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

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

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

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

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

Honourable Mentions:

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

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

Firefly: Life Signs by James Lovegrove – 16 March 2021

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

Top Ten Tuesday (By Release Date):

Prodigal Son by Gregg Hurwitz – 26 January 2021

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

The Three Paradises by Robert Fabbri – 2 February 2021

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

Relentless by Mark Greaney – 23 February 2021

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

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

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

Breakout by Paul Herron – 9 March 2021

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

The Bone Maker by Sarah Beth Durst – 9 March 2021

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik – 29 June 2021

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

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

Waiting on Wednesday – 2021 Star Wars Tie-In Novels

On December 23, 2020 By The Unseen LibraryIn Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Star Wars, Tie-in Novel, Waiting on Wednesday9 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy. I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them. For this week’s Waiting on Wednesday I take a look at the bevy of cool upcoming Star Wars novels that are set for release in early 2021.

I have been in a major Star Wars mood for the last week (well, more of a Star Wars mood than I usually have). This improved Star Wars mood seemed to begin sometime on Saturday, coinciding with me watching the epic finale of a certain television show. With the sheer awesomeness of The Mandalorian coursing through me, it made me think that, while most of the year has been pretty abysmal, it has been a pretty exceptional year for Star Wars. I have personally enjoyed nearly every novel, comic and television show that has been released in 2020 and there have been some truly exceptional pieces of tie-in fiction. 2021 is actually shaping up to be an even better year, not least because of all the really cool shows that they are currently planning to release (I believe that only dogs and dolphins were able to hear my excited squeals when Disney did their big reveal of upcoming shows a couple of weeks ago). With that in mind, I thought I would take this opportunity to highlight some of the amazing upcoming Star Wars tie-in novels that have been announced for the next year, all of which I will grab and review as soon as I possibly can (this is the way!).

Let’s start this article off by talking about The High Republic. Announced late last year, The High Republic range was advertised as the brand-new era of Star Wars tie-in fiction. Set 200 years before the events of The Phantom Menace, The High Republic shows the Jedi at the absolute height of their power and looks set to follow a whole new generation of heroes as they explore a very different version of the Star Wars universe to that depicted in the films. In order to explore this new period of Star Wars history, a whole set of novels and comics have been commissioned, featuring the talents of some of the top authors of Star Wars tie-in fiction. These novels and comics were initially set for release earlier this year, but then 2020 happened and things naturally got pushed back a little. Most of these novels are now currently set for release in the next couple of weeks and will be amongst the first books of 2021 that I will check out. While I love all things Star Wars, I am especially keen to check these novels out as it will provide me with a glimpse at this new timeline that is set to become a major part of the franchise in the coming years (for example, one of the shows they recently announced, The Acolyte, will apparently be set in or towards the end of The High Republic era).

The first of these books that I will be reading is the interesting-sounding Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule, which is set for release on 5 January 2021. Light of the Jedi will be the first adult Star Wars novel set in this period, and because of this it is bound to be one of the most prominent and important entries in the entire The High Republic range, setting the tone for the entire project and introducing much of the backstory and lore. In order to tell this vital tale, Light of the Jedi will be written by acclaimed author Charles Soule. I am a major fan of Soule’s work as a comic book writer, having particularly enjoyed his Star Wars comics, including the exceptional Poe Dameron comics, The Rise of Kylo Ren limited series and the deeply impressive Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith series (make sure to check out my reviews for Volume 2: Legacy’s End and Volume 3: The Burning Seas). As a result, I have high hopes for Light of the Jedi, especially with the really cool synopsis that has already been released.

Light of the Jedi Synopsis:

Long before the First Order, before the Empire, before even The Phantom Menace. . . Jedi lit the way for the galaxy in The High Republic.

It is a golden age. Intrepid hyperspace scouts expand the reach of the Republic to the furthest stars, worlds flourish under the benevolent leadership of the Senate, and peace reigns, enforced by the wisdom and strength of the renowned order of Force users known as the Jedi. With the Jedi at the height of their power, the free citizens of the galaxy are confident in their ability to weather any storm But the even brightest light can cast a shadow, and some storms defy any preparation.

When a shocking catastrophe in hyperspace tears a ship to pieces, the flurry of shrapnel emerging from the disaster threatens an entire system. No sooner does the call for help go out than the Jedi race to the scene. The scope of the emergence, however, is enough to push even Jedi to their limit. As the sky breaks open and destruction rains down upon the peaceful alliance they helped to build, the Jedi must trust in the Force to see them through a day in which a single mistake could cost billions of lives.

Even as the Jedi battle valiantly against calamity, something truly deadly grows beyond the boundary of the Republic. The hyperspace disaster is far more sinister than the Jedi could ever suspect. A threat hides in the darkness, far from the light of the age, and harbors a secret that could strike fear into even a Jedi’s heart.

The next entry in this article is another The High Republic novel, Into the Dark by Claudia Gray. Into the Dark is a young adult Star Wars novel that is currently set for release on 2 February 2021. This young adult book will be set during the same major event introduced in Light of the Jedi and will follow a different set of Jedi characters as they attempt to navigate the disaster. This second novel appears to have a more typical young adult story, with a teenage character coming into his own, but it sure sounds like it is going to be a great read. Just like with Light of the Jedi, Into the Dark is in the hands of an outstanding author, Claudia Gray, who has written some fantastic Star Wars novels in the past, such as the captivating Master & Apprentice, which was one of my favourite audiobooks of 2019.

