Waiting on Wednesday – Starter Villain by John Scalzi

On March 22, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Science Fiction, Superhero, Waiting on WednesdayLeave a comment

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy. I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them. In this latest Waiting on Wednesday, I highlight one of the more entertaining sounding books of 2023 with the fun new release from John Scalzi, Starter Villain.

Starter Villain Cover

Amazon

There are few authors in the world right now that are more inventive and more hilarious that the always imaginative John Scalzi. Best known for his Old Man’s War and The Interdependency series, Scalzi has made a name for himself by producing captivating reads that make excellent use of high-concept science fiction elements. I have only had the opportunity to read a few of his books yet, but the ones that I have were pretty damn epic. This includes the incredible and brilliant standalone novel Redshirts, which serves as the ultimate parody of Star Trek by focusing on an Enterprise-esque spaceship whose ordinary crew start to realise that something very wrong is happening when all of them start brutally dying in ridiculous situations. This was an outstanding read and my love of Redshirts led me to read his 2022 release, The Kaiju Preservation Society. A clever new take on monster movies, The Kaiju Preservation Society saw a young man join a mysterious scientific organisation that protects giant monsters in an alternate dimension. I absolutely powered through both of these books, and I love the incredible scenarios Scalzi comes up with.

Needless to say, I am a pretty big fan of Scalzi at this point, but I was even more excited when I saw that his next book was going to take on the superhero/supervillain genre with the fantastic upcoming book Starter Villain. Set for release in September 2023, Starter Villain is another hilarious sounding novel that sees a young protagonist enter the world of capes and capers when they unwillingly become a supervillain.

Plot Synopsis:

Following the bestselling The Kaiju Preservation Society, John Scalzi returns with Starter Villain, another unique sci-fi caper set in the strangest of all worlds, present-day Earth.

Inheriting your mysterious uncle’s supervillain business is more complicated than you might imagine.

Sure, there are the things you’d expect. The undersea volcano lairs. The minions. The plots to take over the world. The international networks of rivals who want you dead.

Much harder to get used to…are the the sentient, language-using, computer-savvy cats.

And the fact that in the overall organization, they’re management…

Ok, so there is absolutely no way that I am not going to have a ball of fun when I read Starter Villain later this year. I’m already a big fan of comic books and superheros and any great parody or deconstruction of this genre is always a blast to read. Having this parody written by John Scalzi, who is planning to focus on the supervillain side of things, is an incredible recipe for success and one that I am pretty damn excited for. This synopsis is already painting a pretty awesome picture of what Starter Villain is going to feature, including lairs, minions and sentient, sinister cats, which I am always down for. This is going to be such an entertaining and amazing book and I cannot wait to get my hands on Starter Villain later this year.

Top Ten Tuesday – Books I read on Vacation

On October 12, 2022 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. For this week’s Top Ten Tuesday, participants are required to list their top ten favourite books that they read of vacation. This is a rather unique topic that I was quite intrigued to try and implement. Like many fellow readers, I always enjoy a good book while on vacation, and I have managed to get into some cracking reads while away on holiday. As such, it was an interesting experience to dive back into my trips for the last few years and try to remember what I was reading. I ended up coming up with a pretty good list in the end, including a few honourable mentions. I might have stretched the definition of a book to include audiobooks and other productions, but I am overall pretty happy with how this turned out. Hopefully this following list will give you some reading ideas next time you are on vacation.

Honourable Mentions:

Asterix series – Foster/Tuncurry

I absolutely loved the Asterix comic strips when I was younger (still do to be honest) and I always remember bringing them with me to our regular coast trips as a kid. These proved to be very fun reads while away at the beach and I would have brought most of them with me at one point or another. The one I most distinctly associated with coast trips however is Asterix and the Banquet, as my parents got a rather good photo of me reading it, however all make pretty awesome and light reads while your away.

Cabin Pressure – Road Trip – Canberra to Coffs Harbour and Back

My editor/wife got me into British radio dramas during several road trips we did, so I thought I would include a couple here, even if they technically aren’t books. One of my favourites is the outstanding Cabin Pressure series, which she owns on CD. Made up of 27 episodes and featuring an exceptional British cast (including Stephanie Cole, Roger Allam, Benedict Cumberbatch, and John Finnemore), Cabin Pressure follows the chaotic crew of the world’s smallest airline. Intensely funny and utterly brilliant, the road flew away as we listened to this and it comes very highly recommended.

