Ursula LeGuin is a fantastic writer. My favorite books by her:
The Dispossessed - two planets are out of communication w/ one another due to political differences. One planet sends an envoy to the other after a 100 year silence. The differences between the two societies are what drives this fascinating book.
The Left Hand of Darkness - on the planet Winter everyone is ambisexual - both male and female. An envoy (she likes her envoys, that Ursula) comes to perform a scientific quest. The relationship he forges with his partner is quite profound. In this book is the wonderful phrase, "The King is pregnant"
The Earthsea Trilogy - yes, it has dragons in it. But these are very well-crafted stories. Very worthwhile.
The Word for World is Forest - this slim book is one of my favorite books by UlG. It is a fable about slavery and imperialism. Very fast action.
Philip K. Dick has written some amazing books. I would recommend UBIK - hard to describe, but a great ripping yarn. I also really loved The Divine Invasion, but you sort of need a certain amount of Christian theology to understand the sequence of events. (Dick was NOT a Christian apologist, such as CS Lewis)
More in the lines of fantasy are books by Tim Powers. The first of his I read was The Anubis Gates and that remains my favorite. A man travels back in time to attend a lecture by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. He gets left behind by the other time travelers, and has to find his way back. A GREAT BOOK! Earlier this summer I read On Stranger Tides, which is a pirate story with zombies. Sounds stupid, but it is a REALLY GREAT READ! It had my heart pounding throughout most of the book. I think it's out of print, but they probably have it t the library.
Sort of in this same vein is Geek Love. A very disturbing book, but also very funny, and extremely well-written. Much more 'adult' than anything like Eragon.
I am a purist when it comes to fantasy. I like going to the source. In my mind, no one wrote better contemporary fantasy than E. Nesbitt. She wrote around the turn of the alst century, but her stories are still really great reads. She has a great sense of humor, and her stories are free of any sort of clunkily obvious morality that cluttered up so much kids' lit in the Victorian Age. I'd start with The Story of the Amulet and go from there.
A very beautiful and haunting book is Beauty by Robin McKinley. A telling of Beauty and the Beast that is simply wonderful.
I also recommend The Mists of Avalon: the story of the women in King Arthur's court. I would heartily recommend reading this followed by The Once and Future King by TH White. Mostly the same tale, one from a feminist perspective (Mists) and one from the patriarchal (King)
If you want a fast, easy, fun and very bizarre read, try Borgel by Daniel Pinkwater. I read my first Pinkwater when I was in my mid 30s; Borgel was the first. I went out and read everything I could find by him.
Yet another vein if sci fi is Kurt Vonnegut. But a very different sort of sci fi. He wrote with his tongue in his cheek, using sci fi elements to better describe life on earth. Slaughterhouse Five is one great classic. I'd also recommend The Sirens of Titan and Galapagos.
And one more recommendation, a book that has haunted me through my life ever since I first read it in my late teen years: In Watermelon Sugar by Richard Brautigan. A very odd, very beautiful, very lyrical book about a town called iDeath and its heroes and villains. Every day the sun shines a different color; the watermelons they grow on that day are the color the sun shines. The black, soundless watermelons grow when the sun is black, and their juice is the sweetest.
Hope some of these work for you.
Golden Compass, The giver, Brave New WorldNeed help finding good sci-fi/fantasy book to read?
Twilight and New Moon by Stephenie Meyer its a Romance with a Bite...
Eragon. sorry if it has too much elves, dragons, etc. It makes up for it with Urgals and other new stuff.Need help finding good sci-fi/fantasy book to read?
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde. Thursday Next is an agent for Jurisfiction. (First Edition books have to be protected from people that want to change the books so she tries to stop the bad guy from doing this.) She can talk to characters in the book of Jane Eyre.
Dean Koontz, read the Watcher first.
The Inheritence trilogy. I know the third book isn't out yet, but they are really good so far. I don't really like books with elves and stuff like that in them, but this really drew me in. I spent several hours just reading these books. They do have elves and dragons and the like in them, but they are very well written and original. The third book is due out sometime in summer of '08, so there is plenty of time to get around to read them. These are some of my favorites, maybe you'll enjoy them as much as me.
How about the Rowan series by Anne McAffrey, Ill Wind by Kevin J. Anderson, X-Files:Antibodies by Kevin J. Anderson, Prey by Michael Chrighton, Cell by Stephen King, or A Very Strange Trip by L. Ron Hubbard? I would say the Stand by Stephen King but even he alleges diarrhea of the word processor for that story.
I'm sorry but I didn't see anything against witch craft. I read my first book by this writer back in the seventies. It may be hard to find but get a book called Black Company by Glen Cook, there are I think nine novels. The back ground of the story is the company has a history of a thousand years but not the members, as they die new people join. The main character is a doctor call Croaker. Check it out and tell me what you think.
If you want original and innovative, I have two authors for your consideration.
