Recommend me Your Reading Stuff

[Tower75]

Hi, all.

I was wondering if any of you clever beans can recommend me something interesting to read, please.

1) I've read dozens and dozens of fantasy books where the Protagonist joins the army of their respective land and fights the Good Fight, but is there any books where the Protagonist joins the Navy? Not necessarily just "gets on a ship" but actually joins up and Fights the Good fight.

2) As you can probably tell from the above, I like floaty stuff; I read a lot of historical naval fiction, but I'm also a SFF nerd, and I love reading Naval SciFi yarns too. Does anyone have any good recommendations for any good SciFi navy stuff? Hopefully yarns that are a bit hard Scifi and follow Newtonian laws etc.

3) Are there any good Fantasy stories out there that are not set in a pseudo-medieval setting? Are there any tribal pre-history stories about?

Thanks, everyone, and apologies if this is in the wrong spot.

 

[Bramandin]

Rats Bats and Vats is scifi and I think he was forced to join the army but it's a wasteland.

The Particolored Unicorn spends some time on a boat, but I forget what it's about besides being postapocalyptic pseudo-medieval fantasy.

From your post about wanting to find a book, I want to recommend Myth Adventures. There's a comic but I recommend starting with the book.

I'm sorry if any of these are way off base.

 

[Extollager]

Have you read Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan books?

Vorkosigan Saga - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[The Big Peat]

Off the top of my head, you might like RJ Barker's The Bone Ships, where a character is in the navy (but the good fight is complicated), Paul Kearney's The Sea Beggars (not the good fight, more piratey, but very floaty and good, sadly an unfinished series), and Jean Auel's Clan of the Cave Bear and Bernard Cornwell's Stonehenge.

 

[hitmouse]

Hi, all.


3) Are there any good Fantasy stories out there that are not set in a pseudo-medieval setting?

Yes. Vast, diverse swathes. So much for you to discover. Lucky thing.

For example, on the understanding that not all of these are likely to be your thing:

Titus Groan Mervyn Peake
Mythago Wood Robert Holdstock
Little Big John Crowley
The Good Fairies of New York Martin Millar
Almost anything by Neil Gaiman
Angelmaker Nick Harkaway
Anubis Gates
Last Letters from Hav Jan Morris
Most stuff by Diana Wynn Jones, or Alan Garner.

 

[BAYLOR]

The Kane The Mystic Swordman Series by Karl Edward Wagner . A 5 book dark fantasy series.The main character Kane is a heroic villain,antihero and he’s cool and compelling
1. Bloodstone
2. Darkness Weaves
3. Dark Crusade
4. Death Angel’s Shadow
5. Night Winds
Also by Wagner Conan the Road of Kings
Bran Mak Morn The Legion From The Shadow
Killer , a science fiction horror novel that he co wrote with David Drake
In a Lonely Place , which is a collection of his best Horror stories

The Complete Tales of Jules De Grandin by Seabury Quinn.

Jules De Grandin is a supernatural investigator/Detective . He and his associate Dr Trowbridge investigate and do battle with the forces of supernatural darkness and human chicanery . This series is part Xfiles part Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson with a little Hammer horror thrown in . In all Quinn wrote 90 plus adventures with theses two characters terwhi h includes one full length novel. Nightshade Books has compiled them into 5 volumes
1. The Horror on the Links
2. The Devils Roasary
3. The Dark Angel
4. A Rival From The Grave
5. Black Moon

Conan The Hour of the Dragon by Robert E Howard
The Broken Sword by Poul Anderson
The High Crusade by Poul Anderson
The Lost Continent by C J Cutcliff Hynd
The High House by James Stoddard
The False House by James Stoddard
The John Grimes Space Saga. by A Bertram Chandler
Kelly Country by A Bertram Chandler
Robot Titans of Gotham by Norvel Page
Earth Abides by George R Stewart
Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart
Bolo and Rogue Bolo by Keith Laumer
Silverlock by John Myer Myers
Swords and Deviltry by Fritz Leiber
The Mis-Enchanted Sword Lawrence Watts-Evans
Juergen A Comedy of Justice. by James Branch Cabell
Lest Darkness Falls by L Sprague De Camp
The Complete Enchanter by L Sprague De Camp and Lin Carter
Mythago Woods. by Robert Holdstock
The Nightmare and Other Tales of Dark Fantasy by Francis Stevens
The Ship of Ishtar. by Abraham Merritt
The City of the Singing Flame by Clark Ashton Smith
The Dark World by Henry Kuttner
Black Gods Kiss by C L Moore
Day of the Giants by Lester Del Rey
The House on the Borderland by William Hope Hodgeson
The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers
The Dreaming Jewels by Theodore Sturgeon
Darker Than You Think by Jack Williamson
Waystation by Clifford D Simak
Donovan’s Brain by Curt Siodmak
Deathbird Stories by Harlan Ellison
Tales From The Dying Earth. by Jack Vance
The Mines of Behemoth by Michael Shea
The Black Company By Glen Cook

The Star Rover by. Jack London This book is his only fantasy novel and unlike all of other books . It’s about a straitjacket death row inmate who’d discovers that he astral project himself into his past lives at will. This book ie epic inscope ands all and it take you acorssti e Space and History . It s great book and can be found via project Gutenberg

Islandia By Austin Tappan Wright It’s a utopian. Novel about a land that never was but you wish actually existed .

 

[Boaz]

Looks like Baylor put up quite a list. Do with mine what you will.

Off Armageddon Reef by David Weber. First in a series of ten books. Has both space and aquatic navies.
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis. Third published, but fifth chronologically, in a series of seven. More nautical exploration than Navy.
Shogun by James Clavell. Fiction based upon history. Dutch naval ship with an English pilot lands in late sixteenth century Japan.
Troy: The Lord of the Silver Bow by David Gemmell. First in a three book series. Half of this book takes place upon or around Helikaon's ship.

