My Favorites: Classic Sci-fi Novels

Here’s a list of my favorite classic science fiction novels in order.

1. The Time Machine by H.G. Wells (My favorite sci-fi book and my favorite sci-fi writer.)

2. War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells

3. 1984 by George Orwell (I can see some of this in our society today.)

4. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (Same with this novel.)

5. The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury (Brillant)

6. Farinheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (Chilling story.)

7. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne (I love how Jules Verne is ahead of his time with the inventions in his stories.)

8. The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne

9. The Island of Dr. Moreau by Jules Verne

10. The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov (Great Series)

11. Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne (If you’ve seen the movies inspired by this story, you need to read the novel. None of the movies do it justice.)

12. Dune by Frank Herbert (A must read for sci-fi fans)

13. A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (Everyone I know either loves it or hates it. I love this comedy sci-fi novel.)

14. Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess (Interesting story about how far the government has a right to go to prevent crime.)

15. Logan’s Run by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson (This novel was written in the sixties and show a future world where youth are in control and people are killed by their 21st birthday.)

So do you agree or disagree with my choices? Would you add any? Please comment.

“The Dawn Of a Dream” by Ann Shorey

The Dawn of a Dream

by Ann Shorey

Book #3 in At Home In Beldon Grove Series

Available in April, 2011

Description:

Twenty-two-year-old Luellen O’Connell is stunned and confused when her husband of just one month tells her he is leaving her. Deeply wounded by this betrayal, Luellen decides to follow the dream she had set aside of obtaining a teaching degree.

More than anything, she wants to teach children in communities like hers and help them recognize that education opens a path to future possibilities.  But her wayward husband left something behind when he abandoned her. Can Luellen overcome the odds and achieve her dream? Can she hide her secret, or will it destroy her dreams forever?

A moving story of tenacity and perseverance in the face of opposition, The Dawn of a Dream will inspire readers to discover and follow their own dreams.

Click here, to enter the Railway Dreams by April 5th.

Review:  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥

This novel finishes off Ann Shorey’s ”At Home In Beldon Grove Series”. I’ve enjoyed reading about Molly who wouldn’t let being a young widow with four young children stop her and about her brother, Matthew, who fought discouragement during a time of great grief to keep a town and a church together. But I think I like Luellen, Molly’s daughter, the best of all. Shorey kept throwing insurmountable odds ins Luellen’s direction, and Luellen would not give up. She kept fighting to do what she believed God called her to do. She not only has her mother and uncle’s perseverance, she surpasses it. I won’t tell you what happens, but this novel will encourage anyone who’s had to deal with obstacles blocking their way. Another great novel by Ann Shorey.

“Life Expectancy” by Dean Koontz

Life Expectancy

by Dean Koontz

Description:

With his bestselling blend of nail-biting intensity, daring artistry, and storytelling magic, Dean Koontz returns with an emotional roller coaster of a tale filled with enough twists, turns, shocks, and surprises for ten ordinary novels. Here is the story of five days in the life of an ordinary man born to an extraordinary legacy—a story that will challenge the way you look at good and evil, life and death, and everything in between.

Jimmy Tock comes into the world on the very night his grandfather leaves it. As a violent storm rages outside the hospital, Rudy Tock spends long hours walking the corridors between the expectant fathers’ waiting room and his dying father’s bedside. It’s a strange vigil made all the stranger when, at the very height of the storm’s fury, Josef Tock suddenly sits up in bed and speaks coherently for the first and last time since his stroke.

What he says before he dies is that there will be five dark days in the life of his grandson—five dates whose terrible events Jimmy will have to prepare himself to face. The first is to occur in his twentieth year; the second in his twenty-third year; the third in his twenty-eighth; the fourth in his twenty-ninth; the fifth in his thirtieth.

Rudy is all too ready to discount his father’s last words as a dying man’s delusional rambling. But then he discovers that Josef also predicted the time of his grandson’s birth to the minute, as well as his exact height and weight, and the fact that Jimmy would be born with syndactyly—the unexplained anomaly of fused digits—on his left foot. Suddenly the old man’s predictions take on a chilling significance.

What terrifying events await Jimmy on these five dark days? What nightmares will he face? What challenges must he survive? As the novel unfolds, picking up Jimmy’s story at each of these crisis points, the path he must follow will defy every expectation. And with each crisis he faces, he will move closer to a fate he could never have imagined. For who Jimmy Tock is and what he must accomplish on the five days when his world turns is a mystery as dangerous as it is wondrous—a struggle against an evil so dark and pervasive, only the most extraordinary of human spirits can shine through.

