On this page I have listed some stories or series which I have really liked. Click on them to learn more.
The Romance of the Three Kingdoms: This is a piece of Chinese literature about a turbulent period in Chinese history. It is the story of how the Han Dynasty disintegrated and reintegrated through more than a century of war. The original story was called San Guo and it was written in its current form by Luo Guanzhong between 1300 and 1400 C.E. This link will take you to some pages describing the saga and its main characters.
Outlaws of the Marsh: Yet another Chinese classic (maybe the sequel to 3 Kingdoms?), this one taking place about 900 years later during the Song Dynasty. The evil Gao Qiu, the Imperial Minister of War along with some other corrupt high-level government officials are oppressing the people, and misleading the Emperor. A low-ranking civil servant reluctantly takes command of a bandit army led by 108 chieftains (known as the "Good Fellows") to fight injustice. The Good Fellows are a rag-tag bunch, ranging from the most honorable defenders of the Empire to serial-murderers. While fighting Gao Qiu, the Good Fellows also have to stop a Barbarian invasion, and another bandit army which is trying to overthrow the Emperor! As my own martial arts teacher told me, "This is the story which practically every single Chinese kung-fu flick is based on!" I can believe it!
Manimekhalai: One of the five major Tamil epics (of only two have survived), Manimekhalai is a story written from a Buddhist perspective around the 3rd century C.E. about a dancer who wishes to find more from life. In her journeys through the Tamil lands she discovers the path of goodness and the way to reach perfect happiness.
Culamani: A minor epic which has all the criteria to be a major epic. This Jaina epic written around the 10th century CE is believed to have inspired Kamban to write the Tamil version of the Ramayanam. Like the Ramayanam, the hero of Culamani is an incarnation of Vishnu (Tirumal) who must save the world from an evil demon. Unlike Ramayanam however, the villain of this story has Vishnu's chakram, and thus believes that he is Vishnu! Also unlike Ramayanam, the hero comes from the South, whereas both the villain and the heroine come from the far North. At the end of the story, the hero's father renounces the worldly life and destroys all desires, reaching enlightenment and truly becoming the Culamani (one of the great Jaina saints).
Dragonlance: Dragonlance is a seven book series about how a small group of friends bring hope to a land suffering from a horrible war. These pages describe the series and the main characters.
I consider Isaac Asimov's early work to be the best science fiction around. He is best known for his Robot and Foundation series.
Asimov was succesful in writing the first (and best) science fiction-mysteries in his Robot series. In these novels, a human detective from a future overcrowded Earth where the populace lives underground must work with a humaniform robot built by humans who have colonized other planets. They solve cases where robots were used as accessories to murder. The two best books are Caves of Steel which takes place on Earth and The Naked Sun which takes place on Solaria, a colonized planet.
The original Foundation trilogy takes place farther in the future when a galactic civilization is on the verge of collapse. A scientist makes a breakthrough when he discovers the means to breaking human behavior into mathematics. He can not end the fall of the Galactic Empire, but he establishes two Foundations at the opposite ends of the galaxy to rebuild civilization in 1000 years.
Asimov has lesser known works. He wrote many short stories about robots before the Robot series. He also wrote three novels about the fall of Earth and the ascent of the Galactic Empire. However, my most favorite independent novel is End of Eternity, a story about time travelers who manipulate human history and prevent mankind from exploring outer space. It is his only work which explores time travel and its implications for humanity, but I also like it because it is a funny love story.