Top Ten Tuesday – Titles with Animals in Them

On April 11, 2023 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 week’s Top Ten Tuesday, participants are tasked with listing their top books with animals in the title. This is a rather interesting topic and it has several similarities to other topics that have been featured as part of the Top Ten Tuesday meme before.

I ended up coming up with quite a few good books that had animals in the titles, far too many if I’m going to be honest as it turns out it is quite a common practice to feature some form of animal in a title. To make this list a little more manageable, I decided to exclude any mythical creatures or animals from this list, mainly because I don’t think that was in the spirit of the topic, but also because this book would end up being very similar to my recent list that looked at book covers featuring dragons. When this exclusion still left me with way too-many options, I decided to further limit myself by restricting this list to only one book per author. This ensured that I had reasonable input from several authors who favour animal-themed titles, or who I have a great deal of books from. The resultant list, which still required some cutting, ended up looking pretty good and I think that I ended up covering the top books I have read with animals in the titles. So let us see what made the cut.

Honourable Mentions:

Space Wolf by William King

Space Wolf Original Cover

Following the genetically enhanced and wolf-like members of the Space Wolves Space Marine chapter, this intriguing Warhammer 40,000 is pretty damn awesome, and the title fits extremely well.

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Dark Horse by Gregg Hurwitz

Dark Horse Cover

A great entry in Hurwitz’s awesome Orphan X series, Dark Horse was a fantastic book and its animal-themed title had great multiple meanings within the plot.

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The Black Hawks by David Wragg

The Black Hawks Cover

An amazing and captivating fantasy read; The Black Hawks references the titular mercenary group the book follows who get into all manner of trouble in a dark fantasy realm.

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The Bear Pit by S. G. MacLean

The Bear Pit Cover

An excellent historical murder mystery which features a fighting bear as a potential suspect and lethal murder weapon.

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Top Ten List:

Usagi Yojimbo: Volume 5: Lone Goat and Kid by Stan Sakai

Usagi Yojimbo Lone Goat and Kid Cover

Now, realistically I could include any of the Usagi Yojimbo comics on this list, as Usagi is Japanese for rabbit. However, I chose to ignore that and instead the animal in the title I am focusing on can be found in the fifth collected volume, Lone Goat and Kid. A great addition in the Usagi Yojimbo series, this is a pretty epic volume, and I loved the story focussing on the titular Lone Goat and Kid, who are animal parodies of Lone Wolf and Cub. I really like the fun homage contained in this title, which is why I included this volume, rather than the later volumes Fox Hunt and Red Scorpion, which I could have also used.

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Dogs of War by Jonathan Maberry

Dogs of War Cover

The always amazing Joe Ledger series by Jonathan Maberry has some great titles to it, but the only one I could fit here was the fantastic novel Dogs of War. This was an outstanding read, and while the title, Dogs of War, is a play on the famous saying, it also refers to robotic attack dogs featured within the book. As such, I had to include this here, and this book is an outstanding addition to the series.

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Talon of the Silver Hawk by Raymond E. Feist

Talon of the Silver Hawk Cover

Legendary fantasy author, Raymond E. Feist has featured a couple of animals into his fantasy titles over the year, such as with King of Foxes, but the one I’m going to focus on in this list is Talon of the Silver Hawk, which was the first Feist novel I ever read. Not only is this an incredible and eye-catching title, but Talon of the Silver Hawk also references the main character, who gains his name early in the novel when he witnesses a hawk on a vision quest. An epic inclusion that has a very special place in my heart.

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The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett

Fifth Elephant

I’m featuring a few of my favourite authors on this list and that includes the legendary Terry Pratchett who used animal names in a few of his books. I was very tempted to use one of my favourite Discworld books, Hogfather, here, although that is more of a character name rather than a reference to an animal. So instead, I used The Fifth Elephant, which is a fantastic and impressive entry to the series. Elephants are a very important part of the Discworld books, as four of them hold up the titular Discworld while standing on-top of a giant turtle, so The Fifth Elephant is a title that is guaranteed to get reader’s attention. The book itself is a compelling addition to the City Watch sub-series and this entry sees the main characters to travel to a Transylvania-esque land, which has been gifted great riches by the crashing fifth elephant, to solve several murders and resolve political discord. This is an outstanding entry in the series and I’m glad I could feature it on this list.

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

Death of the Black Widow Cover

An excellent, animal-themed book title I wanted to highlight was Death of the Black Widow by the excellent team of James Patterson and J. D. Barker. The black widow in the title refers to a mysterious, supernatural figure who seduces and kills many people over an extended period. I had an amazing time with this novel, which was one of my favourite books of 2022, and I will admit the cool title was one of the reasons I chose to read Death of the Black Widow.

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White Wolf by David Gemmell

White Wolf Cover

One of the more interesting books I wanted to feature on this list was the epic fantasy novel White Wolf by the late, great David Gemmell. I’ve mostly only ever talked about Gemmell’s debut novel, Legend, on this blog, but I also deeply enjoyed one of his later novels, White Wolf. Following a deadly warrior who attempts and fails to leave his life of violence behind, White Wolf is an incredible novel that has so many great moments to it. This was one of the earlier big pieces of fantasy that I read when I was younger, and it has stuck with me for years. I have been meaning to go back and read this series for a while and White Wolf is one of the main reasons for this.

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The Constant Rabbit by Jasper Fforde

The Constant Rabbit Cover

When it came to books with animals in the titles, I just to include The Constant Rabbit by Jasper Fforde, which is such an awesomely fun book. The Constant Rabbit is a complex novel set in a version of England where anthropomorphic rabbits have emerged and started living with humans. This ended up being a very impressive novel that is simultaneously inventive, hilarious and a brilliant parody of British politics. One of my favourite books of 2020 and a great addition to this list.

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Under the Eagle by Simon Scarrow

Under the Eagle Cover

Out of all the authors I’m featuring on this list, few have as many books with animals in the title than historical fiction author Simon Scarrow. That is because his long-running Eagles of the Empire series, features eagle in the titles of the first seven books (i.e. The Eagle’s Conquest, The Eagle and the Wolves and The Eagle in the Sand), as well as some other animals, like The Blood Crows. I decided to feature the very first book in the series, Under the Eagle, which is a brilliant introduction to a gripping and powerful Roman history series, and which comes highly recommended.

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The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes Cover

Next, we dive into Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games series, which had a lot of bird imagery involved with it. While the third book does have an animal in the title with Mockingjay, I decided against featuring it as this was a fictional species. Instead, I decided to feature the prequel novel Collin’s released a couple of years ago with The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which features two separate animals in the title. This was an excellent prequel to the very cool young adult trilogy and I look forward to seeing it turned into a movie later this year.

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War of the Wolf by Bernard Cornwell

War of the Wolf Cover

The final entry on this list is War of the Wolf by Bernard Cornwell, which served as a great addition to his long running Saxon series. This great book sees the aging protagonist engage in another series of battles against enemies on all fronts. Serving as the beginning of the end of this brilliant series, I have a lot of love for War of the Wolf and it was an outstanding addition to both the Saxon series and this list.

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Well, that’s the end of my list. It turns out that I’ve read a good number of books with animals in the title, so this ended up being a great list for me in the end. I am pretty happy with how this turned out and it was fun to figure what to include. Let me know what your favourite books with animals in the titles are in the comments below.

