Top Ten Tuesday – Favourite Pre-2021 Novels

On December 7, 2021 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. This week participants of Top Ten Tuesday get a freebie to list whatever topics they want. I am planning to take advantage of this by doing two lists. Not only have a done a movie-related list ranking the James Bond movies, but I am also going to start my annual end-of-year lists here by looking at my favourite pre-2021 novels that I read this year.

Each December I have a lot of fun looking at some of the best and most impressive books and comics that I have read throughout the year in a series of Top Ten Lists. While these lists usually focus on 2021 releases, for the last few years, I have also taken the time to list out some of the best novels with pre-2021 release dates that I have read in the last 12 months. There are some excellent older novels out there that I haven’t had the chance to read before this year, and it is always fun to go back and explore them. I ended up reading a bunch of awesome older books throughout 2021, including some pretty incredible novels that got easy five-star ratings from me and are really worth checking out.

To come up with this list I had a look at all the novels I read this year that had their initial release before 2021. This included several 2020 releases I only got a chance to check out this year, as well as a few older novels that I had been meaning to read for a while. I was eventually able to cull this down to a workable Top Ten list, with a descent honourable mentions section. This new list ended up containing an interesting combination of novels, although there was a bit of an overload of entries from the Dresden Files’ series by Jim Butcher, as well as some Warhammer 40,000 novels, both of which I really got into throughout this year. Still this honestly reflects the best pre-2021 novels I read throughout the year, so let us see what made the cut.

Honourable Mentions:

Trollslayer by William King – 1999

I have been meaning to check out the awesome Gotrek and Felix series of Warhammer Fantasy novels for ages and the recent release of the early entries on audiobook gave me the perfect opportunity to finally do so this year. The first book in this series was the fantastic, Trollslayer, which introduced the two mismatched companions, Gotrek the dwarven Slayer and Felix the human poet, and highlights some of their earliest adventures throughout the Warhammer Fantasy world in a series of exciting and fun short stories. This was an excellent initial entry by William King and it made me a massive fan of the unique tandem of Gotrek and Felix.

Skavenslayer by William King – 1999

I ended up loving Trollslayer so much that I immediately read its sequel, Skavenslayer, which proved to be just as fun as the first book. Skavenslayer has a more connected story that shows Gotrek and Felix getting caught up in a Skaven invasion of Nuln. I had an absolute blast with the humour in this novel, especially surrounding the bickering and backstabbing Skaven, and I powered through it in a couple of days.

The Return by Harry Sidebottom – 2020

An epic and clever historical read by the impressive Harry Sidebottom, The Return is a compelling read that sees a damaged Roman soldier return home only to encounter a series of dark murders. I was really glad that I got a chance to read The Return this year after missing out on it in 2020, and it ended up being a compelling read.

Either Side of Midnight by Benjamin Stevenson – 2020

Another 2020 novel I read towards the start of the year, Either Side of Midnight is a compelling Australian murder mystery that serves as a sequel to Stevenson’s first book, Greenlight. Either Side of Midnight had a brilliant thriller storyline, and it was one of the cleverest crime fiction books I had the pleasure of checking out this year.

Top Ten List (by original publication date):

First and Only by Dan Abnett – 1999

2021 was the year that I really dove into the Warhammer extended universe, a decision that I am very happy about as there are some exceptional works there. While the Gotrex and Felix novels were my go-to series for Warhammer Fantasy, when it came to Warhammer 40,000 the clear choice was easily First and Only by legendary Warhammer fiction author Dan Abnett. First and Only is the first book in the acclaimed Gaunt’s Ghosts series, which follows a group of Imperial foot soldiers as they fight and die across the myriad dangerous battlefields of the 41^st millennia. This first novel introduced the reader to the key Ghosts and takes them on a compelling and deadly series of adventures featuring war, death, and conspiracy. A wonderful and deeply exciting read, I cannot wait to enjoy the rest of the series next year.

Storm Front by Jim Butcher – 2000

Another series that I decided to really dive into this year was the exceptional Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher. Generally considered the gold-standard of urban fantasy novels, this series blends fantasy and crime fiction elements in the city of Chicago. I fell in love with this series last year when I checked out the awesome 17^th novel, Battle Ground (one of the best books and audiobooks of 2020) which convinced me to go back and read some of the earlier entries. As such, I read the initial novel, Storm Front, towards the front of 2021 and I had a wonderful time with it. Storm Front contains an excellent story that introduces the protagonist, rogue wizard Harry Dresden, and follows his investigation of a series of magical murders around town. I had an absolute blast with this novel, and while it isn’t Butcher’s best work, it was an excellent debut that serves as a great first entry in this iconic series.

Daemonslayer by William King – 2000

Out of the three Gotrek and Felix novels I have so far had the pleasure of reading, I think that Daemonslayer is probably the best. This cool novel sees the titular protagonists journey to the most dangerous place in the entire Warhammer Fantasy universe, the Chaos Wastes, to face daemons, monsters and warriors of Chaos. This novel has a more complete and linear story than the preceding two entries, which makes for a stronger tale. An extremely exciting and action-packed epic, I look forward to reading more of these novels in the future.

Fool Moon by Jim Butcher – 2001

The second Dresden Files novel I checked out in 2021 was the fantastic Fool Moon, which I found to be one of the strongest overall entries in the series. Fool Moon pits the protagonist against multiple tribes of werewolves, each of whom have their own magical origins, as he attempts to solve the murder of a friend and clear his name. This was a very clever and intense novel, and I deeply enjoyed the excellent story and powerful scenes that Butcher was able to craft together.

Grave Peril by Jim Butcher – 2002

I really got into the Dresden Files novel this year and quickly read Grave Peril right after finishing off Fool Moon. Grave Peril was another exceptional read that saw Dresden face off against vampires, elves and a nightmarish being of pure evil. This was another awesome novel that added in some great key characters, new antagonists, and substantial universe expansion. Featuring some truly dark moments and some major character development, this was an outstanding novel that I had a lot of fun with.

Summer Knight by Jim Butcher – 2002

The fourth and final Dresden Files book I managed to get through this year was the awesome Summer Knight. This book sees Dresden forced to work for the Winter Court of the elves who need him to solve a murder. Summer Knight has a great story that moves at an extremely quick pace and takes the protagonist to some awesome new places. I had an excellent time with Summer Knight, and indeed all the Dresden Files books I read in 2021 and I look forward to further exploring this series next year.

The Gray Man by Mark Greaney – 2009

Another series that I decided to go back and check out this year was Mark Greaney’s epic Gray Man spy thriller series. I have been deeply enjoying Greaney’s more recent Gray Man novels, such as Mission Critical, One Minute Out and Relentless, and I thought that it would be good to back and check this series out from the start, especially as there is a movie adaptation coming out next year. I ended up having an incredible time with The Gray Man which set’s the protagonist, Court Gentry, against a horde of professional hit teams. An exceptional and action-packed thrill ride, I cannot wait to see how the movie version of this turns out. I am also extremely excited for some other Greaney books coming out in the next couple of months, as they should be pretty damn awesome.

Star Wars: Maul: Lockdown by Joe Schreiber – 2014

2021 was a great year for new Star Wars novels, many of which were pretty damn exceptional. However, one of the downsides of this was that I had less time to read some older Star Wars novels. I did however get a chance to read Maul: Lockdown by Joe Schreiber, whose previous Star Wars novel, Death Troopers, was an awesome horror read. Lockdown has an awesome (and currently non-canon) story about Maul being sent to infiltrate a maximum-security space prison that runs a series of death fights. This was a great and compelling read, and I loved all the fun elements featured within. I am hoping to check out a couple more earlier Star Wars novels next year, and there are a few that I currently have my eye on.

