Books

[sachmo71]

Originally Posted by mooreadamc

I thought that this might be the best spot to ask for a recommendation:

I am looking to do more reading and wanted to ask about some recommendations. I am looking for a series of 3 or more books that have the same characters/story line. Typically I am into suspense, mystery, and action novels.

Anyways let me know of any ideas.

Thanks.

Mystery...how about Sue Grafton? I think she uses the same characters.
And for action...you can't go wrong with Clancy. If you want sci-fi or fantasy, there are a ton of series i can recommend.

[Peregrine]

Originally Posted by mooreadamc

I thought that this might be the best spot to ask for a recommendation:

I am looking to do more reading and wanted to ask about some recommendations. I am looking for a series of 3 or more books that have the same characters/story line. Typically I am into suspense, mystery, and action novels.

Anyways let me know of any ideas.

Thanks.

Well, that's a pretty broad set of requirements, so there's a lot of choices. For an excellent series of action books, that aren't just blind blood and guts, you can't go wrong with Lee Child's Jack Reacher series. Reacher is a former military MP who is now basically a drifter, and always has a knack for running into trouble and people who need to be saved. They are extremely well written and there are a lot of them, check Amazon for the full title list, the ones I know offhand are Die Trying, Killing Floor, and Tripwire.


Another series I can recommend to everyone is the Repairman Jack books by F. Paul Wilson. Just a great series, it's got action, suspense, a bit of sci-fi, and plenty more. Jack is a fixer, basically he's a guy you can turn to in NYC when the police can't help and you've got nowhere else to turn, he'll find the information you need, lean on the bad people, or whatever else, he's a great character and it's a great universe, because there's definite aspects of the supernatural in most of his cases. Read some of them, you won't be disappointed. The Tomb is the first one, but there are several others. As a side note, if anyone has read the old book The Keep, that had a bad movie made of it back in the early 80s, with Nazis in a sort of monster castle, it's the same guy who wrote this series, and they are in the same universe, there's basically a tie-in with Repairman Jack in some small ways. www.repairmanjack.com

[Wolfpack]

Originally Posted by Peregrine

The Keep, that had a bad movie made of it back in the early 80s, with Nazis in a sort of monster castle....

Isn't that "Castle Wolfenstein", basically?

[Peregrine]

Originally Posted by Wolfpack

Isn't that "Castle Wolfenstein", basically?

Well, not really, this is more about some less than organized Nazis being eaten by a monster, and a Van Helsing type guy trying to contain it.

[sachmo71]

Oh, and W.E.B Griffin's works are very good action books. I prefer the Corps, but his Brotherhood of War series is very good as well.

[mooreadamc]

Originally Posted by Peregrine

Well, that's a pretty broad set of requirements, so there's a lot of choices. For an excellent series of action books, that aren't just blind blood and guts, you can't go wrong with Lee Child's Jack Reacher series. Reacher is a former military MP who is now basically a drifter, and always has a knack for running into trouble and people who need to be saved. They are extremely well written and there are a lot of them, check Amazon for the full title list, the ones I know offhand are Die Trying, Killing Floor, and Tripwire.


Another series I can recommend to everyone is the Repairman Jack books by F. Paul Wilson. Just a great series, it's got action, suspense, a bit of sci-fi, and plenty more. Jack is a fixer, basically he's a guy you can turn to in NYC when the police can't help and you've got nowhere else to turn, he'll find the information you need, lean on the bad people, or whatever else, he's a great character and it's a great universe, because there's definite aspects of the supernatural in most of his cases. Read some of them, you won't be disappointed. The Tomb is the first one, but there are several others. As a side note, if anyone has read the old book The Keep, that had a bad movie made of it back in the early 80s, with Nazis in a sort of monster castle, it's the same guy who wrote this series, and they are in the same universe, there's basically a tie-in with Repairman Jack in some small ways. www.repairmanjack.com

Thanks, I am going to look for the Tomb tonight.

[Peregrine]

It might be out of print, but you may be able to find it somewhere. I didn't start with The Tomb but was able to pick it up later at a used bookstore.

[finketr]

Originally Posted by MacroGuru

The book is Excellent, I read it on my plane flight from Utah to Fayetteville.....If you haven't read the Conclave series through the end, this may confuse you a bit

referring to "Flight of the Nighthawks":

It felt like a much better book than did the entire Conclave series.

I read it over a period of 2 days or so during my vacation at the beginning of july.

[biological warrior]

Is anyone reading any Foreign Policy history books? Im very interested in US Foreign policy during the 1890-1920 period.

