Category: Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday – The Shadow Casket by Chris Wooding

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Fantasy, Waiting on Wednesday8 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  For this week’s Waiting on Wednesday, I check out one of the most anticipated and epic upcoming fantasy novels of 2023 with, The Shadow Casket, by Chris Wooding.

The Shadow Casket Cover

Amazon

Back in 2018 I was lucky enough to be introduced the amazing writing of an impressive fantasy author, Chris Wooding.  Despite his work on several previous fantasy books, including the Braided Path, Malice and Tales of Ketty Jay fantasy series, I hadn’t previously had the opportunity to read anything from Wooding.  I also wasn’t initially aware that he had a new fantasy book coming out in 2018 either, so much so that its release completely passed me by.  It wasn’t until I started hearing rave reviews about it that I decided to check it out, and boy was I lucky that I did, as it proved to be an exceptional and incredible fantasy read.

That book was The Ember Blade, a massive and elaborate fantasy epic that took a great group of characters on an intense and captivating adventure.  The first book in Wooding’s The Darkwater Legacy series, The Ember Blade primarily takes place in the conquered fantasy nation of Ossia, who were invaded and destroyed by the brutal Krodan Empire years before, who now rule Ossia with an iron first.  The only Ossians who flourish in the country anymore are those who bow down to the Krodan rulers and allow their children to be brainwashed into believing that the Krodan are saviours.  This includes the main protagonist of the series, Aren, who grew up wanting to be a Krodan with all his heart.

However, after his father is killed by the Krodans, Aren and his best friend Cade are taken to a labour camp, where they are expected to die.  Realising just how evil the Krodan are, Aren plots to fight them, and is given the chance when a band of freedom fighters free them from the camp.  They soon find themselves embroiled in a plot to break into an impregnable fortress and steal the legendary Ember Blade, an ancient sword with the potential to ignite the Ossian people in rebellion.  However, while Aren and his comrades are able to pull off the heist, they suffer great losses in process, including the band’s leader and Cade.

I had an extremely awesome time listening to The Ember Blade audiobook, which really filled all my epic fantasy needs.  Not only did Wooding introduce a bold new fantasy world, filled with some amazingly complex characters, but The Ember Blade had an exceptional story to it.  I loved the combination of fantasy adventure, rebel action, and a heist storyline that formed the main plot, and I was relentlessly entertained the entire way through.  I also had a lot of fun listening to The Ember Blade audiobook, which ended up being the eighth longest audiobook I have ever listened to.  The Ember Blade got an easy five-star review from me, and I have been eagerly looking forward to the sequel for a few years now.

Well, my wait is finally over, as Wooding is finally releasing the second Darkwater Legacy novel in a couple of months’ time.  This sequel to The Ember Blade is The Shadow Casket, which will continue the epic story from the from the first book.  Set for release in mid-February 2023, The Shadow Casket has an immense amount of potential and I like the sound of the cool plot synopsis that has been released:

Synopsis:

A BAND OF REBELS.
A TRAITOR IN THEIR MIDST.
A REVOLUTION ABOUT TO BEGIN.

It’s been three years since Aren seized the Ember Blade. Three years since they struck the spark they hoped would ignite the revolution. But the flame has failed to catch. The Krodans have crushed Ossia in an iron grip of terror. The revolution seems further away than ever.

Far in the north, the Dawnwardens seek to unite the fractious clans of the Fell Folk and create a stronghold from which to retake their land. But even if they can overcome the danger of treachery from within, they still have to contend with the dreadknights. Only the druidess Vika can resist these near-unstoppable foes, and there’s only one of her.

But what if there was a weapon that could destroy the dreadknights? A weapon of such power it could turn the tide? A weapon that, if it fell into the wrong hands, might mean the end of all hope?

The Shadow Casket has returned from out of the past, and it will save or damn them all.

There are some very intriguing elements in the synopsis above that have got me even more excited for The Shadow Casket.  I love the idea of a bit of a time-skip between The Ember Blade and this sequel, especially as it appears that the protagonist’s dream or uniting the country around the Ember Blade failed.  While this does kind of invalidate the events of the first book, I’m sure that Wooding will turn this failure into some impressive personal drama for the protagonist.  In addition, there appears to be even more chaos and confusion as the rebels attempt to band together their fractious countrymen into fighting a terrible enemy.  Throw in a new fantasy MacGuffin, the Shadow Casket, and I am sure that this will be a great new read with another epic story to it.

