Ten Books (Not By Dan Brown) Every Conspiracy Theorist Should Read

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish that asks bloggers to create Top Ten lists on a variety of bookish topics. This week’s topic is Ten Books Every X Should Read.

I love me a good conspiracy theory (consequently, I’ve read an ungodly amount about the Kennedys!). And when fiction poses plausible, yet highly unlikely real-life scenarios, it gets me thinking . The first books that come to mind when I think about this category are Dan Brown’s (particularly The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons, both of which I loved). But, they’ve been read by many…so, here are some excellent choices that aren’t Dan Brown!

Ten Books Every Conspiracy Theorist Should Read


11/22/63
 by Stephen King
What if someone could go back in time and stop the assassination of JFK?

Back Channel by Stephen L. Carter
What if the Cuban Missile Crisis was really resolved through a secret back channel…and the go-between was a female college student?

Black Chalk by Christopher J. Yates
What if a high stakes “game of consequences, silly forfeits, and childish dares” played by college students was actually run by a much larger and more powerful cabal of influencers?

Natchez Burning and The Bone Tree by Greg Isles
What if a splinter cell of the KKK was responsible for several high profile, unsolved Civil Rights era murders…and had a connection to the JFK assassination?

One Second After by William R. Forstchen
What would life look like if the U.S. was attacked by an EMP (electro magnetic pulse)?

Palace Council by Stephen L. Carter
What if President Nixon was a puppet for a group of wealthy businessmen and influencers?

The Beautiful Bureaucrat by Helen Phillips
What if a massive database had far more power than you could ever imagine?

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot by David Shafer
What if a cabal of powerful people could take over all the world’s information (oh wait, is that Google or Facebook?)?

Youngblood by Matt Gallagher
What if the connections between U.S. forces in Iraq and the local population are far more convoluted than most people could imagine?




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29 Comments

  1. The Bone Tree has been on my to-read list for so long. I don’t know when I’ll get to it, but it’s one that should really be a priority but keeps getting pushed back.

    Posted 4.12.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      It’s a doorstop and, in my opinion, could have cut a couple hundred pages, but fascinating stuff to think about!

      Posted 4.12.16 Reply
  2. I’ve been meaning to read 11/22/63 soon so I can watch the adaptation but I haven’t heard of any of the others.

    Posted 4.12.16 Reply
  3. Lindsay wrote:

    Your blurbs make all of these sounds amazing! The only one I’ve read so far is “The Beautiful Bureaucrat” but I keep meaning to check out “Young Blood” and “Natchez Burning.” And now maybe some of the others you mentioned! 🙂

    Posted 4.12.16 Reply
  4. Naomi wrote:

    A few of these have been on my radar, but the only one I’ve read is 11/22/63. My Dad likes these kinds of books, and he’s the one who recommended 11/22/63 to me (which I really liked). He also loved Natchez Burning and The Bone Tree, but I haven’t gotten to those yet.
    One Second After sounds like one I’d like!

    Posted 4.12.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      They’re chunksters, but read quickly…and have some pretty fascinating stuff in them! Natchez Burning was probably my fave and there is a 3rd in the trilogy coming out at some point.

      Posted 4.12.16 Reply
  5. Good choices! I just mentioned on another blog that my son is currently reading 11/22/63, and my husband read it and enjoyed it, so I have it available here to read when I’m able.

    Black Chalk is one you’ve mentioned before and I put on my wishlist.

    I love the Greg Iles books I’ve already read (several but not all) and I do have Natchez Burning on my shelf, purchased in a used bookshop last year. I’ve not read it yet, because the issue of racial bias and violence in the South is off-putting to me. I know folks say it’s a great read. I will have to get to it sometime.

    Posted 4.12.16 Reply
  6. What a fun idea for a list! I still can’t think of anything for today’s theme.

    Posted 4.12.16 Reply
  7. Putting Back Channel on my TBR now…

    Posted 4.12.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Yay!

      Posted 4.12.16 Reply
  8. Deanna wrote:

    What a cool idea for a topic! I loved Dan Brown, so I should check these out.
    My TTT: http://www.anovelglimpse.com/2016/04/12/top-ten-tuesday-twenty-books-every-reader-new-to-the-new-adult-genre-should-read/

    Posted 4.12.16 Reply
  9. 11/22/63 has been on my tbr forever and I’m holding off watching the adaption until I read it so that’s my motivation lol. Great list!

    Posted 4.12.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      I didn’t realize there was an adaptation…will have to check that out!

      Posted 4.12.16 Reply
  10. Gabby wrote:

    All of these sound FASCINATING and are going on my TBR immediately

    Posted 4.12.16 Reply
  11. Amanda wrote:

    Awesome topic. There are quite a few on your list I’ve been wanting to read forever!

    Posted 4.12.16 Reply
  12. Carmen wrote:

    Great list, Sarah! I’m a conspiracy theorist myself, so what better to do than delve into any of these books??

    Posted 4.12.16 Reply
  13. I really loved 11/22/63 and The Beautiful Bureaucrat. So many people have been telling me great things about the 11/22/63 TV show that I think we’re going to have to line it up soon!

    Posted 4.13.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      I didn’t know about the TV adaptation until today – so many people mentioned it in the comments of this post! I’m going to have to check it out. And Stephen King may be the only author who could make a book featuring time travel work for me!

      Posted 4.14.16 Reply
  14. Athira wrote:

    I love this prompt and of course, Dan Brown’s books are the first that come to my mind as well! I definitely need to read 11/22/63 – that one has been on my list for awhile.

    Posted 4.13.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Yes, yes! It totally surprised me!

      Posted 4.14.16 Reply
  15. This isn’t usually my kind of read (though I really liked The Beautiful Bureaucrat, and have been meaning to check out the Stephen King sometime) but my spouse will LOVE this list!

    Posted 4.13.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Haha! Share it with your spouse for sure! And 11/22/63 was amazing..and is one of a very few time travel books that worked for me.

      Posted 4.14.16 Reply
  16. I am obsessed with 11.22.63. Such great storytelling!

    Posted 4.13.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      I agree!

      Posted 4.14.16 Reply
  17. Lauren wrote:

    Great topic and some great titles (and a couple to see I’m happy are on my list/shelf (WTF and Youngblood. If you are interested in JFK stuff in general, Stephen Hunter writes a series about a sniper (Bob Lee Swagger) that is great. One of the entries (One Bullet, I believe) deals with the assassination and I was blown away. It was not only a fantastic entry into the series, but totally had my saying “Damn, that could have happened!” Fun stuff.

    Posted 4.13.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Oooh – I’ll have to check that out! Haven’t heard of it!

      Posted 4.14.16 Reply
  18. Good suggestions! The Beautiful Bureaucrat is a great suggestion for this list.

    Posted 4.15.16 Reply
  19. Justin M wrote:

    I would recommend Mimadamos from Chadi B. Ghaith.
    It’s not a conspiracy theory book but I do think that it could appeal to a lot of the same demographic. Mimadamos really makes you think hard about a lot of things and challenges the beliefs of it’s reader frequently. A truly powerful and absolutely fascinating novel that should not be overlooked this year.
    http://www.mimadamos.com

    Posted 5.8.16 Reply

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