1) Glen Cook - The Garrett series. These funky little paperbacks were out of print and so hot that a dog-eared copy of one of the early ones used to go for 40 bucks or more. They are now reprinted. This is a combination of 40's style detective noir fiction with the elves, dwarves, trolls etc tossed into the mix. They are hilariously funny and totally unique. Glen Cook has written many books, but the Garrett ones are the ones with the titles that include the names of various metals - gold, silver, tin, lead. He has a website. He is a very original author and a great read. My favorite Garrett quote - "Beer is my favorite food and redheads are my favorite sport." Woah.
http://www.xmission.com/~shpshftr/GC/GC-鈥?/a>
2) Christopher Moore - Kind of a newcomer on the scene - been around a few years. His vampire books You Suck and Bloodsucking Fiends are hilarious. Lamb, the story of Jesus as told by his best friend Biff is so funny I actually laughed out loud on the train reading it. He, too, has a website.
http://www.chrismoore.com/
Skip the Eragon and Twilight and Harry Potter stuff. If you are seeking true originals that aren't cliches, these are your authors. They are fresh and edgy and great reads. You are my kind of reader. You will love these. Read about them.
Pax - C
Try Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, or a collection of Ray Bradbury's short stories. They both meet the criteria you've have listed.
I'll throw some titles out for ya.
1st I will support some previous answers. The Eyre Affair was excellent. Stephen King is always a good read. I recommend Eyes of the Dragon, The Regulators, and It.
Now some other recommendations:
Anything by Terry Pratchett. I love is view on the world.
Good Omens by Pratchett and Gaiman
Neverwhere %26amp; American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon
The Death Gate Cycle by Hickman %26amp; Weis
Or go to a Half-Price Books (used book store) and look at the SciFi section. Try one or two. They usually cost about $1-2. Have fun.
Nora Roberts the romance writer also writes under J.D. Robb. In the series set in the future she is a kick butt detective married to the richest man in the world. She is tough and sometimes funny. All of the characters in her books are memorable. She has written a bunch so if you like her there are more out there.
Find one by Frederik Pohl. Try "The Case Against Tomorrow" or "Platinum Pohl" for a start.
HF Pohl
All of the books by David Baldacci are really good. Try The Hour Game.
dark dominion by bentley little was a great book, got what you want
you've had some great suggestions here. pasdeberet especially.
ignore the people who say that this or that fantasy with dragons and elves is really innovative. eragon especially is a piece o' crap.
china mieville is one of the most innovative fantasy writers right now. his books drown a bit in unneeded words, but it's not all description and it's pretty fresh language. i'd recommend you try his YA book "un lun dun" or his first novel "king rat" first. these two are less wordy, and there are no dragons, swords, elves, dwarves or true prophecies.
i second the person who recommended ursula k. leguin and the novels that person recommended. she's amazing.
you should also pay attention to the two SF writers who have been given macarthur "genius" grants--who just happen to be my two favorites as well: octavia butler and jonathan lethem.
octavia butler deals with race-mixing and dominant/subservient relationships in ways that can be truly devastating. her prose is exactly what you want: clear, direct, expressive. try "parable of the sower" or "kindred".
jonathan lethem's first four novels were SF. he's moved on to lit fic stardom and only brushes against the genre now. his books are a little heady, but still fun, and his writing is top notch. try "gun, with occasional music" which is a sci-fi noir, or "girl in landscape" which is a sci-fi western.
the Skinner, by Neal Asher
Robert E. Howard's Bran Mak Morn or Conan stories
Under the Moons of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Little Fuzzy by H.Beam Piper
I suggest reading books by Issac Asimov, Lemony Snicket and ...
Want something different? Try these:
The Sharing Knife, by Lois McMaster Bujold
Dragon and Thief, by Timothy Zahn
Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment, by James Patterson
Dead Witch Walking, by Kim Harrison
Daughter of the Empire, by Raymond Feist %26amp; Janny Wurts
The Tar-Aiym Krang, by Alan Dean Foster
I've read over 700 sf/f books. These have great characters, action, and a little romance, and most definitely are original and innovative and fresh, even the last two, written a while ago. They each also have the added advantage of being the first book in a series, so if you like what you've read, there's more. Enjoy!
David B. Coe-The LonTobyn Chronicles
1) The Children of Amarid
2) The Outlanders
3) Eagle-Sage
Winds of the Forelands:
1) Rules of Ascension
2) Seeds of Betrayal
3) Bonds of Vengence
4) Shapers of Darkness
5) Weavers of War
Ted Dekker
Red
White
Black
Try Tamora Pierce books:Song of the Lioness quartet etc.
Garth Nix - Sabriel, Lariel and Abhorsen etc.
Try Elantris by Brandon Sanderson. I think it's almost exactly what you're looking for. I'm including the amazon link if you want to find out more about it.
Well..maybe I will be accused of banality... but I would say
1. Abarat, by Clive Barker ( only books I and II have been published)
2. The Dark Tower series by Stephen King!
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