NPR is having a SF Title Contest this week.

I have read Joe Abercrombie and and Scott Lynch, both. Thanks, I'll check out your blog. I'm currently reading GRRM's fifth, a sprawling travelogue (it seems as if he is moving pieces into position for the grand finale). What bothers me are all the freakin' names of people and places that have little to do with anything. You need a program to keep everyone straight. It's SO gritty that after reading for awhile you need to take a shower and eat some decent food. People are cold and wet and hungry---or hot and miserable and hungry---or rats are biting off their toes and the bitee is so hungry, he eats the rats. You get the picture. At least it's not cute elves and fairies helping Brak, a peasant boy, recover the Horn of Krangor to summon the Legion of Horon to defeat the Dread Lord Fredmort, etc, etc......

I actually liked Dance, I didn't expect a lot to really happen. It's a middle book and he had to get over that whole 5 year gap thing, the 2nd half I found was better than the first. I get a bit tired of gritty after a while. I'm trying to think of things that match what you want and if you've read the Crombie and Lynch I keep coming back to Cook. On a non SFF tack though you could try George MacDonald Fraser's incredible Flashman series, they're historical fiction, but so incredible that you can't believe many of the people really did exist. Bernard Cornwell also does some very good historical fiction from a number of eras and I quite liked Conn Iggulden's Genghis Khan series. A rip roaring SFF type thing with overtones of Joss Whedon's Firefly is Chris Wooding's Tales of the Ketty Jay as well.

Thanks, seegee, I'll check those out, especially Cook. I do read Cornwell and I think long ago I read a Flashman book. I read Agincourt and a few others by Cornwell. Very helpful if you want to write something for LSF with an historical setting. Not familiar with that last one, but I'll look. Appreciate the tips.

No problem, always nice to share with a fellow fan. I haven't read it personally, but you may find The Brothers Grossbart by Jesse Bullington is up your alley. It's about 2 morally bankrupt brothers rampaging their way across a war torn Europe during the 30 Years War. It's apparently quite graphic.

since I'm morally bankrupt myself, I'll give it a go.

Thanks for the tip Seegee. I'm in line for the first book from my local library and will let you know what I think. I have always been fascinated by the Great Khan.

I've read 4 of these and I thought they were a cracking good read.

I'll just and an echo recommending Glen Cook's Black Company novels (which are pure fantasy, not SF). They were started in the 80s and have almost a Vietnam aspect about then (I'm not sure if he saw action during his hitch in the navy). But he is the grandfather of gritty fantasy:
"Steven Erikson once said that Cook was responsible for single-handedly changing the field of fantasy by removing the stereotypes and cliches that were previously inherant in the genre, replacing them with real, human characters and believable situations. Erikson also went on to say that the Dread Empire trilogy was the biggest influence on his own writing with its grim reality and historical complexity."

The thing is, for years Cook was a semi-professional writer. He turned out a few books a year while working at a GM plant - because his books didn't sell well enough to raise a family on. Now most of his early stuff is being reissued and he's still producing new material.

The first book of the Black Company series - read it and you'll get a handle on his writing. Alas, other than one scene in the Fantasy Noir Detective series The Garret Files, he hasn't had much spanking in his work...

Goodgulf

Wandering even more off-topic (again, spanking, not Heinlein), might I recommend to you Heinlein's Children: The Juveniles by Joseph T. Major.

My favorite line from the entire Honor Harrington series:

"Oops."