The Book Recommendations/Reviews Thread::

[{::'KayCeeS::}]

So I'm a big reader, especially of genre material (speculative, fantasy, sci-fi, weird, horror), but always looking for any good recommendations.  I also read crime/mystery novels, especially the ones that are hybrids with other genres.

 

Anyone here on goodreads.com?

 

This is me on Goodreads

 

Holla at me if you want to be frendz and such, I like to see my feed pop off with people's recommendations/reviews.

 

Books that I've read recently that I would recommend:
 

China Lake by Meg Gardiner (suspense, crime)

The Night Market by Jonathan Moore (crime, mystery, sci-fi)

The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty (historical fantasy)

I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid (literary horror)

Hater by David Moody (horror)

 

Even if you're not on goodreads, please post reviews/recommendations of whatever book in this thread, that would be great as well.  The more the merrier!

 

 

 

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

Game of Thrones 

 

Lord of he Rings 

 

Drittz Du’Orden Saga  R A Salvatore 

 

Jason Bourne series 

 

Jack Ryan Series Tom Clancy 

 

Dirk Pitt series  Clive Cussler 

 

 

Fantasy 

 

Spycraft 

 

loved them all 

[LB3]

The Wheel of Time

 

The Stormlight Archive

 

The Passage Trilogy

[{::'KayCeeS::}]

1 hour ago, LBSeeBallLBGetBall said:

The Wheel of Time

 

The Stormlight Archive

 

The Passage Trilogy

 

Love all of these.  Especially the Stormlight Archive.  What did you think of the last book?

 

Have you read any other of Sanderson's books?

 

1 hour ago, ShadyBillsFan said:

Game of Thrones 

 

Lord of he Rings 

 

Drittz Du’Orden Saga  R A Salvatore 

 

Jason Bourne series 

 

Jack Ryan Series Tom Clancy 

 

Dirk Pitt series  Clive Cussler 

 

 

Fantasy 

 

Spycraft 

 

loved them all 

 

Which Dirk Pitt Series book would you recommend, if I was to read one?

Edited April 17, 2018 by {::'KayCeeS::}

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

12 minutes ago, {::'KayCeeS::} said:

 

Love all of these.  Especially the Stormlight Archive.  What did you think of the last book?

 

Have you read any other of Sanderson's books?

 

 

Which Dirk Pitt Series book would you recommend, if I was to read one?

Start from the beginning really.

The series is The Numa Files.   He’s kind of a McGuyver but entertaining.  At least a dozen and also There is a splinter story line with Juan Cabrio (I think I got that right)

 

Cabrio  rules the high seas with a high tech ship dressed as a rust bucket.  

 

[{::'KayCeeS::}]

Just now, ShadyBillsFan said:

Start from the beginning really.

The series is The Numa Files.   He’s kind of a McGuyver but entertaining.  At least a dozen and also There is a splinter story line with Juan Cabrio (I think I got that right)

 

Cabrio  rules the high seas with a high tech ship dressed as a rust bucket.  

 

 

Cool, thanks for the info.  I'll check it out.  I've heard about it obviously, a very famous series, but never given it a chance.

[{::'KayCeeS::}]

"City of Tiny Lights"

 

 

This is the kind of book that the 21st century has deliberately forgotten how to write. It's a serrated sucker-punch but in the best kind of way, like its cutting filet mignon with its fist. I highly recommend it, even though it's the kind of book that will get put down because it bristles at the seams and does not deign to slip n' slide into your comfort zone.

Edited April 18, 2018 by {::'KayCeeS::}

[Pete]

[Azalin]

2 hours ago, {::'KayCeeS::} said:

"City of Tiny Lights"

 

This is the kind of book that the 21st century has deliberately forgotten how to write. It's a serrated sucker-punch but in the best kind of way, like its cutting filet mignon with its fist. I highly recommend it, even though it's the kind of book that will get put down because it bristles at the seams and does not deign to slip n' slide into your comfort zone.

