I second (third?) the Pratchet - although reading the series from start to finish does help as the various characters grown and intermingle.
I would suggest Kim Stanley Robinson's 'Mars Trilogy'. Good food for thought.
And, finally, the series by Steven Ericson. Starts with "Gardens of the Moon". Where I usually read a few books at a time, that series? Could *not* put it down, and could *not* read anything else. His partner, Ian Esselmont, also started a partner series, which is just as good. They are smart, SMART men, who do the research, to make the battles and cultures and geology they create make SENSE. None of the 'and then the wizard blew it all away' stuff that leads to giant plot holes. Tight, seamless writing that just draws you in and - well, yeah. :)
I also totally dug the Patrick O'Brian historical fiction series that spawned the Master and Commander movie - 20 books in that series following Captain Jack and Doctor Maturin. My whole family has read all of them too - good, fun stuff, and again based on solid research.
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I would suggest Kim Stanley Robinson's 'Mars Trilogy'. Good food for thought.
And, finally, the series by Steven Ericson. Starts with "Gardens of the Moon". Where I usually read a few books at a time, that series? Could *not* put it down, and could *not* read anything else. His partner, Ian Esselmont, also started a partner series, which is just as good. They are smart, SMART men, who do the research, to make the battles and cultures and geology they create make SENSE. None of the 'and then the wizard blew it all away' stuff that leads to giant plot holes. Tight, seamless writing that just draws you in and - well, yeah. :)
I also totally dug the Patrick O'Brian historical fiction series that spawned the Master and Commander movie - 20 books in that series following Captain Jack and Doctor Maturin. My whole family has read all of them too - good, fun stuff, and again based on solid research.