Top Ten Tuesday – Hilarious Book Titles

On August 9, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn List6 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. For this week’s Top Ten Tuesday participants are tasked with listing their top ten favourite hilarious book titles. This was an intriguing topic that I was quite interested in having a go at. There are some fun book titles out there, usually associated with some entertaining books or comics, and I had a great time going through some of my favourite books to figure out which titles were the most amusing or hilarious.

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

Honourable Mentions:

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

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

The Trouble with Peace by Joe Abercrombie

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

Firefly: The Magnificent Nine by James Lovegrove

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

Runaways: Rock Zombies by Terry Moore

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

Top Ten List:

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

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

Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett

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

The Bookkeeper’s Skull by Justin D. Hill

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

A Comedy of Terrors by Lindsey Davis

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

Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett

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

X-Factor: Invisible Woman Has Vanished by Peter David

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

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

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

Going Postal by Terry Pratchett

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

Redshirts by John Scalzi

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

The Constant Rabbit by Jasper Fforde

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

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

Top Ten Tuesday – Books with Character Names in the Titles

On February 1, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn List3 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 required to list their favourite books that have character names in the title. I rather liked the idea of this topic, especially as I was unsure if I would be able to really complete a full list about it as only a few book titles really came to mind when I initially thought about it. However, after a bit of research I was able to come up with pretty substantial list of potential entries, which included some amazing releases.

To make this list a bit of a challenge I tried to avoid books or comics that had series names included in the title (for example, all the Harry Potter books). I also tried to avoid entries where they added on a name to the main title to designate that a book is going to be about a specific character in a franchise, such as Maul: Lockdown from Star Wars or Kal Jerico: Sinner’s Bounty from Warhammer 40K. I did, however, include a few books from these franchises where the primary version of its title had a character name in it. Despite these limitations, I still had a massive list of awesome books, which I then had to cull down. I ended up having to remove several fantastic reads, but I think the below list really captures the absolute best books I have read with character names in the titles. So, let us see what made the cut.

Honourable Mentions:

Tarkin by James Luceno

A compelling Star Wars novel that does exactly what it says on the packet, tell the story of Grand Moth Tarkin, one of the most distinctive villains from the original film.

Steel Tread by Andy Clark

I am being slightly cute with this Warhammer 40K novel, as Steel Tread is the name of a tank, rather than a human or alien. However, I would argue that Steel Tread was a proper character, due its presence, impact on the protagonists, and because machines are partially sentient in this universe.

Bloody Rose by Nicholas Eames

The second book in Nicholas Eames’ The Band series, Bloody Rose is a fantastic fantasy read that centred around a group of mercenary monster fighters. The title of this book refers to the infamous leader of this mercenary group, Bloody Rose, who serves as quite the distinctive figure. A fun and captivating book that is really worth checking out.

Vader by Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca

The first volume of the epic 2015 Darth Vader series was simply named Vader. While this was an unimaginative title, the volume itself is extremely epic as it followed Vader in the aftermath of A New Hope. Perfectly written and filled with some amazing artwork, this was a major volume that not only introduced the amazing character of Doctor Aphra, but also contained an exceptional ending where Vader discovers that the pilot who destroyed the Death Star was named Skywalker.

Top Ten List:

Mort/Eric by Terry Pratchett

I have a hard time not including as many of Terry Pratchett’s masterful Discworld novels as possible on lists like these, and luckily for me there were only two Discworld books with character names in the titles, so I figured I would include both. The first is the excellent novel Mort, which sees Death decided to recruit an apprentice, the titular Mort, who almost immediately starts messing with reality by trying to save the life of a doomed princess. This was a hilarious novel, especially the bits following Death’s midlife crisis, and it sets up a bunch of other interesting Death-led Discworld novels. The other book is Eric, one of Pratchett’s shorter books, that follows a teenage demonologist, Eric, who attempts a Faustian demon-summoning for absolute power. Unfortunately, rather than summoning a demon, Eric instead gets the incompetent wizard Rincewind, who naturally stuff everything up. This was another funny Discworld book, and I love how the cover of this book crosses out Faust and replaces it with a pen-drawn Eric, just to hammer home what this novel is satirising.

The Aurora Cycle by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

I had to mention one of the best trilogies of recent years with The Aurora Cycle by Australian authors Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, especially when all three entries contain a character name in their titles. Made up of Aurora Rising, Aurora Burning and Aurora’s End, these titles all refer to the titular character Aurora (also known as Auri) a time-displaced psychic who ends up being the key to saving the entire universe.

Billy Summers by Stephen King

One of the more recent releases on this list was Stephen King’s Billy Summers. An interesting and intense thriller, Billy Summers follows the titular character, an honourable assassin, as he embarks on his final job, only to encounter betrayal, introspection and a girl who changes everything. This was one of the best books of 2021, and I really loved finding out all about Billy Summers.

Thrawn by Timothy Zahn

Easily the best Star Wars book that focuses on a specific character is the epic Thrawn by legendary author Timothy Zahn. This novel perfectly reintroduced Zahn’s greatest character, Grand Admiral Thrawn, into the new canon and is one of my absolute favourite Star Wars novels. Eventually leading to another five connected books (Alliances, Treason, Chaos Rising, Greater Good and Lesser Evil), this was an exceptional read, and I like how the simple title Thrawn tells you everything you need to know about this book.

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

Years ago, when I was first getting into fantasy I received a cool novel I knew nothing about apart from the title, Eragon. Intrigued by its closeness to dragon, I dove into this great book and quickly became utterly engrossed by the story of teenager Eragon who finds a dragon egg and becomes a legendary hero. I have a lot of love for this book and the Inheritance Cycle series that followed, so I just had to feature this novel on this list.

Usagi Yojimbo: Gen’s Story by Stan Sakai

I really do tend to hit my classics when it comes to lists like this, so naturally I had to see if there was an entry from one of my favourite comic series, Usagi Yojimbo, that I could feature. There were actually several Usagi Yojimbo volumes that contained character names in the title, including Lone Goat and Kid, Travels with Jotaro, and Tomoe’s Story. However, the one I went with was the volume Gen’s Story. This great volume contains a brilliant story that showcases the childhood of fantastic supporting character Murakami Gennosuke, better known as Gen. This comic examines why the often disrespectful and uncouth bounty hunter has such dislike for samurai honour and discipline and served as a brilliant bit of backstory for one of the best characters in this series.

Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

I was spoiled for choice for this list when it came to the works of Tamsyn Muir, as several of her books feature character names in the title. While I was very tempted to feature her first novel, Gideon the Ninth (one of the best debuts of 2019), I instead went with her second book, Harrow the Ninth. Harrow the Ninth was an incredible read that ended up being one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2020. Containing a trippy and exceedingly clever narrative, this book follows Harrow, a spacefaring necromancer who is going through some major identity issues. An exceptional read, I am really looking forward to Muir’s next book, the 2022 release Nona the Ninth.

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

I had to include the extremely compelling The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton. Another brilliant debut and one of the best books of 2018, The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle follows a mysterious time-displaced man who awakens in several different bodies during a fancy party at an old British estate. Forced to experience the entire party again and again, the protagonist only has seven chances to discover who murdered the party’s host, Evelyn Hardcastle. Compelling, unique and with a title that immediately grabs your attention, I deeply enjoyed this cool book.

Talon of the Silver Hawk by Raymond E. Feist

Another excellent book I had to feature on this list was the impressive Talon of the Silver Hawk by Raymond E. Feist. While on the surface this title doesn’t appear to contain a character name, Talon of the Silver Hawk is the main character, as it was the name he chose during a tribal vision quest. While he goes by other identities and names throughout the novel, this is the one closest to his heart and it makes for quite a catchy book title. I have a lot of love for this novel, especially as it introduced me to Feist’s excellent and extended Riftwar Cycle, and it is really worth checking out.

Vader Down by Jason Aaron, Kieron Gillen, Mike Deodato and Salvador Larroca

The final entry on this list was the cool comic Vader Down. Written and drawn by the join teams behind the 2015 Star Wars and Darth Vader comic book series, this comic follows Darth Vader who is shot down above a Rebel-controlled planet, and must contend with a Rebel army, traitors, the original trilogy protagonists, and all manner of other dangers. An exceedingly epic and exceptional limited crossover series, this is one of my favourite Star Wars comics of all time and it is guaranteed to make you a fan of the current Star Wars extended universe.

That’s the end of this list. As you can see, there are some really cool books and comic volumes out there that make good use of character names in their titles. I am very happy with how this list turned out and I think it captures my absolute favourite books that make use of this naming convention. This might be a list I revisit in the future, especially as there are several other excellent books that I am planning to read soon featuring character names in the titles (for example, the upcoming fantasy book Kagen the Damned by Jonathan Maberry). Until then, let me know what your favourite book was a character name in the title is in the comments below.

Top Ten Tuesday – Books I Loved that Made Me Want More Books Like Them

On June 8, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn List5 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. For this latest Top Ten Tuesday, participants are challenged to list books that they loved and which subsequently made them want to read more books like them. While this is a rather wordy topic, I am choosing to interpret it as any amazing book or comic that, upon completion, immediately made me want to read or enjoy something similar, be it in the same genre, format or by the same author.

This was a rather interesting topic to consider, and for a while I was not certain that I could field a Top Ten List for it. However, after a long think, I was able to come up with 10 incredible books or comics that awoke something in me and helped to shape what I would read in the future. Each of the entries on this list really spoke to me for some reason or another, and many of these are responsible for my current reading choices.

Top Ten Tuesday:

Jingo by Terry Pratchett

Let us start off this list with the outstanding and funny Discworld novel, Jingo by Terry Pratchett, which really ignited my passion for this amazing series. Funnily enough, I actually read this novel for the first time while waiting in line for a Terry Pratchett book signing in a book shop here in Canberra. Due to the long line, I was able to get through a good swath of the novel while I waited and found myself deeply enjoying the outrageous and clever story within. While I had read some of Pratchett’s novels before, such as The Carpet People or The Nome trilogy, I do not think that I ever fully appreciated the Discworld series until that moment as I swiftly got caught up in Jingo’s great humour, clever satire, and fun characters. After getting my copy of Jingo signed (it remains one of my most prized possessions), I immediately went about reading or re-reading some of the other Discworld novels, and soon I was hopelessly addicted to this fantastic series. Since that day I have read every entry in this amazing series innumerable times and in my opinion it is the best and most impressive literary series of all time. I still deeply, deeply love all the Discworld novels (check out my reviews for Moving Pictures and The Last Continent), and I owe my love of this series to Jingo.

