I need a gripping page-turner. I like action, suspense, horror, and fantasy the best, but at this point I’m open to anything. Go nuts.
Thanks!
A couple of books that feel like a Big Mac and Fried in terms of easy readability but also have a bit of historic substance to them that makes them really cool and fun are:
- **Shogun **by James Clavell - Explorer Europe meets feudal Japan
- **Aztec **by Gary Jennings - a lowly Aztec ends up witness to the conquering of his people and relates his story. Lots of adventure and action, fighting and, IIRC, some decent sex scenes (Shogun is a bit more demure).
Stephen King’s The Stand (but you’ve read that, right?)
Scott Smith’s A Simple Plan or The Ruins
You’ve probably already read I Am Legend, but if not, then definitely give that a go.
Ever read any Peter Straub? If not, I’d recommend Ghost Story. The ending’s a bit weak, but other than that it’s one of my favorite books.
That’s exactly what I came in to recommend.
The original version though, if you can find it, not the “uncut” version. That’s only, IMO, for fans who want some extra background and details.
I thought I was the only one who preferred the edited version! I thought it was tighter.
Of course, then you miss out on meeting The Kid, but you meet one murderous psychopath you’ve met ‘em all, right?
The Death of the Necromancer by Martha Wells and The High House by James Stoddard. Both extraordinary fantasy novels by relatively obscure authors.
I picked up The Butcher’s Boy by, uh, somebody Perry from one of those threads on good thrillers lately. It’s a great page-turner, an old-fashioned hitman thriller.
Hey, another Aztec fan - great! Love that book.
Some other page-turners I’ve loved over the years:
Runaway Jury by John Grisham - A juror has a secret agenda in a high-stakes tobacco-company liability case.
Fevre Dream by George R.R. Martin - Vampires and steamboats along the Missisippi River before the Civil War. It’s the book Mark Twain and Bram Stoker would’ve written, if they’d ever collaborated.
Fatherland by Robert Harris - Brilliant, chilling alternative history set in Berlin, 20 years after Hitler won WW2.
Misery by Stephen King - An injured novelist is captured by his “number one fan.”
First Among Equals by Jeffrey Archer - Follows the careers of three British MPs as they rise through the parliamentary ranks and eventually vie to become Prime Minister.
Pick up Nick Harkaway’s bookThe Gone Away World. It’s a post apocalyptic thriller with Kung fu, killer bees, mimes, ninjas and a really fun twist.
I read it last winter, then immediately read it again. I can’t recommend it stongly enough.
I just finished a re-re-read of The Stand, and oh, my, it holds up. (I had read both the edited and longer version before.) I sat in the back yard Sunday and read and read and read until it was over.
Still a page-turner.