Book Haul – 3 April 2022

On April 3, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn Book Haul1 Comment

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

Usagi Yojimbo: Tengu War by Stan Sakai

Usagi Yojimbo - Tengu War!

I was extremely happy to get my copy of the latest Usagi Yojimbo volume, Tengu War!. The Usagi Yojimbo series by Stan Sakai is one of my favourite comic series and I have been eagerly waiting for this comic for some time (it was one of my most anticipated reads of 2022). I actually read Tengu War! the day I received it and it was pretty damn amazing. I am hoping to get the review for it up soon and needless to say it will get a five-star rating from me.

An Empty Throne by Robert Fabbri

An Empty Throne Cover

Another recent acquisition that I have been looking forward to for a while was the third book in Robert Fabbri’s Alexander’s Legacy series, An Empty Throne. Following on from the previous books in the series, To the Strongest and The Three Paradises, An Empty Throne will continue to follow the chaos that emerged in the aftermath of Alexander the Great’s death as his former advisors, relatives and friends, fought for his empire. I have been really enjoying this series over the last few years and I cannot wait to see what wacky events from history are contained in this next book.

Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone Cover

I was very happy to receive this very fun book from Australian author Benjamin Stevenson, Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone. Stevenson, who previously wrote the murder mystery novels Greenlight and Either Side of Midnight, has come up with something pretty spectacular here with Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone, which I have already finished. This awesome novel, which brilliantly mixes comedy, mystery and multiple homages to classic whodunits, places a troubled Australian family in the midst of several suspicious deaths at a remote location, and forces them to solve it. Utterly hilarious and extremely clever, I had an absolute blast from this book and I will be putting up an extremely positive review for it soon.

Three Assassins by Kotaro Isaka

Three Assassins Cover

I was also extremely fortunate to receive a copy of the English translation of Three Assassins by Japanese author Kotaro Isaka, which I am extremely excited to read. I had an amazing time reading Isaka’s previous novel, Bullet Train, last year and Three Assassins sounds like it is in a similar vein to it, setting someone against three outrageous assassins. Sure to be filled with laughs, odd characters and brutal action, I cannot wait to check this book out and will probably dive into next.

Esther’s Children by Caroline Beecham

Esther's Children Cover

I just received an electronic advanced proof of the intriguing upcoming historical drama, Esther’s Children by Caroline Beecham. Set around World War II, this novel follows a young woman who works at an organisation that tried to rescue Jewish academics and scholars from Europe. Sure to be powerful, romantic and moving, I am curious to check this book out, especially after enjoyed Beecham’s last novel, Finding Eadie. I was very happy to see that they have used my Canberra Weekly review for Finding Eadie inside this new book, and I hope to read this latest novel soon.

Esther's Children Front Page

Amongst Our Weapons by Ben Aaronovitch

Amongst our Weapons Cover

I was naturally extremely happy to receive the latest Rivers of London novel by Ben Aaronovitch, Amongst our Weapons. The latest book in one of the best urban fantasy series out there, Amongst our Weapons is one of the most anticipated fantasy novels of 2022 and I am extremely keen to read it. I had a great time with Aaronovitch’s previous two novels, Lies Sleeping and False Value, and Amongst our Weapons has a great plot to it involving someone using magic to rob the London Silver Vaults. I already know this is going to be a top read and I look forward to seeing how it all comes together.

Death of the Black Widow by James Patterson and J. D. Barker

Death of the Black Widow Cover

Superstar crime fiction author, James Patterson, returns with another collaboration, this time with acclaimed writer J. D. Barker, for their new book Death of the Black Widow. This cool new is a gripping and intriguing crime fiction read that sets a rookie police officer chasing after a mysterious, alluring and very dangerous woman. I really like the sound of this awesome book and I am hoping to read it in the next few weeks.

Nobody But Us by Laure Van Rensburg

Nobody But Us Cover

One of the more intriguing novels I recently received was Nobody But Us by new author Laure Van Rensburg. This dark and compelling thriller sees a mismatched couple take an unusual trip to the remote countryside, with both lying about their intentions for being there. I am very taken by this mysterious and awesome novel, and I look forward to seeing what sort of devious tale Van Rensburg has come up with.

