Waiting on Wednesday – City of Others by Jared Poon

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Fantasy, Waiting on Wednesday1 Comment

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.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  In this week’s Waiting on Wednesday, I highlight an intriguing fantasy novel coming out in early 2026 from an exciting new author with City of Others by Jared Poon.

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Readers of The Unseen Library will know that I am a big fan of promoting promising new authors and their amazing debut novels on my blog.  I love exploring an author’s first book, and it is always interesting to see what cool adventures they bring to their respective genre, as well as watching them progress as writers over the years.  I have had fun reading several outstanding debuts in 2025, and I’m already looking ahead to 2026, which is sure to feature an array of excellent novels from new authors.  I’ve already identified one that I’m particularly keen on, and that’s the focus of today’s post, City of Others by Jared Poon, which is set to release in January 2026.

City of Others is an intriguing urban fantasy novel set in Singapore, which will serve as the first book in the author’s The DEUS Files series.  Filled with creatures and lore from Southeast Asian mythology, City of Others will follow a government middleman and his overworked team as they attempt to solve a supernatural crisis impacting the city.  I love the idea of harried government officials attempting to deal with various magical and mythical creatures in a modern city, and a novel following them attempting to save the day while staying under budget is sure to result in an exceptional read.  Poon has a very awesome idea here with City of Others, and I am very keen to read an urban fantasy set in a modern Asian city.  I’m already anticipating that City of Others is going to be an exceptional novel, and I have no doubt it will end up being one of the top fantasy debuts of 2026.

Plot Synopsis:

Rivers of London meets A Master of Djinn in this warm-hearted, action-packed urban fantasy debut full of workplace found family, queer romance and supernatural creatures straight out of Southeast Asian lore.

In the sunny city of Singapore, the government takes care of everything – even the weird stuff.

Benjamin Toh is an overworked and underpaid middle manager in a government department tasked with keeping the supernatural population of Singapore happy and out of sight.

But when an entire housing estate glitches out of existence on what was meant to be a routine check-in, Ben has to scramble to keep things under control and stop the rest of the city from following in its wake. He may not have the budget or the bandwidth, but he has the best – if highly irregular – team to help him. Together, they’ll traverse secret shadow markets, scale skyscrapers, and maybe even go to the stars, all so they can just do their goddamn job.

Artifact by Jeremy Robinson

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Five-Star Books, Science Fiction, Thriller1 Comment

Publisher: Podium Audio (Audiobook – 26 August 2025)

Series: Standalone

Length: 9 hours and 56 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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One of my very favourite authors of outrageous fiction, Jeremy Robinson, returns with another intense and horrifying science fiction thriller, Artifact, a captivating and powerful novel I couldn’t get enough of.

Jeremy Robinson is an outstanding author who has a fantastic career writing clever, fun, and occasionally terrifying thrillers, often featuring intriguing science fiction elements.  Best known for his Antarktos Saga, Chess Team and Nemesis Saga series, Robinson has written a staggering amount of fiction over the years, including additional cool series and standalone reads.  I personally got into Robinson’s work a few years ago when I read a few books from his massive, interconnected Infinite Timeline series, including Tribe, The Dark and Mind Bullet (the latter two of which were amongst my favourite books and audiobooks of 2021), all of which were incredibly fun and addictive.  I have also started getting into Robinson’s standalone novels, such as last year’s fantastic novel Point Nemo (one of my favourite audiobooks of 2024), which contain some amazing stories.  As such, I was very excited when I got a copy of Robinson’s awesome new novel, Artifact, on audiobook, which sounded extremely amazing.  I honestly started listening to Artifact the same day I found out about it, and boy was I glad that I did.

Plot Synopsis:

In an isolated Alaskan town, the local sheriff uncovers a secret lab where generative A.I. and bioprinting have unleashed grotesque, living anomalies—and now, something monstrous is loose.

Sheriff Colton Graves prefers the quiet life in Raven’s Rest, Alaska, a remote town accessible only by tunnel and home to a hardy mix of locals and secrets buried in the ice. But when a camel wanders down Main Street—its head grotesquely sprouting a dozen eyes—Colton knows his quiet days are over. The bizarre incident leads him to NovaGen, a nearby research facility constructed inside a Cold War bunker, buried in the mountains above town. There, a trail of blood and eerie silence hints at something far more sinister than an escaped animal experiment.

With his deputies—the sharp-witted Tali and rookie Ethan—Colton recruits a few trusted locals, including the unshakable Marit, Tali’s sister, the intimidating ‘Grizz’ Norval, and Edgar ‘Old Red’ Rydell, an aging man plagued by demons from when he worked at the bunker during its covert cold war days.

Together, they investigate the abandoned lab. What begins as a search for missing scientists soon reveals chilling evidence: pools of blood without bodies, cryptic warnings left behind, a bloody six-fingered handprint, and the revelation of a new technology: a generative A.I. capable of printing living organisms. As they descend deeper into the lab, it becomes clear that the answers they seek may come at a terrifying cost—and that what was made in the dark may not be content to stay there.

Jeremy Robinson once again greatly impresses with his new thriller Artifact.  A complex and deeply clever read loaded with weird science, fantastic humour and incredible action, Artifact was an exceptional read that had me hooked very early on and kept my attention all the way to the end.  A particularly intense novel with so many amazing elements to it, Artifact gets a full five-star rating from me, especially on audiobook, and I ended up powering through it so damn quickly.