Inspector Steine – Tasmania

In that same vein as Cabin Pressure, I also must recommend Lynne Truss’s outstanding Inspector Steine series, which we listened to while driving around Tasmania. The Inspector Steine series is set in Brighton in the 1950s and follows an incompetent police station who fail to notice that their charlady is Brighton’s criminal mastermind. Slick, deeply amusing and well worth a listen, this was a hilarious series to enjoy on a fantastic trip.

Unleashed by Amy McCulloch – Nevada

The follow up to the cool young adult science fiction novel, Jinxed, Unleashed made for an excellent and compelling read while we were busing it around Nevada in 2019. I read most of it on the coach trip up to the Grand Canyon, and I managed to pass a lot of drive time getting through this awesome conclusion to a fantastic story.

Amazon Book Depository

Top Ten List:

World War Z by Max Brooks – Road Trip – Canberra to Gold Coast

Let us start this list off with one of the best road trip accompaniments I can recommend, World War Z by Max Brooks. This iconic and brilliant zombie novel really made a recent length road trip from Canberra all the way up the coast to Queensland really easy, as we got quite hooked on its exceptional audiobook format. Featuring an unparalleled voice cast and an exceedingly clever narrative, World War Z is a must read for all zombie fans, and this is honestly one of the better audiobooks I have ever had the pleasure of listening to.

Amazon Book Depository

Assassin’s Code by Jonathan Maberry – Sydney to San Francisco

Long flights are the bane of my existence as I never get any sleep on them. Luckily one lengthy flight I had between Sydney and San Francisco proved to be very entertaining as I was listening to one of Jonathan Maberry’s incredible Joe Ledger books, Assassin’s Codes. Featuring a highly thrilling narrative about modern vampires attempting to end the world, I powered through this audiobook on the flight and even managed to write and post a review for it (written in the airport during our stopover at Fiji). An amazing read for the best holiday ever.

Amazon Book Depository

Age of Assassins by R. J. Barker – Japan

I had a lot of fun getting to know one of my favourite new fantasy authors, R. J. Barker, when I was traversing Japan. While Japan is such an incredible country with so much to see, there were a lot of train rides involved, so I spent a bit of time getting into some great books. Easily the best was Age of Assassins by R. J. Barker, which was a particularly impressive debut. Following two assassins as they are tasked to save a life rather than take one in a cursed castle, Age of Assassins was an excellent read and one that made me a lifelong fan of Barker, who has written some amazing stuff since.

Amazon Book Depository

The Sandman by Neil Gaiman – Road Trip – Gold Coast to Kangaroo Valley

Another epic audiobook I enjoyed on my recent road trip was the full cast adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s iconic The Sandman comic. You can really get to grips with the complex and brilliant story contained in The Sandman comics when listening to it, and the exceptional voice cast really helped to bring everything to life. As such, the second leg of our road trip from Gold Coast to Kangaroo Valley was a lot of fun, especially once we got wrapped up in the powerful narrative. Another exceptional audiobook that is a very good option if you are looking for some entertainment on the road.

Amazon Book Depository

Warhammer: Broken Honour by Robert Earl – Gold Coast

The next entry on this list is a book I actually picked up while away on holiday. I managed to grab several great Warhammer novels while visiting a second-hand bookshop in the Blue Mountains and I ended up reading one while away on the same holiday. That book was Broken Honour, a great fantasy read about a group of prisoners pressed into service as a regiment of soldiers. Fun and action-packed, this was a great read for a holiday trip.

Amazon

Extinction Machine by Jonathan Maberry – San Francisco

On the same trip where I listened to Assassin’s Code, I also had fun with the next Joe Ledger book, Extinction Machine. Featuring a fantastic plot loaded with conspiracies about aliens, advanced aircraft and men in black, Extinction Machine was an amazing read, and one I had fun getting through on a couple of long coach rides between San Francisco and other great locations. It was very easy for me to just dive into this compelling audiobook amid the long trip and I had a fun time getting through it.

Amazon Book Depository

Redshirts by John Scalzi – Dubbo

Another excellent book for road trips is the hilarious Redshirts by the always clever John Scalzi. A very hilarious parody of Star Trek, Redshirts is a wonderful read and we had an outstanding time getting through it during a road trip to the town of Dubbo. We had so many amazing laughs during this trip and Redshirts is a great listen for a shorter road trip.

Amazon Book Depository

Timeless by R. A. Salvatore – Tasmania

Another book I started to read after buying it during a holiday was Timeless by R. A. Salvatore. I always love a great high fantasy adventure and Salvatore does some amazing work in this genre. As such, I made sure to grab a copy of Timeless while down in Tasmania during a fantastic trip and I ended up reading it while I was gone. An excellent and compelling fantasy adventure, Timeless leads into an awesome trilogy by Salvatore and is a must read for fantasy fans.

