Top Ten Tuesday – Books that Should be Adapted into Netflix Shows/Movies

On August 18, 2020 By The Unseen LibraryIn List8 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. For this week’s Top Ten Tuesday, participants need to list the books that they think need to be adapted into a Netflix show or movie. My first thought when I heard about this topic was, is Netflix sponsoring this post somehow? Are they that desperate for new ideas that they are conducting some sort of sneaky market research on us? If they are, I am personally fine with it. Netflix has a pretty good track record of turning some popular books and comics into some fun shows and movies, many of which I have enjoyed. An obvious recent example is The Witcher, although other great examples include The Umbrella Academy (I just binged the second season over two days), A Series of Unfortunate Events, You, The Last Kingdom, and Orange is the New Black. So if Netflix is looking for some more books to turn into awesome shows, I am all for it and I definitely have some ideas for them.

In order to do this list, I scoured through some of my favourite books and comics to try and decide which ones would make the best television series. I already had a few on my mind the moment I found out what this week’s topic was, as several of these novels have television potential that really stands out when you are reading. As the topic was Netflix shows and movies, I did try to exclude any series or universe that had already been bought by another streaming company or which is already in development at Netflix (such as any of Mark Millar’s comics). As a result, you won’t be seeing The Lord of the Rings or The Wheel of Time on this list, as both are already in production in some form or other, and I have also excluded any comics or books owned by Disney or DC Comics (although a Doctor Aphra Star Wars series would be pretty epic).

I eventually came up with quite a few books, series or comics that I thought would make a good television series, and I was able to whittle away a few options to make a Top Ten List. I am actually rather happy with how this list turned out, as there are some interesting options on this list. People familiar with my blog will not be surprised by some of the entries I included, but I think there are some good surprises in there that will make this stand out a little. So let us see how this turned out.

Honourable Mentions:

The Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss

The Name of the Wind Cover

As one of the best fantasy series ever written, The Kingkiller Chronicle is an obvious choice for this list, as its potential to be an awesome series is hard to deny. However, due to the fact that an adaption for this series is already in the works, I decided to leave it as an honourable mention. The Kingkiller Chronicle is a special case, as the last I heard about the adaptation was that it was going to avoid the main story of the novels and instead do a whole new narrative in the same universe. As I personally think a good Netflix adaptation of the main story would be much better, I decided to include this series on the list and hope like heck any adaption turns out alright.

Orphan X series by Gregg Hurwitz

out of the dark cover

This is a fun and exciting spy series that features a rogue super-agent on the run fighting criminals and helping people as a vigilante. I have been absolutely loving these books, including the last two novels Out of the Dark and Into the Fire, and I think that these novels could be turned into something really cool, for example: Out of the Dark features the protagonist going up against the entire Secret Service in order to kill a corrupt President, which is pretty damn awesome.

The Cleric Quintet by R. A. Salvatore

Canticle Cover

It’s apparently quite hard for me to do a Top Ten Tuesday list without mentioning one of my favourite fantasy authors, R. A. Salvatore. I am a major fan of Salvatore’s writing and I think many of his books would make awesome shows or movies. However, as it would be pretty impossible to adapt any of his Drizzt Do’Urden novels into movies of television shows (you can imagine the issues they would have trying to cast and portray any Dark Elf characters), I have instead featured The Cleric Quintet fantasy novels. The Cleric Quintet follows a young priest and his unusual friends and companions as they attempt to defend their region of the Forgotten Realms from all manner of evil. This is a great piece of classic high fantasy fiction and I think that viewers would love the intriguing tales included within (I personally loved the second book, In Sylvan Shadows, the most), as well as the fantastic development shown by the main characters throughout the course of the series.

Top Ten List:

The First Law series by Joe Abercrombie

The Blade Itself

When I was coming up with the entries for this list, the first books I thought about were The First Law novels by Joe Abercrombie. This is because The First Law books are an outstanding dark fantasy series that features all manner of blood, brutality and manipulations, which would translate extremely well into a powerful and addictive television series. The real strength of these novels is their unique collection of complicated and flawed characters, each of whom is doing their best to survive in an extremely harsh world. There are some great protagonists in these novels, each of whom has the potential to become an iconic television character if portrayed right, including a deadly warrior with severe rage issues, a pompous dandy who has greatness violently thrust upon him and an exceedingly manipulative mage whose wisdom and plots are entirely self-serving (think an evil version of Gandalf). The main reason these books could be adapted into an epic show is thanks to the character of Sand dan Glokta, a dark and ugly character, physically and mentally twisted by years of torture by the enemy, who now dishes out torture himself as an inquisitor, when he finds himself investigating some of the strange events troubling his nation. Glokta is an incredible character, and with the right actor he could easily be the next Tyrion Lannister. As a result, I really want to see an adaption of this series, and Netflix can easily make something pretty epic from these books, including the recent sequel novel, A Little Hatred.

Joe Ledger novels by Jonathan Maberry

Patient Zero Cover

Now these are some books that would make for an exciting television series. Jonathan Maberry’s action-packed Joe Ledger novels are a compelling thriller series that sets government agents against some of the weirdest things that science can create. There are some amazing stories contained within the Joe Ledger novels, including weaponised zombies (Patient Zero), ancient vampires (Assassin’s Code) and genetically modified killers (The Dragon Factory), and the clever way that Maberry sets out each novel with interludes and chapters told from the antagonists perspective would translate very well into a television series. These books also have some fantastic characters, including some insanely brilliant villains, a damaged protagonist and a mysterious spy master, that are just waiting to be brought to life by a group of talented actors in order to become something iconic. Out of all of the entries on this list, this one might have the most potential to get made as Maberry already has connections with Netflix, after his V-Wars series of comics were turned into a show last year.

