Top Ten Tuesday – The Star Wars Films (Ranked)

On August 31, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn List, Star Wars7 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. The topic for this week was fictional crushes, which while interesting, is not my cup of tea, so I thought I would continue a recent trend of mine in these lists and turn to once again looking at some of my favourite film franchises. In recent weeks I have ranked the MCU and the overall DC Comics based film adaptions, both of which proved to be a lot of fun. This week I figured I would do something in a similar vein, and so I am going to rank a particularly favourite franchise of mine, with the Star Wars films.

It should come as no surprise to anyone who has checked out the extensive Star Wars category of my blog that I am a huge fan of this franchise. I have loved these films since I was a little kid, and I have fond memories of watching the original movies on VHS again and again. This love of the franchise has only grown in recent years, as I have become even more obsessed with the extended universe surrounding the film franchise, such as the animated series, the tie-in novels, and the associated comics. Heck, I am literally listening to a Star Wars audiobook at this very moment. In addition, I, like everyone, really enjoyed The Mandalorian, and it looks like Disney has a huge swath of other live-action shows on the way that should prove to be pretty damn awesome (out of all the new shows, I think I’m most excited for the Obi-Wan Kenobi show, which has a lot of potential).

However, the focus of this list is the films, so I have pulled together all the films into one list and ranked them from my least favourite to my absolute favourite. There are 11 live action and one animated Star Wars film currently out now (I’m excluding the Holiday Special and the two Ewok movies), and each of them brings something different to the overall franchise. Due to how much I enjoy the franchise, I initially had a bit of trouble working out how to rank these films, but I was eventually able to sort it out. It helps that, while I do enjoy all the films on this list, some have flaws that I dislike and focusing on them helped me figure it out. I realise that some of my choices are going to be a little controversial, especially surrounding a certain polarising 2017 film. However, I feel that this list accurately reflects my opinions about the franchise, and I am happy with my final choices. So let us see how the various movies ranked up.

List (Ranked Descending Order):

12. The Clone Wars

First on this list we have the only animated feature, The Clone Wars. Set between the events of Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, The Clone Wars film serves as a sequel to the animated Clone Wars micro-series, as well as a pilot episode to the subsequent The Clone Wars animated series. Directed by The Clone Wars showrunner Dave Filoni, this movie looks at the war-torn Clone Wars period and sets Anakin and Obi-Wan against Count Dooku and his followers as they attempt to extort Jabba the Hutt. While this film has its cool moments, it is more childish than the rest of the films and it lacks the complexity that the sequel animated series had. Still, it is a fun entry, and it has the distinction of being the film that introduced the world to Ahsoka Tano, Anakin Skywalker’s apprentice who has gone on to become one of the most beloved figures in the canon. It also introduced a lot of the key characters and voice actors who would later be used in the series, and for that alone it has my appreciation, even if it falls short of the other films.

11. Attack of the Clones

Next, we have the second film in the prequel series, Attack of the Clones. Attack of the Clones is a film that I really enjoyed when I first saw it, however, my opinions on it have radically changed since then. It does have some great moments to it, including the massive war scene, the battle between droids and the entire Jedi Order, and of course the reveal of how much of a badass Yoda could be. However, I feel that its negative features really outweigh the positives, with the worst part of the film being that terrible romance between Anakin and Padme. This entire romance is just wrong, and the scenes focused on them are laughably bad. Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman have zero chemistry, and it doesn’t help that the dialogue between them is terrible, such as that cringe-inducing monologue about sand. Also, did we really need to see one of the great film villains reduced to a whiney teenager. Frankly I tend to fast forward through these scenes, and they kind of ruin the overall movie. Still, the rest of the film is pretty watchable, and I have fun watching it.

10. The Last the Jedi

So here is where the list starts to get a little controversial, and I know some people are going to strongly disagree with my placement of this movie, although I was honestly considering chucking it down to spot 11. The second film of the sequel trilogy, Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi will go down as the most divisive Star Wars movie of all time, with fans either loving it or hating it. I find myself being in the camp of those people who hated the film, and I remember walking out the theatre very disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, The Last Jedi had some great moments, such as that epic Hyperspace move or that cool fight in the throne room, however, that really did not make up for some of the terrible flaws. Half the story doesn’t make sense, the entire Finn/Rose storyline was terrible and didn’t achieve anything, and everything could have been avoided if Laura Dern’s character learnt to share. I didn’t dislike the whole Rey and Luke training part of the film, especially as Luke’s negative feelings about the Force made a lot of sense after everything his family has been through, but all that good will left me when they killed Luke and didn’t even tell Mark Hamill it was happening. Also, why the hell did Benicio del Toro decide his already dreadful character needed to have a lisp, it made no sense. Look, I could honestly go on about this film for ages, but I’ve made my point, and its place on this list is very well deserved.

9. The Rise of Skywalker

Another controversial positioning on this list is the most recent Star Wars film, The Rise of Skywalker. While many consider it one of the worst Star Wars films ever, I have a bit more love for it, mainly because director J. J. Abrams was hamstrung well in advance not only by the terrible plot of the previous film, but by the tragic death of Carrie Fisher. This really limited his story options and it forced him to turn in a sub-par Star Wars film. Despite that, I think he did a decent job, and I have a lot less issues with this film then some of the previous entries on this list. While the story is a little clanky in places, and it is kind of weird that the first hints of the Emperor’s return were featured in Fortnite of all places, this was still a good movie, and I enjoyed some of the great sequences contained within. It wraps up several previous storylines extremely well, and the reveal about Rey’s ancestors was very interesting. While not perfect, I had a good time watching this film, and it is one I will be able to check out multiple times without any issues. However, I really hope that the next time they do a Star Wars trilogy, they have one director and writing team for all three films, as having Rian Johnson’s effort in the middle really stuffed this final entry around.

8. The Phantom Menace

The film that started the prequel trilogies, The Phantom Menace is a great movie that mostly holds up to this day. I first saw this film when I was 8, and it remains a firm favourite of mine. Don’t get me wrong, it does have some flaws, including Jar Jar, the questionable Trade Federation and their more comedic battle droids, as well as the dramatic move from practical effects to computer graphics. Still, there are a lot of awesome things going on with this film and it did a really good job expanding the Star Wars universe and introducing the younger versions of several key characters. I also am a big fan of the pod racing, the more impressive lightsaber techniques, and the clever way they switched around Natalie Portman and Keira Knightley to sell the decoy angle. The highlight of this film is of course the epic final duel between Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan and Darth Maul. The moment that Duel of the Fates starts playing and Maul draws out his double-sided lightsaber is epicness personified, and it ended up being one of the best lightsaber duels of all time. An overall excellent film that I still deeply enjoy watching.

7. Solo: A Star Wars Story

A standalone prequel film that explores the origins of Han Solo, Solo: A Star Wars Story, is a good middle entry on this list that I had a lot of fun with. While not as awesome as it could have been, Solo has a great story to it, and it lacks any major flaws for me to really complain about. While you could consider it a bit of a safe outing from director Ron Howard, I had a blast getting through it. This film features an amazing cast, including Alden Ehrenreich doing a great young Han Solo, as well as Woody Harrelson and Emilia Clark, although Donald Glover easily steals the show as a younger Lando Calrissian. While Paul Bettany isn’t the best villain (he apparently replaced Michael K. Williams, which would have been interesting), I thought he was pretty solid, and the cool reveal about Darth Maul was very satisfying for fans of The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels. I am rather curious about how much better this film could have been with Phil Lord and Christopher Miller directing it, but unfortunately, they fell victim to conflicts with the studio (and Kathleen Kennedy).

6. Revenge of the Sith

Ok, we are in the second half of this list, and in sixth spot we have the third and final film in the prequel trilogy, Revenge of the Sith. The culmination of the entire prequel trilogy, there was a lot resting on the shoulders of Revenge of the Sith and it delivered. While there are some flaws, mostly around Hayden Christensen and his dialogue, the pros of this film more than outweigh the negatives. That epic opening sequence where the two fleets duke it out above Coruscant really sets the tone for the rest of the film, which is loaded with so much great action. The corruption of Anakin is well written, and his eventual fall to the dark side of the Force, is amazing. The sequence where the Jedi are brutally cut down is spectacular, and while you knew it had to happen, it is pretty tragic to behold. However, it is the final fight sequence that really makes this film stand out as Anakin and Obi-Wan finally have their long-awaited duel. This epic fight does not disappoint, and it is still easily the best lightsaber duel out there, with the two Jedi going all-out across a lava planet. An overall epic film, this was easily the best prequel movie and it is still a fantastic watch.

5. The Force Awakens

It did not take long after the massive Disney buyout of the Star Wars franchise for them to make a new film, with The Force Awakens. Helmed by the legendary J. J. Abrams, this great film successfully introduced another era of Star Wars fiction and is a very strong entry in the overall series. Not only does this The Force Awakens make use of some amazing modern graphics, but it contains a really good story that pays homage to the original trilogy, while also setting up a great new story of its own. It also brings together the original cast of Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hammill (admittedly briefly), and more, for the first time in years, and each of the characters got a fitting addition to their story. The tragic death of Han Solo, which was long pushed by Harrison Ford, is an amazing scene, even if it broke your heart a little. The Force Awakens also introduced an excellent new cast, with Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, and Oscar Isaac becoming household names overnight. Their new characters are set up really well, and you get a fantastic mix of great personalities. I really loved what they did with this film, if only a fraction of it could have been carried over to The Last Jedi.

4. Return of the Jedi

How do you end one of the biggest trilogies of all time, with a fun and clever action adventure like Return of the Jedi. Finishing up the original Star Wars trilogy, Return of the Jedi contained an incredible story that not only successfully wraps up the entire trilogy perfectly and gives closure to each of the main characters. While the introduction of the Ewoks was a bit silly (I did like them as a kid), the consecutive fight between Luke and Vader, as well as the space fight, more than make up for this, and they produce an epic conclusion. Easily the best way that anyone has ended a Star Wars trilogy, Return of the Jedi is an exceptional film and a major piece of Star Wars history.