Amazon Book Depository

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge: Black Spire by Delilah S. Dawson – Los Angeles (Disney World)

I always enjoy a good Star Wars read but one book I was enjoying during a recent trip to America proved to be quite a fortuitous read. That book was Black Spire by Delilah S. Dawson, which, while a fun book, is also a tie-in to Disney World’s Galaxy’s Edge park. I ended up reading Black Spire while visiting Disney World back in 2019 and it was kind of fun to see the connections between the park and the book.

Amazon Book Depository

Mecha Samurai Empire by Peter Tieryas – Melbourne

The final entry on this list is Mecha Samurai Empire, which I picked up and read a few years ago while visiting Melbourne. I happened across this awesome book while visiting the city’s premier comic shop and I couldn’t walk past a book about mecha combat in an alternate history America. Mecha Samurai Empire was an outstanding read and I instantly got hooked on its brilliant and captivating story in between enjoying all the fun sights and shows of the beautiful city of Melbourne.

Amazon Book Depository

That’s the end of this list and as you can see, I have had the pleasure of reading/listening to some excellent books on some great trips over the years. All the above make for excellent vacation reading, and I had a blast with all of them. While I only had a good break a few months ago, I am already excited for whatever trip I have next and hopefully I can chuck in some more international travel now that the world is opening up again. In the meantime, let me know which books you enjoyed on your vacations 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 – Audiobook for a Road Trip (June 2022)

On June 21, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, List4 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. The official topic for this week’s Top Tuesday revolved around Bookish Wishes, however, I am going to do something a little different and instead head back to my favourite format, audiobooks, with a list revolving around suggested books to listen to on road trips.

A couple of years ago I did a fun list where I presented my top ten suggestions for audiobooks that would be awesome for a road trip. Road trips are always a great time to listen to some fantastic books, and I have personally had a great time listening to audiobooks while driving. I actually just got back from a big road trip a few weeks ago where my wife and I listened to several impressive audiobooks as we made our way around Australia. These cool audiobooks, several of which made the list below, proved to be incredibly entertaining, and the long hours of driving just flew by as a result. So, I thought that this would be a great time to update this list, especially as I have listened to some more epic audiobooks since the last time, I wrote this list.

People familiar with my blog will know that I am a big fan of audiobooks; in many ways, they are some of the best way to enjoy a book from a talented author. However, not all good audiobooks make for great entertainment on a road trip. With that in mind, I have scrolled through some of my favourite audiobooks to find the ones I think would be the best for anyone taking a long trip. To make this list, the audiobooks I chose had to not only be amazing novels but also had to have an excellent narration and the ability to keep a driver or passengers’ attention on a long trip. While I know that some people are going to be experiencing particularly long trips, I tried to feature audiobooks with shorter runtimes so that those who are taking shorter excursions (say a roundtrip of eight or nine hours) can get through an entire book without trying to make time at home to finish it off. That being said a few longer novels did end up making the cut, but all of these are great for longer trips. I also tried to avoid any novels that would require a great deal of prior knowledge or hard-to-obtain background information so that everyone in the car could enjoy the book without any need for explanation or lectures from those people more familiar with the series. To that end, I have tried to avoid any novels that are later entries in a series or which require some form of assumed knowledge about a franchise. I also tried to avoid anything that was a particularly extreme example of a genre (like fantasy or science fiction), and instead looked to include novels that would appeal to a wider group of readers. While I have included a couple of tie-in novels, I tried to use those books that require only a smidge of familiarity with their respective franchise to enjoy, and I am confident anyone can easily enjoy any book I ended up featuring.

While I did have quite a few criteria to meet, I was eventually able to come up with a good list for this topic, including several honourable mentions. I am pretty happy with how this list turned out and I have personally really enjoyed each of the below audiobooks. I honestly believe that all of them would make for a great listen during an extended bit of travel or a road trip and each of them comes highly recommended.

Honourable Mentions:

Star Wars: Doctor Aphra, written by Sarah Kuhn and performed by a full cast – 5 hours and 35 minutes

One of the most purely entertaining and impressive Star Wars audio production, Doctor Aphra is a wonderful listen that covers the storyline of a particularly fun character from the comics. A great story combined with an awesome cast, including Emily Woo Zeller perfectly capturing the fantastic main character.

Tomorrow, When the War Began, written by John Marsden and narrated by Suzi Dougherty – 7 hours and 20 minutes

An old favourite of mine, Tomorrow, When the War Began is the exceptional introduction to the brilliant Australian young adult Tomorrow series by John Marsden. This audiobook is very easy to get into and you will swiftly fall in love with this amazing series.

