The 10 books on this stack
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Shogun
James Clavell · 1975
A bold English adventuer. An invincible Japanese warlord. A beautiful woman torn between two ways of life, two ways of love. All brought together in a mighty saga of a time and place aflame with conflict, passion, ambition, lust and the struggle for power. Superbly crafted...grips the reader like a riptide...gets the juices flowing! -- Washington Star. Exciting, totally absorbing...be prepared for late nights, meals unlasting, buisness unattended... -- Philadelphia Inquirer. Adventure and action, the suspense of danger, shocking, touching human relationships...a climactic human story. -- Los Angeles Times.
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Pillars of the Earth
Ken Follett · 2007
A spellbinding epic tale of ambition, anarchy and absolute power set against the sprawling medieval canvas of twelfth-century England, The Pillars of the Earth is Ken Follett's classic historical masterpiece. A MASON WITH A DREAM 1135 and civil war, famine and religious strife abound. With his family on the verge of starvation, mason Tom Builder dreams of the day that he can use his talents to create and build a cathedral like no other. A MONK WITH A BURNING MISSION Philip, prior of Kingsbridge, is resourceful, but with money scarce he knows that for his town to survive it must find a way to thrive, and so he makes the decision to build within it the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has ever known. A WORLD OF HIGH IDEALS AND SAVAGE CRUELTY As Tom and Philip meet so begins an epic tale of ambition, anarchy and absolute power. In a world beset by strife and enemies that would thwart their plans, they will stop at nothing to achieve their ambitions in a struggle between good and evil that will turn church against state, and brother against brother . . . The Pillars of the Earth is the first in The Kingsbridge Novels series, followed by World Without End and A Column of Fire . More than 175 million copies sold worldwide. Published in over eighty territories and thirty-seven languages. The international No. 1 bestselling phenomenon returns.
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Gone with the Wind
Margaret Mitchell · 1992
'My dear, I don't give a damn.' Margaret Mitchell’s page-turning, sweeping American epic has been a classic for over eighty years. Beloved and thought by many to be the greatest of the American novels, Gone with the Wind is a story of love, hope and loss set against the tense historical background of the American Civil War. The lovers at the novel’s centre – the selfish, privileged Scarlett O’Hara and rakish Rhett Butler – are magnetic: pulling readers into the tangled narrative of a struggle to survive that cannot be forgotten. WINNER OF NATIONAL BOOK AWARD AND PULITZER PRIZE 'For sheer readability I can think of nothing it must give way before' The New Yorker 'What makes some people come through catastrophes and others, apparently just as able, strong, and brave, go under?’ Margaret Mitchell
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East of Eden
John Steinbeck · 1952
This sprawling and often brutal novel, set in the rich farmlands of California's Salinas Valley, follows the intertwined destinies of two families--the Trasks and the Hamiltons--whose generations helplessly reenact the fall of Adam and Eve and the poisonous rivalry of Cain and Abel.
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Fine Balance
Rohinton Mistry · 1995
The eagerly awaited novel from the author of the award-winning Such a Long Journey is set in India in the mid-1970s. A State of Internal Emergency has been declared, and in the days of bleakness and hope that follow, four disparate people find their lives becoming unexpectedly and inextricably entwined.
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Wolf Hall
Hilary Mantel · 2009
Now a major TV series Winner of the Man Booker Prize Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction Shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award 'Dizzyingly, dazzlingly good' Daily Mail 'Our most brilliant English writer' Guardian In this brilliant novel, Hilary Mantel brings the opulent, brutal world of the Tudors to bloody, glittering life. It is the backdrop to the rise and rise of Thomas Cromwell: lowborn boy, charmer, bully, master of deadly intrigue and, finally, most powerful of Henry VIII's courtiers, determined to bring England into a modern age. Heralded as the greatest English novels of this century, the Wolf Hall trilogy has won two Booker Prizes and been adapted into hugely successful stage plays. The first two books, Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, were transformed into a BAFTA- and Golden Globe-winning BBC television series, starring Mark Rylance and Damian Lewis. The cast will return in the long-awaited concluding series, Wolf Hall: The Mirror & the Light.
