Top Ten Tuesday – Favourite New-to-Me Authors I Read in 2021

On January 18, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn List14 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 2021 releases I was excited to read but didn’t get to, however, I addressed that topic in my post last week. So instead of covering that, this week I will look at my favourite new-to-me authors that I discovered in 2021. This is a list I have covered for the last couple of years (make sure to check out my 2019 and 2020 versions), and it is one that I always have fun doing.

Each year I am lucky enough to read a great number of awesome novels and this often includes some that were written by authors whose work I was previously unfamiliar with. 2021 was a good example of this as there were an incredible collection of amazing novels written by authors who were completely new to me. This included some debuting authors, as well as more established writers whose work I only got around to this year. Many of these new-to-me authors produced some truly exceptional reads, some of which I consider to be some of the best books released in 2021, and I really feel the need to highlight them here. As a result, this list may feature a bit of overlap with my top books, pre-2021 books and audiobooks lists of 2021 that I have previously published on this blog.

To appear on this list, the book had to be one I read last year and be written by an author who I was unfamiliar with before 2021. If I had not read anything from this author before last year, it was eligible for this latest list, although I did exclude debut novels as I had another list prepared for them. Despite this, I ended up with a massive list of potential inclusions on this list, as it appears that I read a ton of great new authors in the last year. Despite my best efforts, I had a very hard time whittling this list down, so in the end I decided to face the inevitable and leave it as a top 20 list. While I still had to exclude several great authors whose books I really liked, I think that I came up with a good overall list that represents which authors I am really glad that I decided to try out for the first time last year.

Top Twenty List:

William King – Trollslayer, Skavenslayer, Daemonslayer, and Dragonslayer

Well, let us start this list off with an author I read multiple books from in 2021 with William King. I was in a real Warhammer mood in 2021, and as part of the that I decided to check out the iconic Gotrek and Felix series that was initially written by King. This great series follows a deranged dwarf Slayer and his reluctant human companion as they travel around the Warhammer Fantasy world looking for a monster bad enough to give Gotrek the heroic death he desperately wants. I really love this amazing series and I ended up reading the first four of King’s Gotrek and Felix books in 2021, Trollslayer, Skavenslayer, Daemonslayer and Dragonslayer, each of which were a lot of fun. I have even kept reading King’s books in 2022, having only recently read and reviewed the fifth Gotrek and Felix novel, Beastslayer. I fully intend to keep reading this series this year when I get a chance, and I reckon I will finish off King’s entire run on this series extremely soon.

Jeremy Robinson – The Dark and Mind Bullet

The other new-to-me author who I read more than one book from in 2021 was Jeremy Robinson, an awesome author known for his over-the-top science fiction and horror books. I was initially drawn to Robinson’s interesting dark horror read, The Dark, which sets a group of protagonists against a deadly demonic invasion, and which had a brilliant story to it. I ended up enjoying it so much that I decided to check out any other books that Robinson had coming out in 2021 and that led me to his latest release, Mind Bullet, which follows a psychic assassin who finds himself being hunted by a cadre of unconventional and superpowered hitmen. I had an absolute blast reading these cool books, and the both received easy five-star ratings from me. Due to how much fun I had with these books I plan to read a hell of a lot more from Robinson this year, especially as he has some cool releases on the way.

Tess Sharpe – The Girls I’ve Been

One of the more interesting authors I checked out in 2021 was young adult author Tess Sharpe who wowed me with her cool novel, The Girls I’ve Been. This fantastic novel followed a teenage former con-artist who is forced to revert to her old ways to save herself and her friends from vicious bank robbers. Clever, compelling and deeply thrilling, I have so much love for this novel and I cannot wait to see what cool books Sharpe rights in the future.

John Gwynne – The Shadow of the Gods

One of the best new-to-me authors I read last year was legendary fantasy author John Gwynne. Gwynne, who has written some very highly regarded dark fantasy books in the past presented The Shadow of the Gods last year, which was the first book in his new Bloodsworn Saga series. I initially hadn’t planned to read this book but after hearing so many positive reviews about it I changed my mind and was extremely glad that I did. The Shadow of the Gods was an epic and captivating read that featured action and adventure in an awesome, Viking-inspired fantasy landscape. This was such an incredible book (with a really amazing cover) and it made me an instant fan of this author. I cannot wait to see where this series goes next, and I really need to go back and read some of Gwynne’s earlier series.

Mara Timon – Resistance

I was also lucky enough to read the fantastic historical thriller Resistance towards the end of last year written by relatively new author Mara Timon. Resistance was a sequel to Timon’s 2020 debut City of Spies and contains a great story about a female spy dropped into occupied Normandy shortly before the D-Day landings. This was an excellent spy thriller and I look forward to seeing what other cool books Timon writes in the future.