Into the Dark Synopsis:

Padawan Reath Silas is being sent from the cosmopolitan galactic capital of Coruscant to the undeveloped frontier—and he couldn’t be less happy about it. He’d rather stay at the Jedi Temple, studying the archives. But when the ship he’s traveling on is knocked out of hyperspace in a galactic-wide disaster, Reath finds himself at the center of the action. The Jedi and their traveling companions find refuge on what appears to be an abandoned space station. But then strange things start happening, leading the Jedi to investigate the truth behind the mysterious station, a truth that could end in tragedy….

Those are the two The High Republic novels I am currently most interested in checking out. There are a couple of young reader or junior fiction The High Republic novels that are also coming out in early 2021 for young Star Wars fans. Some additional The High Republic novels are also set for release later in the year, although most of them are currently untitled or have had very few details revealed about them so far. I will probably cover these additional The High Republic novels in a few months’ time (probably around May the Fourth), but this article is far from done. Early 2021 will also see the release of two additional Star Wars novels set outside The High Republic era, both of which serve as sequels to awesome Star Wars novels from 2020.

The first of these books is Victory’s Price by Alexander Freed, which is currently set for release on 2 March 2021. Victory’s Price is the third and final novel in the exciting Alphabet Squadron series, which follows a mismatched group of damaged Rebel pilots, known as Alphabet Squadron, in the immediate aftermath of the fall of the Empire. I have had an amazing time reading the previous two entries in the series, Alphabet Squadron and Shadow Fall, both of which provided the reader with excellent character work and fantastic fighter pilot action sequences. This third book will follow on from the shocking aftermath of Shadow Fall, which saw the protagonist and leader of Alphabet Squadron, Yrica Quell, return to her former Tie-Fighter unit, Shadow Wing, after being rejected by her fellows in the Rebellion. This third book looks set to be another intense and emotional thrill ride and I cannot wait to see how Freed concludes this fantastic series.

Victory’s Price Synopsis:

The aces of the New Republic have one final chance to defeat the darkness of Shadow Wing in this thrilling conclusion to the Star Wars: Alphabet Squadron trilogy!

In the wake of Yrica Quell’s shocking decision-and one of the fiercest battles of their lives-the remnants of Alphabet Squadron seek answers and closure across a galaxy whose old war scars are threatening to reopen.

Soran Keize has returned to the tip of Shadow Wing’s spear. Operation Cinder, the terrifying protocol of planetary extermination that began in the twilight of the Imperial era, burns throughout the galaxy. Shadow Wing is no longer wounded prey fleeing the hunters of the New Republic. With its leader, its strength has returned, and its Star Destroyers and TIE squadrons lurk in the darkness between stars, carrying out the fallen Emperor’s final edict of destruction-as well as another, stranger mission, one Keize has championed not for the dying Empire, but for its loyal soldiers.

Alphabet Squadron’s ships are as ramshackle and damaged as their spirits, but they’ve always had one another. Now, as they face the might of Keize’s reborn juggernaut, they aren’t sure they even have that. How do you catch a shadow? How do you kill it? And when you’re finally victorious, who pays the price?

Last, but certainly not least, is the second novel in the compelling Thrawn Ascendancy series, Greater Good, by Timothy Zahn, which will hopefully be released in early May 2021. For nearly 30 years, Timothy Zahn has been one of the top writers of Star Wars tie-in fiction, creating a huge number of impressive stories and iconic expanded universe characters. His defining creation is without a doubt the character of Grand Admiral Thrawn, the ultimate Imperial strategist, who has proven his worth as a major antagonist in both the old Star Wars Legends canon and the current Disney-owned Star Wars canon. Not only was Thrawn an impressive character in the Star Wars Rebels animated series but he was recently mentioned in The Mandalorian (an event that elicited a particularly high squee from me) and looks set to appear in live-action form in the upcoming Ahsoka show. I have a lot of love for Zahn’s writing (for example, his great Star Wars heist novel, Scoundrels), and I have particularly enjoyed his work in recent years. This includes his Thrawn series, which sees the author provide a new backstory to the titular character that fits within the bounds of the current canon. Zahn produced some exceptional reads for this series, including Thrawn (which is one of my favourite pieces of Star Wars tie-in fiction), Alliances and Treason. The Thrawn Ascendancy series dives even further back into the character’s past and shows some of his younger exploits with his planet’s defence forces, where he encounters a series of plots to destroy the Chiss Ascendancy. The first novel in this series, Chaos Rising, was a compelling 2020 read, and I look forward to seeing how the series continues next year with Greater Good.

Thrawn Ascendancy: Greater Good Synopsis:

Thrawn and his allies race to save the Chiss Ascendancy from an unseen enemy in the second book in the epic Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy trilogy from bestselling author Timothy Zahn.

Thrawn’s latest triumph still rests newly on his shoulders. Despite leading the Chiss to victory and bringing glory to the House of Mitth, the true threat to the Ascendancy has not yet been extinguished. Their foes do not send threats or ultimatums, or mass ships on the edge of the Chaos. Their weapons come cloaked in smiles and generosity: Gifts offered freely. Services granted unconditionally.

