Top Ten Tuesday – Top Ten New Authors I am Thankful I Checked Out This Year

On November 26, 2019November 26, 2019 By The Unseen LibraryIn List16 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, readers have a Thanksgiving Freebie, so I am taking this chance to mention those authors who I am thankful I checked out for the first time this year.

In 2019, I had the pleasure of reading a number of different books that ranged from impressive debuts, intriguing sequels, amazing starts to new series, fun standalone novels and fantastic entries in long-running series. While a number of these books were written by authors I was previously familiar with (such as some of my autobuy authors), quite a few of these books were written by authors I had not had the pleasure of reading before, but who I am very glad that I checked out. I have to say that I was really impressed with a number of these authors, and for many of them I am planning to try and read more of their works. As a result, I thought that it would be a good idea to do a list honouring my absolute favourites of this group. This list is not limited to debuting authors, but also includes authors whose works I only just got a chance to read this year.

Like many of these lists that I do, I ended up with quite a substantial group of authors I wanted to include on this list. I really enjoyed their books that I read this year and I am looking forward to reading more from them in the future. I was eventually able to whittle this list down to my top ten favourites, as well as a generous honourable mentions section. Unfortunately, I had to exclude a couple of authors who I really liked, such as Laura Shepherd-Robinson, who wrote the fantastic historical mystery Blood & Sugar; and Australian young adult author Jay Kristoff, who wrote some fun books this year, including DEV1AT3 and Aurora Rising (co-written with Amie Kaufman). Still, I think I came up with a good list that represents which authors I am really thankful I tried for the first time this year.

Honourable Mentions:

Tamsyn Muir – Gideon the Ninth

Gideon the Ninth, the debut novel of Tamsyn Muir, was one of the most unique and entertaining books that I read this year. I absolutely loved the combination of weird comedy, interesting futuristic necromantic magic and the curious murder house storyline, and it was an overall fantastic novel. I definitely want to check out the future books in the series, especially as the second book, Harrow the Ninth, already has a cool cover and plot synopsis up.

Steve Berry – The Malta Exchange

The Malta Exchange is the 14^th book in Berry’s long-running Cotton Malone thriller series. Not only did it feature a clever and complex modern-day thriller, but the author utilised some deeply fascinating historical elements to create a powerful and captivating mystery. I am very keen to read more from Berry in the future, and his next book, The Warsaw Protocol, sounds like it is going to be a very fun read.

Claudia Gray – Master and Apprentice

I had to feature a Star Wars novel on this list somewhere, and I actually had a hard time choosing which book from a new author I enjoyed the most. While I strongly considered Tarkin and Resistance Reborn, my favourite Star Wars story from an author I had not read before this year was probably Master and Apprentice by Claudia Gray. Gray did an outstanding job crafting together an action-packed and intriguing Star Wars story that focused on a younger Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Clever, entertaining and deeply emotional at times, this was a fantastic read and I hope that Gray writes some more Star Wars novels in the future.

Samantha Shannon – The Priory of the Orange Tree

The Priory of the Orange Tree was a massive and inventive standalone fantasy novel that was released at the start of the year. I really liked the excellent story and unique fantasy universe that Shannon created in this book, and she is definitely an author to keep an eye on for the future.

Top Ten List (in no particular order):

Mark Greaney – Red Metal and Mission Critical

Let us start this list off with the fantastic thriller writer Mark Greaney. I first became familiar with Greaney earlier this year when I read Mission Critical, the electrifying eighth book in his Gray Man series. While I quite enjoyed Mission Critical, his authorship of the military thriller Red Metal, which he co-wrote with Lt. Col. Hunter Ripley Rawlings IV. USMC is the main reason why I am including him on this list. Red Metal is easily one of my favourite books of 2019 and that, combined with an excellent thriller in Mission Critical, is why Greaney is an author I will be reading much more of in the future.

Miles Cameron – Cold Iron and Dark Forge

I am slightly cheating with this entry as I have actually read some of this author’s historical fiction books which he writes under the name Christian Cameron. However, 2019 was the first year that I read the books he publishes under his fantasy nom de plume Miles Cameron, and I feel the name and genre change justifies his inclusion on this list. I previously featured Cameron’s 2018 release Cold Iron on my Top Ten Books I Wish I Read in 2018 list, and I ended up listening to it a couple of months later. Cold Iron, the first book in his new Masters & Mages series, was an absolutely incredible fantasy read. I also listened the second book in the series, Dark Forge, a couple of weeks ago, and it was a pretty amazing follow-up to Cold Iron (review coming soon). Not only am I planning to read the final book in the Masters & Mages series, Bright Steel, as soon as I can, but I will also be grabbing every new fantasy book that the author releases as Miles Cameron, and I am very glad I checked out his alternate genre of writing. In the meantime, make sure to check out my review for Cameron’s latest historical fiction novel, The New Achilles, which he also released this year.

James Lovegrove – Firefly books – Big Damn Hero and The Magnificent Nine

I had to include James Lovegrove on this list, as he has been the main author pushing through the new generation of Firefly tie-in novels. I absolutely love Firefly, so any tie-in material is going to get a lot of attention from me. Lovegrove has actually written both of the books so far, including the emotional Big Damn Hero (based on story ideas from Nancy Holder) and the fun The Magnificent Nine. Both of these Firefly books were really good, and I loved the cool stories and the nostalgia I felt from seeing the television show’s great characters in action again. Lovegrove has a third Firefly novel on the way, with The Ghost Machine coming out in April, and it looks to be another fantastic addition to the series.

