Hmm... don't know exactly what you're looking for, but here's a list of some books I'd reccommend to anyone interested in reading something other than fantasy/sword-and-sorcery. I've got too many rattling around in my head to name, but I'll throw them out until I get tired of tying.
SHOGUN by James Clavell
I read this book when I was 16. I remember seeing it on the book shelf of a local retail store. Every time I went, I saw this thick, thousand page book with a sword on it's red and black cover, the inside cover filled with praise for the story and for it's author. I finally picked it up, and the rest, as they say, is history. I finished it in a week, and I can safely say it was the focal point that set me off on my fascination with Japan. The story is so complex, and filled with so many wonderful characters, that I couldn't possibly hope to summarize it here. But I'll try to give you some idea anyway. The Year is 1600. Pilot-Major John Blackthorne and surviving crew members are shipwrecked in Fuedal Japan and taken prisoner. Their ship, weapons, and supplies are confiscated, and the men are imprisoned. What follows is one man's journey through an alien, hostile world filled with civil strife and a people with an unwavering loyalty and sense of honor. A world where Death is a way of life. A world that embraces beauty, tragedy, and sorrow above all. I simply cannot say enough about this book. I reccommend this book to anyone. And if you don't enjoy it, if it's a waste of your time, I will personally paypal you your money back.
TAI PAN by James Clavell
While not as epic or emotional as
Shogun,
Tai Pan is nevertheless an outstanding novel from an outstanding author. Dirk Straun, founder of
The Noble House, lives, loves, and struggles through life in old China, walking the thin line of balance between family loyalty and loyalty to his undying thirst for dominance in trade and life. Highly reccommend this one.
KING RAT by James Clavell
Semi-autobiographical account of Clavell's time spent as a prisoner in Japan's World War II prison camp, Changi. James Clavell nearly died in Changi, Japan's worst and most notorious prison camp at that time. Upon returning home, Clavell spent months on end unemployed. He spent most days just lying on the couch, lost in his own tortured memories. James's wife finally gave him an ultimatum. Get a job and support your family, or get out. Clavell then set out to put down his war-time experiences on paper, which resulted in this, his first novel,
King Rat. And it is one of his best. Where most men would have nothing but scorn and bigotry for their captors, Mr. Clavell developed a fascination for, and love of, the far east (Japan and China) that lasted the rest of his life. I'd reccommend this book for anyone new to James Clavell's works. It's the shortest, and one of the most powerful, haunting pieces that he ever did.
RINGU by Koji Suzuki
You know the movies, but this was the book that started it all. A reporter, investigating the sudden, simultaneous deaths of 4 teenagers, stumbles across a cursed videotape that informs the viewer that he will, in 7 days, die, unless he performs the following... and then of course, the rest of the tape has been recorded over. Now Asakawa has 7 days to figure out the charm to the video, and save not only his own life, but the lives of his wife and daughter, who have also unwittingly viewed the video as well. Will Asakawa save his family? At what price? Would you trade the fate of humanity for the life of someone you love? Is any price too high?
THE 47 RONIN by John Allyn
The true life story of 47 Samurai that stunned Japan. What is honor? How far would you go regain it for a fallen friend, even if it meant dishonoring yourself in the process? Excellent, excellent book.
MUSASHI by Eiji Yoshikawa
Another true life story of the greatest swordsman who ever lived.
BATTLE ROYALE by Koushun Takami
The book that inspired the movie. A few years from now, the school system has become corrupt beyond repair. Unemployment is at an all-time high. With no hope for a future, students boycott class regularly. In retaliation, the government enacts the
Battle Royale program. Ever year a middle school class is selected to "play a game." Drugged and transported to a small island, the students are forced into a contest with only one rule: Kill your friends. Kill everyone until there is only one of you left. The winner goes home. Explosive collars are placed on their necks. They are shock-proof, water-proof, and will explode when tampered with in anyway. In three days time, the collars will be detonated if there is no winner. Each student is given a bag with food, water, a map, compass, flashlight, and one weapon. You may get lucky. You may not. You may get a knife, an ax, or a gun. Or you may get a pot-lid. How far would you go to survive? Could you kill your best friend? Awesome book, awesome movie, and highly, HIGHLY reccommended.
ROMANCE OF THE THREE KINGDOMS by Luo Guanzhong
In the West, the Bible. In the East, Three Kingdoms. The empire long divided must unite, long united must divide, thus it has ever been. It's the end of the Han Dynasty, and generals have arisen throughout the land to vie for power. In a small town, a poor weaver and sandal maker vows to restore honor to the fallen Han Dynasty. His name is Liu Bei, and together with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, takes an oath of brotherhood in a peach garden.
"We three, though of separate ancestry, join in brotherhood here, combining strength and purpose, to relieve the present crisis. We will perform our duty to the Emperor and protect the common folk of the land. We dare not hope to be together always but hereby vow to die the selfsame day. Let shining heaven above and the fruitful land below bear witness to our resolve. May heaven and man scourge whosoever fails this vow." This is, quite simply, one of the greatest stories ever told. But keep in mind, this is the land of the East, where there are no happy endings.
THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO by Alexandre Dumas
How far will one man go for revenge?
I AM LEGEND by Richard Matheson
Excellent vampire/zombie story with a great twist at the end.
THE LONG WALK by Stephen King
Another game of death involving youth. Only here, students have willingly signed up to play this game. A very simple contest. Walk until you can't walk anymore. The last one left walking wins the game. Only the catch is, when you stop walking, you are shot in the back of the head by the soliders sent to follow behind you. Stephen King, the second most over-rated author in english literature today (#1 being J.K. Rowling) delivers what is, in my opinion, his greatest novel. And he plays it straight. Alot of authors would've had the kids lead some successful rebellion against the system and survive. King does no such thing. There is only one winner here. If indeed, there is any winner at all...
THE EXORCIST by William Peter Blatty
Probably one of the most disturbing books I've ever read. I've never seen the movie, but I read this as a young teenager, and it definitley made me a little uncomfortable. Which is a good thing. Suspensful, spooky, and blasphemous. Highly reccommended, especially now that it is getting close to Halloween!
THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES by Ray Bradbury
Great stuff here. Reminds me of an old saying about the United States. They'll kill your people, they'll blow your stuff up, and then they'll plant a godamn McDonalds right in the middle of the rubble.
1984 by George Orwell
Hauntingly accurate. He got the facts right, but the date wrong. If this book had been named 2004, it would've been right on the money. Big Brother, Goldstein, the war on terror, it's all here ladies and gentleman. War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength.
Well, that's it for now. Hope you guys like the list, and check some of these books out if you haven't read them. If you have, let me know what you think.
Peace everybody,
-M-