I deeply enjoyed the compelling and fast-paced narrative that Robinson featured in Artifact, which amps up the intrigue and excitement quickly and keeps it going all the way to the very end.  Starting with an enticing inciting event of a multi-eyed camel arriving in the middle of a snowed-over Alaskan town, the initial narrative of Artifact is quick and effective, with the protagonists quickly realising that something dark has occurred at the nearby and mysterious NovaGen facility.  Pulling together a band of scrappy locals, the group begin their decent into the facility, only to encounter mysterious creatures and tragic death.

Robinson soon takes the novel into twisted science fiction territory as you are shown the variety of experiments taking place in the facility.  In particular, the staff of NovaGen are bio-printing monsters and other creatures, which has inevitably gone wrong.  Forced to put an end to the experiments and save the town from potential destruction, Colton and his team continue to descend the various levels of the facility, all while being hunted by the worst monsters humans can imagine.  The author does an excellent job of building and maintaining tension throughout Artifact’s story, and you are expertly drawn into the personal struggles of the characters as they try to understand and withstand the horrors of the facility.  There are some outstanding twists and sudden deaths as the story draws towards its conclusion, and I enjoyed the mixture of shocking moments and well-crafted reveals many chapters in the making, which results in an outstanding novel where you never quite know what is happening next.  Robinson ends the book on a mostly hopeful note, along with an amusing cliffhanger, and this proved to be an impressive standalone narrative that is guaranteed to entertain.

I felt that the author pulled Artifact together in a very entertaining manner that allowed for the maximum thrills, tension and character development.  Perfectly utilising the first-person perspective that Robinson is so fond of, Artifact is a great standalone read that requires no prior knowledge of the author’s other works to enjoy (although there are a few fun references established fans will chuckle at).  The author does an excellent job of effectively setting out the key elements of Artifact throughout its run, including with the advanced science elements of the book.  These science elements are both compelling and quite interesting, and you can tell that Robinson did a bit of research into the subject.  This research allowed the author to envision some dark and horrifying creations of potentially realistic science, and I loved how the creatures the protagonist encounter was a combination of weaponised efficiency and dark human imagination.

These fantastic science fiction creations, and the dark conspiracy that birthed them, work well with the author’s Michael Crichton inspired scenario, to create a lot of excellent tension and uncertainty that keeps readers constantly on the edge of their seat.  I loved the constant uncertainty of what traumatising event was about to come out of nowhere next, and there are some great twists and reveals scattered throughout this captivating novel.  Throw in a series of particularly thrilling action sequences as the protagonists face off against printed monstrosities and the other disturbing denizens of NovaGen, and there is a lot to love about how Artifact was written, especially as it perfectly enhances Robinson’s fantastic and captivating narrative.

My favourite elements of Artifact were the complex and compelling characters whom Robinson set his narrative around.  Robinson has always excelled at creating entertaining characters, and I think he did a wonderful job pulling together a layered cast of Alaskan outcasts and rogues to fill the pages of Artifact.

The most prominent of these characters is main protagonist Sheriff Colton Graves, from whose perspective we see the events of this book unfold.  Colton is a widowed lawman who enjoys the simple life at Raven’s Rest, but who quickly rises to the challenge when strangeness invades his town.  Effectively established as a compelling and solid centre to the book’s plot, Colton is an easy character to like thanks to his fun humour, clever insights and leadership skills.  However, Robinson makes Colton even more interesting as the book continues by revealing some fascinating character details that are expertly weaved into the story.  This includes a new romance for Colton that helps him to move forward from his dead wife and serves as his inspiration to continue pushing through the horrors of the NovaGen lab.  In addition to this, the story reveals that Colton has autism and hypersensitivity, and these conditions have strong impacts on the plot and the way the perspective protagonist interacts with the world.  Robinson does an exceptional job really diving into these fascinating aspects of his protagonist, and it was clear that the author was trying to showcase the conditions as accurately as possible based on his own personal experiences.  I think that Robinson really succeeded in showcasing these character elements, and while certain aspects are no doubt enhanced to fit in with the science fiction aspects of the book, it was mostly realistic.  I really enjoyed how Robinson made Colton a particularly likeable and relatable protagonist, and he helps to make Artifact a very distinctive read.

In addition to Colton, Robinson loads up Artifact with a great collection of memorable supporting characters who are perfectly utilised in the narrative and add some entertaining spice on top of the protagonist.  Highlights for me include the troubled and mysterious Old Red, a survivalist with dark connections to facility, who serves as the groups guide and secret badass.  I also had a lot of fun with Grizz, a tough, bear-killing lady with the scars to prove it.  Colton’s deputy, Tali, was the perfect backup for the protagonist, while her sister, Marit, proved to be an excellent love interest to Colton, which resulted in some complicated and emotional sequences.  The rest of the cast, including some unique figures found in the bunker, are also quite entertaining, be they friend, bio-engineered organism, or evil antagonist, and I loved some of the amazing interactions that emerged.  I will warn readers not to get too attached to any characters, as most figures don’t last as long as you’d want, but Robinson makes full use of every character he features, even if they only have a brief life in the book.

