Top Ten Tuesday – My Favourite Books Written Over Ten Years Ago

On By The Unseen LibraryIn List6 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics.  For this latest Top Ten Tuesday, participants had to list their top books that were written over ten years ago. 

This is a very intriguing, if difficult, topic to look at, as there are an absolute ton of amazing books released over 10 years ago (written before 2012) that I can think about for this list.  I kind of did a similar list on this subject a few years ago, with my list that looked at books written before I was born, however, there are a lot more intriguing entries that could be featured here, so I am going to have to think long and hard about what to include.

To limit my potential choices down (or make the decision harder), I chose to limit my entries to one book from each series or author, which will save me listing multiple Discworld novels for a start.  I also chose to exclude any comic book series from this list, mainly because pretty much every entry on my previous favourite comic series list ran or started more than 10 years ago.  Even with some of these restrictions, there were still an amazing number of books that I wanted to feature on this list, and I had to make some very hard decisions and cuts to figure it out.  However, I am very happy with how the final list turned out and I think it represents the absolute best books written over ten years ago that I have read.  So let us see what made the cut.

Honourable Mentions:

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling – 2003

The Order of the Phoenix Cover

A classic from childhood and my favourite book in the series.

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World War Z by Max Brooks – 2006

World War Z Cover 2

I only recently read this, but it is pretty damn epic, especially in the full-cast audio adaption with some amazing actors behind it.

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Fire in the East by Harry Sidebottom – 2008

Fire in the East Cover

Still one of the best historical fiction books I have ever read with an awesome siege premise behind it.

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The Gray Man by Mark Greaney – 2009

The Gray Man Cover

The debut book from Mark Greaney, this was a very cool novel which the movie adaption honestly didn’t do justice to.

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Top Ten List:

Magician by Raymond E. Feist – 1982

Magician Cover

There were multiple books from Feist written more than 10 years ago that I could have featured on this list, including The Empire trilogy he cowrote with Janny Wurst.  However, I had to feature the book that started it all, Magician.  Magician sets the entire universe up perfectly and has one of the strongest stories in the series.  A truly iconic fantasy read, Magician has inspired generations of fantasy fans and is well worth checking out.

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Legend by David Gemmell – 1984

Legend

Another fantasy classic I had to include, Legend was a brilliant and iconic debut from the legendary David Gemmell that I checked out a few years ago.  Easily one of the best siege novels of all time, Legend sees an impossibly large army besiege the world’s best fortress, defended by a small number of heroes.  Powerful, action-packed, and wildly addictive, this was an outstanding read that you will fly through.

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Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett – 1989

Guards! Guards! Cover

Since pretty much the entirety of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series was written before 2012 (only Raising Steam and The Shepherd’s Crown were released after), I could have filled this list with Discworld novels and left happy.  Instead, I had to feature just one book from the series, which was pretty impossible, as nearly all of them rank amongst my favourite books.  I decided in the end to feature Guards! Guards!, not only because it is one of the strongest books in the series, but because it introduced the City Watch sub-series, which feature many of my favourites.  Guards! Guards! has a brilliant story to it that perfectly combines comedy, fantasy and crime fiction elements into one epic read, when the maligned Night Watch of Ankh-Morpork have to solve a series of murders caused by dragon.  Hilarious, clever, and impossible to put down, this is an incredible read that will make you a Pratchett fan for life.

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Homeland by R. A. Salvatore – 1990

Homeland Cover

Another author who I could have featured multiple books from, R. A. Salvatore is one of the best fantasy authors in the world for a reason and he has a ton of great reads released more than 10 years ago.  However, I limited it to my favourite book of his, Homeland, which expands on the early life of his standout character Drizzt Do’Urden.  Taking place in the Drow city of Menzoberranzan, this book shows the character’s complex youth in the treacherous Dark Elf society and helps to established Drizzt as one of fantasy’s most distinctive and likeable protagonists.  This was a truly impressive novel I have read multiple times, and its impacts can still be felt in Salvatore’s more recent books, such as Timeless, Boundless and Relentless, which show alternate perspectives to events of Homeland through other character’s eyes.

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The Third Day, The Frost by John Marsden – 1995

The Third Day, the Frost Cover

I have long talked up the epic Tomorrow series by Australian author John Marsden, and it remains some of the best books I have ever read.  Following a group of teenagers as they attempt to survive a foreign invasion of Australia, the Tomorrow series is a powerful and deeply addictive young adult series that should be compulsory reading for all Australian kids.  I have so much love for this series that I had to feature one of the books from it here.  I ended up choosing the third (and probably the best) book, The Third Day, The Frost, which sees the protagonists attempt their biggest attack yet, only to suffer from some major consequences.  Not only is this one of the most actions packed and intense novels in the series, but it is also one of the most emotional damaging as the characters you have grown to love, go through some major events that leave them deeply traumatised.  An epic read that I cannot recommend enough.

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The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch – 2006

The Lies of Locke Lamora Cover

Few books have ever caught my imagination and attention than the brilliant fantasy heist book, The Lies of Locke Lamora.  The first book in Scott Lynch’s The Gentleman Bastards series, The Lies of Locke Lamora is an insanely good read that sees a group of conmen get dragged into a battle for a corrupt and dangerous city’s soul and must try to survive while also getting their score.  Perfectly balancing great characters with cool fantasy and impressive thriller elements, The Lies of Locke Lamora is so much fun to read and I would strongly recommend it to any fantasy fan.  I could have also featured the second book Red Seas Under Red Skies (released in 2007) here, as it was also extremely good, but I do think the first book was the best.  Highly recommended!

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The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss – 2007

The Name of the Wind Cover

I had to include The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss on this list as it is honestly one of my favourite fantasy books of all time.  Following a legendary figure as he recounts the early days of his life, you find yourself getting dragged into the tale of Kvothe, a man destined to kill a king and become infamous.  The Name of the Wind perfectly introduces the character and sets you deep into his intense and massive life story, which features tragedy, triumph, music, and an epic amount of time spent in a cool magic school.  I love this book so much, and I really need to read it again and give it a proper review.  The sequel, The Wise Man’s Fear is just as good, but I think the first book is a better one to include here.

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Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie – 2009

Best Served Cold Cover

I honestly could have featured any of the three books from Joe Abercrombie’s First Law trilogy on this list, as all three are a masterclass in dark fantasy fiction.  However, I decided to go with the third and final book in the trilogy, Best Served Cold, as I think it was the best book.  Not only did it bring together all the epic storylines from the first two novels perfectly, but all the main characters who you have been getting extremely close to, have their defining moments here.  There is so much awesomeness crammed into this book, and its impacts will be felt from years to come, as the sequel Age of Madness trilogy (made up of A Little Hatred, The Trouble With Peace and The Wisdom of Crowds), follows on from it perfectly.

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The Dragon Factory by Jonathan Maberry – 2010

The Dragon Factory

I had to feature an entry from the epic Joe Ledger series here on this list, and luckily a couple of fun entries were released more than 10 years ago.  While I could have gone with the first book, Patient Zero (modern zombies) or the fantastic third release, The King of Plagues (a world-ending cabal in action), I went with the second book, The Dragon Factory, which I think was one of Maberry’s best.  The Dragon Factory takes damaged protagonist Joe Ledger on a deadly mission to save the world from two warring teams of advanced genetic engineers who have their own insidious plans.  Intense, action-packed, and featuring some heart-rending tragedy, The Dragon Factory was an instant favourite of mine, and I cannot talk it up enough.

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The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson – 2010

WAY OF KINGS MM REV FINAL.indd

The final book I want to highlight on this list is the massive and deeply impressive The Way of the Kings by impossibly talented Brandon Sanderson.  This was the first book in Sanderson’s iconic The Stormlight Archive and follows several impressive and highly developed characters on an epic journey throughout a bold new fantasy world.  This novel has everything you could possibly want, and I cannot emphasise the sheer level of creativity and universe building it contains.  There is so much to love about this book, especially the complex and highly damaged characters, and I would recommend this to all fantasy fans.

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That’s the end of this latest Top Ten Tuesday.  As you can see, I have had the great pleasure of reading several outstanding novels that were published more than ten years ago, and some of them are counted amongst my favourite all-time books.  All the novels featured above are extremely epic and I would recommend all of them to readers looking for their next obsession.  I had a lot of fun pulling this list together, and this might be one I revisit in the future, especially after I go back and read some more older novels.

Warhammer 40,000: Catachan Devil by Justin Woolley

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Tie-in Novel, Warhammer11 Comments

Catachan Devil Cover

Publisher: Black Library (Audiobook – 29 March 2022)

Series: Warhammer 40,000/Astra Militarum – Book Two

Length: 9 hours and 14 minutes

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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Another iconic regiment of the Astra Militarum is on full display in the new Warhammer 40,000 novel by talented author Justin Woolley, with the intense and action-packed read Catachan Devil.

2022 is shaping up to be a particularly epic year for Warhammer 40,000 fiction, with a ton of brilliant novels coming out that cover a range of factions and sides of the surprisingly massive and highly compelling extended universe surrounding the famous tabletop games.  Some of the best Warhammer books of the year include Ghazghkull Thraka: Prophet of the Waaagh! by Nate Crowley and Assassinorum: Kingmaker by Robert Rath, which both got five-star ratings from me.  However, I have also been really drawn to the impressive novels that examine the basic human troopers of the Imperium of Man.  These soldiers, members of the Astra Militarum, better known as the Imperial Guard, come from many different planets, and are forged into unique fighters by the harsh conditions of their worlds.  I have had a great time reading some of the recent books about them, such as Steel Tread, Krieg and The Vincula Insurgency, especially as the authors dive deep into the psyches of the regiments and their members to unearth their history, mentality, and their opinions of the deadly wars they are fighting.  As such, I was excited when I saw that there was a cool book coming out that followed the legendary Catachan Jungle Fighters, Catachan Devil by Justin Woolley.

