Book Haul – 5 October 2021

On October 4, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn Book Haul3 Comments

I have had a pretty awesome week book-wise, having been lucky enough to receive several amazing novels that I am quite excited to read. I have been waiting for several of these novels for some time now, with multiple being amongst my most anticipated reads for the second half of the year. I have some extremely high hopes for all of them and I imagine that many will be some of the best books I read this year.

The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman

One of the best books I recently received was the incredibly awesome The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman. Serving as a sequel to The Thursday Murder Club, one of the best books, audiobooks and debuts of 2020, The Man Who Died Twice continues to follow four senior citizens who investigate crimes that impact their sleepy retirement community. Featuring another great story with a fascinating group of characters, I have already finished this book off and will hopefully put a review up in the next few days.

The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik

Another epic sequel I got this week, The Last Graduate is the follow up to the fantastic 2020 read, A Deadly Education. I have already started reading The Last Graduate, which follows an extremely powerful teenage magic user as she tries to survive inside an extremely dangerous magical school. I am already deeply enjoying this cool book and it is turning out to be an exceptional piece of fantasy fiction.

The Dark Hours by Michael Connelly

After being lucky enough to have two Michael Connelly books come out last year (Fair Warning and The Law of Innocence), I have just received an advance proof of this great author’s next novel, The Dark Hours. The Dark Hours will continue the amazing Ballard & Bosch sub-series that teams up two of Connelly’s best protagonists. I have really loved the last two Ballard & Bosch novels (Dark Sacred Night and The Night Fire) and I am really excited to see what compelling story is featured in this latest book. There is currently a review embargo on this book until November, so it might be a little while until I can post anything about it, however, once able, I will report on how much fun I had with this fantastic mystery.

Among Thieves by M. J. Kuhn

I was particularly happy to grab a copy of Among Thieves by M. J. Kuhn. Featuring a fun story about a fantasy heist, Among Thieves is one of the most anticipated debuts of 2021 and I am extremely excited to see what happens in this awesome sounding novel.

Cold Justice by Ant Middleton

I was also pretty happy to receive a copy of this fun sounding thriller, Cold Justice by Ant Middleton. Cold Justice has an awesome plot which follows a damaged former special operator as he attempts to save a life in South Africa. Sure to be an intense and electrifying read.

2 Sisters Detective Agency by James Patterson and Candice Fox

Another impressive thriller I recently received was 2 Sisters Detective Agency, which combines the talents of legendary thriller author, James Patterson, with Australian author Candice Fox. This cool sounding novel sets two newly introduced half-sisters on a dangerous investigation as they find themselves working at their dead father’s detective agency. I really enjoyed Fox’s latest novel, The Chase, and I look forward to seeing what these two great authors produce.

Star Wars: Darth Vader (2020) – Volume Two: Into the Fire by Greg Pak, Raffaele Ienco and Neeraj Menon

I also received a couple of fantastic Star Wars comics that I have been hoping to grab for a while. The first of these is the second volume of the impressive Darth Vader (2020) series, Into the Fire. Following on from the outstanding first volume, Dark Heart of the Sith, Into the Fire sets Vader against the Emperor as the Sith master and apprentice finally come to blows over the lies and tragedy surrounding the discovery of Luke Skywalker’s parentage. An emotionally charged and powerful comic that I read the moment I got my hands on it, Into the Fire is an epic read which I will hopefully review soon.

Star Wars: The High Republic – Volume One: There is no Fear by Cavan Scott and Ario Anindito

The other Star Wars comic I recently got was the first volume of the new The High Republic comic series, There is no Fear. Set in the latest era of Star Wars history, the High Republic, There is no Fear introduces the readers to some cool new storylines and some great characters. An emotional and action packed comic, this was a great volume for those readers interested in the High Republic era, especially as it was written by Cavan Scott, author of the amazing 2021 book, Star Wars: The Rising Storm.

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

Top Ten Tuesday – Books on my Spring 2021 TBR

On September 7, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn List6 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. The official Top Ten Tuesday topic for this week was Books Guaranteed to put a Smile on Your Face. While this was a pretty interesting topic (although my list probably would have primarily been a collection of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels), I thought I might instead bring forward 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 of Spring, this is the ideal time to put this up.

For this list I have come up with 10 of the best novels that are coming out between 1 September 2021 and 30 November 2021. There was a pretty substantial pool of cool upcoming novels that I am excited for, which I was eventually able to whittle down into a great Top Ten list (with a few honourable mentions). I have 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.

Honourable Mentions:

Enemy at the Gates by Kyle Mills and Vince Flynn – 14 September 2021

Firefly: Carnival by Una McCormack – 2 November 2021

Aurora’s End by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff – 9 November 2021

Leviathan Falls by James S. A. Corey – 16 November 2021

Top Ten List:

The Wisdom of Crowds by Joe Abercrombie – 16 September 2021

The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman – 16 September 2021

The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik – 28 September 2021

The Bone Ship’s Wake by R. J. Barker – 28 September 2021

The Dark Hours by Michael Connelly – 9 November 2021

Never by Ken Follett – 9 November 2021

The Honour of Rome by Simon Scarrow – 9 November 2021

Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil by Timothy Zahn – 16 November 2021

Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters by Charles Soule, Luke Ross and Neeraj Menon – 23 November 2021

Cytonic by Brandon Sanderson – 30 November 2021

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 pretty 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 – Most Anticipated Releases for the Second Half of 2021

On June 29, 2021June 29, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn List17 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 need to list their top anticipated releases for the second half of 2021.

2021 has so far been a pretty amazing year for books, with some outstanding and impressive novels coming out and blowing me away. However, the year is far from over and there are a number of incredible and epic-sounding novels set for release in the second half of 2021. To fill out this list I have scoured my list of anticipated upcoming releases and tried to work out which of the books coming out between the start of July and the end of December I am most looking forward to.

This proved to be a rather hard list to finalise, mainly because of how many awesome novels are coming out in the next six months. I honestly had enough awesome upcoming novels on my radar to turn this into a Top 20, but I decided instead to make some hard decisions, and I ended up cutting out several impressive upcoming releases, leaving me with a list mostly featuring books from some of my favourite authors. Despite this, I am rather happy with the eventual choices that I made, and I think that this list reflects which upcoming novels I am going to have the most fun reading. Due to how much potential that I think the entries on this list have, several have previously appeared in my weekly Waiting on Wednesday articles, as well as on my recent Winter TBR list. However, there are also some interesting new books that I am discussing for the first time here, which gives this list a bit of variety. So let us get to my selections and find out which upcoming novels are my most anticipated releases for the second half of 2021.

Honourable Mentions:

Billy Summers by Stephen King – 3 August 2021

The Maleficent Seven by Cameron Johnston – 10 August 2021

The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik – 28 September 2021

The Honour of Rome by Simon Scarrow – 11 November 2021

Top Ten List (by release date):

Relentless by Jonathan Maberry – 13 July 2021

This list is off to an extraordinarily strong start as it features the second awesome entry in the Rogue Team International series by the always impressive Jonathan Maberry, Relentless. Spinning off from Maberry’s outstanding Joe Ledger series (which features such epic reads as Patient Zero, Code Zero and Deep Silence), the Rogue Team International series continues to follow action hero Joe Ledger as he goes up against crazy opponents wielding the weirdest science and technology. The first novel in this thrilling series, Rage, was an amazing read that was one of my favourite books (and audiobooks) of 2019, and which ended on a fantastic, if tragic, note. This sets up Relentless to be a gripping and bloody novel filled with revenge as an emotionally compromised Ledger goes up against a new breed of dangerous enemies.

