I need more books!

After floating around in the Navy for 6 years and riding trains 1.5 hours to and from work one way for the last 20 years in Tokyo, I have read a lot of books (and I read anything - trashy to classic & love 'em all). So here are some of my favorites for suggestions:

Classic Fantasy (you have to appreciate early 1900's style of literature to enjoy these - you know, when people still loved the language - flowery, proper English, lightly poetic, dreamily fantastic):

ANYTHING by H.P. Lovecraft.(Google "Cthulhu Mythos" for more in the same vein). Creepy, nightmarish stuff - nothing gory, just induces that 'what's that noise/shadow at the window feeling' when you're reading it at night.

Ditto for (authors):
August Derleth, Arhur Machen, Robert W. Chambers, Lin Carter, or Clark Ashton-Smith.

'The Beast of Averoigne' by Clark Ashton Smith

'The Star Seed' by James Ambuehl

Sword & Sorcery? Go back to the roots for the best - Robert E. Howard, the creator of 'Conan', 'Kull', 'Soloman Kane' and other pulp-fiction larger-than-life sword slingers battling sorcery and rescuing the hapless heroine.

Did you like 'Lord of the Rings'? Try "The Worm Ourobus' by E.R. Edison. Or 'Jurgen' or 'The Certain Hour' by James Branch Cabel

For pure poetic dream fantasy:
Absolutely anything by Lord Dunsany

'There and Back' or 'At the Back of the North Wind' by George MacDonald.

'The Wood Beyond the World' or the 'Well at the World's End' by William Morris.

Not-so-old horror:
Clive Barker - hands down one of the best - very creepy-his stories ended up as the 'Hellraiser' series and many others.

And one of the best (now that the series is FINALLY finished after - I think - about 10 years), Stephen King's 'Dark Tower' series. Takes a lot of patience (I think the whole series is 6 or 7 rather large books), but this is an amazing tale. Truly epic in scope and depth of character development. Only for the serious reader who likes to get lost in a story for a LONG time should tackle these. But it is well worth it.

For those who like to read on-line, a listing of (supposedly) the world's largest collection of on-line books(free),at:
http://digitalbookindex.com/about.htm

And lastly (before 'gadgetgirl' gets me) sorry for any typos in here, I need a new keyboard desperately (thanks to my grandson's cocoa).

Wells, H. G. (Herbert George Wells), 1866?1946, English author. Although he is probably best remembered for his works of science fiction, he was also an imaginative social thinker, working assiduously to remove all vestiges of Victorian social, moral, and religious attitudes from 20th-century life. He was apprenticed to a draper at 14 and was later able through grants and scholarships to attend the Univ. of London (grad. 1888). Inspired by the teaching of T. H. Huxley, Wells taught biology until 1893, when he began his career as a novelist.

His early books, full of fantasy and fascinating pseudoscientific speculations, exemplify the political and social beliefs of his time. They include The Time Machine (1895), The Wonderful Visit (1895), The Invisible Man (1897), and The War of the Worlds (1898).

In the novels of his middle period Wells turned from the fantastic to the realistic, delineating with great energy and color the world he lived in. These books, considered his finest achievement, include Kipps (1905), Tono-Bungay (1909), and The History of Mr. Polly (1910). His later books are primarily novels of ideas in which he sets forth his view of the plans and concessions individuals must make in order to survive.

Included among these final works, which became increasingly pessimistic as Wells aged, are The World of William Clissold (1926), The Shape of Things to Come (1933), World Brain (1938), and Mind at the End of Its Tether (1945). His other works include the immensely popular Outline of History (1920) and The Science of Life (1929), which was written in collaboration with his son G. P. Wells and Julian Huxley.

This was also published as four separate novels, so beware

About a year ago, I stumbled upon novels by Tim Powers, when I found a reference to his novel Declare in another forum. I wouldn't necessarily call him sci-fi, or fantasy, but perhaps more alternative fiction.

Declare is you'd get if the first Indiana Jones movie, "Raiders of the Lost Arc" was written like a John LeCarre cold-war spy novel. The book flicks back and forth through the live of a sleeper agent, recently reactivated in the 1960s to go back and clean up a mess that started during his work as a resistance radio operator in WWII France. Well paced, well thought out, with lots of historical nods, it keeps the strange and supernatural elements on a partially-glimpsed level until you're hooked into the novel.