State of Fear by Tim Ayliffe – 2019

Another excellent book I checked out this year was the 2019 novel State of Fear by Australian author Tim Ayliffe. I had been hoping to read this one for a while, especially after enjoying Ayliffe’s first novel The Greater Good, and I finally got the chance this year in the lead up to Ayliffe’s third novel, The Enemy Within. State of Fear was a great Australian thriller that set the protagonist against a dangerous terrorist threat both in Sydney and in London. Featuring some intense emotional moments and an impressive story, State of Fear is an excellent read and I look forward to checking out more of Ayliffe’s novels in the future.

Kal Jerico: Sinner’s Bounty by Josh Reynolds– 2019

The final entry on this list is the incredibly awesome Kal Jerico: Sinner’s Bounty, which is part of the Necromunda sub-series of the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Sinner’s Bounty was initially released in 2019, but an audiobook version came out last year, which was a lot of fun to listen to. Featuring one of the best characters in the Warhammer 40,000 canon, notorious bounty hunter Kal Jerico, this novel takes the protagonist and his team to an obscure Underhive town to get a rich bounty. Forced to contend against monsters, religious zealots, rival bounty hunters and an army of mutants, the protagonists have a cool and fun adventure, filled with intense action, fun humour, and a ton of treachery. An amazing and deeply enjoyable read, I am very glad I decided to check this book out.

And that is the end of this list. As you can see I have managed to check out a bunch of epic pre-2021 novels this year. Each of the above were exceptional and fun reads and I would strongly recommend them, especially if you are in the mood for some fun fantasy or science fiction adventures. I look forward to reading some other older books in 2022, and it will be interesting to see what makes my next version of this list then. I imagine it will end up looking a little similar, especially as I have plans to continue several of these series, especially the Dresden Files, as well as examining some other outstanding Star Wars and Warhammer novels. Make sure to check back in next week for some other end-of-year lists as I continue to highlight some of my favourite reads from 2021.

Top Ten Tuesday – Books on my Summer 2021-22 TBR

On November 30, 2021 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. The official Top Ten Tuesday topic for this week was around Bookish Memories, however, I decided to instead move up my quarterly post about the best upcoming books to be read (TBR) for the following three months. This is a regular post I do at the start of each season, and as this is the first week or Summer (Winter for you folks up North), this is the ideal time to put this up.

For this list, I have come up with 10 of the most anticipated novels that are coming out between 1 December 2021 and 28 February 2022. There are quite a few very cool novels set for release in the next few months that I am very excited for, including some highly anticipated reads. I was eventually able to whittle these down into a Top Ten list (with a few honourable mentions). I have primarily used the Australian publication dates to reflect when I will be able to get these awesome novels, and these might be somewhat different to the rest of the world. I have previously discussed a number of these books before in prior Top Ten Tuesdays and Waiting on Wednesday articles and I think all of them will turn out to be some really impressive and enjoyable reads. I am incredibly excited for the next three months as there are some incredible novels coming out, several of which I already know are going to be amongst the best books of 2021 and 2022.

Honourable Mentions:

The Liar’s Knot by M. A. Carrick – 9 December 2021

Outcast by Louise Carey – 25 January 2022

Warhammer 40,000: Day of Ascension by Adrian Tchaikovsky – 1 February 2022

Age of Ash by Daniel Abraham – 22 February 2022

Top Ten Tuesday (by release date):

Armored by Mark Greaney – 9 December 2021

The Starless Crown by James Rollins – 4 January 2022

Star Wars: The High Republic: The Fallen Star by Claudia Gray – 4 January 2022

Over the last year, some of the best Star Wars novels have been part of the awesome High Republic publication range. Set hundreds of years before the films, High Republic fiction covers a whole new era of the Star Wars universe and has an extremely distinctive feel and some great new antagonists. The Fallen Star will be the third adult novel in this series and will continue the major storylines set up in Light of the Jedi and The Rising Storm. I am really looking forward to this new novel, especially as the plot suggests that the villainous Nihil will be launching an attack on the Jedi stronghold of Starlight Beacon, which will force the various characters into a desperate life and death struggle. I cannot wait to see how this book plays out, and I am excited to see another book from author Claudia Gray, especially after how her impressive last two novels, Into the Dark and Master & Apprentice (one of my favourite Star Wars books).

A Practical Guide to Conquering the World by K. J. Parker – 11 January 2022

I had to include the third and final entry in K. J. Parker’s brilliant Siege trilogy, A Practical Guide to Conquering the World, on this list. The Siege trilogy features three loosely connected fantasy novels that depict the comedic defence of a besieged city through unconventional tactics. This outstanding fantasy comedy series has so far featured Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City (one of the best books of 2019) and How to Rule an Empire and Get Away With It (one of the best books of 2020). While there are only minimal details about this novel now, I already know that I am going to laugh myself silly reading it and that it will be one of the most entertaining novels I will check out in 2022.

Dark Horse by Gregg Hurwitz – 8 February 2022

City of the Dead by Jonathan Kellerman – 8 February 2022

Usagi Yojimbo: Volume 36: Tengu War! by Stan Sakai – 15 February 2022

Sierra Six by Mark Greaney – 15 February 2022

The Misfit Soldier by Michael Mammay – 22 February 2022

The Justice of Kings by Richard Swan – 22 February 2022

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

Waiting on Wednesday – Dark Horse, Sierra Six and Armored

On October 13, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn Thriller, Waiting on Wednesday13 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 highlight some incredible upcoming thriller novels that I feel are going to be some of the best books of the next few months.

Over the last few years, I have really been getting into the thriller genre, having read a great number of awesome and fast-paced novels across the various sub-genres. I have had a particularly awesome time with the spy thrillers, and I love a novel that follows a dangerous and talented intelligence agent facing off against a range of clever opponents and outrageous odds. Two of the best series I have been getting into are the Orphan X and Gray Man spy thriller series, which contain complex protagonists and fantastic storylines, and I thought I would take this opportunity to look at their next amazing sounding entries.

Dark Horse Cover

The first of these books is the fun sounding Dark Horse by Gregg Hurwitz, which will be the seventh Orphan X novel. The Orphan X series follows the titular Orphan X, Evan Smoak, a legendary agent who has gone rogue and taken up the persona of the Nowhere Man, a vigilante who helps people that have nowhere to turn to. I got into this series a few years ago when I read Out of the Dark, an amazing book that saw Orphan X attempting to kill the President of the United States. I had a fantastic time with this cool concept, and I made sure to check out the next two books in the series, both of which were five-star reads. The first of these, Into the Fire (one of the best audiobooks of 2020), saw a concussed Orphan X tearing through a sinister criminal organisation in LA, while the latest book, Prodigal Son, forced a semi-retired Evan to go up against a crazy weapons developer. All three of these novels were really good, and I loved the high-concept fights, complex antagonists and the interesting personal issues surrounding the former orphan who was raised by a group of killers.

The next book in the series, Dark Horse, also sounds really good, as the protagonist faces another impossible challenge, while also dealing with secrets from his past. Dark Horse is currently set for release on 8 February 2022, and it looks like it will be a deeply impressive read.

Synopsis:

Gregg Hurwitz’s New York Times bestselling series returns when Orphan X faces his most challenging mission ever in Dark Horse.

