Home Forums Miscellaneous Topics Movie, Book, and Music Review Looking for new authors...

All,

I�ll let you know what my favorite books are and those of you who are familiar with them, can get a sense of what I like�But what I�m looking for is new stuff.

Favorites:

1. Black Cross � Greg Iles
2. Point of Impact � Stephen Hunter
3. Red Storm Rising � Tom Clancy
4. Hot Springs � Stephen Hunter
5. Without Remorse � Tom Clancy
6. Sahara � Clive Cussler
7. Timeline - Michael Crichton


Greg Iles is about the best storyteller I�ve ever read. Spandau Phoenix and Black Cross were awesome�Only problem is, he switched genre�s after those and I�m not into his new stuff.

Stephen Hunters two trilogies on the Swaggers were awesome

I loved even the worst book Tom Clancy has written, so I�ve read and enjoyed them all.

Cussler � less realism, but a whole lot of fun.

Crichton � This guy�s just good.

I like international intrigue (Le Carre etc.) I like the techno thrillers a lot but there are few writers in that realm that I like.

I like good shoot-em-ups with cool characters (Swagger books from Hunter).

I�m desperate for a new writer so please tell me some names of writers I might like.

Have you read Robert Ludlum?

Try The Matarese Circle.

Rick

I've threatened to read Ludlum a few times, but I seem to forget him every time I'm in a bookstore. (My town doesn't have a bookstore, so I have to drive 1.5 hours to get to a bookstore.) Amazon is my friend.

Ira Levin
The Boys from Brazil

William Goldman
Marathon Man

Frederick Forsyth
The Odessa File

All good books that were later made into movies.

Of course, Puzo's Godfather

I gave up the genre years ago and switched to Classic Lit, but these titles remain in my memory as excellent reads.

Rick

I enjoy Wilbur Smith. Historically based fiction from Africa. It feeds my need to go back there at least.


SS

Rick,

That�s funny�I�ve read all of those and they were all outstanding books.

I�m starting to read some the classics as of late. Just finished reading The Count of Monte Cristo, which was long, but very good.

I like the Blackford Oakes series by William F. Buckley.

Crichton's Eaters of the Dead is one of my favorites, he can spin a yarn.

Not everyone's cup of tea, but some Sci Fi can be interesting. Against the Fall of Night and Robots of Dawn come to mind.

I enjoyed reading Dragon Hunter. Seems to be an accurate portrayal of Andrews, along with his faults.

John Sanford is a first-class writer of murder/thriller stuff; his Prey series are the best and there are a bunch of them.

W.E.B Griffin is excellent.

Wilbur Smith, of course. Fabulous stuff.

By the way, the most recent Gray's Sporting Journal had a standout article by Paul Fromm, entitled "Bison Bison." It's worth seeking out and reading.

Years ago, I bought a lifetime membership to Gray's and have regretted it. Mostly it's yuppie crap with absolutely no depth and even less understanding. The Bison article is the great exception. Beautiful.

Makes me almost wish I was still writing. (not really)

Steve

Gray's is not half the magazine it was when Ed and Rebecca ran it on their own. After subscribing since about 1989 I'm dropping my subscription. It's telling to me that they have not had a letters column in about three years. Not many would have good to say.

For the what do I read now in books take a look at any of the VInce Flynn books. http://www.vinceflynn.com/ real page turners

Have to agree on Gray's. I do like some of James Babb's earlier writings. His first book, Crosscurrents, is heads and shoulders above his last two. Ron Ellis (Cogan's Woods) is another that comes to mind, he reminds me of Harry Middleton.

Seems I've spent more time (and money) looking for older books on hunting and fishing. One can tell those guys didn't just write about it, they did it...

John Connelly

The first of his that I read was Dark Hollow. It was all right, but I felt like some of his characters were a little PC. Starved for new reading material, I got ahold of one of his other books and am now a fan. Every Dead Thing, Bad Men, and The Black Angel are all good reads.

Michael Connelly, likewise has a franchise with his Harry Bosch novels. I have yet to read one that is bad. You sometimes have to suspend your own politics though.

Richard Laymon writes novels that are probably best pigeonholed in the Horror genre. However they are somewhat more too. He is dead now. After reading a few of his works, it becomes evident that he started following a pattern of what worked. Some of his stuff is pretty gratuitous and amoral, but sometimes his writing borders on being very, very good. I liked A Night in the Lonesome October the best of all his books but there are others that are pretty good too.

If you haven't read the books of the Preston-Childs duo, you are missing a treat. Douglass Preston and Lincoln Childs have written some of the best thrillers I've ever read. Relic and Reliquary are both good books but I'd recommend you start with Cabinet of Curiosities, proceed to Still Life with Crows and then go to Dance of Death and Book of the Dead. These are must-reads.

