WWW Wednesday – 3 May 2023

On May 3, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn WWW WednesdayLeave a comment

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

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

So, let’s get to it.

What are you currently reading?

The Isles of the Gods by Amie Kaufman (Trade Paperback)

The Isles of the Gods Cover

I just started reading the intriguing and exciting young adult fantasy novel, The Isles of the Gods by Australian author Amie Kaufman. I have been a big fan of some of Kaufman’s previous works, including the Aurora Cycle series she wrote with Jay Kristoff (Aurora Rising, Aurora Burning and Aurora’s End), and I have been interested in this new book for a while. Set in a new fantasy world, The Isles of the Gods follows several different young protagonists as they attempt to stop two warring gods from awakening and bringing back their destructive wrath. I have made a bit of progress on this novel so far and I am really enjoying it’s great story and compelling style.

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The Last Kingdom by Steve Berry (Audiobook)

The Last Kingdom (Steve Berry) Cover

I have been having a lot of fun this week listening to the latest captivating thriller from veteran author Steve Berry, The Last Kingdom. Part of his long-running Cotton Malone series, The Last Kingdom sees the protagonist uncover another elaborate conspiracy from out of history, this time focusing on the kingdom of Bavaria and it’s complex past. I have had an amazing time with the Cotton Malone books in the past (check out my reviews for The Malta Exchange, The Warsaw Protocol and The Kaiser’s Web), and this latest novel is proving to be just as impressive. I am hoping to knock The Last Kingdom off in the next few days and I am looking forward to seeing how this entire elaborate narrative unwinds.

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What did you recently finish reading?

Fire With Fire by Candice Fox (Trade Paperback)

Fire With Fire Cover

I managed to finish off the excellent crime fiction novel, Fire With Fire, by Australian author Candice Fox this week and it ended up being an outstanding read. Focusing on the chaos that follows two desperate parents taking over a police forensic lab and holding all the evidence within hostage to finally get information about their missing daughter, Fire With Fire was an intense and amazing novel.

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Warhammer 40,000: Warboss by Mike Brooks (Audiobook)

Warhammer 40,000 - Warboss Cover

One of the more entertaining, comedic and addictive Warhammer 40,000 novels I have read for a while, Warboss is an outstanding novel and make sure to check out my review for it here.

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Echo Lake by Joan Sauers (Trade Paperback)

Echo Laker Cover

A fantastic and emotionally rich murder mystery novel set in my local area. I really loved Sauers descriptions of some of the local towns and it was very impressive how she wove her intriguing mystery narrative around this great setting.

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What do you think you’ll read next?

The Book That Wouldn’t Burn by Mark Lawrence

The Book That Wouldn't Burn Cover

I am very keen to start reading the upcoming Mark Lawrence novel, The Book That Wouldn’t Burn, in the immediate future. An epic and impressive sounding fantasy novel, The Book That Wouldn’t Burn will probably be one of the top releases of 2023 and I am very excited to get to grips on a brand new Mark Lawrence series.

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Battle Song by Ian Ross

Battle Song Cover

If I get a chance in the next week my plan is to start reading the awesome sounding historical adventure, Battle Song by Ian Ross. I have been in love with the plot of this cool novel since I first saw it and I really want to see what epic historical adventure Ross has come up with.

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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 – 30 April 2023

On April 30, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Book Haul3 Comments

I have been having an absolutely fantastic couple of weeks for book, as I have been lucky enough to receive several incredible and amazing new novels from some of my local publishers. These novels include some truly awesome new releases, including some books that have the potential to be the top novels of 2023. I am extremely keen to check out all of the books below and they should make for some amazing reads.

Battle Song by Ian Ross

Battle Song Cover

The first book I recently received was the amazing historical fiction adventure novel, Battle Song by Ian Ross. Set during one of the earlier English civil wars, Battle Song follows a young squire and his devious master as they try to figure out which side to fight for. I love a great historical adventure and this book sounds particularly fun. I am hoping to read it in the next few weeks, and I have no doubt I will love it.

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Usagi Yojimbo: Volume 38: The Green Dragon by Stan Sakai

Usagi Yojimbo - Volume 38 - The Green Dragon Cover

One of the highpoints of my year has to be the release of the new volume of the Usagi Yojimbo comic by Stan Sakai. One of my all-time favorite comic book series, the Usagi Yojimbo books are so much damn fun and I love the great combination of clever stories and breathtaking artwork. Well Stan Sakai just released his new volume of this series, The Green Dragon, which features several amazing new stories. I naturally read this comic the very second I got my hands on it and The Green Dragon was everything I wanted and more. I absolutely loved this comic and I will hopefully get a review up for it soon.