Top Ten Tuesday – Hilarious Book Titles

On August 9, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn List6 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 their top ten favourite hilarious book titles. This was an intriguing topic that I was quite interested in having a go at. There are some fun book titles out there, usually associated with some entertaining books or comics, and I had a great time going through some of my favourite books to figure out which titles were the most amusing or hilarious.

This proved to be a slightly difficult list to come up with, and I had to dig deep to find a full ten books to feature on this list. However, I endured and managed to pull together a full list, as well as a good honourable mentions section, and all the entries featured below have fantastically entertaining titles, as well as some great stories to match them. I love all the titles of the books below, although in a few places I used a bit of context of both the specific book’s story and the rest of the series. I am pretty happy with the results below and I think this represents my favourite books with the most hilarious book titles.

Honourable Mentions:

Star Wars: Doctor Aphra: Doctor Aphra and the Enormous Profit by Kieron Gillen

This comic series has several great titles for its volumes (Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon is one of my favourites), however I think Doctor Aphra and the Enormous Profit was the most entertaining, especially if you know how much Doctor Aphra loves money and how likely her plans are to backfire.

The Trouble with Peace by Joe Abercrombie

Yeah, peace is never really an option in one of Joe Abercrombie’s dark fantasy books, so this was a rather apt and fun title.

Firefly: The Magnificent Nine by James Lovegrove

Who doesn’t enjoy a title that parodies classic western film, The Magnificent Seven? This time we have it with the cast of the iconic Firefly television series, with a fantastic matching plot to boot.

Runaways: Rock Zombies by Terry Moore

Refers to the Runaways facing off against literal zombies created by rock music, love it!

Top Ten List:

How to Rule an Empire and Get Away With It by K. J. Parker

The first book on this list is the fantastic fantasy novel, How to Rule an Empire and Get Away With It. Part of Parker’s Siege series, which features two other books with fun titles (Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City and A Practical Guide to Conquering the World), however, I love this book’s title the best. How to Rule an Empire and Get Away With It is such an eye-catching and humorous title, especially when the narrative literally shows how a simple actor and writer was able to take over his nation and eventually escape from the responsibilities in some entertaining and hilarious ways. A truly awesome book with an outstanding title.

Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett

There was very little chance I wasn’t going to feature any of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels on this list, as Pratchett came up with some amazing titles for all his books. Most of these titles are strongly connected to the stories they are associated with, and that context generally adds to the cleverness and comedy of the book’s names in some great ways. I honestly could have featured 10 Pratchett books with hilarious titles on this list alone, but I figured I would limit it too only a few. The first example of this is Equal Rites, the third book in the Discworld series. While this isn’t my absolute favourite Discworld book, I love the title, especially as it is a very clever pun that ties into the story extremely well. The book Equal Rites is about a young girl gifted with a wizard’s staff and magic, which is completely the wrong sort of magic for a woman in this universe. Determined to gain this power, she, her sentient staff and the witch Granny Weatherwax, travel to male-only Unseen University so she can try and learn wizard’s magic, only to experience ridicule. As such, Equal Rites refers to both the female magic user trying to get equality with her male peers (equal rights you could say) and access to their magic (or magical rites). I love the simple, but very clever, pun of this book, and the novel itself is a very fun early entry from this supremely talented author.

The Bookkeeper’s Skull by Justin D. Hill

Now this Warhammer 40,000 book might a dark horror/mystery novel about a science fiction farming community experiencing a series of brutal murders, but it has a very fun title to it. The Bookkeeper’s Skull definitely made me chuckle when I saw it for the first time, and it fits into the resultant story really well.

A Comedy of Terrors by Lindsey Davis

I love puns, what can I say! Most of Lindsey Davis’ Flavia Albia novels (and her preceding Falco series) have fun and entertaining titles, but my favourite is A Comedy of Terrors, which, with a simple one letter addition to a classic phrase, gives an apt new meaning to it. I had fun with this book, and it was a clever little change that fit the story very well.

Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett

I also had to featured Witches Abroad on this list as it is such a fantastic title as well as being one of the more entertaining Discworld novels. The title of this book, Witches Abroad, continues the naming conventions associated with the sub-series around the Lancre witches started in Wyrd Sisters by using quotes from Macbeth. However, rather than being a reference to the witches being out and causing mischief, the title of this book literally refers to the witches being abroad on a holiday. This was a continuation of a joke in Wyrd Sisters, and I always have a chuckle at how this name came about.

X-Factor: Invisible Woman Has Vanished by Peter David

Throughout its awesome run, the X-Factor comics had some of the most entertaining stories going in Marvel comics at the time. Loaded with fun and entertaining stories based around the mutant private investigators known as X-Factor, this is one of my favourite comic series of all times and is really worth a read. This series had several great titles, but my favourite and the most hilarious was Invisible Woman Has Vanished. A play of a fun joke at the front of the story, this title is very catchy with its ridiculousness, and I loved it so much. It helps that its associated volume does have a great story about the Fantastic Four’s Invisible Woman literally going missing and is definitely worth a read.

Nuking the Moon: And Other Intelligence Schemes and Military Plots Best Left on the Drawing Board by Vince Houghton

The title says it all when it comes to this great non-fiction book about the stupidest military plans, technology and intelligence gathering plans in history. There are some really insane plots in the book, and spoiler alert, they really did consider nuking the moon.

Going Postal by Terry Pratchett

The final Discworld title I have on this list belongs to the very entertaining and impressive Going Postal. This is another great title, especially when seen in the context of the story about a notorious conman forced to reopen a cursed post office. Initially very reluctant to join into the insane postal process, he eventually becomes a dedicated postman as the book progress, while also losing his mind to a degree. As such the title cleverly references both his change in demeaner, and the craziness of postal work that the saying usually refers to. Not only do I deeply enjoy Going Postal’s very fitting title, but it is probably one of Pratchett’s better books with a unique and fantastic style to it.

Redshirts by John Scalzi

Anyone who knows anything about Star Trek will appreciate the fun title for this John Scalzi science fiction parody novel. Redshirts does exactly what it says on the tin, providing readers with a fun tale of death and destruction from the perspective of the lowly redshirts, the ultra-expendable crew who find themselves getting killed off on every away mission. The moment I saw this title I knew I was going to have a hilarious time with this book, and I really did as it was a great and funny book.

The Constant Rabbit by Jasper Fforde

Finally, I had to include this awesome book from Jasper Fforde on this as it has a great title to it. The Constant Rabbit is a very eye-catching and entertaining title, but even after seeing it you are still unprepared for the exceedingly funny book about sentient, human-sized rabbits who have been created in England and have started a whole new race war there. I loved the title of this book, and it is a very clever and hilarious standalone novel to check out.

Well, that’s the end of this latest list. I hope you enjoyed the fun titles above, I honestly find them all pretty hilarious, and these entries are great reads to check out. Let me know in the comments which titles you liked the most and link in your versions to this list as well.

Top Ten Tuesday – Books I Wish Had a Sequel

On June 14, 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. For this week’s Top Ten Tuesday participants are tasked with listing the top books that they wish had an epilogue. This is a pretty fun topic, although I’m going to alter it slightly and change epilogue to sequel. There are a ton of great books out there that really deserve a follow-up in some way shape or form and I can think of several awesome examples of the bat that I would really like to see more of.