The Salvage Crew, written by Yudhanjaya Wijeratne and narrated by Nathan Fillion – 8 hours and 21 minutes

Come for the Fillion and stay for the unique science fiction story.

Planetside, written by Michael Mammay and narrated by R. C. Bray – 8 hours and 38 minutes

An insanely addictive science fiction thriller, Planetside is a particular favourite of mine and the audiobook, featuring the voice of the excessively talented R. C. Bray, is a great listen that will appeal to everyone.

Top Ten List:

World War Z, written by Max Brooks and performed by a full cast – 12 hours and 9 minutes

It is appropriate that the first entry on this list be the book that inspired me to go back and revisit this topic with the impressive World War Z by Max Brooks. I had been meaning to read World War Z for ages and finally got a chance with my recent road trip when we listened to the massive, full-cast audiobook version of this iconic zombie novel. I instantly fell in love with the complex story and elaborate take on a zombie apocalypse, especially as the entire novel was enhanced by an incredible cast of narrators. Fantastic actors like Mark Hamill, Alan Alda, Alfred Molina and more, did an incredible job telling this brilliant and powerful story, and the entire production is just perfect. A truly awesome audiobook that made a massive drive go by extremely quickly. Highly recommended!

Redshirts, written by John Scalzi and narrated by Wil Wheaton – 7 hours and 41 minutes

If you want to laugh your way through a quick road trip, then you should think about listening to quirky science fiction author John Scalzi’s Redshirts. A comedic and meta homage to classic Star Trek, Redshirts imagines a fictional, Enterprise-esque spaceship that faces episodic danger that always leads to the death of its lower ranked crew members. When the crew start to notice just how deadly their job has become, they go to extraordinary lengths to avoid it, even if that means escaping to the strangest of places. Incredibly funny, but with some real heart to it, Redshirts is a great book to listen to, especially with its narration from Wil Wheaton himself.

The Thursday Murder Club, written by Richard Osman and narrated by Lesley Manville – 12 hours and 25 minutes

One amazing mystery novel that would keep me very entertained on a long trip is British comedian Richard Osman’s debut novel, The Thursday Murder Club. Following four senior citizens as they attempt to solve complex murders around their retirement village, The Thursday Murder Club has an excellent mixture of mystery, humour and likeable characters, and proves to be quite the addictive read. Throw in the perfect narration from actress Lesley Manville, and you have an exquisite listen that is guaranteed to keep you alert and happy all the way to your destination.

Any Discworld novel, by Terry Pratchett

It is no secret that we at The Unseen Library love the incredible Discworld series by Terry Pratchett, with every novel in this impressive series being extremely compelling, clever and hilarious, all at once. Thanks to the series’ great audiobook adaptations, I honestly could have filled every single entry on this list with Discworld books and called it a day. However, as I am limiting this to a single entry, I will instead recommend either a standalone novel, such as Moving Pictures, Pyramids or Small Gods, or one of the cool City Watch novels like Guards! Guards! All of these would be exceedingly high on my list of potential books to listen to on a road trip, and I know I would be very entertained the entire way through.

The Dark and Mind Bullet, written by Jeremy Robinson and narrated by R. C. Bray – 10 hours and 25 minutes (The Dark) and 11 hours and 42 minutes (Mind Bullet)

Just like with my Favourite Books of 2021 list last year, I couldn’t decide on which Jeremy Robinson novel to feature over the other. Both of Robinson’s 2021 releases, The Dark and Mind Bullet, would be perfect for a road trip as they have some very intense and exciting stories to them. While Mind Bullet probably has the narrative that would appeal to the most passengers, its connections to Robinson’s other may confuse new readers. The Dark on the other hand is a much more standalone read, although its darker, horror tones may have less of a fanbase. Both novels however are very, very good reads and their audiobook versions, which feature the incredible voice of R. C. Bray (one of my favourite audiobook narrators), would serve as outstanding entertainment for any long drive.

Legend, written by David Gemell and narrated by Sean Barrett – 13 hours and 13 minutes

Anyone interested in a fantasy epic for their road trip experience would be extremely smart to check out the classic novel, Legend, by the late, great David Gemell. Legend, Gemell’s iconic debut, imagines the ultimate fantasy siege with a massive, unbeatable army besieging an impregnable stronghold garrisoned by a small force of heroes. This outstanding fantasy battle plays out perfectly as an audiobook and you will be enthralled throughout your entire road trip.

