Need Book Reccomendations
Boy_who_lost_his_wings
Join Date: 2003-12-03 Member: 23924Banned
Join Date: 2003-12-03 Member: 23924Banned
I've recently read two books which i have greatly enjoyed. The two books, Brave New World and 1984, have intrigued me greatly. i hope that i may be reccomended such books of similar nature. Also i would like it if you would tell me any other good books that you like and why(oh and no spoilers). Thanks
Comments
Movie: <i>Equilibrium</i>. Blatantly rips off everything from F451's flamethrowers to 1984s telescreens to BNW's emotion-altering drugs, but who said that's a bad thing? Excellent gunplay as well.
Game: Deus Ex 1 (perhaps 2, though I haven't played it and thus can't give an opinion.) Takes darn well near every conspiracy theory you've heard of and several you haven't, and goes from there. Similar vein of "main character learns truth." One of the games that's considered a benchmark for games that want to blend FPS and RPG gameplay. Computer Gaming World's January 2004 issue came with a special edition DVD that contains both the full free legal version of DX1 and another great game, Thief 2.
Triplegoodplus bellyfeel <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
The original series:<ul><li>Ender's Game</li><li>Speaker For the Dead</li><li>Xenocide</li><li>Children of the Mind</li></ul>Parallel/Alternate Bean Storyline:<ul><li>Ender's Shadow</li><li>Shadow of the Hegemon</li><li>Shadow Puppets</li></ul>
Side note, book 5 "Wolves of the Cella" is finally out <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Side note, book 5 "Wolves of the Cella" is finally out <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Holy sh**! really? I've been waiting years for part V to that series.
The original series:<ul><li>Ender's Game</li><li>Speaker For the Dead</li><li>Xenocide</li><li>Children of the Mind</li></ul>Parallel/Alternate Bean Storyline:<ul><li>Ender's Shadow</li><li>Shadow of the Hegemon</li><li>Shadow Puppets</li></ul> <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Go. Get this now.
Best books + series ever.
NOW.
If you haven't already, read George Orwell's "Animal Farm". But you have probably read it when you were in school. Follows [vaguely] the same sort of theme... sort of.
Also footfall and Battlefield earth are two extremely good books, i loved them to death [i died <!--emo&:(--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif' /><!--endemo-->] and wish i could relive the experience of reading these two, plus ender's game, again for the first time. oooh.
i feel sad now <!--emo&:(--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif' /><!--endemo-->
oh umm also dune
<b>Spoilers - Or a way to save wasting precious moments of your life</b>
Humans land on a planet. Planet has intelligent race called Piggies. For some reason the entire outer space culture is based on... PORTUGESE (okay seriously, no one wants to have to learn another language to read your damn book, lay off the water bong when you're writing, dude)... but whatever. Some treehugging hippies like the piggies. Piggies kill people or infect them with a disease or something, doesn't really matter. Humans try to destroy planet with a DRDevice. Ender stops it. Humans say 'oh god what we almost did' and live happily ever after, the end.
Side note, book 5 "Wolves of the Cella" is finally out <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Holy sh**! really? I've been waiting years for part V to that series. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Same here, and according to the preface to that book, the 6th and 7th (and final) books in the series are due out sometime this year (or next...).
Some others:
Starship Troopers (Robert Heinlein) (already mentioned) - a fairly light action book (most definately not like the movie), but mainly a political/moral/military commentary.
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress - another book by Heinlein. Its basically the American revolution v2.0 (a penal colony on the moon revolts against the evil autonomy on Earth). Its nice to see Heinleins visions of a peaceful society with absolutely no rules composed of the most hardened criminals.
Without Remorse (Tom Clancy) - Even after re-reading the book (which is VERY rare for me), it still amazes me that the book can have you rooting for and sympathyzing with a man who, in any other context, would be loathed and despised.
But, no online book list would be complete without the one that spawned it all (for most of us atleast)....
Neuromancer (William Gibson) - Great technothriller. Nice, bleak portrait of a possible future in which corporations own everything and those who want to do anything without their permission are pushed to one side of the law. Dont let all the cyberspace cliches in the book turn you away (This book made most of them)
The Bourne Identity
The Bourne Supremacy
The Bourne Ultimatum
by Robert Ludlum
Yes the movie "The Bourne Identity" with matt Damon is suppose to be based off of the book. Yet only the names of some of the characters and the first 10min of the movie even remotely relate to the book(nothing that happens in the movie happens in the book after Jason Bourne walks into the Zurich Bank). Though I did enjoy the movie it did not do the book justic and I would suggest anyone to read it, it is a great book and a great series.
"D-day June 6, 1994: the climactic battle of world war II" by Stephen E. Ambrose
This book is the greatest history book on world war II/d-day that I have read, and I love history so Ive read alot. Its all about D-day and ties to gather all this oral/interviewing vets stories. I can not stress how good this book is and its not just for people who love history its a good read for anyone. Infact the reason I bought this book was because of a topic someone made about it in these forums a while ago.
Farenheit 451
All Quiet On The Western Front
Brave New world
The Client
Its a really great novel, offering a far better critique of modern western life through positive comparison rather than BNW's negative comparison.
theres alot in the book about mind expansion and buddhism aswell, its a great read.
Cast aside your Xbox hatred and read them (There are Three)... they are REALLY good!