Deep Silence by Jonathan Maberry

Next, we have the awesome and exciting Deep Silence by Jonathan Maberry, the 10^th and final entry in the crazy Joe Ledger series. When Deep Silence came out, I grabbed an audiobook copy of this book because I thought it sounded interesting and I wanted to try something different. However, I was unprepared for just how much I would enjoy Deep Silence’s cool thriller/science fiction hybrid story, as it ended up being one of the best novels I read in 2018. I loved this amazing book so much that the moment I finished Deep Silence I immediately started reading the first novel in series, Patient Zero. Since then, I have gone on and read all 10 novels in the Joe Ledger series, as well as the first novel in the Rogue Team International series, Rage (one of the best books and audiobooks I read in 2019), and standalone novel Ink (one of the best books and audiobooks of 2020). I am now a deeply devoted fan of Jonathan Maberry’s writing, and I will be grabbing every single novel that he realises in the future, including the upcoming Relentless.

Batman: Hush by Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee

The third entry on this list is the epic Batman comic, Hush, which is responsible for my current love of comic books. Years ago, I happened across a copy of Hush while in the library. Looking for anything to do other than the very important maths homework I had, I chose to read Hush, figuring it would be interesting. At that point I really had not read any mainstream comics before, but Batman is Batman, so I thought it would be worth it. What I found was a really cool Batman story that saw Batman face off against all his greatest enemies, as well as new foe Hush. I really liked this comic, especially as it serves as an excellent introduction to key elements of the Batman mythos, and I had a wonderful time getting through it one sitting. Right after finishing it, I immediately started reading some of the other comics the library had, which kept enhancing my love for superhero comics and hooked me for life. While I have read many comics since then, I fully blame the existence of my multi-shelf comic collection on Batman: Hush.

Star Wars: Last Shot by Daniel José Older

Those familiar with my blog will know that I have a certain fondness for Star Wars tie-in fiction, having read and reviewed a ton of Star Wars novels and comics over that last couple of years. However, the book that started my current obsession with Star Wars media was the fun Last Shot by Daniel José Older. Serving as a tie-in to the Solo film, Last Shot was an impulse buy I made as I thought it would be an interesting novel to review. This proved to be correct as I really enjoyed Last Shot and soon after I started grabbing more and more Star Wars books. This obsession continues to this day, and I have already enjoyed several great Star Wars books this year alone (make sure to check out my recent list of favourite Star Wars novels).

Talon of the Silver Hawk by Raymond E. Feist

The next entry on this list is a rather interesting Talon of the Silver Hawk by Raymond E. Feist. I received a copy of Talon of the Silver Hawk as a birthday present years ago and while I was unfamiliar with the author, I thought it was a great gift and immediately started reading it. I swiftly became engrossed with this awesome novel and despite it being the 20th book in Feist’s Riftwar Cycle, I had an incredible time reading it. I had so much fun with this book that I immediately grabbed a copy of Feist’s debut novel, Magician, from the library and from there, every single Riftwar Cycle novel, as well as the tie-in Empire trilogy. The Riftwar Cycle proved to be an interesting grounding in fantasy fiction, and I fully blame Talon of the Silver Hawk as the reason why I currently have a massive stack of Feist hardcovers in my study, including his latest two novels, King of Ashes and Queen of Storms.

Battle Ground by Jim Butcher

Another series that I instantly became addicted to, is the epic Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher. I had long meant to read this amazing urban fantasy series, but I only got a chance to do so last year when I received a copy of the latest book, Battle Ground. I had such a great time reading Battle Ground that I went on to read some of the early entries in the series, including Storm Front, Fool Moon and Grave Peril. This is turning into such an incredible series to explore in full, and I am so very glad that I read Battle Ground last year.

Star Wars: Darth Vader (2015): Volume One: Vader by Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca

In a similar vein to Last Shot and Hush above, I owe my current love for Star Wars comics to one specific release, the first volume of the awesome Darth Vader (2015) series, Vader. This was an incredible comic that showcased Darth Vader right after the events of A New Hope and includes the moment that he found out that his son was alive. I have a lot of love for this awesome comic especially as it convinced me to grab the rest of the Darth Vader series, and then several other awesome series. I have since gone on to read most of the current comics in the canon (check out my list of favourites) and I am eagerly awaiting the next batch of awesome Star Wars comics.

The Crystal Shard by R. A. Salvatore

Salvatore is another author whose works I have greatly enjoyed over the years, and my appreciation of his novels begun when I read The Crystal Shard. The Crystal Shard was an impressive fantasy novel released as part of The Forgotten Realms shared fantasy universe and contained a fantastic story that introduced many of Salvatore’s iconic characters. I really enjoyed The Crystal Shard and after I finished I quickly read the rest of the books in The Icewind Dale trilogy as well as all three books in prequel Dark Elf trilogy. I have since gone on to read over 30 of Salvatore’s novels, including his recent releases Timeless, Boundless and Relentless, and he remains one of my all-time favourite writers.

Sword Song by Bernard Cornwell

While I currently enjoy novels from a great range of different genres, for many years I predominantly read historical fiction novels. While much of this was a professional choice, the reason I started reading this genre in the first place was because I happened across a copy of Sword Song by Bernard Cornwell. Sword Song was an excellent historical fiction novel and the fourth entry in The Last Kingdom series. Despite reading it out of order, I had an incredible time with Sword Song, and I swiftly started reading the rest of Cornwell’s novels, as well as several other great historical fiction reads. Historical fiction still remains one of my absolute favourite genres to this day, and much of this is thanks to the awesome story contained in Sword Song.

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

The final entry on this list is The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch. As I mentioned above, for many years I primarily read historical fiction novels, which meant that my fantasy fiction reading was severely neglected. However, once I started reading and reviewing recent fantasy novels, I decided that I would be useful to go back and check out some of the bigger fantasy series that I had missed. One that particularly appealed to me was Scott Lynch’s Gentleman Bastards series, including the first novel, The Lies of Locke Lamora. I had heard amazing things about The Lies of Locke Lamora and this praise was well deserved, as this novel was a clever and outstanding piece of fantasy fiction. I had such an incredible time reading The Lies of Locke Lamora that I instantly started the rest of the Gentleman Bastards books. I was also inspired to check out several other great fantasy series I had heard mentioned in the same breath as Lynch’s books, such as The Kingkiller Chronicles, The First Law series, and The Stormlight Archive. My adventures in these epic fantasy series has proven very enjoyable and I am so glad that reading The Lies of Locke Lamora led me to them.

That is the end of this latest Top Ten list. I think I came up with a really interesting and varied list of books that inspired me to read similar titles and I ended up having a fun time producing this article. Each of the novels and comics above comes highly recommended and you may be surprised how inspired you may find yourself after checking them out. Let me know which of the above entries are your favourites and I cannot wait to find out what novels inspired you to read more of the same.

Top Ten Tuesday – My Favourite Comic Series

On June 1, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn Comics/Manga, List18 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 get a freebie when they get to do any topic of their choice. While there were a few interesting topics that I was tempted to write about, I decided to write a list about my favourite comic book series.

We are currently in a golden age of comics and creativity and there are some truly amazing comics coming from all the various publishers. Over the years I have had the great pleasure of reading or collecting quite a few different series, including quite a few superhero comics. While I tend to easily enjoy most comics that I come across, there are several great series that I would consider my absolute favourites, either because they are exceptionally written and drawn, or because something about that series draws me back in time and time again for a reread. So I thought that this freebie week would be a good opportunity to highlight these epic and addictive comics, especially as there are some real gems that all comic fans should really try out.

To pull this list together, I went through some of the best of most entertaining series that I have read and picked out my 10 absolute favourite comics, with a generous honourable mentions section. For this list, I chose to focus purely on ongoing series rather than one-offs or limited series, although I will probably feature a different list for them in the future. I also avoided several great long-running series, mainly because I have not read all the entries in them. I think that I came up with a rather good list in the end, containing an interesting collection of comics from several different publishers and universes. I quite like how this list turned out and I think it encapsulates what my favourite comic series are.

Honourable Mentions:

Batman (Volume 3)

One of the series I have most recently gotten into was this recent Batman series. Starting in 2016, this great comic follows Batman as he faces off against some of his most iconic foes, while really getting to the heart of the Dark Knight and his relationship with his rogues’ gallery. I have not finished this series off yet, but I have deeply enjoyed several key storylines within it, including the exceptional The War of Jokes and Riddles, and it will be interesting to see where this series lies once I finish all the main volumes in it.

Star Wars: Doctor Aphra

I had to include the excellent and amazing Doctor Aphra series in this article somewhere as it is one of the most impressive Star Wars comics in recent years. Featuring the outstanding adventures of original character, Doctor Aphra, this series contains a huge number of heists, betrayals, and deep introspection from the titular character as she spreads chaos across the galaxy. I loved this outstanding series, and it has some amazing volumes in it, such as Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon and A Rogue’s End.

Y: The Last Man

Anyone who has read this iconic series from Brian K. Vaughan will appreciate why I had to feature it in this article. Following the last man left alive after a disease kills every male on the planet, Y: The Last Man is an intense and powerful comic with an amazing story to it. This was one of the first non-DC or Marvel comics I ever read and it has definitely stuck with me over the years as one of the best comics out there. If they ever manage to get around to adapting this series into a television show, it is going to be the next big hit.

All-New Wolverine

A brilliant and self-contained series that follows one of my favourite comic characters, X-23, as she claims her place as the new Wolverine after her father’s death. This was an amazing series with a unique feel, fantastic emotional edge and outrageous humour, which I loved it so much I kind of wished that Wolverine would stay dead for just a little bit longer.

Top Ten List:

Usagi Yojimbo

So I very much doubt that anyone is going to be surprised that the first entry on my list is Stan Sakai’s masterpiece series, Usagi Yojimbo. Following a rabbit samurai as he adventures through an alternate version of Feudal Japan, the Usagi Yojimbo series is easily one of the best comics I have ever read, and I am currently reviewing every single volume of it (for example check out my reviews of the 11^th volume Seasons or the 34^th volume, Bunraku and Other Stories). I absolutely love this simple but powerful and exciting comic, especially as Sakai pours all his love for Japan and Japanese culture into it and produces some epic adventures.

Teen Titans (Volume 3)

There is no way I could do a list about my favourite series without talking about one of the earliest comics I ever got into, the third volume of the outstanding Teen Titans series. Staring in 2003 and helmed by Geoff Johns, this series featured former members of Young Justice, Robin, Superboy, Wonder Girl and Impulse, as they step up and join long-term members Starfire, Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven in a whole new incarnation of the team. This was an exceptional series which revitalised a lot of interest in the team, especially as they ended up playing key roles in the Infinite Crisis crossover. While the series did dip a bit in quality after Geoff Johns left, this was an overall epic series, and it is one that I have read an insane number of times.

The Punisher (2004)

While there are many great Punisher series out there, the best one in my opinion is the dark and violent 2004 series, also known as The Punisher MAX. Primarily helmed by Garth Ennis, of Preacher and The Boys fame, this was an epic series that followed a grizzled Frank Castle as he pursues his bloody, never-ending war on crime. Released under the adult MAX imprint, this Punisher series was particularly over-the-top and gruesome in places, but it is so much fun to read, especially as Ennis comes up with some insane and utterly compelling storylines. This is the definitive series for all fans of The Punisher, and you will not regret checking this comic out.

Green Arrow (Volume 3)

Another incredible DC comic that I really love is this Green Arrow series. Starting back in 2001 with Quiver, this series resurrected classic comic character Green Arrow, taking him back to his roots and providing him with an epic and captivating series. Featuring an array of great writers, including Kevin Smith, Brad Meltzer and Judd Winick, this was an outstanding series that really revitalised the Oliver Queen Green Arrow, brought in some great new characters and contained some impressive and powerful storylines. I have so much love for this series and one of the storylines, The Archer’s Quest by Meltzer, is one of the best comics I have ever read.

X-Factor (Volume 3)

X-Factor is a long-running X-Men title that has had many incarnations with varying success. However, one run on the comic ended up becoming an amazing and powerful series that I was lucky enough to stumble across some years ago. Running between 2005 and 2013, this X-Factor series followed X-Factor Investigations, a combined mutant superhero team and private investigation firm, as they become embroiled in some weird conflicts and adventures around New York. Primarily written by Peter David, this was a very unusual and clever series that was overshadowed by the major Marvel titles but ended up lasting longer than most and producing some exceptional storylines. Featuring fantastic, if underused mutant characters, including Multiple Man, Strong Guy, Wolfsbane, M, Rictor, Siryn and the mysterious Layla Miller, this was a great, character driven comic that really dived into the hearts of its diverse and unique cast. I loved this comic so much, and it is one of the best X-Men comics that has ever been written.

Darth Vader (2015)

I had no choice but to feature the outstanding Darth Vader series by Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca on this list due to how impressive and amazing it is. This series follows one of the greatest villains of all-time right after the events of A New Hope as he fights against rivals and old enemies to secure his place within the Empire. This was easily one of the most consistent and epic Star Wars series out there, especially as it also includes the spectacular Vader Down crossover. There are so many cool elements to this series, such as the introduction of Doctor Aphra or the intense scene where Vader finds out Luke’s true identity and realises that the Emperor has been lying to him for years. I love this great series and it is the reason I am currently so in to Star Wars comics.

Runaways

I have long been a major fan of the iconic Runaways series by Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona. Following a group of teens who find out their parents are supervillains, this series, which mostly avoids the main events and characters of the Marvel universe, is a fantastic and powerful comic with some real heart to it. Introducing a colourful team of teenage heroes with some great powers, this is one of the most distinctive comics to come out of Marvel and is always going to remain a huge favourite of mine.

Robin (Volume 4)

One of my favourite Batman associated comics is the long-running fourth series of Robin comics that followed my favourite version of the character, Tim Drake. Set shortly after the death of Jason Todd in the infamous A Death in the Family, this comic introduced a whole new Robin, who swiftly won fans over. Tim Drake, who relied more on his intelligence than his fighting ability, was an outstanding hero, and the creative team came up with some great stories for him which ensured he kept his spot at Batman’s primary sidekick for 20 years. This entire comic is pretty epic, and while I deeply enjoy the post-Infinite Crisis Robin comics (all the way up to the really good Red Robin sequel series), his earlier stories are also pretty good and are very much worth checking out. A great series that will appeal to comic fans young and old, I love this take on the classic sidekick.

New Avengers

Over the years there have been an immense and wide-reaching collection of Avengers comics, from the classic storylines to weird and short-lived spin-offs, all of which I have tended to buy and read. So for an Avengers comic to really stick out to me, it would have to be pretty damn exceptional, and that is exactly what the New Avengers was. Created by Brian Michael Bendis and David Finch, this series brought back a cooler and more modern version of the iconic team after the Avengers Disassembled storyline. Bringing in beloved characters such as Spiderman, Wolverine and Luke Cage, this series helped to redefine the Avengers. There are several amazing phases to this comic over the years, especially as it ran through some of the key crossovers like Civil War, Secret Invasion and Dark Reign, and it was an absolute joy to read from start to finish.

Secret Six (Volume 3)

The final comic on my list is the often overlooked but incredibly fun Secret Six series. Following on from the Villains United limited series, Secret Six follows a dysfunctional team of supervillains, including Deadshot, Bane, Scandal Savage, Ragdoll and Catman, as they engage in several morally grey mercenary jobs around the world. Helmed by Gail Simone and featuring some rather insane, if touching, storylines, this was an amazing series that is near and dear to my heart, especially as Simon manages to turn eternal joke character, Catman, into the biggest badass ever.

Well, that is the end of my latest Top Ten List. I think that I came up with an interesting list of comics, especially as it features such a wide range of titles. I will admit that I did stick heavily to the Marvel and DC titles, and I also seemed to have primarily featured comics from the early 2000s. Despite this obvious preference form me, I think this turned out to be a great and diverse list, and it definitely represents the comics I enjoy the most. I think this might be a list I come back to in the future, especially as I will read some additional comics in the next year, and it will be interesting to see how this list changes. In the meantime, let me know what your favourite series are in the comments below.

Top Ten Tuesday – My Favourite Star Wars Comics

On May 4, 2021May 4, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn Comics/Manga, Extended Universe, List, Science Fiction, Star Wars5 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, the official task participants were given were to list their ten most recent reads. Instead, I thought that May the Fourth would be the perfect opportunity to highlight what I consider to be the best Star Wars novels and comics out there.

For this list, I checked out all of the Star Wars comics that I have read in the last couple of years in order to figure out which were my absolute favourites. This was another fun experience for me, and I think I had a somewhat easier time deciding on my favourite comics than I did with my favourite Star Wars novels. I was pretty happy with how this Top Ten list turned out, as it features 10 outstanding and impressive entries in my main list, as well as a decent honourable mentions section. For some of the longer series (those with multiple volumes), I chose to feature the whole series on this list rather than individual issues or volumes. I felt that this provides a much more comprehensive list, and as most series are written and drawn by the same people, it is really easy to lump them together as one big product. This ended up being a pretty awesome list, and I think I have a fairly varied list of comics here. I will admit that I have a bit of a dearth of knowledge when it comes to comics written before the current canon, as I have only read a few scattered comics from the Star Wars Legends range. Still, I am happy with all the below entries, so let us see what made the cut.

Honourable Mentions:

Doctor Aphra (2020)

So far, only the first volume of this intriguing series has been released, and while it was pretty good, it did not live up to the amazing heights of the previous Doctor Aphra series. I have a strong feeling that the future entries of this series are going to be very awesome and it is entirely possible I will bump this series to the main Top Ten list this time next year.

The Rise of Kylo Ren

Kanan

Top Ten List:

Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith

One of the first Star Wars comic series I ever read fully was Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith. Written by the legendary Charles Soule (the only writer featured on both this list and my favourite Star Wars novel list) and drawn by Giuseppe Camuncoli, this series follows Darth Vader in the aftermath of his transformation from Anakin Skywalker in Revenge of the Sith. This comic catches Vader at his rawest emotional period, and I loved the complex and powerful stories that Soule weaved around this iconic figure. This comic had the perfect blend of emotion, action and character development, and every single entry (including Volume 2: Legacy’s End and Volume 3: The Burning Seas), was exceptionally well written and intensely addictive.

Star Wars (2015)

You really cannot talk about Star Wars comics without mentioning this awesome long-running series, which was the centrepiece of the Star Wars comic franchise between 2015 and 2020. Set between the events of A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, this series features the joint adventures of Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie, C-3PO and R2-D2 as they attempt to overthrow the Empire. Filling in many gaps between the films, this series contained some clever and unique storylines that explore the Rebellion and the harsh battles they fought. This series started off big with an epic first volume, Skywalker Strikes, which not only had some awesome opening issues as the team faces off against Vader for the first time but which also shows the first time that Vader found out that Luke was his son (a very epic scene). There is an immense amount of talent behind these comics, with several awesome writers, including original writer Jason Aaron, Kieron Gillen and Greg Pak, as well as an outstanding array of artists, such as John Cassaday, Salvador Larroca and Phil Noto. The different teams produce a little variability in the series, but they managed to produce an excellent and clever array of stories and big moments that make this series an absolute treat to read from one end to the other.

Darth Vader (2015)

While I did read some other Star War comic series first, this would be the one the really made with fall in love with the genre. Created by the awesome team of Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca, this great comic follows Darth Vader right after A New Hope and sees Vader set out to gain more power and influence after discovering the true identity of Luke Skywalker. Teaming up with his new subordinate/prisoner, Doctor Aphra, Vader tears through the galaxy while coming to terms with the fact that he has a son. An epic and powerful series that is consistently awesome from start to finish, this is one of the absolute best Star Wars comics out there and all four volumes (including Vader and Shadows and Secrets) are five-star reads.

Doctor Aphra (2016)

Spinning off from the Darth Vader (2015) series, this comic chronicles the wild adventures of the titular protagonist, Doctor Aphra, as she attempts to con everyone she comes across, be they family, former lover, deadly droid or Dark Lord of the Sith. Initially produced by the character’s original creators, Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca, this long-running series was later written by Simon Spurrier, who produced some outstanding storylines with support from an excellent cast of artists, including Kev Walker, Andrea Broccardo and Emilio Laiso. I absolutely loved this great series from its first issue, and it has some extraordinary storylines to it. Both of the volumes I reviewed, Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon and A Rogue’s End got five star reads from me, and I would definitely give the same to most of the earlier volumes in this epic and extremely entertaining series.

Vader Down

There was absolutely no way I could exclude this fantastic limited series off this list as it is the very definition of pure awesomeness. Vader Down is a clever and memorable crossover between the 2015 Star Wars and Darth Vader series and features the creative teams from both comics coming together to create a joint story. This cool limited series sees Vader forced down on a Rebel controlled planet while trying to capture Luke. Facing off against a horde of Rebel soldiers and vehicles, Vader does what he does best and annihilates everyone he comes across as he hunts his prey and the people who betrayed him. At the same time, Han, Leia, Doctor Aphra, and the entire supporting cast of both series get drawn into an epic showdown as they all try to escape with what they want. An outstanding and action packed comic with some amazingly clever inclusions to it, this is an incredible piece of Star Wars fiction to check out.

