Top Ten Tuesday – Book I Need to Clear Off my to-read List

On March 9, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn List3 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, Top Ten Tuesday participants have been given a spring-cleaning freebie where we can do any list we want provided it falls within the general them of spring-cleaning. In this spirt (even though it is autumn where I am) I have decided to list the top ten books that I need to “clean” off my to-read list by reading and reviewing them.

Over the years I have received or written about a huge number of different awesome novels, many of which I would love to read and feature on this blog. However, there are only so many hours in the day, so quite a few books fall through the cracks, or more accurately they end up on a bookshelf, silently judging me. I do fully intend to read these books at some point, especially as in several cases I have enjoyed previous entries in the series. So, in the spirit of spring-cleaning, I have decided to focus this list on books I want to read that are currently clogging up my bookshelf (or digital equivalent).

Using these criteria, I was able to come up with a list filled with an interesting variety of different books. I tried to mainly feature amazing-sounding books that have been on my shelf for an extended period, but in a few cases I chose some more recent novels that I particularly want to check out. I have featured several of these books in Waiting on Wednesday articles in the past, which adds to the reasons why I want to check them out. Hopefully, this list will light a bit of a fire under me to encourage me to read some, if not all of these books, soon. So let us see what was on the list.

Honourable Mentions:

Duplicity by Richard Evans

Shorefall by Robert Jackson Bennett

Ashlords by Scott Reintgen

Grave Importance by Vivian Shaw

Top Ten List:

The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton

The first entry on this list is one of the books that I most regret not reading last year, The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton. The Devil and the Dark Water is the second novel from Turton following his epic debut, The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, which was one of my favourite books of 2018. Due to how awesome Turton’s first novel was, I have been really keen to check out The Devil and the Dark Water for a while but have just not been able to add it into the reading schedule. This is definitely one of the top books I want to read soon, and I look forward to seeing what sort of outstanding narrative Turton came up with in his second novel.

Salvation Lost by Peter F. Hamilton

I have been meaning to check out Salvation Lost for a very long time ever since I finished off the preceding novel, Salvation. Salvation was an exceedingly epic science fiction novel set on a futuristic Earth, filled with some cool technology, fantastic mysteries, and a subtle alien invasion. I am a little annoyed with myself that I have completely failed to read Salvation Lost, especially as the third novel in the series, The Saints of Salvation, came out last year. I really want to read this book this year and I know that I am going to love the complex tale contained within.

War Lord by Bernard Cornwell

This is another book that I am quite surprised I have not gotten around to reading yet. War Lord is the latest book from one of my favourite authors, Bernard Cornwell, and serves as the final entry in his long running The Last Kingdom series. I have loved this series for a very long time, and I think I may be holding off reading it because I don’t want the series to end. Still, this is one that I really must read this year and it should turn out to be another fantastic historical read.

#MurderFunding by Gretchen McNeil

The young adult thriller #MurderFunding is the intriguing sequel to the insanely entertaining #MurderTrending. It sees several teenagers get brutally murdered on live television as they get caught up in a dangerous conspiracy. I love the premise of this series and I am hoping to read this book soon, especially after I just finished off the prequel novel #NoEscape a couple of months ago and absolutely loved it.

Star Wars: A New Dawn by John Jackson Miller

Anyone who reads this blog knows that I love Star Wars novels, so it should come as no surprise that one will show up on this list. While I have plans to eventually read all the Star Wars tie-in novels, both in the current canon and in the Star Wars Legends range (an admittedly big job), the entry that I have been meaning to check out the longest is A New Dawn by John Jackson Miller. Serving as a tie-in to the outstanding Star Wars Rebels animated series, A New Dawn is an awesome-sounding origin tale of two of the series’ main characters, and I have had it loaded on my phone for over a year. I am particularly keen to check it out after enjoying one of Miller’s other novels last year, Star Trek Discovery: Die Standing, which was a particularly clever and impressive read. Hopefully I will get through A New Dawn at some point this year, although I may have to prioritise several upcoming Star Wars novels first.

Alien: Echo by Mira Grant

This next entry is an intriguing young adult science fiction novel that ties into the Alien franchise, Alien: Echo. I must admit that while I have never had an amazing amount of interest in the Alien films or expanded universe, this is one book that I am particularly keen to check out. The main reason for this is that it was written by the outstanding Mira Grant. Grant is a talented author who has come up with some epic horror reads, including the incredible Into the Drowning Deep (killer mermaids!), the cool-sounding Newsflesh trilogy, and even a great entry in a Night of the Living Dead anthology. Due to how awesome her previous books are, I really want to see her take on an Alien novel and I have a feeling that Alien: Echo is going to be pretty amazing.

The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons

The Ruin of Kings is an intriguing fantasy novel that I have been trying to read for over two years now. I really loved the concept of The Ruin of Kings, the first book in the A Chorus of Dragons series, when I received it and I then went on to hear some amazing reviews from a substantial number of fellow reviewers, making it an extremely appealing option to check out. I will have to read it at some point, especially as I also received copies of The Ruin of Kings’ two sequels, The Name of all Things and The Memory of Souls. A fourth book in the series, The House of Always, is set for release in a couple of months (with a really gnarly octopus cover on it), and it would be cool if I could read The Ruin of Kings before that.

Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson

I had to include the epic novel Words of a Radiance on this list as I have been thinking about reading it for some time. The second novel in Brandon Sanderson’s massive and highly acclaimed Stormlight Archive series, Words of Radiance follows on from the outstanding The Way of Kings, which is quite frankly one of the best fantasy books I have ever read. Words of Radiance continues the amazingly complex story started in The Way of Kings, and I really want to see what happens to the captivating characters next. However, I honestly have just not had the time to check out Words of Radiance due to the sheer length of the book. The Way of Kings was the longest audiobook I ever listened to and Words of Radiance is even longer, with a 48+ hour runtime. Finding that sort of window in my reading schedule is hard, but it will probably be worth it, especially as it will allow me to finally get onto the copies of the third and fourth books of The Stormlight Archive that are currently on my shelf (I received copies of Oathbringer and Rhythm of War), both of which I have not touched because I wanted to read Words of Radiance first.

