Tag: Adrian Tchaikovsky

WWW Wednesday – 6 December 2023

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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 Mystery Guest by Nita Prose (Trade Paperback)

The Mystery Guest Cover

I have just started reading the new murder mystery from Nita Prose, The Mystery Guest.  The intriguing sequel to Prose’s first novel, The Maid, The Mystery Guest features another compelling murder, seen through the eyes of Prose’s unique protagonist.  I’ve only made a little progress on The Mystery Guest but it is so far proving to be an excellent read with a great set up.  I am hoping to finish it off in the next couple of days and I look forward to Prose’s twisty conclusion.

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Murtagh by Christopher Paolini (Audiobook)

Murtagh Cover

I am still getting through the new Christopher Paolini novel, Murtagh, although I haven’t made as much progress as I would have liked.  The sequel to Paolini’s iconic Inheritance Cycle, Murtagh follows the exploits of the damaged dragon rider Murtagh a year after being freed from the control of his evil lord. I am about two thirds of the way through Murtagh at the moment and I am pretty hooked on the elaborate story that shows a whole new angle to Paolini’s elaborate fantasy world.  I am hoping to finish off Murtagh in the next week, but I’ll have to see how I go.

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What did you recently finish reading?

House of Open Wounds by Adrian Tchaikovsky (ebook)

House of Open Wounds Cover

I had an outstanding time getting through Adrian Tchaikovsky’s latest elaborate book, House of Open Wounds.  The amazing  sequel to Tchaikovsky’s epic and impressive City of Last Chances, House of Open Wounds was such an incredible read, with complex characters, clever scenarios, and a ton of heart.  One of the best fantasy novels of 2023, I’m hoping to get a review up for it soon.

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Everyone on this Train is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson (Trade Paperback)

Everyone on this Train is a Suspect Cover

A twisty and extremely hilarious Australian murder mystery that makes fun of so many different tropes and conventions of classic crime fiction.  Highly recommended!

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Vendetta by Sarah Barrie (Trade Paperback)

Vendetta Cover

A brilliantly dark and gritty Australian crime fiction read that pits a maverick police office against the ghosts of her past.  One of Barrie’s best books yet!

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What do you think you’ll read next?

West Heart Kill by Dann McDorman

West Heart Kill Cover

The next book I am hoping to dive into is the intriguing murder mystery debut, West Heart Kill by Dann McDorman.  An apparently meta-murder mystery, West Heart Kill has an awesome classic murder mystery scenario behind it that McDorman twists to tell a unique story.  I have heard some good things about West Heart Kill and I cannot wait to check it out.

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

Top Ten Tuesday – My Favourite Pre-2023 Novels

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. This week participants of Top Ten Tuesday get a freebie to list whatever topics they want.  So, I am going to take this opportunity to start my annual end-of-year lists here by looking at my favourite pre-2023 novels that I read this year.

Each December I have a lot of fun looking at some of the best and most impressive books and comics that I have read throughout the year in a series of Top Ten Lists.  While these lists will mostly focus on books that came out in 2023, for the last few years, I have also taken the time to list out some of the best older novels that I have read in the last 12 months.  There are some excellent novels that were released pre-2023 out there that I haven’t had the chance to read before, and it is always fun to go back and explore them.  I ended up reading a bunch of awesome older books throughout 2023, including some pretty incredible novels that got easy five-star ratings from me and are really worth checking out.

To come up with this list I had a look at all the novels I read this year that had their initial release before 2023.  This proved to be a momentous task, as 2023 was a year where I spent a lot of time reading and listening to a ton of older books, including quite a few Warhammer 40,000 books.  There were so many awesome older novels I got through this year, that I honestly couldn’t fit it all into a Top Ten list.  Instead, I turned this into a pretty expansive Top 20 list, just to highlight how much fun I had with older books this year.  This mega list ended up containing an interesting combination of novels, although there was a bit of an overload of entries from the Dresden Files’ series by Jim Butcher and Warhammer 40,000 novels, both of which I really got into throughout this year.  Indeed, it got a little bad that I ended up combining several of these novels into a single entry, just to diversify it up a bit.  While I might be cheating in places, this list honestly reflects the best pre-2023 novels I read throughout the year, so let us see what made the cut.

Top Twenty List (by release year):

Gaunt’s Ghosts novels by Dan Abnett – 2000-2002

Warhammer 40,000 - Necropolis Cover

If this list is going to show anything it is that 2023 was the year that I really started diving into older pieces of Warhammer 40,000 fiction and boy did I have fun doing so.  One of the most important of these series is the Gaunt’s Ghost books by Dan Abnett.  Generally considered the most seminal series of the entire Warhammer 40,000 franchise, the Gaunt’s Ghosts books are a compelling and moving military fiction series that follow the common human soldier as they face the worst horrors the Warhammer 40,000 universe has to offer.  I ended up reading four Gaunt’s Ghosts books in 2023, including Ghostmaker, Necropolis, Honour Guard and The Guns of Tanith.  Each novel had an outstanding story behind it and I loved seeing the great characters continue to evolve in each entry.  Compelling, intense and very addictive, each book was worthy of its own entry on this list, although I combined all four into this one entry to add more diversity.  I am hoping to really dive into this series next year and I cannot wait to see what happens next.

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13th Legion and Kill Team by Gav Thorpe – 2000-2001

13th Legion Cover 2

Another cool, older Warhammer 40,000 series I started reading in 2023 was the fantastic Last Chancers books by Gav Thorpe.  Essentially The Dirty Dozen in space, the Last Chancers books follow an elite squad of condemned soldiers as they pull off suicidal missions hoping to receive a pardon.  I had an incredible time with the first two books in this series, 13th Legion and Kill Team, and I loved the intense action, compelling characters and insane scenarios.  I am hoping to get the rest of the series in 2024 and I cannot wait to see what chaos the Last Chancers cause next.

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Eisenhorn Trilogy by Dan Abnett – 2001-2002

Warhammer 40,000 - Xenos Cover

Another major Warhammer 40,000 series from Dan Abnett that I finally got around to reading this year is the iconic Eisenhorn trilogy.  Made up of Xenos, Malleus and Hereticus, the Eisenhorn books follow the titular Inquisitor Eisenhorn as he faces off against dangerous aliens and the forces of Chaos seeking to destroy humanity from within.  All three books in this trilogy are so damn good, and I love how they showed an interesting progression of internal corruption as the principled Eisenhorn begins to use darker methods to fight his war, even using the tainted weapons of his enemy.  An outstanding series that all Warhammer 40,000 fans need to read, I cannot recommend these books enough and this trilogy is a worthy entry for this list.

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Giantslayer by William King – 2003

Giantslayer Cover

While I mostly read the science fiction focussed Warhammer 40,000 books this year, I also dove back into the Warhammer Fantasy universe as well with another cool Gotrek and Felix book, Giantslayer.  Following a doomed dwarf slayer and his human companion as they battle through a mysterious magical island, Giantslayer was a pretty fun entry to this already great series and I loved seeing these fantastic characters again.  Giantslayer marked William King’s last entry on this long running series and I look forward to seeing how the series evolved under Nathan Long when I read the next book, Orcslayer.