Chris Wooding – The Ember Blade

The Ember Blade is another book that I regretted not reading in 2018, so I was very thankful that I got a chance to listen to it earlier this year. Wooding is a very talented fantasy writer whose outstanding character work and inventive story, created an incredible read in The Ember Blade. I am really excited for any sequels to this book that Wooding releases, which should prove to be very awesome.

Simon Turney – Commodus

When I first heard about Commodus by Simon Turney, I was quite intrigued, mainly because I knew so little about this emperor other than the fact that he was the villain of the film Gladiator. However, this is probably one of my favourite historical fiction releases of the year, as Turney did an outstanding job bringing this complex historical figure to life. I cannot wait to see which Roman emperor Turney writes about next, and I have a feeling that he is soon going to become one of my favourite historical fiction authors.

K. J. Parker – Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City

Before receiving a copy of Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City, I had not read any books by this author, either under the name K. J. Parker or his other writing persona, Tom Holt. This is a real shame, as Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City was one of the best and funniest fantasy novels I have ever read, and I can only imagine that his other works are just as awesome. I am really thankful that this author is on my radar now, and I look forward to seeing what else he can do.

Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca – Darth Vader (2015) and Star Wars (2015) comic series

While I did read the Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith comics in 2018 (check out my reviews for Volumes Two and Three), 2019 was the year that I really got into Star Wars comics, and that is mainly due to the cool partnership of writer Kieron Gillen and artist Salvador Larroca. Not only did I start reading their 2015 Darth Vader series this year, which is just so many layers of awesome, but I have been eating up their recent run on the ongoing Star Wars comic books series. In addition, the Doctor Aphra series, which has to be one of the best comics of the year, is based on the character they created in the Darth Vader series. Gillen also wrote the first 19 issues of the Doctor Aphra series, which feature some absolutely outstanding stories. Pretty much everything Star Wars that these two touch is magical, and I really, really hope they continue their partnership well into the future.

Ben Aaronovitch – Lies Sleeping

Lies Sleeping was the seventh book in the Peter Grant/Rivers of London series, which was released late last year. I got around to reading it at the start of 2019 and I was deeply impressed with this clever fantasy/modern crime fiction hybrid. While I spent a good part of the year kicking myself for not reading any of Aaronovitch’s books sooner, I will hopefully start to make up for this oversight in the near future. The next book in the series, False Value, is set for release in a couple of months, and it sounds like another fantastic addition to the series.

Blake Crouch – Recursion

Blake Crouch has a long history of writing clever science fiction and thriller novels, but Recursion, which was released earlier this year, is the first one of his books that I checked out. I absolutely loved this complex and captivating story and it was easily one of the top books I read in the first half of 2019. While I still need to actually write a review for Recursion (I’m working on one at the moment), I will make sure to grab any of his books that come out in the future.

Brian McClellan – Promise of Blood

The final author I am glad I checked out this year was Brian McClellan, author of the acclaimed Powder Mage series of flintlock fantasy novels. I had heard a lot of good things about McClellan’s books, so I decided to check out the first book in the series, Promise of Blood. I was not disappointed in the slightest, as this was an exceptional piece of fantasy fiction that blew me away (pun intended). I will be listening to all the Powder Mage books in the future, and I am extremely thankful that I checked him out this year.

Well that’s the end of this Top Ten Tuesday article. I hope you like my list and please let me know which new authors you are thankful you checked out this year. To anyone reading in America, happy Thanksgiving and I hope you don’t go too crazy trying to get new books this Black Friday.

Throwback Thursday – Star Wars: Tarkin by James Luceno

On November 21, 2019August 20, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Star Wars, Throwback Thursday, Tie-in Novel13 Comments

Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio (Audiobook – 4 November 2019)

Series: Star Wars

Length: 9 hour and 32 minutes

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Amazon Book Depository

Reviewed as part of my Throwback Thursday series, where I republish old reviews, review books I have read before or review older books I have only just had a chance to read.

In this week’s Throwback Thursday I check out an amazing and compelling Star Wars tie-in novel that focuses on a fascinating character from the franchise, with Star Wars: Tarkin, written by veteran tie-in author James Luceno.

Since early 2014, Disney has done an excellent job installing a new and distinctive expanded universe for the Star Wars franchise. This new expanded universe, which supplanted the existing expanded universe (which is now known as Star Wars Legends), has featured some amazing books which I have been really getting into in the last couple of years. I have read a lot of Star Wars books in 2019 and not only have I tried to stay abreast of the latest releases (for example, the latest Star Wars novel, Resistance Reborn) but I have also been checking out some of the older novels in the franchise (such as Thrawn and Death Troopers).

Tarkin was released in late 2014 and was one of the first non-movie novelisations or young reader Star Wars novels that were released in this new canon. Tarkin was written by James Luceno, an author with a huge number of Star Wars tie-in novels from the Legends canon already under his belt, such as the intriguing-sounding Darth Plagueis. I had heard good things about this book, and I was curious to see how Luceno would alter the character of Grand Moff Tarkin.

