There are so many excellent books out there worthy of discusion that I never really know how I can write about just one. So I thought I would just write a line about a few of the very best in different genres - and this is by no means all of them!
Fantasy
The Lord of the Rings (Tolkien)- what can I say? Brilliant! (that's the best I can say about a book) It's quite Catholic if you get into details.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians (Riordan)- Brilliant conception, great writing, can't wait for the sequel. The series is about a modern boy who discovers he's a greek demi-god.
The Belgariad (Eddings)- Brilliant characterisation and a good story. Without the characters it would just be a good book, as it is it's incredible.
Science Fiction
A Wrinkle in Time (L'Engle)- Brilliant! Quite different, but I empathise with Meggie. An exploration of ideas like the 5th dimension combined with a perceptive view of a geeky (?) teen.
I, Robot (Asimov)- No, it's not just a movie. Stunning book. Interesting to note that Asimov doesn't use much humour.
Christian Fiction (I'm not into romances, so these could be in the previous categories)
Dragonspell (Paul) -Excellent book, I like the imagery. It's allegorically without being syrupy. Good story.
The Cosmic Trilogy (Lewis)- Well, Lewis is probably my most respected author. Interplanetary travel introduces Ransom to the heavenly beings. It gets very dark towards the end as well as plain confusing, but has a solid story line. Very thought-provoking.
The Chronicles of Narnia (Lewis again)- I've read them about a million times, starting from age 4. They're like comfort food except good for you.
Those are the best that spring to mind now. Tomorrow I'd write a different list. I haven't put my favourite classics down, for instance. I'll extend the list another day.
If you like standard formula fantasy also check out Robin Hobb and Terry Goodkind.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'll try them as soon as I have time to get hooked...
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