Deep in the 41st century, where war and death surrounds the fragile Imperium of Man, many serve the Imperium as soldiers of the Astra Militarum.  However, not all Imperial Guard are created equal, as Trooper Torvin of the newly formed Skadi Second Infantry is about to find out.  Conscripted to fight in the Emperor’s wars, the poorly trained and terrified Torvin suddenly finds himself on the jungle world of Gondwa VI, expected to go up against the brutal and ever-growing greenskin threat.  However, fate is about to place him in the path of a far more dangerous group of fighters.

The lone survivor of his regiment after their vital outpost is overrun and captured by orks, Torvin is accused of cowardice and faces death by firing squad.  However, he is given a chance at redemption by joining up with the men chosen to retake his fallen outpost, the legendary and lethal men of the Catachan 57th Jungle Fighters.  Led by Colonel Haskell ‘Hell Fist’ Aldalon, the Catachans are masters of stealth and jungle fighting, and the 57th Jungle Fighters have a particular grudge to bear against the orks.

Accompanying a small detachment of Catachan Devils to the fallen fortress, Torvin is in awe of the Catachan’s skill and lethality, while they view him with nothing but disdain.  Forced into the fight, Torvin soon discovers that the Catachans are just as likely to turn on him for his incompetence as they are to kill the orks they are hunting.  If he wants to survive, Torvin will need to forget his standard training and fight his hardest to gain the respect of the Catachans.  However, not even the Catachans are fully prepared for the opponents waiting for them; these orks are aware of their strengths and have taken to emulating their tactics and style.  May the best commandos win!

Woolley’s first full Warhammer 40,000 novel was a real hit, and I loved how Catachan Devil provided the reader with a powerful and deeply exciting science fiction tale that also highlights one of the more distinctive factions from the tabletop game.  Catachan Devil has a brilliant and deeply compelling story to it that I found myself powering through in only a few days.  A standalone Warhammer 40,000 book, Catachan Devil takes the reader into heart of the action quickly by introducing two of the main protagonists in the early goings of the book and showing their arrival on Gondwa VI.  These initial chapters primarily focus on the character of Trooper Torvin and show his initial attempts at being an Imperial Guardsman and his unfortunate first encounter with the orks and their fun point-of-view character.  Following this, you are introduced to the Catachans and their leader, Colonel Aldalon, who are brought in to clean up the mess made by Torvin’s regiment.

While it was a tad surprising not to see any Catachan characters until a third of the way in, I think it worked, as all the previous events set up the main narrative extremely well, while also showcasing the dearth in skill of the human soldiers at that point.  The rest of the book follows at a brilliant pace, taking the various characters on an intense and ultra-exciting adventure.  The rest of the story has a great blend of combat, universe building and character development splattered throughout it, as the three central characters all evolve in different ways as they fight against their own issues and their various opponents.  Woolley takes Catachan Devil’s narrative in some interesting directions, and I enjoyed the examination of the Catachan mission and the work done to build up a worthy set of adversaries.  This all leads up to some brilliant and highly exciting final confrontations between the Catachans and their foes, and I loved the fantastic way that Woolley was able to wrap up the main narrative of this book, as well as the three central character storylines.  Everything comes together extremely well, and readers will come away very satisfied, although if they are anything like me, they will be wanting more, even if that is a tad unreasonable.  While Catachan Devil does work as a standalone narrative, Woolley does leave some options for a sequel open in the future, which I personally would be quite interested to see.  An awesome and highly addictive narrative that was really fun to get through.

I enjoyed the way that Catachan Devil was put together as Woolley wrote it in an enjoyable and captivating way.  While this book is primarily designed to highlight a specific regiment of Imperial Guard, something that Woolley does really well, it still contains a brilliant and extremely fun narrative that can be easily enjoyed by anyone familiar with Warhammer 40,000.  However, Catachan Devil would serve as a rather good introductory novel for new readers of the franchise.  Catachan Devil contains an excellent blend of damaged characters, impressive action sequences and entertaining humour that anyone can have an awesome time with this book, and I personally found myself laughing myself silly at times (there is a fun scene where some orks are trying to lure the Catachans out), while also getting drawn into some powerful character arcs.  The entire book is very well paced out, and I particularly enjoyed how Woolley perfectly utilised three central character perspectives to tell a layered and intriguing tale.  Seeing three very different perspectives of the events occurring in Catachan Devil adds to the humour and complexity of the tale, and the three unique main characters play off each other extremely well to create an outstanding book.  I had such a great time getting through Catachan Devil and it was an exceptional addition to the Warhammer 40,000 canon.

Without a doubt the highlight of this book is the focus on the iconic Imperial Guard regiment, the Catachan Jungle Fighters.  The Catachans are a fan-favourite regiment with a distinctive look strongly based on Green Berets in Vietnam (or more likely around Rambo).  Portrayed as tough, disrespectful, and extremely deadly warriors whose fighting ability is a result of their upbringing on a jungle Death World, the Catachans have long captured the imagination of the Warhammer fandom, and they have some of the coolest models in the game.  Due to their popularity, the Catachans have featured in multiple tie-in novels and comics before, but I felt that Woolley did a particularly good job of examining this iconic faction throughout this book.  Indeed, the author really goes out of his way to showcase just how cool and impressive the Catachans are, and the reader gets an intriguing deep dive into their history, mentality and deadly ability in combat.

I felt that the way Woolley set out Catachan Devils really helped to highlight just how skilled and different they are from typical Imperial Guards.  Woolley ensures that there is a very fun and compelling comparison between the Catachans and the other Imperial Guards by first showing a normal regiment of troopers getting slaughtered by the orks while relying on their standard training.  From there, the Catachans are shown from various perspectives: an insider one from their commander, and two outsider perspectives, including from a poorly trained guardsman, which really helps to highlight the differences between the typical soldiers and these badass Jungle Fighters.  Watching the Catachans’ various ambushes, sneak attacks and brutal close combat fights was pretty amazing, and I loved the way that Woolley worked to highlight the practical aspects of their skills and techniques.  You learn a lot about the Catachans throughout this book, as all the point-of-view characters learn or reminisce about the things that drive them and the full applications of their skills and training.  I definitely came away from Catachan Devil with a new appreciation for this faction, and I loved how well Woolley focused the book on them.

To tell Catachan Devil’s fantastic story, Woolley centred the narrative on three point-of-view characters who each have multiple chapters told from their perspective.  These three characters proved to be a winning narrative combination, and you get a powerful and intriguing story as a result.  While each of them has their own distinctive personal narrative, their stories come together throughout the book, and it proves very entertaining to see their different takes on the same events.  This use of three characters was very effective, especially as you get drawn into their personal stories in some powerful ways.

The first character is Trooper Torvin, a rookie Imperial Guard from the ill-fated and newly formed Skadi Second Infantry.  Torvin, who was drafted into the Imperial Guard against his will, is thrust into the deep end on this book and soon finds himself forced to work with the Catachans, even though his inexperience and lack of any jungle training make him a major liability.  Woolley makes good use of Torvin throughout Catachan Devil, and he is the primary example used to show the differences between the common solider and the Catachans.  There are a ton of great examples scattered throughout the book that showcases the difference between a draftee like Torvin and the Catachans, who are raised from babies to be tough soldiers, from the lack of training, the bad information about opponents, and the way he lugs around a ton of unnecessary gear.  I particularly enjoyed the way in which several exerts from The Imperial Infantryman’s Uplifting Primer, an in-universe propaganda document, are quoted throughout Torvin’s chapters, often with ridiculous and untrue information that leads the character astray.

While much of Torvin’s story arc is used to highlight the Catachans, Woolley also inserts a compelling and emotionally rich narrative around Torvin as you witness his experiences as a newly minted Imperial Guard.  I felt that Woolley did an amazing job capturing the fear and uncertainty that a draftee like Torvin would experience.  The hesitation and reluctance that Torvin goes through feels very realistic, and the subsequent reactions from his superiors, most of whom would kill him if they knew what he was feeling, really got me to care for Torvin early on, and it was a great portrayal of a common man in the insane Warhammer 40,000 universe.  Naturally, Torvin develops as the book continues, especially once he is with the Catachans, and there are several great scenes as he slowly works to emulate his new comrades and gain their respect.  While it is slow going, Torvin eventually finds his courage and comes to terms with the fact that he is going to be an Imperial Guardsman for the rest of his life, and he really develops in a realistic manner.  Woolley did some brilliant character work here in Torvin, and I really appreciated how his character arc turned out.

The second major character in Catachan Devil is Colonel Haskell Aldalon, the Catachan commander known as Hell Fist due to the Power Fist he wields.  Aldalon is a lifelong soldier who has spent his entire life surviving and fighting in jungle warfare.  Portrayed as a gruff and unforgiving figure who fits the mould of the tough, impossibly muscled Catachans extremely well, Aldalon is Torvin’s polar opposite and is an interesting character as a result.  While Aldalon doesn’t change much in the book, he is dealing with some deep emotional issues after a big loss in his unit’s last battle.  He spends most of Catachan Devil keeping his emotions in check, and he ends up making several mistakes and fighting in a very un-Catachan way, just so he can kill some orks.  Aldalon is the most damaged figure in the entire novel, and it proves to be quite moving to witness him come to terms with his grief and despair to regain his old mindset.  I really grew attached to this old soldier as the book progressed and his impressive viewpoint added a lot to the quality of the entire narrative.

It is a little ironic that in a book all about the Catachans, one of my favourite characters is an ork.  Readers will be blown away by the incredible figure of Nogrok Sneakyguts.  Nogrok serves as the book’s primary antagonist and third point of view character and is a rather interesting figure that offers a fantastic alternate perspective on events.  Rather than the ultra-violent orks you typically see in Warhammer fiction, Nogrok is something special as he is a Blood Axe Kommando, an ork who has grown enamoured with human ideas of tactics and battle strategy, and who attempts to emulate these ideas in battle.  In particular, Nogrok has spent time observing the Catachans in combat and starts to use their ideas of infiltration, camouflage and sneaky kills, rather than the standard ork strategy of running towards the enemy screaming “WAAAAAAGH!”  Unfortunately for Nogrok, he is currently under the control of a warboss from another clan who doesn’t believe in tactics and is constantly berating Nogrok for his human ideas and suggestions.  I loved how Nogrok spent the entire book idolising the Catachans, and it was impressive to see an antagonistic perspective on them, especially as Nogrok acted more like a demented fanboy than anything else.  The comparisons between Nogrok’s opinions about the Catachans and his fellow orks are very entertaining, and it was so much fun seeing the long-suffering character trying and failing to talk sense into his stronger boss.  Woolley writes some interesting character development into Nogrok throughout Catachan Devil, and he ends up serving as an outstanding foil to Aldalon, especially as there is some major history between them.  Between all of this, and all the hilarious scenes featuring ork society and the hilarious discussions he becomes involved with, Nogrok’s chapters quickly ended up being a favourite of mine, and I loved how Woolley was able to build up the Catachans from this enemy viewpoint in a very funny way.