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For the Emperor and Caves of Ice by Sandy Mitchell – 2003-2004

Warhammer 40,000 - For the Emperor Cover

One of the more distinctive and beloved Warhammer 40,000 series is the fun Ciaphas Cain books by Sandy Mitchell.  Following a famous and heroic Imperial Commissar who is actually a massive coward, the Ciaphas Cain books are often more comedy than serious action, as Cain tries to do everything he can to avoid danger, only to be thrust into the middle of the battle against his will.  I have been meaning to dive into this series for a while and I finally got the chance to read the first two books in the series, For the Emperor and Caves of Ice this year.  Both are amazing reads and I really have to highlight their outstanding audiobook formats that feature three outstanding narrators.  Some of my favourite Warhammer 40,000 books out there, the Ciaphas Cain books live up to all the hype around them and I cannot wait to read more of them in the future.

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Blood Angels: Deus Encarmine by James Swallow – 2004

Deus Encarmine

A powerful and exciting read that sees members of the iconic Blood Angels chapter of Space Marines, fall under the sway of a new champion of their order.  However, not everything is as it seems, and one Blood Angel seeks to find the truth before war and zealotry destroys him.

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Lord of the Night by Simon Spurrier – 2005

Lord of the Night Cover

A fantastic, dark and compelling Warhammer 40,000 novel that pits an ostracised psychic against the personification of fear in a Night Lords Space Marine in a desolate and decaying city.  Lord of the Night was an outstanding piece of Warhammer 40,000 fiction that I am planning to review fully in my next upcoming Throwback Thursday post.  Highly recommended.

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Dresden Files books by Jim Butcher – 2006-2012

Ghost Story Cover

Ok, so I’m kind of going a bit overboard with this entry as I’m actually covering six different books here.  Readers of this blog will be aware I have been having fun getting through the awesome Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher over the last couple of years, and it has been a pretty epic experience.  I really picked up my Dresden Files game in 2023 as I ended up listening to six books, including Dead Beat, Proven Guilty, White Night, Small Favour, Turn Coat, Changes and Ghost Story.  All six were exceptional five-star reads and would have taken up a spot on this list each if I hadn’t combined them into one entry here.  I had such a brilliant time with these Dresden Files novels in 2023 and Butcher tells some elaborate, entertaining and emotionally charged tales in this iconic urban fantasy series.  I am hoping to finish it off in the new year, but before I do make sure to check out the linked reviews for books 7-13 above.

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Mr Mercedes by Stephen King – 2014

Mr Mercedes Book Two

In anticipation for the release of the new Stephen King novel, Holly (which is going to top a bunch of my end-of-year best of lists), I went back and read the book she was introduced in, Mr Mercedes.  A slick, powerful and intense thriller, Mr Mercedes was an absolute riot, with complicated characters, unique crimes and one of the best games of cat-and-mouse you are likely to see.  An outstanding read from one of the best authors of all-time, this is such a highly recommended read, especially if you loved King’s latest book.

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Kingsblade by Andy Clark – 2017

Kingsblade Cover

I had to include the action-packed extravaganza that was Kingsblade on this list.  Written by the highly talented Andy Clark (who impressed me last year with Steel Tread), Kingsblade is a great Warhammer 40,000 novel loaded with explosions, battles and war.  Focussing on the legendary Imperial Knights, nobles who fight in deadly mecha, Kingsblade is set in the middle of a brutal war where a newly crowned king must contend with the very worst of treachery.  A particularly exciting book, Kingsblade was so much fun and I’m glad I got to check it out this year.

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Flesh and Steel by Guy Haley – 2020

Flesh and Steel Cover

A cool Warhammer 40,000 sub-series I had an excellent time exploring in 2023 was the Warhammer Crime series of books.  Set in a massive and corrupt city, the Warhammer Crime books each recount a unique criminal investigation that could only take place in that sort of setting.  Flesh and Steel was a great example of this, as it featured a distinctive buddy-cop storyline with a disinherited heir and a machine priest teaming up to work out why lobotomised machine/human hybrids are suddenly killing people.  A fantastic and impressive novel that is really worth checking out.

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The Infinite and the Divine by Robert Rath – 2020

The Infinite and the Divine Cover

One of the absolute best Warhammer 40,000 novels I enjoyed in 2023 was The Infinite and the Divine.  Focussing on two eternal rivals as they plot and scheme across the millennia to obtain a rare artifact, The Infinite and the Divine is a brilliant read that gets funnier and funnier with each passing scene.  Watching two typically taciturn and serious immortals devolve into petty children as the rivalry continues is so damn good, and Rath builds such an outstanding story around it.  I loved this book so much and it got a full five-star rating from me.

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Sepulturum by Nick Kyme – 2020

Warhammer 40,000 Sepulturum Cover

Another fun and gruesome Warhammer 40,000 novel, Sepulturum is part of the Warhammer Horror range and is set in a dying city overrun by zombies.  Scary, fast-paced, and filled with some interesting twists, Sepulturum is a great read for those after an exciting horror story in the Warhammer universe.

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Bloodlines by Chris Wraight – 2020

Warhammer 40,000 - Bloodlines Cover

Probably one of the most impressive Warhammer Crime books I read all year was the outstanding and elaborate Bloodlines by Chris Wraight.  Featuring a much more standard crime fiction storyline about gangs, illicit dealings and missing heirs, Bloodlines was a fascinating book that still made great use of its impressive setting.  The main crime fiction storyline, combined with the tired protagonist and the unique crime, really resonated with me and I loved how well a classic cop story could come across in this setting.  This book desperately needs a sequel and I hope we see more books from Chris Wraight soon.

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The Sandman: Act II by Neil Gaiman – 2021

The Sandman - Act II Cover

I managed to finish off the second audiobook adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s epic comic The Sandman this year.  Featuring two impressive central storylines, as well as multiple intriguing standalone tales, Act II of The Sandman continues to tell the complex and dark tale of Morpheus, the personification of dreams, as he faces off against dangerous threats and elaborate games from other immortals.  Complex, highly inventive and featuring an outstanding voicecast, this epic audiobook is such an amazing way to enjoy this excellent comic and I cannot recommend it enough.

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Grim Repast by Marc Collins – 2021

Warhammer 40,000 - Grim Repast Cover

The final Warhammer Crime novels I want to highlight on this list is the outstanding read, Grim Repast.  A grim and dark novel that leans heavily into the noir traditions, Grim Repast is a particularly bleak read that sees an ostracised detective try to solve a series of murders connected to a corrupt company.  This was one of the more memorable and chilling Warhammer 40,000 books I have had the pleasure of reading, and it really encouraged me to check out the other Warhammer Crime entries on this list.

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The Maleficent Seven by Cameron Johnston – 2021

The Maleficent Seven Cover 2

After falling in love with Johnston’s first two novels, The Traitor God and God of Broken Things, I have been hoping to read his next dark fantasy novel, The Maleficent Seven, since it came out in 2021.  I finally got the chance to read it while away on holiday and boy was I missing out.  Pitting seven monstrous former comrades against a dangerous army of religious fanatics in a deadly siege scenario, The Maleficent Seven was an intense and action-packed read that I had such a hard time putting down.  I really regret not reading this book sooner and I will try to get a proper review up for it soon.

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Ogres by Adrian Tchaikovsky – 2022

Ogres Cover

One of the things I most regretted not reading in 2022 was the cool novella Ogres.  Written by Adrian Tchaikovsky, an author I am growing to love more and more each year, Ogres was an intriguing sounding read that many people gushed about when it first came out.  I ended up listening to the audiobook version of Ogres in advance of reading a more recent Tchaikovsky novel, City of Last Chances, and it turned out to be such a clever read.  Set in a world where ogres rule, Ogres was a captivating tale of revolution and deceit, with some excellent social commentary included.  One of the more unique stories I read all year, this was everything I hoped it would be and more.