3. A New Hope

The film that started it all, the original Star Wars movie, retroactively titled A New Hope, is an epic space opera that sees a ragtag team of heroes take on an evil empire determined to destroy everything before it. A western, science fiction adaption of the samurai films The Hidden Fortress, this fantastic film has so much going for it, with a great story, an epic musical score, some deeply impressive special effects and a near-perfect cast. Not only does George Lucas successfully introduce his bold new universe, but he also wrote an outstanding film, which achieved a lot with a relatively small budget. There are so many incredible elements to this film, including a memorable villain, some excellent graphics (that still really hold up) and a western style that sets the tone for the entire series. Serving as an inspiration for so many future adventures and stories, we owe a lot to A New Hope, and this near perfect introduction is still one of the best Star Wars films out there. If only Lucas could have left it alone and stopped with all the re-releases and additional scenes.

2. Rogue One

Second place on this list is taken up by the excellent standalone film Rogue One, one of the best Star Wars films we have seen in a very long time. Featuring an excellent, if doomed, new cast, Rogue One serves as a prequel adventure to A New Hope, filling in some plot details, particularly around the Death Star. This movie has an outstanding story to it, with some impressive character development and some of the best Star Wars action out there. It really does not take long for you to become obsessed with this film, and the dramatic and powerful ending, that takes out the entire principal cast, is just so very amazing. I love so much about this film, although nothing can quite top the return of a live-action Darth Vader, especially as he goes full beast-mode on some Rebel soldiers. An absolute highlight of recent films, all future Star Wars entries can learn a lot from Rogue One.

1. The Empire Strikes Back

I am sure no one will be surprised about which film takes the top spot on my list, as it could only be The Empire Strikes Back. A sequel to the incredibly popular first Star Wars film, The Empire Strikes Back had a lot of expectations, and it delivered on all of them. Not only did it expertly continue the brilliant story from the first film, but it expanded on the universe, continued to develop the characters, and took the narrative in some fantastic directions. I loved all the cool inclusions in this film, including Lando and Yoda, and I have an extremely hard time thinking of any flaws this film has. The original graphics are still very impressive, even after all these years, and it contains some of the best acting in the entire franchise. It also features some massively iconic moments and quotes which populate the cultural zeitgeist even till this day. This includes one of, if not the most memorable quotes in all of film, occurring during the amazing reveal about Darth Vader’s true identity. A legendary film, there is nothing better in the entire Star Wars franchise.

That is the end of my list ranking the various Star Wars films. While I am sure that people will disagree with some of my choices, I think that this accurately reflects my feelings on the entries in this great franchise pretty well. While I may have been a little harsh with a couple of the above films, I will probably end up watching them again multiple times. I had a lot of fun bringing this latest list together, although it does not look like I will have the chance to revisit it any time soon, as there is only one movie on the horizon. Still this upcoming film, Rogue Squadron, which is set for release in December 2023, has some potential and could end up quite high on the next version of this list. Let us hope that the studio does not stuff it up like it did with some other projects and replace the director/writer halfway through production. While we wait for the next film to come out, let me know what your favourite Star Wars films are, and if you disagree about my choices, let me know in the comments below.

Billy Summers by Stephen King

On August 31, 2021August 13, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn Five-Star Books, Thriller6 Comments

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton (Trade Paperback – 3 August 2021)

Series: Standalone

Length: 433 pages

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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Stephen King returns with another exceptional read, Billy Summers, an awesome and memorable character driven thriller that has proved to be one of the best books of the year so far.

2021 has been quite an amazing year for Stephen King, who has released two outstanding and impressive novels in a short period of time. His first book of 2021 was the interesting horror novel, Later, which followed a child who can see and talk to the recently deceased. While I have not had a lot of experience reading Stephen King novels in the past, I really got into Later due to its likeable characters and thrilling narrative, and it ended up being one of the best audiobooks I listened to in the first part of 2021. Due to how much I liked Later, I made sure to keep an eye out for any additional Stephen King releases, and I was extremely intrigued to see that he had a second book coming out with a great-sounding plot. As a result, this second novel, Billy Summers, was one of my most anticipated reads for the second half of the year, and I was excited when I received my copy, especially as it contained a really cool story.

Billy Summers is an assassin and gun for hire. A maestro with a sniper rifle and a master of elaborate escapes, there are few killers better than him. However, for all his skills, Billy has one unusual quirk: he has a conscience and a moral code which limits him to only taking out contracts on targets he considers to be bad guys. After a lifetime of killing, as both an assassin and a soldier, Billy wants out, and he is willing to take one final job to retire. Luckily, his employer has a job that fits all his criteria.

Taken to the small city of Red Bluff on the East Coast of America, Billy is hired to kill a notorious gangster and killer who is currently locked up in Los Angeles but due to be extradited back to Red Bluff. Billy’s boss wants the target dead the moment he arrives to stop him making a deal with the authorities ahead of his murder trial. With a massive pay cheque on the line, Billy accepts the job, despite some odd stipulations. As part of their plan to take out their target, Billy will need to take on the identity of an author working in the office complex overlooking the courthouse and maintain his cover for as long as it takes the extradition process to go through.

Despite misgivings about the job, Billy dives into the role as required and soon establishes himself as a regular figure in the office block. As he waits for his target to arrive, Billy begins to get to know the people around him and takes the opportunity to write a memoir about his life and the decisions that led to him becoming a killer. However, the closer he gets to the conclusion of the job, the more he suspects that nothing involved with this assassination is on the level, and that his bosses intend from him to die as well. Making his own plans in case things go sideways, Billy prepares to end his career as an assassin on his own terms. But then he meets Alice, and everything changes.

Well damn, how the hell does King do it? After nearly 45 years of writing, you’d think the man would run out of unique and compelling ideas, but that apparently is not the case, as his latest book, Billy Summers, turned out to be quite an exceptional read. King has produced an impressive and powerful story that follows a complex and well-established protagonist as he experiences life for the first time. With some outstanding characters, a deeply thrilling storyline and some intriguing insights into the human condition, this was an outstanding read that was easily one of the best books I read in 2021 and which got a full five-star review from me.

Billy Summers contains a pretty addictive and powerful story that I found to be really cool. The book is primarily told through the eyes of the titular Billy and shows him as he prepares to take on his final job. King does a great job of introducing the character and the scenario, and you are soon placed into the midst of a very cool storyline as Billy moves into suburbia under an assumed identity to build his cover. This results in some compelling character interactions, as Billy simultaneously prepares for his assassination mission with his employers while also getting close to some of the people he encounters and starts to see what a normal life feels like. At the same time, he also builds up a third identity to use after the job is completed, which requires him to assume a different disguise and create some additional personal connections. He also starts writing a personal memoir which tells a slightly altered version of his life story, including his rough childhood, his military career, and his early contract work. This mixture of intriguing and fascinating story threads come together extremely well in the first half of the novel, and you get quite a unique and compelling narrative which perfectly blends thriller excitement with personal character growth.

After a big moment halfway through the novel, the entire storyline dramatically changes, especially as Billy is introduced to a key character, Alice. While there is still a large amount of focus on the job from the first half of the novel and its consequences, the story noticeably morphs at this point, really diving into the relationship that develops between these two characters. The storyline also moves away from some of the prior relationships that were introduced, and moves into a road trip, with Billy now accompanied by Alice. There are some really good sequences in this second half of the novel, as well as a continued exploration of Billy’s past. King does a fantastic job morphing the various story threads and plot ideas into a cohesive and captivating narrative, and I really enjoyed the powerful combinations. The set pieces are a series of awesome action sequences, which help tie up several of the main story threads and lead up to the book’s epic conclusion. While King is often criticised for his endings, I felt that Billy Summers had an exceptional and incredible conclusion that I deeply enjoyed. This great conclusion is both tragic and memorable, and it ties together the entire novel extremely well, helping to turn Billy Summers into one of the best stories I have read all year.

I really enjoyed King’s writing style in this novel, especially as it focused a lot on character development and interactions between unique people. The entire novel has a very philosophical bent to it, as King and his characters take time to explore the human experience, especially those aspects of life that people on the outside, such as BIlly, miss out on. While you wouldn’t think that this would pair well with a thriller story about an assassin, it actually works extremely well, especially when combined with Billy’s journaling scenes, and readers are guaranteed to fall in love with this distinctive form of storytelling. I also liked the author’s great use of various settings which help to show off the uniqueness of America’s landscapes. King features several different locations, including suburbia, the inner city, the wide open road, the isolated Colorado mountains, and even some more famous locations, like fabulous Las Vegas. Each location offers the reader and the characters something new to enjoy or appreciate, and King makes sure to capture both the beauty and the ugliness of these various settings. While King does move away from some of his more extreme murder sprees in this novel, there are some dark moments in this book. Not only are there some very graphic action sequences, but readers should also be warned about the sexual violence content, especially one scene where Billy enacts some justice. I’m also slightly concerned that King might end up getting sued by Rupert Murdoch for a certain facsimile character who does some bad things. Overall, though, I really enjoyed the way King told his latest unique story, and there is something for everyone in it.

As I mentioned above, I don’t have the most experience reading Stephen King novels, with only a few of his more recent reads under my belt. Despite this, I was easily able to enjoy Billy Summers, especially as it is a standalone thriller with one-shot characters. As a result, this is a book that any reader can easily pick up and get into, and I really liked how open the author made Billy Summers. However, fans of King, as well as those people generally aware of his work, will probably have fun seeing the references to some of King’s previous books. One of his more iconic works is referenced several times, especially as the protagonists end up spending time near a pivotal location. While this is not particularly essential to the plot, it was a nice callback, and I think that most people will appreciate the fun self-homage. I also found it interesting that both of King’s novels of 2021 had a compelling focus on writing, which becomes a key part of the plot. While Later focused more on the publishing side of things, Billy Summers contains a fantastic examination of the difficulties of putting your ideas to paper as a writer, with the protagonist attempting to write his life story in his downtime. While there are several fantastic advantages to the writing subplot, such as it being a great way to introduce the protagonist’s backstory in a compelling and episodic manner, I also quite enjoyed seeing the depiction of the writing process, and the various difficulties of telling a story. It very much felt that King was pouring some of his own experiences with writing into these sections of the novel, and it was incredibly fun and insightful to see one of the world’s greatest authors depict the difficulties of writing in one of his novels.

