Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay.
Absolutely stellar book. It's absolutely no surprise that it's been named by at least 5 publications as "best fiction of 2010." It's about an alternate 8th century China, where a young man can suddenly influence the future of an empire. The story is riveting and doesn't let you go. The characters are ALL developed incredibly well. Main characters and minor characters all are fleshed out. An amazing book, I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical fiction..
as an aside, I didn't know until I looked him up that Guy Gavriel Kay was the guy who edited Tolkien's stuff after he died. no wonder he's so amazing. I'm definitely going to pick up some of his other books now, when I get the time.
Great choice. All of Guy Gavriel Kay's stuff is excellent; I cannot recommend them highly enough, as they are exquisitely written, beautifully realised, extensively researched, have strong characterisation and are very well told tales. However, a number of them are out of print and they may be a bit difficult to obtain.
Currently reading "Inkdeath", prior to that "Inkspell" and "Inkheart", all by Cornelia Funke.
Original and excellent.
2nd book of the Stieg Larsson trilogy:
The Girl Who Played with Fire.... [Was it the writer's intention to make Lisbeth Salander so ****ing annoying? She's quite possibly one of the most unlikeable protagonists I've ever read.]
Damn this trilogy is boring. I want to read them all before the US remakes hit the theaters.
I loved this trilogy and found them absolutely addictive when I read them over a year ago.
I have just re-read Tiger Tiger/The Stars My Destination, by Alfred Bester, written in 1956, for the first time in thirty years. What an incredible piece of work! I can't imagine why nobody has made a film of it: it would be absolutely stunning.
If you have not read it, do so. Probably the best science fiction book ever written.
I look forward to taking your advice as I haven't actually read this. Worse, I had not even heard of it until I read your recommendation.
I love that book!
I'm about to start my annual reading of the Hitchhikers Guide "Trilogy"...
The Hitchhikers Guide is an absolute classic, loved it when it came out and still do.
Re my own current reading, I'm re-reading "America, Empire of Liberty" by David Reynolds and Niall Ferguson's Civilisation - "The West and the Rest", both of which are texts intended to accompany a TV series.
I liked Tom Holland's "Rubicon" and recently read the final (apparently) volume of Jean M Auel's series, The Land of the Painted Caves.
Cheers
