Top Ten Tuesday – My Favourite Audiobooks with Special Narrators

On August 22, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, List6 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 week’s Top Ten Tuesday, participants get a freebie list that they can build around a specific genre. As such, I’m going to go back to my favourite format for enjoying all things fiction and craft a list around audiobooks, which fans of this blog will know I have a major liking for. In particular, I am going to look at those very awesome audiobooks that make excellent use of a special narrator.

All audiobook fans know that the one thing that can make or break an audiobook is the narrator. A talented narrator with a great voice can turn any book into something spectacular, while a bad narrator can tank even the very best story. In some very awesome cases, the audiobook’s producers manage to get their hands on someone particularly special to narrate their product for them, and this usually works out to be pretty damn epic. Now, when I talk about special narrators, I’m talking about either major celebrities, or someone who already has a significant connection with the book/franchise, and whose inclusion ensures that the listener can really get absorbed into the resultant audiobook. I have had the very great pleasure of listening to several amazing examples of these special narrators turning already epic books into first-class listens, and I thought this would be a fantastic time to highlight them here.

To appear on this list, the audiobook had to feature the voice of a celebrity or an actor best known from another media, and whose inclusion as a narrator was particularly significant. I chose to exclude a couple major audiobook productions that went out of their way to get a ton of celebrity voices, such as World War Z or The Sandman, mainly because they recently appeared on another Top Ten List, but also because that felt a little like cheating. Despite this, I still had a good collection of first-rate audiobooks that featured very special narrators. All these epic and unique narrators helped to deeply enhance the audiobook they lent their voices to, and I would strongly recommend the resulting products as a result. So let’s see who made the cut.

Honourable Mentions:

The Law, written and narrated by Jim Butcher

It often doesn’t work when an author narrates their own audiobook, especially if their series is already well known for having an excellent narrator, but I felt Jim Butcher did a pretty good job voicing his most iconic character in this audio adaptation of The Law novella.

The Padmé Trilogy, written by E. K. Johnston, narrated by Catherine Taber

The Padmé trilogy of Star Wars novels was an intriguing young adult series that worked to expand on the story of Padmé Amidala from the prequel trilogy. Now, while this series from E. K. Johnston, made up of Queen’s Shadow, Queen’s Peril and Queen’s Hope, is quite good in its own way, the audiobook versions are deeply enhanced by the inclusion of narrator Catherine Taber, the voice of Padmé from The Clone Wars animated series. Taber really brings this iconic character to life again in this new format, and her voice work deeply enhances this fantastic read.

The Night Fire, written by Michael Connelly and narrated by Titus Welliver and Christine Lakin

The audiobook versions of Michael Conelly’s books are usually pretty damn awesome, but I had a particularly good time with The Night Fire, mainly because it had a great voice cast behind it. While Christine Lakin does an excellent job, for the purposes of this list I am mainly highlighting the inclusion of Titus Welliver, who plays the character of Harry Bosche in the Bosche television series. His use as a narrator here is brilliant, and I loved the continuity in these latest audiobooks.

The Final Girl Support Group, written by Grady Hendrix and narrated by Adrienne King

Grady Hendrix’s outstanding horror thriller, The Final Girl Support Group, featured a ton of amazing homages to classic slasher films, but its best is probably the inclusion of Adrienne King as the audiobook narrator. King, who is best known for her role as the final girl in the original Friday the 13^th film was an inspired choice for narrator, and I loved the added authenticity her performance gave this fantastic audiobook.

Top Ten Tuesday:

The Lord of the Rings, written by J. R. R. Tolkien and narrated by Andy Serkis

Let’s start with a true classic and focus on the latest The Lord of the Rings audiobooks. While The Lord of the Rings books are always pretty damn awesome, these new audiobooks are further enhanced by the inclusion of legendary actor Andy Serkis as narrator. Serkis gives a 110% performance in these audiobooks, gifting wonderful voices to all the characters, not just Gollum, and even trying to emulate the voices of fellow Lord of the Rings film cast members. His exceptional voice work and elaborate performance greatly enhances these amazing audiobooks, and The Unseen Library strongly recommends this format as a result.

Dresden Files audiobooks, written by Jim Butcher and narrated by James Marsters

I doubt anyone familiar with my blog will be too surprised that I am featuring the Dresden Files audiobooks on this list. I have had such an epic time with this series over the last few years, and part of the reason why is because each of the audiobooks is narrated by actor James Marsters, who I have been a huge fan of since Buffy the Vampire Slayer first came out. Marsters is such a talented narrator, and he really dives into the various characters featured in the Dresden Files books, including series protagonist Harry Dresden. The actor’s fun and emotional take on the protagonist really makes these audiobooks come to life, and every single one of them that I have listened to, including Storm Front, Fool Moon, Grave Peril, Summer Knight, Death Masks, Blood Rites, Dead Beat, Proven Guilty, White Night and Battle Ground, are so much better with Marsters’ expert narration. I cannot recommend this audiobook series enough as a result, and Marsters will make you fall in love with this exceptional urban fantasy series.

Welcome to Night Vale and It Devours!, written by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor, narrated by Cecil Baldwin

Another series I have to recommend thanks to my Guest Review section are the fantastic Welcome to Night Vale audiobooks. Welcome to Night Vale is a beloved and weird sci-fi podcast that has been ongoing for several years now, picking up a dedicated following. As part of this, the creators have also written several books, including Welcome to Night Vale and It Devours!, which provide some extra fun insight into this crazy series. The audiobook versions of these novels are particularly fun because they are narrated by Cecil Baldwin, who serves as one of the main voices of the Welcome to Night Vale podcast. While I haven’t personally listened to these books, my editor and occasional contributor Alex swears by them and I had to include them on this list as a result. Alex really loved Baldwin’s voicework in these two audiobooks and she assures me that his inclusion as narrator ensures that these are required listening for all fans of this iconic podcast.

The Thursday Murder Club and The Man Who Died Twice, written by Richard Osman and narrated by Lesley Manville

I have a lot of love for Richard Osman’s first two Thursday Murder Club novels, especially in their audiobook format. That is because the awesome narration of actress Lesley Manville is so damn exceptional and she gives perfect voices to all the great cast members. Manville really showcases her vocal skills in these first two books, and thanks to her outstanding narration, The Thursday Murder Club and The Man Who Died Twice both ended up being amongst my favourite audiobooks of 2020 and 2021 respectfully.

Sylvanas, written by Christie Golden and narrated by Patty Mattson

There are some pretty awesome Warcraft/World of Warcraft audiobooks out there, but probably one of the best in terms of narration has to be last year’s outstanding listen, Sylvanas. Not only does Sylvanas have a great story behind it that examines one of the most complex characters in the Warcraft cannon, but the production team sought to bring some major authenticity and power to the audiobook version by utilising voice actor Patty Mattson as narrator. Mattson is probably best known for voicing Sylvanas Windrunner in World of Warcraft, so her inclusion here as narrator is an epic choice, as she already embodies the book’s main character/narrator perfectly. Having Sylvanas’ story told to you in her own voice is so damn cool, and it turns this audiobook into an epic listen, especially for dedicated Warcraft fans.

The Salvage Crew, written by Yudhanjaya Wijeratne and narrated by Nathan Fillion

I must admit that one of the main reasons that I originally listened to the compelling and freaky science fiction audiobook, The Salvage Crew, was because it featured Nathan Fillion as narrator. Fillion, who voices the machine protagonist, unsurprisingly does an amazing job in The Salvage Crew, and his silky tones really drag you into this elaborate tale. While I did deeply enjoy Wijeratne’s clever writing, I doubt I would have checked it out without Fillion, who really does an amazing job as a narrator.

Redshirts, written by John Scalzi and narrated by Wil Wheaton

Redshirts by amazing author John Scalzi is a hilarious and exceedingly clever parody/homage to the classic Star Trek series that shows the perspective of the doomed redshirts who are highly aware of their lack of survivability. I have a lot of love for this novel, and the audiobook is particularly cool, especially because they chose the perfect narrator for it, with Star Trek: The Next Generation star, Wil Wheaton. Wheaton has a lot of fun narrating this outstanding book, and there is something particularly fun having an iconic cast member reading this a clever Star Trek parody. I was laughing myself silly the entire time I was listening to this book, and I doubt I would have had as much fun without Wheaton’s fantastic inclusion.

Star Wars: Ahsoka, written by E. K. Johnston and narrated by Ashley Eckstein

With the Ahsoka television series starting up tomorrow night, I definelty needed to highlight an awesome audiobook from a few years ago that makes perfect use of a special narrator. This audiobook is Ahsoka by E. K. Johnston and it features the excellent voice work of Ashley Eckstein, who is the definitive Ahsoka for The Clone Wars fans. This novel follows the character in the immediate aftermath of Revenge of the Sith and Eckstein unsurprisingly kills it, showcasing her impressive vocal range while also telling a unique Ahsoka tale that only she can.

The Bullet That Missed, written by Richard Osman and narrated by Fiona Shaw

Now I am slightly cheating here by including the third Thursday Murder Club novel, The Bullet That Missed, separately on this list, but I’m justifying it because it features a different special narrator. The Bullet That Missed was a particularly impressive entry in this great series, and I made sure to grab the audiobook version as soon as possible. While I was initially disappointed that Leslie Manville wasn’t returning, I swiftly got over that the moment I found of Fiona Shaw of Harry Potter, Andor and Killing Eve fame was replacing her. Shaw also does an exceptional job narrating this novel and while she does emulate Manville in places, Shaw really puts her own spin on the narration, producing an exceptional listen. I really loved how Shaw effortless stepped in for this third book and her narration deeply enhances some of the best elements of The Bullet That Missed, including the pure Britishness of the story. I am very happy that Shaw will be returning for the upcoming Thursday Murder Club book, The Last Devil To Die, and I cannot wait to hear her bring this new novel to life.

The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line, written by Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham and narrated by Kristen Bell

The final audiobook I want to highlight is the awesome Veronica Mars tie-in novel, The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line, which is set after the Veronica Mars film. While I really did enjoy the clever mystery, intense personal story and intriguing expansion of the Veronica Mars mythos it contained, the true highlight of this audiobook has to be the fact that they get Kristen Bell to narrate it. Bell obviously has no problem bringing this elaborate Veronica Mars story to life and her narration is exceedingly impressive, cleverly capturing not only her own character, but several other figures from the show. This is probably one of my favourite pieces of tie-in media and Bell’s amazing narration is a key reason for this.

That’s my latest list. As you can see, I have had the pleasure of listening to several outstanding audiobooks that feature some brilliant and distinctive special narrators. All 10 entries above come very highly recommended and you are guaranteed to love all of them, especially with their outstanding narrators.

Top Ten Tuesday – My Favourite Audiobooks with Multiple Narrators

On August 9, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, List5 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 official topic of this week’s Top Ten Tuesday looked at books participants have read or wanted to read because of other Top Ten Tuesday posts. While this is a very interesting topic, it’s not one that I felt I could really participate in. However, I did have a couple of audiobook-focused lists I’d been cooking up in the background, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to post one here.

My list for this week revolves around audiobooks with multiple narrators. Now fans of my blog will be well aware that I am a massive fan of the audiobook format, and I honestly find it the best way to enjoy a range of cool novels and series. I have so much love for audiobooks, and a great narrator can exceptionally increase how much I enjoy an epic book. In some particularly awesome cases, the audiobook format can feature more than one narrator, and that is what I want to focus this list on. I have had the pleasure of listening to some very impressive audiobooks that feature a large cast of voice actors and frankly the range of voices and talents involved can add an even greater layer of awesomeness to the proceedings. As such, I thought this would be a fantastic opportunity to highlight some of the very vest multi-narrator audiobooks I have listened to so far.

To appear on this list, the audiobook in question had to have two or more narrators attached to it, with the second narrator having more than a cameo appearance to it. I actually had quite a few options to include here, but I was eventually able to whittle it down to a satisfying top-ten list, with my typical generous honourable mentions section as well. I think this list came up pretty well, and I really liked some of the books I selected. All the below choices come very highly recommended on audiobook, and their great collection of narrators ensured that this format was particularly epic.

Honourable Mentions:

Caves of Ice, written by Sandy Mitchell and narrated by Stephen Perring, Penelope Rawlins and Emma Gregory

Dredge Runners, written by Alec Worley and narrated by Jon Rand, Paul Putner, Emma Noakes, Kelly Hotten, David Seddon and Andrew James Spooner

Dark Sacred Night, written by Michael Connelly narrated by Titus Welliver and Christine Lakin

The Battle For Jedha, written by George Mann and performed by a full cast

Top Ten Tuesdsay:

For the Emperor, written by Sandy Mitchell and narrated by Stephen Perring, Penelope Rawlins and Emma Gregory

Let us start off with one of my favourite Warhammer 40,000 audiobooks, For the Emperor by Sandy Mitchell. The first book in the acclaimed and hilarious Ciaphas Cain series, For the Emperor is a very entertaining novel that follows the exploits of a cowardly Commissar who has managed to convince everyone that he’s a brilliant war hero. This is an extremely funny read, and it’s audiobook version is greatly enhanced by the use of its three narrators, Stephen Perring, Penelope Rawlins and Emma Gregory. All three narrators are extremely good in their roles, and I love how they split the load, with Perring voicing much of the main story, Rawlins voicing hilarious notes from an outside observer, and Gregory voicing several intentionally badly written book excerpts in an over-the-top manner. This unique narration works extremely well and you will fall down laughing as a result. This cast (with a few more additions), lend their voices to the entire Ciaphas Cian series, and I look forward to checking out more entries in this series in the future, especially with this brilliant cast behind it.

The Sandman, written by Neil Gaiman and narrated by a full cast

I had to include the first epic audio adaptation of the iconic Sandman comic here on this list, as it is a particularly exceptional listen. This adaptation features a massive and highly talented voice cast to bring Gaiman’s elaborate story to life, including a cool mixture of celebrities and professional voice actors, who mesh extremely well together to tell a brilliant story. Celebrities, including James McAvoy, Kat Dennings, Taron Egerton, Andy Serkis, Michael Sheen and Riz Ahmed, as well as iconic audiobook narrators like Ray Porter, do an exceptional job bringing their characters to life, and in some cases they are even better than the live-action cast from the Netflix show. I absolutely flew through this adaptation, and the sheer range of great voices involved is so damn epic you won’t be able to turn it off.

