You can also read them as historical fantasy about Tokugawa Japan. Letting the reader put in the book what he brings, isn’t that the mark of good litterature?
Or you can read it as an allegory for the relationship between Islam and Christianity. It works on a number of levels, which is a testament to just how great the work is.
Jeffery Deaver’s The Bone Collector is on sale for $1.99 at all of the standard digital bookstores.
This is the first book in his excellent Lincoln Rhyme series and is an excellent read. While it is the first of a series, it is a completely self contained story.
Tor’s free ebook this month is Old Man’s War.
I just got the email on that and was coming to post it. I have always wanted this one but for some reason never grabbed it. Now I have it for free. Awesome!
This is a good book. I got about halfway into the series before I stopped.
I love the OMW trilogy. The short story-ish collections I wasn’t too thrilled with, but the three main books are very good.
I know Scalzi gets a lot of shit for pretty much being a pretentious ass online, but I do find his SCI-FI style to be accessible for someone who is not a big sci-fi fan. Like me.
My only gripe with Scalzi’s stuff is that it’s fairly lightweight - it’s breezy airport books, doesn’t really dig deep into anything that’s going on. Especially compared to something like The Forever War, which was an inspiration to Old Man’s War. I guess that’s skirting close to blaming a book for what it’s not, which I don’t like to do, and I really did enjoy the book. I’d just say don’t go looking for a lot of depth.
And I’m fine with that. A lot of hard sci-fi goes right over my head.
That’s a good heads up. I’ve had the book for a few years now, just haven’t gotten around to reading it yet. I’ve got a few books ahead of it, still. Currently reading Red Rising (1st in trilogy) recommended by @inactive_user and then Forever War, which I’ve also been putting off for a few decades.
And it’s not like one is necessarily better than the other. Sometimes I’m in the mood for something a little lighter, and Old Man’s War fits the bill.
This is probably heresy in some corners but I found The Forever War a bit of a slog. I can appreciate how it inspired a whole subgrnre but it doesn’t feel like a timeless classic…it feels very tied and anchored to the period it was written in. Which can be good or bad depending on one’s expectations and preferences.
Nah, you’re not alone. I didn’t hate it or anything, but it didn’t blow my mind by any means.
I wouldn’t call The Forever War a timeless classic either, given that it was written in reaction to the Vietnam War. I do think it’s a pretty great book, though probably worth bearing the context in mind.
Sometimes I want Beef Wellington and sometime I want a hot dog. Both have their appeal.
Some free Kindle books from Crystal Lake Publishing (they’re trying to get folks to post Amazon reviews):
Samurai and Other Stories (spooky stories)
Children of the Grave (zombie shared-world anthology)
Horror 201: The Silver Scream (non-fiction)
The deal’s ended now.
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Standard books for 
Thanks for the link. They have a pretty good selection of classics there. From Huck Finn to 20000 Leagues, Pride and Prejudice to Frankenstein and Dracula. Very nice find.
Wow, that is pretty great. Thank you!
Now I just have to remember this thing exists next time I go to read a classic.