Tag: Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday – Favourite Films/Film Series Based on Books

On By The Unseen LibraryIn List11 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics.  The official topic for this week is Bookish Merchandise I’d love to Own, which does sound fun, although I have no idea what I would put up as my choices.  As such, I thought I’d take this opportunity to finally post a list that I have been thinking about for a few weeks, looking at my top ten favourite films or film series that are based on books.

Adapting bestselling novels and books into movies is something Hollywood has been doing for decades, often with great success.  While some adaptations that failed, either due to the original source material or general problems with production, many have turned out to be exceedingly epic films that I have deeply enjoyed.  This is something I have been thinking of a lot lately, not only because some great books have film adaptations coming out soon (Bullet Train by Kotaro Isaka and The Gray Man by Mark Greaney for examples), but also because I just saw the latest Fantastic Beasts film.  So, as I tend to when my mind wanders along this track, I started researching and listing all the various films that are based on books and tried to work out what my absolute favourites were.  This turned out to be such a fun list to pull together that I just had to share it up on the blog.

To appear on this list, the relevant film or series needs to be based on a book in some shape or form.  In trying to work out what are my absolute favourites I am looking at a few things, general quality of the film, how much I enjoyed it as well as whether it is a good adaptation of the source material.  In a few cases, I may not have read the books the films are adapted from, but I have still included them here due to the quality of the film.  I decided to exclude films based off comics from this list as I already have a few lists for this (an MCU list, a DC Comics movie list, and an animated comic movie list).  Despite this, I still ended up with a ton of potential entries for this list and I had to do a ton of cutting to get it down to 10 with my usual generous honourable mentions section.  The end result is pretty interesting and I think that it does a good job reflecting which film adaptions are my favourite.

Honourable Mentions:

The Hobbit trilogy

The Hobbit Poster

While this series does have some issues, and probably shouldn’t have been broken up into a trilogy, I had fun with it and there are some good moments throughout these movies.  I think that The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Desolation of Smaug were really well done, its just a shame that The Battle of Five Armies didn’t live up to its full potential and really dragged the whole trilogy down.

 

Hannibal Lector trilogy

The Silence of the Lambs Poster

I had to mention these dark thrillers somewhere on this list as they are pretty damn iconic and cool.  Based on the works of Thomas Harris, The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal and Red Dragon are pretty awesome films with some brilliant performances from Anthony Hopkins and others (Ralph Fiennes in Red Dragon is extremely good).  Also, mad props to the Hannibal television show, if I do a list about television shows based on books, that will make the cut for sure.

 

James Bond films

Tomorrow Never Dies Poster

I have already mentioned in a previous list how much I loved the James Bond films, but I had to include them here as well.  Based on the novels by Ian Flemming, this whole series is very fun, and there are some truly impressive and iconic films here.

 

A Beautiful Mind

A Beautiful Mind Poster

I have a lot of love for this excellent bio film, based on the book by Sylvia Nasar.  Filled with a great cast, this Russell Crowe led film is moving and clever, and contains a fantastic twist halfway through, especially if you don’t know too much about the person it is based on.

Top Ten List:

The Lord of the Rings trilogy

The Return of the King Cover

I don’t need to do a lot of selling for this first entry.  If you are reading this blog than you probably know that The Lord of the Rings trilogy is easily the best and most epic adaptation of a novel ether done.  All three films are pretty damn incredible with a perfect cast and will leave you breathless at every turn.  Also, do yourself a favour and check out the extended editions at some point, it may be long, but it is very much worth it.

 

Harry Potter series

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Poster

Who doesn’t love it when their favourite childhood series is turned into an impressive movie series?  The Harry Potter films are extremely good films by themselves, and they also serve as outstanding adaptations of their source materials.  Filled with a great combination of new actors and some of the best British actors of all time, these films were an absolute institution for very good reasons and are so much fun to watch.

 

The Hunger Games series

The Hunger Games Poster

Another young adult series I had to include, The Hunger Games films are some of my favourite dystopian movies to watch and they were done so perfectly.  Serving as brilliant and powerful films with an excellent story of survival and revolution, The Hunger Games films are excellent adaptations of the original novels, while also adding some original touches and perspectives.  All four films are unique in their own way (Catching Fire was my favourite), and I personally think that the creators made the right decision breaking Mockinjay into two separate movies.  I have rewatched these films multiple times and with an adaptation of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes also on the way, this appears to be a series that will keep on giving.

 

The Princess Bride

The Princess Bride Poster

Not including The Princess Bride on this list, INCONCEIVABLE!!!  Based on the novel of the same name by William Goldman, this was an incredible film, and I can still remember the first time I watched it.  This was mainly because I was a stupid teenager who thought that a movie called The Princess Bride wasn’t going to be manly enough for me.  Well just like the kid in the movie, I quickly got extremely attached to its brilliant and hilarious story, as well as the unique and powerful cast it contained.  This film has some of the most iconic and impressive lines and moments in film history: “Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father.  Prepare to die”.  It also has in my opinion, one of the best swordfights in film history, which is just so damn epic.  This is an incredible and distinctive film adaptation and is a much watch for pretty much everyone.

 

Jurassic Park

Jurassic Park Poster

I probably would have been eaten by vengeful dinosaurs (and their fans) if I hadn’t included Jurassic Park on this list, and for good reason.  Based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton, this film is awesomeness personified thanks to its outstanding graphics and very clever story, both of which have more than stood the test of time.  This film essentially ensured an entire generation and beyond fell in love with dinosaurs and is easily one of my favourite films of all times.

 

The Shawshank Redemption

The Shawshank Redemption Poster

Get busy living or get busy dying, but make sure you watch this iconic film at least once in your life.  Probably the best adaptation of a Stephen King book ever made (ok technically a novella, but who’s counting), The Shawshank Redemption is an insanely moving and powerful film about life in a prison.  Easily one of the most recognisable films of the 1990s, this outstanding film has more than stood the test of time and is a brilliant and utterly addictive adaptation.

 

The Great Escape

The Great Escape Poster

From one film about prison life to the greatest escape story ever, we have the classic 1963 film, The Great Escape.  Based on the 1950 book of the same name by Paul Brickhill, The Great Escape is a stirring and outstanding World War II film that tells the tale of a mass escape from a German POW camp.  Starring some truly brilliant actors, like Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson and so many more, this film quickly grabs your attention with its catchy music and entertaining plot.  Inspiration and moving in equal measures, this film will keep you entertained right up to its dark end is a must watch for all fans of a classic war movie.

 

Forrest Gump

Forrest Gump Poster

If you’ve seen the Forrest Gump film, you already know why its on this list.  The surprising and heart-warming tale of a remarkable man in 20th century America, this is a film like no other that features Tom Hanks at his very best.  While the plot does differentiate significantly from its source book by Winston Groom, this is such a brilliant film that gets a ton of love from me.

 

Die Hard

Die Hard Poster

Another film that wildly differed from its original source material but still turned out great is my favourite Christmas film, Die Hard.  Loosely based on Roderick Thorp’s novel Nothing Lasts Forever, Die Hard is easily one of the greatest action films of all-time, launching the action career of Bruce Willis and introducing the world to Alan Rickman (before throwing him off a tower).  There are so many awesome and cool moments throughout this film, many of which are taken in part from the novel, and I will automatically start watching Die Hard any time it is on.

 

Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog Millionaire Poster

The final book on this list is the fantastic, feel-good film Slumdog Millionaire.  I have always really loved this touching film which is loosely based on the novel Q&A by Indian author Vikas Swarup.  Combining a tragic life story with an iconic game show (the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? for the film version), this is a touching and very captivating character-driven film featuring an excellent cast of Indian actors.  This is such an incredible film to watch, and I cannot recommend it enough.

 

 

Well, that is the end of this latest list.  As you can see, there are some brilliant film adaptations of great books out there, and I think that the above does a great job of reflecting my personal favourites.  This is probably a list I will come back to in the future, especially as there are more and more film adaptations of novels coming out every year.  In the meantime, let me know what your favourite films based on books are in the comments below.

 

Top Ten Tuesday – Authors I Haven’t Read, But Want To

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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 the top 10 authors that they haven’t read but which they really want to.  This was a pretty interesting topic as there are actually quite a few authors out there that I want to read, but I haven’t had a chance to.  As such, I had a bit of fun looking at some of the big authors I have been meaning to read for some time and coming up with the absolute top authors I have neglected from my reading this.  This resulted in a very interesting list with some great names on it (including my usual honourable mentions section), all of whom have produced some brilliant novels I really want to read.  So, let us see who made the cut.

Honourable Mentions:

James Rollins

The Starless Crown Cover

Ok, so I am technically cheating with this first honourable mention, James Rollins, as I have read a couple of his books before.  However, that was a fairly long time ago when I was pretty young, so I decided to include him as an honourable mention.  I really do want to go back and check out all his Sigma Force novels though, which sound like bonkers fun, and I have been meaning to read his latest fantasy release, The Starless Crown, for a couple of months now.