To come up with this list I looked at some of my favourite standalone novels and series and had a think about which ones I thought deserved a sequel. I made sure to avoid novels which already have a planned sequel coming out in the future (even if it has been promised for a very long time), and mostly focussed on books that have nothing currently planned or where the author has no real intention of ever doing a sequel for. In most cases this is a real shame as I think that all the entries down below definitely deserve some more content in one shape or another.

Honourable Mentions

Star Wars: Doctor Aphra by Sara Kuhn

I loved this audio adaptation of the various comics featuring standout Star Wars extended universe character Doctor Aphra, and I hope that they consider doing a sequel that covers some of her other adventures.

The Constant Rabbit by Jasper Fforde

Jasper Fforde honestly tied up everything pretty perfectly in this awesome novel, although I would gladly read more books about these hilariously sentient rabbits.

Kal Jerico series

It has been a couple of years since the last Warhammer 40,000 novel or comic featured the amazing character of Kal Jerico, bounty-hunter extraordinaire. The last novel, Sinner’s Bounty, was really good, and I want to see more of this amazing and flamboyant protagonist.

Later by Stephen King

An awesome book from last year that really needs a sequel at some point. Get onto it Stephen King!

Top Ten Tuesday:

Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

I would give anything to see more of the freaky and terrifying mermaid monsters featured in this impressive horror read by Mira Grant. There is still so much story that could be continued here, and I hope that Grant fleshes out Into the Drowning Deep’s unique plot into a sequel or even a whole series.

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

A fun and clever novel about a vampire epidemic springing up around the world. Villareal left a lot of potential storylines open and I would love to see this world explored more at some point.

The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini

Even after finishing more than 10 years ago, The Inheritance Cycle remains one of my favourite all-time fantasy series to this day, mainly due to its clever world-building and massive narrative. As such, I would love to see more adventures set in this universe and there are a ton of unanswered questions that need to be explored.

Star Wars: Death Troopers by Joe Schreiber

Ok, so technically Death Troopers, a fantastically fun novel about zombies in the Star Wars universe, did get a prequel with the Old-Republic novel Red Harvest, that explored the origins of the zombie virus. However, I personally would love to see more zombie-related stories in the Star Wars universe and I think it would a fun addition to the current canon (although I can’t really see Disney doing that). Still, never say never, especially for something this awesome.

The Coven trilogy by R. A. Salvatore

Bestselling fantasy author R. A. Salvatore absolutely killed it between 2018 and 2020 with The Coven trilogy. Set in his Corona universe and featuring the novels Child of a Mad God, Reckoning of Fallen Gods and Song of the Risen God, The Coven trilogy was extremely compelling and introduced some intriguing new characters while also bringing back some iconic figures from his Demon Wars Saga. The final book left with several storylines wide open and I have yet to see any indication that Salvatore is coming back to this universe anytime soon. Hopefully we’ll see a sequel trilogy in the next few years, I know I will have a great time with it.

The Holdout by Graham Moore

The Holdout was a cool standalone legal thriller from a few years ago that I had a brilliant time reading. While this initial story was wrapped up really well, I would love to see more jury-related storylines in the future, potentially with The Holdout’s protagonist involved in other controversial jury cases.

Nuking the Moon by Vince Houghton

Give me more fun stories about the most idiotic military plans and technology from history!

Star Wars: Dark Disciple by Christie Golden

Another great Star Wars book that deserves a sequel of some variety. Dark Disciple followed two major characters from the Star Wars extended universe, including Quinlan Vos (recently mention in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series), and I would love to see what happened to him, and other characters, after the events of this book and Order 66.

Devolution by Max Brooks

Devolution was one of my favourite books of 2020 and contained an outstanding standalone read about sasquatches attacking a small community. While this was a really awesome novel that came together extremely well in the end, I always felt that Brooks could have made his novel longer and expanded the story out a bit more. As such, I think a Devolution sequel would be pretty awesome as there are so many more details that could be explored.

Redshirts by John Scalzi

Could we get another one of these that parodies Star Trek: The Next Generation? Wil Wheaton’s narration of the audiobook version would be even funnier that way.

Well, that’s the end of this latest list. I hope you enjoy my somewhat unique choices above, and maybe if we’re lucky there might be some follow up novels to the in the future. In the meantime, let me know what books you think deserve fun sequels in the comments below?

Top Ten Tuesday – Books That Made Me Laugh Out Loud

On February 23, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn Comedy/Satire, 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 latest Top Ten Tuesday, participants have the fun task of listing their favourite books that made them laugh out loud.

While coming up with list was an enjoyable and entertaining task, this was a topic that I slightly struggled with as I don’t tend to read purely comedic novels. Instead, I usually get my comedic fix through somewhat more serious books that have funny protagonists or are filled with jokes or excellent humour. Nonetheless, I was able to pull together a good list in the end filled with some amazing reads that always leave me laughing. I did end up having to feature multiple books from the same authors to fill this list up, but these guys are just so funny it was hard not to. So, with that, let us get on to the funny stuff.

Honourable Mentions:

Star Wars: Doctor Aphra by Sarah Kuhn

Nuking the Moon: And Other Intelligence Schemes and Military Plots Best Left on the Drawing Board by Vince Houghton

With luminous foxes and exploding bats, this fun non-fiction book is proof that reality is sometimes stranger, and more hilarious, than fiction.

Early Riser by Jasper Fforde

Footrot Flats by Murray Ball

An amazing comic strip I loved in my childhood thanks to my fun grandfather. This cool New Zealand comic still holds up even after all these years and makes me laugh like crazy every time I read it.

Top Ten List:

Jingo by Terry Pratchett

I do not think that anyone is going to be too surprised that I have featured several books from the utterly hilarious and indefinably clever Terry Pratchett. Pratchett is easily my favourite author of all time, and I have so much love for his amazing Discworld series, the novels of which I have read and re-read time and time again, and each of them always makes me laugh. I ended up including five Discworld books on this list, which I honestly think is me showing restraint, as I could have filled up three separate lists purely with Discworld novels. The first of these books is one I am particularly fond of, Jingo, which sees the Ankh-Morpork City Watch attempt to stop a war. Filled with all manner of jokes about war, political assassinations and jingoism, while also featuring an hilarious boat chase in unusual weather, Captain Carrot turning into Lawrence of Arabia and an entire battlefield arrested for causing an affray, this book never fails to amuse me, and I always laugh while reading it.

The Constant Rabbit by Jasper Fforde

The second entry on this list was last years awesome and captivating release from Jasper Fforde, The Constant Rabbit. Set in an alternate version of England filled with anthropomorphic rabbits, Fforde has come up with an outrageous narrative that is both fantastically funny while also serving as a clever send up of current British politics. I laughed at so many scenes during this book, including a great court sequence, that The Constant Rabbit easily made this list and is really worth checking out.

The Last Continent by Terry Pratchett

The next Discworld novel to appear on this list is The Last Continent, a very amusing novel that pits Pratchett’s main protagonist, the cowardly wizard Rincewind, against the terrors and horrors of that most dangerous of places, Australia (although the author is very clear to state that this is not a book about Australia, it just seems, in some places, very Australian, so no worries, right?). Naturally, Rincewind manages to run into every single dangerous Australian stereotype you can think of, including road gangs trying to steal a mad dwarf’s hay, talking kangaroos, drop bears, a chronic lack of rain and, worst of all, a local delicacy (a pea soup pie floater, shudder!). The Australian jokes and references come thick and fast throughout this book, which become even more entertaining when viewed from the point-of-view of someone born and raised in Australia. At the same time, the wizards of Unseen University engage in their own separate adventure, which sees them lost in the past (potentially killing their own grandparents) and forced to contend with a sex-obsessed god of evolution (once someone explains what sex is to him). All of this makes for a hilarious and captivating read that is easily one of my favourite Discworld books, and one which I will always have a good laugh at.