The Gentleman Bastards series by Scott Lynch

The Lies of Locke Lamora Cover

This is another exceptional series of fantasy novels that I thought would make an incredible show as I was reading it. These books follow a group of con men who attempt to swindle and steal from some of the most dangerous people in their fantasy world. These books are amongst some of the best pieces of fantasy fiction out there, and their unique blend of fantasy and crime fiction elements would definitely make for a memorable and exciting television series.

World War Z by Max Brooks

World War Z Cover

Now this was an entry that my editor/wife Alex wished me to include on this list. I have to admit that I have not read this book (I’ll get to it at some point), but I did enjoy the movie. I understand that this awesome book is substantially different to the movie, comprising of several vignettes detailing different experiences of the zombie apocalypse, as opposed to the rather narrow perspective represented by Brad Pitt in the film. Alex seems to think that a Netflix series would probably be a much better way to translate this fantastic story to the screen, and from what I have heard about the book I think I agree, especially after I really enjoyed Brooks’ latest book, Devolution.

Legend by David Gemmell

Legend

Legend is an amazing classic fantasy novel that contains an incredible storyline that depicts an epic siege, as the largest army ever assembled attempts to conquer an impenetrable fortress. This was such an awesome read, filled with large amounts of action, adventure and memorable characters, including the world’s most legendary hero, who chooses to die here rather than wither into obscurity. Legend has so much raw potential as either a limited series or a movie (I think a six episode series might be good), and it also serves as an excellent entry into Gemmell’s wider fantasy series, which would also make for some great shows.

Vespasian series by Robert Fabbri

Rome's Sacred Flame Cover

Netflix already has some great historical fiction adaptions, such as The Last Kingdom television series, but if you want to see some wild and troubling bits from history, then they need to adapt Robert Fabbri’s Vespasian series. The Vespasian series follows the titular Emperor Vespasian from the beginning of his career as he navigates the deadly minefield that is ancient Rome. Watching the protagonist attempt to gain power and influence in this outrageous city would make for an incredible show, especially as Fabbri spent a lot of time highlighting all the insanities of the various Emperors who ruled Rome during Vespasian’s lifetime. I am a major fan of this historical fiction series (make sure to check out my reviews of Rome’s Sacred Flame, Emperor of Rome and Magnus and the Crossroads Brotherhood) and I believe that Netflix could make a very crazy and impressive television adaption of these books.

The Powder Mage trilogy by Brian McClellan

promise of blood cover

This is another dark and epic fantasy series that would definitely make for a good television series. The Powder Mage books (starting with the awesome Promise of Blood) are set in the aftermath of a bloody revolution and follow several key figures as they attempt to keep their nation intact, while also uncovering ancient secrets and terrible plots. There are a ton of amazing elements to these books that would translate extremely well into television awesomeness, but I personally would love to see the unique gunpowder magic brought to life, as all the resultant explosions and displays of power would be quite a spectacle to behold.

Chew by John Layman and Rob Guillory

Chew Volume 1

I had to include at least one comic series on this list, and I could think of nothing better than this weird and wonderful series. Chew is an action/comedy hybrid series that follows a detective who gets physic impressions from anything he eats, allowing him to solve crimes in the most unique, and often disgusting way. Chew is an incredibly creative series, with a lot of fun elements to it, all of which would work extremely well as a live action adaption, and I really think that Netflix could turn this into quite a magical and entertaining television series.

The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson

WAY OF KINGS MM REV FINAL.indd

When you think ‘epic fantasy’ these days, you really cannot exclude the massive and extraordinary series that is The Stormlight Archives. Sanderson is one of the best fantasy/science fiction authors in the world today, and each of his books are an absolute joy to read. While I was strongly tempted to include his young adult novels Skyward and Starsight on this list, in the end I had to feature his main body of work, The Stormlight Archive. Starting with the exceptional novel, The Way of Kings, this is a deeply impressive series of fantasy novels that feature massive wars, incredible characters and a huge interconnected universe. While any adaption might need to tone down some of the connections to some of Sandersons’ other series, a television version of The Stormlight Archive easily has the potential to become the next Game of Thrones, and Netflix would be smart to jump aboard that as soon as possible.

Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

Into the Drowning Deep Cover

Into the Drowning Deep is a fun horror novel that would make for an awesome Netflix movie. Written by the exceedingly talented Mira Grant, this book and its preceding novella, Rolling in the Deep, set humans against the most dangerous predators in the world, mermaids. This book was one of the best novels of 2018, and I loved the way that Grant was able to make the mermaids so dangerous and frightening. You would need to combine Into the Drowning Deep with Rolling in the Deep to get the full story, and there is a really outstanding movie waiting to be made when you do. Plus, it would also be really cool if it encourages Grant to write a sequel to Into the Drowning Deep, which is something I really want to see.

Whew, that is the end of that list. As you can see, I have put a lot of thought into what books and comics Netflix should adapt, and I honestly believe that each of the above books could become something really incredible. I really hope we see some form of adaption of each of these in the future, and if any of them ever get made, then they would be at the top of my to-watch list. In the meantime, make sure to let me know which of the above books and comics you enjoyed, as well as which novels you think Netflix should adapt in the comments below.

Throwback Thursday – Kill Switch by Jonathan Maberry

On July 24, 2020March 5, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Five-Star Books, Horror, Science Fiction, Thriller, Throwback Thursday8 Comments

Publisher: Macmillan Audio (Audiobook – 26 April 2016)

Series: Joe Ledger – Book Eight

Length: 17 hours and 56 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Amazon Book Depository

Reviewed as part of my Throwback Thursday series, where I republish old reviews, review books I have read before or review older books I have only just had a chance to read.