To those familiar with the Galactic Empire, Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin is a legendary figure. A former admiral, adjutant general, planetary governor and war hero of the Clone Wars, Tarkin was one of the Emperor’s most dedicated and capable servants. Determined to enforce the Empire’s authority throughout the galaxy by any means necessary, Tarkin was renowned for his merciless nature and his ability to out-think any opponent on the battlefield or in the political arena. But where did this nature come from: his past as a solider or as a politician, or are there powerful lessons in Tarkin’s upbringing that constantly drive him forward?

Five years after the end of the Clone Wars, Governor Tarkin holds the rank of Imperial Moff and is tasked with overseeing one of the Empire’s most sensitive and covert projects, the construction of a massive mobile battle station which the Emperor believes will become the ultimate symbol of Imperial power in the galaxy. Determined to bring order to the post Clone War chaos, Tarkin finds his plans for the construction of the station stalled when a mysterious ship launches an innovative attack against one of his bases. In the aftermath of this attack, Tarkin is ordered to work with Darth Vader to determine who orchestrated this incursion and deal with them.

Travelling to an isolated planet, Tarkin and Vader begin their investigation into the rebellious activity plaguing that area of the Empire. But when their opponents manage to out-manoeuvre them, Tarkin must call upon all of his experiences, including as a young hunter on his home planet of Eriadu, to stop them. However, even the lessons of his past may not be enough, as his new foes are as smart and determined as Tarkin and Vader and are willing to do anything to achieve their revenge on the Empire.

Tarkin was a smart and exciting Star Wars tie-in novel that did a fantastic job exploring the life of one of the franchise’s most complex characters. I had a great time listening to this book, and it is one of the better Star Wars novels that I have enjoyed this year. I really liked the deep dive into the history and mind of Tarkin, especially as the author wraps a compelling and multi-layered narrative around the character’s story. As a result, the novel gets four and a half stars from me and was a really good read.

This story is an interesting combination of an adventure that occurred five years after the events of Revenge of the Sith (roughly 14 years before the events of A New Hope), and a series of tales from various points in Tarkin’s earlier life. Grand Moff Tarkin has always been a fascinating Star Wars character to me; despite his lack of force abilities, he appeared to wield nearly as much power as the Emperor and was even able to command Darth Vader. This book does a wonderful job of not only showing how he was able to obtain so much power within the Empire but also exploring all of the formulative events of this character’s life that made him into the man capable of achieving so much. I personally think that this was a great combination of character narratives which come together extremely well, and I think that Luceno did a fantastic job getting to the root of Tarkin’s psyche and personality.

Despite it being the shorter part of the book, I personally enjoyed the various chapters that explore various moments of Tarkin’s past the most. In particular, I thought that the author’s examination of his training as a hunter to be a truly fascinating basis for the character’s tactical ability. The various scenes depicting him hunting the large beasts of his home planet are pretty cool, and it was really interesting to see the way that he utilised lessons from hunting creatures in his later careers. For example, he is trained to instil fear into all the beasts he encounters in order to establish dominance above them and to show them the consequences of acting in way he dislikes. A later scene in the book shows him using this training to successfully end a pirate menace in a very harsh and final manner, and it also explains why he considered blowing up a planet to be a viable fear tactic against rebels. In addition to its impact on future Star Wars stories, Tarkin’s early training and hunting background are utilised to great effect throughout the entirety of Tarkin, and it was great to see how it impacts on Tarkin’s thought process and planning. I also really liked how the focus on the hunt comes full circle, as the author works in a fun confrontation back at the Tarkin hunting grounds with the main antagonist of the book that I absolutely loved and which was a fantastic conclusion to the whole story. This hunting aspect was an exceptional addition to this canon’s depiction of Tarkin, and I like how other authors have expanded on it in other pieces of Star Wars expanded fiction. For example, the third volume of Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith features Tarkin using his hunting abilities against Vader in a contest of wills.

In addition to this new origin for Tarkin’s tactical ability and mental acuity, I also enjoyed the various flashbacks to his history before and during the events of the Clone War. Luceno comes up with some great storylines that show off, for example, when Tarkin first gained the attention of the Emperor, or his thoughts on the various events that occurred during the course of the prequel movies. It was fun getting his theories on the causes of the Clone Wars or the formation of the Empire, especially as he is pretty close to the mark every time. I also liked that Luceno worked a confrontation between Tarkin and Count Dooku into one of the flashbacks, which shows why Tarkin remained loyal to the Republic during the course of the Clone Wars. All of these examinations of the character’s past, especially in the context of several key events in Star Wars history, was really fascinating and proved to be a fantastic part of the book.