Across the Ascendancy, seemingly inconsequential events could herald the doom of the Chiss. As Thrawn and the Expansionary Defense Fleet rally to uncover the enemy plot, they discover a chilling truth: rather than invade Chiss capitals or pillage their resources, they strike at the very foundation of the Ascendancy, seeking to widen the rifts between The Nine Ruling Families and the Forty Great Houses below. As rivalry and suspicion sow discord among allies, each warrior must decide what matters most to them: the security of their family, or the survival of the Ascendancy itself.

As you can see, there are some awesome Star Wars tie-in novels set for release in 2021. All of the above sound extremely interesting and captivating, and I cannot wait to read all four of them, as well as the other Star Wars books set for release later in the year. Let me know which Star Wars novels you are most looking forward to reading in 2021 and feel free to gush about the upcoming television shows as well.

Top Ten Tuesday – Books for a Holiday Road trip

On December 8, 2020 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, List7 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 have a Holiday/Seasonal Freebie, meaning that we can do whatever topic we want, preferably with a seasonable twist to it. Well, down here in Australia, summer has just rocked up and this usually means long drives to family homes for Christmas or to some magnificent stretch of beach for a well-deserved break. While I myself do not have any upcoming travel planned, this topic did get me thinking about trips and I had the idea to try and help those people with upcoming road trips, or any form of extended travel, choose an audiobook to keep you and any potential passengers entertained.

People familiar with my blog will know that I am a big fan of audiobooks; in many ways, they are some of the best way to enjoy a book from a talented author. However, not all good audiobooks make for great entertainment on a road trip. With that in mind, I have scrolled through some of my favourite audiobooks to find the ones I think would be the best for anyone taking a long trip. To make this list, the audiobooks I chose had to not only be amazing novels but also had to have an excellent narration and the ability to keep a driver or passengers’ attention on a long trip. While I know that some people are going to be experiencing particularly long trips in the coming weeks, I tried to feature audiobooks with shorter runtimes so that those who are taking shorter excursions (say a roundtrip of eight or nine hours) can get through an entire book without trying to make time at home to finish it off. That being said a few longer novels did end up making the cut, but all of these are great for longer trips. I also tried to avoid any novels that would require a great deal of prior knowledge or hard-to-obtain background information so that everyone in the car could enjoy the book without any need for explanation or lectures from those people more familiar with the series. To that end, I have tried to avoid any novels that are later entries in a series or which require some form of assumed knowledge about a franchise. While I have included a couple of tie-in novels, I tried to use those books that require only a smidge of familiarity with their respective franchise to enjoy, and I am confident anyone can easily enjoy any book I ended up featuring.

While I did have quite a few criteria to meet, I was eventually able to come up with a good list for this topic, including several honourable mentions. I am pretty happy with how this list turned out and I have personally really enjoyed each of the below audiobooks. I honestly believe that all of them would make for a great listen during an extended bit of travel or a road trip and each of them comes highly recommended.

Honourable Mentions:

The Black Hawks, written by David Wragg and narrated by Colin Mace – 12 hours and 9 minutes

Those in a mood for an exciting time of their road trip could do worse than check out this excellent and entertaining debut from last year, The Black Hawks by David Wragg. The Black Hawks is a great read that takes several compelling characters on an action-packed adventure across a dangerous landscape. Filled with betrayal, battle and clever twists, listeners will be well entertained with is book.

Star Trek: Picard: The Last Best Hope, written by Una McCormack and narrated by Robert Petkoff – 11 hours and 40 minutes

While there are several cool Star Trek novels that could make for great road-trip listening, I would personally suggest this fantastic tie-in to the recent Picard television show. Serving as an introduction to the darker Star Trek world Picard encounters in his new television series, there is a lot to love about this book and it is well worth checking out.

Star Wars: Ahsoka, written by E. K. Johnston and narrated by Ashley Eckstein – 7 hours and 4 minutes

After recent developments in the phenomenon that is The Mandalorian, one of the Star Wars audiobooks I would strongly recommend is Star Wars: Ahsoka. The Ahsoka audiobook helps to expand on the character and presents listeners with a compelling and personal adventure. Narrated by Ashley Eckstein, the voice of Ahsoka in the animated television series, this is a fantastic and timely audiobook to check out on the road this holiday.

Veronica Mars: The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line, written by Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham, and narrated by Kristen Bell – 8 hours and 43 minutes

Speaking of audiobooks that feature iconic characters being voiced by their actors, listeners will have an awesome time with this Veronica Mars tie-in novel, The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line. Written by series creator Rob Thomas and narrated by Veronica Mars herself, Kristen Bell, this is an outstanding tie-in to the clever television show that also contains a compelling crime fiction story and people will be able to quickly power through this on the way to their destination.

Top Ten List (maybe add listening times):

The Salvage Crew, written by Yudhanjaya Wijeratne and narrated by Nathan Fillion – 8 hours and 21 minutes

The first entry on this top ten list is The Salvage Crew, a very clever and intense science fiction novel that is guaranteed to keep everyone entertained on your trip. Featuring the silky voice of the one and only Nathan Fillion, you will find yourself entranced with this audiobook, especially as the author backs up the awesome narration with a top-notch science fiction adventure story.