 

Julian Stockwin

Thunderer Cover

An acclaimed historical fiction author, I have been trying to read one of Stockwin’s Thomas Kydd novels for years but just never get the chance to.  Set during the Napoleonic Wars, the Thomas Kydd books are awesome sounding naval historical fiction books that sound so very cool

 

Daniel Abraham

Age of Ash Cover

While I have enjoyed Abraham’s writing with Ty Franck as the due behind The Expanse novels, I have never had the opportunity to read any of his solo fantasy works.  Not only do I want to check out his most recent book, Age of Ash, but several of his existing series, such as The Dagger and the Coin and The Long Price Quartet, sound particularly awesome.

 

Neil Gaiman

The Sandman

A major author whose works I have somehow failed to read for a while, I need to check out some of the quirky Neil Gaiman books, as well as the cool Sandman comics (or their recent audiobook adaptations).

Top Ten List:

Glen Cook

The Black Company Cover

First on this list is acclaimed fantasy author Glen Cook, who I have been meaning to read for years.  Known for various series, including his Garrett P. I. novels, I mostly want to read Cook’s The Black Company novels, which are I have heard are pretty exceptional pieces of dark epic fantasy.  Following an elite group of mercenaries as they fight for and against a legendary evil sorceress, this series sounds so cool and I really hope I get a chance to read it at some point.

 

Gav Thorpe

Last Chancers - Armageddon Saint Cover

Next up we have one of the leading voices of the Warhammer extended universe, Gav Thorpe.  A talented author and game designer, Gav Thorpe has written multiple intriguing novels in the Warhammer universe, which I have been really getting into lately.  There are multiple Thorpe books I want to check out, although the one I will probably try first is the Last Chancers series, which is essentially The Dirty Dozen in space.  I cannot wait to read some of Thorpe’s awesome Warhammer novels and I know I am going to have an amazing time doing so.

 

Victor Milán

Dinosaur lords_rev1_MM.indd

Another talented fantasy author I want to try and get into is the late Victor Milán, who has written some fantastic sounding stuff over the years.  Also know by the pen names Richard Austin, Robert Baron, S. L. Hunter and Alex Archer, Milán wrote multiple intriguing series, including the Rogue Angel, Guardians and Stormrider series.  However, I mostly want to read his last trilogy, The Dinosaur Lords series, which is set in a world where knights fight atop the back of dinosaurs.  This sounds so freaking awesome to me, and I am very excited to see what sort of whacky and epic story Milán wrote around these dinosaur knights.

 

Sandy Mitchell

Ciaphas Cain Cover

Another great author known for their Warhammer novels, Sandy Mitchell (real name Alex Stewart), is a fantastic sounding writer who has added several key entries into the wider Warhammer 40,000 universe.  While I really want to read all of Mitchell’s Warhammer novels at some point, I mostly want to check out his iconic Ciaphas Cain books.  Following a reluctant war hero whose attempts to avoid combat always lead him to the most danger, the Ciaphas Cain books are widely considered on of the best pieces of Warhammer 40,000 fiction out there and I am very excited to try them out.

 

Pierce Brown

Red Rising Cover

I must admit that science fiction is a genre I have only really started getting into in recent years, so there are some serious gaps in my reading knowledge.  However, the one science fiction author I most regretting not checking out is Pierce Brown.  Best known for his iconic Red Rising novels, Brown is an exceedingly talented author and I really need to try to check out his epic main series.

 

John Connolly

Every Dead Thing Cover

There are so many impressive crime fiction authors whose works I have yet to experience out there, but the one that intrigues me the most is probably John Connolly.  A major crime fiction veteran, Connolly is best known for his long-running Charlie Parker series, which follows a tortured private investigator as he dives into a series of disturbing and shocking cases.  I have been hearing some impressive things about Connolly for years, especially from one of my more crime-fiction savvy review colleagues, and I think I will have to try and read some of his stuff when I get a chance.

 

James Swallow

Blood Angels Cover

While this list seems to be getting full of authors of tie-in fiction, I had to include the talented James Swallow as well.  While Swallow has written some great original work, including the recent Marc Dane thrillers, most people will be familiar with his fantastic novels that tie into many different fandoms, including Stargate, 2000AD, 24 and Doctor Who.  However, his most significant work has been in the Warhammer 40,000 and Star Trek fandoms, where he has contributed multiple novels.  I love the sound of several of his fantastic books and I will be reading several of them soon.

 

Peter V. Brett

The Core Cover

I have heard some brilliant things about Peter V. Brett’s Demon Cycle series over the years and I think I need to make a real effort to check them out soon, especially with the follow-up Nightfall Saga series currently doing so well.

 

Guy Haley

Flesh and Steel Cover

I had to slip in another tie-in fiction author here with Guy Haley, who has been writing some truly awesome sounding books lately.  While he has some other cool series out, I am deeply intrigued by some of the cool and unique Warhammer books he has come up with.  Not only did he devise the major Dark Imperium trilogy and contribute to the massive Horus Heresy series, but he has also written some intriguing Warhammer crime fiction novels, such as the fascinating sounding Flesh and Steel.  I have several of his books currently queued up to listen to and I will probably start enjoying this interesting author by the end of 2022.  

 

Jenn Lyons

The Ruin of Kings Cover

The final author on this list is the wildly talented Jenn Lyons, who has produced some impressive fantasy novels over the years.  Lyons has written some excellent stuff over the years, although the main reason I want to check her out is because of her current epic fantasy series, the A Chorus of Dragons books.  Following a prophesied destroyer as he gets dragged into world shattering events, I have been trying to get into the A Chorus of Dragons series since 2019.  I have most of this series currently sitting on my shelf at the moment, and I really need to make an effort to try and read them.

 

 

That’s the end of this latest list.  As you can see, there are some excellent and talented authors out there that I really want to start reading.  While this list may be a little heavy with Warhammer fiction authors (its one of my current obsessions), I am pretty happy with how it turned out and I think it reflects the current authors I would love to become a fan of.  Let me know what you think about my entries in the comments below, and also let me know which author you really want to try and start reading.

Top Ten Tuesday – Books With an Adjective in the Title

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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 their top books that have an adjective in the title.  This sounded like a very interesting topic to do so I had a look through all my favourite or recent reads to see which ones had fantastic adjectives in the title.

When I was pulling this list together I decided to make myself a little harder for myself by excluding titles whose adjectives were colours.  This is because I have already done a Top Ten Tuesday list that focused on colours in titles, and I didn’t want to double up on that.   Despite this limitation I was still able to pull together a great list with a ton of entries in it.  I ended up with a massive selection of potential book titles, so I had to do some substantial culling to get it down to 10 (with my usual honourable mentions section).  This resulted in a pretty good list and I was surprised with how many of my favourite novels had adjectives in their title.  I did try and limit how many of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels I featured in the list, although a few still did make it in.  Overall, I was pretty happy with how things turned out, so let us see what made the cut.

Honourable Mentions:

Interesting Times by Terry Pratchett

Interesting Times Cover

 

Firefly: The Magnificent Nine by James Lovegrove

Firefly The Magnificent Nine Cover

I could have also used the other James Lovegrove Firefly novel, Big Damn Hero but I love the homage to The Magnificent Seven that this title had.

 

Hollow Empire by Sam Hawke

Hollow Empire Cover 2

 

Song of the Risen Gods by R. A. Salvatore

Song of the Risen God Cover

Top Ten Tuesday:

Moving Pictures by Terry Pratchett

Moving Pictures Cover

 

The Dark Hours by Michael Connelly

The Dark Hours Cover 2

I also had the option to use Connelly’s other Ballard and Bosch novel, Dark Sacred Night, but I liked The Dark Hours a little more.

 

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

Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City Cover

 

Star Wars: Doctor Aphra: Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon

Doctor Aphra Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon

There are technically a couple of adjectives in this one, including Unspeakable and Super (in Superweapon) so I had to include this excellent comic.

 

Small Gods by Terry Pratchett

Small Gods Cover

 

The Burning Road by Harry Sidebottom

The Burning Road Cover

 

A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie

A Little Hatred Cover

 

Deep Silence by Jonathan Maberry

Deep Silence Cover

 

Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil by Timothy Zahn

Star Wars - Thrawn Ascendancy - Lesser Evil Cover

I was also tempted to use the preceding novel, Greater Good, but I think Lesser Evil was the best entry in the Thrawn Ascendancy trilogy so it’s my choice here.

 

Cold Iron by Miles Cameron

Cold Iron Cover 1

The sequel Dark Forge is also really good and could have easily been used here.