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

There was no way that I could not include the impressive and captivating Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City on this list. Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City, which was one of my favourite books of 2019, tells the story of a desperate and comical siege of a major fantasy city. Told from the perspective of a very unreliable narrator, this book sees the protagonist defend his city with the most effective weapon he has, bluffs and lies. This is an outstanding book, and readers are guaranteed to giggle at every single manipulation, con and elaborate subterfuge that is deployed to save the city.

Moving Pictures by Terry Pratchett

A Discworld book that is perfect for movie buffs, Moving Pictures examines what happens when a new form of entertainment comes to this crazy world, giving a whole new meaning to the term “movie magic”. There are so many great jokes and references in this compelling and exceptional book, that multiple re-reads are a must to see just how clever Pratchett really was. Highlights include the introduction of multiple amazing characters, a reverse King Kong moment and a very entertaining Gone With The Wind parody (to this day I cannot hear the words “Blown Away” without thinking about this book and sniggering). An impressive comedic treat.

Redshirts by John Scalzi

A Star Trek parody written by science fiction genius John Scalzi was always going to be an amazing read, and it proves to be utterly hilarious. I loved all the fantastic jokes made about Star Trek in this book, and it was extremely funny to see the adventures of an Enterprise equivalent ship told from the perspective of the doomed redshirts. I had some good laughs as I powered through this book and it is an incredible comedy read to check out.

Pyramids by Terry Pratchett

Another long-time favourite Discworld novel of mine is the outstanding Pyramids, which serves as a comedic adventure in an ancient Egyptian facsimile. Pratchett came up with some fantastic sequences for this book, and I always chuckle at the scene with the various sun gods fighting for their prize like a football while a priest does commentary: “It’s noon! It’s noon!”. An utterly hilarious novel.

A Shot in the Dark by Lynne Truss

This next excellent entry on this list is A Shot in the Dark, Lyne Truss’s novelisation of her genius Inspector Steine radio show. This serves as an amazing take on this fantastic radio show and I loved the comical premise which sees a new police constable be reassigned to the seemingly crime free Brighton, only to discover something very sinister is lurking just around the corner, ready to offer him a cup of tea. A very funny and entertaining read that got a lot of laughs out of me.

Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett

The fifth Discworld novel on this list is the exceptional Guards! Guards!, which serves as the introductory book in the City Watch subseries. This is an outstanding read that presents a fantasy parody of classic crime fiction novels, by having a severely understaffed police force attempt to arrest a summoned dragon. There are so many clever comedic scenes in this book, but I personally laughed the hardest as the descriptions of the heroic and naïve Captain Carrot arresting the head of the Thieves Guild. One of Pratchett’s best and funniest books, this is a great one to check out if you want to laugh out loud.

How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It by K. J. Parker

My final entry is How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It, the sequel to Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City that I featured above. This excellent and amazing read (which was one of my favourite books of 2020) continues the story started in the first novel, although this time it follows an actor who manages to con his way to the top of the besieged city using stage techniques. This was another hilarious and exceptional read that really made me chuckle multiple times.

That is the end of this list. I think it came together really well and I liked the different novels I decided to feature, even if it was a tad Pratchett heavy (not that there is anything wrong with that). All the above novels come highly recommended and are definitely worth reading if you are in the mood for a funny and laugh provoking read.

Top Ten Tuesday – Most Viewed Posts of 2020

On February 16, 2021February 16, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn List1 Comment

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. The official topic for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday was to list a participant’s favourite purple, yellow, and/or green Book Covers in honour of Mardi Gras, however, I really did not have any great book covers to feature on this list so I am going to do something a little different and list my top viewed posts of 2020.

Over the last month or two I have been having fun listing some of the top releases I enjoyed in 2020, including my favourite debuts, audiobooks, new to me authors, pre-2020 novels and books that I read last year. However, it is probably time to finish this line of Top Ten Lists off and move onto different topics, so I thought that I would do something new as a closing act and decided to take a quick look at which of my posts got the most views in 2020. Not only this a fantastic way to finish highlighting some of the best novels released last year, but I am also genuinely curious to see which posts people were most interested in last year as this may some impact on what I try and read going forward.

To fill out this list I checked out the nifty stats section of my WordPress website to see which of my posts got the most views last year. While some of the posts I wrote before 2020 did get a lot of attention last year, I decided to limit this list to those blog entries that I published in 2020 and I only ranked them by views received last year. This resulted in a rather interesting collection of posts and I was so intrigued by this I decided to expand the selection out to my top 20 posts rather than 10, which I think created a much more varied and captivating list. The final list contains a great combination of different posts, including reviews, Waiting on Wednesday posts and even a few other Top Ten Tuesday lists. I am really happy with how this latest list turned out, so let us see which posts made the cut.

Top Twenty List:

Waiting on Wednesday – The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett – 940 views

The Evening and the Morning Cover

The top scoring post was the Waiting on Wednesday post I did for the latest Ken Follet novel, The Evening and the Morning. I was a little surprised that this Waiting on Wednesday did so well last year, especially as a lot of the views on it occurred after the book got released, but the view count on this post has continued to grow and grow. A lot of this is probably down to how impressive each of his massive novels are, as readers know they are in for a good time and keep an eye out for the latest Follett book.

House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas review – 449 views

House of Earth and Blood Cover

After the fantastic first entry there is a bit of a drop in views, but second place is held strongly by my review for House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas. This is not too surprising, considering that Maas has a pretty substantial fanbase, and House of Earth and Blood was one of the most anticipated fantasy releases of 2020. This was only the second novel from Maas that I have read (the other being Catwoman: Soulstealer) and the first adult fantasy novel from an author that specialises in young adult fiction. I ended up really enjoying the complex and lengthy story that Maas created for House of Earth and Blood and I am looking forward to seeing how the series continues in the future.

Lost by James Patterson and James O. Born review – 317 views

Lost Cover

Number three on this list was a bit of a surprise. While I enjoyed Lost, I must admit that it was not one of my favourite books of 2020 and I did not expect my review of it to get as much attention as it ended up getting. Still, with Patterson’s immense number of fans and followers, I guess it makes sense that people would be interested in seeing how one of his books would turn out, and I really need to check out some more of his novels this year.

Waiting on Wednesday – Relentless by R. A. Salvatore – 265 views

Relentless Cover

The next entry on this list is the Waiting on Wednesday article that I did for legendary fantasy author R. A. Salvatore’s second 2020 novel Relentless. Relentless was a particularly cool fantasy novel from last year which followed on from Salvatore’s previous novels Timeless and Boundless. There ended up being a good amount of interest in this post, and it looks like there are a lot of fans of Salvatore and his amazing fantasy novels. I actually just posted a slightly belated review of Relentless, and it will be interesting to see how much attention it gets this year.

Waiting on Wednesday – 2021 Thrillers – 229 views

Thriller Covers

Next up we have a Waiting on Wednesday post of three thrillers released in early 2021. Each of these novels, Relentless by Mark Greaney, The Kaiser’s Web by Steve Berry and Prodigal Son by Gregg Hurwitz, are the latest entry in a popular and established thriller series, and each of these authors already have a lot of dedicated readers. I have already read Prodigal Son (review coming soon, but in short it is pretty awesome), while I have copies of Relentless and The Kaiser’s Web currently sitting on my table. It will be interesting to see how they turn out, but I am predicting some epic and amazing reads from them.

