Books You've Recently Read

[AkuTheGreat]

I figured a thread that people could periodically update with books they've recently read would be better than making a thread for every book. Good place to post some comments about a book, to specifically ask for an opinion on a book listed, etc. Anyway, here's my list. I might add some thoughts about them later, but if anyone wants to know about one or more in particular, I'll give those priority.

Templar Trilogy - Jack Whyte:

Knights of the Black and White
Standard of Honor
Order in Chaos

The Templar Trilogy is absolutely fantastic historical fiction if you happen to love the genre in general. As you might gather it focuses on the Knights Templar and all the history surrounding them. Really engrossing series of books.


Mogworld - Yahtzee Croshaw

Mogworld is the story of a young mage who is killed and then brought back to life by a necromancer, set in the world of an MMO. Highly amusing, and despite Yahtzee's reputation does not rely solely on crude humor.

Dexter is Delicious - Jeff Lindsay

Latest book of the Dexter novel series. Excellent as usual. I highly recommend the series, especially to fans of the show who have not read the books.


The Fall (book two of the Strain Trilogy) - Chuck Hogan and Guillermo del Toro

Second book of a trilogy centered around a vampiric apocalypse. With a unique and engrossing vampire mythology and interesting characters to drive the story, these books should not be missed.

Let Me In/Let the Right One In - John Ajvide Lindqvist

Set in Blackeberg, a suburb of Stockholm, this book centers around the relationship between a 12 year old boy Oskar, and a centuries-old vampire child Eli as well as how Eli's arrival affects the other denizens of Blackeberg.


Handling The Undead - John Ajvide Lindqvist


Handling the Undead is a unique approach to the typical Zombie story in that the unread aren't automatically hostile. The core of the story is how the family members of the undead deal with the situation and struggle to make sense of what it means.


Currently Reading: Cryptum (book one of the Forerunner Saga/Trilogy and set in the Halo universe) - Greg Bear

[SuperJay]

Excellent idea. I'll contribute more soon. Hopefully this book thread doesn't die a quiet death like the previous ones.

Right now I'm re-reading Desolation Island by Patrick O'Brian. Historical fiction set in the Royal Navy of the 19th century. It's the fifth book in the Aubrey-Maturin series, of which "Master and Commander" is the first. (That was the title of a movie with Russel Crowe and Paul Bettany a while back that was based on this series.) These are among my favorite books ever, I can't recommend them highly enough.

I'm also reading Bad Things Happen, a mystery/thriller by Harry Dolan. My mom got it for me for Christmas because the author lives in my city and the book is set here. So far it's pretty good.

[AkuTheGreat]

I'll definitely check out the Aubrey–Maturin series. The Templar Trilogy is absolutely fantastic historical fiction if you happen to love the genre in general. As you might gather it focuses on the Knights Templar and all the history surrounding them. Really engrossing series of books.

[iron]

The Fall (book two of the Strain Trilogy) - Chuck Hogan and Guillermo del Toro

This is out? Sweet, now to find it.

Currently reading random **** I have laying around the house:
Ender stuff; Sword of Truth; IT; 'Salem's Lot; Pathfinder; Crown of Stars...Thats about it right now.

[Shaynard]

I've been reading a series of books called The Lensmen Series by Edward Elmer "Doc" Smith. Quite old, but enjoyable so far. Currently on "book three".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lensman_series

Also listening to Tolkien audiobooks and reading Cosmos by Carl Sagan again.

[AkuTheGreat]

This is out? Sweet, now to find it.

Currently reading random **** I have laying around the house:
Ender stuff; Sword of Truth; IT; 'Salem's Lot; Pathfinder; Crown of Stars...Thats about it right now.

Amazon link if that's an option for you:
http://www.amazon.com/Fall-Book-Two-...4106101&sr=8-3

I really enjoyed it. Can not wait until The Night Eternal.

[Guirec730]

Iron, is that Pathfinder related to the Karl Urban viking movie?

...I hope not.

[DirkPitt45]

Just finished Black Wolf by Dale Brown.

Was ok, definitely not his best though.

[Darth]

Most of the books I read would not interest most people here as they do with the military, international policy, clandestine activities, leadership, etc...

However, I can't read ONLY things that make me a better leader or I would go crazy. Here are some REALLY good sci-fi fantasy books I would wholeheartedly recommend to anybody.

