Top Ten Tuesday – Books From My Past Seasonal TBR Posts I STILL Haven’t Read

On July 26, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn List5 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 latest Top Ten Tuesday participants need to go back to their old Seasonal TBR lists and see which books from them they have still not read. This was a very interesting and useful topic to look at as this once again reminds me about all the awesome books out there that I was excited for but which I never got around to reading.

There are quite a few books out there now that I have been meaning to read for a very long time. Many of these books have been featured to a degree on my blog either through optimistic Waiting on Wednesday posts or in shameful “I wish I had read” Top Ten lists, where I air my great regrets about not checking out a certain release (to be fair, I only have so much time and there are so many awesome books out there). So now again it is good to go back and see which ones I have missed to remind me of what I need to read and provide some motivation for it. I just did a similar post last week regarding books from the first half of the year that I still need to read, however, I like the idea of going back and looking at some previous Top Ten Tuesday posts and seeing what other books lie there.

To appear on this list, a potential book needed to be both unread by me and have appeared on a previous Top Ten Tuesday Seasonal TBR post that I have done. I chose to exclude a couple of my more recent Seasonal TBR posts, namely those from 2022, as that would have just doubled up my list from last week. Despite these exclusions, there were still several lists to scour for potential entries and I was able to determine several books that would be appropriate for this list. However, this wasn’t as easy as I had thought, as it turns out I’m pretty good at getting through the books on these TBR lists, and most had been read and reviewed by me. In the end, I did manage to find 10 entries, as well as a few honourable mentions, and the results below are quite intriguing. So let us see what made the cut.

Honourable Mentions:

Providence by Max Barry

Star Trek: Rogue Elements by John Jackson Miller

The Liar’s Knot by M. A. Carrick

Top Ten Tuesday:

The Maleficent Seven by Cameron Johnston

Gamora & Nebula: Sisters in Arms by Mackenzie Lee

The Righteous by David Wragg

The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton

A Fool’s Hope by Mike Shackle

Star Trek: The Dark Veil by James Swallow

The Obsidian Tower by Melissa Caruso

Eagle Station by Dale Brown

Shorefall by Robert Jackson Bennett

Daughters of Night by Lauren Shepherd-Robinson

Well, that ended up being a rather interesting list. As you can see from the above, there are still several outstanding novels that I really need to read, and I hope that I get the chance at some point in the future. All 10 of the above sound like incredible reads, and I honestly have not purposely chosen not to read any of them, I just haven’t had the time or ability to check them out. Hopefully that will eventually change, as I am extremely keen for several of them, and I have no doubt they will be epic reads.

Top Ten Tuesday – Books I Meant to Read in 2021 but Didn’t Get To

On January 11, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn List8 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. For this week’s Waiting on Wednesday, participants were required to list their most recent additions to their book collections. However, due to some upcoming lists that I planned out I am instead mixing things up and instead featuring the top books of 2021 that I wanted to read but didn’t get a chance to.

2021 was a great year for novels and I had an outstanding time getting through a solid collection of cool new releases and older novels, which were pretty much all epic and impressive reads. However, no matter how hard one tries, there are always a couple of books each year that I did not get a chance to read, either due to time constraints, lack of access or from being overwhelmed with other books that I really wanted to read. As a result, this is a list that is rather tinged with regret, as each book I plan to mention below is one that I really wish I had taken the time to read.

To complete this list, I pulled together some of the more interesting and compelling sounding novels that I did not get a chance to read in the last year. Each entry was released last year and while I knew that they were coming out, I did not get a chance to read any of them. In many cases I have these books sitting on my shelf at this moment, silently and constantly judging me, and I think I will have to try and read them to stop their bookish glares. I was eventually able to cull my list of regret down to 10 entries with an honourable mentions section. The final list is an interesting collection of books from across the genres and includes a couple of big 2021 releases I did not get a chance to look at.

Honourable Mentions:

Galaxias by Stephen Baxter

An interesting sounding science fiction novel about the end of the world that would have been fun to check out.

The Keeper of Night by Kylie Lee Baker

One of the coolest young adult fantasy books I didn’t get to read last year.

The Burning by Jonathan and Jesse Kellerman

I have been really getting into Jonathan Kellerman’s novels lately and I reckon I would have enjoyed this fantastic novel if I had a chance to read it.

Star Trek Discovery: Wonderlands by Una McCormack

2021 was a bit of a null year for me when it came to Star Trek fiction as there were several Star Trek great tie-in books I wanted to read but didn’t get a chance to. The one I think I would have enjoyed the most was Wonderlands by Una McCormack that tied into the third season of Star Trek Discovery.

Top Ten List:

Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff

One of the books I most regret not reading last year is the epic Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff. Set in a world completely ruled by vampires, this book chronicles the life of a human resistance fighter/vampire hunter. I have heard some impressive things about Empire of the Vampire, and I really wish I could have read it last year. Unfortunately, I could not fit it into my reading schedule as it is a pretty massive book with an extensive run time. I will try extremely hard to read it this year though, especially if Kristoff has sequels planned.

The Maleficent Seven by Cameron Johnston

Another book I deeply regret not reading in 2021 was The Maleficent Seven by the amazing Cameron Johnston. An intriguing fantasy reversal of classic films like The Magnificent Seven and Seven Samurai, The Maleficent Seven follows seven villains as they join forces to defend a village from an army even more evil than them. I really liked the sound of this book, and I am a big fan of Johnston’s previous novels The Traitor God and God of Broken Things. As such, I will also make a huge effort to check out The Maleficent Seven this year, and I already know I am going to love it.

The Noise by James Patterson and J. D. Barker

James Patterson cowrote several great books in 2021, and while I did manage to enjoy his fun 2 Sisters Detective Agency (cowritten by Australian author Candice Fox), I didn’t get a chance to read his most interesting sounding novel, The Noise. Cowritten by horror author J. D. Barker, The Noise is a trippy and captivating sounding science fiction thriller set in a remote area of America. Filled with mysterious science, government conspiracies and a dangerous elemental force, I was deeply intrigued by this novel and I am hoping to read it soon.

Unforgiven by Sarah Barrie

Unforgiven is a powerful Australian thriller about a former victim of a paedophile who hopes to hunt down her abuser. I heard that this book was pretty epic and intense, and I meant to read it in the last week. I may try and start it in the next day or so, but I will have to see how I go.

