Voting time you bunch of goshdarned curmudgeons :P
2 votes per member, can only vote for a story once.
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1.The Wandering Fire by Guy Gavriel Kay.
Description: "A mage’s power has brought five university students from our world into a realm where an ancient evil has freed itself from captivity to wreak revenge on its enemies…
The ice of eternal winter has reached out to enshroud Fionavar, the first of all worlds. For the Unraveller has broken free after millennia enchained—and now his terrible vengeance has begun to take its toll on mortals and immortals, mages and warriors, dwarves and the lios alfar, the Children of Light.
Only five men and women of our own world, brought by magic across the Tapestry of worlds to the very heart of the Weaver’s pattern, can hope to wake the allies they so desperately need. Yet none can foretell whether even these beings out of legend have the power to shatter the Unraveller’s icy grip of death upon the land…"
Pages: 448
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2. Deamon by Daniel Suarez
Series: Two part Novel (Daemon and Freedom TM)
Genre: Techno-Thriller
Pitch (pulled from author's site): "Daemon brings readers on a harrowing journey through the dark crawl spaces of the modern world. It's a cutting-edge high-tech thriller that explores the convergence of MMOG's, BotNets, viral ecosystems, and corporate dominance—forces which are quietly reshaping society with very real consequences for us all.
It all begins when one man's obituary appears online. . .
Matthew Sobol was a legendary computer game designer—the architect behind half a dozen popular online games. His premature death from brain cancer depressed both gamers and his company’s stock price. But Sobol’s fans weren’t the only ones to note his passing. He left behind something that was scanning Internet obituaries, too—something that put in motion a whole series of programs upon his death. Programs that moved money. Programs that recruited people. Programs that killed.
Confronted with a killer from beyond the grave, Detective Peter Sebeck comes face-to-face with the full implications of our increasingly complex and interconnected world—one where the dead can read headlines, steal identities, and carry out far-reaching plans without fear of retribution. Sebeck must find a way to stop Sobol’s web of programs—his Daemon—before it achieves its ultimate purpose. And to do so, he must uncover what that purpose is . . ."
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3.Theft of Swords. by Michael J. Sullivan
They killed the king. They pinned it on two men. They chose poorly.
There's no ancient evil to defeat or orphan destined for greatness, just unlikely heroes and classic adventure. Royce Melborn, a skilled thief, and his mercenary partner, Hadrian Blackwater, are running for their lives when they're framed for the murder of the king. Trapped in a conspiracy that goes beyond the overthrow of a tiny kingdom, their only hope is unraveling an ancient mystery before it's too late.
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4.A Good Courage, by Stephanie S. Tolan.
Story about a guy who's done a bit of cult hopping with his mom, when they end up in a Puritan-esque one, and that's when things slowly spiral down into a struggle to escape the cult after seeing the progressively worse abuses in an increasingly totalitarian environment. But fine, if you want the really shitty synopsis... It's okay Swift, we'll deal.
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5. The Magic of Recluce by L.E.Modesitt Jr.
He is given the standard two options: permanent exile from Recluce or the dangergeld, a complex, rule-lade wandering in the lands beyond Recluce with the aim of learning how the world works and what his place in it might be. Many do not survive. He chooses the dangergeld.
Though magic is rarely discussed openly in Recluce, it becomes clear that he has a natural talent for it during his lessons on the dangergeld. And he will need magic in the lands beyond, where the power of the Chaos Wizards reigns unchecked. He must learn to use his powers in an orderly way or fall prey to Chaos.
Lerris may resent order, but he has no difficulty choosing good over evil. As he begins his lonely journey, he falls into the company of a gray magician, once of Recluce, who tutors him in the use of magic and shows him some of the devastation caused by the Chaos Wizards in the great wars between Chaos and Order of past times.
Lerris pursues a quest for knowledge and power that leads him across strange lands, through the ghostly ruins of the old capitol of Chaos, down the white roads of the Chaos Wizards to a final battle with an archenemy of Order, discovering in the end true control of magic, true love, and the beginning of true wisdom.*
Series: The Sage of Recluce (Book 1)(2nd to last book chronologically)
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 512 pages
*Stolen from Amazon but altered to not be so big and sound better. Cause I'm mostly lazy. :p Yes, yes you are, Fireplay. Props for putting something in there though.