Anubis Gates, another of his novels, is a fairly light Time-Travel-oops-someone-gets-stuck-in-the-past romp. Last Call ties the early Las Vegas gangster days into tarot cards, prophesey, The Fisher King, and the Grail legend, and is just too hard to describe. Ignore the bad blurb on the back of the book, just buy it and read it. I can't decide if this book or Declare is the best Tim Powers I've read so far, but it's a close tie. Enjoy!

Piers Anthony is a great / complete writer, I've read MOST of his.
I have read Jack Vance before and will look for these. Thx, I am due to start a new series.

Sounds like I should finish off The Gunslinger too, I think I ended about book 5.

I never post here, but I read a lot of posts, always found your input to be logical/ well thought out responses. Now I know why ..... ;)

Isaac put out more than 500 books in his lifetime. Some sci-fi some fact. Does both very well. Here is my short list of must reads to get u started:
1.Foundation, Foundation and Empire, Second Foundation
1.I, Robot(yes same name as the movie but besides the 3 laws of Robotics & a few other things little resemblance)
3.The Caves of Steel
4.The End of Eternity
5.The Naked Sun
6.Asimov's Mysteries
7. The Robots of Dawn
8.Robots and Empire

Have fun.

I believe he's from down-under and his Scarecrow series is mile-a-minute action.

If you're interested in Detective novels, it's hard to beat these two authors. Sandford has Lucas Davenport 'Prey' novels (about 11) and 3 or 4 Kidd novels. Deaver is also exceptional with Lincoln Rhyme (I believe the Bone Collector was one of his, but I've never seen the movie).

.
State of Fear, by Michael Crichton.

You're welcome.

Well mine of course....real life friends and excerpts of our real life in a thriller

Tomorrow's Sacrifice www.stevemallard.com

Nelson DeMille's "Mayday".
An interesting "Alas:Babylon" kind of idea, with
some fascinating ideas about the world "In case
of..."

Dearest, You gotta read these, found Tim Parks accidental in Half price books, they were cheap. you may find them on internet.. Tim Parks teaches english (he is English) at Verona Italy.. He writes comedy, family life, mystery. and way out old stuff.. list is Hard to choose favorite.
"An Italian Education", if you have or will have children you need this.
"Mimi's Ghost" murder of gigilo,, ahhahaha ea moment sexual,,

"Juggeline The Stars" Mimi was so popular he did a sequal.. another murder mystey.. Of course murder Italy style

"Adultry and Other Diversions" guide for getting through the hahahahah of life..
Rose

Hi,

An interesting thread...

Seeing your interests, I think you should try The Riftwar Series, a set of 4 books that can rival Lord of the Rings in story and characterization[the prose is much easier to read, but there is a little more drama compared to subtleness of LOTR].

Somebody also mentioned the Baen.com site. Some books are simply great, while others have revolting parts. Honor Harrington series (sci-fi) and the Belisarius series are good ones.

Regards
Sridhar

I'd recommend David Gemmel or the Eddings couple but I sometime feel their works are a bit repetitive and predictable.
My personal favourite gotta to be Warcraft(War of the Ancients trilogy) by Richard A. Knaak.
I know Blizzard rocks!
The read is totally awesome especially if you dig magics.

Pillars of the earth by ? Fossett

and also the Skinner series by Quintin Jardine

And while you are looking for fantastic fiction, did you know of this site:

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/index.html

My wife and I belong to a library reading group, and get books to read different from the ones tht we suggest to the librarian - she has a mind of her own - But books that we would never think of reading otherwise.

Enjoy.

PM

I remember it well, actually the entire trilogy.

an extremely interesting set.

hmmm, how long have I got?

to start - Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman - Always worth a read (even after my 893476234th time of reading it is still good)

Harry Turtledove - Guns of the south, and the world war series (and the sequel series (i think its called the conquest series)

Katherine Kerr - Deverry Series (dawnspell, darkspell etc)

I haven't read the preceding posts, so I may have duplicated other suggestions.
Anything by Terry Pratchett, Tom Sharpe, and the Niven & Pournelle team.
The Beiderbecke Trilogy by Alan Plater is very funny.
Although for younger readers, the Harry Potter series and Philip Pullman's Dark Materials trilogy are good reads.

