Adding to my collection...

I recently did another on of my amazon searches for books of interest and found three I believe I'll go purchase soon. Anyone read any of them, if so are they any good?1. The Present Darkness by Frank E. Peretti
2. The Origins of the Bible: The Facts and Fictions Behind the World's Greates Book by Samuel Graham.
3. The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas AdamsTwo out of the three I found on top 5 lists, so I suppose they are very popular (of course The Hitchhikes Guide is..)If you notice a theme in these books, well ok Theology, Science Fiction, Horror/Thriller and have any books to recommend I'd appreciate it. (all dan brown books have been read so don't list them)

This Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness are very, very good reads, although I suspect anyone non-christian would find them trying.

Well my personal favourite form of the Hitchhiker's Guide is the radio show scripts. So long as British humour is your thing you should enjoy the adaptions, though.So far as the origins of the Bible go, I like The Unauthorised Version by Robin Lane Fox and I especially recommend The Bible Unearthed by Finkelstein and Silberman for the archaeology.{Fixed 1 bolded title. Had been closed with a \b rather than the proper /b. - Adminnemooseus}This message has been edited by Adminnemooseus, 02-24-2005 12:54 AM

Thanks for the recommendations PaulK, I'll look into both of those.Mr Jack, what kind of books are they? Yes, I am an athiest but I really enjoy Christian theology. I guess if the book was about praising god etc.. I wouldn't like it but if it's about a conspiriacy or some theme related to christian theology I think I would enjoy it. Let me know, thanks alot.Any other suggestions from anyone?

Any of the short story collections of Sherman Alexie - his novels aren't as good, but the stories are amazing. A Native American twist on things, and funny even when he's dead serious.The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. An autistic kid's twist on things, and, again, funny even when dead serious.

Well, you've probably already read it, but the I think the ultimate Scifi/Theology book is Frank Herbert's Dune.Actually the first four, up to God-Emporer of Dune, are quite good although I didn't enjoy books two and three (Dune Messiah, Children of Dune) until I was older.If you like Stephen King/Clive Barker fantasy-horror, especially if you liked It, I think Peter Straub's Shadowland and Ghost Story are definitely worth a look. Straub's Hellfire Club is a real page turner once it gets going (slow but enjoyable build up to about page 90 then BAM! Off and running).For straight science-heavy sci-fi you might give Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy a try (Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars). It's got its flaws, but the scientific process of terraforming mars and the political genesis of a new world is interesting.Lastly, The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle was another great sci-fi first contact book.This message has been edited by custard, 02-24-2005 17:35 AM

ah excellent, thank you for the recommendations, looks like my trip to the book store might be a bit expensive. I actually have seen the movie "Dune," perhaps (well I am almost certain), it was based on the movie. It was a really crazy movie, anyways I'll check those books out.BTW It was amazing, as well as thinner.

I'll see your Niven/Pournelle and raise you Iain M. Banks, who combines the space opera of those two authors with characters who have actual relationships, instead of adolescent fantasies.

Well, if you liked Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code, you might give Daughter of God a shot. It has very similar themes (hell the author sued Brown for plagiarism) but has more action and uses more Mickey Spilane type cliches.Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum pre-dated Da Vinci Code and has a great secret-society, pseudo-religious conspiracy but from a skeptics point of view. It's actually an amusing commentary on the gullibility and self-delusion of people who are wrapped up in historical/religious/political conspiracies from the Templars and Masons to the Hollow Earthers packaged in mystery format. It can be a bit dry at times, but it's good.Also Eco's Name of the Rose is a page turning theologically related mystery that sounds like it is right up your alley. If you enjoy that, try Baudolino which is another pseudo farcical look at history and religion at the time of Barbarosa. The allusions in the book will test your knowledge of history, catholoc mysticism, and medieval mythology so some readers might find it esoteric. I did think the book wound down a bit at the end though.This message has been edited by custard, 02-24-2005 17:54 AM

Try a decent used book store first. Just about all the works I listed, especially the Herbert stuff, is almost always available.

Hmm, you've reminded me of something that I forgot to mention, I like the novels that incorporate fact with fiction, this way I am not just humoring my imagination. These books look great, thanks alot. Keep the list going if you wish, my wallet will just get smaller .Out of curiousity, I see everyone who has posted in this thread seems to enjoy reading, I wonder what is your favorite novel?*edited: I'll look into that, I'll admit curiosity always makes me go out and buy all the books I am interested in, I just wish I had the time to read them all. I wonder when they will come up with an invention that downloads information to your brain instantanously, or atleast at a fast rate.This message has been edited by Pradu, 02-24-2005 17:59 AMThis message has been edited by Pradu, 02-24-2005 18:00 AM

Either Herberts Dune or Stephensons Cryptonomicon...Can't recomend either of them highly enough...

I'll give you just a few of my favorites; novels I think are superlative and which I re-read every year or two.Dune (Frank Herbert)
Catch 22 (Joseph Heller)
Grendel (John Gardner)
LOTR (Tolkien)

Haven't heard of this book. Quest ce que c'est?

Its a good one basically two parrallel storylines following two generations, one involved in cryptography WWII, the other their modern day descendants...hard to describe but basically think of it as a historical/present day thriller that uses a lot of science and maths...