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik review – 224 views

A Deadly Education Cover

Naomi Novik is a talented fantasy author with a lot of buzz surrounding her, so it is no surprise that a lot of people were interested in her latest book, A Deadly Education. A Deadly Education was an outstanding and captivating read that proved to be extremely inventive and addictive. I deeply enjoyed reading and reviewing A Deadly Education last year, and Novik’s upcoming sequel, The Last Graduate, is one of my most anticipated reads of 2021.

Top Ten Tuesday – Favourite Books of 2020 – 223 views

Trouble with Peace and Battle Ground Cover

This post listed my absolute favourite books of 2020. Featuring 20 novels, including impressive reads like The Trouble With Peace by Joe Abercrombie and Battle Ground by Jim Butcher, this was always going to be a post that a lot of people would be interested in, and I was very happy with how many views it got in closing days of 2020. I cannot wait to list my favourite books of 2021 in 10 months’ time.

One Minute Out by Mark Greaney review – 222 views

One Minute Out Cover

Considering how much attention that the above Waiting on Wednesday for Greaney’s next book got last year, it is not surprising that a lot of people also checked out my review for One Minute Out. Serving as the ninth book in Greaney’s impressive Gray Man series, this was a fantastic read that got a full five-star rating from me. I cannot wait to read the next book, especially if turns out to be as good as One Minute Out.

Top Ten Tuesday – Most Anticipated Releases for the Second Half of 2020 – 208 views

How to Rule an Empire and Get Away With It and Call of the Bone Ships Covers

Another Top Ten List with a lot of major and popular entries in it, including How to Rule an Empire and Get Away With It by K. J. Parker and Call of the Bone Ships by R. J. Barker. This was a fun and intriguing list to pull together, especially as I ended up reading and loving every book featured on it.

The Gates of Athens by Conn Iggulden review – 205 views

The Gates of Athens Cover

It looks like a lot of people were interested in historical fiction last year as my review for The Gates of Athens by the always impressive Conn Iggulden got viewed more than 200 times. The Gates of Athens was a particularly awesome novel as well, and I am looking forward to reading the sequel, Protector, soon.

The Law of Innocence by Michael Connelly review – 196

The Law of Innocence Cover

I actually reviewed two books from iconic crime fiction author Michael Connelly last year, Fair Warning and The Law of Innocence. While both were fantastic reads, it seems more people were interested in my review of The Law of Innocence, which saw the return of the Lincoln Lawyer. This was a particularly fun and enjoyable read and I am glad that so many people were keen to see what I thought about it.

Usagi Yojimbo: Volume 34: Bunraku and Other Stories by Stan Sakai review – 173 views

Usagi Yojimbo Bunraku and Other Stories Cover

I did quite few reviews of Usagi Yojimbo comics in 2020, all of which proved to be rather popular, which was great considering how niche these comics are. Out of all these, the one that got the most attention was for the 2020 release, Bunraku and Other Stories. I had an amazing time writing a passionate review for this comic, the first to be released completely in colour, and it was great to see so much interest in it. My Waiting on Wednesday article for the next Usagi Yojimbo volume, Homecoming, has already gotten a substantial number of views in 2021, so hopefully readers will also enjoy my review for this upcoming volume.

Top Ten Tuesday – Longest Audiobooks That I Have Listened To – Part II – 166 views

WAY OF KINGS MM REV FINAL.indd

A continuation of a previous Top Ten Tuesday list I did, I spent a bit of time working out the longest audiobooks I have ever read. This is a post I will probably revisit again this year, although I very much doubt that the current longest audiobook, The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson, is going to be unseated from its top position on the list.

Waiting on Wednesday – Colonyside by Michael Mammay – 150 views

Colonyside Cover

Another Waiting on Wednesday that got a lot of attention last year was one I did for the cool science fiction thriller, Colonyside. Serving as the third book in Michael Mammay’s Planetside series (which also includes Planetside and Spaceside), this article got a bit of attention after a timely retweet from Mammay. I recently read and reviewed Colonyside a few weeks ago and it really lived up to the hype.

Demon in White by Christopher Ruocchio review – 143 views

Demon in White Cover 1

Now, this was a fun book to review. Demon in White is the third epic entry in impressive new science fiction author Christopher Ruocchio’s outstanding Sun Eater Sequence, which previously featured Empire of Silence and Howling Dark. Considering how amazing this latest entry in the Sun Eater series was, I am very glad that my review for his book got some attention last year, and I would strongly recommend this impressive, gothic read.

Waiting on Wednesday – Ink by Jonathan Maberry – 124 views

Ink Cover

I always really enjoy reviewing or promoting anything written by Jonathan Maberry, and this Waiting on Wednesday I did for his standalone horror novel, Ink, ended up getting a lot of attention in the end. Maberry has a new novel coming out in a few months, Relentless, which I am very excited for, and I anticipate a lot of views for that review when I get it written up.

The Constant Rabbit by Jasper Fforde review – 113 views

The Constant Rabbit Cover

One of the funniest books of 2020, The Constant Rabbit was a lot of fun to review and I am glad that a lot of people checked it out last year.

The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett review – 111 views

The Evening and the Morning Cover

While it may not have gotten as many views as its Waiting on Wednesday article, my review for The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett did make the Top Twenty list. Serving as a prequel to Follett’s iconic The Pillars of the Earth, this was one of the best historical fiction novels in 2020 and is a strongly recommended read.

Top Ten Tuesday – My Favourite Horror Novels – 110 views

Into the Drowning Deep Cover

The penultimate post on this list was an interesting Top Ten Tuesday I did for Halloween, listing my favourite horror novels I have ever read. I honestly am not the biggest fan of the horror genre, but I was able to rustle up a good Top Ten list for this post, including some great reads like Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant and Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry. It looks like a lot of horror fans were out in force last Halloween as people were quite interested in this list, and I hope I recommended a few good reads for any fans of the genre out there.

Top Ten Tuesday – My Favourite Books from the First Half of 2020 – 107 views

Song of the Risen God Cover

The final entry on this list was a Top Ten article that highlighted some of the best books from the first half of 2020. Featuring some particularly cool reads, including Into the Fire by Gregg Hurwitz and Song of the Risen God by R. A. Salvatore, this one got a bit of attention early in the year and it was interesting to see which of the books featured eventually made their way onto my overall favourite reads of 2020 list later in the year.

While mainly a conduit for my ego, I think this list turned out pretty well, and I really enjoyed seeing which of my posts got the most views last year. I had a lot of fun pulling this list together and I think this might be something I will revisit in the future. In the meantime, I hope everyone has a happy and safe Mardi Gras.

Top Ten Tuesday – Favourite Books of 2020

On December 29, 2020January 11, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn List125 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 the final Top Ten Tuesday for the year, participants needed to list their favourite books of 2020. This is a bit of a continuation of a series of lists I have been doing over the last month which highlighted some of the authors and books I have been most impressed with this year, including my favourite audiobooks and my top pre-2020 books I read this year. However, I am extremely excited to showcase my absolute favourite releases of the year, of which there are quite a few.