The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn

The Diamond Eye Cover

Another fantastic historical drama I was lucky enough to receive is The Diamond Eye by the extremely talented Kate Quinn. The Diamond Eye follows a young woman from Kiev who becomes a notorious and deadly sniper during the Nazi invasion in World War II. I love the sound of this awesome book, especially as it is particularly topical at the moment, and I am extremely confident that Quinn has come up with a compelling and powerful tale here.

Ordinary Monsters by J. M. Miro

Ordinary Monsters Cover

I was also extremely fortunate to receive a copy of Ordinary Monsters by J. M. Miro, an intriguing and comprehensive young adult fantasy novel set in 19th century London and Edinburgh. This fascinating novel will follow individuals with unique abilities who have been gathered together in a mysterious institute. I have been hearing some good things about this book and it sounds like this could be the start of the next big young adult series. As such, I should probably clear some room in my reading schedule soon in order to get through this fantastic novel.

Mr Mercedes by Stephen King

Mr Mercedes Cover 1

I also recently had a successful visit to a second-hand book shop and picked up a couple of older books from author’s I have been enjoying recently. The first of these is the classic Mr Mercedes by legendary author Stephen King. I had an amazing time reading King’s 2021 novels, Later and Billy Summers, and I thought it was time I expand my King knowledge. Mr Mercedes seemed liked a great place to start, especially as one of the protagonists from it is apparently set to appear in some of King’s upcoming books, and I cannot wait to see how this gritty thriller comes together.

The Late Show by Michael Connelly

The Late Show Cover

The other second-hand book I got was The Late Show by Michael Connelly, which serves as the very first Renee Ballard book. I have had a great time reading all of Connelly’s other books featuring Ballard, including Dark Sacred Night, The Night Fire, and The Dark Hours, so I thought it would be worth my time going back and seeing the first book she appeared in. The Late Show has a really intriguing sounding mystery to it and I can’t wait to see the earlier adventure of this tenacious protagonist. I will hopefully feature The Late Show in a Throwback Thursday article soon, I just need to find sometime to read this book in between all the fun new releases.

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.

Top Ten Tuesday – Books on my Autumn 2022 TBR

On February 22, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn List4 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 Top Ten Tuesday topic for this week was around Dynamic Duos, however, I decided to instead move up my quarterly post about the best upcoming books to read (TBR) for the following three months. This is a regular post I do at the start of each season, and as this Tuesday is just before Autumn (Spring for you folks in the Northern Hemisphere), this is the ideal time to put this up.

For this list, I have come up with 10 of the most anticipated novels that are coming out between 1 March 2022 and 31 May 2022. 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 my most anticipated books and fantasy novels of the 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 books of 2022.

Honourable Mentions:

The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi – 15 March 2022

A fun romp with giant monsters that is going to be so very entertaining.

Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson – 29 March 2022

A great upcoming book with a fantastic concept, Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone is the latest thriller from Australian author Benjamin Stevenson (Greenlight and Either Side of Midnight). This cool novel will see an entire family with murderous secrets start killing each other during a deadly family reunion, and I know I am going to love it.

Amongst our Weapons by Ben Aaronovitch – 12 April 2022

Impressive fantasy author Ben Aaronovitch returns with the latest book in his Rivers of London series that follows a special police unit that investigates magical crimes in London. This series perfectly blends urban fantasy with police procedural elements (check out my reviews for Lies Sleeping and False Value), and I look forward to seeing what happens next.

One Foot in the Fade by Luke Arnold – 26 April 2022

After having a brilliant 2020 with his first two novels, The Last Smile in Sunder City (one of the best debuts of 2020) and Dead Man in a Ditch, Luke Arnold returns to the deadly Sunder City, a former stronghold of magic that has fallen into devastating ruin following the destruction all magic in the world. One Foot in the Fade will continue to follow Arnold’s detective character as he attempts to bring back magic and save the former magical creatures he doomed to an early grave.

Top Ten List:

Usagi Yojimbo: Tengu War! by Stan Sakai – 22 March 2022

The first entry on this list is the next upcoming Usagi Yojimbo comic, Tengu War!. I had this book on my last TBR list, but the release date got knocked back to March, so I am featuring it again here. I am extremely keen for this comic and I cannot wait to see what epic adventure Usagi gets into next.