The Righteous by David Wragg

Another book that I really regret not reading in 2021 was The Righteous by David Wragg. The sequel to his impressive debut, The Black Hawks, The Righteous apparently continues his cool dark fantasy storyline about a group of mercenaries caught in the middle of an evil conspiracy. This is another one I will make a big effort to read soon and I cannot wait to see what happens to the series’ entertaining protagonists next.

Gamora and Nebula: Sisters in Arms by Mackenzi Lee

An interesting Marvel young adult tie-in by bestselling author Mackenzi Lee, Sisters in Arms was a book I really wanted to read last year, especially after enjoying Lee’s last novel Loki: Where Mischief Lies.

Star Wars: Visions: Ronin by Emma Mieko Candon

A fun tie-in to the Star Wars: Visions anime movies, Ronin was one of the few Star Wars books I didn’t read in 2021 and I hope to rectify that oversight soon.

The Last Watch by J. S. Dewes

This was apparently one of the best debut novels of 2021 and I really regret not checking it out. An epic and fascinating science fiction novel about a group of criminals and failures who try to save the universe, The Last Watch got a lot of love from some top reviewers, and I am keen to see how awesome it truly is.

The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman

Another major novel that got a lot of love in reviewers circles last years was The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman. Set to follow an odd couple pairing in a brutal fantasy world, this was apparently an exceptional novel, and it was one that I regret not getting a chance to read. I might try this year, especially if Buehlman has a sequel on the horizon, and I look forward to seeing what all the fuss is about.

The Liar’s Knot by M. A. Carrick

The final book on this list is The Liar’s Knot by M. A. Carrick, which is the second book in the Rook and Rose series of fantasy novels. I read the first book in this series, The Mask of Mirrors, earlier in the year, and I really enjoyed its fun and compelling story. I was hoping to read the sequel in 2021, but I never got the chance, especially as the audiobook version apparently isn’t out yet (I think I’d want to listen to it). I am hoping to listen to it in a few months’ time, but I’ll have to see how I go.

Well, that is the end of my latest list and it looks like I have a lot catch-up reading to do if I am going to make a dent in it. There are some truly amazing-sounding novels on this list and I fully intend to get through all of them at some point, although with all the outstanding books coming out in 2022, it might take me a little time. In the meantime, let me know what books you most regret not reading in 2021 in the comments below.

Top Ten Tuesday – Books I Want to Read Before the End of 2021

On November 9, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn List10 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. For this latest Top Ten Tuesday the official topic involved listing your favourite memorable things that characters have said. However, I am going to do something a little different and instead I am going to list the top ten novels I want to read before the end of 2021.

This is a bit of a continuation of a list I did this time in 2019 and 2020, when there were only approximately 50 days left in the year and I was freaking out about all the books I still wanted to read. Well, once again the year is nearly over, and there are currently only just over 50 days left in it. While I am rather keen to escape 2021, I am very mindful of the big pile of novels from this year currently sitting on my table (and a couple of bookshelves, and the floor). So, with that in mind, I thought I would do another version of this list to inspire me to read these books and knock them out before this year comes to an end.

For this list I have had a look through my many book piles and reading lists to work out which novels I really need to read before the year ends. To focus this on the books that are cluttering up my house or my phone storage, I decided to exclude novels that I do not currently have copies of (such as Never by Ken Follett, which is hopefully on its way) or have not yet been released. I also decided to exclude novels that I am definitely going to read before the end of the year, as I have plans to review them for some Canberra Weekly holiday columns (such as Cytonic by Brandon Sanderson or Kill Your Brother by Jack Heath). I am also going to exclude some novels from the big haul I got on Saturday, as I am hoping to get to them soon, and I am excluding The Dark Hours by Michael Connelly, as I am currently reading it. Using these parameters, I was able to come up with a list of 10 books (with some honourable mentions), that I would really like to read before the year ends. This list includes an interesting range of novels, including some big 2021 releases and some other novels that came in under the radar. All 10 sound really good and I desperately hope I have time to read them all.

Honourable Mentions:

Red Wolves by Adam Hamdy

The Keeper of Night by Kylie Lee Baker

Cave Diver by Jake Avila

Top Ten List:

Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff

The first book on this list is the awesome and fantastic sounding Empire of the Vampire by Australian author Jay Kristoff. I have only just finished reading Kristoff’s awesome Aurora’s End (co-written by Amie Kaufman), and I am keen to read some more of his stuff. In particular, I really want to read his awesome adult novel, Empire of the Vampire, which came out a little while ago. Empire of the Vampire is set in a world with no sunlight and ruled by vampires, who are hunting down the remaining humans. I have heard some impressive things about this book, and I really hope I get a chance to read it. I currently have the audiobook loaded up on my phone, although the trick will be fitting it into my listening schedule as it has a pretty substantial run time.

Gamora & Nebula: Sisters in Arms by Mackenzi Lee

I also really want to check out this cool young adult comic tie-in novel from Mackenzi Lee. I had a lot of fun with Lee’s previous novel, Loki: Where Mischief Lies, and her latest book has an intriguing story involving the two warring sisters, Gamora and Nebula. I am planning to grab a copy of this book when I can, and I am sure that I will have a great time with this interesting story.

The Righteous by David Wragg

Last year I had a lot of fun reading Wragg’s debut dark fantasy novel, The Black Hawks, which followed a rogue band of mercenaries on an impossible quest. I was really keen to read the sequel, The Righteous this year, but I haven’t had a chance to grab a copy yet. I am very curious to see what happens after the big cliff-hanger at the end of The Black Hawks, and I cannot wait to see what happens in this series next.

Star Wars: Visions: Ronin by Emma Mieko Candon

There is no way I can end 2021 without reading every single Star Wars tie-in novel that has been released, and at the moment the only one I haven’t had an opportunity to read is Star Wars: Ronin by Emma Mieko Candon. Ronin is a tie-in to the Star Wars: Visions anime series, and this book tells the tale of the Ronin character. I am hoping to get to this one in the next week or two, and I cannot wait to see what cool story Candon has come up with.

The Noise by James Patterson and J. D. Barker

I was recently lucky enough to receive the curious sounding novel, The Noise, written by James Patterson and J. D. Barker. The Noise has an interesting and compelling sounding story about Government conspiracies, mysterious explosions and an unexplained sound haunting the countryside. This one really caught my attention, and I really want to see what The Noise is about before the year ends.

