Top Ten Tuesday – Books I was SO EXCITED to Get, but Still Haven’t Read (Waiting on Wednesday list)

On May 17, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn List4 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. For this latest Top Ten Tuesday, participants are required to list their favourite books that the were excited to get but still haven’t had a chance to read. There is also a side requirement to list the length of time since you’ve received or heard about the book, which adds some interesting complexity to the list.

Now, one of the saddest things about being a reviewer is that there are always far too many books coming out every year to keep up with. Despite my best efforts, at the end of each year there are always multiple books that I am extremely sad that I never got the chance to read. These books have built up over the years, and I currently have an extended list of awesome sounding novels sitting around waiting to be read. Many of these have been captured in my weekly Waiting on Wednesday posts, and I am quite ashamed to say that quite a substantial number of novels I previously highlighted in these posts haven’t been read. As such, I thought I might slightly alter the underlying basis of this list slightly by looking at the ten oldest Waiting on Wednesday posts I have where I never actually got around to reading the book.

This ended up being a rather interesting list to pull together as I have highlighted quite a few great novels over the years. However, it was fairly easy to find the ten oldest Waiting on Wednesday posts on my blog where I haven’t read the book, and I added them to this list in descending order. I did have to make a few exclusions for a couple of books which still haven’t been released yet, and I also had to filter out some posts where I failed to review a book after reading it. Still, this left me with a rather interesting top ten list of cool books that I really need to check out. So let us see which are the ten books I have been waiting the longest to check out.

Top Ten List (Descending by Date of Waiting on Wednesday Article)

10. The Shadow Saint by Gareth Ryder – Hanrahan -6 November 2019

The Shadow Saint Cover

The sequel to one of the more intriguing debuts of 2019, The Gutter Prayer, The Shadow Saint is a fantastic sounding grimdark fantasy novel that I really need to take off the shelf and read.

9. Anyone by Charles Soule – 31 October 2019

Anyone Cover

An awesome sounding standalone science fiction novels from one of my favourite Star Wars authors, Charles Soule (author of Light of the Jedi, and several awesome comic series). Anyone is an interesting thriller set around a future where people can transfer their consciousness into other bodies. I love the sound of this concept and I hope I can make time to read it at some point.

8. The Obsidian Tower by Melissa Caruso – 15 August 2019

The Obsidian Tower Cover

Easily one of the books I most regret not reading is The Obsidian Tower by Melissa Caruso. The first book in the Rooks and Ruins series, which serves as a sequel to her impressive debut Swords and Fire trilogy (made up of The Tethered Mage, The Defiant Heir and The Unbound Empire), this book has been high on my to-read list for ages, but I can never seem to find the time to read it. This is a real shame, as I have heard that this is an exceptional novel, and I am sure the following books in the Rooks and Ruins series are going to be really incredible as well.

7. #Murderfunding by Gretchen McNeil – 3 July 2019

#MurderFunding Cover

A fun and deadly young adult thriller, #MurderFunding is the sequel to the great 2018 read, #MurderTrending, and it is one I have been hoping to read for a while. This delay is because I unfortunately didn’t get a copy of this when it first came out. While I did eventually grab a copy a few months ago, I still haven’t had the chance to read it, even after reading the great prequel novel #NoEscape. I honestly need to sit down and try to read this at some point, as I will probably just power through it and finish it off in a day.

6. Grave Importance by Vivian Shaw – 19 June 2019

Grave Importance Cover

The third book in the Dr. Greta Helsing series, Grave Importance is an excellent book about a doctor who specialises in helping the undead, and who finds herself wrapped up in a mystery involving mummies. I loved the first two books in this series, Strange Practice and Dreadful Company, and I really regret having not seen how the series continued. This is another mistake I really should try to rectify, especially as my copy of Grave Importance is constantly judging me from a nearby bookshelf.

5. The Institute by Stephen King – 9 May 2019

The Institute Cover 1

I loved the sound of this unique and interesting Stephen King novel when I heard about it in 2019, however, I didn’t get a chance to read The Institute when it first came out. Despite hearing some amazing things about it, I have never gone back to check it out, even after having a blast with King’s two 2021 novels, Later and Billy Summers. I will have to carve some time out for The Institute at some point, although there are also many, many other Stephen King books I also want to read.

4. Salvation Lost by Peter F. Hamilton – 1 May 2019

Salvation Lost Cover

Another book that I deeply regret not reading, Salvation Lost is the fantastic sounding sequel to the great 2018 read, Salvation by science fiction master Peter F. Hamilton. I absolutely loved Salvation when it came out, and I honestly cannot fathom why I keep failing to read Salvation Lost, it is completely mind boggling.

3. The Andromeda Evolution by Daniel H. Wilson – 13 March 2019

The Andromeda Evolution Cover

The recently released sequel to Michael Chrichton’s iconic technothriller, The Andromeda Strain. I was very interested to see what they did in this sequel, written 50 years after the release of the first book, however, I was never able to fit it into my reading schedule.