Race the Sands, written by Sarah Beth Durst and narrated by Emily Ellet – 15 hours and 45 minutes

Those readers with a particularly long drive in their future and who are in the mood for an excellent standalone fantasy novel would do well to check out Race the Sands by the always impressive Sarah Beth Durst. Race the Sands is an extremely exciting and compelling novel that features great characters, political intrigue and clever worldbuilding, all set around people racing monsters in the desert. This is a very easy book to listen to and the miles will fly away as you listen to Race the Sands. Just don’t let the race scenes inspire you too much on the road; I don’t want to be responsible for you getting a speeding ticket!

Redshirts, written by John Scalzi and narrated by Wil Wheaton – 7 hours and 41 minutes

If you want to laugh your way through an entire road trip you should definitely check out Redshirts by acclaimed science fiction author John Scalzi. Redshirts is a very entertaining parody of Star Trek and is essentially one big sendup of all the tropes, bad writing and over-the-top characters The Original Series is known for. Despite being a parody, Scalzi comes up with an incredibly clever story that gets extremely meta in places, while also introducing the listener to some very interesting characters who you become surprisingly attached to. Top that off with the narration of Wil Wheaton (who else would you want narrating a Star Trek parody), and you have yourself an exceptionally fun audiobook to listen to. My wife and I recently listened to this on a road trip ourselves and we were absolutely cracking up the entire time, and this comes highly recommended as a result.

The Holdout, written by Graham Moore and narrated by Abby Craden – 10 hours and 15 minutes

Those drivers who would prefer a crime fiction novel should think about checking out The Holdout by Graham Moore. The Holdout is a standalone crime fiction novel that follows an infamous jury who found a notorious murderer not guilty and who must now find out who killed one of their members years later at a reunion. This is an extremely captivating book that features an amazing split-timeline narrative, showing the original trial and the murder investigation set in the present. This is a great novel and listeners will be on the edge of their seat for the entire trip.

Legend, written by David Gemell and narrated by Sean Barrett – 13 hours and 13 minutes

Now if I had a particularly lengthy road-trip on the horizon one of the books I know I would be loading up Legend by David Gemell. While this might not be too practical for shorter trips, I would gladly do a trip twice if it meant I could finish this epic book in one go. Featuring an extended and desperate siege, Legend is one of the better fantasy novels I have had the pleasure of listening to and it does not take long for readers to get utterly enthralled with its impressive and thrilling story.

Star Wars: Scoundrels, written by Timothy Zahn and narrated by Marc Thompson – 13 hours and 57 minutes

While there are a number of awesome Star Wars tie-in novels I could have included on this list, I decided in the end to go with Star Wars: Scoundrels. Scoundrels is an exceptional novel from one of the top authors of Star Wars fiction in the world today, Timothy Zahn. This is an excellent book that features fan favourite characters Han Solo, Chewbacca and Lando engaging in an elaborate heist with a team of rogues and thieves. This is a perfect read for a longer car trip, and it is filled with several fantastic characters engaged in some good-old fashioned thievery in the middle of the Star Wars universe. Requiring very little knowledge about the Star Wars extended universe, this audiobook can be enjoyed by anyone even vaguely familiar with the series and is really worth a listen to.

Tomorrow, When the War Began, written by John Marsden and narrated by Suzi Dougherty – 7 hours and 20 minutes

Those looking for a new series to get obsessed about should use any upcoming road trips as an opportunity to try out the first book in the acclaimed Tomorrow series, Tomorrow, When the war Began. Essentially Australia’s answer to Red Dawn, this book follows a group of teenagers as they try to survive a sudden invasion of Australia by a foreign power. This is one of my absolute favourite series of all times and is probably some of the best Australian young adult fiction ever written. It is extremely easy to power through these audiobooks in a short amount of timer and they would be among some of my first choices if I had a long trip planned.

Any Discworld novel, by Terry Pratchett

I am kind of cheating by including an entire series here, but I could honestly listen to any of these books again and would not hesitate to recommend the entire Discworld series to anyone in the mood for a book that is wacky, clever, compelling and wildly entertaining. Practically any of these books would make for excellent entertainment during a car ride and I find it hard to believe that anyone would be bored while listening to them. While I love each of these books, I would probably recommend either Moving Pictures or Guards! Guards! (both with a runtime of 10 hours and 8 minutes) as they are great entry points to the series for new readers. An incredibly series to get into, you will not regret listening to them these holidays.

Planetside, written by Michael Mammay and narrated by R. C. Bray – 8 hours and 38 minutes

Another great read with a shorter runtime is Planetside by Michael Mammay. Planetside is an incredible novel and it is probably one of my favourite debut novels of all time. Mammay packs an intense and addictive story into this shorter audiobook, and listeners are treated to an outstanding and clever science fiction mystery novel, which sees an old veteran attempt to find a missing soldier on an occupied alien planet and instead uncovers a massive conspiracy. Listeners are guaranteed to be transfixed from start to epic finish with Planetside and it would be an exceptional novel to listen to while on a long drive.

The Anomaly, written by Michael Rutger and narrated by Brandon Williams – 9 hours and 41 minutes

For the final entry on my list, I have included The Anomaly by Michael Rutger. The Anomaly is a great horror novel that follows the makers of a web series as they explore an ancient cave in the Grand Canyon, only to find it filled with ancient terrors. This is a great novel for those who are in the mood for a scary book to listen to on their way home and readers will really love this amazing audiobook. I was particularly impressed with the dark, claustrophobic atmosphere that this audiobook produced and horror buffs will have an amazing time listening to this. That being said, maybe turn it off if you have to drive at night.