 

 

Well, that’s the end of this latest list.  I had a lot of fun coming up with 10 awesome books with adjectives in their title and I liked how everything came together.  Let me know which of the above novels are your favourites in the comments below and I look forward to see what novels with adjectives in the titles you enjoy.

Top Ten Tuesday – Longest Audiobooks That I Have Listened To – Part III

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics.  For this week’s Top Ten Tuesday, I’m veering away from the official topic (this week it was Top Ten Books with your Favourite Trope/Theme), and instead I chose to revisit and update a fun post I last looked at nearly two years ago.

As readers of this blog will be aware, I am a massive fan of audiobooks, and it is often the best way to enjoy a good book.  I have been lucky enough to listen to an impressive collection of audiobooks over the years, with some of them being extremely long, often taking me weeks to get through.  Back in 2019, I got curious about all the audiobooks I had listened to, and I wanted to know which were the longest ones that I had ever listened to.  As a result, I sat down and worked out which ones had the longest run time.  This turned into such an interesting endeavour that I ended up posting on my blog here, with the longest 20 books featured.  I had such an amazing time doing this that a year later I had a go at updating it, adding in a few additional reads.

Well, it has been nearly two years since I last updated this list and I always intended to keep coming back to this list to see how the recent long audiobooks I have listened to stacked up against the books already on this list.  Since the last update in 2020 I have managed to listen to quite a few new audiobooks, several of which had an excellent run time.  As I just reviewed one of these yesterday, I thought this would be a good time to update the list again and see what differences have been made in the last year.  The list below is similar to the list I posted a couple of years ago, with several new additions added in (see the highlighted posts).  I ended up extending the list to 25 entries, mainly to fit a couple of extra recent audiobooks in, so prepare for even more awesome covers.

List:

1. The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson, narrated by Michael Kramer and Kate Reading – 45 hours and 48 minutes

WAY OF KINGS MM REV FINAL.indd

 

2. The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss, narrated by Nick Podehl – 42 hours and 55 minutes

The Wise Mans Fear Cover

 

3. Magician by Raymond E. Feist, narrated by Peter Joyce – 36 hours and 14 minutes

Magician Cover

 

4. A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin, narrated by Roy Dotrice – 33 hours and 45 minutes

A Game of Thrones Cover

 

5. Mistress of the Empire by Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurst, narrated by Tania Rodrigues – 32 hours and 1 minutes

Mistress of the Empire Cover

 

6. Inheritance by Christopher Paolini, narrated by Gerrard Doyle – 31 hours and 29 minutes

Inheritance Cover

 

7. Servant of the Empire by Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurst, narrated by Tania Rodrigues – 30 hours and 42 minutes

Servant of the Empire Cover

 

8. The Ember Blade by Chris Wooding, narrated by Simon Bubb – 30 hours and 40 minutes

the ember blade cover

 

9. Brisingr by Christopher Paolini, narrated by Gerrard Doyle – 29 hours and 34 minutes

Brisingr Cover

 

10. Howling Dark by Christopher Ruocchio, narrated by Samuel Roukin – 28 hours and 3 minutes

Howling Dark Cover

 

11. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, narrated by Nick Podehl – 27 hours and 55 minutes

The Name of the Wind Cover

 

12. House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas, narrated by Elizabeth Evans – 27 hours and 50 minutes

House of Earth and Blood Cover

 

13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling, narrated by Jim Dale – 27 hours and 2 minutes

The Order of the Phoenix Cover

 

14. Red Seas under Red Skies by Scott Lynch, narrated by Michael Page – 25 hours and 34 minutes

Red Seas Under Red Skies

 

15. The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch, narrated by Michael Page – 23 hours and 43 minutes

The Republic of Thieves Cover

 

16. The Wisdom of Crowds by Joe Abercrombie, narrated by Steven Pacey – 23 hours and 36 minutes

The Wisdom of Crowds Cover

The longest book I am adding to this list is the epic dark fantasy novel, The Wisdom of Crowds by Joe Abercrombie.  This incredible book, which was one of the best novels and audiobooks of 2021, ends Abercrombie’s Age of Madness trilogy on a very high note.  Containing a brilliant story, some incredible characters, and some major twists, this is an essential read for all fantasy fans.  At nearly 24 hours in length, this is a pretty hefty audiobook, although once you get caught up in the epic story, you will power through it.

 

17. Eldest by Christopher Paolini, narrated by Gerrard Doyle – 23 hours and 29 minutes

Eldest Cover

 

18. Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil by Timothy Zahn, narrated by Marc Thompson and The Mask of Mirrors by M. A. Carrick, narrated by Nikki Massoud, 23 hours and 13 minutes

Lesser Evil and The Mask of Mirrors Covers

I was very surprised to find myself with a tie for the number 18 position, especially as both were audiobooks I only recently listened to.  These two awesome audiobooks, which come in at 23 hours and 13 minutes each, are the third book in the epic Thrawn Ascendancy Star Wars trilogy, Lesser Evil by Timothy Zahn, and the excellent fantasy epic The Mask of Mirrors by M. A. Carrick.  Both novels were impressive 2021 releases, with Lesser Evil perfectly wrapping up the Thrawn Ascendancy trilogy (which included Chaos Rising and Greater Good), while The Mask of Mirror ended up being one of the best debuts of 2021.  Both audiobooks were very good, with Lesser Evil featuring legendary narrator Marc Thompson, while The Mask of Mirrors was expertly told by Nikki Massoud (loved her various accents).  Both outstanding performances really helped me to enjoy these great books and I powered through them in no time.

 

19. Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie, narrated by Steven Pacey – 22 hours and 38 minutes

Before they are Hanged Cover

 

20. The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie, narrated by Steven Pacey – 22 hours and 15 minutes

The Blade Itself

 

21. Engines of Empire by R. S. Ford, narrated by various – 22 hours and 3 minutes

Engines of Empire Cover

The most recent book on this list that I have listened to, Engines of Empire was an epic fantasy novel that introduced readers to an excellent new world.  Filled with intrigue, action and magic, I had a lot of fun with this audiobook, and I particularly liked how it featured several separate narrators.  This impressive team of narrators ensured that Engines of Empire turned out to be a pretty awesome audiobook, and it was one that I had a lot fun getting through.

 

22. The Trouble With Peace by Joe Abercrombie, narrated by Steven Pacey– 21 hours and 56 minutes

The Trouble with Peace Cover

Wow, this list is just loaded with Joe Abercrombie’s epic novels, as another book from his Age of Madness trilogy is featured here.  The Trouble with Peace is the second entry in the series, and it perfectly follows up the first book, A Little Hatred.  I deeply enjoyed this cool book, especially as it once again featured the cool narration of Steven Pacey, and this was easily one of the best books and audiobooks of 2020.  Easy to power through thanks to the incredible story and brilliant characters, this near 22-hour long audiobook will just fly by.

 

23. The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch, narrated by Michael Page – 21 hours and 59 minutes

The Lies of Locke Lamora Cover

 

24. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling, narrated by Jim Dale – 21 hours and 36 minutes

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Cover

 

25. Altered Realms: Ascension by B. F. Rockriver, narrated by Maximillian Breed – 21 Hours and 26 minutes

Altered Realms Cover 2

The final new audiobook on this list is the interesting novel, Altered Realms: Ascension by B. F. Rockriver.  An intense and clever LITRPG novel, Ascension featured an NPC who is given the powers of a player and must adventure through his world with a whole new set of eyes.  Not only was this a great novel (one of the best debuts of 2020), but the audiobook version of it was a lot of fun, especially as narrator Maximillian Breed perfectly captures the computer-generated voice anyone who has played an RPG will be familiar with.  A cool audiobook that is worth the substantial time investment.

 

Well, those are some pretty cool new additions to this list.  I am probably being a little over generous moving it up to 25 entries, but I think it turned out alright.  I am a little disappointed that none of my recent books got anywhere the top ten, so I think I will have to work on listening to some longer audiobooks this year.  I will hopefully have another go at updating this list in a year or so, but in the meantime let me know what the longest audiobook you have listened to is in the comments below.

 

 

 

 

Top Ten Tuesday – Books I Enjoyed, but Have Never Mentioned on My Blog

On By The Unseen LibraryIn List2 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics.  For this week’s Top Ten Tuesday participants are tasked with listing the top books that they have enjoyed, but which they have never mentioned on their blog.  I thought this was a pretty interesting topic to undertake and I had to dive deep into my book collection to find several great reads that I have so far failed to talk about before on my blog.

To appear on my list, the books in question had to be ones that I haven’t talked about to any real degree before during my blogging career.  That means that I am featuring a bunch of older novels I read before I started my blog which I have been unable to re-read and review for an appearance here.  I have also decided to exclude any books or series that I have mentioned in other Top Ten Tuesday posts, especially as there are a few awesome series I have really praised without doing any reviews for them (The Kingkiller Chronicles and The Gentleman Bastards series come to mind).  I must admit that I struggled a little here with finding enough awesome books, so I ended up featuring some comic series as well.  The result is a pretty varied and interesting list that I feel fully conveys the best series that I have really enjoyed and which I need to do some extra reviewing for.