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6. The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
Summary: It's a story of- wait for it- a thief. He is offered freedom in exchange for stealing something that no one is sure actually exists, the stone said to be a gift to humanity from one of the gods.
Genre: Fantasy
pages: approximately 224
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7. 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke.
When an enigmatic monolith is found buried on the moon, scientists are amazed to discover that it's at least 3 million years old. Even more amazing, after it's unearthed the artifact releases a powerful signal aimed at Saturn. What sort of alarm has been triggered? To find out, a manned spacecraft, the Discovery, is sent to investigate. Its crew is highly trained--the best--and they are assisted by a self-aware computer, the ultra-capable HAL 9000. But HAL's programming has been patterned after the human mind a little too well. He is capable of guilt, neurosis, even murder, and he controls every single one of Discovery's components. The crew must overthrow this digital psychotic if they hope to make their rendezvous with the entities that are responsible not just for the monolith, but maybe even for human civilization.
Genre: Sci-Fi
221-224 (based on version) pages.
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8.Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
Oryx and Crake is at once an unforgettable love story and a compelling vision of the future. Snowman, known as Jimmy before mankind was overwhelmed by a plague, is struggling to survive in a world where he may be the last human, and mourning the loss of his best friend, Crake, and the beautiful and elusive Oryx whom they both loved. In search of answers, Snowman embarks on a journey–with the help of the green-eyed Children of Crake–through the lush wilderness that was so recently a great city, until powerful corporations took mankind on an uncontrolled genetic engineering ride. Margaret Atwood projects us into a near future that is both all too familiar and beyond our imagining.
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9.Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko
They are the "Others," an ancient race of supernatural beings- magicians, shape-shifters, vampires, and healers - who live among us. Human born, they must choose a side to swear allegiance to - the Dark or the Light - when they come of age.
For a millennium, these opponents have coexisted in an uneasy peace, enforced by defenders like the Night Watch, forces of the Light who guard against the Dark. But prophecy decrees that one supreme "Other" will arise to spark a cataclysmic war.
Anton Gorodetsky, an untested mid-level Light magician with the Night Watch, discovers a cursed young woman - an Other of tremendous potential unallied with either side - who can shift the balance of power.
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10. Dune by Frank Herbert
It's about a rich noble and his quest to be nobler. It features spices that give magic powers, and also lots and lots of politics and such.
Here is the novel that will be forever considered a triumph of the imagination. Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, who would become the mysterious man known as Muad'Dib. He would avenge the traitorous plot against his noble family--and would bring to fruition humankind's most ancient and unattainable dream.
A stunning blend of adventure and mysticism, environmentalism and politics, Dune won the first Nebula Award, shared the Hugo Award, and formed the basis of what it undoubtedly the grandest epic in science fiction.
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11. H.P. Lovecraft’s
“The Thing on the Doorstep”
The Thing on the Doorstep Vote for this one because of that cool squiggly thing Berka gave us. Anyhow, it's HP Lovecraft, and it's a shortstory. So we can finish it up quick, discuss, and get to the next-highest-voted one right after.
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12.Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Set in the rural South Carolina town of Gatlin, the story begin with sixteen-year-old Ethan Gate's adjustment to life after his mother's untimely death and his father's reclusive reaction to it.
Amma, the housekeeper who keeps a tight rein on Ethan, is something of a character and believer in the occult. Ethan is a realist, dismissing most of Amma's talk of good and bad luck until a new girl named Lena appears at the high school looking and acting like something of a mystery.
It turns out Lena is staying at the local haunted mansion called Ravenswood. When Ethan finally meets Lena, a definite connection is made. It seems he and Lena know each other's thoughts and can "speak" to each other without really speaking.
When Ethan decides to make a surprise visit to Ravenswood, he embarks on a journey that takes both he and Lena back and forth between Gatlin's Civil War past and the present.
Lena's is one in a family of castors, or commonly known as witches. The ensuing story is a fascinating one that ends up involving most of the town, both past and present.
The characterizations are interestingly drawn, providing the glue that overcomes a sometimes weird plot. Although some dealings in the occult occur, the majority of the story focuses on the relationship between Ethan and Lena and the town of Gatlin.
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Yes, I got snarky. Thanks to all who recommended and whatnot. Now let's vote! ^_^
Note: Please vote by number, as it is easier to track with my frail eyes.