You seem to like fantasy. Have you tried Robert Jordan, The Wheel of Time series (goes on for ever!), David Eddings - Belgarion series, Mallorean series, Sparhawk novels. These are available in the UK and I assume in the US. Also if you like thrillers, try Colin Forbes.
Hope this helps. Now what its like to have nothing to read.

Glad to see a fellow Donaldson fan - how delighted were you when "Runes of Earth" came out?

I feel I need to add Mark Chadbourn to the list of authors. Get hold of "World's End", first in his "Age of Misrule" trilogy. Then read "Scissorman" (more of a horror novel) which gives an insight into preceding events. Highly excellent contemporary fantasy.

I recently read "Waiting for Gertrude" by Bill Richardson & "Faith and Betrayal: A Pioneer Woman's Passage in The American West" by Sally Denton. The 1st is a light enternaining fiction (antipathy of "Cats"); the 2nd is a biography that is a different kind of look back at the old west. Both are fairly short (1st-184pp & 2nd-183pp) so are quick reads.

Based on the Books in Previous Posts, let me suggest a few..

'Armor' by John Steakley - This book is like a kick in the gut. One of teh best SciFi Military books I have read.
'Vampires' by John Steakley - Horror novel using same basic characters as Armor, in a totally different story, genre etc. Kind of Interesting, but still a Great Book. Ignore the assinine movie made of this book.
The Prince Of Nothing Trilogy by R. Scott Bakker. Books - 'Prince of Nothing', 'The Warrior-Prophet', and 'The Thousandfold Thought'. Very Lord of the Rings like in the sense that the world is very developed and it is like reading a history of a world. Very well done.

Also - And I can't believe I don't see anyone referencing this (unless I missed it) 'Ender's Game' by Orson Scott Card. There is whole series of books that springs from this one, but that is teh start, and it is an amazing book. Also, just about anything by Orson is Awesome. His Characters are incredible.

Those are my Picks.

Also - Nice pick on Coldfire Trilogy. Those were good!

throw any book away and always retrieve those you lend to people. This can be a bit cumbersome if you are talking hardcovers but I'm this way even with pocketbooks and softcovers.

Oh I will toss those which I consider intellectual bubble gum but lately I've found myself wading through boxes of books I've previously read and rediscovered some old friends which I have't read for some time. I am trying to organize my collection but this gets bogged down when I come across something I haven't read in 10 - 12 years and reread it.

If it's part of a series, then it is only natural to want to read the other books in the series. This probably accounts for the duplicates I keep stumbling across, especially three sets of "Lord of the Rings" and two "Hobbits" but also several other authors, not all of them Sci-Fi. I've got all the original Ian Fleming, James Bond series , with a couple of duplicates, most everything by Alister McClean, even westerns by Luke Short as well as other genres.

I've been trying to sort this mess out for five years or so now but my efforts go for naught when I keep stopping to reread some gems. The one thing I've noticed is that I enjoy reading an old favourite; if it was good the first time around, it will be good the second and it refreshes your memory for the details you may have forgotten.

Don't misunderstand me; I still buy books but lately while browsing the book stores, I'm finding a lot of reissued favorites that I've forgotten. I've often bought a book, only to get half way through it and recognize it as something familiar that I've read before. Quite often it turns out to be something retitled or an author who wrote under a pseudonym, republishing it under his proper name. That's a bit annoying but then it becomes fun to track down the original to check for anything different other than the change of name or title.

Lately I've been rereading a lot of Asimov, not for any particular reason but just to refresh my memory. So if you're running out of new things to read, you might enjoy rereading some favourites that you've read in the past.

[b]Dawg[/b] ]:)

Brian Lumley - Necroscope

Easy reading and a great plot, kind of like Stephen King but without all the lame character developments. (guess that means it's not really like King then...) One of the best horror story's I've ever read.

I was given a book back in the late '70s that looked like it was going to be just another production line sci-fi washout. It was called "Inherit the Stars". A perfect example (literally!) of you can't judge a book by it's cover. This book gives a unique twist to all the old sci-fi storylines. In one fell swoop, the end of the book puts forth a plausible explanation of extra-terrestrials, space flight, and the missing link. Most of what I consider good sci-fi was written during the "Golden Age" in the '50s, but this one ranks right up there with Asimov, Heinlein, etc. Well worth the read.

