A Concerned ScientistDec 19, 2024

I'm pretty sure Mastodon is the right place for this question.

My son is 13yo. We're pretty loose with what we allow him to read, but nothing wildly inappropriate. He's a voracious reader. He's finishing up Three Body Problem now, and I'm not sure what to point him towards next.

He prefers Sci-Fi and/or Fantasy, and it's safe to say he's read all of the "classics" so we'd be looking for more of a deep dive of suggestions here. It would be too much to write out what he's read, as over the last 5 years he's read hundreds of books. Reading level above his age is fine. He's been reading things like Lord of The Rings trilogy since he was 7 or 8.

Any suggestions?

Show threadA Concerned Scientist

I ran out of time to reply to everyone here, but I want to thank everyone for all of the amazing suggestions! Mastodon did not disappoint on this one.

My 13yo and I went through every single suggestion, and he took the time to read up on each one. He made a list of them all, ranked them in order of what he was most excited to dig into, and currently has a list of 28 books/series ranked 1-28.

In the end, he's starting The Paladin Caper when he's done with Three Body Problem.

A very sincere thank you to everyone who replied. He's SO happy having a list of books. It's a holiday present in and of itself.

Dec 20, 2024 at 6:21pmWeb
Show threadTim Ward โญ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ”ถ #FBPEDec 20, 2024
@BE Let's see the ordered list then ๐Ÿ˜€
Show threadMFennVT has movedDec 20, 2024
@TimWardCam @BE Right? Don't tease us like that. ๐Ÿ˜€
Show threadA Concerned ScientistDec 20, 2024

@mfennvt @TimWardCam

Haha, didn't think anyone would want to see! There were a lot more suggestions, but he'd already read a bunch of them.

For what he hadn't read:

The Palace Job - Already ordered for him for his winter break.

After that:

1. Rouges of The Republic
2. Mickey7
3. Farseer
4. The Scholomance
5. Alone
6. Dark Tower
7. Imperial Radch
8. Sprawl
9. Bobiverse
10. Riftwar Cycle
11. Project: |Hฮ”IL Mฮ”RY|
12. Culture
13. Memory
14. Wayfarers
15. The Nanotech Succession
16. The Inhibitor
17. The Dragonwar Saga
18. The Dandelion Dynasty
19. The Broken Earth
20. The Cyberiad
21. The Dark Is Rising
22. A Half-Built Garden
23. Hyperion
24. The Lady Trent Memoirs
25. Monk & Robot
26. Temeraire
27. Perdido Street Station
28. Piranesi

Show threadMFennVT has movedDec 20, 2024
@BE @TimWardCam Thanks for sharing! I hope he has fun with all his new books.
Show threadikuoDec 20, 2024

@TimWardCam @BE Yes, if he wouldn't mind sharing, I'd love to see the list too! It would save me the trouble of going through all the many replies myself, for suggestions. ๐Ÿ˜

Also, I LOVE how Mastodon came through for this question!!!

Show threadElana | ืื™ืœื ื”Dec 20, 2024
@BE Palace Job! the first book is The Palace Job! He'll be very confused if he starts with Paladin Caper ๐Ÿ˜†
Show threadA Concerned ScientistDec 20, 2024

@elana

OMG, I was even thinking "Elana already corrected it, so make sure you type the right one!" ๐Ÿ˜‚

It *is* correct on his list, thankfully. He's obviously more organized than I am!

Show threadElana | ืื™ืœื ื”Dec 20, 2024
@BE oh good hahah! that's so funny! what a good kid ๐Ÿ˜„
Show threadJoan Combs DursoDec 22, 2024

@BE would you and kiddo be willing to share that list? No worries if not.

Some of those authors and others have wonderful short stories (and narrated podcasts) in the monthly magazines @clarkesworld #BeyondCeaselessSkies #Podcastle #Lightspeed @UncannyMagazine #EscapePod and others.

Show threadA Concerned ScientistDec 22, 2024

@econoprof

Absolutely! I should have put it in my thread, but I really didn't know anyone would want to see it, so I ended up replying to someone else with it. He'd read a lot of the books that were suggested, so it's not exactly a complete list of recommendations.

For what he hadn't read:

The Palace Job - Already ordered for him for his winter break.

After that:

1. Rouges of The Republic
2. Mickey7
3. Farseer
4. The Scholomance
5. Alone
6. Dark Tower
7. Imperial Radch
8. Sprawl
9. Bobiverse
10. Riftwar Cycle
11. Project: |Hฮ”IL Mฮ”RY|
12. Culture
13. Memory
14. Wayfarers
15. The Nanotech Succession
16. The Inhibitor
17. The Dragonwar Saga
18. The Dandelion Dynasty
19. The Broken Earth
20. The Cyberiad
21. The Dark Is Rising
22. A Half-Built Garden
23. Hyperion
24. The Lady Trent Memoirs
25. Monk & Robot
26. Temeraire
27. Perdido Street Station
28. Piranesi

Show threadJoan Combs DursoDec 22, 2024

@BE wonderful, thanks! I hope you both enjoy these!

Having read all the science fiction in the childrenโ€™s section of my public library, I had to get an adult card to read more. There wasnโ€™t so much of YA fiction back then. What I discover now when rereading some of the old stuff is how much flew over my head back then. But I feel the same way about Jane Austen on my annual reread of P&P.