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Sarum
Edward Rutherfurd · 1987
A masterpiece of breathtaking scope—a brilliantly conceived epic novel that traces the entire turbulent course of English history This ebook edition features a new introduction by the author in honor of the thirtieth anniversary of Sarum. This rich tapestry weaves a compelling saga of five families—the Wilsons, the Masons, the family of Porteus, the Shockleys, and the Godfreys—who reflect the changing character of Britain. As their fates and fortunes intertwine over the course of the centuries, their greater destinies offer a fascinating glimpse into the future. An absorbing historical chronicle, Sarum is a keen tale of struggle and adventure, a profound human drama, and a magnificent work of sheer storytelling. Praise for Sarum “Bursts with action, encyclopedic in historic detail . . . supremely well crafted and a delight to read.”—Chicago Tribune “A fascinating journey . . . a clear yet sparkling window upon history with a superb narrative, so perfectly balanced between history and fiction that it clears away the mists of time from antiquity, giving the reader the impression that events over a span of ten centuries occurred only yesterday.”—Fort Worth Star-Telegram “Strong . . . appealing . . . I haven’t read so satisfactory a saga in years . . . in fact, perhaps not ever before. . . . It gives you not only history but comfort.”—Chicago Sun-Times “[Edward] Rutherfurd holds us all consistently intrigued. In Sarum he has created a splendid novel that will bring many hours of diversified reading pleasure.”—The Plain Dealer “A richly imagined vision of history, written with genuine delight.”—San Francisco Chronicle “Rutherfurd is at his best. . . . His storytelling skills are substantial. . . . One of the best books of the season.”—Kansas City Star “Absorbing . . . a superior historical novel . . . This blockbuster saga should appeal to discriminating readers, since Rutherfurd has an excellent grasp of his subject and a compelling story to tell.”—Publishers Weekly
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A Storm of Swords
George R. R. Martin · 1998
Of the five contenders for power, one is dead, another in disfavour, and still the wars rage as violently as ever, as alliances are made and broken. Joffrey, of House Lannister, sits on the Iron Throne, the uneasy ruler of the land of the Seven Kingdoms. His most bitter rival, Lord Stannis, stands defeated and disgraced, the victim of the jealous sorceress who holds him in her evil thrall. But young Robb, of House Stark, still rules the North from the fortress of Riverrun. Robb plots against his despised Lannister enemies, even as they hold his sister hostage at King's Landing, the seat of the Iron Throne. Meanwhile, making her way across a blood-drenched continent is the exiled queen, Daenerys, mistress of the only three dragons still left in the world. But as opposing forces manoeuvre for the final titanic showdown, an army of barbaric wildlings arrives from the outermost line of civilization. In their vanguard is a horde of mythical Others - a supernatural army of the living dead whose animated corpses are unstoppable. As the future of the land hangs in the balance, no one will rest until the Seven Kingdoms have exploded in a veritable storm of swords.
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Way of Kings
Brandon Sanderson · 2010
The groundbreaking first book of an epic series that has changed the face of fantasy. The Way of Kings begins The Stormlight Archive. Speak again the ancient oaths: Life before death. Strength before weakness. Journey before Destination. Return to men the Shards they once bore. The Knights Radiant must stand again. Roshar is a world of stone and storms. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter. It has been centuries since the fall of the ten consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Men trade kingdoms for Shardblades. Wars were fought for them, and won by them. One such war rages on a ruined landscape called the Shattered Plains. There, Kaladin, who traded his medical apprenticeship for a spear to protect his little brother, has been reduced to slavery. In a war that makes no sense, where ten armies fight separately against a single foe, he struggles to save his men and to fathom the leaders who consider them expendable. Brightlord Dalinar Kholin commands one of those other armies. Like his brother, the late king, he is fascinated by an ancient text called The Way of Kings. Troubled by over-powering visions of ancient times and the Knights Radiant, he has begun to doubt his own sanity. Across the ocean, an untried young woman named Shallan seeks to train under an eminent scholar and notorious heretic, Dalinar's niece, Jasnah. Though she genuinely loves learning, Shallan's motives are less than pure. As she plans a daring theft, her research for Jasnah hints at secrets of the Knights Radiant and the true cause of the war. Readers love The Way of Kings: 'A masterpiece series in epic fantasy' Novel Notions 'It's multi-POV, action-packed, heartfelt, exciting, thrilling' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'The story is mind-blowing' Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ '[It's] elevated the art of storytelling to a different league' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'Introduces a series that will change the history of Fantasy' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'I really wish I could give The Way of Kings a sixth star' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Other books by Brandon Sanderson The Cosmere The Stormlight Archive The Way of Kings Words of Radiance Edgedancer (Novella) Oathbringer Rhythm of War Wind and Truth The Mistborn Saga Mistborn The Well of Ascension The Hero of Ages The Alloy of Law Shadows of Self The Bands of Mourning The Lost Metal
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The Count of Monte Cristo
alexander dumas · 1940
The Count of Monte Cristo is an adventure novel by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is one of the author's most popular works, along with The Three Musketeers. Like many of his novels, it is expanded from plot outlines suggested by his collaborating ghostwriter Auguste Maquet. The story takes place in France, Italy and islands in the Mediterranean during the historical events of 1815–1838. It begins from just before the Hundred Days period (when Napoleon returned to power after his exile) and spans through to the reign of Louis-Philippe of France. The historical setting is a fundamental element of the book. An adventure story primarily concerned with themes of hope, justice, vengeance, mercy and forgiveness, it focuses on a man who is wrongfully imprisoned, escapes from jail, acquires a fortune and sets about getting revenge on those responsible for his imprisonment. However, his plans have devastating consequences for the innocent as well as the guilty. In addition, it is a story that involves romance, loyalty, betrayal and selfishness, shown throughout the story as characters slowly reveal their true inner nature. The book is considered a literary classic today. According to Luc Sante, "The Count of Monte Cristo has become a fixture of Western civilization's literature, as inescapable and immediately identifiable as Mickey Mouse, Noah's flood, and the story of Little Red Riding Hood."