The Obsidian Tower by Melissa Caruso

This is the latest novel from rising fantasy star Melissa Caruso, set in the same world as her awesome Swords and Fire series. I absolutely loved all three novels in the Swords and Fire series (The Tethered Mage, The Defiant Heir and The Unbound Empire), so I am extremely keen to see how Caruso continues her epic universe. Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to read The Obsidian Tower when it came out and it has languished on the shelf ever since. I really want to read this book and I will have to check it out soon before Caruso releases her next novel, The Quicksilver Court, in November this year.

Bright Steel by Miles Cameron

The final entry on this list is the outstanding sounding release Bright Steel by Miles Cameron. Bright Steel is the third and final entry in the Masters & Mages series, which charts the adventures of a farmer’s son who is thrust into the midst of world-altering events. I had an incredible time reading the first two novels in the series, Cold Iron and Dark Forge, both of which were amazing five-star novels, and I have been hoping to read this final book for some time. I will probably get around to finishing this trilogy off later this year, although I will be reading Cameron’s latest novel, Artifact Space, first.

That is the end of this latest Top Ten list. I think it came out quite nicely and hopefully it will entice me to read some of the above novels soon. All of the above sound really cool and I am highly confident that I will have a blast reading each and every one of them. While I get around to doing that, why don’t you let me know which books you want to clean off your to-read list, as well if you have enjoyed any of the above

Top Ten Tuesday – Books to While Away the Lockdown

On March 31, 2020March 31, 2020 By The Unseen LibraryIn List2 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. The official topic for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday was Ten Signs You’re a Book Lover. While that did sound like an interesting topic, I thought I would do something a little different. Today was actually my first day working from home due to the current coronavirus outbreak. While my city is not officially locked down yet, I am going to be spending a lot of time indoors for the next couple of months, which I fully intend to use as an opportunity to catch up on some reading that I have been meaning to do. Unfortunately, it is very likely that I am going to get a limited number of new books coming in, due to businesses shutting down and release dates being knocked back (the main bookshops in my city literally just announced they were closing their doors today). Luckily, I have a huge number of books already on my shelf which I have been hoping to read for some time. As a result, I thought I would take this opportunity to list the top ten books from previous years that I want to go back and read during this homebound period.

Over the last couple of years, I have been building up a massive collection of books which I have been meaning to read. This is a pretty eclectic mixture of novels from across the various genres, featuring an interesting range of topics and authors. I am hopefully going to get around to reading all of them at some point, but for this list I went through and selected the top ten (with an honourable mentions section) that I want to try and check out first. I figure that this list will be a good focusing tool, and hopefully by the time this whole crisis is over I will have managed to get through a reasonable chunk of them. For this list, I am limiting my choices to those books that I physically have on my shelf right now, and I won’t be including books that I want to read that I have to go and buy. I have to admit that this is a pretty random collection of books, and I haven’t always chosen the best books on the shelf. These are the ones that I want to read first, either because I enjoyed the previous entries in the series, I have heard good things about them or because the plot sounds really interesting and I want to finally check it out. So let’s see which books made the list.

Honourable Mentions:

State of Fear by Tim Ayliffe – 22 July 2019

State of Fear Cover

The sequel to the excellent 2018 Australian thriller The Greater Good.

The Warehouse by Rob Hart – 13 August 2019

The Warehouse Cover

The Second Sleep by Robert Harris – 20 August 2019

The Second Sleep Cover

Top Ten List (By Release Date):

The Deathless by Peter Newman – 14 June 2018

the deathless cover

This first entry on my list is rather intriguing-sounding fantasy novel that I picked up a couple of years ago but never got a chance to read. I have been quite keen to check this out for a while and I even featured it on my Top Ten Books I Wish I Read in 2018 list. Newman has already written two fantastic-sounding sequels to this book, so I definitely need to pick up my game and have a go at reading The Deathless.

Watch the Girls by Jennifer Wolfe – 10 July 2018

Watch the Girls Cover

This next book is a rather cool-sounding thriller novel, which I rather regret not reading back in 2018. I really liked the interesting concept that Watch the Girls had, and I always thought that this would be quite a fun book to read.

The Winter Road by Adrian Selby – 13 November 2018

The Winter Road Cover

Now this is one that I have been really trying to read for ages. The Winter Road was probably one of the more awesome-sounding fantasy novels of 2018, with amazing plot about a massive merchant caravan trying to get through a dangerous wilderness. I honestly have no idea how I never got around to reading this one, and I will be extremely happy if I finally get a chance in the next few months.

The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons – 5 February 2019

The Ruin of Kings Cover

The Ruin of Kings is one of the biggest fantasy releases of last year, and I have been hoping to check it out since I first got it. Unfortunately, it has just been sitting unread on my shelf instead, even though I included it on my Top Ten Books I Wish I Read in 2019 list. The third and final book in this series is just around the corner, so I really cannot afford to waste any more time with this one.

The Bear Pit by S. G. MacLean – 11 July 2019

The Bear Pit Cover

The Bastille Spy by C. S. Quinn – 1 August 2019

The Bastille Spy Cover

This was one of the more fascinating historical fiction releases of last year, and I am truly sorry I did not get around to enjoying The Bastille Spy. Following a female British spy who helps free and smuggle noblemen from revolutionary France, this book sounded absolutely incredible. I really need to have a look at this book soon, as the sequel is hopefully coming out soon.

