SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

Hi, I'm really struggling to find a good fantasy/sci-fi book with a male lead with mature elements ( doesn't need to have lots of sex or gore ) something like the name of the wind. I don't care if it's the typical farmboy turned hero book or if it's an already strong character, just that it is well written with nice well-rounded characters and solid romance. Also, I prefer one POV but a few ones are also O.K.

Books I have read:

- Game of thrones series
- Kingkiller series
- Mageborn series
- Mistborn first book ( to childish female lead so i didnt continue )
- Sword Of truth first two books - although they are mediocre
- Ranger apprentice 3 books - very childish
-Sword and citadel = first part, didn't like it at all.
-Steelheart and firestorm ( the reckoners )
-first law trilogy
-night angel trilogy
-the stormlight archive
-blood song
-farseer trilogy
-tawny man trilogy

and some others i can't remember now.

Thanks!

You could try the Vorkosigan Saga by Louis McMaster Bujold. The first book is Shards of Honor, but I recommend to start with the second one, The Warrior's Apprentice, and read the first one after that.

I never finished Name of the Wind but the Belgariad series stars a male character - starting with Pawn of Prophecy

Monster Hunter International - A series about kicking monster ass.
Vorkosigan - Varies in subgenre...probably the strongest/best characterization I have seen in a story.
The Lost Fleet - Space Opera, it's pretty solid and doesn't jump between 1000000 perspectives like most space operas.
Dresden Files - Bread and Butter of Urban fantasy the early books are...weak. Series gets quite good as it goes on.

All quality single/not many POV series...it's actually a bit tricky to find many non-YA series with single POV that fits the other elements.

Richard Morgan's trilogy A land fit for heroes, first book is The Steel Remains. First time I saw a gay protagonist. Fantasy with Sci fi elements. Might not be for everyone but I rather liked it.

I reread the op and noticed the bit about romance.... Peter Brett's Demon Cycle. First book is The Painted Man, or Warded Man if you're in the US. My previous suggestion is quite challenging in the romance department...

I was going to say The Warded Man too

We seem to have a lot of books in common. With that in mind my suggestions as follows:

Maybe try Brent Weeks' Lightbringer series (currently a trilogy but the 4th book is due out in 2016). It has a few POVs including female but the young male view in particular goes through a lot of development. There's also an interesting magic system built around light.

I'd also recommend Scott Lynch's Gentleman Bastard series. Only the first 3 books of a predicted 7 are available but they have a definite Name of the Wind feeling about them although perhaps in a more abstract way.

Michael J. Sullivan's Riyria Revelations are also an excellent read. What starts out as a easy telling light-hearted tale ends up in a more epic quest.

I also enjoyed James Maxwell's 'Evermen' saga although it took me a while to get into the first book.

A series I really like, but rarely seen mentioned is CJ Cherryh's Fortress books, 1st book is Fortress in the Eye of Time. It's mostly from one POV, though there are a couple of side characters that get POVs once in a while.

I can't explain a lot about the main character without spoilers, but it's very much a coming of age story. And Cherryh puts the story so much into his POV that often you have no idea what's going on and the entire series seems to grow in complexity along with him. This annoys some people.

Michael Sullivan's Ryria Chronicles! Also Jim itches series both the Dresden files and the codex Akers are awesome.

Riddle-Master: The Complete Trilogy although the second book is from the point of view of the hero's fiancee. Gorgeous books, beautiful prose in an amazing magical world.

Flesh and Spirit / Breath and Bone A little lighter on the romantic element, though the hero Valen is quite a romantic, goes through one serious crush, and ends with a developing potentially serious relationship. Also gorgeously written and magical.

Both are from an adult point of view; Riddle-Master is appropriate for YA (I read it first in high school) but not specifically written for that audience; Flesh and Spirit/Breath and Bone has more mature elements.

You should add some books, Alan, so we can tailor recommendations.

I'd also suggest The Warded Man.

For some fantasy steampunk with a Firefly flavor, I'd recommend the Tales of the Ketty Jay series.

For fun science fiction, I'd go with the Sten series. First book is Sten.

I admit I had to chuckle a little because it's actually much, much harder to find books with a good, solid female lead than a male lead. :'D Haha.

Anyway, my favourite books with male leads are from the nightrunner series, starts with:
Luck in the Shadows
Fantasy with every character being a solid character, swords, magic, spies and the like and in the later books some romance (btw, the main characters are two bisexual men who get together at the end of book two but since those bits are written extremely well you'll get the idea that they like each other quite some ways beyond friendship in book two), romance includes also supporting character romance but it's not the main plot and handled quite well.
Also, not a YA book and sort of the thing people love who like to RP a lot. (The reason is a bit hard to explain.)
POV switches a bit around but it's very easy to tell which head you're currently in (author keeps the same tense through the books so you won't get a case of 'one character in first person and the others in third' which I think is super annoying).

Btw, seconding Scott Lynch's Gentleman Bastards series. The fun thing is: Rothfuss himself said in his review for the first book that Lynch does what he tried to do much, much better. Anyway, where 'Name of the Wind' is a bit more 'silly' and mild, 'Lies of Locke Lamora' is more crude and hard and yes, violent and maybe a bit gross.
I mean, attempts to kill the main character in that book were really ugly (as in, you don't want to imagine that). Has no romance apart from the main character pining for a character who isn't even actively included in the book but only mentioned by name a couple of times.

How about Brent Weeks Lightbringer series? There's three books so far.

I'll third the The Lies of Locke Lamora Gentlemen Bastard series.. One of my favorites..
Also if you might like a crossover between sci-fi/fantasy and western, try The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King first book The Gunslinger it's very different from all the other types of series I've read.. people either love it or hate it..

