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[–] confidence ago 

City of Ember. I think I have read the entire series at least 3 times

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[–] Magician8 0 points 3 points (+3|-0) ago 

Asimov's Robot series. Great character development and great sci-fi mystery stories.

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[–] Citizen_Kong ago 

Since some of my favourites have already been mentioned, I'll add the Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch. It's quite a lot like The Dresden Files, in that it combines detective mysteries and the supernatural, only with a very British touch. Oh, and the main character is black without that fact being constantly part of the plot, I found that very refreshing.

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[–] cyril75 0 points 1 point (+1|-0) ago 

Alastair Reynolds "Revelation Space" books are great.

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[–] trollers 0 points 3 points (+3|-0) ago 

I truly enjoy the first two books in the Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss. I've found it's a true challenge for a fantasy writer to be both descriptive and engaging, yet Rothfuss does so flawlessly. The only downside is waiting for the third book to be released.

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[–] deviantdreamer 0 points 1 point (+1|-0) ago 

If you ever get a chance, go see him speak in person. It's rather epic. His writing is hands down some of my favorite.

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[–] lackonius 0 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago 

The Kingkiller Chronicles are pretty good. I agree with the waiting though, too bad quality takes time :/ He's a great story teller and has a lot of content I can't wait to see develop further.

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[–] BlastedToMoosh ago 

Piers Anthony's The Magic of Xanth series kept me company for a large portion of my youth, and I definitely recommend it for young adults.

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[–] lackonius 0 points 1 point (+1|-0) ago 

Piers Anthony is incredibly clever in his Xanth series. Sometimes they can be a little on the adult side of young adult, but that's my impression from ~2001. Today's kids? probably just fine.

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[–] BlastedToMoosh ago 

I read them in 1995-99 when I was in 3rd-6th grade. A lot of stuff went over my head but towards the end there things were starting to click.

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[–] noplastersaint ago 

I have two that I keep going back to: The Three Musketeers universe by Dumas and the Legacy of the Aldenata series by Ringo. I save Dumas for cold winter days and Ringo for summer-time poolside fun. Been through both at least 3 times now, probably more than 5 for Ringo since they are such a quick read.

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[–] RayLomas 0 points 3 points (+3|-0) ago 

Hard to decide. I'm leaning towards Dune series by Frank Herbert (definitely not continuations by his son, Brian). It's great, but requires a lot of focus and attention.

God Emperor Of Dune is my favourite of the series, although, it takes time to like it. The first book - Dune is probably the most accessible.

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[–] cstoli 0 points 1 point (+1|-0) ago 

I've tried Dune three times now. I've never been able to make it more than about 50 pages deep. What am I missing? Do I just need to push through to get to better storyline?

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[–] RayLomas ago 

First 50 pages are merely an introduction, to get you to start grasping the universe where the whole thing is taking place. Dune actually has a lot of action, which unfolds quickly, once the "intro" part is over, but you need to get to at least 60% of the book before you start to see amazing things.

I remember that when I was ~18 I struggled with Dune, and dropped it. Later started once again when I was 25, and in one month binge-reading episode I've finished the whole series (6 books, ~2-2.5k pages) during less than 1 month.

It's a pretty similar thing to what I remember from the Lord Of The Rings... first pages about Hobbiton, Bilbo, Bilbo's party is boring as hell, but serve a great purpose of introducing you to the completely alien universe. Unlike LOTR, though, I would advise you not to try to make sense of everything you read, not to memorize terms and characters - it's pointless and distracts you from bigger concepts. Dune universe is very strange (hell... sci-fi, space flight and interplanetary wars without computers, who'd think of that in any sci-fi?) so it's perfectly fine to not understand a lot of things. Later, either after rereading, or getting a "woah!" moment when thinking about during a shower, it'll start to fall into place.

Another reason to read and love it, is that this whole book serves a great motivating purpose, at least for me. Some of my favourite quotes:

  • Mood? What has mood to do with it? You fight when the necessity arises — no matter the mood! Mood's a thing for cattle or making love or playing the baliset. It's not for fighting.
  • Arrakis teaches the attitude of the knife — chopping off what's incomplete and saying: "Now it's complete because it's ended here."
  • The mystery of life isn't a problem to solve, but a reality to experience.
  • You should never be in the company of anyone with whom you would not want to die.
  • Enemies strengthen you. Allies weaken.
  • Confine yourself to observing and you always miss the point of your own life. The object can be stated this way: Live the best life you can. Life is a game whose rules you learn if you leap into it and play it to the hilt. Otherwise, you are caught off balance, continually surprised by the shifting play.
  • Seek freedom and become captive of your desires. Seek discipline and find your liberty.
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