Okay, so I've Read stuff Like Maximum Ride, Darren Shan Saga, Vampirtes, The Demonta, When the Wind Blows, The Lake House, CHERUB, Eragon, LotR among others. And Harry Potter. The question is, where should I go from here? I am intrested in Thrillers, Fantasy, (Stuff Like Maximum Ride as well). Epic Fantasy, Horror. I'm thinking of reading the Percy Jackson novels. Are they any good? Or are they just Harry Potter rip offs with Greek Gods thrown in? Or should I go elsewhere? I need your advice, folks.
Caroline B. Cooney, if you are into vampires, writes very good vampire stories. If you're into normal stories or even history check out her other work, it's very good. I also like Willow Davis Roberts, but she writes for the younger generation.
The percy books are decent, and yes they are ripoffs of the Potter books with alot less depth. As for what other epic fantasy books you could read you can try Wheel of Time, Sword of Truth, Mistborn and Night Angel. Those are the best I've run across so far. I'd also highly recommend the Kingkiller Chronicles. For YA fantasy you can try Inkworld, Seven Kingdoms and Ranger's Apprentice.
Thrillers: I can't recommend highly enough the Tomorrow Series by John Marsden (starts with Tomorrow, When the War Began). There are a total of seven books and a spin off series, so there is a lot to get though. Basically it's about the exploits of a group of teenaged guerrilla's after Australia is invaded by a foreign power, whose name is never given, though it a lot less silly and more grounded than the premise suggests. I don't think I've ever read anyone who can do action scenes like Marsden but it's the introspective moments inbetween that really give this series it's must read status. The next couple of recommendations are more science fiction but you should get your fair share of action and suspense out of all of them. The Andromeda Strain - Michael Chricton Rendezvous with Rama - Arthur C Clarke Enders Game - Orson Scott Card Fantasy The Old Kingdom trilogy - Garth Nix His Dark Materials - Phillip Pullman Good Omens - Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. Anything by either of these authors is very good, though you seem quite young so I'd suggest you start out with with Gaiman's lighter works (Coralline, The Graveyard Book, Anansi Boys) rather than his darker more adult material (American Gods). And of course you can't go wrong with the Legends Anthologies (Legends, Legends II) which include short stories from most of fantasies big names and are a really good entrance point in the genre. Horror Ravens Gate - Anthony Horrowitz. I'm not sure whether or not to suggest anything by Stephen King, but if you feel you're up to him you should definitely check out 'Salems lot.
Seconded, Cooney writes great vampire novels and the Tomorrow series really is a fantastic read, really enthralling.
Merlin, You might try Roger Zelazny's Amber Chronicles. I think they have all 10 novels in one big book (The Great Book of Amber) that you can pick up on Amazon for under about $17.00 dollars. (10 books for 17 dollars, good deal) Steven Brust might work (the Vlad Taltos series). You can start with The Book of Jhereg, which combines his first three Taltos novels. (3 books for under 11 dollars, another good deal) I suspect that you could find Zealzny and maybe Brust at your local library to give them a try first. They've been around a while and have sold pretty well, and they're good reads, and have influenced my writing. If you try one of them and like it, you might give my novel Flank Hawk try if you run out of other things. Terry
If you like fantasy novels and have even a passing interest in dragons, I recommend the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik. Imagine a Napoleonic War era in which dragons of human intelligence compose an Aerial Corp of the military. It's less about the war, however, and more about a man and his unexpected bond with a very unusual dragon. The series is very intelligently written and very endearing without ever being cheesy or childish. I'm not usually into fantasy novels but these definitely grew on me.
I recommend reading Dan Brown, preferably Angels and Demons if your looking for a edge of your seat epic story. I loved it!
i say read "one flew over the cuckoo's nest", "lord of the flies", "blood meridian", "rebecca", "we have always lived in the castle", "all quiet on the western front" "1984" "as i lay dying" and "the great gatsby". read all those, then take everything you learn back to the fantasy genre and write a book that breaks new ground. IMHO. i edited to add: but if you are going to stick with fantasy, i don't see how you can go any longer without reading some hp lovecraft.