Ditto on the Locke Lamora.

The next thing I would suggest is Tad Williams' "Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn" trilogy beginning with To Green Angel Tower.

If you are willing to try something that is light on the magical elements, but beautifully written epic historical fiction, try some Guy Gavriel Kay, perhaps River of Stars.

Try R.A. Salvatore's Drizzt series - starting with Homeland

I'm going to add my vote to those already here for Peter Brett's Demon Cycle. It fits your requirements. He starts out a bit young, but matures quickly. It is not YA. There isn't much romance and it takes a long time to develop, but it is there. It is written in 1st person, male POV. Highly recommend it.

Another one, which is one of my favourites is The Belgariad from David Eddings (first book Pawn of Prophecy). I really enjoyed that series and reread it at least once a year (and rereading is something I rarely do - but these books are worth it; in my opinion)

The Black Company

These are a bit of an ensemble cast scenario, but POV characters usually stay the same through out each book.

Really good stuff,...

Some that I would think you might like are the following;

Transformation by Carol Berg
He has been a slave for sixteen years, almost half his life. Seyonne has made peace with his fate. With strict self-discipline he forces himself to exist only in the present moment. And when he discovers a demon lurking in the Derzhi court, he must find hope and strength in a most unlikely place.

The Innocent Mage (Kingmaker, Kingbreaker #1)
by Karen Miller
Enter the kingdom of Lur, where to use magic unlawfully means death. The Doranen have ruled Lur with magic since arriving as refugees centuries ago. Theirs was a desperate flight to escape the wrath of a powerful mage who started a bitter war in their homeland. To keep Lur safe, the native Olken inhabitants agreed to abandon their own magic. Magic is now forbidden them, and any who break this law are executed.

The Last Stormlord (Watergivers #1)
by Glenda Larke
Though I really don't care for the girl, Shale is interesting.
Shale is the lowest of the low-an outcast from a poor village in the heart of the desert. In the desert water is life, and currency, and Shale has none. But he has a secret. It's the one thing that keeps him alive and may save all the cities of the Quartern in the days to come. If it doesn't get him killed first.

The Outstretched Shadow (Obsidian Mountain #1)
by Mercedes Lackey, James Mallory
Kellen Tavadon, son of the Arch-Mage Lycaelon, thought he knew the way the world worked. His father, leading the wise and benevolent Council of Mages, protected and guided the citizens of the Golden City of the Bells. Young Mages in training-all men, for women were unfit to practice magic-memorized the intricate details of High Magic and aspired to seats on the council.

The Forever King (Forever King #1)
by Molly Cochran, Warren Murphy
In a darkened house not far from the place where Camelot may once have stood, a madman schemes, plotting toward the day when he will wrest the cup that men call the Holy Grail from the boy who is its guardian.

Arthur Blessing is no ordinary ten-year-old. The Grail is his by chance, this time, but the power to keep it--a power as ancient as time itself--is his by right.

Now he must stay alive--battling foul sorcery and indefatigable assassins--long enough to use that power."

You might like Poul Anderson's Satan's World and Mirkheim -- though you may want to pick up a few of the collections with the David Falkayn short stories first.

Also Richard Ellis Preston Jr.'s Romulus Buckle series, hard SF steampunk.

Anthony Ryan's Raven's Shadow series:


The Fallen Blade series by Kelly McCullough:


Richard K. Morgan's A land fit for heroes:


The Riyria Revelations by Michael J. Sullivan

Carol Berg's Rai-Kirah trilogy beginning with Transformation. An enslaved warrior is able to save his master, win his freedom, and save his own people...very beautiful writing

Thank you all for your suggestions! I forgot to mention i have already read the lightbringer series.
As you suggested it the most, I have read the first two books of demon cycle and 2/3 of the third but I'm not impressed. The first book was very good but the second lacked and the third is horrible. I skipped some of the parts, especially the Inevera ones as I found them very dull and also the main female character (leesha) is the most annoying character I have ever seen in any book, and that says alot. ''And then she wept.''. Anyway, when I have read some of the other suggestions I will let you know. Again thank you very much for your help, I appreciate it, and I apologize for any mistakes in my English. It's not my native language. Thanks

Time Snatchers and Time Trapped by Richard Ungar were both really good, I remember enjoying Caleb as a protagonist... my own book, Ashes, has a male lead, but no romance.
There's also the King Raven series by Stephen Lawhead, which sounds most like what you're after; it's gritty but not x-rated, and although the viewpoint shifts around a bit each book focuses pretty clearly on a single character :)

I can't believe no one has suggested David Gemmell's books yet. All of the ones I've read have a main male POV. They do often have multiple POVs, but most of the time one or two characters dominate the POV. They're all very mature (not always in a gore or sex way, but his books have lots of that too). I'd suggest Waylander or Legend or the Rigante series to start with.

Also, if you're open to reading manga, then I'd suggest Berserk. Warning though, it makes Game of Thrones look soft. Very mature content and incredibly dark.

Also, someone on here suggested Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn. While I loved that series and think it's great, if you thought Vin from Mistborn was too childish, I doubt you could stand the male lead in that series.

I was also surprised not to see David Gemmell mentioned. Although I have only read Legend, it seems most of his books have a strong male lead. I have Lord of the Silver Bow and Druss The Legend on my shelf and both have a male protagonist.

Also, even though it's more of a historical fiction book than a fantasy book, Gates of Fire by Stephen Pressfield also has strong male characters and is written from one POV.

I suggest looking into Codex Alera series by Jim Butcher as a previous post misspelled. Cliched, sure, but also masterfully pieced together with much feel-goodness and several nice romance on the background.