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Notorious Sorcerer by Davinia Evans – 2022

Notorious Sorcerer Cover

A cool and unique fantasy novel from last year, Notorious Sorcerer had been on my to-read list for a while and I finally got the chance this year while on holiday.  Featuring a great story with a complex magical system, Notorious Sorcerer was a fine book and I’m hoping to get a review up for it soon.

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Age of Ash by Daniel Abraham – 2022

Age of Ash Cover

The final pre-2023 book I want to highlight on this list is the outstanding fantasy read, Age of Ash by one half of the team behind The Expanse, Daniel Abraham.  Set in an elaborate fantasy city loaded with secrets and lies, Age of Ash follows several complex protagonists as they try to survive the chaos following the sudden ascension of a new ruler.  I had a great time with this book, and I’m hoping to check out the next entry soon, especially as it apparently has a compelling, multi-layered story that ties into the first book in a unique way.

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And that is the end of this list.  As you can see, I have managed to read a huge number of epic pre-2023 releases this year.  Each of the above were exceptional and fun reads and I would strongly recommend them, especially if you are in the mood for some fun fantasy or science fiction adventures.  I look forward to reading some other older books in 2024, and it will be interesting to see what makes my next version of this list then.  I imagine it will end up looking a little similar, especially as I have plans to finish off the Dresden Files, as well as examining some other outstanding Warhammer novels.  Make sure to check back in next week for some other end-of-year lists as I continue to highlight some of my favourite reads from 2023.

Top Ten Tuesday – Books on my Summer 2023-24 To-Be-Read (TBR) List

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics.  The official Top Ten Tuesday topic for this week looked at books set in specific location or period of the blogger’s choice.  However, as I’m mucking around with my Top Ten List schedule, I actually did this list last week when I covered my favourite books set in the Roman Empire.  As a result, I have a topic free this week and as we are just about to enter Summer (Winter for those up in the Norther Hemisphere) I decided to move up my quarterly post about the best upcoming books to-be-read (TBR) for the following three months.  This is a regular post I do at the start of each season, and I honestly should have pulled this together a couple of weeks ago.

For this list, I have come up with 10 of the most anticipated novels that are coming out between 1 December 2023 and 29 February 2024.  There are quite a few very cool novels set for release in the next few months that I am extremely excited for, including some of the top books from each respective year.  Due to how impressive some of these upcoming books are, it took me a little while to finalise my list but I was eventually able to whittle it down into a Top Ten list (with a few honourable mentions).  I have primarily used the Australian publication dates to reflect when I will be able to get these awesome novels, and these might be somewhat different to the rest of the world. I have previously discussed a number of these books before in prior Top Ten Tuesdays and Waiting on Wednesday articles and I think all of them will turn out to be pretty incredible reads.  I have extremely excited for the next three months as quite a few up these upcoming reads are easily going to be amongst the best reads of their respective years.

Honourable Mentions:

Midnight by Amy McCulloch – 2 January 2024

Midnight Cover

A cool science fiction mystery that I’m keen to sink my teeth into.

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The Burning Land by David Hair – 1 February 2024

The Burning Land Cover

The compelling start to a new fantasy series.

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The Holy Terrors by Simon R. Green – 6 February 2024

The Holy Terrors Cover

A fun sounding horror book that parodies reality television.

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Top Ten List (by release date):

House of Open Wounds by Adrian Tchaikovsky – 7 December 2023

House of Open Wounds Cover

Let us start this list off with a book I actually started reading today, House of Open Wounds by Adrian Tchaikovsky.  A dark and complex fantasy novel that follows the deranged inhabitants of an experimental magical healing unit in a hostile army, House of Open Wounds is the sequel to Tchaikovsky’s City of Last Chances, which is one of the best books and audiobooks I enjoyed in the first half of 2023.  I’m currently around 150 pages into House of Open Wounds and I am loving the complex, multi-character narrative that sees a huge cast of distinctive and troubled figures attempt to survive in a cruel world.  Featuring a brilliant story and Tchaikovsky’s trademark inventive setting, House of Open Wounds is an amazing read and one I look forward to reviewing in the coming weeks.

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The Ascent by Adam Plantinga – 2 January 2024

The Ascent Cover

A fun and action-packed debut thriller that will see a former cop attempt to survive a rioting prison filled with deadly convicts.  The Ascent is going to be a very entertaining book and I am sure I will have a blast getting through it.

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Dark Arena by Jack Beaumont – 3 January 2024

Dark Arena Cover

An awesome book coming out very early in 2024 is Dark Arena by Jack Beaumont.  The sequel to one of my favourite debuts from 2021, The Frenchman, Dark Arena looks set to continue Beaumont’s compelling and detailed depiction of French espionage, this time hunting down a mysterious group of operators seeking to destabilise Europe.

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Goodbye Girl by James Grippando – 9 January 2024

Goodbye Girl Cover

A fun upcoming legal thriller from a new-to-me author that will see a lawyer get dragged into a contentious case involving internet piracy, music contracts and bad romances.  However, the case gets even more complicated when both the protagonist’s client, and the ex-husband suing her, are charged with the same murder.  I love the sound of the amazing plot for the next upcoming book by James Grippando and Goodbye Girl should prove to be an excellent read.

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The Ghost Orchid by Jonathan Kellerman – 6 February 2024

The Ghost Orchid Cover

A series I have really grown to love reading at the start of each year is the amazing long-running Alex Delaware murder mystery series by Jonathan Kellerman.  Following a psychiatrist and a detective who team up to solve unusual murders in L.A., the Alex Delaware books are really impressive pieces of crime fiction and I always get drawn into Kellerman’s amazing narratives such as those of The Wedding Guest, The Museum of Desire, Serpentine, City of the Dead and Unnatural History.  The next book in the series, The Ghost Orchid, will see the protagonists investigate a double homicide of two wealthy lovers with troubled pasts.  Sure to be a complicated mystery with loads of compelling suspects, I cannot wait to dive into The Ghost Orchid and it should be something special.

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Lone Wolf by Gregg Hurwitz – 13 February 2024

Lone Wolf Cover

Gregg Hurwitz look set to continue his outstanding Orphan X series in early 2024 with the excellent sounding Lone Wolf.  This series, which has featured awesome books like Out of the Dark, Into the Fire, Prodigal Son, Dark Horse and The Last Orphan, follows a fugitive government assassin codenamed Orphan X, who attempts to save people as a secretive vigilante.  This latest book will see an emotionally compromised Orphan X go up against a mysterious billionaire and a deadly serial killer, which is sure to result in an outstanding story.  I am very excited for this novel and it should turn out to be pretty awesome.

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The Murder Inn by James Patterson and Candice Fox – 13 February 2024

The Murder Inn Cover

An intriguing new thriller from the winning team of the legendary James Patterson and Australian author Candice Fox.  The sequel to one of their previous collaborations, The Murder Inn looks set to be an intense and quick paced book, loaded with intrigue and murder.

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The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett – 13 February 2024

The Tainted Cup Cover

I had to feature the awesome upcoming fantasy novel The Tainted Cup by the always impressive Robert Jackson Bennett.  The start of an intriguing new series from Bennett, The Tainted Cup will see an intriguing duo investigate a mysterious magical death, one that could change everything and doom their entire nation.  The Tainted Cup sounds like a wonderful character driven fantasy book with a great murder mystery element to it, and Bennett has proven to be an exceptional author in the past.  As such, I am very keen for The Tainted Cup, and I feel it has the potential to be one of the top fantasy books of 2024.

