Jasn's Recommended Reads -- Volume 1

Since I am a VERY avid reader (2 books a day at times), I figured I would start giving a few recommendations for you guys in the hopes of possibly exposing you to books you may have never had the joy of experiencing.

Note: I am very much against giving away the plots of books, therefore I will keep my language in describing them very vague.

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The "Odd Thomas" Series by Dean Koontz:

The stories of Odd Thomas (yes, that's his full name), a young man who sees ghosts and helps them resolve problems they faced in life. While the ghosts can't speak, they also help him see problems to come in the hopes that they can be prevented. Odd is joined by a nice cast of characters including the love of his life Stormy (who believes this life is boot camp for the next), Elvis and others. Warning: You may find yourself flying through these books and anxiously awaiting the next installments.

Titles:

"Odd Thomas"
"Forever Odd"
"Brother Odd"


"Meg" by Steve Alten:

What might happen if a 60 foot Megaladon was discoved still living in the planet's oceans?

This book should be especially appreciated by the Cryptozoology buffs. It is a very easy and quick read and should provide you with a nice bit of entertainment. You may find yourself engulfed in this one before you even realize it.

It is followed up by "Meg: Primal Waters", however, I have not read it yet and I will report on it when I do.



"Cell" by Stephen King:

This book is a personal favorite of mine. Being as diehard against cellular phones as I am, I couldn't help but find myself relating well to this book. Personally, I read it as a commentary more than a work of fiction.

A "mishap" causes those exposed through their cellular phone to become mindless instruments of violence. The story follows a small group of strangers that must band together to avoid those that are affected as they make their trek to safety.

Stephen King's books sometimes have a habit of becoming a bit too long winded and hard to read (a problem he admits himself), however, "Cell" does not suffer from that little problem. While it is a bit long, it is a very quick and addictive read.


"Deception Point" by Dan Brown:

While "The Davinci Code" garnered all of the attention, I personally find "Deception Point" to be a better book. While TDC was a GREAT book, I was drawn in a bit better by the fast paced writing and and constant turns in DP.

If you enjoyed "The Davinci Code" and "Angels & Demons", you will almost certainly love "Deception Point".

What would be the ramifications if a multi-ton asteroid was discovered in the Arctic that contained PROOF of extraterrestrial life? All this, and more, is covered in this WONDERFUL novel.



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Well, that's it for today. Perhaps some of you can give these books a read and gain a bit of enjoyment from them like I did.

I shall return later with some more recommendations.


If you do indeed read any of these (or if you have read them in the past, please feel free to leave your comments and/or suggestions here as well.



Thanks,
jasn

Jasn, I had no clue....
A Dean Koontz fan..WOW!
I have read EVERY book by him.He is my fav author of all times.
John Saul is a close second.

Two very good books I read recently-
Aftermath, by Charles Sheffield (Doomsday scenario...best I've ever read)

Ghoul by Brian Keene (author of The Conqueror Worms) It is a horror novel.Very well written.
2 books a day? my gosh.I can read one 400 page novel in a day, if it interests me. Not many authors grab my attention.I cannot read King, or Grisham, or Anne Rice...etc....They just don't grab me and pull me in as a reader.

I loved Deception Point.

It was almost as good as DaVinci, and not nearly in the same league as Angels & Demons; but it was a very good book. Fast paced, edge of your seat action, and a great conspiracy angle involving high ranking officials in the American government.

When I begin to read, I read a lot.

Of Brown's "big three", I read Deception Point the quickest. I was doing some traveling when I picked it up, so I had plenty of time to read it. But I finished it in less than 24 hours. It was in the evening when I picked it up, and by lunch time of the next day I had finished. DaVinci and A&D both took me a couple days to finish.

Great recommendation here.

Did you read Digital Fortress?

"Deception Point" by Dan Brown:

I read it in one night while on vacation this summer.
I loved it.

reply to post by chissler


Indeed. I read all of Dan Brown's books in less than a day.

"Digital Fortress" was also a very engrossing book. I was saving it for later recommendations.

Dan Brown has a gift for writing, I hope he NEVER gives it up.


