OT: Suggestions for Fiction
I'm a total cliche. Mid-50's. I'm the dad in the Progressive ad who reads about WWII all the time. I read a lot, but no joke, I think I've read a single novel in at least 20 years. That was "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy, which I really loved. I feel sort of ashamed for never reading any fiction. Was thinking about my problem yesterday and thought "there are lots of smart dudes on the MgoBoard. I'll ask them". So, help me out? Let's skip the classics. Any suggestions of fiction you've read in the last couple of years? Many years ago I really enjoyed the Tolkien books, and Tom Clancy, and John Grisham (although after 3 Grisham books I just felt like they are all the exact same formula).
Thanks in advance. And apologies to those who hate posts like this.
Red Rising by Pierce Brown
There are two trilogies, but we are waiting on the 6th book right now:
Red Rising (2014)
Golden Son (2015)
Morning Star (2016)
Iron Gold (2017)
Dark Age (2019)
TBD (TBD)
This is a series my friends all talked about, but I refused to read it. They got my wife hooked on them, so I finally caved when Dark Age was announced. I not only caught up, but also finished Dark Age before any of them.
I loved Red Rising, but I just couldn't get back into it when I started to read Golden Son. Is it worth powering through?
It’s excellent. Red rising is probably my favorite of the trilogy but all 3 are great. Haven’t started the second trilogy yet
Most definitely.
Did not think much of Red Rising. Seemed like YA level writing with a lot of violence thrown in for good measure. Ultimately i could never buy into the world being realistic as yhe violence was so over the top. Easy read that I can see why people enjoy it, but not a good book, if that makes sense.
The Red Rising series is the greatest work of comprehensive fiction I've read. THat includes LOTR, Harry Potter, ASOIAF, The Expanse, etc. I read a LOT of fantasy, sci-fi and fiction. The crazy thing about the series is Red Rising is the WORST book in the series and I think people tend to believe it will all be like that. From Golden Son onward, it takes a turn, unlike anything you've read. Dark Age is one of the most intense, gut-wrenching, emotionally-draining books of my life. It is easily one of the darkest, most violent series out there BUT there is nothing like it in terms of characters who are teetering on the edge of morality and how those decisions impact themselves, their families and humanity.
TLDR: I could not recommend a series more than this.
Fwiw I have also heard the second book is better so even though I didn't like the first, I will give it another chance
Red Rising is basically a more violent, masculine and satisfying Hunger Games. With much better prose, too, although that's not saying much. But once out of that environment of structured competition of the first book, it just felt adrift. Nonetheless, the praise here makes me want to revisit Golden Son (I think I go about 1/3 of the way through). So I shall.
You like football and porno and books about war.
You've got an average house, with a nice hardwood floor.
Whoa!!! Do you have EST?
Lol. I haven't thought of that song in years and for whatever reason your first 3 sentences just popped that right into my head.
If you like reading about war, there are incredible war novels. I know you said avoid the classics, but here are a few.
all quiet on the western front.
for whom the bell tolls.
thin red line.
our man in Havana.
for something a little more escapist, I like space operas and space military books
Old mans war.
forever war.
mote in gods eye.
I logged in to suggest Old Man's War, so I'll second that one and give you an upvote. Scalzi's latest (Collapsing Empire Trilogy) is fun too, although pretty bawdy.
I love the stuff that Christopher Moore writes. Fluke is a good entry point to see if you like it and one of my all-time favorite books.
I liked Scalzi's work. Along similar lines is the Frontlines Book series by Marko Kloos. War stories in Science Fiction.
More in God's Eye is a classic.
Wasn't impressed with Old Mans War. The whole war was a poorly thought out premise only there to give Scalzi an excuse to write action scenes. Fine if you want pure escapism, personally I prefer a bit more substance in my space opera.
Completely agree. Mote in God's Eye and The Forever War are both classics. Intelligent, thoughtful, meaningful. Haldeman, Niven, and Pournelle are minds to be respected.
Scalzi on the other hand is a fool and an asshole - check out what he's done in the scifi authors' community.
I read some good fiction this year:
The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead (also read Underground Railroad a few months back and Zone One and Sag Harbor a few years ago - he's an extraordinary talent).
The Nix by Nathan Hill (one of my favorite works of recent fiction).
I also finished Jane Smiley's Some Luck trilogy which is pretty good.
And then there's always the modern classics: Tom Wolfe, Don DeLillo, Phillip Roth, etc.
Sincerely,
An MgoEnglishMajor
I read mostly mysteries and comics/graphic novels, but I would definitely second The Sympathizer and Nickel Boys (and The Underground Railroad and Colson Whitehead in general).
If you are not opposed to graphic novels, The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui is really good. I taught it this spring and most of my students liked it. It Was the War of the Trenches, by Jacques Tardi is also very good and might fit your interests. It's about French soldiers in WW1.
Mystery wise, you might like Ace Atkin's Quinn Colson books (The Ranger etc.).
Just curious—for what class did you assign The Best We Could Do? I’ve used Vietnamerica by GB Tran for a class but I’m always looking or additional options. Thanks!
lollin at grouping Wolfe, Roth, DeLillo in any meaningful way
Try the Stormlight Archive Series by Brandon Sandersen
I’m reading this now. Have to be honest, I’m not loving it. And I’m a big fan of how Sanderson finished Wheel of time.
im halfway through the most recent book, and it’s well written. Just think the pacing is way too slow.
Oathbringer has some issues, not a great book. Loved the first two though.
I'm reading The Stand for the first time right now. You know, for a little escapism...
