21
votes
Recommend me books with a twist (with a twist)
I'm interested in reading some books with good plot twists and would love some recommendations.
BUT WAIT THERE'S A TWIST
Knowing that a twist is coming can inhibit its effectiveness, so I also want some recommendations in this thread that do not have twists. This means that I or anyone else consulting this thread for recommendations won't necessarily know if the given book we've chosen has a twist or not, which helps keep us on our toes.
Joseph Heller's Catch-22
For a twist on your twist, I'm not even sure whether this one has a twist.
I'll toss one out for Heinlein's Moon Is A Harsh Mistress as well.
It's a much better take on Libertarian-esq philosophies than Rand's. And there's a lot of good ideas and a fun story to boot.
I think Heinlein's writing career could be included in the thread? I have never had more whiplash than reading different-aged Heinlein books...
Steven King - The Dark Tower series
It's the best possible way to introduce yourself to King, and it highlights how King isn't just some prolific pop writer....he's also got deep literary chops as well.
For any embarking on the journey for the first time, or constant readers being triggered into another re-read, I highly reccommend pairing your reading with the Kingslingers podcast. I learned more about literary analysis from 2 of the books covered than I had all the way through college.
Also, I request any of you starting to take a mandatory 6 month break between finishing "The Wastelands" and starting "Wizard and Glass." If that's painful, pour one out for all of us whom waited 6 years.
I just finished Project Hail Mary, by the author of The Martian. Hard-ish sci-fi. Good stuff.
I've also been enjoying the (not yet finished) fantasy series, Spells, Swords, and Stealth ("What if the NPCs in our games were real people in a real world?").
The Monster at the End of This Book
If you've not read any of the Culture series by Iain Banks I highly recommend 'Use Of Weapons'. The rest of the books are fantastic, though as the series is sort of anthological (or at least, not chronological in a strict sense), they're not necessary to grok this one.
I'd also recommend The Player of Games from the culture series.
One has twists and turns, the other one doesn’t. I will not tell you which is which and yes, I’ll mark myself off topic already fine you killjoy 😑
Okay just so this reply isn’t completely useless I want to actually recommend one nonfiction: The Dictator’s Handbook. You’d think nonfiction wouldn’t have twists and yet, this one might or might not. It’s a genuine recommendation either way.
The Man Who Folded Himself.
Edit: I feel that saying anything about it defeats the purpose...
Fingersmith
The Contortionist's Handbook -- I can neither confirm nor deny whether this is about contortionists and apologize if there has been too much man folding in this thread already
The Broom of the System
Exhalation: Stories -- a collection by Ted Chiang
Something Like an Autobiography
Pynchon's Inherent Vice doesn't necessarily have one "gotcha!" twist that's revealed near the end... but it's definitely a tangled mess of twists and turns. ... which kinda describes Pynchon in general, now that I think about it.
The Westing Game is who dunnit you might like.
My favorite ending is from a movie, Inside Man.
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead. I'll let you decide if it has a twist or not.
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke