Just for Fun: Top Ten Favorite Fiction Books

Since most of my postings have to do with the non-fiction I read, I thought I'd post something for fun. Here are my top ten favorite pieces of fiction. Keep in mind that I do not necessarily endorse the world-view or all of the content of these books, but I have found them well-written and entertaining.

10. Tell No One - Harlan Coben. This is suspense pop-fiction (by a non-Christian), not literature. But it is one of the best-plotted mysteries I've read.

9. Tarzan of the Apes - Edgar Rice Burroughs. I first read this when I was eleven years old and it's been a favorite ever since. (Don't prejudge the book based on the sorry film versions!)

8. King Solomon's Mines - H. Rider Haggard. Another favorite from childhood. Like Tarzan, the novel is far better than any of the film adaptations.

7. Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold - C. S. Lewis. Lewis's imaginative retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche lost me as a teenager and thrilled me at age 30. I now think it is one of the best books Lewis wrote.

6. A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens. Stunning novel with an intricate plot that starts making sense about 2/3 of the way through. I read this in high-school and found it difficult at the time, but it still stands out in my memory as an incredible piece of fiction.

5. The Great Divorce - C. S. Lewis. Theological fiction at its best. Just remember it is fiction!

4. The Two Towers - J. R. R. Tolkien. The second "book" in Tolkien's larger work (he didn't think of it as a "trilogy") The Lord of the Rings. This is also my favorite edition, with stunning art by Alan Lee.

3. Red - Ted Dekker. This is the second in Dekker's Circle Trilogy, which is fantasy/suspense with a theological sub-plot. You have to read book one (Black) first, but this one was my favorite.

2. Oxygen - Randall Ingermanson and John Olson. This is a sci-fi thriller with incredible plot twists and a Christian sub-plot about a NASA mission to Mars that goes wrong. Lots of technical stuff about space-travel (which is why my wife didn't enjoy it as much), but I found it so riveting that I could hardly put it down.

1. Perelandra - C. S. Lewis - The second book in Lewis's Space Trilogy is by far the most amazing piece of fiction I've ever read. Absolutely incredible.