Michael and Jeff Shaara's series of Civil War books. (Michael is the father, Jeff picked up when his father died)
Michael started with the Killer Angels (of which the movie Gettysburg was based on) then Jeff takes over with Gods and Generals (sucky movie, awesome book). The Last Full Measure, and GOne for Soldiers, which moved on to the MExican American war.

He had a 2 series book on the American Revolution, and this fall he's releasing a book on the First World War....

It's a great series of books

The books themselves are well researched

First and foremost: The Dune series by Frank Herbert. I've only read the first four so far though, taking them slow and rereading them before moving on.

And under that, a tie between "The Increasingly Inaccurately Named Hitchhiker's Trilogy" by Douglas Adams, the Robots/Empire/Foundation universe novels by Asimov (though I'm still knocking a few of those book sout), and the Myst books by Rand Miller (based in the universe from the game).

Also been a pretty big Michael Crighton and Tom Clancy fan.

But yeah, Dune above those.

George RR Martin - A Song of Ice and Fire
Douglas Adams - Hitchhiker's Trilogy
Glen Cook - Black Company
Robert Jordan - WoT

Robert K Morgan - Altered Carbon. I thought Altered Carbon was great but Broken Angels didn't live up to my expectations. Kovacs acted differently and just wasn't as cool of a character.

I enjoyed the one Prey series novel I read and am hopefully going to read some of the other books.

Dinesh D'Souza - Letters to a Young Conservative

Ernest Hemingway - For Whom The Bell Tolls - the way he writes the scences and characters is just awesome - they're so believable you'd think you were in person - you can just about smell the pine needles and cordite and you want to duck for cover when the shooting starts. Sheer brilliance. No wonder he won the Nobel prize for literature (though for the Old Man and the Sea).

my Favorite author would have to be Anne Rice,

and my favorite series she wrote is the "Vampire Chronicals" (sp)

Favourtie book = Impossible to single one out, there are so many good ones! :)

Favourite author = James Herbert (the English Dean koontz)

Favourite series = Harry Potter (the only series of books I've read!)

Not really a heavy reader, but:

Elmore Leonard-great crime dramas(big movie w/ Owen Wilson & Morgan Freeman
Dean Koontz-great murder/thriller books(movies suck)
Tolkein-Hobbit, LotR, what else needs to be said(GO!! Peter Jackson!!)
Stephen King-The Stand, Shawshank(short story, forget the name) both good movies
J.D. Salinger-Catcher in the Rye (pure greatness)
James Clavell-King Rat (heavily reccommended)

My favorite book is Son of a Hundred Kings, by Thomas B Costain.

A few books ago, I would have said Robert Jordan, but since the books started dragging around book 7 and 8, I think that series has fallen off the list. Book 9 showed a lot of promise for the series getting good again but book 10 went back to the same old song and dance. Since book 10 was a borderline excruciating read, the entire series falls off the list.

Wheel of Time (books 1-6) - Rober Jordan
Sword of Truth - Terry Goodkind
The Drizzt Do 'Urden series - R.A. Salvatore
The Belgariad and The Mallorean - David Eddings

Don't worry, I'm getting to George R.R. Martin very soon. I've heard way to many good things about it to ignore it any longer.

I grew up on Grisham and R.L. Stine, but now I mostly read Chuck Palahniuk.

I'd say the last actual series I read was The Fear Street Saga when I was about 10 or so!

I'm trying to get into Slaughterhouse Five right now, and then after that it's on to some Hunter S. Thompson.

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events has become my favorite book series. I know they are classified as "children/teen" books, but I find it rather entertaining.

Tolkien's Middle Earth of course...
Larry Niven's Ringworld and his known universe.
Asimov's Robot
Zalazny's Amber
Saberhagen's Berserker
Gibson's Neuromancer. The first two stand above.
Fritz Leiber's Swords (Fafhrd and Gray Mouser)

The last couple decades I'd have to say Addison Wesley gets most of my time. :/

Zelazney is easily my favorite author (Miss you, Roge. :()
My all time favorite book is probably <i>Dune</i>.
My Favortie series is George RR Martin's "Song of Fire & Ice", with Tad Williams' "Memory Sorrow, and Thorn" tied with Glenn Cook's "Black Company" series for second.

Lot of people have mentioned Discworld. I haven't read many of them, and, of those I have read, <i>The Colour of Magic</i> is good, but <i>Small Gods</i> is my third or fourth favorite book ever, easily one of the most brilliant things I have ever read.

I agree that Jordon has gotten old, but I've invested enough in it that I am going to see if he can finish before cholesterol catches up with him. (New book in November, I think.).

Terry Goodkind is sort of like Jordan with an R rating (so's Martin, but it's the difference between Porky's and The Godfather). Before his last one, I was going to give up on him, but I found a signed copy of <i>Chainfire</i>, and it was significantly better than the last three, and is a cliff hanger, so he's into me for at least two more. If he sticks with his whole pornography of violence meets pseudo-fascism (and that's the good guys), then I'll say goodbye to him.

Someone mentioned Phillip Dick and Alfred Bester in the same breath. Sorry, but, though Bester was brilliant, Dick just makes me choke. Storys start in the middle and go nowhere. The only more annoying writer I have run across is Sam Delaney, who seemed to be out to prove that you could masturbate with a typewriter. Reasonable people can disagree on this, but I honestly can't see how.

Props out to Steve Brust, Jammin' JRR Tolkien, and MC HP Lovecraft. Yo!