Star Wars: Scoundrels, written by Timothy Zahn and narrated by Marc Thompson – 13 hours and 57 minutes

If you wanted to try out a Star Wars story for a long drive than your best bet is probably going to be the Star Wars Legends novel Scoundrels by the superbly talented Timothy Zahn. Despite no longer being canon, Scoundrels has one of the most appealing, fun, and compelling stories out there as it follows several of our favourite scoundrels, including Han, Chewie and Lando, as they embark on an elaborate heist. Containing one of the best Star Wars stories out there, as well as the amazing talents of narrator Marc Thompson, Scoundrels will ensure a very entertained car.

The Gray Man, written by Mark Greaney and narrated by Jay Snyder – 11 hours and 11 minutes

If you’re the sort of person who wants non-stop action for their road trip than you really should load up Mark Greaney’s impressive first thriller, The Gray Man. Following a legendary spy/assassin as he runs a gauntlet of bad guys throughout Europe, this slick novel never slows down and you will love all the thrills, twists and elaborate situations. Set to be a major film in the next few months, an upcoming road trip would be the perfect opportunity to read ahead and the fantastic narration from Jay Snyder really brings the story to life.

Storm Front, written by Jim Butcher and narrated by James Marsters – 8 hours and 1 minute

I had to recommend the Harry Dresden series somewhere on this list and the best option to listen to is probably the first novel Storm Front. Serving as the perfect introduction to Jim Butcher’s urban fantasy series, Storm Front has a great story to it and you have to love the narration from outstanding actor James Marsters. It won’t take long for you to become addicted to this series on your road trip and before you know if you’ll have listened to every single magical adventure.

The Sandman, written by Neil Gaiman, adapted by Dirk Maggs and performed by a full cast – 11 hours and 2 minutes

The final entry for this list is another production we listened to on our recent road trip, the audio adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s iconic The Sandman comic. Performed by an extremely awesome team of actors, including James McAvoy, Taron Egerton, Kat Dennings, Michael Sheen and more, this is a perfect way to enjoy this complex comic and you will have a brilliant time with its elaborate and insanely inventive narrative. We powered through this on our road trip and have already started the second act of it, which would also be a great bit listen for a drive. A fantastic and epic comic turned into an even better audiobook.

Well, that is the end of this latest list. I think it turned out pretty well and if you have some upcoming travel planned you would do well to try out any of the above books. Other outstanding audiobook suggestions can be found in my best audiobooks lists of 2020 and 2021, so you’ll have plenty of ideas for your next drive. Let me know which of the featured audiobooks you enjoyed the most, as well as what productions you would recommend for a car trip in the comments below.

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?

WWW Wednesday – 23 March 2022

On March 23, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn WWW Wednesday2 Comments

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

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

So, let’s get to it.

What are you currently reading?

The Justice of Kings by Richard Swan (Audiobook)

The Justice of Kings Cover

I started listening to the awesome new novel, The Justice of Kings, this week and boy is it really good. The debut fantasy novel of author Richard Swan, The Justice of Kings is a unique book that combines intriguing crime fiction elements with an excellent fantasy setting as a magically-empowered justice tries to solve a murder. This was one of my most anticipated fantasy books of 2022 and it is proving to be just as awesome as expected. I should hopefully finish The Justice of Kings off soon and I look forward to seeing how everything unfolds.

What did you recently finish reading?

The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi (Trade Paperback)

The Kaiju Preservation Society Cover 2

Sierra Six by Mark Greaney (Audiobook)

Sierra Six Cover

Firefly: Carnival by Una McCormack (Hardcover)

Firefly Carnival Cover

Daughters of Eve by Nina D. Campbell (Trade Paperback)

Daughters of Eve Cover

Moonlight and the Pearler’s Daughter by Lizzie Pook (Trade Paperback)

Moonlight and the Pearler's Daughter Cover

What do you think you’ll read next?

Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone Cover

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

The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

On March 21, 2022March 22, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Science Fiction2 Comments

The Kaiju Preservation Society Cover 2

Publisher: Tor (Trade Paperback – 29 March 2022)

Series: Standalone

Length: 264 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Amazon Book Depository

Prepare to save all the monsters as bestselling and madly inventive science fiction author John Scalzi presents his latest captivating and funny novel, The Kaiju Preservation Society.