Kingdoms of Death by Christopher Ruocchio – 22 March 2022

An incredible sounding entry in one of the best current science fiction series.

An Empty Throne by Robert Fabbri – 1 April 2022

More chaos in the aftermath of Alexander the Great’s death.

The Bladed Faith by David Dalglish – 5 April 2022

Assassins, deposed kings, and dead gods should lead to an epic read.

Desperate Undertakings by Lindsey Davis – 7 April 2022

The next Flavia Albia novel from legendary historical fiction author Lindsey Davis, who has produced some outstanding books in recent years (check out my reviews for Pandora’s Boy, A Capitol Death and The Grove of the Caesars). This next entertaining sounding novel will follow its protagonist as she investigates several despicable deaths around ancient Rome. Sure to be a ball of fun, I am extremely keen to check it out.

The Hunger of the Gods by John Gwynne – 12 April 2022

Still my favourite cover of 2022.

Three Assassins by Kotaro Isaka – 12 April 2022

Last year I was lucky enough to receive a copy of Kotaro Isaka’s Bullet Train, the English translations of one of his impressive Japanese books. I had a ton of fun with this clever thriller and I was extremely excited to find out that Isaka had a new book coming out this year with Three Assassins. His new book will pit another unique group of assassins against each other and should make for an extremely captivating read.

The Girl and the Moon by Mark Lawrence – 4 May 2022

One of the most intriguing current masters of fantasy fiction, the impressive Mark Lawrence brings his clever Book of the Ice trilogy to and end this year with The Girl and the Moon. I have deeply enjoyed this cool series over the last two years, with the first two entries, The Girl and the Stars and The Girl and the Mountain, being extremely impressive reads. I cannot wait to see how this series ends I am expecting heartbreak, destruction and some powerful moments.

Star Wars: Brotherhood by Mike Chen – 10 May 2022

Return to the Clone Wars with this awesome upcoming Star Wars novel.

Kagen the Damned by Jonathan Maberry – 10 May 2022

My favourite thriller author dives into fantasy fiction this year with an intense revenge story I am already predicting will be a five-star read.

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.

Canberra Weekly Column – Crime Fiction

On March 5, 2020 By The Unseen LibraryIn Canberra Weekly Column, Murder Mystery, Thriller4 Comments

Canberra Weekly Column - 5 March 2020 - Crime Fiction-1

Originally published in the Canberra Weekly on 5 March 2020.

Make sure to also check out my extended review of The Museum of Desire.

WWW Wednesday – 4 March 2020

On March 4, 2020March 4, 2020 By The Unseen LibraryIn WWW Wednesday2 Comments

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?

A Testament of Character by Sulari Gentill (Trade Paperback)

I started reading this one today, and I am really enjoying it so far. This is the 10th book in the Rowland Sinclair historical murder mystery series, and it takes the book’s Australian protagonists to America in the 1930’s to investigate a suspicious death. I am looking forward to seeing how this one turns out and this should prove to be a fantastic read.

One Minute Out by Mark Greaney (Audiobook)

I’m around halfway through this book at the moment and it is pretty incredible. Containing a rather dark and heavy story about human trafficking, this new book from Greaney is an excellent and captivating thriller.

What did you recently finish reading?

False Value by Ben Aaronovitch (Trade Paperback)

Star Trek: Picard: The Last Best Hope by Una McCormack (Audiobook)

The Holdout by Graham Moore (Audiobook)

Amnesty by Aravind Adiga (Trade Paperback)

Black Leviathan by Bernd Perplies (Trade Paperback)

What do you think you’ll read next?

Where Fortune Lies by Mary-Anne O’Connor (Trade Paperback)

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.

WWW Wednesday – 19 February 2020

On February 19, 2020 By The Unseen LibraryIn WWW Wednesday7 Comments

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?

False Value by Ben Aaronovitch (Trade Paperback)

The latest book in the acclaimed Rivers of London urban fantasy series, False Value is an amazing novel that I am having a great time reading. Aaronovitch has created another excellent story, which has some really unique and compelling elements to it. I just over halfway through False Value at the moment, and I reckon this is going to turn into a five star read.