Starlight Enclave by R. A. Salvatore – 3 August 2021

One of my absolute favourite fantasy authors of all times, R. A. Salvatore, returns with the first book in a brand-new series that sets his iconic and long-running protagonists on a whole new adventure. This first book, Starlight Enclave, will follow on from the events of the previous trilogy (made up of Timeless, Boundless and Relentless), and should result in a very impressive and exciting fantasy read.

The Wisdom of Crowds by Joe Abercrombie – 16 September 2021

The master of dark fantasy, Joe Abercrombie, returns with the third and final entry in his intense and addictive Age of Madness trilogy. Both previous novels in the series, A Little Hatred and The Trouble with Peace, have been incredible masterpieces with some deeply impressive stories to them and I am expecting great things for this final novel. The Wisdom of Crowds will focus on the aftermath of the revolution that occurred at the end of The Trouble with Peace and should result in an epic and captivating tale.

The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman – 16 September 2021

Following his incredible debut novel, The Thursday Murder Club, comedian Richard Osman returns with a much-anticipated sequel novel, The Man Who Died Twice, which will present his retired protagonists with another intriguing case. The Thursday Murder Club was one of the runaway hits of last year, and it was easily one of the best novels, audiobooks, and debuts, I had the pleasure of reading in 2020. As a result, I have extremely high hopes for The Man Who Died Twice, and I cannot wait to see what hilarious and clever things are featured in this new novel.

The Bone Ship’s Wake by R. J. Barker – 28 September 2021

Over the last two years, the deeply impressive R. J. Barker has been wowing me, and the rest of the fantasy community, with his epic and captivating novels about the notorious crew of the Tide Child. The Tide Child trilogy, which has so far consisted of The Bone Ships and Call of the Bone Ships, is an outstanding and compelling series, which places a great group of characters in a dark and bloody fantasy world, where crews of condemned men fight aboard ships made from dragon bone. The final entry in this trilogy, The Bone Ship’s Wake, looks set to provide an epic and memorable conclusion to this incredible series, especially after Barker ended Call of the Bone Ships on such a fantastic and moving cliff-hanger. Unfortunately, there has been no preview of The Bone Ship’s Wake’s cover yet but based on how cool the covers for the other entries in The Tide Child trilogy have been, I am sure it is going to be something extremely awesome.

The Dark Hours by Michael Connelly – 9 November 2021

After a bumper 2020 where he released two fantastic crime novels, Fair Warning and The Law of Innocence, bestselling crime fiction author Michael Connelly returns with another intriguing and exciting novel, The Dark Hours. The third entry in the Ballard and Bosch sub-series, which has so far consisted of Dark Sacred Night and The Night Fire, The Dark Hours will set its protagonists on the trail of a clever and conniving killer. This has the potential to be one of the best crime novels of 2021 and I cannot wait to see what unique case Connelly has come up with this time.

Never by Ken Follett – 9 November 2021

I was a little surprised earlier this year when I saw that highly acclaimed author, Ken Follett, was releasing a novel this year, especially after The Evening and the Morning, came out last year. However, I am not one to complain when another awesome Follett novel drops into my lap, especially as his new upcoming book, Never, looks set to be an intriguing world-spanning thriller novel. With an intense and captivating sounding narrative, Never, should be an incredible read and I am exceedingly keen to check it out.

Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters by Charles Soule, Luke Ross and Neeraj Menon – 23 November 2021

While I was very tempted to include the new upcoming Thrawn Ascendancy novel, Lesser Evil, on this list, it quickly became apparent that the piece of Star Wars fiction I am most looking forward to in the second half of 2021 is the major crossover comic, Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters. War of the Bounty Hunters, which is set between the events of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, details a brutal fight to claim Han Solo’s frozen body after a major returning character steals it from Boba Fett. Serving as a crossover between the four current Star Wars ongoing series, Star Wars (2020), Darth Vader (2020), Doctor Aphra (2020), and Bounty Hunters, this crossover series sounds like awesomeness personified, and there have already been some major twists and reveals. I cannot wait to check this comic out, although I probably will wait until the collected edition comes out in November. This will be one of the biggest Star Wars events of the year, and as a Star Wars mega-fan, I am deeply, deeply excited for it.

Cytonic by Brandon Sanderson – 25 November 2021

Perhaps the greatest authors of fantasy and science fiction in the world today, the legendary Brandon Sanderson, has a new novel coming out in November, and it is one that I am particularly eager to get my hands on. This new book, Cytonic, is the third entry in the gripping and clever Skyward series of young adult science fiction novels, which has so far featured two exceptional novels, Skyward and Starsight. Featuring an intriguing and complex narrative around humans fighting aliens in a deadly war for survival, the Skyward series has been deeply impressive and thrilling, and I have had so much fun with the first two novels. This next book in the series, Cytonic, looks set to take its likeable protagonist on another unique adventure, this time into a whole new dimension. This novel has an immense amount of potential, and I already now it is going to be epic beyond belief.

A Practical Guide to Conquering the World by K. J. Parker – 25 November 2021

The final entry on this list is A Practical Guide to Conquering the World by K. J. Parker, which is probably going to be the funniest books I read all year. Over the last two years, Parker has released two outstanding and hilarious fantasy novels as part of The Siege series, which takes place during an insane and long-lasting siege of a fantasy city. Featuring two very clever and loosely connected novels, Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City and How to Rule an Empire and Get Away With It, this series featured two fantastic narratives around unqualified, but devious men, taking control of the siege and attempting to win it through unconventional means. I have absolutely loved the first two novels in this series, and I was very excited to see that a third entry, A Practical Guide to Conquering the World, is set for release in November. While no plot details are currently available, I am extremely confident that this will be a fantastic tale political intrigue, treachery, and humorous ambition, as a new non-hero rises to the challenge of ruling the world.

That is the end of this list. I am extremely happy with how my latest Top Ten Tuesday article turned out, and this list contains an intriguing collection of upcoming books that should prove to be incredible reads. I think that every one of the books I mentioned above has some amazing potential, and most, if not all, will probably end up with a full five-star rating from me. I cannot wait to see what awesome and exciting stories the entries on this list contain, and I think that I am going to have an incredible time in the second half of 2021. While I am waiting to get my hands on these books, why not let me know if any of the above interest you, and let me know what your most anticipated releases for the next six months are in the comments below.

Top Ten Tuesday – Most Viewed Posts of 2020

On February 16, 2021February 16, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn List1 Comment

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’s Top Ten Tuesday was to list a participant’s favourite purple, yellow, and/or green Book Covers in honour of Mardi Gras, however, I really did not have any great book covers to feature on this list so I am going to do something a little different and list my top viewed posts of 2020.

