Here are 74 books that Old Cold Cannibal fans have personally recommended if you like
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Growing up, Iād always been fascinated by science fiction narratives, having been suckered in by Star Warsat a very young age. But it wasnāt until I stumbled upon The Hitchhikerās GuideTo The Galaxy that I realized stories didnāt have to take everything so seriously. This pivoted to an obsession with comedy, leading me to write skits for the stage and screen in my late 20s as a fun side-gig along with my own comedic sci-fi novel series. Iāve always appreciated stories that lean into the lighter side of things. Reality is grim and dark enough as it is, our escapism doesnāt need to double down on that.
The Hike is a completely bizarre, surrealist masterpiece by former Deadspin Columnist Drew Magary. While itās impossible to describe the plot, I personally recommend this book if you donāt mind being taken on a strange, strange journey filled with fantastical creatures, a bit of horror, and some mind-bending introspection. You might not know where youāre going to end up, but part of the fun is strapping in and enjoying the crazy ride. Fans of animation like Infinity Trainor Adventure Timemight enjoy this if theyāre looking for something with a grittier, adult edge to it.
āThe Hike just works. Itās like early, good Chuck Palahniuk. . . . Magary underhands a twist in at the end that hits you like a sharp jab at the bell. . . . Itās just that good.ā āNPR.org
From the author of The Night the Lights Went Out and The Postmortal, a fantasy saga unlike any youāve read before, weaving elements of folk tales and video games into a riveting, unforgettable adventure of what a man will endure to return to his family
Growing up, Iād always been fascinated by science fiction narratives, having been suckered in by Star Warsat a very young age. But it wasnāt until I stumbled upon The Hitchhikerās GuideTo The Galaxy that I realized stories didnāt have to take everything so seriously. This pivoted to an obsession with comedy, leading me to write skits for the stage and screen in my late 20s as a fun side-gig along with my own comedic sci-fi novel series. Iāve always appreciated stories that lean into the lighter side of things. Reality is grim and dark enough as it is, our escapism doesnāt need to double down on that.
Carmen Loup's The Audacity is the successor to The Hitchhikerās Guide to the Galaxy that I've been looking for for a long time. Loup takes strands of Hitchhiker's Guide DNA lovingly engineers it into its own unique tale filled with bright, colorful, and snarky characters and a fun, insightful (and, indeed, inciteful) voice that rings incredibly true to an Americanized Douglas Adams (that is, lacking in British poise and restraint). The Audacity is simply an amazing sci-fi comedy from start to finish and feels like a love letter to The Hitchhiker's Guide and, indeed, to all its fans. Plus, the entire first trilogy is available now (with more to come!).
Rocket racing can be deadly, but working in food service is worse.
Mayās humdrum life is flung into hyperdrive when sheās abducted, but not all aliens are out to probe her. Sheās inadvertently rescued by Xan, an āI Love Lucyā obsessed alien with the orangest rocket ship in the universe.
But you still have to eat in space, and rocket racing is a quick, if life-threatening, way to make a living.
Finally, May has a career she loves and a friend to share her winnings with. Until a Chaos goddess possessing Xanās ex decides to start a cult on Earthā¦
Growing up, Iād always been fascinated by science fiction narratives, having been suckered in by Star Warsat a very young age. But it wasnāt until I stumbled upon The Hitchhikerās GuideTo The Galaxy that I realized stories didnāt have to take everything so seriously. This pivoted to an obsession with comedy, leading me to write skits for the stage and screen in my late 20s as a fun side-gig along with my own comedic sci-fi novel series. Iāve always appreciated stories that lean into the lighter side of things. Reality is grim and dark enough as it is, our escapism doesnāt need to double down on that.
Lingeriais a sarcastic, humor-infused take on the portal fantasy, which forces the author of a beloved fantasy series into the world that he's written - and come to despise.
It's a solidly entertaining book that appropriately skewers a lot of the tropes of fantasy fiction and the associated fandom.