Star Trek: Picard – The Last Best Hope by Una McCormack (Audiobook)

I have been really enjoying the new Star Trek: Picard television show, so when I saw that they had released an official tie-in novel I had to check it out. The Last Best Hope is an outstanding prequel novel that acts as a bridge between Star Trek: The Next Generation and Picard. I am really enjoying this fantastic book, and I am hoping to finish it off in the next day or so.

What did you recently finish reading?

The God Game by Danny Tobey (Trade Paperback)

The Warsaw Protocol by Steve Berry (Audiobook)

What do you think you’ll read next?

Amnesty by Aravind Adiga

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

Book Haul – 17 February 2020

On February 17, 2020 By The Unseen LibraryIn Book HaulLeave a comment

It has been another great couple of weeks for me when it comes to receiving books. I have been lucky enough to receive several fantastic novels from my local publishers, including a couple of reads I was really looking forward to. Each of the books below has a lot of potential and I am excited to read each and every one of them.

False Value by Ben Aaronovitch

False Value Cover

Now this is a book that I have been wanting to check out for over a year, especially after I had such an amazing time reading the previous book in the Rivers of London series, Lies Sleeping. I included this book on both my Top Ten Most Anticipated Book Releases for the First Half of 2020 list and my Top Ten Books I Predict will be Five Star Reads list, so you can imagine just how keen I am to check it out. I have actually already started reading it, and so far it is pretty darn incredible.

The Warsaw Protocol by Steve Berry

The Warsaw Protocol Cover

Another book I have really been keen to get a copy of. The Warsaw Protocol is the latest novel in the Cotton Malone series of thrillers, which focus on fascinating historical conspiracies. I have actually already finished reading this book and I will hopefully get a review for it up in the next day or so.

Death in the Ladies Goddess Club by Julian Leatherdale

Death in the Ladies Goddess Club Cover

This is an interesting sounding Australian historical murder mystery that I am hoping to check out in the next couple of weeks.

The Wolf of Oren-Yaro by K. S. Villoso

The Wolf of Oren-Yaro Cover

This is a cool fantasy novel that I am looking forward to reading. Pretty much all you need to know about this book is that it has an intriguing concept and it is part of a series called Chronicles of the Bitch Queen. Needless to say, I am expecting something really fun out of this book and it should be good.

Amnesty by Aravind Adiga

Amnesty Cover

Another compelling sounding Australian novel, Amnesty is probably going to get very heavy as it deals with an illegal immigrant living in Australia. I am actually really curious about this one and I am intrigued about how it is going to turn out.

Fifty-Fifty by Steve Cavanagh

Fifty-Fifty Cover

Two women on trial for the same murder, one is innocent, one is guilty. Now that is a pretty cool concept and I for one, really want to know what the solution is.

The Holdout by Graham Moore

The Holdout Cover

The final book in this haul is The Holdout by Graham Moore. I loved the sound of this book’s fantastic plot synopsis last year and have been looking forward to reading it ever since. A combination legal drama and murder mystery from the writer of The Imitation Game, this is something that I have to check out!
That’s it for this latest book haul. I am still expecting a few amazing books in the next couple of weeks, but in the mean time I better start making some progress reading and reviewing the books I already have.

WWW Wednesday – 12 February 2020

On February 12, 2020 By The Unseen LibraryIn WWW Wednesday1 Comment

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?

God Game, Warsaw Protocol

The God Game by Danny Tobey (Trade Paperback)

The God Game is a rather intriguing novel that I started reading a day or two ago. I really liked the sound of it’s plot synopsis and so far it is proving to be quite an interesting and enjoyable book.

The Warsaw Protocol by Steve Berry (Audiobook)

I have been looking forward to this amazing thriller for a while now, especially after I had such a great time reading The Malta Exchange last year. I am about halfway through The Warsaw Protocol at the moment, and it is turning out to be an excellent novel. I cannot wait to see how this book ends and I imagine it will only take me a couple more days to get through it.

What did you recently finish reading?

