Recommend me a good book

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[quote name='nwaugh']Rock on ... have you read the entire series? How about the new one?[/QUOTE]

Ive read: Enders Game, Enders Shadow, Speaker For The Dead, and am currently reading Xenocide. When did this "new" one come out?
 
[quote name='karmapolice']Ive read: Enders Game, Enders Shadow, Speaker For The Dead, and am currently reading Xenocide. When did this "new" one come out?[/QUOTE]

Speaker for the Dead and Xenocide deal more with Ender's story while the one he' probably referring to is the story of Ender's brother taking over the Earth (Shadow of the Hegemon, Shadow Puppets and Shadow of the Giant *coming in August*)
 
[quote name='iheartmetal']Well, I love epic literature. The stuff is just facisnating, and very adventerous. If you want something epic, all of these are great.


http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0872203522/ref=sib_rdr_dp/102-5389403-6172169?%5Fencoding=UTF8&no=283155&me=ATVPDKIKX0DER&st=books
IMO, this is the greatest work of all time. I just love this book and can read it straight with no trouble. I love Achilles, Agamemnon, Odysseus, Hector, Ajax... I could go on...

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0872204847/ref=pd_bxgy_img_2/102-5389403-6172169?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Not nearly as good as The Iliad, this is still excellent and reads fast. Most people have read it though.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0679729526/qid=1115233923/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/102-5389403-6172169?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
well, if youre going to read the first two, you just as well read the conclusion. However, I think Virgil is a crock compared to Homer. Still, it's nice to hear how the Romans viewed Homer, and its a wonderful piece of propaganda.


http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0802061656/qid=1115233752/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/102-5389403-6172169?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
This one is really interesting, its an Icelandic saga about Grettir, quite a rash and strong man. Follow his adventures of outlawry and fighting berzerkers and trolls. Set in Iceland after the Christian convesion, but still mingling with Icelandic tradition.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1565114272/qid=1115233829/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/102-5389403-6172169?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Beowulf, what a guy, three times he slays foul fiends. Each time i read this book I appriciate it more and more. Like the Odyssey though, many have read it.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0393976580/qid=1115233972/sr=8-14/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i14_xgl14/102-5389403-6172169?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Just one of my arthurian legends, sir gawain and the green knight is one of my favorites, though not as violent as previously mentioned books, the journey is still a fun one to follow

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0140440755/qid=1115234030/sr=8-2/ref=pd_csp_2/102-5389403-6172169?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
the song of roland, based off historical events and taken to a mythological level. follow king charlamagne and roland as they fight against the moslems.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0393320774/qid=1115234090/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/102-5389403-6172169?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
this is a wonderful new translation by robert atler of 1st and 2nd samuel and 1st kings from the old testament. It reads much easier than any other bible ive read and the footnotes are fantastic. I really enjoy this because its a part of the old testament that seems very unchristian to modern readers, a very contemporary story.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0140441379/qid=1115234148/sr=8-2/ref=pd_csp_2/102-5389403-6172169?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
sure it might seem hard to pronounce the nibelungenlied, but the book is fun, dragaon slaying is fun, and chivalry is fun. ive already named, greek, roman, icelandic, anglosaxon and french epics, why not through a german one into the mix

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0934211914/qid=1115234238/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/102-5389403-6172169?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
the legend of seyavash is fun, its an islamic story and part of the bigger book below. i singled it out because i like it, seyavash is a smooth noble god fearing man, follow his tragedy during the war of the persians

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0700716181/qid=1115234428/sr=8-2/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i2_xgl14/102-5389403-6172169?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
This is The Persian Book of Kings, a huge collection of stories, some mythological, some historical. I enjoy this a lot because its fun to contrast Islamic heroes with European heroes, its nice to take in some culture and see that we arent that different after all. This one has lots and lots of different adventures, so its a good read if you want a variety


wow, that was my longest post ever! :cool:
edit - fixed the double images[/QUOTE]

Just as an aside, there's a thread around on the boards where-in I started a parody of "The song of Roland" entitled "The Song of CheapyD".
I think I only got through the first few stanzas...
I really should look it up and continue in on it.

Ah, here it is.
http://cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31165&highlight=Song+Roland
 
[quote name='thehuskerfan']With any of the Dr. Seuss books, you can't go wrong.[/QUOTE]

Yes. Particularly moving is the Butter Battle book.
 
[quote name='jaykrue']I prefer Green Eggs and Ham.[/QUOTE]

But what about Yertle the Turtle?
Horton hears a who?
 
If you're into zombie stuff there's Reign of the Dead or Apocalypse of the Dead, The Rising is pretty good too.
 
[quote name='JSweeney']But what about Yertle the Turtle?
Horton hears a who?[/QUOTE]

How can I resist?
and have it with a limon twist?

On a tower in Japan
with Godzilla and Rodan?