I enjoyed the world of Lingeria and it's definitely a fun read for people seeking to scratch that Discworlditch.
LINGERIA: A wondrous world of centaurs, goblins, elves, knights, bounty hunters, giant centipedes, angry bookies, four-armed Yetis, and a single wizard. There is just one problem ā Lingeria shouldnāt exist. It is the product of acclaimed, and depressed, author Norman Halliday
So, how did Norman come to be sleeping on the couch of one of his fiction characters? And why are Normanās novels revered as Lingerian scripture? Also, why does all of Lingeria believe Norman to be God? Actually, a better question is ā¦ Who s this cruel wizard, about whom Norman never wrote, that seized power over the land?ā¦
Truth told, folks still ask if Saul Crabtree sold his soul for the perfect voice. If he sold it to angels or devils. A Bristol newspaper once asked: āAre his love songs closer to heaven than dying?ā Others wonder how he wrote a song so sad, everyone who heard itā¦
Growing up, Iād always been fascinated by science fiction narratives, having been suckered in by Star Warsat a very young age. But it wasnāt until I stumbled upon The Hitchhikerās GuideTo The Galaxy that I realized stories didnāt have to take everything so seriously. This pivoted to an obsession with comedy, leading me to write skits for the stage and screen in my late 20s as a fun side-gig along with my own comedic sci-fi novel series. Iāve always appreciated stories that lean into the lighter side of things. Reality is grim and dark enough as it is, our escapism doesnāt need to double down on that.
World Enough (And Time)is an absolute gem of a book that reads like Fawlty Towers set on Douglas Adams' Starship Titanic (if youāre old enough to remember that game!). It reads like a drawn-out comedy of errors that balances madcap situations and multiple outlandish characters into a brilliant narrative that ā albeit a bit long at times ā dovetails nicely with the protagonist's emotional journey. This is one to pick up if you enjoy character-driven stories told with wit and a bit of poignancy.
In the 24th century, companies offer deep-space cruises on luxury ships, but no one takes a deep-space cruise for pleasure. Because the ships travel at nearly the speed of light, 20 years pass on Earth during a standard cruise, while the passengers age only two years. Most passengers are sufferers of degenerative diseases who hope that, during those extra Earth years, medical science will catch up with their maladies. Many of these passengers are elderly; nearly all are fantastically rich. And then there's Jeremiah Brown. 31 years old and in the pink of health, Jeremiah is "rich" only through hisā¦
Having known families affected by substance abuse, Iāve long been fascinated by the resiliency of addictsā relatives and close friends. Equally compelling to me, as a one-time wannabe psychologist, was how living with substance abusers shaped peopleās characters and lives. But while the search for a recovering addict drives Beyond Billicombeās plot, the book is also an ode of sorts to North Devon, the area of England where I spent three of the happiest years of my life. Though I now live outside New York City, I havenāt given up hope on being able to move back there someday.
Dealing with an addicted child or sibling is traumatic enough; when the addict is your parent, the person who is supposed to protect and support you, the fear and betrayal are ramped up to an unbearable level. One of the Boys captures this in all its harrowing detail. Two barely teenaged boys move with their father from Kansas to New Mexico, where the fatherās descent into meth addiction obliterates any sense of responsibility, affection, and decency he might once have possessed. Narrated by the younger son, One of the Boys is more than a realistic depiction of addiction; it also shows how far children will go to gain or retain a parentās love, which is what makes the story so devastating.
A father and his boys have won 'the war': the father's term for his bitter divorce and custody battle. They leave Kansas and drive through the night to their new apartment in Albuquerque. Settled in new schools, the brothers join basketball teams, make friends. Meanwhile their father works from home, smoking cheap cigars to hide another smell. Soon his missteps - the dead-eyed absentmindedness, the late-night noises, the comings and goings of increasingly odd characters - become sinister, and the boys find themselves watching him transform into someone they no longer recognize.