Nate Crowley – The Twice-Dead King: Ruin

Another great new-to-me author of Warhammer fiction I read last year was the insanely talented Nate Crowley who presented his first The Twice-Dead King novel, Ruin. Ruin followed a banished Necron prince as he attempts to save his former empire from internal corruption and destructive outside forces. Breathing amazing life into essentially dead characters, this was a fantastic and intense Warhammer read that I had a great time with. I cannot wait to see how the series continues in 2022 and I will also try to read some of Crowley’s other cool Warhammer releases.

Kotaro Isaka – Bullet Train

I was very excited to check out a book from Japanese thriller author Kotaro Isaka last year with Bullet Train. A translation of his 2010 novel Maria Beetle, this book featured a complex and quirky tale about several assassins trapped on the same bullet train. I had an incredible time with this book, especially as Isaka loaded it with some amazing twists and very unique characters. Thanks to the success of this book, and the cool upcoming (if somewhat whitewashed) film adaptation of Bullet Train, several of the author’s other novels are being translated and I look forward to seeing what other crazy adventures he has come up with.

Kelly Rimmer – The Warsaw Orphan

Another great new author I found in 2021 was historical drama writer Kelly Rimmer whose latest book, The Warsaw Orphan, was an outstanding and powerful read. Set in Warsaw during the Nazi occupation, this book follows a group of people who attempt to save Jewish children from the Ghetto. A heartbreaking and riveting read, The Warsaw Orphan was an amazing book and I will be keeping an eye out for more of Rimmer’s stuff in the future.

Andy Weir – Project Hail Mary

One of the best books I had the pleasure to read in 2021 was Project Hail Mary, an impressive and clever science fiction novel by bestselling author Andy Weir. I have been meaning to read some of Weir’s books for years, especially after seeing the movie adaptation of The Martian, but I never got the chance. As such I was extremely keen to read his latest book when it came out last year and boy did Project Hail Mary deliver. Containing an epic and brilliant story filled with realistic science, I loved every second I spent reading this book and I honestly could not put it down. I am now a firm fan of the author and I fully intend to read the rest of Weir’s works as soon as possible.

Josh Reynolds – Kal Jerico: Sinner’s Bounty

There was no way that I couldn’t check out fantastic author Josh Reynolds this year especially after I saw that he had brought back one of my favourite Warhammer 40,000 characters, Kal Jerico. This cool new book, Sinner’s Bounty, sets the titular bounty hunter and his friends on an insane journey into the depths of their Hive City to retrieve a wanted man. Forced to contend with rival bounty hunters, monsters, mutants, and gangs, this was an amazing read and I will be checking out more of Reynolds’ Warhammer books in the future, especially if they feature Kal Jerico.

Sarah Bailey – The Housemate

I was very lucky to grab a novel from amazing Australian author Sarah Bailey this year. Her latest book, The Housemate, was a brilliant novel that saw a disturbed reporter attempt to solve a notorious crime that had been haunting her for years. Incredibly powerful, compelling and intense, this was one of the best Australian books of 2021 and I will be very interested to see what other cool books Bailey writes in the future.

Steve Cavanagh – The Devil’s Advocate

Easily one of the more entertaining books I read in 2021 was the fun and wildly addictive legal thriller by Steve Cavanagh, The Devil’s Advocate. The sixth book in his Eddie Flynn series, The Devil’s Advocate was a great novel that saw its former conman turned defence attorney protagonist attempt to stop a murderous prosecutor determined to send an innocent man to death row. I had an amazing time with this compelling and over-the-top read, and I now really want to go back and read the rest of the awesome novels in this cool series.

Anthony Ryan – The Pariah

Another instant favourite new author I checked out last year was impressive well-established fantasy author Anthony Ryan. Ryan is another author who I have been meaning to read for a while and it turns out I have been really missing out. His latest book, The Pariah, was an excellent and compelling first entry in a great new series that follows a young scribe as he journeys around a fantasy world trying to find his purpose. An epic first book, I cannot wait to see how this series continues and I know I am going to love it.

John Grisham – The Judge’s List

Perhaps one of the biggest names on this list is bestselling author John Grisham, who has been at the top of the crime fiction genre for decades. Grisham is one of those massive authors whose work I have been meaning to read for a very long time but never got the chance. Well, that all changed last year when I received a copy of his latest book, The Judge’s List, which sets some clever protagonists against a dangerous serial killer who is also a sitting judge. I had an incredible time with The Judge’s List, and I am fully planning to check out the rest of Grisham’s catalogue to see what I have been missing out on.

