Reading, Writing, and ... More Reading!

One of my greatest passions is reading; books have a huge part of my life since I was a child. I am the son of two very well education English people, one of whom went on to be a librarian, so no surprise... right? I especially love anything to do with history, whether fact or fiction. The following are my all-time favourite tomes and their masterful scribes.

B E S T   F I C T I O N                                                                                           

Historical Novels
  • Shogun, James Clavell, 1975.
  • Year of the Horsetails, R.F. Tapsell, 1967.
  • Ramage's Devil, Dudley Pope, 1983
  • Stonehenge: A Novel of 2000 B.C., Bernard Cornwell, 1999.
  • Spartan, Valerio Massimo Manfredi, 1988.
  • River God, Wilbur Smith, 1993.
  • The Killing of Richard III, Robert Farrington, 1972.
  • The Last of the Mohicans, James Fenimore Cooper, 1826.
  • Exodus, Leon Uris, 1958.
  • To the Far Blue Mountains, Louis L'Amour, 1976.
  • Pompeii, Robert Harris, 2003.
  • The Last Kingdom, Bernard Cornwell,2004.
  • Azincourt, Bernard Cornwell, 2008
  • Genghis: Birth of an Empire (Wolf of the Plains), Conn Iggulden, 2007.
  • Sword Song, Bernard Cornwell, 2008
  • Parthian Vengeance, Peter Darman, 2012.
  • Silk Road, Colin Falconer, 2011.
  • The Red Hill, David Penny, 2014. 
Science Fiction/Fantasy
  • Dune, Frank Herbert, 1965.
  • Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clarke, 1972.
  • The Andromeda Strain, Michael Crichton, 1969.
  • Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein, 1961.
  • Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury, 1953.
  • Magician, Raymond E. Feist, 1982.
  • Conan the Conqueror, Robert E. Howard, 1950.
  • Pawn of Prophecy, David and Leigh Eddings, 1982.
  • Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins, 2008
  • Sacrifice (The Queen's Blade 2), T.C. Southwell, 2010
  • Drifter's Alliance, Elle Casey, 2015
War Fiction
  • The Eagle Has Landed, Jack Higgins, 1976.
  • The Key to Rebecca, Ken Follett, 1978.
  • Eye of the Needle (Storm Island), Ken Follett, 1978.
  • Hornet Flight, Ken Follett, 2002.
  • Enigma, Robert Harris, 1995.
  • The Odessa File, Frederick Forsyth, 1972.
  • The Scarlatti Inheritance, Robert Ludlum, 1970.
  • The Rhinemann Exchange, Robert Ludlum, 1974.
  • Holding the Zero, Gerald Seymour, 2000.
  • Exocet, Jack Higgins, 1983.
  • The Jukebox Queen of Malta, Nicholas M. Rimaldi, 2000. 
  • King Rat, James Clavell, 1962
  • Citadel, Kate Mosse, 2012
Military Techno-thrillers
  • The Hunt for Red October, Tom Clancy, 1984.
  • Firefox, Craig Thomas, 1977.
  • Nimitz Class, Patrick Robinson, 1997.
  • Kilo Class, Patrick Robinson, 1998.
  • North Cape, Joe Poyer, 1969.
  • Bright Star, Harold Coyle, 1993.
Legal Thrillers
  • Snow Falling On Cedars, David Guterson, 1994. 
  • The Firm, John Grisham, 1991,
  • The Partner, John Grisham, 1991.
Police Thrillers
  • The New Centurions, Joseph Wambaugh, 1970.
  • The Day of the Jackal, Frederick Forsyth, 1971
  • Gorky Park, Martin Cruz Smith, 1981.
  • In Honour Bound, Gerald Seymour, 1984
  • Along Came a Spider, James Patterson, 1993.
  • Silence of the Lambs, Thomas Harris, 1991
  • The Crimson Rivers,  Jean-Christophe Grangé, 2000.
  • Shutter Island, Dennis Lehane, 2003 
  • Storm Runners, T. Jefferson Parker, 2007
  • Child 44, Tim Rob Smith, 2008. 
  • Mystic River, Dennis Lehane, 2001
Adventure/Mystery
  • The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown, 2003
  • The Queen of the South, Arturo Perez-Reverte, 2002
  • Raise the Titanic! Clive Cussler, 1976
  • Holding the Zero, Gerald Seymour, 2000

