Book Recommendations

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midnightblink
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Book Recommendations

#1 Post by midnightblink »

I've been thinking about making this thread for a while, and right now seemed very opportune since I've been reading a lot lately. Basically how I was thinking it could work is you put the name and author of a book you recently read here (or just want to show to others), and below that, you would give a basic plot summary, a short review of the book, and a final score, so like this:

We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson

Plot: A young boy named Henry Denton has been abducted by aliens for most of his life, much to the ridicule of everyone in the town he lives in who don't believe him. He comes from a broken family with a father that left him soon after his first abduction as a child, a mother who spends her days drinking and smoking, an abusive brother, and a grandmother who has Alzheimers. His boyfriend, Jesse, committed suicide a few months ago, and his new boyfriend is an abusive bully that is in the closet and openly mocks him when in front of his friends because of it. One day, the aliens reveal something to him: the world will end in 144 days, but they can save it if Henry presses a button before that day. It is then Henry's job to decide whether humanity deserves to be saved, or decide what he should do with the last days of his life.

Review: I actually enjoyed this book quite a lot. One of my favorite things for authors to do is to keep the fantastic element of the story (in this case, the aliens) understated, and I think this author found a really good balance with that, with Henry only being abducted 3 or 4 times over the course of the almost 500 page book (usually less than 10 pages per abduction as well). Instead, the story focuses on Henry's struggle and the character development of him and the people around him. His brother in particular has a VERY powerful character arc. It is VERY nihilistic and depressing throughout most of the book, with Henry often commenting on the futility and unimportance of life when compared to the vastness of the universe, and Henry often having to deal with very sad events such as witnessing his grandmother lose her memory, getting assaulted, almost getting raped, and dealing with the after effects of Jesse's suicide (just to name a few), but I think that makes those rare moments when another character gives him a reason to live through his deeply traumatic experiences even more powerful. Also, as someone who is bisexual, I really enjoyed how sexuality was a very understated topic. Most books that have a gay main character LOVE to shove that fact right in your face, as if that fact alone should increase your opinion of the book, but in this book, the characters' sexualities have almost nothing to do with the conflicts in the book. To my mind, I think they only SAID the word "gay" once, as humorous deconstruction as to why Jesse might have committed suicide ("maybe he couldn't reconcile the fact that he way gay with his belief in God"). One complaint I do have about the book is that Henry brings up Jesse a little TOO much, and often repeats the same things when talking about him. That might be realistic for someone dealing with the grief of a loved one committing suicide, but as neither I nor anyone I know personally have ever experienced something like that, it kind of feels like padding. None the less, I still think it's an amazing book and there were a couple times when it made me shed a tear or two

I give it 9 alien abductions out of 10
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ReBob
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Re: Book Recommendations

#2 Post by ReBob »

Millennium series, by Stieg Larsson (continued by David Lagercrantz*)

Books:
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Girl who Played with Fire
The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
The Girl in the Spider's Web*

Plot summary: In Sweden, Mikael Blomkvist is an investigative journalist at the titular publication, Millennium. His career is in trouble though. Usually thorough in his work, he has made a mistake with libel and it might cost him his career. During this turmoil, he's approached by the wealthy tycoon of industry Henrik Vanger. He says he wants Blomkvist to write a biography of the Vanger family, but in reality solving a 36 year old murder is the real job. Joined in this job by the brilliant hacker Lisbeth Salander, an introverted social outcast, the race is on.

Review: When I started reading these, I didn't know what to expect. I knew it was set in Sweden, was about a hacker and a journalist, and that was it. I ended up devouring them, confusing Swedish names and all. The original trilogy of books are each interwoven and connected, and they even end in a satisfying way too I feel. The stakes get larger, the situations get more dangerous, and it all explodes into a finale that closes the chapter on these books nicely.

Then the fourth book starts, and you see a glimpse into what happens after the story ends that we're usually not brought into as readers. I'm currently still reading this one, but even if it's written by another author, he has done pretty well at keeping the characters consistent. In fact, they're more human than ever. At about halfway through, the plot hasn't paid off much of anything yet (that's how these are I feel, lots of build up to an exciting climax), but what's here is tantalizing to me.

Rating:
Overall - 8/10
Book 1 - 9/10
Book 2 - 8/10
Book 3 - 8/10
Book 4 - 7/10 (unfinished)

---

Wild Cards series, edited by GRRM & Melinda M. Snodgrass (written by a lot of people)

Books:
22 titles since 1987, a 23rd coming out soon, of anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels by around 30 authors.