 

 

 

[{::'KayCeeS::}]

24 minutes ago, Azalin said:

 

 

 

 

 

To quote one of my favorite rappers:

 

"That's the anthem, homie, I'm off the Grid, and you can't control me..."

 

That's what I think when I listen to Zappa.

[{::'KayCeeS::}]

44 minutes ago, Pete said:

 

I don't think I've actually read "Women".

 

But I have a... mixed relationship with Bukowski.

 

Not because of literary merit.

 

In a very personal way.

 

But I think that's the point, right?

 

Thanks for posting. 

[{::'KayCeeS::}]

"Q"

 

 

If you're into historical fiction, then put this on your shortlist- set in 16th century Reformation Europe and dealing with the times around Martin Luther, and it's just really stunning in its depth, breadth, scope, but also intimacy of character. Written by four italian writers, published under a pseudonym, and the four writer thing is actually a strength, where 90% of the time i think it would be a contrived kind of thing.  No matter what your faith, this is a worthy book.  Reminds me in some ways of Umberto Eco.

Edited April 18, 2018 by {::'KayCeeS::}

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

City of quartz 

 

the foundation series

 

the man man in the high castle 

[WhoTom]

If you like sci-fi and zany comedy, then the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" series is a must.

 

"The Midnight Plan of the Repo Man" is a fun murder mystery. So is the sequel, "Repo Madness."

 

My son turned my on to a good sci-fi novel called "The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet."

 

 

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

Oh!

 

Forgot

 

"A Canticle for Liebowitz"

 

 

[DC Tom]

Most of what I read, you don't want to read (A military history of Mud?  Instructions for building an Athenian trireme?).  Some the average person would find interesting:

 

Touched with Fire: Land War in the South Pacific: https://www.amazon.com/Touched-Fire-Land-South-Pacific/dp/0140246967  Very readable, and comprehensive enough that it will give you a great deal of insight into modern combat (and how it's reported or misreported).

Absolute War: https://www.amazon.com/Absolute-War-Soviet-Russia-Second/dp/0375724710/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1524062470&sr=1-2  The Soviet experience in the Second World War, written at the strategic level.  

Bigfoot War: https://www.amazon.com/Bigfoot-War-Eric-S-Brown-ebook/dp/B00H3RAB1Q/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1524062565&sr=1-1&keywords=bigfoot+wars  Nothing more than what it is: a Bigfoot clan attacks a rural North Carolina town.  Silly, stupid...and surprisingly fun for it.

Footfall: https://www.amazon.com/Footfall-Larry-Niven-ebook/dp/B01EKJ4PQ6/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1524062640&sr=1-1&keywords=footfall  Old book, about alien invasion.  Probably the most intelligent "alien invasion" story written (including "War of the Worlds"), for portraying a plausible "advanced-but-handicapped" adversary and portrayals of realistically possible technology. 

Dune: there's two kinds of people in the world: people who have read Dune, and morons.

Edited April 18, 2018 by DC Tom

[TheElectricCompany]

Some recent non fiction standouts: 

 

The Big Burn - Timothy Egan. 

The Worst Hard Time - Timothy Egan

Getting Up Slowly - Nate Jackson

 

[LeGOATski]

I love sci-fi. Best I've ever read is the Hyperion series (or the "Hyperion Cantos"), by Dan Simmons.

 

It should be on everyone's sci-fi list.

[LeviF]

1 hour ago, DC Tom said:

Most of what I read, you don't want to read (A military history of Mud?  Instructions for building an Athenian trireme?).  Some the average person would find interesting:

 

Touched with Fire: Land War in the South Pacific: https://www.amazon.com/Touched-Fire-Land-South-Pacific/dp/0140246967  Very readable, and comprehensive enough that it will give you a great deal of insight into modern combat (and how it's reported or misreported).

 

 

You recommended this to me several years ago and can say it's fantastic.  Also I blame you for the 15 books along a similar theme I've since purchased.