Magebane by Stephen Aryan – 6 August 2019

Magebane Cover

The third and final book in the Age of Dread trilogy, Magebane sounded like an extremely fun and explosive fantasy novel, which I did hope to check out last year. I really enjoyed the previous novel in the series, Magefall, so I have high hopes for this latest book.

Grave Importance by Vivian Shaw – 20 August 2019

Grave Importance Cover

Duplicity by Richard Evans – 1 September 2019

Duplicity Cover

Salvation Lost by Peter F. Hamilton – 29 October 2019

Salvation Lost Cover
Well that’s my list. I am hopeful that I will get a chance to check out all of the books featured above in the next few months, and I am sure that they will keep me extremely entertained and sane during my time at home. I hope everyone is staying safe during these hard times, and I wish you all luck during the difficult coming year. In the meantime, let me know which of the books above you enjoyed and what novels you are hoping to read during your lockdown period.

Top Ten Tuesday -Books with Single-Word Titles

On March 3, 2020 By The Unseen LibraryIn List3 Comments

It turns out that I have read quite a few such books in the last couple of years, and I was actually a little surprised by how many there were. In order to cull this list down to 10, I decided to focus on the best single-word title books I have featured on this blog and go from there. Many of the entries on this list were amongst some of the best books I have read in recent years, and most of them have featured on my Top Ten Books lists for 2018 and 2019.

I may have been a bit cheeky and added in more than then 10 books on this list. In instances where authors decided to give every book in their series a single-word title, I may have blended a few books together into one entry, especially if I loved each of the books in the series equally. I have also included a rather generous Honourable Mentions section as well, just to showcase how many amazing single-word title books have recently been published. While this is cheating somewhat, I think it makes this list more interesting so I’m sticking with it.

Honourable Mentions:

Timeless/Boundless by R. A. Salvatore

Timeless and Boundless Cover

Supernova by Marissa Meyer

Supernova Cover

Commodus by Simon Turney

Commodus Cover

Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett

Foundryside Cover

Top Ten List (No Particular Order):

Eragon/Eldest/Brisingr/Inheritance by Christopher Paolini

Inheritance Cycle

Thrawn by Timothy Zahn

Thrawn Cover

Legend by David Gemmell

Legend

Skyward/Starsight by Brandon Sanderson

Skyward, Starsight cover

Rage by Johnathan Maberry

Rage Cover

Planetside/Spaceside by Michael Mammay

Planetside, Spaceside Covers

Tombland by C. J. Sansom

Tombland Cover

Salvation by Peter F. Hamilton

Salvation Cover

Restoration by Angela Slatter

Restoration Cover

Deceit by Richard Evans

Deceit Cover

And that rounds out my latest Top Ten list. I think it turned out pretty well, and there is an interesting range of different novels there. Let me know which of the above novels you enjoyed as well as what your favourite books with single-word titles are in the comments below.

Top Ten Tuesday – Unseen Library’s Top Australian Fiction

On January 28, 2020 By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, List10 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 the assigned topic was a freebie associated with book covers; however, I decided to do something a little different. Because it was Australia Day on Sunday, I thought it would be good to highlight some of the best pieces of Australian fiction I have read in the last couple of years. To that end, I am raiding the Australian fiction category of the Unseen Library and presenting my Top Ten favourite entries from it.

Each year Australian authors produce a huge range of amazing fiction across the various genres, and I am usually lucky enough to receive copies of some of these from the local publishers. As a result, I tend to read a lot of Australian fiction (which I am defining here as either fiction written by an Australian author or fiction with an Australian setting) most of which turn out to be pretty awesome reads which I review either here on in the Canberra Weekly. I am happy to once again highlight some of the top pieces of Australian fiction I have reviewed since I started the Unseen Library, as several of these outstanding books might not have gotten the international attention they deserved.

Due to huge plethora of fantastic Australian fiction that has fallen into my lap over the last couple of years, this list actually turned out to be a really hard one to pull together. I had way too many choices when it came to the best pieces Australian fiction I have read from the last couple of years, so in a few places I have combined a couple of books into one entry. In the end, I was able to work out what my top ten favourite pieces were, although I did also have to include a generous honourable mentions section. So let us see how this list turned out.

Honourable Mentions:

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

In a Great Southern Land Cover

Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Aurora Rising Cover

Ghosts of the Past by Tony Park

Ghosts of the Past Cover

Blood in the Dust by Bill Swiggs

Blood in the Dust Cover

Top Ten List (No Particular Order):

Tomorrow series by John Marsden

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There was absolutely no way that I could write a list about my favourite Australian fiction without having John Marsden’s Tomorrow series at the very top. Individually the books in the Tomorrow series are amongst some of the best pieces of Australian fiction I have ever read, and together they are a perfect series. Words cannot describe how much I love this amazing series (although I tried really hard in the review linked above) and I have no doubt that it is going to remain my favourite Australian series for a very long time.

Deceit by Richard Evans

Deceit Cover

Deceit is an extremely clever thriller revolving around Australian politics that came out in 2018. Thanks to its incredible realism and excellent story, I really enjoyed this book when it came out, and it ended up getting an honourable mention in my Top Ten Favourite Books of 2018 list. I absolutely loved this book and I have been meaning to read the sequel, Duplicity, for a little while now, especially as I suspect I will be just as good as this first fantastic book.

City of Lies by Sam Hawke

City of Lies Cover

Another book that featured on my Top Ten Favourite Books of 2018 list. City of Lies was an incredible fantasy debut which featured a superb story about a family of poison experts trying to keep their king alive during a siege. This was an awesome read, and I cannot wait for the sequel to this book, which is hopefully coming out later this year.

The Escape Room by Megan Goldin

The Escape Room Cover

The Escape Room was the second book from rising thriller star Megan Goldin, who has gotten a lot of positive attention over the last couple of years. The Escape Room was a very compelling novel that contained a clever revenge plot against a group of ruthless Wall Street traders. Goldin did a fantastic job with The Escape Room, and her upcoming book, The Night Swim, will hopefully be one of the reading highlights of the second half of 2020.