Among Thieves by M. J. Kuhn

2021 has been a great year for debut novels, and I have been lucky enough to enjoy several fantastic debuts that have really showcased the talents of some new authors. However, there are still a couple of debuts I want to read before the year is out, and the main one of these is Among Thieves by M. J. Kuhn. Among Thieves is a brilliant sounding fantasy book that follows several desperate characters as they attempt to undertake a daring heist. I have already heard some great things about this book, and I think it has loads of potential. I am actually planning to read this book next, and hopefully nothing will come up preventing that.

The Apollo Murders by Chris Hadfield

One of the more intriguing novels of 2021 that I have not had the chance to read is the cool science fiction thriller, The Apollo Murders by Chris Hadfield. The Apollo Murders is a science fiction epic set in 1973, that involves a secret and deadly mission to the moon during the height of the Cold War. I love the sound of this awesome book, and I am hoping to listen to its audiobook format later this week, especially as it is voiced by one of my favourite audiobook narrators, Ray Porter.

The Last Watch by J. S. Dewes

Another impressive sounding debut I have been meaning to check out is the science fiction epic The Last Watch by J. S. Dewes. I have been hearing some incredible things about The Last Watch from some other reviewers, and this has made me pretty curious. Set out in the depths of space, this book follows a small group of criminals and exiles as they attempt to save the galaxy. Based on the buzz around this book, I think I am going to have a great time reading it, and I really hope I get the chance to do so before the end of 2021.

The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman

Throughout 2021, I have seen innumerable reviews about The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman, a cool sounding fantasy novel with an intriguing plot to it. Most of these reviews have been pretty positive, and it seems like every fantasy reviewer I follow has managed to check this book out. As such, I am really keen to read The Blacktongue Thief before the end of the year, just to see what all the fuss is about. Unfortunately, I have not been able to fit it into my reading schedule, but I will try to do so before the end of the year so I can be ready for any upcoming sequels.

The Maleficent Seven by Cameron Johnston

The final book on this list is probably the 2021 book that I regret not reading the most, The Maleficent Seven by Cameron Johnston. Johnston, who has previously written the awesome dark fantasy novels, The Traitor God and God of Broken Things, is a talented author, and I am very keen to see how his latest novel has turned out. The Maleficent Seven follows a group of former fantasy villains who reunite to defend a town from an evil army. Essentially a dark, magical version of The Magnificent Seven, I think this book has so much potential, and I am so annoyed with myself that I haven’t read it yet. Hopefully I will rectify this soon, and I already know I am going to love this book.

That’s the end of this week’s Top Ten list. I am extremely happy with how this list turned out as I am really keen to read each and every one of the novels listed above. All of them have an amazing amount of potential and I think several could end up being some of my favourite books of 2021. Make sure to check back in a few weeks to see if I have managed to get around to reading any of them yet. In the meantime, let me know which books you really want to read before the end of 2021 and best of luck getting through them.

Top Ten Tuesday – Titles or Covers that Made Me Want to Read/Buy a Book

On August 3, 2021 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. For this week’s Top Ten Tuesday, participants are tasked with listing the top titles or covers that made them want to read or buy a book. This is a pretty cool topic and it gives me an excuse to highlight some of my favourite covers and titles.

I have a somewhat eclectic method of choosing what books I want to read. While I mostly tend to read novels due to the author, plot description, recommendations from other reviewers, or because it is an entry in a series or franchise I like, quite a few first catch my eye due to colourful or crazy covers, or titles that really stand out (or a combination of the two). I have a lot of love for authors who invest in beautiful covers to highlight their novel’s style or plot features, and I also really enjoy cool and catchy titles. It honestly did not take me long to come up with a list of fun covers and titles, and I was eventually able to whittle it down into a Top Ten List. I tried to avoid using any novel where something else drove me to check the novel out, although there are a couple of cool Star Wars examples I had to include. I really enjoyed all the cool covers/titles below, especially as there are usually some great stories contained within them.

Honourable Mentions:

Star Wars: Vader – Dark Visions by Dennis Hallum

It has Darth Vader decked out as a black knight, how could I possibly resist this comic?

Child of a Mad God by R. A. Salvatore

A People’s History of the Vampire Uprising by Raymond A. Villareal

Black Leviathan by Bend Perplies

Top Ten Tuesday:

Mecha Samurai Empire by Peter Tieryas

Let us start with an extremely cool cover and a very fun name, Mecha Samurai Empire. I still remember the first time that I saw this book, as I was instantly drawn to the samurai mecha standing in front of a Japanese flag. I also was very intrigued by the name, Mecha Samurai Empire, and I had to know more about it. While the plot details did sway my decision, I already knew I was going to buy this book the moment I saw it. It really did not disappoint either, with an exciting and clever story about mechas in an alternate United States that lost World War II. This is such a great book, and the sequel, Cyber Shogun Revolution, follows the trend by having a fantastic cover a catchy title.

The Traitor God by Cameron Johnston

With a sleek, compelling name and a very well-crafted cover, The Traitor God quickly drew my attention before I even read the plot synopsis. This cover perfectly captures the dark feel of the novel, and the mysterious title is a fantastic part of the plot. This was a fantastic book, and led to a great sequel, God of Broken Things, which also featured an outstanding cover.

#Murdertrending by Gretchen McNeil

I don’t know what drew me to #Murdertrending more, the unique, twitter-handled title, or the fun cover where a group of stick figures are in danger. It probably was the title, and I liked the way in which McNeil was building up the novels critique of the social media obsessed world. Overall, this cover/title combo really grabbed my attention and forced me to buy this book.

The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne

I have mentioned a few times that one of the reasons I checked out The Shadow of the Gods was because of positive reviews from other fantasy fans. However, long before I heard about how good the story was, I found myself rather drawn to The Shadow of the Gods’ incredible cover. The giant dragon facing off against a lone hero is exceptionally drawn, and I loved how the artist brings this scene to life in its own distinctive and unique way. Suffice to say, this cool cover had The Shadow of the Gods well on my radar before it came out, and I probably would have read this novel, even if I had heard nothing from other reviewers.

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Gideon the Ninth was another book where the cover dragged me in, although in all fairness, it is a pretty damn impressive cover. The beautifully drawn artwork features a red-haired swordswoman with skull-themed face paint walking through a mass of exploding skeletons. I mean, if that does not draw your interest and attention, nothing will. In addition, when I received the book, it was a fantastic hardcover with black edging to the pages, which really gave of a mysterious and powerful theme to it. I was so hooked even before I found out it was a novel about lesbian, space-faring necromancers, and seeing the plot only convinced me to read it quicker. This was an outstanding novel, which Muir followed up last year with Harrow the Ninth, another novel with an extremely epic cover.

