hi Im looking for something to read on it own or in a series during privite study at school Im looking for something simular in writing and content to the lord of the rings books and the his dark materials books by phillip pullman (Northen lights, subtle knife, amber spyglass) if you get what I mean any suggestions?
'The wars of light and shadow' books by Janny Wurts. Anne McAffrey's (sp?) Dragonriders of Pern series (very cool)
+1 for Terry Pratchett Also look into The Night's Dawn trilogy by Peter F. Hamilton Dragonriders of Pern series is also rather entertaining
I loved the Black Company novel. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Company_(novel) Series http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Company
+1 for Discworld. I've also enjoyed reading The Inheritance series, book 3 of which is due out this month (Eragon, Eldest & Brisingor). The Dresden Files are also worth reading (I've read the first 5 or 6 so far and really enjoyed them).
I'd recommend the Ringworld series by Larry Niven, and all the short stories set in the same universe.
For all those discworld fans, I recommend Neil Gaiman (good omens was co written with terry pratchett) and Robert Rankin (the antipope is what i'm reading atm). Not sure what to recommend to the person who started the thread though. Maybe the dune series... and you can't go far wrong with phillip k. dick.
I tried reading the non-Dirk Pitt novels, never liked them. I think Atlantis Found is my favorite by far
Try the Belgariad books by David Eddings, they've been around for quite a while now and were originally a series of five books. They were fairly quickly followed by a second series of five and now they have various spin offs and add ons to flesh out the history and mythology that makes up the fantasy world in which they are set. I found them very entertaining and I've read them numerous times over they years, they have a more modern feel to them than LotR so they might feel more accessible.
I just read Mortal Engines by Phillip Reeve, absolutely loved it and buying the next three books next week. And coincidently, I've discovered that all I need to ensnare my attention completely is a city on wheels!
At school I read the Redwall books by Brian Jacques which I believe are similarish to the Discworld novels... correct me if I'm wrong, worth a look tho