Someone mentioned this a few months ago when we were talking books, but The Stand would have been better if Flagg had just been a bad dude but not supernatural. Stephen King gets tempted by the magical a little too often when the best villains are those that are plausible, e.g. Hans Landa from Inglorious Basterds.
If you like reading about war and want to try fiction, try reading W.E.B. Griffin. He has written two series that take place in WWII, The Brotherhood of War and The Corp. They are fiction but the backdrop is fairly factual. Both series are excellent though you do need to read in order.
Second that! Especially The Corp. My Dad, a Marine, loved it.
Are more contemporary classics still ok?
Anything by Elmore Leonard.
Seconded, he is the king of crime fiction. Rum Punch (basis for the movie Jackie Brown) and Get Shorty are good ones to start with.
Here are a few other recs:
Thriller/spy/mystery
- Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (really any of John Le Carre's Smiley novels. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Smiley's People, A Perfect Spy...all great)
- The Quiet American, by Graham Greene
- The Talented Mr. Ripley, by Patricia Highsmith
- In the Woods, by Tana French
Fantasy/sci-fi
- The Book of the New Sun series, by Gene Wolfe (start with The Shadow of the Torturer)
- A Wizard of Earthsea (and that whole series by Ursula Le Guin, but best to start from the beginning)
- The Three-Body Problem, by Cixin Liu
- The Lathe of Heaven, by Ursula Le Guin (actually, almost anything by her, she is the best)
Other:
- Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson
- Waiting for the Barbarians, by JM Coetzee
- Wolf Hall, by Hillary Mantel
- All the King's Men, by Robert Penn Warren
This list is v. good. Seconding the Le Carre, Greene, Highsmith, French, Robinson, and Coetzee recs quite strongly.
The Dark Tower series is awesome:
It ropes in The Stand, Salem's Lot, Insomnia, etc. It's a masterpiece of around 5,000 pages.
Much of his writing takes place within that world if not specifically referenced.
The only King books I do not like are the Dark Tower series. I really liked 1963 which was about time travel and the Kennedy assassination.
The series was amazing but I always warn people the last two books suck and the ending feels rushed. That said, Drawing of the Three and Wizard and Glass are two of the best books I’ve ever read.
Anything by Michael Connelly. Crime fiction set mostly in Los Angeles. If you have seen the Amazon show Bosch, the Matthew McConaughey movie Lincoln Lawyer, or the Clint Eastwood movie Blood Work, you are familiar with his work.
I like Clive Cussler and Steve Berry. A little adventure is a nice escape.
I really enjoyed the first Cussler book I read. Sometimes I just want something fun, easy to follow, and his books are that. But by the third book i realized he has a formula and just changed names and settings.
That's been my experience reading his books as well.
Yeah, they aren't a life altering experience, but they are a fun read.
The Amber Room by Steve Berry is really fun
If you are open to semi "hard" science-fiction (i.e. a bit more gritty & rooted in more scientifically sound principles as opposed to fantasy science fiction), then I'd strongly recommend The Expanse Book Series by James S.A. Corey.
It takes place ~200 years in the future. Humans have settled the solar system (Mars is an independent nation), but they haven't yet traveled beyond the solar system. The start of the series starts almost as a noir murder mystery & there is a ton of politicial intrigue/conflict throughout the series as well.
More science fiction elements get introduced later on in the series, but this book series not so much "Flash Gordon" or "Star Wars" or "Star Trek" as it is "Game of Thrones, but in space."
The series got picked up for television & it's a very solid show as well--currently available on Amazon Prime.
+1 for Expanse. I really hope those two keep writing together after they finish the last Expanse book.
As someone who likes their SF a little more gritty, I might also recommend checking out Simmons, Donaldson, Hamilton, Morgan, Vinge or Reynolds. All my favorites.
I suggest Dune. It's fast paced, great story and has enough philosophy to keep you thinking and relating to the real world.
If you like historical fiction, check out some Bernard Cornwell. Agincourt or the Archer Tales are great
fiction: recruiting posts
non-fiction: our record
You made a pretty good funny there
The Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian. 20 novels set around the Napoleonic wars with the action based on ships logs from the Royal navy. I like to say that they are a bit like Jane Austen meets Horatio Hornblower. You do have to be able to read over some highly detailed sailing terms, especially in the first few books, but if you're not bothered by ignoring some of that, these are fantastic. The movie Master and Commander I believe had action from a few of these, and is named after the second (?) book.
A friend recommended these when I was at law school at Michigan. I have since read them all twice, and am looking forward to reading them all a third time. Oh, and I know almost nothing about sailing!
I have read the entire series twice as well. The first time I read them, I tore through them so fast, I missed some of the detail. Though they are fiction, they are loosely based on actual events. Beyond the sailing adventures, the author does a very nice job of putting you into the culture of the time.
I read a little fiction in my younger days, mostly Steven King. But even in high school I've always preferred non-fiction, figuring that if I'm going to spend time reading I may as well learn something. But you can also learn lessons from fiction, so I have to keep that in mind! In any case, one of the very best books I've ever read - and I've read it three times, now - is Catch-22, by Joseph Heller. If you haven't read it, read it.
It has everything a book can provide - serious comedy, slapstick comedy, war, drama, sadness, intense tragedy, thrill... It's a fantastic story of interconnecting parts. Do yourself a favor, read Catch-22 if you haven't done so.
I think I'll add it to my reading list, again...
I think the last non-Hardy Boys work of fiction I read was Zugzwang, by Ronan Bennett. That was pretty good, if you like chess and pre-Revolutionary intrigue.