Restoration by Angela Slatter

Restoration Cover

Restoration was the third book in Slatter’s Verity Fassbinder series (following on from Corpselight), which follow the titular character of Verity Fassbinder as she investigates magical crimes in modern day Brisbane. Restoration was a really fun read that got an easy five stars from me due to its incredible story, great use of an Australian setting and fantastic humour. Slatter outdid herself with Restoration, and I hope we get more Verity Fassbinder novels in the future.

All-New Wolverine series by Tom Taylor

All-New Wolverine Volume 1 Cover

Tom Taylor is an Australian-born author who has been doing some amazing work with some of the major comic book companies over the last few years. While I have read a bunch of his stuff (such as his run on X-Men Red), my favourite piece of his work has to be the All-New Wolverine series. All-New Wolverine was a deeply entertaining series that placed one of my favourite characters, X-23, into the iconic role of Wolverine. Not only did this series do justice to both X-23 and Wolverine’s legacy (before his inevitable resurrection) with some well-written and heavy storylines, but it was also a lot of fun, especially thanks to the introduction of Honey Badger.

The Queen’s Colonial and The Queen’s Tiger by Peter Watt

Peter Watt Covers

Peter Watt has long been one of the top authors of Australian historical fiction, and I have been a big fan of his work for a couple of years now. While I was tempted to include his Frontier series (make sure to check out my reviews for While the Moon Burns and From the Stars Above), in the end I thought it would be better to feature his current Colonial series. The Queen’s Colonial and The Queen’s Tiger are excellent pieces of historical fiction containing an exciting and compelling story.

After the Lights Go Out by Lili Wilkinson

After the Lights Go Out

After the Lights Go Out is one of the few pieces of Australian young adult fiction which I feel matches up to the Tomorrow series in terms of quality and substance. This book about a family of survivalists being thrust into an actual doomsday scenario was extremely captivating, and I loved this extraordinary novel. Really worth checking out.

Half Moon Lake by Kirsten Alexander

Half Moon Lake Cover

Half Moon Lake is an amazing historical drama that was one of my favourite debuts from 2019. This book is a clever historical drama that was inspired by the real-life historical disappearance of a child and the tragic events that followed. A gripping and memorable book that comes highly recommended.

The Last Smile in Sunder City by Luke Arnold

The Last Smile in Sunder City

The most recent addition to my Australian fiction category, The Last Smile in Sunder City is another impressive debut which I had an incredible time reading. Arnold has come up with an excellent mystery set in an inventive new fantasy world with a conflicted central protagonist. This was an amazing first book from Arnold and I will hopefully be able to read his follow-up books in the future.

Well, that concludes my list. I am so happy that I got the chance to highlight some of the great pieces of historical fiction I have been fortunate enough to enjoy over the last couple of years. Each of the above books are exceptional reads, and I had a wonderful time reading all of them. While I was a little disappointed that I had to leave a few great books off this list, such as Greenlight by Benjamin Stevenson, DEV1AT3 by Jay Kristoff and The Secret Runners of New York by Matthew Reilly, I really like how my list turned out. I think that I will come back and update this list in the future, probably close to next year’s Australia Day. I am highly confident that this next version of my list will contain some new books from 2020, and I look forward to seeing which pieces of upcoming Australian fiction I am really going to enjoy next. In the meantime, I hope all my fellow Australians had a great long weekend and please let me know which pieces of Australian fiction are favourites in the comments below.

Top Ten Tuesday – Books I Wish I read in 2019

On January 21, 2020January 21, 2020 By The Unseen LibraryIn List12 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, I am going to take a look at the top ten books I wish I had read in 2019. 2019 was an absolutely great year for books and I managed to get through a massive pile of fantastic reads (make sure to check out my top reads of 2019 list). However, there are always going to be some outstanding releases that you miss, and 2019 was filled with some amazing books that I wish I had gotten a chance to read. So, I thought I would take the time to highlight which 2019 releases I most regret not getting the chance to read. Hopefully by including them on this list, I will encourage myself to read some of them throughout this year.

Readers of my blog might remember that I did a similar list to this at the start of last year, with my Top Ten Books I Wish I Read in 2018 list. For this earlier list, I looked at which books I most regretted not reading in 2018, and made it a priority to try and get through them at some point. I actually made a little bit of progress getting through the books on this list last year, as I ended up reading three out of the 10 books that featured on this earlier list (like I said, a little bit of progress). Each of these three books that I ended up reading in 2019, which included Cold Iron by Miles Cameron, The Ember Blade by Chris Wooding and King of Assassins by R. J. Barker (review still pending), were extremely epic books, and each of them received a full five out of five stars from me. I am still going to try and read some of the other books that were featured on this 2018 list in the future, but it is definitely time to look to the releases of 2019. Hopefully I will enjoy some of the inclusions on this new list as much as the books I went back to check out last year.

For this list any book with a 2019 release date that I have not yet read is eligible to be included. I had a feeling before I started that this will be a pretty diverse list as there were quite a few intriguing-sounding novels out there that I did not get a chance to try out. It turned out that there were quite a few books out there that I wish I had read last year, but I was eventually able to work out what my top ten were. I think that each of the novels featured on this list have a great amount of potential, especially those where I have already read an earlier book in the series. So, let us get to the list.

Honourable Mentions:

Grave Importance by Vivian Shaw

The Russian by Ben Coes

Nottingham by Nathan Makaryk

The Second Sleep by Robert Harris

Top Ten List:

The Institute by Stephen King

For the second year in a row, the latest Stephen King tops my list of books I wish I had read. While The Institute sounded extremely interesting, I just could not fit it into my reading schedule. I think that I will really have to try and get through this book at some point this year.