Another area that Billy Summers excelled in is the fantastic central and supporting characters. King does a remarkable job of introducing a diverse cast of characters, each of whom affect the character in various ways, either by showing him what his missing, or showing him what he is better than. The most focused character is naturally the titular protagonist, Billy Summers, a brilliant contract killer who only kills bad people. Billy is a remarkably complex figure, who builds several different personalities and personas around himself for professional reasons and protection. I really enjoyed the intriguing portrayal of this character, mainly because you got to see at least four different versions of him in the first half of the book. While the narrator is the calm and collected lover of classic novels who is basically a good guy, despite being an elite professional killer able to see every angle and work out the best way to kill someone and escape, that is a viewpoint that only the readers sees, at least at the start of the novel. Billy hides this real side of himself from the rest of the world, effecting a less intellectual personality to his criminal associates, which he calls his “dumb self”, to fool them and think he’s less of a threat.

While his dumb self is usually enough to get by, his new assignment requires him to take up the identity of a struggling author who moves into a suburban neighbourhood and a local office block to focus on his upcoming bestseller. Billy is forced to integrate into these social systems to keep his cover, and he soon makes friends amongst the people he meets, many of whom have an impact on him due to their honesty, innocence, and normality, all of which Billy has long given up. He also builds up yet another identity to rent an additional house, which he plans to use as a safe house if the job goes wrong, which forces him to deal with additional normal people. On top of that, he also takes the opportunity to write a memoir of his life, not only to maintain his cover but to satisfy his own curiosity about the writing process. This proves to be a delicate balancing act, as he attempts to give an honest account of his past while also trying to keep up the charade of being dumb in case his employers read the story he writes. This results in a unique, multifaceted character, and you get hints at the true nature of Billy, not just from the narration, but from seeing the similarities and differences between the various versions he presents to the world.

Billy’s life changes even further when he meets Alice, a woman who he meets at the very worst time of her life. Saving her initially to maintain his cover, Billy soon finds himself drawn to protecting Alice, who has no-one and is having trouble getting over her trauma. Billy soon works in a fantastic and touching relationship with Alice, as the two become close and help each other see the world in other ways. Not only is Alice a great character in her own right, especially as King presents a very real and moving portrayal of a damaged and lost woman, but she also brings out the best in Billy. While Alice does imprint on Billy due to her trauma, she also encourages him and gets him to continue writing his book. This powerful bond they form soon becomes a central part of the book’s plot, and it is extremely fascinating and compelling to see what happens to them. These exceptional characters and deep personalities really turn Billy Summers into an exceptional read, and I become severely invested in their story, even though I knew it was likely to end badly.

Stephen King has once again shows why he is the premier fiction author in the world today with another intense and exquisite read in Billy Summers. Featuring a deep and captivating narrative about a complex character, Billy Summers was an absolute treat to read, and comes highly recommended. Readers will swiftly fall in love with the unique narrative and compelling leading figures, and I guarantee that you will have trouble putting this excellent novel down. Easily one of the best books of 2021, I cannot praise Billy Summers enough.

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Prisoner by S. R. White

On August 30, 2021March 16, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Murder Mystery7 Comments

The Prisoner Cover

Publisher: Headline (Trade Paperback – 31 August 2021)

Series: Hermit – Book Two

Length: 421 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out 5 stars

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Prepare for a twisty and dark Australian murder mystery novel as author S. R. White presents the compelling and powerful Prisoner.

Deep in rural Northern Australia, a dead body has been found in the middle of a dank and dangerous swamp. The corpse is staged to appear like a crucifixion, with the man’s arms and legs tied to poles, and his chest caved in with several blows. Called to the scene of the crime, Detective Dana Russo soon discovers that the victim was a convicted rapist who had only been released from prison a few hours earlier and whose crime occurred only a short walk away from his murder site.

Determined to get to the bottom of this unusual murder, Russo and her team swiftly begin tearing apart the victim’s life in prison and find that he had been in communication with two local sisters who offered him a place to stay once he was released. Investigating the sisters, they discover a unique pair of siblings who have been irreparably damaged by trauma and abuse and who live separate from the rest of society. Believing that the solution to the mystery may lay with them, Russo brings them both in for questioning, but finds them uncooperative and elusive.

Under pressure to solve the crime, the detectives slowly unwind an intriguing case, concerning corruption, drugs and prison gangs. However, the further they dig, the more apparent it becomes that the sisters are hiding some dark secrets about themselves and the victim. Forced to dig deep within herself, Russo uses the memories of her own traumatic childhood to analyse the suspects and find some common understanding with them. Can Russo break through these two unlikely suspects, or will the solution to this murder never be revealed?

This was a pretty cool and captivating novel from former British Police officer turned author S. R. White. Prisoner is White’s second novel and serves as a sequel to his 2020 debut, Hermit. This proved to be a fantastic read and I deeply enjoyed the intriguing and powerful narrative, especially as White loads his book with a complex mystery and some deeply damaged characters. I got pretty hooked on this book as it progressed and ended up finishing it in only a couple of days.

Prisoner contains a very impressive and compelling narrative that I really found myself getting drawn into. The novel mostly starts off focusing on the murder, with the discovery of the body in the first few pages, and then the protagonists immediately jump into the investigation, including the interrogation of one of the main suspects. As the story progresses, you get some other interesting elements thrown in, mostly around Dana Russo and one of her other colleagues as they deal with some dark personal history. There is also a captivating subplot regarding internal police politics that produces a real shakeup in the department and has some potential series-wide ramifications. However, most of the story remains on the mystery, and I really appreciated the creativity and darkness that the author fits into the case. Despite being a sequel to White’s first book, Prisoner can easily be read as a standalone novel, and no prior knowledge of the characters or the setting is needed. I felt that the entire narrative progressed along at a great pace, and there were no slow bits throughout the book, as the reader was either reading about the case or dealing with the intense personal demons of the various characters.

I must highlight the fantastic writing style that White featured throughout this novel. While most of the focus of Prisoner is on central character Russo, the author makes good use of multiple perspectives, mainly of the other detectives on the investigation team, to move the story along and provide some alternate points of view and different investigative threads. White utilises a very detailed writing style, which encourages a slower reading pace to make sure you don’t miss anything, and I felt that enriched the mystery and increased the realism of the plot. I also must highlight the incredibly detailed descriptions of the swampy landscape that surrounded the crime scene and the Northern Australian town where the plot is set. White paints a grim picture of small, isolated community on its last legs, where even the landscape has turned against it. You can really feel the stickiness and deadliness of the swamps, and it proves to be quite a haunting background to several scenes. I also must mention the really fun and unique take that several of the characters had on the film Signs. This film, which I personally rather enjoyed, is brought up several times and becomes a key plot point. While that does sound a little strange, its inclusion worked surprisingly well, and the subsequent discussions and insightful analysis of the film and its themes, ended up fitting into the overall narrative quite seamlessly, helping to create quite a unique tale.

I also deeply enjoyed the crime fiction/mystery elements of Prisoner, which really helped to turn this into quite a compelling and exciting story. White crafts together a really clever and psychologically intense mystery for this book, and I had a wonderful time seeing the protagonists unwind it. The author sets up a great methodical criminal investigation, with the characters slowly uncovering clues, backstory and various suspects throughout the story. While the police do achieve an impressive amount in just a couple of days, there is a gritty sense of realism to much of the story, and I really enjoyed seeing the police in action. The best part of the investigation is easily the focus on interrogations as the protagonist engages two uncooperative suspects in several separate interviews throughout the course of the book. These interrogation sequences are among some of the best parts of the entire book, as Russo really dives into the pasts and minds of her suspects, which also requires her to reach back and harness some of her own trauma to break through to them. This, combined with the rest of her team’s investigation, proved to be quite fascinating, and I really enjoyed seeing the cooperative work and professional skills involved. I also quite enjoyed the solution to the murder, especially as White comes up with quite a unique and dark motivation for the crime. There are several good suspects and motivations for the murder, which at times made me question who the killer might be. However, I thought the overall resolution of the mystery was extremely clever, and it really made great use of the dark psychology of some of the characters.

One of the biggest highlights of this book were the damaged and traumatised central characters, who White spent a substantial amount of time exploring throughout the course of the story. This includes a mixture of characters who previously appeared in Hermit and some new characters brought in for Prisoner. This includes central protagonist Dana Russo, the detective in charge of the investigation. Dana had a very traumatic childhood, brought on by an abusive mother who beat and emotionally tormented her following her father’s death. While this was revealed in the previous novel, it was recounted once again in Prisoner, especially as details of the case end up mimicking parts of Dana’s life. The protagonist is forced to dive deep into her prior experiences to help solve this case, and it was fascinating to see how she could instantly spot signs of abuse, as well as rationalise the various reasons behind it and the impacts it can have on a young person. The protagonist also uses her experiences to get into the minds of her two main suspects, resulting in some intense and extremely powerful interrogation scenes, where both suspect and interrogator are broken down at the same time. White also produces some more revelations about Dana’s terrible childhood, including a certain reveal on the last page that was pretty memorable, and I really liked the compelling picture he painted around this impressive leading character.

The other characters who proved to be extremely compelling were the main suspects of the murder case, Suzanne and Marika Doyle. The Doyle siblings are instantly identified as persons of interest in the case due to their house’s proximity to the crime scene and the fact that they wrote to the victim in prison and helped to organise his parole, despite having never met him. Upon examination of their history, as well as an insightful look at their house, it soon becomes apparent that both siblings had a hard childhood because of their controlling mother. Their life story becomes a key part of the overarching plot as Russo attempts to uncover their full history and personalities, as she believes it is important to solve the case. The eventual reveals about the siblings and their relationship, their past and their emotional states is extremely captivating, and White paints quite a dark and troubled narrative around them that was really fascinating. The way that this ties into the murder and their relationship with the victim is very clever, and White really outdid himself making these two sibling suspects.