World War Z, written by Max Brooks and narrated by a full cast

Another massive audiobook production that benefits incredibly from an extensive celebrity cast is the adaptation of the awesome zombie novel, World War Z. This large cast works extremely well to bring Brooks’ interview-style story to life, as they each take on the role of a specific character being interviewed. With Brooks acting as the interviewer, each of these actors tell their character’s specific story of the zombie apocalypse in impressive fashion, diving into their charaters and telling their terrifying tales. Honestly all 30+ actors do an incredible job here, but some of the standouts include Alfred Molina as former astronaut (with a decent Australian accent), Alan Alda as a business strategist, Masi Oka as a Japanese otaku who is totally unprepared for the zombies, and Rob Reiner and an almost unrecognisable Simon Pegg as politicians. However, my favourite is easily Mark Hamill, who has several of the best chapters as a jaded former solider caught up in the very worst moments of the war. This cast is just exceptional, and their use in this audiobook turns this into a first-class listen.

Ghazghkull Thraka: Prophet of the Waagh!, written by Nate Crowley and narrated by Kelly Hotten, Paul Putner and Jon Rand

One Warhammer 40,000 audiobook that particularly benefitted from multiple narrators was the impressive and exceedingly fun Ghazghkull Thraka: Prophet of the Waagh!. Featuring a fantastic story that dives into the origins of a legendary figure in Warhammer 40,000 lore, this audiobook featured three talented narrators, Kelly Hotten, Paul Putner and Jon Rand. These three narrators switched throughout the book, depending on which unique figure was the perspective character for that chapter. This worked to really immerse the listener in the clever, multi-tiered narrative, and I had an awesome time listening to Ghazghkull Thraka: Prophet of the Waagh! as a result. This was one of my favourite books and audiobooks from 2022 and this fantastic narration is a very strong reason for that.

Doctor Aphra, written by Sarah Kuhn and narrated by a full cast

One thing that Star Wars fiction excels at it is producing high quality and addictive audiobook versions of their novels. This is particularly true for their audio exclusive productions that feature huge casts of talented audiobook narrators, many of whom have lent their voices to previous Star Wars audiobooks. One of the best was probably the impressive Doctor Aphra audio production, which served as a very clever and funny adaptation of several fantastic Star Wars comics. I had an absolute blast with this production and the sheer range of cool voices that were featured throughout really enhanced the clever storytelling and witty humour. While there were several distinctive narrators for this production, the standout was probably Emily Woo Zeller, who voiced the titular protagonist and provided a perfect and fantastic take on the opportunistic archaeologist. A must listen for all Star Wars fans, especially if you’ve had the pleasure of reading the Doctor Aphra comics.

Engines of Empire, written by Richard S. Ford and narrated by Alison Campbell, Ciaran Saward, Phoebe McIntosh, Ewan Goddard, Andrew Kingston, Martin Reeve and Stephen Perry.

One of the more unique fantasy audiobooks from last year was the awesome Engines of Empire, which told a story of revolution and betrayal in a fresh new fantasy realm. This audiobook featured a huge cast of point of view characters, and the audiobook production seeks to enhance that by featuring a large group of narrators. Each narrator voices the chapter told from a specific character, helping to create a rich and powerful audio tapestry as they capture the personalities of their respective protagonists. This helps to turn the Engines of Empire audiobook into a great listen and I really had fun with it as a result.

Tempest Runner, written by Cavan Scott and narrated by a full cast

Another excellent Star Wars audio production with a large cast was the excellent Tempest Runner by Cavan Scott. A fun addition to the High Republic subseries of Star Wars fiction, Tempest Runner followed one of the standout villains of the previous books and gives some fantastic context to her actions. Tempest Runner featured an awesome cast of actors, and I loved some of the great performances that emerged. Standouts included Jessica Almasy, who voiced the main character, January LaVoy who voiced a spiteful antagonist, and the leading Star Wars narrators, Marc Thompson and Jonathan Davies, who bring their very impressive skills to the fore again. An outstanding audiobook that makes perfect use of its exceptional cast.

The Night Fire, written by Michael Connelly, narrated by Titus Welliver and Christine Lakin

I have had fun with several of Michael Connelly’s audiobooks in recent years, but some of my favourites have to be the Ballard and Bosch books, that bring together two of Connelly’s best police protagonists. One of the things that make these audiobooks so cool are the use of dual narrators, Titus Welliver and Christine Lakin, who do a particularly awesome job in the second Ballard and Bosch book, The Night Fire. The audiobook is evenly split between each of the characters, so Welliver and Lakin split the narration down the middle, with Welliver voicing all the chapters from Bosch’s perspective, while Lakin takes on Ballard’s chapters. This helps to produce a very intriguing and compelling audiobook, with both actors inhabiting their respective role perfectly (unsurprisingly for Welliver, who plays Bosch in the recent television adaption). I absolutely flew through this audiobook and I cannot recommend this format enough when enjoying the epic Ballard and Bosch crossovers.

The Way of Kings, written by Brandon Sanderson, narrated by Michael Kramer and Kate Reading

Another great audiobook that benefited from two separated narrators was the massive and iconic fantasy read, The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. I had a brilliant time listening to The Way of Kings in this format, especially as the audiobook allows for a greater appreciation of all the detail Sanderson chucked in, and the dual narrators of Michael Kramer and Kate Reading definitely helped here. Kramer and Reading split their duties along gender lines, with Kramer narrating all the chapters and interludes told from a male perspective, while Reading does the same for the parts of the book told from the female perspective. This helps to produce a very elaborate listen, especially as both narrators are particularly skilled, and I liked having a variety of voices in this extremely long audiobook. This is such a great way to enjoy this fantatic novel, and you will have an awesome time with these two narrators.

Dooku: Jedi Lost, written by Cavan Scott and narrated by a full cast

The final multi-narrator audio production I wanted to highlight here is the Star Wars audiobook, Dooku: Jedi Lost. Diving into the past of iconic Star Wars villain Count Dooku, Jedi Lost was an excellent and entertaining listen, that features a brilliant cast of voice actors who bring several fantastic figures from the canon to life. This includes Euan Morton, who breaths great life into the titular Count Dooku, Orlagh Cassidy who has a great take on fan favourite villainess Asajji Ventress, and Jonathan Davis and Marc Thompson, whose respective portrayals of Qui-Gon Jinn and Yoda, are pretty damn spot on. I had such a great time with this Star Wars production, and you have to love the dedication and power that the big cast of voice actors really brought to the table.

That is the end of this latest list highlighting some of my favourite audiobooks that feature multiple narrators. Let me know what you think in the comments below and make sure to recommend your favourite audiobooks with a range of narrators behind it.

Warhammer 40,000: Leviathan by Darius Hinks

On July 16, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Tie-in Novel, Warhammer6 Comments

Warhammer 40,000 - Leviathan Cover

Publisher: Black Library (Audiobook – 24 June 2023)

Series: Warhammer 40,000

Length: 12 hours and 13 minutes

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Prepare for all-out war as the righteous Ultramarines battle the insidious Tyranids in this epic new Warhammer 40,000 novel from Darius Hinks, Leviathan.

It has been a pretty good year for Warhammer 40,000 fiction already, with several fantastic novels coming out in 2023, including Warboss and The Lion: Son of the Forest by Mike Brooks (the latter being one of my favourite books from the first half of 2023), and Shadowsun: The Patient Hunter by Phil Kelly. However, the hits are far from over, especially as there are several fantastic new Warhammer 40,000 novels set to come out later this year. But before we get to those, I managed to jump onto another recent release with the outstanding novel Leviathan, written by established Warhammer author Darius Hinks. Hinks was a new author to me, but I soon grew to appreciate his latest book, especially as it showcased a dark and intense alien invasion that made for a great story.

In the far future of the 41^st millennium, the besieged Imperium of Man faces many threats, but few are more deadly, unstoppable, or insidious as the unrelenting and seemingly endless hordes of the Tyranids, an alien race determined to devour everything it encounters. While several of the larger invading Tyranid fleets have been destroyed, a splinter tendril is making its way towards the galactic centre, threatening the very heart of the Imperium.

Standing in the way of this fleet is the fortress world of Regium, an ancient planet recently taken over by Imperial forces, it now serves as a bulwark against invasions heading towards the inner-Imperium. Many believe that Regium is secure from all threats, but when the people of the planet are haunted by parasites, strange cults, and mysterious dreams of terrifying monsters, it soon becomes clear that a Tyranid swarm is about to descend upon them.

It falls to the decorated hero, Lieutenant Castamon of the Ultramarines, to hold Regium against the foes and keep the rest of the Imperium safe. A veteran of many battles, Castamon believes that this new Tyranid fleet will be swiftly destroyed. However, these Tyranids are led by something far more sinister than the Ultramarines have encountered before, something cunning and ruthless that is able to disrupt minds and outthink even the cleverest of humans. With his forces split, Regium’s defences compromised, and his allies panicking, even the vaunted Lieutenant Castamon may be unable to save Regium from the Tyranid invasion. However, Castamon has one last trick up his sleeve, the brilliant Ultramarine Apothecary Biologis, Vultis, whose research into the Tyranid biology might be the only thing that can stop them. Unfortunately, the enemy knows all about the Ultramarines and their plans, and the deadly creature known as the Harbinger is coming for them.

Leviathan was a pretty awesome and intense Warhammer 40,000 novel that shines a real spotlight on one of the more insidious alien races in the canon. Featuring a strong and at times terrifying narrative, Leviathan was a great read, and I really got caught up in Hinks’s fantastic book.

Hinks pulls together an excellent story for Leviathan, and it is one that will appeal to a range of different readers, especially those fans of Warhammer 40,000 fiction. Set around the already troubled planet of Regium, Leviathan follows an intriguing range of different human/space marine characters as they attempt to make sense and prepare for a Tyranid invasion of their world. The early parts of the book are dedicated to introducing the key characters and the overall setting of the story, while also attempting to cast a more psychological edge to the main story as visions, doubts and other insanities haunt the populace. There are some great early action sequences, including a disastrous shipboard incursion, and a dark hunt in some interesting terrain, and Hinks works well to set up for the second half of the book, especially as several unique, character driven stories were introduced and given some early weight. While I enjoyed a lot of this set up, I did find the first half of the story to be a bit slow with its pacing and I was initially having trouble getting too invested in any of the characters or story elements. However, this changed when I got to the second half of the book.

This second half masterfully builds on all the setup and character development that occurred at the start of Leviathan and readers are in for a particularly intense and gruesome narrative from this point on. This entire second half is dedicated to the full-on invasion of Regium, as swarms of aliens, including some new creatures, emerge to decimate the populace and challenge the protagonists. Each of the character focused plot lines set up in the first part of the book, as well as a few additional story inclusions, are perfectly thrust into this overlying chaos, and you get to see them try to survive the oncoming horrors and monstrosities. Hinks really pulls no punches when it comes to this Tyranid invasion, and you get to witness all the devastation, the deadly transformation of the planet, and the subsequent epic battles, as the Tyranids fight against the human and Ultramarine defenders in some epic and well-crafted set pieces. Each storyline was really good in its own way, and together they formed a fantastic and at times over-the-top overarching narrative that successfully showcased just how overwhelming the Tyranids can be. I loved how dark Hinks made Leviathan at times, especially as he had no qualms about killing off key characters in some particularly brutal ways, which really raised the stakes for the reader. While I did think that a lot of the plot did rely a little on the narrative stupidity of certain characters (the Ultramarines kept forgetting everything they knew about the Tyranids), the second half of the book was extremely epic, and I had real trouble putting it down. All the separate storylines were concluded in entertaining and fitting ways, and I particularly appreciated the final plan that Hinks introduced for the main protagonists, which really fitted the outrageous feel of a lot of the plot. This brutal and continuously exciting second half really turned Leviathan into such a great read, and I really loved how the entire thing turned out.

Leviathan proved to be an interesting and compelling addition to the wider Warhammer canon, especially as Hinks took the opportunity to really dive into some of the factions and showcase how crazy they can be. However, I know that Leviathan has been copping a little flack in this department, mainly because some people see it as merely a promotional novel tied-in with some of the recently announced Ultramarines and Tyranid models. While I can definitely see that, especially as Hinks spends a lot of time highlighting some of the newer Tyranid creatures in his narrative, I still enjoyed Leviathan a lot. His depictions of the Tyranids were one of the major highlights of the book, and I loved how much he upped the horror aspect of them, showing them to be ravenous monsters who alter and devour everything they encounter. This might be one of the better portrayals of Tyranids that I have so far seen in Warhammer fiction, and they were certainly a lot less one-dimensional here than they are in other books. Part of this was because of the inclusion of several newer Tyranid creatures, such as the Neurotyrant and the Norn Emissary, with both being shown as unstoppable monsters with interesting abilities. This allowed the Tyranids to attack their prey in all new ways, and it was very fun to see the various intricate tactics they were able to come up with. Hinks tempers some of the more commercial aspects of these creatures’ inclusion by not actually using the names of the models in Leviathan, instead all you have is the protagonist’s descriptions of them when they encounter them in person. These personal and often deeply terrified accounts of the various Tyranid bioforms really help to showcase just how terrifying and alien they are, especially to the ordinary human, and it really added a great edge to the narrative. This darker edge is further exacerbated by the author’s powerful examination of how the planet of Regium is altered once the Tyranids arrive. The spores constantly raining down on the planet slowly poison the various humans as they breathe in, and the depictions of the protagonists dying from within as they inhale alien matter, while their skin starts to slowly melt is pretty damn memorable and terrifying, especially as this is the first step in turning all biological matter in the planet into edible goo. Frankly, I don’t think I’ve ever experienced the horror that is the Tyranid better than in Leviathan, and Hinks’ brilliant use of this faction enhanced the entire book.

On top of the Tyranids, Leviathan also features another intriguing major faction, the all-time classic Ultramarines chapter of Space Marines. I mostly liked how the various Ultramarine characters were featured in Leviathan, although I did think that Hinks could have perhaps done a little more to distinguish them from other general Space Marines. Still, Hinks goes out of his way to make the Ultramarines as badass as possible, and you really get a sense of their courage and battle prowess, especially as the severally outnumbered Ultramarines (I won’t go into the logistics of Regium’s defence here, but it did seem a tad low for such a vital planet), managed to put up quite a showing against the Tyranid swarm. Some of the fight sequences featuring the Ultramarines in combat were pretty damn epic, and while some Space Marines did die easily for plot effect (especially when going up against a Tyranid with a new model), I felt that Hinks did a good job highlighting just how dangerous a Space Marine can be. Hinks really tries to cover various aspects of the Space Marines throughout Leviathan, including the reverence and respect that most normal people have for them, and while this might not be the absolute best portrayal of an Ultramarine detachment ever, it was still pretty damn good, especially in those fantastic fight sequences.

