2000AD Online "Recommend A Book Day"

[Quirkafleeg]

Yup, Bill the Galatic Hero, great stuff... but read the first one only and then stop.

Harry Harrison's books were what basically got me into sf in the first place (plus star wars and tooth)

The early Stainless Steal Rat books are great but after the prequal a Stainless Steal is Born diminshing returns sets in

The Deathworld Series is great pulp fun. And his short story collections are great too. Star Smashers of the Galaxy Rangers is one of the funniest books I've read.

And talking of funny books... Three Men in a Boat is the funniest book I've ever read. Set in early years of the 20th century three board blokes (plus dog)go on a boating trip up the Thames. Hilarity ensues. The first page had me laughing out loud in the book shop... and it's killer to read on the bus/train etc as you try to not look like an idiot bursting into guffahs every few pages.

[The Enigmatic Dr X]

I have a first edition Stainless Steel Rat.

Got it second hand for 10p, in very good nick.

Dunno what it's, but just thought I'd share that with you all.

[Dudley]

Poppy Z Brite certainly isn't to everyone's taste, and doesn't try to be.  For me, I'd swap the entire works of almost any other living American author for a single page of her dark, luscious prose.

The image of Brite that people holds does seem to depend on which facets of her work they've read.  For those who've only read Lost Souls, her first novel, Brite is another vampire revisionist, somewhat in line with Anne Rice.  Nice writing but nothing extra-special.  For those who know Drawing Blood, she's a horror writer who specialises in genre-busting, here crossing cyberpunk elements with Burroughsean characterisation and the traditional haunted house novel.

But it's Exquisite Corpse that really divides reader reactions.  The action concerns a thinly-disguised Dennis Nilsen breaking out of a British jail and fleeing to America.  There he falls in love with an uncaptured Jeffrey Dahmer, and together the two begin a campaign of slaughter against local teenage boys: the murders are described with a grotesque sense of sympathy for the killers.  It's certainly an immoral, or rather an amoral book: for me, this in no way diminishes the sheer quality of the writing, and therefore the power of the book.  
(Bizarre sidenote: it's the only book I can think of to contain no women at all)

Brite has now moved on from genre fiction to writing books that combine gay love affairs and cooking narratives.  I've just ordered one, but it won't get over from the States for another month: will let you know how it goes.

If you really can't decide whether this sounds good or not, do take a look at her website, www.poppyzbrite.com.  Also, if you can find the short stories "Calcutta, Lord of Nerves" or "Swamp Foetus", they're definitely worth a peek.  "Swamp Foetus" was published as one of those 60p Penguin Shorts a while back.

...Dudley

Link: http://www.poppyzbrite.com/proze5.html" target="_blank">Story 3/4 way down, titled "RIP", good.

[Endjinn]

Chuck Palahniuk is a literary genius. He's best known for Fight Club, but the rest of his books are equally, if not more, brain-burstingly good.

Personally I'd recomment Survivor (mad religious cults, people who can see the future, suicides and shoplifting) or Lullaby (cot deaths caused by black magic accidentally in a book of children's stories, so a journalist, an estate agent who specialises in haunted houses and a couple of new-age hippies travel around the USA to burn all the books).

[Richmond Clements]

On a slightly different theme.
I'm reading The Wee Free Men by Pratchett an the moment.
Pretty good, not his best.

[Priv8eye]

Ray Bradbury's Farenheit 254.

Tried to read it as a kid and gave up.  Read it again many years later and found it quite chilling as to how much of it is relevant today (if not true).

[Astrovoid]

The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian...
untouched, untainted Robert E Howard w/ DVD style extras.

[LARF]

Recommend:
Royal Robbins - Spirit of the age (about the famous mountaineer, the guy is an inspiration)
China Meiville - The scar (Genius)
Stephen Fry - Moab is my washpot
Anything by David Gemmell - 'cos i can pick this up at anytime and read a few pages, drop it and carry on, etc. etc. plus he's a good story teller

[rc]

Read AMERICAN PSYCHO.

Acid? Rat? Tube? Gone inside...?

[BulletMonkey]

Kil'n People - David Brin. Brilliant concept (a world where we can make temporary copies of ourselves to go and do all the stuff we don't want to), and a great detective story.

Quicksilver - Neal Stephenson. His latest (and start of a trilogy), slow start but I'm hooked and waiting for the next one in May.

Coalescent - Stephen Baxter. I've read most of Baxter's stuff (although I often wonder why coz he depresses me) and this is a little different, a little pacier, and actually has characters that you give a shit about, which is a nice change for him.

[Darryl]

this week - quite ugly one morning by christopher brookmire. - very funny, very dark, and very scots....

[maj]

The Stars My Destination- Alfred Bester
Mote in God's Eye- Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle
Ender's Game- OS Card
Forever War- J Haldemann
Gateway- F Pohl

[Proudhuff]

Alan:
The Red Riding quartet - '1974', '1977', '1980' and '1983'. By David Peace - the Elmore Leonard of Leeds.

I couldn't rate this highly enough,I've got his new one is on order its called GB84, Yorkshire again but in the Miners strike. Looking forward to it a bit too much...

David Peace is currently doing a signing tour, but I missed him !!


Huffsta

[Dudley]

To go non-fiction for a moment, anyone who knows anything about late 20th century philosophy should read "Intellectual Impostures" - shows how philosophers are, in essence, talking bullcrap.  highly amusing.

[Krustabi]

If you have no qualms about reading a children's book, then I recommend Brian Jacques's Redwall books (Or read them with your children, whatever). They have a good qoutient of violence and humour, and are better than any of that Harry Potter shite...