My Top 10 Books: What are yours?

I got a request from one of my publishers to list the top 10 books I have read. Well I thought that would be easy... but it wasn't at all. No it wasn't. The list I made went up to 25, finally I got it down to  ten forcefully. So here they are...  Any comments would be welcome. Your favourite top 10 is as important!

Remember they are in no particular order whatsoever... and are restricted to one book per author

1. The Da Vinci Code. Dan Brown. Here is one book I read fourteen years too late! But when I did, I was stunned. It rather inspired my own writing interest also. Dan Brown has his own lovers and haters! But I  certainly belong to the former. The plot of the story itself was marvellous. How the author managed to create a real life thriller based in Paris and London while exploring numerous aspects of religious history was just awesome. And it was an extreme page turner. Dan Brown's writing style ensures that the reader is always interested in knowing as to what is actually coming up in subsequent page. The Knights Templar aspect, the way we view history, the facts that were apparently hidden, their extrapolation to certain happenings in the real life....the way the entire story was woven was fantastic! Hats off. Angels and Demons, and the Lost Symbol are very close runners up for this author

2. If Tomorrow Comes. Sidney Sheldon. Sidney Sheldon? Are you serious? . This book is a masterpiece of sorts. Sidney Sheldon surely would have spent a few years researching for this one. The ridiculously difficult con plots in this story could not have been a masterchild of one individual's thoughts alone. The chess sequence on the ship, the diamond sequence In England and the museum sequence in Madrid are by far the best con stories I have ever read.

3. And then there were none. Agatha Christie. Suspense right till the end. Ten people in an island. Only ten. And yet each one is murdered one by one, The suspense when it comes to the last two people in the island can race anyone heart to very fast speeds. Too Good.

4. Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less. Jeffery Archer. Jeffery Archer has written many classics that include some of my all time favourites Kane and Abel and Shall we tell the the President? . But not a penny more, not a penny Less makes the cut. The way the initial con occurs and the way that four people retrieve their hard earned money.... worth the read...twice or thrice over.

5. Animal Farm. George Orwell. A small book. But too much substance packed in it. Anybody thinking that it is a fairy tale, please take a walk. Intense book that examines Dictatorship, Socialism, Capitalism and Communism. Fantastic.

6. The Ninja. Eric Van Lustbader. Very slow paced book... but the story and the narration are too good.

7. The Gemini Contenders. Robert Ludlum. Robert Ludlum, better known for his Bourne Series wrote this masterpiece in his earlier days. A book that spans two generations. Thrilling.

8. The GodFather. Mario Puzo. Not often you come across a book loved by so many people. More than the story itself, the narration and the scene description are supreme.

9. Asuras. Anand Neelakantan. Read this. The way Ramayana is written is the opposing direction where Ravan is described as the hero. At first, I thought it would be just fun... but many aspects described here had left me thinking for days....

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10. The Broken Ear. Herge. Each an every Tintin adventure has been written with utmost care. The Story, the humor, the message, the plot, the super characters. It was difficult for me to write the name of one book here, as each and every one is fantastic!

Of course I can't rate my own books here! Liked by friends and critics alike. The Science Redemption Fifth Dimension, The Subconscious, The Creation Conundrum and Been There Before. My favourite among them? The One that I have withdrawn from the market for reworks... The Fifth Dimension

What are your top 10 Books?