I recently found myself in the mood for another intense and crazy thriller novel, and luckily I knew exactly the book to check out, as I ended up listening to the eighth entry in the fantastic Joe Ledger series by Jonathan Maberry, Kill Switch.

People familiar with my blog will know that I have been really getting into Maberry’s writing over the last couple of years. In particular, I have been making my way through the Joe Ledger series, which follows the titular agent as he investigates all manner of weird science and world-ending plots. This has swiftly become one of my favourite series of all time thanks to the incredible stories that Maberry has come up with, and my intention is to finish off all the Joe Ledger books before the end of the year. As a result, I knew far in advance that I was going to enjoy Kill Switch and I ended having an amazing time reading it.

In this eighth novel, Joe Ledger, agent for the clandestine Department of Military Sciences (DMS), is investigating a strange anomaly down in the Antarctic. A secret military research facility has gone offline, and Ledger and his team need to find out why. However, what at first appears to be a routine mission quickly devolves into an unnatural horror show as the DMS agents uncover a mysterious facility deep beneath the ice. The things that Ledger and his team see will haunt them for the rest of their lives, and by the time they escape all three are infected with a deadly disease that places them into a coma.

Awakening several days later, Ledger discovers that much has happened in his absence. America has been targeted by a ruthless terrorist organisation that apparently has access to an advanced EMP weapon that can turn off all power and technology in a certain area with devastating effects. Worse, thanks to the consequences of the mission down in Antarctica and other recent failures, the DMS no longer has the confidence of the President, who refuses to give them the case.

Frustrated at being left out in the cold, Ledger and the DMS investigate where they can and soon come across several strange and seemingly unconnected events. Able to piece together a pattern that no one else can see, Ledger soon finds himself in the heart of a vast conspiracy that aims to launch a shocking attack on the American people. However, before they can intervene, Ledger and his team find themselves under attack from the most unlikely of places. Can even the legendary Joe Ledger defeat an opponent who can attack him in his own mind, or will America face a wave of death and destruction the like of which they have never seen before?

Kill Switch was another fantastic and amazing novel from Maberry that continues the amazing Joe Ledger series. This eighth book contains a captivating story that combines several different genres together to create an exciting and fast-paced read with some rather enjoyable elements to it. I had an awesome time listening to this book, and while it is not my absolute favourite entry in the Joe Ledger series (I would have to give that honour either to The Dragon Factory or Code Zero), it was still a very impressive book that gets a full five-star rating from me.

In this eighth Joe Ledger novel, Maberry once again uses his distinctive style to tell another impressive and intriguing story that draws the reader in and ensures that they cannot turn away until it is finished. Kill Switch contains a rather clever thriller storyline that deals with the protagonist attempting to stop another terrible terrorist plot utilising advanced technology. While some of the elements to Kill Switch’s story are familiar, Maberry really gives this book a distinctive dark horror tint, as the novel deals with a number of Lovecraftian horror elements. While this genre is not something that I have ever really gone out of my way to check out, I did enjoy its use in Kill Switch, especially as it sent its already unstable protagonist through some particular vivid and trippy vision sequences. The various horror, science fiction and thriller aspects of the book’s narrative work together extremely well and it is a testament to Maberry’s skill as an author that the plot did not get too convoluted or hard to follow. Instead, Kill Switch has an extremely elegant and fast-paced story with some great flashes of humour, enhanced by the author’s trademark use of multiple perspectives and interludes set before the main plot. Maberry rounds this out with the return of the series enjoyable and long-running cast of characters, including protagonist Joe Ledger, who provides a first-person narration for around half the story. Ledger’s warped and eccentric view of all the events going on around him adds so much enjoyment to the plot, resulting in much of the book’s humour. This all ensures that Kill Switch contains another top-notch story that was an absolute pleasure to read.

The key parts of any Joe Ledger novel are the complex and memorable antagonists and the elaborate and destructive plots that they weave. Maberry does another great job of this in Kill Switch, introducing some compelling villains and associated side characters who have some fascinating motivations for initiating the events of this book. Thanks to a series of interludes and short chapters that are told from the perspective of the antagonist and their puppets, you get a full sense of why these characters are doing what they are doing, especially when you get a glimpse into several key moments of their lives. Seeing so much of the antagonist’s past and the formation of their plans adds quite a lot of depth and tension to the story, and I always really appreciate the way that Maberry tries to expand these character’s narratives. I was also quite enraptured by the complex and detailed plan that the antagonist set in motion, especially as it required using some unique technology in some novel ways. I especially enjoyed the cunning way in which the villains went after Ledger and the DMS, including by destroyed their image and their influence, and I appreciated the way in which it was easier for them to achieve this due to an inadvertent backlash at the organisations prior extreme successes and advanced technology.

Kill Switch ended up being a major part of the overall series with some big moments occurring and some interesting connections to the prior novels, ensuring that this is a must-read for established Joe Ledger fans. This book ended up continuing a bunch of key storylines that were introduced in the fifth novel, The Extinction Machine, with several plot points from that story revisited, as well as some antagonists. In addition, several of the story elements introduced in Kill Switch are heavily utilised in future novels, such as in the tenth book, Deep Silence, which also matches its Lovecraftian horror vibes and story. In addition, readers might also really appreciate the cameo appearance of Maberry’s alternate zombie-filled universe that is used as a setting for several of his other series, such as the Dead of Night books and his iconic Rot & Ruin/Broken Lands young adult novels, all of which feature a different version of Joe Ledger as a character. There were also a couple of references to the town of Pinedeep, which served as the setting for Maberry’s first series, and which Ledger visited in the short story Material Witness.