2. The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling – 16 January 2019

the luminous dead cover

An interesting and compelling sounding science fiction horror novel that caught my eye a few years ago. I failed to even get a copy of this book when it came out, although it is still on my radar to read. Hopefully I will get a chance at some point, but it may be a while.

1. Alien: Echo by Mira Grant – 19 December 2019

Alien Echo Cover

The final entry (and oldest post) on this list is Alien: Echo, which I have so many regrets about not reading. An amazing Alien tie-in novel from one of the best authors of horror fiction, the talented Mira Grant (Into the Drowning Deep is still one of my favourite horror novels), I have no idea why I never tried to read this, but I am constantly berating myself for not checking it out, especially as I know I am going to love it. Hopefully I pull myself together at some point to read it, so we’ll see how that goes.

Well, that’s the end of this latest list. As you can see, there are several awesome novels that I really need to try and read at some point, especially as I have been thinking about most of them for multiple years now. All 10 books above sound extremely cool, and I desperately need to carve some time out to read them. In the meantime, let me know which books you most regret not reading, and if you’ve enjoyed any of the entries on this list, I would love to hear what you thought about them.

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 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.

WWW Wednesday – 6 November 2019

On November 6, 2019November 6, 2019 By The Unseen LibraryIn WWW Wednesday3 Comments

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 Wailing Woman by Maria Lewis (Trade Paperback)

This is a great piece of urban fantasy that I am really enjoying at the moment. Australian author Maria Lewis has come up with an amazing story and I am glad I received a copy of this book.

Lethal Agent by Kyle Mills (based on the series by Vince Flynn) (Audiobook)

I only just started listening to this audiobook about half an hour ago, but so far it is a pretty decent thriller. I quite liked the previous book in this series, Red War, last year so I am sure I will power through this book rather quickly.

What did you recently finish reading?

Star Wars: Resistance Reborn by Rebecca Roanhorse (Trade Paperback)

Boundless by R. A. Salvatore (Audiobook)

The Diamond Hunter by Fiona McIntosh (Trade Paperback)

The Night Fire by Michael Connelly (Audiobook)

What do you think you’ll read next?

Salvation Lost by Peter F. Hamilton (Trade Paperback)

That’s it for this week, check back in next Wednesday to see what progress I’ve made on my reading and what books I’ll be looking at next.

Book Haul – 12 July 2019

On July 12, 2019 By The Unseen LibraryIn Book Haul3 Comments

I haven’t had the greatest book haul in the last couple of weeks, but I have still managed to pick up a few excellent titles that I am excited to check out.

Star Wars: Thrawn: Treason by Timothy Zahn

Treason is the fourth Star Wars book out so far this year that I have been lucky enough to get my hands on and I have really been looking forward to this book. Not only did I feature it in a Waiting on Wednesday article, but Treason also made my recent Top Ten Most Anticipated July-December 2019 Releases list. I had an amazing time reading and reviewing the previous two books in the Thrawn trilogy, Thrawn and Alliances, and I hope this book contains a satisfying conclusion to the titular character’s story arc.

Salvation Lost by Peter F. Hamilton

This book only just rocked up today and I am extremely happy that I managed to get such an advanced copy of it. Salvation Lost is another book that I featured both in a Waiting on Wednesday entry and in my Top Ten Most Anticipated July-December 2019 Releases list. The first book in the series, Salvation, was easily one of the top books I read in 2018 and I cannot wait to check out the sequel.

Wilder Girls by Rory Power

Wilder Girls is an intriguing sounding young adult thriller and I am looking forward to checking it out.

Blood in the Water by Jack Flynn

This is a pretty cool sounding crime thriller set in the author’s native Boston, should be good.

Knight of Stars by Tom Lloyd

This sounds like a really fun and entertaining fantasy novel and I hope I get the chance to read it.

Uncanny X-Men: Volume 1 – Wolverine and Cyclops by Matthew Rosenberg and Salvador Larroca

Two of the most iconic and antagonistic mutants teaming up again after the X-Men were completely destroyed, yes please!

Stay tuned to see my reviews of these books. I’m hoping to get a bunch of really good books in the next couple of weeks as well, so looking forward to that.

Top Ten Tuesday – Most Anticipated July-December 2019 Releases

On June 18, 2019June 18, 2019 By The Unseen LibraryIn List18 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, bloggers get to talk about the which ten books they are looking forward to the most in the second half of 2019.

2019 has so far been an amazing year for books. Not only have I had the chance to read and review some outstanding novels in the first half of this year but I also have a huge pile of books to read sitting on my table at home (OK, several huge piles on several different surfaces). However, there are still some incredible-sounding books coming out in the next six months, and I already have my eye on a number of them. It took me a little while, but I was able to come up with the top ten books that I am looking forward to, as well as a couple of honourable mentions.

