What books you would recommend? Let's hear what you enjoyed and why. Here's a few from my shelves:
FICTION
'Metro 2033', by Dmitry Glukhovsky - from which came the games. Set in the Moscow metro some time after a nuclear holocaust. Much better than I'd expected, and the first game seemed to hold very true to the book's plot - I've not yet read the follow-up books (2034 and 2035). I read the book after playing the game, which didn't seem to hurt the experience.
'World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War', by Max Brooks - from which came the Brad Pitt film. A book about how the world was taken by the zombies, and how the survivors fought back. An absolutely superb book, way better than the film, and one that makes a number of very clear points about current morality and values. I saw the film after reading the book, and was a bit disappointed, but I guess Hollywood requires a central hero in a flowing narrative.
'Transition', by Iain Banks. Set in a world with infinite parallel worlds, awash with power struggles and danger. A good read, and not over long nor, as some of his latter books felt, smug and bloated*. Although lacking the 'M' tag I'd say this book is very much in the style of William Gibson, and is an exciting and enjoyable read. It is not a 'culture' series book.
FACTUAL
'Racing Through the Dark: The Fall and Rise of David Millar, by David Millar. A very interesting insight in to the bad old days of professional cycling where doping was the norm, and those who didn't were eyed as fools. Told by the first professional cyclist to attract a million Euro per year contract who ended up in disgrace and in jail.
'The Tour According to G: My Journey to the Yellow Jersey', by Geraint Thomas. A fascinating insight into team Sky and the life of a modern professional cyclist. Very well written, and in parts hilarious, offering a great insight into what makes such athletes 'tick'. Easy to read, in short snappy chapters. (Honourable mention for his earlier 'The World of Cycling According to G' - in some ways more interesting for being a more rounded history.)
'Among You', by Jake Wood. A brutal and harrowing insight by the author of his time serving in three tours as a TA soldier, the scars they inflicted and and the battles he faced upon his return to an unconcerned civvy street and dismissive army.
* I am a fan of Iain M Banks, but I really didn't enjoy some of his later works.
FICTION
'Metro 2033', by Dmitry Glukhovsky - from which came the games. Set in the Moscow metro some time after a nuclear holocaust. Much better than I'd expected, and the first game seemed to hold very true to the book's plot - I've not yet read the follow-up books (2034 and 2035). I read the book after playing the game, which didn't seem to hurt the experience.
'World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War', by Max Brooks - from which came the Brad Pitt film. A book about how the world was taken by the zombies, and how the survivors fought back. An absolutely superb book, way better than the film, and one that makes a number of very clear points about current morality and values. I saw the film after reading the book, and was a bit disappointed, but I guess Hollywood requires a central hero in a flowing narrative.
'Transition', by Iain Banks. Set in a world with infinite parallel worlds, awash with power struggles and danger. A good read, and not over long nor, as some of his latter books felt, smug and bloated*. Although lacking the 'M' tag I'd say this book is very much in the style of William Gibson, and is an exciting and enjoyable read. It is not a 'culture' series book.
FACTUAL
'Racing Through the Dark: The Fall and Rise of David Millar, by David Millar. A very interesting insight in to the bad old days of professional cycling where doping was the norm, and those who didn't were eyed as fools. Told by the first professional cyclist to attract a million Euro per year contract who ended up in disgrace and in jail.
'The Tour According to G: My Journey to the Yellow Jersey', by Geraint Thomas. A fascinating insight into team Sky and the life of a modern professional cyclist. Very well written, and in parts hilarious, offering a great insight into what makes such athletes 'tick'. Easy to read, in short snappy chapters. (Honourable mention for his earlier 'The World of Cycling According to G' - in some ways more interesting for being a more rounded history.)
'Among You', by Jake Wood. A brutal and harrowing insight by the author of his time serving in three tours as a TA soldier, the scars they inflicted and and the battles he faced upon his return to an unconcerned civvy street and dismissive army.
* I am a fan of Iain M Banks, but I really didn't enjoy some of his later works.
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