Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly task that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers creating and sharing lists on various book topics. The official topic for this week is to look at favourite secondary characters, which, while fun, is something I probably won’t attempt this week. Instead, I’m going to fall back to a topic The Artsy Reader Girl blog did a few weeks ago and list out my ten most recent five-star reads.
2026 has been an interesting year for me so far, and I’ve had the great pleasure of reading an awesome range of books, including some incredible recent releases and some older books I’ve finally had a chance to check out. Most of the books have been outstanding in their own way, and I’ve had fun getting through pretty much everything. However, only a few have stood out as potential five-star reads, which I categorise as perfect (or near perfect) reads that have totally engrossed me.
For this list I am going to feature the last 10 of these books that I believe are five-star reads due to their complex stories, great characters, or well-written ideas. This proved to be a fun task with some interesting contenders, which I was able to whittle down into a top ten list. Each of these books have proven to be spectacular for various reasons, and I had an incredible time getting through all of them. So let us see what made the cut.
Top Ten List (Reverse Reading Order):
A Parade of Horribles by Matt Dinniman
The first five-star entry on this list is A Parade of Horribles by Matt Dinniman. The eighth book in Dinniman’s acclaimed Dungeon Crawler Carl series, A Parade of Horribles is an epic and incredible read that throws its complex characters into even more chaos and carnage as they attempt to navigate the next level of a deadly televised dungeon that has been formed in the ruins of Earth. I’m slightly cheating with this entry, as I’m still currently reading A Parade of Horribles, however, it is so damn good I decided I was going to give it a five-star rating very early on. A perfect continuation of the series that provides the reader will all the awesome action, outrageous humour and intense emotions that Dungeon Crawler Carl fans have come to expect, A Parade of Horribles is just incredible, especially on its exceptional audiobook format.
Guns of the Dawn by Adrian Tchaikovsky
The next book on this list is the older fantasy novel, Guns of the Dawn by the talented Adrian Tchaikovsky. A distinctive fantasy read that cleverly parallels regency era fiction, Guns of the Dawn follows a compelling female character as she is drafted into a deadly war. A sharp, moving and complex read that appealed to me on multiple levels, Guns of the Dawn is Tchaikovsky at his best, and an easy five-star novel in my book.
Jingo by Terry Pratchett
I recently relistened to the classic Discworld novel from the legendary Terry Pratchett, Jingo, which proved to be outstanding entertainment for a lengthy road trip. The fourth book in Pratchett’s City Watch sub series, Jingo sees the ragtag members of the Ankh-Morpork city watch accidently go off to war, in a brilliant parody of international relations gone mad. Already one of my favourite Discworld novels, this latest listen reaffirmed my love for Jingo, and I honestly have a new appreciation for it due to this version featuring some outstanding alternate narrators. An exceptional read that was always going to get a five-star rating from me.
Warhammer 40,000: Ghazghkull Thraka: Warlord of Warlords by Denny Flowers
It’s not an Unseen Library list without a Warhammer novel featured somewhere. This next entry, Ghazghkull Thraka: Warlord of Warlords, is a bit of a niche inclusion, but it’s one that got an easy five-star rating from me. A clever read from one of the rising talents of Warhammer fiction, Denny Flowers, Warlord of Warlords sees members of the always entertaining ork faction engage in hilarious, wholesale carnage in pursuit of becoming the most dangerous warlord alive. An amazing read that will really appeal to hardcore Warhammer 40,000 fans, Warlord of Warlords is a fun entry on this list, and it’s one I had a great time listening to.
The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman
After years of hearing how good The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman is, I had to go back and check it out myself, and it turns out people weren’t exaggerating. A brutal and well-written book with a classic, if dark, adventure story behind it, The Blacktongue Thief sees a unique group travel across a war-ravaged continent on their own separate quests. Cleverly introducing a very distinctive fantasy setting and some amazing characters, The Blacktongue Thief was an epic read that I rated very highly, and it’s one I’m glad I finally checked out.
Pretenders to the Throne of God by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Adrian Tchaikovksy gets his second entry on this list with the impressive Pretenders to the Throne of God. The fourth book in his Tyrant Philosophers series (following on from City of Last Chances, House of Open Wounds and Days of Shattered Faith), Pretenders to the Throne of God was a brilliant and relentlessly entertaining read that followed multiple characters living in and around a besieged city. An intense and moving book that also brings out some subtle humour, Pretenders to the Throne of God works well as both a clever standalone novel, as well as a powerful continuation of the Tyrant Philosophers books, and it was one of the more amazing novels I have so far read in 2026.
The Hard Line by Mark Greaney
One of my favourite thriller authors, Mark Greaney, continues to throw out bangers in 2026 with his new Gray Man novel, The Hard Line. A gritty and fast-paced spy thriller novel, The Hard Line sees the protagonist attempting to investigate a series of destabilising assassinations across the United States. However, complexities and mistakes from the past seek to hinder the protagonist and his team, with assassins soon targeting their loved ones. Another outstanding read from Greaney, The Hard Line was so damn good, and I am still buzzing from the various action scenes and fun twists.
The Red Winter by Cameron Sullivan
I’ve had the pleasure of reading several debut novels so far in 2026, however the one I must give a full five-star rating to is the unique novel The Red Winter by Australian author Cameron Sullivan. A distinctive fantasy/historical fiction hybrid, The Red Winter follows an ageless wizard through several periods of French history, as he finds himself hunting a legendary beast terrorising the countryside. Making great use of three separate time periods and some interesting references to a fascinating and terrifying historical event, The Red Winter was one of the best and most original novels of 2026, and a great five-star read from a new author.
Operation Bounce House by Matt Dinniman
Another author with more than one book on this list is Matt Dinniman, who is fast becoming one of my very favourite authors. This second entry is Dinniman’s other 2026 release, Operation Bounce House, a wonderful and complex standalone science fiction read. Pitching simple farmers on a human colony planet against mechs piloted by deranged Earth gamers, Operation Bounce House brings the chaos early, and you are soon engrossed in the captivating story of family and survival that shows just how impressive Dinniman’s imagination is. A wonderful read and a very worthy addition to this list, Operation Bounce House was so damn good, and I cannot wait to see what Dinniman comes up with next.
30Seven by Jeremy Robinson
The last five-star book I want to highlight is the dark science fiction thriller, 30Seven by Jeremy Robinson. A fast-paced, standalone novel that combines a compelling alien abduction narrative with a brutal mystery, as the protagonist is taken into a UFO along with the serial killer that murdered his wife. Filled with some horrifying sequences, 30Seven was an exceptional read, that really pops on audiobook. An amazing book that serves as a great final entry for this list.
Well, that’s the end of that list. As you can see, I’ve read an interesting array of awesome books recently, with all the above proving to be quite impressive and perfect to me. While I haven’t had a chance to write full reviews of these books yet, all of them come very highly recommended, and I feel that most people will be able to appreciate the incredible and unique stories they contain. I hope you all have fun with some of the above if you choose to check them out. Make sure to also let me know which recent books you’d recommend as five star reads in the comments below.
