Topic: Books, Books, Books!
In this, the age of flat characters, predictable plots, and cliched symbolism that is the bottom-feeding piles of garbage such as *shudder* Twilight, there still remain rare treasure troves of proper, noteworthy literature. If you've recently discovered a work worth noting as superior to whatever happens to be the bandwagon's most recent favourite piece of @#$%, let me know so I can check it out!
One novel I have come to enjoy immensely over the past few months is The Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett. It's set in the middle of the 12th century, primarily during the Anarchy, between the sinking of the White Ship and the murder of the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1170. It tells the story of the the construction of a cathedral in the fictional city of Kingsbridge, England, and how the project affects the lives and fortunes of the citizens of Kingsbridge as well as those of their enemies. The story is told primarily from three different points of view: Tom Builder, a noble but impoverished mason who dreams of building the most magnificent cathedral in England; Philip of Gwynedd, a dedicated yet worldly Monk who yearns to restore the downtrodden priory of Kingsbridge to greatness; and Lady Aliena, the daughter of a traitorous Earl struggling to fulfill an an ill-considered vow to her dying father that she would help her brother regain the earldom.
The two primary villains, who spend their lives attempting to thwart the ambitions of the people of Kingsbridge, are William Hamleigh, who lives for power revenge but is mortally afraid of Hell; and the cunning and deceitful Waleran Bigod, a morally bankrupt yet devout priest willing to do anything for the sake of his own ambition.
All the characters are beautifully crafted and incredibly real; the prose is well tailored, without being excessive; and the plot is incredibly intricate, full of murder, arson, betrayal, torture, love, hate, and lust. Definitely my all-time favourite book, and for sure one I'd recommend to anyone here who has any kind of appreciation for proper story-telling.
Does anyone else have any book suggestions? Try to give a somewhat decent plot overview, as opposed to just giving the name of a book and its author.
Just a little note: if anyone here tries to suggest Twilight, its sequels, or anything else written by Stephanie Meyers, they will be reported for spam. Because that's all anything promoting Twilight can be, is spam, since Twilight has absolutely no substance in any facet of its inane prose, Mary Sue characters, or mockery of anything and everything to do with real Vampires. Don't mention it, and you won't be incessantly flamed by yours truly.