I also must highlight some of the great characters featured within Leviathan as Hinks comes up with a diverse and compelling cast to tell the story with. Thanks to the way the story is set out, each of the key plotlines revolves around some excellent characters, each with their own motivations, missions, and big moments, as they try to weather or escape the oncoming Tyranid doom. Hinks crafts some great storylines for each of these major characters, and it proves easy to get invested in them, such as the tale of two ordinary farm workers who try to escape the monsters around them, the hapless Governor who finds himself out of his depth, or the proud Cadian leader who is drawn into war by the machinations of a delusional priest. However, some of the best characters in Leviathan are members of the Ultramarines, and much of the story focuses on the elites of this chapter on Regium. I really enjoyed these major Ultramarine characters, including the bold Lieutenant Castamon, the heroic leader who lives up to all the hype, the Apothecary Biologis, Vultis, whose analytical mind and desire for knowledge might hold the key to victory, and even the arrogant Sergeant Tanaro has his moments, especially in that powerful last scene. However, my favourite character in the book is probably the scarred Ultramarine Baraca. Baraca is a seemingly unkillable figure who has survived an insane amount of damage, but who has grown detached from even the rest of his battle brothers. Despite appearing to be a mindless brute, Baraca is a deep and complex figure whose friendship with Vultis provides some emotional power to their scenes together. Baraca honestly steals every scene he is in, especially his last, and Hinks writes a great storyline around him as he courts death, while trying to find his place in life. All these characters, and more are very well written, and the impact they have on the plot is pretty impressive.

Like most Warhammer 40,000 content that I absorb, I chose to listen to Leviathan’s audiobook format, which is such a fantastic way to enjoy these intense stories. I think that I made the right choice when it came to Leviathan, as this amazing audiobook really helped to throw me into the midst of the action. Narrator Theo Solomon did an excellent job of setting a fast pace with his narration, and his descriptions of the massive battles, compelling heroics, and gruesome aliens was very fun to listen to. While I wasn’t always the biggest fan of some of the character voices that he came up with, Solomon did produce some excellent tones for some of the main characters, particularly that of Lieutenant Castamon, who is made to sound very heroic and bold, which worked to showcase this intriguing protagonist. As such, I felt that this was an excellent way to enjoy Leviathan, and with a run time of just over 12 hours, this isn’t a massive audiobook to get through, especially once you get caught up in the impressive second half. I had an awesome time with Leviathan on audiobook, and I recently featured it on my favourite audiobooks from the first half of 2023 list.

Overall, I think that Leviathan was a pretty good Warhammer 40,000 novel and I was pretty impressed with my first book from Darius Hinks. While I did have some issues with the story, especially in the early goings, this ended up being a very memorable and captivating read, especially thanks to the use of the cool Tyranid faction. Loaded with carnage, brutal fights to the death, and complex characters dealing with an oncoming horde of clever aliens, Leviathan was an outstanding novel that deeply enjoyed.

Top Ten Tuesday – My Favourite Audiobooks from the First Half of 2023

On July 11, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, List20 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. Top Ten Tuesday participants get a freebie this week so I chose to have a look at my favourite audiobooks from the first half of 2023. This is a continuation of my Top Ten list from a few weeks ago that featured my favourite overall novels from the first half of 2023.

I have a great deal of love for the audiobook format, and it is one of the main ways that I tend to check out books. Each year I enjoy a great number of different audiobooks and use the format to check out recent releases and older novels. I have been enjoying audiobooks for years, and it is amazing the various ways in which listening to a book can enhance your enjoyment. A great narrator can really bring you into the story, and I find that listening to a book enhances the amount of detail that you can take in. In addition, other features, such as captivating voices, music and sound effects can really make an audiobook something special, and there some great examples of that out there. This year alone I have listened to several outstanding audiobooks, includes some of my favourite books from early 2023. Because I love this format so much, I thought I would take this opportunity to highlight my favourite audiobooks from the first half of the year.

To pull this list off I had a look at all the 2023 releases that I listened to on audiobook to figure out my favourites. It turns out that I have already gone through quite a few this year so there was a very large collection of potential additions to this list. I was eventually able to whittle it down to the ten audiobooks I consider to be the best. There is a bit of a crossover with my previous Favourite Books from the First Half of 2023 list, but I think there are enough new additions to make this list worthwhile. I made sure to feature only the very best audiobooks on this list, and, in addition to the quality of the baseline novel, I also looked at audiobook production and narration. In my experience an outstanding narration or use of music and sound effects can enhance the plot, and I think that all the audiobooks listed below were exceptional listens that are really worth checking out.

In addition, as I had also listened to a few pre-2023 audiobooks in the first half of the year, I decided to also included a few of the best in a honourable mentions section. I had an epic time diving back into some classic reads, especially those of the Warhammer variety, and I really wanted to highlight which ones made for the best audiobooks. With these honourable mentions, I am very happy with how the overall list turned out and I think that the below entries really highlight what my favourite audiobooks from the first half of the year are.

Honourable Mentions (Pre-2023 audiobooks):

Eisenhorn Trilogy, written by Dan Abnett and narrated by Toby Longworth

Warhammer 40,000 - Xenos Cover

Some of the very best Warhammer audiobooks I listened to this year are the epic Eisenhorn novels by Dan Abnett. Thanks to Toby Longworth’s exceptional narration, all three Eisenhorn novels, Xenos, Malleus and Hereticus were a joy to listen to from start to finish.

Dead Beat, Proven Guilty and White Night, written by Jim Butcher and narrated by James Marsters

White Night Cover

Few audiobooks are better than Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files novels narrated by actor James Marsters. I’ve gotten through three of these audiobooks in 2023 with Dead Beat, Proven Guilty and White Night, and all of them were outstanding five-star reads that I had such a great time listening to.

The Infinite and the Divine, written by Robert Rath and narrated by Richard Reed

The Infinite and the Divine Cover

A highly clever, utterly hilarious and very impressive Warhammer 40,000 audiobook that focused on two rival Necron lords, battling it out over the centuries in a petty feud. I laughed myself silly with this audiobook and Richard Reed’s awesome narration made it even better.

For the Emperor by Sandy Mitchell and narrated by Stephen Perring, Penelope Rawlins and Emma Gregory

Warhammer 40,000 - For the Emperor Cover

Another particularly funny Warhammer 40,000 audiobook I enjoyed this year is the first Ciaphas Cain novel by Sandy Mitchell, For the Emperor. This entertaining audiobook about a cowardly war hero truly comes alive with the outstanding narration team of Stephen Perring, Penelope Rawlins and Emma Gregory, who compliment themselves marvellously throughout the entire production.

Top Ten List:

Son of the Poison Rose, written by Jonathan Maberry and narrated by Ray Porter

Son of the Poison Rose Cover

I had to start this list off with the new Jonathan Maberry novel, Son of the Poison Rose. The sequel to Kagen the Damned (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2022), Son of the Poison Rose was another epic and bloody novel that proves hard to put down. The always exceptional narration of Ray Porter turns it into an utterly addictive and impossibly good listen, which I cannot recommend enough.

Warhammer 40,000: Warboss, written by Mike Brooks and narrated by Harry Myers

Warhammer 40,000 - Warboss Cover

Rising Warhammer 40,000 author Mike Brooks is having a stellar 2023, and one of the first audiobooks of his I listened to was the very funny Warboss. Focusing on feuding warband of Orks attempting to determine a new leader through conquest, Warboss was a riot the entire way through, especially with Harry Myer’s fantastic narration perfectly capturing the chaotic yet complex nature of the Ork characters.

The Last Kingdom, written by Steve Berry and narrated by Scott Brick

The Last Kingdom (Steve Berry) Cover

History and conspiracy really come to life in the hands of Steve Berry, especially when narrated by Scott Brick. This latest Cotton Malone audiobook, The Last Kingdom, was pretty damn good, and I have so much love for the amazing combination of a modern-day thriller and intriguing historical mysteries.

The Lake House, written by Sarah Beth Durst and narrated by Karissa Vacker

The Lake House Cover Better

A fantastic and haunting young adult thriller that saw three teenagers thrust into a deadly situation on a remote summer camp. Sarah Beth Durst produced a pretty amazing book here and Karissa Vacker does a great job of portraying the three teenage protagonists with her excellent narration. I had an amazing time with The Lake House and I am hoping to get a review up for it soon.

Warhammer 40,000: The Lion: Son of the Forest by Mike Brooks and narrated by Timothy Watson

The Lion - Son of the Forest Cover

The second Mike Brooks audiobook on this list is The Lion: Son of the Forest, which was probably one of the best Warhammer 40,000 novels of 2023 so far. Following the return of a mythical hero, this fantastic book had a compelling and powerful plot that had me hooked very early. Narrator Timothy Watson ensures that the audiobook version is particularly epic as he brings some outstanding gravitas to an already legendary main character.

Burner, written by Mark Greaney, narrated by Jay Snyder

Burner Cover

Few thriller series impress me as much as the Gray Man books by Mark Greaney, and I have been having an amazing time listening to their audiobooks, especially with the very talented Jay Snyder narrating them. The latest Gray Man audiobook, Burner, was particularly special, and I could barely stop listening to it as Greaney wove together a captivating and highly relevant spy story. A must listen, especially with Snyder’s great take on the characters.

The Will of the Many, written by James Islington and narrated by Euan Morton

The Will of the Many Cover

One of the audiobooks I am most glad I listened to in the first half of 2023 was the brilliant fantasy novel, The Will of the Many by James Islington. A highly elaborate, entertaining and moving novel, The Will of the Many is one of the best fantasy books of the year so far and represents the start of an outstanding new series. I particularly enjoyed the amazing audiobook version, which thanks to the narration of Euan Morton, really popped, and helped to cram every detail of Islington’s new world into my head. Highly recommended!

Warhammer 40,000: Shadowsun: The Patient Hunter, written by Phil Kelly and narrated by Helen McAlpine

Warhammer 40,000 - Shadowsun Cover

A slick, action-packed, and occasionally gruesome Warhammer 40,000 audiobook that I had a lot of fun with was Shadowsun: The Patient Hunter. Combining Phil Kelly’s love of the T’au faction with Helen McAlpine’s great narration is a winning combination, and I powered through this cool audiobook in no time at all.

City of Last Chances, written by Adrian Tchaikovsky and narrated by David Thorpe

City of Last Chances Cover

Another particularly impressive and captivating fantasy novel from the start of the year was City of Last Chances by the very talented Adrian Tchaikovsky. Following multiple unique protagonists around a troubled fantasy city, City of Last Chances is a must read for all fantasy fans, and you will find your experience of it greatly improved with the outstanding audiobook version. Narrator David Thorpe perfectly captures all of the many complex characters and ensures that Tchaikovsky’s brilliant story elaborate setting is expertly conveyed to the listener. I cannot recommend this audiobook enough and I cannot wait to see how Tchaikovsky follows it up.

Warhammer 40,000: Leviathan, written by Darius Hinks and narrated by Theo Solomon

Warhammer 40,000 - Leviathan Cover

The final audiobook on this list is the one I’m listening to now, Leviathan by Darius Hinks. An intense and fast-paced book that follows a deadly alien invasion, this is a great Warhammer 40,000 read that really grew on me. Leviathan has a very good audiobook format, thanks to the narration of Theo Solomon, and I am having an outstanding time seeing this dark tale of insanity, invasion and hope, come to fruition. I should knock this off in the next day or so, and I will try to get a review up for it soon.

Well, that’s the end of this latest list. As you can see, there have been some very good audiobooks out in the first half of 2023, even my list is a little Warhammer 40,000 heavy. It will be interesting to see which books make the cut later in the year, especially as I currently have several major 2023 audiobooks currently sitting on my phone, waiting to be listened to. While I get to that, make sure to let me know what your favourite audiobooks of 2023 so far are in the comments below.

The Will of the Many by James Islington

On July 3, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Australian, Fantasy, Five-Star Books21 Comments

Publisher: Gallery/Saga Press/Audible Studios (Audiobook – 23 May 2023)

Series: Hierarchy – Book One

Length: 28 hours 14 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Talented Australian author James Islington delivers one of the best fantasy books of 2023 with the compelling and complex novel, The Will of the Many, an exceptional read that I had a brilliant time reading.

I am always on the lookout for epic fantasy novels to sink my teeth into, and one that caught my eye when it was first announced was the intriguing book, The Will of the Many. Set in a cool new magical school setting, The Will of the Many sounded liked a very fun novel and I instantly wanted to read it. It helped that it was written by James Islington, an Australian author who had been on my radar for a while thanks to his fantastic Licanius trilogy. While I have not had a chance to check out the Licanius books, I was very keen to dive into The Will of the Many and I was glad I got the chance a couple of weeks ago. The Will of the Many is the first book in Islington’s new Hierarchy series, which looks set to be a major addition to the fantasy landscape especially after this incredible first book

The Catenan Republic, known as the Hierarchy, rules the world, conquering and enslaving everything before it using its unique magic of Will, which drains power, strength and mental energy from the lower classes and passes it up to those above. To gain true power and control in the Hierarchy citizens need to battle their way to the top of the pyramid of power and influence, and only those with drive, ambition, connections or no choice can rise.

Vis is an orphan boy with a hidden past, a quick mind, and an utter disdain for the entire Hierarchy. Lodged in a Catenan orphanage, Vis bides his time while searching for an escape from a future of ceding his Will to the higher echelons of the Hierarchy. However, his entire life is turned upside down when a powerful Catenan nobleman offers him a chance he never expected. Ulciscor Telimus is convinced that there are dark dealings going on at the Hierarchy’s most prestigious school, the Academy, and he needs someone to go undercover and discover what has been hidden there. If he succeeds, he will be adopted into Ulciscor’s influential family and be given a choice about his future.

Reluctantly agreeing to Ulciscor’s terms, Vis prepares to attend the Academy, only to discover it is a dangerous place of corrupt ambition, deadly secrets and deep rivalries. To succeed, Vis will have to rise through the Academy’s ranks by any means necessary without losing who he is as a person. But this will be no easy task, as deadly politics, long-buried power and a murderous rebel group all seek to control him. Worse, the more he advances, the greater the chance that his secret past will be uncovered and his enemies will put him to death. Can Vis survive against the terrible burden that is weighing him down or will he be ground down by the unstoppable Hierarchy just like everyone else?

Islington has created a pretty exceptional fantasy novel with The Will of the Many. Featuring a powerful, intense and character-driven plot, all set within an outstanding new fantasy world, The Will of the Many had me hooked pretty early on and I dedicated a lot of time to reading it. I really got drawn into Islington’s amazing inventiveness and this book gets an easy five-star rating from me thanks to how damn good it is.