Over the last month or two I have been having fun listing some of the top releases I enjoyed in 2020, including my favourite debuts, audiobooks, new to me authors, pre-2020 novels and books that I read last year. However, it is probably time to finish this line of Top Ten Lists off and move onto different topics, so I thought that I would do something new as a closing act and decided to take a quick look at which of my posts got the most views in 2020. Not only this a fantastic way to finish highlighting some of the best novels released last year, but I am also genuinely curious to see which posts people were most interested in last year as this may some impact on what I try and read going forward.

To fill out this list I checked out the nifty stats section of my WordPress website to see which of my posts got the most views last year. While some of the posts I wrote before 2020 did get a lot of attention last year, I decided to limit this list to those blog entries that I published in 2020 and I only ranked them by views received last year. This resulted in a rather interesting collection of posts and I was so intrigued by this I decided to expand the selection out to my top 20 posts rather than 10, which I think created a much more varied and captivating list. The final list contains a great combination of different posts, including reviews, Waiting on Wednesday posts and even a few other Top Ten Tuesday lists. I am really happy with how this latest list turned out, so let us see which posts made the cut.

Top Twenty List:

Waiting on Wednesday – The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett – 940 views

The Evening and the Morning Cover

The top scoring post was the Waiting on Wednesday post I did for the latest Ken Follet novel, The Evening and the Morning. I was a little surprised that this Waiting on Wednesday did so well last year, especially as a lot of the views on it occurred after the book got released, but the view count on this post has continued to grow and grow. A lot of this is probably down to how impressive each of his massive novels are, as readers know they are in for a good time and keep an eye out for the latest Follett book.

House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas review – 449 views

House of Earth and Blood Cover

After the fantastic first entry there is a bit of a drop in views, but second place is held strongly by my review for House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas. This is not too surprising, considering that Maas has a pretty substantial fanbase, and House of Earth and Blood was one of the most anticipated fantasy releases of 2020. This was only the second novel from Maas that I have read (the other being Catwoman: Soulstealer) and the first adult fantasy novel from an author that specialises in young adult fiction. I ended up really enjoying the complex and lengthy story that Maas created for House of Earth and Blood and I am looking forward to seeing how the series continues in the future.

Lost by James Patterson and James O. Born review – 317 views

Lost Cover

Number three on this list was a bit of a surprise. While I enjoyed Lost, I must admit that it was not one of my favourite books of 2020 and I did not expect my review of it to get as much attention as it ended up getting. Still, with Patterson’s immense number of fans and followers, I guess it makes sense that people would be interested in seeing how one of his books would turn out, and I really need to check out some more of his novels this year.

Waiting on Wednesday – Relentless by R. A. Salvatore – 265 views

Relentless Cover

The next entry on this list is the Waiting on Wednesday article that I did for legendary fantasy author R. A. Salvatore’s second 2020 novel Relentless. Relentless was a particularly cool fantasy novel from last year which followed on from Salvatore’s previous novels Timeless and Boundless. There ended up being a good amount of interest in this post, and it looks like there are a lot of fans of Salvatore and his amazing fantasy novels. I actually just posted a slightly belated review of Relentless, and it will be interesting to see how much attention it gets this year.

Waiting on Wednesday – 2021 Thrillers – 229 views

Thriller Covers

Next up we have a Waiting on Wednesday post of three thrillers released in early 2021. Each of these novels, Relentless by Mark Greaney, The Kaiser’s Web by Steve Berry and Prodigal Son by Gregg Hurwitz, are the latest entry in a popular and established thriller series, and each of these authors already have a lot of dedicated readers. I have already read Prodigal Son (review coming soon, but in short it is pretty awesome), while I have copies of Relentless and The Kaiser’s Web currently sitting on my table. It will be interesting to see how they turn out, but I am predicting some epic and amazing reads from them.

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik review – 224 views

A Deadly Education Cover

Naomi Novik is a talented fantasy author with a lot of buzz surrounding her, so it is no surprise that a lot of people were interested in her latest book, A Deadly Education. A Deadly Education was an outstanding and captivating read that proved to be extremely inventive and addictive. I deeply enjoyed reading and reviewing A Deadly Education last year, and Novik’s upcoming sequel, The Last Graduate, is one of my most anticipated reads of 2021.

Top Ten Tuesday – Favourite Books of 2020 – 223 views

Trouble with Peace and Battle Ground Cover

This post listed my absolute favourite books of 2020. Featuring 20 novels, including impressive reads like The Trouble With Peace by Joe Abercrombie and Battle Ground by Jim Butcher, this was always going to be a post that a lot of people would be interested in, and I was very happy with how many views it got in closing days of 2020. I cannot wait to list my favourite books of 2021 in 10 months’ time.

One Minute Out by Mark Greaney review – 222 views

One Minute Out Cover

Considering how much attention that the above Waiting on Wednesday for Greaney’s next book got last year, it is not surprising that a lot of people also checked out my review for One Minute Out. Serving as the ninth book in Greaney’s impressive Gray Man series, this was a fantastic read that got a full five-star rating from me. I cannot wait to read the next book, especially if turns out to be as good as One Minute Out.

Top Ten Tuesday – Most Anticipated Releases for the Second Half of 2020 – 208 views

How to Rule an Empire and Get Away With It and Call of the Bone Ships Covers

Another Top Ten List with a lot of major and popular entries in it, including How to Rule an Empire and Get Away With It by K. J. Parker and Call of the Bone Ships by R. J. Barker. This was a fun and intriguing list to pull together, especially as I ended up reading and loving every book featured on it.

The Gates of Athens by Conn Iggulden review – 205 views

The Gates of Athens Cover

It looks like a lot of people were interested in historical fiction last year as my review for The Gates of Athens by the always impressive Conn Iggulden got viewed more than 200 times. The Gates of Athens was a particularly awesome novel as well, and I am looking forward to reading the sequel, Protector, soon.

The Law of Innocence by Michael Connelly review – 196

The Law of Innocence Cover

I actually reviewed two books from iconic crime fiction author Michael Connelly last year, Fair Warning and The Law of Innocence. While both were fantastic reads, it seems more people were interested in my review of The Law of Innocence, which saw the return of the Lincoln Lawyer. This was a particularly fun and enjoyable read and I am glad that so many people were keen to see what I thought about it.

Usagi Yojimbo: Volume 34: Bunraku and Other Stories by Stan Sakai review – 173 views

Usagi Yojimbo Bunraku and Other Stories Cover

I did quite few reviews of Usagi Yojimbo comics in 2020, all of which proved to be rather popular, which was great considering how niche these comics are. Out of all these, the one that got the most attention was for the 2020 release, Bunraku and Other Stories. I had an amazing time writing a passionate review for this comic, the first to be released completely in colour, and it was great to see so much interest in it. My Waiting on Wednesday article for the next Usagi Yojimbo volume, Homecoming, has already gotten a substantial number of views in 2021, so hopefully readers will also enjoy my review for this upcoming volume.

Top Ten Tuesday – Longest Audiobooks That I Have Listened To – Part II – 166 views

WAY OF KINGS MM REV FINAL.indd

A continuation of a previous Top Ten Tuesday list I did, I spent a bit of time working out the longest audiobooks I have ever read. This is a post I will probably revisit again this year, although I very much doubt that the current longest audiobook, The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson, is going to be unseated from its top position on the list.