The Ruin of Kings and The Name of All Things by Jenn Lyons

I’m going to do a double feature for this second entry and feature the first two books in Jenn Lyons’s A Chorus of Dragons series. Both of these books were released last year, and they sounded like particularly intriguing pieces of fantasy fiction that I really wanted to read. Unfortunately, I had to prioritise other books in front of The Ruin of Kings, and I did not want to take a look at The Name of All Things until I’d gotten through the first book. The end result is that I didn’t read either of them, which is a real shame. I must try and have a go at reading both of them this year, especially as the third book in the series, The Memory of Souls (which has a rather cool picture of an elephant on its front cover), is set for release in August.

Salvation Lost by Peter F. Hamilton

This is probably the most surprising novel I did not read last year. Salvation Lost is the sequel to 2018’s Salvation, which was one of my favourite books in 2018. I have been meaning to read this sequel since about July, and yet somehow, I keep completely failing to even pick it up. I will hopefully get to this one very soon, and it is probably the book on this list I am most likely to read next.

The Bear Pit by S. G. MacLean

The Bear Pit is another book whose preceding novel, Destroying Angel, I found to be pretty spectacular. I was really looking forward to The Bear Pit, especially as it featured a really cool sounding mystery in a fascinating historical period. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get a copy of this book (the one copy I saw in the shop was damaged, the horror, the horror) and so didn’t get around to reading it. I will read this book at some point in the future and I cannot wait to dive into another one of MacLean’s compelling and complex murder mystery storylines.

Alien: Echo by Mira Grant

An Alien book, written by horror extraordinaire Mira Grant! How have I not read this book yet? I was really looking forward to Alien: Echo earlier in the year, especially after I enjoyed Grant’s last novel, Into the Drowning Deep. I actually have a copy of this book currently sitting on my shelf, silently judging me, and I will have to carve out some time to get through this one.

We Are the Dead by Mike Shackle

We Are the Dead was a rather intriguing-sounding 2019 fantasy debut that I very much regret not getting a copy of. I have heard some pretty amazing things about this book, and I really wish that I had managed to check it out. The sequel, A Fool’s Hope, is set for release in July, and I will have to make an effort and read We Are the Dead before this second book comes out.

Duplicity by Richard Evans

This was the second book in Evans’s Democracy series, the first book of which, Deceit, was also featured on my favourite reads of 2018 list. Deceit was an excellent political thriller that expertly portrayed chaotic events that occur within Australia’s Parliament House. I was really looking forward to the sequel, especially as it was going to look at Australia’s electoral process, but unfortunately I just didn’t get a chance to read it. This is another one I am probably going to try and read in the next couple of weeks, and I think it is going to be a really outstanding piece of Australian fiction.

The Taking of Annie Thorne by C. J. Tudor

This was fantastic-sounding novel that I heard some good things about from other reviewers. The Taking of Annie Thorne, also titled The Hiding Place, was another dark thriller from Tudor, acclaimed author of The Chalk Man, which featured another of the author’s clever-sounding plots. I really want to check this one out in its audiobook format as it was narrated by Richard Armitage, and I look forward to hearing him tell the story.

Star Wars: Dooku: Jedi Lost by Cavan Scott

Somehow I failed to read all the Star Wars books that were released last year, which is just disappointing. Dooku: Jedi Lost is a deeply intriguing Star Wars novel that somehow failed to turn up on my radar until after its release. This piece of Star Wars fiction began life exclusively as an audio production, although a printed version has since been produced. The book examines the life of Star Wars antagonist Count Dooku and shows why he left the Jedi Order and how he was seduced by the Dark Side of the Force. Because it is a Star Wars novel, I already know I am going to love it, and it is pretty much guaranteed that I will listen to this at some point. I am really looking forward to learning more about the history of Count Dooku, and from the sounds of it, this book will have some strong ties to one of my favourite Star Was book of 2019, Master & Apprentice.

The Wolf’s Call by Anthony Ryan

The final book on this list is The Wolf’s Call by bestselling fantasy author Anthony Ryan. The Wolf’s Call is the first book in Ryan’s new Raven’s Blade series, which follows the adventures of a legendary warrior forced to fight another bloody war. This book has a really intriguing-sounding plot and received some very high praise from reviewers, so I will have to try and read it at some point. I might actually read the three books in Ryan’s Raven’s Shadow series first, as they are set in the same world.

It looks like I have a lot catch-up reading to do if I am going to make a dent in this list. 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 2020, it might take me a little time. In the meantime, let me know what books you most regret not reading in 2019 in the comments below.

Top Ten Tuesday – Top Ten Books I Would Like to Read by the End of 2019

On November 12, 2019November 12, 2019 By The Unseen LibraryIn List10 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. For this week’s Top Ten Tuesday, participants are supposed to list their Top Ten Favourite Bookmarks. However, I am once again going to go a little off-book (if you will excuse the pun) and instead I am going to list the Top Ten Books I Would Like to Read by the End of 2019.

It may alarm some of you that there are only 50 days left in the year (it certainly alarmed me), which means that the pressure is on to read and review everything you want to before the end of 2019. I personally have quite a few books that I would love to finish before the year is out, including a few essential books that I really need to read as soon as possible. I do have to admit is that this is not an original topic that I came up with myself; I actually saw that one of the blogs I follow, Kristin Kraves Books, shared something similar earlier today. Their post inspired me to think about what books I would like to read by the end of 2019.