The Vlad Taltos series by Steven Brust. Vlad Taltos is a human assassin who lives in the captial city of the Dragearran Empire. The Dragearrans are what we could call elves. The books are very interesting because he is a mob boss as well as a witch in a land of sorcerers. The books are a combination of Goodfellas, Mission: Impossible, and God knows what else set in a fictional sword and sorcery land. Also, since he is a witch, Vlad's familiar is a humanly intelligent vulture sized poisonous flying reptile named Loish whom he speaks to telepathically. He is currently on book 17 I think. They can all be found at very reasonable prices through Amazon and your local used bookseller. Also, he sells them as anthology where you can buy 3 books in one. I don't explain them very well, but if you look up the reviews on Amazon, you will see they receive rave reviews.

Nect is The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. Harry Dresden is the only Wizard listed in the Chicago phonebook. He assists the police with their more unusual (read supernatural and unexplainable) cases as well as help folks with paranormal problems. If you watched the tv series on Sci-Fi, ignore it. Harry isn't the sort of metrosexual touchy feely guy from the show. Picture Clint Eastwood in a duster and cowboy hat with a wizards staff. Harry is an absolute bad *** and his magical powers are pretty cool and well thought out. It has a richly developed world with Vampires (from different courts, or types) werewolves, faeires, goblins, trolls etc...These are fantastic books and I encourage everybody to give them a try. I believe he is on number 12 or so. There is also an excellent graphic novel available.

Lastly is the Old Man's War series by John Scalzi. It is set in the future, and earth breached the final frontier. We have sought out strange new worlds and new civilizations. And most of them want to eat us. So to build our army, the Colonial Union recruits old people (75 years old to be exact) to be Soldiers. Nobody knows how it works or what use and old person would be in a war, and once you leave Earth, you can never return. Turns out that your consciousness is transferred into a new and improved body. You serve for 10 yeas and then you are placed back into a new cloned body of your original human self at age 25 and allowed to colonize on one of our new planets. It sounds like typical space fantasy, but in the vein of Starship Troopers (the book) and The Forever War, it becomes much more. It presents quite a social commentary on conflict, morality, choices, and warfare. There are 3 books in the series so far. these are great books that make you think as well as entertain, and have several Easter Eggs to other famous sci-fi books if you look hard.

Hope somebody finds this list useful and gives these books a go.

[iron]

Iron, is that Pathfinder related to the Karl Urban viking movie?

No, it is Orson Scott Card's time manipulation book series.

Nect is The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. Harry Dresden is the only Wizard listed in the Chicago phonebook. He assists the police with their more unusual (read supernatural and unexplainable) cases as well as help folks with paranormal problems. If you watched the tv series on Sci-Fi, ignore it. Harry isn't the sort of metrosexual touchy feely guy from the show. Picture Clint Eastwood in a duster and cowboy hat with a wizards staff. Harry is an absolute bad *** and his magical powers are pretty cool and well thought out. It has a richly developed world with Vampires (from different courts, or types) werewolves, faeires, goblins, trolls etc...These are fantastic books and I encourage everybody to give them a try. I believe he is on number 12 or so. There is also an excellent graphic novel available.

Second this, quite good novels. If a little short for my tastes.

[General Twigums]

Recently read:

It's the Crude, Dude: War, Big Oil and the Fight for the Planet
by Linda McQuaig

Great book, and I'm looking forward to reading other books by her.

military, international policy, clandestine activities, leadership

Please do tell, I love books about all of those listed.

[laxfish76]

The Miracle of St. Anthony: A Season with Coach Bob Hurley and Basketball's Most Improbable Dynasty

A book about the unlikely highschool basketball dynasty in the hoods of Jersey City.

[Null17]

Excellent thread, I approve.

Recently finished the first Mass Effect book. Very short, but good, so I'll have to get the rest.

Also finished the first book in the Night Angle Trilogy, called the Way of Shadows. A fantasy realm centering around assassins. Quite long, but I definitely enjoyed it. I can recommend it to anyone who enjoys fantasy or assassins. It seemed to be fairly well written and fairly original as far as fantasy goes.