Look, there is honestly no way that I will not be enjoying The Shadow Casket when it comes out next year.  The Ember Blade was too damn good not for me to look forward to the sequel, and I can’t wait to see how the elaborate story continues.  While I am slightly worried that I may have forgotten some of the details since listening to the first book in 2019, I am sure that I will have no trouble diving back into this series.  This book has so much damn potential, and I am exceedingly confident that The Shadow Casket is going to be one of the absolute best fantasy books of 2023.

Waiting on Wednesday – The Sword Defiant by Gareth Hanrahan

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Fantasy, Waiting on Wednesday6 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  In this latest Waiting on Wednesday I check out one of the most potential laden upcoming fantasy books of 2023 with The Sword Defiant by Gareth Hanrahan.

The Sword Defiant Cover

Amazon     Book Depository

There have been many great new fantasy authors debuting in recent years, but one of the most highly regarded will have to be the very talented Gareth Hanrahan.  Entering the fantasy scene in 2019 with the first book in The Black Iron Legacy, Hanrahan impressed quite a few people with his first series, that introduced a dark and twisted fantasy world, loaded with intrigue and despair.  I had an excellent time with his very first book, The Gutter Prayer, which was one of my favourite debuts of 2019, especially as it wove together quite an enticing and haunting tale.  While I haven’t had a chance to read the rest of the trilogy yet, I am none-the-less extremely excited to see what Hanrahan will come up with next, especially as he has a very intriguing new fantasy tale coming out in early 2023.

His new fantasy book is titled The Sword Defiant, and it sounds pretty damn epic.  Set for release in May 2023, The Sword Defiant is another dark fantasy tale, which will focus on a former group of heroes who bear cursed swords.

Plot Synopsis:

Set in a world of dark myth and dangerous prophecy, The Sword Defiant launches an epic tale of daring warriors, living weapons, and bloodthirsty vengeance.

The sword cares not who it cuts.

Many years ago, Sir Aelfric and his nine companions saved the world, seizing the Dark Lord’s cursed weapons, along with his dread city of Necrad. That was the easy part.

Now, when Aelfric – keeper of the cursed sword Spellbreaker – learns of a new and terrifying threat, he seeks the nine heroes once again. But they are wandering adventurers no longer. Yesterday’s eager heroes are today’s weary leaders – and some have turned to the darkness, becoming monsters themselves.

If there’s one thing Aelfric knows, it’s slaying monsters. Even if they used to be his friends.

Ok, now that is a particularly awesome sounding read.  I love complex tales that look at former heroes who have survived their famous legendary quest, only to be forced back into action years later, and I am really interested to see this author’s take on such a story.  Having 10 companions get corrupted by the cursed weapons they took from a pervious big bad is very cool, and I love the idea of the protagonist being forced to deal with what remains, even if that means putting some of his former friends down.  No doubt that this will result in some very intense moments, and I can’t wait to see how the damaged protagonist deals with it.  This has all the hallmarks of being quite an exceptional read, and I am very excited to see what happens in this book.  Gareth Hanrahan has already shown he has quite a lot of skill as a dark fantasy author, and I can’t wait to see how his new adventure turns out.  I think that The Sword Defiant has an incredible amount of potential, and it is one of the fantasy books I am looking forward to the most in 2023.

Waiting on Wednesday – Her Sweet Revenge by Sarah Bonner

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Thriller, Waiting on Wednesday6 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  For this week’s Waiting on Wednesday, I look at an intriguing upcoming thriller from a talented author, with Her Sweet Revenge by Sarah Bonner.

Her Sweet Revenge Cover

Amazon     Book Depository

I have had the great pleasure of reading several outstanding debut novels this year, but one of the absolute best was Her Perfect Twin by impressive new author Sarah Bonner.  Her Perfect Twin was a remarkable and highly addictive thriller that told the tale of a haunted woman who kills her identical twin sister after discovering that she was sleeping with her husband.  Deciding to take on her twin’s identity to cover up her death, the protagonist finds new confidence in inhabiting her outgoing sister’s life, especially as it gets her away from her abusive husband.  However, her plans come unravelled when the COVID-19 pandemic hits and she is forced into lockdown with her husband, who knows far more about her life than she ever realised.  Her Perfect Twin was a deeply impressive read, and I got really stuck into its elaborate and deeply compelling narrative.  Loaded with a ton of clever twists, as well as some outstanding characters, Her Perfect Twin was an exceptional book, and I loved it so much I had to give it a full five-star rating.

