The best Historical Thrillers books: Reddit reviews

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

If you'd like the extended version of this story, read the novel 2034. It's a fictional work about the exact scenario, written by retired Admiral James Stavridis (3-Star general, NATO Supreme Allied Commander, etc), so he has a bit of context.

Are you already aware that they are going to make a Heat 2? The book was released this year: amazon.com/Heat-2-Novel-Michael-Mann/dp/0062653318.

Michael Mann has spoken about filming it in a couple of interviews already!!

Tom Clancy already predicted in 1987's Red Storm Rising that the next major conventional war in Europe would be very much WW1 like

At least the Soviet Army in that book was competent, and the technology gap has widened even more since then

Also, the sequel is out now (it's a novel).

It's a nuclear state. They will fire nukes at all major US cities if we attack them. Check out this book co-written by a Navy admiral. It depicts a war between China and the US. https://www.amazon.com/2034-Novel-Next-World-War/dp/1984881256

If you want to see a 'Republican Dad' novel that could be turned into either 'Republican Dad blockbuster action movie' or 'TV miniseries' with Chris Pratt as the star, check out right-wing blowhard Ben Shapiro's attempt at becoming the new Tom Clancy, 'True Allegiance'. It's like 'The Room' or 'Plan 9 From Outer Space' of novels. A link to its Amazon page is below and be sure to use the 'Look Inside' feature to get a sampling of Shapiro's purple prose:

https://www.amazon.com/True-Allegiance-Ben-Shapiro/dp/1682610772

I highly recommend "Gates of Fire" by Steven Pressfield. Historical fiction about a Helot who was at the battle of Thermopylae, and captured by Xerxes forces while near death. Remarkable insight to the daily life and infighting amongst the city states from the perspective of a lower class citizen.

So a collaborator shared it with me years ago, just looked and it looks like it’s been taken from the shared drive.

So here’s the gross Amazon link.

amazon.com/World-War-Complete-Tie-History/dp/B00BIK73QA/ref=nodl_

I guess calling someone smart or stupid is probably using too broad a brush.

He’s a functional propagandist, and can gish gallop like a motherfucker, I don’t think that necessarily makes him smart. He’s definitely not self-aware. Half the shit he says doesn’t even make sense.

You should read just a small chunk of any book he’s written. It might just change your perspective on his mental capacity. I recommend True Allegiance for a good laugh.

Future conflicts are ever only vaguely like past conflicts. Given the ongoing cyber cold war the US is currently engaged in with China (and Russia), expect forces to strive to incapacitate communications and electronics. Both are striving to militarize space, to knock out satellites. Both will deploy EMPs to disrupt the battlefield. If they’re cleaver enough, they’ll strive to take command and control of the enemy’s electronics. Expect the war to go along the lines of

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1984881256/

As a result of the speed of the conflict, there won’t be a need to produce war machines - the conflict will be over almost as soon as it began.

At present, the US is positioned to lose the next great global conflict because of its hubris (the mindset that led the US to get its chain yanked in Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq remains - our military isn’t as capable as we think) and it’s focus on the wrong instruments of war (e.g., recent naval war games showed how easy it is for submarines to remove surface ships from the battlefield).

Iceland may not provide soldiers, but it's a critical piece of land that can shut down Russian fleet's (especially subs) access to the Atlantic.

The Tom Clancy novel Red Storm Rising, written in 1986, depicts a fictional NATO-Warsaw Pact conventional war and features Iceland as an important battleground

When the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq first started I read a few Mil-blogs, often written by Veterans who were turning to journalism as a second career and were embedded with troops. One of the mil-blog had a post about books mentioning a Colonel who had a reading list he encouraged his staff to read, one of the book was Gates of Fire which I decided to read.

It's a fictional account of the battle of Thermopylae and the training of the troops who later fought in it. One thing I recall was that the strength of the Spartans lay largely in the discipline and their Phalanx formation.

The Phalanx had troops stand very close together with each Spartan's shield covering part of themselves and part of the person next to them, allowing both to use their spear. Because of this the most important gear the Spartan had was not his spear but his shield because without it the man next to him would not be covered and that uncovered person would not cover the person next to him and the whole Phalanx falls apart. It was their discipline and their willingness to protect the person next to them which made the Spartan's Phalanx so effective.

Anyway it was a pretty good book and I've gifted it to others in the past. You might enjoy it.

That preview seemed somehow to hit a ton of cliches, especially with the characters. A lot of low reviews too that resonate with me here.

• https://www.amazon.com/2034-Novel-Next-World-War/dp/1984881256#customerReviews

We’re getting out asses handed to us when it comes to cyber issues. This issue alone could bring the nation to heal.

Check out https://www.amazon.com/2034-Novel-Next-World-War/dp/1984881256/ref=nodl_

Reading the reviews on Amazon suggest it is.