Waiting on Wednesday – Colonyside by Michael Mammay – 150 views

Colonyside Cover

Another Waiting on Wednesday that got a lot of attention last year was one I did for the cool science fiction thriller, Colonyside. Serving as the third book in Michael Mammay’s Planetside series (which also includes Planetside and Spaceside), this article got a bit of attention after a timely retweet from Mammay. I recently read and reviewed Colonyside a few weeks ago and it really lived up to the hype.

Demon in White by Christopher Ruocchio review – 143 views

Demon in White Cover 1

Now, this was a fun book to review. Demon in White is the third epic entry in impressive new science fiction author Christopher Ruocchio’s outstanding Sun Eater Sequence, which previously featured Empire of Silence and Howling Dark. Considering how amazing this latest entry in the Sun Eater series was, I am very glad that my review for his book got some attention last year, and I would strongly recommend this impressive, gothic read.

Waiting on Wednesday – Ink by Jonathan Maberry – 124 views

Ink Cover

I always really enjoy reviewing or promoting anything written by Jonathan Maberry, and this Waiting on Wednesday I did for his standalone horror novel, Ink, ended up getting a lot of attention in the end. Maberry has a new novel coming out in a few months, Relentless, which I am very excited for, and I anticipate a lot of views for that review when I get it written up.

The Constant Rabbit by Jasper Fforde review – 113 views

The Constant Rabbit Cover

One of the funniest books of 2020, The Constant Rabbit was a lot of fun to review and I am glad that a lot of people checked it out last year.

The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett review – 111 views

The Evening and the Morning Cover

While it may not have gotten as many views as its Waiting on Wednesday article, my review for The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett did make the Top Twenty list. Serving as a prequel to Follett’s iconic The Pillars of the Earth, this was one of the best historical fiction novels in 2020 and is a strongly recommended read.

Top Ten Tuesday – My Favourite Horror Novels – 110 views

Into the Drowning Deep Cover

The penultimate post on this list was an interesting Top Ten Tuesday I did for Halloween, listing my favourite horror novels I have ever read. I honestly am not the biggest fan of the horror genre, but I was able to rustle up a good Top Ten list for this post, including some great reads like Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant and Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry. It looks like a lot of horror fans were out in force last Halloween as people were quite interested in this list, and I hope I recommended a few good reads for any fans of the genre out there.

Top Ten Tuesday – My Favourite Books from the First Half of 2020 – 107 views

Song of the Risen God Cover

The final entry on this list was a Top Ten article that highlighted some of the best books from the first half of 2020. Featuring some particularly cool reads, including Into the Fire by Gregg Hurwitz and Song of the Risen God by R. A. Salvatore, this one got a bit of attention early in the year and it was interesting to see which of the books featured eventually made their way onto my overall favourite reads of 2020 list later in the year.

While mainly a conduit for my ego, I think this list turned out pretty well, and I really enjoyed seeing which of my posts got the most views last year. I had a lot of fun pulling this list together and I think this might be something I will revisit in the future. In the meantime, I hope everyone has a happy and safe Mardi Gras.

Top Ten Tuesday – Most Anticipated Release for the First Half of 2021

On January 5, 2021January 5, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn List25 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. For the first Top Ten Tuesday list of the year, participants need to list their most anticipated releases for the first half of 2021.

Despite only just starting, 2021 is already shaping up to be an epic and exciting year for books with a huge range of impressive and highly anticipated novels due for release in the next 12 months. This includes exciting debuts, anticipated sequels and the latest entries in beloved bestselling series. The first half of the year is looking particularly awesome, with a substantial number of incredible upcoming releases that I am deeply looking forward to.

Due to how many awesome books are currently set for release between 1 January 2021 and 30 June 2021, this ended up being a rather difficult list to pull together. There were way too many extraordinary upcoming books that I could have included, and I ended up having to make some very tough calls and cutting several novels that have an immense amount of potential. Despite this, I am rather happy with the eventual choices that I made, and I think that this list reflects the upcoming novels and comics I am going to have the most fun reading. I have mentioned several of these books before in my weekly Waiting on Wednesday articles, and some of them also appeared on my recent Summer TBR list. However, there are also some interesting new books that I am discussing for the first time here, so that should give this list a bit of variety. So let us get to my selections and find out which upcoming novels are my most anticipated releases for the first half of 2021.

Honourable Mentions:

A Prince and a Spy by Rory Clements – 21 January 2021

Star Wars: Doctor Aphra (2020): Volume One – Fortune and Fate by Alyssa Wong and Marika Cresta – 26 January 2021

Firefly: Life Signs by James Lovegrove – 16 March 2021

Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy: Greater Good by Timothy Zahn – 27 April 2021

Top Ten Tuesday (By Release Date):

Prodigal Son by Gregg Hurwitz – 26 January 2021

Exciting thriller writer Gregg Hurwitz is set to return later this month with the latest entry in his awesome Orphan X series. I have deeply enjoyed the previous two books in this series, Out of the Dark and Into the Fire, and Prodigal Son looks like it will have a fun and fantastic story to it.

The Three Paradises by Robert Fabbri – 2 February 2021

This next novel on this list is The Three Paradises, the second entry in the Alexander’s Legacy series that examines the wars fought in the aftermath of Alexander the Great’s death. The Three Paradises serves as a sequel to the excellent 2020 novel, To the Strongest, and it should turn out be a fun and entertaining read.

Relentless by Mark Greaney – 23 February 2021

Following on from his 2020 hit, One Minute Out (which was one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2020), outstanding thriller author Mark Greaney returns with Relentless, the 10^th entry in his Gray Man series. In his latest novel, Greaney’s assassin protagonist will attempt to get to the bottom of a lethal conspiracy involving several missing intelligence agents. I have extremely high hopes for this book and I think it has the potential to be one of the top books of 2021.

Star Wars: Victory’s Price by Alexander Freed – 2 March 2021

While there are several awesome pieces of Star Wars fiction coming out in the first half of 2021, the one that I am most excited for is Victory’s Price by Alexander Freed, the third and final book in his Alphabet Squadron series. The previous two entries in the series, Alphabet Squadron and Shadow Fall, have been some of the strongest Star Wars novels in recent years and I have deeply enjoyed this intense, character driven series. This final entry will feature the final showdown between two rival groups of pilots and should be quite the emotional thrill ride.

Breakout by Paul Herron – 9 March 2021

Breakout is an intriguing thriller novel that I really like the sound of. Breakout will follow an imprisoned former cop’s attempt to escape a flooded supermax prison filled with the most dangerous convicts in the country. This cool sounding book has the potential to be one of the most awesome and exciting releases of the year and I am really looking forward to reading it.

The Bone Maker by Sarah Beth Durst – 9 March 2021

I had the very great pleasure of reading Sarah Beth Durst’s standalone fantasy novel, Race the Sands, last year, which proved to be one of the best books of 2020. Since then, I have been keeping a close eye out for any new books from this acclaimed fantasy author and I was very excited when I saw she was releasing another standalone novel in a few short months. This upcoming book will follow a group of damaged fantasy heroes, many years after their legendary victory over a great evil. The Bone Maker sounds like it will be an incredible, character driven epic and I am deeply excited for it.

