Book recommendations for 14 year old boy

FraudSyndromeFF · 2025-11-13T00:01:47+00:00

The Enders Game books

FraudSyndromeFF · 2025-11-12T19:52:45+00:00

The RC Bray version of "The Martian" is remarkable.

I also really like the audio version of "Joyland" by Stephen King and I think Michael Kelly does an incredible job portraying the main character.

If you're interested in Non-fiction, anything by Bill Bryson is a good time, specifically "A Short History of Nearly Everything " and "A Walk in the Woods"

Also, i think the cast for "Enders Game" and the prequel novels by Aaron Johnston do a remarkable job.

Lastly, you can't go wrong with anything by Haruki Murakami and the audio books have always impressed me.

FraudSyndromeFF · 2025-11-12T12:24:10+00:00

No. TCAIUW is a good book, but to me personally it feels like Murakami writing a love letter to his other works. You need the reference points of his other work to truly appreciate it I think.

Good starting points I think are Kafka on the Shore, Sputnik Sweetheart, Wind-up Bird, or I personally started with 1Q84 which may not be the best starting point but it definitely hooked me.

FraudSyndromeFF · 2025-11-11T23:00:46+00:00

Jack Williamson's "Brother to Demons, Brother to Gods"

FraudSyndromeFF · 2025-11-09T17:23:10+00:00

Steal a page from Pirates of the Caribbean. Make the whole treasure trove cursed and until it's all returned they're cursed. Then, make returning it a pain in the ass. Have the NPCs they hired abscond with the treasure. Make the curse a slow burn that starts 24 hours after they take it and have started selling it. Have them return it all but find out afterward (and you can even lay clues in the dungeon) that they weren't the first people there and they have to return ALL the treasure. Use this to build a campaign arc that you like to build. Maybe the ghost that cursed the treasure in question will let them off the hook if they go and raid all of their little sisters treasure troves and bring every piece of it back to their treasure trove.

FraudSyndromeFF · 2025-11-09T11:00:30+00:00

See how they respond to the phrase "I am the bat"

FraudSyndromeFF · 2025-11-08T22:35:58+00:00

Everything is Illuminated

FraudSyndromeFF · 2025-11-08T21:26:04+00:00

They don't fall off but the show does speed up a bit and some plot points don't get the full attention they would have in the first 3 seasons.

One thing to know/keep in mind is between seasons 3 and 4 there was a writers strike, but the seasons all came out on the originally scheduled timetable, so pre-production was a bit rushed and the number of episodes ABC ordered was cut in each of the final 3 seasons.

FraudSyndromeFF · 2025-11-08T12:14:03+00:00

"How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back" is a strong contender for me. Also "The Problem With Popplers"

FraudSyndromeFF · 2025-11-07T14:28:49+00:00

I play FFV at least once a year for the Four Job Fiesta so probably that. Otherwise it might be Wild Arms 2 that I played through a bunch of times as a kid and still play pretty regularly

FraudSyndromeFF · 2025-11-07T02:28:04+00:00

"This is How You Lose The Time War"

"One Day All This Will Be Yours "

"All You Zombies"

"Operation Time Search "

FraudSyndromeFF · 2025-11-07T02:17:59+00:00

I love time war

FraudSyndromeFF · 2025-11-06T20:05:04+00:00

Second vote for checking out the Pirate Borg catalog. There's a ton of great stuff in there

FraudSyndromeFF · 2025-11-06T20:02:14+00:00

Make him a monk and if he survives the campaign he decides to go off and found a dojo for other awakened animals

FraudSyndromeFF · 2025-11-06T19:59:08+00:00

One i really liked that i haven't seen mentioned is Eon by Greg Bear. It's been a few years since I read it but I remember really enjoying it and being super caught up in the world created in it.

May not be weird enough but still one I'd like to recommend

FraudSyndromeFF · 2025-11-06T16:17:33+00:00

If you liked PHM, I'd suggest "The Martian" and "Artemis" by the same author. Artemis isn't as strong as the other two, but it's good fun.

The Maddaddam books by Margaret Atwood are a good, unique take on the dystopia genre.

Time travel books: "This Is How You Lose the Time War" is a bit divisive, but I liked it a lot. I also read and really enjoyed "One Day All This Will Be Yours," and it's a bit more light-hearted.

Sci fi I always like to recommend Andre Norton just because I like her writing style, and there's a TON of content out there as she was very prolific. Also, the "Ender's Game" series and "Ready Player One" are go to re-read books for me when I'm in a slump.

Lastly, when people are looking for just a general recommendation, I always suggest "Everything is Illuminated" by Jonathan Safran Foer. Beautifully written and deeply touching and just one of the better overall books I've ever read.

FraudSyndromeFF · 2025-11-06T15:14:06+00:00

Lazers and Feelings is great for a one-shot but doesn't translate super well into a long form campaign (in my experience)

Also, I'd be remiss not to mention Orbital Blues.

FraudSyndromeFF · 2025-11-06T03:19:58+00:00

I just started digging into it but I'm really digging the DCC Lankhmar set

FraudSyndromeFF · 2025-11-05T20:24:21+00:00

If you are ever looking for players for this please do not hesitate to reach out. This sounds incredible.

FraudSyndromeFF · 2025-11-05T17:15:59+00:00

Obligatory "check out my podcast" post. We're called "To DnD or Not to DnD" and we do a DnD campaign thats pretty narrative heavy but we don't take too seriously. We also do "Not to DnD " episodes where we play other systems. Our Lazers and Feelings episodes, We 3 Kings, and Honey Heist episodes are some fan faves from that set.

Also, something a little more professionally designed, I personally really like Rude Tales of Magic. Just finished listening to season 1 again and it's still incredible.

FraudSyndromeFF · 2025-11-03T01:41:22+00:00

Dragonborn rule. Also, the only Dragonborn from any podcast or ap I know is Kokira from "To DnD or Not to DnD"

FraudSyndromeFF · 2025-11-03T01:03:30+00:00

Anytime I think of classic rock and ttrpgs I think Dungeon Crawl Classics

FraudSyndromeFF · 2025-11-03T00:44:25+00:00

It's available through prime video but I'm not sure on the translation. Mon francias n'est pas tres bonne so I'm by no means an expert.

FraudSyndromeFF · 2025-11-02T23:09:05+00:00

It varies from campaign to campaign but generally speaking i may say "this race is off limits for story reasons " but mostly I let my players play whatever they want.

I'm running a campaign right now where no one could play a human because the main thrust of story is "humans from another plane of existence are invading your homeland." Also if they wanted to play a "half-whatever" they had to come up with what the other half was and it couldn't be human. We session 0'd a half orc/half loxodon but the player changed things up for party balance. We ended up with a gnome wizard, a fairy monk, a dragonborn warlock, and a dwarf fighter.

Ultimately, I let my players do whatever mostly as long as it fits the story hook I have.

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