B E S T   F I C T I O N A L   S E R I E S   &  C H A R A C T E R S 
  • Sharpe Series, Richard Sharpe, Bernard Cornwell, Napoleonic Wars.
  • Saxon Chronicles,  Uhtred of Bebbanburg, Bernard Cornwell, Danish invasion of England.
  • Cross Series, Dr. Alex Cross, James Patterson, U.S. Homicide.
  • Renko Series, Arkady Renko, Martin Cruz Smith, Russian Homicide.
  • Ryan Series, Jack Ryan, Tom Clancy, political/spy thrillers.
  • Langdon Series, Dr.Robert Langdon, Dan Brown, political/adventure thrillers.
  • Leatherstocking Tales, Nathaniel Bumppo (Hawkeye), James Fenimore Cooper, U.S.
  • Dune Series, Paul Atreides (Muad d'ib), Frank Herbert, science fiction future.
  • Conan Series, Conan of Cimmeria, Robert Ervin Howard, Sword and sorcery.
  • Dillon Series, Sean Dillon, Jack Higgins, political thrillers.
  • Pitt Series, Dirk Pitt, Clive Cussler, Contemporary adventure.
  • Ramage Series, Nicholas Ramage R.N., Dudley Pope, British naval adventure.
  • Bourne Series, Jason Bourne, Robert Ludlum/Eric van Lustbader, Spy Thriller.
  • Nicholas Linnear Series, Eric Van Lustbader, Contemporary Martial Arts/Adventure.
  • Grail Quest Series, Thomas of Hookton, Bernard Cornwell, Historical Fiction.
  • Eagle Series,  Quintus Licinius Cato-Lucius Cornelius Macro, Simon Scarrow, Historical Fiction.
  • The Parthian Chronicles, King Pacorus, Queen Gallia, Lucius Domitus, Byrd, Malik, Praxima, and many others, Peter Darman, Historical Fiction.

     B E S T   N O N - F I C T I ON                                                                              

    Religious Non-Fiction
    • The Miracle of Forgiveness, Spencer W. Kimball, 1969.
    • Faith Precedes the Miracle, Spencer W. Kimball, 1972.
    • A Marvelous Work and a Wonder, LeGrand Richards, 1950.
    • Islam Under Siege: Living Dangerously in a Post- Honor World, Akbar S. Ahmed, 2003.
    • No God, But God, Reza Aslan, 2005.
    Scientific Non-Fiction
    • 1491: New Revelations of the Native Americans Before Columbus, Charles C. Mann, 2005.
    • A Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking, 1988.
    • Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time, Dava Sobel, 2005
    History Non-Fiction
    • Undaunted Courage, Stephen E. Ambrose, 1996.
    • Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World, Jack Weatherford, 2004.
    • Warriors of God: Richard the Lionheart and Saladin in the Third Crusade, James Reston, Jr., 2001.
    • The Art of War, Sun Tzu, 500 BC.
    • Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War, Nathaniel Philbrick, 2006.
    • Her Majesty's Spymaster: Elizabeth I, Sir Francis Walsingham and the Birth of Modern Espionage, Stephen Budiansky, 2005.
    • Enemy at the Gates: The Battle for Stalingrad, William Craig, 1973. 
    • The Sea Wolves: A History of the Vikings, Lars Brownworth, 2014
    • The Normans: From Raiders to Kings, Lars Brownworth, 2014
    Current Affairs
    • Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War, Mark Bowden, 1999.
    • 90 Minutes At Entebbe, William J. Stevenson, 1976.
    • Bravo Two-Zero, Andy McNabb, 1993.
    • The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11, Lawrence Wright, 2006.
    • The One-Percent Doctrine, Ron Suskind, 2004.
    • The Onion Field, Joseph Wambaugh, 1973.
    • Lines and Shadows, Joseph Wambaugh, 1984.


    B E S T   A U T H O R S                                           
      Favourite Fiction Authors
      • Bernard Cornwell (Historical)
      • Valerio Massimo Manfredi (Historical)
      • Wilbur Smith (Historical/Adventure)
      • Arturo Perez-Reverte (Historical/Adventure)
      • Gerald Seymour (Adventure)
      • Clive Cussler (Adventure)
      • Dale Brown (Military Thrillers)
      • Tom Clancy (Military Thrillers)
      • Patrick Robinson (Military Thrillers)
      • Martin Cruz Smith (Police Thrillers)
      • John Connolly (Police/Paranormal Thrillers)
      • Peter Darman (Historical)
      • Colin Falconer (Historical)
      Favourite Non-Fiction Authors
      • Mark Bowden (Current Affairs) 
      • Steve Coll (Current Affairs)  
      • Lawrence Wright (Current Affairs) 
      • Ron Suskind (Current Affairs)
      • James Reston Jr (History) 
      • Stephen E. Ambrose (History)
      • Nathanial Philbrick (History)