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 books that they have enjoyed, but which they have never mentioned on their blog. I thought this was a pretty interesting topic to undertake and I had to dive deep into my book collection to find several great reads that I have so far failed to talk about before on my blog.
To appear on my list, the books in question had to be ones that I haven’t talked about to any real degree before during my blogging career. That means that I am featuring a bunch of older novels I read before I started my blog which I have been unable to re-read and review for an appearance here. I have also decided to exclude any books or series that I have mentioned in other Top Ten Tuesday posts, especially as there are a few awesome series I have really praised without doing any reviews for them (The Kingkiller Chronicles and The Gentleman Bastards series come to mind). I must admit that I struggled a little here with finding enough awesome books, so I ended up featuring some comic series as well. The result is a pretty varied and interesting list that I feel fully conveys the best series that I have really enjoyed and which I need to do some extra reviewing for.
Honourable Mentions:
Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton
A brilliant and clever pirate novel by legendary author Michael Crichton, that was released after his death.
Batman: Detective Comics (2016) by James Tynion IV
I deeply enjoyed this new series of the iconic Batman: Detective Comic series that started in 2016 as part of the DC Rebirth line. This series follows Batman as he forms a new team to face off against a deadly army threatening Gotham. Featuring some of the best and most complex Batman supporting characters, this is an excellent run I really need to review.
World of Warcraft: War Crimes by Christie Golden
One of my absolute favourite World of Warcraft tie-in novels must be War Crimes by Christie Golden. Set between the Mists of Pandaria and Warlords of Draenor expansions, this novel featured the trial of major antagonist Garrosh Hellscream after he drags the entire world into war. A surprisingly deep and emotional read that recaps key parts of Warcraft history and make the iconic characters relive their worst decisions, this is an epic, must-read for all Warcraft fans.
Wonder Woman by Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang
In 2011 DC rebooted their entire comic line in an event known as the New 52. Despite having some initial promise, the New 52 was a massive mess, especially as it ended several awesome series and brought in sub-par replacements. Despite my dislike of this reboot, there were some good titles released here, with my personal favourite being the impressive Wonder Woman series written by Brian Azzarello. A dark and gritty reimagining of the iconic character that proved to be highly addictive and impactful, especially as several ideas introduced here were eventually featured in the Wonder Woman films. If only the rest of the New 52 could have measured up.
Top Ten Tuesday:
The Athenian Mysteries by Gary Corby
An excellent historical murder mystery series set in ancient Greece that has a brilliant mixture of intrigue, investigation and outrageous humour.
The Cleric Quintet by R. A. Salvatore
I often mention Salvatore’s excellent Drizzt Do’Urden fantasy novels on this blog but I barely ever talk about his amazing Cleric Quintet. Set in the same world as the Drizzt Do’Urden novels, the Cleric Quintet is a compelling and tight five-novel series that follows a young priest and his unusual friends as they defeat the various evils surrounding their temple.
Identity Crisis by Brad Meltzer
I honestly can’t believe that I haven’t talked about this amazing comic on my blog before, especially as it is one of my favourite limited series. Written by acclaimed author Brad Meltzer, Identity Crisis is an exquisite and powerful read that sees the families of the various DC superheroes being targeted by a serial killer. Featuring all the best DC characters at their very worst and revealing some damning secrets, Identity Crisis is an epic read and it is easily one of my favourite comics of all time.
Empire of the Moghul by Alex Rutherford
A brilliant series that details the rise and fall of the Moghul empire in India. Filled with innumerable betrayals, deadly war sequences and an impressive depiction of one of history’s most dysfunctional dynasties, the Empire of the Moghul books are a brilliant historical fiction series that I had a lot of fun reading.
The Witches of Eileanan by Kate Forsyth
One the first fantasy series I ever really got into were The Witches of Eileanan books by Australian author Kate Forsyth. While Forsyth is mostly known for her historical dramas, I prefer this exceptional fantasy series that followed a young witch as she battled through a land where magic is outlawed. Filled with an excellent cast of characters and containing a dark and elaborate narrative, this is a great fantasy series, and it is one that I really need to reread at some point.
Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield
One of the best historical fiction novels ever written, Gates of Fire is an excellent novel that provides one of the most accurate and moving depictions of the Battle of Thermopylae. Told from the perspective of a Spartan slave, this amazing novel really dives into the Spartan warrior culture and shows the nation’s darkest hour in all its bitter and brutal glory.
Dragon Ball/Dragon Ball Z by Akira Toriyama
Despite my love of anime, I have honestly never read that much manga in my life, which is one of my many literary regrets. The big exception to this is the impressive Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z manga by Akira Toriyama. Bought because of my childhood love of the Dragon Ball Z anime, this manga is really good and tells an elaborate and wildly entertaining story, which is a lot of fun to check out. While considered one of the more basic manga to check out, I still deeply enjoyed it and I have done multiple re-reads of it over the years.
An Officer and a Spy by Robert Harris
An impressive historical fiction novel that perfectly recreates the infamous Dreyfus Affair from French history.
The Serpent War Saga by Raymond E. Feist
Part of Feist’s amazing Riftwar Cycle, this sub-series of books is one that I haven’t talked about before, but it contains some of Feist’s strongest writing. Bringing in several great new characters and setting them lose in his established world, The Serpent War Saga novels were extremely intense and saw several established favourites meet their end.
The Paris Architect by Charles Belfoure
The final book on this list is the impressive historical drama The Paris Architect. Set during World War II, this book followed a young French architect who risked everything to create elaborate hiding places for Jews in Paris. Very moving and extremely good, this was an excellent novel that hit you right in the heart with its amazing story.
Well, that is the end of this list. As you can see there are several awesome books out there that I have so far neglected to include on this blog. All the above are really worth checking out and I must make an effort to review some of the above in the future.
The Unseen Library 