Honourable Mentions:

Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton

Pirate Latitudes Cover

A brilliant and clever pirate novel by legendary author Michael Crichton, that was released after his death.

 

Batman: Detective Comics (2016) by James Tynion IV

Batman Detective Comics - Rise of the Batmen Cover

I deeply enjoyed this new series of the iconic Batman: Detective Comic series that started in 2016 as part of the DC Rebirth line.  This series follows Batman as he forms a new team to face off against a deadly army threatening Gotham.  Featuring some of the best and most complex Batman supporting characters, this is an excellent run I really need to review.

 

World of Warcraft: War Crimes by Christie Golden

World of Warcraft - War Crimes Cover

One of my absolute favourite World of Warcraft tie-in novels must be War Crimes by Christie Golden.  Set between the Mists of Pandaria and Warlords of Draenor expansions, this novel featured the trial of major antagonist Garrosh Hellscream after he drags the entire world into war.  A surprisingly deep and emotional read that recaps key parts of Warcraft history and make the iconic characters relive their worst decisions, this is an epic, must-read for all Warcraft fans.

 

Wonder Woman by Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang

Wonder Woman - War Cover

In 2011 DC rebooted their entire comic line in an event known as the New 52.  Despite having some initial promise, the New 52 was a massive mess, especially as it ended several awesome series and brought in sub-par replacements.  Despite my dislike of this reboot, there were some good titles released here, with my personal favourite being the impressive Wonder Woman series written by Brian Azzarello.  A dark and gritty reimagining of the iconic character that proved to be highly addictive and impactful, especially as several ideas introduced here were eventually featured in the Wonder Woman films.  If only the rest of the New 52 could have measured up.

Top Ten Tuesday:

The Athenian Mysteries by Gary Corby

The Pericles Commission Cover

An excellent historical murder mystery series set in ancient Greece that has a brilliant mixture of intrigue, investigation and outrageous humour.

 

The Cleric Quintet by R. A. Salvatore

Canticle Cover

I often mention Salvatore’s excellent Drizzt Do’Urden fantasy novels on this blog but I barely ever talk about his amazing Cleric Quintet.  Set in the same world as the Drizzt Do’Urden novels, the Cleric Quintet is a compelling and tight five-novel series that follows a young priest and his unusual friends as they defeat the various evils surrounding their temple.

 

Identity Crisis by Brad Meltzer

Idenity Crisis Cover

I honestly can’t believe that I haven’t talked about this amazing comic on my blog before, especially as it is one of my favourite limited series.  Written by acclaimed author Brad Meltzer, Identity Crisis is an exquisite and powerful read that sees the families of the various DC superheroes being targeted by a serial killer.  Featuring all the best DC characters at their very worst and revealing some damning secrets, Identity Crisis is an epic read and it is easily one of my favourite comics of all time.

 

Empire of the Moghul by Alex Rutherford

Raiders from the North Cover

A brilliant series that details the rise and fall of the Moghul empire in India.  Filled with innumerable betrayals, deadly war sequences and an impressive depiction of one of history’s most dysfunctional dynasties, the Empire of the Moghul books are a brilliant historical fiction series that I had a lot of fun reading.

 

The Witches of Eileanan by Kate Forsyth

Dragonclaw Cover

One the first fantasy series I ever really got into were The Witches of Eileanan books by Australian author Kate Forsyth.  While Forsyth is mostly known for her historical dramas, I prefer this exceptional fantasy series that followed a young witch as she battled through a land where magic is outlawed.  Filled with an excellent cast of characters and containing a dark and elaborate narrative, this is a great fantasy series, and it is one that I really need to reread at some point.

 

Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield

Gates of Fire Cover

One of the best historical fiction novels ever written, Gates of Fire is an excellent novel that provides one of the most accurate and moving depictions of the Battle of Thermopylae.  Told from the perspective of a Spartan slave, this amazing novel really dives into the Spartan warrior culture and shows the nation’s darkest hour in all its bitter and brutal glory.

 

Dragon Ball/Dragon Ball Z by Akira Toriyama

Dragon Ball Cover

Despite my love of anime, I have honestly never read that much manga in my life, which is one of my many literary regrets.  The big exception to this is the impressive Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z manga by Akira Toriyama.  Bought because of my childhood love of the Dragon Ball Z anime, this manga is really good and tells an elaborate and wildly entertaining story, which is a lot of fun to check out.  While considered one of the more basic manga to check out, I still deeply enjoyed it and I have done multiple re-reads of it over the years.

 

An Officer and a Spy by Robert Harris

An Officer and a Spy Cover

An impressive historical fiction novel that perfectly recreates the infamous Dreyfus Affair from French history. 

 

The Serpent War Saga by Raymond E. Feist

Shadow of a Dark Queen Cover

Part of Feist’s amazing Riftwar Cycle, this sub-series of books is one that I haven’t talked about before, but it contains some of Feist’s strongest writing.  Bringing in several great new characters and setting them lose in his established world, The Serpent War Saga novels were extremely intense and saw several established favourites meet their end.

 

The Paris Architect by Charles Belfoure

The Paris Architect

The final book on this list is the impressive historical drama The Paris Architect.  Set during World War II, this book followed a young French architect who risked everything to create elaborate hiding places for Jews in Paris.  Very moving and extremely good, this was an excellent novel that hit you right in the heart with its amazing story.

 

 

Well, that is the end of this list.  As you can see there are several awesome books out there that I have so far neglected to include on this blog.  All the above are really worth checking out and I must make an effort to review some of the above in the future.

Top Ten Tuesday – Books on my Autumn 2022 TBR

On By The Unseen LibraryIn List4 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics.  The official Top Ten Tuesday topic for this week was around Dynamic Duos, however, I decided to instead move up my quarterly post about the best upcoming books to read (TBR) for the following three months.  This is a regular post I do at the start of each season, and as this Tuesday is just before Autumn (Spring for you folks in the Northern Hemisphere), this is the ideal time to put this up.

For this list, I have come up with 10 of the most anticipated novels that are coming out between 1 March 2022 and 31 May 2022.  There are quite a few very cool novels set for release in the next few months that I am extremely excited for, including some of my most anticipated books and fantasy novels of the year.  Due to how impressive some of these upcoming books are, it took me a little while to finalise my list but I was eventually able to whittle it down into a Top Ten list (with a few honourable mentions).  I have primarily used the Australian publication dates to reflect when I will be able to get these awesome novels, and these might be somewhat different to the rest of the world.  I have previously discussed a number of these books before in prior Top Ten Tuesdays and Waiting on Wednesday articles and I think all of them will turn out to be pretty incredible reads.  I have extremely excited for the next three months as quite a few up these upcoming reads are easily going to be amongst the best books of 2022.

Honourable Mentions:

The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi – 15 March 2022

The Kaiju Preservation Society Cover

A fun romp with giant monsters that is going to be so very entertaining.

 

Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson – 29 March 2022

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone Cover

A great upcoming book with a fantastic concept, Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone is the latest thriller from Australian author Benjamin Stevenson (Greenlight and Either Side of Midnight).  This cool novel will see an entire family with murderous secrets start killing each other during a deadly family reunion, and I know I am going to love it. 

 

Amongst our Weapons by Ben Aaronovitch – 12 April 2022

Amongst our Weapons Cover

Impressive fantasy author Ben Aaronovitch returns with the latest book in his Rivers of London series that follows a special police unit that investigates magical crimes in London.  This series perfectly blends urban fantasy with police procedural elements (check out my reviews for Lies Sleeping and False Value), and I look forward to seeing what happens next.

 

One Foot in the Fade by Luke Arnold – 26 April 2022

One Foot in the Fade Cover

After having a brilliant 2020 with his first two novels, The Last Smile in Sunder City (one of the best debuts of 2020) and Dead Man in a Ditch, Luke Arnold returns to the deadly Sunder City, a former stronghold of magic that has fallen into devastating ruin following the destruction all magic in the world.  One Foot in the Fade will continue to follow Arnold’s detective character as he attempts to bring back magic and save the former magical creatures he doomed to an early grave.

Top Ten List:

Usagi Yojimbo: Tengu War! by Stan Sakai – 22 March 2022

Usagi Yojimbo - Tengu War!

The first entry on this list is the next upcoming Usagi Yojimbo comic, Tengu War!.  I had this book on my last TBR list, but the release date got knocked back to March, so I am featuring it again here.  I am extremely keen for this comic and I cannot wait to see what epic adventure Usagi gets into next.

 

Kingdoms of Death by Christopher Ruocchio – 22 March 2022

Kingdom of Death Cover 2

An incredible sounding entry in one of the best current science fiction series.

