 | George Bernau
 |
Promises to Keep: An interesting speculative history book in which
the author imagines what might have happened had John F. Kennedy
survived the assassination attempt in Dallas. The ideas the author
presents are well conceived and feel "possible" or even "right";
you never feel as if you're reading "alternate history". The
biggest drawback to the book is that the pacing and writing style are
both a bit slow. |
|
| William F. Buckley, Jr.
| The Blackford Oakes novels.
These novels are set primarily in the late-50s and early- to mid-60s and
involve Cold War espionage. Many readers may be surprised at how
enjoyable Buckley's writing style is. Those who expect purely dry
academic storytelling will be in for a real treat. His dry wit comes
across wonderfully in these novels. It is also a real hoot to read
fictionalized conversations involving the Kennedy brothers from a
conservative voice like Buckley's. I highly recommend reading these
books in the order written (although some of the later novels actually
take place out of chronological sequence). Other titles include: _____
(coming soon).
 |
Saving the Queen: This is the first of the Blackford Oakes
novels, one of the best, and a great (and obvious) place to start. |
|
|
| John Case
|
The Genesis Code: This thriller was just that: thrilling. A few
great action sequences are very memorable. |
|
| Tom Clancy
| The Jack Ryan novels (including
the John Clark novels). Clancy is the king
of the modern thriller. His plots are big and complicated. Some people
are turned off by the depth and detail, but that is part of what keeps
me coming back. The books have not been written in chronological order,
but I recommend reading them in chronological order (with the exception
of Without Remorse, which I believe should be read immediately
before Rainbow Six). I have listed the books below in the order
that I believe they should be read. If you're not sure if you want to
read the whole series, then start with The Hunt for Red October,
Clancy's first book and, to this day, probably his best. Without
Remorse and Rainbow Six focus on one of the principal
supporting characters of the Jack Ryan novels (Jack makes cameo
appearances in both books) with Without Remorse serving as
the "origin story" of that particular character.
The Teeth of the Tiger takes place several years after The
Bear and the Dragon and introduces Jack Ryan's son as one of the new
main characters.
|
|
Red Storm Rising: A chilling look at what World War III might have
looked like. The book feels very dated now that the Cold War is over;
nevertheless, it remains an exciting story and the sequence in which an
American aircraft carrier comes under heavy attack remains very
memorable (even chilling). Note that Red Storm Rising is not a Jack Ryan
novel, notwithstanding the claim to the contrary on the cover of a recent
re-publication of the book. |
|
| Clive Cussler
| I fell in love with the Dirk Pitt
novels when I read Raise the Titanic! (the book was published
third, but is the fourth
in the series). Please ignore the movie of the same name. Seriously.
Don't go there. Anyway, Dirk Pitt is,
essentially, a cross between James Bond and Indiana Jones. Each of the
books starts with an event in the past (often, the very distant past)
and these events will eventually tie in to a threat to the world today.
Pitt's wise-cracking is as sharp as the best Bond movie. The plots are
often very farfetched, but who cares...they are fun! Make no
mistake: Clive Cussler does not write literature and his works probably
won't be discussed in the halls of academia in the next century.
However, there is probably no better writer to help a long airplane ride
pass more quickly. The best novels in the series are Raise the
Titanic, Treasure, and Inca Gold, although most of the
rest are still pretty entertaining. One quick word of caution. Clive
Cussler also has two other series (the NUMA Files written with Paul
Kemprecos and the Oregon Files written with Craig Dirgo [now replaced by
Jack Du Brul). My guess is
that Cussler plots these books while the other authors handle the actual
writing. While these other books are okay, they are not even close to
the caliber of the Dirk Pitt novels. Only read these alternate series
after you've finished the Dirk Pitt novels, and then only if you really
love those books. The NUMA Files are written very much in the style of
the Dirk Pitt novels; unfortunately, Kirk Austin simply isn't Dirk Pitt.
The Oregon Files (only two books so far) are more like an episode of
Mission: Impossible (at least the first book was; the second book was a
study in logistics). |
More coming soon... |