While Kill Switch does have some intriguing connections to some of Maberry’s other works, this novel is incredibly accessible for those readers unfamiliar with the Joe Ledger books. Like all the novels in this series, Kill Switch’s narrative is mostly self-contained, and you can start reading this book without any issues. While there are a number of references to the events of the prior books, Maberry also makes sure to cover the relevant backstory, expertly inserting anecdotes about prior books and description of key plot points into the story often in a great entertaining manner (mainly because the protagonists still cannot believe that these previous events actually occurred). This ensures that readers have more than enough background information to follow the story and understand who all the various characters are and what their personalities are like.

While it is extremely possible to read Kill Switch out of order, I would strongly suggest that readers read this series from the first novel, Patient Zero, rather than starting at the eighth book. Not only does this allow you to see the various characters develop and progress throughout the course of the series, but it also enhances the emotional attachment that readers will have to the events of this book, including a couple of key character deaths. Reading the series in order also helps to cut down on spoilers for some of the prior books. This was something that I particularly noticed while reading Kill Switch, due to the fact that I have already read the sequel novels Deep Silence and Rage. Both of these books make several references to the events of Kill Switch, so I had an idea of some of the events that were going to occur, as well as the identity of who the main antagonist was going to be. While this did not derail my enjoyment of Kill Switch by too much, it did slightly reduce the suspense, which was not ideal.

I cannot review a Joe Ledger novel without commenting on the impressive and graphic action sequences that occurred throughout the course of the plot. Maberry always does such a fantastic job writing his action scenes and the various close combat fights and shoot outs that occur throughout these novels feel extremely realistic as the protagonist and the narrator provide detailed explanations of what is occurring and its destructive impacts. Kill Switch contains some very impressive action sequences as Ledger and his comrades are placed in some unique fight situations. While there are the usual swift and one-sided fights against nameless goons, the characters often find themselves facing off against unexpected opponents who visit surprising violence upon them. This makes for some truly shocking scenes, especially as Maberry’s excellent writing ensures that the reader fully understands the various characters’ surprise and despair. You also have a unique situation where Ledger, generally considered to be one of the deadliest killers on the planet, finds himself severely handicapped in several fights due to the machinations of the antagonists. This adds a whole new element to the typical fight sequences from this series, and it is nice to see the protagonist have some new challenges. All this action helps to pump the reader up as they enjoy the excellent story and it is an amazing part of the overall book.

It should come as no surprise to anyone who has read my prior Joe Ledger reviews that I ended up listening to the audiobook version of Kill Switch, which in my opinion is the best format for enjoying these fantastic novels. The Kill Switch audiobook has a run time of just under 18 hours, which I was able to get through incredibly quickly, and it was once again narrated by Ray Porter, whose voice work is easily my favourite thing about this format. I have extolled the virtues of Porter’s narration in several of my other reviews due to his impressive vocal skills and his ability to move the story along at a swift and exciting pace. Very few narrators are as in touch with the characters that they voice than Porter especially when it comes to the series’ titular protagonist, Joe Ledger. Porter always does such an outstanding job capturing Ledger’s intense emotions and sweeping personality, and this enhances the listener’s experience when it comes to these books. Porter also does amazing and consistent personifications for all the other characters in these books and it was great to hear all the familiar voices of the series’ recurring characters again. This first-rate narration from Porter makes the audiobook format of these novels, including Kill Switch, an absolute treat to listen to and the audiobook format remains my preferred format for enjoying this series.

Kill Switch by Jonathan Maberry is an excellent and impressive thriller novel that served as a great eighth entry in the incredible Joe Ledger series. I had an absolute blast going back and reading this book, and I really enjoyed the clever and intriguing story that Maberry cooked up for Kill Switch, especially as it contained an outstanding blend of different genres. This was a fantastic read and it comes very highly recommended. At this point in time I only have one more Joe Ledger novel to check out, Dogs of War, which I am really hoping to read before the end of the year, and I am also looking forward to checking out Maberry’s new upcoming novel, Ink.

Amazon Book Depository

WWW Wednesday – 22 July 2020

On July 23, 2020 By The Unseen LibraryIn WWW WednesdayLeave a comment

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

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

So, let’s get to it.

What are you currently reading?

Star Wars: Shadow Fall by Alexander Freed (Trade Paperback)

The sequel to last year’s Alphabet Squadron, Shadow Fall is another fantastic Star Wars novel that sees two rival groups of pilots face off following the fall of the Empire. I have made a fair amount of progress with this book and so far I am really enjoying it.

Star Wars: Doctor Aphra by Sarah Kuhn (Audio Drama)

It looks like I’m doing a bit of a Star Wars double feature this week, but there was no way I could resist this new Star Wars audio drama about one of my favourite characters Doctor Aphra. Featuring a full cast of impressive narrators, this Doctor Aphra audio drama retells the events of the Darth Vader (2015) series where Aphra was introduced and tells it from her perspective. I am about half an hour in at the moment and I am loving this fun and entertaining audio presentation, which is perfectly capturing the character’s wild and exciting personality.

What did you recently finish reading?

Finding Eadie by Caroline Beecham (Trade Paperback)

The Gates of Athens by Conn Iggulden (Trade Paperback)

I’m hoping to get a review for this book up tonight.

Kill Switch by Jonathan Maberry (Audiobook)

I am also hoping to write a review about this book today, will have to see how I go.