While most of 2020 has been absolutely shitty, I think we all got a little bit of solace out of the fact that it was 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 of mine. I must admit that I somewhat struggled to pull this list together, as there were so many books that deserved to be mentioned. Therefore, because I am 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 2020, and I would strongly recommend every one of them to anyone who is interested.

Now, I should mention that there is going to be a bit of a crossover between the below entries and some other previous lists I have done before. In particular, several of these novels appeared on my Top Ten Favourite Audiobooks of 2020 list and my Top Ten Favourite Books from the First Half of 2020 list which I ran back in July. To make it onto this list, a book needed to be released here in Australia during 2020 and had to be a top quality read. I have not included any novels that I have not read this year, even they sounded awesome, and I am sure that several, such as The Obsidian Tower by Melissa Caruso, would have made the cut. I have also excluded Call of the Bone Ships by R. J. Barker, as I am only partway through it at the moment. I decided to leave off my usual Honourable Mentions section, as the extra 10 entries kind of make it unnecessary. Overall, though, I have fairly happy with how this Top 20 list turned out and I think it contains a pretty good range of novels that really showcases the different types of books I chose to read this year. So without further ado, here is the list:

Top 20 List (no particular order):

The Trouble With Peace by Joe Abercrombie

Let us start of this list with the masterclass in dark fantasy fiction that was The Trouble With Peace by the always awesome Joe Abercrombie. The sequel to last year’s A Little Hatred (which also made last year’s Top 20 Favourites list), The Trouble With Peace presents the reader with another exceptional and deeply entertaining read that places its damaged protagonists onto a whole new battlefield. Easily one of the best books I read all year, I have no doubt that the final book in this trilogy is going to top all my 2021 favourites lists.

The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett

The moment I heard that a new Ken Follett book was coming out in 2020 I knew that it was going to be one of the best historical fiction reads of the year, and boy was I right. The Evening and the Morning is an addictive and deeply compelling read that serves as a clever prequel to Follet’s iconic The Pillars of the Earth. Featuring an impressive historical backdrop and some great point-of-view characters, The Evening and the Morning was an exceptional novel that is really worth checking out.

Usagi Yojimbo: Bunraku and Other Stories by Stan Sakai

There was no way that I could exclude the latest Usagi Yojimbo from this list. Readers of this blog know I am a major fan of the awesome and criminally under-read Usagi Yojimbo comic series by the masterful Stan Sakai, which follows a rabbit samurai in an alternate version of Feudal Japan. 2020’s entry, Bunraku and Other Stories, was another impressive entry in the series which easily made it onto this list due to its fun collection of stories, including one great entry that re-imagines the original Usagi Yojimbo comic (as seen in Volume One: The Ronin). This was a great read, and I cannot wait to get my next fix of Usagi Yojimbo.

Battle Ground by Jim Butcher

I have long meant to check out the highly acclaimed Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher, and 2020 was the year that I finally did, with the action-packed Battle Ground. Battle Ground was an exceptionally fun and exciting read that puts the protagonist in the middle of a massive supernatural war to decide the fate of Chicago. Epic in every sense of the word, I powered through Battle Ground in extremely short order and had an outstanding time listening to it. I am now a mega fan of this series and I plan to go back and listen to some of the older novels in the series next year.

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

Next we have one of the best debuts of 2020, The Thursday Murder Club by comedian Richard Osman. The Thursday Murder Club was a captivating and awesome murder mystery novel with strong comedic elements that sees a group of retirees attempt to solve a series of murders taking place around their retirement village. Funny, sweet, and containing an impressive mystery, this was a fantastic book from a great new author.

Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

After writing one of my favourite debuts of 2019, Gideon the Ninth, up and coming author Tamsyn Muir, rockets her way onto my favourite reads of 2020 list with Harrow the Ninth. Harrow the Ninth is an exceptional read that follows a group of half-insane necromancers deep in space. Containing an extremely complex but ultimately exceptional narrative, this second book in the series proves to be an amazing read that I deeply enjoyed.

How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It by K. J. Parker

You have no idea how excited I was when I heard that bestselling author K. J. Parker was releasing a sequel to Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City, which was one of my favourite books of 2019. This sequel is an awesome and entertaining continuation of the first book’s story, and this time it follows an actor who attempts to con everyone to save his city. Easily one of the funniest books I read all year, How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It was an automatic inclusion on this list, and I cannot wait to see if Parker is going to continue this fantastic series in the future.

The Grove of the Caesars by Lindsey Davis

Another great read from one of my favourite historical fiction authors, Lindsey Davis, The Grove of the Caesars was a compelling historical murder mystery which sees a sassy private investigator hunt a serial killer in ancient Rome. Highly recommended.

Demon in White by Christopher Ruocchio

For the third year in a row, science fiction supernova Christopher Ruocchio makes his way onto my favourite books of the year list with the epic and impressive Demon in White. Serving as the third entry in his Sun Eater Sequence (which has also featured Empire of Silence and Howling Dark), this was an expansive and powerful science fiction novel that follows a doomed protagonist across a dark gothic universe. An absolute masterpiece, I guarantee that the next book in the series will be one of my top books of 2021.

Race the Sands by Sarah Beth Durst

Another new author I decided to check out this year was Sarah Beth Durst and her standalone fantasy novel, Race the Sands. This was an incredibly fun and intriguing read that sees the future of a distinctive fantasy realm decided with monster racing. I had a great time reading this fast-paced and exceptional book and I cannot wait to see how Durst’s next novel, The Bone Maker, turns out.

Ink by Jonathan Maberry

I do not think anyone is surprised that I included the latest Jonathan Maberry novel on this list. Ink was another captivating, if disturbing, novel from Maberry, who provides a more horror based read about a memory-stealing, tattoo-absorbing vampire who is hunting the haunted town of Pine Deep. I really enjoyed this book, and it proved to be another exceptional release from this clever author. Make sure to keep an eye out for Maberry’s next novel, Relentless, which will serve as the second entry in the Rogue Team International series (the first entry, Rage, was one of the best books of 2019), which will no doubt appear on this list next year.

Star Wars: Darth Vader (2020): Volume One: Dark Heart of the Sith

What is an Unseen Library Top Ten list without a piece of Star Wars tie-in fiction on it? While there were some great Star Wars novels and comics this year (Doctor Aphra and Shadow Fall come to mind), this first volume of the new Darth Vader comic book series was easily the best piece of Star Wars fiction I read all year. Diving into the psyche of Darth Vader right after he reveals his identity to Luke in The Empire Strikes Back, Dark Heart of the Sith is a deep and rich Star Wars tale that was one of the best comics of 2020.

The Kingdom of Liars by Nick Martell

Another great debut from 2020, The Kingdom of Liars was an impressive and inventive fantasy novel that sets a traitor’s son on a journey of redemption. Loaded with a compelling story and set in a great new fantasy setting, The Kingdom of Liars was an addictive read, and I think Nick Martell has a very bright future indeed.

Fair Warning by Michael Connelly

I read quite a few good murder mysteries this year, but one of my favourites was Fair Warning by the always amazing Michael Connelly. Featuring his journalist protagonist Jack McEvoy, Fair Warning features a superb mystery that I had a wonderful time unravelling. While I did also enjoy Connelly’s other novel of 2020, The Law of Innocence, I think Fair Warning had the stronger story and it was another classic from Connelly.

