Literary theme analysis, by a book like {foo}
Books about Wariness
Animal Farm
by George Orwell
A satirical fable of a group of farm animals who overthrow their oppressive master and attempt to create a utopian society.
The poorly-run Manor Farm near Willingdon , England , is ripened for rebellion from its animal populace by neglect at the hands of the irresponsible and alcoholic farmer, Mr. Jones . One night, the ... (Wikipedia)
A Clash of Kings
by George R.R. Martin
Set in the fictional land of Westeros, a political struggle for control of the Seven Kingdoms ensues.
A Clash of Kings depicts the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros in civil war , while the Night's Watch mounts a reconnaissance to investigate the mysterious people known as wildlings . Meanwhile, Daenerys ... (Wikipedia)
The Lady in the Lake
by Raymond Chandler
Private investigator Phillip Marlowe investigates the disappearance of a young woman, uncovering a sinister plot.
Derace Kingsley, a wealthy businessman, hires Marlowe to find his estranged wife, Crystal. Kingsley had received a telegram from Crystal about two weeks before stating that she was divorcing him and ... (Wikipedia)
Get Shorty
by Elmore Leonard
A criminal comedy about a low-level hoodlum's ambitions to become a Hollywood producer.
The story centers on Ernesto "Chili" Palmer, a small-time loan shark based in Miami . After a run-in with mobster Ray "Bones" Barboni, Chili goes to Las Vegas in pursuit of Leo Devoe, a dry cleaner ... (Wikipedia)
Dead Reckoning
by Charlaine Harris
A supernatural detective investigates a case of dark magic as she navigates the hidden magical world.
Old friends and enemies are causing problems for Sookie Stackhouse . Sandra Pelt has a score to settle. Victor Madden, representative of the Vampire King Felipe de Castro, is challenging her lover ... (Wikipedia)
Altered Carbon
by Richard K. Morgan
A futuristic sci-fi noir set in a world where death is no longer permanent.
On the colony planet of Harlan’s World, Takeshi Kovacs and his partner Sarah Sachilowski, former Envoys who had returned to a life of crime, are killed by a U.N. colonial commando unit. Kovacs is ... (Wikipedia)
Zero History
by William Gibson
A thrilling exploration of corporate espionage and high-tech subterfuge.
Hollis Henry and Milgrim find themselves in London working for Hubertus Bigend , unaware that their lives previously crossed in Spook Country . One of Bigend's current interests is fashion, ... (Wikipedia)
Tai-Pan
by James Clavell
Epic tale of struggle for power and control in Hong Kong during the 19th century.
The novel begins following the British victory of the first Opium War and the seizure of Hong Kong. Although the island is largely uninhabited and the terrain unfriendly, it has a large natural ... (Wikipedia)
Persuader
by Lee Child
A former military cop is forced to confront his past when a case involving a missing woman takes a deadly turn.
Jack Reacher is working unofficially with the DEA to bring down a boy's father, Zachary Beck, who is suspected of smuggling drugs under the pretext of trading in oriental carpets. They stage a kidnap ... (Wikipedia)
Magic Burns
by Ilona Andrews
A female mercenary must confront her past while protecting a mysterious girl from supernatural forces.
Down in Atlanta, tempers – and temperatures – are about to flare… As a mercenary who cleans up after magic gone wrong, Kate Daniels has seen her share of occupational hazards. Normally, waves of ... (Goodreads)
Parable of the Talents
by Octavia E. Butler
A post-apocalyptic tale of survival, exploring themes of faith and power.
Parable of the Talents is told from the points of view of Lauren Oya Olamina and her daughter Larkin Olamina/Asha Vere. The novel consists of journal entries by Lauren and passages by Asha Vere. Four ... (Wikipedia)
One, Two, Buckle My Shoe
by Agatha Christie
Detective Hercule Poirot investigates the mysterious death of a doctor and uncovers a sinister plot.
Hercule Poirot meets former actress Mabelle Sainsbury Seale while leaving his appointment with dentist Henry Morley. In this meeting, he retrieves a shiny buckle for her that had fallen from her ... (Wikipedia)
The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
by Michael Pollan
Exploration of the modern food chain, examining the impact of food choices on our health and the environment.
What should we have for dinner? The question has confronted us since man discovered fire, but according to Michael Pollan, the bestselling author of The Botany of Desire , how we answer it today, at ... (Goodreads)
The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains
by Nicholas Carr
Examination of how technology is impacting the way we think and process information.
“Is Google making us stupid?” When Nicholas Carr posed that question, in a celebrated Atlantic Monthly cover story, he tapped into a well of anxiety about how the Internet is changing us. He also ... (Goodreads)
Unnatural Causes
by P.D. James
A detective investigates a series of mysterious deaths, uncovering a sinister plot.
AN ADAM DALGLIESH MYSTERY Superintendent Adam Dalgliesh had been looking forward to a quiet holiday at his aunt's cottage on Monksmere Head, one of the furthest-flung spots on the remote Suffolk ... (Goodreads)
Barrayar
by Lois McMaster Bujold
A woman's journey of self-discovery as she navigates the rules and expectations of her home planet.
Cordelia and Aral Vorkosigan are expecting their first child. Before crafty old Emperor Ezar Vorbarra died, he maneuvered a very reluctant Aral into agreeing to serve as regent for Ezar's young ... (Wikipedia)
Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets
by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
A critical examination of the impact of randomness/chance in life and financial markets.
Fooled by Randomness, is a standalone book in Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s landmark Incerto series, an investigation of opacity, luck, uncertainty, probability, human error, risk, and decision-making in a ... (Goodreads)
A Drink Before the War
by Dennis Lehane
Private detectives investigate a kidnapping case, uncovering dark secrets of the city.