Strange Practice by Vivian Shaw

Strange Practice features a great cover with a doctor standing above a vampire filled coffin. That outstanding cover contained so much detail, and I loved the combination of classic vampire aesthetics with a modern London backdrop to it. The combination of black and white walls and characters against blood red floors, coverings and cityscape works surprisingly well, and it helps to deliver a very striking cover. This awesome art really dragged me towards this book, and I had a wonderful time reading this and its fun sequel, Dreadful Company, which also featured an amazing cover.

City of Bastards by Andrew Shvarts

Ok, for this one, it was all about the name. City of Bastards is such an evocative title, and it definitely caught my attention when I first saw it as it opens up so many different story and tonal possibilities. Couple that with the pretty neat cover, which makes amazing use of colour (the purple and the blood red really work well together), and I was rather hooked on this book before I even picked it up and read what it was about.

Star Wars: Death Troopers by Joe Schreiber

A few years ago, while randomly skimming online, I saw the cover for Star Wars: Death Troopers, which really had me hooked (hah). Something about that visual of a bloodied Storm Trooper helmet suspended by a meat hook really struck me, and it drove me to grab an audiobook version of that book that very night. Thank goodness I did, as this was a really fun novel, that features zombies on a Star Destroyer attempting to eat Han and Chewie. An outstanding book that is one of my favourite horror novels, thank goodness I saw this cover.

The Bone Ships by R. J. Barker

Now, I must admit that I probably would have read this book even without seeing the name or cover. I had already enjoyed Barker’s excellent Wounded Kingdom series (made up of Age of Assassins, Blood of Assassins and King of Assassins), so I would have been curious about his next series. However, the moment I saw the cover for The Bone Ships, I knew that this book would be something special that I would need to read. The incredible cover featuring a beautifully rendered dragon, is just amazing, and the title The Bone Ships, really fires up the imagination. The combination of these features made The Bone Ships a must read from me well before I’d seen the plot, and it fully convinced me to get The Bone Ships, which ended up being one of the best books (and audiobooks of 2019).

Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by K. J. Parker

When I first saw Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City, I initially wasn’t to impressed by the cover. However, there was something about the unique name that got me curious enough to check out some more details and that’s when I found out that this was a fun sounding fantasy novel. I had an absolute blast reading this novel, which was one of the best books of 2019, and it also led me to the sequel, How to Rule an Empire and Get Away With It, one of the most hilarious books I read last year. I honestly might have missed this series if that catchy name and cover didn’t grab my attention, which would have been a real shame.

Well that brings another Top Ten Tuesday to a close. As you can see from the above, there are some truly awesome and fun covers and titles in my reading history. Each of these featured novels come highly recommended, and I hope you also like the titles and cover art. I hope you enjoyed my latest list and let me know what covers or titles drew you to a book in the comments below.

Top Ten Tuesday – Most Anticipated Releases for the Second Half of 2021

On June 29, 2021June 29, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn List17 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. For this latest Top Ten Tuesday participants need to list their top anticipated releases for the second half of 2021.

2021 has so far been a pretty amazing year for books, with some outstanding and impressive novels coming out and blowing me away. However, the year is far from over and there are a number of incredible and epic-sounding novels set for release in the second half of 2021. To fill out this list I have scoured my list of anticipated upcoming releases and tried to work out which of the books coming out between the start of July and the end of December I am most looking forward to.

This proved to be a rather hard list to finalise, mainly because of how many awesome novels are coming out in the next six months. I honestly had enough awesome upcoming novels on my radar to turn this into a Top 20, but I decided instead to make some hard decisions, and I ended up cutting out several impressive upcoming releases, leaving me with a list mostly featuring books from some of my favourite authors. Despite this, I am rather happy with the eventual choices that I made, and I think that this list reflects which upcoming novels I am going to have the most fun reading. Due to how much potential that I think the entries on this list have, several have previously appeared in my weekly Waiting on Wednesday articles, as well as on my recent Winter TBR list. However, there are also some interesting new books that I am discussing for the first time here, which gives this list a bit of variety. So let us get to my selections and find out which upcoming novels are my most anticipated releases for the second half of 2021.

Honourable Mentions:

Billy Summers by Stephen King – 3 August 2021

The Maleficent Seven by Cameron Johnston – 10 August 2021

The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik – 28 September 2021

The Honour of Rome by Simon Scarrow – 11 November 2021

Top Ten List (by release date):

Relentless by Jonathan Maberry – 13 July 2021

This list is off to an extraordinarily strong start as it features the second awesome entry in the Rogue Team International series by the always impressive Jonathan Maberry, Relentless. Spinning off from Maberry’s outstanding Joe Ledger series (which features such epic reads as Patient Zero, Code Zero and Deep Silence), the Rogue Team International series continues to follow action hero Joe Ledger as he goes up against crazy opponents wielding the weirdest science and technology. The first novel in this thrilling series, Rage, was an amazing read that was one of my favourite books (and audiobooks) of 2019, and which ended on a fantastic, if tragic, note. This sets up Relentless to be a gripping and bloody novel filled with revenge as an emotionally compromised Ledger goes up against a new breed of dangerous enemies.

Starlight Enclave by R. A. Salvatore – 3 August 2021

One of my absolute favourite fantasy authors of all times, R. A. Salvatore, returns with the first book in a brand-new series that sets his iconic and long-running protagonists on a whole new adventure. This first book, Starlight Enclave, will follow on from the events of the previous trilogy (made up of Timeless, Boundless and Relentless), and should result in a very impressive and exciting fantasy read.

The Wisdom of Crowds by Joe Abercrombie – 16 September 2021

The master of dark fantasy, Joe Abercrombie, returns with the third and final entry in his intense and addictive Age of Madness trilogy. Both previous novels in the series, A Little Hatred and The Trouble with Peace, have been incredible masterpieces with some deeply impressive stories to them and I am expecting great things for this final novel. The Wisdom of Crowds will focus on the aftermath of the revolution that occurred at the end of The Trouble with Peace and should result in an epic and captivating tale.

The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman – 16 September 2021

Following his incredible debut novel, The Thursday Murder Club, comedian Richard Osman returns with a much-anticipated sequel novel, The Man Who Died Twice, which will present his retired protagonists with another intriguing case. The Thursday Murder Club was one of the runaway hits of last year, and it was easily one of the best novels, audiobooks, and debuts, I had the pleasure of reading in 2020. As a result, I have extremely high hopes for The Man Who Died Twice, and I cannot wait to see what hilarious and clever things are featured in this new novel.