Like I have with most of the Warhammer 40,000 novels, I listened to Catachan Devil on audiobook, and I felt that this was the superior format to experience it in.  Catachan Devil ended up being a pretty exciting and fun audiobook experience, and the format works really well to enhance the action sequences and ensure that listeners can quickly power through its enjoyable narrative.  With a run time of over nine hours, this is a relatively easy audiobook to get through, and I managed to polish it off in only a few days.  I was particularly impressed with the narration by Joe Shire, who did a remarkable job with Catachan Devil.  Not only does he bring all the action and excitement to life with his excellent tone, but he also provides some fantastic voices to the various characters featured within.  All the key characters are given distinctive and very fitting voices for their dialogue, and you can really feel the emotion, anguish and bloodlust that the various figures felt.  I especially loved the various ork voices that Shire came up with throughout the book, and he captured the hilarious and vicious nature of these extremely fun characters, ensuring that all their jokes are delivered to the listener perfectly.  I had so much fun listening to Catachan Devil on audiobook and this format comes highly recommended as the best way to enjoy this epic read.

Catachan Devil by Justin Woolley was an impressive and highly entertaining Warhammer 40,000 novel that I had an incredible time reading.  Featuring a fantastic central cast, some awesome humour, compelling action and three outstanding central characters, Catachan Devil really grabbed my attention, and I had a wonderful time getting through it.  A guaranteed fun read that will appeal to both established Warhammer fans and general science fiction readers alike.

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Book Haul – 14 August 2022

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I have been having an absolutely fantastic couple of weeks for books, as I have been lucky enough to receive several incredible and amazing new novels from some of my local publishers.  These novels include some truly awesome new releases, several of which I have been eagerly awaiting for some time.  I am extremely keen to check out all of the books below and they should make for some amazing reads.

Call of Empire by Peter Watt

Call of Empire Cover

I was very happy this week to receive an advanced copy of Call of Empire by Peter Watt, the latest Colonial novel from one of Australia’s best historical fiction authors. Call of Empire will continue the storylines from the action-packed The Queen’s Colonial, The Queen’s Tiger, The Queen’s Captain and The Colonial’s Son, and should lead to some awesome moments.  In particular, Call of Empire is going to take the reader on an intriguing dive into the Boer War, which I am very curious to see.

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Notorious Sorcerer by Davinia Evans

Notorious Sorcerer Cover

The next book I recently received is one of the more intriguing fantasy debuts of 2022, Notorious Sorcerer by Davinia Evans.  This outstanding sounding novel is set in a city where magic is outlawed and follows a brilliant young protagonist who commits an act of impossible magic in front of everyone and then gets drafted into a desperate search to save the city that hates him.  I love the fantastic sounding plot of this book and I have feeling this is going to turn out to be an excellent and captivating read.

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The Pride by Tony Park

The Pride Cover

One of Australia’s most distinctive thriller authors, Tony Park, returns with another high-octane book set in the wilds of Africa with The Pride. This latest book sees Park’s recuring protagonist, Sonja Kurtz, tangle with a group of deadly poachers after her daughter is attacked, which forces her to survive against Africa’s underworld. I always deeply enjoy Park’s outstanding thrillers, especially as they contain some fascinating looks at poaching and other social issues in Africa, and The Pride sounds particularly good.  If The Pride is anything like Park’s recent novels, Blood Trail, Last Survivor or Scent of Fear, I know I will have an amazing time reading it.

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The Lies I Tell by Julie Clark

The Lies I Tell Cover

One of the most interesting and compelling sounding novels that I recently received was The Lies I Tell by Julie Clark.  This book pits two women against each other, a notorious and secretive con-woman and one of her victims, in a powerful and intense battle for survival and revenge.  I have a lot of interest in this impressive plot, and I will hopefully dive into The Lies I Tell soon.

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The Three Lives of Alix St Pierre by Natasha Lester

The Three Lives of Alix St Pierre Cover

I was also quite happy to receive an advanced copy of the captivating historical drama, The Three Lives of Alix St Pierre by Natasha Lester.  I got really caught up in Lester’s 2021 release, The Riviera House, and I am quite curious to see what happens in her next book.  The Three Lives of Alix St Pierre is set around World War II and tells the tale of a brilliant young PR agent who is drafted into the war as a spy to turn a Nazi agent, only to have her life changed forever. This sounds liked a deeply compelling and powerful read and I have no doubt that many tragedies and betrayals are on the horizon.

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Do No Harm by Robert Pobi

Do No Harm Cover

I have also received a copy of the new Robert Pobi thriller, Do No Harm, which sounds extremely fun.  Pobi’s thrillers follow an astrophysicist turned FBI agent who investigates a series of unique crimes.  Do No Harm will see him dragged into a deadly case when he notices that way too many New York doctors are dying in mysterious circumstances.  I am really intrigued by Do No Harm’s compelling and distinctive premise, and I have no doubt I am going to have a blast getting through it.

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The French Agent by Belinda Alexandra

The French Agent Cover

Another great historical drama set in the aftermath of World War II, The French Agent is the latest book from acclaimed author Australian author Belinda Alexandra, and I am very curious to check it out.  The French Agent will follow two very different women in 1946 who find their lives drawn together in terrible circumstances when the hunt for a war criminal uncovers dark secrets.  A fantastic combination of spy thriller and personal drama, The French Agent should be a great read and I can’t wait to check it out.

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Chrysalis by Lincoln Child

Chrysalis Cover

I was very happy to receive a copy of Chrysalis by bestselling thriller author Lincoln Child, as it sounds like such an epic book.  This new book will follow an enigmalogist (investigator of unexplained things) as he attempts to uncover a mystery and dangerous issue occurring the heart of a massive tech company.  Chrysalis has a particularly intriguing plot and I have a feeling that this cool thriller is going to be one of the more unique reads of the year.

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The Paris Mystery by Kirsty Manning

The Paris Mystery Cover

The final book I recently received is The Paris Mystery by Australian author Kirsty Manning.  Set in pre-World War II Paris, The Paris Mystery will follow an Australian journalist who gets caught up in the glamour of Paris life while also investigating a deadly murder.  The start of a new crime fiction series by Manning, I look forward to seeing how The Paris Mystery unfolds and I am sure I am going to have a wonderful time with it.

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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.

WWW Wednesday – 10 August 2022

On By The Unseen LibraryIn WWW Wednesday1 Comment

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

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

So, let’s get to it.

What are you currently reading?

The Unbelieved by Vikki Petraitis (Trade Paperback)

The Unbelieved Cover

 

Hide by Kiersten White (Audiobook)

Hide Cover

What did you recently finish reading?

The Darkening by Sunya Mara (Trade Paperback)

The Darkening Cover

 

Star Wars: The High Republic: Midnight Horizon by Daniel Jose Older (Audiobook)

Star Wars - Midnight Horizon Cover

 

Stay Awake by Megan Goldin (Trade Paperback)

Stay Awake Cover

 

Warhammer 40:000: Catachan Devil by Justin Woolley (Audiobook)

Catachan Devil Cover

What do you think you’ll read next?

Upgrade by Blake Crouch

Upgrade Cover

 

 

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

Waiting on Wednesday – The Lake House by Sarah Beth Durst

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Thriller, Waiting on Wednesday, Young Adult4 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 check out a fantastic upcoming young adult thriller from impressive author Sarah Beth Durst, The Lake House.

The Lake House Cover Better

Amazon

Back in 2020 I was lucky enough to get a copy of a clever fantasy novel, Race the Sands, from a then unknown author to me, Sarah Beth Durst.  While I was unfamiliar with Durst at that point, I had read some incredible positive reviews of this book, and some of her previous novels, and I was curious to check it out.  It helped that Race the Sands also had an extremely compelling plot that revolved around jockeys riding monsters in deadly races out in a dessert kingdom, which sounded pretty damn awesome to me.  Unsurprisingly, I had an exceptional time with Race the Sands, and it featured an epic and exceedingly clever narrative that I really got into.  Race the Sands ended up being one of the best books and audiobooks I enjoyed in 2020, and it pretty much made me an automatic fan of Durst and her writing.

Naturally I kept an eye out for more of the author’s intriguing novels, and I was not disappointed when Durst released another impressive fantasy novel in 2021 with The Bone Maker.  Following a group of retired adventurers years after their legendary defeat of a notorious necromancer, The Bone Maker was another outstanding read that combined an intense and action packed story with damaged characters and a cool new fantasy world powered by bone magic.  The Bone Maker was another great read from Durst, and I have been eager to see what cool book Durst is going to write next.

Well, I just found out some details about Durst’s next upcoming novel and I am very excited.  This book, which is set for release in April 2023, will take Durst back to her young adult roots with the deeply intriguing and awesome thriller, The Lake House.

Synopsis:

Yellowjackets meets One of Us Is Lying in this masterful survival thriller from award-winning author Sarah Beth Durst.

Claire’s grown up triple-checking locks. Counting her steps. Second-guessing every decision. It’s just how she’s wired-her worst-case scenarios never actually come true.

Until she arrives at an off-the-grid summer camp to find a blackened, burned husk instead of a lodge-and no survivors, except her and two other late arrivals: Reyva and Mariana.

When the three girls find a dead body in the woods, they realize none of this is an accident. Someone, something, is hunting them. Something that hides in the shadows. Something that refuses to let them leave.

Irresistible and action-packed until the very final page, The Lake House will have readers glued to their seats as tension builds and danger mounts-and a final, shocking twist is revealed.