While I did enjoy the examination of the character’s past, the main story itself is also compelling, as it shows the events that led to Tarkin becoming the very first Grand Moff. These parts of the book are a lot of fun and feature a unique and personal hunt for the protagonist which ties in well with the journeys to his past. I also quite enjoyed the fun team-up between Tarkin and Darth Vader, who assists him to complete his mission. Tarkin and Vader form a very effective team in this book, and it was interesting to examine the relationship between them and the mutual respect that grew between them. It was also cool to find out that Tarkin was one of the few people in the whole Empire who guessed that Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader were the same person (the only other Imperial character who apparently guessed that was Grand Admiral Thrawn). This section of the book also features some intriguing looks at the early stages of the Empire, and I personally liked the examination of Imperial politics, the intelligence agencies and the ruling style of the Emperor. I also really liked the idealistic opponents that Tarkin faced off against, mainly because their leader becomes more and more aggressive the longer the fight against the Empire goes, until he starts to lack the moral high ground in this conflict.

While I really enjoyed the team-up between Tarkin and Vader, I do wonder if the author perhaps featured Vader and the Emperor a little more than he should have. Do not get me wrong, I absolutely love Darth Vader as a character and I have deeply enjoyed a number of extended universe comics or books that have featured him (such as the Darth Vader and Dark Lord of the Sith comic series, or the Dark Visions limited series). However, I think that a book called Tarkin should have focused a lot more on the exploits of the titular character and shown how he dealt with the unique problems presented in the plot on his own. Instead, he received a fair bit of help from Vader and the Emperor, which kind of undermined the book’s message that he was an unsurpassed strategist and hunter. The author might have been better off only featuring a small amount of the Emperor in this novel, and perhaps introducing Vader in a later Tarkin novel, much like Timothy Zahn did with Thrawn: Alliances. Still, it was a fantastic book, and I am never going to seriously complain about too much Darth Vader.

Tarkin proved to be a really interesting book in the current Star Wars canon, and one that fans of the franchise are really going to enjoy. That being said, I would say that no real knowledge of the Star Wars extended universe is required to understand the plot of the book. While it does reflect on some of the events of The Clone Wars animated series, particularly the handful of episodes that a young Tarkin appeared in, there is no urgent need to go out and watch these episodes first, as they are more passing references. It is also important to note that this book was released back in 2014, two years before the release of Rogue One. As a result, it lacks the inclusion of Director Krennic as a rival for Tarkin, which is something most of the tie-in media released after 2016 features.

Like many of the Star Wars novels I have enjoyed in the past, I chose to listen to the audiobook format of Tarkin rather than read a physical copy. The Tarkin audiobook was narrated by Euan Morton and runs for roughly 9½ hours in length. I found myself absolutely breezing through the Tarkin audiobook, and I was able to listen to all of it in a few short days, as I become enthralled in the awesome story. Star Wars audiobooks are always a fun production to check out thanks to their use of the iconic music and sound effects from the movies. Tarkin also makes great use of a number of the classic scores from the movies to enhance the various scenes, most notably The Imperial March, which is used a number of times when members of the Empire are being particularly ruthless or authoritarian. I also really liked the use of the various Star Wars sound effects, such as the sound of blaster fire, spaceship engines and even the iconic sounds of Darth Vader breathing, all of which are used to help set the appropriate atmosphere for the scene. While some of the Star Wars audiobooks greatly overused these sound effects and music scores, I think that the Tarkin audiobook had the just the right amount of these elements. At no point did the music or sounds overwhelm the narration nor distract the reader from the plot; instead they did a wonderful job of helping the reader stay glued to the story.

In addition to the excellent use of Star Wars music and sound effects, Tarkin also featured a fantastic narrator in the form of Euan Morton. Morton does a commendable job of imitating the voice of the titular character and helps bring the stern, intelligent and ruthless character to life with his voice work. In addition, Morton was also able to do good imitations of several other notable Star Wars characters, including the Emperor and Darth Vader. I felt that Morton produced a good replication of their voices, and the listener is instantly able to figure out who is talking. I also liked some of the voices that Morton came up with for the various supporting characters that featured in the book, and I was impressed with the voices he attributed to some of the different alien species that were encountered. I particularly enjoyed his Mon Calamari voice, for example, and felt that he was able to add some distinguishing vocals to each of these different species. Based on this strong narration, as well as the great musical and sound inclusions, I would strongly recommend the audiobook version of this Star Wars book, and I know that I intend to check out more of this franchise’s audiobooks.

Tarkin was an outstanding piece of Star Wars tie-in fiction that I personally really enjoyed. Not only did it contain a compelling and exciting story in the early days of the Empire but it also did a wonderful job exploring the background of one of the franchises most fascinating characters. I had an amazing time learning more about Grand Moff Tarkin, and I am slightly disappointed that there have not been any more Tarkin-centric novels released since 2014. As a result, I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in a good Star Wars tie-in novel, and I would also recommend the excellent audiobook format.

While the next Star Wars novel I read is going to be Force Collector, I am always considering what older Star Wars book to listen to in the future. I am currently weighing up between this canon’s Lords of the Sith (the Emperor and Darth Vader trapped on a planet being hunted by rebels) or the Star Wars Legends book Scoundrels (a heist novel written by Timothy Zahn). Both sound like a lot of fun, and I will probably end up listening to them both in the very near future.

Amazon Book Depository

WWW Wednesday – 20 November 2019

On November 20, 2019November 27, 2019 By The Unseen LibraryIn WWW Wednesday9 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?

Warrior of the Altaii by Robert Jordan (Trade Paperback)

The previously unpublished first book from the late great fantasy author Robert Jordan. I am about halfway through this novel at the moment and it is a very interesting read.

