Your Top 5 Favorite Books of All Time
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queensthiefHello Dear Fans of All things Gen—
I have a tall order:
My younger brother (he’s 24) keeps reading awful books and complains to me about the time waste. I told him (as his wonderful older sister) to read the Queens Thief books. He loved them and wants more to read that are of that quality. So I’m coming to you all for your “all time top 5 books”. Ever.
Please help an older sister steer her brother down a good path ;)
Thank you in advance!
I have a tall order:
My younger brother (he’s 24) keeps reading awful books and complains to me about the time waste. I told him (as his wonderful older sister) to read the Queens Thief books. He loved them and wants more to read that are of that quality. So I’m coming to you all for your “all time top 5 books”. Ever.
Please help an older sister steer her brother down a good path ;)
Thank you in advance!
no subject
Date: 7/18/19 08:53 pm (UTC)Till We Have Faces might actually be appealing, as it plays with the same kind of historical world, with political, religious, and philosophical struggles. It has a lot less action, but it's not just people sitting and talking. It's also extremely high quality, and contains a dramatic "turn" similar to the turns MWT loves to use.
They maybe be "popular literature" or worse "tie-in books", but I really strongly recommend the Star Wars: X-Wing: Wraith Squadron novels by Aaron Allston (don't be fooled by the fact that they're books 5, 6, 7, 9, and 10 of a series - they stand alone perfectly well - that's Wraith Squadron, Iron Fist, Solo Command, Starfighters of Adumar, and Mercy Kill). Allston's focus on characters who are deeply flawed but extremely loveable definitely primed me to love characters like Gen, Irene, Helen, Sophos, Costis, and all of the other Queen's Thiefians.
The Hawk of May trilogy, by Gillian Bradshaw (Hawk of May, Kingdom of Summer, and In Winter's Shadow) is a great low-fantasy (little magic, but there is some sense of the supernatural, similar to Queen's Thief) look at the Arthurian legend, largely from the perspective of the Gawain figure, though the Guenevere figure (all the characters have the "historical" names popularized by Rosemary Sutcliff, and if you're a fan of Sutcliff, you'll likely enjoy Bradshaw too) is the viewpoint character for the third book. It's the first book that really allowed me to see past the tragedy and not see nihilism in the ending of Arthur's story.
That's way more than 5, though it's two series. But hopefully your brother might enjoy some or all of these!
no subject
Date: 7/19/19 01:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 7/19/19 08:33 pm (UTC)My personal top 5 varies by day, mood, and whether we're going for top 5 of my life, top 5 that have influenced me as a person the most, or top 5 I reread the most frequently. The five I've owned the longest and reread the most (besides QT) that I remember today:
- The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas
- A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
- Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin McKinley (also Beauty, Blue Sword)
- The Snake, the Crocodile, and the Dog by Elizabeth Peters
- Little Men by Louisa May Alcott
The books that I've loved that remind me most of Queen's Thief in some way are:
- Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
- Game of Kings (Lymond Chronicles series) by Dorothy Dunnett. Definitely adult themes like incest and sex as a coping mechanism and tool for manipulation, although it's more a historical fiction and not meant to be a bodice-ripper style romance. Read at your own risk, but a stunningly good author.
- Lantern Bearers series by Rosemary Sutcliffe
- Crown Duel and Court Duel by Sherwood Smith
- Dalemark Quartet by Diana Wynne Jones
- Anything Lord Peter Wimsey by Dorothy Sayers (Whose Body, Guady Night, etc.)
- The Masqueraders by Georgette Heyer (disguise, comedy, romance by a well-known Regency romance author so may not be what he's looking for but still good fun to read)
I'm sure there's more and I feel like I'm betraying my best friends/possibly my children in forgetting some at the moment, but that's what I've got for now.