Well that’s my latest Top Ten Tuesday list. I think it turned out extremely well, and if you have some upcoming travel planned (or even just some time to kill in lockdown), you would do well to try any of the above books. Let me know which of the featured novels you enjoyed the most, as well as what audiobooks you would recommend for a car trip in the comments below and makes sure you drive safe these holidays.

WWW Wednesday – 30 September 2020

On September 30, 2020 By The Unseen LibraryIn WWW WednesdayLeave a comment

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Taking on a World of Words, where bloggers share the books that they’ve recently finished, what they are currently reading and what books they are planning to read next. Essentially you have to answer three questions (the Three Ws):

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

So, let’s get to it.

What are you currently reading?

The Erasure Initiative by Lili Wilkinson (Trade Paperback)

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

The Trouble With Peace by Joe Abercrombie

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

What did you recently finish reading?

River of Gold by Anthony Riches (Hardcover)

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

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik (Trade Paperback)

What do you think you’ll read next?

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

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

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

WWW Wednesday – 23 September 2020

On September 23, 2020 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?

River of Gold by Anthony Riches (Hardcover)

I was in the mood for a good historical fiction read so I thought I would check out River of Gold, the latest entry in Anthony Riches’ Empire series. I am about halfway through this book at the moment and so far it is proving to be an enjoyable read.

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

I finally got a chance to check out the latest Thrawn novel from legendary Star Wars author Timothy Zahn. Chaos Rising is the first novel in Zahn’s new Thrawn Ascendancy trilogy which serves as a prequel to his previous Thrawn series (made up of Thrawn, Alliances and Treason). This was one of my most anticipated reads for 2020 and so far it is not disappointing as Zahn has come up with another amazing adventure for his most iconic character.

What did you recently finish reading?

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini (Trade Paperback)

The Black Hawks by David Wragg (Audiobook)

What do you think you’ll read next?

The Trouble With Peace by Joe Abercrombie

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 – 19 September 2020

On September 19, 2020 By The Unseen LibraryIn Book Haul1 Comment

It has been a while since I have done a Book Haul post, so I figured it was a good time to look back at some of the amazing books that I have received in the last couple of weeks. I have actually received quite an impressive haul recently, made up of a number of exciting and intriguing books, including a few novels that I have been looking forward to for some time. Each of the books below have a lot of potential and I am really keen to check them all out as soon as I can.

Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising by Timothy Zahn

The first entry on this book haul had to be the book that I am most looking forward to reading, Chaos Rising. Chaos Rising is the first novel in a brand new Star Wars trilogy from the amazing Timothy Zahn that focuses on the early days of his most iconic character, Grand Admiral Thrawn. This is one of my most anticipated reads for 2020 due to how much I loved all three novels in Zahn’s previous Thrawn trilogy (Thrawn, Alliances and Treason), and it is sure to be an outstanding and epic read.

Dead Man in a Ditch by Luke Arnold

Dead Man in a Ditch is the intriguing sounding follow-up to the urban fantasy novel, The Last Smile in Sunder City by Luke Arnold. The Last Smile in Sunder City was a great book that came out earlier in the year and I cannot wait to see how Arnold follows it up in this second novel.

Lionhearts by Nathan Makaryk

A cool and awesome sounding retelling of the legend of Robin Hood, Lionhearts should make for a pretty epic read.

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

The House of Lamentations by S. G. Maclean

The House of Lamentations is a compelling historical thriller that will serve as the final book in MacLean’s fantastic Damien Seeker series. I really enjoyed reading the previous two entries in this series, Destroying Angel and The Bear Pit, and I cannot wait to see how the story ends.

The Tower of Fools by Andrzej Sapkowski

Another intriguing series from Andrzej Sapkowski, author of The Witcher novels, yeah, now that is something I need to check out. This new release is the first English translation of The Tower of Fools, which Sapkowski wrote some years ago. It sounds pretty damn awesome and I cannot wait to see how it turns out.

The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett

Battle Ground by Jim Butcher

Battle Ground is the 17th entry in the acclaimed urban fantasy series from Jim Butcher, The Dresden Files. I have been meaning to get into The Dresden Files for some time now, and this could be a good opportunity to check it out.

The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart

This is an intriguing sounding fantasy debut from a new author that could be worth checking out. The Bone Shard Daughter has a fantastic plot synopsis behind it and I really love the book’s elaborate cover. Hopefully this turns out to be an epic and enjoyable read and I am looking forward to reading it.

River of Gold by Anthony Riches

The latest entry in a long-running and enjoyable Roman historical fiction series. It has been a while since I have read an Anthony Riches novel, but River of Gold sounds like a great new entry and I think I may try and read it next.

The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix

The final entry in this post is The Left-Handed Booksellers of London, a new standalone young adult fantasy novel from talented Australian author Garth Nix. Nix is an amazing author who I have been a fan of for years. I really enjoyed his last standalone novel, Angel Mage, and this new book also sounds really fun.

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

WWW Wednesday – 16 September 2020

On September 16, 2020September 16, 2020 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?

