Good, deep, accessible books?

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Red Dragon by Thomas Harris, the first Hannibal Lecter novel. That is the poster child of a page-turner.

1984-George Orwell(post-apocalyptic dystopia)
The Age of Fire series--E.E. Knight(a fantasy series told from the POV of 3 dragons)
Rendezvous With Rama--Arthur C. Clarke(a science fiction novel about the discovery of an abandoned alien spacecraft belonging to a long dead civilization)

With frank herbert's dune novels, I don't recommend the legends prequels or the sequels made by his son, brian herbert. They lack depth and seem hastily put together, and rely on too many deus ex machina.


I recommend from my childhood:

Zen and the Art of Motor Cycle Maintenance and Lila: An Enquiry Into Morals in that order, by Robert Pirsig.

Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman.

The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran.


I also recommend:

Any Poetry by Rainer Maria Rilke.

Neuromancer by William Gibson.

The later works of Philip K Dick, after his schizophrenic breakdown began.

The Nights Dawn Trilogy and the Commonwealth Saga, by Peter F Hamilton.

Traces (short stories) by Stephen Baxter.

Violence: A Philosophy by Slavoj Zizek.

Ghost In The Shell (manga) by Shirow Masamune.

EDIT: I forgot to add:

Cultural Amnesia by Clive James. A particularly difficult read but extremely insightful and rewarding.

The Godfather popped into my head earlier. Accessible, deep, very entertaining, even educational.

If you are looking for something deep try The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin at one end of the socio-political spectrum and Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand at the other.