[Groundhog]

Finished The Lost Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell last week, and picked up the sequel, The Pale Horseman, today and flew through 50-odd pages during my lunch break. Real good stuff. I hadn't heard of Cornwell and his historical fiction until my girlfriend lent me Last Kingdom and it's proved very tough to put down.

It's set in the time of Alfred the Great and the Danes/Vikings invasion of England during the 9th century, from the point of view of a young warrior born in the kingdom of Northumbria, raised by Vikings, and then fighting for the Saxons.

As soon as I'm done with book two (book three is due out by the end of the year I believe), I intend on reading his medieval trilogy as well as his American Civil War series.

[finketr]

so, just reread "Adventures of Conrad Stargard" books 1-3, 5-6. I've lost book 4 somewhere or it was in such disrepair that it got tossed in the trash.

Re-reading Bridge in the Menagerie series.

Anyone got some good recommendations?

My likes: Sci-fi/fantasy, mystery, Grisham, Clancy novels.

thanks,

tim

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by finketr

Anyone got some good recommendations?

My likes: Sci-fi/fantasy, mystery, Grisham, Clancy novels.

Tim, if you like Grisham, I'd recommend something by Joseph Finder. I'm currently reading Company Man and find it to be a good page turner with good characters and good writing in general. He is also the author of High Crimes that later was made into the movie of the same name with Ashley Judd, James Caviezel and Morgan Freeman. I plan on getting his previous book, Paranoia whenever I order some more books from bookcloseouts.com. It has received some very good reviews.

FM

[ntndeacon]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

Finished The Lost Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell last week, and picked up the sequel, The Pale Horseman, today and flew through 50-odd pages during my lunch break. Real good stuff. I hadn't heard of Cornwell and his historical fiction until my girlfriend lent me Last Kingdom and it's proved very tough to put down.

It's set in the time of Alfred the Great and the Danes/Vikings invasion of England during the 9th century, from the point of view of a young warrior born in the kingdom of Northumbria, raised by Vikings, and then fighting for the Saxons.

As soon as I'm done with book two (book three is due out by the end of the year I believe), I intend on reading his medieval trilogy as well as his American Civil War series.

If you like Historical Fiction I just finished reading Iain Pairs An Instance at the Fingerpost. It was great. Basically a mystery based in post Civil War England. It is told from 4 different vantage points. Also A couple of others worth reading by Margaret George, Mary, called Magdelene and Mary, Queen of Scots. Both of those were good books as well.

[Wolfpack]

Finished up my Summer reading the rest of the American Empire series by Turtledove, Weapons of Choice by John Birmingham, and Prayers for the Assassin by Robert Ferrigno. Be feeling in quite an "alternate history/dark future" mood, obviously.

All were pretty good, though I'm going to hold off on Turtledove's alt-WWII books in the Southern Victory timeline until he finishes the series next year.

[sachmo71]

Quite some time ago, I finished The Shiva Option by David Weber.

If you love space combat, you love Weber. This book is a wrapup of the war against the bugs, and thankfully, the book has an ending. That sounds like something you would expect, but about halfway through, you may begin to wonder if the book will ever end.

I get that Weber wants the reader to know that this war was a kill or be killed struggle. A war of extermination. Only one can survive. I just think he could have wrapped it up a little quicker, or if that weren't possible, he could have shifted the focus around a bit. Tell me a story about something that brought some more life to the story. As it was, there was a lot of hardship and pain, and then it ended. I felt it was a bit hollow on the storytelling and more like an account of trench warfare in space. If too much space combat were possible, this book would be the shining example.

Still, Weber continues to be the master of the space opera. In this case, I think it went on too long.

[the_meanstrosity]

I love Frankowski's Stargard series. The later books aren't nearly as good as the early novels simply because they move away from Conrad to other characters. Still a fun read.

Originally Posted by finketr

so, just reread "Adventures of Conrad Stargard" books 1-3, 5-6. I've lost book 4 somewhere or it was in such disrepair that it got tossed in the trash.
tim

[sachmo71]

Next up is Ancient Shores by Jack McDevitt

On a farm in North Dakota, a man and his son dig up a perfectly preserved boat they find out on their land. When word of their find gets out, humans come to grips with the fact that they are not alone...

Reading this book was a pleasure. McDevitt is an entertaining author, and I quickly entered can't-put-it-down mode. He is skilled at focusing on his characters and the main plot, then pulling back to reveal the effects of the story on the world at large; in this he reminded me a bit of Stephen King. The story itself was sort of a sci-fi first contact\mystery\suspense hybrid and came off very well. The main characters were all very human, which was good because he let them create much of the situation that they found themselves in, although he let humans act as they are likely to when presented with something that scares them.
He presented the science in a very simple way, so I don't think anyone would have a hard time following along.