P.S. -- If you like your fiction in history rather than the (then) future, try "The Iron Lance" or "The Black Rood" by Stephen Lawhead.

I was planning to take a long bus trip, and looked for reading material. I had greatly enjoyed Chronicles of Narnia, and so thought I'd give The Space Trilogy a try. The first book, Out of the Silent Planet, was very entertaining. However, I stopped reading by the middle of the 2nd, Perelandra. This series of books is to Christianity what Animal Farm was to communism. There are so many parralels between these books and the classic story of good vs. evil, God vs. Satan ... which in itself makes for good reading ... but it just gets too deep. You find yourself analyzing every little part of it. "What does he REALLY mean by that?" And there are parts of the book where its one character's monologue about morality. It was just too deep and tedious for me to finish.

Read a great book over the summer - was "The Traveler" A Novel" by John Twelve Hawks (apparently a pseudonym). No one knows anything about the author. The story itself is part sci-fi, part prophetic, part new age. Very compelling story, and the door was left open for a sequel or series of books.

I stole, I mean borrowed, this review off of Amazon.com ... 'Twelve Hawks presents big ideas about free will and determinism, good versus evil, social control, and alternate dimensions, all while impressing with knowledge ranging from the New Testament to string theory. Although reviewers compared the novel to the films Kill Bill, Star Wars, and The Matrix?with echoes of authors Dan Brown, Stephen King, George Orwell, and Michael Crichton thrown in?they called it wholly original. Given its complexity, the author (a mysterious entity living "off the Grid" who?s unknown even to his agent and editor) could have fumbled anywhere. But he didn?t, from the sophisticated plot to the compelling heroine. If you?re "happy with the status quo, you?d probably regard the novel as hippie/trippy New Age Nonsense," notes the Washington Post. For everyone else, the "novel?s a stunner" (People).'

Try "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini. An especially engrossing read in this day and age. My main view while reading was waiting for the story's hero to become the hero.

Pratchett's Discworld Series is essential reading for stress relief!
Tad Williams' Otherland and Memory, Sorrow & Thorn series are great.
Stephenson's Cryptonomicon isn't the usual magic and/or space opera, but really excellent reading and the characters are people like us.

Its been a while, but I read the entire series. I thought the final books of it were stretching it a little.. as if he was struggling to come up with new ideas for it. The concept of a vampire being 'born' from a parasitic infection was very cool. I also liked the way the could manipulate their bodies, stretching and such. The vampire world was very cool.

Great series of books! Read both the 1st and 2nd installment a few months ago, and am eagerly awaiting book #3. The modern day Dr. Frankenstein, the return of his first creature - who is very humane, very intelligent, a wonderful surprise! I'd recommend this series!

This from an old guy...
If you like history (early unsettled far western U.S in this case - California, Nevada, Utah and Colorado) try "Men to Match my Mountains" by Irving Stone published originally by Doubleday in 1956.

This must have been one of my all time favorites because I read it shortly after it was published (a single hardbound volume the size of a dictionary as I recall) and I remember it to this day. It relates the story of the early settlers of this region from their perspective. An excellent account of the conditions and hardships faced by the Donner party and others.

Regards,

Jim

He did a lot of historical works - I remember reading Hawaii and Centennial, but he's done so much more. If I remember correctly ... Centennial was very long, but the book was so much better than the television adaptation.

The full title of the book is "The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America" by Erik Larson. It is a great fictionalized account of two major events that occured at the same time in 1893 Chicago - the World Fair and the invasion of a serial killer. The historical detail is fantastic - the writer pulls together the two stories wonderfully. I learned a lot too - including the history of the Ferris Wheel, which was made specifically for this World's Fair. Highly recommending this book.

I think I have the first 4 or 5 - I remember being part of the Paperback Book Club and getting them through that. Then there was a long period without any Dark Tower books, and so I haven't read the rest. The reason I liked this books more than his usual fare is the lower degree of gore. Some of his horror books are just too graphic for me. Have you read his new book - the crime drama? I was wondering how violent that might be.

the Emperor series by Conn Iggulden (based on the life of Julius Caesar)?