Kellerman and Hurwitz Cover
The Museum of Desire by Jonathan Kellerman (Trade Paperback)

Into the Fire by Gregg Hurwitz (Audiobook)

What do you think you’ll read next?

False Value by Ben Aaronovitch (Audiobook)

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

Top Ten Tuesday – Books on my TBR I Predict Will Be 5 Star Reads

On February 4, 2020 By The Unseen LibraryIn List14 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly series that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. In this week’s Top Ten Tuesday, we need to list the top ten upcoming books on our to-read list that we think will be five-star reads. To that end, I have scoured through those upcoming books that I want to read for those exceptional sounding entries that I think I will end up awarding a full five stars rating to.

There are actually quite a few novels I am planning to read that I think have the potential to get a five-star rating from me. I have already identified several of these books in my Waiting on Wednesday posts, as well as in my prior Top Ten Most Anticipated Book Releases for the First Half of 2020 list. Not only do all of these books have amazing-sounding plots, but quite a few of them are either written by an author I really like or part of a series that contains entries that I have previously awarded five-star reviews to.

There were quite a few upcoming books that I felt could have been included this list, but I ended up culling it down to my top ten favourites (in addition to my usual honourable mentions section). I decided to only include those books whose titles and plot synopsis have been officially revealed, as that made it easier to determine whether I am likely to award it a five-star rating. This does mean that I had to exclude several books that are coming out in the next year which have not been officially announced or which we know very little detail about. This includes sequels to some of my favourite books of 2019, include Rage, The Bone Ships, Starsight and A Little Hatred, which, while I know nothing about them now, I am extremely confident that they are going to be incredibly awesome. In the end, I was able to come up with a great list of books that I am happy with, so let us get to it.

Honourable Mentions:

The God Game by Danney Tobey – 14 January 2020

The only book on this list that I currently have a copy of, The God Game sounds like an amazing read, and I have heard some great things about it from some other reviewers. I am planning to read this book next, and based on its cool plot, I think this book has a real shot of getting a full five stars from me.

Shorefall by Robert Jackson Bennett – 21 April 2020

The Kingdom of Liars by Nick Martell – 7 May 2020

Daughters of Night by Laura Shepherd-Robinson – 25 June 2020

Laura Shepherd-Robinson’s debut book, Blood & Sugar, was an outstanding piece of historical crime fiction that got a full five stars from me and was one of my favourite debuts of 2019. This second book is set to explore another intriguing murder in 18^th century London, and I am hopeful that the author’s second novel will be just as good as her first.

Top Ten List (By Release Date):

False Value by Ben Aaronovitch – 20 February 2020

Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising by Timothy Zahn – 7 May 2020

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins – 19 May 2020

The Obsidian Tower by Melissa Caruso – 2 June 2020

Demon in White by Christopher Ruocchio – 9 July 2020

Queen of Storms by Raymond E. Feist – 14 July 2020

This is the sequel to 2018’s excellent King of Ashes, which is written by one of my favourite authors, Raymond E. Feist. I am a huge Feist fan and I have been looking forward to this book for a long time. I really enjoyed the intriguing new story that Feist came up with in his previous novel and I cannot wait to see where the story goes from here.

How to Rule an Empire and Get Away With It by K. J. Parker (cover not yet released) – 25 August 2020

One of my favourite books of 2019 was Parker’s exceptional fantasy novel, Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City, which featured a desperate attempt to save a besieged city by a bunch of engineers and their duplicitous commander. This new novel, How to Rule an Empire and Get Away With It, appears to contain a similar story, except that this time the book will focus on a playwright whose talents are utilised to win a siege. Based on how incredible his previous novel with, I am really excited for this upcoming book, and I fully expect it to be another funny and compelling five-star read.