The Two-Faced Queen by Nick Martell – 30 March 2021

In 2020 I was blown away by Nick Martell’s impressive and clever fantasy debut, The Kingdom of Liars, which saw a fantastically flawed protagonist attempt to find the truth in a corrupt kingdom where magic costs people their memories. This was an extremely compelling and exciting novel, and I cannot wait to get my hands on the upcoming sequel, The Two-Faced Queen, which I believe will be another outstanding read.

Usagi Yojimbo: Volume 35: Homecoming by Stan Sakai – 14 April 2021

It should as no surprise to anyone familiar with me that the entry I am most excited about is a Usagi Yojimbo comic. The Usagi Yojimbo series is easily my favourite comics of all time and each year I eagerly await the one new volume that comes out. This upcoming volume, Homecoming, will be the 35^th overall volume of the series and the second volume published fully in colour (the first being 2020’s Bunraku and Other Stories). Homecoming sounds like it is going to have some major storylines that will see Usagi return to his childhood village, where many enemies and painful memories await him. I have no doubt whatsoever that I am going to absolutely love this latest Usagi Yojimbo comic and it is going to be one of the best things I read all year.

The Girl and the Mountain by Mark Lawrence – 5 May 2021

Last year I was lucky enough to get a copy of my first Mark Lawrence novel, The Girl and the Stars, which contained an epic and impressive fantasy storyline set deep beneath the ice of an unforgiving world. I deeply enjoyed this novel, and I am quite excited to check out the sequel, The Girl and the Mountains, which looks set to continue the fantastic and captivating narrative from the first book.

The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik – 29 June 2021

The final entry on this list is The Last Graduate by bestselling author Naomi Novik. The Last Graduate will serve as a sequel to A Deadly Education, a fun and addictive fantasy novel that was one of my favourite books of 2020. I had an outstanding time reading A Deadly Education (I powered through it in about a day), and I cannot wait to see how Novik continues this incredible story.

That is the end of this list. I am extremely happy with how my latest Top Ten Tuesday article turned out and this list contains an intriguing collection of upcoming books that should prove to be incredible reads. I think that nearly every one of these books has the potential to get a full five-star rating from me and I cannot wait to see what amazing and exciting stories they contain. While I am waiting to get my hands on these books, why not let me know if any of the above interest you, as well as what your most anticipated releases for the next six months are in the comments below.

Waiting on Wednesday – The Last Graduate and It Ends in Fire

On December 30, 2020December 9, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn Fantasy, Waiting on Wednesday, Young Adult8 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. In my final Waiting on Wednesday for the year I take a look at two epic upcoming fantasy novels that I think will be some of my top reads for 2021.

Ever since I read the first Harry Potter novel many years ago, I have had a particular fondness for fantasy novels that are set within the environs of a magical school. Something about intrigue and adventure occurring around magical classes really appealed to me, and I have since enjoyed several great novels that have made good use of this setting (The Kingkiller Chronicles are a particularly good example of this). As a result, it looks like I am going to be rather spoiled in 2021 as two of my most anticipated upcoming releases are going to feature a magical learning environment, although both have an intriguing twist to them.

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The first of these novels is The Last Graduate by bestselling author Naomi Novik, which will serve as the second entry in her Scholomance series. Novik is a talented author whose work I have greatly enjoyed in the past, such as her bestselling 2018 release, Spinning Silver. However, the Novik novel that I liked the most was A Deadly Education, which came out earlier this year. A Deadly Education was the first novel in the Scholomance series and follows a powerful magical user as she attempts to survive an exceedingly deadly magical school filled will betrayal, intrigue, unnecessary heroics, and innumerable student eating creatures. A Deadly Education was one of my favourite books of 2020 and I am deeply excited that Novik is releasing a sequel in 2021.

The Last Graduate Synopsis:

A budding dark sorceress determined not to use her formidable powers uncovers yet more secrets about the workings of her world in the stunning sequel to A Deadly Education, the start of Naomi Novik’s groundbreaking crossover series.

At the Scholomance, El, Orion, and the other students are faced with their final year—and the looming specter of graduation, a deadly ritual that leaves few students alive in its wake. El is determined that her chosen group will survive, but it is a prospect that is looking harder by the day as the savagery of the school ramps up. Until El realizes that sometimes winning the game means throwing out all the rules . . .

The Last Graduate is currently set for release in late June 2021, and I am really excited to see where the story goes next. I cannot wait to revisit the fun and inventive magical school that Novik introduced in A Deadly Education, and I am sure that she has some fantastic new ideas to make it even more dangerous. Based on how the first entry in the series ended, the protagonist is in for even more intrigue and classroom politics in this next book and I am rather excited to see what chaos, destruction and drama gets thrown her way in the future. I have some major expectations for The Last Graduate, and I look forward to powering through it just like I did with A Deadly Education.

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The next novel I want to highlight in this article is the awesome-sounding It Ends in Fire by Andrew Shvarts. Shvarts is a relatively new author who debuted back in 2017 with Royal Bastards, the first book in his series of the same name. The Royal Bastards series was an epic and compelling young adult fantasy series that followed the bastard daughter of a treacherous lord as she and her friends attempted to survive and end a terrible war that ravished their nation. I absolutely loved this series and each entry in it was very impressive, such as the second novel, City of Bastards, which has one of the best, most explosive endings I have ever enjoyed, or the final novel, War of the Bastards, which was one of my favourite books of 2019.

Due to how much I enjoyed Shvarts’ first series I have been eagerly keeping an eye out for his next project, and you cannot imagine how damn happy I was when I heard that his upcoming book was going to be set in a magical school. This new novel, It Ends in Fire, is a cool and exciting read that is currently set for release in July 2021.

It Ends in Fire Synopsis:

ALKA CHELRAZI IS ON A MISSION:
1. Infiltrate Blackwater Academy
2. Win the Great Game
3. Burn Wizard society to the ground

As a child, Alka witnessed her parents’ brutal murder at the hands of Wizards before she was taken in by an underground rebel group.

Now, Alka is deep undercover at the most prestigious school of magic in the Republic: Blackwater Academy, a place where status is everything, where decadent galas end in blood-splattered duels, where every student has their own agenda. To survive, Alka will have to lie, cheat, kill, and use every trick in her spy’s toolkit. And for the first time in her life, the fiercely independent Alka will have to make friends in order to recruit the misfits and the outcasts into her motley rebellion.

But even as she draws closer to victory — to vengeance — she sinks deeper into danger as suspicious professors and murderous rivals seek the traitor in their midst, and dark revelations unravel her resolve. Can Alka destroy the twisted game…without becoming a part of it?

This sounds really, really good! I love the idea of someone trying to start a rebellion in the middle of a treacherous magic school and it sounds like it could be the basis of a compelling story and an awesome new series. Based on this cool plot synopsis and because of how incredible Shvarts’ previous series was I am extremely confident that that this new novel is going to be another five-star read and I very much looking forward to enjoying It Ends in Fire.

As you can see, 2021 is definitely looking up for me with the inclusion of these two books on my upcoming reads list. I have extremely high hopes for both novels, and I am sure that they are going to be some of the best books of the new year.