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Falling Sky by Harry Sidebottom

Falling Sky Cover

I was pretty happy to finally get my hands on a copy of the latest book from one of my favourite historical fiction authors, Harry Sidebottom, Falling Sky. Set in ancient Rome, Falling Sky will continue the adventures of Sidebottom’s original protagonist, a barbarian turned Roman soldier, as he fights to defend the Emperor and his adopted city of Rome. This new book will feature a deadly civil war in the Italian Alps and should be a particularly awesome read. I have been eager for this book for ages, and I am very glad to finally have my hands on it.

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The Malevolent Seven by Sebastien De Castell

The Malevolent Seven Cover

One of the books that I was particularly happy to get a copy of was The Malevolent Seven by Sebastien De Castellari, which looks to be an outstanding and intriguing fantasy novel. This awesome sounding novel will see a group of rogues attempt to take down seven of the most powerful mages in the world. I love the epic plot surrounding The Malevolent Seven and I honestly think that this book has potential to be one of the best fantasy novels of 2023. I really hope I get the chance to read this book soon as it sounds like something I will have a lot of fun with.

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The Fire and the Rose by Robyn Cadwallader

The Fire and the Rose Cover

An intriguing and powerful sounding historical fiction novel by a great Australian author, The Fire and the Rose sounds like an amazing book and I look forward to reading it.

The Book That Wouldn’t Burn by Mark Lawrence

The Book That Wouldn't Burn Cover

I managed to receive an early copy of The Book That Wouldn’t Burn from one of the top fantasy authors at the moment, Mark Lawrence. The Book That Wouldn’t Burn is a particularly awesome sounding novel set in a massive magical library and I am deeply excited to read it as soon as I can. I am actually planning to dive into it later this week and I have no doubt it will be one of the best books of the year.

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The Isles of the Gods by Amie Kaufman

The Isles of the Gods Cover

One of Australia’s leading young adult fantasy authors, Amie Kaufman, returns with another amazing novel, The Isles of the Gods. An intriguing nautical themed adventure that sees a young sailor and a rogue prince head off on a dangerous adventure across the seas, The Isles of the Gods sounds like an outstanding young adult adventure and I am very keen to check it out. I really enjoyed some of Kauman’s previous work, including the Aurora Cycle series she wrote with Jay Kristoff (Aurora Rising, Aurora Burning and Aurora’s End) and I look forward to seeing how her new novel turns out.

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A Hunger of Thorns by Lili Wilkinson

A Hunger of Thorns Cover

Another young adult fantasy novel from an Australian author I was very happy to get was A Hunger of Thorns by Lili Wilkinson. Wilkinson is another author who has really impressed me in recent years with her two amazing young adult novels, After the Lights Go Out and The Erasure Initiative. Her latest novel also sounds really amazing as it features a unique tale about magic and hidden horror. I am very intrigued by Wilkinson’s new book and I will hopefully dive into it in the next few weeks.

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Dragonfall by L. R. Lam

Dragonfall Cover

The fantasy hits keep on coming with the outstanding Dragonfall by L. R. Lam. A fantastic sounding novel about dragons, thieves and forbidden love, Dragonfall has a lot of potential and I will be very interested in seeing what elaborate story Lam has come up with.

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The Ferryman by Justin Cronin

The Ferrymany Cover

A dark and twisty science fiction dystopian novel that sees people in a futuristic paradise transported to another island against their will when their time is up. I love the mysterious narrative surrounding The Ferryman and I think this could be quite the awesome read.

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Night Angel Nemesis by Brent Weeks

Night Angel Nemesis Cover

The last book I received was a copy of Night Angel Nemesis by Brent Weeks, one of the most anticipated fantasy novels of 2023 and the sequel to his iconic The Night Angel trilogy. While this book sounds cool, I unfortunately have never read the original Night Angel trilogy and I am a bit reluctant to go diving into this series with the sequel. I honestly would prefer to go back and read the original books first (I have heard they are pretty epic), although I doubt I’m going to have time to do that soon. I will have to see about how I go reading Night Angel Nemesis in the near future but at the very least I’ll hold onto my copy of this book and hopefully read it at some point in the future when I manage to read Weeks’ original trilogy.

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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.

WWW Wednesday – 26 April 2023

On April 26, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn WWW Wednesday1 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?