I'm glad I found McDevitt. This is an author that I very much look forward to reading more from.

[sachmo71]

I've been remiss, so it's time to play catch up>

************************************************************

Eternity Road by Jack McDevitt

In the future, a group of people seek out a mythical sanctuary known as Haven, which is a site that supposedly holds the secrets of the Roadmakers, a vanished race of people who created great highways and buildings and all manner of strange devices but who disappeared for reasons unknown.

This was a wonderful book. As I've stated before, I was an instant McDevitt fan, but adding in the post apocolyptic element really sealed the deal for me. He was able to mix in enough mystery of teh everyday and present it to the user in the way it would look to Chaka and her people, helping to add mystery to the story.

The characters came alive for me, which is something I think McDevitt does very well in his stories. I was gratified to discover that my attempts to think ahead about how the characters would react were thwarted a number of times.

The conclusion was a little bit of a let down; I found myself hoping that things would turn out a bit more sunny, but that isn't really his style. Either way, it was a great time and helped me fall even more into McDevitt fandom.



*****************************************************************

Polaris by Jack McDevitt


Sixty years in the past, a crew of scientists were on hand to witness two stars colliding and taking a solar system with it. On the way home, something goes awry and the entire crew disappears. Polaris is recovered empty, sparking a galaxy wide mystery that puts the ship up with the Titanic in legendary status. Collector\Antiquities Dealer Alex Benedict is offered a chance to own some of the collection from Polaris, but mysterious things begin to happen to him as he tries to uncover what happened to the crew.

This book was a bit different from the other McDevitt books I've read as it is basically a mystery. Think hard sci-fi mystery and you'll get it. Normally, I'm not really into mystery novels, but it's the writing that kept me interested. The main characters, of whom Alex is apparently a return character, are as interesting as any in McDevitt novels. The story is well crafted, with me again guessing wrong on a number of occasions as to where the story was going. In the end, I had a general idea about what happened, but I didn't really catch on until the last few chapters.

Fans of sci-fi should not pass this book up. It's a wonderful read.


*********************************************************************
Those Who Walk In Darkness by John Ridley


Soledad O'Roark is an MTAC cop in LA. MTAC is the anti-mutant squad who's main job is to take down super-powered citizens of the United States, where it is a crime to exist with superpowers.

You may recognize the name of the author...I found out that he was writer of the movie U-Turn. Not quite what you might expect, but this is a really great read. Once you get past Soledad's sociopathic view of the world, and the surprisingly complicated reasons for he hatred of superpowers, she is a pretty interesting character.

While the main plot is not exactly original, it is still tense and gripping. Everything leads up to the final confrontation between O'Roark and the ultimate baddy, and the confrontation is a page turner.

This book paints a very fast, brutal picture of one of the age old questions in superheroic universes...how does the average joe deal with superheroes. Ridley spins it to the dark side, and it's a very good ride.

*******************************************************************

What Fire Cannot Burn by John Ridley.

This is a sequel to Those Who Walk in Darkness. O'Roark and Eddi Aoki are partners in MTAC, and they have to find out who is killing supers in LA.

The sequel doesn't read as well as the first book...it feels like Ridley lost a bit of the edginess that he had in the first book. The focus is more on the relationship between Soledad and her partners, while the plot line sort of just appears in the middle of this dynamic. It feels a little forced, which was disappointing.

There is a huge plot twist in the book, which was very surprising, but it doesn't really save the book from a jumbled story and a pedestrian conclusion. I would recommend reading this one of you liked Those Who Walk in Darkness, but expect a bit of a letdown.


*****************************************************************

Fitzpatrick's War by Theodore Judson


In the 26th century, a man conquered the world. He was known as Fitzpatrick the Younger, and the book is an account of his life and death by one of his trusted advisers, Robert Mayfair Bruce.

I was really looking forward to reading this book for quite some time. It sounded like an intriguing universe, with interesting technology and of course, battles.

This book was something quite different. It was wordy, the universe was silly, and the plot creaked along with plenty of bumps and stutters.

First, the universe. That's the selling point for post-apocalyptic fiction. This one was just dumb. Basically, a stalwart collection of farms becomes the Yukon Confederacy. As the United States begins to fall, the Yukons figure out how to create a weapon that neutralizes all electronic and electric devices. Eventually, plague and sin bring the US down, and the Yukons move in and become the dominant power in the world. This had some promise, but the rise of these Yukons is just sort of shoved in there. How did they get so technologically advanced? Why did the US fall under the sway of gangs and a brutal dictator without doing anything about it? All questions that should have answers in fiction like this, yet we are treated to this backstory in a few pages with a cheap plot device...while in school, Robert Bruce is given an oral history exam. In it, he recounts these events, and how the Yukons rose to power. Also, for some odd reason, most of the world is divided up with 17th century geographical references. All it did was cause me to scratch my head and consider putting the book down.

