Top 10 Novels (Non Star Trek)

[zarkon]

Umm.

Difficult.

Antipope -Robert Rankin
Witches of Chiswick - Robert Rankin
Grailblazers - Tom Holt
The Hound of the Baskervilles - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Heir to the Empire trilogy - Timothy Zahn
Sharpe's Enemy - Bernard Cornwall
The Fifth Elephant - Terry Pratchett
Nightwatch - Terry Pratchett
The Stainless Steel Rat - Harry Harrison.
Red Dwarf: Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers/Better Than Life - Doug Naylor & Rob Grant

Something like that.

 

[Cicero]

1. The Westing Game
2. Watership Down
3. Ender's Game
4. The Wind in the Willows
5. Forward the Foundation
6. The Foundation Trilogy
7. I, Robot
8. Harry Potter
9. And Then There Were None
10. Sherlock Holmes

 

[Trek Survivor]

Good topic. I see most people's lists consist of Sci-Fi... I'm afraid Trek is the only "genre" stuff I read!

So, not quite a top 10 - and not in order - but:

1. The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

2. Can I have all 13 Inspector Morse novels? No? Oh, we'll go for "Last Bus to Woodstock" then. All by Colin Dexter - a genius of crime fiction.

3. Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson

4. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

5. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

6. The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe by CS Lewis

This has got me really thinking. I'll give it some more thought and might come back with the remaining few. Likely to be in the crime genre, as I'm a pretty big fan.

 

[label]

Top Ten non-Star Trek novels in my mind right now, not neccessarily in order.....
(Note: Some of these are my favorite one book from a series of books but are not intended to stand apart from the series itself)


The Stand - Stephen King
Truly epic end of the world story.

A Storm of Swords - George R. R. Martin
So far, one of the best single epic fantasy novel's I've ever read.
(Game of Thrones is also excellent as is the Series in general........)

A FellowShip of the Ring - J.R.R. Tolkien
This one novel is my favorite of the series, but also represents the series as a whole being excellent.

The Gunslinger - Stephen King
Again, this book is intended to represent the entire series which as a whole is epic and awesome, even though the last couple books in the series were not as strong as the first 4.

Mercury Falls - Robert Kroese
A recent addition and one of the best books I've read in a long time! Those of you open to book recommendations should definitely be encouraged to give this book a spin if you haven't already!.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J. K. Rowling
Another single book that represents an entire series of excellent books. This could have been my favorite as well as Half Blood Prince or Prisoner of Azkaban or even Goblet of Fire.

Foundation book 1 - Asimov - Most of the Foundation series was excellent but IMO, the first book was the best.

Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card - while I didn't care for the next 3 books in the series nearly as much, the first book was truly excellent.

Ready Player One - Ernest Cline Admittedly a personal favorite that is not as "well-written" as the rest of the books listed here and certainly won't go down as "classic Sci-Fi" for the ages.........however, it's been a while since I've had that much fun reading a book. (Until I got to Mercury Falls that is..... )

Forbidden - Ted Dekker - Another book that I realize is more my own personal taste, but it's the first part of another trilogy from a Fantasy/Sci-Fi-ish type guy who has done so much so well. Like Ready Player One, it won't go down as a classic of literature, but I read it in about 1 sitting and thought it was pretty stinking good, especially as an introduction into a new series.

Honorable Mentions:
SlaughterHouse 5 - Vonnegut
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress - Heinlien
Duma Key, The Talisman/Black house, Four Past Midnight and countless other King books - King
The Hunger Games Trilogy
Priest's Graveyard, Circle Trilogy (Black/Red/White) (And about 10 other books that tie into that series) - Dekker
The Taking - Koontz (And about several other of Koontz's best......)
Small Gods - Pratchett

 

[Darth Duck]

Honorable Mentions:
SlaughterHouse 5 - Vonnegut

I can't believe I forgot that one.

 

[OverlordSpock]

I don't really have a "Top 10", per se, but I will second Watership Down as one of the most amazing works I've ever read. I've read that book at least 10 times and I never tire of it and it never ceases to affect me deeply.

I'd also throw out The Belgariad series by David Eddings. Nothing particularly deep here, but it is an incredibly fun romp that reads quickly for five books and make me smile most of the time. Probably the most enjoyable Fantasy books I've ever read.

 

[Technobuilder]

"Top #" lists never seem to do justice to very many of my actual appreciations on anything other than a moment to moment basis but... these I've reread many times.

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
Honor Harrington: The Honor of The Queen by David Weber
Honor Harrington: Echoes Of Honor by David Weber
Honor Harrington: by David Weber
1632 by Eric Flint
1633 by Eric Flint
1634: The Baltic War by Eric Flint & David Weber
The Dresden Files: Dead Beat by Jim Butcher
The Dresden Files: Grave Peril by Jim Butcher
The Dresden Files: Turn Coat by Jim Butcher
The Codex Alera: Academ's Fury by Jim Butcher
The Codex Alera: Cursor's Fury by Jim Butcher
The Codex Alera: Captain's Fury by Jim Butcher
Ender's Saga: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Ender's Saga: Speaker For The Dead by Orson Scott Card
Bean's Saga: Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card

 

[label]

1632 by Eric Flint
1633 by Eric Flint

I've had those first two books downloaded forever and I just don't ever seem to find the time to get to those. Glad to see it made it one somebody's top ten list though.......hopefully that's a sign I'll enjoy them when I finally get to them.

 

[Technobuilder]

I was pretty enamored with the alternate history concept about a quarter of the way into the 1632, but what really sold me on the larger series by the end was a world populated by characters I really enjoyed getting to know and learning about while they were charting a new path.

Well that and of course Captain GARS... "But then—what do you expect? He's a madman. It is well known."

 

[Captaindemotion]

The Life of Pi (Yann Martel)

Trainspotting (Irvine Welsh)

Catch 22 (Joseph Heller)

The Lord of the Rings (JRR Tolkien)

American Tabloid (James Ellroy)

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell (Susannah Clark)

The Godfather (Mario Puzo)

The 'Dead' Trilogy (Adrian McKinty)

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (Jonathan Safran Foer)

I can't really think of a tenth offhand, as I have so many thrillers I'm fond of.

 

[mindx2]

Wow, there are many books I've read over the years but these are the ones I've say are my "all time favorite":

The Lord of the Rings (yes this is ONE book as JRR himself saw it )-- By far the best fantasy novel ever written.

Dune Frank Herbert -- Like Tolkien, Herbert created an entirely new and believable universe.

The Stand Stephen King -- Surprisingly respectful Christian-like "End of the World" story... with all the gore, sex, etc. we expect from King .

The Elfstones of Shannara Terry Brooks -- Yes, it is similar to Tolkien but still one of my favorite fantasy novels.

Red Storm Rising Tom Clancy -- Best military novel.

Heir To the Empire Timothy Zahn -- Made Star Wars relevant again.

The Matarese Circle Robert Ludlum -- Engrossing Cold War spy thriller.

Jurassic Park Michael Crichton -- Dinosaurs... need I say more?

The Giver Lois Lowery -- A must read for EVERYONE. This is why you should fear politicians/ government who want to "protect you" and make life "fair" for everyone .