Evan Smoak is a man with many identities and a challenging past. As Orphan X, he was a government assassin for the off-the-books Orphan Program. After he broke with the Program, he adopted a new name and a new mission—The Nowhere Man, helping the most desperate in their times of trouble. Having just survived an attack on his life and the complete devastation of his base of operations, as well as his complicated (and deepening) relationship with his neighbor Mia Hall, Evan isn’t interested in taking on a new mission. But one finds him anyway.

Aragon Urrea is a kingpin of a major drug-dealing operation in South Texas. He’s also the patron of the local area—supplying employment in legitimate operations, providing help to the helpless, rough justice to the downtrodden, and a future to a people normally with little hope. He’s complicated—a not completely good man, who does bad things for often good reasons. However, for all his money and power, he is helpless when one of the most vicious cartels kidnaps his innocent eighteen year old daughter, spiriting her away into the armored complex that is their headquarters in Mexico. With no other way to rescue his daughter, he turns to The Nowhere Man.

Now not only must Evan figure out how to get into the impregnable fortress of a heavily armed, deeply paranoid cartel leader, but he must decide if he should help a very bad man—no matter how just the cause.

Unsurprisingly I love the sound of this cool new novel, especially as the main plot will revolve around the protagonist storming the impregnable fortress of a Mexican cartel. This book has an awful lot of potential and I cannot wait to see what surprising and outrageous schemes that the protagonist will utilise to save the kidnapped girl. I am also very curious about the inclusion of a drug kingpin being Evan’s client, as he usually only helps normal, innocent people. Working to help a rich criminal will be an interesting change for the Nowhere Man, and I look forward to seeing his inner conflict around it. The character of Aragon Urrea will also make for a compelling alternate narrator (each of Evan’s clients are usually featured pretty heavily), and he should have a pretty unique take on the events occurring around him. Based on the events of Prodigal Son, it is likely that Aragon will have connections to Evan’s past, and it wouldn’t surprise me if you see the protagonist’s family grow just a little more. All this sound pretty amazing, and I am extremely keen to check Dark Horse out.

Sierra Six Cover

The next book is Sierra Six, the 11^th novel in the impressive Gray Man series by bestselling author Mark Greaney. The Gray Man series follows Court Gentry, an elite spy and killer known as the Gray Man. I got into this series back in 2019 when I checked out the fantastic Mission Critical. This was an awesome read that saw Gentry hunting a team of Russian spies who planned to cripple the Western intelligence community. Greaney has since followed this book up with two exceptional five-star reads, One Minute Out (one of the best books of 2020) and Relentless (one of the best books and audiobooks I have so far read this year). I also recently went back and checked out the first novel in the series, The Gray Man, which was incredibly awesome and contained an epic storyline that saw Gentry square off against 100 elite killers across Europe.

The 11^th Gray Man novel, Sierra Six, currently has a release date in February 2022 and looks set to examine some terrible secrets from Gentry’s past, with a compelling look at his first mission with the CIA.

Synopsis:

It’s been years since the Gray Man’s first mission, but the trouble’s just getting started in the latest entry in the #1 New York Times bestselling series.

Before he was the Gray Man, Court Gentry was Sierra Six, the junior member of a CIA action team.

In their first mission they took out a terrorist leader, but at a terrible price–the life of a woman Court cared for. Years have passed and now The Gray Man is on a simple mission when he sees a ghost: the long-dead terrorist, but he’s remarkably energetic for a dead man.

A decade may have gone by but the Gray Man hasn’t changed. He isn’t one to leave a job unfinished or a blood debt unpaid.

This sounds like such an awesome read, and I really love the idea of Greaney going way back into his protagonist’s past. I’m assuming that Sierra Six will have a split narrative, with a good portion following Gentry’s first mission, and I looking forward to learning more about this character’s backstory. It will also be interesting to see how Gentry is going after the events of Relentless when he was blackballed by the CIA again, and I will be quite intrigued to find out what happens with some of the series’ ongoing storylines. I am very excited for this novel, although I might try and check out one or two earlier Gray Man novels beforehand, just to build up some more context.

Armored Cover

I also must take the time to talk about Greaney’s other big upcoming release, Armored. Armored is a standalone audiobook written by Greaney that currently has a release date of 9 December 2021. This fantastic sounding audiobook will be voiced by a full cast of narrators, including the impressive Jay Snyder, and it has the potential to be one of the most intense and action-packed releases of the year, especially as Mr Explosion himself, Michael Bay, has already obtained the film rights for it.

Synopsis:

A team of military contractors fights for its life in this high-adrenaline, full-cast drama from Mark Greaney, author of the Audible and New York Times best-selling Gray Man series.

Josh Duffy is staring into the abyss.

A decorated army veteran turned military contractor, his last mission went sideways, leaving him badly injured and his career derailed. Now, he’s working as a mall cop, trying to keep his family one step ahead of the bill collectors.

So when a chance at redemption – and a big pay day – comes his way, Duff eagerly jumps in.

The job – to ride shotgun on a motorcade of heavily armed and armored vehicles as they roll into Mexico’s cartel country. The mission – to find a notorious drug lord and bring him to the negotiating table with the Mexican government and the UN.

But Duff’s employer, Armored Saint, has a track record that’s sketchy, at best. And from the moment the motorcade hits the dusty roads, the danger only increases.

It’s a suicide run – and for Duff, the violent forces of the cartels may not be the biggest threat.

So, another book set down in cartel country, Armored also sounds pretty damn cool, and I think that I am going to have an amazing time with this book. Based on the synopsis, it looks like the protagonist and his friends will be forced to endure a gauntlet of death and destruction, along with a traitor in their ranks and some dodgy dealing from the corporation running them. I cannot wait to check this book out, and I have very high hopes for the audiobook format, especially with its comprehensive and intriguing cast. I must admit that I am pretty excited to get multiple books from Greaney is so short a time frame, and I look forward to seeing what madness is featured in both his upcoming reads. I have also heard rumours that a sequel to Red Metal, which Greaney cowrite with H. Ripley Rawlings (one of the best books and audiobooks of 2019), is on its way, and I will make sure to feature that in another Waiting on Wednesday entry when I get some more details.

As you can from the above, I have quite a lot of thrillers to read very soon. All three of these books have an immense amount of potential, and based on my experiences with their authors, I already know that I am going to have an outstanding time getting through all of them.

Throwback Thursday: The Gray Man by Mark Greaney

On September 17, 2021February 2, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Five-Star Books, Thriller, Throwback Thursday28 Comments

Publisher: Audio Studios (Audiobook – 29 September 2009)

Series: Gray Man – Book One

Length: 11 hours and 11 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Amazon Book Depository

Welcome back to 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 check out the debut novel of impressive thriller author Mark Greaney, The Gray Man.

Over the last few years, I have been really enjoying some of the latest novels from the amazing Mark Greaney, one of the leading authors in the spy thriller genre. Having previously worked with Tom Clancy on his Jack Ryan series, Greaney is probably best known for his awesome Gray Man series. I have managed to check out the last three novels in this great series, which have been some pretty awesome reads, including Mission Critical, One Minute Out (one of the best books and audiobooks of 2020) and Relentless (one of the best books and audiobooks I have so far read this year). I also really enjoyed the outstanding military thriller he did with H. Ripley Rawlings, Red Metal, which ended up being one of my top books and audiobooks of 2019). I have long been meaning to go back and check out the earlier books in the Gray Man series, especially as there is a big Netflix adaption coming out soon (directed by the Russo brothers and starting Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans). I finally got the chance a few days ago to read the first Gray Man novel, which was also Greaney’s debut book, and I am extremely gad that I did as The Gray Man proved to be an exceptional novel with boundless action.