My Review:  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥

LIFE EXPECTANCY is one of my favorite Dean Koontz novels. I rank it third, right below THE HUSBAND and THE GOOD GUY. Dean Koontz is one of my favorite secular novelists, but I find I enjoy his novels of the last ten years the best. This is one of those novels. Jimmy Tock, a humble baker, knows ahead of time what the five worst days in his life will be. Through faith, a strong family bond, and a great sense of humor, he faces every tragedy thrown at him.

Heading Home by John Robinson

Heading Home

by John Robinson

Description:

No one knows the day or the hour of Jesus’ return. But what if you knew the week?

When every Christian simultaneously receives a message that Christ will return within the coming week, the world is thrown into stark panic. Two old friends, hardened combat veterans from the close days of the Vietnam War, set out on a suspenseful quest to redeem that time. What they don’t know is that the—and their entire church—have been targeted for satanic annihilation.

Read an excerpt here!

Review:  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥

Heading Home is about a couple of men who served in Viet Nam and hear two words from God along with every other Christian in the world. This Week. They don’t know the day or the hour of Christ’s return, but they now know the week. They take the soldiers motto of “no man left behind” seriously as they race against the clock to find their old army buddies and lead them to the Lord before the rapture happens.

This novel makes no bones about the fact that it’s written for men. But women who are attracted to adventure, non-stop action, and a powerful message will enjoy it too. This novel stirred my heart about the need to share the Gospel before it’s too late while entertaining me and keeping me on the edge of my seat. It was by far my favorite novel that I read in 2011 and ranks in my top favorite novels ever. I enjoyed it that much. I know that you’ll enjoy it too. I highly recommend this novel.

Next week, I’ll post an interview with John Robinson where he’ll talk about writing Heading Home.

The Truth Of The Matter by Andrew Klavan

The Truth Of The Matter

By Andrew Klavan

Book #3 in The Homelanders Series

Book Description

Charlie is certain that if he could just regain his memory, the chaos around him would make sense. But the truth of the matter is even more incredible than he could imagine.

Charlie West was an ordinary high school kid who went to bed one night and woke up in the clutches of terrorists and wanted by the police for murder. He also woke up with no memory of the events of the past year.

Now Charlie has found the one person who knows what happened . . . and who can help him remember. But remembering is painful–as well as dangerous–and figuring out what to do with this new knowledge may be Charlie’s toughest challenge yet.

My Review: ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥

In the third novel of The Homelander Series called The Truth Of The Matter, Charlie West is beginning to remember the missing year he’s forgotten. But things aren’t easy. While he’s suffering from memory attacks, as he calls them, he’s chased by the good guys, the bad guys, and the police. He may not survive to find out who he really is.

I was on the edge of my seat for this novel, and I can’t wait for the fourth and final novel to be published. Charlie West is a normal teenager with fear and doubts who does extraordinary things and shows great courage because he’s determined to do the right thing and make a difference. I highly recommend this young adult series.

Featured Novel – Relentless by Dean Koontz

Relentless

by Dean Koontz

 

Description:

#1 New York Times bestselling master of suspense Dean Koontz delivers a mesmerizing new thriller that explores the razor-thin line between the best and worst of human nature—and the anarchy simmering just beneath society’s surface—as a likeable, successful family man is drawn into a confrontation with a foe of unimaginable malice…

Bestselling novelist Cullen “Cubby” Greenwich is a lucky man and he knows it. He makes a handsome living doing what he enjoys. His wife, Penny, a children’s book author and illustrator, is the love of his life. Together they have a brilliant six-year-old, Milo, affectionately dubbed “Spooky,” and a non-collie named Lassie, who’s all but part of the family.

So Cubby knows he shouldn’t let one bad review of his otherwise triumphant new book get to him—even if it does appear in the nation’s premier newspaper and is penned by the much-feared, seldom-seen critic, Shearman Waxx. Cubby knows the best thing to do is ignore the gratuitously vicious, insulting, and inaccurate comments. Penny knows it, even little Milo knows it. If Lassie could talk, she’d tell Cubby to ignore them, too.

Ignore Shearman Waxx and his poison pen is just what Cubby intends to do. Until he happens to learn where the great man is taking his lunch. Cubby just wants to get a look at the mysterious recluse whose mere opinion can make or break a career—or a life.