Naturally, after such an incredible debut novel, I am pretty curious to see how Bonner was going to follow it up, and it looks like I will get my chance rather soon.  That is because Bonner’s second book, Her Sweet Revenge, is coming out in a few months’ time.  Her Sweet Revenge, which is set for release in April 2023, will centre around two woman who receive an anonymous note.  However, it apparently has very different meanings to both of them, and soon they are involved in a dangerous personal conspiracy, with one trying to hide their darkest secret, while the other seeks revenge.  I am already very intrigued by this cool synopsis and I can’t wait to see what sort of elaborate thriller narrative Bonner comes up with here.  Based on the impressive story she wrote for Her Perfect Twin, I am expecting another twisty and intricate narrative that will dive into the heart of the two main characters and explore their convoluted lives.  I have extremely high hopes for Her Sweet Revenge, and I look forward to seeing how Bonner’s second novel turns out.

Plot Synopsis:

Secrets and lies ruin lives

Two women receive the same anonymous note.
For one it’s a threat.
For the other it’s an invitation for revenge.

Helena is beautiful, successful, and living in married bliss in Exeter. But she’s hiding a secret that could tear her perfect life apart. When the notes begin to arrive, she realises someone else must know. But what might her husband and his overbearing family do if they find out the truth?

Thea is reeling from her best friend Helena’s death. But when she starts digging into the circumstances, she receives a threatening note warning her to stop. She knows her friend’s death wasn’t an accident. This was murder. And she is determined to get revenge. And everyone knows, it’s almost always the husband . . .

Waiting on Wednesday – Thick as Thieves by M. J. Kuhn

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Fantasy, Waiting on Wednesday5 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  For my latest Waiting on Wednesday, I highlight an awesome upcoming fantasy novel that I feel is going to be a lot of fun with Thick as Thieves by M. J. Kuhn.

Thick as Thieves Cover

Amazon

Last year I was lucky enough to receive an amazing debut from a great new author that combined an excellent heist concept with a cool fantasy setting.  That book was Among Thieves by M. J. Kuhn, which saw a group of desperate rogues attempt to steal a valuable item from an impregnable magical stronghold.  Made up of several damaged criminals, each of whom had their own reasons for taking the job, the crew managed to come together to succeed in their heist.  However, not everything went to plan, and they ended up losing their prize to a dangerous crime lord who plans to use its deadly magic to take control of the world.  At the same time, the remaining members of the crew found themselves scattered as their own dark histories came crashing down on them.  Needless to say, this was a very exciting and compelling read, and I loved the outstanding combination of fantasy and crime fiction elements, as well as the impressive characters the book was set around.  Among Thieves was one of the best debuts I read in 2021 and I have been eager to see how Kuhn was going to continue her great series.

Well, we finally have some details about the second Thieves book as the sequel to Among Thieves is due for release in July 2023.  That sequel will be Thick as Thieves, and it will see the heist crew reform to take on a new job.  However, this time they will be forced to dive into the deadly powerplays surrounding their nations as they attempt to double cross their old boss to gain back the artefact they previously stole.

Based on how impressive Among Thieves was, I have no doubt that this sequel is going to be an extremely epic read, and I am really excited to check it out.  Kuhn did an excellent job setting out the characters and settings in the first book, and I am excited to continue from the captivating cliff-hanger that Among Thieves ended on.  There is so much potential for betrayal, intrigue and self-interest in this second novel, and I have no doubt that Kuhn will produce another excellent fantasy crime novel in Thick as Thieves.  I have some very high hopes for this sequel, and I cannot wait to see more fantastic fantasy thievery.

Plot Synopsis:

Ryia Cautella, a.k.a. the Butcher of Carrowick, and her motley crew have succeeded in the ultimate heist…with the most dire possible consequences. A terrifyingly powerful tool has fallen into the hands of Callum Clem, the criminal leader of the Saints, who was already one of the most dangerous men alive. With the newfound ability to force magic-wielding Adepts to his will, he is unstoppable.

With their group scattered throughout the five kingdoms of Thamorr—and not all on the same side of the fight—things seem hopeless. But can Ryia get the gang back together for one last job? Or will chess-worthy power plays and shifting loyalties change Thamorr as they know it?

Waiting on Wednesday – City Under One Roof by Iris Yamashita

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Murder Mystery, Waiting on Wednesday4 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  In this week’s Waiting on Wednesday, I look at a fantastic upcoming debut with City Under One Roof by Iris Yamashita.