As a result, I was able to come up with a list of the top books that I would like to read by the end of the year. This list got a little out of hand, but I was eventually able to cull it down to 10, along with a rather generous Honourable Mentions section. Sadly, some books I would probably have an amazing time reading, such as Anyone by Charles Soule, The Andromeda Evolution by Daniel H. Wilson and The Bear Pit by S. G. MacLean did not make the cut. I also did not include Starsight by Brandon Sanderson, despite it being one of my most anticipated reads for 2019, mainly because I received a copy of it yesterday and I have already started reading it. I think this is a pretty good and varied list, although I did feature quite a few of these books previously on my Top Ten Most Anticipated July-December 2019 Releases list. Check out my entries below:

Honourable Mention:

Star Wars: Allegiance by Ethan Sacks

Legacy of Ash by Matthew Ward

Warrior of the Altaii by Robert Jordan

This is probably the book I am going to read next, as I am planning to feature it in a Canberra Weekly review in a few weeks.

Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons

Probably the only book in this article that I have not done a Waiting on Wednesday article for, Ruin of Kings is an interesting-sounding fantasy book that came out earlier this year. I have been meaning to read this book for months, especially after I recently received a copy of the sequel, The Name of All Things. Hopefully I will get a chance to listen to it soon, but it is a massive book that might struggle to fit into my reading schedule.

Top Ten List (in no particular order):

Rage by Jonathan Maberry

Now, while this list is mostly in no particular order, Rage is probably the 2019 release that I am most looking forward to reading. I have become a little obsessed with Jonathan Maberry’s Joe Ledger series in the last year, and I am very keen to check out this latest book as soon as possible, especially after enjoying some outstanding Joe Ledger books such as Assassin’s Code and Code Zero earlier this year.

The Bone Ships by R. J. Barker

Salvation Lost by Peter F. Hamilton

A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie

Duplicity by Richard Evans

False Value by Ben Aaronovitch

Traitors of Rome by Simon Scarrow

Firefly: Generations by Tim Lebbon

Sword of Kings by Bernard Cornwell

Star Wars: Force Collector by Kevin Shinick

I have made no great secret of my intense love of Star Wars extended universe fiction, so I had to include at least one upcoming Star Wars book on this list. As I have already read and reviewed Darth Vader: Dark Visions, Resistance Reborn and Black Spire, the intriguing-sounding young adult book Force Collector is the only choice left for this list.

Hopefully I will get around to finishing all of these in the next few weeks, but we’ll have to see how it goes. What books would you like to read by the end of 2019? Let us know in the comments below.

Book Haul – 18 October 2019

On October 18, 2019 By The Unseen LibraryIn Book Haul1 Comment

It’s been a little while since I have done a book haul post, but it thought it would be a good time to look at some of the great books I have received recently. I’ve managed to get some really intriguing reads in the last two weeks from the publishers, and I also picked up a couple of books that I have been really keen on getting. All of these seem pretty amazing and I am really looking forward to reading all of them.

Warrior of the Altaii by Robert Jordan

Warrior of the Altaii Cover

Possibly the book that I have been looking forward to the most. Thanks to his Wheel of Time series Robert Jordan is a legendary fantasy author and I am curious to find out what his earlier writings were like.

The Night Fire by Michael Connelly

The Night Fire Cover.jpg

The latest book from bestselling author Michael Connelly, The Night Fire continues the combined adventures of Ballard and Bosch that were started in Connelly’s previous book Dark Sacred Night. This sounds like a really intriguing mystery and it should be pretty amazing.

The Name Of All Things by Jenn Lyons

The Name of all Things Cover.jpg

This is the second book in Lyons’ A Chorus of Dragons series that started earlier in 2019 with The Ruin of Kings. I have been meaning to read The Ruin of Kings all year, and I might try and read it first before getting onto this second book.

A Minute to Midnight by David Baldacci

A Minute to Midnight Cover.png

Another compelling sounding mystery. Baldacci has been on a real writing tear this year and I really need to read some of his books.

Funny Bones Edited by Kate and Joel Temple and Oliver Phommavanh

Funny Bones Cover.jpg

This one is a funny book for a good cause. Over 100 Australian authors, illustrators and comedians have contributed short stories, jokes and drawings to this book, with all royalties from it going to War Child Australia. I grew up with a number of the contributors and this should prove to be a great book for younger readers.

Duplicity by Richard Evans

Duplicity Cover

This is another book that I have really been looking forward to for a while. Evans’ first book in The Democracy trilogy, Deceit, was an outstanding Australian political thriller and was one of my favourite books from last year. As a result, I have high hopes for this second entry in the series and cannot wait to read it.

Sword of Kings by Bernard Cornwell

Sword of Kings Cover

The latest book from one of my top ten favourite authors, there was no way I was not going to get a copy of Sword of Kings. This series is a pretty outstanding example of historical fiction, and I have been looking forward to Sword of Kings ever since I read the previous book in the series, War of the Wolf. I already know that I am going to love this and I am very excited to check it out.

Do you like the look of these books? Stay tuned to see how much I enjoy this amazing looking collection.

Waiting on Wednesday – Duplicity by Richard Evans

On May 22, 2019 By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Thriller, Waiting on Wednesday7 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. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.

For this week’s Waiting on Wednesday, I am going to look at an upcoming piece of Australian fiction that I think is going to be a thrilling, realistic and deeply intriguing read, Duplicity by Richard Evans.

Duplicity Cover.jpg

Duplicity is the second book in Evans’s Democracy trilogy and follows on from his 2018 release, Deceit, which presented the reader with a tale of corruption and political intrigue inside the halls of Australia’s Parliament House. Evans himself is former Australian politician whose detailed knowledge of parliamentary procedure and the day-to-day aspects of Australian politics turned this book into an exceedingly realistic read (depressingly so, in some cases). It was so accurate and clever it earned a five-star review from me last year and received an honourable mention in my Top Ten Reads of 2018 list. As a result, I am quite keen to check out Duplicity, especially as it is set to focus on a very topical part of Australia’s political system: the election.