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The Chaos Agent by Mark Greaney – 20 February 2024

The Chaos Agent Cover

Perhaps the book I’m most excited for at the start of 2024 is The Chaos Agent by Mark Greaney, which will serve as the 13th novel in his epic Gray Man series.  I have had a blast with this series over the years, and previous novels like The Gray Man, Mission Critical, One Minute Out, Relentless, Sierra Six and Burner have all been exceptional reads, loaded with action, clever narratives and damaged characters.  The Chaos Agent looks set to continue this trend with an intriguing new adventure which will force the protagonist to go up against old friends and new enemies as he tries to stop a plot involving artificial intelligence.

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The Atlas Maneuver by Steve Berry – 20 February 2024

The Atlas Maneuver Cover

The final entry I want to highlight on this list is the fantastic upcoming thriller The Atlas Maneuver by Steve Berry.  The latest book in Berry’s long-running Cotton Malone series (make sure to check out my reviews for previous entries like The Malta Exchange, The Warsaw Protocol, The Kaiser’s Web and The Last Kingdom), The Atlas Maneuver will see the protagonist become involved in an insidious financial attack linked to looted Japanese war gold and a long-simmering war between the CIA and the world’s oldest bank.  Sure to feature Berry’s trademark blend of an exciting and suspenseful modern thriller and fascinating historical secrets, I already know I am going to love The Atlas Maneuver and it is going to be so much fun.

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Well, that is the end of my Top Ten list.  I think it turned out pretty well and it does a good job of capturing all my most anticipated books for the next three months.  Each of the above should be extremely epic, and I cannot wait to read each of them soon.  Let me know which of the above you are most excited for and stay tuned for reviews of them in the next few months.  In the meantime, it looks like I have quite a few books to get through soon and they should all be pretty awesome.

WWW Wednesday – 22 November 2023

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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:

Everyone on this Train is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson (Trade Paperback)

Everyone on this Train is a Suspect Cover

I started reading the awesome and hilarious new novel from Australian author Benjamin Stevenson, Everyone on this Train is a Suspect.  The impressive sequel to Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone, Everyone on this Train is a Suspect sees the hapless protagonist forced to solve murders at a mystery writers convention on a train where all the participants are suspects capable of getting away with murder.  Compelling, unique and fun homage to the various murder mystery sub-genres, this is a great book and I am hoping to knock it off in the next few days.

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Murtagh by Christopher Paolini (Audiobook)

Murtagh Cover

I am started listening to the new Christopher Paolini novel, Murtagh, which I have been looking forward to for ages.  The sequel to Paolini’s iconic Inheritance Cycle (a series I have a lot of love for), Murtagh follows the exploits of the damaged dragon rider Murtagh a year after being freed from the control of his evil lord.  Murtagh was one of my most anticipated books for the second half of 2023 and it is proving to be an excellent novel, providing a compelling expansion to Paolini’s original awesome fantasy series.

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What did you recently finish reading?

Warhammer 40,000: Creed: Ashes of Cadia by Jude Reid (Audiobook)

Creed - Ashes of Cadia Cover 2

I managed to knock off the latest Warhammer 40,000 audiobook, Creed: Ashes of Cadia by Jude Reid this week.  Ashes of Cadia was an excellent and action-packed novel that focused on a damaged protagonist returning to her destroyed home planet.  An excellent and compelling book, I’m hoping to get a review up for it soon.

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Saevus Corax Deals with the Dead by K. J. Parker (Paperback)

Saevus Corax Deals With the Dead Cover

A clever and hilarious fantasy novel that saw a talented battlefield looter get dragged into world-changing events against his will.  Easily one of the most amusing novels of 2023, this book comes highly recommended.

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What do you think you’ll read next?

House of Open Wounds by Adrian Tchaikovsky

House of Open Wounds Cover

If I get the chance in the next week I’ll probably start reading the next awesome novel from Adrian Tchaikovsky, House of Open Wounds.  The amazing sounding sequel to Tchaikovsky’s epic and impressive City of Last Chances, House of Open Wounds has an outstanding and elaborate plot idea behind it that I cannot wait to check out.

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

Top Ten Tuesday – Audiobooks I Need to Listen to by the end of 2023

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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 were requested to list book titles that they thought would make great newspaper headlines.  While this was a fun and unique sounding topic, it wasn’t one that I felt I could contribute to at this time, although I might come back to it in the future.  So instead, I return to my favourite medium of enjoying literature and do another list about audiobooks.  In particular, I take this opportunity to look at what remaining 2023 audiobooks I need to listen to before the end of the year.

2023 has been a pretty awesome year for fiction and I have already enjoyed several epic audiobooks which have really brought some elaborate stories to life (make sure to check out my list of top audiobooks from the first half of 2023).  We now have just under two months left in 2023 and I still have a ton of epic audiobooks that I need to listen to before the year is out.  So, to motivate me, I decided to come up with a list highlighting the top 2023 audiobooks I still need to listen to, including some major releases from this year.

To qualify for this list, an audiobook just needed to be released sometime in 2023.  I decided to include a mixture of audiobooks I already have copies of, as well as a couple of 2023 audiobooks that still need to be released and which I need to make room in my listening schedule.  I already knew somewhat in advance which main audiobooks I needed to include, but it was very satisfying and helpful to list it out like this.  So let us see what made the cut.

Honourable Mentions:

Warhammer 40,000: Genefather by Guy Haley

Warhammer 40,000 - Genefather Cover

An epic Warhammer 40,000 audiobook I really want to listen to, although I will probably try to get through Haley’s previous novel, The Great Work, first.

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Star Wars: Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade by Delilah S. Dawson

Star Wars - Rise of the Red Blade Cover

A fun Star Wars audiobook that focuses on an intriguing new villain.

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Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare

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A major and compelling fantasy novel I really wanted to read this year, hopefully I can try to listen to it at some point.

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The Lie Maker by Linwood Barclay

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A great sounding thriller from an author I’ve been meaning to check out for a while.

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Top Ten List:

Murtagh by Christopher Paolini

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Having just been released, Murtagh is the audiobook I am hoping to listen to next.  The sequel to Paolini’s Inheritance Cycle, Murtagh will follow a major morally grey supporting character as he embarks on his own quest.  I loved Paolini’s original Inheritance Cycle and I cannot wait to explore his impressive fantasy world again, especially as they got Gerard Doyle back as narrator.

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Slayers by Christopher Golden and Amber Benson

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I am a massive fan of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer television series and I was very excited when I heard about the Slayer audio adventure.  Written by the team of author Christopher Golden and actress Amber Benson, Slayers is a compelling audio sequel to the original series that features many members of the original cast, including James Marsters, Charisma Carpenter and Anthony Head.  I am very excited to check this epic audio exclusive out and I am hoping to get into it soon.

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Gods of the Wyrdwood by R. J. Barker

Gods of the Wyrdwood Cover

One of the books that I most regret not reading so far in 2023 is the awesome new fantasy novel from R. J. Barker, Gods of the Wyrdwood.  Barker has really impressed me with his previous series and I have been eager to dive into Gods of the Wyrdwood for a while, although I haven’t had a chance to do so yet.  I am planning to grab an audiobook copy of Gods of the Wyrdwood in the next few weeks and try to enjoy it that way.  I already know I am going to love this outstanding novel and it easily has the potential to be one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2023.