Would I, could I
How can not have green eggs and ham?
 
[quote name='The Gifuto']I agree, great read. As a side point, it served as a basis for the movie Omega Man starring Mr. NRA.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/A...38479/sr=11-1/ref=sr_11_1/102-7533796-9148968[/QUOTE]


Actually, the Heston movie was the second film version of the novel. The first was 'The Last Man on Earth' starring vincent Price and much closer to the source material.
http://imdb.com/title/tt0058700/

There has recently been attempts to sell yet another version of this property but it seems to be in limbo.
 
I recommend anything by Arthur Nersesian. My two favorites of his are The fuck-Up and Manhattan Loverboy. I just finished Kevin Smiths "Silent Bob Speaks" and it was good too.
 
In recent years SF writers have been pressed to produce longer works that lend themselves to multi-volume series, so finding good short novels has become difficult. But there are lots of works from decades ago that stand up well if you can ignore some of the anachronisms. Many of them merit reading just as sort of reverse historical novels of great influence.

One writer who isn't nearly as famous as he deserves is Alfred Bester. Two of his novels from the 50's are still regarded as some of the greatest SF works published, 'The Demolished Man' and 'The Stars My Destination.' The former was the first winner of the Hugo award. Bester also created the Green Lantern's Oath, which they recite when charging up their rings.
 
If you like Sci-fi and are looking for a shorter read, then I'll reccomend Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, the book on which Blade Runner is based. It's quite possibly still my favorite sci-fi novel.
 
[quote name='epobirs']In recent years SF writers have been pressed to produce longer works that lend themselves to multi-volume series, so finding good short novels has become difficult. But there are lots of works from decades ago that stand up well if you can ignore some of the anachronisms. Many of them merit reading just as sort of reverse historical novels of great influence.

One writer who isn't nearly as famous as he deserves is Alfred Bester. Two of his novels from the 50's are still regarded as some of the greatest SF works published, 'The Demolished Man' and 'The Stars My Destination.' The former was the first winner of the Hugo award. Bester also created the Green Lantern's Oath, which they recite when charging up their rings.[/QUOTE]

In brightst day.
In blackest night.
No evil shall escape my sight.
Let those who worship evils might.
Beware my power.
GREEN LANTERNS LIGHT.
 
Now, if you don't something longer, check the Night's Dawn series from Peter Hamilton. This was a trilogy in the UK but the sheer size of the volumes was seen as possibly scaring off readers here so each volume was split into two parts. A story Hamilton tells about how this came to be was that he was producing mainly short stories and novellas when his editor pressed him to do something heftier. He went off for a couple weeks and came back with a 500 pages outline for the series along with a note on top that said, "Be careful what you wish for."

The three divided volumes are:
The Reality Dysfunction - Emergence and Expansion
The Neutronium Alchemist - Consolidation and Conflict
The Naked God - Flight and Faith.

The series is set about 800 years in the future where humanity has settled a large number of star systems and is divided between two major groups based on how each defines what it is to be human. The setting is incredibly detailed with considerable history given to almost every location and character. In the midst of this pure science fiction setting Hamilton introsuces an element that would normally be found in a horror novel but makes it work here. Starting on a swampy colony world named Lalonde, the souls of the dead are appearing to take control of the bodies of the living and seeking to make every living person the vessel for a disembodied spirit. There is no shortage of souls waiting to gain bodies since this includes nearly everyone who ever lived going back thousands of years. (The people who aren't in evidence among the malicious spirits are a plot element.) As more of the living become emslaved the dead gain in their ability to manifest remarkable powers that challenge the best that 28th Century weaponry can produce.

Although the ending can seem a bit abrupt after spending so long with the story it is an amazing read if you can handle the length. Myself, I'm fine with a long book so long as the author really has something to say and not just a lot of padding.
 
[quote name='jaykrue']I prefer Green Eggs and Ham.[/QUOTE]

No, The Lorax.

Anyways, I highly recommend Catcher In The Rye- J.D. Salinger
 
[quote name='jaykrue']Speaker for the Dead and Xenocide deal more with Ender's story while the one he' probably referring to is the story of Ender's brother taking over the Earth (Shadow of the Hegemon, Shadow Puppets and Shadow of the Giant *coming in August*)[/QUOTE]
Shadow of the Giant is out now, athough it's in hardback. OSC is like crack for me; I know that his writings are heavily influenced by his LDS background and that most of his later stuff is even more derivative than Ender's Game, but I love it all anyway. When I saw Shadow of the Giant in Barnes it was all over for me.

And I'm actually referring to the entire Enderverse. I do prefer Bean's saga, but I've read all of Ender's books and enjoyed them.
 