The Bone Ships by R. J. Barker (Audiobook)

I have been reading to listen to The Bone Ships for a while, and it is among the top books I want to read before the end of 2019. I am nearly halfway through this audiobook, and it is proving to be an exception book.

What did you recently finish reading?

Starsight by Brandon Sanderson (Trade Paperback)

Highly recommended.

Star Wars: Tarkin by James Luceno (Audiobook)

I am hoping to get a review of this up tomorrow night, but it was a pretty good book.

What do you think you’ll read next?

Traitors of Rome by Simon Scarrow (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.

Canberra Weekly Column – Fantasy and Science Fiction

On November 14, 2019 By The Unseen LibraryIn Canberra Weekly Column, Fantasy, Science FictionLeave a comment

Originally published in the Canberra Weekly on 14 November 2019.

Make sure to check out my extended reviews for Resistance Reborn and Supernova.

WWW Wednesday – 13 November 2019

On November 13, 2019November 13, 2019 By The Unseen LibraryIn WWW Wednesday5 Comments

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?

Starsight by Brandon Sanderson (Trade Paperback)

The latest book from the outstanding Brandon Sanderson, Starsight is the sequel to one of my favourite books from last year, Skyward, and is a book that I have been looking forward to for a while. I’m currently about a quarter of the way through this book now and I am really enjoying it.

Star Wars: Tarkin by James Luceno (Audiobook)

I felt like listening to a new Star Wars novel, and Tarkin, which was released in 2014, is one of the more interesting sounding Star Wars books I wanted to read. I am glad that I decided to listen to it, as it is a pretty fun and clever book.

What did you recently finish reading?
The Wailing Woman by Maria Lewis (Trade Paperback)

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

What do you think you’ll read next?
Warrior of the Altaii by Robert Jordan (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.

Star Wars: Resistance Reborn by Rebecca Roanhorse

On November 13, 2019August 20, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Star Wars, Tie-in Novel8 Comments

Publisher: Century (Trade Paperback – 5 November 2019)

Series: Star Wars

Length: 298 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Amazon Book Depository

The road to the final movie in the Skywalker Saga, Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, begins here with this intriguing tie-in novel, Star Wars: Resistance Reborn, by recent fantasy phenomenon Rebecca Roanhorse. Resistance Reborn is a fantastic and action-packed book that attempts to bridge some of the gaps between The Last Jedi and the upcoming The Rise of Skywalker.

This latest book is a very interesting addition to the Star Wars tie-in media range, and it is one that all major Star Wars fans are going to be very keen to get their hands on. Resistance Reborn is the latest Star Wars tie-in novel and it is deeply connected with the upcoming ninth film in the main Star Wars storyline, The Rise of Skywalker, which is set for release in about a month. This book is one of several pieces of upcoming Star Wars tie-in fiction that attempt to fill in some gaps surrounding the plot of the upcoming film, other examples of which include the Force Collector young adult novel, the Star Wars: Allegiance comic book and even Black Spire, to a lesser degree. Resistance Reborn is probably the most exciting one on the list, as it is going to be the novel that is most closely connected with the events of the movies.

Following on shortly after the devastating events that occurred on the isolated planet of Crait at the end of The Last Jedi, the Resistance has been decimated by the tyrannical First Order. Seemingly abandoned by their friends and allies throughout the galaxy, only a few members of the Resistance have survived and are now in hiding. Those remaining Resistance members are as determined as ever to fight and are willing to risk it all the save the galaxy.

To that end, the leader of the Resistance, General Leia Organa, has sent her few remaining compatriots out into the galaxy in an attempt to find more volunteers, supplies, ships and, most importantly, leaders and strategists who can help guide the Resistance to victory. While her teams are able to find a few valuable recruits, including some old friends from the days of the Rebel Alliance, the situation is looking grim.

The First Order have started to establish their dominance throughout the entire galaxy, and few are willing to stand before them. Whatever allies or supporters the Resistance might have been able to count on have gone missing, apparently the victims of an oppressive roundup by the First Order. As Poe Dameron and the remains of his squadron attempt to recover a prisoner list that contains the details of the fate of these dissidents, it soon becomes apparent how far the reach of the First Order has grown. Can the Resistance survive, or will the shadow of the First Order overwhelm them all?

This was an outstanding read that not only tells a fantastic and enjoyable story that features several iconic characters, but it also does a great job of connecting The Last Jedi (which I have to admit was not my favourite Star Wars film) and The Rise of Skywalker. In addition to that, the author, Rebecca Roanhorse, who has gained a lot of positive attention in the last two years with her debut The Sixth World series, has also included quite a number of fun references to other works of Star Wars fiction, making this an entertaining read for fans of the franchise.

