Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently reside at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. For this week’s Top Ten Tuesday, participants are required to list their top ten favourite books with honorifics in the title. The prompt for this topic states that “…an honorific is a form of address conveying esteem, courtesy or respect. These can be titles prefixing a person’s name, e.g.: Mr., Mrs., Miss, Ms., Mx., Sir, Dame, Dr., Cllr, Lady, or Lord, or other titles or positions that can appear as a form of address without the person’s name, as in Mr. President, General, Captain, Father, Doctor, or Earl.”
This was a very interesting idea for a topic, and I always have a lot of fun with the fun unique title lists that appear in this series. To fill out this list I did a deep dive through my book lists and shelves, and I was able to find a healthy collection of books with honorifics in them. While I might have relied a little too much on the “Lord” honorific, for the most part I was very happy with the various books I found to include here, and it resulted in a very impressive and varied final list. It turns out that I have quite a few favourite books with honorifics in their titles, including some fun unique ones, so let us see what made the cut.
Honourable Mentions:
The Captain’s Oath by Christopher L. Bennett
A fantastic Star Trek novel that focuses on The Captain, Kirk, and his early days in the chair.
Lords of the Lance by Graham McNeill
A great recent Warhammer Fantasy novel that features knights and lords facing off against undead hordes.
The Kaiser’s Web by Steve Berry
Fun history spanning conspiracy at its best.
Lord of the Night by Simon Spurrier
A deeply compelling Warhammer 40,000 novel that shows the true dark side of this awesome universe.
Top Ten List:
Lords and Ladies by Terry Pratchett
I had to start this list off with the epic Terry Pratchett Discworld novel, Lords and Ladies. A fantastic entry from the Witches sub-series, Lords and Ladies is an exceptional read, and it has two honorifics in the title, making it an outstanding entry for this list.
Centurion by Simon Scarrow
Let’s go back to classic honorifics with Centurion by one of my favourite historical fiction authors Simon Scarrow. Both a rank and an honorific that has important use in this series, Centurion was an excellent entry in Scarrow’s Eagles of the Empire series, and it was an amazing inclusion for this list.
How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler
A very, very fun fantasy novel I had an amazing time reading last year, How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying, is a very worthy addition to this list, especially as both lord and Dark Lord could be considered honorifics in the context of this novel.
Stephen King makes great use of the classic Mr. honorific in this title, as the Mr gives some extra power to the novel’s serial killer antagonist. A particularly impressive read from King, Mr. Mercedes was a very easy choice to include on this list, and it comes highly recommended.
Doctor Aphra: Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon by Simon Spurrier
Next up we have the incredible entry in the Doctor Aphra comic, Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon. The honorific of course belongs to series protagonist Doctor Aphra, an infamous and manipulative archaeologist, whose doctorate was obtained in dodgy circumstances. Despite this, she still has the doctor honorific going for her, so this was an easy inclusion to this list. I honestly could have included any volume of the incredible Doctor Aphra series here, or even the Doctor Aphra audiobook, however, Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon was one of my favourite entries in the series, and I really cannot recommend it, or anything with this outstanding character enough.
Ghazghkull Thraka: Prophet of the Waaagh! by Nate Crowley
Next, we have one of my favourite Warhammer 40,000 novels, Ghazghkull Thraka: Prophet of the Waaagh! by Nate Crowley. I am including Ghazghkull Thraka: Prophet of the Waaagh! on the list not only because it is a highly entertaining read, but also because prophet is an excellent honorific, especially in the context of the lore surrounding the titular character.
Mistress of the Empire by Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurts
Mistress was another unique honorific I wanted to include here, and the fact that is attached to an outstanding fantasy classic like Mistress of the Empire ensured this was an easy inclusion for this list.
Star Wars: Darth Plagueis by James Luceno
I had a fun revelation as I was pulling together this list that Darth from the Star Wars universe counts as an honorific, especially as it seems to be granted to all the sith lords we see in the franchise. Based on that, I decided to go with the classic Star Wars novel, Darth Plagueis by James Luceno, which is an incredible book in the Legends canon. A great read that shows the infamous Plaguesis become one of the darkest Darths who ever darthed.
Lord of Excess by Rich McCormick
Another cool Warhammer 40,000 novel with an honorific in the title I had to include here was Lord of Excess by Rich McCormick. One of my favourite books, debuts and audiobooks of 2024, Lord of Excess was a particularly awesome read, and the honorific Lord that appears in the title helps to highlight just how crazy the pleasure and excess obsessed protagonists would go when they take over a troubled planet.
Mr Einstein’s Secretary by Matthew Reilly
The final book with an honorific in the title I wanted to include here was the excellent historical fiction novel, Mr Einstein’s Secretary by Matthew Reilly. A strong and complex read, Mr Einstein’s Secretary was an outstanding novel to include here, and it makes for an outstanding final entry in this list.
As you can see I’ve had the pleasure of reading some excellent books over the years that make use on honorifics in their titles. All the above are amazing reads and come very highly recommended, especially if you’re in the mood for some intense or exciting stories. I’m really glad I decided to participate in this week’s Top Ten Tuesday, and it was a lot of fun diving into honorifics and their use in my favourite books.
The Unseen Library 