What do you think you’ll read next?

Demon in White by Christopher Ruocchio (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.

WWW Wednesday – 15 July 2020

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

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.

Top Ten Tuesday – Authors I’ve Read the Most Books By

On July 7, 2020July 7, 2020 By The Unseen LibraryIn List3 Comments

This proved to be a rather intriguing list to pull together, and it required a bit of research on my behalf to work out. It turns out that I have a somewhat scattershot approach when it comes to authors and I tend to only read a few books from each, rather than sticking with some authors with larger series and reading every single one of their novels. Still, there are a few exceptions to this rule, and there are several authors who I have read many books from. Thanks to some digging through my bookshelves and some examination of online bibliographies, I was able to work out how many of their books I have read and then translate that to a top ten list. I liked how this list turned out and there are some interesting overlaps between this and other lists I have previously done, such as my Top Ten Auto-buy Authors list. So let us see which authors I have read the most books by.

Honourable Mentions:

John Marsden – Eight books

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The total includes the seven books in Marsden’s Tomorrow series and his standalone novel South of Darkness.

Lindsey Davis – Eight books

The Grove of the Caesars Cover

The total includes all eight books in Davis’s Flavia Albia series, including The Third Nero, Pandora’s Boy, A Capitol Death and The Grove of the Caesars.

Top Ten List:

Terry Pratchett – 42 books

Moving PIcture Cover

The total includes 37 Discworld novels (including Moving Pictures), the three novels in The Nome trilogy, and the standalone novels Strata and The Carpet People.

Stan Sakai – 36 books

Usagi Yojimbo Bunraku and Other Stories Cover

The total includes all 35 volumes of the main Usagi Yojimbo series (including The Ronin, Samurai, The Wanderer’s Road, The Dragon Bellow Conspiracy, Lone Goat and Kid, Circles, Gen’s Story, Shades of Death, Daisho, Mysteries, The Hidden and Bunraku and Other Stories) and the associated graphic novel, Usagi Yojimbo: Senso.

R. A. Salvatore – 31 books

The Crystal Shard Cover

The total includes 27 novels set in the Forgotten Realms universe (including Timeless and Boundless), The Coven trilogy (Child of a Mad God, Reckoning of Fallen Gods and Song of the Risen God) and The Highwayman.

Raymond E. Feist – 26 books

King of Ashes Cover

The total includes 25 novels from The Riftwar Cycle (including The Empire Trilogy he cowrote with Jenny Wurst) and King of Ashes.

Simon Scarrow – 22 books

Traitors of Rome Cover

The total includes all 18 books in the Eagles of the Empire series (including The Blood of Rome and Traitors of Rome), Arena, Invader, The Field of Death and Hearts of Stone.

Bernard Cornwell – 19 books

War of the Wolf Cover

The total includes Sharpe’s Tiger, all four books in the Grail Quest series, all 12 books in The Last Kingdom series (including War of the Wolf), The Fort and Fools and Mortals.

Brian Jacques – 17 books

Redwall Cover

All 17 books were entries in Jacques’s Redwall series.

Jonathan Maberry – 10 books

Rage Cover

The total includes eight books from the Joe Ledger series (including Patient Zero, The Dragon Factory, The King of Plagues, Assassin’s Code, Extinction Machine, Code Zero, Predator One and Deep Silence), Rage and Nights of the Living Dead.

Kate Forsyth – Nine books

Dragonclaw Cover

The total includes all six books in The Witches of Eileanan series and all three books in the Rhiannon’s Ride series.

Robert Fabbri – Nine books

To the Strongest Cover

The total includes seven books in the Vespasian series (including Rome’s Sacred Flame and Emperor of Rome), Magnus and the Crossroads Brotherhood and To the Strongest.

It turned out to be a rather fun and insightful list to pull together, and I liked figuring out which authors I have read the most books from. I think I will come back to this one in the future, perhaps when I have read more from certain authors. Until then, let me know which of the above authors are your favourites or let me know which authors you have read the most books by in the comments below.

Waiting on Wednesday – Ink by Jonathan Maberry

On July 1, 2020July 1, 2020 By The Unseen LibraryIn Fantasy, Horror, Murder Mystery, Waiting on Wednesday8 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy. I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them. For my latest Waiting on Wednesday article, I am going to take a look at Ink, an intriguing upcoming standalone supernatural novel from one of my favourite authors, Jonathan Maberry.

Ink Cover

Maberry is an extremely impressive and talented author who has been writing science fiction and horror novels since in 2006, with his debut novel Ghost Road Blues. He has since gone on to become one of the leading authors of horror in the world today, with such series as the Rot & Ruin series, the Dead of Night series and the Pine Deep trilogy. I myself am a massive fan of his Joe Ledger series of books, which pitches military operatives against various science fiction and horror scenarios, including manmade zombies (Patient Zero and Code Zero), genetically mutated vampires (Assassin’s Code) and other inventive scenarios (such as Air Force One getting turned into a weaponised drone in Predator One). The latest Joe Ledger novel, 2019’s Rage, started a whole new series of books, the Rogue Team International series, and I am eagerly waiting for the next Joe Ledger book. In the meantime, Maberry has come up with a brand-new supernatural mystery novel, Ink, which, due to how much I love his other work, I thought would be intriguing to check out.

In this upcoming novel, Maberry returns to his fictional town of Pine Deep (a crossover town that has been featured in several of Maberry’s novels, a bit like Castle Rock or Derry in Stephen King’s works), for a whole new set of mysterious occurrences.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Tattoo-artist Patty Cakes has her dead daughter’s face tattooed on the back of her hand. Day by day it begins to fade, taking with it all of Patty’s memories of her daughter. All she’s left with is the certain knowledge she has forgotten her lost child. The awareness of that loss is tearing her apart.