 

An Empty Throne by Robert Fabbri – 1 April 2022

An Empty Throne Cover

More chaos in the aftermath of Alexander the Great’s death.

 

The Bladed Faith by David Dalglish – 5 April 2022

The Bladed Faith Cover

Assassins, deposed kings, and dead gods should lead to an epic read.

 

Desperate Undertakings by Lindsey Davis – 7 April 2022

Desperate Undertaking Cover 1

The next Flavia Albia novel from legendary historical fiction author Lindsey Davis, who has produced some outstanding books in recent years (check out my reviews for Pandora’s Boy, A Capitol Death and The Grove of the Caesars).  This next entertaining sounding novel will follow its protagonist as she investigates several despicable deaths around ancient Rome.  Sure to be a ball of fun, I am extremely keen to check it out.

 

The Hunger of the Gods by John Gwynne – 12 April 2022

The Hunger of the Gods Cover

Still my favourite cover of 2022.

 

Three Assassins by Kotaro Isaka – 12 April 2022

Three Assassins Cover

Last year I was lucky enough to receive a copy of Kotaro Isaka’s Bullet Train, the English translations of one of his impressive Japanese books.  I had a ton of fun with this clever thriller and I was extremely excited to find out that Isaka had a new book coming out this year with Three Assassins.  His new book will pit another unique group of assassins against each other and should make for an extremely captivating read.

 

The Girl and the Moon by Mark Lawrence – 4 May 2022

The Girl and the Moon Cover

One of the most intriguing current masters of fantasy fiction, the impressive Mark Lawrence brings his clever Book of the Ice trilogy to and end this year with The Girl and the Moon.  I have deeply enjoyed this cool series over the last two years, with the first two entries, The Girl and the Stars and The Girl and the Mountain, being extremely impressive reads.  I cannot wait to see how this series ends I am expecting heartbreak, destruction and some powerful moments.

 

Star Wars: Brotherhood by Mike Chen – 10 May 2022

Star Wars - Brotherhood Cover

Return to the Clone Wars with this awesome upcoming Star Wars novel.

 

Kagen the Damned by Jonathan Maberry – 10 May 2022

Kagen the Damned Cover

My favourite thriller author dives into fantasy fiction this year with an intense revenge story I am already predicting will be a five-star read.

 

 

Well, that is the end of my Top Ten list.  I think it turned out pretty well and it does a good job of capturing all my most anticipated books for the next three months.  Each of the above should be extremely epic, and I cannot wait to read each of them soon.  Let me know which of the above you are most excited for and stay tuned for reviews of them in the next few months.  In the meantime, it looks like I have quite a few books to get through soon and they should all be pretty awesome.

Top Ten Tuesday – Warhammer 40,000 series/novels I want to read

On By The Unseen LibraryIn List, Science Fiction, Warhammer7 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics.  The official topic for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday was Books Too Good to Review Properly, which is actually a pretty interesting topic.  However, I honestly couldn’t think of enough good examples to write a full list about so instead I decided to do something a little different and talk about a literary tie-in franchise I am really getting into, Warhammer 40,000 fiction.

Over the last year or so, I have really reinvigorated my childhood love for the Warhammer franchise, an awesome and elaborate universe that revolves around its iconic tabletop games.  While I have not gotten back into the modelling and gaming that I used to have a lot of fun with, I have started diving back into the associated novels and audiobooks set in the universe.  The Warhammer games have an incredibly impressive and complex background universe, containing an elaborate history, outrageous characters, morally grey factions, and some dark and gothic settings.  For years, this has proven to be an exceedingly rich ground for various forms of fiction, and there now a massive catalogue of Warhammer associated novels, with many new ones introduced each year.  I have had a lot of fun recently getting into several of the more interesting novels, including the 2022 releases Steel Tread and The Twice-Dead King: Reign, all of which have proven to be excellent and intense novels.  However, despite my best efforts there are still a ton of other awesome sounding series and novels out there that I really want to get into.  As such, I thought I would take the time to list out some of the Warhammer series/novels I most want to get into as a bit of an inspiration to guide me in my future explorations of this outstanding franchise.

To come up with this list I went through the impressive catalogue of Warhammer novels out there and tried to pick the unfamiliar entries that interested or appealed to me the most.  I limited this list exclusively to the science-fiction based Warhammer 40,000 novels, mainly because I am not as interested in some of the latest Warhammer Fantasy book (I was a bigger fan of the universe pre-Age of Sigmar).  Despite these limitations, I still ended up with a substantial list of awesome sounding books and series, all of which I feel have a ton of incredible potential.  I managed to eventually cut it down to my favourite ten, with a generous honourable mentions section.  I think this list ended up really representing those Warhammer 40,000 series/books I want to read the most, and I am very happy with how it turned out.  So let us see what made the cut.

Honourable Mentions:

Kal Jerico Series by Gordon Rennie and Will McDermott

Kal Jerico Cover

While I read the most recent Kal Jerico book, Sinner’s Bounty, last year (highly recommended), I haven’t had the opportunity to check out the original Kal Jerico trilogy (Blood Royal, Cardinal Crimson and Lasgun Wedding) which I know I will deeply enjoy.

 

Baneblade by Guy Haley

Baneblade Cover

An awesome tank-based novel set inside the Imperial Guard’s most heavily armoured tank.  I have had a great time with Warhammer 40,000 tank novels recently I would be really excited to check this book at out some point, as well as its sequel Shadowsword.

 

Double Eagle by Dan Abnett

Double Eagle Cover

One of the things I love about the Warhammer 40,000 universe is the sheer range of cool military stories out there.  An interesting sounding example of this is Double Eagle by Dan Abnett, one of the best Warhammer authors out there.  Double Eagle spins off from Abnett’s Gaunt’s Ghosts series (check out my review for the first book in this series, First and Only), and follows a group of elite fighter pilots as they try to save a world from Chaos invasion.

 

Flesh and Steel by Guy Haley

Flesh and Steel Cover

An awesome standalone murder mystery novel set in one of the universe’s biggest cities.  I love the idea of a pure murder mystery novel, rather than something focused on war, intrigue and survival, and just for something a little different I think I will make an effort to read Flesh and Steel this year.

List:

Eisenhorn Series by Dan Abnett

Eisenhorn Cover

The first entry on this list is a highly regarded series made up of some incredible Warhammer novels, the Eisenhorn series by Dan Abnett.  Following the titular Inquisitor Eisenhorn as he attempts to stop the spread of Chaos by any means necessary, this series depicts the character’s slow fall from grace, as his methods become more radical.  This series sound intense, and I love the idea of a morally good character whose crusade consumes him and makes him what he hates.  I have heard a lot of praise about the Eisenhorn novels, and it is one that I am going to make a huge effort to read soon.  I also plan to read the spin-off Ravenor and Bequin series, which continue some of the Eisenhorn storylines in interesting ways

 

Ciaphas Cain Series by Sandy Mitchell

Ciaphas Cain Cover

Out of all the Warhammer series out there, the one that sounds the most entertaining to me are the fantastic Ciaphas Cain books by Sandy Mitchell.  This series revolves around Commissar Ciaphas Cain, a pragmatic, cowardly survivor who is the complete opposite of the traditionally hard-laced and fanatical Imperial Commissars.  Told from the perspective of Cain, an apparently unreliable narrator, these books detail his many unintentional adventures which result from his unsuccessful attempts to avoid combat.  This series is supposed to be extremely hilarious, and I cannot wait to see a somewhat lighter adventure in this typically dark universe.

 

Ultramarines Series by Graham McNeill

Nightbringer Cover

Th next entry on this list is the Ultramarines series by acclaimed author Graham McNeill, which follows members of the iconic Space Marines chapter, the Ultramarines.  I have heard that the books are very good, as they follow a unique protagonist, Captain Uriel Ventris, whose originality make him a pariah amongst his own chapter, who doggedly follow the set tactics of their founder.  This series contains some extremely awesome sounding books with interesting plots, and I think I will like contrasting these adventure novels with some of the other Warhammer books I am reading.

 

Last Chancers Series by Gav Thorpe

Last Chancers - Armageddon Saint Cover

I have been meaning to read the next entry on this list for a while as it sounds extremely cool.  The Last Chancers books follow condemned members of an Imperial Guard Penal Legion who are undertake suicide missions to earn reprieves from their harsh sentences.  Essentially the Warhammer 40,000 version of The Dirty Dozen or Suicide Squad, this series takes is convict characters to some dark places and bloody battles.  I love the idea of this awesome sounding series and I know I will have an outstanding time reading them.