Also on the sci-fi/fantasy front David Gemmell is a must - my personal favourites of his are Morningstar, Legend, Lion of Macedon and The Dark Prince

An extraordinary author I have enjoyed is Sherri S Tepper. Her ?The Gate Into Women?s Country? is a thought provoking novel. I was introduced to her work in her Mavin Manyshaped series, which I can also recommend. Actually I have enjoyed all of her books that I have come across.

was "The Way of the Peaceful Warrior" by Dan Millman. It pretty much gave me a new way to view the world and not get so stressed about work and stuff. It definately had me laughing more than a few times :)

"Treasure Island" by Robert Lewis Stevenson, and most books from David Eddings but especially "The Redemption of Althalus" are also at the top of my favorites list. (Some people say all of Eddings stories are the same story told with different characters but I like 'em anyway...They're always a fun read for me)

Have fun Amazon-ing.

I've just started reading this set of books by James Barclay. They are very well written and very enjoyable. The set starts with 'Dawnthief'.

Other books in my collection I can recommend:- Stephen Donaldson, Terry Goodkind and Robert Jordan (yep I like them both - regardless of who nicked what ideas from who!), Raymond E Feist (already mentioned) and Terry Brooks Shannara series.

If you fancy some fiction that isn't sci-fi/fantasy, my partner has the Diana Gabaldon 'Outlander' series. It's historical based fiction and pretty good too!

He reads Steven Erikson. Now I sit about and wait for the next installment in the Malazan tales of the fallen. Then Erikson say's you need to read a guy called R Scott Baaker. Now waiting for number three in the series Prince Of Nothing, because it's brilliant. Both guys are heavy sword and sorcery but with a slant that's off the beaten track not the usual earthy human warrior and elven prince kick ass manouvre.

The Barsoon novels or pretty much any thing he wrote

Asimov is definitely one of my favorites, but Herbert is a second one. Besides the "Dune" series he wrote many other books that spellbinding. "The White Plague" is a single standing book that may set you thinking, and my favorite is dramatic series about human and non-human sentients starting with "Destination:Void" and continues with burning intensity in "the Jesus incident" and two more books thereafter. "man of two worlds " will crack you up, and after that you are hooked.

going from the simultaneous invention/parody of Sword and Sorcery by Lieber, through Restons 'popular' histories, and then the brilliant non-fiction of Richard Rhodes 'Dangerous Feasts' (Hot Zone meets the Andromeda Strain) or his 'The Atomic Bomb'. James Herriot's Yorkshire Vet series.

This is one of the most complete series I owned.
(as I own all 9 books) maybe because I finally reach that financial stability that allows me to buy every book I take a fancy to. (no I haven't finished reading it)

Anyways, her book is nice, but it gets pretty depressing. The hero doesn't have the glory happy ending that is common in the fantasy books.

Jane Auel's Clan of the Cave Bear is also another series that I follow over 10 years. I finally got the last one (I think) "The Shelters of Stone" but I guess I grew out of her writing style (or it got worse in the last couple of books) so I haven't finished reading this one.
I highly recommend the first few though: "Clan of the cave bear" to "The mamoth hunter"

Have you tried the Helliconia Trilogy by Brian W. Aldiss? I read it ages ago, but still remember being impressed by the way he combines science (astronomy, geology, biology, climatology,...)and fantasy in this epic story of a rather unique planet and its life-forms. (No Sorcery involved, though...)

Any of the Deryni books by Katherine Kurtz. Real D7D type stories

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
Kushiel's Dart
Foreigner (Foreigner Universe Books)
The Runes of the Earth: The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant
Wizards First Rule: Wizard's First Rule Bk.1 (The Sword of Truth)
Italian Neighbours
The Darkness That Comes Before (Prince of Nothing S.)
Deadhouse Gates (Malazan Book of the Fallen)
The Stars My Destination
State of Fear
The Skystone (The Camulod Chronicles)

Oh, and some unbeatable telly...

Hill Street Blues - Series 1

I'm still working back through both lists so if I seem to have ignored your suggestion then I've either read it or haven't got around to it yet.

Or I think it's likely to be crap :p

Thanks everybody...

Neil :D

I agree totally about Stephen R Donaldson. He is brilliant and I've read everything he's written. Still waiting patiently for the second of the new chronicles. I finally found someone who has read The Mordant's Need series, I loved that series.