The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett – 15 September 2020

There is absolutely no way that the new epic novel from Ken Follett is not going to get a full five stars from me when it comes out later this year. Follett is another one of my favourite authors, and he has produced some incredible pieces of historical fiction over the years. The Evening and the Morning is the prequel to Follett’s iconic The Pillars of the Earth, and is set over 100 before during the Dark Ages. This is sure to be another captivating examination of history that explores the lives of several great characters over a period of years, producing a truly compelling story. This is going to be a massive read, but I am sure I will deeply enjoy every single page of it.
Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff – 17 September 2020

The next book on my list is an incredible-sounding novel from Australian author Jay Kristoff. Kristoff, who is best known for his young adult fiction, is working on an adult fantasy novel which focuses on a world where vampires rule after the sun failed to rise one day. This book will apparently chronicle the life of the last vampire hunter, who attempted to save the world but is now imprisoned by the vampires and awaiting his execution. I have to admit that I really like the sound of this upcoming book, and I think that Kristoff is onto a real winner with this intriguing story.

Hollow Empire by Sam Hawke – 1 December 2020

Hawke’s debut novel, City of Lies, was a fantastic story about a family of poison experts as they tried to win a siege and keep their king safe from treachery, which was easily one of my favourite books of 2018. I have been looking forward to Hawke’s sequel for a while now, and Hollow Empire is currently set for release later this year. I have really high hopes for this sequel, especially as Hawke is apparently branching out into witchcraft and war in this new book.

Well, that’s it for this week’s list. I truly think all of the above books have the potential to be five-star reads, and I cannot wait to get my hands on all of them. Let me know what you think of the above books in the comments below, and tell me which upcoming pieces of fiction you think have the potential to be five-star reads.

Top Ten Tuesday – My Most Anticipated Book Releases for the First Half of 2020

On January 6, 2020 By The Unseen LibraryIn List9 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. In this first Top Ten Tuesday for the year, participants need to list their most anticipated book releases for the first half of 2020. The upcoming year is full of some very impressive sounding novels, and there are quite a few out there that I am really looking forward to getting my hands on.

I actually managed to pull together a substantial list of books that are coming out between January and June 2020. I was eventually able to narrow it down to my top ten absolute favourite upcoming releases (that have been announced), with a few honourable mentions included. I have already featured the vast majority of these books in some of my Waiting on Wednesday posts, but there are a couple of inclusions I have not had the chance to talk about yet. I like how the list below turned out and I hope you enjoy it.

Honourable Mention:

Song of the Risen God by R. A. Salvatore – 28 January 2020

The Warsaw Protocol by Steve Berry – 25 February 2020

The Kingdom of Liars by Nick Martell – 5 May 2020

The Return by Harry Sidebottom – 11 June 2020

Harry Sidebottom has been on a fantastic roll over the last couple of years, producing some amazing Roman historical fiction novels which take inspiration from various modern thriller sub-genres. His previous two books, The Last Hour and The Lost Ten have been very impressive, and his new upcoming novel, The Return, is set to mix Scandi-noir elements with the ancient Italian countryside. This sounds like quite an exciting and enjoyable novel, and I am really looking forward to it.

Top Ten List (by release date):

To the Strongest by Robert Fabbri – 2 January 2020

Highfire by Eoin Colfer – 28 January 2020

False Value by Ben Aaronovitch – 25 February 2020

While I was really hoping to read this book last year, its release date was knocked back to February 2020. Still, it is only a short while until this book comes out and I have no doubt it is going to be another five-star novel from Aaronovitch.

Cyber Shogun Revolution by Peter Tieryas – 3 March 2020

Shorefall by Robert Jackson Bennett – 21 April 2020

Firefly: The Ghost Machine by James Lovegrove – 28 April 2020

Lovegrove has already produced two amazing Firefly novels in the last year or so, with Big Damn Heroes and The Magnificent Nine both proving to be outstanding reads. This new upcoming Firefly book, The Ghost Machine, sounds extremely compelling, and I look forward to seeing what interesting adventures Lovegrove takes the crew of Serenity on next.

Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising by Timothy Zahn – 5 May 2020

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins – 19 May 2020

Eagle Station by Dale Brown – 26 May 2020

The Obsidian Tower by Melissa Caruso – 2 June 2020

I think that the above list is a nicely varied and intriguing collection of novels, and I like how I am interested in such a wide variety of different genres and authors. All 10 of the featured books (as well as the honourable mentions) are sure to be excellent, first-rate reads, and I have high hopes for all of them. Let me know which of the books above you are most interested in, as well as which upcoming novels are your most anticipated for the first half of 2020.