I also must give a quick shout out to the character of Lucy Delaney, one of Dana’s co-workers and an invaluable resource in the case. Dana and Lucy got quite close to each other in the previous novel, with Dana revealing some of her childhood trauma to her, something she rarely does. In this novel, you get a much closer look at Lucy, who reveals some of her own personal issues, and the shared grief becomes a major part of her connection to Dana. Unfortunately for Lucy, she gets dragged into some internal police politics, which impact her and her secrets quite severely and will likely become a recurring issue in the series, especially if the relationship between Dana and Lucy progresses. Aside from Lucy, I felt that the police characters represented an interesting blend of personalities and skills, such as the wily veteran Mike or the similarly damaged officer Ali, who helped to give the film more personality. It will be interesting to see how these characters are featured in the future, and I look forward to learning more about them.

Prisoner by S. R. White is a clever and moving piece of Australian crime fiction that proved to be a real treat to read. White has produced a deep and compelling murder mystery narrative that focuses on a fantastic group of damaged protagonists and suspects, and who have some dark stories to tell. I really loved the more methodical and grounded police investigation angle of this book, especially the inclusion of some powerful interrogation sequences, and I was impressed with how the narrative unfolded. An excellent and captivating murder mystery, Prisoner comes highly recommended, and you will have a great time getting through the latest book from this fantastic Australian author.

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Starlight Enclave by R. A. Salvatore

On August 27, 2021August 13, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Fantasy6 Comments

Starlight Enclave Cover

Publisher: HarperAudio (Audiobook – 3 August 2021)

Series: The Way of the Drow – Book One

Length: 14 hours and 49 minutes

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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The icon of the fantasy world, R. A. Salvatore, returns with a new adventure set in the world of his acclaimed Drizzt Do’Urden novels, with Starlight Enclave, the first book in The Way of the Drow trilogy.

Salvatore is an absolute legend amongst fantasy writers, having been an impressive leading figure for over 30 years with a massive catalogue of more than 60 novels. I have long been a fan of Salvatore, who has written some of my absolute favourite fantasy novels over the years. While he has written several great series, the author is still best known for his iconic, long-running Drizzt Do’Urden novels, which are set within the shared Forgotten Realms universe. Salvatore has had a particularly busy couple of years, simultaneously writing two separate series, including The Coven trilogy (Child of a Mad God, Reckoning of a Fallen God and Song of a Risen God), as well as the three books in the Drizzt focused Generations series (Timeless, Boundless and Relentless). All six of these recent novels have been pretty incredible, with Song of a Risen God and Boundless being amongst some of my favourite audiobooks of 2019 and 2020 respectfully. As a result, I was pretty excited when I saw that Salvatore had another Drizzt Do’Urden novel coming out and I made sure to grab a copy of Starlight Enclave as soon as I could.

Two years after the miraculous end to the Drow siege of Gauntlgrym, peace reigns throughout the Forgotten Realms. However, while some revel in the hard-won tranquillity, others worry about the future. Despite having cemented his rule over the pirate city of Luskan, the Drow rogue Jarlaxle is deeply troubled by the difficulties plaguing his people. Despite the apparent magical miracle that showed her as a false gold, the demonic Spider Queen Loth is still worshiped in the dark Drow city of Menzoberranzan, and civil war appears likely as the powerful Drow houses battle for the city’s soul.

Determined that Loth be thrown down once and for all, Jarlaxle looks for every advantage and weapon he can get his hands on. One of his more ambitious plans leads him to arm his closest friend, the recently resurrected Zaknafein Do’Urden, with two mighty swords of power, including the notorious blade Khazid’hea, better known as Cutter. With a sly and dark intelligence of its own, Khazid’hea has corrupted many wielders over the years, and its last master, the half-Drow Doum’wielle, may prove to be the missing piece in Jarlaxle’s latest master plan. Unfortunately, Doum’wielle was lost years before, thrown through a magical portal to the far north, and to find her Jarlaxle will need to embark on another dangerous quest.

Gathering three mighty companions in Zaknafein, the human priestess Cattie-brie and the former assassin Artemis Entreri, Jarlaxle leads them to the extreme far north, a place few have travelled. However, they are unprepared for just how dangerous this northern land can be, with new foes and mysterious phenomenon they have no idea about. But there are far great surprises waiting in store for them, ones that could change the very fabric of the world and alter the course of the upcoming Drow civil war.

Starlight Enclave is another compelling and fun fantasy novel from Salvatore who continues to expand and polish his iconic characters and settings with another great adventure narrative. This latest book contains a fantastic story that not only takes the series back to its bold adventurous roots, but which also sets up a great new trilogy that will no doubt be some of my favourite books of the next couple of years.

This new book contains a distinctive and powerful narrative that starts off a couple of years after the events of the previous novel, Relentless. The story starts off by setting the scene for a substantial amount of the plot while also recapping some key events of the previous novels in this very long-running series. It took me a little while to initially get into this book, but once the story got to a fantastic and intense sea battle around 50 pages in, I was pretty hooked. From there, the story diverts into two distinctive paths, the first following Jarlaxle and his companions as they venture out into the north, while a second following main series protagonist Drizzt Do’Urden, as he takes his daughter Brie to meet his martial arts master, Grand Master Kane. While initially pretty evenly split, the Jarlaxle adventure storyline quickly becomes the dominant narrative thread, with Drizzt’s storyline stopping about halfway through. I personally was fine with this; by this point, I was really enjoying the unique and cool tale being told around the four adventurers as they discover new lands and great dangers in the far north. This second half of the novel is very intriguing, and Salvatore ensures that there is a great blend of action, character development and world building. Just like with most of Salvatore’s novels, the fight scenes within Starlight Enclave are a thing of beauty and the author does an amazing job bringing the various fantasy battles to life, so much so the reader feels like they are in the room with them. The narrative eventually ends a bit of a cliffhanger that places most of the characters in mortal peril and which serves as a pretty cool conclusion to this great tale. I had a wonderful time getting through this story, and I am very intrigued to see how the narrative continues in the rest of the trilogy.

Due to Starlight Enclave being part of the long running Drizzt Do’Urden series, there is a bit of a question about how easy it is for new readers to enjoy this latest book. I will admit that there might be some difficulties for those unfamiliar with the series. Salvatore has built up quite a lot of background lore in the last 30+ years, and large amount of this comes into play throughout the book as there are a substantial number of references to previous adventures and characters. In addition, new readers might not be familiar with Salvatore’s writing style, which is very similar to how he wrote the original novels back in the 1980s, and as a result, they have a more classic fantasy adventure feel to them. As someone familiar with the previous adventures (although I could use a refresher) and the author’s style, I managed to get into this novel quite well, although I could potentially see new readers having a bit of a harder time breaking into them. Salvatore does take the time to explain the relevant bits of lore, and readers that pay attention should be able to follow the story without any substantial problems. I do think that, at this point, most of Salvatore’s novels are probably best read by his long-term fans, but newer readers will probably find something that they enjoy within them.

Unlike the previous trilogy of novels, which was set in more established settings, Starlight Enclave takes the reader on a big adventure into some brand-new areas of this massive fantasy world. Most of the story takes place in the far, far in the north of the planet, where very few southerners have ventured. This is a pretty unforgiving land of ice and snow, which proves a real challenge to survive in. Salvatore does a really good job bringing this snowy landscape to life, and it proves to be an excellent and treacherous setting for the story, especially as the protagonists soon discover that their magic does not work the same way as it does in the south, severely weakening them. Salvatore also does some major world-building in this book, as he introduces some big new civilisations and opponents. While I won’t go into too much detail about them here, I will say that it is a pretty major new inclusion, and it is clearly one that is going to have some significant impacts on the Drizzt Do’Urden series going forward. Some of the new major locations and races are extremely cool and Salvatore has successfully introduced some great and intriguing new entries into this wider world. I look forward to seeing how these elements are expanded in the future novels, and I have a feeling they are going to produce a few great surprises down the line.

You can’t talk about one of Salvatore’s novels without mentioning the fun and compelling characters. Starlight Enclave is a great example of this, as it includes a fantastic range of characters, with both intriguing new characters to beloved long-running figures from the overarching series. Over the last couple of Drizzt Do’Urden novels, Salvatore has noticeably moved away from some of his classic protagonists and has started to focus on the unique combination of the Drow characters of Jarlaxle and Zaknafein. I quite like these two great characters, especially the constantly manipulative and canny Jarlaxle, and together they form a fantastic pairing who play off each other’s personalities perfectly. The inclusion of other main characters, Cattie-brie and Artemis Entreri rounds out the main quartet nicely and presents a great group of veteran adventurers who are each looking for something very different, whether it be hope, redemption or the long-lost joy of adventure. Long-term fans of Salvatore’s books may be a little disappointed that some major characters, such as Regis and Wulfgar, are overlooked in this novel, but I was personally more than happy with the four main characters Starlight Enclave ended up focusing on.

The other character who got a bit of attention in Starlight Enclave is the overarching series’ main protagonist, Drizzt Do’Urden, who is the focus of the book’s secondary storyline. Like some of the other major characters, Drizzt has not been as heavily featured in the last few books as Salvatore experiments with different protagonists. This is still true in Starlight Enclave, with less than a quarter of the book given over to Drizzt’s adventure. Drizzt still shines as a character, especially as he is going through quite a lot. Drizzt is facing a bit of a crisis of faith and self-identity, brought on by his unique experiences in the previous trilogy when he ascended to a higher plain of existence to escape a deadly foe. Brought back by the love of his family, Drizzt still isn’t all there, and it is quite fascinating to see the more distracted and spiritual version of the character. Due to this development, Drizzt’s scenes tend to be quite philosophical in nature rather than action orientated, and there are several detailed discussions and debates about religion and the morality of the Drow. While not as exciting, Drizzt’s scenes are pretty interesting and form a great counterpoint to the other storyline. Salavatore is clearly building to something big here surrounding Drizzt, and I feel like there are going to be some other major changes around him in the coming novels. Still, it was nice to see a somewhat more peaceful Drizzt in this book, and after all these years, I had a smile to see him as a father rather than a warrior.

