Recommended Reading

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Roman Totale
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Recommended Reading

Post by Roman Totale »

As per Amblin's suggestion, post any books you'd like to recommend to other 5punkers here.

Here's a couple of my favourites:

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Philip. K. Dick

A superb book about a bounty hunter that must track down and "retire" six renegade replicants (androids). The androids look exactly like human beings, with very little to discern between the two. This makes up the underlying thread of the book - how do you class something as "alive"? How do you know that you are human, and not just a pre-programmed machine? If the plot sounds familiar, it's because this book was the basis for the film 'Blade Runner'.


Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut

A book so good it could make you cry. Based on the author's experience of being a WW2 POW in Dresden just before the Allies fire bombed the city. It follows Billy Pilgrim, a man who has become "unstuck in time". He has no control over which point in his life he is living - one moment a young man in the US army fighting against the Nazis, the next moment a retired optician. Going from hilarious to poignant in a single sentence, this is definitely one of my all time favourite reads.


There are lots more but I'm sure that 1) other people will already have read them, and 2) they'll be able to do better write ups.
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Post by deject »

1984 - George Orwell
War of the Worlds - H.G. Wells
For Whom the Bell Tolls - Ernest Hemmingway
People of the Lie: The Hope for Healing Human Evil - M. Scott Peck
anything by David Sedaris
The Borne Trilogy - Robert Ludlum
The Space Trilogy - C.S. Lewis
Red Phoenix - Larry Bonds
Vortex - Larry Bonds

All these are Tom Clancy:

Patriot Games
Rainbow Six
Sum of all Fears
Executive Orders
Clear and Present Danger
Last edited by deject on October 29th, 2006, 13:47, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Recommended Reading

Post by Dog Pants »

Roman Totale wrote:Here's a couple of my favourites:


Ooh, both books that have influenced other favourite things of mine that I've never read. I'll take a look.

I've always loved influential classics. I'd recommend 1984 (George Orwell) to anyone even if only that they can see just how influential the book is. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley) is a similar sort of thing, with it's own merits. I asked my well-read sister for a couple of good books for my birthday once and those two were the ones she bought me. Excellent choices.

I bought the HG Wells collection a while back to read The War Of The Worlds and I very much enjoyed that too. No other version of it does the story justice, and the book also contains greats such as The Time Machine and The Invisible Man.

I've read quite a few of Stephen E Ambrose's books, which are very good. They're non-fiction told with the flair of a fiction writer. I'd reccommend The Victors, as it best puts across the points of view of the men who did the fighting. The End Of The Beginning (Phil Clayton & Tim Craig) and Forgotten Voices Of The Second World War (Max Arthur) are both a very similar thing but told from a more British perspective. All are very involving and made more poignant by the fact that it is all true accounts of the war.

I couldn't write about reccomendations without mentioning zombies. The Walking Dead (Robert Kirkman) series of graphic novels are outstanding, capturing the very essence of the genre. I've also just finished reading the Autumn (David Moody) series of novels. These are slightly more slow-paced and thoughtful than the common zombie splat-gore stuff. Four novels, set in England, about the survivors of a plague that has killed 95% (as stated by the books, although I'd say it was more like 99%) of the population. The fourth book also gives an interesting look into the 'life' of a zombie.

The last book I read, which I really enjoyed, was The First Casualty (Ben Elton). It's the story of a police detective and objector in the First World War who is blackmailed into conducting an investigation in the trenches. It's a not particularly taxing, but very entertaining, whodunnit-come-war story that bowls along at a decent pace and has some great battle scenes, which are pretty thin on the ground for the First World War.

EDIT: Oh yeah, I'd reccommend looking up one of Roald Dahl's collections of short stories. Very dark stuff, along the lines of The Twighlight Zone.
Last edited by Dog Pants on October 29th, 2006, 13:49, edited 1 time in total.
Lateralus
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Post by Lateralus »

I'll second 1984. Also, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. Similar dystopian idea, but from the opposite end of the spectrum - people ruled by manipulation not fear. Its very good though.

Edit: Great minds think alike!
Last edited by Lateralus on October 29th, 2006, 13:48, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by deject »

The Invisible Man was a pretty depressing story.
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Post by Lateralus »

Other things I've read and really enjoyed were Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and American Psycho. The second is fairly grusome in places, but is a very good read indeed.

