AGUEST SAID:
Okay, another AGuest "tangent" coming (LOL and peace to you all!):
I actually haven't finished reading one of the BEST books I've ever read (and I stopped some years ago!). It is "The Journeyer", by Gary Jennings (deceased). It is the historically fictional tale of the journey of Marco Polo, told in first person... and very graphically (but poignantly) depicting life in the times of the real journey. Everything from life in Europe... to life in the East... to primitive life in the jungle, etc. You WILL not be able to put it down... unless, like me... you just can't deal with the very "real" way he tells the story - I was enraptured until I came to an account about half way through about a little boy I had grown to "love" and his demise. The account not only haunted me for WEEKS... but is the reason I cannot pick up the book again yet to this day. I just don't have the courage, yet. I "knew" this little boy and so what happened to him was as if it happened to my own child. I WILL finish this book one day, though - I vow it.
Mr. Jennings also wrote two other epics: Aztec (which I believe was the brainchild for Apocalypto but, per hubby, "WAY betta'!"... and "Raptor", which I understand is use as good.
Mr. Jennings style of writing puts you there, centuries ago, in every way: sight, sound, smell, taste, touch. His writing reaches EVERY empirical sense you possess. And so, if you undertake to read his books... be warned: you will NOT be the same afterward. You can't be.
My favorite genre, in film and literature, is historical fiction and so I things like Ken Folette's "Pillars of the Earth," "A World Without End," and a couple/few others by him, too. I don't care for his more modern espionage writings (I do like Steven Cannell, though!).
If you like SHORT books, or are into early western writings (a la Louie L'Amour), then the "Tale of the Spanish Bit" series by Don Coldsmith is fantastic! Approx. 20 short novelettes, these tell the tale from a native American perspective, starting off with one Spanish conquistador being captured by a fairly peaceful tribe and coming to be a part of their family (if I didn't know any better, I would say the author of "Dances with Wolves" got his premise from this series).
Ennywho... those are SOME of the best books I've read. I've read so many that I really can't see how I can truthfully say "THIS one is my favorite/the best." Different genres have different "bests", so...
I LOVE though, that we can recommend good reads to one another! I know dear hubby appreciates!
Peace!
SA, on her own...
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