Fire With Fire by Candice Fox (Trade Paperback)

I just started reading the cool crime fiction novel, Fire With Fire, by Australian author Candice Fox today and it is off to a pretty good start. Fox is a pretty impressive author and I have had a great time with some of her recent releases. Her new book sees two desperate parents take over a police forensic lab and hold all the evidence within hostage to finally get information about their missing daughter. While I haven’t made too much progress with this book yet, I am loving the cool scenario and I think that Fire With Fire has a lot of awesome potential.

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Warhammer 40,000: Warboss by Mike Brooks

I am still in a mega Warhammer 40,000 mood so I thought I would try and get through some recent releases from the franchise, and the one that stood out to me the most was Warboss by Mike Brooks. This fantastic novel follows several Ork characters as they duke it out to become Warboss of their massive warband after the unfortunate death of their previous leader. I have made a great deal of progress into Warboss so far and it is proving to be one of the funniest and more entertaining books I have enjoyed all year, especially on the audiobook format. I will hopefully finish this off in the next couple of days, but I can already tell that Warboss is a particularly great addition to the amazing Warhammer canon.

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What did you recently finish reading?

The Tyrant Skies by David Annandale (eBook)

I managed to finish off the awesome tie-in book The Tyrant Skies by David Annandale which I received on Netgalley. Featuring a cool story about Doctor Doom taking on the Red Skull, The Tyrant Skies was a ton of fun and I loved getting through it.

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Warhammer 40,000: Honour Guard by Dan Abnett (Audiobook)

I managed to read more of Dan Abnett’s Gaunt’s Ghosts series this week, as I finished of the fourth book Honour Guard. This was an amazing addition to the series with a good focus on characters and I really powered through it. Make sure to check out my review for it in last week’s Throwback Thursday.

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Warhammer 40,000: The Guns of Tanith by Dan Abnett (Audiobook)

After having fun with Honour Guard I also quickly listened to the fifth Gaunt’s Ghosts book, The Guns of Tanith, which was just as awesome as the previous novels from Abnett. Featuring an intense and captivating narrative that really dove into the heart of the regiment, The Guns of Tanith was a brilliant read and I am planning to get a review for it up tomorrow night.

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What do you think you’ll read next?

Star Wars: Battle Scars by Sam Maggs

I’ve had to delay reading Battle Scars a couple of times over this last few weeks, but I’m still hoping to read this cool Star Wars books soon, especially as we are so close to the new Star Wars Jedi game coming out. I am very curious to see how Sam Maggs captures the feel of both the game and the extended Star Wars universe and this sounds like it will be a fun and interesting read.

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Echo Lake by Joan Sauers

I am also planning to dive into the awesome Australian crime fiction novel, Echo Lake, in the next week or so. Featuring an intriguing murder mystery in an iconic Australian setting, Echo Lake sounds pretty great and I always enjoy seeing crime fiction set close to where I live.

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The Book That Wouldn’t Burn by Mark Lawrence

I am also very keen to start reading the upcoming Mark Lawrence novel, The Book That Wouldn’t Burn, in the immediate future. An epic and impressive sounding fantasy novel, The Book That Wouldn’t Burn will probably be one of the top releases of 2023 and I am very excited to get to grips on a brand new Mark Lawrence series.

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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 on my Autumn 2023 TBR

On March 7, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn List5 Comments

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

For this list, I have come up with 10 of the most anticipated novels that are coming out between 1 March 2023 and 31 May 2023. There are quite a few very cool novels set for release in the next few months that I am extremely excited for, including some of my most anticipated book of the year (as well as my most anticipated fantasy/science fiction books of the year). Due to how impressive some of these upcoming books are, it took me a little while to finalise my list but I was eventually able to whittle it down into a Top Ten list (with a few honourable mentions). I have primarily used the Australian publication dates to reflect when I will be able to get these awesome novels, and these might be somewhat different to the rest of the world. I have previously discussed a number of these books before in prior Top Ten Tuesdays and Waiting on Wednesday articles and I think all of them will turn out to be pretty incredible reads. I have extremely excited for the next three months as quite a few up these upcoming reads are easily going to be amongst the best books of 2023.

Honourable Mentions:

The Kind Worth Saving by Peter Swanson – 7 March 2023

The Kind Worth Saving Cover

The intriguing new novel from the entertaining Peter Swanson (Rules for Perfect Murders and Nine Lives), The Kind Worth Saving sounds very cool and I’ve heard some great stuff about it from fellow reviewers. I might try to read the preceding novel, The Kind Worth Killing, before I get to The Kind Worth Saving, but we’ll see how it goes.