City Under One Roof Cover

Amazon

It has been an exceptional year for debuts in 2022, with some amazing and impressive first novels coming out, especially in the crime fiction genre.  I always love checking out someone’s first book, especially as it provides some great insights into their writing style, and it is always interesting to see what the future holds for them.  Well, it looks like 2023 is also going to be an excellent year for debut novels, and there is already one great crime fiction debut coming out early next year that has caught my eye.

That book is City Under One Roof by new author Iris Yamashita.  Yamashita, who people may already know as the Academy Award nominated author of the intriguing film Letters From Iwo Jima, is breaking into the crime fiction scene in a big way next year, and I love the sound of her first book.  City Under One Roof, which is set for release here in Australia in February 2023, has a great story that sees a determined and haunted detective attempt to solve a murder in a mysterious remote town in Alaska.  However, her investigation becomes even more complex when the town is cut-off by a blizzard, gang members arrive, and the entire town become suspects in the murder.

I love the sound of this upcoming book, and I think that it has a lot of potential to be an impressive crime fiction release.  Yamashita has definitely gone out of her way to create an elaborate sounding mystery storyline, and I am very intrigued to see how everything turns out.  I also love the idea of an isolated and mysterious setting, and I can’t wait to see how it plays into the main narrative.  Overall, City Under One Roof sounds like a particularly awesome mystery book to start next year off with and I am extremely confident that this is going to be one of the top debuts of 2023.

Plot Synopsis:

A stranded detective tries to solve a murder in a tiny Alaskan town where everyone lives in a single high-rise building, in this gripping debut by an Academy Award–nominated screenwriter.

When a local teenager discovers a severed hand and foot washed up on the shore of the small town of Point Mettier, Alaska, Cara Kennedy is on the case. A detective from Anchorage, she has her own motives for investigating the possible murder in this isolated place, which can be accessed only by a tunnel.

After a blizzard causes the tunnel to close indefinitely, Cara is stuck among the odd and suspicious residents of the town—all 205 of whom live in the same high-rise building and are as icy as the weather. Cara teams up with Point Mettier police officer Joe Barkowski, but before long the investigation is upended by fearsome gang members from a nearby native village.

Haunted by her past, Cara soon discovers that everyone in this town has something to hide. Will she be able to unravel their secrets before she unravels?”

Waiting on Wednesday – Three-Edged Sword by Jeff Lindsay

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Thriller, Waiting on Wednesday2 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  For my latest Waiting on Wednesday I take a look at an awesome upcoming thriller read with Three-Edged Sword by Jeff Lindsay.

Three-Edged Sword Cover

Amazon     Book Depository

Over the last few years, I have been having a lot of fun with some intriguing new heist novels from bestselling thriller author Jeff Lindsay.  Best known for his Dexter books, Lindsay has recently been working on another awesome series with the Riley Wolfe books.  So far made up of Just Watch Me and Fool Me Twice, the Riley Wolfe books follow the titular character of Riley Wolfe, the world’s greatest thief.  Intensely arrogant and pretty damn psychotic, Wolfe is the master of the elaborate heist, pulling off some over-the-top crimes during his first two books, including snatching an un-stealable relic from the middle of an army guarded museum and looting an entire wall from the Vatican.  However, his last few jobs have had added complications, and the character has drawn way too much attention to himself.

This leads to the third book in the series, Three-Edged Sword, which is set for release on 6 December 2022.  In this book, Wolfe once again finds his loved ones under threat as a new enemy kidnaps the people closest to him in order to blackmail him into committing an impossible heist.  This time, the protagonist will need to break into a highly fortified and remote Soviet missile silo to steal another madman’s property.

I love the sound of Three-Edged Sword and I can’t wait to see how this entire adventure unfolds.  The previous two Riley Wolfe books have been pretty awesome, even if I have a large dislike for the protagonist, although that is part of the series’ charm.  I am eager to see how Lindsay sets out the new scenario in Three-Edged Sword, and more importantly, the ridiculous lengths the protagonist will go to in order to achieve his goal.  I have no doubt that this will be a fun and very easy novel to enjoy, and I can’t wait to see what crazy antics occur in the next Riley Wolfe book.

Plot Synopsis:

Super thief Riley Wolfe can do it all. He is a master of disguise, can scale a wall, and can vanish into thin air (thick air, too). He uses these unique talents to rob the richest. But this time, it’s the most powerful who have him in their grips.

ONE MADMAN. TWO HOSTAGES.

