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Monday, February 17, 2014

Top 10 Novels: Part 1

You voted for it, so here it is, my Top 10 Favorite Novels.

Before we had movies to tell us epic quests to save the world or whodunit murder mysteries, there were books and novels. While not the earliest form of storytelling, literature, particularly fiction, has captivated the masses for centuries. Novels are not really my area of expertise. Even though my ability to decipher an author's meaning and better analyze literature from a critical perspective has certainly improved since taking English 2 in college, which I received an A in, I am not particularly experienced when it comes to literature. While I am no expert on movies, having seen around 800 movies and having written well over 100 reviews, my knowledge of what defines a "good" movie is most definitely higher than my knowledge of books. Why am I telling you this you may ask? Unlike my list of favorite movies, this list of my favorite novels is heavily based on my personal preference and the fact that I am a fan of certain franchises, however the top three on my list are undeniable classics. Also, unlike movies, reading highly recommended books is not an easy task. Reading a book takes a lot of time that I simply do not have. Ever since I started college, all of my book reading has been relegated to the Bible and the tons of textbooks. If I wanted to read more books, I would have to stop writing this blog and stop reading your blogs, and that is not something I would ever want to do. I know a lot of avid book readers follow my blog and basically all of my friends are aspiring authors (online and real life), so I do not have anything against reading books in the slightest. That being said, I much rather watch 6 movies than read one book because reviewing movies and other visual media is my passion. One last thing to keep in mind while reading my list, I am a massive Star Wars fan, and even though some of the Star Wars books are not necessarily "great" books, they are the ones that I typically enjoy more because they are about some of my favorite characters in all of fiction. I have read a few "classics" but few have interested me to a great degree. If most of your favorite novels are "classics" that is great, but they are not my favorites. Keeping all of that in mind, here is my list.





At Number 10: Sherlock Holmes: A Study in Scarlet
"A Study in Scarlet" is currently the only Sherlock Holmes story I have read to completion in recent years. Despite the odd side story with the Latter-day Saints and the lack of clues given to the reader to solve the mystery, "A Study in Scarlet" is a fun origin story of sorts for the iconic detective. Reading how Sherlock and Watson got started is fun, which, as a fan of multiple adaptations, is a lot of fun to read.
Note: I did not read the graphic novel of A Study in Scarlet, but I could not find a good cover picture for the book.


At Number 9: Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan
Being a massive fan of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic video game, which I still hold as the second greatest story ever told in video games, "The Old Republic: Revan" continues the story of the game and it provides a satisfyingly bittersweet conclusion to the character. The novel is far from a masterpiece, but fans of the video game and Star Wars will sure find something to enjoy. *Massive spoilers for the video game* Since you, the player, are literally Revan in the game, although you do not know it through most of the game, reading about what you basically did was a unique reading experience. That is particularly emphasized by the fact that I unknowingly made choices that fall in line with the cannon version of Revan's story, which made the connection even greater for me. *End Spoilers* 


At Number 8: Star Wars: Darth Plagueis
In Revenge of the Sith, Emperor Palpatine tells Anakin the story of Death Plagueis, a Sith Lord that had supposedly discover how to prevent death itself. The novel essentially tells this story in great detail. Darth Plagueis is an intriguing character with a lot of depth that could be explored in a film, if Disney so chooses. Since many of the events of the book affect the events of the Phantom Menace, reading the novel makes the Phantom Menace a better movie in retrospect since it fills in most of the plot holes from the film. Throughout the book, there are references to The Clone Wars and other Star Wars expanded universe works, which fans of the franchise will surely enjoy. 

Hopefully you have enjoyed the list thus far, even if almost no would rank these books so highly on their lists. Also, since I had such a long opening, I have decided to only three entries of the list on this post and have the rest on the next one so that the word count is even. 

If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.

14 comments:

  1. I actually read a lot of classics, so I think I'll check out A Study In Scarlet!

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    1. Definitely check it out. That and the rest of the Sherlock stories are classics!

      -James

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  2. Great list so far! :D Even though I do love reading classics, I also love reading Star Wars books and they are among my favorites as well(I have a lot in my top 10). :) I have yet to read A Study in Scarlet, but I loved The Hound of the Baskervilles and I do want to read it sometime this year. As a literature buff, I would have to say that Darth Plagueis is very well written and very good! :) And that's cool about the Revan book- now I wish I could have played the game before reading it :) Looking forward to the rest of your list! :D

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    1. Thank you! :D Cool, Star Wars are majorly underrated, well, at least if you are a fan of the franchise. :) I think you would enjoy A Study in Scarlet. "A Study in Pink" adapted the story with a surprising amount of accuracy. Good, I was not sure if Darth Plagueis was written well or not, thanks for the input! I still recommend playing the game sometime if you get the chance. :) Hopefully the second part will be up next week!

      -James

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  3. I remember getting SO INTO A Study and Scarlet and I'm not sure why. I was even invested in the Latter Day Saints part! It's one of my favorite Sherlock stories! :)

    I have not read either Star Wars book but I've heard a bit from both. The Darth Plagueis book might be one I'd consider reading. The only Star Wars book I've read was Tattooine Ghost and it was about Leia and Han and also reflected a lot on The Phantom Menace (which I hadn't seen when I read it! :P)

    I'm sorry you don't have more time to read books, but at the same time movies are totally the thing you should be pursuing anyway! :) Looking forward to the rest of your list!

    ~Jamie

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    1. Was it the first one you read? :)

      If you want to read a good Star Wars book, definitely give either the Thrawn trilogy or Darth Plagueis a look. The Thrawn trilogy is a lot better, but both are very good. :) I have heard of Tattooine Ghosts, but I haven't read it. :)

      Thanks for backing me up on the movie watching! :)

      -James

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    2. Actually the first one was one of the short stories, "The Red Headed League"--or at least I think it was called that. :)

      ~Jamie

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  4. Happy to see your entry # 10. I hope you will find the time and interest to read more of those.

    Looking forward to your rest of the top 10.

    B2B.

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    1. Whenever I get the time, reading more of the Sherlock stories is at the top of my reading list.

      -James

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  5. I did enjoy A Study in Scarlet, though the LDS part was, well, a bit odd (mercifully skipped in A Study in Pink). I too have had to give up a lot of reading, and I love to read.

    I offer some recommendations for the summer: And Then There Was None by Agatha Christie (one of my favorite authors and the only book I read cover to cover in one sitting), Byzantium by Stephen Lawhead (had to force myself to put it down...a real page turner), and just about anything from Jules Verne (Around the World in 80 Days and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea both excellent...and the film versions are some of my favorite movies).

    Look forward to reading the rest of your list.

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    1. That is mostly my opinion of A Study in Scarlet as well.

      Thanks for the recommendations! I do remember reading 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea when I was in high school actually, but I haven't read the other ones.

      -James

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  6. Looking forward to the rest of your list. My top books are all science fiction although I have read many other genres. NPR put together a list of top 100 sci fi of all time and I compared my list to theirs,

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    1. Well I was close, above is the top 100, here is the top 25
      http://thinkingaboot.blogspot.ca/2013/11/twenty-five-greatest-books-of-all-time.html

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    2. Sci-fi is my favorite genre as well. Thanks for the links. I will go check them out now.

      -James

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