It is unfortunate that so few people read for recreation.
It wasn't always like that. Reading was a portable, inexpensive port-hole to other universes. A good book could take you to a corporate boardroom, into the belly of a submarine, into space or have you sitting at a table flirting with a pretty girl in Italy.
Since then, entertainment morphed into a mindless avalanche of "action" that hijacks our fight-flight responses and rarely illuminates the more advanced levels of our brain.
I want to suggest...
I want to suggest two titles that are a stunning combination of "action" AND filled with wisdom that is very easy to digest.
These are books that will benefit any young-person because they are actually "mentors" or "gray-beards" cunningly disguised as action-fiction.
Alas, if only they had existed when I was young and dumb!
Stand Alone, Book One of John Van Stry's Wolfhound Series
A high-level gang-member allows himself to be caught by the police so he can be sent to prison, a necessary "street-cred" resume enhancer for any gang-leader gunning for the top position.
Instead of sending him to prison, the judge sentences him to a 10-year enlistment in an elite military force, the Wolfhounds.
Chase, the high-level gang-member is able to transfer nearly all of the interpersonal skills he learned climbing the bloody, greasy pole of gangland politics to his new environment.
Masterful writing. It is much appreciated that Mr Van Stry supplies enough information so the reader knows WHY Chase decides to stay silent on some occasions and WHY he makes calculated gambles on speaking up on others. Lessons on leadership and building loyalty.
The Last Centurion by John Ringo
This book is unusual because it is a stand-alone, one-off book by an author who is celebrated for writing hefty series.
One chapter of the book, I think it is chapter six, is an essay on the differences between "High trust" and "Low trust" societies.
The value of that single chapter is more than what most people get out of two years of college.
Paper copies
It is my belief that "kids" are more likely to read a book if it shows up as a paper copy. Paper books stand out in a way that another title in a long list of downloads cannot.
---Added later---
I would be remiss if I did not include the information that both books include the hero benefiting from physical intimacy with a woman without the benefit of matrimony.
The stories do not dwell on the fact or go into detail but even so it will make the books a NO-GO for some readers, especially as gifts to younger people.
My daughter already enjoys reading for pleasure. I have encouraged her by purchasing some heirloom quality books from the Castalia Library. They're a bit pricey, but make excellent gifts, she is very grateful.
ReplyDeleteI recently purchased Matt Bracken's latest, Doomsday Reef, $22 shipped and signed direct from the author himself. It has been a pleasurable read. The writing is easy going, not a lot of really big words. The hardest part for me has been getting through all the sailing-specific terms and language. There's a wealth of info described during the story, and it has frequent breaks and stopping points, making it easy to read and put down. I haven't been terribly impressed with the book, but it's also not bad, either. I hope to order more from Matt, as I enjoy supporting small authors that go against the mainstream and self-publish (*Cough, Joe...? Cough*). And for 22 bucks, it's a good book! I like that he signs them (where else can you get a personally addressed volume from the author?), and it really is a good-read. Not too heavy, not light, just about right. Would mesh well with all levels of age and reading ability.
Thank-you for the comment and thank-you for the book recommendation.
DeleteMr Bracken is a very sharp guy and surprisingly generous and accessible. In one of my bits of fiction, I reached out to him and asked if I could use his name and the name of his podcast to add some anchoring points to the story. He responded with "Why not?"
The fact that he not only read the email but replied was amazing because is is kind of a big deal (CW2 cube and all). His agreeing was icing on the cake.
Thank you for the recommendations ERJ. Not a lot of fiction out there that teaches as well as stimulates our imaginations out there without A LOT of fantasy being thrown in. I still enjoy reading Pat Frank's ALAS BABYLON, even as old as it is.
ReplyDeleteI have a copy of Ringo's "The Last Centurion" along with many of his other books. All hard copies. I've enjoyed everyone. Thanks for the "Stand Alone" recommendation. I'll be getting a copy. I'm in the middle of "American Prometheus" at the moment.
ReplyDeleteI'm a sucker for a good series. I've read a lot of Ringo's books, but missed 'The Last Centurion', thanks for calling it out. I'm currently catching up on Taylor Anderson's 'The Artillerymen' series, his 'prequel' to the wonderful 'Destroyermen' series.
