Book recommendations. (with one rule)

[Heronblade]

Strangers by Dean Koontz. Several people across the nation suddenly begin to experience a wide range of mental issues, from somnambulism to fugues. Their only connection is an odd fascination with the moon, and one stay at a particular motel.

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. Probably the funniest book about the Christian apocalypse you may ever read. The horseman known as pestilence retired years ago muttering about penicillin, the antichrist gets swapped for the wrong baby, and a particularly hated highway interchange near London turns out to be literally infernal.

 

[Lazier Than Thou]

I've been trying to find such books as well. I got royally sick of unending stories and having to wait months and months and months just to get the next in a series of books is horribly annoying. Freakin' Dresden Files, makin' me want to read.

Damn that Jim Butcher and him being able to write awesome captivating stuff! And Changes ends with the worst cliffhanger of all time. OF ALL TIME!

You're aware of Ghost Story, right? http://www.jim-butcher.com/books/dresden

Also, the next one should be coming out sometime soon(as in, this yearish?) It's been driving me mad.

Oh, and the end of Ghost Story? Called it. I can't say how I did without ruining it, but it's a good one. Side Jobs is pretty good, too, but you don't have to read it before you read Ghost Story. There's some interesting stuff about Murphy right after the end of Changes, though, so I'd definitely suggest reading it.

 

[DoPo]

I've been trying to find such books as well. I got royally sick of unending stories and having to wait months and months and months just to get the next in a series of books is horribly annoying. Freakin' Dresden Files, makin' me want to read.

Damn that Jim Butcher and him being able to write awesome captivating stuff! And Changes ends with the worst cliffhanger of all time. OF ALL TIME!

You're aware of Ghost Story, right? http://www.jim-butcher.com/books/dresden

Also, the next one should be coming out sometime soon(as in, this yearish?) It's been driving me mad.

Oh, and the end of Ghost Story? Called it. I can't say how I did without ruining it, but it's a good one. Side Jobs is pretty good, too, but you don't have to read it before you read Ghost Story. There's some interesting stuff about Murphy right after the end of Changes, though, so I'd definitely suggest reading it.

Yes, I have all the books + Side Jobs + Welcome to the Jungle + the RPG. That doesn't change the fact that Changes had the worst cliffhanger in history. And I had to wait more than year for Ghost Story. More than a whole year! Damn, Jim Butcher, just damn.

 

[Esotera]

Best reason for suspension I've ever seen on here.

The Wasp Factory, Iain M. Banks - A highly disturbing novel that follows the daily life of a person in Scotland with several mental problems. Really makes you feel sick inside with all the cruelty that happens, but it's a very gripping read & I finished it within a night.

The Chrysalids, John Wyndham - Society undergoes a nuclear war & a large proportion of humanity have weird mutations, but religion dictates that mutants must be hunted down and destroyed. The book follows 9 mutant children in their struggle to stay undetected.

The Hacker Crackdown [http://www.mit.edu/hacker/hacker.html], Bruce Sterling (available online) - An account of hackers from the 19th Century up to the beginning of the 90's, along with the birth of digital rights & some very interesting court cases. Has barely aged at all, and is an excellent read if you're into non-fiction.

 

[Lazier Than Thou]

Yes, I have all the books + Side Jobs + Welcome to the Jungle + the RPG. That doesn't change the fact that Changes had the worst cliffhanger in history. And I had to wait more than year for Ghost Story. More than a whole year! Damn, Jim Butcher, just damn.

Oh that's a kick in the teeth. I got in right as Ghost Story came out, so I've only been gnawing my arm off in suspense since then.

I like long stories, but this is getting pretty ridiculous. Jim Butcher had better take care of himself, because if he dies of a heart attack before I see what happens next I'm going to kill myself just so I can meet him in the afterlife and hurriedly beg him to know what's going to happen next and then beat him to within an inch of his afterlife for dying before he could publish it.

 

[swolf]

World war z and/or the zombie survival guide by Max Brooks. If you like zombies, those are must reads.

 

[DoPo]

Jim Butcher had better take care of himself, because if he dies of a heart attack before I see what happens next I'm going to kill myself just so I can meet him in the afterlife and hurriedly beg him to know what's going to happen next and then beat him to within an inch of his afterlife for dying before he could publish it.

You're being too nice. I'll just take up necromancy. I'll invent it, if need be.

 

[deathbyoatmeal]

Catch 22 by joseph heller
one of the funniest books ever written but also has a lot of hidden depth

 

[Devil_Worshipper]

Gun, with occasional music - Johnathan Lethem
The Terror - Dan Simmons
Choir of Ill Children - Tom Piccirilli
The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart - Jesse Bullington
Hunter's Run - George R.R. Martin, Gardner Dozois, Daniel Abraham

 

[Trivun]

Hi there Escapist, I like reading. A lot. I just don't have anything to read right now. So I've come to you for book suggestions. Yes, this is a 'recommend me a _________' thread but sharing good books is never a bad thing.

So what is the one rule? The book has to be a self contained story. No trilogies or series. One book, one story. It isn't that I don't like long series, I just want something that starts and finishes superbly without any of the usual bullshit cliffhangers in order to drag on the series. I expect this thread to sink fast so I'll bookmark it and check it out later.

Cheers friends, I'm curious to see what you suggest.

[sub][sub][sub]If I am suspended by the time you read this, it was by request as I need to get a job. Yes I need to get suspended by request to leave these forums alone, I have an addiction.... <.<[/sub][/sub][/sub]

I realise that technically this is part of a series, but as each book in the series is a stand-alone one and this is the first in the series for maybe a century or so, I feel perfectly justified in recommending it. The House Of Silk. It's the latest Sherlock Holmes book, written by Anthony Horowitz, and a fitting tribute to the old books by Conan Doyle. Not to mention it's confirmed as 100% canon by the Conan Doyle Estate, the first book since the original stories to be considered official canon to the mythology.

Otherwise, The Soddit is fairly old but a very funny parody of The Hobbit, and I'd also give a special mention to Freakonomics if you don't mind non-fiction, for an interesting and funny take on the economics of real life and society itself .

 

[chadachada123]

Hi there Escapist, I like reading.

Then you'll love John Dies at the End, by David Wong.

It's horror-comedy, which is ridiculously hard to find in today's literary world. It's awesome.

 

[DionysusSnoopy]

Since people have mentioned Gaimen and Pratchett any of their books are awesome.

I recommend Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaimen its a great read and i found incredibly funny; it satires the christian idea of the end of the world

 

[Gizmo]

More of an author, Chris Ryan. Every single book that I've picked up and read that he's written I've loved.
HE does have some series in the process I believe however he has a lot of single novels that are great reads.

 

[Nouw]

2001:A Space Odyssey. Yes there are sequels but you'll miss nothing if you only read the first one. Watch the film as well if you can. It is amazing.

 

[Deathmageddon]

Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand. It inspired Bioshock!

 

[Dethenger]

Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson. I think a sequel is plausible, but the story is certainly standalone.