What you reading?+favorite books/characters?

OwenM

OwenM

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Oct 26, 2000
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Looking over the books that I read, I find that aside from Dean Koontz(I've read everything he's ever published) less and less do I stick with a particular author, but more and more follow a series featuring the same character.
My current favorite series:
-Bernard Cornwell(these are all historical fiction based around actual events, battles, etc.):
Nate Starbuck, of The Nathaniel Starbuck Chronicles, a Yankee stuck in the South who becomes an officer in the Confederate Army. There will hopefully be one more at some time in the future. My dad has boycotted Cornwell until he finishes Starbuck's story:rolleyes:
Rebel, Copperhead, The Bloody Ground, Battle Flag.
Uhtred of Bebbanburg, of The Saxon Tales, the man ultimately(in a roundabout, and totally fictional sense) responsible for King Alfred gaining the throne of England.
The Last Kingdom, The Pale Horseman, Lords of the North, Sword Song.
Thomas of Hookton, of The Grail Quest Series, a young man whose quest for revenge and the return of a religious artifact turns into a search for the Holy Grail.
The Archer's Tale, Heretic, Vagabond.

-Michael Haig:
Sean Drummond, an ex-SF soldier turned JAG officer who handles sensitive cases including black ops, and issues of national security.
Secret Sanction, Mortal Allies, The Kingmaker, Private Sector, The President's Assassin, Man in the Middle
Don't have the first two, but the last four have all been great.

-Vince Flynn
Mitch Rapp, an ex-SF soldier turned CIA operative who goes around whacking terrorists with extreme prejudice.
Transfer of Power, The Third Option, Separation of Power, Executive Power, Memorial Day, Consent to Kill, Act of Treason, Protect and Defend.
Had to copy this list, as there's a couple I don't have...this thread is starting to get expensive for me:(

-Robert B. Parker
Jesse Stone, ex-homicide detective from LA takes a job as police chief of a small New England town(Paradise, MA). Asterick by the titles that are also movies-they star Tom Selleck, and are pretty good-actually, I LOVE this character and these movies. The last couple of books weren't as good as the first five, but I buy them all...
Night Passage*, Trouble in Paradise, Death in Paradise*, Stone Cold*, Sea Change*, High Profile, Stranger in Paradise.
Parker has also written the Spenser books that the TV series Spenser for Hire was based on-about 35 of them. Sea Change has played on TV, but is not out on DVD. Think it said it would be out next month when I pre-ordered it.

-Rober Ludlum
Jason Bourne, whose history is too complicated for me to even try to capture in a few sentences or even paragraphs.
The Bourne Identity, Bourne Ultimatum, Bourne Supremacy
Eric Van Lustbader has written a couple of addendums to this series, but they aren't nearly as good as the original trilogy, and are beyond unrealistic, especially trying to pass Bourne off as a sixty-something superman. The movies also bear little to no resemblance to the original novels, and pretty much suck, as well.

-Tom Clancy
John Kelly aka John Clark. Vietnam era ex-SEAL who starts out on the vengeance trail whacking drug dealers and pimps, and ends up being the CIA's go-to guy, and head of an international counter-terror organization.
I didn't want to spend the rest of my life typing this, so just copy/pasted this list, which also includes the novels featuring another character, Jack Ryan.
Without Remorse (1993) *
Patriot Games (1987)
Red Rabbit (2002)
The Hunt for Red October (1984)
The Cardinal of the Kremlin (1988)
Clear and Present Danger (1989)
The Sum of All Fears (1991)
Debt of Honor (1994)
Executive Orders (1996)
Rainbow Six (1998) *
The Bear and the Dragon (2000)
The Teeth of the Tiger (2003) **
Saved Tom Clancy/John Clark for last so I could throw in that Without Remorse is due out as a movie this year, and Rainbow Six in 2010.
I've long wanted to see Without Remorse made into a film, but am worried about how they'll hack it up, since there's at least 5 story lines going at the same time.

edit: can't believe I left out Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove series, with Gus McRae, and Woodrow Call in Dead Man's Walk, Comanche Moon, Lonesome Dove, Streets of Laredo. Just reread Commance Moon a couple of days ago.


Got some other authors I've started reading, like Nelson DeMille, and John Lescroart, but these are my favorite series.
I highly recommend all of these for any and all testosterone-driven macho men. These are characters we can relate to:D

So...what're you reading?
 
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I'm reading W.E.B. Griffin right now, By Order of the President. It's not bad...
 
i used to love clancy's work. then starting with clear and present danger, i found i had to take notes to keep up with the characters.

without remorse was very good. any word on who will be playing clark?



currently, i tend to read mostly non-fiction.

ive read black hawk down at least four times, and killing pablo twice (bowden).

col. dave grossman's books are fascinating: "on combat" and "on killing".

and for anyone interested in the beslan takeover, john gidduck's "terror at beslan" is a more than worthwhile read.
 