The Bone Ship’s Wake by R. J. Barker – 28 September 2021

Over the last two years, the deeply impressive R. J. Barker has been wowing me, and the rest of the fantasy community, with his epic and captivating novels about the notorious crew of the Tide Child. The Tide Child trilogy, which has so far consisted of The Bone Ships and Call of the Bone Ships, is an outstanding and compelling series, which places a great group of characters in a dark and bloody fantasy world, where crews of condemned men fight aboard ships made from dragon bone. The final entry in this trilogy, The Bone Ship’s Wake, looks set to provide an epic and memorable conclusion to this incredible series, especially after Barker ended Call of the Bone Ships on such a fantastic and moving cliff-hanger. Unfortunately, there has been no preview of The Bone Ship’s Wake’s cover yet but based on how cool the covers for the other entries in The Tide Child trilogy have been, I am sure it is going to be something extremely awesome.

The Dark Hours by Michael Connelly – 9 November 2021

After a bumper 2020 where he released two fantastic crime novels, Fair Warning and The Law of Innocence, bestselling crime fiction author Michael Connelly returns with another intriguing and exciting novel, The Dark Hours. The third entry in the Ballard and Bosch sub-series, which has so far consisted of Dark Sacred Night and The Night Fire, The Dark Hours will set its protagonists on the trail of a clever and conniving killer. This has the potential to be one of the best crime novels of 2021 and I cannot wait to see what unique case Connelly has come up with this time.

Never by Ken Follett – 9 November 2021

I was a little surprised earlier this year when I saw that highly acclaimed author, Ken Follett, was releasing a novel this year, especially after The Evening and the Morning, came out last year. However, I am not one to complain when another awesome Follett novel drops into my lap, especially as his new upcoming book, Never, looks set to be an intriguing world-spanning thriller novel. With an intense and captivating sounding narrative, Never, should be an incredible read and I am exceedingly keen to check it out.

Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters by Charles Soule, Luke Ross and Neeraj Menon – 23 November 2021

While I was very tempted to include the new upcoming Thrawn Ascendancy novel, Lesser Evil, on this list, it quickly became apparent that the piece of Star Wars fiction I am most looking forward to in the second half of 2021 is the major crossover comic, Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters. War of the Bounty Hunters, which is set between the events of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, details a brutal fight to claim Han Solo’s frozen body after a major returning character steals it from Boba Fett. Serving as a crossover between the four current Star Wars ongoing series, Star Wars (2020), Darth Vader (2020), Doctor Aphra (2020), and Bounty Hunters, this crossover series sounds like awesomeness personified, and there have already been some major twists and reveals. I cannot wait to check this comic out, although I probably will wait until the collected edition comes out in November. This will be one of the biggest Star Wars events of the year, and as a Star Wars mega-fan, I am deeply, deeply excited for it.

Cytonic by Brandon Sanderson – 25 November 2021

Perhaps the greatest authors of fantasy and science fiction in the world today, the legendary Brandon Sanderson, has a new novel coming out in November, and it is one that I am particularly eager to get my hands on. This new book, Cytonic, is the third entry in the gripping and clever Skyward series of young adult science fiction novels, which has so far featured two exceptional novels, Skyward and Starsight. Featuring an intriguing and complex narrative around humans fighting aliens in a deadly war for survival, the Skyward series has been deeply impressive and thrilling, and I have had so much fun with the first two novels. This next book in the series, Cytonic, looks set to take its likeable protagonist on another unique adventure, this time into a whole new dimension. This novel has an immense amount of potential, and I already now it is going to be epic beyond belief.

A Practical Guide to Conquering the World by K. J. Parker – 25 November 2021

The final entry on this list is A Practical Guide to Conquering the World by K. J. Parker, which is probably going to be the funniest books I read all year. Over the last two years, Parker has released two outstanding and hilarious fantasy novels as part of The Siege series, which takes place during an insane and long-lasting siege of a fantasy city. Featuring two very clever and loosely connected novels, Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City and How to Rule an Empire and Get Away With It, this series featured two fantastic narratives around unqualified, but devious men, taking control of the siege and attempting to win it through unconventional means. I have absolutely loved the first two novels in this series, and I was very excited to see that a third entry, A Practical Guide to Conquering the World, is set for release in November. While no plot details are currently available, I am extremely confident that this will be a fantastic tale political intrigue, treachery, and humorous ambition, as a new non-hero rises to the challenge of ruling the world.

That is the end of this list. I am extremely happy with how my latest Top Ten Tuesday article turned out, and this list contains an intriguing collection of upcoming books that should prove to be incredible reads. I think that every one of the books I mentioned above has some amazing potential, and most, if not all, will probably end up with a full five-star rating from me. I cannot wait to see what awesome and exciting stories the entries on this list contain, and I think that I am going to have an incredible time in the second half of 2021. While I am waiting to get my hands on these books, why not let me know if any of the above interest you, and let me know what your most anticipated releases for the next six months are in the comments below.

Top Ten Tuesday – Books on my Winter 2021 TBR

On June 15, 2021 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. For this Top Ten Tuesday, participants need to list the top releases that they are looking forward to reading this summer (or winter for us down here in Australia). This is a fun exercise that I have done for each of the preceding seasons, and it is always interesting to highlight the various cool-sounding books and comics that are coming out in the next few months.

For this list I have come up with 10 of the best novels that are coming out between 1 June 2021 and 31 August 2021. I have decided to exclude novels that I have already read, or I am currently reading, so that took a couple of key books off the list. Still, this left me with a rather substantial pool of cool upcoming novels that I am excited for, which I was eventually able to whittle down into a great Top Ten list (with a few honourable mentions). I have previously discussed a number of these books before a number of my Waiting on Wednesday articles and I think all of them will turn out to be some really impressive and enjoyable reads.

Honourable Mentions:

The Coward by Stephen Aryan – 6 June 2021

The Councillor by E. J. Beaton – 20 July 2021

The Dying Squad by Adam Simcox – 27 July 2021

Star Trek: Picard: Rogue Elements by John Jackson Miller – 17 August 2021

Top Ten List:

Gamora & Nebula: Sisters in Arms by Mackenzie Lee – 1 June 2021

The Righteous by David Wragg – 10 June 2021

Star Wars: The High Republic: The Rising Storm by Cavan Scott – 29 June 2021

The 22 Murders of Madison May by Max Barry – 30 June 2021

I am really looking forward to reading the extremely fun-sounding science fiction thriller, The 22 Murders of Madison May by Australian author Max Barry. This fantastic novel will feature an amazing narrative about a reporter who hunts a serial killer across various alternate realities. I am very keen to check this great novel out, and I am expecting a compelling and entertaining read.