Court Gentry was the very best operative the CIA ever had, and for years he helped take down vital targets the world over. However, his career in government espionage came to a violent end when Gentry was set up and burnt, becoming one of the most wanted men in the world with a shoot-to-kill order on his head. With the entire intelligence community gunning for him, Gentry disappeared into the shadows, becoming a private assassin. Despite his murky profession, Gentry keeps his humanity by only accepting contracts on those people he believes deserve to die. After years of taking out the very worst gangsters, war criminals and terrorists in impossible situations, Gentry has gained a legendary and is known throughout the business as the Gray Man.

However, after his latest job sees him assassinate a high-ranking member of the Nigerian cabinet, Gentry suddenly finds himself under attack like never before. The outgoing president of Nigeria now wants the Gray Man dead, and with a powerful French company on the hook for a billion-dollar contract, he has the perfect tool to get his vengeance. Led by former CIA officer Lloyd, the French company have organised for a team of hitters to take Gentry down for good, but when their first strike fails, they must get inventive.

Taking Gentry’s handler and his family hostage, Lloyd gives Gentry an ultimatum, travel to their compound in Normandy within the next day or he will kill the hostages, including two young girls. Determined to save his friend’s family, Gentry is forced to traverse the entirety of Europe to get to his target. However, between him and his destination are 12 elite kill teams from around the world, each of them competing for a massive bounty on his head. With every eye on the continent watching out for him and no possible backup, Gentry will need to fight his way through more than 100 killers if he is to succeed. For most men this would an impossible task, however, the Gray Man is anything but ordinary and he is about to show the world why he is the absolute best.

Well damn, now this was an incredible thriller. I actually managed to power through the audiobook version of The Gray Man in two days especially once I got stuck into the incredible story. Loaded with a ton of action of spy thriller excitement, this was such a fun and action-packed read that gets a full five-star rating from me.

I deeply enjoyed The Gray Man’s exciting and compelling narrative, which takes the reader on a wild ride through death and destruction. While I wasn’t the biggest fan of how the book started, as the slaughter of Taliban soldiers in Iraq seemed a tad over-the-top for an introduction scene, it honestly does not take long for the rest of the story to get incredibly addictive and fun. The moment that the antagonists start targeting Gentry, all bets are off and what follows is an incredible blend of action, adventure and spy tradecraft that is very hard to put down. I loved the central story concept of Gentry forced to fight his way across Europe, and Greaney did a great job setting this entire scenario up. This results in an awesome central section of the novel, where Gentry slowly moves through Europe towards his goal, with everyone in the way trying to kill him. The action and intensity of these scenes are first rate, and I loved the slow, deliberate war of attrition that the antagonists wage against Gentry, with the protagonist forced to contend with a lack of equipment, allies, and later in the book, blood. This exceptional story eventually leads up to a massive conclusion, with a wounded Gentry storming the castle and facing off the people who have expended a lot of effort into killing him. The entire story is wrapped up extremely well, and readers are left very satisfied and happy with how everything turns out. I had a fantastic time getting through this outstanding story, and there was honestly not a single second that I wasn’t amazingly entertained.

Due to its status as the initial novel in the series, The Gray Man has a very self-enclosed narrative, which ensures that all the main storylines are wrapped up by the final page. While it does serve as a really good introduction to the protagonist and his unique situation, I found The Gray Man works well as a standalone novel, and it does not rely too heavily on details revealed in the later novels. There are a lot of great features to this book, and I must highlight the incredible action sequences. The intense violence and powerful fight scenes are beautifully written, and the reader gets a good sense of the characters interactions with his foes. I also really appreciated the author’s depiction of tradecraft and spy skills, with the characters using all manner of intelligence tricks and assets to try and win. Greaney makes really good use of multiple character perspectives throughout The Gray Man to highlight the battle of wits between the various players, and I liked how it also increased how impressive and brutal some of the action scenes were. While I could have probably done without the sections told from the perspective of one of the eight-year-old granddaughters, the rest work extremely well to create a detailed and richer spy thriller. I loved seeing the opposition put their plan into action to hunt down Gentry, and it was really great to see all the sides of this adventure. It was particularly fun to see the antagonist’s reactions as Gentry continues to survive against the odds, and the added note of desperation was pretty entertaining.

I also must highlight the great characters featured within The Gray Man, which really helped to enhance this already awesome story. They are led by impressive action hero Court Gentry (a great name, BTW), who is perfectly built up throughout the novel as a superhuman spy, thanks to his skill, intelligence, and pure stubbornness. Gentry has a hell of an ordeal in this novel, forced to fight against impossible odds while being hunted by literally everyone in Europe. Greaney does a good job introducing the key parts of his protagonist’s personality and history throughout the novel, and you really get a good sense of who Gentry is. I also loved how Greaney showed Gentry slowly getting worn down as the novel progressed, which felt pretty realistic, especially after all the opponents who try to kill him. These various injuries slow him down and make him sloppy as the narrative progresses, so much so that he is barely standing by the time he gets to the final showdown. It was fun to see the other characters debating the truth behind Gentry’s previous missions, especially as he has built up a reputation for impossible tasks. The constant discussion about what he achieved is really entertaining, especially as it causes several antagonists some major apprehensions. While substantial parts of his history, such as why he was betrayed by the CIA, are not examined here, you still get some great details about him, and I look forward to seeing what else is revealed in the books I haven’t read yet. In some ways Gentry was a little one-dimensional in The Gray Man and could have used some more depth, especially around his motivations and his feelings about his betrayal from the CIA. However, this was a great introduction to this ruthless killer with a heart of gold, and readers will enjoy this first great adventure.

In addition to Gentry, Greaney came up with an excellent group of supporting characters who serve as alternate point-of-view characters throughout the novel. Due to the plot being about Gentry being hunted by everyone in Europe, most of the alternate perspectives are antagonists, and I had fun with the cool group of villains that Greaney featured in this novel. Each of these antagonistic characters are well utilised and introduced, even if they have a short shelf-life, and I appreciated some of the time put into building them up. My favourite, or least favourite, of these is central antagonist Lloyd. Lloyd is a former CIA analyst turned private-sector lawyer who, after stuffing up and forcing his company to work for the Nigerians, sets his company after Gentry. Greaney went out of his way to make Lloyd as unlikeable as possible, with the character being extremely arrogant, petty, insecure, and vicious, especially as the novel proceeds and he faces setback after setback. Every scene he is in is a lot of fun, mainly because he is such an annoying figure in them, and this ensures that the reader is constantly barracking for Gentry, hoping that he wins so that he can punch Lloyd in the face. I had a wonderful time hating Lloyd throughout this book, and I cannot wait to see Chris Evans’s take on him in the upcoming film adaption.

As I mentioned above, I ended up checking out The Gray Man on audiobook, which proved to be an awesome way to enjoy this excellent book. The Gray Man audiobook has a decent run time of just over 11 hours, and I found myself flying through it in no time at all. This audiobook format proved to be the perfect way to enjoy this great book, especially as the many intense action sequences come to life extremely well while being narrated. I absolutely must highlight the book’s amazing narrator, Jay Snyder, who has since narrated all Greaney’s Gray Man novels. Snyder has an amazing voice for thrillers, and he ensures that the plot of this book moved along at a quick and exciting pace. I also deeply enjoyed the various voices that he produced, as every character featured within this novel had a very fitting and distinctive voice. I particularly appreciated the slimy and cocky voice that he gifted to main antagonist Lloyd, which gave the man a cowardly, bureaucratic voice (it honestly reminded me a little of Cyril from Archer), and really helped to make him even more unlikeable. Snyder also does some fantastic accents for the various international characters featured in the novel, and each of them worked extremely well. Overall, this was an exceptional way to check out this book, and I would strongly recommend the audiobook format to anyone interested in this novel.