In fact reading the reviews for it on Amazon is definitely more enjoyable than actually reading the book, if the reviews are to be be believed.

And I have no reason to doubt them ;)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1682610772/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_7XFWQ1G94HCA0WRGV8BC

I just saw a novel that will come out soon A snipet of it is in latest Wired magazine.

Not sure how good but I will read the snipet first.

https://www.amazon.com/2034-Novel-Next-World-War/dp/1984881256/

Holy hell it is just straight up conservative fan fiction. The description on Amazon is.

>America is coming apart. An illegal immigration crisis has broken out along America's Southern border—there are race riots in Detroit—a fiery female rancher-turned-militia leader has vowed revenge on the president for his arrogant policies—and the world's most notorious terrorist is planning a massive attack that could destroy the United States as we know it. Meanwhile the President is too consumed by legacy-seeking to see our country’s deep peril.
>
>Brett Hawthorne is the youngest general in the United States Army—and he’s stuck, alone, behind enemy lines in Afghanistan. He’s the last lost soldier of a failed war, fighting to stay alive and make it back home—but will he be able to stop the collapse of America in time?

I love the book. Have you heard the audiobook? Hands down the best audiobook I've ever heard. Every character is voiced by a different actor. Mark Hamill does a voice. Henry Rollins, Alan Alda, Martin Scorcese, and more. But it made me wish they'd adapt the book like a Ken Burns miniseries. 10 episodes, done like a history of the zombie plague, showing lots of news reports and eyewitness footage from phones etc, social media panic. Them do all the interviews like an oral history with flashbacks. It would be fantastic. Here's the Amazon link. Listen to the sample.

World War Z: The Complete Edition (Movie Tie-in Edition): An Oral History of the Zombie War https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BIK73QA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_iTGqEb7N13YEZ

Did you try "Aztec" ? It's not a "horror" book but historical fiction.

There is some good horror elements though, because of their weird relationship with death (sacrifices, cannibalism, etc) :

https://www.amazon.com/Aztec-Gary-Jennings/dp/0765317508/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=gary+jennings&qid=1558981213&s=gateway&sr=8-1

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>I would like similar themes (does not have to be Aztec) but i would like it based in the jungle. More horror then fantasy, no romance with very little sex. Fiction loosely based on facts but not a must. Could have expeditions to find lost citys, a bit like the movie lost city of oz flick

It will be very hard to find the book you want, at this point, maybe try to write it yourself ;-)

Robopocolypse by Daniel H. Wilson

https://www.amazon.com/True-Allegiance-Ben-Shapiro/dp/1682610772

True Alliegiance - Ben Shapiro

It's a look into Ben's mind via his "fiction" which is really just a thinly veiled alternate imagining of history and the current political climate.

So, I've wanted to try getting into audiobooks. Haven't signed up for Audible because I didn't know if I'd get my money's worth out of a subscription service. Would I need to be a subscriber to listen to just one book to see how I like it (I ask because it may take me longer than the 30 day trial to get through it)? If not, I'd really like to give World War Z: The Complete Edition a listen.

I'm wrapping up reading Rogue Warrior by Richard Marcinko. Very much worth the read. I'm over 3/4 of the way in, and it made me realize that if I could do it over again, I think I'd have at least given BUD/S a shot rather than go Army like I did.

Lots of good stuff out there. You might look at

• Dostoevsky's "Notes from Underground"
• Steven Pressfield's "Gates of Fire"

The Amazon paperback explicitly lists it as a Jack Ryan book, too. No. Not unless there's been a rewrite where Ryan makes a cameo.

Larry Bond was co-author and shares the copyright. I could have sworn the first copy I saw credited him on the cover with Clancy, but all the images of covers I've seen since just have Clancy. (The current paperback calls it a Jack Ryan novel, which, no.)

Any relationship to Richard Markinko and his Red Cell experience that he talks about in his book.

Article behind paywall, so unable to read.

It's pretty much the exact plotline of at least one novel (Robopocolypse comes to mind, but I'm almost certain there's others)... but the condensed nature of it and super quick escalation makes it a pretty cool watch.

Hell, the long-winded nature of Robopacolypse was sorta annoying (granted, most of the best stuff happens in the first 10% of the book)... so, in a way, this is a superior way of sharing ideas about what exactly will happen at that moment in time when AI's become truly self-aware and enter into a dialogue with their creators.

This is like the beginning of the book Robopocalypse.

(Frankly, I personally feel like "Robocalypse" would have worked better as a title, but that's just me being nitpicky.)

There are some really great historic fiction novels out there.

Anything by Steven Pressfield, such as Gates of Fire

He explores historical events from the eyes of everyman protagonists who are there to see it unfold, to hear the famous quotes spoken in context. It's a great way to learn some history without being bored to tears.

The Silver Pigs is a detective novel set in ancient Rome. Another cool way to learn some of the culture in a fun way.