[bahamaman]

One author - Raymond Chandler. Chandler was instrumental in the creation of the 1940s/50s era hard-boiled detective novel.

He spent the majority of his life as an accountant with an oil company in California that eventually went bankrupt during the Depression. He started writing short stories to survive and eventually progressed to full-length novels. Chandler's prose is as evocative today as it was when released some sixty years go.

I can heartily recommend all of his books, especially the following:

1. The Big Sleep (if you've heard the name, it has at least twice been made into a movie).

2. Farewell, My Lovely (made into a great movie starring Dick Powell by the name of Murder My Sweet).

 

[Dusty Chalk]

The Five People You Meet In Heaven was really good.

You need some Orson Scott Card. If you haven't already read the Ender Quartet (Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead, etc.), then those are required reading. If you've already read all of those (and the Bean books, as I call them, Ender's Shadow, etc.), and want to stretch out more, you can do worse than either Songmaster or Enchantment or both.

 

[ooheadsoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aerius No no no, what you want are Richard Marcinko's Rogue Warrior novels. They beat the crap out of Tom Clancy for mindless bloody action & violence as well as farout plots. Start off with Rogue Warrior: Green Team and Rogue Warrior: Seal Force Alpha.

Yeah, and from a guy who did the dirty deeds too

These books are a real hoot. Are you sure it starts with Green Team? I'm sure Rogue Warrior (no subtitle) is his biography and is the first one. Then he was court martialed for being an ******* who stuck up for his guys basically (in real life) though I don't think this makes it into the books, and he starts to write fact/fiction about his supposed exploits after he sets up his own security gig.

Read Bravo Two Zero by Andy McNab. Real story about a SAS mission behind the lines in Iraq, first gulf war. Incredible story, those SAS are some kinda crazy...This one is a really great read from a guy who was in the thick of it pretty recently, if you know what I mean.

If you like fantasy, read Robin Hobb's books starting with the Assassin series. It's not what something with a name like that aounds like at all, a REALLY great read. I'd put it up against any yarn I've read recently. Including Ender

 

[aerius]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ooheadsoo Yeah, and from a guy who did the dirty deeds too These books are a real hoot. Are you sure it starts with Green Team? I'm sure Rogue Warrior (no subtitle) is his biography and is the first one. Then he was court martialed for being an ******* who stuck up for his guys basically (in real life) though I don't think this makes it into the books, and he starts to write fact/fiction about his supposed exploits after he sets up his own security gig.

The "Rogue Warrior" fiction series starts off with "Red Cell" which was pretty good too, but it could've used more blood & violence. The court martial thing is mentioned in several of his books (most of them actually I think), and well, let's just say it leads to some fun break & enter adventures.

 

[Canman]

My favorite fiction author is Nelson Demille. Great story development, suspense, and action. I recommend The Talbot Oddysey, Word of Honor, or The Gold Coast (skip The General's Daughter).

A fantastic book I just finished is White Noise, by Don Delillo. Delillo is a fantastic writer. This novel outlines how modern society (especially media such as TV and radio) bombards our lives with the effect of instilling fear and uncertainty. A very serious topic, however the story and the characters are hilarious.

I enjoyed The Davinci Code because it brought up some interesting topics, even if much of story relied on some heavy assumptions. I also enjoyed Dan Brown's novel Deception Point. Even though it doesn't make you think it is still entertaining.

 

[pic9809]

i'd recommend either da vinci code or digital fortress by dan brown, both are better than devils & angels

i'd also recommend brett easton ellis' glamorama and the informers, but that's assuming you can tolerate sex and violence

 

[braindead]

anything by Dan Simmons (if he published his shopping list i'd read it!):

Hyperion series for sci-fi
Kurtz novels for action/detective.
Carrion Comfort or Summer of Night for horror.

 

[Prince]

Another vote for Da Vinci Code, then Digital Fortress

 

[Salt Peanuts]

I second Yeldarb's recommendation on Terry Pratchett's Disc World series. I also agree that you really should read in sequence to get a much better understanding of the world and recurring characters. The problem might be that there are now little over 30 books in the series, including three novels targeted for young adults (which are actually pretty good). My problem is Pratchett doesn't write fast enough - I get really impatient waiting for his new novels.

Along the same line, Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Pratchett is also a humorous light reading.

Other books I can recommend are American God and Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman.

If you like civil war stuff, Gods and Generals, The Killer Anegles, and The Last Full Measure are very good.

And Without Remorse is by far my favorite Tom Clancy novel, but it's another one that you'll enjoy far more if you read them in sequence, except for Red Storm Rising (the only Clancy book that is in different world setting, AFIK).

 

[LobsterSan]

Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser - This will open your eyes a bit on the world of the corporate fast food world.

The Incredible Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera - This is an excellent novel which is able to make some probing points through an incredibly well-written story. Despite being "philosophical" in nature, it's incredibly easy to read as well.

100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez - Enter the realm of magic realism, where things that shouldn't happen do and yet feel as though they should. An excellent read with some incredibly beautiful and sharp-witted passages.

Watership Down by Richard Adams - This is going to be my fantasy-adventure novel choice, as I've not seen it mentioned yet. In the same vein as the Redwall series by Brian Jacques, Watership Down creates a wonderful world comprised of intelligent rabbits that go through Lord of the Rings-sized epics. It's quite engaging, and I think both adults and children alike can enjoy this book (if you can get over the embarassment of the fuzzy bunny on the front cover).