WWW Wednesday – 19 May 2021

On May 19, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn WWW Wednesday4 Comments

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

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

So, let’s get to it.

What are you currently reading?

Inscape by Louise Carey (Trade Paperback)

I recently started Inscape, an intriguing science fiction debut from author Louise Carey. Inscape is a compelling novel set in a corporate controlled dystopian future and follows a corporate operative as she attempts to discover the sinister source of a leak in her company. This is a very clever read and I am hoping to finish it off in the next day or so.

Grave Peril by Jim Butcher (Audiobook)

I recently found myself in the mood for something fun and magical so I started listening to more awesome entries in the highly regarded Dresden Files urban fantasy series by Jim Butcher. I have been really keen to read more of these books ever since I was lucky enough to receive a copy of the latest Dresden Files novel, Battle Ground last year. Battle Ground was the first book of Butchers that I ever read and it ended up being one of the best books and audiobooks I enjoyed last year. As a result, I decided to go back and check out some of the earlier entries in the series, such as the first book Storm Front, which was also really good. I listened to the second book in this series, Fool Moon last week (review to follow soon), and had such a great time with it that I decided to go onto the third novel, Grave Peril, right away. I only started Grave Peril this morning but so far it has an outstanding story filled with ghosts, vampires, wizards, holy knights and one ticked-off fairy godmother. I cannot wait to see where this fantastic story goes next but I have no doubt I am going to love it.

What did you recently finish reading?

The Warsaw Orphan by Kelly Rimmer (Trade Paperback)

The Mask of Mirrors by M. A. Carrick (Audiobook)

The Paris Collaborator by A. W. Hammond (Trade Paperback)

Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy: Greater Good by Timothy Zahn (Audiobook)

Fool Moon by Jim Butcher (Audiobook)

What do you think you’ll read next?

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (Trade Paperback)

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

WWW Wednesday – 5 May 2021

On May 5, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn WWW Wednesday2 Comments

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

So, let’s get to it.

What are you currently reading?

The Warsaw Orphan by Kelly Rimmer (Trade Paperback)

I started reading this intriguing novel from Australian author Kelly Rimmer a few days ago and it is pretty amazing. Set in Warsaw during World War II, this novel examines the horrors of the Warsaw Ghetto and follows two teens who work to save as many Jewish children as possible. I have made some decent progress with this novel and it is a very haunting and powerful historical drama that is really worth checking out.

The Mask of Mirrors by M. A. Carrick (Audiobook)

I am still getting through this lengthy and compelling fantasy novel that I started last week. The Mask of Mirrors is a compelling fantasy read with a lot of awesome elements to it. Author M. A. Carrick (Marie Brennan and Alyc Helms) has crafted a complex and fascinating story which I am hoping to finish off in the next couple of hours. This is a really great read though and I am really enjoying all the clever twists and turns.

What did you recently finish reading?

Crusader by Ben Kane (Trade Paperback)

What do you think you’ll read next?

Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy: Greater Good by Timothy Zahn (Audiobook)

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

WWW Wednesday – 28 April 2021

On April 28, 2021April 28, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn WWW WednesdayLeave a comment

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

So, let’s get to it.

What are you currently reading?

Crusader by Ben Kane (Trade Paperback)

I’ve started reading the latest exciting novel from historical fiction author Ben Kane, Crusader. Crusader is the sequel to last years fantastic book, Lionheart, which explored the early years of England’s famous King Richard the Lionheart. This latest book looks at Richard’s role in the Crusades and is so far proving to be a very intriguing and compelling read. I have only made a little bit of progress with this novel, but hopefully I can finish it off soon.

The Mask of Mirrors by M. A. Carrick (Audiobook)

I started listening to The Mask of Mirrors a few days ago and I am really glad that I decided to do so. The Mask of Mirrors is the first novel from author M. A. Carrick (the joint pen name of Marie Brennan and Alyc Helms) and features an excellent fantasy crime story that follows a young women attempting to con nobles while getting wrapped up in dangerous events overcoming a magical city. I have made some decent progress with this book and have started to really get wrapped up in the clever and impressive narrative. Due to its long runtime I still have a fair bit to go with The Mask of Mirrors, but hopefully I will finish it off before next week.

What did you recently finish reading?