For something new and equally great, yet written in a completely different style (less description, more cut to the chase), Terry Goodkind's 'Sword of Truth' Series in absolutely phenominal. So far there are 9 books: 1. Wizard's First Rule 2. Stone of Tears 3. Blood of the Fold 4. Temple of the Winds 5. Soul of the Fire 6. Faith of the Fallen 7. Pillars of Creation 8. Naked Empire 9. Chainfire.

Soon to be released is book 10. Phantom. I can't wait! This series is the first since Covenant that actually moved and affected me. He is an incredible writer. Wait no longer if you want to read some fantastic fantasy.

I just finished reading The Dark Tower last month. I loved it and hated it at the same time. The ending was pure crap. And it doesn't matter that he said we'd hate the end, I still hated it :)

Wizard's first Rule. Bloody hell! It's a thick un!

I'm on it tomorrow.

As for agreement on other things? I'm sure that will happen once you come to your senses.

:p

Anything by Robert Jordan will be good. Armor by John Steakley was also a good one. One of my favorites The Legend of Nightfall by Mickey Zucker Reichert. That's just off the top of my head. If any of these appeal to anyone let me know.

I have Read TONS of sci-fi and a couple of my fav's were Assimov's Foundation series (excellent space opera), Andre Norton's Forrunner series( one of the best story tellers around) and Gordon R Dickson's Dorsai series ( good for the military outlook) hope you enjoy them I certainly did!

Neil,

I've also been a sci-fi and fantasy lover all my life, but you've been already been tipped to some of the best of those genres: Crichton's State of Fear (most excellent book!), Stephen R Donaldson, etc. I was given The Runes of the Earth: The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant for my birthday last December. I loved the original Covenant Chronicles, but have had a hard time getting into this one. Not that it's not interesting and well-written -- quite the contrary -- but because, like the original, Runes' main characters are absolutely depressing portraits of self-hating people. Sends me down into the dumps myself reading it.

Anyway, recently I've gotten into other genres, especially spy novels and mysteries. I don't know if they would hold your interest or not, but I'll list the ones I've enjoyed.

Spy:

- Any of the Gabriel Allon spy/assasisn series by Daniel Silva (The Kill Artist, The English Assassin, The Confessor, A Death In Vienna, The Prince of Fire).

- Anything by John Le Carr?, especially Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy or The Little Drummer Girl

Mysteries:

There's always the classic authors, like Agatha Christi, but then there's some lesser-know authors that are just as good or better: Rita Mae & Sneaky Pie Brown have some great mysteries (even more enjoyable if you're an animal lover), and Sallie Bissell (who is from my native hometown of Nashville) has a good mystery series based on her main character, Mary Crow, a modern Cherokee lawyer who lives in the Appalacian Mountains of North Carolina.

How about Dan Brown's books, The DaVinci Code, or Angels and Demons? For me, The DaVinci Code wasn't the page-turner I was lead to believe it was, and its prose is a bit amateurish, but it held my interest.

And of course you just can never go wrong with Dean Koontz: Life Expectancy, Velocity, Intensity, his Odd Thomas series, his new Frankenstein series (based on Mary Shelley's novel, this is the story of Frankenstein and his monster in modern times, and the real monster is not the man-made fellow), Taking, The Face, etc. You could base a whole Amazon order on Dean Koontz's books!

Good reading.

If you are looking for reasonablely good, historically based fiction with a twist, I can recommend Harry Turtledove. He's got different books for different sections of time and he tends to write multiple book story lines. I am a fan of his, but I can only read about 3 or 4 of his books in a row before needing to move to something else.

I can also recommend the Archer's Tale series from Cornwell. Its based in England and France during the Hundred Year's War. It's also known as the Grail Quest trilogy.

The last historical novelist duo I can recommend are Micheal and Kathleen Gear. They are known for their "People of" series of books, based upon archeological evidence of Indian grounds in the US.

As for other stories, if you are looking for some decent horror, try F. Paul Wilson. I read his books "The Keep" and "Midnight Mass" and enjoyed both of them. If you are looking for a "grisham lite" kind of author, Paul Levine's "Solomon vs. Lord" book is very amusing.

Beyond that, I've got the last two Dark Tower books, an Orson Scott Card book from the Bean story set, and the Star Trek physics book qued up to go on my Ipod. I'm hoping to start one of those three in the next week or so. I've also pulled out my MS Press books to get ready for 2 more Microsoft tests. Gotta Love IT, right?

