Recommend me a book, thankyou!

[cameron94]

Hey,
could somebody please recommend me a book that is pretty simular to Boy Soldier series by Andy McNAB.
And could you recommend me a book that is popular that would get me into sci-fi?

Cheers,
Cameron94

 

[sparkchaser]

A popular book to get you into SciFi?

Personal favorites of mine are:
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke
Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke
Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson
Armor by John Steakley

These books are from the cyberpunk genre:
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
Neuromancer by William Gibson
Idoru by William Gibson
Count Zero by William Gibson

 

[Fantasy Moon]

Popular doesn't always mean better...

 

[cameron94]

Yeah, I know that. OK, ill rephrase that. What book would you recommend in my situation.

 

[Janet H]

OK - how about Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson.

It's set in various times and places, including the Pacific Theater during World War II, in England. Lots of interesting characters and some hero - type computer geeks.

 

[sparkchaser]

I was going to mention Cryptonomicon but I think Snow Crash and Diamond Age are more accessible. Cryptonomicon is long and that puts some people off. Also, it is contemporary and just barely, in my opinion, SciFi.

 

[angerball]

I've heard plenty good things about Cryptonomicon, but I just keep putting off reading it. :whistling: It just seems so long and heavy. I like a good long book, but I find it quite hard to get through the ones that are very heavy-reading. :sad:

 

[fluffy bunny]

Hey,
could somebody please recommend me a book that is pretty simular to Boy Soldier series by Andy McNAB.
And could you recommend me a book that is popular that would get me into sci-fi?

Cheers,
Cameron94

If you're looking at thrillers with spies, intrigue etc I'd have a look at some of Tom Clancy's older works (Cardial of the Kremlin, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger). IMHO he writes better than McNab even if his newer books are a tad more political.

What is particular did you like about McNab's Boy Soldier series? Steakley's Armor, Heinlein's Starship Troopers or Haldeman's Forever War would be good places to start if you wanted squad level action. If you were after characterisation, consider Ender's Game by OS Card or Bujold's Warrior's Apprentice. If it was the thriller element, there are quite a few techno-thrillers on the market including a few mentioned a few posts above in the cyberpunk genre and books such as Stevenson's Snow Crash and Richard Morgan's Altered Carbon (which personally I rate as average).

Anyway, difficult to narrow the field. Have a peruse through some of the books in your local library/bookshop and just dive in.

 

[jokewriter]

I just picked up Crypto-Nomicon yesterday and am stoked about reading it. I've read Snow Crash and it was pretty awesome.

Definitely would suggest the Ender series.

 

[KingPuff]

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

I second this. There are four books in the series, but I have only read the first two. It is one of my favorite books of all time, and I've read it three or four times.