Monk Addison is a private investigator whose skin is covered with the tattooed faces of murder victims. He is a predator who hunts for killers, and the ghosts of all of those dead people haunt his life. Some of those faces have begun to fade, too, destroying the very souls of the dead.

All through the town of Pine Deep people are having their most precious memories stolen. The monster seems to target the lonely, the disenfranchised, the people who need memories to anchor them to this world.

Something is out there. Something cruel and evil is feeding on the memories, erasing them from the hearts and minds of people like Patty and Monk and others.

Ink is the story of a few lonely, damaged people hunting for a memory thief. When all you have are memories, there is no greater horror than forgetting.

Now this sounds like quite a fascinating new novel from Maberry and I am very curious to see what sort of story he comes up with here. The whole concept of someone or something stealing the memories of the protagonists is quite compelling, and it has quite a lot of potential as a story element, especially if the characters end up losing key memories or forget big story moments. Maberry has always had an ability to turn complex story ideas into amazingly entertaining narratives, and I am curious to see what sort of supernatural mystery he creates in this upcoming book.

Due to how much I have enjoyed Maberry’s prior work, and because of how interesting this new novel sounds, I am now rather excited for this upcoming standalone book. Ink, which is currently set for release on 17 November 2020, is sure to be a really fascinating read, and I think that it has some real potential to be one of my top books for the year. I will probably end up getting the audiobook version of this novel when it comes out, due to the fact that Ray Porter, the impressive narrator of the Joe Ledger audiobooks, is once again lending his vocal talents to Maberry’s latest novel. However, if I can score an early copy of this from the publisher, I probably will not be able to help myself. I cannot wait to immerse myself in Maberry’s new intense novel, and I am really looking forward to checking out Ink a few months time.

Throwback Thursday – Predator One by Jonathan Maberry

On March 26, 2020March 5, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Five-Star Books, Science Fiction, Thriller, Throwback Thursday16 Comments

Publisher: Macmillan Audio (Audiobook – 7 April 2015)

Series: Joe Ledger series – Book Seven

Length: 16 hours and 55 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Amazon Book Depository

Reviewed as part of my Throwback Thursday series, where I republish old reviews, review books I have read before or review older books I have only just had a chance to read.

For this latest Throwback Thursday, I decided to I wanted something fast-paced and action-packed, so I went and checked out another book in Jonathan Maberry’s dark and thrilling Joe Ledger series with the seventh book, Predator One.

Those familiar with my blog will be aware of my recent love affair with the Joe Ledger series. I first encountered this series back in late 2018, and after massively enjoying the tenth book, Deep Silence, I have been slowly reading and reviewing my way through the entire series from start to finish. There are so many different things that I enjoy about these novels, including the outstanding action, gripping stories, fantastic characters and the crazy scenarios each book is set around. When combined, these elements help produce some truly incredible books, and I had an amazing time reading several Joe Ledger novels last year. I also read the first book in Maberry’s Rogue Team International series, Rage, which was one of my top books (and audiobooks) of 2019. I am hoping to finish off all the remaining books in the Joe Ledger series this year, and Predator One is the first one that I have so far checked out in 2020. I have to say that I was once again blown away with Maberry’s writing ability, as Predator One is another epic and remarkable read which gets a full five-star rating from me.

It is the opening day of the new baseball season, and Joe Ledger, point-agent for the high-tech counter terrorist organisation, the Department of Military Sciences (DMS), is enjoying a well-earned day off. Everything seems to be going well, the sun is shining, the beers are flowing, and a decorated military pilot is about to throw out the first ball. Then a model airplane flies out onto the field, a replica of the one flown by the war hero. Everyone assumes it’s a harmless prank, everyone except Ledger, who can only watch in horror as the toy plane explodes. Within seconds, a swarm of bomb-laden drones appears, devastating the crowd and leaving Ledger injured in the wreckage of the stadium.

As Ledger attempts to process what has happened, a series of coordinated attacks are taking place across America. While some of the attacks appear random, several are deliberately targeting the friends and family of key members of the DMS, attempting to distract the agency and take them off the board. It soon becomes clear that an old enemy has risen from the flames, determined to get revenge on those that they believe have wronged them in the past, including Ledger and everyone he loves. Worse, they have teamed up with a force of pure evil whose deepest wish is to torment and destroy the head of the DMS, the mysterious Mr Church.

Diving back into the action, Ledger and his team attempt to find and neutralise the source of this new threat. But at every turn, they find themselves outmatched, outmanoeuvred and severely outgunned, as the enemy has access to advanced technology that allows them to take control of America’s military vehicles, aircraft, ships and drones. As the attacks against America worsen, their opponents even gain control of Air Force One, with the President aboard, and start to fly it towards New York City. Can Ledger save the day one more time or have the DMS finally come up against an enemy even they can’t outsmart?

Wow, just wow. Predator One is another impressive and extremely captivating thriller novel that I had an outstanding time listening to. Maberry has come up with another incredible, action-packed story which utilises his trademark writing style to present a first-rate novel. Readers are treated to a multi-layered story, which cleverly features multiple character viewpoints, flashbacks and deep examinations of a several major characters’ pasts and motives. All of this allows Maberry to tell a complex and intriguing thriller story that never lets up on the excitement. The various storylines flow together perfectly thanks to the short chapters and constant dancing between different character perspectives, and all the storylines lead up to an epic and memorable conclusion. Maberry really knows how to ramp up the tension and the excitement throughout the book, and the final couple of hours are exceedingly thrilling, as several exhilarating scenarios come into effect at the same time. All of this results in a deeply exciting read, which I really loved and is another perfect Joe Ledger story.

