Shadow Lands of the Gods is a product of over 30 years of research and pondering, folllowed by 4 months of intense writing and editing. It began while reading Genesis with the question, “What if this is literally true?” while I was still a Christian Minister—but I was first and foremost an engineer with a brutally honest curiosity. It took over 30 years for me to process a crisis of faith that led me on a mission to understand the history of humanity. The similarities of many multi-theistic, pagan myths inspired the characters and many intertwined stories in my book. All that was necessary was to imagine plausible events memorable enough to be passed down.
Although these books total more than 1500 pages, I find myself re-reading them every few years. Several years ago they were made into movies (which I have thoroughly enjoyed many times), but the experience just isn’t the same. The books are mesmerizing.
The Lord of the Rings is the ultimate story of Good vs Evil, and of struggle, determination and hope in the face of seemingly impossible odds. It illustrates how the simplest act by the smallest person can make the difference between victory and defeat at a global scale. Its lessons are at least as relevant today as they were when written over a half century ago.
All this takes place in Middle Earth – a place you will want to return to again and again.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, the Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell by chance into the hands of the hobbit Bilbo Baggins.
Stranger in a Strange Land is about a boy named Michael who was raised as a Martian by Martians, who was brought back to Earth.
Heinlein was a master at creating fictional cultures and weaving them into his tales. In truth, Michael is mostly the figurehead of that culture. The real story is about how he affected the lives of Heinlein’s other vivid characters and how the world at large reacted to him.
The story is so compelling that nearly an entire generation (myself included) adopted the language and customs of the water-sharing cult that Heinlein described.
The original uncut edition of STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND by Hugo Award winner Robert A Heinlein - one of the most beloved, celebrated science-fiction novels of all time. Epic, ambitious and entertaining, STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND caused controversy and uproar when it was first published and is still topical and challenging today.
Twenty-five years ago, the first manned mission to Mars was lost, and all hands presumed dead. But someone survived...
Born on the doomed spaceship and raised by the Martians who saved his life, Valentine Michael Smith has never seen a human being until the day a…
In this, another tour de force by Robert Heinlein, the star of the book is not the protagonist, but rather the setting. The Lunar Colonies have been so thoroughly imagined in every detail that you will find yourself being sucked into the storyline.
The characters and plot are engaging also. This, too, is a story of conflict, determination, and hope.
In 2075, the Moon is no longer a penal colony. But it is still a prison...
Life isn't easy for the political dissidents and convicts who live in the scattered colonies that make up lunar civilisation. Everything is regulated strictly, efficiently and cheaply by a central supercomputer, HOLMES IV.
When humble technician Mannie O'Kelly-Davis discovers that HOLMES IV has quietly achieved consciousness (and developed a sense of humour), the choice is clear: either report the problem to the authorities... or become friends.
And perhaps overthrow the government while they're at it.
I started reading this book, quite frankly, because C.S. Lewis was renowned as a Christian author. Within a few pages however, I was immersed in this masterpiece that became the anchor of an entire series – without becoming the least bit preachy.
Lewis’s Narnia is yet another example of a highly imaginative fictional Universe. He relates this so deftly that you barely notice that many of the characters are talking animals and other impossible creatures.
The plot of this book is yet another epic tale of Good vs Evil. It, too, has stood the test of time.
Lucy steps into the Professor's wardrobe - but steps out again into a snowy forest. She's stumbled upon the magical world of Narnia, land of unicorns, centaurs, fauns... and the wicked White Witch, who terrorises all. Lucy soon realises that Narnia, and in particular Aslan, the great Lion, needs her help if the country's creatures are ever going to be free again...
I’ve always wanted to see New Orleans but I’ve never had the pleasure. After reading this book however, I feel as if I have seen a rare view of it in the 1960s through the eyes of a local.
Unlike my other picks, this is not Science Fiction, but like my other picks, the author’s ability to transport the reader to the scene of his novel is what I crave most in a book, and Toole definitely had that gift.
'This is probably my favourite book of all time' Billy Connolly
A pithy, laugh-out-loud story following John Kennedy Toole's larger-than-life Ignatius J. Reilly, floundering his way through 1960s New Orleans, beautifully resigned with cover art by Gary Taxali _____________
'This city is famous for its gamblers, prostitutes, exhibitionists, anti-Christs, alcoholics, sodomites, drug addicts, fetishists, onanists, pornographers, frauds, jades, litterbugs, and lesbians . . . don't make the mistake of bothering me.'
Ignatius J. Reilly: fat, flatulent, eloquent and almost unemployable. By the standards of ordinary folk he is pretty much…
Shadow Lands of the Gods draws on many ancient documents to recreate life on Earth before the Great Flood. Its style is Science Fiction. Its characters and plots are plausible portraits of the Myths that permeate ancient religions.
You might just find yourself believing that this is what really happened.
I’m an OB/GYN, passionate about adventuring beyond what’s expected. This has led me to pivot multiple times in my career, now focusing on writing. I’ve written a play, The Post-Roe Monologues, to elevate women’s stories. I cherish the curiosity that drives outer and inner exploration, and I love memoirs that skillfully weave the two. The books on this list feature extraordinary women who took risks, left comfort and safety, and battled vulnerability to step into the unknown. These authors moved beyond the stories they’d believed about themselves–or that others told about them. They invite you to think about living fuller and bigger lives.
Tap Dancing on Everest, part coming-of-age memoir, part true-survival adventure story, is about a young medical student, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor raised in N.Y.C., who battles self-doubt to serve as the doctor—and only woman—on a remote Everest climb in Tibet.
The team attempts a new route up the East Face without the use of supplemental oxygen, Sherpa support, or chance for rescue. When three climbers disappear during their summit attempt, Zieman reaches the knife edge of her limits and digs deeply to fight for the climbers’ lives and to find her voice.
The plan was outrageous: A small team of four climbers would attempt a new route on the East Face of Mt. Everest, considered the most remote and dangerous side of the mountain, which had only been successfully climbed once before. Unlike the first large team, Mimi Zieman and her team would climb without using supplemental oxygen or porter support. While the unpredictable weather and high altitude of 29,035 feet make climbing Everest perilous in any condition, attempting a new route, with no idea of what obstacles lay ahead, was especially audacious. Team members were expected to push themselves to their…
