WWW Wednesday – 22 March 2023

On March 22, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn WWW WednesdayLeave a comment

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

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

So, let’s get to it.

What are you currently reading?

Judgement Day by Mali Waugh (Trade Paperback)

Judgement Day Cover

I’ve been a little neglectful this year when it comes to reading debut novels, so I decided to check out the intriguing legal thriller from new Australian author Mali Waugh, Judgement Day. Following a detective as she investigates the murder of a prominent family court judge, Judgement Day looks set to be quite the compelling crime fiction read, and I have heard good things about it from some fellow reviewers. I only just started Judgement Day today but so far it is proving to be a fantastic and interesting novel. I will hopefully finish it off over the weekend and I am looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

Amazon Book Depository

Son of the Poison Rose by Jonathan Maberry (Audiobook)

Son of the Poison Rose Cover

I have been making some major progress with the audiobook version of the epic dark fantasy novel Son of the Poison Rose by Jonathan Maberry. The sequel to Maberry’s epic and exceptional 2022 novel, Kagen the Damned, Son of the Poison Rose continues to follow Maberry’s doomed protagonist as he attempts to navigate a dark and deadly fantasy realm while seeking revenge on the man who took everything from him. I have gotten about halfway through Son of the Poison Rose in the last week and I am still going strong. The story has been pretty exceptional so far and I am really liking how Maberry is slowly developing his brutal fantasy setting while also throwing his protagonist into some desperate and insane situations. I am hoping to knock Son of the Poison Rose off this weekend, especially as I am going to have quite a lot of audiobook listening time and I am very excited to find out how Maberry ends the second book in this outstanding series.

Amazon Book Depository

What did you recently finish reading?

How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix (Trade Paperback)

How to Sell a Haunted House Cover

I finally finished reading How to Sell a Haunted House this week and it proved to be a very interesting horror read. I am currently working on a review for it and I will hopefully get that up soon.

Amazon Book Depository

Going Zero by Anthony McCarten (ebook)

Going Zero Cover

I was in the mood for something different and exciting this week so I quickly powered through an early copy of the upcoming book, Going Zero. An intriguing and fun standalone novel that saw a group of 10 people attempt to avoid an intense government surveillance program, Going Zero proved to be exceedingly addictive and I ended up finishing it off in a single day. I had a great time reading this book and I will get a review for it up closer to its official release date.

Amazon Book Depository

What do you think you’ll read next?

Dead of Night by Simon Scarrow

Dead of Night Cover

I am hoping to dive into the awesome historical murder mystery Dead of Night by Simon Scarrow next, which should be a pretty exceptional read. The sequel to Scarrow’s previous novel, Blackout, Dead of Night looks set to be an amazing book that follows an honest detective in Berlin during World War II who attempts to solve a murder against the wishes of his Nazi masters. Scarrow is already one of my absolute favourite historical fiction authors and I had a fantastic time reading Blackout. As such, I have no doubt this will be an exceptional read and will probably be one of the top historical reads of the year.

Amazon Book Depository

City of Last Chances by Adrian Tchaikovsky

City of Last Chances Cover

If I manage to get through Son of the Poison Rose in the next week my plan is to start listening to another massive fantasy audiobook with City of Last Chances by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Tchaikovsky is a very highly regarded fantasy and science fiction author who has created some elaborate and powerful stories over the years. I really loved his Warhammer 40,000 debut last year, Day of Ascension, and I am very curious to see what happens in his new book. The plot synopsis promises revolution, war and intrigue, and I cannot to find out what masterful tale Tchaikovsky has woven together this time.

Amazon Book Depository

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 – Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the Second Half of 2022

On July 5, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn List24 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 2022.

2022 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 so many incredible and epic-sounding novels set for release in the second half of 2022. 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. So let us get to my selections and find out which upcoming novels are my most anticipated releases for the second half of 2022.

Honourable Mentions:

The Accomplice by Steve Cavanagh – 21 July 2022

Oath of Loyalty by Kyle Mills (based on the books by Vince Flynn) – 13 September 2022

Friends Like These by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez – 1 November 2022

Death to the Emperor by Simon Scarrow – 8 November 2022

List (by release date):

Upgrade by Blake Crouch – 12 July 2022

An awesome sounding new science fiction thriller from the exceedingly talented Blake Crouch, this is sure to be an incredible read.

Glacier’s Edge by R. A. Salvatore – 9 August 2022

One of my all-time favourite authors, R. A. Salvatore, returns soon with another entry in his long-running Drizzt Do’Urden series. This new upcoming novel will serve as a sequel to his 2021 novel, Starlight Enclave, and sounds like another fantastic adventure novel.

Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir – 13 September 2022

I am very excited to see that captivating science fiction talent, Tamysn Muir, will continue her impressive, space-necromancer-centric, The Locked Tomb series later this year with Nona the Ninth. Following on from the highly entertaining Gideon the Ninth (one of my favourite debuts of 2019) and the incredible Harrow the Ninth (one of my favourite book and audiobooks of 2020), Nona the Ninth has a ton of potential and I cannot wait to see how this trippy series continues.

The Bullet that Missed by Richard Osman – 15 September 2022

There was no way that I was not going to include the latest entry in the hilarious and clever Thursday Murder Club series by Richard Osman on this list. The sequel to The Thursday Murder Club (one of the best debuts of 2020) and The Man Who Died Twice (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2021), The Bullet that Missed looks set to bring back the titular team of retirees as they solve new murders around their retirement village. Easily going to be one of the funniest and most addictive reads of the year, I am very excited for more of Osman’s entertaining hijinks.

