Can you recommend a good book series - not Twighlight or Harry Potter - somethin

1. 74

   breathe2travelposted 12 years ago

   Can you recommend a good book series - not Twighlight or Harry Potter - something new?

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2. 61

   eternals3ptemberposted 12 years ago

   If you're into fantasy/magic: the Bartimaeus Trilogy ( I haven't read the fourth, so I can't say anything on it) or the Redwall Series
   
   Sci-fi: Dune or the Ender's Game Series
   
   Horror/Mystery: Just about anything by Stephen King

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   LisaKoskiposted 12 years ago

   I just started reading the second book in the Divergent trilogy by Veronica Roth. They're great if you like The Hunger Games or just post-apocalyptic fiction in general. I have a review of the first book, Divergent, on my page if you're interested

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   golfcart34posted 12 years ago

   I highly recommend the Thursday Next series of books by Jasper Fford (the series starts with The Eyre Affair).  My boyfriend's father is an avid reader and he loaned me that series one time.  Let's just say those were some of the rare books I couldn't put down!
   
   I also enjoyed Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill (the son of Stephen King).  That was another book I couldn't put down.

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   MickSposted 12 years ago

   The Dark is Rising - Susan Cooper.
   The Shannaha series of books by - Terry Brooks.

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   Ghaelachposted 12 years ago

   Hi.
   Wilbur Smith has written many books most have an African theme as he was born in then Rhodesia (British) and now Indepenent and called Zimbabwe.
   He has three series and one being of the Courtney series, the Ballantyne series and third being the Egyptian series plus countless other books.
   I've ready every book he's written and enjoyed every single one.
   LOL Ghaelach

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   Chris Hughposted 12 years ago

   Harry Dresden series by Jim Butcher. 
   
   Harry Dresden is hardboiled detective in modern Chicago. Jim Butcher loves having  fun with tropes. He takes stereotypes and stands them on their heads. So the hardboiled detective has a soft heart, of course, plus he's a funny goofball and he's a wizard. With real magical powers.
   
   Throughout 13 books, every supernatural being from anywhere makes an appearance. Native American ghosts, Valkyrie, fairies of all stripes, everyone. What's unique and engaging is that Jim Butcher deconstructs all of them and somehow makes them make sense.
   
   Lots of action, too. Vividly written. The story is that the author was taking a writing class and he decided to parody every aspect of the class to show that everything he was being told about character, description, plot, etc., was trite and wouldn't work. The joke is, it worked. That class assignment became the first book he got published and now he has a huge following. When I went to the store to buy his latest book and there were two guys milling around, buying his books too. Amazing fan base.
   
   Love it. Be sure to start with the first book, Stormfront. The series might have jumped the shark with the last book, but the first dozen are excellent.

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   SidKempposted 12 years ago

   I would recommend the Young Wizards series by Diane Duane. The characters are the same age as Harry Potter's, but the message is much more profound, as is the understanding of life, and life as a teen
   
   And, since Chris Hugh recommended Harry Dresden, I'll add that the Dresden Files TV series is great, too.

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   duffsmomposted 12 years ago

   I'm reading a couple right now to review for Amazon Moonlight Rises and Blue Moonlight by Vincent Zandri about a private eye, Dick Moonlight who has a penchant for getting himself into trouble. I'm reading uncorrected proofs but I think they will be released  September 2012.

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    Catherine Kaneposted 12 years ago

    Chose urban fantasy by Mercedes Lackey or Charles de Lint
    
    the Dresden Files are also excellant

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    michememeposted 12 years ago

    I am reading Games of Thrones. Thanks to the TV Series on HBO. After the first season of this show I purchased the books.

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    wingedcentaurposted 12 years ago

    The late Octavia E. Butler was a science fiction/fantasy author with a real way with words. She was a true prose-smith, if you will, which makes her books such a pleasure to read. The trilogy is: Patternmaster (about a kind of dystopic future where mainly the privileged have 'psychic' powers, mind reading, telepathy, etc); Mind of My Mind (the prequel in which we see how the world developed that way); and the prequel to Mind of My Mind, Wildseed (which 'begins' the story in the American colonial era).
    