It Ends in Fire by Andrew Shvarts – 6 July 2021

I am very, very keen to get my hands on this book, especially after how much I have enjoyed some of Shvarts’s previous novels (such as City of Bastards and War of the Bastards). However, I may have to wait a little longer to read it down in Australia as it is coming out here a little later than in the rest of the world. Still, I am sure it will be worth the wait, as It Ends in Fire has the potential to be one of the best young adult books of 2021.

Relentless by Jonathan Maberry – 13 July 2021

Billy Summers by Stephen King – 3 August 2021

Starlight Enclave by R. A. Salvatore – 3 August 2021

The Maleficent Seven by Cameron Johnston – 10 August 2021

I have to say that I absolutely love the new cover for The Maleficent Seven which looks absolutely crazy and really fun.

The Pariah by Anthony Ryan – 31 August 2021

The final entry on this list is the intriguing upcoming novel from bestselling author Anthony Ryan, The Pariah. While I have not previously had the pleasure of reading any Ryan’s books before, I have heard some incredible things about his pervious series, and I fully intend to check them out at some point in the future. In the meantime, I am keen to read his next book, The Pariah, especially as it contains an amazing sounding narrative about a former outlaw turned soldier. Based on how beloved Ryan’s previous novels are I am fairly confident that The Pariah will turn out to be one of the top fantasy reads of 2021 and I cannot wait to check it out.

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 pretty 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.

Waiting on Wednesday – The Maleficent Seven by Cameron Johnston

On February 17, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn Fantasy, Waiting on Wednesday7 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy. I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them. In this week’s Waiting on Wednesday, I highlight an awesome upcoming fantasy novel that is sure to be a real blast, The Maleficent Seven by Cameron Johnston.

The Maleficent Seven Cover

Cameron Johnston is a fantastic dark fantasy author who came onto the scene a couple of years ago and made an immediate impression on me. Johnston’s first novel was the remarkably cool 2018 release, The Traitor God, which followed a dangerous wizard as he returned to his home city to find and exact bloody revenge on the people who killed his friend. This was an awesome and clever book, and I absolutely loved the intense and epic fantasy story that Johnston produced in this debut. The author followed up this excellent first novel with God of Broken Things, which served as an outstanding sequel to The Traitor God and ended up being one of my favourite releases of 2019. Due to how much fun I had reading his first two novels, I have been keeping an eye out for any additional releases from Johnston and I was quite excited when I heard about The Maleficent Seven.

The Maleficent Seven is a fun and exciting-sounding upcoming fantasy novel that has the potential to be one of the most entertaining reads of 2021. Currently set to be released on 10 August 2021, The Maleficent Seven has an awesome-sounding story that sees seven of the most dangerous villains in the world become the last hope of a besieged town.

Synopsis:

When you are all out of heroes, all that’s left are the villains.

Black Herran was a dread demonologist, and the most ruthless general in all Essoran. She assembled the six most fearsome warriors to captain her armies: a necromancer, a vampire lord, a demigod, an orcish warleader, a pirate queen, and a twisted alchemist. Together they brought the whole continent to its knees… Until the day she abandoned her army, on the eve of total victory.

40 years later, she must bring her former captains back together for one final stand, in the small town of Tarnbrooke – the last bastion against a fanatical new enemy tearing through the land, intent on finishing the job Black Herran started years before.

Seven bloodthirsty monsters. One town. Their last hope.

Ok, so there is no way that I am not going to enjoy this fantastic upcoming book. I absolutely love, love, love the idea of a warped Seven Samurai/The Magnificent Seven story, where some of the absolute worst fantasy villains come together to fight an even greater threat and defend a small innocent town. This narrative has so much potential for intense action sequences, fantastic character interactions and cool magical fights, and I am really looking forward to seeing all the chaos unfold.

I am also excited to see what sort of complex characters Johnston comes up with in The Maleficent Seven. One of the best things about the author’s first two novels was the amazing antihero that served as the series’ protagonist. I always thought that Johnston did an amazing job crafting a complex and conflicted mage with powerful and unethical mind magic in these previous novels, and I am really intrigued to see what he does with the titular seven protagonists of his next book. All of the seven sound pretty cool already and I love the fun blend of villain archetypes mentioned in the summary. Johnston will no doubt dive into each of these characters, especially their leader, Black Herran, examining their pasts, personalities and motivations, and I am anticipating that he will come up with some really fascinating and deep characters here. I am particularly intrigued to see what event stopped Black Herran’s initial invasion all those years previously, as well as what drives her to get back in action and fight to defend a town. No doubt there will also be some impressive and deadly drama as these seven characters are reunited for the first time in years, and I am anticipated so many awesome sequences between them.

The Maleficent Seven by Cameron Johnston looks set to be an incredible and exceptionally entertaining dark fantasy read and I am extremely keen to see it come out. The story hinted at in the summary has so much potential for awesomeness, and I already know that I am going to have an outstanding time getting through it. This has all the markings of a spectacular read and I have some very high hopes for The Maleficent Seven.

Top Ten Tuesday -My Top Books of 2019

On December 31, 2019December 31, 2019 By The Unseen LibraryIn List94 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. This week’s Top Ten Tuesday will be the final instalment of a series of lists I have been doing over the last couple of weeks which highlighted some of the authors and books I have been most impressed with this year. So far, I have looked at my favourite audiobooks of 2019, favourite debut novels of 2019, my favourite new-to-me authors and my favourite pre-2019 books I read this year. I have covered a pretty interesting range of novels in these lists, but as this is the last Top Ten Tuesday of 2019, it is time to showcase my absolute favourite releases of the year.

I think we can all agree that 2019 has been a pretty amazing year for books, with a huge range of incredible releases coming out across the genres. I have had the great pleasure of reading or listening to so many outstanding books this year, and quite a few of this year’s releases have become instant favourites to me. I have to admit that I somewhat struggled to pull this list together, as there were so many books that deserved to be mentioned. Therefore, because I’m a soft touch, and because the quality of the books I read this year is so impressive, I have decided to expand this list out to 20 entries. These 20 books are my absolute favourites from 2019, and I would strongly recommend each and every one of them to anyone who is interested.