A Prince and a Spy by Rory Clements (Trade Paperback)

Star Wars: Maul: Lockdown by Joe Schreiber (Audiobook)

An epic and exciting Star Wars novel that was a lot of fun to read. Check out my review for it here.

Firefly: Life Signs by James Lovegrove (Hardcover)

What do you think you’ll read next?

Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy: Greater Good by Timothy Zahn (Audiobook)

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

Book Haul – 5 February 2021

On February 5, 2021February 5, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn Book Haul4 Comments

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

The Three Paradises by Robert Fabbri

The Three Paradises Cover

The first entry in this Book Haul post is one of my most anticipated books for 2021, The Three Paradises by the always amazing Robert Fabbri. The Three Paradises is the second entry in the Alexander’s Legacy series, which explores the brutal civil war that occurred after the death of Alexander the Great. The first entry in this series, To the Strongest, was an outstanding read and I cannot wait to see what chaos and bloodshed happens in this latest book.

The Kaiser’s Web by Steve Berry

The Kaiser's Web Cover

Next up we have another book I have been looking forward to for a long time, The Kaiser’s Web by bestselling author Steve Berry. The Kaiser’s Web is 16th entry in the long-running Cotton Malone thriller series, which follows the titular character, Cotton Malone, as he gets swept up in a series of history-based conspiracies. Due to how much I enjoyed the last two novels in the series, The Malta Exchange and The Warsaw Protocol, I am extremely keen to check this latest book out, especially as it has a very cool sounding plot to it.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Project Hail Mary Cover

I only just did a Waiting on Wednesday article for Project Hail Mary a couple of days ago, but I have already received an early copy of this book. Project Hail Mary is the highly anticipated latest release from acclaimed science fiction author Andy Weir and features a fantastic space-based plot that sounds really impressive. I have heard some great things about this book and I am looking forward to checking it out before its release date in May.

God of Night by Tom Lloyd

God of Night Cover

The next book on this list is God of Night by the fantastic Tom Lloyd. God of Night will be the fourth book in The God Fragment series, which follows a group of rowdy and dangerous mercenaries armed with powerful magical guns as they sell their services across a chaotic fantasy continent. I loved Lloyd’s third book, Knight of Stars, and I am really keen to see how the series progresses.

The Girls I’ve Been by Tess Sharpe

The Girls I've Been Cover

The Girls I’ve Been is a rather cool sounding young adult thriller that I am extremely keen to check out. This latest book from up-and-coming author Tess Sharpe follows a young, former con-artist, who is forced to revert to her old persona when she is held hostage in a bank robbery. I really like the sound of this fantastic concept and it looks set to be an amazing and clever read.

The Art of Death by David Fennell

The Art of Death Cover

This next book is another entry on this list that I am particularly keen to read as soon as possible. The Art of Death is an excellent sounding crime fiction novel that sees a deranged killer leaving the bodies of his victims around London, posed as unique art exhibitions. This sounds like a really fantastic and compelling novel and I am really looking forward to seeing how this story unfolds.

Winter’s Orbit by Everina Maxwell

Winter's Orbit Cover

This next novel is a captivating and enjoyable science fiction debut filled with murder, intrigue and politics, as two aristocrats attempt to keep two planets from going to war. This sounds like a very interesting read and I look forward to seeing what this new author has come up with.

Run for Cover by Michael Ledwidge

Run for Cover cover

Bestselling thriller author Michael Ledwidge returns with the captivating Run For Cover, which follows a former Navy Seal as he investigates a series of murders while being hunted by a sinister cabal of powerful men. This sounds like a particularly awesome and thrilling read and I cannot wait to check it out.

Inscape by Louise Carey

Inscape Cover

Next up we have a gritty and impressive sounding science fiction thriller set in a dark dystopian future with Inscape. Inscape is the debut novel of Louise Carey and looks set to be an excellent and exciting novel that I am very keen to try out.

The Mask of Mirrors by M. A. Carrick

The Mask of Mirrors Cover

Next up we have The Mask of Mirrors, the first book from the fantasy team of Marie Brennan and Alyc Helms, who are writing together under the M. A. Carrick pseudonym. The Mask of Mirrors is an impressive sounding fantasy thriller that has a lot of buzz surrounding it. I am going to make a real effort to get to this book soon and I am extremely interested in seeing what sort of captivating tale these two authors have come up with.

