Recommend A Book

[Starbreaker]

But... there's a small catch. Don't make it something very popular. No Dune, Lord of the Rings, Cryptonomicon, Neuromancer, The Mote in God's Eye, etc.

Recommend something to me that you finished reading, said "wow, that was awesome" and "why isn't this more popular.

Preferably SF or Horror! And... go.

 

[Cobalt Frost]

If you haven't read "Dune", you're missing out (the first one, at least.. you've gotta be a HUGE fan to continue, as some of the others are a real slog to get through). Other than that, here's a couple I enjoyed:

-"Bone Song" by John Meany. "Maltese Falcon" meets "Addams Family" with a sprinkle of "Hellraiser" thrown in. Set on a world (an alternate earth?) where Death is venerated in every facet of life.

-"Gil's All-Fright Diner" by A. Lee Martinez. A vampire and werewolf buddy story, with zombies and an impending apocalypse centered around a small-town diner. I laughed out loud several times.

-the "Lost Fleet" series by Jack Campbell. Fairly hard sci-fi with a bit of a BSG vibe. Six books in the series tell a complete story but leaves some threads open for future stories.

-"Heaven's Bones" by Samantha Henderson. Alternating between Victorian England and the antebellum South, this story is REALLY creepy. Not sure how to classify it, though it does take a turn into "Hellraiser" territory.

-"Land of Mist and Snow" by Debra Doyle and James MacDonald. An alternate Civil War where each side covertly employs warships powered by captive elemental spirits. Very enjoyable, complete story that left me wanting more.

-"Yukikaze" by Chohei Kambayashi. Updated version of the classic Japanese sci-fi adventure that spawned the excellent anime (translated to English). Best book I've read in a while.

Hope that helps!

 

[Starbreaker]

Dune is my favorite book. I absolutely worship that book!

That being said, I haven't heard of any of these except for The Lost Fleet. I was actually looking at that this morning, so you may have sold me on that one.

Heaven's Bones really piques my interest, too. Thanks for the recommendations.

 

[Thrawn]

Lost Fleet is *awesome*, if you like military SF at all. I'm working on it now. It has the best descriptions of space battles I think I've ever read. Most space battles feel like naval battles; these really, really don't. In naval battles, you don't have to take light-delay into account.

 

[Greg Cox]

-"Gil's All-Fright Diner" by A. Lee Martinez. A vampire and werewolf buddy story, with zombies and an impending apocalypse centered around a small-town diner. I laughed out loud several times.

I liked that book too (and even wrote the cover copy for the hardcover edition). The movie rights got optioned awhile back. Here's hoping they make the film.

 

[UncleRogi]

A long read, But I would recommend The Saga of Pliocene Exile. 4 books--The Many Colored Land; The Golden Torc; The Non-Born King; The Adversary.

If you want something REALLY scary, that applies to what is happenning to the world today--This Perfect Day by Ira Levin

Then again, a story of redemption--Johnathan Livingston Seagull, and it's successor(?), Illusions: The Adventures of a Misguided Messiah.

Other than that, ALL Dune, especially God Emperor of Dune. (But none written after his death; the last was Chapterhouse: Dune).

I also happen to be a fan of Clive Cussler, but that isn't QUITE Sci-Fi

And of course my sig--The Jesus Incident, also by Herbert and his poet associate Bill Ransom, a sequel of sorts to Destination: Void.

My opinion is done--(Community breathes collective sigh of relief.)

 

[Daddy Todd]

A long read, But I would recommend The Saga of Pliocene Exile. 4 books--The Many Colored Land; The Golden Torc; The Non-Born King; The Adversary.

I'd recommend starting with Intervention, then moving on to the Galactic Milieu trilogy (Jack the Bodiless, Diamond Mask and Magnificat) before reading the Saga of the Pliocene Exile. Intervention is, IMHO, the single finest book Julian May has ever written.

 

[Cobalt Frost]

Dune is my favorite book. I absolutely worship that book!

That being said, I haven't heard of any of these except for The Lost Fleet. I was actually looking at that this morning, so you may have sold me on that one.

Heaven's Bones really piques my interest, too. Thanks for the recommendations.

You're most welcome!! Let me know which ones you read and what you think.

-"Gil's All-Fright Diner" by A. Lee Martinez. A vampire and werewolf buddy story, with zombies and an impending apocalypse centered around a small-town diner. I laughed out loud several times.

I liked that book too (and even wrote the cover copy for the hardcover edition). The movie rights got optioned awhile back. Here's hoping they make the film.

A movie would RAWK!! and I really hope there's more stories with our fang-n-fur duo in the works...