Star Wars (2020)

Following the coordinated end of the original range of Star Wars comics, Marvel immediately started a new assortment of series in 2020, set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. The flagship series of this new range was the Star Wars (2020) comic, written by Charles Soule and featuring art by Jesus Saiz, Ramon Rosanas and Jan Bazaldua. While I have so far only read the first volume, The Destiny Path, I am deeply enjoying this fantastic series which follows the key original trilogy protagonists (with the exception of Han, because he’s frozen) as they come to terms with their defeats in The Empire Strikes Back. Featuring a great focus on Luke’s journey to become a Jedi master, Leia’s attempts to bring the Empire down and save the man she loves, and Lando’s quest for redemption, this series has a lot of potential and is a great recent entry to the canon.

Darth Vader (2020)

One of the newest additions to this list is the excellent Darth Vader (2020) series by Greg Pack and Raffaele Ienco. Set directly after Luke refuses to accept him as his father, this series contains an epic and powerful narrative about Vader as he comes to terms with his rejection in the most destructive way possible. The first volume in this series, Dark Heart of the Sith, was one of the best things I read in 2020, and I have a feeling this entire series is going to be one incredible and powerful thrill ride.

Target Vader

From the minds of Robbie Thompson and Marc Laming comes this excellent limited series, Target Vader, which brings back iconic Star Wars Legends bounty hunter Beilert Valance. This series follows Valance and a group of dangerous bounty hunters after they are given an impossible assassination mission to kill Darth Vader. Watching a group of bounty hunters go up against Vader is pretty awesome, and there are some great moments to this compelling read. I had a lot of fun with this series and it is definitely worth checking out.

Poe Dameron

I have so far featured a few comics by Charles Soule so far on this list, but I also have to include the Poe Dameron series. Working with artists Phil Noto and Angel Unzueta, Soule has done an incredible job of making Poe and his cohorts in the Resistance compelling and complex protagonists (something the films struggled with). With fascinating connections to other Star Wars comic series, this great work is set in the lead-up to The Force Awakens and examines the complex shadow war between the Resistance and the First Order.

Vader: Dark Visions

The final entry on this list is the entertaining miniseries, Vader: Dark Visions, which takes a unique look at Darth Vader. This intriguing comic contains just five issues, each of which tell a very different story of Vader, which sees him viewed as a hero, a lover and the scariest being in the galaxy. Written by Dennis “Hopeless” Hallum and featuring five separate artists (Paolo Villanelli, Brian Level, David Lopez, Stephen Mooney and Geraldo Borges), this is a truly unique look at Darth Vader and I loved every clever tale within.

That is the end of my second Top Ten Tuesday list of today. I really enjoyed highlighting all these excellent Star Wars comics, and I would strongly recommend all of the above as they are really exceptional reads. Just like with my Top Ten Favourite Star Wars Novels list, I am planning to revisit this list every Star Wars day, and it will be interesting to see how different it is in a year’s time. I am not too sure what will get added to this list next time, although I think there are a few interesting crossovers coming, as well as the new High Republic comics. Make sure to come back in a year to how the list will have changed. In the meantime, check out my other Top Ten Tuesday list with my favourite Star Wars novels on it. And May the Fourth be with you!

Top Ten Tuesday – My Favourite Pieces of Star Wars Tie-In Fiction

On May 5, 2020May 5, 2020 By The Unseen LibraryIn Comics/Manga, Extended Universe, List, Science Fiction, Star Wars, Tie-in Novel11 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, the official topic is to list Ten Things I’d Have at My Bookish Party, although I’m once again going to do something a little different, mainly due to the date.

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday falls just one day after May the 4^th, which is officially Star Wars Day. I have made no secret of my love for the Star Wars franchise, and this blog is packed full of reviews for the various Star Wars tie-novels and comics that have been released in recent years. My current deep obsession with Star Wars tie-in fiction is a surprisingly recent thing, as I only started really getting into Star Wars books and comics in 2018 after reading Last Shot by Daniel Jose Older. Since then I have gone out of my way to read a ton of Star Wars novels and I have dived deep into the current vein of comic books. All of these have been pretty damn amazing so far, and I have really enjoyed some of the comics and novels that I have had the opportunity to read. Due to this, I thought I would celebrate this Star Wars Day by listing my top ten favourite pieces of Star Wars fiction.

For this list, I have pulled together the top Star Wars tie-in novels and comics that I have read and tried to figure out which ones were my absolute favourite. This turned out to be somewhat difficult because I have read quite a few outstanding Star Wars books and comics over the last two years. In order to get a list together that I was happy with, I decided that I would feature whole series of books and comics together as a single entry, which ensured I wouldn’t have to choose which individual volumes were my absolute favourite. This allowed me to come up with a rather good list that contained most of my favourites, although I did also include a rather substantial Honourable Mentions section. I am actually surprised at which pieces of Star Wars fiction I ended up excluding from this list, including some fantastic novels and comics that I wrote multi-page reviews for. However, I am rather happy with what ended up on this list, and without a doubt, these following entries are my absolute favourite pieces of Star War fiction that I have read so far.

Honourable Mentions

Ahsoka by E. K. Johnston

The first entry in my Honourable Mentions is a firm favourite of mine, mainly because it focuses on one of the best characters in the expanded Star Wars Universe, Ahsoka Tano, and bridges the gap between The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels animated show. This young adult Star Wars novel is very good and is best enjoyed in its audiobook format, which is narrated by Ashley Eckstein, the voice actor who portrays Ahsoka in the shows.

Poe Dameron (2016)

The Poe Dameron comic book series is an excellent series written by the amazing Charles Soule and drawn by Phil Noto and Angel Unzueta. This series ran between 2016 and 2018 and focuses on the adventures of Resistance pilot Poe Dameron and his X-Wing Squadron, Black Squadron. Set just before the events of The Force Awakens, this is a fantastic series filled with some rather cool storylines and outstanding characters. I actually still have to finish this series off, and the final volume, The Awakening, should hopefully be arriving by post very soon.

Dooku: Jedi Lost by Cavan Scott

A clever piece of fiction that tells the tale of a young Count Dooku, showing how he fell to the Dark Side of the Force. While this was released in book format, Jedi Lost was originally an audio drama, featuring the vocal talents of some of the best Star Wars audiobook narrators and actors, and that is definitely the best way to enjoy this piece of Star Wars fiction.

Lords of the Sith by Paul S. Kemp

This is the latest Star Wars novel that I have read, and I only got a review up for it a couple of weeks ago. Lords of the Sith is an extremely fun and action-packed Star Wars novel that is highly recommended for anyone wants to see Darth Vader and the Emperor let loose in some over-the-top ways.

Top Ten List (No Particular Order):

Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn

The first entry on this Top Ten List is the excellent new Thrawn trilogy from legendary Star Wars tie-in author, Timothy Zahn. Zahn is one of the best authors of Star Wars fiction, and in this series he brought his most iconic character, Grand Admiral Thrawn, into the new Disney canon, backing up the character’s appearance on Star Wars Rebels. This trilogy is made up of three spectacular books, Thrawn, Alliances and Treason, all three of which I deeply enjoyed. The first book, Thrawn, is probably the best Star Wars novel I have so far read. This is a fantastic series to check out, and I cannot wait to grab Zahn’s next piece of fiction.

Star Wars (2015)

This is the first of several comics series featured on this Top Ten list, and it is a rather impressive series that I literally just finished yesterday. The Star Wars (2015) series is the backbone of the current run of the franchise’s comics and ran between 2015 and 2019, with 75 issues, thanks to the efforts of a massive team of contributors. This series is set between the events of A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back and follows the adventures of the main protagonists of the Original Trilogy as they fight the Empire and get into all manner of trouble. This series starts off with a massive bang and has some very impressive highs throughout its run. My absolute favourite volume in this series has to be the outstanding first entry, Skywalker Strikes, although other awesome volumes include Rebel Jail, The Last Flight of the Harbinger and Hope Dies. Skywalker Strikes is the only volume of this I have so far reviewed, although I plan to review the other volumes at some point in the future.

Dark Disciple by Christie Golden

The third entry on my list is a rather intriguing novel, Dark Disciple, which follows two fan favourite expanded universe characters, Asajj Ventress and Quinlan Vos, and concludes their stories after their last appearance in The Clone Wars animated series. Based on unused scripts for a proposed arc in The Clones Wars by Katie Lucas, this was an outstanding tale of love, revenge and hate that I was really glad I checked out.

Darth Vader (2015) by Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca

The Darth Vader (2015) comic book series is a particularly awesome series which follows the dark and destructive adventures of the titular antagonist after the events of A New Hope. Strongly connected to the events of the Star Wars (2015) comics, this series ran for 25 issues between 2015 and 2016 and featured some incredible storylines and introduced some cool characters to the canon. I really loved this incredible series, and the two volumes I have so far reviewed, Vader and Shadows and Secrets, each got a five-star rating from me.

Master & Apprentice by Claudia Gray

This next entry was a captivating novel released last year that explored the complicated relationship between Quin-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, several years before the events of The Phantom Menace. This was a deeply captivating novel that featured an interesting dive into the Star Wars lore while also presenting the reader with a fun and action-packed adventure. One of the top Star Wars novels of 2019, Master & Apprentice is a fantastic book to check out.

Vader Down

Vader Down is the latest piece of Star Wars fiction that I have reviewed, as I only just featured it in a Throwback Thursday article last week. This is an extremely awesome comic that serves as an outstanding crossover between the Star Wars (2015) and Darth Vader (2015) series. An explosive comic, full of violence, fun character moments and a compelling story, Vader Down is pure entertainment from start to finish.

Scoundrels by Timothy Zahn

This is the second entry on this list that was written by Timothy Zahn and the only book that is from the older Star Wars Legends canon. Scoundrels was an entertaining take on the heist genre that followed Han, Chewie, Lando and a crew of their criminal friends as they attempt to pull off an impossible robbery. An incredibly gripping novel with an exciting premise that I had a blast reading.

Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith by Charles Soule and Giuseppe Camuncoli

Another top-rate Star Wars comic book series featuring Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith followed the early days of Vader and is set right after the events of Revenge of the Sith. This was a very impressive series, and it was one of the first Star Wars comics that I really got into. I absolutely loved all four volumes (made up of 25 issues) of this series, and the two volumes I have reviewed, Legacy’s End and The Burning Seas, both got five-star reviews from me.

Tarkin by James Luceno

An early entry in the new Star Wars canon, Tarkin created a new history for the titular character, Grand Moff Tarkin, and showed the events that led to him becoming one of the most powerful men in the Empire. This was an extremely clever and well-written novel that I deeply enjoyed, and it is a great piece of Star Wars fiction to read.