Top Ten Tuesday – Pre-2019 Books

On December 24, 2019 By The Unseen LibraryIn List9 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. For the last couple of weeks I have been using these Top Ten Lists to highlight some of my favourite books of 2019. So far, I have already examined my favourite debut novels of 2019, my favourite audiobooks of 2019 and my favourite new-to-me authors. For this week, I am going to look at books I read for the first time this year that were released before 2019.

This year I have ended up reading quite a few books and comics that were published at some point prior to 2019. I have checked these various books out for a number of reasons, such as the book had an awesome plot synopsis, it was part of a series or an expanded universe that I had been exploring, or because I wanted to see an author’s earlier works. Most of these older releases are really good, and in some cases they are amongst my favourite books I read all year. I have also featured quite a few of these books as part of my Throwback Thursday series, and pretty much all of them receive a full five out of five stars from me. As a result, I wanted to highlight which books amongst these series are my absolute favourites and decided to feature them in their own Top Ten list.

For this list, any book with a pre-2019 release date is eligible for inclusion, and I was able to come up with my 10 absolute favourites, as well as a generous honourable mentions section. I am pretty happy with the below collection of pre-2019 releases, although it is hard to ignore that quite a few are part of either the Star Wars franchise the excellent Joe Ledger series. This was mainly because those were the books I was in the mood for, and I was really happy to check all of those books out. All of the below books are quite fantastic, and I would highly recommend each of them to anyone looking for an awesome read.

Honourable Mentions:

Cold Iron by Miles Cameron

Cold Iron was one of three books that feature on this list which were released last year and which I featured on my Top Ten Books I Wish I Had Read in 2018 list. This was an outstanding novel that featured an amazing story and an excellent new fantasy world. Unfortunately, I just could not fit Cold Iron in the top ten. Still, Cold Iron comes highly recommended, and I really enjoyed its sequel, Dark Forge.

Star Wars: Tarkin by James Luceno

The first of several Star Wars novels that are featured on this list, 2014’s Tarkin was an enjoyable novel which presented a whole new history for the titular character in the current Star Wars canon.

The King of Plagues by Jonathan Maberry

The King of Plagues is the third book in the Joe Ledger series, several entries of which are going to be featured in the list below. The King of Plagues was a really solid entry in this great range of thriller books, and I gave it a full five stars when I reviewed it.

Star Wars: Scoundrels by Timothy Zahn

The only book from the old Star Wars Legends range of books in this article, Scoundrels by legendary Star Wars author Timothy Zahn was a fun and exciting novel that featured a heist set in the Star Wars universe. A fantastic read, this one was a lot of fun to check out, and after reading it I am very much tempted to check out more Star War Legends books in the future.

Top Ten List (in no particular order):

Legend by David Gemmell

Legend was a classic from 1984 that I had an incredible time with earlier this year. Featuring perhaps the best siege storyline I have ever had the pleasure of reading; Legend is an outstanding fantasy novel that I had been meaning to check out for some time. I am extremely happy that I had the opportunity to enjoy Legend, and it is one of the top books I read all year.

The Dragon Factory by Jonathan Maberry

While I first started listening to the Joe Ledger series by Jonathan Maberry in 2018 with Deep Silence and Patient Zero, 2019 was the year that I fully invested myself in these excellent thriller novels. The first one of these that I enjoyed this year was the second book in the series, The Dragon Factory, which was just all sorts of amazing. In my opinion, Maberry started to really hit his stride in this second book, as he was able to produce some fascinating antagonists with a complex plan and some astonishing plot twists that really got the story going. This was an outstanding novel, and I am really glad that I decided to continue exploring this series.

The Ember Blade by Chris Wooding

The Ember Blade was another novel that I wish I had checked out in 2018. Featuring a massive and elaborate fantasy storyline with some complex and detailed characters, The Ember Blade was a powerful and impressive read that is very much worth investing the time it takes to get through this substantial book.