Boston private detectives Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro receive a job from three state politicians, Sterling Mulkern, Jim Vurnan and Brian Paulson, to recover documents from a former cleaning ... (Wikipedia)
Tripwire
by Lee Child
A retired military cop is drawn into a tangled web of intrigue, uncovering a deadly conspiracy.
The prologue describes Victor Truman "Hook" Hobie's carefully planned escape route in the event of somebody discovering his "really big, well-guarded secret". His "early-warning system" consists of ... (Wikipedia)
House of Suns
by Alastair Reynolds
Exploring the universe as a powerful family of clones, while struggling against a mysterious enemy.
Six million years ago, at the dawn of the star-faring era, Abigail Gentian fractured herself into a thousand male and female clones, which she called shatterlings. But now, someone is eliminating the ... (Goodreads)
Alias, Vol. 1
by Brian Michael Bendis
A story of espionage and intrigue, a female spy must uncover the truth of a dangerous conspiracy.
Once upon a time Jessica Jone was a costumed superhero. But not a very good one. Now a chain-smoking, self destructive alcoholic who is the owner and sole employee of a private investigations firm ... (Goodreads)
Surface Detail
by Iain M. Banks
A sci-fi space opera exploring the consequences of virtual immortality.
It begins in the realm of the Real, where matter still matters. It begins with a murder. It will not end until the Culture has gone to war with death itself. Lededje Y'breq is one of the Intagliated, ... (Goodreads)
The Sociopath Next Door
by Martha Stout
An exploration of sociopathic behaviour and how to identify it in individuals.
Who is the devil you know? Is it your lying, cheating ex-husband? Your sadistic high school gym teacher? Your boss who loves to humiliate people in meetings? The colleague who stole your idea and ... (Goodreads)
The Violent Bear It Away
by Flannery O'Connor
Exploration of religious faith and fanaticism in the American South.
Mason Tarwater, an outspoken evangelist and self-ordained prophet, dies many years after kidnapping his great-nephew Francis, raising him in a backwoods cabin and preparing him to someday take his ... (Wikipedia)
The Billion Dollar Spy: A True Story of Cold War Espionage and Betrayal
by David E. Hoffman
A gripping true story of espionage, betrayal, and the struggle against the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
From the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning history, The Dead Hand, comes the riveting story of a spy who cracked open the Soviet military research establishment and a penetrating portrait of the ... (Goodreads)
Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic
by David Quammen
An exploration of zoonotic diseases, how animal infections spread and threaten human life.
"[Mr. Quammen] is not just among our best science writers but among our best writers, period." —Dwight Garner,, New York Times, The next big human pandemic—the next disease cataclysm, perhaps on the ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University
by Kevin Roose
An exploration of faith and culture at an evangelical college, through the eyes of an atheist.
The hilarious and heartwarming, respectful and thought-provoking memoir of a college student's semester at Liberty University, the "Bible Boot Camp" for young evangelicals, that will inspire ... (Barnes & Noble)
Provenance
by Ann Leckie
An interstellar journey of intrigue and espionage, unraveling a conspiracy spanning the universe.
An ambitious young woman has just one chance to secure her future and reclaim her family's priceless lost artifacts in this stand-alone novel set in the world of Ann Leckie's groundbreaking, NYT ... (Goodreads)
The House at Sea's End
by Elly Griffiths
A former police detective investigates a mysterious death in a quiet beach community.
Ruth Galloway has just returned from maternity leave and is struggling to juggle work and motherhood. When a team from the University of North Norfolk, investigating coastal erosion, finds six bodies ... (Goodreads)
Possible Side Effects
by Augusten Burroughs
A humorous, darkly satirical look at the pharmaceutical industry and its effects on individuals.
National Bestseller From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Running with Scissors comes Augusten Burroughs's most provocative collection of true stories yet. From nicotine gum addiction to ... (Goodreads)
Last of the Wilds
by Trudi Canavan
A young girl's quest to find her destiny, while protecting her magical world from destruction.
After pitched battle, The White—the avatars of the Five Gods—have briefly turned back the vicious invaders. And now, the priestess Auraya is sent on an urgent mission to reconcile with the powerful, ... (Goodreads)
Suspect
by Robert Crais
Private investigator must solve a murder case while uncovering a larger criminal conspiracy.
LAPD cop Scott James is not doing so well. Eight months ago, a shocking nighttime assault by unidentified men killed his partner Stephanie, nearly killed him, and left him enraged, ashamed, and ready ... (Goodreads)
A Perfect Blood
by Kim Harrison
A supernatural detective must investigate a series of mysterious killings that threaten the centuries-old balance between humans and the supernatural.
“I wouldn’t miss a Kim Harrison book for anything.” —Charlaine Harris There’s nothing more darkly satisfying than time spent in the Hollows—,New York Times, bestseller Kim Harrison’s alternate urban ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Ersatz Elevator
by Lemony Snicket
A mysterious series of events surrounding a hidden elevator and a secret society.
NOW A NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES In their most daring misadventure, the Baudelaire orphans are adopted by very, very rich people, whose penthouse apartment is located mysteriously close to the place ... (Barnes & Noble)
Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies
by Nick Bostrom
A philosophical exploration of the implications of artificial intelligence on humanity.
Superintelligence asks the questions: what happens when machines surpass humans in general intelligence? Will artificial agents save or destroy us? Nick Bostrom lays the foundation for understanding ... (Goodreads)
Lord John and the Private Matter
by Diana Gabaldon
A thrilling mystery adventure set in Scotland, as Lord John Grey unravels a family secret.
In her New York Times bestselling Outlander novels, Diana Gabaldon introduced millions of readers to a dazzling world of history and adventure — a world of vibrant settings and utterly unforgettable ... (Goodreads)
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