IGX

The sci-fi books are both by Glen Cook: A passage at arms and The Dragon Never Sleeps.

The fantasy book was Holdstock's Mythago Wood.

Glen Cook is a truly great pulp novelist and I've read an embarrassing amount of his books and would recommend them all. These are no different.

Passage is a blatant Das Boot rip off but the setting is space. Very tense and forgot the Das Boot thing quickly.

The Dragon Never Sleeps is my second favorite sci-fi book of all time. Bester's The Stars My Destination is my far and away favorite. But TDNS is incredible. It's exploding with cool ideas. It's the Fall of Rome in space with insane AI self-directed starships instead of Legions. The clone stuff is maybe goofy. I have to read it again more closely. Backstory of the book is that Cook's publisher was an ass so Cook jammed an entire series into one book to fulfill his contract. It's a crime there's no HBO series made from this.

Mythago Wood is a jungian take on Celtic and shamanic myths. Holdstock tries to recreate the mindset of a pre-Christian pagan. Holdstock is a world class expert on Myths. Well worth the read. It's out there but a fun read and well worth the time.

Thanks for the he tipper, Benny

Going to second this

Mythago Wood and the sequels are stunning works jammed full of ancient myth and symbolism.

Cook is just a fantastic storyteller. I'd recommend the first 4 books of the Black Company series to anybody. If you really love them, you can keep going and finish it out. The Silver Spike runs a very close second to the best book in the series after The Black Company.

Funny you mention Bester, Benny, I just reread that.

Tyger tyger burning bright...

I'm right about everything Steven.

In a high-strung neurotic annoying way.

But still...

Holdstock's Iron Grail series is impossibly good. That and Gene Wolfe's Soldier of the Mist are the top for me. At least as far as genre transcending art. The caveat with Wolfe is of course that he's a Cabbalist and that is the very worst juju... i have a screen shot of an interview with Wolfe and he's really verbose and open until the interviewer asks him how and when he came to realize all the occulted forces working to control the world... he says "no comment". Looooool. Idk. Wolfe's kind of perverse...

Clark Ashton Smith and Cook and Howard and Burroughs are the top pulp writers for me.

Bester is somewhere in the middle stylistically, I think.

The wild-card is R A Lafferty. He's probably the greatest of them all but he's so esoteric and complex, I honestly get overwhelmed. I mean, researching the Ottonian dynasty and the Spanish Carlists to figure out just one damn thing is a little much... But then sometimes I just read him for the high-weirdness and awe and accept I understand nothing hahahah

PS. The King in Yellow and Machen's stuff is wild and fun and well written but almost certainly evil.

My big box Barnes and Noble had none of them.

Bennyonesix1 wrote: ↑Sun Jan 12, 2020 11:49 pm Bester's The Stars My Destination is my far and away favorite.

Finally got a copy (on my Nook) and it's a page turner. Really enjoying it.

nafod wrote: ↑Tue May 26, 2020 2:08 pm

Bennyonesix1 wrote: ↑Sun Jan 12, 2020 11:49 pm Bester's The Stars My Destination is my far and away favorite.

Finally got a copy (on my Nook) and it's a page turner. Really enjoying it.

Finished it. Great ending.

Been looking for some good fiction, thanks for the suggestions!

I'm girding my loins to read the whole Mythago Wood series again

It's enjoyable the second time through.

The Iron Grail/ Merlin Codex is maybe better.

It's all pretty much the same world though.

I'm going to try Wolfe's Soldier in the Mist again.

I have The Broken Earth Trilogy sitting on a shelf. Bought it based on the reviews.

Need to finish The Dispossessed by Le Guin first. Interesting book and timely, as it talks about anarchy versus government. Food for thought.

I read the Gene Wolfe's Book of The New Sun based on recommendations here. that was great.

If you can tolerate ambitious high-brow stuff then R A Lafferty is worth a look.

Past Master and Fourth Mansions.

900 Grandmothers is his short story masterpiece.

As in, he's more erudite than Umberto Eco and probably on the same tier as Roberto Callasso or Borges.