Paul garrison is a modern author that writes about sailing and stories of life with a sea theme. Try Fire and Ice or Red sky at morning. Randy Wayne White has written some good stories also although his hero has evolved more than most would care to believe. Gianni

If your interested in older time period historical novels, both Dudley Pope and Bernard Cornwell do pretty good work. Pope has a series, "Ramage" that follows a British Naval Officer through his career in the RN during Nelson's time. Pope was also a prominent British Naval historian, as well as correspondent for naval and military matters for the 'London Daily News', and is the author of ten scholarly works in addition to his "Ramage" series. Some of these are available through the Naval Institute Press. The "Ramage" series is available from Amazon.

Cornwell has a number of series, most prominent of which is the "Sharpe" series, which deals with the only group of riflemen, the 95th and 50th Rifles, in the Napoleonic War. He's very accurate both historically and with his weapons knowledge, and weaves them into a very good read.

I'll second W.E.B Griffin. His Brotherhood of War and The Corps series are excellent.

Stephen Hunter is one of my favorites, I've read all his stuff except one or two of the very early books.

I also enjoy the William Johnstone books, specifically the INVASION USA series, and the ASHES series. They are perfect for reading on plane flights, etc.

I also liked the old Jerry Ahern SUVIVALIST series, what ever happened to him? Last I saw from him were some holster articles in the gun mags.

I assume you have read MARINE SNIPER by Charles Henderson? There is another great Sniper related book Called SHOOTER, about Jack Caughlin USMC Sniper in Iraq.

Ahern had a regular column in Gun World . I don't know what has happened to him of late, but I'm sure he's still active somewhere. He and his wife had at least one other series similiar to The Survivalist.

Older short outdoor stories, if you like them....Try Gordon McQuarries three books....Stories of the Old Duck Hunters, More Stories, and Last Stories....They are compilations of the stories he wrote back in the early 1900's about hunting and fishing in Wisconsin for The Milwaukee Journal and either Outdoor Life or Field and Stream....Pretty good read...

That explains it, I haven't bought a copy og GUN WORLD in years and years. These days my gun magazines generally consist of my subscriptions to GUNS, AMERICAN HANDGUNNER, VARMINT HUNTER, and AMERICAN RIFLEMAN.

What part of southern Kansas? I lived up there for many years, mostly in Derby but I spent a couple of years in Douglass too.

Try Lee Child. Action packed and pretty 'gunny'. His series stars a former MP, badass guy. Not super intellectual but entertaining.

Oh yeah, get the rest of Stephen Hunter's stuff already!

Dan C

Bernard Cornwell and his SHARPE series are excellent. Have you tried Military Science Fiction? Eric Flint and his 1632 series is very good. John Ringo has a new series out that starts with GHOST, the second is KILDAR and the third in the series is CHOSERS OF THE SLAIN. They are exceptionally well written and recommend them highly.

Warhawk, I live east of there. Allen county, west of Fort Scott.

Cool, I used to hunt up around Garnett, killed a monster buck up there about 10 years ago.

Gun Geek, early Steven Hunter novels, "The Master Sniper" and "The Second Saladin" are outstanding, and have a lot of depth (especially the first one.)

Hunter, as you probably know, is a film critic for the New York Times.

I tried some of his later work, but didn't enjoy it nearly as much..."Hot Springs," for one. And the one about the guy who shot the antlers off deer. Nah.

A perspicacious friend has recommended that I get acquainted with the novels of Tony Hillerman. I forgot to ask him for his advice on which one of Hillerman's many books to read first.

Any suggestions from Hillerman fans?

If you have interest in the Navajo way of life he is good. But while I enjoyed his early books in the Jim Chee-Joe Leaphorn line, the newer ones are not as well written IMHO. Try Skeleton Man or The Blessing Way. My eleven year old enjoys them, so I read them with him....

Thanks for the tips!

I've sent for both that you suggest, and the second comes in a volume with two of Hillerman's other titles.

I'm told that he lives in Albuquerque � about 150 miles NE of here. Wonder what he's like?

Hillerman wrote a memoir called Seldom Disappointed that chronicles his entire life....Pretty good book to get to know him....How did you end up in Quemado? My Dad has a reunion down there most every year....If you want the book and can't find it I'll send you mine...I read it...

Ordered a copy. Thanks for the tip!

Wanted to move SW. When a buyer offered me a good price for my dreary place in Montana, I came down here and found a place that I could afford, in an area where I hope that I can later afford a place that'll be suitable for the Powley Center.

There used to be an excellent gunshop in Garnett. Unfortunately, the old boy retired. Nothing there now that I can recommend. I live probably 23 or so miles south of there.

<ahem> Can't get any "newer"!

Yeah, Kev! Give Rocky's stuff a shot!

We scribblers hafta stick together!

(And Rocky's a pretty good egg.)

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Ok,

I feel like a big dork for not thinking about that one!! My apologies Rocky. Any chance I can get a signed copy of your book? PM me with the details�I await with credit card in hand.

Jerry Ahern was/is living in Commerce, GA. He is president of Detonics USA (Pendergrass, GA).

Read the first of Rocky Raab's books last night and started reading the second.

Recommended.

If you read 'em and don't like 'em, it's not Rocky's fault.

If you don't wonder how much of the books' "Rusty Naille" is our pal BTDT Rocky, you're reading in your sleep.