To enjoy this cool novel, I ended up grabbing the audiobook version of Starlight Enclave, which was narrated by Victor Bevine. This audiobook has a pretty decent runtime of just under 15 hours, which I was able to get through in around a week. I really enjoyed this version of the book, and I felt that it helped me get more entrenched in the landscapes and detailed fantasy world that Salvatore produced. Bevine, who has narrated a substantial number of Salvatore’s previous novels, does another great job here, and it was great to once again here his take on the various characters, especially as there is a bit of continuity from the previous audiobooks I have enjoyed. Bevine does a good job portraying each of the characters contained within Starlight Enclave, and I like the fun accents he does for the various races, especially the dwarves, who get some fun Scottish tones. Bevine ensures that this audiobook moves along at a fast and exciting pace, and I always enjoy hearing his narration of these exciting and compelling adventures.

In the amazing Starlight Enclave, the iconic R. A. Salvatore continues to expand his impressive and long-running Drizzt Do’Urden series with another bold adventure novel. This great novel does an awesome job setting up the cool new The Way of the Drow trilogy with a unique and exciting story and some compelling world-building. I had a wonderful time getting through Starlight Enclave and it is an excellent read, especially for those established fans of the author who will no doubt love to see another classic fantasy tale. An overall outstanding book, I am extremely excited to see how the rest of this new series unfolds.

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Throwback Thursday – The Death of Superman

On August 27, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn Animation, Comics/Manga, Extended Universe, Five-Star Books, Superhero, Throwback ThursdayLeave a comment

Studio: Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment

Series: DC Universe Animated Original Movies – Film 32 / DC Animated Movie Universe – Film 11

Directors: Sam Liu and Jake Castorena

Writer: Peter J. Tomasi

Producers: Sam Liu and Amy McKenna

Length: 81 Minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Welcome back to my Throwback Thursday series, where I republish old reviews, review content I have enjoyed before or review older books I have only just had a chance to read. This week, after the fun I’ve had recently reviewing Batman: Assault on Arkham and Batman: Under the Red Hood, I continue to check out some awesome DC comic book animated features, with the impressive and powerful The Death of Superman.

Easily one of the most iconic comic book arcs of all time is the 1992/1993 storyline, The Death of Superman, which (spoiler alert) saw Superman die at the hands of new villain Doomsday. Not only did the act of actually killing off Superman shock the world but the series was a massive financial success, becoming one of the bestselling comics of all time. Due to its popularity, DC have attempted to adapt the storyline multiple times, with Smallville, the animated Justice League show, and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, all using elements of it in one form or another. There has even been another direct animated attempt at recreating the storyline, with the 2007 release, Superman: Doomsday, the very first film of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies. However, in my opinion, none of them successfully conveyed the tone or the fantastic story as well as the 2018 animated film, The Death of Superman.

Directed by Sam Liu and Jake Castorena and written by Peter J. Tomasi, The Death of Superman is an incredible and amazing film that really gets to grips with the original comic, while also adding in some unique details to create a memorable and deeply moving experience. As the 32nd instalment in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies, it also sat in the joint DC Animated Movie Universe, and was a major instalment in this series, setting up several storylines that would later be utilised in later entries, such as the final film, Justice League Dark: Apokolips War. Featuring an awesome story, a fantastic voice cast and some exceptional animation, The Death of Superman is easily one of the best films in the entire DC Animated Movie Universe and is one of my all-time favourite animated comic book adaptions.

After saving the world multiple times, both by himself and with the Justice League, Superman reigns as one of the planet’s most popular superheros, inspiring the world with his spirit and determination to do good. His latest act of heroics saved the mayor of Metropolis from the notorious Intergang, who made use of a large arsenal of advanced weaponry, likely supplied by an apparently incarcerated Lex Luthor. However, despite his larger-than-life personality, Superman is also Clark Kent, a down-to-earth man from small-town America, trying to make his new relationship with fellow reporter Lois Lane work. As Clark finally opens himself up to Lois and reveals his biggest secret to her, a brand-new threat arrives on Earth, bringing with it only death and destruction.

A mysterious meteorite has rapidly entered the solar system and crashed down on Earth, landing in the ocean. When a team sent by Luthor and a group of Atlantean soldiers arrive, they find that the meteorite was a containment pod, and inside is something monstrous. Killing everyone it encounters, the beast escapes the ocean and makes landfall, heading towards the largest population centre it can find, Metropolis. With no-one able to slow it down, and even the Justice League powerless against it, it falls to Superman to engage it as Earth’s last standing defender.

Engaging in battle in the heart of Metropolis, Superman and the monster, Doomsday, begin a bloody battle that tears through the streets and levels buildings. Superman may by the strongest person on the planet, but his new foe is a deranged and unstoppable killing machine, concerned with only death, destruction, and dominance. Can Superman once again prevail and defeat his foe or has the Man of Steel finally met his match. Whatever, happens, the world with never be the same again, and everyone who Superman has inspired may suddenly have to deal with the death of their greatest champion.

I must admit that when I first saw that they were doing yet another adaption of The Death of Superman comic, I was a little ambivalent, as I have not been too impressed by some of the other versions out there. However, I still grabbed a copy as soon as it came out, and I was frankly blown away by how good it was. This film has everything you could want in a brilliant animated feature, including an exceptional story and some amazing actors, but what this film has in abundance is heart. Throughout its run time, you swiftly become attached to the great characters contained within, especially Superman and Lois, and then you are forced to watch as they suffer the most tragic moment of their lives. This results in an extremely moving and powerful film, which became an instant classic in my book, and it is one that I have no problem awarding a full five-star rating.

When writing this film, Peter J. Tomasi had to do a lot with a limited amount of time. Not only did he have to produce a pretty accurate adaption of the original Death of Superman comic, but he also had to work it into the wider DC Animated Movie Universe, which had already had its own unique history. He easily succeeded on both fronts, as The Death of Superman contains an excellent and powerful story, that I have an extremely hard time faulting in any way whatsoever. The story starts off with a shot of Superman saving the city and painting a pretty rosy picture of himself as Metropolis’s favourite son and defender. After the title card, which contains the grim name of the film, the movie works to quickly introduce all the key characters, relationships, and settings, most of which had only been briefly touched on in the preceding DC Animated Movie Universe films. This makes for a rather light-hearted start to the film; however, it also works to get you to know the characters and other key aspects of the Superman mythos and backstory, and all the setup is essential for you to get the full emotional and dramatic reactions during the second half of the film. I also liked the way in which the film is tied into the other films of the universe, mostly using the Justice League, especially Batman and Wonder Woman, and it was great to see more of that version of the League. All of this serves as a great set-up for the intense and action-packed second act, which is where all the action and mayhem begins.

About halfway through, the film really picks up the action with the Justice League, sans Superman, engaging Doomsday in a small town. The action here is fast and furious, as the various members of the League get their best shots in and are then taken down in some quite brutal ways. While this is happening, Clark is on a date with a frustrated Lois, where he finally reveals to her that his is Superman. This date scene is done really well, and Lois’s reaction to the revelations runs the full range of emotions, especially once Superman, forced to leave to confront the threat reveals his other secret: that he loves her. This is a great scene, and it is one that helps solidify the relationship and emotional bond between Superman and Lois while also making the viewer care for the characters just a little bit more. However, the focus is quickly changed back to the fight with Doomsday, who has managed to take out the entire League, with only Wonder Woman hanging in. As she falls, Superman steps in and begins a massive and brutal fight throughout Metropolis. The creative team behind The Death of Superman really do not hold back here, as they present a knockdown brawl between the two, with Superman forced to also try and save civilians as they fight. Their battle is a truly intense and amazing extended sequence, and there are some outstanding scenes featured throughout it. You get some great reaction shots from the various supporting characters, and Lois and Lex Luthor have some outstanding moments as well, as they get involved for various reasons. However, despite everything, it soon becomes clear just how indestructible and dangerous Doomsday is, and how even Superman doesn’t stand a chance.

The entire film leads up to the final climatic sequence, where the inevitable finally happens and Superman dies taking down Doomsday. This entire scene is done perfectly, with a near-defeated Superman spurred on to make one final effort against Doomsday as the monster advances towards a seemingly hopeless Lois, who reveals to a downed Clark that she loves him too. The blow itself is beautifully rendered with a powerful and lethal shot to Doomsday, but it is the aftermath that really turns this film into a five-star watch, as Superman is fatally impaled on a spike. Watching a grieving Lois slowly release that the love of her life is dying in her arms is so hard to watch, and the creative team really turn up waterworks with Superman giving some touching last words: “what a lucky man I was”. The eventual death is extremely moving, with the entire world witnessing his death and Lois’s grief, while standing in absolute shock. Even the Justice League is moved to tears, with the usually taciturn Batman’s reaction being the most telling. This entire sequence is deeply enhanced by a brilliant orchestral score that really plays up the emotion of the scene and strikes home every time you hear it. This is such a powerful and impactful sequence, and it is swiftly followed by a moving funeral, with all the major characters in attendance, and then a final shot of several characters reacting in a post-funeral grief while Superman superfan Bibbo Bibbowski narrates a fitting final prayer for the character. This entire sequence leaves me breathless, even after several re-watches, and it easily one of the most moving animated sequences I have watched. The film then does a decent wrap-up, with several concluding sequences and post-credit scenes setting up the events of the sequel film. However, it is the moving conclusion that will stick with you well past the films end, as it really brought everything about this movie together.

While I would be plenty happy with this film with only the outstanding story and amazing conclusion, The Death of Superman is also backed up with some incredible animation and a fantastic musical score which deeply enhance this fantastic film. The animation is really great, and I loved the designs for the various characters, most of which hark back to their original comic book appearances. The most impressive animation is reserved for the excellent and impactful action sequences involving Doomsday. The animators show no hesitation in showing the blood and gore as Doomsday literally tears through everything in his way. The initial fight with the Justice League is brilliant, especially as Doomsday brutally counters all their unique abilities and absolutely destroys them. However, it is the giant fight with Superman which is the true highlight of The Death of Superman. This fight is pretty extraordinary, and the animators really highlight the desperation and inspiration of the two participants. Each of them is well and truly battered, and it is really shocking to see all the damage that Superman takes throughout the fight. There is also some very dramatic damage to the city of Metropolis, with even the Hall of Justice being turned to a pile of rumble as these two duke it out. I cannot emphasise how awesome this animation is, and it was so cool to see these battles unfold.