I have lot of love for the epic and captivating narrative that Islington set up in The Will of the Many, especially as he simultaneously tells a brilliant introductory story while also expertly setting up the rest of the series. There are some awesome scenes in the start of this book, including an intense fight club sequence, which do an excellent job getting the reader across some key aspects of the plot, while also showcasing the emotional range and complexity of the protagonist, through whose eyes the entire story unfolds. I was honestly already very hooked by this point in the story, but Islington quickly picks up the pace and ensures that this character-driven narrative heads off in some very compelling directions. The introduction of Ulciscor soon presents the idea of the Academy and the dark conspiracies around it, and Islington starts the gradual process of getting the protagonist to the school environment. Ulciscor is a great addition to the plot, especially as he plays off Vis very well, and the early sequences with him result in some major world expansion and plot movement. It also sets up the book’s established formula of adventure, world building, politics, mystery and espionage, that carries through the rest of the story, and which ends up being a very heady combination.

Islington keeps building the story as The Will of the Many progresses, and pretty much every new revelation or intriguing world detail is really fun to behold. There is some good early action, as well as a couple of twists that I liked at this point, but the story is still very much on track for the promised magical school setting. However, before we get there, there are a series of cool and fascinating training montages which build up Vis as a character and really highlight the difficult tasks to come. There is also a deeper dive into the complexities of the tasks and the secrets surrounding them, and Islington does an impressive amount of set-up in this first third. However, the real highlight of this first part of the book is a very surprising and explosive occurrence that pushes Vis into the limelight, while also ensuring that he is caught between some very dangerous people. This big scene is extremely memorable, bloody and very well-written, and if you weren’t riveted to The Will of the Many before, you sure as hell were now.

From there the story turns into a more magical school focused narrative, which was something that I was really looking forward to. This intriguing setting had some great elements to it, and the story set within the Academy was a brilliant and compelling blend of education, entertaining rivalries, compelling personal interactions, and a series of secrets, as Vis attempts climb up the ranks, while also completing some of the objectives the various groups trying to control him have forced him to do. I honestly had a ton of fun during the scenes set in the Academy, and I liked how Islington built up the setting and the fantasy elements behind it, while also slowly advancing the story and the character development. The substantial part of the novel set in or around the Academy has some fantastic moments to it, including a few big scenes where Vis is forced to encounter deadly enemies, hard tasks, or the secrets from his past, and each of these major moments expertly expands on some part of the plot or universe you are already enjoying, whether it be secrets of the world, or some political machinations that will come back to bite the protagonist later.

Everything leads up to a major extended concluding sequence as the final test of the Academy brings all manner of trouble to the protagonist in a variety of cool and intriguing ways. Not only do some big secrets come to life but Vis manages to learn more about the magical secrets of the world and the Hierarchy, while also being forced to deal with deadly attacks and threats from a variety of corners. There are so many epic moments in this final section of the book, and Islington did an incredible job of tying together his many, many story threads to ensure that a variety of previous hints and revelations are well utilised. I loved some of the elaborate tests and set-ups featured here, and it was very fun to see the protagonist try to run them while also dealing with major threats from every angle. This final sequence has some massive moments, including major betrayals, compelling reveals about the wider world, and a very tragic death, all of which served as the perfect cherry to an already outstanding story. While many secrets and hanging storylines are resolved by the end of the plot, quite a few still remain for the sequels. Islington has already set up some big moments and unique ideas for the future, and I am very curious to see how they turn out.

As you can no doubt tell from my expansive summary above, I really loved this captivating narrative in The Will of the Many and I think that Islington did a really good job of presenting this complex and impressive story to the reader. The entire book has an outstanding pace to it, and there is barely a scene that is not filled with something exciting or entertaining, whether it be a moving character moment, some compelling world building, or a thrilling bit of action. I honestly flew through this lengthy novel, and there was no point of the book where I not highly invested in the plot nor gripped by the events unfolding. The author’s use of a first-person perspective from the character of Vis was a very good choice of narration that allowed the author to tell a compelling character-driven story that simultaneously explored a cool new setting from the outside, while also cleverly capturing all the key elements of the plot. The intense balancing act of lies, politics, outside influences and personal relationships that the protagonist has to maintain really shines through as a result of this use of perspective, and it was deeply compelling to see Vis attempt to overcome all the obstacles in front of him. The intense action scenes were particularly good, and Islington perfectly portrays the desperate violence, the life-and-death confrontations, and even some complex but exciting maze running, in ways that grab the reader’s attention and keep them fully engaged. I personally loved how Islington included so many different compelling storylines, plot points, and fascinating detail into every single page of the book, and you really cannot help but get addicted as a result.

I always love seeing a cool fantasy setting for a new series, and Islington produced a pretty intriguing and compelling one for The Will of the Many. Much of the main setting of the book sees Islington expand on an ancient Roman society, by adding in some intriguing new details like magic, powered constructs, a rigidly hierarchical community, and a deep political divide between the military, governance and religion bodies. This results in a very interesting background for much of the story, and Islington showcases it all through the eyes of Vis, a hostile outsider with an established hatred of the Hierarchy, which works to showcase it in even more detail, especially as Vis focuses on both the negatives and the positives of the political and cultural structures around him. I really enjoyed the clever balance of political concerns, oppressed citizenry and unique inclusions about status and magical power that were explored as a result, and it was fantastic to see them utilised in the plot, especially as Vis has to balance all of them throughout his many guises and missions. The most fascinating part of this whole setting has to be the focus Will, the magic of the Hierarchy, which sees people at the bottom of society sacrifice part of their strength, drive and health to those above them. The higher up in the Hierarchy you are, the more people you have ceding their strength to you, and this gives you greater powers, including better physical attributes, the ability to control and manipulate materials to certain purposes, and other magical abilities. Islington does a really good job of exploring and expanding on this intriguing magical system throughout The Will of the Many, especially as the narrator is also learning about it as he goes. The author has clearly put some time and great thought into this magical system, treating it like an established science, and I liked seeing the range of abilities it produces, as well as its related social and cultural impacts. Islington makes sure to highlight that this is not a perfect society, and the cracks that Vis witnesses throughout The Will of the Many should result in some outstanding and compelling ongoing storylines.

I need to point out that one of the main reasons I chose to grab The Will of the Many is that it had a magical school setting. I love, love, love magical school settings in fantasy fiction, and it is one of the best backgrounds for an excellent fantasy story (make sure to check out my recent list about my favourite books with magical school settings). The Academy in The Will of the Many is an amazing example of this, and I enjoyed how Islington utilised it as a primary location for the book’s plot. Just like the rest of the Hierarchy, the Academy is a rigidly hierarchical place based around a pyramid structure, with the most talented students at the top, and the other students below battling to take their place. This made for a great background of study, competition and rivalries for much of the plot, and it was fun to see the protagonist try to reach the higher classes in a short time period, especially as he was required to overcome numerous obstacles while also coming to terms with the distinctive social structure of the Academy. Islington adds a further twist to this education setting by introducing the Labyrinth as a unique educational and testing tool. Essentially, the Labyrinth sees participants run through an elaborate maze while being chased, manipulating a magical gauntlet to move around walls and doors, all to prove that the participant has the concentration and focus to control vast amounts of Will. Islington did an outstanding job of showcasing this Labyrinth in multiple scenes of The Will of the Many, and it produces some very exciting and compelling scenes, especially when the stakes around it get very high. There is also a very complex, and highly enjoyable final test that serves as a great background for much of the final confrontation. Islington clearly has a highly inventive streak when it comes to these unique fantasy inclusions, and I personally loved every second spent in this highly competitive magical school setting. I hope that we see more of it in the future, and this was honestly one of the better magical schools that I have personally seen in fantasy fiction.

I also must highlight the captivating and nuanced characters that were featured within The Will of the Many, especially the main protagonist, Vis, through whom we see most of the events occurring. Vis is an outstanding central protagonist, as he is a highly educated individual who sees all the flaws in the society he is forced to live in, and goes into the story with many secrets around him, including the fact that he is secretly the deposed prince of a realm recently conquered by the Hierarchy. Due to his many losses, his outsider status, and the sheer resentment he holds towards the Hierarchy and those who use Will, Vis has a great deal of anger, bitterness and lack of social ability that he needs to overcome. Vis proves to be the perfect character for the complex and morally grey narrative that Islington envisions, as Vis has to put all his learned deceit and ability to keep secrets and survive to good use to infiltrate the Hierarchy and the Academy, while being blackmailed by several different people. Vis has an interesting analytical mind, and I wonderful time seeing him try to work through the various problems, conflicts, and hostile situations he encounters, especially as nearly everything about him is a lie that he needs to keep straight. Despite his past and the pressures he is under, he is still a mostly kind and noble figure, trying to stay true to his original ideals while still doing what is right in a very corrupt world, and it was wonderful to see him grow throughout the course of the story and finally learn to trust again. I grew quite attached to Vis as the story continued, and it really hurts to see him suffer time and time again, especially once he comes to terms with the traumas of his past. I am very excited to see his story continue in the future, especially as it seems like it is going to get quite complex and multifaceted in the next book.

The rest of the cast of The Will of the Many is also very strong, and I liked the compelling and varied supporting characters that Vis has to interact with, including classmates, his new adopted family, rivals, political opponents, high-ranking members of the Hierarchy, and a dedicated group of rebels with dark plans for the future. The powerful and intriguing interactions that occurred between Vis, who is often lying about his intentions, and these other fantastic characters results in some amazing scenes, and I loved the unique relationships that Vis was able to form with them. You grow pretty attached to some of these characters as well, and I had my heart broken with one major fatality towards the end of the novel.

To check out this impressive novel I chose to grab an audiobook copy of The Will of the Many, which proved to be a pretty exceptional way to enjoy this fantastic read. I have a lot of love for the audiobook format when it comes to massive fantasy novels, especially as I find myself really able to absorb the complex narratives and vast new worlds extremely well when listening to it. This was definitely the case with The Will of the Many audiobook which really allowed me to get to grips with the powerful story it contained, and I lapped up every second that I listened to. It definitely helped that The Will of the Many audiobook featured an outstanding narrator in the form of Euan Morton, whose work I have previously enjoyed in several Star Wars audio productions (Tarkin, Dooku: Jedi Lost and Doctor Aphra). Morton has a unique voice that I felt gave The Will of the Many some real gravitas and impact when read out, especially with the distinctive, accented tone he utilised for both Vis and the main narration of the story. This specific great voice was pretty impressive, and it really helped to make the protagonist’s speech really stand out throughout the audiobook. The rest of the accents and tones he utilised for the other characters in the book really worked, and I loved how much range Morton had, covering a range of different characters perfectly and gifting them very fitting voices. All this really helps to make The Will of the Many an absolute pleasure to listen to, and I cannot recommend this format enough to people interested in this book. With a run time of just over 28 hours, The Will of the Many audiobook does represent a substantial time challenge for potential listeners (it is the 10^th longest audiobook I’ve ever listened to). However, I would say it is well worth the investment, especially as it does not take long for you to get obsessed with this awesome book and its elaborate story. An exceptional audiobook that is easily the best way to enjoy this amazing fantasy tale.

Unsurprisingly, I loved The Will of the Many, and it was a pretty great introduction to James Islington’s brilliant writing and inventiveness. The Will of the Many is a captivating fantasy read that makes excellent use of its dark setting and magical school focus to craft a powerful, character-driven tale. This is easily one of the best fantasy novels of 2023 so far and I would strongly recommend it to anyone wanting an epic read to really lose themselves in. An exceptional novel that perfectly sets up a bold new fantasy series!

White Night by Jim Butcher

On June 19, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Fantasy, Five-Star Books, Throwback Thursday7 Comments

Publisher: Penguin Audio (Audiobook – 3 April 2007)

Series: Dresden Files – Book Nine

Length: 14 hours and 12 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Welcome back to my Throwback Thursday series, where I republish old reviews, review books I have read before or review older books I have only just had a chance to read. In my latest Throwback Thursday post, I continue to explore the epic Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher, with the exceptional White Night.

Readers of this blog will have noticed that my last few Throwback Thursday posts have been all about the amazing Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. One of the most impressive and recognisable urban fantasy series in the world today, the Dresden Files are brilliant novels that follow Harry Dresden, a wizard and magical protector of humanity, as he faces off against all manner of unique supernatural foes and mysteries in modern day Chicago. This series features so many incredible books, such as Storm Front, Fool Moon, Grave Peril, Summer Knight, Death Masks, Blood Rites and Battle Ground, as well as the novella The Law, all of which are five-star reads. I have been reading this series on and off since 2020, and I recently got back into it, managing to finish off two more books, Dead Beat and Proven Guilty in recent weeks. These outstanding novels were also pretty exceptional, and I was in such a Dresden Files mood I ended up also listening to ninth book in the series, White Night, which turned out to be a pretty awesome decision.

Harry Dresden, wizard, private investigator, and now Warden for the White Council, is Chicago’s only defence against a range of supernatural threats lurking around its exterior. However, due to his growing power, the extended war between the White Council and the Red Court vampires, and his new position as a Warden, a lethal magical law enforcer, the ordinary magical users of Chicago have grown to fear him and no longer consider him one of their own. As such, Dresden is shocked to discover that several lesser practitioners in the city have either died in apparent suicides or simply disappeared.

Investigating the crimes, he discovers several mysterious messages that hint at a serial killer stalking female magic users in the city, one who seems to be taunting Dresden directly. Diving into the city’s hidden magical underbelly, Dresden soon finds a group of minor witches living in fear, all of whom are convinced that Dresden has something to do with their comrade’s deaths. Attempting to gain their trust, Dresden tries to find the truth, only to discover that all the evidence points towards his secret half-brother, the vampire Thomas Raith.

Unwilling to believe that his brother has become a murdering monster, Dresden dives deeper, only to discover a far more sinister plot lying beneath the surface. The vampires of the White Court are on the hunt, and their malevolent schemes are expanding to capture all of Chicago, including Dresden and his friends, in their web. Working with a range of allies, including wizards, gangsters and an old flame, can Dresden untangle the web and stop the White Court before every human magic user on the planet becomes the ultimate prey?

Damn, it really is proving impossible for me to have a bad time with one of the Dresden Files books. The ninth novel in this series by Butcher, White Night, was another incredible addition and one that I absolutely inhaled in only a few short days. Featuring a brilliant and well-written story loaded with the series’ great characters, White Night is an amazing and captivating read that gets another easy five-star rating from me.

Butcher has come up with a pretty epic story for White Night, and it was one that had me hooked the entire way through. The narrative starts off in familiar ground for a Dresden Files novel, with Dresden helping the Chicago police with a suspicious death that might have magical implications. Butcher draws the reader in at first by presenting them with a juicy and compelling case, that of a serial killer stalking minor magical practitioners in Chicago and leaving taunting messages or Dresden to find. This story gets even more intriguing when it turns out that many witnesses or the victims’ friends consider Dresden to be the main suspect, not only because of circumstantial evidence, but because his damaged reputation. Despite this, Dresden keeps trying to investigate, only to come across evidence that suggests his half-brother, Thomas, a White Court vampire, might be behind some of the crimes. He also encounters his first love, Elaine, who has been hired by a local group of witches for protection, and who Dresden teams up with again to solve the case.