So, the universe isn't perfect. Unfortunately, neither is the subject of the book...Fitzpatrick the Younger. He wants to conquer the world, and he wants to be famous. His main goal is to create a unified world. He fancies himself a new Alexander, and is constantly comparing himself to him. It just sort of seems goofy in the book. A man running the most powerful society in the world, a society that is based on a representative-feudal system of government, would be allowed to run off and declare war on the rest of the world seems quite simplistic to me.

The war itself was less than spectacular. The enemies of the Yukon stand around and make every mistake in the book and allow themselves to be slaughtered wholesale. Apparently, no one in either "the Chinese Empire" or the "Turkish Empire" was capable of adapting to a changing situation, so they lost and lost quickly. For example, in the main fighting with the Chinese, 20 MILLION soldiers are killed...in 29 days. This was so beyond belief, I had to check and make sure I wasn't reading a Survivalist novel.

I could go on, but I'll spare the space. This was not a very good book at all and I can't think of a reason someone should read this.

[Peregrine]

For some reason I just can't get into McDevitt's books, I tried to read a couple of them and his writing style just rubs me the wrong way.

[biological warrior]

I just finished Nathaniel Fick's ''One Bullet Away.'' Its the memoir of a Marine Corps Infantry Officer during his deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. Fick gives important lessons on leadership and criticism of weak and incompetent company grade officers within his battalion. His book also shows the disillusionment of idealism of youth involved in the global war on terror. Overall, a pretty good and fast paced read.

[sachmo71]

Originally Posted by Peregrine

For some reason I just can't get into McDevitt's books, I tried to read a couple of them and his writing style just rubs me the wrong way.

That's interesting. Which book did you try? I found Polaris to be almost a totally different experience than Eternity Road.

[sachmo71]

Aftermath by Charles Sheffield

This was an interesting book following a few groups of people in the wake of Alpha Centuari going supernova. The year is 2026, and the supernova causes mass chaos on the earth. The added heat of the star causes the weather patterns of the earth to change, which causes havoc all over, especially in the southern hemisphere. When the ion storm hits the earth, all microchip based technology is wiped out, reducing the most powerful countries on the earth to early 20th century levels.

The main groups in the book are three cancer patients who suddenly find themselves without treatment, the president of the us and his entourage, and a group of astronauts on the way back to earth from Mars.

The story moves along well, with the most interesting group being the cancer patients, who find that their only salvation is from the hands of a convict. Everything else blends in well. The science is believable, even if it is a bit of a perfect storm scenario.

My biggest gripe about the book is that the ending is very sudden. Things are moving along very well, and then it just ends. Everything is resolved in a page or two. Left me wanting.

Overall, it's a fun read. Give it a whirl.

[Peregrine]

My review of World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks. Excellent read or listen.

http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/...61#post1397161

[MacroGuru]

I had to bring this thread back from the dead.

I just finished Across The Nightingale Floor by Lian Hern

I normally am a pure fantasy nut but every once in a while I stray to something else (Clancy, Card, Barker, etc) but I am a member of SFBC and based upon members reviews I grabbed books 1 - 3.

I could not put the book down, it was a great Japanese Warlord type story with a Crouching Tiger flair.

The second book in the series is just as good as I am already half way through there.

I give it an 8 out 10

[Buccaneer]

I read so many books that it would be hard for me keep up a list. But I feel compelled to list a couple of books from two of my very favorite authors:

Amazon.com: The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir: Bill Bryson: Books

I really love Bill Bryson and his sometimes exaggerated descriptions of growing up in the 50s and early 60s in Des Moines are perhaps the funniest things I have ever read. Every page is a laugh out loud moment, which is saying a lot for me.

Amazon.com: A Voyage Long and Strange: Rediscovering the New World: Tony Horwitz: Books

Tony Horwitz is perhaps my favorite writer, being a historian and a travel writer, my top 2 favorite subjects. He's the one that did Confederates in the Attic and he takes a similar style in following the histories and paths of the early North American explorers (from the Vikings to Plymouth).

WSUCougar mentioned my favorite historical novelist, Jeff Shaara, and I agree completely with his views on Rise to Rebellion (plsu his sequel The Glorious Cause). I picked up his two WW2 novels written in the same vain The Steel Wave and The Rising Tide and will be getting to those soon.

[sachmo71]

hey I remember this!

[sachmo71]

if anyone is interested in free scifi\fantasy ebooks, they have a good listing almost every day at SF Signal.