I also really need to highlight the fantastic use of music throughout this film, which works well in concert with the animated sequences. The Death of Superman features an exceptional orchestral score, with the various tunes often harking back to classic Superman music. This music is used perfectly throughout the various scenes in this film and help to really enhance the drama or emotion of the scene. There are some great scenes with music throughout the film, although nothing tops the fantastic climatic sequence I mentioned above. This animation and music are so very awesome, and it was an absolute joy to behold.

This film contains a pretty cool range of different characters, including iconic heroes, major Superman supporting characters and even a few more obscure characters. This helps to turn The Death of Superman into quite a unique and fun film, and I really loved the range of reactions and character arcs that it contained.

Unsurprisingly, the most highlighted character in the film is Superman, who is voiced by Jerry O’Connell, who voiced the character in most of the DC Animated Movie Universe entries. Up until this point, I felt that Superman was a bit underutilised. Most of the previous films have focused on Superman’s relationship with Wonder Woman, while also featuring him as the League’s powerhouse. However, this is easily Superman’s film, as the writers take substantial time to examine his history, relationships, inner personality and the duality between Superman and his Clark Kent persona. You really get some intense insights into both versions of the same person, especially when you see his evolving relationship with Lois, and you swiftly grow to care for him in a way that some of the recent live-action films really didn’t make you. His character really shines through during the battle with Doomsday, as he refuses to stay down, especially when people’s lives are on the line, and even risks himself to save his most hated enemy. His sheer determination and intensity is really inspirational, and it starts to hurt a little inside to see him get beaten down by his opponent. I felt that O’Connell does such a great job portraying Superman, and he really brings out the best of the character, showing his true heart and soul, and making him such a likeable character, who, despite his alien heritage, was still so very human. I was really impressed and shocked by how much I grew to love Superman by the end of this film, which of course, ensures that you are so moved by the final scenes. Seeing this character die in Lois’s arms in front of the world is just heartbreaking, and you guaranteed to be moved by his portrayal in this film.

While there is a natural focus on Superman, in many ways The Death of Superman is just as much a film about Lois Lane. Voiced by the talented Rebecca Romijn, this version of Lois is bold and fearless in her career but also a little guarded in her personal life, especially as she senses that Clark is hiding something from her. This film really builds up Lois extremely well in its short run-time, and you get a great sense of who she is and what she cares about. I felt that the character had some amazing chemistry with Clark, which really isn’t surprising as Romijn is married to O’Connell in real life, so I’m sure they channelled a lot of that film. I really was impressed by the way they showed Lois’s growing relationship with Clark as the film progresses, and the revelation about Superman’s true identity at the centre of the film really helps to solidify it, especially once Clark declares his love for her. The subsequent battle sees Lois go through hell, as she chases the fight throughout Metropolis and has to watch Superman continuously get beaten up. The scene where she tries to distract Doomsday and then gives up as he turns towards her is so dramatic, especially as she follows it up with her own declaration of love for Clark. The final grief laden scene with Superman really moves me every time, and I felt that the sheer emotion coming off Lois was just amazing. This might be one of my all-time favourite portrayals of Lois Lane, especially as Romijn does some exceptional follow ups in later DC Animated Movie Universe films.

The other major character I really want to highlight is Lex Luthor, who was voiced by the always entertaining Rainn Wilson. Like Superman, Lex had been really underutilised in the DC Animated Movie Universe; his reveal in the Throne of Atlantis post-credit scene really did not pan out in a meaningful way in Justice League vs. Teen Titans. However, this dramatically changed in The Death of Superman as they go out of their way to build up the showcase and show him as the maniacal yet brilliant businessman and criminal mastermind. The creative team did a lot with Luthor in a short amount of time, and you get a really good idea of his genius, his various plans, and his unrelenting antagonism with Superman, born out of jealousy. He proves to be a good secondary antagonist for the film, eventually turning into an erstwhile ally, abet for his own purposes, and he has some great scenes. I was particularly impressed by Rainn Wilson’s voice work in this film, as he brings all the arrogance he can to the film, while also giving character a bit of a slimy edge. I think he really captured Luthor’s various nuances, and ensures you see him lose his cool when faced with defeat. I really liked the scene where Luthor can only watch in horror as Superman, despite being beat to hell, saves his life, and that results in some interesting changes in the later films. I also liked how they captured a bunch of fun aspects of Luthor’s character from the 1990 comics, such as a nod to the Lex Luthor II persona that appeared in The Death of Superman comic.

I also need to highlight the main antagonist, Doomsday. Despite not saying anything, Doomsday is a major presence, mainly due to his brutality and capability for destruction. Doomsday is perfectly introduced and I loved the slow reveal of his true form, as the suit containing him is destroyed after several fights. I must again really highlight how cool he looks in a fight, and the battles between the Justice League, Wonder Woman and Superman are just so damn impressive and pretty intense. This was a really good portrayal of the character that perfectly harkens back to its comic origins, and it was a nice palate-cleanser after his cave-troll look in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

The Death of Superman also contains a pretty substantial supporting cast of characters, each of whom add a fair bit to the overarching narrative of the film. Some of the most prominent of these are the various members of the Justice League, with most of the actors from the earlier DC Animated Movie Universe films reprising their roles. Each of these characters and their actors have been perfectly introduced in the previous films, so they are inserted into The Death of Superman with minimal effort and form a fantastic cohort around Superman. The leading two characters are probably Batman, voiced by Jason O’Mara, and Wonder Woman, voiced by Rosario Dawson. Both characters have unique relationships with Superman, particularly Wonder Woman, and his death really impacts them both. I also liked the combination of Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion) and Flash (Christopher Gorham), who form a fun comedic duo, while also having some great action moments. I had a great laugh during the Justice League meeting scene where Flash does a good imitation of Batman joining the PTA of Damien’s school, and Batman’s glaring reaction is pretty funny.

I also loved the inclusion of a couple of unique Superman supporting characters. Despite the role he played in the original comic, I was really surprised to see so much of Bibbo Bibbowski, Superman’s biggest fan, in this film. Bibbo is a bit of a dated character, to be honest, but he slides into this film really well, and I loved the voice work done by Charles Halford. His comedic interactions with both Superman and Clark Kent in the early parts of the film are pretty fun, and there is something amusing about a big, rough sailor type fanboying about a superhero. It also proves to be quite heartbreaking to see this fan watch Superman die in front of him, and you can see it really breaks him. I felt that Bibbo’s Hail Mary prayer at the end, which overscored some great visuals of people in mourning, and the subsequent breakdown on the dock was quite touching. I also liked Erica Luttrell’s Mercy Graves, especially as she forms a great counterpoint to Luthor, especially as she calls him out on some of his more outrageous plans. Overall, I think that this film was incredibly well cast, and I loved the fantastic group of characters that they brought together.

The Death of Superman is a truly great and powerful animated film that continues to reign as one of my absolute favourite animated comic book adaptions. Featuring a near-perfect adaption of one of the most iconic comic stories of all time, The Death of Superman is intense, exciting, and downright heartbreaking, as it shows the greatest hero in his final battle. I was moved to tears the first time I saw this film, and I have so much love and admiration for the work the creative team did to revitalise the character of Superman in one short film. A highly recommend film to watch, this is one of the better Superman adaptations (live action or animated) I have ever seen.

Blood Trail by Tony Park

On August 26, 2021August 14, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Thriller4 Comments

Blood Trail Cover

Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia (Trade Paperback – 1 August 2021)

Series: Standalone

Length: 384 pages

My rating: 4.5 out of 5

Amazon Book Depository

One of Australia’s leading thriller authors, Tony Park, presents another clever and intense thriller set in the nature parks of Africa with his latest action-packed novel, Blood Trail.

Tony Park is a talented author who has written several amazing thriller novels over the years, all of which make use of a distinctive African setting with a focus on wildlife parks and poachers. I have previously enjoyed three of his great books, Scent of Fear, Ghosts of the Past and Last Survivor, and his latest novel, Blood Trail, features another exceptional and exciting tale, which was an extremely fun and captivating read.

Life is always dangerous on the game preserves of South Africa, as poachers and opportunists are constantly looking for a way to make some serious money by harvesting endangered species. In recent years, the counter-poaching patrols and police have made great strides in defending the critical wildlife, with the poachers aware that entering the reserves means death or imprisonment. However, with South Africa severely impacted by COVID-19, more desperate locals are turning to poaching to survive, relying on the magic of their traditional medicine to protect them.

At the Lion Plains game reserve, something strange is happening. While conducting a virtual safari, park guide and ace tracker Mia Greenway witnesses a poacher kill a rhino. Chasing after him, Mia and her backup find no trace of him as his trail mysteriously disappears, with the killer appearing to have vanished into thin air. At the same time, police captain Sannie van Rensburg, is called to investigate two missing local girls, who also disappeared in suspicious circumstances. Sannie soon learns that the local populace fear that the girls have been killed and their bodies used as ingredients by a dark practitioner of traditional medicine.

When a young female tourist is kidnapped within the reserve, once again vanishing with no trail to follow, Mia and Sannie begin to realise that their cases are connected. With the locals convinced that the poachers are using dark witchcraft to evade the police and the anti-poaching teams, all evidence suggests that the kidnapped girls are going to be killed and harvested. However, something far more sinister is afoot, with a dark conspiracy working its way through the very heart of the game preserve. Can Mia and Sannie uncover the truth before it is too late or will the poachers and their dangerous benefactors continue to bring terror and death to the wilds of Africa?