Make sure to check out my reviews for The Last Graduate and It Ends in Fire.

Top Ten Tuesday – Favourite Books of 2020

On December 29, 2020January 11, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn List151 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. In the final Top Ten Tuesday for the year, participants needed to list their favourite books of 2020. This is a bit of a continuation of a series of lists I have been doing over the last month which highlighted some of the authors and books I have been most impressed with this year, including my favourite audiobooks and my top pre-2020 books I read this year. However, I am extremely excited to showcase my absolute favourite releases of the year, of which there are quite a few.

While most of 2020 has been absolutely shitty, I think we all got a little bit of solace out of the fact that it was a pretty amazing year for books, with a huge range of incredible releases coming out across the genres. I have had the great pleasure of reading or listening to so many outstanding books this year, and quite a few of this year’s releases have become instant favourites of mine. I must admit that I somewhat struggled to pull this list together, as there were so many books that deserved to be mentioned. Therefore, because I am a soft touch, and because the quality of the books I read this year is so impressive, I have decided to expand this list out to 20 entries. These 20 books are my absolute favourites from 2020, and I would strongly recommend every one of them to anyone who is interested.

Now, I should mention that there is going to be a bit of a crossover between the below entries and some other previous lists I have done before. In particular, several of these novels appeared on my Top Ten Favourite Audiobooks of 2020 list and my Top Ten Favourite Books from the First Half of 2020 list which I ran back in July. To make it onto this list, a book needed to be released here in Australia during 2020 and had to be a top quality read. I have not included any novels that I have not read this year, even they sounded awesome, and I am sure that several, such as The Obsidian Tower by Melissa Caruso, would have made the cut. I have also excluded Call of the Bone Ships by R. J. Barker, as I am only partway through it at the moment. I decided to leave off my usual Honourable Mentions section, as the extra 10 entries kind of make it unnecessary. Overall, though, I have fairly happy with how this Top 20 list turned out and I think it contains a pretty good range of novels that really showcases the different types of books I chose to read this year. So without further ado, here is the list:

Top 20 List (no particular order):

The Trouble With Peace by Joe Abercrombie

Let us start of this list with the masterclass in dark fantasy fiction that was The Trouble With Peace by the always awesome Joe Abercrombie. The sequel to last year’s A Little Hatred (which also made last year’s Top 20 Favourites list), The Trouble With Peace presents the reader with another exceptional and deeply entertaining read that places its damaged protagonists onto a whole new battlefield. Easily one of the best books I read all year, I have no doubt that the final book in this trilogy is going to top all my 2021 favourites lists.

The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett

The moment I heard that a new Ken Follett book was coming out in 2020 I knew that it was going to be one of the best historical fiction reads of the year, and boy was I right. The Evening and the Morning is an addictive and deeply compelling read that serves as a clever prequel to Follet’s iconic The Pillars of the Earth. Featuring an impressive historical backdrop and some great point-of-view characters, The Evening and the Morning was an exceptional novel that is really worth checking out.

Usagi Yojimbo: Bunraku and Other Stories by Stan Sakai

There was no way that I could exclude the latest Usagi Yojimbo from this list. Readers of this blog know I am a major fan of the awesome and criminally under-read Usagi Yojimbo comic series by the masterful Stan Sakai, which follows a rabbit samurai in an alternate version of Feudal Japan. 2020’s entry, Bunraku and Other Stories, was another impressive entry in the series which easily made it onto this list due to its fun collection of stories, including one great entry that re-imagines the original Usagi Yojimbo comic (as seen in Volume One: The Ronin). This was a great read, and I cannot wait to get my next fix of Usagi Yojimbo.

Battle Ground by Jim Butcher

I have long meant to check out the highly acclaimed Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher, and 2020 was the year that I finally did, with the action-packed Battle Ground. Battle Ground was an exceptionally fun and exciting read that puts the protagonist in the middle of a massive supernatural war to decide the fate of Chicago. Epic in every sense of the word, I powered through Battle Ground in extremely short order and had an outstanding time listening to it. I am now a mega fan of this series and I plan to go back and listen to some of the older novels in the series next year.

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

Next we have one of the best debuts of 2020, The Thursday Murder Club by comedian Richard Osman. The Thursday Murder Club was a captivating and awesome murder mystery novel with strong comedic elements that sees a group of retirees attempt to solve a series of murders taking place around their retirement village. Funny, sweet, and containing an impressive mystery, this was a fantastic book from a great new author.

Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

After writing one of my favourite debuts of 2019, Gideon the Ninth, up and coming author Tamsyn Muir, rockets her way onto my favourite reads of 2020 list with Harrow the Ninth. Harrow the Ninth is an exceptional read that follows a group of half-insane necromancers deep in space. Containing an extremely complex but ultimately exceptional narrative, this second book in the series proves to be an amazing read that I deeply enjoyed.

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

You have no idea how excited I was when I heard that bestselling author K. J. Parker was releasing a sequel to Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City, which was one of my favourite books of 2019. This sequel is an awesome and entertaining continuation of the first book’s story, and this time it follows an actor who attempts to con everyone to save his city. Easily one of the funniest books I read all year, How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It was an automatic inclusion on this list, and I cannot wait to see if Parker is going to continue this fantastic series in the future.

The Grove of the Caesars by Lindsey Davis

Another great read from one of my favourite historical fiction authors, Lindsey Davis, The Grove of the Caesars was a compelling historical murder mystery which sees a sassy private investigator hunt a serial killer in ancient Rome. Highly recommended.

Demon in White by Christopher Ruocchio

For the third year in a row, science fiction supernova Christopher Ruocchio makes his way onto my favourite books of the year list with the epic and impressive Demon in White. Serving as the third entry in his Sun Eater Sequence (which has also featured Empire of Silence and Howling Dark), this was an expansive and powerful science fiction novel that follows a doomed protagonist across a dark gothic universe. An absolute masterpiece, I guarantee that the next book in the series will be one of my top books of 2021.

Race the Sands by Sarah Beth Durst

Another new author I decided to check out this year was Sarah Beth Durst and her standalone fantasy novel, Race the Sands. This was an incredibly fun and intriguing read that sees the future of a distinctive fantasy realm decided with monster racing. I had a great time reading this fast-paced and exceptional book and I cannot wait to see how Durst’s next novel, The Bone Maker, turns out.

Ink by Jonathan Maberry

I do not think anyone is surprised that I included the latest Jonathan Maberry novel on this list. Ink was another captivating, if disturbing, novel from Maberry, who provides a more horror based read about a memory-stealing, tattoo-absorbing vampire who is hunting the haunted town of Pine Deep. I really enjoyed this book, and it proved to be another exceptional release from this clever author. Make sure to keep an eye out for Maberry’s next novel, Relentless, which will serve as the second entry in the Rogue Team International series (the first entry, Rage, was one of the best books of 2019), which will no doubt appear on this list next year.

Star Wars: Darth Vader (2020): Volume One: Dark Heart of the Sith

What is an Unseen Library Top Ten list without a piece of Star Wars tie-in fiction on it? While there were some great Star Wars novels and comics this year (Doctor Aphra and Shadow Fall come to mind), this first volume of the new Darth Vader comic book series was easily the best piece of Star Wars fiction I read all year. Diving into the psyche of Darth Vader right after he reveals his identity to Luke in The Empire Strikes Back, Dark Heart of the Sith is a deep and rich Star Wars tale that was one of the best comics of 2020.