 

Anyway...

 

The Manual of Detection by Jedediah Berry

The Riftwar Saga by Raymond Feist

An Anxious Age: The Post-Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of America by Joseph Bottum

So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson

The Expanse Series by James S. A. Corey

 

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

17 hours ago, {::'KayCeeS::} said:

 

Cool, thanks for the info.  I'll check it out.  I've heard about it obviously, a very famous series, but never given it a chance.

I haven't gotten to the last 3

 

have you seen the movie "Sahara" with Matthew Mcconaughey ?    

 

Currently, the chronological order that these books should be read in is:

1. Pacific Vortex
2. The Mediterranean Caper
3. Iceberg
4. Raise the Titanic
5. Vixen 03
6. Night Probe
7. Deep Six
8. Cyclops
9. Treasure
10. Dragon
11. Sahara
12. Inca Gold
13. Shock Wave
14. Flood Tide
15. Atlantis Found
16. Valhalla Rising
17. Trojan Odyssey
18. Black Wind
19. Treasure of Khan
20. Arctic Drift
21. Crescent Dawn
22. Poseidon's Arrow
23. Havana Storm

24. Odessa Sea

25. Celtic Empire

 

Edited April 18, 2018 by ShadyBillsFan

[DC Tom]

37 minutes ago, LeviF91 said:

 

You recommended this to me several years ago and can say it's fantastic.  Also I blame you for the 15 books along a similar theme I've since purchased.

 

Anyway...

 

The Manual of Detection by Jedediah Berry

The Riftwar Saga by Raymond Feist

An Anxious Age: The Post-Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of America by Joseph Bottum

So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson

The Expanse Series by James S. A. Corey

 

 

He's got another book, Fire in the Sky.  Same sort of book, but the air war in the South Pacific.  

 

Those two books, and Peter Hinchliffe's The Other Battle, and Richard Frank's Guadalcanal are on my "desert island" list.  Hinchliffe is almost impossible to find nowadays, Frank almost as difficult (it's 20 years old), but I have seen it in Barnes & Noble in the past year.

[LeviF]

11 minutes ago, DC Tom said:

 

He's got another book, Fire in the Sky.  Same sort of book, but the air war in the South Pacific.  

 

That's the first one I bought after Touched with Fire. 

[CommonCents]

I'm reading 1913 by Charles Emmerson. My goal is to read a variety of books spanning both World Wars and this one sets the stage for WW1. Slow read for a simpleton like myself

[Azalin]

Pretty much anything by Terry Pratchett, but a personal favorite is Mort; the story of what happened when Death took on an apprentice.

 

 

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

If you don’t mind sharing books with your wife / girl friend.  

 

The Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon 

currently 8 books the 9th is in the works.   

A woman time travels 200 years back in Scotland to the time of the Scottish uprising and then progresses to America and the Revolutionary War.  

 

It is also a series on Starz cable channel 

[RaoulDuke79]

Kitchen Confidential is pretty good. If your into true crime Helter Skelter is amazing. I'm also a fan of anything by Hunter S. Thompson.

[Pete]

5 hours ago, RaoulDuke79 said:

Kitchen Confidential is pretty good. If your into true crime Helter Skelter is amazing. I'm also a fan of anything by Hunter S. Thompson.

you sir have great taste in music and books

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

EThe ringworld series

 

the red/green/blue mars series

 

evolution

 

 

[RaoulDuke79]

Also enjoyed The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test and I am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe. The Electeic Kool Aid Acid Test is about The Merry Pranksters and Ken Kesey who wrote One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, which is another great book.

[WhoTom]

Contact by Carl Sagan

 

Life of Pi was a good book - better than the movie (and the movie was pretty good too).

 

 

[Max Fischer]

On 4/18/2018 at 11:32 AM, LeGOATski said:

I love sci-fi. Best I've ever read is the Hyperion series (or the "Hyperion Cantos"), by Dan Simmons.

