I've been doing a Lost rewatch, and it's got me craving books with a lot of mysteries, big twists, and opportunities for theory-crafting. In short, something that routinely gets you I prefer something fast-paced, but doorstoppers are also allowed! Any genre works, though I am partial to fantasy or sci-fi. I love an ontological mystery in particular!
Some books that have scratched this itch for me in the past:
- 14 (and sequels) by Peter Cline
- Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke
- Pines by Blake Crouch (this one was a pretty transparent Lost ripoff to the point that the opening paragraph is just the opening shot of Lost. Not a great book, but fun.)
- The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley
- Riverworld series by Philip José Farmer (These got bad fast, but the mystery element of the first one was really enjoyable.)
People often recommend the Southern Reach series or House of Leaves as good books for this niche. While I enjoyed both, they're not really the kind of thing I'm looking for here, because they aren't really building toward "solutions" to a mystery. They're largely about encountering a cosmic, weird, unknowable thing.
by OkapiAlloy
4 Comments
The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins is the only book I’ve had to reread almost immediately to catch all the clues and tricks I’d miss.
As they say, it’s not the twist you never saw coming. It’s the twist you should have seen coming…
Jeffrey Deaver writes books with an astonishing number of plot twists, if that’s what you’re meaning.
I think you should read some Gene Wolfe.
I’ve just finished The Ferryman by Justin Cronin and think this might be a good book for you.