I really like the sound of this book!  The Lake House has an awesome and extremely intriguing plot to it, that feels like a combination of a teen thriller book and a classic horror film.  Having teenagers being hunted in the woods by a mysterious presence is a classic story idea for a reason, and I am very interested in seeing Durst’s take on it.  It wouldn’t surprise me if at least one of the surviving girls that the story is focused on is going to have some dark secrets and will probably end up being revealed as either the killer or their accomplice.  I look forward to finding out which and I have a feeling that this is going to be a very impressive and captivating mystery to work through.

The Lake House is currently one of the books I am most excited about for early 2023 and I extremely certain I am going to have an absolute blast getting through it.  I honestly would have tried to get a copy of this book from the synopsis alone, but I am double excited by the fact that Durst is going to write it.  Durst has definitely proven herself to be an exceedingly skilled and impressive author with her recent fantasy work and I have no doubt whatsoever that her young adult thrillers are just as good, if not better.  As such, I have very high hopes for The Lake House next year and will dive into it the moment I get my hands on a copy.

Star Wars: The High Republic: Midnight Horizon by Daniel José Older

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Extended Universe, LGBT+, Science Fiction, Star Wars, Tie-in Novel, Young Adult4 Comments

Star Wars - Midnight Horizon Cover

Publisher: Disney Lucasfilm Press (Audiobook – 1 February 2022)

Series: Star Wars – The High Republic

Length: 10 hours and 5 minutes

My Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

Amazon     Book Depository

The first phase of The High Republic Star Wars novels continues to come to an intriguing end with the phase’s third young adult entry, Midnight Horizon, a deeply exciting and fun novel from the talented Daniel José Older.

Since the start of 2021, fans of Star Wars fiction have been granted a unique treat in the form of The High Republic books, a Star Wars sub-series set hundreds of years before the events of the films.  Set at the height of the Republic, the High Republic era is loaded with dangers for the Jedi, particularly that of the Nihil, dangerous raiders who seek to raid, pillage, and destabilise order, while their mysterious leader attempts a far more ambitious plan: the destruction of the Jedi.  Broken down into three phases, the first phase was pretty epic and set up the entire High Republic premise extremely well.  This phase has featured a great collection, including the three main adult novels, Light of the Jedi, The Rising Storm, The Fallen Star; some intriguing young adult books; the audio drama Tempest Runner; two awesome comic book series; as well as some other media releases.  However, this first phase has come to an end, and I just managed to finish off one of the novels that served as its conclusion with Midnight Horizon.

Midnight Horizon is the third young adult fiction novel set within the first High Republic phase, and it is probably the best.  This book was written by Daniel José Older, who has authored several great Star Wars novels over his career, including Last Shot, which was one of the books that started my recent obsession with Star Wars extended fiction, and who has been one of the key contributors to The High Republic.  Midnight Horizon is set around the same time as the last adult book of the phase, The Fallen Star, and continues storylines from some of the previous books, including the other two young adult books Into the Dark and Out of the Shadows, as well as the Star Wars Adventures comic series and the junior novel Race to Crashpoint Tower.

Following the devastating Nihil attack on the Republic Fair, the Nihil raiders are finally on the run from the Jedi of Starlight Beacon.  However, not everything is as it seems, and several mysterious events and attacks are beginning to occur around the galaxy.  One of the more alarming rumours of Nihil activity has been sent from the planet of Corellia, home of the galaxy’s premier shipyards, where a now missing diplomatic bodyguard was attacked by mysterious killers wearing Nihil garb.

Determined to ensure that the chaos of the Nihil does not spread to the core planets of the Republic, the Jedi dispatch the small team of Jedi Masters Cohmac Vitus and Kantam Sy, as well as Padawans Reath Silas and Ram Jomaram, to investigate.  All four Jedi have substantial experience dealing with the Nihil, but each of them is going through their own personal internal battles as they struggle to deal with recent losses.  Nevertheless, the Jedi embark upon their investigation into Corellia and soon find unusual help from young security specialist Crash, the employer and friend of the missing bodyguard.

While Cohmac and Kantam attempt to investigate through official channels, Reath and Ram work with the chaotic Crash and her unusual security specialists to infiltrate Corellia’s high society.  Crash believes that one of her elite clients has knowledge about the Nihil infiltrators and embarks on an ambitious plan to draw them out, setting up Jedi associate Zeen as a famous singer.  However, nobody is prepared for the Nihil’s plans, both on Corellia and at Starlight Beacon, and chaos is about to be unleashed upon the Jedi and all of Corellia.  Can the Jedi stand against their foe when all hope seems lost, or will the Nihil continue to sweep across the entire galaxy?

Midnight Horizon was an exceptional entry in the High Republic series, and I was particularly impressed with the cool and epic story it contained.  Older came up with a brilliant and powerful narrative that combines a fast-paced story with great characters and some interesting High Republic developments.

This entry in the High Republic range had a very distinctive and compelling young adult story that sees all manner of chaos and action befall its protagonists.  Older wrote a very fast-paced, character driven narrative that takes the reader to the world of Corellia.  Drawing in an interesting team of entertaining and chaotic protagonists, all of whom are going through some major issues, Older sets them on a path to a major confrontation, while all of them try to come to terms with their roiling emotions.  The author sets most of the story up extremely well at the start of the book, and the reader soon gets quickly invested in seeing the Jedi investigate the Nihil on Corellia.  The story goes in some very interesting directions as everyone tries to identify the Nihil plot, with the best ones following the two Jedi Padawans as they team up with young bodyguard Crash.  Crash has some elaborate and over-the-top plans that she drags them into, including tricking a rare species eating diva named Crufeela, and this proves to be a lot of fun, while also setting up the final act of the story.  At the same time, Older also throws in some intriguing flashbacks to one of the character’s pasts, as well as showing a few scenes outside of Corellia, all of which adds some greater context to the story as well as adding to the amazing emotional depth of the novel.

Everything comes together brilliantly in the final third of Midnight Horizon, where the Nihil plot on Corellia is revealed, simultaneously occurring at the revelation of the fall of Starlight Beacon (which you knew was coming).  I must admit that until this final third, I kind of found Midnight Horizon to be a bit by the numbers, although undeniably fun, but the way everything came about near the end was pretty awesome, as the characters are thrust into an all-out war.  There are multiple pitched battles, tragic deaths and surprise reveals occurring during this part of the book, and you are constantly hit with big moment after big moment as it continues.  I honestly couldn’t stop at this point in the book, as I desperately wanted to see what happened next, and I was sure that I was seconds away from bursting into either tears or cheers.  My determination to continue really paid off, as Older saved the best revelation for right near the end as there is a really big moment that changes everything and is sure to get every Star Wars fan deeply excited.  Older leaves everything on an exciting and powerful note, and readers will come away feeling deeply moved.  It will definitely keep them highly interested in The High Republic as a whole.

The author really worked to give Midnight Horizon an extremely fast pace, and it is near impossible not to swiftly power through this book as it blurs around you.  Shown from the perspective of all the key protagonists, you get a great sense of all the impressive events occurring throughout the book, while also getting some powerful and intense examinations into their respective heads.  Older presents the reader with an excellent blend of universe building, character work, humour and action throughout Midnight Horizon, and there is a little something for everyone here, guaranteeing that it keeps your constant interest and attention.  I do think that the story as a whole could have benefited from greater development of the book’s villains.  They honestly came a bit out of nowhere towards the end and you really didn’t get an appreciation of who they were (some of it is explored in some of Older’s other works).  I really wish that Older would have shown a few more scenes from the villain’s point of view, highlighting the establishment of their plans a little better, and I felt that really would have increased the impact of the book, but I still had a lot of fun with it.

Midnight Horizon also proved to be a pretty good young adult novel, especially as it shows multiple compelling and well-written teenage characters in dangerous situations, and I loved the powerful exploration of their unique issues, especially the constant uncertainty and doubt about what they are doing.  There are also some major LGBT+ elements scattered throughout this novel, which I thought were done really well, as you get a range of different relationships, orientations, sexualities and fluid genders throughout the book, and I loved seeing this sort of inclusivity in Star Wars.  I also liked the easier flow that Older featured in the novel, which I felt was associated with the younger characters, and it worked quite well to quickly and efficiently tell this book’s fantastic narrative.  While this is a young adult book, there are some great darker themes that all readers will appreciate, and I loved how it developed into a brutal and powerful war at the end.

Midnight Horizon proved to be an interesting entry in the wider High Republic series, as it served as one of the last books in the first phase.  Since it is set alongside The Fallen Star, the readers get a whole other side of this key tragedy in Midnight Horizon, as the established characters all witness the fall of Starlight Beacon and the corresponding changes to the galaxy.  At the same time, it does some interesting exploring of the key planet of Corellia during this period, gives some hints about some events that will appear in the upcoming second High Republic phase, while also setting up some other key moments for the future.  However, the most significant thing that Midnight Horizon does for the High Republic is continue and conclude multiple key storylines and character plot lines that were started in other bits of work, such as the other High Republic young adult books.  It also provides an intriguing sequel to Older’s junior fiction novel, Race to Crashpoint Tower, and actually serves as the conclusion to The High Republic Adventures comic series, also written by Older.  The High Republic Adventures was one of the major comic lines for this phase of the sub-series, and fans of it really need to check this book out as it details the fates of several of its main characters.  I had a great time seeing how some of these storylines continue in Midnight Horizon, and Older did a great job of bringing everything together in this novel, while also making it quite accessible to newer readers who haven’t had a chance to read the comics.  That being said, good knowledge of the preceding High Republic works is probably a good thing to have for this novel, although Older does make sure to give as much background as possible as he goes.

As I have mentioned a few times throughout this review, Midnight Horizon was highly character focused, as the author brings in an interesting collection of main characters to base the story around.  All the major point-of-view characters have been featured in previous pieces of High Republic fiction before (mostly in Older’s work), and the author ensures that they all get detailed and compelling storylines in this novel that not only revisit their complex appearances in previous books, but also brings all their storylines to an intriguing close for this phase.  Older also spend a substantial time diving into the minds of these protagonists, which added some impressive emotional depth to the book, as all the characters experience deep traumas or regrets, especially after fighting the Nihil for so long.  This resulted in quite a moving read, and while I do think that Older might have used a few too-many supporting characters, this ended up being an exceptional character focused novel, and I really appreciated the clever way the author explored his protagonists and showed the events of this book through their eyes.