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini (Trade Paperback)

I am still getting through this massive book, but it is quite an impressive and expansive science fiction novel that is well worth the time you need to set aside to read it.

The Black Hawks by David Wragg (Audiobook)

The Black Hawks is a fun and exciting fantasy debut from last year that I have been meaning to check out for a while now. I am about a third of a way through it at the moment and it is proving to be quite an entertaining and enjoyable read.

What did you recently finish reading?

Dogs of War by Jonathan Maberry (Audiobook)

What do you think you’ll read next?

Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendency: Chaos Rising by Timothy Zahn

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.

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

On June 30, 2020June 30, 2020 By The Unseen LibraryIn List20 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. For this latest Top Ten Tuesday participants need to list their top anticipated releases for the second half of 2020.

2020 has so far been a pretty amazing year for books, with some outstanding and impressive novels coming out and blowing me away. However, the year is far from over, and there are a number of incredible and epic-sounding novels set for release in the second half of 2020. In order to fill out this list I have scoured my list of anticipated upcoming releases and tried to work out which of the books coming out between the start of July and the end of December I am most looking forward to.

This proved to be a rather hard list to finalise, mainly because of how many awesome novels are coming out in the next six months. I had to make some hard decisions for this list, and I ended up cutting out several upcoming releases that I am really looking forward to. Despite this, I am rather happy with the eventual choices that I made, and I think that this upcoming list reflects which upcoming novels I am going to have the most fun reading. Due to how impressive they sound and because they have already caught my attention, several of these books in my weekly Waiting on Wednesday articles, and some of them also appeared on my recent Winter TBR list. However, there are also some interesting new books that I am discussing for the first time here, so that should give this list a bit of variety. So let us get to my selections and find out which upcoming novels are my most anticipated releases for the second half of 2020.

Honourable Mentions:

Total Power by Kyle Mills – 15 September 2020

The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton – 1 October 2020

Hollow Empire by Sam Hawke – 26 November 2020

Hollow Empire was a book that I was really hoping to read last year, but it has faced some delays. Luckily it looks set for release in a few months time and I am rather excited to check it out, especially after how much I enjoyed Hawke’s first novel, City of Lies.

Colonyside by Michael Mammay – 29 December 2020

This is the third book in the incredible Planetside series of science fiction thriller novels that I have been having an outstanding time reading the last couple of years. The first book in this series, Planetside, is one of my favourite debuts of all time, and last year’s follow-up book, Spaceside was also really impressive. Colonyside is set to be another amazing addition to this series, and I cannot wait to see what sort of complex and clever space mystery Mammay cooks up this time.

Top Ten Tuesday (By Release Date):

Demon in White by Christopher Ruocchio – 28 July 2020

The Gates of Athens by Conn Iggulden – 4 August 2020

I actually got a copy of this book last week and I am planning on reading it soon. Gates of Athens is set to be one of the top historical fiction releases of the year, and it should prove to be an epic and detailed read.

How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It by K. J. Parker – 18 August 2020

Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising by Timothy Zahn – 1 September 2020

The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett – 15 September 2020

The Trouble with Peace by Joe Abercrombie – 15 September 2020

I used The Trouble with Peace’s more recent cover for this article because it looks extremely cool and is a nice contrast to the cover I used in the linked Waiting on Wednesday article.

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini – 15 September 2020

Assault by Fire by Hunter Ripley Rawlings IV – 29 September 2020

I just want to point out that Assault by Fire is the only debut novel that I have featured in this article. Not only does it have an awesome and exciting story concept behind it, but I really loved the book that Rawlings cowrote with Mark Greaney last year, Red Metal. If Rawlings’ first solo book is anything as good as Red Metal, then this should prove to be a fantastic read that I know I am going to enjoy.

The Law of Innocence by Michael Connelly – 10 November 2020

I have been really enjoying Michael Connelly’s books over the last couple of years, including Dark Sacred Night and The Night Fire, both of which were exceptional pieces of crime fiction. I am also in the middle of reading his latest book, Fair Warning, which is so far pretty amazing. Because of this, I was rather excited when I heard that Connelly had another book coming out later this year. The Law of Innocence sounds extremely interesting as it sees the return of the Lincoln Lawyer, Mickey Haller, as he faces the trial of his life. Also set to feature his most iconic protagonist, Harry Bosch, The Law of Innocence should be a particular impressive read and I am very much looking forward to it.

Call of the Bone Ships by R. J. Barker – 24 November 2020

The final book on this list is a book that I know that I am absolutely going to love, and which is pretty much guaranteed to get a full five stars from me. Call of the Bone Ships is the upcoming sequel to one of the best books of 2019, The Bone Ships, by the always amazing R. J. Barker. This new book will continue the epic nautical fantasy adventures started in The Bone Ships, and I for one am extremely eager to see what outstanding and inventive new narrative that Barker comes up with this time.

That’s the end of this list. I am extremely happy with how my latest Top Ten Tuesday article turned out, and my Most Anticipated Releases for the Second Half of 2020 list contains an intriguing list of upcoming books that should prove to be incredible reads. I think that every one of the books I mentioned above has the potential to get a full five-star rating from me and I cannot wait to see what amazing and exciting stories they contain. While I am waiting to get my hands on these books, why not let me know if any of the above interest you, and let me know what your most anticipated releases for the next six months are in the comments below.