Just like so many books in this series, amongst the best things about Predator One are the fantastic antagonists and their over-the-top plot against America, Joe Ledger and the DMS. For the main antagonist, Maberry goes back to some of the earlier books in the series, and brings back the Seven Kings organisation, which is being led by an old, established opponent of the DMS. While a new, complex villain for this book could have been fun, I really loved the author’s use of the historical antagonist, especially as they have been substantially transformed since the last book, and they are now aiming for a destructive end. This older antagonist is paired with the mysterious, evil character, Nicodemus, and together they form quite a partnership. Nicodemus is a character that has been hinted at and featured in the shadows of several previous books, so it was really cool to see him in a more substantial role. The key to Nicodemus is his extremely enigmatic persona and history, as no one quite knows who or, more importantly, what he is. He seems to have some sort of mystical abilities, and it is hinted in this book that he is some form of demon or devil, although it is never fully revealed. This mystery and mystique make for a quite an intriguing addition to the series, and the two main antagonists work together quite well as an evil, villainous pairing. On top of them, Maberry also throws in a good secondary antagonist who acts as a crooked assistant to the leader of the Seven Kings and who serves as a useful narrator, as well as the standard sexually depraved henchmen. Combined, these excellent antagonists make for a fun and exciting opposition for the main characters and they help produce some extremely interesting storylines.

I was also a major fan of the fantastic and complex master plan that Maberry envisioned for the antagonists of this book, which served as a fantastic basis of much of the story. Maberry crafted a sinister and exceedingly destructive campaign of terror and destruction that culminated in the takeover of Air Force One with the President and other key characters on board, sending it on a kamikaze mission. This proved to be a rather fun villainous storyline to follow, and I enjoyed seeing it unfold from both the protagonists’ and antagonists’ points of view, as these different perspectives led to some very intriguing scenes. I also liked the way that that the origins of the plot were explored in a series of interludes, allowing the reader to become familiar with the key players of the scheme, and get hints of the full extent of the planned destruction. It was also rather cool to see these antagonists land some real blows against the DMS. Maberry has never been shy about killing off key side characters (for example, he killed off the main secondary character and primary love interest in the second book, The Dragon Factory), and he ensures that some real damage is done to some DMS characters in Predator One. This helps add a real emotional edge to the story, and I liked the way that it upped the stakes, as well as the obvious emotional and psychological impacts that it had on some of the series’s well established, long-running protagonists.

Maberry makes sure to bring back the full and unique bevy of good-guy characters for this seventh book, most of whom have appeared in multiple books before. At the fore is the series’s titular protagonist, Joe Ledger, who is the sole first-person narrator in the book, with around a third of the story told from his point of view. Ledger is his usual witty and damaged self in this book, infecting his parts of the story with his wicked humour and sarcasm, while also unleashing his barely hidden rage and special brand of hyper-violence. Ledger goes to some dark places in Predator One, especially after his friends and allies are attacked, and the way he ends the villain is particularly gruesome and memorable. In addition to the usual examination of Ledger’s complex psyche, I really liked the way that a number of other side characters got some substantial sequences in this book. Joe Ledger series stand-out character Mr Church gets quite a lot to do in this book, and it was excellent to not only see him calmly lead his people in a severe crisis, but also react to some substantially personal attacks from the shadowy Nicodemus, who he has some obvious history with. The DMS’s psychiatrist, Rudy Sanchez, also gets quite a few scenes in this book, as he and his family come under substantial attack from the antagonists. It was really intriguing to see Rudy, whose usual role is to calm and centre the rest of the protagonists, come apart a bit in this novel, and it was quite stirring to see him pull himself together in a major way. I have to say that I also really enjoyed the inclusion of Toys as well, especially as Maberry has written a rather good redemption arc for him in this book. Thanks to the author’s use of multiple viewpoints, each of these characters, and more, get multiple moments to shine in this novel, and this helped create a full and captivating thriller tale, especially as the reader inevitably becomes invested in these characters’ survival.

I can’t go past a Joe Ledger novel without commenting on the exquisite and ultra-violent action sequences that are heavily featured throughout the book. Maberry is an expert at writing detailed and explosive action scenes, and Predator One is filled with a substantial amount of battles and fights, with all manner of armed and unarmed combat. These scenes are an absolute delight to behold, and it is always cool to see these well-crafted fights come to life. There are a number of large-scale battle sequences throughout this book, and Maberry did an amazing job switching between several fights that were happening simultaneously towards the end of the book, resulting in some extremely action-packed and exciting sections of Predator One. I really enjoy the way that the author breaks down the fight, and it is interesting to hear about the tactical reasons or destructive capabilities for certain moves or weaponry. All of this makes for a really cool book, although readers should be warned that there is a lot of extreme violence in this book that might not be for everyone, especially the graphic torture scenes.