 

Dark Imperium Series by Guy Haley

Dark Imperium Cover

One of the more intriguing recent series that I had to feature on this list was the Dark Imperium books by Guy Haley.  The Dark Imperium series follow the recently resurrected Roboute Guilliman, Primarch of the Ultramarines, as he attempts to save the Imperium from the rampaging forces of Chaos.  However, to succeed he must first clash with his demonic, traitor brother Mortarion, in a brutal conflict known as the Plague War.  I love the sound of this incredible series, especially as it has some of the first conflicts between Primarch’s in this period of Warhammer 40,000 lore.  Apparently very awesome, I look forward to seeing the full deranged action of this series.

 

Cadia Series by Justin D. Hill

Cadian Honour Cover

In my opinion, some of the best Warhammer 40,000 novels don’t follow genetically enhanced gods or murderous alien creatures, they instead focus on the simple human soldiers thrust into the middle of the wars beyond their comprehension.  While I am currently reading one of these series with the Gaunt’s Ghosts books, another series that caught my eye are the Cadia books by Justin D. Hill.  This series follows a Cadian regiment, made up of dedicated soldiers whose ancestors have served as a bulwark against the forces of Chaos for millennia.  However, these books have a twist to them as they show the Cadians at their lowest point.  The first book, Cadia Stands, follows various soldiers during the final battle for Cadia in the 13th Black Crusade, which eventually sees the planet destroyed and the forces of Chaos reign victorious.  The other books, Cadian Honour and Traitor Rock, follow the remnants of this regiment in the aftermath of the defeat and examine the shame and despair they feel for losing their world.  I love the idea of the complex stories attached to these dispirited troops and I will have to try and read this series soon.

 

The Space Wolf Series by William King

Space Wolf Cover

Another awesome series that really caught my eye were the classic Space Wolf novels by William King.  While I best know King for his Gotrek and Felix Warhammer Fantasy series (including Trollslayer, Skavenslayer, Daemonslayer, Dragonslayer and Beastslayer), the author has also spent time in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, exploring the awesome Space Wolves chapter.  Essentially a group of Viking inspired Space Marines with werewolf issues, the Space Wolves are a lot of fun and I can’t wait to learn more about them and their epic adventures in this great sounding series.

 

The Horus Heresy by various

Horus Rising Cover

The next entry on this list is a big one with the massive Horus Heresy series, which is essentially a combined magnum opus of all Warhammer 40,000 authors.  Featuring input from the best authors of this genre, The Horus Heresy series tells the powerful and massive story about the infamous historical betrayal known as the Horus Heresy, where half the Primarchs and their Space Marines fell to the corruption of Chaos and launched a brutal civil war the split the Imperium of Man in two.  Made up of more than 50 separate books, this ambitious series details the origins of the Primarchs, the reasons behind their betrayal, and the subsequent brutal war that followed.  Epic in scope and featuring some compelling and emotional stories, this long-running series has a lot of fans, and I will love to try and read the entire thing if I can find the time.

 

Dawn of Fire Series by various

Avenging Son Cover

Another modern series that has also caught my attention is the intriguing Dawn of Fire series by several key Warhammer 40,000 authors.  This series will focus on the Indomitus Crusade, a massive crusade to retake Imperial space lost to the forces of Chaos.  Currently made up of Avenging Son by Guy Haley, The Gate of Bones by Andy Clark and The Wolftime by Gav Thorpe, this series sounds like a captivating and gritty war series, and I look forward to learning more about the most recent major battle in Warhammer 40,000 history.

 

Blood Angels Series by James Swallow

Blood Angels Cover

The final series I want to highlight on this list are the intriguing Blood Angels books by James Swallow.  Like the Ultramarines and Space Wolves series above, the Blood Angels books focus on members of a specific Space Marine chapter, the Blood Angels.  I have a lot of love for this iconic group of Space Marines as the Blood Angels are a particularly troubled Chapter, due to their rage and blood related curse.  While there are some other great Blood Angels books out there, the one that has most caught my eye are the novels by James Swallow that follows a group of Blood Angels caught amid a deadly and insidious conspiracy.  A fantastic and deeply intense sounding series, I cannot wait to see the full details of these books soon.

 

 

Well, that is the end of this list.  As you can see, there are some very cool and impressive sounding Warhammer 40,000 series/novels out there that I am very interested in reading.  I am pretty happy with how the list turned out, although they are a little Imperial Guard/Space Marines focused.  Still, all of the above books sound incredibly epic and I really hope I get the chance to read them at some point in the future.  I might try to dive into a couple of these books at some point this year, although I wouldn’t mind finishing off the Gaunt’s Ghosts books first.  In the meantime, let me know which of the above series interests you the most and if you have any suggestions for great Warhammer 40,000 novels to check out, let me know in the comments below.

Top Ten Tuesday – My Favourite Book Covers of 2021

On By The Unseen LibraryIn List2 Comments

Welcome back to Top Ten Tuesday, where I am going to list my absolute favourite book covers of the last year.  This is actually the second Top Ten Tuesday post I am putting up today, mainly because I wanted to finish off all my best-of-2021 lists before we got too far into the new year.  I have previously highlighted several other amazing books from last year in a range of lists, including My Favourite Books of 2021, Favourite Audiobooks, Favourite Debuts and Favourite Australian Fiction lists, and I think looking at awesome covers is a good way to wrap this all up.

Now, I know you aren’t supposed to judge a book by its cover, but I think we can all agree that an awesome piece of cover art can really raise some interest in a novel.  I can personally think of several examples where an epic cover absolutely grabbed me and convinced me to check out a novel that I ended up really loving.  2021 was a great example of this as there were some extremely cool and impressive covers that I thought were visually stunning.  Most of these outstanding covers complemented and emphasised the amazing stories within, and in some places the cover artists really went all out to produce some truly epic statement pieces.  As such, I thought I would quickly highlight some of the best covers here by producing a visually awesome list.  To appear on this list, the book had to be released in 2021 and had to be generally impressive and amazing.  I think I ended up choosing a great range of excellent covers, and I hope you enjoy all the pretty pictures below.  I have tried to find out who did the cover art where possible, although for a couple of books (ones I got on audiobook and don’t have a physical copy of), I couldn’t find out who drew it.  Apologies in advance for any artist I overlooked.

Honourable Mentions:

Lies Like Wildfire written by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez, cover by MISHKO

Lies Like Wildfire Cover

 

The Dark written by Jeremy Robinson

The Dark Cover

 

Breakout written by Paul Herron, cover by Patrick Insole

Breakout Cover

 

The Mask of Mirrors written by M. A. Carrick, cover by Nekro and Lauren Panepinto

The Mask of Mirrors Cover

Top Ten Tuesday:

The Shadow of the Gods written by John Gwynne, cover by Marcus Whinney

The Shadow of the Gods Cover

My absolute favourite cover of 2021, this epic piece of art really grabbed my attention and forced me to read this impressive piece of fantasy fiction.  I had a wonderful time with The Shadow of the Gods and the upcoming sequel, The Hunger of the Gods, also has an extremely awesome cover (easily going to be one of the best covers of 2022).

 

Star Wars: Visions: Ronin written by Emma Mieko Candon, cover by Ella Laytham and Kotaro Chiba

Star Wars Visions - Ronin Cover

There were some cool pieces of Star Wars cover art out this year, but nothing could top the artistic masterpiece that appeared on Ronin.  A tie-in to the Star Wars: Visions anime series, the cover of Ronin made perfect use of traditional Japanese artforms to create something exceptional.  I loved the blend of Star Wars iconography and the classic Japanese wave form, and this was an absolute joy to behold.

 

The Pariah written by Anthony Ryan, cover by Lauren Panepinto and Jaime Jones

The Pariah Cover

A clever and subtle bit of art that showcases the roguish protagonist of this fun fantasy novel.  I think the artist did a great job of highlighting what was to come in The Pariah, and the cool detail around the character was very impressive.  While I loved the art for The Pariah, I think that the cover on the upcoming sequel, The Martyr, is even better, and I can’t wait to grab it.

 

The Twice-Dead King: Ruin, written by Nate Crowley

The Twice-Dead King - Ruin Cover

Gosh artists must have so much fun coming up with art for Warhammer covers, as there are some amazing and fantastic elements contained in this extended universe.  I particularly loved this cover from last year, which showcases the ancient and mysterious Necron race in all their glory.  A great cover for a very entertaining tie-in novel.

 

The Warsaw Orphan written by Kelly Rimmer, cover by Christabella Designs

The Warsaw Orphan Cover

A simple and understated cover that does a wonderful job highlighting the upcoming dread and tragedy contained in this moving historical drama novel.

 

Colonyside, written by Michael Mammay, cover by Sebastien Hue

Colonyside Cover

There have been some really great covers for the previous books in Michael Mammay’s Planetside series (Planetside and Spaceside), but I think that the one for Colonyside was the best.  I love the above shot, especially as it perfectly captures the insane jungle planet that was such a distinctive setting of this book.  A very fun cover!