In Blood Trail, Park has included another intense and action-packed story that makes full use of the author’s love of all things Africa. Set in a game reserve under siege, this multi-perspective story starts off fast, with a poacher on the loose and the trackers, led by the tenacious Mia attempting and failing to find him. There is also an intriguing criminal case happening concurrently, as police detective Sannie attempts to find two missing girls. Both central narrative threads are soon drawn together as Mia, Sannie and their colleagues work to solve the connected cases. Park has come up with a very exciting, character-driven narrative here, and it honestly did not take me long to get really invested. This book is loaded with some amazing action sequences, and the reader is treated to one electrifying scene after another as the protagonists face extreme opposition. The overarching mystery surrounding the poachers and the missing girls is very good, and I loved the complex and clever story the author wraps around them, especially as it ties into various aspects of life in Africa and the game reserves. The author makes sure to include a huge number of twists and reveals, especially towards the end of the novel, and while I was able to predict how a couple would go, I ended up being pleasantly surprised by some of the others, and I really enjoyed seeing how everything came together. I also liked the huge range of intriguing characters featured throughout this book, and I really got invested in some of their stories, especially the two strong lead female protagonists, Mia and Sannie, who overcome a lot in this novel and go through some excellent development. Blood Trail is set in the shared universe of Park’s other works, with characters from some of his prior novels and series either featured or mentioned. Despite this, you really need no prior knowledge of these books, and Blood Trail is a very easy novel to get into. This is an overall exceptional and thrilling narrative, and I found myself powering through the last half of this book in a day.

Easily the best things about Tony Park’s novels are his exceptional portrayals of the African wilderness and the amazing and insightful discussions about the troubles faced by game preserves. Park, who has spent a significant amount of time in Africa and the game reserves, is clearly very passionate on the subject, and he injects all his novels with some gritty realism about the parks and the poachers who prey on them. Blood Trail is a particularly good example of this, as a large amount of the narrative revolves around poaching on the park, the park’s anti-poaching detail and the local police who support them. It is always incredibly interesting to learn about poaching and anti-poaching techniques and Park includes a lot of detail about both. I found this to be extremely fascinating, and Blood Trail includes compelling detail about some of the modern techniques some of the parks potentially utilise, such as drones and even WhatsApp. Park also weaves a particularly good story around poaching, and I loved all the thrilling sequences of poachers versus authorities that this fantastic novel contained. You also have to love the outstanding and beautiful depictions of the African bush and the communities that serve as a backdrop for the story. Park clearly puts all his personal experiences into these depictions, and his writing brings in a strong visual element. I really enjoyed this use of setting, and it really sets Park’s novels apart from other contemporary thrillers.

In addition to the outstanding setting, Park also includes a deeply intriguing and fascinating examination of traditional African medicine and magic in Blood Trail, which becomes a very amazing and key part of the plot. This traditional medicine, known as umuthi, is utilised by the South African people as protection from a variety of dangers, with the poachers, and even some protagonists, using it in the hope that it will stop bullets or impair their opponents. This becomes a very interesting part of Blood Trail’s plot, as the characters encounter various unusual phenomenon, such as their targets vanishing without a trace or unexpected illnesses, which some blame on dark magic. This proves to really fascinating, especially as Park keeps including several mysterious events or occurrences, and the reader is left wondering whether it is just a coincidence, a psychological ploy, or something more spiritual in nature. I found this inclusion to be extremely intriguing, and I really appreciated the detailed and balanced examination that Park included in this book, as he goes out of his way to respectfully examine all the aspects of this traditional medicine, as well as the perceptions surrounding it. Various characters of differing backgrounds are shown reacting to the idea of umuthi, including local Africans, foreigners, academics, and white South Africans, each of whom have differing opinions on the validity of the magic behind it. I loved this fascinating range of views, which seems to accurately reflect the differing opinions you would find throughout South Africa, and there are some truly unique views and beliefs which Park has clearly researched. The character of Mia proves to be a very intriguing inclusion here, as she is a white South African who was raised by black South African women, and was brought up to believe in umuthi and other traditional beliefs. This results in some intriguing identity issues, as she and some of the other people who partake of umuthi attempt to work it around their modern perceptions or Christian teachings. This unique and captivating examination of umuthi and other traditional beliefs was extremely interesting and I am very glad that Park took the time to include this in his latest novel.

Another extension of Blood Trail’s game reserve setting that I enjoyed was the tracking. Several characters in the novel, particularly Mia, are trackers, who spend their days trailing animals and poachers through the bush. As such, there are some fascinating scenes where these characters use their tracking skills to chase after the antagonists. This proves to be extremely interesting, and Park ensures that his book features a lot of details about they various tracking techniques, and the counter techniques that poachers would use to try and avoid the trackers. Not only is this a very captivating inclusion by Park but it also flows extremely well into the narrative, with the protagonists forced to question their abilities when the villains keep getting away. The way in which the antagonists manage to avoid the trackers ends up being quite clever, especially as Park also includes some false leads to confuse the eventual reveal. I deeply enjoyed this awesome look at the work the trackers do in the park, and it produces some really fantastic scenes.

The final inclusion that I found really compelling was Blood Trail’s examination of the impacts of COVID-19 on South Africa, and how it is driving people to poaching. While I am sure that many people are getting sick of reading about COVID, even in thriller novels, I felt that Park did a really good job featuring it in Blood Trail. Park paints a pretty grim scene surrounding the impacts that the pandemic is having in South Africa, with many side characters either out of work or negatively impacted by the government’s harsh lockdown rules, such as an alcohol ban. This becomes quite a key theme of the novel, with the stress and loss of income impacting everyone and driving them to commit crime on the understaffed game reserves. The author really dives into the unexpected impacts the global pandemic is having on the nature reserves, and it adds some complexity to the dark story. Other featured aspects of COVID in South Africa are also pretty interesting, such as the increased roaming of certain animals, as well as the advent of virtual safaris, with streaming projects sharing the beauty of the wilds to a world in lockdown. Overall, this examination of the impacts of COVID was very fascinating and topical, and Park did a fantastic job including it in his story.

The fantastically talented Tony Park once again shows why he is one of the best and most distinctive Australian thriller authors out there. His latest novel, Blood Trail, contained an intense and compelling story that takes the reader on a wild and thrilling journey through the game reserves of Africa. Filled with some amazing action and fantastic characters, Park makes full use of his powerful setting to craft a memorable and addictive narrative. I loved all the unique elements that Blood Trail contained, and you are guaranteed an exceptional time if you check this awesome book out.

Amazon Book Depository

WWW Wednesday – 25 August 2021

On August 25, 2021August 25, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn WWW Wednesday4 Comments

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Taking on a World of Words, where bloggers share the books that they’ve recently finished, what they are currently reading and what books they are planning to read next. Essentially you have to answer three questions (the Three Ws):

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

So, let’s get to it.

What are you currently reading?

The Councillor by E. J. Beaton (Hardcover)

I recently started reading this cool fantasy debut from Australian author E. J. Beaton. The Councillor follows a drug-addicted palace scholar in a compelling fantasy world as she attempts to navigate the politics of her city, while also trying to determine who murdered her friend, the Queen. I am only a little way into this book at the moment, but so far it is proving to be an excellent and captivating read.

Star Wars: The High Republic: Out of the Shadows by Justina Ireland (Audiobook)

The bold new era of Star Wars story telling continues in the latest entry in the High Republic range, Out of the Shadows by Justina Ireland. This latest Star Wars novel is a young adult book that follows a fun group of young heroes as they attempt to stop the dangerous plots of the sinister Nihil. I am making some great progress with this audiobook and I am deeply enjoying the cool and exciting story that it contains.

What did you recently finish reading?

Blood Trail by Tony Park (Trade Paperback)

Starlight Enclave by R. A. Salvatore (Audiobook)

The Housemate by Sarah Bailey (Trade Paperback)

Prisoner by S. R. White (Trade Paperback)

What do you think you’ll read next?

The Noise by James Patterson and J. D. Barker (Trade Paperback)

That’s it for this week, check back in next Wednesday to see what progress I’ve made on my reading and what books I’ll be looking at next.

Waiting on Wednesday – Galaxias by Stephen Baxter

On August 25, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn Science Fiction, Waiting on Wednesday3 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy. I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them. For this latest Waiting on Wednesday, I look at an intriguing upcoming science fiction novel from bestselling author Stephen Baxter, Galaxias.

Galaxias Cover

Baxter is a highly regarded veteran author of science fiction who has been writing for 30 years and has produced a vast library of novels. Baxter, who strongly utilises his scientific background to create some unique stories, has written some really cool novels throughout his career, including a collaborative series with the late, great, Terry Pratchett, The Long Earth series. I have enjoyed some of his works in the past, such as the exciting 2017 novel, The Massacre of Mankind, an authorised sequel to the classic novel The War of the Worlds. After having fun with some of his previous book, I was particularly intrigued when I saw that Baxter had a new novel coming out in a few months, especially as its interesting plot really caught my eye.

This new novel is Galaxias, which is currently set for release in late October 2021. Galaxias is a standalone science fiction novel that examines what would happen to the world if the sun suddenly went out. This is a pretty awesome concept to explore and I for one am very curious to how Baxter imagines that this would unfold. Galaxias will no doubt be loaded with all manner of science, compelling characters, and dangerous human drama, and it sounds like quite a captivating read. I am extremely certain that I am going to have a fantastic time reading this upcoming novel and I am really looking forward to getting my hands on it.

Synopsis:

A new standalone SF epic from a master of the genre

What would happen to the world if the sun went out?

New epic sci-fi from Stephen Baxter, the award-winning author whose credits include co-authorship of the Long Earth series with Terry Pratchett.

By the middle of the 21st century, humanity has managed to overcome a series of catastrophic events and maintain some sense of stability. Space exploration has begun again. Science has led the way.

But then one day, the sun goes out. Solar panels are useless, and the world begins to freeze.

Earth begins to fall out of its orbit.

The end is nigh.

Someone has sent us a sign.

Top Ten Tuesday – Books I Wish I Could Read Again for the First Time

On August 24, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn List3 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. For this latest Top Ten Tuesday, participants are encouraged to list the top ten books that they wish they could read again for the first time. This was a very interesting choice of topic and it is one that really resonated with me.