As with all the previous Robinson novels I’ve enjoyed, I chose to check out Artifact on audiobook, which was a ton of fun.  I have always found that Robinson’s novels come across particularly well on audiobook, and Artifact was no exception as I powered through its near 10-hour long runtime very quickly.  Part of the reason why I had such a great time with this audiobook is the return of one of my favourite audiobook narrators R. C. Bray.  Bray, who has lent his voice to most of Robinson’s audiobooks, is a truly exceptional narrator, and I just love any story read out in his gravelly and distinctive voice.  This was particularly true for Artifact, where the intense action and the horrifying descriptions of the laboratory’s contents were so much more impactful thanks to Bray’s calm and powerful take on events.  Bray also expertly showcases each of the key characters of the novel, and I felt he developed fitting and personal voices for each of the members of the cast.  While I love Bray’s voice for Old Red and the slacker Jimmy, his best work was saved for main protagonist and point-of-view character Colton.  Bray has long perfected voicing Robinson’s various first-perspective protagonists, and he always manages to cover their complex personalities, dialogue and interactions extremely well.  His take on Colton was very moving in Artifact, and I felt that Bray really enhanced Robinson’s depictions of this character’s quirks and unique viewpoints on life.  Due to this impressive narration, and Robinson’s general cinematic writing style, the Artifact audiobook is exceptional, and it’s easily the best way to enjoy this novel.

With all the chaotic action, crazy science fiction elements, and great character I’ve come to expect from Jeremy Robinson, Artifact was an outstanding novel I had a blast getting through.  Featuring a thrilling plot, laden with shocks and monsters, Artifact grabs the reader’s attention early and refuses to let go.  This book comes very highly recommended from me, especially on audiobook, and anyone keen for a horror-filled and deeply intense thriller is going to have an outstanding time with Artifact.

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The Witcher: Crossroads of Ravens by Andrzej Sapkowski

On By The Unseen LibraryIn English Translation, Extended Universe, FantasyLeave a comment

Publisher: Gollancz (Trade Paperback – 30 September 2025)

English Translator: David French

Series: The Witcher – 0.1

Length: 310 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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Legendary fantasy author Andrzej Sapkowski returns to the epic world of The Witcher with the outstanding and awesome prequel novel, Crossroads of Ravens.

I doubt anyone familiar with fantasy fiction is unaware of the cultural juggernaut that is The Witcher franchise.  An exciting and intense fantasy series revolving around Geralt of Rivia, a wandering, monster hunting witcher who finds himself drawn into chaotic events that threaten the entire world.  The initial series birthed seven original novels that were released in Poland the 1990s (later released in English), as well as a series of short stories.  However, The Witcher novels would gain prominence around the world after they were used as the inspiration for an incredible video game series, as well as a later Netflix television show.  I personally have enjoyed several excellent pieces of The Witcher fiction over the years, including the previous novel Season of Storms.  As such, I was very happy when I received an early copy of the new prequel novel from the series, Crossroads of Ravens, which proved to be a gripping read.

Long before the events that would make him a legend, grant him the sobriquets of the White Wolf or the Butcher of Blaviken, or even before he claimed to be from Rivia, Geralt was a young, recently graduated witcher.  Descending from the witcher stronghold of Kaer Morhen for the first time, Geralt soon discovers that the world is a harsh place where ideals of heroism only get you into trouble, and that the entire continent holds nothing but disdain for his kind.

Swiftly finding himself on the wrong side of the law and a noose, Geralt is only saved by the intervention of grizzled veteran witcher Preston Holt.  An enigmatic and damaged figure with his own agenda, Holt takes the young Geralt under his wing, teaching him the true reality of being a witcher and honing the important skills that the future White Wolf needs to survive. 

Emboldened by this training, Geralt soon begins to gain fame as a witcher, serving the people previously protected by the ailing Holt.  However, as Geralt wanders the land, he finds many eyes on him, including those who hold a grudge against his order.  As new adversaries and dangerous secrets from the past are uncovered, Geralt will have to decide whether to become the noble hero he always envisioned himself to be, or the monster the world believes all witchers are.

Andrzej Sapkowski continues to expertly expand the lore of The Witcher universe with this exciting and action-packed prequel.  Crossroads of Ravens was an amazing novel that takes the readers on a series of intense adventures, loaded with intrigue, conspiracy and death that all fans of the franchise are going to have an outstanding time with.  I ended up powering through this novel in less than a day, and it proved to be a very impressive read.

Crossroads of Ravens was an outstanding and very exciting novel that piled on the action, intrigue and adventure in its fantastic story.  Starting off with an effective bang that sees a young Geralt in trouble during his first foray out as a witcher, Sapkowski does an excellent job of quickly setting up the scenario and introducing Geralt, and the reader, to a new mentor figure with the entertaining Preston Holt.  What follows is a series of compelling adventures, as Geralt initially learns from Preston, before journeying off into the wilds, facing off against various monsters and the even more troublesome human population of the land.  Sapkowski has fun placing Geralt into a new, mostly self-contained adventure each chapter of Crossroads of Ravens, the events and characters of which may reappear later in the book.  This allowed for a quick-paced and very interesting overall narrative, and it was entertaining to see the young Geralt in action.

While there is a good focus on Geralt’s independent adventures, Crossroads of Ravens has a larger, overarching narrative, that sees Geralt seeking knowledge of a historical attack on Kaer Morhen many years earlier.  Thanks to hints revealed in some of the earlier adventures, a run-in with a complex secondary antagonist, and in-universe notes from intelligence officers keeping watch on Geralt and Preston, readers get the general shape of this matter in the first half of the book, and it lies like a dark shadow over Geralt’s main adventures.  Everything comes to a head perfectly towards the last quarter of the book, as Geralt fully understands the threat towards him and those he cares about, and decides to act.  This leads to a tragic series of events, especially as Geralt faces the consequences of his action and his order’s history, while also trying to determine whether he should stay as a selfless witcher or become something far more vengeful.  Sapkowski makes sure that several open story threads from the protagonist’s previous adventures are also tied together by the end of the book, and it was interesting to see how certain plot elements from these earlier chapters came into play in the conclusion.  The result was an excellent and highly enjoyable story that serves well as both a standalone adventure and a prequel to the rest of The Witcher series.