I really appreciated the investigative focus for the first third of the book, and it really reminded me of some of the more classic Dresden Files adventures that started the series off. This initial investigation soon leads the protagonists into a pretty massive confrontation, and I loved how deadly and destructive things got around halfway through. Butcher also works in a rather good flashback sequence at this point, which lends itself well to explaining the protagonist’s mental state and providing some excellent context to his recent actions. As the story continues, Butcher starts to layer out and fully explore the major mystery of White Night in some fantastic ways. Not only is one of the killers exposed after some fun revelations, but a massive, elaborate conspiracy is also revealed that places Dresden and his allies in a major predicament. This leads up to an extended confrontation sequence in the last third of the book where Butcher really cuts loose and provides the reader with all the action and intense scenes that they can handle. Not only is their a beautifully written duel sequence that was pretty cool to see, but Butcher than provides a massive battle sequence that had so much going for it. There are explosions, betrayals, carnage and sacrifices here, and it is an impressive extended sequences that was near impossible to put down, especially as Butcher loads in epic surprise after epic surprise. The entire sequence comes together perfectly, and I had so much fun with it, especially as it opens up some cool storylines for the future. It also serves as a great conclusion to the narrative, and I was really impressed at the ongoing storylines that were either wrapped up or strengthen. Everything comes together really well and it honestly left me wanting even more Dresden Files.

Butcher once again backs up his amazing story with some outstanding writing that always works to drag the reader write into the middle of the plot. Featuring a great first-person perspective from Dresden that showcases his unique view of events, as well as his own deep personal concerns, Butcher moves White Night along at a swift pace, ensuring that every scene has something deeply interesting or exciting to keep the reader’s attention. I really appreciated the great blend of elements within White Night, as Butcher cleverly balances action, adventure, humour, character growth and dark moments, which, along with the investigation elements, ensures that there is a little something for everyone in this book. I particularly enjoyed some of the elaborate and intense major action sequences in White Night, especially that epic one at the end, and it was cool how massive and deadly some of them got. Just like most of the previous Dresden Files novels, White Night can be read as a standalone urban fantasy adventure, as Butcher makes sure to recap and reference and relevant prior event, character or storyline so new readers can easily follow along and still have fun. However, as this is a key novel in the series which concludes or continues several long-running storylines and character arcs, White Night is best enjoyed by those who have checked out the earlier Dresden Files books, especially as the emotional elements of some revelations or actions are greatly enhanced by continuous reading. I always have so much fun with Butcher’s style in this series, and I felt that White Night was particularly well served by the author’s ability to tell an amazing story.

I have a lot of love for the cool fantasy setting that the Dresden Files utilises as the combination of modern-day Chicago and classic fantasy monsters and magic is always makes for an excellent story. There are so many excellent elements to this fantasy society that Butcher has dreamed up over the years, and at this point in the series the lore and history of magic and its various factions is very well established. Despite this, Butcher always finds intriguing new elements to dive into each book, which is something I really appreciate. In White Night, he takes the time to look at the less powerful magic users in this society, the ones that don’t have enough magic to bother the White Council or interact with Dresden. These somewhat marginalised magic users have created their own societies and communities as a result, and it was really interesting to see Dresden interact with them, especially as, due to his position as a Warden, they all fear what he represents, which is a fun reversal of how Dresden was persecuted at the start of the series. I really loved seeing magic through the eyes of the little guy, and Butcher works them into the story in a very intriguing way.

The book also features quite a few White Court vampires, who feed on emotion and mental energy rather than blood. The White Court are always a rather distinctive inclusion in any Dresden Files novel, and of course there is the requisite extremely beautiful women and focus on lust that are a key part of the White Court vampires. However, several of the other factions of vampires are finally introduced here, those that induce and feed off fear and despair. This adds a rather darker angle to parts of the book, especially when these abilities are unleashed at full blast, and it was interesting to see how badly it can be weaponised. The accompanying vampiric schemes and backstabbing plans are also very fun, and Butcher manages to weave several elaborate ruses and plots into the narrative with some effective results. These fantasy elements, and more, really help to create a distinctive and captivating read, and I cannot get enough of Butcher’s ability to come up with and utilise the inventive elements.

As always, the characters contained within White Night were pretty damn amazing, and I felt that their complex and powerful character arcs added so much value and intensity to the plot. The focus is once again on protagonist and point-of-view character, Harry Dresden, who finds himself under all manner of immense pressure in White Night, which blows up around him in some big ways. Not only is he dealing with the dual responsibilities of having an apprentice and being the magical law in Chicago, but he also has some major family issues and a tone of intense mental trauma that has been building up over the last few books. A lot of this comes to a head in White Night, and Dresden actually comes across as a lot more angry and frustrated than he has in previous novels, especially after experiencing more losses and seeing some dreadful things. Butcher writes some compelling and complex storylines around Dresden’s many emotional concerns in White Night, and it proves very intriguing and powerful to see him try to work through them, especially as he is in denial about several of the more prominent concerns. The author does an amazing job exploring Dresden’s inner psyche here, and you come away feeling closer to him as a result. White Night is actually a pretty significant book for Dresden’s character growth, especially as several long-running storylines about his mental state finish up here, and this ends up being a pretty satisfying read as a result, especially if you like how he was portrayed in the previous few novels. Despite, or perhaps because of, his many issues, Dresden still brings his typical humour and complete disregard for decorum or his opponents to the table in White Night, and his fun comments and witty observations are responsible for most of the book’s comedy and entertainment. As such, Dresden remains a pretty impressive and likeable central character, and I cannot wait to see what future adventures and pain he has coming to him in the future.

White Night also features a great supporting cast of friends and antagonists to liven up the plot in some awesome ways. While most of the focus of the story is on Dresden, you see a lot of these characters and there are some fantastic and complex storylines written around them. The most prominent of these characters in White Night is probably Dresden’s half-brother Thomas Raith, who has been a major figure for the last few books. Due to his banishment from his vampire family, Thomas has been somewhat adrift in recent books, and it was clear that he had been keeping secrets from Dresden for various reasons. Most of his secrets are finally revealed here in White Night and it was interesting to see what resulted. Some of them are quite intriguing, some are pretty funny, and it was nice to finally get some answers, especially as it helped to strengthen the relationship between the two brothers. Other great characters in White Night include Dresden’s former lover, Elaine, who has managed to bounce back since her last appearance and is trying to become more like Dresden by helping people; Dresden’s dog, Mouse, who is such a fun supernatural canine character; and the fallen angel in Dresden’s head Lasciel, who has some of the most emotionally powerful scenes in the book. However, my favourite supporting character in White Night is probably Chicago gangster John Marcone, a mortal crime lord who dips his toes in supernatural affairs and often serves as an antagonist/uneasy ally of Dresden. Marcone is always very fun in these books, especially as he and Dresden play off each other perfectly, and he is the perfect foil to the hot-headed protagonist. His appearance in White Night is particularly good, as you get a deeper look at his true character, and realise he isn’t as evil as he appears. Despite that, he still proves to be rather ruthless and Butcher writes some amazing and compelling scenes around him. These characters and more add so much to the power and impact of White Night’s story, and I love how captivating and complex Butcher makes them.

I can’t talk about a Dresden Files novel without once again raving about its audiobook format. I love, love, love the Dresden Files audiobooks, and there is honestly no substitute to listening to these amazing stories, especially when all the audiobooks feature the incredible vocal talents of actor James Marsters. Marsters, who is one of my favourite audiobook narrators thanks to this series, is so damn talented, and his take on the Dresden Files books is very special. This proves to be the case again in White Night, as Marsters utilises all his intensity and passion to bring this epic story to life. His grip on all the major characters in White Night is pretty damn amazing, and I love how he manages to expertly portray all the characters, ensuring that the reader fully understands their personalities, emotions and inner thoughts when Marsters speaks in their voice. This is particularly true for protagonist Harry Dresden, a character that Marsters has always done an incredible job voicing, and I deeply appreciated how the narrator was able to capture his full emotional turmoil in this fantastic audiobook. This brilliant narration, as well as the great story it follows, ensures that White Night was another exceptional listen, and I had an outstanding time getting through this audiobook. Coming in at just over 14 hours, White Night was slightly shorter than some of the other Dresden Files audiobooks out there, but it still takes a little bit to get through it. However, it is well worth the time investment, and I cannot recommend White Night on audiobook enough.

Just like every Dresden Files novel I have read, White Night is an exceptional and captivating read that I had an absolute blast getting through. Jim Butcher’s novels always drag me in with their brilliant storytelling, complex scenarios and fantastic characters, and White Night is one of his more intense and exciting inclusions in the series. A highly recommended read and an outstanding addition to the series. I will be reading more Dresden Files novels as soon as I can.

Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher

On June 10, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Fantasy, Five-Star Books, Throwback Thursday6 Comments

Publisher: Penguin Audio (Audiobook – 1 February 2006)

Series: Dresden Files – Book Eight

Length: 16 hours and 16 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Welcome back to my Throwback Thursday series, where I republish old reviews, review books I have read before or review older books I have only just had a chance to read. This week I dive into another awesome entry in the exceptional Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher with Proven Guilty.

I have been having an outstanding time reading Butcher’s iconic and fantastic Dresden Files books over the last couple of years. One of the absolute best urban fantasy series ever written, the Dresden Files follows titular wizard and supernatural protector, Harry Dresden, as he investigates a series of crimes and magical conspiracies in Chicago. I got into these books back in 2020 and have been slowly getting through the series from the start, with most of the entries getting five-star reviews from me as I go. This includes the outstanding novels, Storm Front, Fool Moon, Grave Peril, Summer Knight, Death Masks, Blood Rites, Dead Beat and Battle Ground, as well as the novella The Law. I had so much fun reading the previous novels that I just had to dive into the eighth book this week with Proven Guilty, which proved to be another amazing read.

A year after officially becoming a Warden for the White Council of Wizards, Harry Dresden is chafing under his new role, especially the part that forces him to punish young practitioners with no real knowledge of the magic they wield. However, he must put aside his concerns when he is warned about black magic being used in Chicago, forcing him to start a new investigation into the city’s magical underbelly.

His investigations soon lead him to a seemingly normal horror movie convention where mysterious and sinister events are taking place. Brought in by one of the convention’s staff, Molly Carpenter, the daughter of holy knight Michael Carpenter, Dresden soon finds himself attempting to stem a series of supernatural attacks against innocent humans. The dangerous perpetrators all appear in the form of classic horror movie monsters, and their deadly attacks soon leaves a trail of mayhem across the convention. Forced to circumnavigate the police and other dangers waiting for him, Dresden works to hold back the dark supernatural tide, only to discover dangerous secrets that shock him to his core.

Working with his faithful dog, his vampiric half-brother, a cop with her own problems, and the most dangerous mother on the planet, Dresden attempts to right all the wrongs in front of him. But to succeed, he’ll need to confront the forces of the Nevernever, a rogue White Court Vampire, dangerous creatures forged from fear, and even the White Council itself. Can Dresden succeed or will his actions lead to even more suffering for those he cares about the most?

Butcher keeps his epic Dresden Files going in an amazing way with this eighth book, and I had an outstanding time reading Proven Guilty. Featuring an elaborate plot that effortless combines mystery and supernatural elements in modern day Chicago, while also serving as a key entry in the wider Dresden Files, Proven Guilty is a powerful and deeply captivating read that I had a great time listening to. I have so much love for this fantastic series, and Proven Guilty got another five-star rating from me as a result.

Proven Guilty has an outstanding story to it which sees the protagonist go up against a cohort of deadly enemies, some of which are disguised as horror movies creatures. I will admit that the start of the book was a tad slow, and I honestly thought that this was going to be more of a filler novel than anything else. However, it soon develops into an excellent story that loads up a cool mystery with some exciting encounters, deep emotional moments, strong character development, and the continuation or creation of several major storylines for the entire series. A conflicted Dresden is dragged into everything when Molly Carpenter requests his help, and he soon finds himself looking into the mysterious events at the horror convention. The main story goes in some very interesting directions, and I liked the great combination of investigation and fantasy elements as it continued, while several compelling side stories see Dresden facing even more danger and mystery. Several of these storylines came together quite nicely as the book continued, and Dresden soon identifies the main perpetrator of the threat, as well as other forces taking advantage of their actions. The impact of the big reveal of who was responsible wasn’t as significant for me, as I’d had that spoiled in advance, but it was still well crafted, especially the motivations behind it. However, the real meat of the story revolves around darker designs as unknown forces manipulate Dresden and his allies to do their bidding. This results in some very impressive scenes, including a massive magic battle in the Fae realm, and I loved how everything came together while also leaving some big mysteries open for later in the series. I also really enjoyed the complex wrap-up chapters, which saw Dresden go up against the White Council in some very intense scenes, as well as providing some excellent emotional resolutions that I deeply appreciated. Everything comes together perfectly, and this proves to be a fantastic new addition to already impressive series.

Butcher applies his usual excellent writing style to Proven Guilty, which always works well to convey his complex narratives. Like the rest of the series, Proven Guilty moves at a swift pace, quickly taking readers from one intriguing scene to the next, all of which is great in its own particular way, whether it be character interactions, plot developments, or lore downloads. At the same time, readers are treated to a great blend of fantasy elements, emotional moments, and a compelling investigation storyline, all of which is overlayed with a fun and signature bout of humour and snark, often directed from the protagonist. You really get drawn into Proven Guilty as a result, and I always love Butcher’s approach to the urban fantasy style, especially as both his unique fantasy world and the cool investigative story arcs work so well together. Like the rest of the Dresden Files books, Proven Guilty can be read as a standalone novel, although Butcher is juggling a few ongoing storylines and character arcs that had been built up in the previous entries. While the author always does a good job of recapping key events and reintroducing key characters, I really do feel that at this point in the series readers need to have enjoyed some of the previous books to get the full emotional and story impact Butcher is conveying. I do really need to critique one part of Butcher’s writing style for Grave Peril though, particularly how he oversexualised a teenage female character. The Dresden Files have always featured over-the-top descriptions of women, and while Butcher has gotten better about them as the series continues, he backslid here in Proven Guilty when it came to this character. While I do get what he was trying to do from a literary perspective, i.e. showing the vulnerability and confusion of teenagers, and how they act out a result, it honestly felt really icky to me, and I think the book would have been better off without it. Apart from that though, Proven Guilty is very well written, and I had a wonderful time getting through it.