Just like the previous Joe Ledger novels I have been lucky enough to enjoy, I chose to check out Predator One’s audiobook format, which was narrated by the exceedingly talented Ray Porter. Running at 16 hours and 55 minutes, this is one of the longer Joe Ledger audiobooks (not by much), but I found myself able to power through it in only a few days, and the audiobook format remains my favourite way to enjoy a Joe Ledger book. Porter’s outstanding narration is the highlight of this format, and I will never get tired of praising his vocal work in this format. The voices that Porter comes up with for these productions are pretty damn awesome, and he has perfected some amazing voices for the characters featured in this series. I once again have to highlight Porter’s take on Mr Church, as his version of the character has some real presences, authority and gravitas. I also liked some of the voices that he did for the villainous Nicodemus, especially as the script called for a change of accent and voice mid-sentence, something which Porter pulled off perfectly, and which made the character sound pretty sinister in this format. However, nothing can top the amazing work that Porter puts into the series’s titular protagonist, Joe Ledger, as the narrator is scarily in sync with this character, and expertly portrays all his emotion, personality and raw sarcasm. I cannot emphasise enough how impressive the Joe Ledger audiobooks are, and if you are keen to check them out, this is the format to do it in.

Predator One by Jonathan Maberry is an outstanding and captivating tale of revenge, destruction, action and war, as the author’s team of elite warriors go face to face with an army of pure evil. This was an intense and thrilling read, which I once again completely failed to put down multiple times. Filled with amazing characters, including some very well-crafted evil antagonists, a fun story, violent action sequences and some outrageous story elements, this book is relentlessly entertaining and it proved to be an impressive addition to the Joe Ledger series. Predator One comes highly recommended, especially in audiobook format, and I look forward to finishing off the final two books in the series later this year.

Amazon Book Depository

WWW Wednesday – 25 March 2020

On March 25, 2020 By The Unseen LibraryIn WWW Wednesday2 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?

Hitler's Secret, House of Earth and Blood Covers
Hitler’s Secret by Rory Clements (Trade Paperback)

This is the fourth book in Clements’s Tom Wilde series of historical thrillers, a series that I have been reading from the start (check out my reviews for the last two books, Nucleus and Nemesis). I am about halfway through Hitler’s Secret at the moment, and so far it is probably my favourite book in the series.

House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas (Audiobook)

I started listening to this book earlier in the week, and I am only a few hours in so far. Maas is one of the author’s I have been meaning to read more of, especially after I had such a good time with her comic book novel, Catwoman: Soulstealer. I am actually really enjoying this book at the moment, and Maas has come up with a compelling story inside a vast new fantasy world. I am very curious to see where this story ends up, although it might take me a little while to get through.

What did you recently finish reading?

Riptides, Predator One Covers

Riptides by Kirsten Alexander (Trade Paperback)

A short review of Riptides will appear in Thursday’s Canberra Weekly.

Predator One by Jonathan Maberry (Audiobook)

I am putting a Throwback Thursday review for this book up tomorrow night.

What do you think you’ll read next?

Gathering Dark by Candice Fox (Trade Paperback)

Gathering Dark 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.

WWW Wednesday – 18 March 2020

On March 18, 2020March 18, 2020 By The Unseen LibraryIn WWW Wednesday3 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?

Riptides by Kirsten Alexander (Trade Paperback)

Riptides is a compelling and tragic historical drama set in 1970’s Australia from Kirsten Alexander, the author of one of my favourite debuts from last year, Half Moon Lake. I am about a third of the way through this book at the moment, and I am already really enjoying the complex and powerful story it contains.

Predator One by Jonathan Maberry (Audiobook)

I was in the mood for another fun and over-the-top science fiction thriller, so I went back to Jonathan Maberry’s Joe Ledger series, which I have been really enjoying over the last year or so (make sure to check out my review for the previous book in the series, Code Zero). Predator One is another exciting addition to this great series, and I am flying through it at the moment.

What did you recently finish reading?

Where Fortune Lies by Mary-Anne O’Connor (Trade Paperback)

Star Wars: Dooku: Jedi Lost by Cavan Scott (Audio Play)

What do you think you’ll read next?

Hitler’s Secret by Rory Clements (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.

Top Ten Tuesday -Books with Single-Word Titles

On March 3, 2020 By The Unseen LibraryIn List3 Comments

It turns out that I have read quite a few such books in the last couple of years, and I was actually a little surprised by how many there were. In order to cull this list down to 10, I decided to focus on the best single-word title books I have featured on this blog and go from there. Many of the entries on this list were amongst some of the best books I have read in recent years, and most of them have featured on my Top Ten Books lists for 2018 and 2019.

I may have been a bit cheeky and added in more than then 10 books on this list. In instances where authors decided to give every book in their series a single-word title, I may have blended a few books together into one entry, especially if I loved each of the books in the series equally. I have also included a rather generous Honourable Mentions section as well, just to showcase how many amazing single-word title books have recently been published. While this is cheating somewhat, I think it makes this list more interesting so I’m sticking with it.

Honourable Mentions:

Timeless/Boundless by R. A. Salvatore

Timeless and Boundless Cover

Supernova by Marissa Meyer

Supernova Cover

Commodus by Simon Turney

Commodus Cover

Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett

Foundryside Cover

Top Ten List (No Particular Order):

Eragon/Eldest/Brisingr/Inheritance by Christopher Paolini

Inheritance Cycle

Thrawn by Timothy Zahn

Thrawn Cover

Legend by David Gemmell

Legend

Skyward/Starsight by Brandon Sanderson

Skyward, Starsight cover

Rage by Johnathan Maberry

Rage Cover

Planetside/Spaceside by Michael Mammay

Planetside, Spaceside Covers

Tombland by C. J. Sansom

Tombland Cover

Salvation by Peter F. Hamilton

Salvation Cover

Restoration by Angela Slatter

Restoration Cover

Deceit by Richard Evans

Deceit Cover

And that rounds out my latest Top Ten list. I think it turned out pretty well, and there is an interesting range of different novels there. Let me know which of the above novels you enjoyed as well as what your favourite books with single-word titles are in the comments below.