1. Jane Austen - Pride and Prejudice [1913]
First time read, and 3rd Austen.
2. Leo Tolstoy - Resurrection [1899]
Second reading of this Doukhobor-financing novel of redemption.
3. Fyodor Dostoevsky - Crime and Punishment [1866]
Second reading of this novel which portrays a truer anthropology than most.
4. Agatha Christie - Crooked House [1949]
Another novel of surprising anthropology.
5. Alistair MacLean - When Eight Bells Toll [1966]
4th reading (this time - to my son) of one of MacLean's classics.
And here, in no particular order, and to compensate for the lack of a proper top ten, are ten works of fiction which will receive honourable mention (though they are not in the class of - at least the top three - above):
Agatha Christie - The Mysterious Affair at Styles [1920]
The first Poirot mystery, and still worthy.
Agatha Christie - The Moving Finger [1942]
A nice treatment of the poisoned pen letter theme.
Agatha Christie - The Secret of Chimneys [1925]
She should have written more with Anthony Cade.
Ngaio Marsh - Overture to Death [1939]
Not up to Died in the Wool, but a pleasant read.
Michael Crichton - Disclosure [1993]
Dated, but his usual fast-paced read.
Robert Ludlum - The Bourne Identity [1980]
Much better than than the movie; too bad the same couldn't be said for The Bourne Supremacy, which I just couldn't be bothered to finish.
Robert Ludlum - The Scarlatti Inheritance [1970]
Nice debut. Doesn't read like a novel, but interesting plot.
Robert Ludlum - The Matlock Paper [1973]
Conspiracy! Scary! Unfortunately, dated.
Clive Cussler - Sahara [1992]
Read it before the movie, and was impressed enough to buy the rest of his.
Clive Cussler - Pacific Vortex! [1983]
Promising actual debut, though published later. Mediterranean Caper passed, but Iceberg ran the Cussler engine dry for a while.
The first Poirot mystery, and still worthy.
Agatha Christie - The Moving Finger [1942]
A nice treatment of the poisoned pen letter theme.
Agatha Christie - The Secret of Chimneys [1925]
She should have written more with Anthony Cade.
Ngaio Marsh - Overture to Death [1939]
Not up to Died in the Wool, but a pleasant read.
Michael Crichton - Disclosure [1993]
Dated, but his usual fast-paced read.
Robert Ludlum - The Bourne Identity [1980]
Much better than than the movie; too bad the same couldn't be said for The Bourne Supremacy, which I just couldn't be bothered to finish.
Robert Ludlum - The Scarlatti Inheritance [1970]
Nice debut. Doesn't read like a novel, but interesting plot.
Robert Ludlum - The Matlock Paper [1973]
Conspiracy! Scary! Unfortunately, dated.
Clive Cussler - Sahara [1992]
Read it before the movie, and was impressed enough to buy the rest of his.
Clive Cussler - Pacific Vortex! [1983]
Promising actual debut, though published later. Mediterranean Caper passed, but Iceberg ran the Cussler engine dry for a while.
No comments:
Post a Comment