The first thing that I want to address about Resistance Reborn is how this book adds to the background of the upcoming Star Wars film. It shows the reader how the Resistance starts to rebuild itself before The Rise of Skywalker. The events of episodes VII and VIII saw the Resistance stripped of many of the resources and allies that they needed to fight the First Order. The Force Awakens featured the annihilation of the New Republic, the Resistance’s main supporters and one of the few galactic powers that could match the First Order, while The Last Jedi saw the destruction of most of the remaining Resistance forces, including pretty much all of their senior leadership. However, the recent trailer for The Rise of Skywalker shows quite a significant fleet of Resistance ships in a big climatic battle. A major question then arises: where did the Resistance get all of these people and ships after all their significant defeats? Resistance Reborn, which is set only a few days after the end of The Last Jedi, attempts to show how Leia and the Resistance were able to start gaining some initial recruits and materials. This is a rather intriguing storyline which shows how desperate the situation is for the Resistance and how powerful and widespread the First Order has become. I liked some of the explanations for why the Resistance was abandoned by their allies at the end of The Last Jedi, and Roanhorse comes up with a good explanation for how the protagonists found their initial batch of new recruits. The end of the book presents a rather interesting scenario for the entire Resistance, which does explain a few things that I noticed in the trailer for The Rise of Skywalker. Overall, based on what I can guess is going to occur in the upcoming film, I would say that this is an excellent bridge between the events of The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker, although I am very curious to see how many aspects of this book do end up appearing in this new movie.

One of the cool things that I liked about Resistance Reborn was the cool way that Roanhorse split the story between an interesting mixture of characters. Rather than solely focusing on the central protagonists of the films, the author has instead included an intriguing choice of new point-of-view characters that fans of the extended Star Wars universe are likely to already be familiar with. That being said, there are a number of notable inclusions from some of the main characters in the book, and there are also a couple of new characters introduced in this book who get a few point-of-view sequences.

The main character of the book is Poe Dameron, who spearheads the Resistance’s attempts to gain new recruits. Poe was a good choice as the central character, as not only is he one of the central leaders of the Resistance and their main man of action but he is also still recovering emotionally from the events of The Last Jedi. The regrets he bears from his mutiny on the Raddus and the role he played in the devastation of the Resistance are still weighing heavily on his mind, and it results in some fantastic and emotional sequences from him and the people he interacts with. Roanhorse also spends a bit of time following General Leia as she recovers from all the traumatic events of the last two movies. In this book, Leia is showing quite a few hints of despair after all the losses she has recently experienced; however, it is heartening to witness her start to regain her drive and hope by watching the actions of the younger members of the Resistance.

It was very interesting to see that the rest of the main cast of the recent Star Wars films were not utilised as major characters in this book. You barely get to see anything of major characters like C-3PO and Chewbacca, and even Rey only gets a few minor scenes. Finn features a little bit towards the end of the book as he joins Poe on a mission. I really liked the interactions between Poe and Finn in this book, and I am curious to see whether this is a hint at some sort of romantic relationship occurring between them in the film (there are quite a few fan theories about that out there). Even if it doesn’t, I was very happy that this book actually contains a decisive end to that terrible romance that sprouted between Finn and Rose in the last film. Resistance Reborn did not feature any appearances from the major antagonists of the last two films; instead, the First Order as a whole were the book’s antagonists. While I would have liked to see some scenes of Kylo Ren or General Hux squabbling for dominance or expanding their influence, I did like the use of whole organisation as an opponent, and it was an effective way of showing off just how dangerous and malignant the First Order can be.

Quite a lot of time is also spent exploring some of the lesser-known members of the Resistance and some of their recent recruits. This includes members of Poe Dameron’s squadron of fighters, Black Squadron, who appeared in The Force Awakens; the protagonist of a previous trilogy of books, Norra Wexley; and the current version of Inferno Squadron from the Battlefront II video game, Shriv and Zay. These characters appear as fairly significant point-of-view characters throughout this book, and it was interesting to see the perspective of these lesser-known Star Wars characters as they fight as part of the Resistance. However, out of all the characters that appeared in this book, the one I was most happy to see was Wedge Antilles. Despite only being a minor character in the original trilogy of films, Wedge has long been a favourite of Star Wars fans due to his many appearances in a multitude of different extended universe formats, including books, comics, games and the Star Wars Rebels animated show, in both the previous canon and the current, Disney-operated canon. It was recently announced that Wedge would be appearing in The Rise of Skywalker, and this book reintroduces him in the current chronology of the films, showing him come out of retirement to once again fight the good fight. This was a really cool addition to the story, and I personally was so happy to see Wedge once again.

Probably one of the things that I liked the most about Resistance Reborn was the huge amount of Star Wars references that Roanhorse was able to fit in this book. Not only are there the obvious connections to the previous Star Wars movies but Roanhorse has made sure to tie the story into a number of other pieces of media from across the Star Wars expanded universe. Several of the characters that she has included in this book first appeared in other pieces of expanded universe fiction, such as the members of Inferno Squadron, who were the protagonists of Battlefront II. The characters of Norra and Snap Wexley were the protagonists of the Aftermath trilogy of Star Wars books, which ran between 2015 and 2017, while Snap and the rest of Black Squadron were also major characters in the Poe Dameron series of comic books. There are also a number of references to the 2016 novel Bloodline, and Resistance Reborn actually contains an interesting conclusion to one of the significant events from this prior book. Finally, there are a number of brief references to characters or events that occurred in a number of other books, comics or television shows, such as Wedge reminiscing about his recruitment to the Rebel Alliance during the third season of Star Wars Rebels, or a discussion of Ryloth’s history of oppression, which was shown in both the Rebels and The Clone Wars animated shows. Obviously, readers who are major fans of the Star Wars expanded universe are going to love all these fun inclusions, and I personally was really impressed with everything that Roanhorse was able to fit in. These inclusions did not overwhelm the overall plot of the book, so the story is very accessible to readers who are less familiar with the expanded Star Wars lore and who won’t get those references.