Dr Aphra (2016)

The final entry on this list is the epic and always entertaining Dr Aphra comic book series. The Dr Aphra comics spun off from the Darth Vader (2015) series and followed several of the amazing side characters that were introduced in the series, including the rogue space archaeologist Dr Aphra. Dr Aphra ran between 2016 and late 2019 and followed the crazy misadventures of the good doctor as she spreads chaos across the galaxy. This series only just ended after 40 incredible issues, and it is really worth checking out. This is easily one of my top comic series at the moment, and I loved how this series overlayed a captivating character study with cool storylines, clever action and amazing humour. I loved every second I spent reading Dr Aphra, and the two volumes I have so far reviewed, Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon and A Rogue’s End, are incredible reads.

Well, that is the end of my Top Ten list. I am rather happy with how it turned out, and I think that I have included some rather interesting choices on there. I had a wonderful time coming up with this list, and I think it is something that I will come back to each year around May 4th. I imagine that my next list is going to look substantially different, as there is a huge amount of new Star Wars fiction coming out in the next year. This includes three fantastic new books from authors I read last year (Queen’s Peril, Thrawn: Ascendancy: Chaos Rising and Shadow Fall), a young adult book focused on Poe Dameron, and the books that are going to fall under the new High Republic sub-series. There are also several new Star Wars comic series starting up this year, including Star Wars (2020), Darth Vader (2020), Bounty Hunters and Dr Aphra (2020), all of which I am really looking forward to checking out. I will probably also check out some older Star Wars books in the next year, such as A New Dawn and the Aftermath trilogy, both of which I have heard things about, and I might also check out some books from the old Star Wars Legends canon. All of these should result in a ton of new entries in my next list and I may actually break it up into two separate lists, one for comics and one for novels. Until then I hope you enjoyed the list above and May the Fourth be with you. Let me know what you think of my choices and let me know what your favourite Star Wars books and comics are in the comments below.

Throwback Thursday: Star Wars: Vader Down

On May 1, 2020August 23, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn Comics/Manga, Extended Universe, Five-Star Books, Science Fiction, Star Wars, Throwback Thursday9 Comments

Publisher: Marvel Comics (Paperback – 19 April 2016)

Series: Crossover – Featuring Issues from Star Wars (2015) and Darth Vader (2015)

Writers: Jason Aaron (Star Wars: Vader Down #1, Star Wars #13-14) and Kieron Gillen (Darth Vader #13 – 15)

Artists: Mike Deodato (Star Wars: Vader Down #1, Star Wars #13-14) and Salvador Larroca (Darth Vader #13 – 15)

Colourists: Frank Martin Jr (Star Wars: Vader Down #1, Star Wars #13-14) and Edgar Delgado (Darth Vader #13 – 15)

Letterers: VC’s Joe Caramagna (Star Wars: Vader Down #1, Darth Vader #13 – 15) and Chris Eliopoulos (Star Wars #13-14)

Length: 152 pages

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Amazon

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 go back and look at the epic and deeply enjoyable Star Wars comic book crossover extravaganza, Star Wars: Vader Down.

Vader Down was a crossover, published in late 2015 and early 2016, of two of the best Star Wars comic series at the time, Star Wars (2015) and Darth Vader (2015). These two series ran side by side during this period and were set between the events of A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back and expanded the new Disney Star Wars canon. Both of these series were extremely good in their own right, with some very impressive comics during their early run (check out my reviews for some of these earlier volumes, Skywalker Strikes, Vader and Shadows and Secrets, all three of which got five-star reviews from me). These two comics ended up converging during the events of this crossover, with both series’ creative teams pooling their efforts to tell an exciting and action-packed tale. Vader Down is made up of a single introductory issue (Star Wars: Vader Down #1), two issues of Star Wars (2015) (issues #13-14) and three issues of Darth Vader (issues #13-15)

Darth Vader is a man on a mission. Ever since he discovered that the Rebel Alliance pilot who destroyed the Death Star was Luke Skywalker, the son he never knew he had, Vader has been scouring the galaxy for him, determined to claim Luke and use him to take control of the Empire. It finally appears that his patience has been rewarded, as his sources have revealed that Luke is visiting an abandoned Jedi temple on the planet of Vrogas Vas. However, Vader is unaware that he is falling into a trap set by one of his rivals, the Mon Calamari cyborg Commander Karbin. Instead of finding Luke by himself, he discovers an entire Rebel fleet orbiting a planet housing a secret Rebel facility. Despite being outnumbered, Vader is able to fight off the Rebel pilots trying to kill him, until Luke, in a desperate move, smashes his fighter into Vader’s ship, sending them both crashing down to the planet’s surface.

Now on foot, Vader sets out across the desolate planet to find his wayward son and turn him to the Dark Side of the force. However, the Rebels send a significant force to Vrogas Vas to capture or kill Vader. But even surrounded and outnumbered, Vader is more than a match for anything the Rebels can throw at him, and it seems only a matter of time before he finds his son. Luke’s only hope to survive lies in his friends, as Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, C-3PO and R2-D2 all set out to save him. However, Luke is not the only one with friends on the way, as Vader’s reluctant agent, Doctor Aphra, also sets course to Vrogas Vas in order to save herself from being murdered by her employer for this debacle. By her side are three of the most dangerous beings in the galaxy, the murderous droids Triple-Zero and BT-1, and the vicious Wookie bounty hunter Black Krrsantan.

As the two sides engage in all-out war across the planet’s surface, neither is aware of the danger coming for both of them. Imperial forces under the command of Commander Karbin have come to Vrogas Vas in the aftermath of the conflict not only to capture Luke but to also kill Vader so that Karbin can take his place by the Emperor’s side. Can Vader and the Rebels survive the onslaught of Karbin and achieve their desires, or is this the end of all of them?

Wow, wow and wow!! This crossover is just plain incredible as the two talented creative teams of the Star Wars and Darth Vader comic book series come together to create an action-soaked masterpiece. I absolutely loved this fantastic and inventive story, which not only contains a substantial standalone adventure but which advances both series in some rather interesting ways, especially when it comes to separating the character of Dr Aphra and moving her briefly into the Star Wars comic series. The story contained within this volume is really amazing, as it sets a rampaging Darth Vader against a swath of enemies while the great characters from both series face off in a rather entertaining battle of their own. All of this is set to some incredible artwork from the two series’ respective artistic teams, which brings the phenomenal action to life in all its destructive glory. Unsurprisingly, this comic gets a full five-star rating from me, and it is easily one of the best crossover comics that I have ever read.

Vader Down features six separate comic book issues, including an introductory issue, three issues from the Darth Vader series and two issues from the Star Wars series. Each of these comics has been written and drawn by the creative team of their respective series, with the Star Wars issues written by Jason Aaron and featuring the art of Mike Deodato, Frank Martin Jr and Chris Eliopoulos, while the entries from the Darth Vader comics are written by Kieron Gillen and contain the art of Salvador Larroca, Edgar Delgado and Joe Caramagna. The introductory issue, Star Wars: Vader Down #1, was also written by Aaron and drawn by the Star Wars artistic team (although with Caramagna doing the lettering rather than Eliopoulos), and this allows both creative teams to contribute three separate issues to this crossover. The story is set out in an alternate fashion, with the narrative beginning in Star Wars: Vader Down #1 and then continuing in Darth Vader #13, than going to Star Wars #13 and so on and so forth all the way till the volume’s end at Darth Vader #15. This proved to be quite an interesting way to set out the volume, and I think that it really speaks to the coordination and discussions that must have occurred between the two separate creative teams.

Like most pieces of Star Wars tie-in fiction, Vader Down is naturally geared more towards those established fans of the franchise, especially those who have some history and knowledge of the extended universe. However, I would say that this is definitely a comic that can be enjoyed by casual fans of the Star Wars franchise, especially as the story is very easy to enjoy and appreciate. Readers do not need a massive amount of knowledge about the comic series that are crossing over in order to enjoy Vader Down. I myself had not read any of the Star Wars (2015) comics when I first enjoyed this volume, and I experienced no problems whatsoever following the plot. That being said, it might prove useful to read the first two volumes of the Darth Vader series first, as that serves to introduce several supporting characters in the volume, as well as the main antagonist.

I felt that one of the biggest strengths of this comic is the way that it utilised and portrayed several iconic Star Wars characters, and I particularly loved how Darth Vader is featured in this crossover. I am a massive fan of the character of Darth Vader, and I am really enjoying how all the current pieces of Star Wars extended fiction portray him as a destructive powerhouse, perhaps as a way to rehabilitate him after the prequel films. However, Vader Down really takes this into overdrive as Vader finds himself alone on a planet surrounded by a vast army of enemies who are hunting him. While on paper it would seem that Vader is at a disadvantage, this really does not prove to be the case, as Vader tears through everyone who stands between him and Luke, often in some particularly devastating manners. Vader comes across as a massive badass in this comic, and I loved every second of it. From the way that he nearly takes out an entire fleet of Rebel fighters right at the beginning (only being stopped by a Kamikaze attack from Luke), to the continuous and effortless destruction of every Rebel he comes across (note to self: never wear grenades anywhere near a Force user), nothing seems to stop Vader, and it is pretty darn impressive.

I also love how Vader has some of the best lines in this volume as well, from his response to a request from Aphra to run: “I am a lord of the Sith. They are the ones who should be running”, to his fun response to a Rebel leader who tells him that he is surrounded (shown in the midst of a great full double page spread, just to show how surrounded he is): “All I am surrounded by is fear. And dead men.” However, his best line occurs later in the volume when he engages Commander Karbin in a particularly cool looking lightsaber duel. Karbin, whose enhancements make him resemble General Grievous, is gloating about how much better he is than Vader as he can wield four lightsabers to Vader’s one. However Vader, after throwing a massive statue at him simply responds with: “When you wield the power of the Dark Side one lightsaber is all you need”, which I thought was a pretty badass line, which also reveals why you never see Vader bothering with something more fancy like his Inquisitors do. Needless to say, I thought this portrayal of Vader was very epic and awesome, and it definitely is one of my favourite appearances of this character.

In addition to the amazing use of Darth Vader in this comic, I thought that the creative teams did a great job including the supporting characters from the Darth Vader series, namely Dr Aphra, Triple-Zero, BT-1, and Black Krrsantan. These four characters are, in manner different ways, all rather fun and evil doppelgangers of some of the key characters from the original trilogy. Black Krrsantan is an ultra-violent Wookie bounty hunter, more concerned with killing and money than saving lives like Chewbacca. Triple-Zero is pretty much a snarkier version of C-3PO who delights in torture and mutilation and has the inbuilt tools to back it up. BT-1 is an astromech like R2-D2, except he is loaded up with all manner of firepower and he has a nasty habit of melting anyone he dislikes, and BT-1 dislikes pretty much everything and everyone. Finally, you have Dr Aphra, who is a notorious rogue and thief like Han Solo, except rather more successful. She is also a fully trained archaeologist who uses that ability to rob tombs for valuable artefacts, essentially making her a cross between Han Solo and Indiana Jones. Vader Down is the first time that the supporting characters from the Darth Vader series actually meet their more iconic counterparts, and the results are extremely entertaining.