The Kingdom of Liars by Nick Martell

Another great debut from 2020, The Kingdom of Liars was an impressive and inventive fantasy novel that sets a traitor’s son on a journey of redemption. Loaded with a compelling story and set in a great new fantasy setting, The Kingdom of Liars was an addictive read, and I think Nick Martell has a very bright future indeed.

Fair Warning by Michael Connelly

I read quite a few good murder mysteries this year, but one of my favourites was Fair Warning by the always amazing Michael Connelly. Featuring his journalist protagonist Jack McEvoy, Fair Warning features a superb mystery that I had a wonderful time unravelling. While I did also enjoy Connelly’s other novel of 2020, The Law of Innocence, I think Fair Warning had the stronger story and it was another classic from Connelly.

The Constant Rabbit by Jasper Fforde

If you are need of a laugh after 2020, do yourself a favour and check out this wacky and weird new novel from Jasper Fforde. Set in an alternate Britain where rabbits have become anthropomorphised and are now demanding equal rights, The Constant Rabbit is a wildly entertaining and amazingly clever read that contains some comedy gold. While I am a big fan of Fforde’s unusual novels (such as his last book, Early Riser), I was surprised by how funny I found The Constant Rabbit to be, and I honestly could not stop laughing as I read my way through it.

One Minute Out by Mark Greaney

One of my favourite thrillers of the year was this latest entry in the Gray Man series by veteran author Mark Greaney (who made last year’s list with his military thriller Red Metal). One Minute Out sees Greaney’s assassin protagonist hunt down a group of human traffickers and engage them in all out war. An enjoyable, action-packed read, One Minute Out is an amazing novel and I cannot wait to read Greaney’s next book, Relentless.

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

An extremely fun fantasy novel set in a deadly magical school where everything tries to kill the students, need I say more? This was an epic and captivating novel that I ended up reading in a single night.

The Gates of Athens by Conn Iggulden

One of the top authors of historical fiction, Conn Iggulden, returned in 2020 with a brand-new series that chronicles the various wars the plagued ancient Athens. The first book in this series, The Gates of Athens, was an exceptional read that showed a whole angle to war against the Persians and which was an absolute treat to read. Highly recommended.

Hollow Empire by Sam Hawke

While I still have to pull a review together for this book, I had to include Hollow Empire by Sam Hawke on my favourites list. The sequel to one of my favourite books of 2018, City of Lies, Hollow Empire is loaded with intrigue, assassinations, and poison eaters in this great fantasy thriller.

Devolution by Max Brooks

The final entry on this list is the deeply thrilling horror novel, Devolution, which sees a small community cut-off from the rest of America attempt to survive an ancient terror, Sasquatches. Devolution was a fantastic novel from Max Brooks, author of World War Z, and it was another fun book that I smashed out in a day. I loved the action-packed and extremely clever narrative that Brooks cooked up for this novel and it was one of the most exciting and enjoyable books of the year.

Well, those are my 20 favourite books of 2020. It turned out to be quite a good list in the end, and I am very glad that I was able to highlight so many fantastic books. 2021 is set to be another excellent year for amazing reads (and let us face it, we all want out of 2020), and I will be examining some of my most anticipated books for the first half of the year next week. In the meantime, let me know what your favourite books of 2020 were in the comments below, and make sure you all have a happy and safe New Years.

Canberra Weekly Column – Fantasy

On October 27, 2020 By The Unseen LibraryIn Canberra Weekly Column, Fantasy10 Comments

Canberra Weekly Column - Fantasy - 15 October 2020

Originally published in the Canberra Weekly on 15 October 2020.

This review can also be found on the Canberra Weekly website.

Make sure to also check out my extended reviews for A Deadly Education and The Left-Handed Booksellers of London.

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

On October 13, 2020April 16, 2024 By The Unseen LibraryIn Fantasy21 Comments

9781529100860

Publisher: Del Rey (Trade Paperback – 29 September 2020)

Series: The Scholomance – Lesson One

Length: 323 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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One of the most popular authors of fantasy fiction, Naomi Novik, returns with another awesome and fun read, A Deadly Education, an entertaining alternative to the classic magical school novels.

Naomi Novik is a talented author was has been writing some intriguing and fun fantasy novels since 2006, when she released the first novel in her Temeraire series, His Majesty’s Dragon (also released as Temeraire), an intriguing fantasy based alternate history series that presents a re-imagined account of the Napoleonic War fought with dragons. I have been meaning to check out the Temeraire books for a while now, but so far the only one of Novik’s novels that I have had the chance to read was the 2018 release, Spinning Silver. Spinning Silver was a clever book that contained an interesting and compelling new take on the classic fairy tale Rumpelstiltskin. I quite enjoyed Spinning Silver and I have been keeping an eye out for anything new from Novik for a while. When I heard that Novik had new book coming out this year, I was quite excited, especially when I saw the cool concept that Novik was using as a basis for her story.

A Deadly Education, which forms the first book in Novik’s planned Scholomance series, is set in the Scholomance, the world’s premiere magic school. But this is not your typical magical school! Instead, the Scholomance is one of the most dangerous and deadly places on the planet. There are no teachers, all the classes have a dark twist to them, and the halls are packed full of monsters, known as maleficaria, or mals, who are determined to eat each and every one of the students before they can escape. Students must survive in there for years, learning what magic they can from the school’s unique learning devices and forming what alliances they can before they graduate, a gruelling process which sees the graduating class run through a gauntlet of the most dangerous mals in existence. Few students survive their time in the Scholomance, especially if they do not have any friends, which is going to be a real problem for Galadriel “El” Higgens.

El is the school outcast. Considered weird and naturally unfriendly, she seems a likely candidate to die when her year finally graduates. However, El is hiding a massive secret: she has an unnatural affinity for extremely destructive spells and has the magical potential to level the school and everything in it, students and monsters included. Desperate to keep control of her abilities and not succumb to her dark temptations to drain the student body of their magic and lay waste to everything she encounters, El seeks to find people who she can rely on. And then Orion Lake bursts into her life, literally.

Orion is the school darling. The scion of a powerful family whose magic allows him to destroy and absorb the powers of any maleficaria he encounters, Orion is worshiped in the school, especially as he has made it his mission to save as many students as possible. But his attempted heroics have thrown a spanner in El’s carefully laid plans to survive graduation. Now forced to accept Orion’s constant protection and company, El forms a new plan to gain allies, and even starts to make a few precious friends. However, something even more sinister is afoot in the Scholomance. More mals than usual are invading the school, and some surprisingly powerful creatures are finding a way in for the first time. As Orion jumps blindly into danger, El attempts to help, determined to protect her best chance of survival. But can she save herself and Orion with killing the rest of the students, or will a dark prophecy about her future finally come true?