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Warhammer 40,000: The Fall of Cadia by Robert Rath

Warhammer 40,000 - The Fall of Cadia Cover

Out of all the Warhammer 40,000 books released in 2023, the one that has some of the most raw potential is the recently released novel, The Fall of Cadia.  Written by the very talented Robert Rath (The Infinite and the Divine and Assassinorum: Kingmaker), The Fall of Cadia will follow one of the most infamous events in Warhammer 40,000 history, the destruction of the planet Cadia during the 13th Black Crusade.  Set to feature a powerful and elaborate war story of epic proportions, The Fall of Cadia sounds like an outstanding book and I cannot wait to listen to this amazing tale unfold in its audio format.

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Generation Ship by Michael Mammay

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I’m in the mood for some compelling science fiction before the end of 2023 so I will try and listen to the new Michael Mammay novel, Generation Ship.  Mammay has written some amazing science fiction thrillers in the past, including his epic Planetside series (Planetside, Spaceside and Colonyside), and Generation Ship has a great standalone plot about an ill-fated journey to colonise a planet.  I love the sound of this audiobook and I hope I get the chance to listen to it.

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The 9th Man by Grant Blackwood and Steve Berry

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Earlier this year I had an exceptional time listening to the new Cotton Malone novel by Steve Berry, The Last Kingdom, which was a pretty epic audiobook.  As such, I was very excited when I saw that Berry had released a Cotton Malone spin-off novel, The 9th Man, which focuses on one of the series’ main supporting characters.  Co-written by Grant Blackwood, The 9th Man sounds like an fantastic read, and I am hoping to get through another great history/thriller hybrid before 2023 ends.

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Warhammer 40,000: Dead Men Walking by Steve Lyons

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Another awesome Warhammer 40,000 audiobook I’m hoping to listen to in 2023 is Dead Men Walking by Steve Lyons.  A sequel to his previous audiobook, Krieg, Dead Men Walking will pit the relentless soldiers of the Death Korps of Krieg against the metallic alien Necrons.  Essentially a book about two fearless and unrelenting foes destroying each other, Dead Men Walking promises to be a particularly grim addition to the series and I for one am very excited for it.

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Defiant by Brandon Sanderson

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I had to include one of the most anticipated young adult science fiction novels of the year on this list with Defiant by Brandon Sanderson.  The fourth and final book in Sanderson’s Skyward series, Defiant finishes off the elaborate adventure contained in Skyward, Starsight and Cytonic.  Featuring warring aliens, compelling teenage protagonists, elaborate universes, and some of the best fighter pilot combat you are likely to read, this is an excellent series and I cannot wait to see how it ends.

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House of Open Wounds by Adrian Tchaikovsky

House of Open Wounds Cover

After enjoying Tchaikovsky’s earlier 2023 fantasy novel, City of Last Chances, I am extremely eager to listen to the sequel, House of Open Wounds, which comes out in early December.  Set to follow an outstanding protagonist as he takes place in a crazed military medical hospital with the most unusual healers, House of Open Wounds sound amazing and I cannot wait to check it out.  While I would love to listen to House of Open Wounds on audiobook, I might be forced to read an electronic version of it instead, but I will see how I go.  No matter what though, this should be an exceptional read.

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Star Wars: Cataclysm by Lydia Kang

Star Wars - Cataclysm Cover

The final book on my list is the cool Star Wars: The High Republic novel, Cataclysm by Lydia King.  I’ve been pretty slack with getting through Star Wars fiction lately and I really need to keep going with the High Republic series, which I have already invested a lot of time in.  As such, I decided I needed to include the very early 2023 release, Cataclysm on my list.  Cataclysm looks set to end the second phase of High Republic sub-series, and I am very eager to check it out, especially as it leads to the dark third and final phase of the series.  I’m not entirely sure I’ll be able to fit it into my audiobook listening schedule before the close of 2023, but I’ll try, especially as this sounds like an amazing novel.

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Well that’s the end of my list.  As you can see, there are still a ton of audiobooks I need to listen to in 2023, including some pretty major releases.  Each of the above sound really awesome, and they all honestly have potential to be one of the top books or audiobooks of 2023.  I really need to sit down and power through some of the above, and I cannot wait to find out just how awesome each of them is.

Book Haul/Vacation Books – 20 September 2023

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Book HaulLeave a comment

I’ve had a good week for books, having been lucky enough to receive four amazing reads that I am particularly excited to read, including three novels that were amongst my most anticipated novels for 2023.  While these four books are pretty damn awesome, I would usually wait to get a few more books before doing a Book Haul post.  However, I’m heading out for vacation tomorrow so it’s going to be a while before I will be able to do a follow-up post.  So instead, I’m going to list the four new releases I got, while also highlighting what books I am planning to take away on vacation with me.

Book Haul:

Holly by Stephen King

Holly Cover

I was very happy to receive a copy of the new Stephen King book, Holly, which is set around a gruesome and complex mystery.  I’ve actually already finished Holly off, and it is easily one of the best and most captivating noels of 2023.  I am hoping to get a review up for Holly soon, but it comes very highly recommended to anyone interested in an exceptional read.

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Prima Facie by Suzie Miller

Prima Facie Cover

The novel version of Suzie Miller’s play of the same name and an intriguing legal thriller.

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House of Open Wounds by Adrian Tchaikovsky

House of Open Wounds Cover

I managed to get an early copy of House of Open Wounds by Adrian Tchaikovsky through Netgalley and I am very excited about it.  The sequel to the exceptional City of Last Changes, House of Open Wounds has an amazing plot of a group of unusual and magic healers drafted in an unconventional medical unit.  This book sounds so damn fun, and while I was hoping to enjoy House of Open Wounds on audiobook, I am very tempted to dive into this early copy.

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Kill Your Husbands by Jack Heath

Kill Your Husbands Cover

Another great book from Netgalley, Kill Your Husbands is an excellent sounding murder mystery from one of my favourite Australian authors and the great sequel to his previous book, Kill Your Brother.  I am very excited to check this book out and I know I am going to love all the clever twists and turns.

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Travel Books:

I’m taking an interesting collection of books with me for the coming weeks.  I’m hoping to get through a few novels that have been on my to-read list for a while so it should be an interesting couple of weeks.

The Noise by James Patterson and J. D. Barker

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The Maleficent Seven by Cameron Johnston

The Maleficent Seven Cover 2

Lord of the Night by Simon Spurrier

Lord of the Night Cover

Notorious Sorcerer by Davinia Evans

Notorious Sorcerer Cover

Age of Ash by Daniel Abraham

Age of Ash Cover

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

Waiting on Wednesday – House of Open Wounds by Adrian Tchaikovsky

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Fantasy, Waiting on Wednesday6 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  For my latest Waiting on Wednesday I highlight a particularly awesome upcoming fantasy novel that is one of my most anticipated reads for the second half of 2023, House of Open Wounds by Adrian Tchaikovsky.

House of Open Wounds Cover

Amazon

After years of accidently avoiding the works of legendary fantasy and science fiction author Adrian Tchaikovsky I have recently started getting into his novels and boy am I having fun with them.  Tchaikovsky is an author who can create elaborate and vast new worlds and fill them with complex and conflicted characters who you can’t help but become attached to.  His short novel Ogres was an excellent example of this, while his first foray in Warhammer 40,000 fiction, Day of Ascension, was one of the best Warhammer 40,000 books I have so far read.  However, my favourite novel of Tchaikovsky has to be his outstanding book City of Last Chances.

