Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. For this week’s Top Ten Tuesday, readers have a Thanksgiving Freebie, so I am taking this chance to mention those authors who I am thankful I checked out for the first time this year.
In 2019, I had the pleasure of reading a number of different books that ranged from impressive debuts, intriguing sequels, amazing starts to new series, fun standalone novels and fantastic entries in long-running series. While a number of these books were written by authors I was previously familiar with (such as some of my autobuy authors), quite a few of these books were written by authors I had not had the pleasure of reading before, but who I am very glad that I checked out. I have to say that I was really impressed with a number of these authors, and for many of them I am planning to try and read more of their works. As a result, I thought that it would be a good idea to do a list honouring my absolute favourites of this group. This list is not limited to debuting authors, but also includes authors whose works I only just got a chance to read this year.
Like many of these lists that I do, I ended up with quite a substantial group of authors I wanted to include on this list. I really enjoyed their books that I read this year and I am looking forward to reading more from them in the future. I was eventually able to whittle this list down to my top ten favourites, as well as a generous honourable mentions section. Unfortunately, I had to exclude a couple of authors who I really liked, such as Laura Shepherd-Robinson, who wrote the fantastic historical mystery Blood & Sugar; and Australian young adult author Jay Kristoff, who wrote some fun books this year, including DEV1AT3 and Aurora Rising (co-written with Amie Kaufman). Still, I think I came up with a good list that represents which authors I am really thankful I tried for the first time this year.
Honourable Mentions:
Tamsyn Muir – Gideon the Ninth
Gideon the Ninth, the debut novel of Tamsyn Muir, was one of the most unique and entertaining books that I read this year. I absolutely loved the combination of weird comedy, interesting futuristic necromantic magic and the curious murder house storyline, and it was an overall fantastic novel. I definitely want to check out the future books in the series, especially as the second book, Harrow the Ninth, already has a cool cover and plot synopsis up.
Steve Berry – The Malta Exchange
The Malta Exchange is the 14th book in Berry’s long-running Cotton Malone thriller series. Not only did it feature a clever and complex modern-day thriller, but the author utilised some deeply fascinating historical elements to create a powerful and captivating mystery. I am very keen to read more from Berry in the future, and his next book, The Warsaw Protocol, sounds like it is going to be a very fun read.
Claudia Gray – Master and Apprentice
I had to feature a Star Wars novel on this list somewhere, and I actually had a hard time choosing which book from a new author I enjoyed the most. While I strongly considered Tarkin and Resistance Reborn, my favourite Star Wars story from an author I had not read before this year was probably Master and Apprentice by Claudia Gray. Gray did an outstanding job crafting together an action-packed and intriguing Star Wars story that focused on a younger Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Clever, entertaining and deeply emotional at times, this was a fantastic read and I hope that Gray writes some more Star Wars novels in the future.
Samantha Shannon – The Priory of the Orange Tree
The Priory of the Orange Tree was a massive and inventive standalone fantasy novel that was released at the start of the year. I really liked the excellent story and unique fantasy universe that Shannon created in this book, and she is definitely an author to keep an eye on for the future.
Top Ten List (in no particular order):
Mark Greaney – Red Metal and Mission Critical
Let us start this list off with the fantastic thriller writer Mark Greaney. I first became familiar with Greaney earlier this year when I read Mission Critical, the electrifying eighth book in his Gray Man series. While I quite enjoyed Mission Critical, his authorship of the military thriller Red Metal, which he co-wrote with Lt. Col. Hunter Ripley Rawlings IV. USMC is the main reason why I am including him on this list. Red Metal is easily one of my favourite books of 2019 and that, combined with an excellent thriller in Mission Critical, is why Greaney is an author I will be reading much more of in the future.
Miles Cameron – Cold Iron and Dark Forge
I am slightly cheating with this entry as I have actually read some of this author’s historical fiction books which he writes under the name Christian Cameron. However, 2019 was the first year that I read the books he publishes under his fantasy nom de plume Miles Cameron, and I feel the name and genre change justifies his inclusion on this list. I previously featured Cameron’s 2018 release Cold Iron on my Top Ten Books I Wish I Read in 2018 list, and I ended up listening to it a couple of months later. Cold Iron, the first book in his new Masters & Mages series, was an absolutely incredible fantasy read. I also listened the second book in the series, Dark Forge, a couple of weeks ago, and it was a pretty amazing follow-up to Cold Iron (review coming soon). Not only am I planning to read the final book in the Masters & Mages series, Bright Steel, as soon as I can, but I will also be grabbing every new fantasy book that the author releases as Miles Cameron, and I am very glad I checked out his alternate genre of writing. In the meantime, make sure to check out my review for Cameron’s latest historical fiction novel, The New Achilles, which he also released this year.