I rather enjoyed how this great prequel Witcher novel came together, as Sapkowski imbues Crossroads of Ravens with his usual flair and wry humour.  Loaded with action, quick-paced stories and an array of unique monsters, Crossroads of Ravens was very reminiscent of early Witcher novels, especially as containing certain adventures to a specific chapter is very similar to the series’ original short-story format.  Naturally, this novel will be best enjoyed by those established fans of The Witcher franchise, especially readers of Sapkowski original novel series.  Crossroads of Ravens features various references to future events or characters in its pages, which long-running readers of the series will enjoy, and there is some great early characterization of the protagonist as well.  There are also interesting alternate versions of events readers might have seen in other media, including the historical attack on Kaer Morhen, which was featured in the Nightmare of the Wolf anime film.  While older fans will get the most of this book, anyone with any knowledge of the franchise will be able to enjoy Crossroads of Ravens to a great degree, especially as it is the earliest book in the current canon of The Witcher series.  As such, this novel will have a lot of appeal to wide array of readers, who will be in for a great time with the action and adventure.

As with all The Witcher books, Crossroads of Ravens features an excellent array of characters, including a great supporting cast around protagonist Geralt.  I very much enjoyed Geralt in this novel as Sapkowski features a young and inexperienced version of his iconic protagonist.  It was fascinating to see Geralt’s initial forays into both the world of ignorant humans, and monster hunting, especially as his reactions to both are different at a young age.  A great example of this can be seen in one adventure where Geralt attempts to save a girl turned into a striga, which parallels The Witcher short story, which is the first entry in Sapkowski’s original novel/short story collection, The Last Wish.  This adventure in Crossroads of Ravens goes very differently from the author’s original story, and it was fascinating to see how a younger, less confident Geralt dealt with the same situation.  I also quite enjoyed seeing Geralt, upon experiencing loss, go on a mission of vengeance, which threatens his previous attempts to be a respected hero rather than a monster.  I felt that Sapkowski cleverly balanced Geralt’s conflicting emotions in these sequences, and the end scene where he makes a choice about what sort of witcher he is, was a great finish to his story.  Throw in an array of excellent additional characters, including a wise, vengeful mentor, a dedicated investigator, a kind healer and many other fun figures, and Crossroads of Ravens proves to be an awesome book for fans of Sapkowski’s entertaining characters.

With another fun and captivating adventure, Andrzej Sapkowski’s The Witcher series continues in all its monster-hunting glory with Crossroads of Ravens.  An outstanding prequel novel that features an array of fantastic storylines and characters, Crossroads of Ravens serves as a highly entertaining entry in this acclaimed series that will appeal to a wide audience of fantasy fans.  I had a great time reading Crossroads of Ravens, and it’s worth checking out for anyone in the mood for fun action and an interesting narrative from an excellent established series.

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WWW Wednesday – 1 October 2025

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

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

So, let’s get to it.

What are you currently reading:

The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman (Audiobook)

I started listening to the new Richard Osman novel, The Impossible Fortune this week. The fifth Thursday Murder Club novel, The Impossible Fortune is another excellent entry in this amazing series, that blends a complex mystery with classic British charm.  I have made a fair bit of progress with The Impossible Fortune this week, and this amazing novel is really quite enjoyable, especially on audiobook.

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What did you recently finish reading?

The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown (Hardcover)

I finally finished off the new Dan Brown novel, The Secret of Secrets this week. Bringing back Brown’s iconic protagonist on another history-laden mystery, The Secret of Secrets was a very compelling read with an interesting story behind it. 

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Artifact by Jeremy Robinson (Audiobook)

I also powered through the new audiobook from Jeremy Robinson, Artifact. A standalone science fiction novel with a notable horror vibe, Artifact was a very entertaining listen, especially with the always awesome R. C. Bray narrating. Review to follow soon.

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Everyone in this Bank is a Thief by Benjamin Stevenson (Trade Paperback)

I had a lot of fun quickly getting through the amazing Australian murder mystery, Everyone in this Bank is a Thief by Benjamin Stevenson this week.  A hilarious and extremely clever read from one of Australia’s best authors, this was such an epic read, and I really enjoyed how its complex mystery came together.

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What do you think you’ll read next?

The Widow by John Grisham

The next book I am hoping to read is the new John Grisham novel, The Widow.  An enticing legal thriller from the always reliable Grisham, The Widow will see a small-town lawyer find himself in some big trouble when he attempts to defraud a rich, elderly widow.  I love the sound of this amazing book, and I know I’m going to have an outstanding time getting through The Widow this week. 

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

Book Haul – Canberra Bookfair – September 2025

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During the last weekend I was able to attend the Canberra Lifeline Bookfair, an event that occurs several times a year and gives great opportunities to pick up secondhand books donated for charity. I ended up managing to pick up several pretty awesome books at this bookfair which I was very happy with. This includes multiple books I had been keeping an eye out for, as well as a few interesting novels that proved to be very welcome surprises. Due to these successes, I decided to do a bonus Book Haul post to show off just how varied the books you can potentially find at this bookfair can be.