*zap*
I'm just reiterating this book. Very good, very thoughtful.
DO NOT WATCH THE MOVIE! It hurts after reading the book.
The Bourne Identity
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I was going to post <!--emo&:(--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif' /><!--endemo--> This book kicks immense amount ****. I've never gotten around to seeing the movie but judging by what everyone says it doesn't seem similar.
If you want an odd but great book then pick up "The Collector" by John Fowles. It's the first book in English that I've actually enjoyed. It's about this weird person that kidnaps a young art student which he is obsessed with. Since he just won the pools he bought a cottage and totally secured it's cellar so she could not get out. It's style is pretty unique: Double-narrative. The first and last parts are from his point of view, they reek of irony. When we see her point of view it's totally different.
Summary: The Bourne Identity and The Collector
It's basically a fantasy story without the elves and dwarfs.
More mature and (I think) more interesting than LotR. Theres 10 books out and I'm now reading the fifth. Having trouble getting away from it <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->
The US comes up with a cure/vaccine for HIV/AIDS but the cure later alters your immune system making a far worse disease that is basically just like AIDS but you can get just like a common cold.
The desease spreads and soon the rest of the world Quarentines much of the US and in the US those infected are rounded up into military controled camps "for there own protection"
The story is about a group of infected people that are sent to one of the quarentine camps.
Good book but very sad.
Oh, and <i>Last Chance To See</i> by Douglas Adams and Mark Cawardine.
That said, I really enjoy both Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett.
Dune Series by Frank Herbert, Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. DO NOT watch the old movie with Sting and Patrick Stewart. Basically, there's a planet, no one would want it, except it has this stuff that changes people. There's the 6 ones Frank Herbert wrote, then Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson took over recently, the 2 one of the early timeline (11th total) is coming out soon, maybe already.
2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke. Rather hard to explain, but it makes sense of the movie. Basically, there's a black thing on the moon, and it does strange things. 4 books in total: 2001, 2010, 2061, and 3001.
Earthlight by Arthur C. Clarke. The Earth's resources run out, and stuff happens on the moon. It centers around one person on a space observatory on the moon, but covers the whole conflict effectively.
Rama Series by Arthur C. Clarke and Gentry Lee. A giant cylinder comes into the Solar System, and a group of people find out why. The first book is detatched plot-wise from the rest.
The Legacy of Heorot (spelling). I can't remember the author. It's an older book, about a bunch of people starting a new colony on another planet. Reminds me of the old turn-base game "Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri".
Other good ones by Arthur C. Clarke:
The Light of Other Days
The Hammer of God
Cradle
That's a lot, but they're interesting.
Holy crap yes.
I've read most of the books in this thread... Crazy...
Aldous Huxly was one buggered-up weirdo. Most of his family was dead from either cancer or drug overdose by the time he was 20. He experimented with many drugs, including "Soma", the drug used in his utopian society.
Equilibrium was pretty so-so. It had some good bits but the gunplay was entirely too unbelievable.
One other author that you should consider: Isaac Asimov. He wrote:
I, Robot. Which explores a number of scenarios in which robots encounter developmental problems with their AI and the public's reaction to them.
The Foundation Series. A series of 3 or 4 books (I can't remember exactly) that follows the course of a new empire that is seeded in a remote part of the galaxy by one Hari Seldon. A psycohistorian that predicted that the galactic empire would fall.
Under a Naked Sun. In the same vein as I, Robot but it's a bit of a crime-caper.
A few others. They're all good.
The entire Dune series is amazing too. With the notable exception of anything after "Chapter House Dune". The series spans over about three thousand years.
--Scythe--
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Stick to the trilogy. I don't think the rest are as good. Once you've read those though, read forward the foundation. It was Isaac Asimov's last book, and if you read it with that in mind it is overwhelming. Its a great finale to a lifetime of achievement.
Isaac Asimov is truly incredible. What can you say about someone who has written over 400 books? That's amazing no matter how you slice it. Even if they weren't some of the most influential books in science fiction it would still be incredible.
It's basically a fantasy story without the elves and dwarfs.
More mature and (I think) more interesting than LotR. Theres 10 books out and I'm now reading the fifth. Having trouble getting away from it <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Wait until you start rereading them... again and again....
and again...
(I just realised I have no life. <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->)
IIRC, Heinlein's books are more though than action. Even Starship Troopers was a sci-fi backround for a discussion on politics and morality. Good books, though.
I remember Stranger in a Strange land being good, also by Heinlein.
Terry Goodkind- sword of truth novels
Ann McAfery(spelling? <!--emo&???--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/confused.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='confused.gif' /><!--endemo--> )-all the dragon books
Elizabeth Haydon-Symphony of Ages(I wouldnt recomend for young readers, there is... ....um..... ....stuff, you know what i mean)
David Eddings- like, all of them
Peirs Anothony-Dude how could you go wrong with this guys books
Terry Brooks-Shannara books
Juliet E. McKenna- Einarinn series
THE BOOK-Tarzan of the apes -wow great book
Tad williams-Recomended to me, haven't read them yet
<a href='http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0380973650/103-3379179-4093458?v=glance' target='_blank'>American Gods by Neil Gaiman</a>
<span style='color:orange'>The steampunk genre will change you...</span>