Darth Vader (2015) series by Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca

I am going to cheat a little here and include all four volumes of the clever and captivating Darth Vader (2015) comic book series, as well as the Vader Down crossover volume, as a single entry. While there were a few comic book series which I read this year that I could have included here, such as the first volume of the Star Wars (2015) series or the ever-entertaining Doctor Aphra comics, in my opinion, the Darth Vader (2015) series was the easily the best and most consistent out of all of them. All five of these volumes get an easy five stars from me, and while I have only reviewed Volume One so far, I will hopefully get reviews up for the others soon. This Darth Vader series contained a deeply compelling storyline that really helps to redefine one of the most iconic film villains of all time while also showing off how dangerous and determined he really is. Not only was this an epic comic, but it also introduced one of the best new Star Wars characters of the decade, Doctor Aphra. These comics are a must-read for fans who want to see how incredible the franchise can truly be.

Lies Sleeping by Ben Aaronovitch

I ended up reading this book early in 2019, and I was so annoyed that I did not read it any sooner. Lies Sleeping is one of the best urban fantasy books I have ever read, which has a perfect combination of fantasy and crime fiction elements. A fantastic read that ensured that all of Ben Aaronovtich’s books are very high up on my to-read list from now on.

Assassin’s Code by Jonathan Maberry

The fourth book in the Joe Ledger series, Assassin’s Code, was a fast-paced and action-packed novel that introduced some amazing new characters into this franchise and featured an epic group of modern vampiric antagonists. A thrill ride from start to finish, this was a lot of fun to read and a terrific book to boot.

Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan

I had been hearing some incredible things about the Powder Mage series for a long time and decided that this was the year that I would finally check it out by reading the first Powder Mage book, Promise of Blood. I was in no way disappointed, as Promise of Blood more than lived up to the hype, containing a deeply compelling and extremely enjoyable tale of betrayal, revolution and war, while mages whose powers are derived from gunpowder unleash hell across an inventive and embattled new world. This is fantasy writing at it’s very best, and I really need to read more of these books in the future.

Star Wars: Thrawn by Timothy Zahn

This is the second entry in this article from Timothy Zahn, which isn’t too surprising as he has been dominating the Star Wars novel scene for over 20 years at this point. After enjoying the second book in the Thrawn trilogy, Alliances, last year, I decided to go back and check out the first novel in the trilogy, Thrawn, before the third and final book, Treason, came out this year. While I knew I was going to love this book as the titular character of this series, Grand Admiral Thrawn, is one of my favourite Star Wars characters of all time, I was nonetheless surprised at how deeply impressive I found this book. Featuring an incredibly addictive story set around a calculating tactical genius, Thrawn absolutely blew me away, and it is easily the best Star Wars novel I have so far had the pleasure of reading.

King of Assassins by R. J. Barker

I had been meaning to read this book ever since it’s 2018 release, especially as the first two books in The Wounded Kingdom trilogy, Age of Assassins and Blood of Assassins, were pretty spectacular. I ended up listening to this book earlier in the year, and it was an amazing end to the trilogy that provided the reader with a deeply captivating story. I still have to finish off my review for this book, although it gets a full five stars from me, and Barker’s latest book, The Bone Ships, is going to appear on my upcoming Top Ten Favourite Books of 2019 list.

Code Zero by Jonathan Maberry

The final book on this list is Code Zero, the sixth book in the Joe Ledger series, and the latest one that I have been able to read. Code Zero was an extremely clever entry in the series, which featured an exception story, a compelling antagonist and a plot that utilised and paid respect to some of the best parts of the previous Joe Ledger books. This was easily one of the best books in the series, and I am really excited to check out the final three Joe Ledger books that I haven’t yet had a chance to read.

I like how the above list turned out, although I think it really highlights how much time I spent reading Star Wars and Joe Ledger books this year. I am planning to keep up with a similar reading pattern of new releases and awesome older books in 2020. Hopefully I’ll be able to finish off the Joe Ledger series next year, and I will definitely try to listen to more of David Gemmell and Brian McClellan’s books in the future. I also see myself listening to bunch of other Star Wars novels in 2020, because there are some amazing gems there. In the meantime, which pre-2019 books did you enjoy this year? Let me know in the comments below. Make sure to check in next week as I list my favourite 2019 releases in the final Top Ten Tuesday for the year.