The Constant Rabbit by Jasper Fforde

If you are need of a laugh after 2020, do yourself a favour and check out this wacky and weird new novel from Jasper Fforde. Set in an alternate Britain where rabbits have become anthropomorphised and are now demanding equal rights, The Constant Rabbit is a wildly entertaining and amazingly clever read that contains some comedy gold. While I am a big fan of Fforde’s unusual novels (such as his last book, Early Riser), I was surprised by how funny I found The Constant Rabbit to be, and I honestly could not stop laughing as I read my way through it.

One Minute Out by Mark Greaney

One of my favourite thrillers of the year was this latest entry in the Gray Man series by veteran author Mark Greaney (who made last year’s list with his military thriller Red Metal). One Minute Out sees Greaney’s assassin protagonist hunt down a group of human traffickers and engage them in all out war. An enjoyable, action-packed read, One Minute Out is an amazing novel and I cannot wait to read Greaney’s next book, Relentless.

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

An extremely fun fantasy novel set in a deadly magical school where everything tries to kill the students, need I say more? This was an epic and captivating novel that I ended up reading in a single night.

The Gates of Athens by Conn Iggulden

One of the top authors of historical fiction, Conn Iggulden, returned in 2020 with a brand-new series that chronicles the various wars the plagued ancient Athens. The first book in this series, The Gates of Athens, was an exceptional read that showed a whole angle to war against the Persians and which was an absolute treat to read. Highly recommended.

Hollow Empire by Sam Hawke

While I still have to pull a review together for this book, I had to include Hollow Empire by Sam Hawke on my favourites list. The sequel to one of my favourite books of 2018, City of Lies, Hollow Empire is loaded with intrigue, assassinations, and poison eaters in this great fantasy thriller.

Devolution by Max Brooks

The final entry on this list is the deeply thrilling horror novel, Devolution, which sees a small community cut-off from the rest of America attempt to survive an ancient terror, Sasquatches. Devolution was a fantastic novel from Max Brooks, author of World War Z, and it was another fun book that I smashed out in a day. I loved the action-packed and extremely clever narrative that Brooks cooked up for this novel and it was one of the most exciting and enjoyable books of the year.

Well, those are my 20 favourite books of 2020. 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. 2021 is set to be another excellent year for amazing reads (and let us face it, we all want out of 2020), 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 2020 were in the comments below, and make sure you all have a happy and safe New Years.

Canberra Weekly Column – Best of Three

On July 27, 2020July 27, 2020 By The Unseen LibraryIn Canberra Weekly Column1 Comment

Canberra Weekly Column - 23 July 2020 - Best of Three-1

Originally published in the Canberra Weekly on 23 July 2020.

This review can also be found on the Canberra Weekly website.

Make sure to also check out my extended reviews for Finding Eadie and The Constant Rabbit.

The Constant Rabbit by Jasper Fforde

On July 27, 2020April 11, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Comedy/Satire, Fantasy, Five-Star Books7 Comments

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton (Trade Paperback – 2 July 2020)

Series: Standalone

Length: 307 pages

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Amazon

From the insanely creative mind of one of fiction’s cleverest authors, Jasper Fforde, comes The Constant Rabbit, an incredible comedic satire featuring human-sized anthropomorphic rabbits in an alternate version of modern-day England.

Jasper Fforde is an awesome and fantastically inventive author who has a very distinctive and enjoyable writing style. I have been a fan of Fforde’s work for years, and his Thursday Next books were a favourite series of mine when I was growing up (I should really go back and reread those). I was also lucky enough to receive a copy of his 2018 standalone novel, Early Riser, which was certainly one of the more unique and entertaining books that I read that year. While I do love Fforde’s writing, I have to admit that I was initially a little wary when I heard that his new book was going to be about rabbits as I assumed it was going to be a kids’ book. However, once I realised that it was going to be another crazy adult standalone novel, I made sure to get a copy, especially once I found out it was a satire on UK politics. I am extremely glad that I got a copy of this book as The Constant Rabbit turned out to be a truly remarkable novel with a complex and enjoyable story.

In the year 2020 there are over a million anthropomorphic rabbits living in the UK thanks to a mysterious event 55 years previously. These rabbits can walk, talk, think and have developed their own unique culture and society. While the rabbits on the whole are a polite and peaceful group, many in England, including the ruling United Kingdom Anti-Rabbit Party (UKARP), fear them and are planning to forcibly rehome them to a new Mega-Warren in Wales. Before the planned rehoming occurs, one rabbit family moves into the quiet and cosy village of Much Hemlock, much to the concern of the villagers. Convinced that this rabbit family will cost them their chance at the Best Kept Village award, the citizens of Much Hemlock attempt to force them out, but the family matriarch, Mrs Constance Rabbit, is having none of that and resolves to stay in the village.

Surprisingly, the rabbits soon find support from their neighbours, Peter Knox and his daughter, Pippa. Peter, an employer at the Rabbit Compliance Taskforce, the organisation tasked with policing and controlling the rabbit population, quickly becomes infatuated with Constance and begins to question everything that he thinks he knows about rabbits. However, with plans for the upcoming rehoming accelerating, Peter soon finds himself in the midst of a complex battle for freedom and control, and his actions will have surprising impacts on the entire future of the country.

Wow! Just wow! Now this was one hell of a fun read. Fforde has absolutely outdone himself with this latest book which proved to be an exceptional and amazingly clever piece of fiction. The Constant Rabbit is a captivating and widely entertaining novel that drags the reader in with its creativity and humour until they become enthralled with the unique story that it contains. I had an incredible time reading this book and I ended up laughing myself silly throughout it due to Fforde’s clever and distinctive style of humour. This book gets a full five stars from me and it truly was a thumping good tale.

The Constant Rabbit is told from the first-person perspective of human Peter Knox as he recounts some of the historical events he witnessed. This was a truly remarkable story that follows a mostly blameless and ordinary small-village inhabitant as he navigates a complex and controversial world of rabbits and rabbit-hating humans. This turns into quite a compelling tale about a battle for freedom, recognition and human stupidity, as the protagonist witnesses both sides of the struggle. There are some great moments of drama, excitement, action, and romance throughout the book, which come together extremely well in a compelling and entertaining manner. Fforde features some unique story elements throughout this book and introduces the reader to a series of enjoyable characters who are caught up in these crazy events. These memorable characters include Constance Rabbit, a resourceful and clever rabbit who serves as a major moving part of the plot and the protagonist’s main love interest. There is also a Lugless, an outcast rabbit who, after having his ears cut off in a ceremonial fashion, has turned against his own kind and now works for the Rabbit Compliance Taskforce, and Mr Ffoxe, an anthropomorphised fox, who serves as the book’s vicious main antagonist and the head of the taskforce. However, most of the character development is reserved for main protagonist Peter Knox, who goes through some serious redemption throughout the course of the story following some troubling events in his past. His association with his rabbit neighbours really changes him, especially once he starts to see how crooked and petty humans are in comparison, resulting in him making some surprising decisions. This is a gripping narrative and I really enjoyed all the wonderful and weird directions that the author took it.

