Movie Theater Anyone Read A Good Fiction Novel Lately?

#54
DT1 said:
Looking for a good action yarn with a well developed plot that might take an unpredictable turn or two. Something other than a former special forces super hero killing evil rag heads would be a refreshing change of pace.
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If you want a fun change of pace, try Monster Hunter International by Larry Correia. While not exactly unpredictable, he's a pretty good writer that doesn't try to make you take him seriously- and he likes his guns. No former special forces heros killing terrorists, try a grumpy former accountant slaying the undead. I've read a lot and consider most of the writers mentioned in this thread as hacks, but this is a pretty decent book. I bought it on Audible just before making a long road trip to Indiana and Ohio to pick up a lathe and mill, it kept me locked in and alert the whole way.
 
#55
Red_SC said:
If you want a fun change of pace, try Monster Hunter International by Larry Correia. While not exactly unpredictable, he's a pretty good writer that doesn't try to make you take him seriously- and he likes his guns. No former special forces heros killing terrorists, try a grumpy former accountant slaying the undead. I've read a lot and consider most of the writers mentioned in this thread as hacks, but this is a pretty decent book. I bought it on Audible just before making a long road trip to Indiana and Ohio to pick up a lathe and mill, it kept me locked in and alert the whole way.
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I can't believe there is one person on this borad that wouldn't like MHI. Fantastic stuff! Someday Hollywood will take a chance on a non cookie cutter movie franchise again and do the MHI series. Man, talk about blockbuster!
 
#56
From a long time reader{50+ years} some of my favorites
Night Fall - Nelson DeMille
Casca - Barry Sadler
The Terror - Dan Simmons
Flying to pieces - Dean Ing - fantastic read
Reality Dysfunction series - Peter Hamilton
Berserker series - Fred Saberhagen
Tooth and Nail - Craig Dilouie
The Forever War - Joe Haldeman

Another vote for The Martian - great book
 
#59
Just finished Sniper's Honor by Stephen Hunter. This was one of his better books and I've read all of them. Great story, well told. Mostly I prefer his older stuff, but this was a good one.

On the negative side, he has the annoying habit of referring Nazi and Eastern Block submachine guns as a "tommyguns" which odd since he is a bit of a gun guy and should know better. It wouldn't be a big deal except that it happens about 50 times in this book.

Count me in for a SH Library thread.
 
#61
Sadly, I wonder if reading books is becoming a dying art...
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In my case, it's a dead art. But change that word Books to Kindle, and the equation swings way over to the other side of equal. My reading has increased at least five-fold since I got my Kindle for Christmas some years back.

Greg
 
#62
I second Anything by Stephen Pressfield. Killing Rommel was entertaining and The Afgan Campaign was scary in how little things have changed in 2000 years.
And clearly, another common quality has been identified among the members and lurkers of this site.
 
#64
Couple more for u fellas


To Honor You Call Us (Man of War series)
by H. Paul Honsinger

A nice change from the typical "Exbadass" unbeatable heros of fiction today.
Its a sci-fi based war novel, where the Navy of the day is fighting against human extinction.
Enjoyable for me because the characters have flaws and must work to overcome them.


Legion
by Brandon Sanderson

Too short, but a fun concept.
 
#66
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes.

Go to Barnes and Noble and you can get complete classics, all for under $20 sometimes.

I'm working my way through the classics. Just know going in that these books are huge, with small print. The Sherlock Holmes Collection is over 1100 pages.

Good reading so far...
 
#67
Just finished Target America by Scott McEwen. Thought it was excellent. Basic storyline is a Chechen and Muslim group work together to smuggle a Russian suitcase nuke across the Mexican boarder. I believe Scott McEwen is the same writer that worked with SEAL sniper Chris Kyle to write his book American Sniper. He seems to get a lot of details correct, especially concerning guns and other equipment.
 
#69
Honky said:
Gates of Fire by Stephen Pressfield is a must read if you haven't already. I've heard his other books are good too but I've never gotten around to them.
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+1

This book is fantastic. I started reading it when I was studying for the bar exam. I thought it would help me go to bed, instead I read it all night and into the next day in one shot. His other work set in the ancient world is also excellent.