Most recently I read the Silmarillion (by Tolkien, if anyone doesn't know somehow). It was a very good, if slow and weighty, book, full of epic deeds and tragedies. If you can read Lord of the Rings, Silmarillion is a step up from there, but not a massive one. It's shorter but definitely slower. Still, a pretty incredible story.

That was over Christmas break, in the span of about a week. Now I'm reading the Two Towers before heading on to Return of the King and the Hobbit, eventually, and anything I read in between.

[Guirec730]

The first Mass Effect novel serves as an excellent primer for the series...you won't need to read much of the in-game encyclopedia after finishing it.

The second is decent enough, but I enjoyed the third the most. Interesting to see how/if it is referenced in the third game.

[General Twigums]

Most recently I read the Silmarillion (by Tolkien, if anyone doesn't know somehow). It was a very good, if slow and weighty, book, full of epic deeds and tragedies. If you can read Lord of the Rings, Silmarillion is a step up from there, but not a massive one. It's shorter but definitely slower. Still, a pretty incredible story.

That was over Christmas break, in the span of about a week. Now I'm reading the Two Towers before heading on to Return of the King and the Hobbit, eventually, and anything I read in between.

The Hobbit was really good, one of the best books I've ever read. You should thoroughly enjoy it. Also, they're making a movie of it.

I've always wanted to read The Silmarillion but never got around to it. Hopefully I can sometime this year.

[Maawdawg]

Most recently I read the Silmarillion (by Tolkien, if anyone doesn't know somehow).

That is my next book after I finish my current set. I picked it up for $0.25 this summer at a giant yard sale that my old school has, I go every year to buy up books that I want. I bought 10 books (hardcover and softcover mixed) for $2 this past year.

I am re-reading the Magic Kindom of Landover set from Terry Brooks right now because he released a 6th book in the series after like a dozen years and there was no way I remembered the first 5 enough to just pick up the 6th and start there.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...r+sale&x=0&y=0

I read Now I Can Die in Peace by Bill Simmons about the 2000-2010 Red Sox. Good read even if you aren't a Sawx fan but a must read if you are.
http://www.amazon.com/Now-Can-Die-Pe.../dp/1933060050

The Left Behind series by LaHalye and Jenkins will be my next major series to tackle. My uncle has the entire 16 book series in hard cover and told me I could take it to read. Once I finish what I have in hand I will be doing so.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left_Behind

after I get through all those I want to re-read all the Shanarra books by Brooks again unless something else catches my eye inbetween.

[iron]

Also finished the first book in the Night Angle Trilogy, called the Way of Shadows. A fantasy realm centering around assassins. Quite long, but I definitely enjoyed it. I can recommend it to anyone who enjoys fantasy or assassins. It seemed to be fairly well written and fairly original as far as fantasy goes.

Good trilogy. <3 Durzo.

[Denis Dyack]

Hi Everyone,

I have been reading some Ian M. Banks books recently. His Culture (Sci-Ficition) series is something I highly recommend. Here are some of the books I have read in the last month or so:

Use of Weapons - A book where every other chapter is told in reverse chronological order
Excession - What happens when The Culture runs into something more advanced then itself
Surface Detail (finished last night) - One of my favorite culture novels so far! Explores the afterlife in the far future amongst other interesting things.

I have also recently read a Genhis Khan Trilogy by Conn Iggulden in the last month - very good historical fiction.

Next on my list is a The Book of Negros by Lawrence Hill. An award winning author who spoke recently at an event I attended. This is a historical fiction based of a document by the same title detailing the struggles of freed loyalists to Canada after the American Revolution.

Right around the corner is The Cripple God, the last in the Book of the Fallen decalogy - one of my favorite fantasy series.

Denis

[SuperJay]

Somehow I knew you'd mention the Book of the Fallen series, Denis. I still haven't checked that out, but it remains on the list.

Hey btw, Darth, why don't you just share your entire reading list? We can handle it, big guy. Don't worry about our interests, just put it all out there.

RE: The Silmarillion... I'm glad you liked it, Null. Anyone interested in it should check it out, but keep in mind that it is not one nice little self-contained story like The Hobbit or even the LOTR trilogy. It's a collection of histories, poems, and legends that Tolkien wrote but didn't publish during his lifetime; his son Christopher collected and edited them for publication after his death. If you are VERY interested in the history of Middle-earth - starting with the creation of the world, the gods and demigods involved, the awakening of the Elves and the other races, and many of the legends of ancient heroes that are referenced in LOTR - then you'll probably like the Silmarillion. But if you're coming in expecting it to be a LOTR prequel with a single narrative concerning a specific group of protagonists, you're going to be disappointed.