The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman

One of the most talked about fantasy novels in recent years has to be The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman.  I heard a lot of awesome things about The Blacktongue Thief when it first came out, and I even did a Waiting on Wednesday post about it.  Despite this, I kept failing to find a copy of The Blacktongue Thief, even though I was still extremely interested in reading it.  As such, I was pretty damn happy to find a good secondhand version of this book on the weekend and I’m hoping to read it soon.

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Long Past Dues by James J. Butcher

Another book I was particularly happy to find over the weekend was Long Past Dues by James J. Butcher.  The second book in Butcher’s Unorthodox Chronicles, Long Past Dues is the awesome sounding sequel to the author’s debut novel, Dead Man’s Hand.  I had a great time reading Dead Man’s Hand when it first came out, and I’m very excited to finally get my hands on the sequel.

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Traitor’s Blade by Sebastien De Castell

I just had to pick up a copy of Traitor’s Blade by Sebastien De Castell when I saw it was available, especially after enjoying some of the author’s more recent novels.  The first book in the author’s Greatcoats series, Traitor’s Blade sounds pretty amazing, and I’m curious to see how De Castell set up his entertaining universe.

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Apocalypse Cow by Michael Logan

So, I’m not going to lie, I picked this one up purely because of the puns on the front page, which still makes me chuckle.  A comedic novel about zombie cows is frankly something I’d never be able to turn down, and it sounds like Apocalypse Cow is a particularly funny read, which I am very keen to check out.

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Star Wars: The Mandalorian Armor by K. W. Jeter

While I haven’t explored the now defunct Legends canon of Star Wars fiction as much as I would have liked, I was very interested in this copy of The Mandalorian Armor by K. W. Jeter I found.  The first book in a series that pits the infamous bounty hunters of Star Wars universe against each other, The Mandalorian Armor sounds pretty damn awesome, and I look forward to diving into it when I get a chance.

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Warhammer 40,000: Grey Knights by Ben Counter

More fun Warhammer 40,000 fun from the always impressive Ben Counter, how could I possibly turn that down.

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Footprints of Thunder by James F. David

The final book I picked up is the intriguing classic science fiction novel, Footprints of Thunder by James F. David. A compelling and thrilling novel that sees the modern world merged with the dinosaur inhabited past, Footprints of Thunder is an excellent book that I was very happy to find a good copy of.  I think I actually read this book when I was younger, so it will be interesting to revisit it after all these years.

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

Waiting on Wednesday – Red Empire by Jonathan Maberry

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Science Fiction, Thriller, Waiting on WednesdayLeave a comment

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.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  For this latest Waiting on Wednesday, I examine one of my most anticipated upcoming thrillers for 2026 with the epic new Rogue Team International novel from Jonathan Maberry, Red Empire.

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I have made no secret over the years about just how much I enjoy the crazy works of author Jonathan Maberry.  A highly inventive author with a knack for awesome action sequences and a love of horror, Maberry has been writing impressive novels since 2006, with his chilling Pine Deep series.  Since then, he has gone on to write a stagging variety of novels, including the zombie apocalypse Rot & Ruin and Dead of Night series, his V-War comic series, as well as several awesome standalone novels like the disturbing Ink.  Maberry has also had fun diving into the fantasy and science fiction genre in recent years, including his exceptional Kagen the Damned dark fantasy trilogy, made up of Kagen the Damned (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2022), Son of the Poison Rose (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2023), and The Dragon in Winter (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2024), as well as the science fiction novel NeckroTek (the sequel of which, Cold War, I’m hoping to read soon).

While I’m a huge fan of all the above series, my favourite body of Maberry’s work remains his iconic and long-running Joe Ledger series.  Following the titular troubled protagonist as he works as a part of an elite government special forces team detailed to stopping terrorist attacks or criminal organisations using advanced and unusual technology, the Joe Ledger novels were impressive and complex thrillers with over-the-top science fiction or horror elements. The original series, which ran for 10 books, features some amazing novels, including Patient Zero, The Dragon Factory, Assassin’s Code, Predator One and Deep Silence just to name a few. Each of these novels were amazing reads on their own, although I also got really drawn into the ongoing storylines and recurring villains.

Following the end of the original Joe Ledger books, Maberry continued many of his storylines in the sequel Rogue Team International series, bringing back the major characters and setting them up as independent intelligence operatives working for themselves. This series was also extremely exciting, and I have appreciated the way in which the author has continued some of the complex story arcs and villainous narratives from the first series. The Rogue Team International books have so far featured Rage (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2019), Relentless (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2021), Cave 13 (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2023) and the 2025 release, Burn to Shine, each of which have been pretty damn amazing and filled with some dark and captivating narratives.

Due to how much I love this extended series, I am already quite excited about the next upcoming Rogue Team International book coming out in early 2026, Red Empire.  Set to be the fifth entry in the Rogue Team International series and the 15th overall Joe ledger novel, Red Empire has an intriguing plot that sees an old enemy of Ledger and his organization engage in a new plot to destroy the world, while shocking secrets and ancient mysteries come to light.  Set for release in March 2026, Red Empire sounds amazing, and I am already extremely eager to get my hands on it.

Plot Synopsis:

In the next novel in the Joe Ledger and Rogue Team International series by New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Maberry, the team faces new and old enemies alike as a bioengineered version of The Black Death surfaces.

