500 plus paged books

[Luffy]

Originally Posted by HarryT

"The Count of Monte Cristo" is a Victorian novel. What do you have against them? There was some wonderful literature written during the reign of Queen Victoria.

I read Pride and Prejudice, and a couple of Dickens books. I found the language difficult to understand. I wasn't reading so much as deciphering. I'm humbled by girls who find P&P so accessible.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Luffy

I read Pride and Prejudice, and a couple of Dickens books. I found the language difficult to understand. I wasn't reading so much as deciphering. I'm humbled by girls who find P&P so accessible.

Pride and Prejudice (one of my favourite books, I should add) is not Victorian - it's older. Like any time period, though, there were all sorts of books written in the 60+ years of Victoria's reign, and some will appeal, while others won't. It's a time period which saw some damn good books written, though. Don't just dismiss it out of hand.

[Luffy]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Pride and Prejudice (one of my favourite books, I should add) is not Victorian - it's older. Like any time period, though, there were all sorts of books written in the 60+ years of Victoria's reign, and some will appeal, while others won't. It's a time period which saw some damn good books written, though. Don't just dismiss it out of hand.

I won't dismiss it. I'll get back to it some day. EDIT - I can't force myself to like what I currently dislike though.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Luffy

I won't dismiss it. I'll get back to it some day. EDIT - I can't force myself to like what I currently dislike though.

If you want an example of a REALLY good Victorian novel, try "King Solomon's Mines" by Sir Henry Rider Haggard. One of the best adventure stories ever written, to my mind.

[Hampshire Nanny]

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon is a hefty book. There are sequels, but the first book stands alone very well. It's a time-travel novel with a lot of adventure and some romance as well. The STARZ network in the US just started broadcasting an adaptation of the novel. So far, the episodes have stayed pretty close to the book. We'll see how this plays out over the long haul.

I *am* a series reader just like I enjoy TV series. When I have invested time and emotion in a set of characters, and I wind up liking them, I want to read more about them. Series let me do that.

[Penforhire]

A couple of authors that tend fit your description are James Michener (e.g. Hawaii) and James Clavell (e.g. Shogun). Lots of hefty 'historical fiction' choices between them.

[Dazrin]

Here are a few of the really good stand-alone books I have read that are >500 pages.

• Cryptonomicon - Neal Stephenson - 1100+ pages
• 11/22/63 - Stephen King - 880 pages - Yes, it is Stephen King, but I don't consider it horror. Very good read.
• American Gods - Neil Gaiman (already listed/linked above) - 650 pages
• Darwin's Radio - Greg Bear - 540 pages - Might have a sequel, but this is stand-alone.
• The Golem and the Jinni - Helene Wecker - 510 pages
• Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell - 510 pages

The other 50 books over 500 pages that I have read are all series books.

[Geralt]

Originally Posted by Hampshire Nanny

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon is a hefty book. There are sequels, but the first book stands alone very well. It's a time-travel novel with a lot of adventure and some romance as well.

Isn't the romance a major thing in this book and time traveling as a sci-fi trope is more of an afterthought, providing the book with setting where the main romance plot is to be untangled? Or more simply, isn't this more of a romance/historical fiction novel than a speculative fiction (sci-fi/fantasy) book?

I'm asking because the OP has stated no romance, and by the reviews on Goodreads, Outlander is exactly that?

[Catlady]

James Jones, From Here to Eternity.
Leon Uris, Exodus
Herman Wouk, The Caine Mutiny.
Herman Wouk, The Winds of War and War and Remembrance.

[Luffy]

Guys, you can recommend series, that was a misunderstanding, if you read previous posts, you'll see.

I thank everyone who has posted. Some books are more likely to be chosen for reading, but I'm confident each one has some merit.

[ApK]

What about Lord of the Rings? The three books were always supposed to be one big tome, and while I personally could not stand to read the whole thing, lots of folks seem to like it.

T. H. White's "The Once and Future King" also comes to mind as yet another popular long book that I didn't personally care much for.

I second the recommendation above for Cryptonomicon, though I felt it dragged toward the end, and Stephenson's newer doorstop, REAMDE, was also pretty good. I listened to the unabridged audiobook, and it went by much quicker than I thought a 1000 page book would.

[twowheels]

Looking through my recently read list, where I keep track of the reported "printed page length"... here are some of the 500+ books I've read that were good enough to give them at least a passing recommendation.

• Mars (Ben Bova) [almost anything in that series is 500+]
• Dune (500+ by itself, plus sequels)
• Wool Omnibus
• Shift Omnibus (follows Wool, just under 500)
• Dust (follows Shift, just under 500)
• The Hangman's Daughter (448 according to my notes) -- kinda cheesy series, but a fast read
• The Dark Monk (follows Hangman's Daughter)
• The Beggar King (follows The Dark Monk)
• The Poisoned Pilgrim (follows The Beggar King)
• The Portable Atheist (can drag at times)

[Luffy]

Originally Posted by ApK

What about Lord of the Rings? The three books were always supposed to be one big tome, and while I personally could not stand to read the whole thing, lots of folks seem to like it.

T. H. White's "The Once and Future King" also comes to mind as yet another popular long book that I didn't personally care much for.

I second the recommendation above for Cryptonomicon, though I felt it dragged toward the end, and Stephenson's newer doorstop, REAMDE, was also pretty good. I listened to the unabridged audiobook, and it went by much quicker than I thought a 1000 page book would.

I've read LoTR many times, back in the days when I didn't have the internet, let alone an e-reader. I've read The Once and Future King too.

Never even heard of Cryptonomicon till today. This is a find.

[Luffy]

Originally Posted by twowheels

Looking through my recently read list, where I keep track of the reported "printed page length"... here are some of the 500+ books I've read that were good enough to give them at least a passing recommendation.

• Mars (Ben Bova) [almost anything in that series is 500+]
• Dune (500+ by itself, plus sequels)
• Wool Omnibus
• Shift Omnibus (follows Wool, just under 500)
• Dust (follows Shift, just under 500)
• The Hangman's Daughter (448 according to my notes) -- kinda cheesy series, but a fast read
• The Dark Monk (follows Hangman's Daughter)
• The Beggar King (follows The Dark Monk)
• The Poisoned Pilgrim (follows The Beggar King)
• The Portable Atheist (can drag at times)

Some great titles there. Yeah, I'm not a fan of Hitchens. I'm intrigued by The Hangman's Daughter series.

[Dazrin]

Originally Posted by Luffy

Guys, you can recommend series, that was a misunderstanding, if you read previous posts, you'll see.

I thank everyone who has posted. Some books are more likely to be chosen for reading, but I'm confident each one has some merit.

If series are ok then here are a couple more. In each case, the first book can be read as a stand-alone (except for maybe Honor Harrington), but they have good continuations and weren't necessarily meant to be read as stand-alone books. Except for Honor Harrington, again, each series is complete so you shouldn't be left hanging if something really grabs you.*

Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson, average around 750 pages for the first 3. I haven't read the 4th, but it is a second series anyway.
The Bourne Identity (and at least the two following books) are very good; only the first is marginally like the movies, the other two are completely different from the movies. You can read the first as a stand alone book. I haven't read beyond the first three by Robert Ludlum but some people say the others are good too (by Eric Van Lustbader?)

If you do decide you want a long, high page count series, then there are a couple of my "standby" series: Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan (and Brandon Sanderson), the shortest is about 700 pages and totals about 13,000; Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan series, starting with, in publication order, The Hunt for Red October which is the shortest at about 450 pages; or David Weber's Honor Harrington series which which averages over 700 pages each I believe.

*Complete means the original author is no longer adding to it.