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A Hunger of Thorns by Lili Wilkinson – 18 April 2023

A Hunger of Thorns Cover

A cool young adult fantasy read from the always impressive Australian author Lili Wilkinson. I had a lot of fun with her last two young adult books, After the Lights Go Out and The Erasure Initiative, and I imagine this one is going to be a ton of fun as well.

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Empire by Conn Iggulden – 25 May 2023

Empire Cover

Intense and detailed historical fiction from legendary author Conn Iggulden, this will be an exceptional read that I am quite excited for.

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Top Ten List:

Battle Song by Ian Ross – 28 March 2023

Battle Song Cover

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Fire With Fire by Candice Fox – 4 April 2023

Fire With Fire Cover

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Her Sweet Revenge by Sarah Bonner – 6 April 2023

Her Sweet Revenge Cover

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Fatal Legacy by Lindsey Davis – 11 April 2023

Fatal Legacy Cover

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Usagi Yojimbo: The Green Dragon by Stan Sakai – 18 April 2023

Usagi Yojimbo - Volume 38 - The Green Dragon Cover

The release dates for this comic keeps getting knocked back, but I’m really hoping that I will be able to get this epic new volume in April.

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The Lake House by Sarah Beth Durst – 25 April 2023

The Lake House Cover Better

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The Sword Defiant by Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan – 2 May 2023

The Sword Defiant Cover

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The Book that Wouldn’t Burn by Mark Lawrence – 11 May 2023

The Book That Wouldn't Burn Cover

An epic Mark Lawrence novel set in a massive fantasy library; do I need to say any more?

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The Will of the Many by James Islington – 23 May 2023

The Will of the Many Cover

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Witch King by Martha Wells – 30 May 2023

Witch King Cover

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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.

Top Ten Tuesday – Books I Meant to Read in 2022 but Didn’t Get To

On January 10, 2023 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 Waiting on Wednesday, participants were required to list their most anticipated books for the first half of 2023. However, as I covered this last week with two separate lists (one for fantasy and science fiction, and one for other genres), I am instead mixing things up and instead featuring the top books of 2022 that I wanted to read but didn’t get a chance to.

2022 was a great year for novels and I had an outstanding time getting through a solid collection of cool new releases and older novels, which were pretty much all epic and impressive reads. However, no matter how hard one tries, there are always a couple of books each year that I did not get a chance to read, either due to time constraints, lack of access or from being overwhelmed with other books that I really wanted to read. As a result, this is a list that is rather tinged with regret, as each book I plan to mention below is one that I really wish I had taken the time to read.

To complete this list, I pulled together some of the more interesting and compelling sounding novels that I did not get a chance to read in the last year. Each entry was released last year and while I knew that they were coming out, I did not get a chance to read any of them. In many cases I have these books sitting on my shelf at this moment, silently and constantly judging me, and I think I will have to try and read them to stop their bookish glares. I was eventually able to cull my list of regret down to 10 entries with an honourable mentions section. The final list is an interesting collection of books from across the genres and includes a couple of big 2022 releases I did not get a chance to look at.

Honourable Mentions:

Road of Bones by Christopher Golden

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Three-Edged Sword by Jeff Lindsay

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The Girl and the Moon by Mark Lawrence

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Age of Ash by Daniel Abraham

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Top Ten List:

Kingdoms of Death and Ashes of Man by Christopher Ruocchio

A joint entry to start things off as there were actually two books in the excellent Sun Eater series by Christopher Ruocchio released in 2022. Unfortunately, I missed both, but hopefully I get chance to read them in 2023 as this is an extremely good series to get into.

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An Empty Throne by Robert Fabbri

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The Misfit Soldier by Michael Mammay

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The Bladed Faith by David Dalglish

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Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

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Star Wars: Shadow of the Sith by Adam Christopher

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Falling Sky by Harry Sidebottom

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Khaos by Jeremy Robinson

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Warhammer 40,000: Witchbringer by Steven B. Fischer

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The Starless Crown by James Rollins

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Well, that is the end of my latest list and it looks like I have a lot catch-up reading to do if I am going to make a dent in it. There are some truly amazing-sounding novels on this list and I fully intend to get through all of them at some point, although with all the outstanding books coming out in 2023, it might take me a little time. In the meantime, let me know what books you most regret not reading in 2022 in the comments below.

Top Ten Tuesday – Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the First Half of 2023 (Fantasy and Science Fiction)

On January 4, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Fantasy, List, Science Fiction12 Comments

Welcome to my second Top Ten Tuesday list of the week, were I look at my most anticipated fantasy novels coming out in the first half of 2023. Traditionally I usually only do one list to represent the top upcoming books for the year, however, I was inspired to separate out the fantasy and science fiction novels into a second list due to all the awesome and impressive reads from these genres coming out extremely soon.