It’s not just that the high-up, rogue government agent has abducted the only two people Riley loves: it’s the fact that Riley has to do the man’s dirty work to set them free. It’s something Riley ordinarily would find a modest day’s work, infiltrating a madman’s Soviet missile silo in one of the world’s most remote places, all to find a secret on a tiny flash drive–but he’s never had to race the clock like this.

SOMETIMES TRUTH CAN BE A THREE-EDGED SWORD.

From its vivid, remote locales to its John Wick-meets-Deadpool dialogue, this gripping heist novel from Jeff Lindsay, author of the Dexter series, is everything: an utterly escapist, must-read novel of espionage, thievery, love and betrayal. It twists, it turns, and keeps everything on the line until the very end. Even for Riley, it looks like this time, the only way out is through.

Waiting on Wednesday – The Last Orphan by Gregg Hurwitz

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Thriller, Waiting on Wednesday7 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  For this week’s Waiting on Wednesday, I highlight one of the most intriguing upcoming thrillers of early 2023 with The Last Orphan by Gregg Hurwitz.

The Last Orphan Cover

Amazon     Book Depository

Over the last several years, one of the most compelling and memorable thriller series out there has been the fantastic Orphan X series.  Starting off with Orphan X in 2016, this series follows Evan Smoak, a former elite government assassin who operated under the codename of Orphan X.  Eventually retiring from this role and seeking redemption, Evan took on a new persona as the Nowhere Man, a vigilante who would help those most in need.

I started reading this series a few years ago with the fourth book, Out of the Dark, mainly because it had a fantastic story around Evan attempting to kill the President.  This was a pretty fun book to start the series on and it made me a big fan of Hurwitz’s work.  Since then, I have made sure to check out each successive Orphan X novel, all of which have been pretty awesome. This includes Into the Fire, Prodigal Son, and Dark Horse, all of which had intriguing narratives that blended great story elements with impressive character work.  Throughout these books, Hurwitz made sure to dive into the complicated relationships that surrounded the former spy, and this resulted in a very intense and impressive series of distinctive novels.

As such, I am always extremely eager for the next Orphan X book and luckily I don’t have to wait that much longer.  The next Orphan X book will be The Last Orphan which is currently set for release in February 2023.  The Last Orphan will follow on from the fantastic conclusion of Dark Horse and will see Evan once again forced into government service after they finally manage to track him down.

Plot Synopsis:

Evan Smoak returns in The Last Orphan, the latest New York Times bestselling Orphan X thriller–when everything changes and everything is at risk.

As a child, Evan Smoak was plucked out of a group home, raised and trained as an off-the-books assassin for the government as part of the Orphan program. When he broke with the program and went deep underground, he left with a lot of secrets in his head that the government would do anything to make sure never got out.

When he remade himself as The Nowhere Man, dedicated to helping the most desperate in their times of trouble, Evan found himself slowly back on the government’s radar. Having eliminated most of the Orphans in the program, the government will stop at nothing to eliminate the threat they see in Evan. But Orphan X has always been several steps ahead of his pursuers.

Until he makes one little mistake…

Now the President has him in her control and offers Evan a deal – eliminate a rich, powerful man she says is too dangerous to live and, in turn, she’ll let Evan survive. But when Evan left the Program he swore to only use his skills against those who really deserve it. Now he has to decide what’s more important – his principles or his life.

This sounds like it will be another intriguing and intense Orphan X read.  From the summary it seems that Evan will be forced into another unwinnable situation where he must balance his principles against the survival of himself and those he cares about.  Seeing Evan once again forced to work for the government against his will is going to be very intriguing, especially as this will set him on a new assassination mission against a mysterious and powerful foe.  Throw in the intense relationship elements that were featured in the last book, especially the medical emergency concerning his love interesting, and The Last Orphan (which is a slightly concerning title) should prove to be quite an awesome and addictive read.

Based on how strong the rest of the Orphan X series has turned out, I have no doubt whatsoever that I am going to deeply enjoy The Last Orphan.  Gregg Hurwitz has an outstanding writing style and I can’t wait to see how this powerful and action-packed read will turn out.  The Orphan X novels really are some of the most unique and impressive thrillers out there now and I have no doubt that The Last Orphan will be an exceptional 2023 release.