City of Last Chances is an epic and captivating read that was one of the best books (and audiobooks) I enjoyed in the first half of 2023.  Set in a complex and unique fantasy city occupied by a military force of perfection-seeking zealots, City of Last Chances was an entertaining and addictive read about revolution, religion, magic and bad choices that I could not get enough of.  Following multiple loosely connected characters on the worst day of their lives, City of Last Chances was one of the cleverest and most distinctive fantasy novels I have ever had the pleasure of reading.  This amazing novel got an easy five-star rating from me and it will probably end up topping my favourite novels and audiobooks lists of 2023 in a few months’ time.  I cannot emphasise how much I loved City of Last Chances and it has made me a pretty massive fan of Tchaikovsky as a result.

As such, you can imagine how happy I was to discover that Tchaikovsky has a sequel to City of Last Chances coming out later this year.  I have been hoping to highlight this sequel, House of Open Wounds, in a post for a while now and they just released the cover for it.  House of Open Wounds, which is set for release in December 2023, will continue at least one of the stories featured in City of Last Chances as it follows a key protagonist on a new gruesome adventure.

Plot Synopsis:

City-by-city, kingdom-by-kingdom, the Palleseen have sworn to bring Perfection and Correctness to an imperfect world. As their legions scour the world of superstition with the bright flame of reason, so they deliver a mountain of ragged, holed and scorched flesh to the field hospital tents just behind the frontline.

Which is where Yasnic, one-time priest, healer and rebel, finds himself. Reprieved from the gallows and sent to war clutching a box of orphan Gods, he has been sequestered to a particularity unorthodox medical unit.

Led by ‘the Butcher’, an ogre of a man who’s a dab hand with a bone-saw and an alchemical tincture, the unit’s motley crew of conscripts, healers and orderlies are no strangers to the horrors of war. Their’s is an unspeakable trade: elbow-deep in gore they have a first-hand view of the suffering caused by flesh-rending monsters, arcane magical weaponry and embittered enemy soldiers.

Entrusted – for now – with saving lives deemed otherwise un-saveable, the field hospital’s crew face a precarious existence. Their work with unapproved magic, necromancy, demonology and Yansic’s thoroughly illicit Gods could lead to the unit being disbanded, arrested or worse.

Beset by enemies within and without, the last thing anyone needs is a miracle…

Ok, I am so damn excited for this outstanding book for quite a number of reasons.  Not only does House of Open Wounds serve as a sequel to City of Last Chances and will further dive into the conquests of the Palleseen, a very unlikeable antagonistic group, but it will also continue the story of Yasnic, one of the best characters for City of Last Chances.  Yasnic is a fantastic and entertaining figure who had such a brilliant character arc in his first appearance.  The last priest and believer of a forgotten god, Yasnic was initially a bit of a pathetic figure, scraping through life while trying to follow the rules of a god only he can see.  However, as City of Last Chances’ story unfolded, Yasnic manages to find a purpose in healing and soon recovers several other forgotten or deposed gods, giving them a new home and using them to help sick and injured people.  Yasnic’s arc was really well done in the first book and I honestly thought Tchaikovsky had done all he could with him.  However, I am also very happy that we get more of Yasnic in the future, and it will be interesting to see how Tchaikovsky expands on his character development and growth.

While Yasnic and the continuation of City of Last Chances is a major reason why I will be picking up House of Open Wounds, I am also very intrigued by the new storylines that Tchaikovsky is featuring in this sequel, especially around the unconventional medical unit.  I absolutely love the idea of a crazed and unusual team of medical practitioners using all manner of illegal magic, gods and necromancy to heal people, and this kind of sounds like a fantasy version of M*A*S*H.  I imagine Tchaikovsky will utilise a similar writing style as what he featured in City of Last Chances, which will allow the reader to follow all the unique figures in this camp as they go about their job and their own complex lives.  This sounds like a really cool idea and I cannot wait to see what sort of compelling and fun storylines develop there, as well as the fantastic characters that emerge.  Tchaikovsky has the great ability to combine humour and crazy situation with raw power and tragedy, so this should be an outstanding read that hits all the different emotional buttons.

I honestly am so damn excited for House of Open Wounds and I cannot wait to get more Adrian Tchaikovsky in my life.  Tchaikovsky is such a talented author, and any continuation of the perfection that was City of Last Chances, is going to be good, especially when it focuses on crazy medical practitioners doing weird magic to save their patients.  I have no doubt whatsoever that House of Open Wounds is going to be an exceptional read and it will probably top all my end of year best-of lists.  This is going to be so damn awesome and I cannot wait to get my hands on this book in a few short months.

Top Ten Tuesday – Top Pre-2023 Novels That I Read in the First Half of the Year

On By The Unseen LibraryIn List2 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics.  The official topic for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday was to list books with one-word titles, however, I am going to do two separate lists here that continue my theme of recapping the first half of 2023.  I have already published one list tonight that looked at which books from the first half of 2023 that I still need to read, however, I will also be highlighting the best pre-2023 novels that I read in the first half of the year.

I have had a lot of fun recapping some of the best recent books and audiobooks released in the first half of 2023 in previous weeks, but I also need to talk about some of the books that came out before 2023 that I also read this year.  I am a big fan of going back and checking out older series and books, and there are so many excellent pre-2023 novels that I haven’t had a chance to read before.  This has been particularly true recently, as I have spent a lot of time this year pouring through novels and audiobooks with a variety of older release dates and featuring them in my Throwback Thursday posts.  I honestly might have enjoyed too many of these older books, as I am way behind in my 2023 readings at the moment, but I think it was more than worth it as there were some exceptional reads there, including a bunch that got five-star ratings from me.  Due to the sheer number of pre-2023 books I have already read this year, as well as their amazing quality, I felt that it would be interesting to do a list highlighting them now.

To come up with this list I had a look at all the novels I read this year that had their initial release before 2023.  This list includes a range of pre-2023 releases, including quite a few that I had been meaning to read for a while.  I was eventually able to cull this down to a workable Top Ten list, with a descent honourable mentions section.  Due to my current obsession, this list is extremely Warhammer 40,000 heavy, which I’m fine with because they are awesome books, so I apologise in advance if some of my choices are a little predictable.  I also decided to cheat a little by combining a few series together into a single list entry, although that was mainly done to add a little variety to the post.  Still this honestly reflects the best pre-2023 novels I read throughout the year, so let us see what made the cut.

Honourable Mentions

Giantslayer by William King

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Caves of Ice by Sandy Mitchell

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Kill Team by Gav Thorpe

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Kingsblade by Andy Clark

Kingsblade Cover

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Top Ten List:

Eisenhorn trilogy by Dan Abnett

Warhammer 40,000 - Xenos Cover

Let us start with the outstanding Eisenhorn books by Dan Abnett, which are some of the seminal pieces of Warhammer 40,000 fiction.  Following a passionate Inquisitor as he attempts to destroy insidious alien and Chaos threats inside the Imperium of Man, the Eisenhorn books are a fantastic thriller and science fiction blend that prove to be highly addictive, especially as they also detail the protagonist’s own gradual personal corruption.  Made up of Xenos, Malleus and Hereticus, all three of these books really lived up to the hype and got easy five-star ratings from me.

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Dead Beat, Proven Guilty and White Night by Jim Butcher

White Night Cover

I have been having a lot of fun diving back into the iconic Dresden Files urban fantasy series this year, especially after how epic the series has been in the past.  I managed to get through three books in the series this year with Dead Beat, Proven Guilty and White Night, and each one was more compelling than the last.  This is easily one of the best fantasy series out there and I cannot recommend each of these books enough, especially as they all got five-star ratings from me.