Also, I recommend the recently-published Children of Hurin for the other Tolkien fans, btw.

[Shaynard]

Picked up all Tolkien books as audiobooks over Christmas.. They are all very well done, and saves my eyes from reading them all again. Children of Hurin is very good, almost a surprise how good it actually is. The Silmarillion is very much like the creation story for Middle Earth, and is highly worth reading for anyone who enjoys Tolkien's world.

Also got every book Anne Rice has ever written under any name, as audiobooks.

Aside from those I have not had much time for Fiction unfortunately.. Stephen Hawking just wasted a week of my life

[Null17]

The Hobbit was really good, one of the best books I've ever read. You should thoroughly enjoy it.

Oh, I've read both the Hobbit and the Trilogy before, but it was back in fifth grade that I read them last, so I'm re-reading all of his works I've already read, and plan on reading ones I haven't, like Children of Hurin (though I know the overall story from Silmalrillion). My friend got it for his girlfriend and she really liked it, so next change I get I'll pick it up.

And yeah, The Silmarillion is VERY different from the main Trilogy and the Hobbit. The Hobbit is good, but a very easy read, the main Trilogy is incredible, but a significant step up from there. And The Silmarillion is a step up from that. It reads like....some parts the the Old Testament of the Bible, actually, and in general it's a massive story spanning thousands of years. You have to keep track of at least two dozen main characters at any given time, and how they relate to each other, what they've done, etc. It's a pretty challenging read, in my opinion, but if you can read and understand it, it is incredible.

I will make the claim that Tolkien is one of the best, if not the best, Fantasy authors of all time, and in general a genius of a story teller. Personally one of my favorite authors, and his higher level of writing is a nice change of pace from easier books that are common.

RE:Night Angel Trilogy--I quite enjoyed the first book, and look forward to the rest, but I'm not sure when I'll get to them.

Also, it's been a while since I read some of these next books, but I want to recommend them to anyone who enjoys classic sci-fi.

First of all, Dune, by Frank Herbert. As a standalone title (though there are sequels) it is one of the most in-depth and original science fiction stories I have read. It's an excellent book that I highly recommend.

Second, anything by Isaac Asimov. Best known for creating the Three Laws of Robotics, he has written several incredible series, including his robot novels such as Caves of Steel and The Naked Sun, his short story collection I, Robot, and the excellent Foundation series. I can't recommmend him strongly enough.

[AkuTheGreat]

Finished Handling the Undead. Updated OP.

[laxfish76]

Excellent thread, I approve.

Recently finished the first Mass Effect book. Very short, but good, so I'll have to get the rest.

Also finished the first book in the Night Angle Trilogy, called the Way of Shadows. A fantasy realm centering around assassins. Quite long, but I definitely enjoyed it. I can recommend it to anyone who enjoys fantasy or assassins. It seemed to be fairly well written and fairly original as far as fantasy goes.

Most recently I read the Silmarillion (by Tolkien, if anyone doesn't know somehow). It was a very good, if slow and weighty, book, full of epic deeds and tragedies. If you can read Lord of the Rings, Silmarillion is a step up from there, but not a massive one. It's shorter but definitely slower. Still, a pretty incredible story.

That was over Christmas break, in the span of about a week. Now I'm reading the Two Towers before heading on to Return of the King and the Hobbit, eventually, and anything I read in between.

I am thinking I will have to read the Mass Effect books, I keep hearing they're good.

As for the Night Angel trilogy, I read the books about a year ago and you won't be disappointed. I couldn't put them down when I was reading them.

[Guirec730]

New Halo book is out. It's the first in a series about the forerunners. Halo Cryptum, it's called.

New author, so I'm not rushing out to buy it. I'd line up at a midnight launch if it was Nylund or Traviss.

[AkuTheGreat]

New Halo book is out. It's the first in a series about the forerunners. Halo Cryptum, it's called.

New author, so I'm not rushing out to buy it. I'd line up at a midnight launch if it was Nylund or Traviss.

Currently reading it.