Book Reviews

This list is in the order in which I read the books. Series books are grouped together, rather than being separated. Most of these can be found at www.Amazon.com or at your local library.

  • A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin – If you like high epic fantasy, read this book and then keep going until you finish all the existing books in this series (A Song of Ice and Fire). A word of warning, don’t get attached to any of the characters. The only negative thing I can say about these books is that only the first three have been published at this point. The fourth book is expected in late 2003.
  • A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin – Book 2 of A Song of Ice and Fire
  • A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin – Book 3 of A Song of Ice and Fire
  • Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury – What a creepy carnival!
  • Hannibal by Thomas Harris – Sequel to The Silence of the Lambs, I personally thought the ending of this book was a phony “made to be a movie” ending, that didn’t have anything to do with the characters. I could see the screen fade to black in my mind’s eye, then fade back in after 10 years have passed and the characters act like they’ve been replaced by aliens for the last chapter. (As a note: I refused to see this when it was made into a movie, although I have been told that they did change the ending.)
  • 1984 by George Orwell – Big Brother combined with chemical mind and mood control, if you aren’t dull you aren’t a true part of society. Don’t read this if you want to be in a good mood when you finish.
  • Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone by J. K. Rowling – Harry Potter’s first year at school. If you read any of the follow on books (which I have), I’ve really enjoyed “watching” the author evolve in her writing style.
  • Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets by J. K. Rowling – Harry’s second year at school.
  • Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling – Harry’s third year at school.
  • Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire by J. K. Rowling – Harry’s fourth year at school.
  • Harry Potter And Order of the Pheonix by J. K. Rowling – Harry’s fifth year at school.
  • Dune by Frank Herbert – If you saw the movies, I’m sorry. I really enjoyed the book a lot more than any of the movies.
  • The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas – I really enjoyed reading this book. I actually finished reading this book at one of my favorite places, the beach. I’m very glad that the entire story was available when I was reading it. The book was originally published as a serial column a chapter at a time. The up side of that being that the chapters are contained and the beginning of each new chapter begins with a short recap to catch up the reader. No the movie didn’t follow the book exactly, but I enjoyed both of them.
  • Catch 22 by Joseph Heller – Damned if you do… Damned if you don’t…
  • The Neverending Story by Michael Ende – Light fantasy and a lot of fun in my personal opinion. I love the way it was written as a book within a book. The first time I read this book, I checked it out from the library down the street from my parents house. Their copy was hard bound and the print was done in different colors (black and red if I remember correctly) to let you know which book you were reading, the story about a boy reading a book, or the book itself.
  • Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett – If you like crazy fun in a Sci-Fi world. I fun laugh.
  • Steel Beach by John Varley – Read it, not a huge fan…
  • The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara – A really incredible look at the Battle of Gettysburg
  • Weaveworld by Clive Barker – A world hidden within a tapestry in order to preserve it.
  • The Black Company by Glen Cook – The tough mercenaries of the Black Company risk their lives and their souls as they set out to find the White Rose, a mystical figure who embodies the very essence of good.
  • Tartufe (in English) by Moliere – Fun and humorous
  • Watership Down by Richard Adams – Human nature as displayed from the point of view of the bunnies.
  • The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams – British humor, it doesn’t have to make sense to be funny. Mice rule…
  • Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk – By the same author as Fight Club. You see the ending before you are told the story, but then you are taken step by step to see how things came to be. If you want to learn tips for getting any type of stain out (mud, blood, wine…) this book is a font of cleaning how-to tips.
  • Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke – Aliens come and take over the Earth as benevolent overlords, controlling evolution of mankind.
  • Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson & Kenneth H. Blanchard – Need to make some changes and not sure where to start? An allegory about dealing with change as a positive part of life.
  • The Fellowship of the Ring (tLotR-1) by J.R.R. Tolkien – The book that started the whole genre of high fantasy. The movie is definite eye candy, even if they did leave out some scenes that I wish were included and the rewrote part of the beginning. I really liked the prequel scene that is shown before the book begins. Incredible.
  • The Two Towers (tLotR-2) by J.R.R. Tolkien – Incredible.
  • The Return of the King (tLotR-3) by J.R.R. Tolkien – Incredible.
  • American Gods by Neil Gaiman – Gods are only as real as people long as people believe in them.
  • Armor by John Steakley – A battle suits only respond to a single person. The wearers aren’t expected to live beyond a short number of encounters. For some reason this man doesn’t seem to be able to die. As veterans go, this on is beyond anything that has been seen. When the suit is found later (without) the owner, the person who finds it becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to the original owner.
  • Footfall by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle – Elephants who ride around using coconuts as wheels, this was interesting…
  • The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell – Ever wonder why some people seem to inspire others to follow them? This shows you 21 different strengths that those people may have, that draw people to them.
  • Wicked; The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire – the Wizard of Oz from the Wicked Witch of the West’s point of view. It was really interesting to see the story as told from a completely different point of view.
  • Coyote Blue by Christopher Moore – Gods and spirits are real. A really well written exploration of the beliefs of one man and the gods who are all around him.
  • King’s Dragon by Kate Elliott – The first book of the Crown of Stars series, there is a civil war erupting, nonhuman races are hostile and have begun attacking. There is a boy and a girl who seem to have a higher destiny…
  • Guns of the South by Harry Turtledove – How would the world be different if the South had won the Civil War?
  • I, Claudius by Robert Graves – A fictional autobiography, written by Claudius. Where Claudius seems to others as the crippled and weak, his grasp of his people and the politics which surround him make this a engaging read.
  • White Noise by Don Delillo – Jack Gladney is a nice guy, who happens to teach Hitler Studies at a small college. His wife is trying to be medicated to remove her fear. A fun satire of society.
  • Choke by Chuck Palahniuk – Grim humor written by a master. If you enjoyed Fight Club or Survivor by Palahniuk, you should enjoy this as well.
  • The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber – Run away! My opinion on this book can be found under Musing: March 20, 2003.
  • Jennifer Government by Max Barry – A good fast read, with a good deal under the surface. John Nike is a fun antagonist to despise. Much of the character development is alluded to, rather than described.
  • Stupid White Men by Michael Moore – A few of the chapters (two to be exact) are humorous when read completely removed from the rest of the book, but as a whole I did not like this book at all. If the word conservative could ever be used to describe your political leanings, I highly doubt you would enjoy this book.
  • Learned Optimism by Martin E. P. Seligman, Ph.D. – Challenges you to take a hard look out how your own thoughts contribute to your state of mind.
  • Watchmen by Alan Moore – A rather dark graphic novel. I did enjoy reading it. Ponders the question of when the needs of the many out way the need for truth.
  • Dream Park by Larry Niven & Steven Barnes – Jurassic Park meets a Choose-You-Own-Adventure Book, Survivor and Whose Line is it Anyway? The game master writes a scenario set in some time frame where the laws of physics, nature and magic are controlled by a set of rules. People vie for the chance to be among the first group to challenge the scenario and are led by guide who is experienced in live adventure and the rules governing the game. Points are awarded based on the actions of the group. As the group encounters different obstacles, sometimes the group is successful and sometimes the game personas of people are killed. If you like Role Playing Games (online or off) you would probably like this book.