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Fantasy
- Lynn Flewelling
- The Nightrunner series and The Tamir Trilogy
- Two series set in the same world, although hundreds of years apart. Nightrunner takes place after Tamir, but I think you could read them in either order. The Tamir Trilogy has some very very creepy moments, be warned.
- Robin Hobb
- The Farseer Trilogy, The Liveship Traders Trilogy and The Tawny Man Trilogy
- The Farseer Trilogy introduces the character of Fitz, the bastard son of a prince. He is trained as an assassin and the stories involve political intrigue. Two of the three trilogies follow his life and all three are set in his world. I recommend reading each trilogy in the order listed as the people and storylines overlap. It's not necessary, but I think it would make more sense.
- Tamara Siler Jones
- Dubric Byerly mysteries
- They are forensic detective novels set in a medieval fantasy world. Everything I could ever want in a book. Seriously, I mean it. I highly recommend these books if your two favourite genres are fantasy and mystery. The novels are graphic in detail though. If you flinch while watching CSI, they may not be for you.
- Robert Jordan
- The Wheel of Time (unfinished), beginning with The Eye of The World.
- Warning! Warning! This series may never end. It used to be my all time favourite fantasy series, but the latest additions have not pleased me. They lack action and plotlines drag on, but the rumour is that the author intends on finishing the series in only two more books. The series follows the Dragon Reborn, a man destined to face the Dark One, and the various factions who befriend him, follow him, despise him or wish to destroy him.
- J.K Rowling
- Harry Potter (unfinished), beginning with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
- If you haven't heard of this, where have you been living? Although you may think it's a children's series, I highly recommend it for adults. Actually, as the series progresses and Harry ages, I think the books become unsuitable for young children. They are very scary, with a focus on loss and death.
- George R.R. Martin
- A Song of Ice and Fire (unfinished), beginning with A Game of Thrones.
- An epic fantasy series following the families of the Starks and the Lannisters as they fight for the throne. The books contain lots of characters, lots of action, and lots of twists.
- Anne McCaffrey
- The Dragonriders of Pern Series, (ongoing), beginning with Dragonflight.
- The books are set on the world of Pern, where dragons and their riders must fight the dreaded Thread, an organism that falls from the sky and threatens the planet's very survival. Pern was my first foray into fantasy and I still love the books, although the latest books don't capture my interest as much as the original stories did.
- Petaybee, Freedom, Crystal Singer and Ship Series
- This woman is a very prolific writer. The above books/series are some of my favourites beyond Pern, but there are many many more.
Historical Fiction
- Jean M. Auel
- The Earth Children's Series (unfinished), beginning with The Clan of the Cave Bear.
- Set in the days of early man, the story is primarily focused on a woman named Ayla. After a natural disaster, she is rescued by a group of The Clan (Neanderthals) and throughout the books, we watch her grow up, suffer tragedy, met other people like herself, fall in love and begin to understand her skills and talents. What I enjoy about these books is how amazingly well researched and well-developed Ayla's world is. Although the books can be over descriptive, the characters and the story seem very real to me.
- Diana Gabaldon
- The Outlander Series (unfinished), beginning with Outlander.
- Although the story is mostly set in the 18th century, the main character, Claire, is from the 20th century. Even though time travel is the plot device used to get her there, the rest of the story rings true to me and the majority of the situations seem quite plausible. Claire's story is primarily one of love and relationships, but tightly interwoven with the political intrigue of the 1700s. As an additional plus to me, Claire is a nurse and her medical knowledge is key to many of the storylines.
Mysteries and Thrillers
- Stephen J. Cannell
- Cannell started off as a television writer, including 21 Jump Street, Wiseguy and The Rockford Files, and has only been publishing novels for about 10 years. The books are mostly detective/crime novels but my favourite is King Con, the story of a really great con artist.
- Patricia Cornwell
- Scarpetta
- Kay Scarpetta is a medical examiner in Virginia and an extremely strong, motivated woman. She becomes involved in various crime cases through her work and helps solve them using science, intelligence and talent. This used to be my number one favourite series, but I've lost faith. I recommend the books up to Blowfly. Stop before you get there.
- Linda Fairstein
- The Alex Cooper Crime Novels
- Alex Cooper is a female prosecutor in New York. The stories follow her and her friends on the police force, as she tries to help the victims in her cases. I have enjoyed each and every one of the books that have been published so far.
- Kathy Reichs
- Temperance Brennan
- The series is about a female forensic anthropologist, Tempe Brennan, (seeing a trend here?) who works cases in both North Carolina and Quebec. I love the science and medical information woven into the mysteries in these novels as Tempe uses her knowledge and abilities to help the police figure it all out.
- Michael Slade
- Special X
- These books are RCMP detective novels heavily laced with gore and the occult. They are the kind of books that make you check your locks before you go to bed and leave a light on. The majority of the stories are set in Canada, often Vancouver, which makes them even scarier for me as I often know exactly where the crime took place. I have read the books in the order in which I found them, but the stories overlap and I think I would have preferred to read them in the order published.
- Stephen White
- Alan Gregory
- The novels are about a Boulder, Colorado psychologist named Alan Gregory who encounters various mysteries and crimes through his career and through his friends, including policemen and prosecutors. He often faces the dilemma of client privacy and the safety of others.
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