Recommend some fast-paced fantasy or SF books that have some humor

Chasing the Horizon · Jan 5, 2009

I'm looking for something to read and am terrible at finding good books on my own so . . .

Most of the fantasy I've read (or tried to read) has way too much description, introspection and world history for me. I don't object to some of this, but I'd really like to get to the actual story before page 50.

Second, most fantasy seems to take itself SO seriously, and not have any funny dialogue or amusing situations. I feel that humor can go so far towards making a book fun and entertaining--I'd love to read a book with some funny parts.

Know of any books that might meet these criteria? I'm open to sci-fi or fantasy, any length and type.

maxmordon · Jan 5, 2009

One word: Discworld. One man: Terry Pratchett. One suggestion: Mort.

Lccorp2 · Jan 5, 2009

-Steven Brust's Taltos the Assassin series.

sunandshadow · Jan 5, 2009

Are romance novels ok? I've read some hilarious and action-packed sff romance novels.

NicoleMD · Jan 5, 2009

Mathematicians in Love by Rudy Rucker. It had me cracking up from the first page, and is brilliantly ridiculous.

Nicole

Mr Flibble · Jan 5, 2009

Jim Butcher's Dresden series

and I have magic turnips in mine

Pthom · Jan 6, 2009

For fantasy, what IRU said. Butcher reads FAST.

For SF (albeit tongue in cheek) try Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat (any of them).

geardrops · Jan 6, 2009

Also Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Pratchett/Gaiman's Good Omens.

nevada · Jan 6, 2009

The Xanth series? It's been ages since I read it.

An old one, the Myth Inc series by Robert Asprin.

waylander · Jan 6, 2009

Goblinquest by JC Hines (an AWer)
Humurous adventure fantasy

Nakhlasmoke · Jan 6, 2009

Jim Hine's Goblin books?

eta: LOL just saw Waylander's post.

stephenf · Jan 6, 2009

My recommendation for some one that likes Sci-fi but can't find anything good to read, is in fact not a book .It's ten hours long, and the only disappointing thing about is ,it's too short. The radio play by James Follett, Earthsearch 1&2 is brilliant.Unfortunately it has, in the past, been expensive and has not enjoyed a wider audience.But now with the likes Amazon,or www.audioville.co.uk it can be obtained at a much more reasonable price.

Diana Hignutt · Jan 6, 2009

Publishers Weekly called Diana Hignutt's (an AWer) Empress of Clouds "commedably brisk"

(yeah, yeah, I'm sorry, but they did...)

drachin8 · Jan 6, 2009

Anything by A. Lee Martinez.

My husband doesn't read, never has (only what they made him read in school, and not even most of that). But he picked these up from my stack of books. And has actually completed three of them. Three whole books. I swear it is a frikkin' miracle.

-Michelle

Parametric · Jan 6, 2009

Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora is a brilliant fast-paced fantasy novel which reads like a wisecracking heist film, but on paper. I loved it. You can check out the prologue from the author's website.

Kitty Pryde · Jan 6, 2009

"The Good Fairies of New York" by Martin Millar. I just discovered this book last month, and I said, 'oh book! where have you been all my life?' hilarious drunken punk scottish fairies stumbling around New York City.

The Red Dwarf novels by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor are great. They have some overlap with the events of the show but are not straight up novelizations.

Anything by Tom Holt or Robert Rankin is hilarious and epically silly fantasy. Especially "Flying Dutch" or "Expecting Someone Taller".

Jim C. Hines NEW book just came out today: The Stepsister Scheme. It looks pretty awesome and I'm picking it up on thursday! Tis about Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty as butt-kicking warrior chicks. As Waylander said, he's an AWer.

Two other AWers who write funny SF are Simon Haynes (Hal Spacejock series) and John Zakour (Plutonium Blonde etc).

I'll ditto that you should read anything by Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, Doug Adams, or Scott Lynch.

Piers Anthony's Xanth novels and Robert Aspirin's Myth series were awesome when I was a kid, but now in my twenties I find them a bit too silly.

Captshady · Jan 6, 2009

If you can find it, Masters of Spacetime (Dr. Dimension) - by John Dechancie and David Bischoff

DeadlyAccurate · Jan 6, 2009

Adding my votes for Jim Hines and A. Lee Martinez.

Smiling Ted · Jan 6, 2009

John DeChancie's Skyrigger trilogy for science fiction.

Sweet Silver Blues, Glen Cook.

Mr. Chuckletrousers · Jan 6, 2009

Seconding Steven Brust's "Vlad Taltos" series. They are quick reads --I read two of them last night-- and a lot of fun.

Also, try Lois McMaster Bujold's "Miles Vorkosigan" series for some fast-paced space opera.

2old2pb · Jan 7, 2009

I always got a laugh outta Chiun in The Destroyer series by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir.

KosseMix · Jan 7, 2009

Adding my vote for Jim Hines' books. They're definitely at the top of my favorite list.

Izunya · Jan 8, 2009

Since the obvious author (Pratchett) has already been mentioned, I'd like to put in a plug for Diana Wynne Jones. She's a YA author, but don't let that put you off. Her plots tend to be pretty complicated; you're apt to find that a character who showed up for a page in the first part of the book is actually two or three different characters that some of the other characters were looking for all along, or other such complications. The only book of hers that didn't zip along (that I've read, anyway) was Fire and Hemlock.

Howl's Moving Castle is an awesome place to start, IMO. For one thing, it's pretty stand-alone. For another thing, it's hilarious. The hero is . . . a personality. (And the heroine is adaptable and hella tough. The curse that sets off the whole adventure would send me into a two-day screaming fit, but she pretty much packs a bag and sets out to find her fortune.)

Izunya

jchines · Jan 10, 2009

Anything by John Zakour. Simon Haynes has a funny SF series, though it might be hard to track down in the U.S. (He's an Australian author.)

And looking back, I see that Kitty beat me to both of those suggestions.

I'll also toss out the Gaiman/Pratchett collaboration Good Omens.

Chasing the Horizon · Jan 10, 2009

Thanks so much for all the suggestions.

I'll definitely get some Pratchett, since so many recommend him, and will be looking into the books by fellow AW members too.

Recommend some fast-paced fantasy or SF books that have some humor

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