Resistance Reborn by Rebecca Roanhorse is an outstanding new entry in the Star Wars canon which I ended up enjoying quite a lot. Not only does this book offer some intriguing insights into the long-awaited The Rise of Skywalker, but it also features a ton of fantastic references and characters from across the Star Wars franchise, inclusions which are sure to please mega Star Wars fans like this reviewer. Required reading before The Rise of Skywalker comes out, this book comes highly recommended and was a lot of fun.

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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

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 – 5 November 2019

On November 5, 2019November 5, 2019 By The Unseen LibraryIn Book HaulLeave a comment

In the last couple of weeks I have been lucky enough to receive copies of several amazing new releases, and figured it was time for another Book Haul post. This Book Haul features a range of really interesting and diverse books, all of which I am very excited for.

Star Wars: Resistance Reborn by Rebecca Roanhorse

Let us start this post off with the book I was probably most eager to receive, Star Wars: Resistance Reborn. Resistance Reborn is set to be the main tie-in novel to the upcoming The Rise of Skywalker movie, and I have already featured this book in a Waiting on Wednesday post and my Top Ten Most Anticipated Releases for July-December 2019 list. Needless to say after receiving it last week, I have already read it, and will hopefully get a review up in the next few days.

The Diamond Hunter by Fiona McIntosh

Another book that I received recently and have already read. The Diamond Hunter was a really good historical drama written by Australian author Fiona McIntosh. A short review of this book is going to run in the Canberra Weekly in a couple of days, and I am hoping to get a longer review done up as well. In the meantime, make sure to check out my review of McIntosh’s last book, The Pearl Thief.

The Wailing Woman by Maria Lewis

This is a really intriguing piece of urban fantasy about banshees from Australian author Maria Lewis. I am actually in the process of reading this book at the moment, and so far it is pretty good.

The Magnolia Sword by Sherry Thomas

This is an interesting sounding retelling of the classic tale of Mulan. I have heard some promising things about this book from other reviewers and I am looking forward to checking it out.

A Murder at Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey

This is an interesting sounding book that is set to be released next year. I really like the sound of a murder mystery set in 1920’s Bombay, and it should prove to be a fantastic read.

Spy by Danielle Steel

Now, I have to admit that Danielle Steel is not usually the sort of author I would read. However, this sounds like quite a compelling historical thriller, and I did rather like one of Steel’s other 2019 releases, Turning Point, so I think I will check this book out.

Legacy of Ash by Matthew Ward

The final book on this post is an exciting and massive fantasy debut I just received today. I have actually had my eye on this book for a little while now, and this book is quite high on my reading list at the moment.

I am very happy with the above books, and I am extremely confident that I am going to enjoy all of them. Let me know which of these books interests you the most.

Star Wars: Vader: Dark Visions by Dennis “Hopeless” Hallum and Various

On November 3, 2019August 23, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn Comics/Manga, Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Star Wars, Tie-in Novel9 Comments

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Publication Date: 27 August 2019

Length: 128 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Amazon

Prepare to see one of the most iconic and beloved villains in all of fiction, Darth Vader, in a whole new light as Dennis “Hopeless” Hallum and several talented artists present five new and clever stories of the Dark Lord of the Sith from across the galaxy.

To most of the universe, Darth Vader is the Empire’s ultimate symbol of power, authority and fear, delivering death and destruction upon all who incur his wrath. But to some he can be something even more potent and remarkable. On one planet he is a Black Knight, a beacon of hope that saved them from a terrible monster. To a certain Imperial Commander, Vader is a reminder that failure is unacceptable. To one Imperial nurse, Vader is her one true love. But no matter how people see him, the one universal truth is that those who encounter this Sith Lord are likely to end up dead.

Vader: Dark Visions is a fun and uniquely intriguing Star Wars comic that I bought a few weeks ago while on holiday. Vader is easily one of my favourite Star Wars characters, especially as most recent pieces of Star Wars expanded universe fiction have gone out of their way to show him as the ultimate badass. For example, I have absolutely loved some of the recent Darth Vader comics that have been published, including the 2015 Darth Vader series, the Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith series (check out my reviews for Volumes 2 and 3 here), and he has also been exceedingly impressive as a villain in recent volumes of the 2015 Star Wars comic series and the always entertaining Doctor Aphra comics. I also loved his appearance in the second season of Star Wars Rebels and in novels such as Thrawn: Alliances (which features a very cool scene of Vader flying a Tie Defender). As a result, I have been looking forward to Dark Visions for a while, as I found the cool concept of five new and different stories about Darth Vader very appealing.

This collected edition of Dark Visions contains five separate, standalone comic issues that have been written by Hopeless, each of which features the talents of a different artist. Each of these separate stories is really cool, featuring some very interesting story elements, eye-catching artwork and interactions that give the reader a real sense of how terrifying and complex the character of Darth Vader truly is. I also liked how different each of the stories was as Hopeless goes in some very interesting directions to showcase Vader.