The Hunting by Stephen Leather

The Hunting Cover

The final entry in this Book Haul post is the very fun sounding book The Hunting by Stephen Leather. The Hunting follows a doctor who, after being mistaken for a terrorist, is captured by a big game hunter with a grudge and set loose in his personal reserve as human prey. I absolutely love the sound of this outrageous novel and I already know I am going to read this in no time at all.

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

Top Ten Tuesday – Books on my Summer 2020-21 TBR

On December 15, 2020 By The Unseen LibraryIn List4 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. For this Top Ten Tuesday, participants need to list the top releases that they are looking forward to reading this winter (or summer for us down here in Australia). This is a fun exercise that I have done for each of the preceding seasons, and it is always interesting to highlight the various cool-sounding books and comics that are coming out in the next few months.

For this list I have come up with 10 of the best novels that are coming out between 1 December 2020 and 28 February 2021. I have decided to exclude novels that I have already read, or I am currently reading, so that took a couple of key books off the list. Still, this left me with a rather substantial pool of cool upcoming novels that I am excited for, which I was eventually able to whittle down into a great Top Ten list (with a few honourable mentions). I have previously discussed a number of these books before a number of my Waiting on Wednesday articles and I think all of them will turn out to be some really impressive and enjoyable reads.

Honourable Mentions:

Star Wars: Doctor Aphra Vol. 1 – Fortune and Fate by Alyssa Wong and Marika Cresta – 26/01/2021

Daughters of Night by Laura Shepherd-Robinson – 1/02/2021

Serpentine by Jonathan Kellerman – 2/02/2021

City of Vengeance by D. V. Bishop – 9/02/2021

Top Ten List:

A Fool’s Hope by Mike Shackle – 3/12/2020

The first entry on this list is A Fool’s Hope by Mike Shackle, the sequel to Shackle’s epic debut, We are the Dead. I have been hearing some great things about his book already and I am really looking forward to checking it out. The trade paperback version of this novel is apparently not available down here in Australia until February 2021, but the audiobook version is already out, so I might grab that instead.

Colonyside by Michael Mammay – 29/12/2020

Colonyside is the third book in the amazing Planetside series by impressive science fiction author Michael Mammay. I have really enjoyed the first two novels in this series, Planetside and Spaceside, both of which were among my favourite books of 2018 and 2019 respectfully, and I cannot wait to see how the third entry in this excellent science fiction thriller series turns out.

Star Trek: Picard: The Dark Veil by James Swallow – 5/01/2021

Earlier this year I was lucky enough to read the first Star Trek: Picard novel, The Last Best Hope, which did an awesome job of bridging the gap between The Next Generation and Picard television series. Now acclaimed tie-in fiction author James Swallow presents the second Picard book, The Dark Veil, which will follow Captain William Riker and his crew as he gets drawn into the chaotic events the precede the Picard series. I had an amazing time reading the previous Picard novel and I have high hopes that this new upcoming book is going to be just as enjoyable.

Star Wars: The High Republic: Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule – 5/01/2021

Now what would a Top Ten List on this book be without a Star Wars tie-in novel featured somewhere. Luckily there are several great upcoming Star Wars novels set for release in the next three months that I am quite excited to check out. Most of these novels are part of The High Republic range of Star Wars novels and comics, which are going to be set 200 years before the events of The Phantom Menace. Of these, the one I am most interested in reading is Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule. Light of the Jedi is set to be the main introductory novel to this new range of Star Wars fiction, and I am very curious to see what happens in this new period of the expanded universe. This new novel is written by one of the top authors of Star Wars fiction, Charles Soule, whose work on Star Wars comics such as the Dark Lord of the Sith comics (check out my review for Volume 2: Legacy’s End and Volume 3: The Burning Seas), has been rather incredible, and I am very excited to see what happens in this new book.

A Prince and a Spy by Rory Clements – 21/01/2021

The fifth book in Clement’s exciting Tom Wilde historical thriller series, A Prince and A Spy looks set to be an excellent novel to start off 2021 with. I have really enjoyed the previous entries in the Tom Wilde series, including Nucleus, Nemesis and Hitler’s Secret, and this upcoming book sounds particularly exciting as it contains a conspiracy set around the death of the Queen’s uncle during World War II.