The best two characters in this book are the two Jedi Padawans, Reath Silas and Ram Jomaram, who serves as Midnight Horizon’s heart and soul.  I was particularly keen to see Reath Silas again, as he has been the constant protagonist of the High Republic young adult books and is a pretty major figure as a result.  Older is the third Star Wars author who has featured Reath as one of their main characters, and I do like how consistent the various authors have been while showcasing his growth and emotional damage.  Reath is going through quite a lot in Midnight Horizon, as he continues to try and balance his duty as a Jedi with the mass trauma he has experience in the last two books, his conflicted emotions, penchant for personal connections, and general uncertainty about what he is doing.  Despite this, he proves to be a steadfast and dependable character, and it is hard not to grow attached to his continued story, especially as he has developed so much from the first book from scholarly shut-in to badass warrior.  Reath’s narrative comes full circle in Midnight Horizon, and fans of this character will really appreciate how Older features him in this book.

I also had a lot of fun with Ram Jomaram, who was such a joy to follow.  Ram is an eccentric and unusual Padawan who first appeared in the concurrently released The Rising Storm and Race to Crashpoint Tower.  A mechanical genius with poor social skills and who is always accompanied by a group of Bonbraks (tiny sentient creatures), Ram brings most of the fun to the book with his antics and complete lack of situational awareness.  While I initially didn’t like Jam (mainly because I found out he was the Jedi who first came up with calling cool things “Wizard”), he really grows on you quickly with is exceedingly perky personality.  It was so much fun to see him in action throughout the book, and he gets into some unusual situations as a result.  Despite mostly being a friendly and cheerful figure, Ram is also going through some major emotions in Midnight Horizon, as he witnessed his home planet get ravaged by the Nihil in The Rising Storm, and he is now very uncertain about the emotions he feels while getting into battle.  This sees Ram form a great friendship with Reath throughout the book, and the two play off each other extremely well, bringing not only some fun humour but an interesting mentor-mentee connection.  Ram ends up showing everyone just how much of a badass he is towards the end of the book, and I honestly had an amazing time getting to know this character.

There is also an interesting focus on the two Jedi Masters, Cohmac Vitus and Kantam Sy.  Both go through some interesting and major moments in Midnight Horizon, and you really get some powerful insights from both.  Cohmac’s story is an intense and intriguing examination of trauma as you see this Master continue to struggle with his history and inability to process emotion.  These issues have been building within Cohmac since his introduction in Into the Dark, and it was fascinating to see them continue to impact him here, especially once he discovers what happened at Starlight Beacon to one of his closest friends.  Kantam Sy is a nonbinary character who has been primarily featured in The High Republic Adventures comic.  You get a much more in-depth look at Kantam in this book, especially as Older spends time developing several flashbacks around him that examine his complex past as one of Yoda’s students.  Kantam’s team-up with Cohmac proves to be an intriguing part of the book’s plot, and it was compelling to see the more balanced Kantam witness Cohmac’s building anger and frustration.

The final two major characters are Zeen and Crash, both of whom have some interesting storylines in this book.  Zeen, a Force-sensitive teen who assists the Jedi, is one of the main characters from The High Republic Adventures comic, and many of her storylines are finished off here a little abruptly although in some interesting ways.  Most of her storyline is focused around her growing romantic relationship with Padawan Lula Talisola, who she has been close with during the series, and the resultant internal conflict as she tries to decide whether to act on it.  There are also some more damaging emotional moments for Zeen as she comes to terms with the actions of her old friend Kamerat and the tragedy of Starlight Beacon.  The other character is Alys Ongwa, better known as Crash, a diplomatic protection officer who specialises in protecting Corellia’s fractious and deadly political elite.  Crash is an interesting character who was first introduced in a one-shot comic written by Older, Crash and the Crew Do What They Do, and it was interesting to see her brought back here.  A skilled bodyguard and leader, Crash is an intense and highly motivated figure who enacts multiple crazy schemes to get what she wants, while also trying to be a good friend and boss.  Crash hits some major crossroads in Midnight Horizon, especially when she is forced to balance her oath as a bodyguard against justice for her friend and the safety of her city, and she is constantly forced to keep her own intense emotions in check.  I found Crash to be one of the most entertaining and enjoyable figures in Midnight Horizon and watching her and her chaotic crew of bodyguards in action is a lot of fun, especially when she plays of all the other protagonists really well, bringing out the recklessness in all of them.  However, Crash is also quite emotionally vulnerable, and it was nice to see her try to become a better friend while also working on her romantic attachments to a beautiful alien singer and lifelong friend.  I had a wonderful time with all these major characters in Midnight Horizon, and Older did a remarkable job highlighting them and ensuring the reader was aware of their many issues.

As with most Star Wars novels I read, I chose to grab a copy of Midnight Horizon’s audiobook format, which was the usual exceptional experience.  Featuring a short run time of just over 10 hours, Midnight Horizon is a quick and fun audiobook to get through, and I loved the various ways this format enhanced the fantastic story.  As usual, Midnight Horizon features all the amazing Star Wars sound effects for lightsabers, blasters and ships, which are used to punctuate the story elements being described and perfectly bring listeners into the moment.  It also made good use of some of the classic Star Wars music, which, even though it was used a little more sparingly in Midnight Horizon, deeply added to the atmosphere of the book and perfectly enhanced the emotional impact of several key scenes.

While the sound effects and music where as cool as always, the thing that really impressed me about the Midnight Horizon audiobook was the great choice of narrator in Todd Haberkorn.  I didn’t realise that Haberkorn was going to narrate this book until I started listening to it, and I was pretty blown away the second I realised that I got to listen to an audiobook read by Natsu himself.  I am a massive fan of Haberkorn’s work as the English voice actor for dubs of awesome anime like Fairy Tail and Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood, so it was really cool to have him narrate this audiobook.  Not only that, but Haberkorn did an outstanding job bringing the various characters to life in Midnight Horizon and moving the story along at a blistering and fantastic pace.  Haberkorn’s voice perfectly fit the frenetic energy of this story, and I loved the distinctive and very fitting voices he gifted to the novel’s eccentric characters.  He also had a lot of fun voicing some of the unique alien creatures featured in the book, such as the Bonbraks, and he got to do a particularly good Yoda voice as well.  I had an absolute blast listening to Haberkorn narrate this awesome audiobook, and when combined with the great music and impressive sound effects, this was an exceptional way to listen to Midnight Horizon.  I would highly recommend this format as a result, and it probably added a few points to my overall rating because of how impressive it was.

Overall, Midnight Horizon was an excellent High Republic young adult novel that was a real treat to read.  Daniel José Older came up with an outstanding and fun story that was both exciting and powerful as he dives into his various fantastic and damaged protagonists.  Loaded with some awesome moments and epic developments, this was a great addition to the Star Wars canon, and I loved every second I spent listening to it.

Amazon     Book Depository

Top Ten Tuesday – Hilarious Book Titles

On By The Unseen LibraryIn List6 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics.  For this week’s Top Ten Tuesday participants are tasked with listing their top ten favourite hilarious book titles.  This was an intriguing topic that I was quite interested in having a go at.  There are some fun book titles out there, usually associated with some entertaining books or comics, and I had a great time going through some of my favourite books to figure out which titles were the most amusing or hilarious.

This proved to be a slightly difficult list to come up with, and I had to dig deep to find a full ten books to feature on this list.  However, I endured and managed to pull together a full list, as well as a good honourable mentions section, and all the entries featured below have fantastically entertaining titles, as well as some great stories to match them.  I love all the titles of the books below, although in a few places I used a bit of context of both the specific book’s story and the rest of the series.  I am pretty happy with the results below and I think this represents my favourite books with the most hilarious book titles.

Honourable Mentions:

Star Wars: Doctor Aphra: Doctor Aphra and the Enormous Profit by Kieron Gillen

Doctor Aphra and the Enormous Profit Cover

This comic series has several great titles for its volumes (Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon is one of my favourites), however I think Doctor Aphra and the Enormous Profit was the most entertaining, especially if you know how much Doctor Aphra loves money and how likely her plans are to backfire.

 

The Trouble with Peace by Joe Abercrombie

The Trouble with Peace Cover

Yeah, peace is never really an option in one of Joe Abercrombie’s dark fantasy books, so this was a rather apt and fun title.

 

Firefly: The Magnificent Nine by James Lovegrove

Firefly The Magnificent Nine Cover

Who doesn’t enjoy a title that parodies classic western film, The Magnificent Seven? This time we have it with the cast of the iconic Firefly television series, with a fantastic matching plot to boot.

 

Runaways: Rock Zombies by Terry Moore

Runaways - Rock Zombies Cover

Refers to the Runaways facing off against literal zombies created by rock music, love it!

Top Ten List:

How to Rule an Empire and Get Away With It by K. J. Parker

How to Rule an Empire and Get Away With It

The first book on this list is the fantastic fantasy novel, How to Rule an Empire and Get Away With It.  Part of Parker’s Siege series, which features two other books with fun titles (Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City and A Practical Guide to Conquering the World), however, I love this book’s title the best.  How to Rule an Empire and Get Away With It is such an eye-catching and humorous title, especially when the narrative literally shows how a simple actor and writer was able to take over his nation and eventually escape from the responsibilities in some entertaining and hilarious ways.  A truly awesome book with an outstanding title.