James Lovegrove – Firefly books – Big Damn Hero and The Magnificent Nine
I had to include James Lovegrove on this list, as he has been the main author pushing through the new generation of Firefly tie-in novels. I absolutely love Firefly, so any tie-in material is going to get a lot of attention from me. Lovegrove has actually written both of the books so far, including the emotional Big Damn Hero (based on story ideas from Nancy Holder) and the fun The Magnificent Nine. Both of these Firefly books were really good, and I loved the cool stories and the nostalgia I felt from seeing the television show’s great characters in action again. Lovegrove has a third Firefly novel on the way, with The Ghost Machine coming out in April, and it looks to be another fantastic addition to the series.
Chris Wooding – The Ember Blade
The Ember Blade is another book that I regretted not reading in 2018, so I was very thankful that I got a chance to listen to it earlier this year. Wooding is a very talented fantasy writer whose outstanding character work and inventive story, created an incredible read in The Ember Blade. I am really excited for any sequels to this book that Wooding releases, which should prove to be very awesome.
Simon Turney – Commodus
When I first heard about Commodus by Simon Turney, I was quite intrigued, mainly because I knew so little about this emperor other than the fact that he was the villain of the film Gladiator. However, this is probably one of my favourite historical fiction releases of the year, as Turney did an outstanding job bringing this complex historical figure to life. I cannot wait to see which Roman emperor Turney writes about next, and I have a feeling that he is soon going to become one of my favourite historical fiction authors.
K. J. Parker – Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City
Before receiving a copy of Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City, I had not read any books by this author, either under the name K. J. Parker or his other writing persona, Tom Holt. This is a real shame, as Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City was one of the best and funniest fantasy novels I have ever read, and I can only imagine that his other works are just as awesome. I am really thankful that this author is on my radar now, and I look forward to seeing what else he can do.
Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca – Darth Vader (2015) and Star Wars (2015) comic series
While I did read the Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith comics in 2018 (check out my reviews for Volumes Two and Three), 2019 was the year that I really got into Star Wars comics, and that is mainly due to the cool partnership of writer Kieron Gillen and artist Salvador Larroca. Not only did I start reading their 2015 Darth Vader series this year, which is just so many layers of awesome, but I have been eating up their recent run on the ongoing Star Wars comic books series. In addition, the Doctor Aphra series, which has to be one of the best comics of the year, is based on the character they created in the Darth Vader series. Gillen also wrote the first 19 issues of the Doctor Aphra series, which feature some absolutely outstanding stories. Pretty much everything Star Wars that these two touch is magical, and I really, really hope they continue their partnership well into the future.
Ben Aaronovitch – Lies Sleeping
Lies Sleeping was the seventh book in the Peter Grant/Rivers of London series, which was released late last year. I got around to reading it at the start of 2019 and I was deeply impressed with this clever fantasy/modern crime fiction hybrid. While I spent a good part of the year kicking myself for not reading any of Aaronovitch’s books sooner, I will hopefully start to make up for this oversight in the near future. The next book in the series, False Value, is set for release in a couple of months, and it sounds like another fantastic addition to the series.
Blake Crouch – Recursion
Blake Crouch has a long history of writing clever science fiction and thriller novels, but Recursion, which was released earlier this year, is the first one of his books that I checked out. I absolutely loved this complex and captivating story and it was easily one of the top books I read in the first half of 2019. While I still need to actually write a review for Recursion (I’m working on one at the moment), I will make sure to grab any of his books that come out in the future.
Brian McClellan – Promise of Blood
The final author I am glad I checked out this year was Brian McClellan, author of the acclaimed Powder Mage series of flintlock fantasy novels. I had heard a lot of good things about McClellan’s books, so I decided to check out the first book in the series, Promise of Blood. I was not disappointed in the slightest, as this was an exceptional piece of fantasy fiction that blew me away (pun intended). I will be listening to all the Powder Mage books in the future, and I am extremely thankful that I checked him out this year.
Well that’s the end of this Top Ten Tuesday article. I hope you like my list and please let me know which new authors you are thankful you checked out this year. To anyone reading in America, happy Thanksgiving and I hope you don’t go too crazy trying to get new books this Black Friday.
The Unseen Library 