Recommended Reading

I’m often asked for book recommendations, so here’s a list of my favourite books sorted according to genre with links to my Goodreads reviews:

Fantasy

The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1060416159

Paternus: Rise of Gods by Dyrk Ashton https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2150070302

The Darkness that Comes Before by R. Scott Bakker https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/324718560

Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2695365862

Ninth City Burning by J. Patrick Black https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1562128103

Pawn of Prophecy (Belgariad #1) by David Eddings https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1133113982

Beyond Redemption by Michael R. Fletcher https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1309340479

The Mirror’s Truth by Michael R. Fletcher https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1714889388

Norlyska Groans by Michael R. Fletcher and Clayton W. Snyder https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4247862704

The Lost Regiment #1: Rally Cry by William R. Forstchen  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1069002380

Spellsinger by Alan Dean Foster https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1079818592

The Grey Bastards by Jonathan French https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2411810927

The City by Stella Gemmell https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/629233553

Legend by David Gemmell https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1101413088

Ravenheart by David Gemmell https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1137327151

Waylander by David Gemmell https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/245222398

Wolf in Shadow by David Gemmell https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/245228289

The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter by Theodora Goss https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2120727067

The Hand of the Sun King by JT Greathouse https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4917634963

The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3982328291

Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1059663565

Ship of Magic (The Liveship Traders #1) by Robin Hobb https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1113867290

Blackdog by KV Johansen https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2223084587

The Gunslinger (Dark Tower #1) by Stephen King https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/245222492

Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1052797420

Red Sister by Mark Lawrence https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1916130976

Dream Songs by George RR Martin https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1136130081

Blackwing by Ed McDonald  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2007222696

Promise of Blood by Brian McLellan https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1103023376

The Scar by China Mieville https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1059845898

The Crown Conspiracy  (The Riyria Revelations #1) by Michael J Sullivan https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/360600504

The Blue Blazes by Chuck Wendig https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/725036643

The Thousand Names by Django Wexler https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1043204778

The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/245222502

The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2898057520

Science Fiction

Use of Weapons by Iain M Banks https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/245223648

Voyage by Stephen Baxter https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1057330544

A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1055394174

Dauntless by Jack Campbell https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2216940800

Midshipman’s Hope by David Fientuch https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1119898937

Neuromancer by William Gibson https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/245223673

Count Zero by William Gibson https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/245223685

Mona Lisa Overdrive by William Gibson https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1139124995

Slow River by Nicola Griffith https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1083081075

The Forever War by Joe Haldeman https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/245223551

The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F Hamilton https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1044115670

Dune by Frank Herbert https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/245223544

Boneshaker by Cherie Priest https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1107595048

Broken Angels by Richard Morgan https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/245223698

Vurt by Jeff Noon https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1040358888

Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1113866663

Hyperion by Dan Simmons https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/245223816

Olympos by Dan Simmons https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1135640749

Blackthorne by Clayton Snyder https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4982543292

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/245223661

The Guns of the South by Harry Turtledove https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1097568544

Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2203713746

City of Golden Shadow (Otherland #1) by Tad Williams https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1071653247

The Middle Kingdom (Chung Kuo #1) by David Wingrove https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1089546717

Crime

The Smoke by Tom Barling https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1108498517

Every Dead Thing by John Connelly https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1748356603

The Big Nowhere by James Ellroy https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/987382048

White Jazz by James Ellroy https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/987381207

American Tabloid by James Ellroy https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/245222874

Perfidia by James Ellroy https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1123778962

Red Dragon by Thomas Harris https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/245222785

Skin Tight by Carl Hiaasen https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/681570152

Mr Mercedes by Stephen King: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1374366493

The Power of the Dog by Don Winslow https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1424950569

Horror

World War Z by Max Brooks https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1134736611

The Passage by Justin Cronin https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/898991957

The Fireman by Joe Hill https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2222184021

NOS4R2 by Joe Hill https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1077415795

Cell by Stephen King https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1666344083

The Dead Zone by Stephen King https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/245223368

It by Stephen King https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/245223204

The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1036354909

I am Legend by Richard Matheson https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1092021510

Boy’s Life by Robert R. McCammon https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1139127061

Swan Song by Robert R. McCammon https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/245222508