Waiting on Wednesday – Warhammer 40,000: Witchbringer by Steven B. Fischer

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Tie-in Novel, Waiting on Wednesday, Warhammer7 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  In this latest Waiting on Wednesday, I dive back into the dark future of the Warhammer 40,000 universe with the awesome upcoming entry, Witchbringer by Steven B. Fischer

Warhammer 40,000 - Witchbringer Cover

Amazon     Book Depository

I have made no secret of my love for the Warhammer extended universe in recent years, particularly the current Warhammer 40,000 universe set in a dark far-future.  I have had an incredible time getting into the impressive and extensive extended universe that has sprung up around these iconic tabletop games, especially as the vast team of authors that contribute to it have produced some outstanding and complex novels that expertly explore the elaborate lore that has been developed since its inception.  2022 alone has been a particularly epic year for Warhammer 40,000 fiction, with exceptional books like Ghazghkull Thraka: Prophet of the Waaagh! by Nate Crowley, Assassinorum: Kingmaker by Robert Rath, The Bookkeeper’s Skull by Justin D. Hill and Day of Ascension by Adrian Tchaikovsky, all proving to be outstanding reads that perfectly explore different aspects and corners of the Warhammer universe.

While I have been enjoying the cool variety of Warhammer novels coming out, I have always maintained that some of the best books in this franchise follow the common human solider as they attempt to fight against the vast armies of monsters and demons arrayed against them.  Indeed, there have been several particularly good examples of these in recent years, from the Gaunt’s Ghosts books by Dan Abnett (such as First and Only and The Vincular Insurgency), to more recent books like Steel Tread by Andy Clark, Krieg by Steven Lyons, Catachan Devil by Justin Woolley and Outgunned by Denny Flowers.  All these impressive books did a fantastic job diving into the complex and often short-lived soldiers of the Imperium of Man, and I loved the way they all highlighted some of the more iconic regiments and soldiers fighting in the universe various wars, often through some clever and deeply compelling narratives.

Due to how awesome some of these recent soldier-focused Warhammer books have been, I have been keeping a close out for any more upcoming entries in this franchise and I was very excited to see that a very cool one is coming out in December 2022.  This book, Witchbringer by new author Steven B. Fischer, will explore a whole new aspect of the Astra Militarum in another bold and fun adventure.

Plot Synopsis:

Delve in to the Scholastica Psykana in this great novel from Black Library

Suffer not the witch to live, unless by their service they might earn redemption.

This is the creed of the scholastica psykana, a brutal foundry in which those with psychic power might be taught to serve. On the eve of her sanctioning as a primaris psyker within these very halls, Glavia Aerand, former captain of the Cadian 900th Regiment, receives a startling premonition – one concerning her old unit and a dangerous psychic artefact hidden on the planet where they are deployed.

After a reunion she never expected – or wanted – Aerand finds herself mired in a vicious campaign on the psychically active world of Visage, where the shallow seas and endless fogs are rumoured to swallow the souls of the dead. Haunted by growing suspicions of her new commander and the manifestations of the sinister relic, Aerand must trust in her new-found abilities to keep her former comrades alive, and confront an ancient threat that could consume Visage entirely.


Ok, now this is a very awesome sounding Warhammer 40,000 book.  The idea of a sanctioned psyker, a being who is barely tolerated by every other human in the Imperium, being forced to return to help a regiment they used to command, has so much damn potential.  With this plot alone, Fischer has already guaranteed that Witchbringer is going to be one of the more emotionally charged Warhammer novels of the year, especially as the return of protagonist Glavia Aerand, is going to raise so much tension and fear within an already stressed regiment.  I am also extremely excited for the deep dive in the lethal but maligned sanctioned primaris psykers, especially as it sounds like we are going to get a look at the scholastica psykana, the deadly and cruel schools that turns people with psychic powers into loyal and controllable weapons.  Throw in a mysterious artefact, an untrustworthy replacement commander, a deadly planet and a likely ton of cool Warhammer action, and this book has so much going for it.

Look, due to how much I have been loving all the recent additions to the Warhammer 40,000 franchise, there is no way I am going to miss Witchbringer when it comes out later this year.  However, after reading the above awesome synopsis, I am now pretty damn excited for this book and I think it has the potential to be one of the more intriguing and compelling Warhammer entries of the year.  I can’t wait to see how Steven B. Fischer’s first Warhammer 40,000 novel turns out and I have a feeling Witchbringer is going to be something extremely memorable.

Waiting on Wednesday – Retribution and Headcase

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Murder Mystery, Thriller, Waiting on Wednesday2 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  For my latest Waiting on Wednesday I check out two fantastic upcoming crime fiction novels from some of the very best authors Australia has to offer.

Due to my location I tend to receive a lot of fiction written by Australian authors and I have really grown to appreciate the talent that my countrymen have for writing brilliant crime fiction reads.  I have already had the pleasure of reading some truly impressive Australian murder mysteries and thrillers this year, including several great debuts.  However, for this post I want to highlight two outstanding sequels coming out later this year that I am very excited for.  Both books are written by exceptional writers, and I can’t wait to see how their respective series continue.

