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Good book as addicting as Harry Potter?

Only wizard in the yellow pages...

I was in the same situation as you, having just got back into reading with the Harry Potter series. Someone recommended me The Dresden Files, which I got hooked on just as much as HP. They're light and easy reads, laced with humor, that also deal with wizards/magic in a modern day urban setting. They have 11 books in the series so far, plus 1.5 graphic novels, a novelette, and many short stories.

I'd highly recommend them. You can read one of the short stories (it's a prequel, so it won't spoil any of the books) online on Jim Butcher's website to get an idea of his writing style.
 
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mkrishnan said:
Hey! :mad: Okay, yeah, I do essentially act young and female. :eek: I might as well stop arguing this point. :(

If you really like Harry Potter as fantasy, some of the great classics of series fantasy might be worth looking at -- even if you've read Tolkien, have you read the Prydain Chronicles (from the 60s), the Chronicles of Narnia (from the 50s), perhaps the Bromeliad (from the 90s) and so on? Even for that matter a few of Mercedes Lackey's books are not half bad ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes_Lackey ). She's definitely a bit geeky in the fantasy sense (I read this a while ago) but she was actually also fairly progressive -- like the Last Herald Mage trilogy of books follows a gay main character.
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I must agree with Mercedes Lackey. Her Velgarth novels (the entire Valdemar series) are golden. The Last Herald-Mage is ome of her best work (I've read Magic's Promise a good 100 times), and she ties all of it in together.

Outside of the fantasy side, I'd recommend her Diana Tregarde Investigations. They (Tor) just re-released Children of the Night, and Burning Water (the latter which I can not put down), and Jinx High. Hopefully, they (Tor) will re-releaseSacred Ground, as it is also a good book, in the same vein as the Tregarde books.

BL.
 
personally i loved the amazing harry potter series and after reading da vinci code..i was locked in on Dan Brown. angels&demons even better just not as publicized (prior to movie) because it didnt go against people beliefs as much. i have struggled to read deception point as everytime i start it i get busy. Digital fortress was amazing. Eagerly anticipating The Lost Symbol!!

in other words addicting books (and if u r looking for a series)..main character Robert Langdon is in angels&demons, da vinci code, and soon the lost symbol.
truly great with how things tie together throughout the plot..shows how much hard work was put in and how it was all thought about..just like jk rowlings superb series.
 
Have to second the "Uglies" recommendation! Excellent series!

If you get a chance, and like sci-fi, read the Foundation series by Asimov. Loved them, and got my 15-year old son hooked as well. He also likes the Redwall series, and the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series.

If you like adventure, try H. Rider Haggard, and Edgar Rice Burroughs. The works of both of those authors are available free on manybooks.net (it and the Guttenburg Project are the best inventions for book lovers EVER!). The Mars series and Tarzan series by ERB are incredible and absorbing, and the Alan Quatermain books by HRH are also quite interesting and exciting.

Enjoy!
 
Grab one of the books out of Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. Clever, witty, entertaining and absolutely hilarious.

I don't have much time to read these days, but if I can steal enough time to get through a book I choose one of his. Absolutely fantastic, and I say that having read a good deal of the (good) suggestions in this thread.

If you decide to try Pratchett choose one of his slightly later books, I find they're funnier than the first 5 or so.
 
Thanks for all the replies, I'll try to try some of those out.

I gave up on the school assigned hunk of **** book known as Ben Hur after the first paragraph. I hate books in which the author was really enthralled in something and the book can only be enjoyable if you are too. and iv been too surrounded by christianity my whole life to blown away by it. ahwell.
 
Philip Pullman's Dark Materials trilogy is good--somewhere between fantasy and sci-fi, and geared at the same wide age range as Harry Potter. (I'm an adult and liked it a lot.)

First book is Northern Lights, or--in the US--The Golden Compass. Don't let the movie turn you off of the book: the movie was fun if you already know the story, but it was a very abbreviated version and lacked the character depth. Read the book before seeing the movie :)

(The Ender's Game series is fun too.)
 
I love all of the Dexter books.

- Darkly Dreaming Dexter
- Dearly Devoted Dexter
- Dexter in the Dark
- Dexter by Design

They are all written by Jeff Lindsay.
 
It's not science fiction, but I'm really digging the Jack Reacher novels by Lee Child. I love how Reacher gets very technical describing exactly how he's going to beat the crap out of someone, or how a weapon is good or bad in a given situation. Kind of a thinking man's brute.

For science fiction, I don't think you can do better than the first three Dune novels: Dune, Dune Messiah and Children of Dune.

Has anyone read any of Alistair Reynolds novels? or Peter F. Hamilton's?

mt
 
Some of these have been mentioned already, but I nevertheless included them to emphasize. ;)

  • The Dark Tower
  • Snow Crash
  • Microserfs (but don't even try jPod)
  • Eine Billion Dollar/One Trillon Dollars (unfortunately there doesn't seem to exist an english translation of this book)
  • Philip K. Dick in general; there are some great collections of his short stories
  • same goes for Isaac Asimov
 
My list...

  • Garth Nix - Sabriel (series)
  • Phillip Pullman - The Goldan Compas (series)
  • Dan Brown - Angels and Demons
  • Orson Scott Card - Ender's Game (series)
  • Douglass Adams - hitchhikers Guide to the galaxy
  • T.A. Barron - The lost years of Merlin (series)
  • Carrol Plum-Ucci - The Body of Christopher Creed
  • Patrick Rothfuss - The Name of the Wind
  • Joe Haldeman - The Forever War
 
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I'm delighted to see that thejadedmonkey has recommended Garth Nix's Sabriel series, it's excellent, and I also love Douglas Adams. I have also liked the Shannara series, Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials is superb, while some of Terry Pratchett's stuff is excellent (try Wyrd Sisters, or Witches Abroad). David Eddings (the Belgariad and Mallorean) is pretty good, too.

A writer I really like is Gay Gavriel Kay, who writes elaborate, elegant alternative history/fantasy with really well-developed characters and thoughtful (and well-researched) story telling. Robin Hobb writes dark, compelling fantasy, while Trudi Canavan tells a good tale. Another book which I really liked was Ken Follett's Pillars of Earth, a great gripping read and a very well told story.

Cheers
 
Jaws. Ironically, as great as the movie was, I found the book to be much, much better. I have read it multiple times and cannot put it down whenever I pick it up.
 
If you have not all ready, I recommend reading The Hobbit, fantasy story telling at it's best, then if it grabs you jump right into The Lord of the Rings.

If you like space combat along the lines of Horacio Hornblower I'm currently reading an incredible series featuring a heroine, Honor Harrington. The first book, On Basilisk Station is posted entirely online so you can see if it hooks you or not. :):)
 
A Song of Ice and Fire. The books are phenomenal, and they're long enough to keep you occupied for months.

Ender's Game and His Dark Materials have both been suggested. Both series are awesome, so I'd put those on my list as well. :)
 
I am surprised nobody mentioned Terry Goodkind. His books are well written with engaging characters. His Sword of Truth series is a great read. I also really enjoyed The Law of Nines.
 
Andy McNabb's Boy Soldier series is pretty damn good.
Otherwise there is this. ;)
 
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