 

Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett

Equal Rites Cover

There was very little chance I wasn’t going to feature any of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels on this list, as Pratchett came up with some amazing titles for all his books.  Most of these titles are strongly connected to the stories they are associated with, and that context generally adds to the cleverness and comedy of the book’s names in some great ways.  I honestly could have featured 10 Pratchett books with hilarious titles on this list alone, but I figured I would limit it too only a few.  The first example of this is Equal Rites, the third book in the Discworld series.  While this isn’t my absolute favourite Discworld book, I love the title, especially as it is a very clever pun that ties into the story extremely well.  The book Equal Rites is about a young girl gifted with a wizard’s staff and magic, which is completely the wrong sort of magic for a woman in this universe.  Determined to gain this power, she, her sentient staff and the witch Granny Weatherwax, travel to male-only Unseen University so she can try and learn wizard’s magic, only to experience ridicule.  As such, Equal Rites refers to both the female magic user trying to get equality with her male peers (equal rights you could say) and access to their magic (or magical rites).  I love the simple, but very clever, pun of this book, and the novel itself is a very fun early entry from this supremely talented author.

 

The Bookkeeper’s Skull by Justin D. Hill

The Bookkeeper's Skull Cover

Now this Warhammer 40,000 book might a dark horror/mystery novel about a science fiction farming community experiencing a series of brutal murders, but it has a very fun title to it.  The Bookkeeper’s Skull definitely made me chuckle when I saw it for the first time, and it fits into the resultant story really well.

 

A Comedy of Terrors by Lindsey Davis

A Comedy of Terrors Cover

I love puns, what can I say!  Most of Lindsey Davis’ Flavia Albia novels (and her preceding Falco series) have fun and entertaining titles, but my favourite is A Comedy of Terrors, which, with a simple one letter addition to a classic phrase, gives an apt new meaning to it.  I had fun with this book, and it was a clever little change that fit the story very well.

 

Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett

Witches Abroad Cover

I also had to featured Witches Abroad on this list as it is such a fantastic title as well as being one of the more entertaining Discworld novels.  The title of this book, Witches Abroad, continues the naming conventions associated with the sub-series around the Lancre witches started in Wyrd Sisters by using quotes from Macbeth.  However, rather than being a reference to the witches being out and causing mischief, the title of this book literally refers to the witches being abroad on a holiday.  This was a continuation of a joke in Wyrd Sisters, and I always have a chuckle at how this name came about.

 

X-Factor: Invisible Woman Has Vanished by Peter David

X-Factor - Invisible Woman Has Vanished

Throughout its awesome run, the X-Factor comics had some of the most entertaining stories going in Marvel comics at the time.  Loaded with fun and entertaining stories based around the mutant private investigators known as X-Factor, this is one of my favourite comic series of all times and is really worth a read.  This series had several great titles, but my favourite and the most hilarious was Invisible Woman Has Vanished.  A play of a fun joke at the front of the story, this title is very catchy with its ridiculousness, and I loved it so much.  It helps that its associated volume does have a great story about the Fantastic Four’s Invisible Woman literally going missing and is definitely worth a read.

 

Nuking the Moon: And Other Intelligence Schemes and Military Plots Best Left on the Drawing Board by Vince Houghton

Nuking the Moon Cover

The title says it all when it comes to this great non-fiction book about the stupidest military plans, technology and intelligence gathering plans in history.  There are some really insane plots in the book, and spoiler alert, they really did consider nuking the moon.

 

Going Postal by Terry Pratchett

Going Postal Cover

The final Discworld title I have on this list belongs to the very entertaining and impressive Going Postal.  This is another great title, especially when seen in the context of the story about a notorious conman forced to reopen a cursed post office.  Initially very reluctant to join into the insane postal process, he eventually becomes a dedicated postman as the book progress, while also losing his mind to a degree.  As such the title cleverly references both his change in demeaner, and the craziness of postal work that the saying usually refers to.  Not only do I deeply enjoy Going Postal’s very fitting title, but it is probably one of Pratchett’s better books with a unique and fantastic style to it.

 

Redshirts by John Scalzi

Redshirts Cover

Anyone who knows anything about Star Trek will appreciate the fun title for this John Scalzi science fiction parody novel.  Redshirts does exactly what it says on the tin, providing readers with a fun tale of death and destruction from the perspective of the lowly redshirts, the ultra-expendable crew who find themselves getting killed off on every away mission.  The moment I saw this title I knew I was going to have a hilarious time with this book, and I really did as it was a great and funny book.

 

The Constant Rabbit by Jasper Fforde

The Constant Rabbit Cover

Finally, I had to include this awesome book from Jasper Fforde on this as it has a great title to it.  The Constant Rabbit is a very eye-catching and entertaining title, but even after seeing it you are still unprepared for the exceedingly funny book about sentient, human-sized rabbits who have been created in England and have started a whole new race war there.  I loved the title of this book, and it is a very clever and hilarious standalone novel to check out.

 

 

Well, that’s the end of this latest list.  I hope you enjoyed the fun titles above, I honestly find them all pretty hilarious, and these entries are great reads to check out.  Let me know in the comments which titles you liked the most and link in your versions to this list as well.

Throwback Thursday: Warhammer: Vampireslayer by William King

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Extended Universe, Fantasy, Throwback Thursday, Tie-in Novel, Warhammer5 Comments

Vampireslayer Cover 2

Publisher: Black Library (Audiobook – August 2021)

Series: Gotrek and Felix – Book Six

Length: 11 hours and 13 minutes

My Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

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Welcome back to my Throwback Thursday series, where I republish old reviews, review books I have read before or review older books I have only just had a chance to read.  For my latest Throwback Thursday I continue my recent obsession with Warhammer Fantasy fiction by checking out another entry in the iconic Gotrek and Felix series by William King, Vampireslayer.

I have been on a real roll with looking at the cool fiction associated with the now defunct Warhammer Fantasy tabletop game over the last few weeks, including the fantastic novels Runefang and Van Horstman.  However, few Warhammer Fantasy books have grabbed my attention or interest more than the Gotrek and Felix series, which serves as one of the central pillars of Warhammer fiction.  The Gotrek and Felix books, which were originally written by William King, follow the titular characters, dwarf slayer Gotrek Gurnisson and his sworn human companion Felix Jaeger, as they journey around the Warhammer Fantasy realm, finding monsters to fight and kill, all in the hope of finding a worthy death for Gotrek.  This is an awesome and unbelievably exciting fantasy series that take the reader to some of the darkest parts of the Warhammer Fantasy world and sees them face off against all manner of crazy foes.

I have had an absolute blast getting through the Gotrek and Felix books over the last year, as there have been some cracking reads in there.  The previous books, Trollslayer, Skavenslayer, Daemonslayer, Dragonslayer and Beastslayer, have all had their own unique charm, and all of them have been well written and compelling reads.  Vampireslayer is the sixth book in the series, and as the name suggests, it pits Gotrek, Felix and their allies against one of the most dangerous creatures in the Warhammer canon, an ancient and deadly vampire count.

Following their victory at the siege of Praag, Gotrek, Felix and their surviving allies, have finally been able to relax after a never-ending series of battles. However, the ever-restless Gotrek is still determined to find a worthy death to fulfil his suicidal oath, and Felix knows it is only a matter of time before they journey out to face the rising hordes of Chaos that are building around the realms of man.  But before Gotrek and Felix can head out, a new evil rears its head; one that is far more cunning and ancient than anything they have faced before.

After accepting a job from a wealthy Praag nobleman, Gotrek and Felix find themselves investigating a mysterious man who is attempting to steal one of their client’s treasured artifacts.  But the closer they look, the more apparent it becomes that their target is no ordinary man, but a powerful ancient vampire named Adolophus Krieger, who has been stalking the streets of Praag, feasting on the innocent.  Determined to slay this beast, Gotrek and Felix’s confrontation goes poorly, when the vampire outsmarts them, steals the artifact and takes their companion, Ulrika Magdova, hostage.

Determined to save Ulrika and get their revenge on their foe, Gotrek and Felix, as well as their allies, Snorri Nosebiter, Max Schreiber and Ulrika’s father, Ivan Straghov, pursue the vampire lord.  To kill Krieger, they will have to travel to one of the most dangerous places in the Old World, the haunted lands of Sylvania.  Controlled by the Vampire Counts for generations, Sylvania is a wicked place where the dead never rest, and dark creatures lurk around every corner.  Worse, their foe is powered by an ancient artefact forged by Nagash and has designs on becoming the supreme vampire ruler, leading them in a new war against the living.  With the odds stacked against them, Gotrek, Felix and their companions must dig deep if they are to kill Krieger, rescue Ulrika and save the world.  But after spending time trapped with the vampire, can Ulrika truly be saved?

King once again shows why his Gotrek and Felix books were the defining Warhammer Fantasy series with this epic and fast-paced read.  Vampireslayer is easily one of the stronger entries in the series and takes its distinctive protagonists on an intense and captivating adventure that I deeply enjoyed.

Vampireslayer had an amazing fantasy narrative, and I think this was one of King’s more impressive and enjoyable stories.  Taking off right after Beastslayer, the initial story sees Gotrek, Felix and their allies still at the city of Praag, planning out their next adventures.  They quickly find themselves dragged into another adventure when a distant relative of Ulrika reaches out to them for help with a mysterious threat.  This initial part of the book was rather interesting, and not only does it have some great follow-ups from the previous entry in the series but it also sets up the narrative and the current characters really well.  There is a fantastic cat-and-mouse game going on in the early stages of the novel, as the protagonists attempt to discern the new evil they are going up against, while their vampiric assailant, Adolophus Krieger, puts his plans into motion.  Following the first encounter between the heroes and the vampire, which is set up and executed to drive up anticipation for later interactions, Krieger escapes and the protagonists are forced into a deadly chase across the world.

The rest of the novel is primarily set in the dread realm of Sylvania, and sees the protagonists chase after the vampire and his kidnapped victim.  This second part of the book is filled with some fun and exciting classic horror elements as the protagonists go up against a variety of foes from the vampire count’s army.  There is a lot of great action, fantastic chases, and some substantial character development occurring during this part of the novel, as the author brings together many of the threads from earlier in Vampireslayer, while also introducing some intriguing new supporting characters.  King makes particularly good use of multiple character perspectives throughout this part of the book, and I loved seeing the conflicted thoughts of the main protagonists (minus Gotrek as usual), as well as the many plots of the villain and his new minion.  This all leads up to the big confrontation between the protagonists and their foe at the legendary Drakenhof Castle, as the heroes face off against an army of the undead and the vampire himself.  The action flows thick and fast here, and King pulls no punches, showing the brutal and dark nature of the Warhammer Fantasy universe.  I did think that the final confrontation was a bit rushed, with the anticipated battle against Krieger lasting only a short while, but it was pretty fun to see.  There are a couple of good tragic moments in this conclusion, as well as some interesting developments for some long-running supporting characters, and King brings everything to a good close as a result.