    1. Patternmater
    2. Mind of My Mind
    3. Wildseed
    
    Take it easy

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    Farmgirlaleeposted 12 years ago

    While the series is not "new", I strongly recommend the DragonRiders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey.  Her Crystal Singer series, Ship Who Series, and Talent series are also interesting with wonderful character development.  Her protagonists are real and have realistic flaws instead of being super good like many authors make their characters.
    
    Another epic author is Orson Scott Card.  Some of his books are...odd... and can miss the mark, however I greatly enjoyed the Ender series as well as the Worthing Saga.

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    cmumm86posted 12 years ago

    If you like Harry Potter, you might like the series called The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel. I really enjoyed it. The first book is called The Alchemyst. There's six total.
    
    Also in that same vein is I Am Number Four, which is short but very enjoyable. There's only two books released in that series so far, with a planned six.
    
    Or you can try the Song of Ice and Fire series, the first book of which is Game of Thrones, which is the name most people know the series by. It's amazing! Although it is a little crass at points.

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    teddi6posted 12 years ago

    You didn't specify the age group.  Fiction? Tween?  Teen?  Adult female?  Adult male?

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       breathe2travelposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       All of the above, except the Adult Male bc my hubby does not do a lot of recreational reading right now.  I am looking for myself as well as for two of my children.  Thanks!  Good question.  Also, am interested in what the current trends are.

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    A C Nortalposted 12 years ago

    Perhaps you've heard it, and you're already sick of it. But I really enjoyed the Hunger Games trilogy when I read them a year ago. Since I read it, and the movie came out, it has become extremely popular. However, I prefer the heroine over most other heroines in young adult literature lately. There is a underlying love plot, but if you aren't reading the series for that, it kind of falls to the wayside. At least, it did when I read it.
    
    I also read the books aloud with a friend. We alternated between chapters and I found this to be an exceptional experience.
    
    If you're looking for something fast and somewhat nostalgic, I would also recommend the Series of Unfortunate Events, I read them when my ex was in the hospital and I was tearing through books. In the Woods by Tana French is also pretty decent, the sequel is supposed to be coming out fairly soon. I'm not sure if any of this is what you're looking for, but I hope it helped!

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       A C Nortalposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       eeek. There is**

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       breathe2travelposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       I've read Book One - The Hunger Games.  Read in one sitting. My kids read the Unfortunate Events, and I've only read the first book.  I have not heard of In the Woods, but think I'll look into it.  Thank you.

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       A C Nortalposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       You should really read the rest of the trilogy. The third book is a bit slow but it picks up a lot at the end!

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    Maia Dealan-deposted 12 years ago

    The Underland Chronicles - Suzanne Collins
    
    A good friend and reading soulmate recently pointed me toward these when I was rhapsodizing about the Hunger Games trilogy (these are an earlier work, a bit less dark, by the same author).
    
    I am a ridiculously fast reader and have finally learned to just put a book down unfinished (gasp!) if it's not up to snuff.  These, however, I plowed in a couple of days and really enjoyed them.
    
    It's Young Adult Fantasy, so maybe fun to do with your kiddos (I think you mentioned that in a comment?).
    
    The 5 books are:
    
    1 Gregor the Overlander
    2 Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane
    3 Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods
    4 Gregor and the Marks of Secret
    5 Gregor and the Code of Claw
    
    Best of luck!
    
    (BTW, this is my very first HubPages post... Woo Hoo!)  :-)

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       Catherine Kaneposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Congrats and belated welcome aboard

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       Maia Dealan-deposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Thanks, Catherine!

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    3. 74

       breathe2travelposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Thank you for posting - Welcome to Hub Pages!  I wish you much success here.

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       Catherine Kaneposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       you're welcome

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    netraptorposted 12 years ago

    I just wrote a hub about several good kids series I've enjoyed: http://netraptor.hubpages.com/hub/Great … s-for-kids
    
    I've just begun the Attolia series by Megan Whalen Turner, too. All the reviews say book 2 and up amazing, but alas, I've not yet laid my hands on those. It's a YA series.

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    stank24qmposted 12 years ago

    If you're looking for something that your kids can read, and since you've already been through the first, I'd recommend the whole Hunger Games trilogy. Those books all had me so hooked and this is coming from someone who rarely reads. Why not finish them if you've already started, ya know what I mean? Other than that I can't recommend a whole lot, but I thought I'd put in my 2 cents since I tell everyone to read them

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    beddersoxposted 12 years ago

    A series that I highly reccommend is The Maze Runner Trilogy by James Dashner. If you are into dystopian novels, these are the perfect books for you. To me, a perfect book is one that hooks you in the beginning and keeps you reading for hours because you just can't bare to put it down. It lingers in your thoughts well after you've finished. These books do this for me.
    
