Advice on strong fiction

[pablo_marmol]

Hey all - I've been very much in an escapist mode lately, and have been finding comfort in re-reading my Frederick Forsyth novels. I'd pursue Tom Clancy next, but I've read that his conservatism reveals itself in his writing.....and I'm not sure that I'd enjoy that. (Feel free to share your opinions on this.)

As you can tell, I enjoy intrigue - but will be open to any/all suggestions for fiction books that won't exacerbate my already depressive state. So if you can share with me your favorite fiction authors and why you enjoy them, I'd greatly appreciate it. I'm not much of a science fiction fan - but don't hesitate to attempt to sell me on good sci-fi works!

Thanks in advance ---- PM

[Scuba]

1. Robert Crais "Elvis Cole Mysteries". Start with "The Monkey's Raincoat".

If you like Forsythe you may like Ludlum too.

Here's a couple sites that may also be useful. Good luck.

http://www.literature-map.com/

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/

[pablo_marmol]

2. Thanks, Scuba!

I'll start with Crais!

[Scuba]

3. You're welcome. I like Crais' older work a lot. YMMV.

[RebelOne]

4. Anything by Stephen King if you like horror and suspense.

Unfortunately, his books are on the sci-fi side. But he is far from a conservative.

[pablo_marmol]

5. Thank you, RebelOne --

--I've read his early stuff, but his newer work - not so much. Any recs?

[Aristus]

6. My personal opinion, divorced from his political views, is that Clancy's writing is boring.

Obviously not everyone feels that way. But I just about fell asleep trying to read The Hunt For Red October. Which was disappointing, because I found the film riveting.

If you want escapism, with an emphasis on military hardware, try some of Harold Coyle's novels. They are interesting and fairly well-written. They have the added benefit of Coyle's history of military service, whereas Clancy was a standard stay-at-home right-wing chickenhawk. I enjoyed Team Yankee, which is about M1 tankers in a hypothetical war with Russia. The Ten Thousand is a modern-day re-telling of the story of Xenophon's ten thousand hoplite warriors. I never really got a sense of Coyle's politics from the novels I read.

[Ohio Joe]

7. George C Chesbro

His Mongo series of books are great detective fiction with a sci-fi bent to it. Plus, they are under consideration to become an HBO series starring Peter Dinklage. They can be a bit tough to find but are well worth it. See here for more info:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10375847

[MicaelS]

8. Jim Butcher - The Dresden Files

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

14 novels, plus 1 collection of short stories. Novel 15 (Skin Game) comes out in May. Butcher has promised at least 5 more novels in the main series, plus a "Big Apocalyptic Trilogy" to end the entire series. He has done some serious research into myth and legends of the supernatural, and put them into these books.

David Morell, the creator of Rambo.

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

Don't let Rambo put you off. He isn't some RW nutjob. His early '90s books, are especially good.

1990 Fifth Profession
1991 The Covenant of the Flame
1993 Assumed identity
1994 Desperate Measures

Peter F. Hamilton - Night's Dawn Trilogy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night%27s_Dawn_Trilogy

Three very long novels. Each one about 1,200 pages. If you buy them in paperback, each novel is split in two, so you have to buy six books. There is also A Second Chance at Eden which is a collection of prequel short stories set in the Night's Dawn universe.

The sprawling narrative deals with a far future where humanity struggles and wages war against past souls flooding back into the land of the living via possession (Al Capone and Fletcher Christian are among the returnees). Hamilton's future is expansive and primarily optimistic, with huge sentient space-cities that can closely resemble a natural Eden. He extrapolates on current trends concerning the blurring of technology with biology, and environmental devastation. Poverty, sexual exploitation and cruelty are prevalent in Night's Dawn civilizations, and the coalition opposing the Possessed are faced with a difficult choice: they cannot destroy them without also killing their host bodies.

The souls of dead human beings return from the Beyond to forcibly possess living human beings, and it is not some sort of trick, or illusion. One of the most fully realized futures ever. Enormous details and cast of characters. Some of them quite evil. (Hitler does NOT appear) Living, sentient starships and space colonies, bio-engineered humans, and some really alien aliens. Some very explicit sex scenes. Takes a while to get going, but once it does, wow!

Highly, highly, highly recommended.

[kairos12]

9. Try "Red Sparrow" by Jason Matthews

It is his first book and a very good one.

[Paulie]

10. Richard K Morgan and Scott Sigler

For Morgan, Altered Carbon, Broken Angels, Woken Furies

For Sigler, Infected, Contagious and Pandemic.

[First Speaker]

11. Escapist? Try some of the classics...Sherlock Holmes, The Three Musketeers, Dickens...

...just lose yourself in another world...

[trof]

12. Two words: Elmore Leonard.

Anything by this man.
Trust me on this.

[pablo_marmol]

13. Wow! Thank you Aristus, Ohio Joe, MicaelS, kairos12, Paulie, First Speaker and trof!!

Last edited Sun Mar 16, 2014, 12:15 PM - Edit history (1)

I was in classes all day the last couple of days so sorry for the late response.

Tomorrow I DANCE into Barnes & Noble to start what will be a good-sized book-buy......as I plan to trust all of your recs. and grab 3-4 books at a time.

Thank you all SO MUCH for your warmth in responding!

Be well, all -- and if anyone wants to add to this list I have absolutely no issue with taking more recs!