 

Star Wars: The High Republic: Tempest Runner, written by Cavan Scott, cover by Katerina Balikova

Star Wars - Tempest Runner Cover

While I also deeply enjoyed one of the covers for Cavan Scott’s other 2021 Star Wars release, The Rising Storm, I think that the cool art that adorned the front of Tempest Runner was even better.  Tempest Runner, which was released as both a full-cast audio drama and a paperback, was a great read, and I loved how this cover did a fantastic job of capturing it’s entertaining and deadly central character.

 

Later, written by Stephen King, cover by Paul Mann

Later Cover

I loved the classic mystery novel feel that the artists choose to utilise for Stephen King’s early 2021 release, Later.  This cover does a fantastic job capturing the unique tone of this cool horror/coming-of-age story and gives it a fun, crime fiction-tinged edge.  This cover, as well as another couple of covers done by Gregory Manchess for the hardcover version, also fit the story really well, especially as they connect to the cheesy adventure novels that the protagonist and his mother produce.

 

Cytonic written by Brandon Sanderson, cover by Sam Green and Tomas Almeida

Cytonic Cover

I have a lot of love for the cool covers that get used in the Gollancz versions of Brandon Sanderson’s Skyward series (so far consisting of Skyward and Starlight).  The cover for the third book, Cytonic, was particularly awesome, and I loved how it showcased parts of the very unique new setting of the third novel.

 

The Art of Death written by David Fennell, cover by Nick Stearn

The Art of Death Cover

A creepy and eye-catching piece of artwork that hints at the disturbing crimes contained in this fantastic 2021 crime fiction debut.

 

Well, that’s the end of this second list, I hope you enjoyed all the cool covers above.  Make sure to me know what your favourite book covers of 2021 was in the comments below and I cannot wait to see what awesome and epic pieces of art will grace the front of 2022’s best reads.

Top Ten Tuesday – Books with Character Names in the Titles

On 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 required to list their favourite books that have character names in the title.  I rather liked the idea of this topic, especially as I was unsure if I would be able to really complete a full list about it as only a few book titles really came to mind when I initially thought about it.  However, after a bit of research I was able to come up with pretty substantial list of potential entries, which included some amazing releases.

To make this list a bit of a challenge I tried to avoid books or comics that had series names included in the title (for example, all the Harry Potter books).  I also tried to avoid entries where they added on a name to the main title to designate that a book is going to be about a specific character in a franchise, such as Maul: Lockdown from Star Wars or Kal Jerico: Sinner’s Bounty from Warhammer 40K.  I did, however, include a few books from these franchises where the primary version of its title had a character name in it.  Despite these limitations, I still had a massive list of awesome books, which I then had to cull down.  I ended up having to remove several fantastic reads, but I think the below list really captures the absolute best books I have read with character names in the titles.  So, let us see what made the cut.

Honourable Mentions:

Tarkin by James Luceno

Star Wars Tarkin Cover

A compelling Star Wars novel that does exactly what it says on the packet, tell the story of Grand Moth Tarkin, one of the most distinctive villains from the original film.

 

Steel Tread by Andy Clark

Steel Tread Cover

I am being slightly cute with this Warhammer 40K novel, as Steel Tread is the name of a tank, rather than a human or alien.  However, I would argue that Steel Tread was a proper character, due its presence, impact on the protagonists, and because machines are partially sentient in this universe.

 

Bloody Rose by Nicholas Eames

Bloody Rose Cover

The second book in Nicholas Eames’ The Band series, Bloody Rose is a fantastic fantasy read that centred around a group of mercenary monster fighters.  The title of this book refers to the infamous leader of this mercenary group, Bloody Rose, who serves as quite the distinctive figure.  A fun and captivating book that is really worth checking out.

 

Vader by Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca

Star Wars - Darth Vader Volume 1 Cover

The first volume of the epic 2015 Darth Vader series was simply named Vader.  While this was an unimaginative title, the volume itself is extremely epic as it followed Vader in the aftermath of A New Hope.  Perfectly written and filled with some amazing artwork, this was a major volume that not only introduced the amazing character of Doctor Aphra, but also contained an exceptional ending where Vader discovers that the pilot who destroyed the Death Star was named Skywalker.

Top Ten List:

Mort/Eric by Terry Pratchett

Mort and Eric Cover

I have a hard time not including as many of Terry Pratchett’s masterful Discworld novels as possible on lists like these, and luckily for me there were only two Discworld books with character names in the titles, so I figured I would include both.  The first is the excellent novel Mort, which sees Death decided to recruit an apprentice, the titular Mort, who almost immediately starts messing with reality by trying to save the life of a doomed princess.  This was a hilarious novel, especially the bits following Death’s midlife crisis, and it sets up a bunch of other interesting Death-led Discworld novels.  The other book is Eric, one of Pratchett’s shorter books, that follows a teenage demonologist, Eric, who attempts a Faustian demon-summoning for absolute power.  Unfortunately, rather than summoning a demon, Eric instead gets the incompetent wizard Rincewind, who naturally stuff everything up.  This was another funny Discworld book, and I love how the cover of this book crosses out Faust and replaces it with a pen-drawn Eric, just to hammer home what this novel is satirising.

 

The Aurora Cycle by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Aurora Rising Cover

I had to mention one of the best trilogies of recent years with The Aurora Cycle by Australian authors Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, especially when all three entries contain a character name in their titles.  Made up of Aurora Rising, Aurora Burning and Aurora’s End, these titles all refer to the titular character Aurora (also known as Auri) a time-displaced psychic who ends up being the key to saving the entire universe.

 

Billy Summers by Stephen King

Billy Summer Cover

One of the more recent releases on this list was Stephen King’s Billy Summers.  An interesting and intense thriller, Billy Summers follows the titular character, an honourable assassin, as he embarks on his final job, only to encounter betrayal, introspection and a girl who changes everything.  This was one of the best books of 2021, and I really loved finding out all about Billy Summers.

 

Thrawn by Timothy Zahn

Thrawn Cover

Easily the best Star Wars book that focuses on a specific character is the epic Thrawn by legendary author Timothy Zahn.  This novel perfectly reintroduced Zahn’s greatest character, Grand Admiral Thrawn, into the new canon and is one of my absolute favourite Star Wars novels.  Eventually leading to another five connected books (Alliances, Treason, Chaos Rising, Greater Good and Lesser Evil), this was an exceptional read, and I like how the simple title Thrawn tells you everything you need to know about this book.

 

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

Eragon Cover

Years ago, when I was first getting into fantasy I received a cool novel I knew nothing about apart from the title, Eragon.  Intrigued by its closeness to dragon, I dove into this great book and quickly became utterly engrossed by the story of teenager Eragon who finds a dragon egg and becomes a legendary hero.  I have a lot of love for this book and the Inheritance Cycle series that followed, so I just had to feature this novel on this list.

 

Usagi Yojimbo: Gen’s Story by Stan Sakai

Usagi Yojimbo Gen's Story

I really do tend to hit my classics when it comes to lists like this, so naturally I had to see if there was an entry from one of my favourite comic series, Usagi Yojimbo, that I could feature.  There were actually several Usagi Yojimbo volumes that contained character names in the title, including Lone Goat and Kid, Travels with Jotaro, and Tomoe’s Story.  However, the one I went with was the volume Gen’s Story.  This great volume contains a brilliant story that showcases the childhood of fantastic supporting character Murakami Gennosuke, better known as Gen.  This comic examines why the often disrespectful and uncouth bounty hunter has such dislike for samurai honour and discipline and served as a brilliant bit of backstory for one of the best characters in this series.

 

Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Harrow the Ninth Cover

I was spoiled for choice for this list when it came to the works of Tamsyn Muir, as several of her books feature character names in the title.  While I was very tempted to feature her first novel, Gideon the Ninth (one of the best debuts of 2019), I instead went with her second book, Harrow the Ninth.  Harrow the Ninth was an incredible read that ended up being one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2020.  Containing a trippy and exceedingly clever narrative, this book follows Harrow, a spacefaring necromancer who is going through some major identity issues.  An exceptional read, I am really looking forward to Muir’s next book, the 2022 release Nona the Ninth.

 

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle Cover

I had to include the extremely compelling The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton.  Another brilliant debut and one of the best books of 2018, The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle follows a mysterious time-displaced man who awakens in several different bodies during a fancy party at an old British estate.  Forced to experience the entire party again and again, the protagonist only has seven chances to discover who murdered the party’s host, Evelyn Hardcastle.  Compelling, unique and with a title that immediately grabs your attention, I deeply enjoyed this cool book.