Hundreds of years after the first waves of the bubonic plague swept through Europe, a new, more dangerous version threatens London. Joe Ledger’s old enemy the Red Empire—reborn as a far more powerful political and military group—has bioengineered a weaponized version of yersinia pestis—the bacteria responsible for The Black Death that killed tens of millions in the Middle Ages.

As Joe Ledger and Rogue Team International race against the clock to put a stop to the Red Empire’s plans, they’re sucked into the strange and mysterious past of the man called Mr. Church. Secrets come to light that make even his staunchest allies wonder who –and more precisely what—Church really is.

With whispers of an elixir vitae—or elixir of life—circling, Joe Ledger and Rogue Team International are facing the highest possible stakes in their work together yet. As the tension builds and the balance between life and death sways precariously, it seems like tragic losses among them might be inevitable.

Oh yeah, I am already very excited for this.  Based on this above synopsis, Maberry has pulled together another intriguing plot for Red Empire, and I’m looking forward to seeing it unfold.  Seeing the return of an old enemy organisation, the sinister Red Empire, is going to be amazing, especially as they attempt to unleash a deadly biological weapon upon the world.  I look forward to seeing the plot revolve around this new battle between Ledger and his foes, and I’m expecting a lot of epic action and intense carnage as a result.

While the focus on the Red Empire and their new strain of the Black Death will be awesome, the part of the synopsis that I, and most long-term Joe Ledger fans, are most interested in, is the section that talks about the secret origins of Mr Church.  Church, the founder and leader of the titular organisation and its predecessor government department, has long been an enigmatic figure, bending world leaders to his will and boasting an insane set of skills and contacts to save the day.  Maberry has strongly hinted about a supernatural origin to Mr Church over the years, including in the shocking final scene of Burn to Shine.  However, the full details of who, or what, Mr Church is, as well as his connection to his chaotic antagonist Nicodemus, has yet to be completely revealed.  From the sounds of the synopsis above, as well as some details revealed by Maberry, it looks like we are finally going to get the full origin story of Mr Church in Red Empire.  I’ve honestly been waiting for this background on one of Maberry’s best characters for years, and I cannot emphasise just how excited I am to finally find out the true tale of Mr Church and the origins of his war against evil.

I think it’s very clear from this long Waiting on Wednesday post that I’m very keen to get my hands on Red Empire next year.  This upcoming Joe Ledger/Rogue Team International novel from Jonathan Maberry sounds so damn cool, and I cannot wait to see all the carnage and trauma that the author will unleash upon his fans with this new book.  Throw in the fact that Maberry is finally going to reveal one of his series’ most intriguing and long-running secrets, and this is already one of the books I most excited to read next year.  I can guarantee that I will be listening to Red Empire the very second it comes out, and I already know I’m going to love everything about it.

WWW Wednesday – 24 September 2025

On By The Unseen LibraryIn WWW WednesdayLeave a comment

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

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

So, let’s get to it.

What are you currently reading:

The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown (Hardcover)

I’m still getting through the intriguing new Dan Brown novel, The Secret of Secrets at the moment.  Bringing back Brown’s iconic protagonist on another history-laden mystery, The Secret of Secrets is a very compelling read and one I know I’m going to enjoy.  I haven’t had as much time to read this week as I would have liked, so I’ve only made a little progress on The Secret of Secrets since my last post.  However, I’m hoping to really dive into this book in the next few days, and I look forward to seeing how this novel comes together.

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Artifact by Jeremy Robinson (Audiobook)

I have had a little more time for audiobook listening this week, so I started the fantastic new novel from Jeremy Robinson, Artifact. A standalone science fiction novel with a notable horror vibe, Artifact sees an Alaskan sheriff and his unlikely posse investigate a remote science lab filled with unusual genetic monstrosities. A very entertaining listen, especially with the always awesome R. C. Bray narrating, I’ve already made a bit of progress on Artifact’s audiobook version in the last couple of days, and I’m hoping to finish it this week.

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What did you recently finish reading?

Born of an Iron Storm by Anthony Ryan (Audiobook)

I managed to finish off the excellent fantasy novel Born of an Iron Storm by Anthony Ryan this week, and it ended up being quite an exceptional listen.  The sequel to last year’s A Tide of Black Steel, Born of an Iron Storm continued the great story from the first book, as several compelling characters attempt to survive an oncoming invasion from a previously hidden nation. I really enjoyed the elaborate and intense narrative of this book and Born of an Iron Storm is easily one of the best fantasy books of 2025. 

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What do you think you’ll read next?

Everyone in this Bank is a Thief by Benjamin Stevenson

After failing to get to it this week, I am still hoping to check out is the fun Australian murder mystery, Everyone in this Bank is a Thief by Benjamin Stevenson next.  The next book in the outstanding Ernest Cunningham series, Everyone in this Bank is a Thief looks set to be another hilarious and clever read, and I’m looking forward to checking it out.

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The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman

If I finish off Artifact this week I am planning to listen to the new Richard Osman novel, The Impossible Fortune next. The fifth Thursday Murder Club novel, The Impossible Fortune is shaping up to be an exceptional book with a complex crime fiction narrative behind it. I have no doubt this will be one of the best books of 2025, and I’m excited to listen to this outstanding audiobook.

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

Five Found Dead by Sulari Gentill

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Murder Mystery1 Comment

Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press (ebook – 19 August 2025)

Series: Standalone

Length: 310 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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Those looking for a fun and very meta murder mystery that looks back at the classics should check out the very amusing new novel from Australian author Sulari Gentill, Five Found Dead.