The Gray Man is an incredible and deeply entertaining debut from Greaney and it is one that I had an outstanding time listening to. This great book had an awesome narrative, loaded up with a ton of action, mayhem and fun characters, and it swiftly turned into an intensely addictive and thrilling read. Greaney sets up a lot of elements for his future series, and I am really glad that I went back to see where this fantastic series started. This book comes highly recommend, and if you are a thriller fan, you will love this book. I am definitely going to have to check out the rest of the Gray Man novels I am missing, and I am looking forward to seeing what over incredible stories that Greaney has in store for me.

Amazon Book Depository

WWW Wednesday – 15 September 2021

On September 15, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn WWW Wednesday1 Comment

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

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

So, let’s get to it.

What are you currently reading?

The Riviera House by Natasha Lester (Trade Paperback)

I just started reading a fantastic historical drama with The Riviera House by Natasha Lester. The Riviera House is a compelling and exciting multi-generational story that follows the attempts of some brave women as the attempt to safeguard France’s art from the Nazis.

Summer Knight by Jim Butcher (Audiobook)

I was in the mood for something fun to listen to, so I decided to head back to the awesome Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher. After previously enjoying Storm Front, Fool Moon and Grave Peril, I knew I would have a great time with the fourth book in the series, Summer Knight. This fourth book sees Dresden caught between two warring faerie courts and forces him to investigate the murder of one of their champions. I am making some good progress with this book and should hopefully finish it off in the next few days.

What did you recently finish reading?

The Devil’s Advocate by Steve Cavanagh (Trade Paperback)

The Dark by Jeremy Robinson (Audiobook)

Star Wars: The High Republic: Tempest Runner by Cavan Scott (Audio Drama)

The Gray Man by Mark Greaney (Audiobook)

Corporal Hitler’s Pistol by Tom Keneally (Trade Paperback)

The Widow’s Follower by Anna Weatherly (Trade Paperback)

What do you think you’ll read next?

The Wisdom of Crowds by Joe Abercrombie (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.

Top Ten Tuesday – Books with Numbers in the Title

On September 14, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn List4 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. For this week’s Top Ten Tuesday, participants are required to list the favourite books with numbers in the titles. This was an interesting endeavour, and it was one that I have done in a previous Top Ten Tuesday, except then the challenge was to try and come up with a list of 10 books, each of which had a number between one to ten in the title. However, for this list I will instead open my list to any book that has a number in the title, which should widen the various novels I could potentially include. It has also been nearly two years since I produced that previous list, and I will easily have a few more awesome books to add to this list.

I had a bit of fun coming up with this list. It was easy to run through all the novels I have checked out over the years and finding the ones with numbers in their titles. I did have to do a little culling to narrow it to down to my top ten choices, but I was eventually able to do it with a generous honourable mentions section. Also, to make this fit better I choice to exclude those books with ordinal numbers in their titles (for example, third, sixth and ninth), and instead just focus on those novels with basic numbers in the title. While this did mean I lost a few great books, such as The Third Day, the Frost by James Marsden or Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir, I think it made for a tidier list. I ended up coming up with a pretty interesting list in the end and I got a rather interesting spread of titles. So, let us see what I was able to come up with.

Honourable mentions:

Batman: Year One by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli

Batman_Year_One

The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien

Two Towers Cover

Firefly: The Magnificent Nine by James Lovegrove

Firefly The Magnificent Nine Cover

The Lost Ten by Harry Sidebottom

The Lost Ten Cover

Top Ten List:

Patient Zero and Code Zero by Jonathan Maberry

Patient Zero and Code Zero

For this first entry I had a hard time deciding which one of Jonathan Maberry’s excellent novels that contain Zero in the title I should include, so in the end I chose to put both Patient Zero and Code Zero in. Both are these books are key entries in the Joe Ledger series, and while I think Code Zero had the better story, Patient Zero was the introductory novel and set up most of the universe. Both books are really worth checking out and their respective titles refer to something really bad in the context of the story.

One Minute Out by Mark Greaney

One Minute Out Cover

One Minute Out was an excellent novel (one of the best books and audiobooks I read in 2020), and it is probably my favourite novel from Greaney that I have so far read (although, that could change as I am currently in the middle of listening to his debut, Gray Man).

Predator One by Jonathan Maberry

Predator One Cover

The second novel from Maberry on this list (he sure likes putting numbers in his title), this is another particularly good entry in the Joe Ledger series. The title is a reference to Air Force One, which gets electronically taken over during the book (with the President on board) so it can be used as a destructive drone.

The Two-Faced Queen by Nick Martell

The Two-Faced Queen Cover

The stunning sequel to last years top debut, The Kingdom of Liars, The Two-Faced Queen was an exceptional read that was one of my favourite books (and audiobooks) for the first half of 2021.

The Three Paradises by Robert Fabbri

The Three Paradises Cover

The fun and wildly entertaining sequel to last years awesome historical fiction read, To the Strongest, The Three Paradises continues to highlight the incredible chaos that followed in the wake of Alexander the Great’s death, such as the legendary conference held at the location known as Three Paradises.

All New Wolverine: The Four Sisters by Tom Taylor and David Lopez

All New Wolverine Cover

The first volume of an extremely fun comic series, The Four Sisters did a wonderful job introducing the world to a new Wolverine, when the original’s female clone, X-23, takes on the mantle.

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle Cover

A particularly good science fiction murder mystery, The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle (sometimes titled The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle), was an awesome read that makes use of a very clever concept.

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

Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City Cover

One of the funniest and most entertaining reads of 2019, this outstanding novel follows a brilliant fantasy siege storyline where a conman engineer makes use of the secret, 16^th way to defend a city, bluff and BS.

The 22 Murders of Madison May by Max Barry

The 22 Murders of Madison May Cover

One of the more recent books on my list, this fantastic read from Max Berry follows an attempt to stop a parallel universe jumping stalker from killing his victim multiple times.

Veronica Mars: The Thousand Dollar Tan Line by Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham

Veronica Mars - The Thousand Dollar Tan Line Cover

The final entry on this list is the book with the biggest number in the title, the Veronica Mars tie-in novel, The Thousand Dollar Tan Line. This is an awesome read, especially for fans of the show, and I loved its clever story. Best checked out in its audiobook format, which is narrated by Veronica Mars herself, Kristen Bell.

That’s the end of this latest list. I think it turned out pretty well, and I liked the cool selection of novels it featured. All the above novels come highly recommended, and there are some outstanding reads there. Let me know which of the above books you like the most, as well as what your favourite novels with numbers in the title are in the comments below.

Top Ten Tuesday – My Favourite Audiobooks from the First Half of 2021

On July 27, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, 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. The official topic for this week is Books I’d Want With Me While Stranded on a Deserted Island, but I am going to do something a little different and instead look at my favourite audiobooks from the first half of 2021. This is a continuation of my Top Ten list from a few weeks ago that featured my favourite overall novels from the first half of 2021.

People familiar with my blog will know that I have a great deal of love for the audiobook format, and it is one of the main ways that I tend to check out books. Each year I enjoy a great number of different audiobooks and use the format to check out recent releases and older novels. I have been enjoying audiobooks for years, and it is amazing the various ways in which listening to a book can enhance your enjoyment. A great narrator can really bring you into the story, and I find that listening to a book enhances the amount of detail that you can take in. In addition, other features, such as great voices, music and sound effects can really make an audiobook something special, and there some great examples of that out there. This year alone I have listened to several outstanding audiobooks, includes some of my favourite books from early 2021. Because I love this format so much, I thought I would take this opportunity to highlight my favourite audiobooks from the first half of the year.