People familiar with my blog will no doubt notice that I have already featured several of these books before in my weekly Waiting on Wednesday feature (I’ll link in these Waiting on Wednesday posts), which hopefully highlights how much I want them. I have also included a couple of other books that I have yet to do a Waiting on Wednesday for, although I will likely do so in the future. I have also excluded a couple of books from this list because I already have copies for them; that’s why you won’t see Angel Mage by Garth Nix or Cold Storage by David Koepp on this list.

Honourable Mentions:

A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie – 19 September 2019

I loved this latest cover of A Little Hatred so much I had to include it, looks pretty awesome.

The Bone Ships by R. J. Barker – 24 September 2019

Star Wars: Resistance Reborn by Rebecca Roanhorse – 12 November 2019

This is going to be one of the tie-in novels to the upcoming Star Wars movie, The Rise of Skywalker, and should be pretty awesome.

Top Ten List (in order of release date):

1. Howling Dark by Christopher Ruocchio – 4 July 2019

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

3. Star Wars: Thrawn: Treason by Timothy Zahn – 23 July 2019

4. Spaceside by Michael Mammay – 27 August 2019

5. Loki: Where Mischief Lies by Mackenzi Lee – 3 September 2019

6. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir – 10 September 2019

7. Firefly: Generations by Tim Lebbon – 15 October 2019

I have been really enjoying this new series of Firefly novels, including Big Damn Hero and The Magnificent Nine, and this third book sounds pretty epic.

8. Salvation Lost by Peter F. Hamilton – 29 October 2019

9. Starsight by Brandon Sanderson – 26 November 2019

The first book in this series, Skyward, was just incredible, and even made My Top Ten Reads for 2018 List, so I have high hopes for the sequel.

10. Hollow Empire by Sam Hawke – 10 December 2019

I really loved the first book in the Poison War series, City of Lies, which made two of my previous Top Ten Tuesday Lists, and I cannot wait to see where Hawke takes the series next.

I hope you enjoy this list. Make sure to keep an eye on my blog for future reviews of all these books and let me know what you are looking forward to in the second half of 2019.

Waiting on Wednesday – Salvation Lost by Peter F. Hamilton

On May 1, 2019May 1, 2019 By The Unseen LibraryIn Science Fiction, Waiting on Wednesday8 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.

Salvation Lost Cover

There are many great science fiction books coming out within the next year, but one of the ones I am most looking forward to is Salvation Lost by Peter F. Hamilton. Salvation Lost is the second book in the Salvation Sequence and follows on from the author’s 2018 release Salvation.

I read Salvation last year and reviewed it both on my blog and in The Canberra Weekly. Before Salvation, I had not had the pleasure of reading any of Hamilton’s previous works, but I was keen to dive into his latest novel as it had a very intriguing premise behind it, and some of Hamilton’s previous works sounded like they were a lot of fun. I was surprised how much I enjoyed Salvation, as I had an amazing time unravelling the epic and widespread space opera featured within this excellent book. Hamilton made amazing use of several different timelines, a number of compelling science fiction based mysteries and some outstanding writing to create a book that got an easy five stars from me and an honourable mention on My Top Ten Reads for 2018 list.

As a result, I am extremely eager to see what comes next in the Salvation Sequence and cannot wait until October when Salvation Lost will be released.

Pan Macmillan Synopsis:

Fight together – or die alone . . .

In the twenty-third century, humanity is enjoying a comparative utopia. Yet life on Earth is about to change, forever. Feriton Kane’s investigative team has discovered the worst threat ever to face mankind – and we’ve almost no time to fight back. The supposedly benign Olyix plan to harvest humanity, in order to carry us to their god at the end of the universe. And as their agents conclude schemes down on earth, vast warships converge above to gather this cargo.

Some factions push for humanity to flee, to live in hiding amongst the stars – although only a chosen few would make it out in time. But others refuse to break before the storm. As disaster looms, animosities must be set aside to focus on just one goal: wiping this enemy from the face of creation. Even if it means preparing for a future this generation will never see.

The second book in the Salvation Sequence sounds just as captivating as the first book, and I am extremely eager to see how the storylines that were started in Salvation are continued. I also am very much looking forward to seeing how the advanced human civilisation that Hamilton developed across a range of different timelines in the first book starts to come crashing down as the Olyix invade. I have no doubt that the invasion part of this book will be a hell of a lot of fun to read, and I look forward to seeing how it contrasts with the more subtle and undercover infiltration that occurred in the initial book.

I am extremely confident that Salvation Lost will be another extraordinary release from Peter Hamilton, and I am sure that it will be one that I will deeply enjoy. I look forward to getting a copy, and I am sure it will result in quite a complex and lengthy review from me.