The majority of my posts have been focusing heavily on films, TV
and games, and so to mix things up a bit, I thought I would talk about what
inspired me to start writing in the first place: Books.
Even with the forever increase in games, TV programs, Youtube, and
films, books are still incredibly popular with no sign of disappearing any time
soon. Even though books are gradually – and some might say they have already
done so – making the controversial transition to Kindle where you will be able
to store many thousands of books at once instead of trying to find room on the
bookshelf, there are still many thousands of people discovering the power of
books for the first time.
I’ve read many books over the course of many years, each and every
single one of them pulling me into their worlds and allowing my imagination to
explore at will, and over those years, 5 books have stood out the most for me
and I would like to talk about them today and why they are my favourite.
Number 5:
Doctor Who – Sick Building
(By Paul Magrs)
Featuring the Tenth Doctor (played by David Tennant from 2005 –
2010), and Martha Jones (played by Freema
Agyeman during
series 3 2006), this book sees the two characters landing on a world Tiermann’s
world, which is owned by Professor Teirmann himself. The planet has only three
occupants – well, three human occupants anyway – Professor Teirmann and his
family, who live in a house that is literally run by robots. Every appliance is
a robot and every command that you wish to carry out from day to day can be
done by a robot. You don’t have to do anything except sit down and relax.
But, the world has been targeted by the Craw, which can only be described
as a humungous worm-like creature that devours entire worlds for breakfast. The
Doctor and Martha set out to warn the family of the impending danger and to
tell them that they only have a very short window of which to evacuate before
the home and world is eaten. However, Professor Teirmann’s greatest invention,
the head robot that controls everything in the house, doesn’t want him to leave
her to be destroyed and does whatever she can to make sure she leave with him
or he stays with her.
This is one of the very earliest Doctor Who books that I’ve read
and I instantly got wrapped up in it from the very beginning. Paul Magrs does a
brilliant job at capturing what makes the show popular among fans: It’s a brilliant
blend of comedy and thriller that never stops until the final page. I couldn’t
put this down; I had to find out what happens next.
You can purchase this book on Amazon and Ebay:
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Number 4
Hell’s Heroes
(By Darren Shan)
The ten book series, the Demonata is why made Darren Shan at the
top of his game. Under his name on his book, is the tagline, ‘number one master
of horror,’ and I agree. Writing Horror is what he does best and the Demonata
supports that case.
Starting with Lord Loss, The Demonata series follows three main
protagonists, Grubitsch “Grubbs” Grady, Cornelius “Kernal” Fleck and Bec
MacConn as they battle the main antagonist, the Demon Master, Lord Loss and the
mysterious Shadow that promises to destroy the human universe, and ends with
Hell’s Heroes.
This is one of those books that I just cannot give away the ending
as it would absolutely spoil everything. Each book progressively gets that much
more epic, characters are given all the time they need to develop, and the demons
are very much scary. When I had finished Hell’s Heroes and therefore the entire
series, I was left with my mouth aghast and my mind blown. I fully recommend
the entire series, and once you’ve gotten to the end, you will know exactly why
I couldn’t give it away.
Another reason why this book is on my list, was because did
something that was very inspirational with how I write my own stories. By changing
perspectives as the series goes along, the lore can be explained that much more
and by seeing the world through different people’s eyes, it becomes richer and
clearer and makes you want to keep reading to find out what happens next to a
certain character.
You can purchase this book on Amazon and Ebay:
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Number 3:
The Menace from Earth
(By Robert A Heinlein)
Robert A Heinlein is considered as one of the all-time greats when
it comes to writing science fiction, and the Manage from Space, an 8 story
anthology of science-fiction short stories, perfectly represents that.
One story in particular, By His Bootstraps, has been acknowledged
as one of the greatest science-fiction stories ever. By His Bootstraps focuses
on a man called Bob Wilson, who locks himself in his room to complete his work.
His thesis on a mathematical aspect of metaphysics focuses heavily on time
travel. Unbeknownst to him, the concept of time travel would become reality
when someone appears in his room, going by the name of Joe, who explains that
he comes from the future via a Time Gate, which sits behind him. One thing lead
to another – involving drink – and as soon as Bob was about to go through the Time
Gate, another man shows up and says that he mustn’t go through. A fight
ensures, and during the commotion, Bob is pushed through.
Over the course of the story, he quickly realises that those two
other people were himself from different time periods.
The paradox involved in this story is the ontological paradox,
which is when an item or a piece of information is sent back in time and
subsequently creates itself. This story became so popular that the name of the
paradox was changed in accordance to the title. It is widely known now as
Bootstrap Paradox.