To pull this list off I had a look at all the 2021 releases that I listened to on audiobook to figure out my favourites. It turns out that I have already gone through quite a few this year so there was a very large collection of potential additions to this list. I was eventually able to whittle it down to the ten audiobooks I consider to be the best, as well as a generous honourable mention section. There is a bit of a crossover with my previous Favourite Books from the First Half of 2021 list, but I think there are enough new additions to make this list worthwhile. I did prioritise audiobook production and narration over story in a few places, as outstanding narration or use of music and sound effects can enhance the plot. That is why so many Star Wars novels made this list, because they are awesome productions, which are really worth checking out. I am pretty happy with how the overall list turned out and I think that the below entries really highlight what my favourite audiobooks are.

Honourable Mentions:

The Coward, written by Stephen Aryan and narrated by Matt Wycliffe

Serpentine, written by Jonathan Kellerman and narrated by John Rubinstein

Prodigal Son, written by Gregg Hurwitz and narrated by Scott Brick

The Girl and the Mountain, written by Mark Lawrence and narrated by Helen Duff

Top Ten List (No Particular Order):

The Two-Faced Queen, written by Nick Martell and narrated by Joe Jameson

One of my favourite books of the year, The Two-Faced Queen, is easily one of the best audiobooks as well. There were actually two separate audiobook versions of this book, and I chose to go with the Joe Jameson version, since he previously narrated Martell’s debut novel, The Kingdom of Liars. I am a big fan of Jameson, especially after his work on books such as King of Assassins by R. J. Barker, and he did another amazing job on this book. The Two-Faced Queen audiobook is an excellent and addictive listen, and I would wholeheartedly recommend this format to anyone wanting to enjoy this awesome five-star novel.

Star Wars: Victory’s Price, written by Alexander Freed and narrated by January LaVoy

Earlier this year, impressive author Alexander Freed finished off his Star Wars: Alphabet Squadron series with Victory’s Price, and in the process created one of the best books of 2021. This audiobook massively enhances the already incredible and moving narrative within this exceptional novel, utilising outstanding voice work from January LaVoy, as well as the iconic Star Wars score and sound effects. Easily one of best audiobooks of the year.

Relentless, written by Mark Greaney and narrated by Jay Snyder

One of the leading authors of spy thrillers, Mark Greaney, produced another intense and exciting novel this year with Relentless. Thanks to some excellent voice work from Jay Snyder, the Relentless audiobook was pretty damn impressive, and you are in for a real treat with this exhilarating novel.

Star Wars: Light of the Jedi, written by Charles Soule and narrated by Marc Thompson

Another outstanding Star Wars audiobook was Light of the Jedi, the introductory novel in the new High Republic range. Just like Victory’s Price, Light of the Jedi makes full use of the Star Wars music and effects to produce a fantastic listen. However, Light of the Jedi also features the incredible voice work of Marc Thompson, one of the best narrators utilised by the Star Wars franchise. Thompson produces a raft of great voices to highlight the new characters featured within this novel and it was really fun to hear him tell this story. Thompson is lending his vocal talents to several other outstanding Star Wars audiobooks this year, including the latest High Republic novel, The Rising Storm, which is another great audiobook to check out.

The Shadow of the Gods, written by John Gwynne and narrated by Colin Mace

After hearing some incredible things about the latest John Gwynne novel, I ended up checking out The Shadow of the Gods on audiobook. Not only was this book one of the absolute best fantasy releases of 2021 but the audiobook format was pretty damn exceptional. Colin Mace’s voice really fit the dark fantasy setting and he really dives into the complex characters to highlight their deeper feelings and hidden rages. An impressive and captivating listen.

Later, written by Stephen King and narrated by Seth Numrich

I was deeply impressed earlier this year when I checked out the audiobook format of the latest Stephen King novel, Later. Outstanding new narrator Seth Numrich really dives into this excellent novel, and I had a wonderful and freaky time getting through this fantastic audiobook.

The Bone Maker, written by Sarah Beth Durst and narrated by Soneela Nankani

I had an absolute blast listening to the latest great fantasy novel from Sarah Beth Durst, The Bone Maker, especially as narrator Soneela Nankani does a great job bringing the novel’s damaged protagonists to life.

Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy: The Greater Good, written by Timothy Zahn and narrated by Marc Thompson

The final Star Wars audiobook on this list is the second Thrawn Ascendancy entry, The Greater Good. Thompson once again lends his incredible voice to this great book, bringing the unique characters to life. However, his best work is reserved for main character Grand Admiral Thrawn, as Thompson perfectly replicates the character’s voice from the Star Wars Rebels animated series. This makes for a complex and powerful audiobook, and I loved every second I spent listening to it.

Colonyside, written by Michael Mammay and narrated by R. C. Bray

One of the fastest rising science fiction authors, Michael Mammay, continued to impress earlier this year with Colonyside, the third entry in the Planetside series, which was another awesome read. You really need to listen to this novel’s audiobook format, as narrator R. C. Bray brings a certain necessary gruffness and fun to the central character. An amazing book to listen to!

The Mask of Mirrors, written by M. A. Carrick and narrated by Nikki Massoud

The final entry on this list is the great fantasy novel, The Mask of Mirrors by M. A. Carrick. The Mask of Mirrors is a particularly fun and intriguing read, and I found myself really drawn to its audiobook format. This is mainly because of narrator Nikki Massoud, who strategically utilises a fantastic range of voices and accents to turn this amazing book into an incredible listening experience.

That is the end of my latest list. As you can see, I have a pretty typical Unseen Library Top Ten List (I’ve got to fit in as many Star Wars novels as possible), but I really do think this represents all of my absolute favourite audiobooks from the first part of 2021. All of the above audiobooks come highly recommended, and in my opinion, the audiobook format really enhances all of these great reads. Let me know what your favourite 2021 audiobooks are in the comments below, and I look forward to seeing which of the above make my Top Audiobooks of 2021 list later this year.

Top Ten Tuesday – My Favourite Books from the First Half of 2021

On July 6, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn List16 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. The task for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday was originally to list the reasons why I love reading, however I am going to go off topic and instead look at something else. We have just crossed into the second half of 2021, which has already proven to be a pretty fantastic year for books. I have read some incredible novels so far this year, including impressive standalone books, amazing new entries in established series and fantastic debuts. Because of this, I thought that I would take the time to work out what my top ten favourite books from the first half of 2021 were.

Once I knew what I wanted to pull together for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday, I started taking a hard look at all the different novels that I have read this year. To be eligible, a book had to be released in (or extremely close to) the first half of this year. I have also excluded any books released during this period that I have not so far read, although a couple of releases I have my eye on might have appeared on this list if I had had the chance to read them before now.

Coming up with this list proved to be a rather bigger task than I originally intended, as I ended up amassing nearly 20 different releases, all of which I consider to be some pretty outstanding reads. I ended up being able to eventually whittle this down to an acceptable Top Ten list, although I did include my typical generous honourable mentions section. I am rather happy with how this list turned out, although I am surprised at some of the great releases that ended up being excluded. Still, the books below represent what I considered to be some of the best books from the first half of 2021, and I would strongly recommend each and every one of them. So let us see what made the cut.