    The first book, The Maze Runner, is about a boy named Thomas who wakes up in an elevator dubbed "the box" by a group of boys who live in the center of a giant maze with no recollection of their previous lives. They've been here for a couple years, trying to solve the maze to get back to the homes that they can't remember. New boys, as well as supplies, are shipped into the maze through the box. The lives of these boys follow the same pattern until one day when a girl is shipped into the maze through the box. This is when everything changes!
    
    Hopefully you will check out these books. They are so good!

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    IsaMontenegrposted 12 years ago

    Have you read Daniel Silva's Gabriel Allon series? They are about 8-9 books, and a new one is set to come out sometime this or next year. It is a thriller, mostly spy novel type. It is very well written, and the stories are varied, and each book has its own way of linking with the others, and being a good stand alone book.

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    malzey43posted 12 years ago

    i would definitely recommend the "escape from furnace" series. Its the best series ive ever read. they can get a little graphic and unpleasant, but there's non-stop action and lots of plot twists

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    Seek-n-Findposted 12 years ago

    I think somebody said it, but the Hunger Games is a popular one.  An older series but one that I really enjoyed was the Circle Trilogy by Ted Dekker:  Black, Red, and White.  It can be hard for me to follow through when it comes to finishing a book, but I couldn't put those ones down.  It's not the most poetic sounding language ever, but there is a lot of action, twists, suspense, and a deeper metaphor about life that goes beyond the story itself.

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    nochanceposted 12 years ago

    The first three books of the Maximum Ride series by James Patterson are pretty good.

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    cam8510posted 12 years ago

    Bernard Cornwell's Saxon Tales.  He is writing the seventh book in the series

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    Russ Fyeposted 12 years ago

    I highly recommend "The Ringing Cedar Series" by Vladimir Megre.  This series will open your eyes and change the way you look and think about life. 
    
    Peace

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    daisydayzposted 12 years ago

    Hunger Games and the Girl with the Dragon tattoo trilogy are both very good. But I've started reading a few others Birthmarked, Divergence, The mortal instruments, His dark materials, The Wolves of mercy Falls and Nathanial Cade All pretty good!

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    Ciel Clarkposted 12 years ago

    I love(d) the Bagthorpe Saga books by Helen Cresswell.  Funny as a kid, and I've reread them over the years.  There are some great classic series like all the "Little House on the Prairie" books, and "The Wizard of Oz" books that are new and good, and maybe a change from stories about vampires...

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    krillcoposted 12 years ago

    Not new, but Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series is rather engaging.

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    AngelaPiccolaposted 12 years ago

    I loved the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld. It's about a teenager girl waiting for her transformation ceremony to become the more attractive form of herself. The next book in the series, of course, is the Pretties. The rest of the series is pretty good, but the Uglies and Pretties are my favorite.
    
    I would also look up The Maze Runner series by James Dashner. A boy wakes up to find his memory erased, in a maze with terrible monsters and no way to get out. He becomes a "maze runner" and tries to find his way out of the maze.
    
    The Divergent series by Veronica Roth is supposed to be very good too. Another dystopian novel, this time in a futuristic Chicago.

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    American_Choicesposted 12 years ago

    Welby MD just published his first in a series of five books about the Psalms. Essentially it is a Bible study of the Psalms. The first book is called Speaking Psalms. He just sold out and is receiving in new inventory.
    
    It is an uplifting book, filled with words of inspiration for daily lives.
    
    It is amazing a book written so long ago can be re-interpreted for our daily lives.

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    Sheepsquatchposted 12 years ago

    I know the whole vampire/werewolf thing is a little overdone right now, but I really enjoy Christopher Moore's books. They are fun and actually interesting. One of the books involve new vampires having to drink blood from a homeless man's cat. Which causes a wave of vampire cat's to attack the town.

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    dezalyxposted 12 years ago

    I recommend the Fallen series by Lauren Kate. I remember that I thought it was similar to Twilight but instead of having vampires, it had fallen angels.
    
    Or you could try reading my hub about book recommendations to find more similar books.

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