Like many readers and reviewers, I have enjoyed some absolutely cracking novels over the years and there are many that I really wish I could forget having read just so I could have the pleasure of checking them out once again in order to have the same amazing reactions. As a result, the moment that I saw this week’s topic I immediately started gathering a mental list of some great books I would love to enjoy for the very first time once again. There are several reasons why I would like to read a book for the first time again, whether it is to be blown away by a crazy twist, be once again embroiled in the great action, or because some of the outstanding jokes have lost a little bit of impact as I have heard them multiple times. Whatever the reason, I ended up pulling together a decent list containing some pretty fantastic reads, many of which I have praised in prior Top Ten Tuesday articles or in detailed reviews. So let us see what made the top ten.

Honourable Mentions:

The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie

The Bone Ships by R. J. Barker

Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by K. J. Parker

Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan

Top Ten List:

Legend by David Gemmell

For the first entry on this list, I am going to include the fantasy classic, Legend by David Gemmell. Legend was an outstanding and impressive fantasy debut that I had been meaning to read for years, but which I only got a chance to finally do in 2019. However, the moment I finished it, I felt a strong desire to forget everything I knew about it and instantly reread it once again. Legend is a fantastic novel that contains an intense and compelling story about a massive siege where an invincible army attacks a great fortress garrisoned by a severely outnumbered force of defenders and a few legendary heroes. This is easily one of the best siege novels I have ever read, and readers are in for an incredible and deeply exciting time as they get through it. This was an exceptional read, and I really wish I could experience every emotion I felt when I first read this book once again.

Planetside by Michael Mammay

There was no way I could do this list without mentioning the fantastic science fiction debut, Planetside by Michael Mammay. Planetside was an amazing read, but the main reason it makes this list is because it has an outstanding and explosive ending that I absolutely loved. This was a perfect and memorable finale to an already great novel, and it be fun to once again experience all the shock and surprise I first felt when I originally read this book.

Any Discworld Novel by Terry Pratchett

I’m cheating a little here by including a 40+ series of novels in a single post, but I’m going to do it anyway. This is because the Discworld novels are some of my absolute favourite novels and I have so much love for them. Written by the legendary Terry Pratchett, these novels are a unique and exceptional collection of fantasy comedies that contains some extremely clever and inventive humour and jokes. I have read every book in this series, such as Moving Pictures or The Last Continent, multiple times, and I still laugh out loud every time I do. However, no matter how clever of funny a joke is, if you hear it too many times it starts to lose its impact just a little. For that reason, I would love to have the opportunity to read the entire Discworld series for the first time once more, although I imagine I would probably die from laughing too much (totally worth it).

The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini

Another multi-book entry, The Inheritance Cycle was the debut series of bestselling author Christopher Paolini and featured four great books following a teenage dragon rider, Eragon, as he battles the forces of darkness. I have a lot of love for this series, and I deeply enjoyed it when I was younger, especially due to the fantastic narrative and impressive world building. However, after a few rereads of the series, I have noticed some issues that I now can’t ignore whenever I read these books (for example, a winy protagonist and several plot points that bear striking similarities to a certain series of space opera films). While I still really enjoy these novels, it would be good to reread them for the first time and not have some of these flaws already sitting in my head.

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

An epic fantasy classic that features a group of brilliant conmen as they go up against some extremely dangerous opponents, The Lies of Locke Lamora is one of the best fantasy novels I have ever read. Containing a lot of fun betrayals, twists and clever ploys that are still stuck in my head years after reading it, this would be an exceptional novel to read for the first time once again, and I think I might have to do a reread of it soon.

Battle Ground by Jim Butcher

The next entry on this list is Battle Ground, the 17^th entry in the amazing Dresden Files series. Featuring an all-out fantasy war in the middle of Chicago, this was an incredible and thrilling read, and it was one of the best books and audiobooks I enjoyed in 2020. While I had an outstanding time with Battle Ground, it was the first Dresden Files novel I ever read, and I kind of wish I had read the proceeding 16 novels first to give me a little more context and make some of the reveals a little more shocking to me. This feeling has only grown after I started reading some of the earlier books in the series, such as Storm Front, Fool Moon and Grave Peril, as information from Battle Ground ruins some surprises from the earlier books. As a result, I wish I had read this series in order and that the first time I enjoyed Battle Ground was after getting through the rest of the series first. Still, this was a great read, and I have only minimal regrets in jumping the gun on this one.

Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

One of the best modern icons of horror fiction, Mira Grant, did the impossible in the outstanding Into the Drowning Deep (one of my favourite books of 2018), but making mermaids scary. I had an exceptional time reading this fantastic novel the first time, and it would be cool if I could forget all the fun details in it and reread every year on Halloween for the first time.

Green Arrow: The Archer’s Quest by Brad Meltzer, Phil Hester, and Ande Parks

As one of my all-time favourite comics, The Archer’s Quest storyline from Green Arrow is an amazing and complex comic that I deeply enjoy every time I read. Author Brad Meltzer really gets to grips with the complex character of a recently resurrected Green Arrow as he travels the country with his old sidekick, collecting important items from his life. This comic has a powerful focus on Green Arrow’s relationships and shows just how complicated and damaged he truly is. An essential read for all Green Arrow fans, I know that reading it again for the first time would really blow me away.

Skyward by Brandon Sanderson

I was lucky enough to receive a copy of Skyward, Brandon Sanderson’s clever and dramatic young adult science fiction epic, when it first came out, and I quickly became a pretty major fan of it. This was an amazing read, which followed the reviled daughter of a coward as she attempts to prove herself by becoming a pilot to defend her planet from invading aliens. I really became invested in the powerful story of the central protagonist, and it would be so cool to revisit these emotions for the first time all over again.

The Name of the Wind/The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss

The final entry on this list is the exceptional first two books in the Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss. Generally considered to be some of the best fantasy novels of all time, I read these novels a couple of years ago and deeply enjoyed them. There is so much detail, character development and world building contained within, and I know that reading them for the first time would be an amazing experience, and one that would make me fall in love with these novels once more. The one downside of this would be once again experiencing disappointment about the seemingly unlikely upcoming third novel. Still, it would probably be worth it, as these are some outstanding books.

That’s the end of this list and I think it turned out pretty good. Each of the above entries are really good reads, and I think that if I was to read them again for the first time, I would have an incredible time. Let me know which books you would love to read again for the first time in the comments below and make sure to check out some of the above fantastic reads.

Book Haul – 22 August 2021

On August 22, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn Book Haul2 Comments

I have had a pretty awesome week book-wise, having been lucky enough to receive several amazing novels that I am quite excited to read. I have been waiting for several of these novels for some time now and I have very high hopes for all of them.

The Pariah by Anthony Ryan

The Pariah Cover

The first book on this list is one of the most anticipated fantasy releases of 2021, The Pariah by Anthony Ryan. Ryan is a highly regarded fantasy author who has written some incredible sounding novels over the last few years, and his latest one, The Pariah looks to be particularly awesome. The first entry in a whole new series, The Pariah will follow a notorious outlaw who goes a deadly mission of vengeance. This book has so much potential and it is likely to be one of the best books of the year.

The Dying Squad by Adam Simcox

The Dying Squad Cover

I was pretty pleased to receive the cool new debut, The Dying Squad by Adam Simcox. The Dying Squad is interesting and fun read that follows a recently deceased detective who must solve his own murder in order to save his soul from purgatory. I am very keen to see how this new novel turns out and I think it will be a great read.

The Devil’s Advocate by Steve Cavanagh

The Devil's Advocate Cover

The master of the twisty legal thriller, Steve Cavanagh, returns with another cool and unique case. His latest book, The Devil’s Advocate, sees his conman lawyer protagonist, Eddie Flynn, attempt to save an innocent man accused of murder from a deadly prosecutor who thrives on death sentence cases. This should be a truly awesome read, and I cannot wait to see all the cool twists and turns Cavanagh includes.

Hostage by Clare Mackintosh

Hostage Cover

The thrillers keep on rolling in, as I was also lucky enough to get a copy of the new Clare Mackintosh novel, Hostage. This intriguing novel follows a flight attendant aboard a major international flight who finds her daughter held hostage and must bring down the plane in order to save her. I am very interested in seeing how this book turns out, and it should be a great read.

Rabbit Hole by Mark Billingham

Rabbit Hole Cover

I have to say that I really love the premise of this next cool book I have received, Rabbit Hole by Mark Billingham. This novel features a murder in a secure ward, where all the patients and staff are considered suspects, and the protagonist is a former cop turned mental patient, who may have committed the crime herself. This book sounds extremely dark and I am expecting a very intense psychological thriller/mystery.

Rogue Asset by Andy McDermott

Rogue Asset Cover

Get ready for an intense thrill ride with the latest Alex Reeve novel by Andy McDermott, Rogue Asset. This new Alex Reeve novel follows the titular rogue spy as he once again finds himself dragged into an deadly conspiracy where everyone wants to kill him. I look forward to checking this book out and I imagine it is going to be an absolute blast to get through.

The Swift and the Harrier by Minette Walters

The Swift and the Harrier Cover

Bestselling historical fiction author, Minette Walters returns with a brand new historical epic, The Swift and the Harrier. This latest book is set in the English Civil War and looks set to portray a dark and dramatic tale of love and loss on the battlefield. I am rather intrigued by this new release, and it should be quite a compelling and moving read.

Corporal Hitler’s Pistol by Tom Keneally

Corporal Hitler's Pistol Cover

The final book I have received is the rather unique and interesting Australian historical fiction novel, Corporal Hitler’s Pistol. Written by bestselling Australian author Tom Keneally, whose previous work Schindler’s Ark, was adapted into the iconic film, Schindler’s List. His latest book is set in 1933 Kempsey, New South Wales, and features a murder that was committed using the Luger formerly owned by Hitler during World War I. This looks to be one of the most unique historical fiction reads of 2021, and I am extremely curious to see what happens in it.

Well that’s the end of this latest Book Haul post. As you can see I have quite a bit of reading to do at the moment thanks to all these awesome books that have come in. Let me know which of the above you are most interested in and make sure to check back in a few weeks to see my reviews of them.