I have a lot of love for imaginative author John Scalzi, who is probably best known for his Old Man’s War and The Interdependency series, both of which make great use of high-concept science fiction elements. I personally first experienced the author when I read his standalone novel, Redshirts a couple of years ago. This cool and clever book served as the ultimate parody of Star Trek, focusing on an Enterprise-esque spaceship whose regular crew are extremely aware that something is very wrong as they keep dying in ridiculous situations. I had an absolute blast with Redshirts and I have been keeping a very close eye out for anything else Scalzi was writing. As such, I was extremely excited when I saw that his new book, The Kaiju Preservation Society was coming out this year, especially as it had such a unique and interesting plot to it.

As COVID-19 starts to run rampart through New York City, Jamie Gray’s entire life is thrown upside-down when his terrible boss steals his ideas and fires him. Forced to work as a driver for the same food delivery app he developed, Jamie despairs at his now dead-end life, until one delivery leads to a chance encounter with an old acquaintance of his, Tom, who works for a mysterious animal rights organisation. In desperate need of a new team member to help with their next expedition, Tom offers the job to Jamie, who jumps at the chance at a high-paying job.

However, Jamie is unprepared for just how unusual his life is about to become as the expedition first journeys to the heart of Greenland, and then through a portal into a parallel Earth filled with lush jungle, an untouched atmosphere, and giant mountain-sized creatures named kaiju. It turns out that his new employers, known as the Kaiju Preservation Society, specialise in researching and preserving these vast creatures, while also working to keep them from leaving their own, human-less world, and traversing the barrier to ours.

Enraptured by the strange new world and exciting opportunities they present; Jamie soon takes to his role as a member of the Kaiju Preservation Society. However, his complex and dangerous new employment is about to get even harder when strange events start occurring around camp. It soon turns out that others have found a way to cross the boundaries between worlds and they have designs on the kaiju. Jamie and his friends must find a way to stop these intruders before their carelessness destroys a kaiju and millions of people on our world.

Scalzi has done it again, producing a clever and wildly entertaining book that makes brilliant use of a distinctive and unique idea. I had an incredible time reading The Kaiju Preservation Society, and I really loved the cool ideas, intelligent science fiction elements, and exciting story it contained.

The author has come up with an excellent story for The Kaiju Preservation Society that proves incredibly easy to get into and enjoy. This is a very intriguing and captivating read that quickly drags in the audience and gets them exceedingly addicted to the plot. Being a relatively short novel, it is an extremely fast paced, self-contained read that requires no prior experience of Scalzi’s books. It doesn’t take long for the events of the novel to unfold, with the reader soon introduced to the key characters, new friends, and the necessary set-up for the eventual dive into kaiju land. Once through the portal, the reader is given a crash course on the rules and attributes of the new world, the various issues the staff there are forced to contend with, and the crazy people who would choose to live amongst the monsters. After several fantastic and action-packed sequences, often broken up by several elaborate and comedic discussions between the protagonist and his friends, the book heads towards its intriguing final third, which identifies the main threat of the book and forces the characters to act. This final bit is extremely exciting and fun, and there are several intense moments as the characters face death, tragedy and one of the smarmiest villains I have had the pleasure of reading about. This leads up to an amazing conclusion that wraps everything up nicely and ensures everyone leaves the book incredibly satisfied.

I mostly liked how Scalzi wrote this book, especially as he clearly had a lot of fun introducing this bold new world and its many awesome features. The author does a lot in a short amount of time, and you are soon immersed in the excellent world of Kaijus. Told perfectly from the perspective of the main protagonist, who, like the reader, is seeing everything in this world for the first time, you quickly get a sense of all the craziness that occurs in this land, and the various issues they experience. I loved all the unique elements Scalzi came up with, from the impossible, nuclear-powered, mountain sized monsters with their complex biology and giant parasites, to the mass of strange creatures haunting the land, the unique landscape, and the various other awesome elements. You get a great sense of everything in this world, and Scalzi ensures that the science is both realistic and easy to understand at the same time. This proves to be such an impressive setting for this fantastic read, and you will wish that the author had made the book even longer just to see more of this strange new world. While there is a good focus on monsters, exploration and science, Scalzi also makes sure to lace The Kaiju Preservation Society with a great amount of comedy that proves to be extremely entertaining and amusing. This book is filled with so many fantastic and clever jokes, which range from comedic reactions to the outrageous events occurring around them, to fun, if random, pop culture references (for example, one of the villains is inspired by Trading Places), and multiple entertaining interactions between the eccentric central cast. You end up really getting into this excellent story as a result and it is so very fun to read.