The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik – 20 September 2022

There are few upcoming books that I am more excited to read than The Golden Enclaves, the third and final book in Naomi Novik’s epic The Scholomance series. Novik has really killed it with the first two books in this series, A Deadly Education and The Last Graduate, which followed a destructively gifted magical student as she tries to survive the deadliest magical school around. These first two books were both incredible reads, and I am very, very keen to see how this series ends in The Golden Enclaves, especially after the massive cliff-hanger Novik left The Last Graduate on. I have no doubt that this will live up to my extremely high expectations and this should prove to be pure and unadulterated awesomeness.

Star Wars: The High Republic: Convergence by Zoraida Cordova – 4 October 2022

I have been really enjoying the recent High Republic sub-series of Star Wars extended fiction, especially the main novels (Light of the Jedi, The Rising Storm and The Fallen Star), and whole new phase of The High Republic is about to start later this year. While I am a little hesitant about the massive backwards time-skip (the entire second phase is set a substantial time before the first High Republic phase), I am very curious to see what sort of story is set out in the Convergence by Zoraida Cordova, which will set the tone for this second phase.

Usagi Yojimbo: Crossroads by Stan Sakai – 11 October 2022

I am extremely happy to be getting another volume in one of my favourite comic book series, the Usagi Yojimbo comics, later this year with the upcoming volume Crossroads. This will be the second Usagi Yojimbo volume coming out this year (see my review for Tengu War!) and I am so very happy to get more Usagi action and excitement this year. I already know this is going to be a brilliant comic, and Crossroads will no doubt contain more impressive stories and eye-catching artwork.

The Voyage of the Forgotten by Nick Martell – 3 November 2022

Another deeply impressive fantasy series ending this year is Nick Martell’s The Legacy of the Mercenary Kings series, which finishes off with The Voyage of the Forgotten in a few months’ time. I have had such a brilliant time with this series, as both The Kingdom of Liars and The Two-Faced Queens have been truly epic and captivating reads with intense and complex stories. As such, I am extremely eager to read The Voyage of the Forgotten to find out how everything is going to end. While I am a little sad that this series will only contain three novels, I know that this finale is going to be an exceptional novel that will easily top my best of 2022 lists.

Desert Star by Michael Connelly – 8 November 2022

I have been having a ton of fun with Michael Connelly’s spectacular crime fiction novels lately and I am very excited to get another Ballard and Bosch book in a few months’ time with Desert Star. Following on from such great novels as Dark Sacred Night, The Night Fire and The Dark Hours, this upcoming book has an impressive sounding story to it and I am very excited to get involved in another powerful Connelly mystery.

City of Last Chances by Adrian Tchaikovsky – 8 December 2022

The final book on this list is the highly compelling City of Last Chances by bestselling author Adrian Tchaikovsky. Set in a rebellious magical city, City of Last Chances sounds like an extremely cool and intriguing fantasy novel, and I am very curious to read more from this highly regarded author, especially after having a great time reading his Warhammer 40,000 debut, Day of Ascension, earlier this year. I look forward to seeing what amazing fantasy epic Tchaikovsky has planned for City of Last Chances, and I am sure it will end up being extremely great.

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 2022. 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.

Waiting on Wednesday – City of Last Chances by Adrian Tchaikovsky

On June 22, 2022March 22, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Fantasy, Waiting on Wednesday12 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy. I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them. For this week’s Waiting on Wednesday I take a look at an epic upcoming fantasy novel from the extremely talented Adrian Tchaikovsky, City of Last Chances.

City of Last Chances Cover

Amazon Book Depository

Earlier this year I finally got a chance to check out something from highly acclaimed fantasy and science fiction author, Adrian Tchaikovsky, when I read the fantastic Warhammer 40,000 novel, Day of Ascension. This dark and intense novel was a lot of fun and made me an instant fan of Tchaikovsky, an author I have been meaning to read for a long time, especially after all the awesome sounding series and standalone novels he has created over the years. As such, when I saw that Tchaikovsky had a cool new fantasy novel coming out later this year, I knew that I would have to grab it.

This upcoming book is City of Last Chances, an awesome read that will examine a deadly revolution that occurs within an occupied city. This novel, which is currently set for release in December 2022, has a great sounding plot that sees the city of Ilmar rebelling against its occupiers when ancient magic is unleashed once again. I really love the sound of this book and if Tchaikovsky’s writing is on point again, which I am sure it will be, then City of Last Chances is going to be one of the best fantasy books of the year.

Synopsis:

Arthur C. Clarke winner and Sunday Times bestseller Adrian Tchaikovsky’s triumphant return to fantasy with a darkly inventive portrait of a city under occupation and on the verge of revolution.

There has always been a darkness to Ilmar, but never more so than now. The city chafes under the heavy hand of the Palleseen occupation, the choke-hold of its criminal underworld, the boot of its factory owners, the weight of its wretched poor and the burden of its ancient curse.

What will be the spark that lights the conflagration?

Despite the city’s refugees, wanderers, murderers, madmen, fanatics and thieves, the catalyst, as always, will be the Anchorwood – that dark grove of trees, that primeval remnant, that portal, when the moon is full, to strange and distant shores.

Ilmar, some say, is the worst place in the world and the gateway to a thousand worse places.

Ilmar, City of Long Shadows.

City of Bad Decisions.

City of Last Chances.