Simon & Schuster Synopsis:

When ruthless political operative Jonathan Wolff is assigned the task of overthrowing corrupt Australian Prime Minister Andrew Gerrard in the federal election campaign, no one is safe from the line of fire.

Wolff’s tactful manipulation and political prowess guide the opposition towards election success, but fearing they will not win, Hawk must initiate his own explosive campaign to defeat the Prime Minister and remain loyal to the Mercantiles – a long-established group of high-taxpaying business owners out to manipulate the halls of Parliament House.

With investigative journalist Anita Devlin hot on his trail, Wolff oversees a storm of violent demonstrations in a strategic ploy to advance the cause of independent candidate Jaya Rukhmani.

Devlin is determined to be the whistle-blower, but does she have what it takes to expose Wolff and the Mercantiles? Or will political power overcome truth in this gripping Australian political thriller?

This sounds like it could be quite the interesting story, and it is definitely a change from the plot of the first book in the series. In Deceit, the story focused on the corrupt Prime Minister attempting to manipulate the parliament and the people to commit an illegal act. In this one, it’s two corrupt politicians attempting to manipulate the system for their own ends, and I expect the machinations and power plays to double in volume as a result.

The timing of this book is quite impeccable. Australia has only just finished up a federal election period that was filled with controversy, surprises and, at times, blatant stupidity. With that fresh in our minds, this book is going to take on a lot of extra potency and meaning, although I imagine quite a few people will be frustrated by any similarities it will share with real life events.

Duplicity is set to be released in September, and I am quite looking forward to seeing how Evans spins this election in his book. I am expecting another fantastic and thrilling read and I am very curious to see what additional aspects of Australian politics the author brings to life this time.

My Top Ten Reads for 2018

On December 31, 2018January 5, 2019 By The Unseen LibraryIn List49 Comments

2018 has been one hell of a year for fiction, with a ton of great novels and comics from a variety of genres. Throughout this year I have had the pleasure of reading a huge number of outstanding novels and now I have the hard task of deciding what my favourite books of the year were. So below, in no particular order, are the books I believe were the best of 2018:

Skyward by Brandon Sanderson

This is one I only just reviewed a few days ago, but it is easily one of the most incredible books of 2018. Legendary science fiction and fantasy author Brandon Sanderson has created another captivating read set in one of his trademark intricate new worlds. Skyward was pretty much the best piece of young adult fiction that I read this year, and I cannot speak highly enough of the high-speed dogfights between human pilots and alien fighters.

Tombland by C. J. Sansom

Another book that I only just recently read, but I found it to be one of the best historical murder mysteries of the year. Readers who get into this latest book in the Matthew Shardlake series will find a novel filled with an incredible amount of historical detail, a focus on an underutilised event from history and a deeply intriguing mystery. All of these come together into a massively compelling narrative that proves pretty damn hard to put down for any substantial length of time.

Deep Silence by Jonathan Maberry

The 10th book in Maberry’s fantastically over-the-top Joe Ledger series, Deep Silence contains a wonderful mixture of weird science, thrilling espionage and some crazy science fiction elements. All of these are pretty darn entertaining by themselves, but together they form a really fun novel that I really enjoyed, and which got me really hooked on Maberry as an author. Deep Silence also had to be my favourite new audiobook of 2018, and I loved the expert and humorous narration by the amazing Ray Porter.

Planetside by Michael Mammay

The science fiction debut of 2018 that came out of nowhere, Planetside was an incredible thriller set on and above an alien planet. Featuring a pretty cool mystery with some amazing twists, as well as an epic and memorable conclusion to the entire story, this was an absolutely fantastic read. Another one with a pretty amazing audiobook, this was an awesome debut and I am already looking forward to the second book in the series.

Star Wars: Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith Volume 3 – The Burning Seas

Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith has to be one of my favourite ongoing comic book series out at the moment. While this third volume of the series is not the only one that came out this year, it was definitely my favourite, with a range of awesome storylines that continue to set up Vader as one of the biggest villains in all of fiction. With some incredible action, some great additions to the Star Wars lore and some intriguing references to the movies, this volume had a little something for everybody and is well worth checking out.

Bloody Rose by Nicholas Eames

The follow-up to Eames’s wildly successful 2017 debut, Kings of the Wyld, this is an extremely fun and highly action packed fantasy adventure. Featuring a fantastic band of fantasy characters as they tramp across the landscape in a journey reminiscent of a rock group tour, this book lives up to its substantial hype and is one of the most straight-up entertaining reads of 2018.

City of Lies by Sam Hawke

From fellow Canberran Sam Hawke comes this outstanding piece of fantasy intrigue in what was probably one of the best fantasy debuts of 2018. Featuring an incredible poison based storyline, this was an amazingly compelling read that contained a number of outstanding mysteries and conspiracies, as well as setting up a new fantasy world for a great new fantasy series.

Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruochhio

Debuting science fiction writer Christopher Ruochhio came out of the gate swinging this year with this epic space opera. Featuring a massive new universe in the future and focusing on the adventures of the man destined to kill a sun, Empire of Silence is a really impressive first outing from this author and an excellent introduction to a bold new science fiction series with a lot of potential.

The Defiant Heir by Melissa Caruso

The follow-up to one of my favourite debuts of 2017, The Tethered Mage, Caruso continues the adventure of her two mismatched companions in this fast-moving sequel that contains all the elements I loved about the first book. Caruso doubles down on the insane magical action and presents a new range of intriguing fantasy adversaries. An epic second book and a fantastic magical adventure.

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

This was another awesome debut for 2018 as author Stuart Turton comes up with an outrageous original concept and uses it to create one of the year’s best mysteries. Essentially a combination of Groundhog Day, Inception, Downton Abbey and one of the old classic murder mystery series, The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle was an extremely clever read that proved very hard to put down.