2023 is shaping up to be an outstanding year for fantasy and science fiction with a ton of epic and amazing sounding novels set for release throughout the year. I am particularly excited about the next six months as there are some deeply impressive books coming out that I am extremely excited for. This includes some fantastic sounding sequels, continuations to brilliant series, and several cool new novels from some very talented authors. I have already highlighted several of these books in some previous lists and Waiting on Wednesday articles which has made me really appreciate just how awesome the upcoming year is going to be fantasy wise, hence this list.

Just like with my other list of the night, I am only featuring books that are set for release in Australia between 1 January 2023 and 30 June 2023 which I have some descent details about. Despite only being fantasy and science fiction books, I ended up with a huge collection of exceptional novels that I wanted to feature, which made completing this list surprisingly difficult. I was eventually able to break it down to the best 10 books (with honourable mentions), and I feel that I have capture the books that are going to be the best fantasy reads of 2023. So let us see what made the cut.

Honourable Mentions:

Star Wars: The Battle of Jedha by George Mann – 3 January 2023

The High Republic is set to continue in a big way in the coming days with the full-cast audiobook, The Battle of Jedha that will see a massive confrontation break out between the various Force cults on Jedha.

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Engines of Chaos by Richard S. Ford – 4 April 2023

The follow-up to Ford’s 2022 novel, Engines of Empire, Engines of Chaos will continue to explore Ford’s great steampunk fantasy world and the massive revolution brewing within.

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The Will of the Many by James Islington – 23 May 2023

A fun upcoming fantasy read that will put a darker face on the classic magic school story.

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Top Ten List

Son of the Poison Rose by Jonathan Maberry – 10 January 2023

2023 is off to a very strong start on the fantasy front with the next upcoming book from the always amazing Jonathan Maberry, Son of the Poison Rose. The follow-up to one of the best books and audiobooks of 2022, Kagen the Damned, Son of the Poison Rose will continue to follow broken warrior Kagen Vale as he attempts to save his kingdom from the reign of the murderous Witch-king. Set to feature more adventures, deadly action and complex characters, Son of the Poison Rose is another guaranteed five-star book, and I cannot wait to see what happens in this complex series next.

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Downfall by Louise Carey – 10 January 2023

One of the best, underrated science-fiction series of the last couple of years has been Louise Carey’s Inscape trilogy. Featuring the excellent novels, Inscape (one of my favourite debuts of 2021) and Outcast, this great series follows two damaged protagonists through a dark dystopian future of advanced technology and warring corporations. Carey ended her second novel, Outcast, on a great cliff-hanger and I am really keen to find out how she plans to conclude this amazing trilogy with Downfall.

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Seven Faceless Saints by M. K. Lobb – 7 February 2023

A fantastic and fun upcoming young adult fantasy read that will set two different protagonists on a deadly mission to uncover a murderer within a corrupt fantasy city. An intriguing fantasy mystery that has already grabbed my attention.

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The Tyranny of Faith by Richard Swan – 14 February 2023

After wowing the world with his 2022 novel, The Justice of Kings, Richard Swan will continue his epic Empire of the Wolf series this year with The Tyranny of Faith. Following two supernatural peacekeepers in a deadly fantasy empire, The Tyranny of Faith will once again feature the great combination of mystery, politics, intrigue and magic that made The Justice of Kings such a great book. I have no doubt this will be one of the most popular fantasy novels of 2023 and I look forward to reading it very soon.

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The Shadow Casket by Chris Wooding – 16 February 2023

One of the fantasy books that I am most excited for in 2023 is The Shadow Casket by Chris Wooding. The follow up to his epic novel, The Ember Blade, I have been waiting for years for The Shadow Casket to come out and I luckily, I only have a month left before I can dive into to. The Ember Blade was an exceptional and massive read and the sequel will see the surviving protagonists continue to try and ignite a rebellion against their despotic occupiers. Sure to be one of the very best fantasy books of 2023, I am so very glad that I can finally continue this exceptional series.

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Star Wars: Cataclysm by Lydia Kang – 4 April 2022

I have been deeply enjoying the current phase of the outstanding High Republic Star Wars series, and the next major entry is coming out in April with Cataclysm by Lydia Kang. While we don’t currently have a lot of plot detail about Cataclysm, it will no doubt continue the elaborate prequel narrative of this second phase and should produce an epic read. All the books in this second phase have been really good and I am confident that will continue with Cataclysm.