As well as changing the names of paradoxes, the story did so much
more than just that. For me personally, it opened my eyes to the concept of
time travel. From the moment that I started reading this book, I had to find
out more about how time travel works and the many paradoxes involved and how
they come to be. If it weren’t for this book, my book, Sector 22: Zoey, the
Watch, and many other stories that I’ve wrote in which time travel is essential
the plot would never have been written. I owe Robert and this book a lot for
kick starting the Butterfly Effect in my life.
You can purchase this book on Amazon and Ebay:
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Number 2:
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
(By J.K. Rowling)
From the moment that Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone hit
the market, it took the world by storm. People everywhere were queuing up at
bookstores across the country to get their hands on the book. As a whole, this
series has sold over 450 million copies, and have been translated into a least
68 other languages, do I really need to explain what it’s about?
I picked book one for this list because it is the start of
something massive. It begins Harry, Ron and Hermione’s journey introduces us to
the world of magic. And to many people, this book introduced many people around
the globe to reading. Children and adults alike fell in love with the books and
will remain with them for a very long time to come.
I was among the many who this book inspired to read more, and as a
result, this list was born. Because of this book, and the series as a whole, it
will forever remain as one of the greatest series of books of all time.
You can purchase this book on Amazon and Ebay:
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Number 1:
The Phantom Tollbooth
(By Norton Juster)
When I was in Primary School, for half an hour each day, we had
what was known as our reading session. We had to pick out a book from the bookshelf
and read it. After I had waited for the rush of people grabbing their books, I
went up and picked out the one that took my fancy. However, because I was young
at the time, I just walked up to the bookshelf, grabbed a book, sat down and
started reading it.
Now, I know what you are thinking. Why is a children’s book my
number one book. Sure, Harry Potter is a children’s book, but that’s different because
it’s Harry Potter. The Phantom Tollbooth isn’t just a children’s book, it’s a
book that we must all read no matter what age we are.
The book follows a young boy going by the name of Milo who is
bored. When he’s out the house, he wants to be at home, and when he’s at home,
he wants to be out and about. When he’s going he longed to be coming and when
he’s coming, he longed to be going. And when he is going and coming, he doesn’t
pay attention to what is around him, and he thinks that almost everything is a
waste of time. What was the point in subtracting turnips from turnips and figuring
out how to spell February? All that changes when he receives a mysterious
package which is addressed to him. Upon opening it, he finds that it is a
tollbooth. Well, what else is he going to do? So he dusts off his toy car and
drives through it. What happens next is beyond expectations. Soon he’s driving
down and road through the Kingdom of Wisdom. He meets Tock the watchdog, and
the Humbug, and soon the three of them embark of an epic journey through the
kingdom of wisdom. Along the way, all three of them learn incredible lessons
about the importance of words and numbers, sounds and silences, different
perspectives and different personalities, and soon they are driving through the
Mountains of Ignorance to rescue two princesses, the Princess of Sweet Rhyme
and the princess of Pure Reason.
A classic children’s story and one that you may still be scratching
your head over as to why this is my number one book. Well, although Harry
Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone still holds the title of being the book that
inspired me to keep reading, the was the first book that I actually sat down
and read right the way through. As a child, I didn’t have that much of an attention
span when it comes to reading, but this kept me turning the page. When I finished,
I simply put it back on the shelf and chose another book, but it remained at
the back of my mind for years. Many years passed and when I had stuck my nose
into many books thanks to Harry Potter, this book slowly crept back to the
surface. Even though I was still there, bits and pieces of the book was lost
and so I did struggle to remember what it was about when trying to explain it
to the book finding professionals. They directed me straight to this and when
reading the synopsis, everything came flooding back.
After purchasing it, I re-read it and because I hadn’t read it for
so long, it was as if I was reading for the first time, and because of that, I
was instantly transported back to when I was sitting in that classroom,
discovering the book for the first time. Not only did I fall in love with the
story all over again, I experience nostalgia as well, and that just added to
the experience. I’ve read it many times over since, and each and every time, I’m
always discovering something new about it. The more I continue to learn and
gain as much knowledge as I can, I’m always uncovering a new layer within the
story.
This book didn’t just teach me so much, it allowed me to see how important
everything is at the same time, and that’s powerful. I understand that you may
not be interested in the book because it is aimed a children’s, but I highly
recommend that you give it a go because I can guarantee that you will be pleasantly
surprised.
You can purchase this book on Amazon and Ebay:
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Thanks for reading
Antony Hudson
(TonyHadNouns)
My Book, Sector 22: Zoey, is now available on Amazon, eBay, and
SkyCat Publications’ website:
Amazon:
eBay:
SkyCat Publications:
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