Anno Dracula by Kim Newman https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1065473118

The Bloody Red Baron by Kim Newman https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1095151043

Famous Monsters by Kim Newman https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1090388401

The Original Dr Shade and Other Stories by Kim Newman https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1132210278

Jago by Kim Newman https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1127385843

Infected by Scott Sigler https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1129038617

The Terror by Dan Simmons https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1092023174

Floating Dragon by Peter Straub https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/245223250

Blackbirds by Chuck Wendig https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/717368757

John Dies at the End by David Wong https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1592725690

Historical Fiction

The Alienist by Caleb Carr https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/245225119

Sharpe’s Enemy by Bernard Cornwell https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1074341502

Bomber by Len Deighton https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1111846433

Flashman in the Great Game by George McDonald Fraser https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1084672569

Lord of the Silver Bow by David Gemmell https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1036810587

Speaks the Nightbird by Robert McCammon https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1035991441

The Queen of Bedlam by Robert R. McCammon https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1106115032

Mister Slaughter by Robert McCammon https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2221131027

Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1096628137

The Afghan Campaign by Steven Pressfield https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1118072543

Dark Fire by CJ Sansom https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1058921216

Contemporary Fiction

Complicity by Iain Banks https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1112570635

The 13th Valley by John M. Del Vecchio https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1087970525

The City and The City by China Mieville https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1124654921

Humour

The United States of Absurdity by Dave Anthony & Gareth Reynolds: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2211073557

I, Partridge by Steve Coogan et al https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1111065964

Nomad by Steve Coogan et al http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1825233932

A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1129852211

How Not to Grow Up by Richard Herring https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1048988085

Backstory by David Mitchell https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1002909850

Wilt by Tom Sharpe https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1125585934

History

Reel History by Alex Von Tunzelmann https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1782564515

Stalingrad by Antony Beevor https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/245224129

The Social History of the Machine Gun by John Ellis https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1061343313

Fake History by Otto English https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4899515794

War of the Aeronauts by Charles M. Evans https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/711370188

The Gunpowder Plot by Antonia Fraser https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1035131846

Bloody April by Peter Hart https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/255731118

Catastrophe: Europe Goes to War 1914 by Max Hastings https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1085620022

Bomber Command by Max Hastings https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1098909928

All Hell Let Loose by Max Hastings https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/717366050

A History of Warfare by John Keegan https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1078182446

Battle Cry of Freedom by James McPherson https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/245224264

War on the Waters by James M McPherson https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1002062862

The First Day on the Somme by Martin Middlebrook https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1081492776

War in the Air 1914-45 by Williamson Murray https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1073255374

Business in Great Waters by John Terraine https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1076793468

The Right of the Line by John Terraine https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1122975643

Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2568890395

1812: Napoeleon’s Fatal March on Moscow by Adam Zamoyski https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1100658699

The Black Death by Philip Ziegler https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1110232363

Non-fiction

If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B-Movie Actor by Bruce Campbell https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1624753315

The Hell of it All by Charlie Brooker https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/403903373

Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/245224756

Hardware: The Definitive SF Works of Chris Foss https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1070835616

Icon by Frank Frazetta https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1050037194

Alien by HR Giger https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1079122967

Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/355262163

Beyond the Horizon: The Art of John Harris https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1113868075

An Animated Life by Ray Harryhausen https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1047059554

Paperbacks from Hell by Grady Hendrix https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2562828780

Robin Ince’s Bad Book Club by Robin Ince https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/396745389

On Writing by Stephen King https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1083807813

Chickenhawk by Robert Mason https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1092022266

Mussolini: His Part in My Downfall by Spike Milligan https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1082324809

The Successful Novelist by David Morrell https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2271545586

Watching War Films with My Dad by Al Murray https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/918121939

Write. Publish. Repeat. by Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1128266203

The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2204817508

So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2220101266

First Light by Geoffrey Wellum https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1109452637

Comics

Crossed by Garth Ennis https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1037745731

Sandman vol 1 – Neil Gaiman https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1088859511

Daredevil: Born Again by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1130630515

The Complete Halo Jones by Alan Moore and Ian Gibson https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1087239032

Chopper: Song of the Surfer by John Wagner and Colin McNeil https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1066248236

Poetry

William Blake: The Complete Writings https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1099401682