Another fantastic aspect of The Constant Rabbit is the distinctive and intelligent sense of humour that permeates every page of this book. I personally found this novel to be deeply funny, and I ended up laughing myself silly at several awesome jokes. Much of the humour revolves around the ridiculous situations, the outrageous personalities, and the clever parodies of life in modern day England, all of which are considered normal in this version by the characters. Seeing these various events or people occur in the novel is itself entertaining, but when combined with the witty and dry observations of the protagonist, the rabbit characters or the narrator through his footnotes, it becomes an absolute riot of fun and comedy. There are some amazingly funny jokes and sequences throughout this book, although the part I laughed the hardest at had to be a farcical murder trial in which a man’s innocence or guilt was determined by whether they had brought an owl with them to the murder scene. Other great jokes included lines about the rabbits’ inability to tell humans apart (most rabbits apparently cannot tell the difference between Brian Blessed and a gorilla), fun observations about rabbits in popular culture (spoilers, the rabbits are unimpressed) and the inclusion of rabbit versions of films and books. I also had to have a laugh at the author’s description of a potential anthropomorphic event occurring at the city of Goulbourn in Australia (which is quite near to me), and all I have to say about that is I very much doubt my government could organise a secret massacre of a group of drunken wombats, much less hunt down a whistleblowing sheep. That being said, the Big Merino statue in Goulbourn does totally exist and it is the town’s defining feature (which tells you quite a lot about what life in Goulbourn must be like).

One of the things that I most like about Fforde’s books is the way that he comes up with a whole new alternate universe for each of his works. All his works are set in alternate versions of England that is specific to that series, all with a number of noticeable differences between the fictional and real worlds. The version of England that The Constant Rabbit is set in was altered by an unexplained event 55 years earlier that turned a group of rabbits (as well as some other animals) into human-sized sentient beings who have gone on to create a large society of over one million rabbits which has its own culture and ideals. This in turn has led to a much different version of the UK, with significant social and political differences as humanity tries to come up with new ways to adapt to the rabbits. This is such a fantastic and out-there concept, but it works surprisingly well as a setting for this amazing and clever story. There are so many intricate details associated with this new, rabbit inhabited England, and Fforde does an outstanding job welding together this new universe and showcasing all of its features. While several key elements of this new world were introduced right at the start of the book, many were not identified until later, when they became relevant to the plot of the story. I felt that this was a great way of presenting all the major aspects of this world, as it ensured that the reader was not overwhelmed right off the bat. Fforde also includes a number of footnotes and short, out of narrative paragraphs at the start of each chapter, to provide intriguing and often hilarious anecdotes and descriptions of parts of rabbit culture or other inclusions from this world. All the clever inclusions and distinctive variations from the real world prove to be a fascinating and entertaining part of the book and I had a wonderful time seeing what wacky and inventive things Fforde would come up with next.

Another thing that I really appreciated about this book was the way that Fforde used his overly ridiculous story and setting to successfully satirise racist politics in modern day England. Anyone even vaguely familiar with some of the political and cultural issues in the UK will really appreciate what Fforde is trying to achieve with his story, and there are some great parables throughout it. The whole ‘us vs them’ mentality surrounding the issues of rabbit rights is a clear send-up of racism and anti-immigration policies and mentalities that have infected the country. Having peaceful, hardworking and tolerant rabbits and their supporters be targeted by bigoted idiots is very relevant and you cannot help but think of real-world examples of such behaviour. The ruling UK political party, UKARP, is an obvious parody of the right-wing party UKIP, equipped with its own version of Nigel Farage. Fforde really does not pull any punches and portrays them as an incompetent, intolerant, and power-hungry political party who are determined to forcibly rehome and contain all the rabbits as their main political ideal. This book contains some terrifying, if probably accurate, depictions about how a ruling party like UKARP would act when it came to people it did not like, such as putting the ultimate anti-rabbit group (in this case anthropomorphised foxes) in charge of control and monitoring the rabbits. There are some other great elements of satire throughout this book, and English readers in particular will probably get the most out of The Constant Rabbit as a result. Overall, I thought it was a great piece of satirical fiction and I had a blast seeing the author highlight all these social issues in his own special way.

The Constant Rabbit is an outstanding and incredible novel that proves to be boundlessly entertaining and deeply funny. Jasper Fforde did an incredible job writing this novel and readers are in for an awesome and memorable read that will have them laughing for hours. This is such an impressive and inventive novel, and I am highly recommending it to anyone who is after a boundlessly entertaining read that contains a real sense of comedic fun and some excellent satirical observations.

Amazon

WWW Wednesday – 15 July 2020

On July 15, 2020 By The Unseen LibraryIn WWW Wednesday3 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?

Finding Eadie by Caroline Beecham (Trade Paperback)

Kill Switch by Jonathan Maberry (Audiobook)

I was in the mood for a fun thriller this week, so I decided to check out the eighth book in the always dependable Joe Ledger series, Kill Switch. This is another fun and exciting entry in this great series, and I am making some fantastic progress with it so far. I should finish Kill Switch off in the next few days at this rate, and I am looking forward to seeing how the complex story turns out.

What did you recently finish reading?

The Constant Rabbit by Jasper Fforde (Trade Paperback)

Star Trek: Agents of Influence by Dayton Ward (Audiobook)

What do you think you’ll read next?

Star Wars: Shadow Fall by Alexander Freed (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.

Book Haul – 12 July 2020

On July 12, 2020 By The Unseen LibraryIn Book HaulLeave a comment

It has been a bit of a slow month book-wise for me, but I have still received several amazing books to read and review, so I thought I would take the time to highlight them in a book haul post. While the books have been few, they are actually a pretty impressive collection of novels, and represent some of the top novels of 2020. I have been looking forward to a number of these books for a while, and several have recently appeared on my most anticipated releases for the second half of 2020 list and my Winter TBR list. Each of these books sounds really amazing and I cannot wait to get through all of them.

Devolution by Max Brooks

A horror book about Sasquatches written by the author of World War Z, yes please! I have already read and reviewed this book and it is pretty damn good.

The Constant Rabbit by Jasper Fforde

The Constant Rabbit is a fun and unique new novel that I am currently reading. Fforde has always come up with some amusing and memorable books (such as his 2018 release, Early Risers), and this new one is pretty crazy, featuring anthropomorphised rabbits in an alternate version of Great Britain.

Star Wars: Shadow Fall by Alexander Freed

The sequel to last years Alphabet Squadron, Shadow Fall looks set to be another action-packed and impressive Star Wars novels that sets two rival groups of pilots against each other. Guaranteed to be a fun and exciting blast, this should be a great one to check out.

The Gates of Athens by Conn Iggulden

The Gates of Athens is the latest novel from one of the top historical fiction authors in the world, Conn Iggulden. I am a major fan of Iggulden’s writing (check out my review for his last book, The Falcon of Sparta), and this looks set to be one of the best historical releases of 2020.

The Night Swim by Megan Goldin

This next book is a fantastic sounding murder mystery novel from Australian author Megan Goldin, who wrote the awesome 2018 release, The Escape Room. The Night Swim has an amazing concept behind it and I am really looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

The Obsidian Tower by Melissa Caruso

The final entry on this list is the impressive sounding fantasy novel, The Obsidian Tower by Melissa Caruso, a copy of which I picked up today. I really enjoyed Caruso’s debut series, the Sword and Fire trilogy (made up of The Tethered Mage, The Defiant Heir and The Unbound Empire), and this latest book is set in the same universe. I think that this has a lot of potential and I am very excited for it.
That is the end of this book haul and as you can see I have quite a bit of reading to do. I am hoping to get some great new books in the next couple of weeks, and will hopefully be able to do another book haul post soon. Until then let me know which of the above books most interests you and I’ll try to read them first.