There are quite a few great moments throughout this volume where these two groups of characters come together, and they are all pretty fun. Some of my favourites include an extended brawl between the two Wookies, Chewbacca and Black Krrsantan, as they fight to achieve their opposing goals. This turned into quite a brutal matchup and it definitely does not end in the way that most people would expect. There is another cool scene where BT-1 faces off against R2-D2, who is trying to defend Luke from the evil droids. The two get into a vicious argument of beeps (apparently) and R2-D2 pulls out his built-in taser to fight off his opponents. However, BT-1 is rather better armed, and the sudden appearance of a mass of blasters, missiles, a flamethrower and other assorted weapons from BT-1’s chassis is enough to make R2 run off rather quickly, although he gets a measure of revenge later in the volume. Triple-Zero has a fun time imitating C-3PO at one point in the comic (all it takes is a coat of gold paint) and the subsequent meeting between the two protocol droids does not go well for Threepio (let us just say he gets disarmed).

My favourite out of all these interactions between the classic Star Wars characters and the new ones established in the Darth Vader series has to be the fun meeting between Han Solo and Aphra. Aphra is probably one of my favourite new characters in the current Star Wars canon (make sure to check out my recent review for A Rogue’s End, the seventh volume of her spinoff series), and her fun sense of humour really shines through in this encounter. There is a pretty funny scene towards the front of the book, when Aphra, researching the members of the main Star Wars cast, sees Han Solo and responds with an uber sarcastic: “Han Solo. The Han Solo. Oh me, oh my. What are we going to do facing Han Solo?” When they subsequently meet, Aphra continues to be unimpressed by Solo, deflating his ego over his apparently insubstantial reputation and managing to scare him with her own name. They two share some rather good verbal barbs before the shooting starts, and I think that the writers came up with the best resolution to this fight, which can only be described as an unintentional and funny draw. Overall, I really loved seeing all these fantastic characters coming together in this volume, and it is an impressive and entertaining highlight.

While most of the character arcs in this book lean more toward either humour or pure destruction, the writers also did a rather good emotional storyline around Princess Leia. Leia arrives on Vrogas Vas to lead the hunt for Vader, and eventually ends up coming face to face with him. As this is the first time Leia has seen Vader since he stood by and watched the destruction of Alderaan, this proves to be a rather hostile meeting, and Leia is overcome with a desire for revenge and is willing to sacrifice herself and her friends to see Vader taken out. There are some great moments throughout Leia’s scenes in the book as she presents her righteous indignation towards Vader, whose response is less than repentant: “This is not a war, Princess. Wars are for lesser men than the Emperor and myself. This is a series of executions. And yours is long overdue.” All of this gets pretty intense, and Leia actually tries to commit suicide at one point in an attempt to take Vader with her. She is eventually broken out of her mission for revenge thanks to an urgent plea for help from C-3PO, who is watching the rest of their group getting attacked and captured. All of this proved to be a rather powerful and emotional storyline within this volume, and I think its inclusion helped to enhance and elevate the entirely of the comic’s plot.

I also must highlight how impressive the two separate artistic teams were, as both groups of artists come up with some fantastic sequences in Vader Down. As I mentioned above, the issues alternate throughout the volume, and as a result the artistic style of the comic changes with each new issue. There is a rather distinctive difference in the designs and illustrations of the two separate teams, and it proved interesting to jump between these styles each issue. I liked both unique art designs and colourations (with perhaps a slight preference towards the Darth Vader comics style), and I think that they all did an excellent job of portraying the epic story. It actually proved to be rather intriguing to see the separate teams have a go at drawing some of the characters who usually appeared in their counterparts’ comics, and it was also cool to see sequences that lasted more than one issue (such as the lightsaber duel between Vader and Karbin) go through some stylistic changes with each changing issue. There are a huge number of amazingly drawn scenes throughout this comic, although I think the best highlights had to include the extremely impressive starfighter battle in the first issue, with all the blaster bolts and explosions occurring out in space. Other cool scenes included a sudden spaceship crash in the final issue and a series of explosions and lightsaber work in the front of the volume’s second issue. I also liked how both teams of artists utilised the desert landscape of Vrogas Vas in their drawings; the constantly swirly dust really helped to enhance some of the battle scenes in this book and bring a sense of movement and a planet disturbed by violence and death. As a result, I think that both teams of artists did an outstanding job throughout the comics that made up Vader Down, and it certainly helped to enhance the epic experience I had reading this crossover volume.

Vader Down is an immensely cool and exhilarating Star Wars comic that serves as an impressive crossover between two excellent comic book series. This combination of the Star Wars (2015) and the Darth Vader comics proved to be deeply entertaining and it is a clear example of how awesome the Star Wars extended universe can truly be. An absolute blast from start to finish, with non-stop action, eye-catching artwork and some clever character work, Star Wars: Vader Down is a must-read comic for all Star Wars fans and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

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Throwback Thursday – Star Wars: Darth Vader (2015): Volume 2 – Shadows and Secrets

On February 20, 2020August 23, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn Comics/Manga, Extended Universe, Five-Star Books, Science Fiction, Star Wars, Throwback Thursday9 Comments

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Writer: Kieron Gillen

Artist: Salvador Larroca

Colourist: Edgar Delgado

Publication Date: 5 January 2016

Length: 136 pages

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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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 my latest Throwback Thursday, I take a look at the second volume of the 2015 Darth Vader series, Shadows and Secrets. This is a superb and fantastic addition to a series which I honestly consider to be one the best overall pieces of Star Wars fiction out there, as it continues to explore the complex character that is Darth Vader.

Following the events of the first volume of this series, Vader, Darth Vader now knows that the mysterious Rebel pilot who destroyed the Death Star is actually his son, Luke Skywalker, and that the Emperor has been lying to him for years. This revelation, combined with the fact that the Emperor is forcing him to compete for his favour with the scientific creations of the cybernetic genius Cylo, has crystallised Vader’s rage, and he is now determined to overthrow the Emperor and rule the Empire with his son. To that end, he has commanded his new agents, the rogue archaeologist Doctor Aphra and her two murderous droids, Triple Zero and BT-1, to gather the resources needed to pursue his agendas.

Whilst Aphra and her criminal contacts do their work for him, Vader must appear to obey the commands of his new superior officer, Grand General Tagge. His latest mission from Tagge requires him to find out who stole a massive consignment of credits that the Empire recently seized from crime lords in the Outer Rim. There is just one problem: Aphra and a small group of bounty hunters stole the credits on his behalf. Vader attempts to cover up his involvement in the crime and lead the investigation away from Aphra. However, the arrival of his new aide, the brilliant Inspector Thanoth, may prove troublesome, as Thanoth’s investigation leads him in all the right directions.

However, despite the importance of Vader’s plans within the Empire, his main concern is the search for his son. Needing to locate and corrupt Luke before the Emperor finds out who he is, he tasks Aphra with not only finding his son’s location but to also find and silence the one person who knew that Luke was actually born. As Vader does all he can to keep Thanoth from finding Aphra and incriminating himself, he finds himself walking a fine line between victory and destruction. With new rivals and both the Empire and the Rebellions seemingly against him, can even Darth Vader get what he wants?

Well this was another fantastic bit of Star Wars fiction! The first thing that I do have to admit is that Shadows and Secrets is probably my least favourite volume in the entire 2015 Darth Vader series. However, this is only because every other volume in this series is just so incredible that this one suffers a little in comparison. That being said, I absolutely loved this second volume as it contains an excellent story, some great moments, fantastic characters and some impressive artwork. Containing issues #7-12 of the Darth Vader series, Gillen and Larroca have done an incredible job with this second volume, and I still consider it to be a five-star read.

One of the best things about Shadows and Secrets is Gillen’s outstanding story, which continues some of the tantalising threads from the first volume while also introducing some great new elements. Gillen sets out a clever, well-paced story that is filled with all manner of action, adventure and intrigue, as Vader begins his duplicitous actions within the Empire, attempting to amass the resources he needs for his projects without drawing the suspicion of either his rivals in the Imperial hierarchy or his new superior. Most of the story contained within this volume is fairly self-contained, featuring a fantastic heist sequence and the subsequent fallout from this event. This fallout mostly revolves around Vader’s investigation into his own heist, which he attempts to cover up from his new aide, Inspector Thanoth. Thanoth is a genius detective of Sherlockian talents who was quickly able to get to the truth of the matter and find the culprit of the heist, despite Vader’s vest efforts. I really enjoyed this whole investigation element to the book, especially as it was fun watching Vader routinely sabotage his own investigation, often by killing any and all potential witnesses, only to have Thanoth easily breeze through these obstacles. Thanoth turned out to be an excellent new addition to this series, and I really enjoyed the intriguing partnership he formed with Vader, especially as he plays a dangerous game by continuously hinting that he knows Vader is behind the theft. This turned out to be quite an amazing and enjoyable storyline, and I really appreciated Gillen’s perfect blend of humour and serious storylines throughout the volume.

I also loved the continued focus on Vader’s obsessive hunt for Luke Skywalker, which has taken on a new edge now that he knows he is his son. While he was already searching for him in the first volume, now that he realises who he really is, Vader decides to protect his identity and the find out the whole truth behind his birth. This is shown in the first part of Issue #7, in which Vader and Aphra visit both the Lars Homestead and Ben Kenobi’s hovel on Tatooine, where he tries to gleam some knowledge from both houses about his son, before setting off a molecular bomb to erase all useful forensic evidence. Shortly after this, Vader than sets Aphra a task of finding and interrogating a former mortician from Naboo who prepared Padme Amidala’s body for her funeral, including setting up a hologram to make it appear that she was still pregnant. This tuned out to be an outstanding sequence, as the mortician, who has a huge amount of personal loyalty towards Amidala, at first refuses to provide any information about his work, before being tortured and confirming the existence of a child. While this admission is a betrayal of his beloved Queen that clearly costs the former mortician a lot, he is able to do one last act of service for her by not revealing any details about the second child, Leia. I thought that this scene was amazing, and I liked how it helped explain how Vader was aware of Luke’s existence and status as his child, but not that he also had a daughter. I also appreciated Gillen’s focus on the loyalty the inhabitants of Naboo had to Amidala, even in death, which was even able to move the cynical Aphra. Her subsequent mention to Vader of how Amidala must have really been something was a nice touch, as Vader’s subdued and hidden reaction hints at his continuing deep feelings towards his long-dead wife. I really liked this focus on the search for Luke, as not only does it makes sense in the context of the movies, but it also showcases the lengths Vader was willing to go to find and protect his son, and it leads to the best sequence in the entire volume.

