Some of my favorites:
The ILLUMINATUS Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson
The GORD THE ROGUE books by Gary Gygax, for the quintessential High-magic D&D experience.
Piers Anthony's BIO OF A SPACE TYRANT series was a fun read, and his book PROSTHO PLUS is the closest you'll come to Douglas Adams without reading Douglas Adams (which you should anyway)
READY PLAYER ONE by Ernest Cline, if you grew up on gaming at all.
The first and original four of Frank Herbert's DUNE books. You can skip the rest; the good stuff's there.
GRUNTS by Mary Gentle - a satirical and fun poke at the entire Fantasy Genre
REDLINERS, and all of the HAMMER'S SLAMMERS books by David Drake, my favorite of the grittier Sci-Fi writers.
ARMOR by John Steakley
The actual STARSHIP TROOPERS by Robert Heinlein, as well as STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND, remain potent.
The ILLUMINATUS Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson
The GORD THE ROGUE books by Gary Gygax, for the quintessential High-magic D&D experience.
Piers Anthony's BIO OF A SPACE TYRANT series was a fun read, and his book PROSTHO PLUS is the closest you'll come to Douglas Adams without reading Douglas Adams (which you should anyway)
READY PLAYER ONE by Ernest Cline, if you grew up on gaming at all.
The first and original four of Frank Herbert's DUNE books. You can skip the rest; the good stuff's there.
GRUNTS by Mary Gentle - a satirical and fun poke at the entire Fantasy Genre
REDLINERS, and all of the HAMMER'S SLAMMERS books by David Drake, my favorite of the grittier Sci-Fi writers.
ARMOR by John Steakley
The actual STARSHIP TROOPERS by Robert Heinlein, as well as STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND, remain potent.
"But in the laugh there was another voice. A clearer laugh, an ironic laugh. A laugh which laughs because it chooses not to weep."