Here's one for the forum's literati...
I'm off for a very long plane journey shortly, so I'm looking for a book to keep me from getting bored.
Trouble is - I'm a very fast reader and have to force myself to slow down and enjoy the story! So, it's got to be a big book, and fairly
challenging.
My likes are fairly broad, but especially:
Sci-fi - as long as it's not too pretentious.
Fantasy - same as above.
Classics - as long as it's not War and Peace (far too boring).
If any of these can be combined with some good writing, wit and humour then I'll be a happy passenger.
Oh - it helps if it's still on the book-sellers' shelves (or Amazon, anyway).
LOTR?
What about The Hobbit?
Or maybe the Bourne trilogy (there is a fourth, but not by Ludlum and it's $hite)
[Edited on 8/9/10 by StevieB]
Tom Clancy Rainbow 6 is a nice chunky book. Writing is OK-ish if you like that sort of thing
Peter F Hamilton's Void trilogy, at about 800 pages per book, even I can't finish one very quickly.... science fiction with a bit of a
fantasy element, very good!
Chris
Love this book, strange, interesting and very well writing, and thick!!:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jonathan-Strange-Norrell-Susanna-Clarke/dp/0747579881/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1283957080&sr=8-1
Ken Follett The Pillars of the Earth is a really good book and has about 1000 pages if I recall.
quote:
Originally posted by mookaloid
Ken Follett The Pillars of the Earth is a really good book and has about 1000 pages if I recall.
D Day by Stephen Ambrose. Good, thick book, and a great write up.
Id take a few books that way you've got something new to look forward to every few hours (just in case your not enjoying the current book.
I'd suggest a few recentish terry pratchets.
I really enjoyed "to kill a mocking bird", still haven't finished "Catch 22" - i'm just sick of it jumping around the
timeline.
I've heard that "A Journey" by Tony Blair is an excellent fantasy.
There is only ONE book!
... and once you've read it - read it again!
Scootz - I've got that, and bought the sequels!
I should add that I've read
The Hobbit, and Lord of the Rings.
The Count of Monte Cristo - one of my favourite classics. How many other famous books include revenge killings, gruesome murders, and recreational
drug taking!
I've got, and read, all the Pratchetts (except the latest - and that's on order from Amazon).
Some good suggestions there - I shall investigate!
don quixote is a chunky book. cracks me up still.
Robert Harris "Pompeii" a Roman adventure story or the more serious "Imperium" and "Lustrum" dirty politics
in ancient Rome. All historically accurate.
Len Deighton "Winter" --- rise of Hitler told from the perspective of a Berlin family from 1899 to 1946
For something different "The Worms of Euston Square" by William Sutton. (cyber punk SiFi )
David Ashton "Fall from Grace", "The Serpent" and "A Trick of the Light" a Victorian detective in Edinburgh a bit
of a cross between Gene Hunt and Sherlock Holmes but with a streak of Calvinism and wry humour.
Or the "Falco" detective novels of Lyndsey Davis set in Imperial Rome.
I nearly forgot "Bomber" also by Len Deighton.
[Edited on 8/9/10 by britishtrident]
Illuminatus trilogy!
Troillus & Cressida would slow you down! But it's awful so don't.
'Pillars of the Earth' is a tremendous shout!
Try Piers Anthony's adept series..also his Bio of a Space Tyrant
Or Amtrak Wars by Patrick Tilley - another series
quote:
Originally posted by chrsgrain
Peter F Hamilton's Void trilogy, at about 800 pages per book, even I can't finish one very quickly.... science fiction with a bit of a fantasy element, very good!
Chris
challange you to read this linky
For history, combined with sex, action, murder, betrayal, retribution and final reconciliation - the Bible of course 
Try the asassin trilogy by Robin Hobb or A song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin, both cracking authors I first read the assasin trilogy back in 97 and im just rereading it as she has brough out a new series of books that very loosly link to it.
Neal Stephenson
A cerebral sci-fi/fantasy writer.
If you want a lengthy one try Cryptonomicon or Anathem.
Diamond Age, Snowcrash and Zodiac are also excellent, but shorter.
Jon
quote:
Originally posted by mangogrooveworkshop
challange you to read this linky
quote:
Originally posted by carlknight1982
Try the asassin trilogy by Robin Hobb or A song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin, both cracking authors I first read the assasin trilogy back in 97 and im just rereading it as she has brough out a new series of books that very loosly link to it.