I do agree that after Rainbow Six, Clancy got a little too wordy. Bear and the Dragon is good, once the action kicks in, but that doesn't happen unitl there are about 350 pages left. Without Remorse, the story of Mr. Clark, is really good and stands by itself very well.

If you enjoy Clancy, but are looking for a more "techy" edge, try Dale Brown. Flight of the Old Dog is the first one from him, and he keeps the same characters (mostly) through out all his books. Larry Bond is also top notch, but I haven't seen much from him lately. Last I heard he's still working on getting the game Harpoon 4 published, but I haven't been looking for his books for a while.

I've also heard good things about Harold Coyle, in the past, but haven't read anything by him.

How about Jack Chalker's Well World Series? It starts with "Midnight at the Well of Souls". I'd also recommend the stand-alone "A War of Shadows".

Start with the Giant's trilogy "Inherit the Stars" or "The Two Faces of Tommorrow".

I'm new here so don't know what's already been recommended so forgive me if I repeat anything:

* Neal Stephenson [sometimes billed as Neal R Stephenson]
CRYPTONOMICON

Also has a new trilogy

* Thomas Pynchon
MASON & DIXON
GRAVITY'S RAINBOW
V
THE CRYING OF LOT 49
VINELAND

* Tom Robbins [that's Tom not Harold]
FIERCE INVALIDS HOME FROM HOT CLIMATES
HALF ASLEEP IN FROG PYJAMAS
EVEN COWGIRLS GET THE BLUES
JITTERBUG PERFUME
ANOTHER ROADSIDE ATTRACTION
STILL LIFE WITH WOODPECKER

* Vikram Seth
AN EQUAL MUSIC

* Chuck Palahniuk
LULLABY

* E.M. Forster
HOWARD'S END
A ROOM WITH A VIEW

Happy reading!
Alistair Bain

If you are looking for the most 'authentic' (as far being accurate to Bram Stoker's book) I recommend you see Francis Ford Coppola's "Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992).

If you haven't seen it yet, it is the creepiest and most enjoyable Dracula movie I have yet seen (and I think I have seen them all, even the crazy 'Dusk 'Till Dawn' series).

Gary Oldman does a fantastic job as the Count, making you empathize with his fate while horrified and awed by the depths of his evil and what he is capable of. The scene where Count Dracula enters Johnathan's room while he is shaving is VERY creepy. And Oldman's rendering of the medieval Count's 'Carpathian' accent makes Bela Lugosi seem like a cartoon character.

The cast includes Keannu Reeves as Jonathan Harker, Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Van Helsing, and Winona Ryder as Mina Murray, Jonathan's fiance. Tom Waits turns in a fantastic semi-cameo as the unfortunate Renfield in the local asylum. Excellent performances by all.

Dracula's seduction and ruination of Mina's best friend Lucy Westenra as she prepares for her wedding (played beautifully by a fair-skinned, red-headed Sadie Frost). As Dracula's nightly visits increase, Lucy daily becomes paler and more evil.

The way Oldman moves and makes hand gestures really convince you that Dracula is more beast than human.

The only thing I did NOT like was the ridiculous hair-do the Count had when Jonathan first meets him in Transylvania. Other than this, if you like vampire movies, this one is the best. Not too gory, fascinating and scary.

Hope ya like it.....

Another good story focusing on that, in a sci-fi environment, is "Armor" by John Steakley.

Imagine getting dropped onto an alien planet during an interstellar war, and having each mission recorded by the suit of armor you were wearing. Years later, someone finds the suit of armor and watches your exploits like they happened yesterday. That's just the basic premise, its a lot more in depth than that.

I've read that and Starship Troopers more times than I'd care to count. Those two are definately well worn friends in my library.

Well, if you want fiction on global warming...

I love his books in general, though I haven't got around to reading this. It has been sitting on the bookshelf for over half a year. I love movies based on his books too. Its a shame that Timelines was horribly made.

This is quite a controversial position to take. As I understand it (from reading the back cover), his position is that global warming is false. Can't wait to read it.

D

Plagerize,
Let no man's work evade your eyes.
But Plagerize,Plagerize,Plagerize
but remember to call it research!

My apologies to Tom Lehrer.