CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

i'm looking for a new book to read. my english teacher actually let us pick a book that we wanted to read for our next book critique. that's why i'm taking recommendations. here are some criteria i have:

i'm looking for more of a fantasy/comedy novel
around 300 pages (can be over that limit but not an extremely long book)
lots of action and not very confusing
nice plot and interesting characters
no romance in the novel (or very little romance)

thanks.

Let me be the first to say near anything Terry Pratchett's done. Local library should probably have some of his Discworld series (not so much a series, really, as much as a common universe with some familiar faces). Not all of them are up to par, but odds are you'll enjoy the rest.

And I discourage you from reading the first in the series, as the rest are much better.

Black by Ted Dekker - Think Perelandra (by C.S. Lewis), The Matrix and '24' and you'll get a little idea of what to expect).

oh yeah, i forgot to mention that i don't want the book to be really scary or anything. it's okay if there's SOME horror but nothing extremely gruesome or violent. might i also add that i'm not really looking for a series that revolves a great deal around witchcraft and magic, like Harry Potter. more like an adventure type of novel like Lord of the Rings...

Well, it's not dark or overly violent. But it's not comedy either. Thriller/adventure/fantasy.

Many of Terry Prachet's books are great. If you don't understand British humour though, give them a pass.

jon_jinn wrote:oh yeah, i forgot to mention that i don't want the book to be really scary or anything. it's okay if there's SOME horror but nothing extremely gruesome or violent. might i also add that i'm not really looking for a series that revolves a great deal around witchcraft and magic, like Harry Potter. more like an adventure type of novel like Lord of the Rings...

Generally speaking, magic tends to be a background element of Pratchett's work, not to much of a central feature, if you catch my drift. Some books focus on it a tad more, others hardly touch on it. Always some supernatural flavor, though. And Warrior already mentioned British humor.

If you can find it, consider checking out Lilith by George Macdonald. It's not comic, but it's an interesting fantasy work by a Christian writer who inspired C.S. Lewis.

I believe you like Ender's Game, have you ever tried Ender's Shadow? If you haven't, you should. It's awesome. (I think its about 400 pages...or however large Ender's Game was...)

The only other short fantasy novel I can even think of that is around 300 pages and doesn't have a huge love story that I can recall is Tailchaser's Song by Tad Williams. I really liked it, even though it's about a cat. It was really interesting. (I generally read fantasy books such as LotR, Wheel of Time, Dragonriders, and Song of Ice and Fire, so if you like those this would probably fit in well, althought it's been ages since I read it...)

For non-fantasy, I'd suggest This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti, just because I love it. But I think it's right at 500 pages (paperback).

Your evil 300 page limiter kept me from suggesting larger series. I swear, most of my favorite authors think 600 pages is the smallest they can make a book, and then they take 5 to 15 of those to even finish the story. XD


EDIT: Although I've never read it, I have friends who really like The Princess Bride, the novel the movie was based on. From what I remember, it looked like about a 300 page book.

Consider Tom Holt's first three novels. Expecting Someone Taller, Who's Afraid of Beowulf and Flying Dutch are humorous fantasies. And there's always Chesterton's The Man Who Was Thursday.

theres frank peretti's The Oath and it has a dragon in it. but i guess it is kinda confusing keeping the characters straight theres so many.

Doe Johnson wrote:EDIT: Although I've never read it, I have friends who really like The Princess Bride, the novel the movie was based on. From what I remember, it looked like about a 300 page book.

Ah, if you can find a copy, definitely consider The Princess Bride.

Fish and Chips wrote:Ah, if you can find a copy, definitely consider The Princess Bride.

Agreed. Although, if you're allowed, I would suggest getting the edited version, rather than the full version--apparently, the full version goes into great detail on lots of things that seem near-impossible to read without falling asleep. XD The editor of the version I have mentions how the author spends over 60 pages describing the Queen's trip somewhere--somewhere around 25 pages are simply used for showing what she packed. o_o XD

Radical Dreamer wrote:Agreed. Although, if you're allowed, I would suggest getting the edited version, rather than the full version--apparently, the full version goes into great detail on lots of things that seem near-impossible to read without falling asleep. XD The editor of the version I have mentions how the author spends over 60 pages describing the Queen's trip somewhere--somewhere around 25 pages are simply used for showing what she packed. o_o XD

I'm fairly certain there is no "Full version." Just a running joke throughout the narrative.

Doe Johnson wrote:I believe you like Ender's Game, have you ever tried Ender's Shadow? If you haven't, you should. It's awesome. (I think its about 400 pages...or however large Ender's Game was...)

i would totally read Ender's Shadow, except my teacher doesn't want us reading more than one book by the same author. so i am somewhat forced to try something new.

as for the princess bride suggestion, i really might consider that. i saw the movie (thanks for recommending that too) and thought it was pretty awesome. is the movie based on the book?

jon_jinn wrote:as for the princess bride suggestion, i really might consider that. i saw the movie (thanks for recommending that too) and thought it was pretty awesome. is the movie based on the book?

The movie is based on the book, but there are some scenes in the book that are almost exactly the way they are in the movie (the battle of wits, for instance). It's very funny. XD

Well, I WOULD reccommend Howl's Moving Castle, but you don't want anything with witchcraft, so that's out.

Piercing the Darkness is an excellent book. It's by Frank Peretti. I can't remember exactly how long it is, but it should be somewhere around the 300 mark.

Monster by Frank Peretti is also very good.

I'll second Black by Ted Dekker.

House by Frank Perretti and Ted Dekker is good.

Three by Ted Dekker is good.