When I make a snarky remark during a party, chances are one person will catch my eye with the amused look that says, āI saw what you did there.ā Everyone else will keep right on talking. But in a book, the reader is right there in the characterās head, which lets your audience catch those subtle humorous comments. In my mystery series, The Accidental Detective, Kate shares witty observations about life with the reader ā making Kate funnier than I am. I donāt do as much slapstick and joking (in life or in fiction), but I enjoy writers who pull off those forms of humor well. Humor makes lifeās challenges bearable
Matilda moves to the small New Mexico town of Goodnight after inheriting a house, a small newspaper, and two dogs. She learns just how odd the town is when she starts investigating the murder of a reporter. The town of Goodnight is pretty bizarre, but speaking as someone who lives in a small town in New Mexico, Goodnight is more believable than it might seem to an outsider. I prefer books where weirdness is something to celebrate, and here the characters embrace their crazy with enthusiastic joy. This story is part screwball comedy and part mystery, and both work.
Matilda Dare canāt sleep. Her insomnia is one more reason to move to the quirky small town of Goodnight, New Mexico after she inherits a house, a small newspaper, and two old dogs there. But despite the Goodnight name, Matilda still spends hers wide awake, and she has good reason after a reporter is murdered. With a mystery to solve, she begins to investigate the town and uncovers more suspects than she knows what to do with.
Meanwhile, the hottie cowboy sheriff is doing his own investigation into Matilda, and the mysterious, handsome stranger, who just happens to live withā¦
Zach, a young veteran, contemplates suicide after a horrific tour in Afghanistan when Ernest Hemingway appears and stops him. He enrolls in college, where he falls in love with Jessica, a young woman from a wealthy family. Her love stabilizes him, and Hemingwayās appearances become less frequent until she doesnātā¦
I was born and raised in New Mexico and itās a part of me. New Mexicans will tell you that itās impossible to describe its uniqueness, that you must experience it for yourself. That may be partially true, but writers have done a great job incorporating the majesty of the landscape, the earthiness of the people, the eclectic nature of its values, and ultimately the spell it casts. Iāve set quite a few books in New Mexico and have tried to show how these layers fit together for me. Ultimately, itās called The Land of Enchantment for many reasons and we do our best to share them with our readers.
This is a nonfiction book and typical of New Mexico, as there are whole chapters of its history nobody really knows about. The (probably) first white American woman to come into the territory was a Jewish woman who accompanied her merchant husband and brothers. Even more interesting, merchants and traders werenāt even the first Jewish people - āCrypto-Jewsā who were fleeing the inquisition came to New Mexico long before it was part of the US and kept their identity secret to assimilate. This is depicted with a character in Alburquerque and that perfectly encapsulates one of the overriding things about New Mexico and its tales ā a deep sense of connectedness, across people, across the land.
In this first history of the Jews in New Mexico--from the colonial period to the present day--the author continuously ties the Jewish experience to the evolution of the societies in which they lived and worked. The book begins with one of the least known but most fascinating aspects of New Mexico Jewry--the crypto-Jews who came north to escape the Mexican Inquisition. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the story is more familiar: German merchants settling in Las Vegas and Santa Fe and then coming to Albuquerque after the railroad arrived. To these accounts the author adds considerable nuance and detail,ā¦
Iām a novelist, essayist, and journalist whoās written extensively about the problems and consolations of faith, about belonging in and out of faith, and about the tribes of what I think of as the In Between. When youāre in between, youāre neither in it nor out of it, whatever āitā might be for you. You bear an āinfinity of traces,ā as the writer Antonio Gramsci called these formative influences. My first novel looks at these influences directly, while my second one looks at them indirectly. Iām late in the game with a third novel nowāa detective story that investigates a murder along with these same themes.
One of my permanent, permanent favorites. Catherās novel about a pair of French Catholic missionaries in 19th-century New Mexico is a lot of things: a portrait of a complex and life-giving friendship, a āloveship,ā if I can borrow from Alice Munro.