I would also recommend The Last Policeman trilogy by Ben Winters. Excellent, intimate pre-apocalypse stories about a police officer in a world waiting for an asteroid to slam into the Earth.
 
#71
I tried out the John Ringo "Ghost" book, the writing was not too great I'm sorry to say. The action scenes were better than some as far as details on firearms and tactics but the plot was pretty thin, jumping from crisis to crisis. The author frankly comes off as a creep as he regurgitates his wet dream for 50 pages of this book with his weird rape/dominance stuff. Going to have to try out some of these others authors.

Stephen Pressfield, Tom Clancy, Stephen Hunter, all favorites of mine. The first Lee Child "Reacher" book really dragged for me. Not trying to criticize others, just giving my take on a few!

The Gunslinger series by Stephen King is an extremely cool series, even if you don't like his other stuff (I haven't really read his other stuff.)

I actually really enjoyed the 4 "Ender's Game" books, very good philosophical/psychological books that make your mind work.

Parsons said:
If you like military fiction look at john ringo paladin series. first book is ghost. If you don't like books with some sex in it go ahead and skip the series. Theres sex through out the whole series. some books more than others. About an ex seal that buys an state in the country of Georgia and trains them into government contractors essentially.

If interested in mystery/thriller I like randy wayne white I believe is the author. it is the doc ford series and mostly based in the florida keys area.
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#73
I just finished Charles Frazier's (Cold Mountain) Thirteen Moons. He has a gift for crafting sentences that appeal to all your senses and put you in the story. I liked Cold Mountain better, but this one is a worthwhile read, especially for those who love Cherokee history. Right now I am in the middle of Thunder and Blood by Hampton Sides. It is a gripping non-fiction piece about the American West from 1846 to 1868. His real life people read like characters in an exciting fiction novel. Kit Carson comes to life with all his strengths and his weaknesses. So do Fremont and Kearney. Sides does a nice job developing the Navajo people and their side of this sad story. Nice read for someone who wants some excitement mixed in with actual history. In fact, history comes to life in this book--worth the read.
 
#74
Try the Pendergast series by Douglas Preston and Lee Child. Pretty good series, especially earlier on. Pendergast is FBI, but deals with a whole variety of situations. Really good read, he deals with typical thugs, the occult, darker mysteries, etc. Each book goes along with the others, and continues a story, but can stand alone as well.

The Jack Reacher series by Lee Child is very good, more of a murder/mystery with a military association.

The John Corey series by Nelson DeMille is great, marries the NYPD and FBI into a solid thriller, but may be too close to the US vs Terrorism theme for you.

And the Anita Blake series by Laurell K. Hamilton is real fun. It's an occult/monster/vampire themed book, but nothing like the Twilights/Vampire Diaries. It sort of mixes murder/mystery with the supernatural. The first several books are great, as you get further along, it gets quite a bit more sexually explicit. But that isn't until at least books 8 or 9 maybe.

For something way different, try The Noticer by Andy Andrews. It's sort of a life-lesson type read, but it's good. All about "perspective".

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury was one I nearly couldn't put down. The author is damn near poetic in his writing, the words seem to flow with a rhythm most authors seem to lack.

I agree with the thoughts on the Kindle. I love mine. I work on the road all week long, and being able to have nearly every single book I'd be interested in on hand, or at least available is pretty awesome. Sure, I enjoy the traditional feel of a paper book, but the Kindle is compact, has great battery life, and super convenient.
 
#75
So I know this might be the wrong demo for this genre, but the Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin is excellent. He's the modern day Tolken.

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk
 
#76
I've been a Preston & Child follower since Relic, and enjoy the Pendergast series with something of grain of salt; some of the stuff requires a large leap of faith and a major suspension of disbelief. Not all, by any means; I keep coming back for more.

Bradbury has always been the most difficult of the ABC's (Asimov, Bradbury, Clark) for me to swallow, but Something Wicked... has always stood out for me.