I think that one of the things that made this story particularly enjoyable was that it was a lot more focused than some of the other books in the series.  This was mainly because it was the first book since Skavenslayer not to feature a sub-story that focused on recurring villain, Grey Seer Thanquol.  While Thanquol’s perspective was good for Skavenslayer, its use in the following novels, while usually very fun and entertaining, seemed a bit unnecessary and often affected the pacing or stole the impact away from the book’s actually antagonists.  This became more and more apparent in Dragonslayer and Beastslayer, especially when Thanquol’s actions rarely had any impact on the main plot.  As such, not having a Thanquol focused side story in Vampireslayer was a bit of a blessing, and it really increased the impact of the remaining storylines.  It also ensured that the parts of the book told from Krieger’s perspective really pop, as he was the only villain you could focus on.  I had a brilliant time with this impressive story and it ended up being an excellent adventure to follow.

Vampireslayer proved to be a pretty awesome entry to the wider Warhammer Fantasy universe, and I loved the cool details and references that King added in.  Like most of the books in the Gotrek and Felix saga, Vampireslayer can be read as a standalone novel (probably more so than the last three books in the series), and very little pre-knowledge about the Warhammer Fantasy or the previous books in the series is required to enjoy this excellent book.  King does a great job of once again introducing the key elements, recurring characters, and wider evils of this universe, ensuring that new readers get the information they need without making it too repetitive or boring for established fans.

One of the things that makes Vampireslayer standout a little more from some of the recent entries in the series is the move away from Chaos focused opponents and instead brings in a new faction from the universe in the form of a vampire and his undead hordes.  This is a fantastic change of pace, and I rather enjoyed seeing one of the more compelling factions from the game, even though I have bad memories of facing my brother’s Vampire Counts army.  King does a brilliant job diving into the lore and history of vampires and the general undead in the Warhammer universe, and the protagonists get a good crash course on them, which new readers will deeply appreciate.  I loved seeing a vampire antagonist in this novel, especially as it is one of the classic Vampire Counts types (a Von Carstein vampire).  This vampire has a lot of the classic European elements associated with Dracula, and it was fun to see the protagonist deal with this sort of creature, especially as Krieger takes the time to taunt them in a way they’ve never dealt with before.  King also adds in several of cool units from the Vampire Counts book, and it was pretty fun to see them in action in some brilliant fight scenes.  I also deeply enjoyed the dark setting of Sylvania, where much of the story takes place.  Sylvania, a Warhammer realm based deeply on Transylvania and ruled over by vampires, has always captured my imagination and it was fun to see it used in Vampireslayer.  You really get the sense of fear and despair surrounding the countryside, and all the locals, many of whom are just a step away from becoming some form of creature, are a depressing and scared group.  Watching the characters attempt to traverse this land was really entertaining, and I think all these awesome Warhammer Fantasy elements helped to make this great story even more impressive.

I also found some of the character work in Vampireslayer to be pretty intriguing, as King examines several great characters in this book.  The central two characters are naturally Gotrex and Felix, although not a great deal of character development went towards them in this book.  Gotrex is his usual gruff, murderous and unreadable self, who is essentially shown as an unkillable beast at this point, and you really don’t get much more from him, especially as Gotrex’s perspective is deliberately not shown.  Felix also doesn’t get much growth in this book, although he does serve as a primary narrator, recording and observing the events of the book.  Despite this lack of growth, Felix is a great everyman character to follow and it is really entertaining to see his quite reasonable reaction to facing off against the evils that gravitate towards Gotrek.

A large amount of focus went to the supporting characters of Max Schreiber and Ulrika Magdova, who have been major parts of the series since Daemonslayer.  The attention on both has been growing substantially through the last couple of books, especially in Beastslayer, and they had a massive presence in Vampireslayer.  Max, the team’s wizard, is pushed to the brink in this book after investigating a dangerous magical artefact and having his companion Ulrika kidnapped.  Max, who has always had a crush on Ulrika (it was pretty creepy at first, but better now), becomes obsessed with saving her before its too late, and this drives him to some extremes in this book.  Ulrika, on the other hand, must survive the evil attentions of the book’s villain, especially once the vampire takes an unhealthy obsession with her.  I must admit that I have always found Ulrika to be a fairly annoying character (which isn’t great when she’s usually the only female figure in the books), however, this was one of her best appearances as she goes through a physical, mental and magical wringer.  Her attempts to resist the vampire are extremely powerful and her eventual fall to darkness is one of the more compelling and best written parts of the book.  This was an excellent outing for both these supporting characters, and it actually serves as a wonderful final hurrah, as I know they don’t appear in many books in the future.

The final character from Vampireslayer that I need to talk about is the book’s primary antagonist, the titular vampire Adolophus Krieger.  Krieger, a centuries-old creature with connections to Vlad von Carstein, serves as a brilliant villain for this adventure novel, especially as King takes a substantial amount of time to dive into his history, personality and motivations.  Rebelling against his sire and attempting to become the next vampiric master of the Old World, Krieger is shown as a complex and intense being with some major issues.  Not only does he have to temper his intense ambition, but he also finds himself mentally deteriorating towards savagery and must constantly fight for control as his afterlife’s goals comes to fruition.  King does a great job capturing this compelling figure throughout the book, and I particularly enjoyed his introductory chapters where his temper and inability to suffer fools is shown with gruesome results.  Krieger has a brilliant presence throughout the novel, and he was a great villain opposite Gotrek and Felix with his gentlemanly airs (he has a great comeback to a line from Snorri Nosebiter).  I deeply enjoyed all the outstanding characters in Vampireslayer, and King did some superb work with them throughout this novel.

After reading paperback versions of Dragonslayer and Beastslayer, I’ve finally gotten back onto the Gotrek and Felix audiobooks with Vampireslayer, which was a lot of fun to listen to.  The audiobook format did an amazing job of capturing the dark tone and fast-paced action of this intense novel, and I felt that listening to Vampireslayer on audiobook really helped me appreciate a lot of the book’s more interesting details.  With a runtime of just over 11 hours, this is an easy audiobook to power through, and I personally managed to get through it in a few days.  This great audiobook was further enhanced by the excellent narration of Jonathan Keeble, who has narrated most of the other Gotrek and Felix audiobooks.  Keeble has an amazing voice for this sort of novel, and I loved the fantastic way he was able to move the story along at a brilliant pace while also enhancing the book’s horror and action elements.  I particularly loved the range of excellent voices he attributes to the various characters, many of which are carried over from his previous audiobook experiences.  All the characters get some distinctive and very fitting tones here, which I think worked extremely well.  Examples of some of the best voices include Felix, whose calm voice of reason, serves as the narrator’s base tone for most of the story; Gotrek, who is given a gruff and menacing voice that contains all the character’s barely restrained anger and regret; and even the new vampire character, Adolophus Krieger, who is gifted a French/European accent to match the classic vampire vibe that goes with the Vampire Counts characters in Warhammer, and the character’s likely origins as a Bretonnian Knight.  This expert voice work was extremely good and I had a brilliant time listening to this version of Vampireslayer.  As such, this format comes highly recommended and it is usually one of the best ways to enjoy a cool Warhammer novel.

Vampireslayer was another epic entry in the fantastic and ultra-fun Gotrek and Felix series by William King.  Bringing in a great new opponent who pushes the protagonists to new lows, this was an excellent adventure novel that shows some of the best parts of the Warhammer Fantasy world.  With a captivating and fast-paced narrative, this was one of the better entries in the series and I had an outstanding time getting through Vampireslayer.  An awesome read for all Warhammer and general fantasy fans, especially on audiobook.  I love this series so much!

Vampireslayer Cover

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The Lawless Land by Boyd and Beth Morrison

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Five-Star Books, Historical Fiction, Thriller18 Comments

The Lawless Land Cover

Publisher: Head of Zeus (Trade Paperback – 31 May 2022)

Series: Standalone/Book One

Length: 474 pages

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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Get ready for one of the most thrilling historical adventures of 2022 with the wildly entertaining and deeply captivating medieval fiction novel, The Lawless Land, by the outstanding team of Boyd and Beth Morrison.

Despite my recent focus on other genres, historical fiction in all its forms remains one of my favourite book categories to check out, especially with awesome new novels coming out all the time.  One of the best examples of this is The Lawless Land, which I was lucky enough to receive a copy of a little while ago.  The Lawless Land was a fascinating read that takes some great protagonists on a bold adventure through medieval Europe.  This book was written by Boyd and Beth Morrison, a brother and sister team who have deeply impressed me.  This was a rather interesting combination of writers, as Boyd Morrison is an acclaimed thriller and historical fiction author, and Beth Morrison is the Senior Curator of Manuscripts at the J. Paul Getty Museum and has a PHD in history.  These overachieving siblings really cooked up something special here with their first book, and I loved the outstanding story it contained.

In 1351, Europe is in utter chaos as the Hundred Years’ War rages in France and the Pestilence ravages the countryside, depopulating towns and devastating cities.  These are dark days indeed, and only the desperate and the foolish can be found traversing the roads.  Unfortunately, this includes skilled knight Gerard Fox, whose lands and titles have been taken from him as punishment for a crime against the church, and who is now forced to wander the world by himself, desperate to reclaim his family’s honour.

Journeying towards the castle of Lord Tonbridge, the one man who may be able to prove his innocence, Gerard witnesses a band of armed men waylaying a noblewoman.  Impulsively jumping into action, Gerard saves the women, slaughtering her attackers and forever changing his life.  The young woman, Lady Isabel, is Lord Tonbridge’s betrothed, who has fled from her future husband, taking with her a sacred relic she is sworn to protect.  Forced to abandon his own quest, Gerard agrees to escort Isabel to safety, however, he is unaware of the chaos that is about to be unleashed upon him.