Plot summary: Wild Card, the virus that changed everything. On the day of September 15th, 1946, Jetboy sacrificed his life in an attempt to stop the plot of Dr. Tod to release the then-believed release of a germ bomb thought by Tod to be a leftover from WWII. Only, it wasn't human in origin. And it didn't stop there. Released into New York City, and eventually world wide, the name is derived from its unpredictable characteristics of the virus to rewrite DNA. 90% lethal, the remaining 9% suffer debilitating, crippling, or socially stigmatizing changes. 1%, who remain human or mostly human, gain a superhuman ability. Jokers and Aces. Those Aces whose power is useless or trivial are known as a Deuce.

Review: I've only read the first three books so far, but what I've seen has been rather compelling to me. The series was started by comic fans at a time when comics weren't "gritty" or "dealt with in an adult manner", and it definitely comes through that this isn't a world of fantasy where the heroes win and the villains lose. They're presented as real people, with real flaws, real mistakes, and the consequences are more concrete. The range of Ace powers and Joker changes are pretty neat too.

Rating:
Overall - 8/10
Book 1 - 8/10
Book 2 - 7/10
Book 3 - 9/10
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Re: Book Recommendations

#3 Post by Insomniac »

Stephen King's magnum opus series The Dark Tower is of course a good read, as are many of his other books (which have characters appearing in The Dark Tower). Also, if you're into modern supernatural stuff, the Kitty Norville series by Carrie Vaughn. Absolutely love those books. Haven't read them all yet, but the series is finished. Each book is a self contained story, with each set of four being an arch of sorts in itself, and a strong overarching story between all of them.
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Re: Book Recommendations

#4 Post by TheFrozenSlime »

First off, a quick thanks for making this thread, because it reminded me that a book that I've been waiting for was finally released and I forgot all about it >.<

Anyway, the book: Into The Storm (Destroyermen Series, Book 1)

Plot Summary: Pressed into service when World War II breaks out in the Pacific, the USS Walker—a Great-War vintage “four-stacker” destroyer—finds itself in full retreat from pursuit by Japanese battleships. Its captain, Lieutenant Commander Matthew Patrick Reddy, knows that he and his crew are in dire straits. In desperation, he heads Walker into a squall, hoping it will give them cover—and emerges somewhere else. Familiar landmarks appear, but the water teems with monstrous, vicious fish. And there appear to be dinosaurs grazing on the plains of Bali. Gradually Matt and his crew must accept the fact that they are in an alternate world—and they are not alone. Humans have not evolved, but two other species have. And they are at war. With its steam power and weaponry, Walker’s very existence could alter the balance of power. And for Matt and his crew, who have the means to turn a primitive war into a genocidal Armageddon, one thing becomes clear. They must decide whose side they’re on. Because whoever they choose to side with is the winner.

Review: (point of notice: I'm not good at writing reviews, so bear with me). I first found this series while on vacation in 2013. I saw the cover, read the summary and it looked interesting, so I got it. And boy, am I glad I did. It is, in the words of the author, “'Alternate/Historical/Military/ Sci-Fi,' but even that’s not a perfect fit." I love alternate history and sci-fi, and this fits the bill in a way that no other book I've read has. I also think that the people who browse this forum and like those genres would like it, because you could make the argument that the "two other species" mentioned in the plot summary are furry. The series itself is currently 11 books long, and still has more to come. I would also point you toward the author's comments on the the setting (warning: spoilers)

So overall, if you like alternate history, military, and/or don't mind furries, then I highly recommend this series. 10/10.
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Re: Book Recommendations

#5 Post by Samantaz »

Time Riders, by Alex Scarrow

Plot : Liam O'Connor should have died at sea in 1912. Maddy Carter should have died on a plane in 2010. Sal Vikram should have died in a fire in 2029.
Yet moments before death, someone mysteriously appeared and said, 'Take my hand . . .'
But Liam, Maddy and Sal aren't rescued. They are recruited by an agency that no one knows exists, with only one purpose – to fix broken history. Because time travel is here, and there are those who would go back in time and change the past.
That's why the TimeRiders exist: to protect us. To stop time travel from destroying the world . . .

Review : Time travel is a thing that always attracted me. It's between sci-fi and reality. In these books, we're following the life of a small crew, named "the time riders". Each book is a story about a travel the crew did, somewhere or sometime. The story is written in a way that makes you feel how the characters live, everyday. From the different links that are created during all this time, and all the question these guys are asking themselves (they don't know why they were rescued), I felt empathy for them every time they had issues or anxietes (time travel isn't a safe thing).

Rating : 10/10


PS : I readed that in french so the writting style can be different from the original version (english).
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