 

[UncleRogi]

A long read, But I would recommend The Saga of Pliocene Exile. 4 books--The Many Colored Land; The Golden Torc; The Non-Born King; The Adversary.[QUOTE]

I'd recommend starting with Intervention, then moving on to the Galactic Milieu trilogy (Jack the Bodiless, Diamond Mask and Magnificat) before reading the Saga of the Pliocene Exile. Intervention is, IMHO, the finest single book Julian May has ever written.

I would agree with that, except for one tiny detail:
They weren't written to be read in that order.

We were given Pliocene Exile as a forshadowing (prelude?) to what really happened to cause Marc Remillard and cronies to flee the Milieu.

Spoiler: Watch Marc Remillard CLOSELY! Especially in Intervention. 6,000,000 years, and did something we can only guess at

 

[UncleRogi]

Back to Trek Literature: Prime Directive; Crucible: McCoy; the Destiny trilogy.
Though Articles of the Federation; The Art of the Impossible; and, oddly enough, the novelization of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

I don't know how, or why, but we are going to see nuKhan(?) show up some how! Just my honest opinion. Let me ask the Communnity--Who would be a better adversary?
-Trelane?
-Kang?
-Kor?
-The Guardian of Forever? (endless temptation)
-Metrons?
-Organians?
-Dare I say it--The Borg?
-Apollo?
-What about the Gorn?
-And what exactly does a Tholian look like? Loskene looked like a bad acid trip(!)
-himself?

 

[Daddy Todd]

I'd recommend starting with Intervention, then moving on to the Galactic Milieu trilogy (Jack the Bodiless, Diamond Mask and Magnificat) before reading the Saga of the Pliocene Exile. Intervention is, IMHO, the finest single book Julian May has ever written.

I would agree with that, except for one tiny detail:
They weren't written to be read in that order.

They certainly weren't written in that order, but reading them in that order (which I did last fall, one right after the other) didn't introduce significant spoilers, apart from the one about Marc Remillard.

Seriously, try reading them in that order and see what I mean.

I always think it's a good idea to start a series by reading the strongest book. Personally, I find the last 2 Pliocene books to be overly padded to the point of tedium -- I've been "lingering" over the last half of The Adversary for 8 months or so, trying to force myself to finish it. If I'd started with the Pliocene quartet, I might never have read the glorious Intervention.

 

[UncleRogi]

I'd recommend starting with Intervention, then moving on to the Galactic Milieu trilogy (Jack the Bodiless, Diamond Mask and Magnificat) before reading the Saga of the Pliocene Exile. Intervention is, IMHO, the finest single book Julian May has ever written.

I would agree with that, except for one tiny detail:
They weren't written to be read in that order.

They certainly weren't written in that order, but reading them in that order (which I did last fall, one right after the other) didn't introduce significant spoilers, apart from the one about Marc Remillard.

Seriously, try reading them in that order and see what I mean.

I always think it's a good idea to start a series by reading the strongest book. Personally, I find the last 2 Pliocene books to be overly padded to the point of tedium -- I've been "lingering" over the last half of The Adversary for 8 months or so, trying to force myself to finish it. If I'd started with the Pliocene quartet, I might never have read the glorious Intervention.

I'm so old I had no choice...and I felt it worked better the way presented, and the Saga wouldn't have happened in quite the same way, Had we had Intervention and the Milieu
Trilogy first.

Let me ask this: Who was more powerful--Felice Landry or Dennis Remillard?
Answer: Aiken Drumm

 

[JD]

Well, they are fairly popular (they've been NY Times bestsellers) but not alot of people seem to be familiar with the Sigma Force books. I absolutely love these books, they're basically Indiana Jones meets the Unit.

 

[UncleRogi]

Shoulnd't this thread be in Science Fiction & Fantasy?

Not that I have my own bouts of miss-posting....

And I see NO ONE, me included, suggested The Torah, El Quar'an, The Bible....

Just read StarTrek Lives!

You'll be OK!

 

[Caliburn24]

Drakon by S.M. Stirling. It follows the events of his Dominion of the Draka trilogy, but it is really a side story and works perfectly fine on its own. I actually read it before any of his other books and had no problems understanding it.

http://www.amazon.com/Drakon-S-M-Stirling/dp/0671877119

It feels very much like a Terminator or Predator story(and even references the movies jokingly) but the action and characters are great and it is really a fun read.

 

[Starbreaker]

Shoulnd't this thread be in Science Fiction & Fantasy?

No... it will just fall off the main page within a minute.

 

[UncleRogi]

Strange as it might sound (read), To Kill A Mockingbird was a book I resented in school, but reading as an adult found this to be a most enjoyable read, even (dare I say it?) profound. A book to read.

 

[UncleRogi]

1984

 

[Starbreaker]

Those are two of the most popular books of all time.

 

[UncleRogi]

Only those that have read them know why.

(wink)