I loved the first two Hyperion books too, and also felt like the Endymion entries were not up to the standard of the Hyperion books, but still good.
Kind of soured on Simmons though when I found out he’s kind of a right-wing Islamophobe anti-PC crusader. It shows through pretty noticeably in his two-book Ilium series.
On the other hand, in his book The Terror, that doesn’t come through at all and I really liked it.
I guess maybe this recommendation suffers from the same problem as American Dirt (the author is British), but I thought it was awesome. It takes on capitalism, global warming, and human migration (among other themes) in a really impactful way. All pre-Trump too. I can’t imagine what he would have written post-Trump.
Currently reading The Orphan Master’s Son which won the Pulitzer for fiction in 2013 and I gotta say it’s fantastic despite being very “simply” written (for lack of a better word). I don’t want to give anything away but it takes place in North Korea and is supposedly based on the best information we have about what life is like there.
Finished reading Atwood’s Alias Grace. Man, Margaret Atwood in her prime is just phenomenal. One of the best reads I’ve had in a long time.
It’s easy to forget how far ahead of her time Atwood was. Handmaid’s Tale came out in 19-dickety-85. That shit is 35 years old and it’s still relevant.
When you read LotR did you really enjoy the military/battle side of things, or the worldcrafting type stuff? It could be both of course, but I would have different recommendations based on your answer.
If you want to just start with something generally accessible and in the fantasy genre with a good mix then The Magician by Raymond E Feist is probably going to be a good one to check out.
If you want some military sci-fi stuff then check out Red Rising by Pierce Brown. He is writing something like book 6 at the moment and it is some fast paced action which apparently is going to get turned into a tv series.
For something more military fantasy then probably my favourite book series ever is The Codex Alera by Jim Butcher. He basically tried to cross Pokemon with Roman military history. Ive never got into Pokemon but the general gist is people in this world gain “Furies” based on different elements and can use them to control/manipulate water/wind/fire/earth. The first book is called Furies of Calderon.
The Mother Hen is pretty well addicted to anti-Trump books, so I get to read the hand-me-downs. It’s probably unfair to call The Fifth Risk strictly an anti-Trump book, but Lewis definitely makes the case that Trump is THE LAST PERSON IN THE WORLD you would want to respond to a pandemic.
So many good fiction books out there. It really depends on what kindof fiction you like and I can give you some good recommendations.
One of my all time fav sci-fi’s is: house of suns . My only complaint is that it took me a few chapters to get into it, but after that it’s really really good.
For more fantasy-type stories: I really like the Cradle series by Will wight (but it’s unfinished)
For finished series I’d suggest Robin Hobb’s amazing writing. (Starts with the Farseer trilogy)
I have many more recommendations but this would become a huge list, so I’ll leave you with one more: Mother of Learning
This is very helpful. You have a distinct taste. Let me give this some thought.
If you have any time to wander around Amazon or Goodreads, let me know if you see any book descriptions that you DO like. Find one or two that make you think oh damn, that’s something I’d love to read.
Okay to look at descriptions for books you currently love. Still helpful if you say well I love this book but this description sucks for these reasons. No wrong answers. Just trying to narrow down the particulars of your taste. This is fun for me.
The prosecution laid out a cockamamie case that would never convict someone in a million years, including bus drivers remembering specific passengers on a specific night, and it turns out to be what actually happened? Like I get that it’s just a crafty writing device or whatever but I thought that whole thing was dumb and unbelievable enough that it pulled me out of the story.
What did you think about the characters in Gone Girl and Girl on the Train? Are there types of characters you prefer to live in? For example, I enjoyed Gone Girl, but I generally despise Gillian Flynn books because I find her characters to be insufferable. Just not to my taste at all.
Whereas I adore Shari Lapena and Peter Swanson psychological thrillers with despicable but compelling characters.
Trying for the third time to get into reading on my Kindle. I think the key is to not compare eReaders to paper books, but instead think of them as their own thing.
I’m not sure if you would enjoy Peter Swanson. Psychological suspense comes in lots of different subgenres. Pete writes domestic thrillers, so it often is about husbands and wives. But YMMV given he is that good a writer.
For Shari Lapena, start with this one for a story I think you’ll like. This one is more like Murder on the Orient Express. If you enjoy her style, then try the rest of her books.
If you’re in the mood for something with some head exploding twists but is also super literary, give this one a shot.