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The Sword Defiant by Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan- 2 May 2023

After absolutely killing it with his highly acclaimed Black Iron Legacy series, Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan is once again looking to set the fantasy world on fire with The Sword Defiant. An outstanding upcoming book with a very cool cover to it, The Sword Defiant will follow a legendary hero has he attempts to rally his former companions on a new quest to save the world. However, the dark swords they claimed during this first mission together has corrupted them all, leading to a deadly and tragic new mission that will pit the protagonist against his former friends. The Sword Defiant has an outstanding plot behind it and I feel it has the potential to be one of the very best books of 2023.

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The Book that Wouldn’t Burn by Mark Lawrence – 11 May 2023

It is always a very safe bet that Mark Lawrence will have one of the best fantasy/science fiction books of a year and I am already hyped up for his next novel, The Book that Wouldn’t Burn. Set in a massive fantasy library, The Book that Wouldn’t Burn is the first entry in a bold new fantasy series, filled with adventure, blood and knowledge, and I cannot wait to dive into it later this year.

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Witch King by Martha Wells – 30 May 2023

One of the biggest names currently in science fiction, Martha Wells returns to her fantasy roots in 2023 with Witch King. Set to follow a deadly demon who awakens from his trap to find himself being controlled by a lesser mage, Witch King has a fun and entertaining plot to it, and I have a feeling I am really going to love this amazing upcoming read.

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Gods of the Wyrdwood by R. J. Barker – 27 June 2023

The final entry on this list could be one of the very best as one of the hottest and most wildly inventive fantasy authors of the current age presents an amazing new story with Gods of the Wyrdwood by R. J. Barker. Barker has consistently been one of the very best fantasy authors of recent years with The Wounded Kingdom (featuring Age of Assassins, Blood of Assassins and King of Assassins) and The Tide Child (featuring The Bone Ships, Call of the Bone Ships and The Bone Ship’s Wake) trilogies. Each of Barker’s books have been outstandingly complex and powerful dark fantasy reads, so I am very excited for Gods of Wyrdwood which will set up The Forsaken Trilogy. While we currently don’t have a cover for Gods of the Wyrdwood, the plot sounds pretty damn exceptional as it will follow a former chosen one, whose destiny was stolen from him as he once again forced into the spotlight. Sure to be one of the most compelling and powerful reads of 2023, Gods of the Wyrdwood is going to be so damn epic.

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Well that’s the end of this second list. As you can see, there are some mighty impressive fantasy and science fiction books coming out the first half of this year. All the above entries on this list have an incredible amount of potential and I have a feeling I am going to deeply enjoy every single of one of these great reads. 2023 is going to be an outstanding year for these two genres, not only with these amazing books, but because of some of the other ones potentially coming out later this. I look forward to seeing how all these cool novels turn out and I think I am going to have an incredible time reading fantasy and science fiction in 2023.

Top Ten Tuesday – Books with Geographical Terms in the Title

On September 13, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn List4 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. For this latest Top Ten Tuesday participants are tasked with listing their top books that have geographical terms in the title. Geographical terms in this case include terms such as mountains, islands, lands, deserts, oceans, valleys and much, much more. Participants were actually provided a link of hundreds of potential geographical terms on Wikipedia to use as examples to help with the task here, and while I didn’t get some of the more exotic terms, it did help me select a couple of fun books to include. I did have a bit of a struggle coming up with a full list here, as it turns out a lot of the books I have read didn’t feature geographical terms, but I was eventually able to pull together a descent list in the end. All the books below are excellent reads and I liked how the authors used these terms in the titles.

Honourable Mentions:

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini

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The Lawless Land by Beth Morrison and Boyd Morrison

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In a Great Southern Land by Mary-Anne O’Connor

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Half Moon Lake by Kirsten Alexander

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Top Ten Tuesday:

Usagi Yojimbo: Volume 21: The Mother of Mountains by Stan Sakai

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Streams of Silver by R. A. Salvatore

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The Last Continent by Terry Pratchett

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The Girl and the Mountain by Mark Lawrence

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Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

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Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch

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River of Gold by Anthony Riches

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Star Wars: Darth Vader – Dark Lord of the Sith: The Burning Seas by Charles Soule

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Glacier’s Edge by R. A. Salvatore

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The Grove of the Caesars by Lindsey Davis

Amazon Book Depository

Well, that’s the end of this list. As you can see there is some fantastic novels out there that use geographical terms in their titles, and there are some interesting usages throughout fiction. All the above novels are wonderful and highly recommended reads, and I had an incredible time reading them. I look forward to potentially revisiting this list in the future and it will be interesting to see what new books will feature these sorts of terms in their titles. Let me know which books with geographical phrases in the titles you enjoyed the most in the comments below.