The first issue of Dark Visions is Savior and it features the artistic talents of Paolo Villanelli and colour artist Arif Prianto. Savior is the set piece of the entire book and is probably the one that shows off how powerful Vader truly is as he faces off against a gigantic civilisation-destroying monster by himself. Not only is this a pretty epic fight, but everything is shown from the perspective of a young boy whose people have been living in fear of the monster for generations. To him, Vader appears as a great hero, a Black knight, who has come to save their planet, and who even rides a black horse-like steed into battle. However, even after he saves his entire world, the young narrator gets a sense of what Vader really is and is quite rightly terrified. This was an awesome, action-packed first issue and it serves as a great introduction to the entire volume. You also have to give props to the cool cover art that this story produced. The main cover for Issue #1 was used as the cover for the Dark Visions collected edition, and the shot of Vader as an actual knight is one of the main reasons why I wanted to grab this comic. I have also included the two alternate covers that this issue inspired as well, as they are a lot of fun, and show the behemoth that Vader faces off against

The second issue of this comic is easily the funniest of the whole Dark Visions volume. Issue #2, Unacceptable, features an absolutely hilarious Moby Dick inspired story drawn by Brian Level and coloured by Jordan Boyd. The story follows an Imperial Commander who, after seeing Vader brutally kill an entire room full of officers when he was younger, is absolutely terrified of any form of failure. As a result, when a single Rebel spy escapes his attack and he learns that Vader is on route, he abandons the fleet to take his Star Destroyer after this spy in order to capture him, as “failure is unacceptable”. What follows is a destructive rollercoaster ride through space, as the Rebel spy pilots his ship through a range of obstacles and the Imperial Commander obsessively follows him no matter the risk. This results in a fantastically amusing story filled with laughs, disbelief, some very impressive artistic set pieces and an ending that brings the entire story full circle. Thanks to excellent artwork, the commander’s fall to insanity is pretty clear throughout the issue, and I absolutely loved the crazy obstacles he went through. If you’ve ever wanted to see a Star Destroyer fly into an exogorth (the giant space slug in Empire Strikes Back) then this is the comic for you.

Next we come to the third issue of Dark Visions, Tall, Dark and Handsome, which has David Lopez and Javier Pina as the artists and Muntsa Vicente as the colour artist. Like Unacceptable, the story within Issue #3 is a tale of obsession; however, it goes in a very different direction. Tall, Dark and Handsome follows an Imperial nurse on the Death Star who, after treating Vader and feeling his power, starts to fall in love with him and begins to imagine an epic romance with him. This story pretty much ends the way you would imagine, but it is a very dark and emotional journey to the conclusion. While this story is pretty messed up, it is written and drawn extremely well, and you can’t help but feel sorry for the nurse who is slowly losing her mind. The artists did a fantastic job showcasing the various stages of the nurses obsession, from the initial stages of her infatuation, to the look she gives him after he knocks her down with the force (a look that can only be described as “thirsty”), to the scenes at the end where she finally cracks and goes into full-blown crazy stalker mode. I also loved the various sequences generated by the nurse’s imagination, which show her idealised versions of the romance, and they are a great portal into her shattered mind.

The fourth issue of Dark Visions is titled Hotshot and featured Stephen Mooney as the artist and Lee Loughridge as the colour artist. This is a rather interesting story that examines the impact Vader has on the psyche of the Rebel pilots he flies against. In this issue, Vader goes up against a group of skilled Rebel pilots, including a young hotshot flyer with boundless confidence. However, Vader’s superior skills and reputation as a pilot soon have a noted influence on his opponent’s minds, and Vader is able to defeat one solely through fear. I really liked seeing a story that focused on Vader’s ability as a pilot, as it is one of his more impressive abilities, and is pretty cool when focused on (his appearance in the season 2, episode 1 of Star Wars Rebels springs to mind). The various space battles that occur within this issue look fantastic, and you get a real sense of how skilled Vader is in the cockpit.

The fifth and final issue contained within this volume is called You Can Run…, and it was drawn by Geraldo Borges and coloured by Marcio Menyz. This final inclusion focuses on the general aura of fear that Vader exudes as he hunts down a person carrying valuable information on a hostile jungle world. Vader is already pretty terrifying on his own, but when his target gets dosed by a hallucinogenic compound and begins to see all sorts of horrors around him (like the Scarecrow’s fear toxin in Batman), Vader’s scariness gets amped up to 11. The artists come up with some pretty impressive fear-induced sequences throughout this issue, and the various exaggerated ways that Vader is shown are quite inventive (there is a hint of the Predator in one of them).

Overall, I think that this was a really varied and enjoyable combination of different stories that all examine a different aspect of this great character. All five of these issues are done extremely well and feature a fantastic combination of intriguing stories and amazing artwork. I absolutely loved each of the first three issues, and also quite enjoyed Hotshot and You Can Run… However, I actually found it really hard to pick out my favourite story, mainly because they were all enjoyable in such different ways. I do think that these various stories came together into a very satisfying overall volume that is extremely entertaining. As a result, I would strongly recommend Vader: Dark Visions, and it is an excellent read for all fans of the Star Wars franchise.

Amazon