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Ghostmaker, Necropolis, Honour Guard and The Guns of Tanith by Dan Abnett

Warhammer Ghostmaker Cover

In addition to his Eisenhorn novels, Dan Abnett is probably best known for his military fiction focused Warhammer 40,000 series, the Gaunt’s Ghosts books.  Following a doomed regiment as they traverse from bloody battleground to bloody battleground, the Gaunt’s Ghosts books are considered one of the backbones of the Warhammer 40,000 fiction and I have been making a real effort to dive into the series this year.  I have managed to read four books from this series so far in 2023, including Ghostmaker, Necropolis, Honour Guard and The Guns of Tanith, and each has proven to be exciting and addictive in its own way.  Each of these books are outstanding reads, although my favourite is probably Necropolis, mainly because it was set around a massive siege, and I cannot wait to dive even further into this series in the future.

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The Infinite and the Divine by Robert Rath

The Infinite and the Divine Cover

Perhaps one of the best pre-2023 Warhammer 40,000 novels I read this year was The Infinite and the Divine by Robert Rath, who is one of the best current authors of Warhammer fiction.  Following two ancient Necron lords as they fight for control of a mysterious artefact, The Infinite and the Divine is a brilliant read that perfectly combines backstabbing treachery and humour with the dark Warhammer 40,000 universe.  This book essentially showcases a petty feud between two immortals that lasts millennia and destroys entire worlds, and it is something glorious to behold.  Easily one of the best Warhammer 40,000 novels I have so far had the pleasure of reading, this book comes very highly recommended to all fans of the franchise.

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Flesh and Steel by Guy Haley

Flesh and Steel Cover

One of my favourite sub-series of Warhammer fiction are the Warhammer Crime books.  Set in a corrupt Warhammer 40,000 city, the Warhammer Crime books detail several unique crime fiction narratives that make full use of the unique setting.  I have read several Warhammer Crime books in 2023, but the one I want to highlight first is the fun and entertaining Flesh and Steel by Guy Haley.  Essentially an odd couple buddy cop story, Flesh and Steel sees a wealthy by lonely officer and a cyborg investigator team up to solve a very unique murder with deadly consequences.  This was a very impressive read that helped cement my love for the entire Warhammer Crime sub-series.

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Ogres by Adrian Tchaikovsky

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I have been deeply enjoying the works of the brilliant Adrian Tchaikovsky this year, and I made the effort to go back and read his 2022 novella, Ogres, when I had a chance.  Set in a deadly world where humans are enslaved by ogre overlords, Ogres follows a bold human who finally fights back against his oppressors with dark consequences.  A complex and quick novella with an insanely good and complex plot, Ogres will have you guessing to the very end and I am very glad I made the effort to read it this year.

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Grim Repast by Marc Collins

Warhammer 40,000 - Grim Repast Cover

Another outstanding older Warhammer Crime book I enjoyed in early 2023 was the dark read, Grim Repast by Marc Collins.  Set out as a classic noir mystery, Grim Repast follows a damaged cop as he attempts to stop a crazed serial killer, only to find himself a suspect in the crimes.  This is one of the more intense Warhammer novels I have read, and I liked the grim feel and complex characters that Collins featured.  A brilliant addition to a very unique sub-series.

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For the Emperor by Sandy Mitchell

Warhammer 40,000 - For the Emperor Cover

From dark mystery to absolute fun, another pre-2023 novel I checked out this year was the classic Warhammer 40,000 read, For the Emperor by Sandy Mitchell.  The first book in the fan favourite Ciaphas Cain series, For the Emperor introduces the reader to the titular character, a legendary hero of the Imperium, who is secretly a coward with terrible luck and great survival instincts.  Outrageously funny, especially as Cain finds so many different ways to try and avoid danger, only for his plans to backfire continuously, this is an outstanding read, especially in its audiobook format.

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Bloodlines by Chris Wraight

Warhammer 40,000 - Bloodlines Cover

The final older Warhammer Crime book I check out in 2023 was Bloodlines by acclaimed author Chris Wraight.  Probably one of the more straightforward crime fiction reads in this series, Bloodlines follows a tired, veteran cop as he attempts to unravel the mystery surrounding a high-profile disappearance and a looming gang war.  A very addictive read, you will come away from Bloodlines with a great appreciation for just how good a crime story in the grim Warhammer 40,000 universe can be.

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13th Legion by Gav Thorpe

13th Legion Cover 2

The last pre-2023 novel that I want to highlight on this list is the powerful 13th Legion by leading Warhammer fiction author Gav Thorpe.  Essentially The Dirty Dozen in space, 13th Legion is a classic Warhammer 40,000 novel that follows a condemned penal legion as they fight for survival and a potential pardon.  Intense, dark and very fun, 13th Legion was an epic book and I have a lot of love for the outstanding series it sets up.

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And that is the end of this list.  As you can see I have managed to check out a bunch of epic pre-2023 novels in the first half of this year.  Each of the above were exceptional and fun reads and I would strongly recommend them, especially if you are in the mood for some fun fantasy or science fiction adventures.  I look forward to reading more older books in 2023, although I should probably slow down a little and check out my recent releases.  However, I imagine it I will probably continue several of these series, especially the Dresden Files and Gaunt’s Ghosts books, so be prepared to see more Throwback Thursday posts featuring.  Make sure to check out my other recent lists about the first half of 2023, especially my other Top Ten Tuesday post tonight, and let me know what cool older books you have already checked out this year.

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

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, List20 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics.  Top Ten Tuesday participants get a freebie this week so I chose to have a look at my favourite audiobooks from the first half of 2023.  This is a continuation of my Top Ten list from a few weeks ago that featured my favourite overall novels from the first half of 2023.

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

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

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

Honourable Mentions (Pre-2023 audiobooks):

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

Warhammer 40,000 - Xenos Cover

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

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

White Night Cover

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

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

The Infinite and the Divine Cover

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

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

Warhammer 40,000 - For the Emperor Cover

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

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Top Ten List:

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

Son of the Poison Rose Cover

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

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

Warhammer 40,000 - Warboss Cover

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

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

The Last Kingdom (Steve Berry) Cover

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

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

The Lake House Cover Better

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

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

The Lion - Son of the Forest Cover

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

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Burner, written by Mark Greaney, narrated by Jay Snyder

Burner Cover

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

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

The Will of the Many Cover

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

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

Warhammer 40,000 - Shadowsun Cover

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

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

City of Last Chances Cover

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

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

Warhammer 40,000 - Leviathan Cover

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

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

Top Ten Tuesday – My Favourite Books From the First Half of 2023

On By The Unseen LibraryIn List22 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics.  The official topic for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday involved listing your favourite book covers in the colours of your country’s flag.  While this was an interesting idea, I had already decided in advance of seeing this topic that I would take this opportunity to celebrate the fact that we are already into the second half of 2023 by highlight some amazing books from the first half of the year.

2023 has already proven to be a pretty fantastic year for books, and I have already read some incredible 2023 releases, including impressive standalone books, amazing new entries in established series and fantastic debuts.  Because of this, I thought that I would take the time to work out what my top ten favourite books from the first half of 2023 were.  To be eligible, a book had to be released in the first half of this year in some form.  I have also excluded any books released during this period that I have not so far read, although a couple of releases I have my eye on might have appeared on this list if I had read them in time.

Coming up with this list proved to be a rather bigger task than I originally intended, as I ended up amassing nearly 20 releases, all of which I consider to be some pretty outstanding reads.  I was eventually able to whittle this down to an acceptable Top Ten list, although I did include my typical generous honourable mentions section.  I am rather happy with how this list turned out, although I am surprised at some of the great recent books that ended up being excluded.  Still, the entries below represent what I considered to be some of the best books from the first half of 2023, and I would strongly recommend each and every one of them. 