I always really enjoy how well Butcher manages to utilise cool and complex fantasy elements into his narratives and Proven Guilty has some outstanding examples of this. Thanks to Dresden’s promotion to Warden in the last book, he is now a very prominent member of the White Council, and this provides him some bigger insights into the council and its members. This results in some great political scenes, as well as a deeper dive into the council’s law enforcement wing, which exists to hunt down and punish magic users who break the laws of magic. I found this to be pretty interesting and compelling, especially as the council’s determination to enforce the laws leads to some dark moments in the plot, and I liked the clever comparisons between them and the Chicago PD. The case also sees a return of the Fae Summer and Winter Courts, both of which have been featured heavily in the past, and Butcher has a lot of fun revisiting both and expanding the lore surrounding them. One of the most pivotal moments of the plot sees Dresden and his allies invading one of the most significant locations of the Winter Court, and I loved the carnage that resulted. As always, the various scenes of magical battle and encounters are a great highlight of Proven Guilty, and Butcher has a real talent for making the featured spells feel intense and spectacular. I also rather enjoyed the use of a horror convention (SplatterCon!!!) as a major background for the plot, especially as it allowed for a menagerie of movie monsters to emerge and attack the convention goers. There were a ton of fun homages here as a result, and it was very entertaining to see Dresden face off against several iconic monsters in some great scenes. These fantasy elements merge with the rest of the plot extremely well, and it was fun to see Dresden dive through the worst parts of his world to save the day.

One of the major highlights of all the Dresden Files novels in the fantastic cohort of characters that Butcher features and Proven Guilty is no exception to this as the author has utilised another fantastic group of figures, each of whom brings something emotional or compelling to the plot. The most prominent of these is naturally series protagonist Harry Dresden, who serves as the book’s main voice. Cocky, confident, emotionally damaged and highly conflicted, Dresden makes a great focal character and I have deeply enjoyed seeing his personal journey throughout this series. While still responsible for most of the book’s humour thanks to his jokes and fun observations about the other characters and all things magic, Dresden is decidedly a little more serious in Proven Guilty, especially as he is still recovering from some of the traumas of the previous books, including his injuries, his possession by a fallen angel, emotional conflicts with those closest to him, and the guilt over being forced to kill two people in his previous adventure. This provides a noticeable change to Dresden in this book, and I felt that Butcher did a wonderful job showcasing this in several emotionally charged confrontations and scenes. At the same time, Dresden is also dealing with his misapprehensions for working for the White Council as a Warden, especially as he is having trouble believing in all their rules. This leads him into even greater conflict as the book continues, especially when he finds out who is truly responsible for the latest evils he uncovers. All these personal issues and traumas help to provide a deep emotional layer to the plot, and it was one that Butcher masterfully addressed, providing some compelling and satisfying resolutions to several of them. I particularly liked how Dresden’s story is coming full circle in some ways, and it will be interesting to see how that plays out in the future.

Aside from Dresden, there are a ton of other great characters featured through Proven Guilty who add their own flavour to the plot. This includes an excellent range of new figures and well-established supporting characters, and I liked the mixture of storylines and character arcs that emerged. Dresden’s usual allies, Karrin Murphy and Thomas Raith are very well utilised again here, both as supporting characters for Dresden’s adventures, and as individuals with considerable personal and professional issues to deal with. Molly Carpenter, a minor figure from the previous novels, returns in a big way here and serves as an intriguing new addition to the plot. While I have some major concerns about Molly’s portrayal at times, her storyline had some great depth and it will be interesting to see how that develops in the future. This use of Molly also allowed a great focus on her mother Charity, another minor character from the previous novels, who gets a fantastic showing in Proven Guilty, especially as she shows herself to be an absolute badass. Throw in Harry’s giant dog Mouse, who is one of my favourite characters in this series now, and differing voices of Dresden’s two supernatural advisors, Bob and Lasciel, the angel and demon on his magical shoulder (both literally and figuratively), and you have a pretty outstanding cast here, and one that I always have a great time following.

As always with one of the Dresden Files novels I really need to highlight the exceptional and awesome audiobook versions which are my favourite way to enjoy this amazing books. The format really lends itself to the intense action, fast-paced storytelling and great characters contained within Proven Guilty, and I really found myself powering through this great audiobook in no time at all. With a run time of over 16 hours, this is one of the longer Dresden Files audiobooks, but I still managed to knock it off in a few days, as I never got sick of listening to it. The main reason for this is the outstanding narration of actor James Marsters, who has lent his powerful voice to the entire Dresden Files series. Marsters effortlessly dives into the story each time, and he brings some real gravitas and feeling to the plot and characters. The various voices he produces does each member of the complex cast great justice and I love how well he portrays their feelings, interactions, and personalities. This is mostly easily seen in main character Harry Dresden, who is suffering from a lot of different abuses by this point in the series. Marsters really does such a great job showcasing his various emotional and personal issues and I am always so impressed with how the narrator just gets this complicated character and brings that out with his voice. This great performance does so much to enhance the experience of listening to Proven Guilty on audiobook and I cannot recommend this format enough to people interested in checking out this cool Dresden Files entry.

Unsurprisingly, I had an outstanding time with Proven Guilty and it proved to be an excellent continuation of Jim Butcher’s epic Dresden Files series. Featuring another brilliant story, some fantastic character growth, and even more magic and mayhem, Proven Guilty was a ton of fun to get through, and I have so much love for this series. Indeed, I had such an incredible time with Proven Guilty that I have already started listening to the next book in the series, White Night, which I will hopefully review next week. I honestly can’t give Proven Guilty a higher compliment than that, and this is a pretty damn amazing read.

Warhammer 40,000: The Lion: Son of the Forest by Mike Brooks

On June 7, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Tie-in Novel, Warhammer24 Comments

The Lion - Son of the Forest Cover

Publisher: Black Library (Audiobook – 22 April 2023)

Series: Warhammer 40,000

Length: 12 hours and 15 minutes

My Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

One of the fastest rising authors of Warhammer 40,000 fiction, Mike Brooks, returns with another exceptional read, this time covering one of the most significant events in recent Warhammer fiction, the return of Lion El’Johnson with The Lion: Son of the Forest.

At this point I think that my love for all things Warhammer is pretty well established, especially after my lengthy post earlier this year detailing my favourite Warhammer 40,000 novels. I have been having a ton of fun in 2023 with this cool franchise, and I have just managed to finish off the newest Warhammer novel with The Lion: Son of the Forest. This is the latest book from the very impressive Mike Brooks, who has been making a real name for himself in Warhammer 40,000 fiction and who seems to get better with every one of his books that I read. His previous novel, Huron Blackheart: Master of the Maelstrom was a great read about an excellent established villain, and I had a lot of fun with his most recent book, Warboss, a highly entertaining novel about the always crazy orks. However, I think that The Lion is probably his most ambitious and captivating novel yet as he covers the return of the Primarch of the Dark Angels, Lion El’Johnson. This is a pretty big deal in Warhammer circles, and I was very impressed with how Brooks puts his own spin on the return to create an epic and powerful read.

At the dawn of the Imperium of Man, there was no force more deadly nor more loyal to the Emperor than the Dark Angels, the first Legion of Space Marines. Led by their implacable and unstoppable Primarch and genefather, Lion El’Johnson, better known as the Lion, nothing was able to stop the Dark Angels as they crusaded from planet to planet dispensing the Emperor’s will. However, following the events of the Horus Heresy and the Lion’s inability to save the Emperor, the Dark Angels imploded from within. Treachery and years of resentment saw the Legion engage in a brutal and sudden civil war, which resulted in the destruction of the Dark Angel’s home world of Caliban, the scattering of the traitor Dark Angels throughout time and space as the Fallen, and the disappearance and apparent death of the Lion right when the galaxy needed him most.

Now in the 41^st millennium, humanity is facing the greatest threat since the Horus Heresy. The fall of Cadia spawned the Great Rift, a sprawling gap of daemon infested space that split the already crumbling Imperium in two, distributing travel, communications and coordination between humanity’s armies. Into this darkness, the dread forces of Chaos emerge, destroying all before them, while other malign threats begin to eat away the remains of the Imperium. The doom of all mankind seems certain, but hope is about to emerge in the most unlikely of places.

After a 10,000-year absence, the Lion awakens on the far-flung and devastated planet of Camarth, with no memory of how he got there. Discovering one of his former sons, the Fallen Zabriel, the Lion soon discovers what has happened to the Imperium in his absence, as well as the terrible threats of the Great Rift and the forces of Chaos. Unsure of his purpose or what has happened to him, the Lion sets out to preserve humanity from the forces trying to destroy it. Rallying members of the Fallen from their long exile, the Lion begins a new campaign throughout the besieged systems of man, while trying to reconcile himself to everything he has lost. But a dangerous and well-organised Chaos warband, the Ten Thousand Eyes, led by two of the Lion’s Fallen sons, are determined to destroy the returned Primarch and enact an ambitious plan with galaxy shattering consequences. Can an isolated Lion survive the insanity of the 41^st millennium, or has he returned only to face his doom?

Wow, now this was a pretty damn awesome Warhammer 40,000 novel. Mike Brooks continues to really impress me with this cool new book, and I loved the elaborate and captivating tale contained within The Lion: Son of the Forest. Featuring an intriguing and emotionally charged narrative that perfectly revives a key Warhammer 40,000 character, The Lion is an outstanding read and I think this is probably Brooks’ best Warhammer novel yet.

The Lion had a particularly interesting narrative that was firmly set around the return of Lion El’Johnson, and I loved the unique tale that Brooks came up. The initial scenes of the book are quite fascinating as Brooks presents a symbol laden couple of chapters to show the Lion’s initial return, which I felt was a great way to start the story as it set up a lot of intriguing moments and gave the book quite a distinctive theme. The introduction of two new alternate perspective characters a few chapters in helps to morph the story into a more typical Warhammer 40,000 narrative as it sees the Lion and other former members of the Dark Angels awaken in the current timeline. The story soon sees the Lion reunite with one of his former sons and begin to reclaim a conquered Imperial planet from a notorious Chaos warband while trying to understand the new universe he’s in. Getting back to his roots as a protector, the Lion soon is soon drawn into larger affairs, thanks a mysterious new ability he has obtained, and he sets out to do the right thing and right the wrongs of his past. His actions not only lead him to more of his sons, ensuring that this book has a deep emotional heart to it, but it also leads him into conflict with a dangerous enemy, one that has big plans for him.

The Lion’s narrative is pretty epic in its scope and power as Brooks tells an exciting and compelling story about both the past and the present, and how one hero can make a difference. The story features some great moments, including cool battles, emotional reunions, and dives into ancient history, as the characters come to grips with what the Lion’s return means to the greater universe. Everything leads up to an ultra-intense finale as the Lion encounters a truly fallen son and is forced to reckon with the sins of his Legion and family. I really enjoyed this epic narrative and Brooks sets out all the events extremely well, ensuring that readers will follow one excellent scene to the next. While not every mystery is explained, the author does lay out some intriguing events that will grab a lot of Warhammer fans attention, and it leaves it open for more awesome books in the future. I had an incredible time with The Lion and I managed to finish it off in a short amount of time.

This outstanding story is beautifully brought to life in Brooks’s capable hands as he deploys an excellent and captivating writing style throughout The Lion. Brooks really had a tall order here in bringing back a key character from the Warhammer mythos and I think that he handled in an outstanding way by focusing on the emotional aspects of the character, rather than a pure action novel. While The Lion does have some outstanding battle sequences designed to showcase just how epic a Space Marine can be, the focus is really on character development as Brooks examines three outstanding point of view figures while also telling an excellent narrative about characters trying to find their place in a strange new galaxy.

I loved how the author split the story across the three different perspectives, and I enjoyed how he made them so distinctive by using different styles and tenses for each of them. For example, Baelor’s chapters use a third-person narration to show his struggles without going too deep into his head, the scenes shown from Zabriel’s eyes are written in a first person chronicle style as he recounts his story as if writing a journal, while the chapters focusing on the Lion are also in the third person, but feature a different, more epic style, which at times put me in mind of an older story or saga. These different styles really fit the characters and their specific stories, and I appreciated how Brooks utilised these changes of styles to really tell a complex by subtly layering a classic Warhammer tale with pain, emotional damage, and uncertainty.

I felt that the author got the right balance of action and adventure with character growth, and you really get attached to the protagonists and their unique experiences in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. I also loved how Brooks layered the story with a ton of Arthurian symbolism, as the Lion is meant to mirror King Arthur in this book, returning during his people’s darkest hour after dying during a war with his sons. This included an excellent take on the Green Knight tale, with a dark Warhammer 40,000 twist to it, which also leads to one of the book’s funniest moments with a Monty Python homage. I really got drawn into this outstanding story thanks to the way that Brooks told it, and this was an excellent and captivating read.

Now, this one of those Warhammer 40,000 novels that I probably wouldn’t recommend to new Warhammer readers as the story dives into some deep canon elements of the franchise. Due to its focus on the return of Lion El’Johnson, a particularly important character that was only recently brought back in the game as a major event, The Lion is a key book in the Warhammer 40,000 expanded universe, and I felt readers needed a good understanding of the lore to fully appreciate its story. This is because is strongly related to the history of the Dark Angels, and indeed all the Space Marines, and while Brooks does revisit and explain these events, having a more in-depth knowledge really does make that story that much clearer and more intriguing. For those established fans of Warhammer 40,000 fiction, you are in for a real treat as Brooks expertly expands the lore while also providing some intriguing insights into established canon. Seeing the Lion return and interact with his Fallen brethren was so damn cool, and it really tied into some of the best bits of Dark Angel lore that has been building for years and years.

I loved how the story examined both the current state of the Warhammer 40,000 universe, as well as the Horus Heresy, and it was fantastic to see characters who survived the Heresy arrive in the current universe and see what has been unleashed by the arrival of the Great Rift. There are also a ton of jokes, references, and in-universe discussions that I had a lot of fun with, including intriguing new descriptions of events of the Horus Heresy, as well as more intriguing Dark Angels history. I personally deeply enjoyed seeing the various ancient characters discuss the events that happened after they disappeared, and their reactions at the state of the Imperium, the deification of the Emperor to godhood, and what happened to the Dark Angels in the Lion’s absence, and this lead to some outstanding scenes. The Lion proved to be a pretty epic piece of Warhammer 40,000 fiction and I was really impressed with how Brooks told such a unique and important story.