ReplyDeleteFor a lighter (but very engaging) read, or for younger readers, this winter I stumbled into and binged the 29 books of the 'Rangers Apprentice' series (and its spin-offs) by John Flanagan.
Is the “Artillerymen” as good as “Destroyermen”.
DeleteI thought I would enjoy reading these, however, not familiar with the authors I had to search, so, for book reviews could you please give a link for purchase?
ReplyDeleteOne author who avoided promiscuity in his books was Louis L'Amour. They're good books for young and old.
ReplyDeleteOne recent novel I'd recommend is "The Good, The Bad, and the Forgiven" by Tim the Idahoan. It's the story of a gun slinging preacher and was intended to teach Christian theology in an entertaining way. My family and members of my church enjoyed it.
Thanks for the recommendations ERJ! Johnny Ringo is an author I have seen in multiple used books stores; good to know he is a reliable author.
ReplyDeleteA one off: David Drake was often hit and miss for me, but his book The Forlorn Hope is outstanding. It is a retelling of Xenophon's Anabasis (The Ten Thousand) and involves a great story and great coming of age for a young lieutenant. One of the sci-fi books I would recommend as a leadership book as well.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Brass_Verdict
ReplyDeleteI was up most of the night reading this gift from the neighbour. Better than expected. Learning a little about law as well.
There is a lot of commentary packed into the Last Centurion, but done in an incredibly entertaining way. The abandoning of of large stockpiles of vehicles and weapons now seems prophetic. While I am a big fan of the Slammers, being a former infantry guy, Forlorn Hope was always my favorite. It was intended to be the opening of a shared universe, but business complications regrettably prevented that.
ReplyDeleteI had read the original Slammers when it came out, but it never really caught me the way The Forlorn Hope did.
DeleteI heard a bit about the complications that kept it as a stand-alone. Part of me is sad, but part of me likes the fact that the ending was perfect and the last image of him making peace with his new life has always stuck with me.
“Deeper Blue”by John Ringo.Deals with terrorist attack planned in USA. The tension rises and characters are belivable.
ReplyDeleteFrom Charlain Harris the “Midnight Texas” trilogy.Brilliant.
Our kids love to read. We read them the entire Little House on the Prairie series as bedtime stories. The series is full of tales of perseverance in the face of hardship and calamity. Nothing at all like the TV show. Each child has their own preferences:
ReplyDeleteOne loves westerns, one sci-fi, one animal stories, and one likes technical stuff with ham radio. Home school allows us to indulge them while also keeping them exposed to classic literature. We’re blessed.
I read the last Centurion some time ago. Good story. Not appropriate for pre-teens. Bracken’s Enemies Foreign and Domestic 3 book series is quite good and often available on Kindle free of charge (always available from Matt in hard copy).
We’re always interested in book suggestions for our pre-teens and teens. Please continue.
-john
Kaw River Valley
John - I can only really comment on the sci-fi/fantasy realm, but a couple of authors worth looking into are Andre Norton and H. Beam Piper. Andre Norton was a staple of my childhood reading and in terms of non-adult content, I can heartily recommend anything she wrote in that regard. Of note, I would not recommend any of her books that were co-authored, not because they are bad but because are less than the original.
DeleteH. Beam Piper is hard, classic age Sci-fi. Other than one book (First Cycle), they are all good. They may deal with some military or conflict sort of things, so that may be a consideration.
Elizabeth Boyer (late 1980's to early 1990's) wrote a series of books based loosely on Norse mythology. They are quite enjoyable and pre-teen/teen safe. I would recommend stopping at the second book in her last series (The Curse of Slagfid); the remaining books are weak.
Edgar Rice Burroughs is a very under-rated author in the modern world. His main characters are mostly the same, but he could create amazing worlds. In order of series that I enjoyed, check out John Carter (11 books), Pellucidar (6), Carson of Venus (5). He also had many stand alone novels. I have yet to read the Tarzan series, but I assume it is the same.
Tolkien, of course. If a little sorcery and scantily clad females (but no other adult themes) are admissible, Robert E. Howard's Conan is entertaining.