I did have some minor issues with some of the dialogue in The Kaiju Preservation Society, as certain exchanges came across as a little clunky. I must note the somewhat overuse of dialogue tags (he said, she said, I said) after direct speech, which is something I noticed when I read Redshirts. While it was not as obvious or problematic in The Kaiju Preservation Society, possibly because I read a physical version rather than the listening to the audiobook, the overuse of them still stood out a little and spoiled the flow of the book at times. I also really wish that Scalzi could be a bit more descriptive with his writing in places, especially when it comes to the kaiju and some of the characters. For being such a key part of the plot you often don’t fully grasp what these creatures look like, with only very general descriptions of their size and shape being featured, unless an attribute is essential to the plot. There was also a complete lack of character description throughout the book, which I found to be a little distracting, especially as I often had no idea what a person looked like. For example, I didn’t realise character was nonbinary until halfway through the novel when they started getting a little more focus and the them/they pronouns started being used with more regularity. While some of this stuff is a little annoying, I felt that the strong and entertaining story more than overcomes it and you end up overlooking these minor stylistic problems.

The insanely brilliant John Scalzi continues to shine with his latest kooky and compelling science fiction read, The Kaiju Preservation Society. Filled with a wild and captivating exploration of a distinctive alternate Earth, you will quickly fall in love with this exciting and humorous story. I had an absolute blast getting through the awesomeness that is The Kaiju Preservation Society and I would strongly recommend it to anyone looking for something light and fun to get through.

The Kaiju Preservation Society Cover

Amazon Book Depository

WWW Wednesday – 16 March 2022

On March 16, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn WWW Wednesday7 Comments

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

So, let’s get to it.

What are you currently reading?

The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi (Trade Paperback)

The Kaiju Preservation Society Cover 2

I just started reading this awesome and funny science fiction novel from John Scalzi (who wrote the hilarious Redshirts), The Kaiju Preservation Society. This fantastic novel sees a young man accepting a mysterious job offer that ends up transporting him to another universe where he must help in the preservation of giant monster. I am only a short way into this book so far but I am absolutely loving it and I should power through it in very soon.

Sierra Six by Mark Greaney (Audiobook)

Sierra Six Cover

I am nearly finished this epic audiobook and should hopefully knock it off by the end of the week. This is another very strong book from thriller author Mark Greaney and I cannot wait to see how it all comes together.

What did you recently finish reading?

A Great Hope by Jessica Stanley (Trade Paperback)

A Great Hope Cover

What do you think you’ll read next?

Daughters of Eve by Nina D. Campbell

Daughters of Eve Cover

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

Book Haul – 11 March 2022

On March 11, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn Book Haul2 Comments

I have been having an absolutely fantastic couple of week for books, as I have been lucky enough to receive several incredible and amazing new novels from some of my local publishers. As I am anticipating getting some more books in the near future, I thought I would take this opportunity to highlight some of the recent releases I have received before my new book pile got too big. These novels include some truly awesome new releases, several of which I have been eagerly awaiting for some time. I am extremely keen to read all of the books below and I cannot wait to check them out.

The Justice of Kings by Richard Swan

The Justice of Kings Cover

I was very happy to recently receive a copy of The Justice of Kings by Richard Swan, an epic sounding fantasy novel with an interesting legal edge to it. This is one of my most anticipated fantasy books of the year, mainly because I have heard some amazing reviews about this book already. I am hoping to read this one soon and I am anticipating an exceptional and impressive read.

Age of Ash by Daniel Abraham

Age of Ash Cover

I was pretty excited to receive Age of Ash by Daniel Abraham, a cool and massive fantasy novel that also has a ton of potential. Written by one half of the team behind The Expanse novels (see my reviews for Tiamat’s Wrath and Leviathan Falls), this looks set to be an exciting and elaborate fantasy read and I look forward to exploring Abraham’s complex new world.

36 Streets by T. R. Napper

36 Streets Cover

One of the more unique novels I recently received was the brilliant cyberpunk thriller 36 Streets by Australian author T. R. Napper. Set in a futuristic version of Hanoi, this exciting and compelling read follows a young gangster as she investigates a massive conspiracy. I have actually already read this book and its pretty damn awesome and well worth checking out. Review to follow soon.

The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

The Kaiju Preservation Society Cover 2

I was so very, very happy to receive a copy of The Kaiju Preservation Society by bestselling author John Scalzi. Following a group of humans who attempt to save a race of giant monsters in an alternate universe, I have been waiting a long time to read this fantastic and funny sounding book, especially after having so much fun with Scalzi’s previous novel Redshirts. I am hoping to trying to check this novel out very soon and I know I am going to love it.