[quote name='karmapolice']Ive read: Enders Game, Enders Shadow, Speaker For The Dead, and am currently reading Xenocide. When did this "new" one come out?[/QUOTE]
Children of the Mind (and by extension the Ender Quadrilogy) had a wacky ending I thought, though if you can accept talking pigs then you can probably accept everything that went down there.

My big qualm with the Bean saga toward the later books is it seems like he is extending the story for money's sake. While I like reading more about the characters involved, each book seems to leave less resolved than the previous one did. I may not have fully liked Ender's "ending," at least there was one.
 
[quote name='CoffeeEdge']If you like Sci-fi and are looking for a shorter read, then I'll reccomend Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, the book on which Blade Runner is based. It's quite possibly still my favorite sci-fi novel.[/QUOTE]

Good movie, mediocre book.
 
[quote name='nwaugh']Shadow of the Giant is out now, athough it's in hardback. OSC is like crack for me; I know that his writings are heavily influenced by his LDS background and that most of his later stuff is even more derivative than Ender's Game, but I love it all anyway. When I saw Shadow of the Giant in Barnes it was all over for me.

And I'm actually referring to the entire Enderverse. I do prefer Bean's saga, but I've read all of Ender's books and enjoyed them.[/QUOTE]

Ya, I'm not a big fan of the hardback. It looks nice on the shelf and all but it's still pricey. I'll wait for the paperback edition. I'm not just a cheapassgamer. I'm just a plain ol' cheapass. ;)
 
Battle Royale!!! Many people saw the movies, but go read the original book. It's an easy-to-read action-oriented book.

Cryptonomicon is good too, but it might be a long read compared to many other books. I just wish the book has an extended ending...

I would also recommend the short stories collections from Philip K. Dick and the Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (it has 5 books plus an extra story).
 
[quote name='jlarlee']Hyperion by Dan Simmons the first of 4 books in the Hyperion series it is by a wide margin the best Sci Fi book I have ever read.[/QUOTE]
Forgot to mention it won the Hugo award. Seriously this is the cream of the sci fi crop
 
[quote name='nwaugh']Children of the Mind (and by extension the Ender Quadrilogy) had a wacky ending I thought, though if you can accept talking pigs then you can probably accept everything that went down there.

My big qualm with the Bean saga toward the later books is it seems like he is extending the story for money's sake. While I like reading more about the characters involved, each book seems to leave less resolved than the previous one did. I may not have fully liked Ender's "ending," at least there was one.[/QUOTE]

Ender's Game originally appeared as a novella that was a much more satisfying read because it didn't meander around in dull fluff and got to the point. It is at heart a shaggy dog story. Kid thinks he's playing a game but is really controlling a genuine battle. It had been done before but this take resonated with some folks and the novella was nominated for a Hugo but lost. When the novel, written mainly to set up the sequels, was nominated there was some controversy as to whether a longer version of an existing work should be allowed to be up tot he vote again. But it won and a little empire was born. For some reason this series is like crack to teenagers but at that age I hated kid genius stories.
 
Some other short SF classics to look at are the early novels from Heinlein, Fred Pohl, Theodore Sturgeon.

Of the Sturgeon the most important is 'More THan Human.' One of those books that are hugely influential because many of the people who reuse it's ideas don't know about it. They think they're lifting from more recent works but those were written by those stole directly from Sturgeon. Kind of like Todd McFarlane. The guy by his own admission has never read anything other than comics, so when he make an allusion to Moby Dick it's accidental because he thinks he actually lifting from another comics writer who was more well read.

Also, look for short story anthologies. A few writers like Harlan Ellison have worked almost exclusively in that form.
 
[quote name='epobirs'] For some reason this series is like crack to teenagers but at that age I hated kid genius stories.[/QUOTE]

I share your sentiments, Orson Scott Card and a few others I can think of always felt more like fantasy writers than scifi authors. They spend their time focusing on how amazing their characters are and all these incredible things they do while neglecting to put more than a tokan effort into an underlying meaning or purpose.
 
I must say that I am greatly disapointed in the CAG community after reading through this thread. Someone asks for recomendations for sci-fi books to read and not a single person mentions a single Isaac Asimov novel? Come on people!!!! He is one of the greatest and most prolific sci-fi authors of all time!!!!!

Well, here's my list of suggestions for you. I apologize for not listing authors but I don't remember all of them off the top of my head so I decided not to list any of them.

Foundation series (original trilogy only)
I, Robot
Caves of Steel
Nightfall
Sleeping Planet
Mote in God's Eye
The Gripping Hand
Anvil of the Stars
Artifact
Rama series (except for the last book)
Legacy of Heorot (this movie screams movie adaptation..... wish someone would pick up the rights to it)
Beowulf's Children
Sundiver (also the rest of the 'Uprise' series of books)
The Trial
Catch-22
The Hobbit
Timescape (think this is the title........ story is about a scientist that discovers a way to send a message into the past to warn of an ecological disaster)
most books done by the Nivens/Pournelle pairing!
Hitchhiker's Guide series (what the heck was the 5th book someone mentioned? Hitchiker, Restaurant, Everything, Fish.......only 4 books I know of + the Zaphod short)
Eon
The Unbearable Lightness of Being




I could recomend a few more but this should be plenty to get started.
 