Top Ten Tuesday –Novels from the First Half of 2022 I Still Need to Read

On July 19, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn List4 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. For this week’s Top Ten Tuesday, participants get a freebie so I thought I would continue my literary examination of the first half of 2022 by looking at the top books from the first half of the year that I still need to read.

While I have already enjoyed some amazing reads in 2022, there are still quite a few impressive novels that have come out in the first half of the year that I have yet to read. Many of these were on my most anticipated reads lists for 2022 (both fantasy and other), and while I was really excited for them, I have honestly not had a chance to check all of them out. Therefore, I am going to use this freebie session to shame myself in the hopes that it gets me into gear to finally get around to checking out these epic reads. This was a very easy list to pull together for me, as many of these books had been weighing on my mind for a while. All 10 novels below (plus honourable mentions) sound really, really good, and I hope I get a chance to read all of them soon.

Honourable Mentions:

Queen’s Hope by E. K. Johnston

The Bladed Faith by David Dalglish

An Empty Throne by Robert Fabbri

Road of Bones by Christopher Goldin

Top Ten List:

The Omega Factor by Steve Berry

I am probably going to listen to an audiobook version of The Omega Factor next, so hopefully this will not be on my to-read list for too much longer.

The Martyr by Anthony Ryan

Following on from last year’s epic read, The Pariah, I have been extremely keen for this book, and I know I am going to love it. I got a physical copy of The Martyr a few weeks ago but I have not had a chance to pick it up yet. I was actually holding out for an audiobook version of The Martyr (I really enjoyed The Pariah audiobook last year), although apparently The Martyr’s audiobook isn’t out till September. Not sure if I will be able to wait that long to find out what happens in this cool sequel, although it might be worth it to enjoy it in audiobook. No matter what though, I will be reading The Martyr before the end of the year.

The Girl and the Moon by Mark Lawrence

I definitely need to find out how this cool series from the sensational Mark Lawrence ends and this will be a major reading priority for me during the next six months.

Star Wars: Midnight Horizon by Daniel Jose Older

I have been trying really hard to keep up with the impressive new High Republic sub-series of Star Wars tie-in novels, and Midnight Horizon ended up being one of the first ones I have missed. This is a real shame as it is apparently quite a good book, and I am very curious to see what else happened in this universe around the same time as the main novel, The Fallen Star. I should really carve out a few days to listen to Midnight Horizon before the next batch of High Republic books come out later this year, especially as I know that I am going to have a great time with it.

In the Shadow of Lightning by Brian McClellan

I was very excited to check out this new novel from highly acclaimed fantasy author Brian McClellan, and I have plans to read this in the next few weeks. I am already hearing some excellent stuff about this book though and I am sure that if McClellan keeps up his usually impressive writing style, it will be an outstanding read.

Kingdoms of Death by Christopher Ruocchio

There is no way that I am going to miss out on the fourth book in the Sun Eater Sequence, especially after having such a good time with Empire of Silence, Howling Dark and Demon in White. However, the trick is finding the time to read or listen to this big book amongst all the other novels on my reading list. I reckon I’ll have to try soon though, as Ruocchio apparently has the fifth book in the series, Ashes of Man, coming out in December.

The Starless Crown by James Rollins

Another awesome fantasy novel from the start of the year that I need to check out! The Starless Crown is supposed to be a very good read, and I will have to try and fit it in at some point in the next few months.

Catachan Devil by Justin Woolley

I have been having a great time with some of the recent Warhammer 40,000 novels, especially those that focus on the ordinary human soldiers, such as Steel Tread, Krieg, and The Vincula Insurgency. However, due to the sheer number of Warhammer novels released each year, I haven’t had a chance to read them all (I’m only one man), and this includes the very cool sounding Catachan Devil by Justin Woolley. Following a regiment of the elite Catachan jungle fighters as they engage in a brutal battle, this sounds like an extremely awesome and action-packed read and I look forward to checking it out as soon as I can.

Age of Ash by Daniel Abraham

One half of the writing team behind The Expanse series returned to his fantasy roots at the start of the year with Age of Ash by Daniel Abraham. A massive and sprawling fantasy epic that serves as the introduction to a new series, Age of Ash is a key book I missed earlier this year and I will hopefully fix that mistake before the end of the year.