Another unique and off the beaten track series that's fun, although very different from QT, is "The Ill-Made Mute" by Cecilia Dart-Thornton. Celtic mythology and not quite as powerfully built-up plot twists, but very rich world building, detailed story, and weaving a lot of Celtic flavor and mythos into the story.
no subject
Date: 7/20/19 01:41 am (UTC)2. Barry Hughart's Bridge of Birds
3. Of course Tolkein's LoTR.
That's off the top of my head; I would list more but I have a sleeping cat on my lap so can't get up and look at my book shelves to see what I may have temporarily forgotten.
no subject
Date: 7/20/19 07:48 am (UTC)Lirael - Garth Nix (the series starts with Sabriel. His specialty is weird worldbuilding)
Night Watch - Terry Pratchett (Pratchetts watch series is part of discworld but if you liked Megans books its a good place to start those books from)
Sandman comics - Neil Gaiman (seriously, get these froma library, they will change your life. Takes a bit to get into but they are gold)
Winter Prince - Elizabeth Wein (closest tonally to Megans books. Megan recs them)
no subject
Date: 7/20/19 07:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 7/21/19 02:20 am (UTC)Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
The Lost Conspiracy (aka Gullstruck Island) by Frances Hardinge
Night Train to Memphis by Elizabeth Peters (along with the rest of the Vicky Bliss series)
The Tattooed Potato and Other Clues by Ellen Raskin
The Icarus Hunt by Timothy Zahn
It was really hard to cut this list down to five books.
no subject
Date: 7/21/19 10:08 pm (UTC)Like others, I'm not sure I can narrow it down to my top 5 from all genres, so I'll stick with ones I think might appeal to a Queen's Thief fan.
(I'm going to assume Tolkien is a given at this point.)
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emma Orczy. A classic. Its title character is similar to Gen in that he masks his true motives and skills with a variety of clever airs (see tropes like "agent peacock," "master of disguise," "deadpan snark," etc)!
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones features another Pimpernel-ish title character, but is on the lighter side, being both an homage and a parody to the fairy tale genre (I once heard it described as "a spiritual cousin to The Princess Bride") with amusing characters and surprise twists. I would love to witness a battle of wits between Howl and Gen, though I wouldn't know who to root for, because I love them both.
The Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries, by Dorothy L. Sayers, are sort of a Bertie Wooster + Pimpernel + Agatha Christie (only better) mash-up. I love them so much, but I've found that much depends on which order you read them in (they can be quite different in tone, and some build heavily on each other). If you want more info on that, I can link you to previous discussions on that topic!
Crown Duel and Court Duel by Sherwood Smith, for courtly battles and political dueling as well as real sword-on-sword action. With the side-note that it might be slightly girly for a brother's tastes? (I would hope not, but some guys are more particular about that than others.)
On the topic of books sometimes overlooked on grounds of girliness... Jane Austen is never a bad option, be your brother brave enough. ;) (Sir Walter Scott and C. S. Lewis sung her praises!) I'd start with one like Northanger Abbey, which is both shorter and more overtly humorous than some of the others, with the added bonus of being an unapologetic parody of the Gothic Romances that were popular in Austen's day. (I may be one of the only females on this planet who didn't like Jane Eyre, so I suppose I was fit to be amused by this.)
The Eagle of the Ninth, The Silver Branch, and The Lantern Bearers by Rosemary Sutcliff, for those that enjoy the historical fiction feel of Queen's Thief. Read them in that order. Even though they work as standalones, they are loosely connected (featuring characters belonging to the same family) and together give an epic overview of Roman Britain.
The Song of Albion Trilogy: The Paradise War, The Silver Hand, and The Endless Knot), and The Pendragon Cycle: Taliesin, Merlin, and Arthur by Stephen R. Lawhead. It's been years since I read these myself, but they retrain a place of honor on my bookshelf for their vivid world-building, complex characters, epic proportions, and blend of history and fantasy.
The Winter Prince, A Coalition of Lions, The Sunbird, The Lion Hunter,and The Empty Kingdom by Elizabeth E. Wein, for a blend of Arthurian legend and (in the latter books) Ethiopian history. Sounds strange, and these books are hard to describe as a whole, but they contain that quality that Tolkien described as "both joy and sorrow as sharp as swords." Some occasionally adult themes (but nothing gratuitous--I'm just warning you that they're more serious in tone than QT).
no subject
Date: 7/21/19 10:08 pm (UTC)The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander. In contrast to the above, these are quite Middle Grade--perhaps too much so for your brother's tastes, and yet they are wonderful. Inspired by Welsh mythology, full of lively characters, humorous dialogue, and meaningful themes.
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater. This one maybe doesn't share a lot of common ground with QT, save for its precocious main characters, slow-burn romance, and frequent snark... but I mention it anyway, because I love it. It's one of those atmospheric books, in which the setting is almost itself a character. And hey, I lent it to a friend once, and her younger brother liked it enough to read it twice! :) (My brother, by contrast, when I attempted to introduce him to the ((excellent)) audiobook during an 18 hour road-trip, rejected it as "obviously written by a girl." I try not to hold this against him, but it's hard.)