Honourable Mentions:

Prodigal Son by Gregg Hurwitz

The Warsaw Orphan by Kelly Rimmer

Later by Stephen King

The Girls I’ve Been by Tess Sharpe

Top Ten List (no particular order):

The Two-Faced Queen by Nick Martell

The first book on this list is the incredible and wildly addictive fantasy masterpiece, The Two-Faced Queen by Nick Martell. Serving as the sequel to last year’s amazing The Kingdom of Liars (which was one of my favourite books, audiobooks, and debuts of 2020), The Two-Faced Queen continues the compelling adventures of its angsty and relatable protagonist, Michael Kingman, as he attempts to uncover the mysteries and conspiracies of his home city. Containing a wild mass of unique opponents, plots and hidden secrets, this book holds your attention from beginning to end and is one of the best sequels I have ever read.

Star Wars: Victory’s Price by Alexander Freed

Next up we have the obligatory Star Wars entry on this list, Victory’s Price by Alexander Freed. While there have been several other great Star Wars releases this year (Light of the Jedi and Greater Good were both fantastic), none of them were as impressive as Victory’s Price. Serving as the third and final entry in the Alphabet Squadron series (which previously featured Alphabet Squadron and Shadow Fall), this incredible book features a powerful, character driven narrative that provides readers with tragedy, amazing character development and a full-on war story amid the Star Wars universe. Beautifully written and incredibly moving, Victory’s Price perfectly wraps up the Alphabet Squadron trilogy and is one of the best Star Wars novels out there.

Relentless by Mark Greaney

Epic spy thriller author Mark Greaney returns with the 10th book in his outstanding Gray Man series, Relentless. I have been deeply enjoying the Gray Man novels over the last couple of years (check out my reviews for Mission Critical and One Minute Out), so I knew I was going to be in for a good time with Relentless. This was another particularly thrilling tale of international espionage and plots, as Court Gentry and his comrades go up against a sinister, world-changing conspiracy. A fantastic and action-packed read that comes highly recommended.

The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne

Next of this list we have the fantasy novel that everyone was talking about this year, The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne. Set in a Norse inspired dark fantasy world shattered by warring gods, The Shadow of the Gods contains a powerful and addictive narrative which sets three amazing protagonists on quests for redemption, honour, and family. Containing some extraordinary world building, great characters, and a really impressive story, this was one of the best fantasy books of the year, and I loved every second I spent reading it.

Artifact Space by Miles Cameron

Superstar author Miles Cameron made his science fiction debut earlier this year with the captivating Artifact Space. Containing an epic voyage throughout the stars, Artifact Space was an awesome read, that takes its damaged protagonist to some amazing places as they try to save their ship from a dangerous alien conspiracy.

Usagi Yojimbo: Volume 35: Homecoming by Stan Sakai

I doubt anyone is too surprised that the latest Usagi Yojimbo volume has appeared on this list. Written by one of my favourite authors, Stan Sakai, this latest volume of the long running series was extremely moving and deeply compelling, as Usagi goes through some harsh adventures near his long-avoided home province. With incredible art, powerful character work and some very elaborate stories, this was another excellent addition to one of the best comic series out there.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Another new to me author who blew me away this year was the outstanding Andy Weir, who produced one of the best science fiction novels of 2021. Project Hail Mary contains an extraordinary tale of an amnesiac scientist sent out into space to find out how to save the sun from burning out. Containing a deeply enjoyable and addictive story, I powered through Project Hail Mary in no time at all and loved every second of it. One of the easiest books of 2021 to recommend, you must check Project Hail Mary out.

The Bone Maker by Sarah Beth Durst

After deeply enjoying her 2020 novel, Race the Sands, I was eager to explore another fun standalone fantasy novel from bestselling author Sarah Beth Durst, and boy was I in for a treat with The Bone Maker. This clever novel follows five former heroes who are once again drawn into a deadly battle for their nation. Readers will fall in love with the novels damaged heroes, especially after they once head the call to battle, even after all the loss and trauma they have suffered.

Colonyside by Michael Mammay

Now, technically this novel was released in 2020, however, considering it only came out 31 December (which was technically 1 January 2021 in Australia), I am choosing to count this as a 2021 release instead. Colonyside is the third novel in the fantastic and impressive Planetside science fiction thriller series. Following on from the amazing Planetside (one of the best books of 2018) and Spaceside (one of the best books of 2019), Colonyside places its infamous protagonist in the middle of another dangerous conspiracy, as he searches for a missing person on a hostile alien planet. A masterful and thrilling novel, I deeply enjoyed this amazing book.

Protector by Conn Iggulden

The final entry on this list is the outstanding Protector from Conn Iggulden, which follows on the from the great 2020 novel, The Gates of Athens. Featuring an awesome story about some of the key battles between the Greeks and the Persians, this was a fantastic piece of historical fiction that is really worth reading.

That is the end of this list. As you can see, I have already read some amazing and epic books so far in 2021 and we are only halfway through the year. I am pretty happy with how this list turned out, especially as it features some extraordinary reads. It will be interesting to see which of these books ends up being amongst my top reads of 2020, and while I would assume all the above will make the cut, there is some pretty hefty competition coming up in the second half of 2021. Let me know what you think about the books that made my Top Ten list, and also let me know what your favourite releases from the first half of 2020 are.

Canberra Weekly Column – Mixed Genres – 25 March 2021

On April 26, 2021April 26, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn Canberra Weekly ColumnLeave a comment

Canberra Weekly Column - Best of Three - 25 March 2021

Originally published in the Canberra Weekly on 25 March 2021.

Make sure to also check out my extended reviews for Relentless and The Codebreakers.

Relentless by Mark Greaney

On March 15, 2021February 2, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Five-Star Books, Thriller36 Comments

Publisher: Sphere/Audible Audio (Audiobook – 16 February 2021)

Series: Gray Man – Book 10

Length: 15 hours and 39 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Amazon Book Depository

One of the leading authors of the spy thriller genre, Mark Greaney, returns with the tenth epic book in his long-running Gray Man series, Relentless, an impressive and captivating read.

Mark Greaney is talented author who has been absolutely killing it over the last 10+ years ever since his 2009 debut. While he has written some other books, including seven contributions to Tom Clancy’s iconic Jack Ryan universe (three cowritten with Clancy, and four written after Clancy’s death) and the military thriller Red Metal (cowritten with Hunter Ripley Rawlings, and one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2019), Greaney is probably best known for his awesome Gray Man series. Starting with The Gray Man in 2009, this series follows Court Gentry, a disavowed CIA operative turned assassin known as the Gray Man. I am a major fan of this series, having read the last few entries, Mission Critical and One Minute Out (the latter was one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2020), and I have been looking forward to this book for a while (indeed it was one of my most anticipated releases for 2021).

Around the world, several top intelligence agents are disappearing, and CIA deputy director Matthew Hanley wants to know why. When a former American agent who was believed to be dead resurfaces in Venezuela under the protection of the local secret police, Hanley has no choice but to send in his most dangerous asset, Court Gentry, the Gray Man. As the Gray Man, Gentry is feared around the world as a lethal assassin and rogue operative, but his real role is as a deniable hitter for Hanley at the CIA. Journeying down to Venezuela, Gentry makes contact with the former agent, who spins a tale of conspiracy and espionage in the heart of Europe before being brutally murdered by a heavily armed team of assassins.