A Deadly Education is an exceptional and outstanding novel from Novik that provides the reader with an exciting and deeply enjoyable fantasy story set within a unique and captivating magical school. This proved to be an extremely fast-paced narrative that quickly sets the scene for the entire story and then sets the protagonist on a dangerous course as she tries to navigate a series of new trials and hazards within an already dangerous location. Novik spins quite an impressive tale within this book, and I found myself hooked from the very beginning. I loved the combination of magical learning (I’m a sucker for a good magical school story), dangerous action, the intrigue of the students’ intense jockeying for position and alliances, as well as the character growth that occurred throughout the course of the book. All of these excellent story elements came together into one exceptional narrative that readers will quickly find themselves addicted to. If I had one complaint about the story it would be that the ending was a little weak, with the big finale that was being built up for most of the story being resolved rather quickly, although I did like the build-up and its underlying causes. Still, I did really enjoy where the story went, and all the details and story aspects in this book set the rest of the series up well. Overall, I had an amazing time reading this book, and I actually managed to power through it in around a day, due to how much I liked it. This was a truly impressive novel from Novik and I am extremely glad that I got the chance to read it.

This novel features an interesting range of different characters. The book primarily revolves around the point-of-view character, El, and male lead, Orion Lake. I personally really enjoyed the main protagonist, El (short for Galadriel, a fun and apt reference to The Lord of the Rings), the snarky, short-tempered and bitter character from through eyes we see the entire story unfold. El proves to be an excellent narrator for A Deadly Education, and I liked her sarcastic and pessimistic view on the events occurring and the people she encounters, which results in most of the book’s fun humour. El also has a lot of emotional and personal baggage weighing her down, which is very intriguing to unravel, especially as it stops her from getting close to people and gives her a vast independent streak in a location where individuals are killed off rather easily. The most significant of these are her vast destructive powers and her ability to suck the magic and life from all those around her. El is essentially a nuclear bomb who has the potential to destroy the entire school and spends the vast majority of the book trying to hide this fact from people. This requires a careful balancing act from El as she attempts more mundane ways at building up her mana (exercise, knitting and so forth), while also battling the school’s attempts to cater to her affinity by providing her with destructive spells and school projects with evil potential, rather than the simpler tasks she desires. I really appreciated this part of El’s character, and I found it fascinating to see her efforts to manage her power, especially in deadly situations. In addition, El also has some major trust and social issues due to her childhood, as not only was El’s father killed in the school by one of the monsters but his family and the other major magical enclaves turned their back on her and her mother, due to El’s destructive potential. This makes her hostile towards the various members of the elitist enclaves in the Scholomance, which finds her quite isolated throughout the book. El also has a rather dark vibe to her that makes the people she encounters quite uncomfortable, and as a result she has trouble making friends. Novik does an amazing job exploring this character throughout the novel, and El experiences some substantial development as a result. It was great to see her grow as a person, especially as you come to really like the character, and I enjoyed seeing her finally make some much need connections and friendships.

The other major character in the novel was Orion Lake. Orion is a powerful magical user who excels at killing mals and absorbing their energy. At the start of the book, Orion is shown to be a typical noble hero fantasy character who is beloved by the school and appears to have a substantial following of friends and supporters. However, Orion finds himself drawn to El, mainly due to the fact that El berates him and actually calls him out on his actions. This results in an intriguing character dissection on Orion, as El discovers that Orion feels trapped in his role as a hero and he dislikes all the attention being levelled at him, as everyone treats him as a heroic being rather than a normal person. I found Orion a bit flat at times, but he proved to be an entertaining addition to the narrative, and I enjoyed seeing his interactions with El, mostly because El levels all manner of hostilities towards him and he just shrugs it off, much to her frustration.

Easily the best part of A Deadly Education is the unique and impressive setting that Novik has spun together for her narrative. Ever since my earliest days of fantasy fandom I have really enjoyed the magical school setting, and I still like seeing them in my fantasy novels, especially when they have the fun twists that the Scholomance does. Novik did an incredible job coming up with this dark fantasy school, and I love the exceptionally creative and dangerous location that eventuated. Every single detail of this magical school was really cool, from the teacherless classes, the somewhat sinister learning techniques which challenge the students in unique ways, the dangers that haunt the student body, the distinctive monsters that stalk the halls, and the overall layout and history of the facility. All of this helps to create an excellent and memorable setting for the story, and I loved seeing this darker take on a typical fantasy school such as Hogwarts. I especially liked all the imaginative ways in which the students are forced to navigate and survive the various trials and dangers they encounter as they attempt to survive and prepare for the deadly graduation that is about to occur. I felt that Novik did an exceptional job introducing the myriad unique details of her new fantasy world to the reader, and at no point did I feel lost or confused about the elements that were key to the narrative. I had an incredible time getting lost in this new fantasy universe and I cannot wait to see what secrets and new elements get developed in the future entries in the series.

It is very important to note that A Deadly Education is one of those books that will appeal to an extremely wide range of readers. Due to its content and its focus on teenage characters, A Deadly Education has a lot of elements that mark it as a young adult novel, and many younger readers will have a great time reading it. I personally think that this will be an awesome novel for teenage fantasy fans, and it is a book I think I would have really enjoyed as a younger reader. However, A Deadly Education is not explicitly being marketed as a young adult fiction novel, and there is a lot in this book for older readers to enjoy. Fantasy fans of all ages will no doubt really appreciate the fun take on the magical school storyline and many readers, especially those who grew up on the Harry Potter novels, will have a blast seeing this more deadly and brutal British magical academy.

A Deadly Education is an exciting and impressive novel from Naomi Novik that proved to be quite an outstanding read. This excellent fantasy book is incredibly easy to enjoy and contains a clever and amazing take on the classic magical school storyline. A highly recommended read; you are going to fall in love with this awesome book.

Amazon

WWW Wednesday – 30 September 2020

On September 30, 2020 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 Erasure Initiative by Lili Wilkinson (Trade Paperback)

I recently started reading an intriguing new novel from Australian author Lili Wilkinson called The Erasure Initiative, which follows a group of strangers who awaken on a mysterious bus without any memories of who they are. I was a major fan of Wilkinson’s last book, After the Lights Go Out, and this new novel sounded quite curious. I have made some good progress on this book and should hopefully finish it off soon. So far it is quite a compelling read and I look forward to finding out how it’s clever and unusual story ends.

The Trouble With Peace by Joe Abercrombie

I also just started listening to The Trouble with Peace, one of my most anticipated reads for 2020 and the latest novel from the master of dark fantasy fiction, Joe Abercrombie. The Trouble with Peace continues the outstanding story started in the first book in the series, A Little Hatred, which was one of the best novels of 2019. I am only a little way into The Trouble with Peace at the moment but it is proving to be just as impressive as Abercrombie’s previous books, and I think that this is going to be another five-star read.

What did you recently finish reading?

River of Gold by Anthony Riches (Hardcover)

Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendency: Chaos Rising by Timothy Zahn (Audiobook)

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik (Trade Paperback)

What do you think you’ll read next?

The House of Lamentations by S. G. MacLean (Trade Paperback)

I think I will check out The House of Lamentations next. I am in the mood for a good historical mystery novel and I have really enjoyed the previous two novels in the series, Destroying Angel and The Bear Pit. The House of Lamentations sounds like it is going to be a lot of fun and I am looking forward to seeing how MacLean finishes off her Damien Seeker series.

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.