Prodigal Son by Gregg Hurwitz – 2/02/2021

I am particularly looking forward to checking out Prodigal Son, the upcoming sixth book in Hurwitz’s Orphan X series. The Orphan X book are an awesome and wildly thrilling series that sets an elite and incredibly deadly former government assassin go up against a series of dangerous opponents across America. I have really enjoyed the last two novels in the series, Out of the Dark and Into the Fire, and I cannot wait to see how Prodigal Son turns out.

The Mask of Mirrors by M. A. Carrick – 27/01/2021

The Mask of Mirrors is an intriguing upcoming fantasy debut that I think has a lot of potential and should make for a compelling and entertaining read.

The Three Paradises by Robert Fabbri – 1/02/2021

One of my favourite historical fiction authors, Robert Fabbri, returns with the second entry in his Alexander’s Legacy series, The Three Paradises. The first book in this series, To the Strongest, was a lot of fun and I am very keen to see where this crazy historical story goes next.

Relentless by Mark Greaney – 23/02/2021

Top thriller author Mark Greaney returns with the 10^th novel in his Gray Man series, Relentless, that sees his protagonist, assassin Court Gentry, investigate a new conspiracy around the world. Greaney has been killing it over the last couple of years, especially with the previous two entries in the Gray Man series, Mission Critical and One Minute Out, and this upcoming book looks set to be another fantastic and captivating novel.

The Kaiser’s Web by Steve Berry – 23/02/2021

The final entry on this list is The Kaiser’s Web, the 16^th upcoming entry in the long-running Cotton Malone series. The Cotton Malone books are an exciting and interesting collection of novels that feature a series of fascinating history-based conspiracies. I have been really getting into this series over the last couple of years, and the last two novels, The Malta Exchange and The Warsaw Protocol, have contains some excellent and intriguing adventures. The Kaiser’s Web features another cool sounding plot and I cannot wait to dive into this latest adventure.

Well that is the end of my Top Ten list. I think it turned out pretty well and it does a good job of capturing all my most anticipated books for the next three months. All of the above books should be pretty epic, and I cannot wait to read them soon. Let me know which of the above you are most excited for and stay tuned for reviews of them in the next few months.

Waiting on Wednesday – The Mask of Mirrors by M. A. Carrick

On October 28, 2020November 19, 2020 By The Unseen LibraryIn Fantasy, Waiting on Wednesday6 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy. I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them. For my latest Waiting on Wednesday I take a look at an exciting fantasy novel coming out in early 2021 that I think has a lot of potential, The Mask of Mirrors by M. A. Carrick.

The Mask of Mirrors Cover

The Mask of Mirrors is a rather interesting upcoming fantasy novel that is currently set for release in January 2021. The novel is written by M. A. Carrick, the pen name for the joint writing team of Marie Brennan and Alyc Helms. Brennan and Helms are both established fantasy authors, having written several books between them from Brennan’s The Memoirs of Lady Trent series to Helms’s Missy Masters books. These two authors and friends are teaming up together for the first time with The Mask of Mirrors, which will serve as the first entry in their planned Rook & Rose trilogy.

I have not had the pleasure of reading any novels that either Brennan or Helms have previously written, but I do like the sound of their upcoming joint venture. Based on the cool synopsis that has been released, it sounds like The Mask of Mirrors is going to feature a lot of intrigue, politics and sneaky ploys as it follows the adventures of a con artist who attempts to trick her way into a seat of power and instead finds far more corruption and betrayal than she intended. I love a novel that combines together fun crime fiction and political intrigue with enchanting fantasy and The Mask of Mirrors certainly looks like it is going to be an exciting and enjoyable novel. I look forward to checking this one out in early 2021 and I am curious to see what the team of Brennan and Helms have in store for us with their first outing.

Synopsis:

Darkly magical and intricately imagined, The Mask of Mirrors is the unmissable start to the Rook & Rose trilogy, a rich and dazzling fantasy adventure in which a con artist, a vigilante, and a crime lord must unite to save their city.

Nightmares are creeping through the city of dreams…

Renata Viraudax is a con artist who has come to the sparkling city of Nadezra — the city of dreams — with one goal: to trick her way into a noble house and secure her fortune and her sister’s future.

But as she’s drawn into the elite world of House Traementis, she realizes her masquerade is just one of many surrounding her. And as corrupt magic begins to weave its way through Nadezra, the poisonous feuds of its aristocrats and the shadowy dangers of its impoverished underbelly become tangled — with Ren at their heart.