Meh. To me, it read like third-rate Crichton. Not bad in a “B movie” kind of way, but I never really believed in or cared about what was happening.
Hi everyone, hope you don’t mind the zombie thread but it was my thread so hopefully its okay. The other day I found myself in a book rut and recalled how successful this thread was for me and decided to refer back to it. I also just noticed the book recommendation sticky and saw this thread linked in it, so I’ve got a ton more places to mine for new books. Awesome idea that.
I just finished reading the entire Dresden Files compendium based off recommendations herr and utterly devoured it. I was able to binge read it all over the last year or so and was very sad when I wrapped up Side Jobs.
Also plowed through the Song of Ice and Fire series which was incomparably fun, get going on book 6 George!
I imagine this is a bit of a shameless bump too since this will probably trigger a few new replies. If you have new recommendations feel free to share, fantasy, sci-fi, historical fiction and serials tend to be my sweet spot.
I’m currently working through Speaker for the Dead which I bought accidentally on my Kindle, but I don’t mind since I was tapped out. I loved Ender’s Game and with the movie coming out its probably timely, but so far its been a little bit of a slog (and the forward from Card is about enough to make you puke) so we’ll see. I’m a completionist so I undoubtedly will be chewing on it for the next month or so.
I just re-read my OP and it sparked an idea. With Tom Clancy’s passing I had a vague urge to read more of his stuff. As far as I recall, Red October is still the only title of his I read so if anyone wants to point me to his second best book I’m probably game. Continuing the Jack Ryan thread might make sense, but I’m curious what the peanut gallery suggests.
The Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephinson. Historical and sci-fi. Hell anything by Neal is good.
You really should read Infovore’s books. There are two out right now and she’s working on a third. They are wonderful. There’s a thread in the marketplace with the info.
Your taste seems to be fairly similar to mine so I will feel free to recommend stuff just because I like it.
I would read the next Clancy Jack Ryan novel chronologically, and maybe the one after it and then stop. They get…not good, fast, but the first few are great. Read them in order.
For some reason Clancy and Michael Criton are linked in my mind. He wrote a bunch of stuff worth reading, the best books are Jurassic Park and The Andromida Strain.
Did you ever get around to reading the Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy books? I saw them recommended way back in 2006 but I didn’t see you mention reading them. They are fantastic. Same with the recommended Terry Pratchett novels and the Christopher Moore books. Any of them, all of them.
I see you tried Neuromancer because you like Cyberpunk, but you didn’t like Gibson’s style. I don’t blame you. Have you tried Snow Crash? Stephenson is a better writer and Snow Crash is a great book. If you do like that you can commit to reading more of his stuff. He gets long winded, but his other books are worth the investment.
Staying with SciFi one of my favorite under-appreciated authors is David Brin. I like all of his stuff but my favorite book of his is** Startide Rising **from the Uplift Trilogy. You don’t have to read the rest of the Trilogy to appreciate the book, and it’s really fantastic. If you do like the book you have two other loosely related books to read (and other trilogies set in the same universe). He also wrote a great book called The Postman which was theoretically the inspiration for a really terrible Kevin Costner movie, but other than the title and basic setting they have almost nothing in common.
Moving to other genres, how do you feel about Raymond Chandler? I mention it because you are, like me, a fan of the Dresden files and Harry Dresden is very clearly a fantasy version of Sam Spade. Start with The Big Sleep.
Finally, if you are willing to take the leap I am going to recommend a couple of “literature” novels that I think you might like. One of them is called 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It sounds daunting, it isn’t. It’s easy to read and very very good, and lots of fun. Sort of a fantasy novel in a way. The other is The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon. It’s about a couple of guys who create a comic book character back in the 1920s and their lives. Again, accessible and easy to read, won a boatload of awards. Chabon is one of my very favorite living authors.
Of Mice and Men. I had no idea, when I got this book for my Kindle, that I’d love it so much. It reads a bit like a screen play which, imho, could just about be filmed verbatim.
**Christine **is Stephen King’s best book. I’d also suggest Alan Dean Foster, he writes easily accessible sci fi. Sentenced to Prism and Nor Crystal Tears are a couple of good page turners.
If you want to expand your horizons a bit, try the Patrick O’Brian books. They’re a series of books set in the Napoleonic wars. Master and Commander, the first one, was made into a movie, so it should be right up your alley. It takes a bit of effort to sink into the jargon and dialogue, but once you’re there, it’s a very fun place to be.
And has been. I came very very close to recommending this also, but I backed off because Steinbeck appeals to a very particular set of tastes. If you *are *going to venture into Steinbeck, this is where I would start.
Thanks folks.
I actually did read Hitchhikers Guide. I liked it quite a bit but I started to get numb to the absurdness about half way through.
Steinbeck will be a tough sell. I found Grapes of Wrath to be a singularly horrific experience in school. My tastes may have changed, but I recall reading the chapter about the turtle crossing the road and the one about dust and quitting the book entirely, with prejudice.
Master and Commander sounds like a winner, I recall wanting to read it when the movie came out.
The Warrior’s Apprentice, by Lois McMaster Bujold. It’s brilliant.
For non-fiction, I’m really enjoying what I’m reading right now, which is Which Lie Did I Tell? More Adventures in the Screen Trade by William Goldman, who wrote Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Princess Bride.
If you liked The Stand I’d recommend Afterage by Yvonne Navarro, Ex-Heroes by Peter Clines, The Harvest by Robert Charles Wilson, and Plague Year by Jeff Carlson: some other excellent novels about people coping with the aftermath of an apocalyptic event.
In fantasy, I’d recommend Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke. Like the Harry Potter books, it was written recently but it’s already widely regarded as a classic.
Try Travels with Charley in Search of America. It’s a non-fiction account of a long drive around the country Steinbeck took with his dog.
Try The Lies of Lock Lamora. The sequel is Red Seas Under Red Skies, and the third in the series, Republic of Thieves, is coming out this week. Author is Scott Lynch.
It’s YA, but I think it works well for adults. It’s a fantasy-adventure series, and it’s set in a magical version of 17th century-ish Venice, so it has a bit of historical flavor as well. (I mean, it’s completely a fantasy world, it just has the feel of historical fiction. There is no actual history in the books.)
I’m basing the above recommendation on your enjoyment of both Harry Potter and the Song of Ice and Fire.
A recent novel I really liked was The Rook, by Daniel O’Malley. It’s rather long, but it’s a quick read. A woman wakes up having lost her memory, and learns she works for a British supernatural spy agency. It reminded me a lot of the tone of the Dresden Files – the conflict with the evil forces is serious and real, but in telling the story there’s a lot of snappy dialogue, zany escapades, and puns. (and I should add I first heard about this book in a book recommendation thread here).