From what I've read, Clark will be played by Joaquain(sp?) Phoenix, the guy who played Johnny Cash in Walk the Line. I was kind of hoping for that Clive Owen guy who played in King Arthur and has the really cool last name:foot:

I've got some of Clancy's non-fiction military stuff, like Every Man a Tiger and Battle Ready, but they aren't something I often go back and reread for pleasure.

Beslan...was that about a school?
 
OwenM said:
From what I've read, Clark will be played by Joaquain(sp?) Phoenix, the guy who played Johnny Cash in Walk the Line. I was kind of hoping for that Clive Owen guy who played in King Arthur and has the really cool last name:foot:

I've got some of Clancy's non-fiction military stuff, like Every Man a Tiger and Battle Ready, but they aren't something I often go back and reread for pleasure.

Beslan...was that about a school?
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disappointing, i dont particularly care for phoenix.


yes, beslan is the middle school in russia that was assaulted by terrorists a few years ago.

there are also a few good documentaries with actual footage from the takeover. ultimately, speznatz (sp?) retook the school, though took severe casualties themselves.

i recommend it to anyone interested in military history, as you seem to be.
 
May have to check that out. I do like military history, especially when it's Vietnam and WWII era, and set in places my dad or grandfather actually were. My dad's name has been in a couple of books I've read that involved the 1/9th Marines in Vietnam, though just in the index, and I've got one of my grandfather's books on the fall of the Phillipines set aside to read. He was in the South Pacific, and later part of the cadre at the Army's Jungle Training school in Hawaii(I just recently found a pic online that I think is him dated 1943 and instructing H2H combat).

Mark, my dad collects W.E.B. Griffin(and probably a dozen other authors). I couldn't get into some of his books that I read, but liked The Corps.
Harold Coyle is another military fiction author that we both like. I reread Team Yankee and Sword Point a few weeks ago.
I only live about 12 miles from my parents, so my dad and I get to talk about what we've been reading, and swap books every week.
 
do you like stephen ambrose?

i really liked "band of brothers" and "citizen soldiers".
 
I just finished "All the Pretty Horses" by Cormac McCarthy this evening. I'm going to launch into "The Crossing" next.

I almost feel like re-reading Horses over again right away. The book seems so rich and full of ideas that I feel like I barely scratched the surface the first time over.
 
I am reading "Confederacy of Dunces" by Peter Kennedy Toole, along with some books on Eastern Philosophy.
 
I just finished Starship Troopers. Pretty good, much better than the book.

I have Kite Runner in my bag and will probably start reading it today during lunch.
 
Lee Child 's "Echo Burning" right now. All of his books featuring Jack Reacher are excellent, he's a badass.
 
Just finished up the Andromeda Strain a few days ago by Michael Crichton. Can't believe I just now got around to reading it.

Right now I'm working on the last book of the Gunslinger series from Stephen King. The Dark Tower VII. One of his best series IMO.
 
crichton is one of the best fiction writers out there.

his stuff is incredibly well researched, and the plots intricate, but not overdone.
 
Lee Child featuring Jack Reacher

Barry Eisler featuring John Rain

Daniel Silva featuring Gabriel Allon


All are great reads
 
I just finished "The Day of Battle, The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944" by Rich Atkinson -- the second volume of his WW2 history trilogy. He is an exceptional historical writer.

Favorite literary characters...

Augustus McCrae, Lonesome Dove
 
I'm a big Clancy fan but lately I have been hooked on Clive Cussler. Just can't seem to be able to put his books down. He is easy to read and keeps you wanting more throughout the entire book.Give him a try if you haven't already.
 
OwenM said:
-Vince Flynn
Mitch Rapp
-Robert B. Parker
Jesse Stone
-Tom Clancy
John Kelly
Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove series
Click to expand...

Read all of those series.
If you like the Mitch Rapp series try the Scott Harvath series by Brad Thor:
Lions of Lucerne
Path of the Assassin
State of the Union
Blowback
Takedown
The First Commandmant

kamkazmoto said:
Barry Eisler featuring John Rain
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Just finished The Last Assassin. Great read. John Rain is a great character. Going to go back and read a few of the earlier ones.

I read a lot. Upwards of 200 books a year. Currently I'm reading the Southern Victory series by Harry Turtledove. But I've also been bitten by South African fiction, so I started on The Quarry by Damon Galgut this morning.

For Crime thrillers I tend to stick with writers from Florida: Hiaasen, Randy Wayne White's Doc Ford series, James Grippando's Jack Swyteck series are always good reads.
 
I'm reading Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo right now.

I've tried to read it a few times, get a couple pages in and stop.
 
The many books co-authored by Lincoln Child and Douglas Preston are great - particularly the ones featuring FBI Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast. These are suspense thrillers on the macabre side; imagine Clive Cussler mixed with Dean Koontz or Stephen King. My favorite is Brimstone.

Nelson DeMille is good too. His books are cop thrillers that have tight plots and are written with very funny, dry humor. I especially liked Up Country, which is about a Warrant Officer/investigator sent to infiltrate North Viet Nam while investigating a crime that took place during that war.
 
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