I personally really enjoyed how the creative team continued to show off Vader as a dangerous and vicious powerhouse in this volume. While it does not contain the same level of carnage that he unleashed in the first volume of the 2015 Star Wars comic book series, Shadows and Secrets contains several amazing scenes depicting his destructive abilities and personality. Whether he is stuffing a crime lord into the mouth of his own exotic beast and then easily killing the distracted monster, or whether he is taking down and entire squadron of Rebel space fighters one at a time by throwing his lightsaber at them, he is shown to be pretty impressive.

Just like in the first volume, Doctor Aphra continues to shine as the series’s main supporting character, and her entire character arc within Shadows and Secrets is very intriguing. Throughout this volume, Aphra ends up undertaking several missions for Vader, such as trying to find the location of Luke Skywalker, and has become one of his main confidants. This puts her in a terrible position, as Vader is likely to kill her to protect his secrets, especially when Thanoth gets close to capturing her. Watching the various ways that this ultimate opportunist attempts to survive against the odds, including by brazenly withholding information from Vader in order to stop him killing her, is pretty impressive, and it makes for some great reading. Shadows and Secrets also contains one of the first deeper looks at Aphra’s internal character. During the sequence I mentioned above with the mortician, she gives a lengthy monologue about the death of her mother and how it has affected her. This was a heavy scene, and while she tries to play it off as not being very important, you can see that it has impacted her, turning her into a much more cynical and self-reliant person who has no room for idealism or blind belief. The significance of this scene is also quite crucial when you consider that much of what she said is later shown in the Doctor Aphra spinoff series and ends up becoming a defining part of her character. I also like how the noticeable changes that the creative team have inserted into Aphra’s personality when she deals with Vader. For most of the volume, Aphra comes across as an ultraconfident being who is able to manipulate and control bounty hunters, murderers and crime lords with ease. However, whenever Vader appears, there is a noticeable change in her bearing and personality, which isn’t too surprising as Aphra knows Vader is going to kill her one day.

I also have to point out how much fun the two murder droids Triple Zero and BT-1 continued to be in this novel. Essentially perverted versions of C-3PO and R2-D2, Triple Zero and BT-1 are remorseless killers who delight in murdering or torturing all organic life. These two add an insane element of humour to the entire series, and they have a number of great moments in Shadows and Secrets. Watching the two of them delight in all sorts of murder and mayhem is all sorts of fun, and you’ve got to love the weird and friendly relationship the two of them have formed with each other.

One of the best highlights of this second volume is the amazing artwork. The artistic team, helmed by Salvador Larroca, did another fantastic job bringing the amazing story contained within Shadows and Secrets to life on the page. There are so many vibrant and imaginative panels in this volume, and the volume’s artistic team produce some amazing pieces of art that showcase the wider Star Wars universe. One of the things that continues to impressive me about this series is the way that the artistic team are able to convey so much emotion from the faceless main protagonist. Despite only ever seeing Vader’s expressionless and iconic mask, I found that I was constantly able to glean the true emotions that Vader was surely feeling at the time when I looked at him, ranging from cold menace, surprise, frustration to deeper emotions, such as sadness when Amidala is mentioned. There are some truly amazingly drawn scenes throughout this entire volume, although there are two that I would bring particular attention to. The first is the very first scene in Issue #7, which shows Vader standing out the front of the Lars Homestead, staring at Tatooine’s twin suns as they set. I absolutely loved how this drawing matched the iconic scene from A New Hope where Luke stared off in the same position, and I really appreciated the symmetry. The other piece of art that really stood out to me was a quick sequence that appeared a little later in the volume within Issue #8. In this scene, Aphra has just confidently dealt with one of the bounty hunters in her employ and is looking off in the distance speaking to someone. As she talks, Vader slowly materialises out the shadows behind her, responding to her comments. Despite the fact that Aphra’s expression does not change at all there is a notable shift in the tone of the panel when Vader appears, and you cannot help but feel the threat and menace that he exudes. This was some impressive artwork, which helped to really increase how much I loved this comic.

The second volume of the 2015 Darth Vader series, Shadows and Secrets, is a first-rate comic book that once again shows off how impressive Star Wars comics can really be. Gillen and Larroca did an incredible job following up the first volume of this epic series and I really enjoyed the complex and fun story that this second volume contained, especially when it was backed up by great characters and exceptional artwork. This is a superb addition to the series that is really worth checking out.

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Top Ten Tuesday – Pre-2019 Books

On December 24, 2019 By The Unseen LibraryIn List9 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 the last couple of weeks I have been using these Top Ten Lists to highlight some of my favourite books of 2019. So far, I have already examined my favourite debut novels of 2019, my favourite audiobooks of 2019 and my favourite new-to-me authors. For this week, I am going to look at books I read for the first time this year that were released before 2019.

This year I have ended up reading quite a few books and comics that were published at some point prior to 2019. I have checked these various books out for a number of reasons, such as the book had an awesome plot synopsis, it was part of a series or an expanded universe that I had been exploring, or because I wanted to see an author’s earlier works. Most of these older releases are really good, and in some cases they are amongst my favourite books I read all year. I have also featured quite a few of these books as part of my Throwback Thursday series, and pretty much all of them receive a full five out of five stars from me. As a result, I wanted to highlight which books amongst these series are my absolute favourites and decided to feature them in their own Top Ten list.

For this list, any book with a pre-2019 release date is eligible for inclusion, and I was able to come up with my 10 absolute favourites, as well as a generous honourable mentions section. I am pretty happy with the below collection of pre-2019 releases, although it is hard to ignore that quite a few are part of either the Star Wars franchise the excellent Joe Ledger series. This was mainly because those were the books I was in the mood for, and I was really happy to check all of those books out. All of the below books are quite fantastic, and I would highly recommend each of them to anyone looking for an awesome read.

Honourable Mentions:

Cold Iron by Miles Cameron

Cold Iron was one of three books that feature on this list which were released last year and which I featured on my Top Ten Books I Wish I Had Read in 2018 list. This was an outstanding novel that featured an amazing story and an excellent new fantasy world. Unfortunately, I just could not fit Cold Iron in the top ten. Still, Cold Iron comes highly recommended, and I really enjoyed its sequel, Dark Forge.

Star Wars: Tarkin by James Luceno

The first of several Star Wars novels that are featured on this list, 2014’s Tarkin was an enjoyable novel which presented a whole new history for the titular character in the current Star Wars canon.

The King of Plagues by Jonathan Maberry

The King of Plagues is the third book in the Joe Ledger series, several entries of which are going to be featured in the list below. The King of Plagues was a really solid entry in this great range of thriller books, and I gave it a full five stars when I reviewed it.

Star Wars: Scoundrels by Timothy Zahn

The only book from the old Star Wars Legends range of books in this article, Scoundrels by legendary Star Wars author Timothy Zahn was a fun and exciting novel that featured a heist set in the Star Wars universe. A fantastic read, this one was a lot of fun to check out, and after reading it I am very much tempted to check out more Star War Legends books in the future.

Top Ten List (in no particular order):

Legend by David Gemmell

Legend was a classic from 1984 that I had an incredible time with earlier this year. Featuring perhaps the best siege storyline I have ever had the pleasure of reading; Legend is an outstanding fantasy novel that I had been meaning to check out for some time. I am extremely happy that I had the opportunity to enjoy Legend, and it is one of the top books I read all year.

The Dragon Factory by Jonathan Maberry

While I first started listening to the Joe Ledger series by Jonathan Maberry in 2018 with Deep Silence and Patient Zero, 2019 was the year that I fully invested myself in these excellent thriller novels. The first one of these that I enjoyed this year was the second book in the series, The Dragon Factory, which was just all sorts of amazing. In my opinion, Maberry started to really hit his stride in this second book, as he was able to produce some fascinating antagonists with a complex plan and some astonishing plot twists that really got the story going. This was an outstanding novel, and I am really glad that I decided to continue exploring this series.

The Ember Blade by Chris Wooding

The Ember Blade was another novel that I wish I had checked out in 2018. Featuring a massive and elaborate fantasy storyline with some complex and detailed characters, The Ember Blade was a powerful and impressive read that is very much worth investing the time it takes to get through this substantial book.

Darth Vader (2015) series by Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca

I am going to cheat a little here and include all four volumes of the clever and captivating Darth Vader (2015) comic book series, as well as the Vader Down crossover volume, as a single entry. While there were a few comic book series which I read this year that I could have included here, such as the first volume of the Star Wars (2015) series or the ever-entertaining Doctor Aphra comics, in my opinion, the Darth Vader (2015) series was the easily the best and most consistent out of all of them. All five of these volumes get an easy five stars from me, and while I have only reviewed Volume One so far, I will hopefully get reviews up for the others soon. This Darth Vader series contained a deeply compelling storyline that really helps to redefine one of the most iconic film villains of all time while also showing off how dangerous and determined he really is. Not only was this an epic comic, but it also introduced one of the best new Star Wars characters of the decade, Doctor Aphra. These comics are a must-read for fans who want to see how incredible the franchise can truly be.

Lies Sleeping by Ben Aaronovitch

I ended up reading this book early in 2019, and I was so annoyed that I did not read it any sooner. Lies Sleeping is one of the best urban fantasy books I have ever read, which has a perfect combination of fantasy and crime fiction elements. A fantastic read that ensured that all of Ben Aaronovtich’s books are very high up on my to-read list from now on.

Assassin’s Code by Jonathan Maberry

The fourth book in the Joe Ledger series, Assassin’s Code, was a fast-paced and action-packed novel that introduced some amazing new characters into this franchise and featured an epic group of modern vampiric antagonists. A thrill ride from start to finish, this was a lot of fun to read and a terrific book to boot.

Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan

I had been hearing some incredible things about the Powder Mage series for a long time and decided that this was the year that I would finally check it out by reading the first Powder Mage book, Promise of Blood. I was in no way disappointed, as Promise of Blood more than lived up to the hype, containing a deeply compelling and extremely enjoyable tale of betrayal, revolution and war, while mages whose powers are derived from gunpowder unleash hell across an inventive and embattled new world. This is fantasy writing at it’s very best, and I really need to read more of these books in the future.

Star Wars: Thrawn by Timothy Zahn

This is the second entry in this article from Timothy Zahn, which isn’t too surprising as he has been dominating the Star Wars novel scene for over 20 years at this point. After enjoying the second book in the Thrawn trilogy, Alliances, last year, I decided to go back and check out the first novel in the trilogy, Thrawn, before the third and final book, Treason, came out this year. While I knew I was going to love this book as the titular character of this series, Grand Admiral Thrawn, is one of my favourite Star Wars characters of all time, I was nonetheless surprised at how deeply impressive I found this book. Featuring an incredibly addictive story set around a calculating tactical genius, Thrawn absolutely blew me away, and it is easily the best Star Wars novel I have so far had the pleasure of reading.