But Shearman Waxx isn’t what Cubby expects; and neither is the escalating terror that follows what seemed to be an innocent encounter. For Waxx gives criticism; he doesn’t take it. He has ways of dealing with those who cross him that Cubby is only beginning to fathom. Soon Cubby finds himself in a desperate struggle with a relentless sociopath, facing an inexorable assault on far more than his life.

Fearless, funny, utterly compelling, Relentless is Dean Koontz at his riveting best, an unforgettable tale of the fragile bonds that hold together all that we most cherish—and of those who would tear those bonds asunder.

 

Read Excert Here

 

My Review:  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥

This wasn’t my favorite Dean Koontz novel because it was so different that the others, but that being said, I still gave it five hearts because I loved it. It has all the Koontz trademarks: edge of your seat suspense, honorable everyday guy with a secret, good vs evil. But it’s done sort of tongue in cheek with quite a bit of irony, some of it bordering on the unbelievable. Only a writer as good as Koontz is able to pull something like this off. The irony begins almost immediatly with the sociopath book reviewer not only trashing the lovable author’s new novel, but deciding he must die for writing it. I’m sure Koontz was thinking of some of his past reviews when he wrote this. The old adage that if you make a writer angry, you may end up as the villian in his next book may have been going through Koontz’s mind. All in all, this was a very enjoyable read and I highly recommend it.

Featured Novel: Your Heart Belongs To Me by Dean Koontz

Your Heart Belongs To Me

by Dean Koontz

Book Description:

From the #1 New York Times bestselling master of suspense comes a riveting thriller that probes the deepest terrors of the human psyche–and the ineffable mystery of what truly makes us who we are. Here an innocent man finds himself fighting for his very existence in a battle that starts with the most frightening words of all…

At thirty-four, Internet entrepreneur Ryan Perry seemed to have the world in his pocket–until the first troubling symptoms appeared out of nowhere. Within days, he’s diagnosed with incurable cardiomyopathy and finds himself on the waiting list for a heart transplant; it’s his only hope, and it’s dwindling fast. Ryan is about to lose it all…his health, his girlfriend, Samantha, and his life.

One year later, Ryan has never felt better. Business is good and there’s even a chance of getting Samantha back in his life. Then the unmarked gifts begin to arrive in the mail–a heart pendant, a box of Valentine candy hearts. And, most disturbing of all, a graphic heart surgery video accompanied by a chilling message: Your heart belongs to me.

In a heartbeat, the medical miracle that gave Ryan a second chance at life is about to become a curse worse than death. For Ryan is being stalked by a mysterious woman who feels entitled to everything he has. She’s the spitting image of the twenty-eight-year-old donor of the heart beating steadily in Ryan’s own chest.

And she’s come to take it back.

My Review:  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥

“Your Heart Belongs To Me” is different than the other Dean Koontz novels I’ve read. The main character isn’t as likable. The story doesn’t move at as fast a pace in the beginning as most of his tales. Ryan Perry doesn’t know something inside him is broken. That something is his heart. He needs a transplant. but I don’t want to say anymore and ruin it. That being said, the story is brilliant I love it just as much as his other novels. I’m glad I continued reading because if I had stopped in the middle, it probably would have received three stars, very low for a Dean Koontz book. But when near the end, all mysteries were revealed and the subtext became clear, this was a story of redemption that will stay with me for a long time. It deserves five hearts.

“The Good Guy” by Dean Koontz

The Good Guy

by Dean Koontz

 

Book Description:

Timothy Carrier, having a beer after work at his friend’s tavern, enjoys drawing eccentric customers into amusing conversations. But the jittery man who sits next to him tonight has mistaken Tim for someone very different—and passes to him a manila envelope full of cash.

“Ten thousand now. You get the rest when she’s gone.”

The stranger walks out, leaving a photo of the pretty woman marked for death, and her address. But things are about to get worse. In minutes another stranger sits next to Tim. This one is a cold-blooded killer who believes Tim is the man who has hired him.

Thinking fast, Tim says, “I’ve had a change of heart. You get ten thousand—for doing nothing. Call it a no-kill fee.” He keeps the photo and gives the money to the hired killer. And when Tim secretly follows the man out of the tavern, he gets a further shock: the hired killer is a cop.

Suddenly, Tim Carrier, an ordinary guy, is at the center of a mystery of extraordinary proportions, the one man who can save an innocent life and stop a killer far more powerful than any cop…and as relentless as evil incarnate. But first Tim must discover within himself the capacity for selflessness, endurance, and courage that can turn even an ordinary man into a hero, inner resources that will transform his idea of who he is and what it takes to be The Good Guy.