No-one has mentioned Lord of the Rings yet either. One of my most-read books over the years. I think its a fantastic tale, and as great as the films are (especially the extended ones) the book definitely deserves a read.
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Post by Dog Pants »

Lateralus wrote:No-one has mentioned Lord of the Rings yet either. One of my most-read books over the years. I think its a fantastic tale, and as great as the films are (especially the extended ones) the book definitely deserves a read.


I'd say start off with The Hobbit and if you like it go on to LOTR.
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Post by Lateralus »

Dog Pants wrote:
I'd say start off with The Hobbit and if you like it go on to LOTR.


I half agree with you. I found the Hobbit to be more of a kid's book (the whole thing started as bed-time stories for his children iirc), but LOTR was more engrossing. Although, if the whole idea of the world that is set out in the Hobbit is off-putting then LOTR maybe isn't for you. Definitely don't start with the Silmarillion though! :bored:
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Post by Sandwich »

I haven't been reading for long but I'd recommend these two to anyone:

Yes Man - Danny Wallace

Are you Dave Gorman - Dave Gorman and Danny Wallace

The former is probably the most inspiring and funny book I've read, showing that being positive can be great for your life. Highlights include "Shelf Adventure" and Danny nearly being beaten by a bloke after he said yes to looking at his girlfriend.
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Post by deject »

Some other great ones:

The Andromeda Strain - Michael Crichton
Timeline - Michael Crichton
Byzantium - Stephen Lawhead
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Post by Anhamgrimmar »

Non-fiction:

Antony Bevor's Stalingrad

gives a bit of an insight into just how hard the russians were fighting, and how brutal the actual siege was
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Post by Roman Totale »

Dog Pants wrote:I'd say start off with The Hobbit and if you like it go on to LOTR.


The Silmarillion is very good, but I read LOTR and the Hobbit before attempting it.
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Post by cashy »

Domain- James Herbert.
Ive ranted about this before, but it really is quite possibly the best thing ever. The story begins in London, a nuke is inbound and about to obliterate pretty much everything. If this wasnt enough, a species of mutant dog sized rats appear from the sewers and want to eat everyone. Widely believed to be the inspiration for 28days later.

Others i think deserve a special mention would be Ben Elton's High Society, which is all about the drug culture in England following the lives of skag heads to rock stars, politicians to smack whores and how all of their lives are linked by their habits.
Past mortem by Ben Elton is also a pretty fucked up book, follows the life of a detective investigating a serial killer. Things like a model tied to a chair with a mutilated face and her eyes forced open to stare into a mirror till she starves to death.
Ian Fleming of course is god, ive got the James Bond box set to get through yet though. From what i have read he's god though.

Personally i found The Hobbit better than the LOTR books as the LOTR just seemed too drawn out. Maybe its because i was allot younger when i started on The Hobbit, or maybe its just because im ADD or something.

Dog Pants wrote:Oh yeah, I'd reccommend looking up one of Roald Dahl's collections of short stories. Very dark stuff, along the lines of The Twighlight Zone.


This i did not know, i will have to find some as i was always a fan of his kiddie books.
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Post by Dog Pants »

cashy wrote:Domain- James Herbert.
Ive ranted about this before, but it really is quite possibly the best thing ever. The story begins in London, a nuke is inbound and about to obliterate pretty much everything. If this wasnt enough, a species of mutant dog sized rats appear from the sewers and want to eat everyone. Widely believed to be the inspiration for 28days later.


I've read this. It's the third in a trilogy (I've not read the other two) and is fairly good post-apocalyse stuff. The only criticism I have of it is that the rats, even though they tear people apart in seconds quite regularly, just don't give me the feeling of dread that I should have had.
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Post by mrbobbins »

So many favourite books but these are the ones I've read fairly recently, and I'm obsessed with the genius of these 2 writers:

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neal_Stephenson">Neal Stephenson</a>

Quicksilver
The Confusion
The System of the World


These 3 books make up the Baroque Cycle, probably the most intelligent (without being overwhelming) books I have ever read. They are epic, adventurous and wildly ambitious historical novels, which are also considered science fiction due to their style and deviation from actual historical events.