 

It should be on everyone's sci-fi list.

 

Yes, really liked Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion.  Kept waiting for the third book to get going, stopped halfway.  

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

Can we bring up short story compilations, too?

 

[Pete]

15 minutes ago, joesixpack said:

Can we bring up short story compilations, too?

 

Chekhov

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

2 minutes ago, Pete said:

Chekhov

 

[LeviF]

2 hours ago, joesixpack said:

Can we bring up short story compilations, too?

 

 

[Gugny]

I used to read a lot of Dean Koontz - especially from the late 80s through the early 2000s.

 

I read Mitch Albom's first six novels and loved them.  I have his 7th (The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto), but I haven't begun reading it yet.

 

 

[BeginnersMind]

On 4/18/2018 at 11:32 AM, LeGOATski said:

I love sci-fi. Best I've ever read is the Hyperion series (or the "Hyperion Cantos"), by Dan Simmons.

 

It should be on everyone's sci-fi list.

 

I will return with some other recommendations but this. Hyperion is totally different from, but neck n neck with, Dune for my favorite all time sci fi. . 

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

9 hours ago, Gugny said:

 

I used to read a lot of Dean Koontz - especially from the late 80s through the early 2000s.

 

I’ve read a lot of his books too. 

[swnybillsfan]

Clive Barker's Imajica. i must have read it a dozen times. it is a sci fi/fantasy. absolutely enthralled, every time i pick it up.

 

The Dragonlance Chronicles by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. incredible characters and wonderful storytelling in the fantasy genre. if you like these then there are many subsequent spinoffs. some good, some amazing.

[{::'KayCeeS::}]

"Chasm City"

 

 

 

A Space Opera Novel by Alastair Reynolds

 

"Chasm City" is truly bonkers. I don't mean that it has an experimental structure, or crazy over-the-top prose, or even that it goes out of its way to upturn the proverbial apple cart. What I mean is that, although it is most certainly space opera, it is also just as equally weird fiction. There is a pervasive disquiet that permeates each page of this novel, almost as if you can feel the dark, cold of the spacial void permeating from each and every word. I'm sure others have said this, but it's like if China Mieville had decided to write a mainstream-ish sci-fi novel instead of "Perdido Street Station". Chasm City itself is in many ways the main character of this novel; it is such an unusual place, such a transformed and twisted version of its past self (which, without getting into details, will make sense if you read the novel), that it's very existence is a kind of pan-mirror reflecting the odysseys of the characters themselves. Reynolds is such an ambitious writer that it can take your breath away, but he is also a purveyor and unfurler of a startingly, unexpected intimacy, and the tug-of-war between these two facets really reveals a novelist who, while certainly working with familiar space opera tropes, also has a style uniquely his own.

"Chasm City" is part of Reynolds' "Revelation Space" Universe, but it is also stand alone. You don't have to have read any of the other novels to jump into this one. I highly recommend it, especially if you like your space-opera sci-fi tilting towards the bizarre side."

 

 

14 hours ago, joesixpack said:

Can we bring up short story compilations, too?

 

 

Any literature is game, my friend.  I was actually named after Vonnegut, no lie, straight truth.  I didn't know it, until I was in college and I read "Cat's Cradle" and I happened to mention it to my parents how much i loved this motherf'er.

14 hours ago, Max Fischer said:

 

Yes, really liked Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion.  Kept waiting for the third book to get going, stopped halfway.  

 

LOVE Hyperion.  Haven't read any of the other ones, I was kind of scared they wouldn't be as good (stupid, i know).

 

Speaking of Dan Simmons, anyone watching "The Terror" on AMC?

On 4/18/2018 at 11:09 AM, DC Tom said:

Dune: there's two kinds of people in the world: people who have read Dune, and morons.

 

Maybe not "morons"....

 

But We are in accord.

 

 Dune is required reading for anybody, much like Moby Dick, or any classic novel you can name.