There are few Australian crime fiction authors whose works have entertained me over the years as much as Sulari Gentill’s have.  An amazing author who knows how to combine unique premises with compelling mysteries, Gentill has written some great novels over the years.  I am a particular fan of her Rowland Sinclair series about an unlikely gentleman protagonist in the 1930s who solved crimes loaded with historical cameos, while some of her more recent standalone novels, such as Crossing the Lines, The Woman in the Library and The Mystery Writer, have also received critical acclaim.  As such, I was very happy to get my hands on her latest novel, Five Found Dead, which had a very fun plot behind it which resulted in quite an exciting and fast-paced read.

Plot Synopsis:

On a train, there are only so many places to hide…

Crime fiction author Joe Penvale has won the most brutal battle of his life. Now that he has finished his intense medical treatment, he and his twin sister, Meredith, are boarding the glorious Orient Express in Paris, hoping for some much-needed rest and rejuvenation. Meredith also hopes that the literary ghosts on the train will nudge Joe’s muse awake, and he’ll be inspired to write again. And he is; after their first evening spent getting to know some of their fellow travelers, Joe pulls out his laptop and opens a new document. Seems like this trip is just what the doctor ordered…

And then some. The next morning, Joe and Meredith are shocked to witness that the cabin next door has become a crime scene, bathed in blood but with no body in sight. The pair soon find themselves caught up in an Agatha Christie-esque murder investigation. Without any help from the authorities, and with the victim still not found, Joe and Meredith are asked to join a group of fellow passengers with law enforcement backgrounds to look into the mysterious disappearance of the man in Cabin16G. But when the steward guarding the crime scene is murdered, it marks the beginning of a killing spree which leaves five found dead—and one still missing. Now Joe and Meredith must fight once again to preserve their newfound future and to catch a cunning killer before they reach the end of the line.

Gentill brings the fun with this very compelling and exciting crime fiction novel that serves as a great love letter to a classic Agatha Christie novel.  Bringing together a colourful array of characters, including an overabundance of cliche detectives and setting them loose against an apparent serial killer, Five Found Dead was a very easy book to fall in love with, and I ended up powering through it in less than a day.

The plot for Five Found Dead had a lot of interesting elements to it, which resulted in a very fast-paced novel that hit a lot of entertaining notes.  Starting off with some quick introductions to the lawyer protagonist and her author brother, you soon find yourself aboard the iconic Orient Express.  A natural setting for any murder mystery, Gentill brought together an amusing array of characters inspired by classic crime fiction novels, many of whom are revealed to have law enforcement backgrounds, as well as a very similar grudge.  The story naturally soon devolves into a compelling murder mystery when a guest disappears from their blood-soaked room.  Thanks to a new strain of coronavirus infecting part of the train, the passengers find themselves stuck on the rails, and it falls to the protagonists and the various assembled detectives to solve the case.  However, a series of additional murders quickly unfold across the train, resulting in chaos and anarchy, especially when the normal passengers of the train attempt to escape the growing massacre.

I loved the excellent and fast pace of Five Found Dead as Gentill cleverly lays out the respective murders and keeps increasing the stakes of the plot.  While much of the story is intentionally silly, including the appearance of so many stereotypical detectives with connections to the initial victim, the author works it into a great investigation angle, and I had fun working out who was behind the killings.  There are some fantastic twists and turns throughout the book, and while I saw a few reveals coming thanks to the featured clues, the identity of the actual antagonist hit me by surprise.  Some of this was due to the clever red herrings and potential alternate suspects that Gentill included, although I must admit the brilliantly crazy disguise utilised by the killer helped a lot.  This led to a very exciting and over-the-top conclusion, where all the secrets come out and the various fun storylines come together.  I had an absolute blast getting to the end of Five Found Dead, and Gentill crafted an extremely exciting murder mystery here that served as an homage to the classic, while also bringing its own flair to the occasion.

While Five Found Dead is loaded with amazing and familiar characters, I feel that I need to highlight protagonist Meredith Penvale and her brother Joe as the two best written characters in the novel.  A pair of Australian twins, Meredith and Joe have journeyed to the Orient Express to celebrate Joe’s recent cancer remission and to rejuvenate his writing muse.  While much of the story revolves around Meredith’s inadvertent role as amateur detective aboard this train of suspicious souls, Gentill also spends time examining the emotional health of these two main characters, and as a result dives deep into the impacts of cancer and the effects it can have on both the sufferers and their loved ones.  In this case, Meredith is the loyal sister who sacrificed a successful career to care for her brother and, now that he’s recovered, is wondering where her life will go and whether to follow her true passions.  Joe, on the other hand, is a seemingly light-hearted figure who has an amusing meta initial arc about a murder mystery set onboard the Orient Express.  However, there is also a lot of hidden fear in Joe about his cancer returning, which sees him literally running from bad news, while also trying to keep this potential truth from his long-suffering sister.  You can tell that Gentill put a lot of herself into these two characters, and their personal focuses outside the mystery are extremely realistic and powerful.  Indeed, these personal concerns and the powerful writing that accompanies them gives Five Found Dead some much needed emotional heft that helped to evolve this novel into something truly special.  Throw in all the additional eccentric figures that accompany Meredith and Joe onto the Orient Express, and Five Found Dead has a truly amazing cast who enhance the entire story.