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alastair_Reynolds">Alastair Reynolds</a>
As a first read I would recommend:

Chasm City

It is set in the same universe as many of his other books (See Inhibitors trilogy below) but isn't directly linked so is a stand alone novel, which is how I got into this author. It's a classic detective noir story twisted with hard science fiction. It is a harsh and infinitely intriguing thriller

I was never that interested in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_science_fiction">Hard Sci-Fi</A> before I read this book, they seemed too clinical. But Alastair Reynolds takes the science in addition to excellent characterisation and emotion so he can go from the most intimate situation to epic universe altering events. For me this author completely re-worked any conception of what science fiction means

The Inhibitors trilogy:

Revelation Space
Redemption Ark
Absolution Gap


Epic and ambitious can't even begin to describe these books, quite simply the best science fiction in any form I have ever experienced, a short synopsis is very difficult, so check out some reviews if you're interested, or rather read Chasm City to see if you like the author then delve into these 3 books.
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Post by Fred Woogle »

Amoungst the Marines - Steven Peerce

muchly enjoyed it, I know people who find it disturbing, but those bits were the most humourous
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Post by spoodie »

My two favourite authors at the moment:

Iain M. Banks:
I'll read anything by this dude (I'll let someone else cover his alter-ego if they want). He's writes sci-fi novels which are mostly about the characters, their situations and spectacularly epic scenarios. So entertaining that even my Mum read his last book and enjoyed it. If you want to try one his latest, The Algebraist, or The Player of Games. Consider Phlebas is probably my favourite but it's long and may not be good to start with. This is the book that the halo in Halo is ripped from. Also the style of naming the ships in Halo is inspired by this author's work.

Stephen Baxter:
Currently I'm working my way through Baxter's Xeelee Sequence of books. The first one I read was called Flux and is about distant future humans living inside a star. Not inside protective structures or suits but their bodies have been adapted so they can swim around inside the star matter. His stories seem to be about the humans of the future struggling to continue to exist in the face of the Xeelee race or god-like aliens. Another book - Raft - concerns humans that have escaped to a parallel universe which has much stronger gravity and all life exists inside nubulas. Planets can't work because anything larger than a few hundred meters in diameter has such a strong gravity field it will crush itself and all that comes near. It's these kind of science-based ideas which he uses to build fantastic worlds and situations.

Why is Iain (M.) Banks regarded as Hard Sci-Fi?
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Post by Adoran Wa'alle »

spoodie wrote:My two favourite authors at the moment:

Iain M. Banks:
I'll read anything by this dude (I'll let someone else cover his alter-ego if they want). He's writes sci-fi novels which are mostly about the characters, their situations and spectacularly epic scenarios. So entertaining that even my Mum read his last book and enjoyed it. If you want to try one his latest, The Algebraist, or The Player of Games. Consider Phlebas is probably my favourite but it's long and may not be good to start with. This is the book that the halo in Halo is ripped from. Also the style of naming the ships in Halo is inspired by this author's work.

Stephen Baxter:
Currently I'm working my way through Baxter's Xeelee Sequence of books. The first one I read was called Flux and is about distant future humans living inside a star. Not inside protective structures or suits but their bodies have been adapted so they can swim around inside the star matter. His stories seem to be about the humans of the future struggling to continue to exist in the face of the Xeelee race or god-like aliens. Another book - Raft - concerns humans that have escaped to a parallel universe which has much stronger gravity and all life exists inside nubulas. Planets can't work because anything larger than a few hundred meters in diameter has such a strong gravity field it will crush itself and all that comes near. It's these kind of science-based ideas which he uses to build fantastic worlds and situations.

Why is Iain (M.) Banks regarded as Hard Sci-Fi?


I tried getting into Iain M Banks by reading Consider Phlebas...didn't go too well. I also have "Use Of Weapons" as amazon reviewers said that this was one of the best books. Think it's a good starting book, or should I order The Player Of Games?
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Post by friznit »

Not sure where to start here. For light reading, a great series is the Sharpe novels by Bernard Cornwall. Good yarns based on the Peninsula Campaign. Also well worth a read from this period are the Aubrey/Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian - some of the best Royal Navy stories going and arguably better than C.S. Forester.

For the Sci Fi fans, Ian M Banks' Culture series is excellent but don't forget Frank Herbert's classic, Dune. I personally found the Rama series by Arthur C. Clarke a little quaint, though amusing, and Azimov has for some reason always irritated me.

For an outstanding read, I'd highly recommend Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson and Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. Two of the best books written in recent times.
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Post by Sheriff Fatman »

Michael Marshall Smith

Very much like Iain M. Banks IMO; British, a great story teller and a dark sense of humour. He writes fantastic near-future sci-fi with plots that twist all over the place and central characters that are both entertaining and easy to empathise with.

Also, he likes cats, and often manages to involve them in the main plot somehow.

Very highly recommended.
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