For general snark and shenanigans, Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo have been recommended here before for QT fans. I wasn't as big into the second book as the first, but I was there for the Kaz + Inej subplot, which reminds me in some ways of Gen and Attolia.
Sorry. I know you said 5 would suffice, but... 0;)
Older author that men usually like
Date: 7/21/19 11:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 7/23/19 07:43 pm (UTC)Freenarnian already mentioned them but Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo have twisty plots with political intrigue but what makes them really wonderful are the characters. Reading them is like peeling away layers from the characters and learning what makes them who they are.
A series that Megan loves is the Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold. There are a lot of books, so start with either Shards of Honor, The Warrior's Apprentice, or Komarr. Shards of Honor comes first but lots of people prefer The Warrior's Apprentice, to jump in with Mile's story. They are sooooo good.
It's a dense fantasy with confusing fantasy names and places (the ebook edition made it easier, since you can highlight the name and get a reminder of who it is) but I'm sort of addicted to The Goblin Emperor right now. Once again, political intrigue and a character-driven story.
A dense sci-fi series with confusing sci-fi names and places is Ancillary Justice and its sequels. A wonderful main character who is an extreme unreliable narrator, in my opinion. But lots of emotions, action, and questions about colonization and imperialism.
no subject
Date: 7/23/19 08:29 pm (UTC)Gillian Bradshaw has some excellent historical fiction as well. Beacon at Alexandria is one of my all-time favorites—highly recommend!
no subject
Date: 7/23/19 08:34 pm (UTC)Icarus Hunt is such good fun to read.
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Date: 7/23/19 08:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 7/30/19 01:01 am (UTC)I third Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo. Lots of heist activity but a fun lovable cast (most of the time - yes, I'm looking at you Kaz)
VERY unknown: The Farsala Trilogy by Hilari Bell - psuedo Persia at the time of the Roman invasion. Told from the perspective of 3 "teenagers" who have to save the country when the army fails. Lots of great action, military tactics, and political maneuverings. Also, great commentaries on how myths are made.
If Manga is acceptable, FullMetal Alchemist is an absolutely amazing story of brotherly love and overcoming obstacles.
Relative unknown: The Legend of Eli Monpress by Rachel Aaron. First book is reminiscent of the Thief in that you think, ok, cute little adventure story (in this case, thievery antics), but winds up heavily involved in saving the world!
Also, Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson. Also Elantris. And I just started the Mistborn follow up series, starting with Alloy of Law. Great characters, interesting plot.
no subject
Date: 8/12/19 06:03 pm (UTC)HIGHLY RECOMMEND TO ANYONE.
no subject
Date: 9/3/19 10:21 pm (UTC)October Daye series by Seanan Mcguire (really anything by Seanan is worth checking out)
October Daye is a changeling knight in the kingdom of the mists, aka San Franciso. The series follows her on her adventures of solving murders, finding missing children, and trying not to get killed. Very entertaining and suspensful novels with just the right amount of humor.
Gentlemen Bastards series by Scott Lynch
Set in a fantasy version of renaissancish era Italy, this book follows Locke Lamora and his friends who are a gang of cunning con artists who refuse to follow the rules and consider themselves to be well outside of the standard hierarchy.
Maradaine sequence by Marshall Ryan Maresca
four interwoven series set in the city of Maradaine, these books feature, magic, murder, and mayhem. What more could you ask for?
Tortall books by Tamora Pierce
I recommend starting with either the Alanna books or the Beka Cooper books. Alanna is the daughter of a noble who refuses to be a proper lady. Instead she disguises herself as a boy and goes to the palace to be a knight. This series is the first in a sequence of series that follow chronologically (except for the Numair books, which are only just being released, and Beka Cooper) The Beka Cooper books take place a couple hundred years earlier and follow Beka, a Dog (cop) in the lower city.
A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine
Science fiction set in the capital of the Teixcalaanli Empire and following Mahit Dzmare, an ambassador from a small space station. Political intrigue, mystery, action, and a fascinating look at empire and colonization.
books
Date: 9/18/19 04:02 pm (UTC)Seriously
they ate my brain