Top Ten Tuesday – My Favourite Pieces of Star Wars Tie-In Fiction

On May 5, 2020May 5, 2020 By The Unseen LibraryIn Comics/Manga, Extended Universe, List, Science Fiction, Star Wars, Tie-in Novel11 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, the official topic is to list Ten Things I’d Have at My Bookish Party, although I’m once again going to do something a little different, mainly due to the date.

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday falls just one day after May the 4^th, which is officially Star Wars Day. I have made no secret of my love for the Star Wars franchise, and this blog is packed full of reviews for the various Star Wars tie-novels and comics that have been released in recent years. My current deep obsession with Star Wars tie-in fiction is a surprisingly recent thing, as I only started really getting into Star Wars books and comics in 2018 after reading Last Shot by Daniel Jose Older. Since then I have gone out of my way to read a ton of Star Wars novels and I have dived deep into the current vein of comic books. All of these have been pretty damn amazing so far, and I have really enjoyed some of the comics and novels that I have had the opportunity to read. Due to this, I thought I would celebrate this Star Wars Day by listing my top ten favourite pieces of Star Wars fiction.

For this list, I have pulled together the top Star Wars tie-in novels and comics that I have read and tried to figure out which ones were my absolute favourite. This turned out to be somewhat difficult because I have read quite a few outstanding Star Wars books and comics over the last two years. In order to get a list together that I was happy with, I decided that I would feature whole series of books and comics together as a single entry, which ensured I wouldn’t have to choose which individual volumes were my absolute favourite. This allowed me to come up with a rather good list that contained most of my favourites, although I did also include a rather substantial Honourable Mentions section. I am actually surprised at which pieces of Star Wars fiction I ended up excluding from this list, including some fantastic novels and comics that I wrote multi-page reviews for. However, I am rather happy with what ended up on this list, and without a doubt, these following entries are my absolute favourite pieces of Star War fiction that I have read so far.

Honourable Mentions

Ahsoka by E. K. Johnston

The first entry in my Honourable Mentions is a firm favourite of mine, mainly because it focuses on one of the best characters in the expanded Star Wars Universe, Ahsoka Tano, and bridges the gap between The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels animated show. This young adult Star Wars novel is very good and is best enjoyed in its audiobook format, which is narrated by Ashley Eckstein, the voice actor who portrays Ahsoka in the shows.

Poe Dameron (2016)

The Poe Dameron comic book series is an excellent series written by the amazing Charles Soule and drawn by Phil Noto and Angel Unzueta. This series ran between 2016 and 2018 and focuses on the adventures of Resistance pilot Poe Dameron and his X-Wing Squadron, Black Squadron. Set just before the events of The Force Awakens, this is a fantastic series filled with some rather cool storylines and outstanding characters. I actually still have to finish this series off, and the final volume, The Awakening, should hopefully be arriving by post very soon.

Dooku: Jedi Lost by Cavan Scott

A clever piece of fiction that tells the tale of a young Count Dooku, showing how he fell to the Dark Side of the Force. While this was released in book format, Jedi Lost was originally an audio drama, featuring the vocal talents of some of the best Star Wars audiobook narrators and actors, and that is definitely the best way to enjoy this piece of Star Wars fiction.

Lords of the Sith by Paul S. Kemp

This is the latest Star Wars novel that I have read, and I only got a review up for it a couple of weeks ago. Lords of the Sith is an extremely fun and action-packed Star Wars novel that is highly recommended for anyone wants to see Darth Vader and the Emperor let loose in some over-the-top ways.

Top Ten List (No Particular Order):

Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn

The first entry on this Top Ten List is the excellent new Thrawn trilogy from legendary Star Wars tie-in author, Timothy Zahn. Zahn is one of the best authors of Star Wars fiction, and in this series he brought his most iconic character, Grand Admiral Thrawn, into the new Disney canon, backing up the character’s appearance on Star Wars Rebels. This trilogy is made up of three spectacular books, Thrawn, Alliances and Treason, all three of which I deeply enjoyed. The first book, Thrawn, is probably the best Star Wars novel I have so far read. This is a fantastic series to check out, and I cannot wait to grab Zahn’s next piece of fiction.

Star Wars (2015)

This is the first of several comics series featured on this Top Ten list, and it is a rather impressive series that I literally just finished yesterday. The Star Wars (2015) series is the backbone of the current run of the franchise’s comics and ran between 2015 and 2019, with 75 issues, thanks to the efforts of a massive team of contributors. This series is set between the events of A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back and follows the adventures of the main protagonists of the Original Trilogy as they fight the Empire and get into all manner of trouble. This series starts off with a massive bang and has some very impressive highs throughout its run. My absolute favourite volume in this series has to be the outstanding first entry, Skywalker Strikes, although other awesome volumes include Rebel Jail, The Last Flight of the Harbinger and Hope Dies. Skywalker Strikes is the only volume of this I have so far reviewed, although I plan to review the other volumes at some point in the future.

Dark Disciple by Christie Golden

The third entry on my list is a rather intriguing novel, Dark Disciple, which follows two fan favourite expanded universe characters, Asajj Ventress and Quinlan Vos, and concludes their stories after their last appearance in The Clone Wars animated series. Based on unused scripts for a proposed arc in The Clones Wars by Katie Lucas, this was an outstanding tale of love, revenge and hate that I was really glad I checked out.