Itās also an immersive historical treatment of Catholic proselytizing in the Southwest and a lyric poem about the beauty of that land. Itās smart about the rigors and consolations and the inevitable condescension of missionary work. Itās smart about everything. A perfect book.
From one of the most highly acclaimed novelists of the twentieth centuryā"a truly remarkable book" (The New York Times),an epicāalmost mythicāstory of a single human life lived simply in the silence of the southwestern desert.
In 1851 Father Jean Marie Latour comes to serve as the Apostolic Vicar to New Mexico. What he finds is a vast territory of red hills and tortuous arroyos, American by law but Mexican and Indian in custom and belief. In the almost forty years that follow, Latour spreads his faith in the only way he knowsāgently, all the while contending with an unforgiving landscape,ā¦
Deserts are inherently mysterious places. This likely explains why so many good mystery novels have been set in them. We spent better than forty years doing field work in the American Southwest, and we have found mystery novels based in this region among the very best. All good mystery novels must have strong plots and memorable characters, but to us an equally important component is setting. Jane is a botanist with expertise in the use of plant evidence in solving murder cases. Carl is a vertebrate zoologist and conservation biologist. Upon retirement we began writing mysteries. Some are set in the desert grasslands of Arizona, and all are inspired by the southwestern authors we have selected as our favorites.
Bill Gastner is the sort of detective youād expect to find working the mean streets of an inner city: a rumpled overweight insomniac addicted to coffee and cigarettes. Instead his beat is the Chihuahan Desert of a fictitious county on the border between New and Old Mexico. In Heartshot, Undersheriff Gastner must solve multiple murders related to the illegal drug trade, including the loss of a fellow officer. The killer turns out to be somebody nearly as surprising and dangerous as the place where Gastner finds him. In his first book in the Posadas County series, author Havill skillfully brings to life both the rewards and challenges of life in a harsh yet beautiful place, where the people of two cultures are trying to figure out ways to live with one another.
First book in the Posadas County Mystery Series When a series of crimes disrupts the tranquil community in Posadas County, New Mexico, a group of small-town cops will have to fight for their lives to keep the county safe Posadas County, New Mexico, has very few mean streets and no city-slick cop shop. But it has an earnest, elected County Sheriff and his aging Undersheriff-William C. Gastner. Pushing sixty, widower Bill has no other life than in law enforcement-and doesn't want one, even if he's being nudged gently toward retirement. Then big time trouble strikes. A car full of teens,ā¦
After World imagines a not-so-distant future where, due to worsening global environmental collapse, an artificial intelligence determines that the planet would be better off without the presence of humans. After a virus that sterilizes the entire human population is released, humanity must reckon with how they leave this world beforeā¦
I was a political consultant for much of the first half of my nearly 30-year career in communications. Having run statewide and local political campaigns, I experienced many of the personalities I write about today. What is behind the political decisions elected leaders make? Can you truly be a dedicated public servant in politics today? If you only play to win, how do you keep from becoming your own worst enemy? My writing and the works I gravitate towards explore these challenging issues, which are as prevalent today as they were analyzed by the Greeks, Shakespeare, and 20th-century writers.
Having read the series out of order, The Cartel was my first Winslow book. His story was so captivating that I needed to go back and read how it all started.
The fact that I could start with The Cartel without having read the origin story is an example of Winslowās talent. The Cartel is a great stand-alone story, made even better when its two companion books are added together. Winslow has developed compelling characters, and it's enjoyable to watch how they evolve and face new challenges.
The New York Times bestselling second novel in the explosive Power of the Dog seriesāan action-filled look at the drug trade that takes you deep inside a world riddled with corruption, betrayal, and bloody revenge.
Book Two of the Power of the Dog Series
Itās 2004. AdĆ”n Barrera, kingpin of El FederaciĆ³n, is languishing in a California federal prison. Ex-DEA agent Art Keller passes his days in a monastery, having lost everything to his thirty-year blood feud with the drug lord. Then Barrera escapes. Now, thereās a two-million-dollar bounty on Kellerās head and no one else capable of taking Barreraā¦