There is a going to be a bit of crossover between the below entries and the other lists I mentioned above, as I have featured some of these books before. In particular, several appeared on my Top Ten Favourite Audiobooks of 2019 list, as I enjoyed a great many of my favourite books this year on audiobook. In addition, I also featured some of these entries on my Top Ten Favourite Books from the First Half of 2019, which I ran back in July. As a result, I may have mentioned a couple of these books several times before on my previous lists, so I have kept the descriptions below a little brief. That being said, I managed to include a few books that haven’t made any of the previous lists for several reasons, and I think that this Top 20 list contains a pretty good range of novels that really showcases the different types of books I chose to read this year. I decided to leave off my usual Honourable Mentions section, as the extra 10 entries kind of make it unnecessary. Here is the list, with my ratings for each book included:

Top Ten List (no particular order):

Starsight by Brandon Sanderson – Five Stars

Rage by Jonathan Maberry – Five Stars

Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by K. J. Parker – Five Stars

The Night Fire by Michael Connelly – Five Stars

The Bone Ships by R. J. Barker – Five Stars

Spaceside by Michael Mammay – Five Stars

Supernova by Marissa Meyer – Five Stars

Commodus by Simon Turney – Five Stars

Red Metal by Mark Greaney and Hunter Ripley Rawlings – Five Stars

War of the Bastards by Andrew Shvarts – Five Stars

Blood & Sugar by Laura Shepherd-Robinson – Five Stars

Dark Forge by Miles Cameron – Currently Unrated

The first entry on this list I haven’t had the chance to write a review for yet. Dark Forge is the sequel to 2018’s Cold Iron, which I quite enjoyed earlier in the year, and this second book is a gripping and exciting read. I am probably going to give this book a full five stars in the future; it’s a fantastic novel to check out.

Tiamat’s Wrath by James S. A. Corey – Five Stars

Recursion by Blake Crouch – Currently Unrated

Another really good book that I need to hurry up and write a review for. Recursion is a clever and compelling read that I really enjoyed, and I am planning to rate it five out of five stars.

The Unbound Empire by Melissa Caruso – Five Stars

Howling Dark by Christopher Ruocchio – Five Stars

Usagi Yojimbo – Vol 33: The Hidden by Stan Sakai – Five Stars

A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie – Currently Unrated

Another currently unrated novel that I will probably end up giving five stars to. A Little Hatred is actually the book I am currently listening to, so I have not had a chance to write anything about it yet. That being said, I am over two-thirds of the way through it at the moment and it is clearly an outstanding novel which also does a fantastic job of continuing Abercrombie’s entertaining The First Law series.

Thrawn: Treason by Timothy Zahn – 4.5 Stars

I had to include at least one Star Wars book on this list, and Treason is easily my favourite Star Wars book of 2019. I cannot wait for Zahn’s next book, Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising, which should be pretty epic.

God of Broken Things by Cameron Johnston – 4.75 Stars

Well that’s my 20 most-favourite books of 2019. It turned out to be quite a good list in the end, and I am very glad that I was able to highlight so many fantastic books. 2020 is also set to be another excellent year for amazing reads, and I will be examining some of my most anticipated books for the first half of the year next week. In the meantime, let me know what your favourite books of 2019 are in the comments below, and make sure you all have a happy New Years.

Top Ten Tuesday – My Favourite Books from the First Half of 2019

On July 3, 2019July 3, 2019 By The Unseen LibraryIn List7 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 was childhood favourites; however, as this is the first week of July, I thought I would instead do a quick look back at my top ten favourite books from the first half of 2019.

I have had an amazing time this year reading some outstanding books, so I had a bit of a hard time choosing books for this list, but I did eventually manage to whittle it down to 10 books (with a few honourable mentions thrown in). I decided to only include books that were published between 1 January 2019 and 30 June 2019, which helped limit the list a bit for me. While I have reviewed most of these books on the blog or in The Canberra Weekly, there were one or two which I am currently in the process of reviewing and will hopefully go up soon. Check out my list below:

Honourable Mentions:

Emperor of Rome by Robert Fabbri – 4.5 stars

Reckoning of Fallen Gods by R. A. Salvatore – 4.5 stars

Recursion by Blake Crouch

I literally only finished this last night, but it was an outstanding and captivating read and I’m hoping to write up a review for it soon.

Firefly: The Magnificent Nine by James Lovegrove – 4.5 stars

Top Ten List (no particular order):

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon – 5 Stars

I only wrote a short review for this book, but it was a pretty epic novel that I really enjoyed and is easily one of the best books of 2019 so far.

Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff – 5 stars

Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by K. J. Parker – 5 stars

War of the Bastards by Andrew Shvarts – 5 stars

Tiamat’s Wrath by James S. A. Corey

I listened to this one a couple of months ago and absolutely loved it. I still need to get a review up for it but it was an amazing book.

Blood & Sugar by Laura Shepherd-Robinson – 5 stars

The Unbound Empire by Melissa Caruso – 5 stars

Star Wars: Master and Apprentice by Claudia Gray – 4.75 stars

God of Broken Things by Cameron Johnston – 4.75 stars

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Vol. 1: High School is Hell by Jordie Bellaire and
Dan Mora – 4.5 stars

I hope you enjoyed this list and the books I have chosen. Several of these books are likely to appear in any future Top Ten Reads of 2019 list that I do, but I really think that some of the books coming out in the next six months have the potential to make the top ten. Let me know which books were your favourite releases for the first half of 2019.

God of Broken Things by Cameron Johnston

On July 2, 2019August 19, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn Fantasy6 Comments

god of broken things cover

Publisher: Angry Robot (Paperback – 11 June 2019)

Series: Age of Tyranny – Book 2

Length: 312 pages

My Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

Amazon Book Depository

Those readers looking for the next entertaining grimdark fantasy adventure to sink their teeth into need look no further than God of Broken Things, the electrifying second book in Cameron Johnston’s Age of Tyranny.

It has only been a few short months since the devastating attack by the Skallgrim raiders on the city of Setharis, which severely weakened the city. Despite repulsing the Skallgrim and their monstrous hordes, Setharis is still in incredible danger. The Skallgrim forces are massing to launch another attack on Setharis, and the Skallgrim’s masters, the parasitic alien lifeforms known as the Scarrabus, are determined to enslave the entire city to their will. Setharis’s salvation once again rests in the hands of its most hated son, Edrin Walker.

Edrin is powerful magus whose rare abilities allow him to crack open and control the minds of all those around him. His breed of magus, known as tyrants, are feared throughout the world due to their propensity to lose control and use their magic to rule whole civilisations. Despite his role in saving the city from the Skallgrim, Edrin is still distrusted by both the common people and his fellow magus of the Arcanum. However, his skills may be the only thing that can win the war against the Skallgrim and the Scarrabus.

