Scooter Chronicles

My comment about the book “The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque” ranking up there with some of the best books I have read got me thinking. What are my favorite books? And why? Of course it is all relative to you reading this. I know I have read a few books that others had praised, and wondered why I didn’t see the same thing in them. Or vice versa. Regardless of that factor, I have tried to list them.

The Best
These just took a hold of me and wouldn’t let go. All of these have great character depth and great stories. But with some, there are extras as well that helped them in my opinion. When it comes to the science fiction books on this list, it has a lot to do with the world-building done by the author.

• “Dune” by Frank Herbert
• “Hyperion Cantos” by Dan Simmons (“Hyperion” and “The Fall of Hyperion”)
• “The Lions of Al-Rassan” by Guy Gavriel Kay
• “The Liveship Traders” trilogy by Robin Hobb (“Ship of Magic”, “Mad Ship”, and “Ship of Destiny”)
• “Middlesex” by Jeffrey Eugenides
• “Neverwhere” by Neil Gaiman
• “Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus” by Orson Scott Card
• “Revelation Space” by Alastair Reynolds
• “A Song for Arbonne” by Guy Gavriel Kay

Honorable Mention
The following books were very entertaining reads. Some of them might have even been light on concepts (especially some of the science fiction books). But they all had great stories and were told in a manner that made me want to keep reading, even if some were a little flawed.

• “Calculating God” by Robert J. Sawyer
• “Chasm City” by Alastair Reynolds
• “The Five People You Meet in Heaven” by Mitch Albom
• “Flashforward” by Robert J. Sawyer
• “Jennifer Government” by Max Barry
• “Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell” by Susanna Clarke
• “The Monarchies of God” series by Paul Kearney (“Hawkwood’s Voyage”, “The Heretic Kings”, “The Iron Wars”, “The Second Empire”, and “Ships From The West”)
• “Perdido Street Station” by China Miéville
• “The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque” by Jeffrey Ford
• “The Speed of Dark” by Elizabeth Moon
• “Tigana” by Guy Gavriel Kay
• “Use of Weapons” by Iain M. Banks

Of course, this list is subject to change. Ask me in five years and half of these may not be there. Also, there are two series that I have only read a book or two of (”Elric” and “FitzChilvary”), and I think are best listed that way, instead of by individual book. So they are not there because I have not “finished” the story.

The two exceptions on my list are “Dune” and “Revelation Space”. “Dune”, because it was not originally intended to be part of a series. It was 11 years (and many other books) between it and the second book. Maybe Herbert did intend to continue the series. But it is easily read as a stand-alone book. And “Revelation Space”, because like other in the series, it can be a stand-alone book. That was what Alastair Reynolds intended.