 

Talon of the Silver Hawk by Raymond E. Feist

Talon of the Silver Hawk Cover

Another excellent book I had to feature on this list was the impressive Talon of the Silver Hawk by Raymond E. Feist.  While on the surface this title doesn’t appear to contain a character name, Talon of the Silver Hawk is the main character, as it was the name he chose during a tribal vision quest.  While he goes by other identities and names throughout the novel, this is the one closest to his heart and it makes for quite a catchy book title.  I have a lot of love for this novel, especially as it introduced me to Feist’s excellent and extended Riftwar Cycle, and it is really worth checking out.

 

Vader Down by Jason Aaron, Kieron Gillen, Mike Deodato and Salvador Larroca

Vader Down Cover

The final entry on this list was the cool comic Vader Down.  Written and drawn by the join teams behind the 2015 Star Wars and Darth Vader comic book series, this comic follows Darth Vader who is shot down above a Rebel-controlled planet, and must contend with a Rebel army, traitors, the original trilogy protagonists, and all manner of other dangers.  An exceedingly epic and exceptional limited crossover series, this is one of my favourite Star Wars comics of all time and it is guaranteed to make you a fan of the current Star Wars extended universe.

 

That’s the end of this list.  As you can see, there are some really cool books and comic volumes out there that make good use of character names in their titles.  I am very happy with how this list turned out and I think it captures my absolute favourite books that make use of this naming convention.  This might be a list I revisit in the future, especially as there are several other excellent books that I am planning to read soon featuring character names in the titles (for example, the upcoming fantasy book Kagen the Damned by Jonathan Maberry).  Until then, let me know what your favourite book was a character name in the title is in the comments below.

Top Ten Tuesday – My Favourite Australian Books of 2021

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, List24 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 were supposed to list their top new-to-me authors that they read in 2021, however, I am going to do something differently here at The Unseen Library.  I already completed and published this list last week as I knew in advance that I would be doing an alternate list today.  The reason for this is because tomorrow, 26 January, is Australia Day, so I thought I would take this opportunity to highlight some of the top pieces of fiction written by Australian authors that I read in 2021.

Each year talented Australian authors produce an impressive and exciting range of fiction from across the various genres, many of which I am lucky enough to get copies of from the local publishers.  I tend to read and review a ton of novels by Australian authors, most of which turn out to be some outstanding reads that I deeply enjoy.  As such, for the last few years on Australia Day I have taken to highlighting my favourite pieces of Australian fiction for the last few years (check out my 2019 and 2020 lists).  I really love how much awesome Australian fiction there is out in the world, and this list is the perfect way to highlight some of the best recent Australian authors.

Now I tend to take a bit of a different approach to Australian fiction than some other bloggers, as I focus on Australian authors rather than those purely set in Australia or featuring Australian casts.  To qualify for this list, a novel had to be released in 2021 and written by an Australian author, which I am defining as anyone born in Australia or who currently lives here (Australia is very good at adopting talented people as our own).  This resulted in a long list, including several novels that I considered to be some of the best reads of last year.  I was eventually able to whittle this novel down to the absolute cream of the crop and came up with a fantastic top ten list (with my typical generous honourable mentions).  I really enjoyed how this list turned out, especially as it features novels from a range of different genres, all of which were very awesome Australian books.

Honourable Mentions:

The Colonial’s Son by Peter Watt

The Colonial's Son Cover

One of the best Australian historical fiction authors, Peter Watt, started a great new series last year with The Colonial’s Son.  The sequel to his amazing Colonial series (made up of The Queen’s Colonial, The Queen’s Tiger and The Queen’s Captain), this was a fun and action packed novel that continued some great storylines from the first series.

 

Prisoner by S. R. White

The Prisoner Cover

A taut and clever bushland murder mystery that saw a determined investigator methodically solve a murder through smart police work and multiple interviews with the suspects.

 

The 22 Murders of Madison May by Max Barry

The 22 Murders of Madison May Cover

An extremely exciting novel from awesome author Max Barry that sees a resourceful journalist follow a serial killer throughout the multiverse as he attempts to kill every version of his crush.

 

The Paris Collaborator by A. W. Hammond

The Paris Collaborator Cover

An intense and compelling historical thriller set in occupied Paris; The Paris Collaborator was a great read with a fantastic story to it.

Top Ten List:

Kill Your Brother by Jack Heath

Kill Your Brother Cover

Let us start this list off with the incredibly cool Kill Your Brother by amazing author Jack Heath.  Kill Your Brother is a dark and very clever read that follows an infamously damaged protagonist as they are given a choice to either kill their brother or be killed themself.  Set in rural Australia and loaded with great twists, this was an outstanding and awesome novel that was one of the most entertaining and addictive books I read all last year.

 

The Councillor by E. J. Beaton

The Councillor Cover

Australian author E. J. Beaton had one of the best debuts of 2021 with her excellent fantasy read, The Councillor.  Set in a divided and besieged fantasy realm, The Councillor follows a palace scholar who is given ultimate power and must decide the fate of her kingdom through politics, treachery and deceit.  An impressive first book that is really worth checking out.

 

The Housemate by Sarah Bailey

The Housemate Cover

One of the most incredible reads of 2021 was the intense and captivating murder mystery novel The Housemate by Sarah Bailey.  Set in Melbourne, this book sees an infamous murder case reopened after one of the supposed victims reappears and then dies again.  Following a conflicted journalist whose past connections to the crime is slowly driving her crazy, this was an awesome read that I honestly could not put down.

 

The Warsaw Orphan by Kelly Rimmer

The Warsaw Orphan Cover

Impressive author Kelly Rimmer produced one of the absolute best historical dramas last year with her moving book, The Warsaw Orphan.  Set in occupied Warsaw, this novel followed two very damaged protagonists as they attempt to save as many Jewish babies as possible from the Nazis.  Grim, intense, and loaded with tragedy, this is an excellent historical drama that comes very highly recommended.

 

The Enemy Within by Tim Ayliffe

The Enemy Within Cover

Australian journalist turned crime fiction author Tim Ayliffe had an excellent release in 2021 with The Enemy Within, the third book in his John Bailey series.  Following on from the great stories told in The Greater Good and State of Fear, The Enemy Within had a brilliant story that perfectly utilised recent, controversial Australian events and places Ayliffe’s nosy reporter protagonist right in the middle of them.

 

Unforgiven by Sarah Barrie

Unforgiven Cover

One of the latest Australian books of 2021 that I have read, Unforgiven is an exceptionally dark and powerful novel that follows a former victim of child abuse who has grown up and now hunts the monsters who ruined her childhood.  Containing an exceptional mystery and some brilliant characters, this is an impressive, if grim, thriller that I deeply enjoyed reading.

 

Aurora’s End by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Aurora's End Cover

The Australian dream team of Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff finished off their amazing young adult science fiction Aurora Cycle series last year with the impressive Aurora’s End.  This awesome and extremely fast paced novel featured a very clever multi-time period storyline that did a fantastic job of wrapping up the compelling story of the previous two novels (Aurora Rising and Aurora Burning).  One of the better young adult series of the last few years, I am really glad that Kaufman and Kristoff saw it off in amazing fashion.

 

2 Sisters Detective Agency by James Patterson and Candice Fox

2 Sisters Detective Agency Cover

Ok, so I know that James Patterson isn’t Australian, but his cowriter for this novel, Candice Fox, is one of the best Australian crime fiction authors out there at the moment, and I loved her work on this entertaining and fun book.  Following two very different sisters as they attempt to solve crimes in Los Angeles, this was an extremely exciting and hilarious book that features a really good story.  I had an amazing time reading 2 Sisters Detective Agency and I really hope that this collaboration between Patterson and this rising Australian author continues in the future.  Make sure to also check out Candice Fox’s other 2021 release, The Chase, which had a great prison-break storyline.

 

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

She Who Became the Sun Cover

Another epic debut by an Australian author last year was the highly regarded She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan.  This bold and addictive read follows a young girl from rural China who takes her dead brother’s destined greatness and starts a journey to take back China from the Mongolian dynasty and become Emperor.  Featuring a unique and clever story that utilises historical fiction and fantasy elements, this was an amazing read from an impressive new Australian author.

 

Blood Trail by Tony Park

Blood Trail Cover

The final book on this list is the latest novel from one of Australia’s premier thriller authors, Tony Park.  Park’s new novel, Blood Trail, once again journeys to Africa and follows several great characters as they attempt to capture near-magical poachers and kidnappers in a game preserve.  An amazing adrenalin ride from start to finish, Blood Trail was an outstanding read, and I cannot wait to see what Park will release in 2022.

 

 

Well, that is the end of this latest list and I am really happy that I got a chance to highlight some of the cool Australian releases of 2021.  The above books represent an outstanding collection of fiction from talented Australian authors, and each of them comes highly recommended by me.  I had a lot of fun coming up with this list and I cannot wait to find out what the best Australian books of 2022 are going to be.  Until then, stay tuned for more epic reviews and lists, and make sure you let me know who your favourite Australian authors are in the comments below.