Barely managing to escape with his life and convinced of a larger conspiracy at foot, Gentry convinces Hanley to send him to Berlin to uncover the truth. At the same time, Gentry’s fellow CIA agent and lover, Zoya Zakharova, is infiltrating a private German intelligence firm with connections to the dead man in Venezuela. As Zoya attempts to find out who is really running the organisation, she finds herself once again in the crosshairs of her former masters in Russian intelligence, who send their most lethal assassin to kill her.

As Gentry and Zoya fight for their life in Berlin, they start to understand the full breadth of the conspiracy they have found themselves amid. Someone is playing a dangerous game at a global level and they are willing manipulate the American and European governments to further their goals. Can Gentry and his allies get to the bottom of this conspiracy before it is too late or will a terrible attack lead America into an unwinnable war?

The hits keep on coming from Greaney, as Relentless was a fantastic and incredible novel that is one of the best books of 2021 so far. I loved the impressive and complex story contained within Relentless with all its twists and turns, and I swiftly became enthralled by the well-written and intense narrative. I had an outstanding time reading this book and it gets an easy five-star rating from me.

At the heart of this awesome novel is an intense and fast-paced narrative that readers will quickly become addicted to. Set shortly after the events of One Minute Out, this multi-perspective narrative sends protagonist Court Gentry to South America on a dangerous mission that has connections to the main conspiracy. After a not entirely unexpected destructive fire fight from a third party, Gentry heads to Europe where he seeks to back up his love interest, Zoya, who is undercover in Berlin following another connected lead. At the same time, the narrative expands out to showcase other groups involved in the conspiracy, including a manipulative spy master, two separate teams of killers who are hunting different protagonists, and an Iranian sleeper agent, just to name a few. All their various storylines and character arcs are extremely interesting and exciting, as the author has crafted together some compelling narratives for each of them. Greaney throws in a lot of amazing surprises and twists throughout the novel, and while I was able to guess how a few things were going to turn out, I could not predict the amazing scale and complexity of the overarching conspiracy that the characters find themselves involved with. There is a comprehensive and captivating focus on international espionage throughout Relentless which fits into the story perfectly, and I loved all the cool details that author included, including a recreation of a recent real-life espionage event of great significance. All these storylines come together extremely well, ending with a massive and memorable conclusion that was a lot of fun, and I ended up loving every second of this cool story. Greaney also sets up some intriguing storylines for future novels in the series and I am really looking forward to seeing what happens next.

In addition to Relentless’s epic story, I really enjoyed Greaney’s cool writing style, which complemented the narrative perfectly. The novel can be easily enjoyed by people unfamiliar with the series, and I really appreciated the amazing amount of detail and excitement loaded into the book. There a particular focus on trade craft with this latest novel, with some great explanations about the various spy techniques utilised by the various characters, and this pumped some real authenticity into the story. I also really enjoyed all the incredible action sequences featured within this latest novel. Greaney has always had a talent for writing explosive and powerful action scenes, and Relentless contains some impressive examples of this as the protagonists duke it out with a wide range of enemies across the world. Every action scene is well-planned out, realistic and very intense, ensuring the reader is constantly on the edge of their seat.

I also absolutely loved the author’s excellent use of multiple perspectives throughout the novel, which was a real highlight for me. While there is an obvious focus on characters like Gentry and Zoya, nearly every other character, including many of the antagonists, have their side of the story shown. I found this worked extremely well to tell a complex narrative, as the reader gets to see what everyone, from the mastermind of the conspiracy to members of the various kill teams hunting the protagonists, is doing and thinking. Not only does this build up suspense, as you know in advance some of the dangers and threats coming towards the protagonists, but you also get to see the antagonists react to all of Gentry’s actions and watch them adjust accordingly. This makes for a much richer and more impressive story, and it works particularly well in some of the combat sequences, as you get to see all the characters manoeuvring around the battlefield. There are also some extremely awesome chapters where various characters are following each other throughout Berlin. Watching several point-of-view characters engaging in surveillance and countersurveillance operations against each other, with some other interested parties thrown in for good measure, was very cool, and it ended up being one of the cleverest sequences in the novel. I really loved how this awesome writing style enhanced the story and I think it worked really well.

As usual, Greaney comes up with an excellent selection of characters for Relentless, all of whom get explored in substantial detail throughout the book. Most of Relentless’s focus is naturally on the series’ main protagonist, the titular Gray Man himself, Court Gentry. Greaney continues to paint an interesting figure with Gentry, as a former official CIA operative who was forced to become an assassin with a conscience, before secretly re-joining the CIA in the Poison Apple program as a deniable asset. Gentry has a great, action-packed story in Relentless, getting into all manner of dangerous situations, and I loved the cool ways he attempts to extricate himself from them, often by killing his opponents. I also really liked how Greaney gave Gentry a significant handicap in this latest adventure, as he is suffering from a serious infection from a stab wound gained in One Minute Out. This infection reduces his reaction speed and physical prowess throughout the book and forces him to seek continued medical care, all of which makes his mission even more dangerous and problematic, and which really raises the stakes for the entire book. It was also great to see more of Zoya and Zack Hightower, the other two Poison Apple agents, both of whom were not featured that much in the previous novel. Both these agents have some compelling and entertaining arcs in this book, and I always enjoy how well the former Russian knockout and the aging American special operator compliment Gentry as a team. Interestingly, you also get to see a lot more of CIA deputy director Matthew Hanley, the man secretly running Gentry, as he even gets into the field for a particularly dangerous assignment. Some big moments occur for Hanley in Relentless, and it will be interesting to find out what happens to him next. I also quite enjoyed the wild Russian assassin, Maksim Akulov, a drunk lunatic with a death wish, who is assigned to kill Zoya, but eventually starts targeting Gentry, seeing him as the ultimate challenge. All these amazing characters, and more, really added a lot to the story, and I look forward to seeing how the ones who survived are utilised in the future.

While I did receive a physical copy of Relentless, I ended up enjoying this book in its audiobook format instead. I have had a lot of fun with Greaney’s audiobooks in the past and I generally find that the intense and epic action and espionage translates into this format extremely well. Relentless was no exception, and I found myself really enjoying listening to all the cool sequences unfold and at times I almost felt like I was there witnessing it. With a run time of 15 hours and 40 minutes, Relentless’s audiobook is pretty long and might take listeners a while to get through. However, it is worth the time investment and you will find yourself quickly powering through it once you get caught up in the story (I personally listened to it for nearly five hours straight at one point). This latest Gray Man audiobook also sees the return of Jay Snyder as narrator. Snyder is an experienced and prolific audiobook narrator who has contributed his voice to a wide range of awesome audiobooks in the past, including all the previous entries in the series. Snyder has a fantastic gruff voice that fits the tone of Relentless perfectly, and which he uses to great effect moving the story along and describing all the deadly action and chaos. Snyder also produces some great voices for the various characters which I think encapsulate each person really well and proved to be very effective. I was a little wary about a Minnesota accent that he had to do for one of the characters, but it grew on me as the book progressed and I think it was a decent attempt in the end. All of this makes for an epic and enjoyable audiobook and this is definitely an amazing way to check Relentless out.

Relentless is another exceptional spy thriller from the always impressive Mark Greaney that comes very highly recommended. The 10^th entry in the always outstanding Gray Man series, Relentless contains another captivating and deeply exciting narrative, which, combined with Greaney’s impeccable writing and fun characters, makes for a truly excellent thriller. I had such an awesome time reading Relentless, and this book is one of the best releases of 2021 so far. I look forward to seeing how Greaney continues this series in the future, and I must really go back and check out some of the earlier Gray Man novels this year, especially as a movie adaption of The Gray Man is currently being made by the Russo brothers with Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans set to star (I mean, talk about a movie with some real potential).

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