Great Books

[Pandora 77]

Oooh I thought of a good book. The Crucible by Arthur Miller... even though it's a play... but it's still awesome!

[Radioactive Isotope 29]

OMG! i LOVED that one! it's one of the best i've ever had to read for school. now we're on The Scarlet Letter, and it seems to be pretty good so far.

[Ender 8]

Steel My Soldier's Hearts by David Hackworth. Fantastic book about Vietnam...

[TheUnknown 39]

The Crucible is awesome. Have you seen the movie with Winona Ryder? It's one of the few movies that are better than the book.

[Pandora 77]

Yeah, we watched it in class. I especially loved the end where John, Rebecca, and Martha are praying. That was cool.

And I thought it was ironic how the girls ran out into the water, considering they drowned witches. Not in Salem, but in other places.

[Ender 8]

Drowned witches? Pod, are you in the book? :p

[Radioactive Isotope 29]

i read a book called The Egypt Game a long time ago and really loved it. these kids start an Egyptian club just for fun and start "praying" to ancient Egyptian gods and then get kinda freaked out when things start happening. The Shadow Club was also really good. it's about the nerds and geeks of the school getting even with the popular kids. a few of us can probably relate, no? :p

[Chickenman 9]

3 Military Sci Fi Novels I've read in the past 2 years and enjoyed:

"Starship Troopers" by Robert A. Heinlein- A classic of science fiction, which just proves that "classic" doesn't automatically mean stellar. Completely different from the film, and the film is actually a parody of it. It's the book that really started military sci-fi as a genre. It introduces some very interesting elements, but when the troopers aren't in Basic or OCS or on the fields of battle, it's VERY dry. The story actually takes a backseat to Heinlein's political views, and he imagines his own personal utopia for his characters to play around in. The principal thing that people attack the book for is that Heinlein's future government only allows those who have worked a year in the government's service are eligible to vote. This doesn't exclusively mean the military, as is often accused, and actually starts to make sense for a second before you snap out of it. Anyway, it's an interesting book, but doesn't deliver the promises its legacy makes. The movie and especially the television series are much better.

?The Forever War? by Joe Haldeman- Is referred to as the liberal answer to Starship Troopers. That isn?t the case. This is simply a work by soldier who fought for his country in Vietnam, getting wounded doing so, unlike Heinlein, who spent a couple years in the navy during peace and never saw a shot fired in anger in his life. Rather than glorify war, as in Starship Troopers, Haldeman tries to illustrate the heavy costs of war. The battles are pretty good, and some new interesting technology is explored. But where the book really shines is during peace time. I?m not usually a fan of books that play with time travel or aging, (*cough*end of Ender?s Game*cough*) but this one uses it as a metaphor for the experiences of a Vietnam Veteran returning to America. As the main character moves from battle to battle at the speed of light, he doesn?t age while the rest of the galaxy does. At the end of his tour, he returns to a completely alien society to him, one that he simply cannot grow accustomed to. So he returns to the one place where he does still fit: the military. Again and again. Beautiful exploration of veteran?s alienation and psychology. Probably the best book in this list and certainly worth reading, especially so we don?t make the same mistakes with today?s veterans as we did with Vietnam?s.

?Armor? by John Steakley- My personal favorite work of fiction. Steakley steals a lot of concepts from Heinlein, but is able to actually succeed with them. Armor is gritty, if unrealistic, as the main character turns out to naturally just be a kickass supersoldier. Still the best action of any of these books, and another great psychological book, though this one explores the emotions of a man who is already psychologically damaged. He wants to die, but his survival instinct turns him into a berserker that can?t seem to be touched by the enemy. Incredible book.

My reviews are way too long.

Edited July 19, 2008 by Chickenman

[TheUnknown 39]

Pssh. My reviews on Epinions are prone to hit 1700 words. BTW, Chicken, you should write some on Epinions.

I keep hearing good things about The Forever War.

[Chickenman 9]

I've thought about it, as I really tend to overanalyze things.

But yeah, the Forever War is great. I don't remember the actiony parts as being particularly awesome, but the rest was really really good.

[Chickenman 9]

So the other day John Kerry recommended The Forever War to Hilary Clinton during her confirmation hearing, as a book she should read to understand the situation in Iraq.

...

[Emperor Fel I 0]

Definitely Flight 116 is Down, The Eagle Has Landed (by Jack Higgins), Animal Farm, and Star Wars; Fate of the Jedi: Omen (Pages 206-207 in the hardcover edition were the greatest pages in Star Wars history!).

[Princess 35]

Welcome to our group Emperor Fel 1. Stop on by the Cantina for a free drink.

[Ladysade 0]

Vampire Academy ( 1-6 though the sixth book dont come out till later this year and i've yet to read book 5 )

1. Vampire academy

2.frost bite

3.shadow kissed

4.blood promise

5.spirit bound

6. the last sacrifce

then all 7 books of mister harry potter

and the sookie stackhouse series < THEY ROCK! >

Obessed by ted dekker ( its a holocaust fiction book , its LIKE AMAZING ..it one of those books that the end makes you wish there was more)

um...

Cut ( cant remember the author )

Crank/glass by ellen hopkins.

impulse by ellen hopkins

daughters of the moon ( a 13 book series but its a great read..)

two china towns by Dan Mahoyne ( something along those lines )

and i could go on and on and on forever

[Chickenman 9]

So the other day John Kerry recommended The Forever War to Hilary Clinton during her confirmation hearing, as a book she should read to understand the situation in Iraq.

...

I don't know why i posted that. The Forever War is fantastic.

Obessed by ted dekker ( its a holocaust fiction book , its LIKE AMAZING ..it one of those books that the end makes you wish there was more)

You wish there was more...Holocaust? :p

[James the Defender 7]

:rofl:

Best book I've ever read is The Bible, and for practical reasons, not just spiritual.

Well, it's actually sixty-six books. But the central theme runs through all sixty-six books and it is in perfect harmony. Thirty-seven plus authors wrote the books that comprise it over a span of about 2,000 years. (Conversely, three authors in a nine-book Star Wars series can't keep it straight over three years) It's a book that provides practical advice for problems, how to deal with others, how to handle money, etc. It's quite a practical book.

Books I absolutely hated: Star Wars: NJO: Destiny's Way and the Dark Swarm Trilogy. Destiny's Way was awful. The plot moved jerkily. The characters were flat, and

the speed with which the Yuuzhan Vong were defeated at Ebaq 9 was atrocious.

I hated what Troy Denning did to the view of the Force in the Dark Swarm Trilogy. The whole point of the NJO was to get the Jedi to a new level of understanding, and in three books, he completely destroys it!

Edited June 2, 2010 by James the Defender