[quote name='OutlawJT']Hitchhiker's Guide series (what the heck was the 5th book someone mentioned? Hitchiker, Restaurant, Everything, Fish.......only 4 books I know of + the Zaphod short)[/QUOTE]

Mostly Harmless would be the 5th.

Everyone has mentioned enough Sci-Fi books. If you like crime fiction/detective novels, I would recommend George Pelecanos. I've read every one of his books and they are fantastic. He has a gritty, terse writing style and his characters (Nick Stefanos and in later novels, Derek Strange) are written very well.

You also can't go wrong with Michael Connelly. Especially the Harry Bosch novels.
 
The complete Calvin and Hobbes collection streets October 5th

This is one of the pinnacles of modern civilization: if you never read the entirety of the catalogue, God Himself meets you on your death bed, shakes His head and states "You have wasted your life."
 
[quote name='lebowsky']Mostly Harmless would be the 5th.

Everyone has mentioned enough Sci-Fi books. If you like crime fiction/detective novels, I would recommend George Pelecanos. I've read every one of his books and they are fantastic. He has a gritty, terse writing style and his characters (Nick Stefanos and in later novels, Derek Strange) are written very well.

You also can't go wrong with Michael Connelly. Especially the Harry Bosch novels.[/QUOTE]
if you want an action packed detective try hard case the first in the series of Joe Kurtz novels this is done by Dan Simmons yep the same Dan Simmons who wrote the Sci FI book i recommended. he writes in just about every genre
 
Have you read any of the Dan Brown novels? they're all pretty good. The writing is cheesey but the historical fact is awesome
 
[quote name='Over easy']
Cryptonomicon is good too, but it might be a long read compared to many other books. I just wish the book has an extended ending...
[/QUOTE]

Neal Stephenson's kinda notorius for rushed endings. It's my understanding that Cryptonomicon was originaly about double the size.

Anything by Stephenson is recommended, my favorite is Snow Crash. On the surface the book is a cyberpunk/dark future story. Buried beneath is a discussion on the origins of both language and religion...
 
[quote name='jlarlee']if you want an action packed detective try hard case the first in the series of Joe Kurtz novels this is done by Dan Simmons yep the same Dan Simmons who wrote the Sci FI book i recommended. he writes in just about every genre[/QUOTE]

Cool, I'll check his stuff out. Thanks!
 
[quote name='thehuskerfan']With any of the Dr. Seuss books, you can't go wrong.[/QUOTE]


You do realize that some Dr. Seuss is actually deep philosophical shit and political metophors guised as childrens books
 
Zodiac, by Neal stephenson

Ecoterrorist attempting to stop the release of evil bacteria into the ocean. The science definaitely extends into the realm of scifi.
 
OK, I finally finished Ender's Game and I loved it. What's the next book in the series? I'm not quite clear on the order to read them all...
 
[quote name='javeryh']OK, I finally finished Ender's Game and I loved it. What's the next book in the series? I'm not quite clear on the order to read them all...[/QUOTE]

Ender's Game
Speaker for the Dead
Xenocide
Children of the Mind

Ender's Shadow
Shadow of the Hegemon
Shadow Puppets
Shadow of the Giant

I could not finish Speaker for the Dead for some reason and never went on. I did read Ender's Shadow, however. It was great.
 
Just a bit of clarification:

All of the 'Shadow' books are not about Ender himself. Rather they are about his polar opposite - Bean. While Ender was a strategist by nature, Bean was one by necessity. I find the Shadow series more fun to read than the 'official' Ender's Game sequels (Speaker of the Dead, etc.) as there is more political intrigue in the Shadow series while the Ender sequels are overly contrived philosophical parables with a scifi setting.
 
[quote name='Quackzilla']Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (5 books)

Cowboy Bebop (comic book)

Family Guy (TV show)

Spoon (utensil)

Ball (object)

Zil (poop)[/QUOTE]
No need to insult yourself my man :(



Oh and check out the Exalted trilogy by Richard E. Dansky - short, fast read based upon the tabletop game, Exalted.
 
[quote name='smalien1']You do realize that some Dr. Seuss is actually deep philosophical shit and political metophors guised as childrens books[/QUOTE]
Yes. Without you, I would have never pondered deep into the nuclear implications behind "The Butter Battle Book." I thought it was a cute story about a practical side item until you came along.

You remind me of my mother, who had recorded the "Scientology" episode of South Park; she asked my wife and I if I understood the joke of Tom Cruise being "in the closet."
 
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