Official JC Book Review Club: Fiction...has moved.

I've recently decided to upgrade my education and general knowledge, so I am attempting to go back and read several "classics" including Farenheit. I haven't read it yet, but I plan to soon.

 

Farenhiet 451 has got to be the strangest book I've ever read. good book, but strange.

while you're expanding your horizens: anything by Heinlein, Herbert, and Dumas.


(kiss my sig, Gryffindor! )

 

I saw that but I wasn't gonna comment. There is a reason Slytherin's symbol is a snake


yeah, I want to read some Dumas, and Joyce.

 

I saw that but I wasn't gonna comment. There is a reason Slytherin's symbol is a snake



and that leads to another 4 books to put on everone's book list: Harry Potter Series.

(how can you not love Draco? He's the most mis-understood evil guy ever! )

[I'm going to buy another set of them, a box set this time. The best deal I've found is $45 for all four. is there a better one?]

 

Draco is a bigot. There is no good in that, IMHO.

 

who said there's good in it? He's the mini-evil guy in training. He's like the school bully. And he really doesn't have much of a choice about what he does. His father's a Death Eater, God alone knows about his mom Narcissa. He's practically grown up evil. And he's got two bodyguards following him aroun that probably report back what he's doing. He tries so hard, but his father doesn't really listen to him. Lucius spoiled him. I wouldn't be surprised if in the end, Draco ends up switching sides.

 

Well, J.K. is so good at twists, I wouldn't count out the possibility, but we should probably save the further debate for Diagon Alley.

As for some other books, has anyone read the recent Dune prequels? I saw that House Corrino just came out. Anyone read the latest yet?

I have read House Harkonnen and House Atreides. Frankly, I was a tad let down by the second prequel, but I did thoroughly enjoy the first one.

 

The prequels screw up canon. Paul is the same age as Feyd in Dune, but not in the preqs. And what's with Katya and the kid? I was disappointed on a whole with the books.

 

I'm probably fortunate (or unfortunate as the case may be) in that I had only read the original Dune and that was years ago. I enjoyed trying to figure out what pieces led to where in the original story. It was fun to see how the Baron ended up so nasty looking too.

 

Another vote for The Martian Chronicles...I've read them five or six times, and I still love it.

How about Neil Gaiman's new novel, American Gods? It's very...Neil Gaiman, and it certainly helps if you go into it knowing a bit about ancient gods, but it really has a fascinating plot...

 

Among the authors on my "NEED TO READ" list are Bradbury, Asimov, Joyce, and Huxley.

 

Has anyone read the Dark Tower series by Stephen King?
Its amazing. He mixes fantasy, sci/fi and horror incredibly. I know lots of people have preconcieved ideas about King, but he is one of the best authors I've ever read. The first one is The Gunslinger and its the shortest and probably the strangest so far. Hes written 4 over the past 20 years and plans on writing the remaining 3 over the next 2 years.
I also recomend The Stand and The Talisman. I just started Black House, sequel to The Talisman and I can't put it down. Whats really cool about the Kings books is that many of them are connected to each other through the Dark Tower.

 

I just finished reading "Girlfriend In A Coma" by Douglas Copeland. It is good. Lot's of hidden Smiths references.

 

We are reading Animal Farm in english right now, it's already so much better than the other crap we had to read.

 

I absolutely love The Stand. One of my absolute most favorite books. I love the mix of supernatural and sci-fi and "modern day".

The characters are vivid and the story is immense in scope.

 

Amen to that. It's an amazing story.

 

The Dune prequels were readable, not as good as the original but as good or better than Dune Messiah,Children of Dune and God Emperor of Dune(I haven't read Chapterhouse Dune and enjoyed Heretics of Dune, The explanation for why Jessica chose to give the Duke a male heir against the wishes of the Bene Geserit was something that was worth explaining as was the origins of the Barons disease.But IMO they did in some ways have a similar result as the Star Wars prequels in that they have made their respective universes smaller in the attempt to tie everything together.

The Douglas Adams books are all great LOL books the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxyis IMO the best humours sci-fi. Last Chance to See has some great moments, and a couple of lines that I still quote years later.

 

I've been wondering what another good fantasy book to read would be. Unfortunately, all my other options where way to mystical for me. All the "magic cards" and stuff weren't to my liking. So any suggestions?

 

The copy of Hitchiker I bought is a beautiful, leather bound, gold leaf edition with all of the stories in the one volume. Love those books.


I see your perspective on the Dune prequels, but I'm not sure I necessarily agree with it making the universe "smaller". It seems to me that it adds to the mythic nature of the story. After all, most if not all great myths are led by "destiny" or a series of coincidences to create the critical moment where the hero chooses his fate.

 

Well, I went and did it again. I picked up a book that has every piece of fiction Mark Twain ever wrote, and I also bought Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, and Brave New World Revisited.

I just started reading the Two Towers (book two in the LOTR series), after finishing the Non-fiction (The WOman Who Laughed at God).

Anyone else read anything good lately?

 

Has anyone here read "The Killer Angels" or "The Last Full Measure" by Michael Shaara and his son Jeff?

 

reading Narcissus in Chains, the latest Anita Blake book, by Laurell K. Hamilton. Great so far!

 

Killer Angels is outstanding, but I don't like his son's books as much. Killer Angels covered 3 or 4 days, the Gods and Generals, Last Full Measure, and the books on Mexican War and Revolutionary War all cover months or years. They're all good, but only Killer Angels was really brilliant. I also love the movie Gettysburg, which is based on Killer Angels. Outstanding movie.

By the way, to find my book reviews, go here. I read more than I review; I've found that for the past several months I haven't had time to review often.

 

I just finished Black House, by Stephen King and Peter Straub.
While the writing was excellent and it contributed a few golden pieces of the Dark Tower puzzle, I found parts of it painful and disgusting. It was incredibly dark and bloody. It involved a child eating murderer and if it wasn't conected to the Dark Tower I wouldn't have read it.
So if you are obsessed with the Dark Tower series, like me, go read it. But not if you have a weak stomach or want to sleep at night.

 

Are all of King's books connected to Dark Tower? Or does it just seem that way.