The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley is pretty good, I liked it. Its sequel, the blue sword is also good.

The Boy and the Samurai is an excellent book, as is A Samurai's Tale(read AST first). Both are by Eric Christian Hauggard.

The Dragon's Gate by Laurence Yep is an excellent book.

I can't think of any more at the moment... Hope that helped. Have fun reading whatever it is you read!

KBMaster wrote:Well, I WOULD reccommend Howl's Moving Castle, but you don't want anything with witchcraft, so that's out.

actually, i read howl's moving castle about two years ago. i didn't really enjoy it but i'm sure if i read it again, i might. witchcraft is fine, i just don't want the book to sorta be based on that type of stuff...

jon_jinn wrote:as for the princess bride suggestion, i really might consider that. i saw the movie (thanks for recommending that too) and thought it was pretty awesome. is the movie based on the book?

Yes, and rather accurately (relatively speaking). Book still has some stuff the film shouldn't have left out. Fezzik and Inigo's backstorys, and the Zoo of Death (much better than the Pit of Despair).

Villians By Necessity by Eve Forward.
This is a real gem of a story.It basically takes the whole Quest theme in Fantasy and sets it on it's back.
Witch of the North by Courtway Jones
The Arthur story as told from the POV of Arthur's half-sister Morgan Le Fay.
Fire Lord by Parke Godwin
Another retelling of the Arthur story
Any of the Shannara novels by Terry Brooks
Little,Big(forget the name of the author)
The Once And Future King by T.H.White
Classic retelling of the Arthur story that begins with The Sword In The Stone
Robin Hood by Howard Pyle
The most famous modern rendering of the Robin Hood story
Til We Have Faces by C.S.Lewis
Lewis' retelling of the Psyche myth from the oldest sister's POV
Bard by Morgan Llewyn
retells the story of the ancient Irish
Circle of Light forget the author's name
4 books that tell the story of Dwarf,Bear,Otter and friends.
Book #4 is called Squaring The Circle
Barbed Coil by J.V.Jones

One book I really like is "The Thief" by Megan Whalen Turner. It's about a young thief who brags that he can steal anything--and then proves it by stealing the King's seal. He lands in jail for that, of course, but he leaves enough of an impression on the King that he takes him out of jail to send him on a mission to get a magical jewel.

It's very adventurous, lots of traveling. Gen, the thief, is also sarcastic and humorous, so it's very funny at parts. There's no romance, either--although the other books in the series do feature it as a fairly major plot point (most of it isn't too overly sappy...although, I'm a girl, so take that with a grain of salt).

The only things is, there is a little bit of swearing in it, and the world that the story is set in has gods similar to what the Greeks and Romans believed in.

MorwenLaicoriel wrote:One book I really like is "The Thief" by Megan Whalen Turner. It's about a young thief who brags that he can steal anything--and then proves it by stealing the King's seal. He lands in jail for that, of course, but he leaves enough of an impression on the King that he takes him out of jail to send him on a mission to get a magical jewel.

It's very adventurous, lots of traveling. Gen, the thief, is also sarcastic and humorous, so it's very funny at parts. There's no romance, either--although the other books in the series do feature it as a fairly major plot point (most of it isn't too overly sappy...although, I'm a girl, so take that with a grain of salt).

The only things is, there is a little bit of swearing in it, and the world that the story is set in has gods similar to what the Greeks and Romans believed in.

this book sounds pretty interesting. i've always loved Greek Mythology and the story sounds very original. anyways, thanks for the recommendations. now, i have too MANY books to choose from. but it's all good. thanks again for the recommendations.

Yes, I like greek mythology too, so that's part of the reason I love the series. ^^ I just wasn't sure how other people would feel about that part of the series.

Song of Ice and Fire By George R.R. Martin, Arena and the Legends of the Guardian King series by Karen Hancock, Dragonkeeper Chronicles by Donita K. Paul, Cry of the Icemark, Harry Potter, Narnia, Firebird Trilogy by: Kathy Tyers, and the Termeraire series by Naomi Novik.

since there are too many reccomendations already I will just second some opinions
1. hero and the crown. this book is spiffin awesome but has some dull parts
2. the theif. I loved this book you would never guess the plot twist
3. the princess bride is so funny I really loved it. some dull parts though

I highly recommend you check out the Newbery Medal winning Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander. The five books are:
1. The Book of Three
2. The Black Cauldron
3. The Castle of Llyr
4. Taran Wanderer
5. The High King
And since no one has brought it up, Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. It's quite thought-provoking.
I realize my books are under your minimum limit, but they are all very interesting.

well, i went to the library yesterday and got three books. the princess bride (which i am currently reading and am already halfway through), the thief, and the color of magic (by terry pratchett). i'm not sure if i got the right version of the princess bride, since i heard that there are different versions...i got the "good stuff" version abridged by william goldman. the first like thirty pages are about how william goldman came to hear about the book and all this stuff about his childhood. anyways, i am at the part where the black masked character faces off against fezzik. after i finish the princess bride, i will probably read the thief. i am also not sure about the book i got by terry pratchett. i don't know which one to start off with and i'm not sure if the discworld series progresses in chronological order, or not...

Wow, you all have just named some of my favorite books! I'd have to second (or third or whatever) The princess bride, the chronicles of prydon, the theif, dragon's gate along with yep's other books, and Lilith, but i haven't read lilith in a while.

i heard that there are two sequals to The Thief. are they any good? what are they called?

I'd have to say anything by Ted Dekker. I especially love three, it's great at showing the battle between good and evil. Plus it R00lZ

I would recommend anything by Ted Dekker. He's an amazing Christian author.