As I mentioned before, The Lion is a very powerful character driven novel as Brooks focuses on a cast of damaged and dispossessed figures thrust into an uncompromising future. This is mostly clearly seen in the main character of Lion El’Johnson, the legendary Primarch of the Dark Angels and son of the Emperor, who returns after 10,000 years of mysterious disappearance. Brooks paints quite the intriguing and complex picture around the Lion, showing him as a being out of time who, after experiencing some of the greatest losses and betrayals imaginable, awakens 10,000 years in the future with no idea of what happened to him. The Lion is shocked at what the Imperium has become and how badly the universe has changed without him there. Forced to reconcile with both this new future and his many failures, the older and wiser Lion heads back to the basics of his youth, protecting humans from monsters while also trying to reconnect with his lost sons, the Fallen, who he has mixed feelings about. Brooks’s characterisation of the Lion is very different to what we’ve seen in previous novels, which I think a smart move, as the character is tired and lonely in this reality, and very much aware of the mistakes he has throughout his life. Watching him relive some of the worst decisions he made during the Horus Heresy is very moving, and I loved how his insights into the past allowed him to move forward with his rediscovered sons and attempt to forgive them. While there are a still a lot of questions around how the Lion returned (something I hope Brooks addresses in the future), I think that this was a pretty impressive return of such a key character, and I look forward to seeing more books focused on him.

The other major characters featured within The Lion are former Dark Angels who rebelled against their father thousands of years ago and were scattered throughout time and space following the destruction of Caliban. Known collectively as the Fallen, these Space Marine characters have very complex feelings about Lion El’Johnson, especially as many believe he betrayed them and the Imperium, and they have all spent the intervening years being relentlessly hunted by the modern Dark Angels and their successor chapters. This intriguing background was fertile ground for rich character development and backgrounds, and a large portion of the novel’s emotional depth relied heavily on the Lion meeting and reconciling with his lost sons. Brooks produces several brilliant scenes that showcase the turbulent relationship between the Lion and the returning Fallen, and it was fascinating to see the Lion, a usually stubborn and proud character, admit that he was wrong and try to make amend to his sons. I loved the intriguing group of characters that emerged in a supporting role as a result, especially as Brooks set them up as counterpoints to the Knights of the Round Table to match the Arthurian vibes around the Lion.

The most prominent of these supporting characters is Zabriel, the first Fallen that the returned Lion encounters, who serves as his guide to the new universe. Zabriel has some amazing scenes in this book, especially as he provides the Lion with the first taste of the trauma the Fallen have experienced thanks to their father, and he makes sure the Lion knows that. His well written chapters really capture his deep emotional conflict throughout The Lion, as he tries to reconcile the betrayals of the past with the hope that surrounds the revelation that Lion El’Johnson has returned. His interactions with other members of the Fallen are really impressive as well, and I think he had some of the best chapters in the book. Zabriel’s intriguing perspective is well matched by the other major point of view character, Baelor, a fellow Fallen who has chosen to continue following his former commander Seraphax, who he believes has a great plan to save the Imperium. To achieve this goal, Seraphax has taken to wielding dark magic and is working with the followers of Chaos, forming the deadly warband, The Ten Thousand Eyes. This forces Baelor to make a lot of compromises as he works to maintain his loyalty to Seraphax, even though they are doing terrible things. The return of the Lion really throws Baelor for a loop, and there is a great undercurrent of denial to him as he tries to process all the implications that this has for him. Brooks paints a brilliantly narrative of conflicted loyalty and duty around Baelor which worked wonderfully with all his chapters depicting the horrors of Chaos. The rest of the Fallen characters in The Lion are very well written, and while some of them didn’t get a lot of focus, I loved some of the distinctive personalities that emerged. It will be interesting to see how many of them are featured in the future, especially as there are still some secrets I wouldn’t mind knowing (who is The Red Whisper?), and I deeply appreciated how well Brooks featured them here.

To nobody’s great surprise, I checked out The Lion on audiobook, which is easily the best way to enjoy any good Warhammer novel. Naturally, The Lion was pretty damn epic in this form, and everything about the book is greatly enhanced by the narration, as the epic story, amazing characters, and intriguing additions to the Warhammer universe, all come to life when read out. I particularly enjoyed the voice work of Timothy Watson, who previously impressed me in last year’s Warhammer 40,000 audiobook, Krieg. Watson has a wonderfully booming and commanding voice that worked well with all the powerful Space Marine characters in The Lion. The narrators take on the confident and radiant tones of Lion El’Johnson was particularly awesome, and I really felt that he captured both the majesty of the character, as well as his deeper uncertainty and regret. The other Space Marine characters are also extremely well captured, and I liked the fun range of voices that emerged, especially as they all seemed to fit that respective character and convey the key parts of their identity to the listener. The villains are also cleverly narrated, and Watson goes out of his way to make them sound as inhuman as possible in places. Coming in with a run time of over 12 hours, The Lion has a decent length for a Warhammer audiobook, although Watson’s fantastic narration moves the story along at a swift pace, ensuring that the listener is constantly hooked on the plot. This entire production was just amazing, and I had an exceptional time listening to The Lion on audiobook, which is such an epic way to enjoy a Warhammer 40,000 novel.

Mike Brooks continues to rise through the ranks of Warhammer 40,000 authors with his outstanding new novel, The Lion: Son of the Forest. The impressive and captivating read brilliantly brings back one of the most significant characters in the Warhammer canon and places him in an intense and deeply powerful tale of betrayal, forgiveness and displacement. I had such an epic time with The Lion: Son of the Forest and this probably the best Warhammer book of 2023 so far. I cannot wait to see what happens to this iconic character in the future, nor can wait to get my next Mike Brooks novel. Highly recommended and required reading for all fans of Warhammer fiction.

Warhammer 40,000: Shadowsun: The Patient Hunter by Phil Kelly

On June 4, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Tie-in Novel, Warhammer5 Comments

Warhammer 40,000 - Shadowsun Cover

Publisher: Black Library (Audiobook – 1 April 2023)

Series: Warhammer 40,000

Length: 8 hours and 13 minutes

My Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars

Veteran Warhammer 40,000 author Phil Kelly once again dives into his favourite topic, the T’au, with this new fast-paced and intense novel focused on the intriguing figure of Commander Shadowsun, Shadowsun: The Patient Hunter.

I have been having a lot of fun with Warhammer 40,000 novels this year, and I have already had the opportunity to read some major classics. Many of these appeared in my recent Favourite Warhammer 40,000 novels list, and I have been keen to read more Warhammer fiction as a result. As such, I decided to dive into one of the more recent Warhammer 40,000 novels, Shadowsun: The Patient Hunter, an excellent novel focusing on the intriguing T’au faction. Shadowsun is the latest Warhammer 40,000 novel from Phil Kelly, who is probably best known for his work as a background writer on the various codexes and campaign books released as part of the Warhammer 40,000 tabletop game. However, Kelly has also produced several Warhammer 40,000 novels over his career, with a particular focus on the T’au, having written several of the more prominent novels for the alien faction, including his Farsight novels and Blades of Damocles. This latest book sees Kelly once again focus on Commander Shadowsun as she leads the latest T’au expansion, only to encounter more horrors than she ever expected.

Commander Shas’O Shaserra, better known to her foes as Shadowsun, has long led the forces of the T’au into war against all manner of foes. A former contemporary of the legendary Commander Farsight, Shadowsun has since earned her own substantial reputation across various theatres. Her latest action sees her leading the T’au Empire’s Fifth Sphere Expansion on the other side of the Startide Nexus, capturing many former Imperial worlds and bringing them under the sphere of the T’au’s influence.

A calculating tactician and a master of the philosophy of war that emulates the Patient Hunter, Shadowsun has known only success during this new phase of expansion. But the surprise appearance of a massive fleet of decaying and indestructible warships soon throws all her plans into turmoil as she faces an enemy unlike anything T’au have dealt with before, the Chaos Space Marines of the Death Guard.

Ancient and deadly warriors sworn to the Chaos God of disease and decay, Nurgle, the Death Guard are a force unlike any other in the galaxy. Employing deadly diseases, unstoppable daemons and other deranged horrors that defy all laws of physics and sanity, the Death Guard effortlessly brush through the T’au resistance. Unable to counter their terrible tactics, Shadowsun desperately looks for a way to strike back against the Death Guard. But with her own body consumed with disease and rivals within the T’au seeking their own sinister objectives, can even the great Commander Shadowsun succeed against these relentless opponents?

This was a pretty fun and intense Warhammer 40,000 novel from Phil Kelly, who had a great time really showing off two very different factions from the game. Shadowsun: The Patient Hunter was a very interesting and action-packed read that will really appeal to fans of the Warhammer 40,000 franchise.

The plot of Shadowsun follows the character of Commander Shadowsun in her most lethal adventure yet. This is a very brutal and quick-paced narrative that wastes no time diving into the action and intrigue to grab the readers full attention. Starting with a good introduction to the character of Shadowsun and the complex politics of the T’au, the reader is soon introduced to the gruesome threat of the Death Guard, who soon make a major impact on the plot. This takes the form of an extended and very over-the-top battle sequence on a T’au controlled human planet which Shadowsun was visiting, and she soon must contend with the full threat of the Death Guard. Kelly really does not hold back at this part of the book, producing a brilliant and very lengthy connected sequence in which Shadowsun encounters the full, fly-infested horrors of Nurgle, as the Death Guard unleash their terrible might. These scenes are pretty damn intense, at times bordering on pure horror, as the characters encounter diseases, decay, daemons and plague zombies, each of which test Shadowsun and her forces in very different ways. This major sequence takes a substantial chunk of the book, and it really served to grab the reader’s attention early on with very high plot stakes.

The second half of the book deals with the fallout of this conflict, as an infected and weakened Shadowsun finds all her strategies and plans in ruin, and must find a new way to strike back, despite being hamstrung by internal T’au politics, a growing conflict between the T’au and their alien levies, and a sinister conspiracy from her superiors. The resolution to this is a desperate boarding action against the Death Guard flagship, with Shadowsun leading a small force on a deadly suicide mission. While not as extensive as the previous major confrontation, this final third of the book is extremely good, as Kelly envisions another complex battle that pits T’au tech against ancient, unclean horrors. This sequence gets a little crazy in places, especially as Kelly brings in a couple of unique aliens as backup for the protagonist, and the Death Guard ship is loaded with horrors. The big fights that emerge are extremely deadly and well written, and you will be enthralled at the carnage that emerges and the unique encounters that occur. At the same time, the character of Shadowsun continues to grow as a warrior and a commander, fully trusting in her new squad of aliens, while also beginning to understand there is far more going on in the universe than her superiors have let her know. Everything comes together extremely well, with a fun conclusion that is very satisfying for readers and leaves quite a few questions open that I am sure Kelly will try to answer in the future. I liked the more metaphysical examination of the T’au towards the end of the book, and it gave the story a really unique conclusion that I will definitely remember.

I felt that Shadowsun was an overall pretty good Warhammer 40,000 novel as Kelly produced an excellent and highly exciting narrative that makes full use of the book’s action, heavy doses of lore intriguing characters. The various fight sequences are very well written, and the author goes out of his way to try and capture the full horror and considerations of the battlefield, especially when regular soldiers face off against something strange and terrifying. The two lengthy battles that much of the plot of Shadowsun focuses on are true highlights of the novel, and I love how intense, captivating and devastating the author made them. Due to Kelly’s obvious passion for the game, this is a very, very detailed novel as the author goes out of his way to highlight the various factions, their motivations, and the state of the Warhammer 40,000 universe at this point in the canon timeline. Every scene is loaded with some fascinating description of technology, lore, politics or factional history, which is fun in its way, especially for established fans of the games and the surrounding canon. However, this does mean that Shadowsun might be a bit of a harder book for more casual readers to enjoy, as a certain level of understanding about the T’au is needed to fully appreciate the plot. As such, I would probably recommend this book to fans of the T’au and dedicated Warhammer 40,000 readers, although newer readers will still be able to have some fun with Shadowsun.

Due to Kelly’s familiarity with the T’au, quite a lot of the book is dedicated to showing them in all their glory, from their advanced technology, their complex society, and their reliance on allied races to help their expansion. While I am familiar with the T’au, I haven’t read a lot of books from their perspective, having instead only read books where they’re the enemy (Deathwatch: Shadowbreaker by Steve Parker and Kill Team by Gav Thorpe). As such, I really appreciated this highly detailed and compelling focus on the T’au, and I had a lot of fun exploring their recent history, including their expansion throughout the galaxy. There are so many great elements to their inclusion in Shadowsun, such as getting to see their awesome advanced weapons in combat, which are so very different from the human technology that most of the other Warhammer 40,000 books feature. I also appreciated the compelling look at several of the client species that make up the T’au auxiliary forces, such as the Kroot. Kelly features several intriguing different alien species throughout Shadowsun, making for some unique scenes as a result, and I appreciated the examination of their thoughts about the T’au allies, especially with how it plays into their faith and how they view the rest of the galaxy.

In addition, Kelly layers this book with so many complex bits of T’au day to day life, and you must admire his dedication and attention to detail. Every conversation or discussion between T’au characters provides you some intriguing insights into their society, and I loved seeing their perfectionist mindsets or their fascinating interactions, such as those meaning-laden hand signals. There are also some cool examinations of the various castes, their reliance on technology (such as Shadowsun’s two drone companions), and their desire to expand and bring word of the “Greater Good” to the rest of the galaxy. While there is some definite love for the T’au throughout Shadowsun, Kelly also makes it a point to examine the darker side of their society, including the deadly secrets of the Fourth Sphere Expansion force and the typical manipulation of the Ethereal caste. Commander Shadowsun, who starts the story off relatively naïve about some of the darker aspects of her race, begins to get an understanding of some of the secrets being kept from her, especially when she encounters some of the forces of Chaos and the secrets of the Warp. The attempts to shut down any discussion about daemons or what happened to the allied species when they went through the Warp gave some of the T’au focused scenes a darker and more sinister edge, and it will be interesting to see whether Shadowsun continues to blindly follow the Ethereals in the future. I also liked how Kelly really showcased the inherent arrogance of the T’au, especially when it comes to their opinion of other races in the universe, such as humans from the Imperium. Their haughty belief that they understand the universe is quite amusing, especially when they come face to face with something completely insane.

To balance out the T’au, Kelly also strongly features the Chaos Space Marines of the Death Guard legion in Shadowsun, who are pretty epic antagonists. Followers of the Chaos God Nurgle, the Death Guard are dedicated to all things disease, decay and corruption, which results in some pretty horrific mutations for their plague infested bodies. The Death Guard are always pretty gruesome when featured in fiction, but I felt that Kelly did a particularly fantastic job of capturing them in their fully festering glory. All the Death Guard encountered in this book are covered in putrefying mutations or growths to some degree, and Kelly really goes out of his way to describe just how unsettling they are. This includes a compelling look at a Death Guard battle cruiser, whose interior is just covered in growths, mould, various liquids that fill up entire corridors, and loaded with so many other over-the-top elements, which really pop in Kelly’s talented hands. I also loved how the author tries to capture the Death Guard’s highly positive and benevolent natures, which are reflections of their “kindly” god, Nurgle, and which honestly makes them even more sinister. He further disturbs the reader by showing the Death Guard unleashing their full horrors on the T’au with, diseases, plague zombies, daemons, dark magic and more used against them, totally devastating them.