Greg
 
#79
I just finished Enemies Foreign and Domestic by Matt Bracken. It starts with an attack at a football game and the Governments knee jerk reaction to assault weapons. It then spirals out from there. It's easy to read and he gets a little redundant on little issues that you understood the first time. I think he uses it as a filler to add length to his books.

Although it's fiction it could get you stirred up a bit and if you have leanings toward being a tinfoiler you could go all the way after reading this book.
 
#80
Clancy's Red Storm Rising

The Virgil Flowers series and the Prey series by John Sandford.

Also the Millenium series by Stieg Larsson. The Girl/with the Dragon Tattoo/who Played With Fire/who Kicked The Hornets Nest.

Another +1 for The Strain Series by Del Torro & Chuck Hogan.

The Passage series by Justin Cronin.
 
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#84
The Hot Zone: The Terrifying True Story of the Origins of the Ebola Virus

Written in 1995, very good read due to current Ebola outbreak.

Intended Consequences, John Ross. A must read if you are in the Gun Culture and love shooting.

Without Remorse, Tom Clancy. I think that it is one of his best.
 
#90
well since the thread has managed to stay classy for 2 whole pages: Pick a holy book. Torah, Bible, Koran, or whatever it is that hindus think of as a holy book, etc...

In all seriousness, try
State of Fear by Mikey Crichton
Prey by Mikey Crichton
The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul by Douglas Adams (his 2nd best work)
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams (his best work)
1984 by George Orwell
Linux in a Nutshell by Ellen Siever, Stephen Figgins, Robert Love, Arnold Robbins (not fiction but an enthralling read that'll keep you turning pages or sending me mail bombs)
 
#94
1984 - George Orwell
One Second After - William Forsythe
Full Black - Brad Thor
Black List - Brad Thor
Act of War - Brad Thor
Catcher In the Rye - J.D. Salinger
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
 
#95
Robert Anson Heinlein: Everything! Especially "The moon is a harsh mistress", "Door into summer", and the great "Starship troopers", my alltime favourite. And everything else

Clancy: Red storm rising. I read it first when I was at OCS. With this book I really understood what REFOGER really meant. Furthermore there are a lot of towns and river crossings we discussed at the tactics lessons for real. It is an eye opener if you read in a book about the culmination point at Alfeld and some time later in a war game you are the S3 in the red regiment tasked to force the river crossing. I enjoy reading this book again about once a jear.
 
#97
I'm 3/4 of the way through Clancy's latest (written by Mark Greaney) called "True Faith And Allegiance" and it is quite interesting. The story keeps 'grabbing' ya in so many ways. It is definitely a change from the way Tom used to write, and yet it is still close. We'll see in the end.

The rest of the good books I've read lately, are all non-fiction.
 
#98
One Second After
One Year After
Day of Wrath

all by William Forstchen.

The first covers the immediate aftermath of an EMP burst that disrupts much of America east of the Rockies. It stresses that survival is not an individual thing, but requires community. The second starts two years after the burst, as rebuilding begins in earnest, and shows how bureaucrats can become tinpot dictators if no one challenges them. There is a third book in the series (The Last Day), but I haven't read it yet.

The third book listed is very short, but shows how a determined fanatical group can wreak maximum havoc with a small force.
 
#100
Rereading The Mongoliad Series by an ensemble of writers, all contributing to a 'world' structure. I like this form of writing,and have also enjoyed others in the past, like the Thieves World series.

As one reviewer puts it, an immersive escape. I think that sums it nicely. i think it takes some faith; that the plot will flesh out in sequels, that the characters will span their story arcs, that sort of thing. It took some of that faith to hang in there while the sequels evolved, which is why I'm rereading it now; to get it done in a manner where memory has not faded between the individual volumes.

I am/have been particularly satisfied with the richness of each character's rendition. I have tried my hand at writing, and the character interaction has always been the area where I have consistently fallen short. This series allows me to dissect the writing process, while incidentally enjoying a very delightful story for its own sake. I will probably never write that novel, but its still good to keep that carrot out there before me.

Greg

...And thank you Bidet for cluing me in on The Final Day by Fortschen. But that kindle price, $12.99, oof!
 
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