Honourable Mentions:

The Malevolent Seven by Sebastien De Castell

The Malevolent Seven Cover

An ultra-fun, ultra-violent fantasy read that pitted a group of amoral mercenary mages against the worst the world had to throw at them.  A highly entertaining read.

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Fatal Legacy by Lindsey Davis

Fatal Legacy Cover

Another excellent addition to Davis’ long-running Flavia Albia historical murder mystery series. Fatal Legacy featured another compelling case, this time based around an extensive family feud in ancient Rome and is well worth the read.

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Unnatural History by Jonathan Kellerman

Unnatural History Cover 2

Veteran crime fiction author Jonathan Kellerman delivered another brilliant entry to his iconic Alex Delaware series this year with the fantastic and clever Unnatural History.  A powerful and well-written crime fiction read with a clever solution behind it, this was an amazing addition to the series.

Amazon

 

Dead of Night by Simon Scarrow

Dead of Night Cover

One of my favourite historical fiction authors, Simon Scarrow, delivered an amazing sequel to his previous World War II thriller, Blackout, with the impressive Dead of Night.  Set in Nazi controlled Berlin, Dead of Night had a unique and historically powerful narrative, and this proves to be quite the memorable novel.

Amazon

Top Ten List (no particular order):

The Book that Wouldn’t Burn by Mark Lawrence

The Book That Wouldn't Burn Cover

Acclaimed author Mark Lawrence produced one of his best fantasy books ever with the outstanding and epic, The Book That Wouldn’t Burn.  Set in a massive fantasy library, The Book That Wouldn’t Burn contains a complex and twist-laded narrative that had me hooked from the very beginning.  Lawrence really outdid himself with The Book That Wouldn’t Burn and this is such an incredible read.

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Burner by Mark Greaney

Burner Cover

I always make sure to check out the new Gray Man novel by top thriller author Mark Greaney each year and I am never disappointed, especially with the latest book Burner.  Burner was a hyper-intense and action packed read that didn’t stop once during its entire run.  Perfectly exploring contemporary history and tying it into ongoing storylines, Burner was a particularly strong addition to the already great Gray Man series and it comes very highly recommended.

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Usagi Yojimbo: The Green Dragon by Stan Sakai

Usagi Yojimbo - Volume 38 - The Green Dragon Cover

Unsurprisingly, I had to include the new Usagi Yojimbo comic in this list, as it still one of my all-time favourite comic series.  Despite the series’ age, Stan Sakai is still pumping out some outstanding stories, and The Green Dragon was a pretty amazing addition to the series.  Following the titular rabbit ronin as he journeys through his version of Feudal Japan, The Green Dragon featured three amazing stories, each one perfectly showcasing the complex characters and Sakai’s striking art style.  Another masterful entry in this amazing series, I loved The Green Dragon and I’m hoping to get a proper review up for it soon.

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Son of the Poison Rose by Jonathan Maberry

Son of the Poison Rose Cover

One of my favourite authors, Jonathan Maberry, continued to explore the dark fantasy genre in a big way with his violent and captivating novel, Son of the Poison Rose.  The epic sequel to Kagen the Damned (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2022), Son of the Poison Rose continues to follow the adventure of a doomed and damned protagonist, desperate for revenge, while also cleverly expanding Maberry’s awesome new fantasy realm.  Brutal, uncompromising, but utterly addictive, Son of the Poison Rose was another incredible book from Maberry and I had an exceptional time reading it.

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Battle Song by Ian Ross

Battle Song Cover

A new author I tried out in the first half of 2023 was historical fiction author Ian Ross, who presented a cool medieval adventure story.  Battle Song was an outstanding read, that saw a naïve squire follow a cynical knight through tournaments, politics and civil war, in a deeply entertaining and powerful story.  Set amongst a unique period of English history, I got pretty damn hooked on Battle Song and I was really impressed with his style, fun characters, and awesome action sequences.  A very exciting novel that all fans of historical fiction will enjoy, Battle Song is really worth checking out.

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The Will of the Many by James Islington

The Will of the Many Cover

Easily one of the best books I have read so far this year was the outstanding fantasy novel, The Will of the Many by Australian author James Islington.  An addictive and inventive read set primarily in a magical school (one of my favourite fantasy settings), The Will of the Many follows a rebellious student with secrets who is dragged into multiple conspiracies.  Featuring a bold new universe, a complex story, and some great characters, The Will of the Many was a joy to read from start to finish and I cannot recommend it enough, especially those looking for a new series to dive into.

Amazon

 

The Lion: Son of the Forest by Mike Brooks

The Lion - Son of the Forest Cover

I had to include at least one Warhammer 40,000 novel on this list and few new books from this franchise impressed me as much this year as The Lion: Son of the Forest by Mike Brooks.  Brooks, whose work I previously enjoyed with Warboss and Huron Blackheart: Master of the Maelstrom, produced one of his strongest books yet with The Lion: Son of the Forest.  Following the return of an iconic character from the franchise lore, The Lion: Son of the Forest was a powerful and action-packed read that told a great story of return, redemption and revenge.  A must-read for all Warhammer 40,000 fans, The Lion: Son of the Forest was an outstanding book and Brooks is proving to be one the best rising authors in the franchise.

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Her Sweet Revenge by Sarah Bonner

Her Sweet Revenge Cover

Following on from the success of her first novel, Her Perfect Twin (one of my favourite debuts of 2022), Sarah Bonner released another awesome thriller this year with Her Sweet Revenge.  Following a grieving protagonist who wants revenge for her best friend’s murder, Her Sweet Revenge is fantastic series of twists, turns and clever reveals, all of which is so damn fun to read.  I loved this great second book from Bonner and I cannot wait to see what she writes next.

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City of Last Chances by Adrian Tchaikovsky

City of Last Chances Cover

I’m slightly cheating by including City of Last Chances here because it was initially released in 2022.  However, the version I managed to get didn’t come out in Australia until earlier this year, so I’m counting it for this list.  It helps that City of Last Chances was an exceptional and highly inventive fantasy read that blew me away with its scope, cleverness and complex characters.  Featuring a very distinctive and fun style, City of Last Chances was a particularly amazing book from Adrian Tchaikovsky (Ogres and Day of Ascension), and I had an outstanding time diving into this cool and memorable setting.  An epic read that comes very, very highly recommended.

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The Last Kingdom by Steve Berry

The Last Kingdom (Steve Berry) Cover

The final book I want to highlight on this list is the awesome Cotton Malone thriller, The Last Kingdom, by veteran author Steve Berry.  Set around a unique conspiracy from Bavaria, The Last Kingdom is an outstanding combination of modern-day thriller and an impressive dive into Bavaria’s complex past.  I have so much love for Berry’s outstanding ability to weave together a fantastic historical conspiracy, and this was probably one of the better entries in the Cotton Malone series that I have had the pleasure of reading.

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Well, that’s the end of this latest list.  As you can see, I have already read some amazing and epic books so far in 2023 and we are only halfway through the year.  I am pretty happy with how this list turned out, and it will be interesting to see which of these books ends up being amongst my top reads of the year.  All the novels above come very highly recommended, and you are guaranteed to have a wonderful time reading them.  Let me know what your favourite releases for the first half of the year are in the comments below and make sure to check out my two most anticipated reads lists (fantasy and science fiction and other), as well as which of the above books you liked the most.