Overall, I found Five Found Dead to be an addictive and engaging novel that I honestly couldn’t stop reading.  Sulari Gentill’s latest standalone novel was a wonderful blend of mystery, charming humour and complex characters, that came together into something extremely awesome.  I really enjoyed Five Found Dead, and it is an excellent read for someone in the mood for a light-hearted murder mystery with some amazing heart to it.

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Of Flame and Fury by Mikayla Bridge

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Fantasy, Young AdultLeave a comment

Publisher: Macmillan (Trade Paperback – 15 July 2025)

Series: Standalone / Book One

Length: 383 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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Australian author Mikayla Bridge produces one of the more compelling young adult fantasy debuts of 2025 with the inventive and clever read, Of Flame and Fury.

Plot Synopsis:

On an island built from ash and shrouded in fire, phoenix racing is a sport just as profitable as it is deadly.

Seventeen-year-old Kel Varra and her team of underdogs, the Crimson Howlers, are desperate to win the annual races and the fortune that comes with it. But the Howlers need a new rider, which leads Kel to join forces with Warren “Coup” Coupers – an arrogant rival she can’t get out of her head.

As tensions rise on and off the track, Kel’s home is mistakenly burned down, and she’s forced to take a job from a mysterious tech mogul with an unsettling interest in her phoenix, Savita. This sets in motion a conspiracy that threatens everyone Kel cares for, especially Coup, for whom her embers of resentment are quickly igniting into something dangerously new.

Heart-pounding pages full of steamy romance, fiery confessions, political scheming, and volatile magic culminate in a final twist readers will never see coming.

Of Flame and Fury was a very interesting 2025 young adult fantasy release that I was quite excited to get my hands on.  The first book from Australian author Mikayla Bridge, Of Flame and Fury had a very exciting plot behind it which Bridge effectively built on with an excellent story and some fantastic writing.

I ended up really enjoying Of Flame and Fury’s intriguing narrative, which grabs the reader’s attention early thanks to an initial intense and tragic phoenix racing sequence.  This early race quickly and effectively sets up most of the book’s key characters, including protagonist Kel Varra and her rival and inevitable romantic interest, Coup, with an additional, fiery moment bonding these key figures together.  The story quickly moves onward with Kel forced to recruit Coup to her phoenix racing team, which has been recruited by a powerful tech mogul with his own hidden agenda.  This initial part of the book was quite interesting and set up a lot of key story elements, while also providing readers with a lot of the new lore in Bridge’s phoenix filled society.

While fun and loaded with interesting character introductions, this early part of the book lacked a little action, especially as there was a nearly 150-page gap between the first and second phoenix races.  I feel that some readers may lose momentum in this part of the book, especially as the promised races are such a big part of the book’s appeal.  Still, I enjoyed the story development here, and Of Flame and Fury’s big races, when they finally start, have all the chaotic fun you’d hope for, made even more exciting and compelling by the character relationships and distinctive fantasy elements Bridge introduced and built up during this period.

The second half of the book flies by quickly, as you soon get drawn into the various races, intrigues, and complex relationships that are such a vital part of the narrative, even if the main enemies-to-lovers storyline was a little tropey.  I ended up really enjoying the compelling focus on the intrigues of the corporation sponsoring Kel and her team, which leads up to the big climax of the book.  While it does have an obvious villain, the motivations of this antagonist are very important and well set out.  The revelations around this main storyline make Of Flame and Fury’s plot really stand out, especially as it leads to an impressive twist I honestly didn’t see coming.  This big twist worked extremely well, as it cleverly utilized lore elements that Bridge had been inserting into the narrative the entire time, while also completely reshaping your entire perspective of the preceding story.  I deeply appreciated how this came together, and its excellent execution honestly amplified my entire estimation of this novel.  Following on from this, Bridge leads Of Flame and Fury to its fantastic conclusion, which featured all the drama and intensity you would expect from a great young adult fantasy novel, and which leaves the reader very satisfied.

I felt that Of Flame and Fury came together extremely well as a novel, and Bridge really showcased her writing chops in her debut.  Primarily shown from the perspective of the main character, Kel, Of Flame and Fury was a very fast-paced read that did a good job of blending fantasy elements with compelling characters.  I love how seamlessly Bridge was able to work the unique elements of her fantasy universe into the narrative, and readers were quickly able to get across the cool phoenix lore.  The resulting high-octane phoenix races were a real highlight of this novel, while other bits of compelling lore were well utilised, especially in that cool twist I gushed about above.

Bridge kept an excellent young adult tone for Of Flame and Fury, resulting in a novel that would primarily appeal to teenager readers, while also being quite enjoyable for older fantasy fans, especially those who like unique ideas or compelling characters.  There is also a certain amount of appeal for the romantasy crowd, thanks to the fiery relationship between Kel and Coup.  As someone who doesn’t massively enjoy romance fiction, I personally found the enemies-to-lovers sub-plot to be one of the weaker parts of the book, while the book’s secondary romance (between team winger Dira and corporate engineer Rahn) was a little more interesting.  Still, I’m sure more typical romance/romantasy fans will enjoy the combative relationship between Kel and Coup, and it helps that both are well-written characters who stand on their own outside of the romance.

Due to its great characters, clever story and fun, fire-filled phoenix races, Of Flame and Fury was an awesome young adult fantasy novel, and it’s one I had a lot of fun reading.  New author Mikayla Bridge proved to be extremely talented with this debut book, and I will be curious to see what she writes next.  An overall wonderful novel that will appeal to a wide audience.

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