 

[HareBrain]

Are there any tribal pre-history stories about?

The Chronicles of Darkness series by Michelle Paver: mainly for younger readers but still good and seems well-researched. In similar vein, Megan Lindholm's The Reindeer People and Wolf's Brother are excellent.

Better than both, though, are the graphic novel Mezolith and its sequel.

 

[Rodders]

If you enjoy naval warfare, you might Enjoy Jack Campbell's Lost Fleet. A lot of tactics and it gets across the idea of naval strategy in space. The first few books are great, but i did find it quite samey after a while and left it once the main arc had been completed.

I'd also recommend Miles Cameron's Artifact Space which is set upon one of four Greatships. There's a lot that is lifted from naval procedures and strategy, (particularly carrier ops) and i found it to be an easy and very enjoyable read. Great cover, too. I'm delighted that a sequel is due.

 

[Toby Frost]

Has anyone mentioned David Weber's Honor Harrington books yet?

 

[Lostinspace]

...
I've read dozens and dozens of fantasy books where the Protagonist joins the army of their respective land and fights the Good Fight, but is there any books where the Protagonist joins the Navy? Not necessarily just "gets on a ship" but actually joins up and Fights the Good fight.

There is a list of 107 nautical fantasy books at Goodreads Nautical Fantasy (107 books) but I am not sure if any fit your desired format. You might also like Harry Turtledove's Hellenic Traders series starting with "Over the Wine Dark Sea", which is historical fiction rather than fantasy.

2) As you can probably tell from the above, I like floaty stuff; I read a lot of historical naval fiction, but I'm also a SFF nerd, and I love reading Naval SciFi yarns too. Does anyone have any good recommendations for any good SciFi navy stuff? Hopefully yarns that are a bit hard Scifi and follow Newtonian laws etc.

Earlier posters have made several good suggestions for books featuring battles in space. One could add old classics such as Glen Cook's Passage of Arms or Starhunt by David Gerrold. Bruce Bretthauer's Firestar has a slight twist. On this site Parson seemed to like the This Corner of the Universe series July 2022 Reading Thread. I am hesitant in suggesting David Drake's RCN series as they are anything but hard SF. However, most have links to real history that you might like.

Are there any good Fantasy stories out there that are not set in a pseudo-medieval setting? Are there any tribal pre-history stories about? ...

I am not sure if it is exactly tribal but David Gemmell's "Echoes of the Great Song" is interesting. As already posted, there is a huge range of "urban fantasy" set in our world available. Most secondary world fantasy does tend to show Medieval influence or a few might reflect the Renaissance as in Miles Cameron's Cold Iron. However, there is also a range of steampunk stories such as Chris Wooding's Tales of the Ketty Jay. If you want seriously non-Medieval secondary worlds, you can search for worlds where the technology is magic. For example, Graydon Saunders' Commonweal series or perhaps something by Robert Jackson Bennet such as Foundryside or City of Stairs.

 

[Guttersnipe]

Rats Bats and Vats is scifi and I think he was forced to join the army but it's a wasteland.

The Particolored Unicorn spends some time on a boat, but I forget what it's about besides being postapocalyptic pseudo-medieval fantasy.

From your post about wanting to find a book, I want to recommend Myth Adventures. There's a comic but I recommend starting with the book.

I'm sorry if any of these are way off base.

Myth Adventures are among my favorites. Asprin is hilarious.

 

[Guttersnipe]

I would recommend the Pellucidar books by Edgar Rice Burroughs. The titular realm is prehistoric in nature.

Also: Chronicles of Ancient Darkness by Michelle Paver.

 

[BAYLOR]

The Moon Pool by Abraham Merritt
The Metal Monster by Abraham Merritt
The Dwellers in the Mirage by Abraham Merritt
The Face in the Abyss by Abraham Merritt

Robert E Howard whom I reccomend his novel Conan he Hour of the Dragon . I also recommend very highly his King Kull, Solomon Kane , Cormac Art and Bran Mak Morn Stories.

Magus Rex by Jack Lovejoy
The List of Seven by Mark Frost
The Six Messiahs by Mark Frost

 

[K. Riehl]

The second book in the Inda series (The Fox) by Sherwood Smith has the main character forced onto a pirate ship where he leads a mutiny and goes on to fight against pirates and eventually the enemies invading his country.

Series: Inda

www.isfdb.org

 

[Bick]

If you like naval SF, you should try the Taylor Anderson Destroyermen series that starts with Into the Storm. I very much enjoyed the first few.

 

[Tower75]

Hi, all.

Wow. Some amazing suggestions here. My apologies for the delay in my thanks; ADHD, parenting, and trying to move home don't mix and my mind is shot. Time to settle down with a book I think.

 

[therapist]

I like floaty stuff;

I know you just got recommended 5000 books, but you should consider Live Ship Traders by Robin Hobb. A story about sentient pirate ships, from a great Author.

 

[BAYLOR]

Hi, all.

Wow. Some amazing suggestions here. My apologies for the delay in my thanks; ADHD, parenting, and trying to move home don't mix and my mind is shot. Time to settle down with a book I think.

A book can take you anywhere anytime. It's the ultimate mini-vacation.

 

[Raincloud Man]

If you enjoy naval warfare, you might Enjoy Jack Campbell's Lost Fleet. A lot of tactics and it gets across the idea of naval strategy in space. The first few books are great, but i did find it quite samey after a while and left it once the main arc had been completed.

He actually released a new series featuring Black Jack after the second main arc and while it's not as epic in scope as the first books, it breaks some new ground. Hopefully we will see the Dancers again in the third book.