Watching the T’au get overwhelmed by these weird and terrifying elements is pretty intense, and the main T’au perspective character, Commander Shadowsun, keeps getting more disturbed by their unpredictable tactics and terrible weaponry. I loved the compelling comparisons the author makes between the Death Guard and the T’au, and the two are honestly the antithesis of each other in aesthetics, combat styles, and mindset. This ensures that their conflicts are pretty damn epic and watching the T’au forced to come up with some new tactic while freaking out made for some thrilling reading. I did think that to make the Death Guard see even more threatening and dangerous, Kelly did slightly nerf the T’au in places, especially during their earlier battles, which fans of the faction probably won’t love, however, the protagonist makes up for that by taking out a Great Unclean One at one point. Kelly’s decision to feature the Death Guard as the antagonists was an outstanding choice and one that made Shadowsun standout to me even more.

As with most Warhammer 40,000 novels that I have the pleasure of enjoying, I chose to check out Shadowsun on audiobook, which was a fun decision as always. Coming in at just over eight hours, this was a quick audiobook to power through, especially when you get to some of the more epic battle scenes. This format served to really enhance some of the best elements of the Shadowsun book, including the cool action and the sheer horror of some of the scenes where the protagonists go up against the forces of Nurgle. Having someone reading out all the disgusting things this foul horde contains makes the book seem even more terrifying, which I deeply appreciated. Narrator Helen McAlpine does a very good job bringing this compelling plot to life with her great voice work, and I really appreciated her take on several of the characters and big scenes within Shadowsun. The voice that she gives to the main character of Commander Shadowsun is highly fitting, and I felt that McAlpine managed to capture her emotions, particularly that of distress of despair, very well throughout this audiobook. Due to this, and more, I would once again strongly recommend this Warhammer 40,000 audiobook to anyone interested in checking out Shadowsun, as it is easily the best way to enjoy any book from this franchise.

Overall, Shadowsun: The Patient Hunter is an excellent Warhammer 40,000 novel and one that I really had a fun time with. Phil Kelly did an outstanding job featuring the T’au again and it was great to get a deeper look at one of the more fascinating alien factions in the canon. Loaded with action, horrifying moments, and some deep lore drops, Shadowsun is an awesome read that fans of Warhammer 40,000 fiction can have a lot of fun with.

The Last Kingdom by Steve Berry

On May 27, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Historical Fiction, Thriller12 Comments

The Last Kingdom (Steve Berry) Cover

Publisher: Hachette Audio (Audiobook – 21 February 2023)

Series: Cotton Malone – Book 17

Length: 14 hours and 20 minutes

My Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

Prepare for a remarkable and captivating mystery from out of history as acclaimed thriller writer Steve Berry presents another outstanding and riveting novel in The Last Kingdom.

Ever since I started reading thrillers a few years ago, one of my favourite authors in the genre, as well the most consistently entertaining, is the fantastic Steve Berry. A veteran author who has been producing compelling reads since the early 2000s, Berry has over 25 books to his name that blend intense modern thriller narratives with intriguing history elements. His most iconic body of work is his long-running Cotton Malone series, which follows a US Justice Department agent as he investigates unique historical conspiracies or secrets whose revelation will have major implications in the modern world. I first fell in love with Berry’s writing back in 2019 when I read The Malta Exchange. Since then I have gone on to read several more Cotton Malone novels including The Warsaw Protocol and The Kaiser’s Web, as well as the standalone novel The Omega Factor, each of which have contained some addictive stories that I’ve deeply enjoyed. As such, I made sure to read his 2023 release, The Last Kingdom, as a soon as I could. The 17^th Cotton Malone novel, The Last Kingdom presented the reader with another brilliant conspiracy from history that was pretty awesome to behold.

There are many strange tales scattered throughout the history of Europe, but few are more unusual than that of King Ludwig II of Bavaria. An unstable and fanciful figure who loved stories, solitude, and magnificent castles, King Ludwig dreamed of a magical kingdom, one far different from the lands he ruled. Determined to find such a kingdom, he despatched agents throughout the world before his murder in 1886. History suggests that he never found what he was looking for, but what if he did?

Now, in modern day Bavaria, freelance intelligence agent Cotton Malone has been hired by his old friend and protégé Luke Daniels to help him infiltrate a small group of radical separatists with dreams of securing Bavaria’s independence from Germany. The focus of Luke’s investigation is the prince of Bavaria who seeks to usurp his older brother, the duke, and restore the ousted Wittelsbach monarchy with himself as king. But to achieve his dreams, the prince needs the ultimate leverage, the Last Kingdom of King Ludwig II.

Following clues throughout several significant sites in Bavaria, Cotton and the Prince’s men are soon caught in a race to find a mysterious deed, one that Germany, China and the United States would kill for and which could greatly shift the balance of power in the world. With the White House, Chinese intelligence, a mysterious Bavarian secret society and a rogue group of former CIA agents all vying for the prize, Cotton desperately attempts to solve the puzzle of the Last Kingdom and the terrible legacy it holds. But can Cotton once again defeat the odds and keep the word safe from another historical mystery, or will the world be irrevocably altered by a secret form another century?

Well damn, now that was a pretty awesome read. I have so much damn love for Steve Berry’s work, and The Last Kingdom is probably one of my favourites so far. Perfectly combining an excellent thriller storyline with an elaborate and deeply captivating tale of history, The Last Kingdom was an exceptional read and one that I honestly could not stop listening to.

Berry has produced an amazing and addictive masterpiece of a thriller in The Last Kingdom with a particularly strong story behind it. Like most of Berry’s books, The Last Kingdom is primarily a modern day thriller that introduces an original conspiracy that took place in history and has remained hidden until Cotton Malone wanders along (that man finds ancient mysteries wherever he goes). As such, what starts as a simple infiltration at a famous Bavarian palace soon devolves into an elaborate treasure hunt for unique piece of history. This latest historical mystery revolves around the eccentric and tragic final kings of Bavaria, and their desires to either retain power or find their own place in the world. Berry expands on this historical detail throughout the entire course of the book, providing a good combination of real facts and some exaggerated fictional elements, which works into the main plot extremely well. This modern day storyline gets some legs really early on as the protagonist and his companions are dragged into a major shadow war with several different factions attempting to take advantage of the situation and the hunt for the historical mystery. Cotton soon finds himself working for several old colleagues, including a reckless CIA agent, while other groups, including the Bavarian prince and a rogue group of former CIA agents, start to use deadly force to solve the clues and find the hidden deed.

Berry keeps the pace of The Last Kingdom quick and compelling by raising the various stakes of the book while still showing off the entirety of Bavaria and its historic beauty. There is a good reveal of why everyone is after the deed about halfway through which sets everyone on the road to a big confrontation. While the full details of the conspiracy are a little over-the-top, Berry fits it into the story well, and the examination of modern and historical concerns surrounding is quite clever and intriguing. The final half of the book is an intense thrill ride in several great ways, as Berry loads up the story with fun reveals, clever twists and so many betrayals. I loved how the mystery of the King’s deed unfolded, and Berry really mixed the various original puzzle pieces of his conspiracy with the overlying historical detail to create a fantastic scavenger hunt. The modern day thriller elements flitted around this extremely well, and watching the various participants in the hunt betray or outwit each other to try and get the prize was deeply exciting and led to some big moments. The conclusion to the story is very good, and readers will come away extremely satisfied, both with how the story came together, and with all the extra knowledge Berry leaves you with.

I have a very deep appreciation for how Berry writes his outstanding novels and I think that The Last Kingdom was a particularly impressive example of this. The blend of a high-intensity modern thriller storyline wrapped around a mystery loaded in historical detail is always entertaining, and I felt it turned out well again in The Last Kingdom. The way that Berry splits the story out using alternate perspective chapters is particularly useful, as you get to see each of the characters interpreting the historical elements from different perspectives. At the same time, several of the chapters are set in the 19^th century and provide some deeper historical context to the story, which I felt was particularly useful and fun. Berry really excels in simultaneously showing the different aspects of his story, and readers come away from The Last Kingdom having had fun with the thriller elements, while also learning so much more about some fascinating topics. I really think that The Last Kingdom had one of the better thriller storylines associated with it thanks to inclusion of spies, disaffected royals, and several warring governments, and the way that story element unfolded had me pretty damn hooked the entire way through. Like most of the Cotton Malone novels, The Last Kingdom can be read as a mostly standalone book, and readers don’t need to have any real knowledge of the previous entries in the series to enjoy this great novel. While there are references to previous adventures and mysteries, the relevant details of these are well explained and new readers won’t be thrown by them. However, long-term fans of the series will appreciate the continuation of several recent storylines, especially around Cotton’s feud with the US President, and I liked how that unfolded.

As I have mentioned a few times already, one of the best things about The Last Kingdom, and indeed all of the Cotton Malone novels, is the way that Berry dives into unique and intriguing parts of history to really give his stories a captivating kick. In The Last Kingdom, this takes the form of a focus on the unique history of the kingdom of Bavaria, specifically the last 19^th and early 20^th century and the last three monarchs of the Wittelsbach line. I have to admit, this was an area of history that I was not familiar with, but that changed after reading The Last Kingdom. Berry conveys an immense amount of detail about this period and the relevant kings to the reader throughout the course of the book, so by the time you are done, you know so much about them. However, Berry does it in such a way that ensures that the reader don’t get bored with it, as he showcases the more compelling elements of their reigns and the nation’s history around it, while also hinting at how it ties into the big conspiracy/mystery of the story. I particularly enjoyed the detailed and fascinating examination of eccentric King Ludwig II. Berry covers so many parts of his compelling life in this story, including his complex reign, his unusual outlook on the monarch, and his infamous end that saw him deposed and murdered. The mysteries of Ludwig II and his search for a new kingdom proved to be a deeply compelling centre for the entire plot and I am really glad I got to learn more about them. Another nation’s history, which I mention for spoiler reasons, is also concisely featured here, and I liked how Berry tied it together with Bavaria, resulting in a cool mixture that perfectly fed into the modern-day thriller. The author clearly has so much fun researching and utilising all this historical detail in his books, especially if the extensive author’s notes section at the back is anything to go by. Featuring all this historical detail works to create a great story, and I cannot emphasise how awesome it can be, especially in Berry’s capable hands.

In addition to all the historical elements of the book, I also really need to highlight how well Berry showcased Bavaria as a whole throughout the course of The Last Kingdom. Many of the Cotton Malone novels act like a tourist brochure as the protagonists travel from one picturesque area of the country to the next, visiting all manner of historical sites. This is very much the case for The Last Kingdom as the characters are forced to travel to several impressive locations throughout Bavaria, including iconic cityscapes, famous cathedrals, and beautiful landscapes. Berry really spares no detail when it comes to describing these locations, and you can easily visualise them in all their stunning glory. Some of the best descriptions are the iconic three castles that King Ludwig II built, which were strongly connected to his life story. These castles form the basis for much of the plot’s historical scavenger hunt, and Berry really goes into the history and layout of them, even describing the furniture and the decorations. You really grow to appreciate these locations around Bavaria, and I know that if I ever get the chance to visit, several of them are going to be on the top of my list of places to check out. However, it is not just these iconic locations that are explored. Berry also spends substantial time trying to show off the intangible nature of Bavaria, including its politics, its current attitudes, the state of its old monarchy, its place within larger Germany, and various other elements of its culture, including a real secret society dedicated to King Ludwig II. All these elements are masterfully researched, examined, and showcased throughout The Last Kingdom, and all of them add to the authenticity of the story in immeasurable ways.

Aside from the excellent story and complex historical details, I also need to mention the great characters featured throughout The Last Kingdom. Berry always writes fantastic figures, and it was awesome to see more of his central protagonist, Cotton Malone, as well as recurring supporting character Luke Daniels. Both are well utilised throughout The Last Kingdom, and it was always great to see them working, especially as they have some major veteran presence at this point and work well against the various forces coming for them. I did think that there was not a lot of development between the two, as both are essentially the same people they were in their last appearances, but they still make solid and likeable central focuses for the story. However, there was some fantastic character development occurring outside of these main characters, especially as Berry introduces an amazing supporting cast of aging spies, angry deposed royalty, intriguing members of Bavarian society and deadly foreign agents. Several of these characters have key roles in the book and Berry utilises them perfectly as great alternate perspectives for large swathes of the plot, producing a complex and powerful extended plot. I loved the utilisation of Derrick Koger, a veteran CIA agent who has history with Cotton and has worked with him/against him in the past. The funny and morally ambiguous Koger plays off the honourable Cotton perfectly as they work together in this book, and it was interesting to see them teaming up. I liked how several of the antagonists, as well as Koger, shared a compelling character theme of people who believe they were overlooked or betrayed by their peers or people, and it serves as a great driving force for them to do bad things. This group of characters and their conflicting priorities are an excellent part of The Last Kingdom and I had an outstanding time following them along this powerful quest.

I once again chose to check out this latest Steve Berry novel on audiobook, which is always a pretty epic experience. Coming in at nearly 14 and a half hours, The Last Kingdom is medium length audiobook, although once you get caught up in the compelling story it flies by extremely quickly. I personally love the Cotton Malone audiobooks as the narration really enhances all the elaborate detail of the story, especially the historical background, and ensures that they stick in the mind. Hearing the key historical facts again and again really drives them home and I find that this helped me get even more fixated on the narrative as I was extremely eager to see how everything came together. It helps that The Last Kingdom once again features narration from Scott Brick, one of the premiere thriller audiobook narrators out there who has lent his voice to all the previous Cotton Malone audiobooks. Brick has a great voice for thrillers and I find his narration really fits Berry’s cool stories, especially as he gives some gravitas and complexity to both the modern day events and the historical elements. Brick also has a great array of accents that he employs to full effect throughout The Last Kingdom, which I deeply appreciated. His various American accents, which includes one from the wilds of Tennessee, are very well done, and I was once again extremely impressed by his dazzling array of German and European tones. Even his Australian accent, something I am particularly sensitive about, was passable, if slightly stereotypical, and this fantastic choice of voices enhanced the audiobook experience. Due to this outstanding voice work, as well as the great impact this format has on some of the key parts of the book, I would strongly recommend The Last Kingdom audiobook, and it is always one of my favourite ways to enjoy a good Steve Berry novel.

Steve Berry continues to impress with his latest outstanding Cotton Malone novel, The Last Kingdom. Featuring his typical blend of exciting and intense thriller storylines and fascinating historical detail, The Last Kingdom is a brilliant read that powerfully showcases Bavaria in all its glory. Examining key elements of the state’s past, as well as its current beauty, and perfectly working them into an excellent story, this was an exceptional outing from Berry and one that I had such an amazing time reading. Highly recommended!