Retribution Cover

The first book I want to look is Retribution by Sarah Barrie.  Last year Barrie presented an incredible and deeply powerful book in Unforgiven, a gripping Australian thriller that ended up being one of the best Australian fiction releases of 2021.  Unforgiven followed former child abuse victim turned vigilante, Lexi Winter, who spends her days hunting down and destroying paedophiles around Sydney.  However, Lexi is forced to work with the detective who failed her years ago when evidence emerges that suggests that the monster from her past is still out there.  This resulted in an impressive and deeply captivating read that saw Lexi and the police dive into a particularly dark part of Sydney’s criminal underbelly only to be thwarted at every turn by a master manipulator.  I had an outstanding time with this book, and I was utterly enthralled all the way to the final epic twist, especially as Barrie left the story open for a potential sequel.

This sequel is set for release in a few months’ time with the intriguing follow-up Retribution.  Retribution, which has a release date of 30 November 2022, will bring back the main characters from the first book and set them on a new thrilling case, as threads from the previous investigation continue to haunt them.  I am quite excited for this new book, especially as it will feature an evolution for the compelling main protagonist, while also continuing the dark crime fiction elements that Barrie set up so well in the first book.  I have no doubt that this is going to be one of the most intense Australian reads of 2022 and I can’t wait to see how this latest mystery unfolds.

Plot Synopsis:

Once a vigilante, she’s now a cop … but she still plays by her own rules. A fast-paced, suspenseful thriller for readers of Candice Fox and Sarah Bailey.

Ace hacker, ex-prostitute, Jack Daniels drinker and part-time vigilante Lexi Winter returns, now working with the police – mostly – with a new enemy in the target and an old foe at the back of her mind.

Most probationary constables would baulk at chasing a drug dealer into a train tunnel in the dead of night. Not Lexi Winter. She emerges injured but alive, to face the wrath of her boss. Lexi may now be in uniform, but she has as much trouble with authority as ever, and is quietly using her hacking skills to investigate a notorious drug-dealing Sydney crime family with links to her old prey, the paedophile Damon Vaughn.

Meanwhile, Detective Sergeant Finn Carson investigates a death on a Sydney building site … which oddly enough, leads him to the picturesque Wondabyne station on the Hawkesbury River, and Inspector Rachael Langley oversees an investigation that could tie it all together. Lexi holds the key … if only she’ll toe the line …

Amazon     Book Depository

The next upcoming book I want to highlight is Headcase, written by fellow Canberran Jack Heath.  Heath is swiftly working his way up the list of Australia’s best crime fiction authors, especially as he has delivered some absolutely cracking reads in the last couple of years.  While he has written some great young adult thrillers, Heath is probably best known for his ongoing Timothy Blake series, which follows a deranged cannibalistic serial killer as he investigates impossible crimes throughout America.  The Timothy Blake books are thrilling, gory and utterly entertaining reads, and I had a lot of fun with the last book, Hideout (one of my favourite Australian releases of 2020), which saw Blake trapped in a house with a group of other serial killers, which predictably resulted in a massive bloodbath.  I also deeply enjoyed Heath’s last book, Kill Your Brother, a five-star read that saw a woman caught in a terrible situation where the only way to survive is to kill a fellow captive, her beloved brother.  Loaded with clever twists and with some amazing characters, Kill Your Brother was an exceptional read that has made extremely keen in checking out anything else Heath releases.

Headcase Cover

Luckily for me, Heath has a new book coming out in a few months’ time, and I am very happy to see that it is another Timothy Blake thriller.  This new Timothy Blake entry, which is set for release around the same time as Retribution, has the very intriguing title of Headcase, and it sounds like it is going to be quite the awesome read.  Following the psychotic Blake as he investigates a mysterious murder of a Chinese astronaut in a highly secure NASA base, Headcase sounds pretty damn epic book that will blend together a spy thriller narrative, with the dark psychological aspects of Heath’s amazing protagonist.  I have a feeling that Headcase is going to be one of the craziest books of 2022 and I will love every single second I spend reading it.

Plot Synopsis:

Timothy Blake returns in a tense, unputdownable thriller from the author of Hangman.

A Chinese astronaut is found dead in a NASA training environment in Houston, Texas. No one can explain how he got there. Amid fears of a diplomatic catastrophe, the CIA dispatches Timothy ‘Hangman’ Blake to investigate, because a convicted kidnapper works in the facility – someone Blake put away a long time ago.