The Misfit Soldier by Michael Mammay

The final book that I most regret not reading in the first half of 2022 is The Misfit Soldier by Michael Mammay, who has previously wowed me with his Planetside trilogy (made up of Planetside, Spaceside and Colonyside). This latest novel from Mammay, which I have honestly just not had time for, sounds very fun, as it follows a new science fiction protagonist in a Kelly’s Heroes-esque escapade on a futuristic battlefield. I really need to take the time to read this outstanding book, especially as Mammay has just released a new audiobook that I will also try and enjoy this year.

Well, that is the end of this latest list. As you can see, there are a bunch of exceptional novels from the first half of the year that I need to check out. All the above books sound incredibly epic, and I know that I will have a brilliant time getting through all of them. So, I am going to have to try a lot harder to start reading through them as soon as I can. In the meantime, let me know which books released in the first half of the year you most regret not reading in the comments below.

Waiting on Wednesday – The Girl and the Moon by Mark Lawrence

On March 9, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn Fantasy, Waiting on Wednesday4 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 check out an awesome upcoming fantasy epic that I already know I am going to deeply enjoy, The Girl and the Moon by Mark Lawrence.

The Girl and the Moon Cover

Over the last couple of years, I have been having a great time reading the latest series by acclaimed fantasy/science fiction author Mark Lawrence. Lawrence, who has made a real name for himself in fantasy circles with his epic and beloved The Broken Empire, The Red Queen’s War and The Book of the Ancestor series, is a brilliant author with a great imagination, who I had been meaning to check out for some time.

I finally got the chance in 2020 when I read the first book in his new The Book of the Ice trilogy, The Girl and the Stars, which serves as a prequel to The Book of the Ancestor series. This impressive novel introduced a bold new protagonist, Yaz, who lives on a dying ice world where survival is a daily struggle. After being thrown down a hole in the ice by a malevolent group of priests, Yaz is able to see her world in a new light as she is dragged into a conflict against malevolent artificial gods, their deadly priests, and dangerous shadow creatures. The second book in the series, The Girl and the Mountain, continued this epic tale, taking the protagonist and her friends on a dangerous journey across the ice and towards the main setting of The Book of the Ancestor novels, ending it on a great cliff-hanger. Both these novels were extremely good and I deeply enjoyed diving into this complex and intricate world.

Due to how much fun I had with The Girl and the Stars and The Girl and the Mountain, I have been very excited to get the third and final book in this series and I am extremely curious about how this impressive tale is going to end. Well, my wait is nearly over as the next book, The Girl and the Moon, is coming out in late April 2022. This upcoming finale already sounds pretty damn awesome to me, and I look forward to seeing what happens to the book’s great characters and sinister villains. Not only is this one of my most anticipated reads for 2022 but I am already extremely confident that this will be one of the best books of the year.

Synopsis:

The fate of the world hangs from the Moon

The green world overwhelms all of Yaz’s expectations. Everything seems different but some things remain the same: her old enemies are still bent on her destruction.

The Corridor abounds with plenty and unsuspected danger. To stand a chance against the eyeless priest, Eular, and the god-like city-mind, Seus, Yaz will need to learn fast and make new friends.

The Convent of Sweet Mercy, like the Corridor itself, is packed with peril and opportunity. Yaz needs the nuns’ help – but first they want to execute her.

The fate of everyone squeezed between the Corridor’s vast walls, and ultimately the fate of those labouring to survive out on ice itself, hangs from the moon, and the battle to save the moon centres on the Ark of the Missing, buried beneath the emperor’s palace. Everyone wants Yaz to be the key that will open the Ark – the one the wise have sought for generations. But sometimes wanting isn’t enough.

The Girl and the Moon Cover 2

Top Ten Tuesday – Books on my Autumn 2022 TBR

On February 22, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn List4 Comments

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

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

Honourable Mentions:

The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi – 15 March 2022

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

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

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

Amongst our Weapons by Ben Aaronovitch – 12 April 2022

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

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

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

Top Ten List:

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

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

Kingdoms of Death by Christopher Ruocchio – 22 March 2022

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

An Empty Throne by Robert Fabbri – 1 April 2022

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

The Bladed Faith by David Dalglish – 5 April 2022

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

Desperate Undertakings by Lindsey Davis – 7 April 2022

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

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

Still my favourite cover of 2022.

Three Assassins by Kotaro Isaka – 12 April 2022

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

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

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

Star Wars: Brotherhood by Mike Chen – 10 May 2022