George R.R. Martin - A Song of Ice and Fire. The best fantasy series I've read to date. As long as he stays on the same track I'll definately be buying the rest. Book #4 (A Feast For Crows) is out in October and you can preorder it now. He's supposed to finish it up with no more than seven books total.

R.A. Salvatore - Drizzt Duurden series. Some of them weren't so good, and the quality has been lacking with the latter stories, so I may just abandon him altogether.

Anne Rice - The Vampire Chronicles. I loved most of this series, but not all of it. The last few books totally sucked and most likely I won't be buying any more if she writes them.

I hate Jordan. Hate him with a passion. His story is so good, but he's ruined it. In book 10 he simply recapped what's been happening in the first 9 and nothing happens until the last chapter. Then he has the gall to go back and write a prequel. Every woman is a carbon copy feminist man hater. His penchant for describing how people are dressed is ludicrous. I could go on, but he's ruined a good story as far as I'm concerned. Unfortunately, I'll also read the last few once I find them on Amazon for $1 apiece. I'll wait until he's done writing them though to be sure he actually ends the neverending story. BTW, his next installment is due out in November and is available for preordering.

I actually made it to book 4, I think. I agree with you whole heartedly.

Wilbur Smith - tons of books that are awesome. River God is especially good, but all of his books that I have read so far are very good.

I also like Raymond E. Feist and L.E. Modesitt Jr (specifically the Recluce series).

Lord of the Rings/Tolkien is always first for me, followed by (in no order) R.A. Salvatore, Margret Weis and Tracy Hickman, Timothy Zahn. I'm more an art person than a book person though.

oh man I actually have one I cant find that any of you listed

Clive Cussler-ANY of the Dirk Pitt books
Catherine Coulter (The Bride Series)

I will also add ones that I agree with some people on
Diana Gabaldon-Outlander Series (I SO want to have sex with Jamie!!)
Rowling-Harry Potter
Patricia Cornwell (any Kay Scarpetta book)
Anne Rice-Vampire Chronicals (Tale of the body theif is my fav)
and Anne Rice-Beauty Series

Favorite author: Robert A. Heinlein.

Favorite book for pure entertainment: The Illuminatus! Trilogy, by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson.

Favorite book with a "message": Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand.

Favorite book series: All of Tom Clancy's books about the Jack Ryan character (Patriot Games, Clear And Present Danger, The Hunt For Red October, etc.).

Iain M Banks - The Culture :thumbsup:

but his other sci fi is awesome, the best no question and no doubt

The Culture is:
Consider Phelbas
The State of the Art (2 culture short stories)
Player of Games
Use of Weapons
Excession
Inversions (dud)
Look to Winward

stories of power, violence, future technology, war with twists, turns, shocks, fun and disgusting cruelty all written in enough detail to describe but not overwhelm.

If you don't agree then you are an idiot and that's OK you aren't alone. :rolleyes:

Two more to add since the last time I posted...

Laurell K Hamilton's Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series is fantastic, it's a good combination of horror, mystery, and romance.

Also, I'm in the middle of reading Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, which is excellent so far. I've heard it goes downhall in the last few, but I'm on Fires of Heaven right now and it has yet to disappoint.

Would have to say Stephen King is my favorite author, and with regrets to Rowling, because Harry Potter is amazing, I will say that the Dark Tower series is the best to me.

[QUOTE=Uncle Pony]George R.R. Martin - A Song of Ice and Fire. The best fantasy series I've read to date. As long as he stays on the same track I'll definately be buying the rest. Book #4 (A Feast For Crows) is out in October and you can preorder it now. He's supposed to finish it up with no more than seven books total.
QUOTE]

He really needs an editor to cut him down. Don't get me wrong I'm not saying he is rubbish. He's not. He writes good stories with some well done characters and decent descriptions. There are so many lesser players I just loose track even with the lists of names and descriptions of who they are.

That in itself tells you something about the books. Not their depth. Don't mistake length for depth. But after reading the first couple of hundred pages of one I read to the end and then thought shall I buy the next one???
the answer was yes and I still haven't read it (lying on the shelf for a year begging me to turn it's cute pages but I ain't being used like that) :D

You must have mistaken Martin for Jordan. :D

Seriously, I had no problems following Martin, but Jordan feels the need to introduce lesser characters in each of his novels. He's lost me a few times.

OK but warning.

Don't read Iain M Banks stories that I recommended.
Cos

SPOILER





The Communists are the heroes!! :)
you might burst a blood vessel or something reading them :p

Nice sense of humor. :D We may get along yet. :icare:

It really depends on what the book is about and how well it's written. I stopped at about 180 pages of Orwell's 1984 because it bored the shit out of me. I've never read Anne Raynd and probably never will because of the political messages in her work. I read to relax. If I want political messages I'll read Micheal Savage, Anne Coulter, or Al Franken. (BTW, I've never read them either.)

Cheers, I do have a sense of humour as well as a political side :)

1984 is a horribly sad story. Iain Banks is normally more upbeat. (not always!)
There are no political rants that I can recall. He's a writer and graduate of English not Politics. He might only mention Communism once in a novel.
It's a way off vision of Communism - wealth for all, drugs for all, no money, smart AI's ruling much, giant intelligent space ships. Violence is rarely fun in the stories and always has consequences

I agree Hyperion to Rise of Endymion are works of a near genuis for sure.
His horror is just as good as Stephen King but can't agree that everything else he does is at the same level of brilliance.

His detective story was average and his latest sci fi silly and not breaking any ground on his original series which remains a classic.