Nine Lives by Peter Swanson

Nine Lives Cover

Another recent release I am hoping to get to soon is Nine Lives by the very clever Peter Swanson. This cool thriller sounds really intriguing and I cannot wait to see how it’s captivating mystery turns out. I loved Swanson’s last book, Rules for Perfect Murder, and I know I will have a great time with Nine Lives.

Black Drop by Leonora Nattrass

Black Drop Cover

An awesome and fascinating historical thriller that sees a British clerk trying to uncover a dangerous conspiracy while England fights against the French.

Daughters of Eve by Nina D. Campbell

Daughters of Eve Cover

An intense and incredible thriller that sees a detective try and take down a group of killers targeting abusive men. I like the intriguing plot hook around this novel and I look forward to checking it out.

Brunswick Street Blues by Sally Bothroyd

Brunswick Street Blues Cover

An exciting Australian murder mystery debut set in Melbourne, I think this one will be a fantastic read and I look forward to checking out this new author.

The Game by Scott Kershaw

The Game Cover

An awesome sounding thriller that sees five strangers forced to play a mysterious game to save someone they love. I know I’m pretty excited to check this one out and I cannot wait to see what chaos and intense games they are forced to play.

Lies My Memory Told Me by Sacha Wunsch

Lies My Memory Told Me Cover

An interesting new young adult science fiction thriller about memory, lies and secrets.

The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah

The Stardust Thief Cover

One of the more compelling and distinctive fantasy releases of 2022, this captivating novel contains an fantastic sounding story inspired by One Thousand and One Nights. The Stardust Thief is already getting a lot of buzz around it and I look forward to seeing how it turns out.

Firefly: Carnival by Una McCormack

Firefly Carnival Cover

The final book in this post is Carnival, the latest entry in the cool series of the impressive Firefly novel series I have been enjoying recently. This series has had some amazing reads, including Big Damn Hero, The Magnificent Nine, The Ghost Machine, Generations and Life Signs, and I cannot wait to see how the next adventure unfolds. I am particularly excited to read a Firefly novel by bestselling author Una McCormack who has written some excellent Star Trek novels (The Way to the Stars and The Last Best Hope), and I am expecting this to be a really awesome read.

Well that’s the end of this latest Book Haul post. As you can see I have quite a bit of reading to do at the moment thanks to all these awesome books that have come in. Let me know which of the above you are most interested in and make sure to check back in a few weeks to see my reviews of them.

Top Ten Tuesday – Books on my Autumn 2022 TBR

On February 22, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn List4 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. The official Top Ten Tuesday topic for this week was around Dynamic Duos, however, I decided to instead move up my quarterly post about the best upcoming books to read (TBR) for the following three months. This is a regular post I do at the start of each season, and as this Tuesday is just before Autumn (Spring for you folks in the Northern Hemisphere), this is the ideal time to put this up.

For this list, I have come up with 10 of the most anticipated novels that are coming out between 1 March 2022 and 31 May 2022. There are quite a few very cool novels set for release in the next few months that I am extremely excited for, including some of my most anticipated books and fantasy novels of the year. Due to how impressive some of these upcoming books are, it took me a little while to finalise my list but I was eventually able to whittle it down into a Top Ten list (with a few honourable mentions). I have primarily used the Australian publication dates to reflect when I will be able to get these awesome novels, and these might be somewhat different to the rest of the world. I have previously discussed a number of these books before in prior Top Ten Tuesdays and Waiting on Wednesday articles and I think all of them will turn out to be pretty incredible reads. I have extremely excited for the next three months as quite a few up these upcoming reads are easily going to be amongst the best books of 2022.

Honourable Mentions:

The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi – 15 March 2022

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

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

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

Amongst our Weapons by Ben Aaronovitch – 12 April 2022

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

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

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

Top Ten List:

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

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

Kingdoms of Death by Christopher Ruocchio – 22 March 2022

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

An Empty Throne by Robert Fabbri – 1 April 2022

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

The Bladed Faith by David Dalglish – 5 April 2022

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

Desperate Undertakings by Lindsey Davis – 7 April 2022

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

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

Still my favourite cover of 2022.

Three Assassins by Kotaro Isaka – 12 April 2022

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

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

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

Star Wars: Brotherhood by Mike Chen – 10 May 2022

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

Kagen the Damned by Jonathan Maberry – 10 May 2022

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

Well, that is the end of my Top Ten list. I think it turned out pretty well and it does a good job of capturing all my most anticipated books for the next three months. Each of the above should be extremely epic, and I cannot wait to read each of them soon. Let me know which of the above you are most excited for and stay tuned for reviews of them in the next few months. In the meantime, it looks like I have quite a few books to get through soon and they should all be pretty awesome.