) I'd normaly read the same sort of thing as you, but for something totaly different I'm quite enjoying this at the moment:
linky (you
can read the first couple of pages on amazon)
bound to be tough for you as its writen in scots
[Edited on 8/9/2010 by mcerd1]
im also a fast reader and also recommend hamilton and hobb but i have found it impossible to read any of stevn erikson's book fast. They are a really good read but the plots are complex and this seems to slow me down yet still really absorbs me. They are the only books that have had this effect yet i still want more.
agreeing with chrsgrn, any of the sets of Peter F. Hamilton (two trilogy's or Mindstar series). all excellent reading... keith
Viz, Razzle ?
quote:
Originally posted by mangogrooveworkshop
challange you to read this linky
quote:
Originally posted by Jon Ison
Viz, Razzle ?
quote:
Originally posted by JoelP
have you read the liveship traders trilogy by robin hobb? Excellent. If (when) i make a boat, its going to be called Paragon (since it will probably kill me
Lol Yup and the fool triology and the soildure son trilogy and the first too books of the dragon trilogy
great author
mad4x4 - 9/9/10 at 06:27 AMBooks called
EON by Greg Bear
followed by
Eternity & Legacy.
EON is a great SI-FI book but quantum physics will blow your mind. Have read it 3 times now and it gets better the more you think about it...
Or what about "HOMER" or some "WAR & PEACE" or other great classics
[Edited on 9/909/10 by mad4x4]
splitrivet - 9/9/10 at 09:19 AMShogun or tai-pan are both engrossing reads.
Cheers,
Bob
violentblue - 9/9/10 at 01:49 PMquote:
Originally posted by jonrotheray
Neal Stephenson
A cerebral sci-fi/fantasy writer.
If you want a lengthy one try Cryptonomicon or Anathem.
Diamond Age, Snowcrash and Zodiac are also excellent, but shorter.
Jon
about to suggest the same
Anathem by Neal Stephenson, thick and meaty sci fi reading. Diamond age was also a favorite.
Liam - 9/9/10 at 03:15 PMI'd suggest any of Iain Banks' sci-fi (published under the name Iain M Banks to distinguish it from his straight fiction). Great imaginative sci-fi and ticks your boxes for well written with wit and humour. Not at all pretentious. You'll occasionally get the impression you might be reading his own thoughts on religion, society etc, but commentary never gets in the way of the story.
They mostly form part of a series, although that's only because they are set in the same universe - the books stand alone well enough, though I'd still recommend reading them in order (or at least starting with the earliest couple).
First is Consider Phlebas which ticks your being long box, and is pure space opera. Personally I prefer the other books which generally have far more complex/sophisticated themes than straight space opera. My first read, borrowed off a mate was Player of Games which is the second in the series chronologically, and many fans consider the best one for an introduction to the author/series. Not very long though. Excession is my favourite.
Theres also a few totally stand alone books not part of the 'Culture' series which are all excellent too. My favourite of those is the most recent - The Algebraist.
scudderfish - 9/9/10 at 04:22 PMRichard Morgan - Altered Carbon, Fallen Angels, Woken Furies
A fantasic trilogy of books. Makes Blade Runner look like 'In The Night Garden'
Jasper - 10/9/10 at 02:39 PMquote:
Originally posted by Liam
I'd suggest any of Iain Banks' sci-fi (published under the name Iain M Banks to distinguish it from his straight fiction). Great imaginative sci-fi and ticks your boxes for well written with wit and humour. Not at all pretentious. You'll occasionally get the impression you might be reading his own thoughts on religion, society etc, but commentary never gets in the way of the story.
They mostly form part of a series, although that's only because they are set in the same universe - the books stand alone well enough, though I'd still recommend reading them in order (or at least starting with the earliest couple).
First is Consider Phlebas which ticks your being long box, and is pure space opera. Personally I prefer the other books which generally have far more complex/sophisticated themes than straight space opera. My first read, borrowed off a mate was Player of Games which is the second in the series chronologically, and many fans consider the best one for an introduction to the author/series. Not very long though. Excession is my favourite.
Theres also a few totally stand alone books not part of the 'Culture' series which are all excellent too. My favourite of those is the most recent - The Algebraist.
Yeah - totally with you on this one, it's just such a shame his regular books written under Ian Banks have got progressively more boring and unoriginal compared to his early works.
Love his Sci-Fi though ...
mookaloid - 10/9/10 at 03:09 PMHow about Wilbur Smith there is a whole series of Courtney novels some of which are very long.
Start with Birds of prey and read them in the order in which they were set...
i.e.
Birds of Prey 1660s
Monsoon 1690s
Blue Horizon 1730s
When the Lion Feeds 1860s-1890s
Triumph of the Sun 1880s
The Sound of Thunder 1899-1906
Assegai 1906-1918
A Sparrow Falls 1918-1925
The Burning Shore 1917-1920
Power of the Sword 1931-1948
Rage 1950s and 1960s
Golden Fox 1969-1979
A Time To Die 1987
then you can go onto the Ballantyne novels
A Falcon Flies 1860
Men of Men 1870s-1890s
Triumph of the Sun 1880s
The Angels Weep 1st part 1890s, 2nd part 1977
The Leopard Hunts in Darkness 1980s
The egyptian ones are pretty good too
River God
The Seventh Scroll
Warlock
The Quest
Should keep you going