A massive force of Skallgrim are advancing over the mountain passes of the Clanholds, hoping to launch a fresh assault on Setharis. Against his will, Edrin is forced to lead a small army to reinforce the tribes of the Clanholds against the Skallgrim army. Accompanied by a small personal bodyguard of killers and thieves, Edrin leads his forces into the mountains, where far more dangerous things than the Skallgrim and their monsters lurk. Spirits, demons, gods and his own deadly past all lie in wait for Edrin, whose powers have been altered following his battle with a treacherous god. Can Edrin and his forces hold back the Skallgrim, or will he succumb to one of the many horrors in the mountains? And what happens when the tyrant comes out to play?

Johnston is a talented author whose debut novel, The Traitor God, really impressed me last year thanks to its awesome story and enjoyable main character. As a result, I was extremely keen to get a copy of the sequel, God of Broken Things, this year and was very happy when I received it a few weeks ago. God of Broken Things turned out to be a fantastic follow-up to the first book and I had an incredible time reading it. Not only does Johnston present another wildly entertaining story for the reader to enjoy, but he also does a fantastic job of expanding his dark fantasy world and exploring the complex mind of his main character.

I really liked where Johnston took the story in this book. While The Traitor God’s story of a hunt for answers in the dark fantasy city was cool, I really liked seeing the main character go to war in God of Broken Things. The whole storyline of Edrin leading an army up into the Clanholds, a dangerous mountainous environment filled with all manner of horrors and dangers was really cool, especially as he kept encountering worse situations and more terrifying opponents. This resulted in some epic moments and massive battles, and Johnston also took the opportunity to explore the history of several of the different races mentioned within the first books, including the Scarrabus, the Ogarim and some more mystical creatures like spirts and demons. This expansion of the Age of Tyranny universe was quite intriguing, and I wonder if there will be more exploration of the world and the various mentioned multiverses in future books. I also liked the deeper look that the author took into his protagonist’s past, showing some of the activities that occurred during the years he was exiled from Setharis. I loved the various twists and epic moments that Johnston sprinkled throughout the book’s plot, and there was never a dull moment in the entire story. I especially enjoyed how the final battle in God of Broken Things ended, especially as the author included a clever red herring in the book’s formatting to throw the reader off. Overall, this was an incredible story, and Johnston did an amazing job trapping me within this entertaining narrative.

One of the best parts of this book was the author’s continued focus on the protagonist, Edrin Walker, who serves as the book’s narrator and point-of-view character. Edrin was already a fairly complex character in The Traitor God, where he was portrayed as a powerful exiled magus hated, distrusted and ostracised by everyone due to the specific nature of his magical gift. Because of the way he is treated he acts hostile and uncaring to the world, while still participating in the odd act of heroism and compassion. This is continued in the second book, where Edrin continues to battle with his natural instincts and irritation while trying to do the right thing, especially for the few people who actually like or respect him. I really liked the way that the author continued to show Edrin exploring his moral side in this book as, against his better judgement, he actually attempts to help people and keep Setharis safe. The various sacrifices that he subsequently makes for the greater good are very much against the grain of his original character, and it is interesting to see this side of Edrin grow.

Due to the way he is treated, Edrin is an incredibly jaded character, and the author utilises this in a number of clever ways. Not only does this ensure that Edrin is the most likeable character in the book, mostly because he stands in sharp contrast to all the other magus characters, who are elitist snobs, but it also makes him a really entertaining narrator. The character’s sarcastic and mocking manner permeates the entire way he tells the story, resulting in some great reactions and a very amusing overall story.

Edrin continues to get into all sorts of entertaining misadventures in God of Broken Things, and it is hard not to love the unorthodox way he deals with things. Not only does he lead a bodyguard of deranged killers into battle but he rarely ever takes things seriously, no matter who he is dealing with. I love the disrespect and mockery that the character shows when encountering anyone in authority, be it friend or foe, magus or human, god or monster, and I laughed out loud at the way he got his revenge on one of Setharis’s gods in this book. It was also great to see the character apply his particular brand of bastardry to the battlefield, coming up with all manner of unconventional traps and attacks for the forces that are up against him. I particularly loved the cool way he took down the main antagonist of this book, and it really reflected both his cunning and his growth as a character.

The main character’s mind-bending magic continues to be a really cool part of this series, especially as his abilities become even more powerful in God of Broken Things. Johnston’s portrayals of the way that Edrin’s powers to break into and manipulate the minds of all those around him is done extremely well and it results in a number of epic scenes. I never realised how many creative ways someone could magically manipulate a person’s mind until seeing some of the scenes in this book, as Johnston comes up with some very inventive ways to utilises his protagonist’s magic. I especially loved seeing Edrin using these powers in the middle of the battle, as there are some awesome ways he disadvantages his enemies and helps his allies. However, the author also explores the consequences of the tyrant powers, as Edrin continuously runs the risk of taking things too far and grossly abusing his powers. Several examinations of the character’s guilt over some of the mental actions he commits become a compelling part of the story, and the character’s mental magic is a great part of the book.

Those readers who are looking for an explosive amount of fantasy action are in for a real treat with this book. Johnston makes sure to include a ton of battles and fight sequences in God of Broken Things, as the ragtag defenders of the Clanholds face off against a massive horde of Skallgrim, Scarrabus, demons and monsters. All of these fight scenes are incredibly brutal as Johnston depicts some amazing battles throughout this book. Most of these scenes are enhanced through the use of magic, and the sheer destructive power of the various characters’ magical abilities is pretty impressive. The various demons and monsters the protagonist finds himself up against in this book are pretty gruesome and offer up some pretty great battle scenes as a result. Overall, the action in God of Broken Things is quite superb, and fans of bloody fantasy fights will not be disappointed.

Cameron Johnston’s second outing, God of Broken Things, is an amazing piece of grimdark fantasy fiction that proved to be just as much fun as his debut novel, The Traitor God. I had an incredible time reading God of Broken Things as the excellent combination of story, magical action and character work kept me trapped until the very last page. Readers are guaranteed to love this outstanding dark fantasy read, and I strongly recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun and powerful adventure. The ending of the book makes it a little unclear if Johnston will continue the Age of Tyranny series, but I will be keeping a close eye out for any future books from this rising star in the grimdark fantasy genre.

Amazon Book Depository