Chapter One Excerpt

My Review:   ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥

All I can say is Wow. Dean Koontz has done it again. An ordinary guy is in a bar. A man mistakes him for a hitman. Then the real hitman shows up. Does this “good guy” have what it takes to be a hero and save the day? This is classic Dean Koontz. An ordinary guy in extordinary circumstances is tested to the limits. Plot twists and turns will keep you on the edge of your seat to the very end. Nobody does it better than Dean Koontz.

Recommended Novel: The Missionary

The Missionary

By William Carmichael & David Lambert

Life Turns On Small Choices!

Description:

Yesterday David Eller was an American missionary serving the poor in Venezuela. Today he is an international fugitive.

David Eller rescues impoverished children in Caracas, Venezuela, with his wife, Christie. But for David, that isn’t enough. The supply of homeless children is endless because of the massive poverty and the oppressive policies of the Venezuelan government.

When he is given an opportunity to do something more—to heal the disease rather than working on the symptoms—he decides to go for it. But little by little, he falls into an unimaginable nightmare of espionage, ending in a desperate, life-or-death gamble to flee the country with his wife and son.

Endorsements:

“Taut and gripping. You’ll be glad you made the investment.”
–Jerry B. Jenkins, author of Riven and co-author of the 65-million-sold “Left Behind” series

“David Lambert is a master of words — The Missionary is further proof.”
–Karen Kingsbury, New York Times bestselling author of the Above the Line series

“The Missionary is a roller-coaster read that will keep your adrenaline rushing!”
–Terri Blackstock, author of Double Minds and Last Light

“The Missionary combines ripped-from-the-headlines action with deeply felt themes and compelling characters. It all adds up to a flat out page turner and a truly satisfying read.”
–James Scott Bell, best-selling author of Deceived

Read More endorsements here.

Buy an autographed copy of the novel here, and help a child in need.

Find out more at www.missionarynovel.com

My Review:  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥

David is a frustrated missionary. No matter how hard he works, there’s always more homeless poverty striken orphans he can’t reach. He wants to do more, but how can he with the repressive dictator he blames for Venezula’s misery in control. If only something could be done?

This is the mindset of David when he is approached by a man who claims ties to the CIA and says he plans a peaceful coup. All David has to do is make a few deliveries. David knows he’s putting the mission, his family, and his life at risk if he agrees, but this is his chance to do something important. But then everything goes wrong.

I can relate to David’s stupid decisions. Many times as Chritians, we don’t feel like what were doing is making any difference. Sometimes it’s easier to do something “big” to change things. This is not your typical missionary story with the protaganist who meekly serves. This man has the faults and temptations we all do, and sometimes he screws up big time while trying to help God out.

I literally could not put this novel down. From the moment I started reading it, I was hooked. I had to see what happened next. I couldn’t put it down. If I could give this novel 6 hearts, I would. It’s that good.

This novel was given to me free by the author in exchange for reviewing it on my blog.

Featured Novel: “Exposure” by Brandilyn Collins

Exposure

by Brandilyn Collins

Zondervan Publishers

Someone is watching Kaycee Raye. But who will believe her? In Kaycee’s newspaper column she’s known for writing of her paranoia and fears. Is the new danger real—or is she going crazy? In this story of terror, twists, and desperate faith, the startling questions pile high. But Kaycee’s descent to answers proves even more frightening.

Description: 

When your worst fear comes true. Someone is watching Kaycee Raye. But who will believe her? Everyone knows she’s a little crazy. Kaycee’s popular syndicated newspaper column pokes fun at her own paranoia and multiple fears. The police in her small town are well aware she makes money writing of her experiences. Worse yet, she has no proof of the threats. Pictures of a dead man mysteriously appear in her home—then vanish before police arrive. Multisensory images flood Kaycee’s mind. Where is all this coming from? Maybe she is going over the edge. High action and psychological suspense collide in this story of terror, twists, and desperate faith. The startling questions surrounding Kaycee pile high. Her descent to answers may prove more than she can survive.

My Review:  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥

If you enjoy Christian Suspence/Thriller that keep you on the edge of your seat wondering what terrifying thing is going to happen next, then read this novel. Brandilyn Collins keeps us on the edge of our seats in this novel from the first page until the thrilling finish. The fear that Kaycee, the main character feels is described so well, you can’t help but look over your shoulder to see if you’re being watched. I also love a suspence novel that I can’t figure out easily. This was such a novel. I don’t want to tell you anymore for fear I’ll ruin it for you. But if you start reading “Exposure”, don’t expect to be able to put it down, and make sure you sleep with the lights on. I highly recommend this novel.