Darth Vader (2015) by Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca

The Darth Vader (2015) comic book series is a particularly awesome series which follows the dark and destructive adventures of the titular antagonist after the events of A New Hope. Strongly connected to the events of the Star Wars (2015) comics, this series ran for 25 issues between 2015 and 2016 and featured some incredible storylines and introduced some cool characters to the canon. I really loved this incredible series, and the two volumes I have so far reviewed, Vader and Shadows and Secrets, each got a five-star rating from me.

Master & Apprentice by Claudia Gray

This next entry was a captivating novel released last year that explored the complicated relationship between Quin-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, several years before the events of The Phantom Menace. This was a deeply captivating novel that featured an interesting dive into the Star Wars lore while also presenting the reader with a fun and action-packed adventure. One of the top Star Wars novels of 2019, Master & Apprentice is a fantastic book to check out.

Vader Down

Vader Down is the latest piece of Star Wars fiction that I have reviewed, as I only just featured it in a Throwback Thursday article last week. This is an extremely awesome comic that serves as an outstanding crossover between the Star Wars (2015) and Darth Vader (2015) series. An explosive comic, full of violence, fun character moments and a compelling story, Vader Down is pure entertainment from start to finish.

Scoundrels by Timothy Zahn

This is the second entry on this list that was written by Timothy Zahn and the only book that is from the older Star Wars Legends canon. Scoundrels was an entertaining take on the heist genre that followed Han, Chewie, Lando and a crew of their criminal friends as they attempt to pull off an impossible robbery. An incredibly gripping novel with an exciting premise that I had a blast reading.

Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith by Charles Soule and Giuseppe Camuncoli

Another top-rate Star Wars comic book series featuring Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith followed the early days of Vader and is set right after the events of Revenge of the Sith. This was a very impressive series, and it was one of the first Star Wars comics that I really got into. I absolutely loved all four volumes (made up of 25 issues) of this series, and the two volumes I have reviewed, Legacy’s End and The Burning Seas, both got five-star reviews from me.

Tarkin by James Luceno

An early entry in the new Star Wars canon, Tarkin created a new history for the titular character, Grand Moff Tarkin, and showed the events that led to him becoming one of the most powerful men in the Empire. This was an extremely clever and well-written novel that I deeply enjoyed, and it is a great piece of Star Wars fiction to read.

Dr Aphra (2016)

The final entry on this list is the epic and always entertaining Dr Aphra comic book series. The Dr Aphra comics spun off from the Darth Vader (2015) series and followed several of the amazing side characters that were introduced in the series, including the rogue space archaeologist Dr Aphra. Dr Aphra ran between 2016 and late 2019 and followed the crazy misadventures of the good doctor as she spreads chaos across the galaxy. This series only just ended after 40 incredible issues, and it is really worth checking out. This is easily one of my top comic series at the moment, and I loved how this series overlayed a captivating character study with cool storylines, clever action and amazing humour. I loved every second I spent reading Dr Aphra, and the two volumes I have so far reviewed, Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon and A Rogue’s End, are incredible reads.

Well, that is the end of my Top Ten list. I am rather happy with how it turned out, and I think that I have included some rather interesting choices on there. I had a wonderful time coming up with this list, and I think it is something that I will come back to each year around May 4th. I imagine that my next list is going to look substantially different, as there is a huge amount of new Star Wars fiction coming out in the next year. This includes three fantastic new books from authors I read last year (Queen’s Peril, Thrawn: Ascendancy: Chaos Rising and Shadow Fall), a young adult book focused on Poe Dameron, and the books that are going to fall under the new High Republic sub-series. There are also several new Star Wars comic series starting up this year, including Star Wars (2020), Darth Vader (2020), Bounty Hunters and Dr Aphra (2020), all of which I am really looking forward to checking out. I will probably also check out some older Star Wars books in the next year, such as A New Dawn and the Aftermath trilogy, both of which I have heard things about, and I might also check out some books from the old Star Wars Legends canon. All of these should result in a ton of new entries in my next list and I may actually break it up into two separate lists, one for comics and one for novels. Until then I hope you enjoyed the list above and May the Fourth be with you. Let me know what you think of my choices and let me know what your favourite Star Wars books and comics are in the comments below.

Top Ten Tuesday -Books with Single-Word Titles

On March 3, 2020 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’s Top Ten Tuesday, participants are tasked with listing books with single-word titles.

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

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

Honourable Mentions:

Timeless/Boundless by R. A. Salvatore

Timeless and Boundless Cover

Supernova by Marissa Meyer

Supernova Cover

Commodus by Simon Turney

Commodus Cover

Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett

Foundryside Cover

Top Ten List (No Particular Order):

Eragon/Eldest/Brisingr/Inheritance by Christopher Paolini

Inheritance Cycle

Thrawn by Timothy Zahn

Thrawn Cover

Legend by David Gemmell

Legend

Skyward/Starsight by Brandon Sanderson

Skyward, Starsight cover

Rage by Johnathan Maberry

Rage Cover

Planetside/Spaceside by Michael Mammay

Planetside, Spaceside Covers

Tombland by C. J. Sansom

Tombland Cover

Salvation by Peter F. Hamilton

Salvation Cover

Restoration by Angela Slatter

Restoration Cover

Deceit by Richard Evans

Deceit Cover

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