Books I Enjoy, Part 1

by | May 21, 2021 | Random Thoughts | 0 comments

I originally posted this on valthon.net on 25 March 2016. And in looking over it, I realize I’m overdue to read something of these again. Especially the Aliomenti and Belisaurius Sagas. The ending of “The Dance of Time” gets me each and every read-through.

It is important to note that I have basically copied the old posts verbatim to preserve my frame of mind at the time.

You may consider this fair warning…

I’ve decided to use “In the meantime, I hope you find a good book to read.  :)” as the tag line for my posts.  There’s probably something better, but for me and for the nonce, it works.  Somewhere down the line, I’m sure someone will ask me what I consider to be good books, so I’ve decided to start working up a list to answer that.  These are in no particular order, though I should probably use alphabetical by author’s last name.

  • Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes
    • The Sherlock Holmes works were the first mysteries I ever read and possibly the first stories I ever read on my own.  To this day, I will go back and read one or two from time to time.  I enjoyed them so much that, when I tried to get into Hardy Boys or (later) Alex Cross or similar, I found myself comparing the newer works to the Great Detective, finding them lacking.
  • Alex Albrinck: The Aliomenti Saga
  • David Baldacci: The Winner
    • This is the only instance of David Baldacci’s work that I have read so far, but it was an excellent read.  I cared about the protagonist and her conflict, and the author pulled me into the story with the skill of a master craftsman.
  • Ryk Brown’s Frontiers Saga
  • Jim Butcher
  • Jack Campbell
    • The Lost Fleet
      • The first book of this series, “Dauntless,” was one of my first purchases when I bit the bullet and bought a Kindle.  Jack Campbell is a master craftsman; he handles space battles at relativistic speeds very well, and the plot and characters are top notch.
      • Book 1: Dauntless
      • Book 2: Fearless
      • Book 3: Courageous
      • Book 4: Valiant
      • Book 5: Relentless
      • Book 6: Victorious
    • The Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier
      • I enjoyed this series as a continuation of the events begun in The Lost Fleet Saga.  The evolution of events was believable, and I was not prepared at all for how “Leviathan” ended; it was masterfully done.
      • Book 1: Dreadnought
      • Book 2: Invincible
      • Book 3: Guardian
      • Book 4: Steadfast
      • Book 5: Leviathan
  • Nicole Conway
    • The Dragonrider Chronicles
      • I cannot say for certain how I stumbled across these gems.  There was a 9-month span of my life where I was basically paid to sit at my desk and read books on my phone, so there’s a chance I discovered “Fledgling” during this time.  I was very glad to see “Avian” arrive on the scene, and I’m looking forward to reading any future books in this series she chooses to write.
      • Book 1: Fledgling
      • Book 2: Avian
      • Book 3: Traitor (Released May 10, 2016)
      • Book 4: Immortal (Update & End of Series)
  • Joshua Dalzelle
    • Omega Force
      • I am a devout follower of the Omega Force series.  I was a little on the fence about “Redemption,” but I really, really want to see where he takes the series from there.  The plot of “Redemption” caught me completely off-guard.  In the Author’s Note of Book 2, Dalzelle says that part of his inspiration for the series is “The A-Team” in space.  Having grown up on “The A-Team” and similar TV shows of that era, I can honestly say that the Omega Force series have an “A-Team” ambiance to them.  There were some formatting issues with the first book, “Omega Rising,” but those were corrected with an update.
      • Book 1: Omega Rising
      • Book 2: Soldiers of Fortune
      • Book 3: Savage Homecoming
      • Book 4: The Enemy Within
      • Book 5: Return of the Archon
      • Book 6: Secret of the Phoenix
      • Book 7: Redemption
      • Book 8: The Human Factor (Update)
    • The Black Fleet Trilogy
      • I enjoyed reading the Black Fleet Trilogy.  In all truth, I prefer the Omega Force series, but these books are well-written with an engaging story and interesting characters.
      • Book 1: Warship
      • Book 2: Call to Arms
      • Book 3: Counterstrike
  • David Drake and Eric Flint
    • The Belisarius Saga
      • One of my closest friends recommended this series to me, and when he pretty much forced me to borrow the first book from him, I discovered a new series to enjoy.  Alas, it only ran six books, but there wasn’t really anything left to say.  These books are very well crafted, with excellent characters and a gripping story.  I’m not really certain whether these should be listed as “Eric Flint and David Drake” or “David Drake and Eric Flint,” and even Amazon seems a bit confused on the subject, so should either of these authors ever stumble across this, I hope they’ll be satisfied with my solution.
      • Book 1: An Oblique Approach
      • Book 2: In the Heart of Darkness
      • Book 3: Destiny’s Shield
      • Book 4: Fortune’s Stroke
      • Book 5: The Tide of Victory
      • Book 6: The Dance of Time
  • David Drake

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