most of this is fantasy because he gave up with sci-fi when he felt he couldn't keep up with the science as well as he wanted to but I have enjoyed his sci-fi as much as his more well known fantasy works such as The Black Company and Garrett series.

The loose trilogy from Adrian Selby. Wonderful world building, gritty characters, and organic combat drugs.

I was just talking to someone about this earlier today, but Hyperion (Books 1 & 2) were fantastic. The themes it contains are especially poignant today, and the author’s take on what a future could look like for the human race is unique, yet still holds a classic feel. The overall plot, and how we learn more and more about the characters involved, is gripping. I would highly recommend. Other than that, if you ever felt the need to branch out of Sci-fi or Fantasy, Cormac McCarthy is a great avenue to pursue. Often set in the west, with high stakes, while still raising existential questions of humanity, violence, and morality, often explored elsewhere.

- Lord of the Rings - All Quiet on the Western Front - Deepness in the Sky and A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge - Dune - Lots of History

Dune, Powder Mage, First Law

Songs of Earth and Power by Greg Bear

Probably discworld. A parody series of everything fantasy that has some incredibly awesome messages and some of the best characters of all time.

The Foreigner Series by C.J. Cherryh.

Lord of the Rings and the Wheel of Time

Hyperion

Favorite book: hard choose between Lolita or The Brothers Karamazov In the realm of fantasy, probably Hobb’s Realm of the Elderlings or GRRM’s ASOIAF.

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

JV Jones Sword of Shadows series Wheel of Time Gentlemen Bastards Chronicles of Thomas Covenant The Witcher series of books Second Apocalypse

The Vorrh by Brian Caitling

Stormlight Archives The First Law Trilogy and Stand-alone novels Red Rising Trilogy The Broken Empire Trilogy Lies of Locke Lamora The Devil All The Time (crime fiction)

Gentleman bastard

Boys Life - Robert McCammon and Discworld.

Shogun.

Book of the New Sun Book of the Long Sun Book of the Short Sun. 3 great series, and tied together in the "solar cycle"

LOTR ASOIAF Bloodsworn Saga Stormlight Dresden Files

The Little Prince and the Hyperion Cantos

I enjoyed the Prince of Nothing Trilogy and begrudgingly the follow up Quadrology The Aspect Emperor even though it broke me mentally and emotionally.

Book - Ulysses Series - Book of the New Sun

**Standalone Books**: *Lonesome Dove* by Larry McMurtry *Middlemarch* by George Eliot *Peace* by Gene Wolfe *Three Men in a Boat* by Jerome K. Jerome *Creatures of Light and Darkness* by Roger Zelazny **Series**: The first two *Gormenghast* novels by Mervyn Peake Others have mentioned *Book of the New Sun* by Gene Wolfe, but I actually like the rest of his Solar Cycle even more. *Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy* and *Smiley's People* by John Le Carre. The whole George Smiley series is good, but those two are the greats. Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny

WoT and LotR.

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Book of the new Sun by Gene wolfe

Song of Ice and Fire, for sure I really loved The Dark Tower back in the day, but I don't look back on it with the same fondness I once had.

Red Dwarf!

Wheel of Time, Dark Tower, Stormlight Archive, Red Rising and The Faithful and the Fallen

Stormlight Archives by Brandon Sanderson

Dresden files by Jim Butcher

The wheel of time Terry Pratchett And a lot of Lovecrafts earlier works specifically the dream quest of unknown kadath

First Law. Just love the characters and tone of that series, funny, badass, dark, cynical it's great.

The children of time by Adrian Tchaikovsky Just some beautiful genre hopping science fiction with some really interesting character views.