Tonbridge had promised Isabel’s relic to an ambitious Cardinal in Paris, one who is determined to rise to the station of Pope.  Desperate to reclaim the relic and use it to cement his position, the Cardinal and his pawn, Tonbridge, unleash their substantial forces to hunt down Gerard and Isabel.  Fleeing their pursuers, Gerard and Isabel traverse the breadth of England and France to find safe harbour for the relic.  Forced to contend with dangerous foes around every corner, Gerard, Isabel, and their faithful companions will face the worse that medieval Europe has to offer and more.  But worse lies in wait for Gerard, as he bears a dark connection with his pursuers that will ensure they will never stop hunting him.

Wow, now this was a really cool historical fiction novel.  The exceptional writing team behind The Lawless Land have produced an outstanding novel that is extremely exciting, action-packed, and character driven, while also being heavy on the historical detail and accuracy.  This results in an exceptional and epic historical thriller read that I had an absolute blast getting through and which gets a well-deserved five-star rating from me.

The Lawless Land was such a cool read, and I quickly fell in love with its brilliant and exceptional story.  Essentially an adventure thriller set in medieval times, the authors start The Lawless Land off very quickly, showing the protagonist in battle as he saves the damsel in distress, only to end up in even more trouble.  Effectively introducing the key characters early on, you get a real sense of the novels impressive style right at the start, especially with its gritty feel and intense action sequences.  The story soon evolves into a high stakes chase across Europe, as Gerard, Isabel and their companions try to outrace and outwit their opponents to save Isabel’s relic and get revenge for Gerard.  The authors make excellent use of multiple character perspectives here to showcase the chase from both sides, and you get a good look at the various schemes and ploys of the antagonists, as well as the full depths of their villainy.  These amazing and action-packed scenes are expertly interspersed with some flashback chapters that examine the full history and tragedy of the protagonists, especially Gerard, and work to fully establish the enmity between him and the antagonists.  This entire first half of the book is very well written, and the authors’ excellent style will appeal to wide range of readers, not just historical fiction fans, as anyone who enjoys a great adventure or gripping thriller read, can get really engrossed in this excellent story.

This perfectly sets up the second half of this epic novel, which sees the character involved in all manner of carnage and battle as they attempt to win.  I honestly powered through the last 250 pages or so in a day; I was having that much fun reading it.  This second part has everything, including jousting tournaments, prison breaks, desperate chases, elaborate skirmishes, political intrigue, skullduggery and more action than you can shake a stick at.  There is even a full-on judicial duel (think The Last Duel), which was one of the most impressive and gritty fights in the entire book.  There are some intriguing twists, clever reveals, major tragedies, and some outstanding action throughout this entire second half, and it was so much fun to see it all unfold.  I really must highlight the impressive action of The Lawless Land, as all the fights felt particularly realist and very epic, and you can honestly feel every powerful swing and strike of steel on steel.  The authors bring all the established story elements of The Lawless Land together extremely well in the end, and readers will come away satisfied, especially with the fun conclusion and the great ending for the characters.  While this is ostensibly a standalone read, and the authors do wrap up everything really well, there is potential for a sequel at the end, and I for one would not be opposed to seeing more from these characters in the future.

One of the most compelling parts of The Lawless Land was the brilliant dive into the history of medieval Europe.  The writing team clearly did their research when it came to this novel, which is hardly surprising considering the scholarly expertise of one of its authors.  As such, this novel is loaded with impressive and captivating historical detail which isn’t overshadowed by some of the more over-the-top action.  You get a great sense of the how bleak and brutal the continent was at this point in history, with some chilling depictions of plague and pestilence, as well as some intriguing looks at The Hundred Years’ War, including a full flashback chapter to the Battle of Crécy.  The authors spend time exploring a ton of fascinating stuff from this period, including knightly conduct, the power and influence of the church, day to day life for people in cities and the countryside, and so much more.  I particularly loved the scenes set around a tournament in France, where the protagonist engages in a series of jousts.  The sheer amount of detail and realism around these scenes are so very cool, and you can really picture how everything would have looked and felt.  There is also a great examination of medieval manuscripts (again, because of one of the author’s academic focuses), which become a key part of The Lawless Land’s plot, and it was really interesting to examine the significance and process behind them.  All this impressive work around the setting and other historical elements of The Lawless Land really enhanced the overall quality of the book, and I loved how seamlessly it was worked into the epic narrative.

I also must highlight the fantastic characters featured within The Lawless Land, which includes an awesome balance of likeable protagonist and maniacal villains who hunt them.  The story is perfectly split between the two groups, and you get some fun and intense competing views of events throughout the story as a result.  The protagonists are headlined by the awesome character of Gerard Fox, a wandering knight, banished from his family’s lands by the church following a confrontation with one of the antagonists years ago.  Dragged into this conspiracy by accident, Gerard becomes Isabel’s companion and protector, and tries to escort the relic to safety.  A man of action and honour, Gerard is haunted by his past and his many failures, which include watching his brother die in battle, and being tricked into losing everything.  He is also obsessed with discovering the true fate of his mother, and her mysterious disappearance and certain revelations draw him into this conspiracy even further.  A lot of the novel revolves around Gerard’s past, and it was fascinating to see him come to terms with it and try to balance this current quest with his own desires.  Gerard ends up being a pretty awesome protagonist to follow, especially with his martial prowess, unique weaponry, penchant for mischief and trickery (like a certain French fox), and his unbending desire to do the right thing.

Gerard is accompanied by some interesting companions, and the most prominent of these is Lady Isabel.  A noblewoman who was forced into marriage, Isabel seeks to protect her family’s most sacred relic from her betrothed and goes to great length to escape him.  Although she is initially seen as a bit of a damsel in distress, you soon begin to realise that there is a lot more to Isabel than what first appears, as she is an incredibly capable woman with some keen insights and strategies that prove invaluable to her companions.  The authors work some excellent storylines around Isabel in this novel, and you really come to appreciate and enjoy her pluck, courage and intelligence.  There is also a very clever twist about this character revealed in the second half of the book, which was set up extremely well by the authors, including in some flashbacks that both hint at and hide the truth from the reader.  I also should mention the fun supporting characters of Henri and Youssef, two friendly rogues who have substantial history and friendship with Gerard.  Henri and Youssef are excellent additions to the protagonists, and their fun personalities balance well with Gerard and Isabel’s to create a very likeable group of heroes that you become quite attached to, even if that leads to eventual heartbreak for the reader.

I also need to talk about The Lawless Land’s outstanding trio of villains who dog the protagonists’ steps throughout the entire narrative.  This includes the evil Lord Tonbridge, Isabel’s betrothed who she runs away from.  While Tonbridge is mainly hunting them for Isabel’s relic, it also becomes clear that Tonbridge is even more obsessed with righting the perceived slight to his honour and is eager for vengeance.  However, Tonbridge is also partially subservient to villainous French cardinal Molyneux, who has promised him power and a kingship if he succeeds.  Molyneux is particularly despicable, as an ambitious and immoral member of the church who is attempting to become Pope.  Using his influence and the protection of the church for his advantage, Molyneux gains large amount of money and land through unscrupulous means and has some dark history with Gerard’s family, which deeply impacts both his and Gerald’s motivations to confound each other.  The final villain is Molyneux’s vassal and bastard son Basquin, who serves as the protagonist’s main pursuer.  A skilled swordsman and tactician, Basquin is a worthy, if not superior, foe to Gerard, whom he bears a powerful grudge against.  There is some fascinating history behind Basquin that became quite an awesome part of the plot, and it was great to see the intense and captivating confrontations between the two.  The authors take Basquin in some intriguing directions in this book, especially when his own desires clash with that of his abusive father, forcing him to go rogue and enact his own ambitious plan.  All these villains were extremely well written, and it proved highly entertaining to see them go up against Gerard, Isabel and the rest throughout The Lawless Land.  I had such a great time with the characters in this book, and their intense relationships, rivalries and schemes added so much to the power of the novel.

Overall, The Lawless Land was an exceptional and impressive historical fiction read from the great new team of Boyd and Beth Morrison.  These two talented writers came up with something very special with The Lawless Land, and I loved the outstanding and highly addictive narrative contained in this book.  Featuring a ton of epic action, some amazing characters, and some superb historical detail, The Lawless Land was an incredible read that comes very highly recommended by me.

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WWW Wednesday – 3 August 2022

On By The Unseen LibraryIn WWW WednesdayLeave a comment

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

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

So, let’s get to it.

What are you currently reading?

The Darkening by Sunya Mara (Trade Paperback)

The Darkening Cover

I just started reading an intriguing new young adult fantasy novel today with The Darkening by Sunya Mara.  The Darkening is an intriguing and exciting novel set in a city surrounded by a magical storm that is slowly eating it away.  The story follows the daughter of a notorious rebel who joins the city’s elite magical guards to free him and get revenge on an evil prince.  I have made some decent progress on The Darkening and it is proving to be quite an awesome read with an outstanding story to it.  I am aiming to finish The Darkening off by the end of the week and I think this is going to turn out to be one of the better debuts of 2022.

 

Star Wars: The High Republic: Midnight Horizon by Daniel Jose Older (Audiobook)

Star Wars - Midnight Horizon Cover

I have also recently started listening to the audiobook version of the cool Star Wars tie-in novel, Midnight Horizon.  Part of The High Republic sub-series, Midnight Horizon is a young adult read that follows a group of young Jedi as they investigate Nihil on the planet of Corellia.  A continuation of several other great young adult High Republic books, such as Into the Dark and Out of the Shadows, Midnight Horizon has an interesting story to it so far, and I am really powering through it.  This is another book that I am hoping to finish off by the end of the week, and I am very curious to see how Midnight Horizon ties into some of the other High Republic books out there, such as the pivotal novel, The Fallen Star, which was released around the same time.

What did you recently finish reading?

Warhammer: Vampireslayer by William King (Audiobook)

Vampireslayer Cover

 

Dirt Town by Hayley Scrivenor (Trade Paperback)

Dirt Town Cover

 

Tribe by Jeremy Robinson (Audiobook)

Tribe Cover

What do you think you’ll read next?

Upgrade by Blake Crouch

Upgrade Cover

 

 

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.