Jasn

Edit: Perhaps that should say "each" of Dan Brown's books in less than a day haha. I could, in no way, shape or form, not have read ALL of his books in one day.



[edit on 11-11-2007 by SimiusDei]

You read Digital Fortress, DaVinci, Deception Point, and A&D all in one day?

That would be... interesting. Err... each one took less than a day? That would make more sense.

I was overly disappointed with Digital Fortress, to be honest. It was good, but it wasn't Dan Brown good. Some may see it as a positive, others may see it as a negative, but when you set the bar so high; readers will come to expect the same brilliance each and every time.

I just went to the kitchen to fetch the book that I was reading a few months ago, but have not managed to get back into yet. Oddly enough, it was lying next to Deception Point. My current read that I desperately need to get back into is, "The Book Of Fate" by Brad Meltzer.

[edit on 11-11-2007 by chissler]

Damn me for being mister negative if you must but i'm not a fan of Dean Koontz, Stephen King or Dan Brown. Formula writers imo.

*Ducks the flames.*

I mostly read SF and Fantasy novels from the 40's and 50's and some recent select SF and Fantasy authors. I have a soft spot for the Romantic era authors as well, great gothic horror.
Two books that i just finished reading are "The Algebraist" by Iain M Banks and "The Praxis" by Walter John Williams, both very good if you like SF i would highly reccomend them..

I would probably devour a minimum 3-4 books a week.

Sorry. for not likin' your picks.

mojo

reply to post by mojo4sale


To each his own, right mojo?


Not everyone likes the same things, especially when it comes to literature.

Though, I do have a question.

What do you mean by calling them "formula writers"? I have a good idea what you mean, but since I happen to disagree with that idea, I figured it best to ask before saying why I disagree hahahah.




Jasn

reply to post by SimiusDei


I should say i have enjoyed some of Stephen Kings and Dean Koontz's books. Mostly their earlier stuff. Watchers and Sole Survivor (DK) i enjoyed. And i read all the Gunslinger series, i loved Talisman (written with Peter Straub), The Stand and Tommyknockers(SK).

After that, well i can honestly say i got about 1/2 or 2/3 the way through all of their other books that i tried to read and without exception pretty much knew how they would all end.

By formula, i dont mean that in a disparaging way, because they are both very successful at what they do.
An example of a formula story imo is Star Wars, it is the classic Western. Its just that the location, the plot twists and the characters have been adjusted to fit the mould to make it interesting to a different set of fans.
I think Stephen King and to a lesser extent Dean Koontz for the most part follow a familiar pattern in their story's as do their characters, in fact there is a lot of crossover with King's characters dont you think. I think Stephen King has even admitted to that. Not a bad thing i just dont enjoy it.

If you havent i would highly recommend reading Iain Banks (non SF) and Iain M Banks (SF) as an example of a writer who i dont believe has a formula that he adheres to.
Not a lot of authors are successful at switching between genres because they generally are not able to adjust to the different style and prose required and the plots and formula's for other genre's are very different. I have thouroughly enjoyed all the books he writes whether SF or not. Where as after reading a number of King and Koontz novels i find myself easily distracted.
Again thats all just my opinion and i'm no expert.

Now i know your going to say that Modern Science Fiction is very much a formula driven art too, particularly the space opera's, and i agree. Thats why i dont read them much and stick to a lot of the older SF apart from Banks.

I've only tried to read 2 Dan Brown novels and never finished either of them.

mojo

I have to admit that I was very disappointed with the two Odd Thomas sequels. The first book was outstanding and while the premise was not original Koontz made it work very well.

The second two seemed like a watered down version of the first. Brother Odd had some suspenseful moments but the ending to me was kinda flat. And the Elvis as a ghost routine got a bit stale.

reply to post by AugustusMasonicus


Really? I enjoyed Elvis as a ghost.

It's funny (and at times sad) to see him as Odd seems him.


Jasn

reply to post by SimiusDei


Don't get me wrong, I did find it amusing but after awile it grew old. But c'mon, Elvis digging for boogers? I hope this doesn't happen with Frank as well, I might have to pay Mr. Koontz a social visit if it does........

[edit on 18-11-2007 by AugustusMasonicus]