Honourable Mention:

Salvation by Peter F. Hamilton

Deceit by Richard Evans

Pandora’s Boy by Lindsey Davis

Happy New Year Everyone!!!

Deceit by Richard Evans

On July 19, 2018August 17, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Five-Star Books, Thriller12 Comments

Publisher: Impact Press

Publication date – 18 June 2018

Amazon Book Depository

From former politician Richard Evans comes one of the most incredible fictional examinations of the Australian political system with Deceit, an exciting and superb political thriller.

When corrupt Australian Prime Minster Andrew Gerrard makes a deal with his Indonesian counterpart, he embarks on a plan to build up a retirement nest egg by passing a controversial funding bill for overseas detention centres over a period of several years. However, when key members of his party die in a tragic plane accident, Gerrard decides to process all of the funding in one go and receive the full amount of his payoff.

Outnumbered in the House of Representatives, and with only one week to pass the bill through both houses of parliament, the task looks impossible. But the Prime Minister is a canny political operator with no conscience to speak of and with the Speaker deep in his pocket and with no conscience to speak off. Equipped with a master plan, Gerrard starts to manipulate the bill through parliament.

The only person who may be able to stop him is the outgoing Clerk of the House of Representatives, Gordon O’Brien, who suspects that the Prime Minister’s mysterious last-minute bill is more sinister than it appears. As one of the few people who believe in the sanctity of the parliament, O’Brien will risk everything to find out the truth and ensure no wrongdoing is done on his watch. Utilising all the tools at his disposal, including the opposition and investigative journalist Anita Devlin, O’Brien prepares to move against the Prime Minister. Let the political games begin!

Evans is a former Australian politician who served two terms as a federal member of parliament in the 1990s. Evans has decided to utilise his political experience and expertise by creating a series of Australian politics based thrillers and dramas, with several books planned for release in 2019 and 2020. Deceit is his debut novel and the first book of his planned Democracy trilogy, with the second book in this series, Duplicity, already set to be released in 2019. Readers interested in fictional depictions of Australian politics should also keep an eye out for his upcoming Referendum and Jack Hudson series, both of which will start to be published in the next two years.

Deceit is a fabulous political thriller with a fantastic story that twists and turns through multiple layers of manipulation, deceptions, lies and double-crosses. The book’s main antagonist, Australian Prime Minister Andrew Gerrard is a selfish, manipulative and sleazy character who serves as a perfect villain for this story and whose plots are a highlight of this book. Evans has done a clever job of spreading the story out among multiple point-of-view characters, as this allows the reader to view the impact of Gerrard’s manoeuvrings and lets them see how they are received by members of the opposition, the media and O’Brien. Evans is a very talented storywriter, and the entire plot of Deceit is extremely compelling and very well thought out. Readers will fall in love with this amazing story and will find its overall conclusion very satisfying.

As someone who lives and works in the book’s main setting, Australia’s capital city, Canberra, I have received a lot of exposure to Australian politics. As a result, I loved the author’s exceedingly realistic and accurate depictions of the Australian political system and how it was used within this story. There is some great coverage of Australia’s parliamentary procedure and the creation and passage of bills and laws through both houses of parliament that are presented in a precise and well-described way. There are also a number of characters who hold roles that are actually part of Australia’s political and civil service. These positions and roles are explored in detail, and the reader is given significant insights into what work and requirements are needed by the people holding them. Evan’s does a fantastic job of weaving these usually dry subjects into a very enthralling narrative, and readers will be intrigued to see how the fictional Prime Minister plans to get a dodgy bill past the entire country without anyone noticing what he is doing.

The standout scene of the book has to be an extended chapter that featured a session of question time in the House of Representatives. Question time is a daily occurrence during the parliamentary sitting period during which government and non-government members of parliament ask ministers questions about their various portfolios. As someone who has been exposed to many question times, I was struck by how genuine Evans’s description of this event was. Evans perfectly encapsulates the entire process from start to finish and was able to recreate the snarky and sometimes petulant nature of the discourse that are the usual fare of question time. The author expertly links the overarching storyline of political corruption into this scene, as one member of the opposition is suspicious and starts to ask the Prime Minister leading questions about the controversial bill he has put forward. The political back-and-forth around these questions was amazing, and it was fascinating watching them being tied into the rest of the story. Overall, this sequence was exceedingly compelling, and the entire time I was reading it I was physically incapable of putting the book down.

Deceit also contains some detailed and enjoyable depictions of Australia’s Parliament House and the capital city, Canberra. Parliament House is a beautiful building, and Evans does a wonderful job describing Parliament House in detail and examining various parts of the building, from the Prime Minister’s office and courtyard, to the various gardens, media offices and even cafes. Other little nuances of life within Parliament House are also captured within the text, no doubt because of Evans’s prior experiences working within the building.

I also really enjoyed seeing my home city of Canberra featured in this book. Despite being the capital city, Canberra does not feature much in fiction, due to it being a smaller and newer city than Sydney or Melbourne. Deceit, however, contains some great depictions of the areas of Canberra close to Parliament House. There are several references to some real restaurants and cafes that politicians are known to frequent and where several big political discussions are known to have taken place. There are also several scenes where the characters explore other parts of Canberra as part of the book’s plot. I for one found it incredibly amusing and disconcerting to read a scene about a secretive handoff of documents set in a cinema that I’ve watched The Hunger Games and Doctor Who specials in. Canberra locals will love seeing their city as a major fixture of this book, and other readers will get to explore Australia’s capital and see its potential as a setting in this exciting thriller.

Richard Evans’ first book, Deceit, is a five-star thriller that brings the Australian political process to life. Former politician Evans brings all of his insight and expertise to this new book, and readers will be astounded by the realistic descriptions of Australian politics and the way it has been utilised in this exciting and first-rate story. This is an outstanding debut from Evans, and this terrific read comes highly recommended.