Blake is deeply insane, afflicted by terrible urges he can barely control – but he’s also brilliant. Zara, his beautiful and deadly CIA handler, suspects a secret Chinese spacecraft is surveilling the United States, but Blake can see something much more sinister is going on. Something connected to the kidnapping seven years ago, to the technologies being developed at NASA, and to the serial killer known as the Texas Reaper.

Will Blake survive long enough to uncover the truth? And if he does, will anyone even believe him?

Amazon     Book Depository

Waiting on Wednesday – Dead of Night by Simon Scarrow

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Historical Fiction, Murder Mystery, Waiting on Wednesday7 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  In this week’s Waiting on Wednesday, I look at a fantastic upcoming historical murder mystery with Dead of Night by Simon Scarrow.

Dead of Night Cover

Amazon     Book Depository

I have been in a real historical fiction mood over the last week, having read several awesome and enjoyable reads with great historical settings to them.  As such, I wanted to feature a historical fiction book in my Waiting on Wednesday post and who better to look at then one of my favourite authors, Simon Scarrow.  Readers of this blog will know I have been a major fan of Scarrow for years, and reviews for several of his latest books, such as The Blood of Rome, Traitors of Rome, The Emperor’s Exile and The Honour of Rome, can be found here.  The above books all fall within his Eagles of the Empire series, and I have a lot of love for his Roman historical fiction work.  I am especially keen for his next novel, Death to the Emperor, which is out very soon, however, the Eagles of the Empire books aren’t Scarrow’s only ongoing series.

Last year Scarrow released an intriguing and enjoyable historical murder mystery novel with Blackout.  Set in Nazi controlled Berlin just before the outbreak of World War II, Blackout followed an honest police detective who attempts to investigate a series of brutal murders throughout the city during a harsh winter.  This case was complicated by the political implications of the murders, and the protagonist was forced to go up against the dangerous and insidious Nazi party, while trying to maintain his own soul.  I deeply enjoyed Blackout and I had an amazing time exploring Scarrow’s foray in the crime fiction, especially as it worked well with the exceptional historical elements.

Due to how much I enjoyed Blackout (as well as my general love of all things Scarrow), I have been keeping an eye out for a potential sequel for a couple of years now, and I was very happy when some details about it where released.  This second Blackout novel will be Dead of Night, which is currently set for release in February 2023, and it appears that it will continue some of the excellent elements contained in the first book.

I really like the sound of the plot for Dead of Night, especially as the book will continue to follow the first novel’s protagonist, Criminal Inspector Horst Schenke, as he finds himself caught up in another complex and problematic murder investigation.  This time, Schenke finds himself barred from investigating the suspicious death of a SS doctor and must once again contend with the machinations of his Nazis superiors as he attempts to solve the crime.  The plot sounds amazing, and it looks like Scarrow will once again combine a great mystery, with an examination of the Nazi regime and how it took over key German institutions, like the police.

As such, I am pretty excited for Dead of Night, and I already know I am going to have a brilliant time getting through this book.  Not only am I excited for the sequel to Blackout, but I am just generally happy to get another Scarrow book so soon after the upcoming Eagles of the Empire book.  I have no doubt that Dead of Night is going to be one of the best historical fiction reads of 2023 and I look forward to getting through this compelling mystery.

Synopsis:

The stunning new thriller set in wartime Berlin from the author of Blackout: ‘A wonderfully compelling thriller, reeking of authenticity, and a terrific depiction of the human world within the chilling world of the Third Reich’ Peter James

BERLIN. JANUARY 1941. Evil cannot bring about good . . .

After Germany’s invasion of Poland, the world is holding its breath and hoping for peace. At home, the Nazi Party’s hold on power is absolute.

One freezing night, an SS doctor and his wife return from an evening mingling with their fellow Nazis at the concert hall. By the time the sun rises, the doctor will be lying lifeless in a pool of blood.

Was it murder or suicide? Criminal Inspector Horst Schenke is told that under no circumstances should he investigate. The doctor’s widow, however, is convinced her husband was the target of a hit. But why would anyone murder an apparently obscure doctor? Compelled to dig deeper, Schenke learns of the mysterious death of a child. The cases seem unconnected, but soon chilling links begin to emerge that point to a terrifying secret.

Even in times of war, under a ruthless regime, there are places in hell no man should ever enter. And Schenke fears he may not return alive . . .