King of Assassins by R. J. Barker

I had been meaning to read this book ever since it’s 2018 release, especially as the first two books in The Wounded Kingdom trilogy, Age of Assassins and Blood of Assassins, were pretty spectacular. I ended up listening to this book earlier in the year, and it was an amazing end to the trilogy that provided the reader with a deeply captivating story. I still have to finish off my review for this book, although it gets a full five stars from me, and Barker’s latest book, The Bone Ships, is going to appear on my upcoming Top Ten Favourite Books of 2019 list.

Code Zero by Jonathan Maberry

The final book on this list is Code Zero, the sixth book in the Joe Ledger series, and the latest one that I have been able to read. Code Zero was an extremely clever entry in the series, which featured an exception story, a compelling antagonist and a plot that utilised and paid respect to some of the best parts of the previous Joe Ledger books. This was easily one of the best books in the series, and I am really excited to check out the final three Joe Ledger books that I haven’t yet had a chance to read.

I like how the above list turned out, although I think it really highlights how much time I spent reading Star Wars and Joe Ledger books this year. I am planning to keep up with a similar reading pattern of new releases and awesome older books in 2020. Hopefully I’ll be able to finish off the Joe Ledger series next year, and I will definitely try to listen to more of David Gemmell and Brian McClellan’s books in the future. I also see myself listening to bunch of other Star Wars novels in 2020, because there are some amazing gems there. In the meantime, which pre-2019 books did you enjoy this year? Let me know in the comments below. Make sure to check in next week as I list my favourite 2019 releases in the final Top Ten Tuesday for the year.

Top Ten Tuesday – Top Ten New Authors I am Thankful I Checked Out This Year

On November 26, 2019November 26, 2019 By The Unseen LibraryIn List13 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, readers have a Thanksgiving Freebie, so I am taking this chance to mention those authors who I am thankful I checked out for the first time this year.

In 2019, I had the pleasure of reading a number of different books that ranged from impressive debuts, intriguing sequels, amazing starts to new series, fun standalone novels and fantastic entries in long-running series. While a number of these books were written by authors I was previously familiar with (such as some of my autobuy authors), quite a few of these books were written by authors I had not had the pleasure of reading before, but who I am very glad that I checked out. I have to say that I was really impressed with a number of these authors, and for many of them I am planning to try and read more of their works. As a result, I thought that it would be a good idea to do a list honouring my absolute favourites of this group. This list is not limited to debuting authors, but also includes authors whose works I only just got a chance to read this year.

Like many of these lists that I do, I ended up with quite a substantial group of authors I wanted to include on this list. I really enjoyed their books that I read this year and I am looking forward to reading more from them in the future. I was eventually able to whittle this list down to my top ten favourites, as well as a generous honourable mentions section. Unfortunately, I had to exclude a couple of authors who I really liked, such as Laura Shepherd-Robinson, who wrote the fantastic historical mystery Blood & Sugar; and Australian young adult author Jay Kristoff, who wrote some fun books this year, including DEV1AT3 and Aurora Rising (co-written with Amie Kaufman). Still, I think I came up with a good list that represents which authors I am really thankful I tried for the first time this year.

Honourable Mentions:

Tamsyn Muir – Gideon the Ninth

Gideon the Ninth, the debut novel of Tamsyn Muir, was one of the most unique and entertaining books that I read this year. I absolutely loved the combination of weird comedy, interesting futuristic necromantic magic and the curious murder house storyline, and it was an overall fantastic novel. I definitely want to check out the future books in the series, especially as the second book, Harrow the Ninth, already has a cool cover and plot synopsis up.

Steve Berry – The Malta Exchange

The Malta Exchange is the 14^th book in Berry’s long-running Cotton Malone thriller series. Not only did it feature a clever and complex modern-day thriller, but the author utilised some deeply fascinating historical elements to create a powerful and captivating mystery. I am very keen to read more from Berry in the future, and his next book, The Warsaw Protocol, sounds like it is going to be a very fun read.

Claudia Gray – Master and Apprentice

I had to feature a Star Wars novel on this list somewhere, and I actually had a hard time choosing which book from a new author I enjoyed the most. While I strongly considered Tarkin and Resistance Reborn, my favourite Star Wars story from an author I had not read before this year was probably Master and Apprentice by Claudia Gray. Gray did an outstanding job crafting together an action-packed and intriguing Star Wars story that focused on a younger Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Clever, entertaining and deeply emotional at times, this was a fantastic read and I hope that Gray writes some more Star Wars novels in the future.

Samantha Shannon – The Priory of the Orange Tree

The Priory of the Orange Tree was a massive and inventive standalone fantasy novel that was released at the start of the year. I really liked the excellent story and unique fantasy universe that Shannon created in this book, and she is definitely an author to keep an eye on for the future.

Top Ten List (in no particular order):

Mark Greaney – Red Metal and Mission Critical

Let us start this list off with the fantastic thriller writer Mark Greaney. I first became familiar with Greaney earlier this year when I read Mission Critical, the electrifying eighth book in his Gray Man series. While I quite enjoyed Mission Critical, his authorship of the military thriller Red Metal, which he co-wrote with Lt. Col. Hunter Ripley Rawlings IV. USMC is the main reason why I am including him on this list. Red Metal is easily one of my favourite books of 2019 and that, combined with an excellent thriller in Mission Critical, is why Greaney is an author I will be reading much more of in the future.

Miles Cameron – Cold Iron and Dark Forge

I am slightly cheating with this entry as I have actually read some of this author’s historical fiction books which he writes under the name Christian Cameron. However, 2019 was the first year that I read the books he publishes under his fantasy nom de plume Miles Cameron, and I feel the name and genre change justifies his inclusion on this list. I previously featured Cameron’s 2018 release Cold Iron on my Top Ten Books I Wish I Read in 2018 list, and I ended up listening to it a couple of months later. Cold Iron, the first book in his new Masters & Mages series, was an absolutely incredible fantasy read. I also listened the second book in the series, Dark Forge, a couple of weeks ago, and it was a pretty amazing follow-up to Cold Iron (review coming soon). Not only am I planning to read the final book in the Masters & Mages series, Bright Steel, as soon as I can, but I will also be grabbing every new fantasy book that the author releases as Miles Cameron, and I am very glad I checked out his alternate genre of writing. In the meantime, make sure to check out my review for Cameron’s latest historical fiction novel, The New Achilles, which he also released this year.

James Lovegrove – Firefly books – Big Damn Hero and The Magnificent Nine

I had to include James Lovegrove on this list, as he has been the main author pushing through the new generation of Firefly tie-in novels. I absolutely love Firefly, so any tie-in material is going to get a lot of attention from me. Lovegrove has actually written both of the books so far, including the emotional Big Damn Hero (based on story ideas from Nancy Holder) and the fun The Magnificent Nine. Both of these Firefly books were really good, and I loved the cool stories and the nostalgia I felt from seeing the television show’s great characters in action again. Lovegrove has a third Firefly novel on the way, with The Ghost Machine coming out in April, and it looks to be another fantastic addition to the series.

Chris Wooding – The Ember Blade

The Ember Blade is another book that I regretted not reading in 2018, so I was very thankful that I got a chance to listen to it earlier this year. Wooding is a very talented fantasy writer whose outstanding character work and inventive story, created an incredible read in The Ember Blade. I am really excited for any sequels to this book that Wooding releases, which should prove to be very awesome.

Simon Turney – Commodus

When I first heard about Commodus by Simon Turney, I was quite intrigued, mainly because I knew so little about this emperor other than the fact that he was the villain of the film Gladiator. However, this is probably one of my favourite historical fiction releases of the year, as Turney did an outstanding job bringing this complex historical figure to life. I cannot wait to see which Roman emperor Turney writes about next, and I have a feeling that he is soon going to become one of my favourite historical fiction authors.

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

Before receiving a copy of Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City, I had not read any books by this author, either under the name K. J. Parker or his other writing persona, Tom Holt. This is a real shame, as Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City was one of the best and funniest fantasy novels I have ever read, and I can only imagine that his other works are just as awesome. I am really thankful that this author is on my radar now, and I look forward to seeing what else he can do.

Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca – Darth Vader (2015) and Star Wars (2015) comic series

While I did read the Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith comics in 2018 (check out my reviews for Volumes Two and Three), 2019 was the year that I really got into Star Wars comics, and that is mainly due to the cool partnership of writer Kieron Gillen and artist Salvador Larroca. Not only did I start reading their 2015 Darth Vader series this year, which is just so many layers of awesome, but I have been eating up their recent run on the ongoing Star Wars comic books series. In addition, the Doctor Aphra series, which has to be one of the best comics of the year, is based on the character they created in the Darth Vader series. Gillen also wrote the first 19 issues of the Doctor Aphra series, which feature some absolutely outstanding stories. Pretty much everything Star Wars that these two touch is magical, and I really, really hope they continue their partnership well into the future.

Ben Aaronovitch – Lies Sleeping

Lies Sleeping was the seventh book in the Peter Grant/Rivers of London series, which was released late last year. I got around to reading it at the start of 2019 and I was deeply impressed with this clever fantasy/modern crime fiction hybrid. While I spent a good part of the year kicking myself for not reading any of Aaronovitch’s books sooner, I will hopefully start to make up for this oversight in the near future. The next book in the series, False Value, is set for release in a couple of months, and it sounds like another fantastic addition to the series.

Blake Crouch – Recursion

Blake Crouch has a long history of writing clever science fiction and thriller novels, but Recursion, which was released earlier this year, is the first one of his books that I checked out. I absolutely loved this complex and captivating story and it was easily one of the top books I read in the first half of 2019. While I still need to actually write a review for Recursion (I’m working on one at the moment), I will make sure to grab any of his books that come out in the future.

Brian McClellan – Promise of Blood

The final author I am glad I checked out this year was Brian McClellan, author of the acclaimed Powder Mage series of flintlock fantasy novels. I had heard a lot of good things about McClellan’s books, so I decided to check out the first book in the series, Promise of Blood. I was not disappointed in the slightest, as this was an exceptional piece of fantasy fiction that blew me away (pun intended). I will be listening to all the Powder Mage books in the future, and I am extremely thankful that I checked him out this year.

Well that’s the end of this Top Ten Tuesday article. I hope you like my list and please let me know which new authors you are thankful you checked out this year. To anyone reading in America, happy Thanksgiving and I hope you don’t go too crazy trying to get new books this Black Friday.