Dan Abnett – First and Only

Wow there were so many awesome new-to-me Warhammer authors I checked out last year and one of the best was Dan Abnett. Abnett has written a ton of awesome Warhammer novels over the years, but the first book of his I decided to check out was First and Only, the initial book of his iconic Gaunt’s Ghosts series. Following a regiment of Imperial Guard soldiers as they fight through a gauntlet of traitors, rivals and conspiracies, this was an outstanding novel and I cannot wait to see what happens in the rest of this impressive series.

A. W. Hammond – The Paris Collaborator

I had a great time checking out thriller author A. W. Hammond for the first time in 2021. Hammond, who also writes under the name Alex Hammond, produced an exceptional and fun historical thriller last year with The Paris Collaborator. Set in the last days of the German occupation of Paris, this cool book follows a French investigator who is hired to find several missing men around the city. Filled with cool action, intense twists and some excellent historical moments, this was a great read and I will be keeping an eye out for more of Hammond’s novels in the future.

Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman – All of Us Villains

I am slightly cheating here by including two authors in the one entry, but as this was the first time I had read anything from either of them and they were collaborating on the same book, I think I can make an exception. These two authors were Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman, a great team of established authors who collaborated for the first time to create the amazing All of Us Villains. All of Us Villains was an excellent and entertaining young adult fantasy book that followed seven champions forced into a magical death tournament with the entire world watching. Loaded with amazing characters and brutal magic, this was an awesome book and I am extremely glad I decided to check out this intriguing team of authors last year.

Max Barry – The 22 Murders of Madison May

I had been meaning to read something from talented Australian author Max Barry for a while, especially as he has written some great and compelling sounding science fiction reads. I finally got a chance last year when I received a copy of Barry’s latest book, The 22 Murders of Madison May. This was a cool book that saw a women attempt to stop a deranged stalker from killing every version of his obsession, actress Madison May, in the multiverse. I deeply enjoyed this complex and entertaining story and I will have to grab some more stuff from Barry in the future.

Grady Hendrix – The Final Girl Support Group

One author I have been hearing a lot of buzz around over the years is Grady Hendrix, who has written several intriguing and unique horror hybrid novels. Due to all the positive stuff I have heard about this author I decided to check out one of their books last year with their 2021 release, The Final Girl Support Group. Set in a world were the survivors of iconic slasher scenarios have formed a support group, this cool novel follows these paranoid and damaged protagonists as they attempt to survive a new monster who is determined to kill them. An impressive homage to iconic slasher films that cleverly deconstructs the genre, this was a very fun read and I am extremely glad I decided to check out Grady Hendrix last year.

S. R. White – Prisoner

The final top new-to-me author I read last year was Australian author S. R. White, who released their second novel Prisoner. This was an enjoyable and captivating Australian murder mystery novel that had a very gritty and realistic feel to it, especially in some impressive interrogation scenes. An excellent novel from a great new author I will have to read more of in the future.

Well, that’s the end of this latest Top Ten list. I think it turned out rather well and it encapsulates some of the best new authors I checked out in 2021. I look forward to reading more books from these authors in the future and I have no doubt they will produce more epic and incredible reads. Make sure to let me know which new authors you enjoyed in 2021 in the comments below and make sure to check back next week for another exciting list.

Top Ten Tuesday – Books I Meant to Read in 2021 but Didn’t Get To

On January 11, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn List8 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 Waiting on Wednesday, participants were required to list their most recent additions to their book collections. However, due to some upcoming lists that I planned out I am instead mixing things up and instead featuring the top books of 2021 that I wanted to read but didn’t get a chance to.

2021 was a great year for novels and I had an outstanding time getting through a solid collection of cool new releases and older novels, which were pretty much all epic and impressive reads. However, no matter how hard one tries, there are always a couple of books each year that I did not get a chance to read, either due to time constraints, lack of access or from being overwhelmed with other books that I really wanted to read. As a result, this is a list that is rather tinged with regret, as each book I plan to mention below is one that I really wish I had taken the time to read.

To complete this list, I pulled together some of the more interesting and compelling sounding novels that I did not get a chance to read in the last year. Each entry was released last year and while I knew that they were coming out, I did not get a chance to read any of them. In many cases I have these books sitting on my shelf at this moment, silently and constantly judging me, and I think I will have to try and read them to stop their bookish glares. I was eventually able to cull my list of regret down to 10 entries with an honourable mentions section. The final list is an interesting collection of books from across the genres and includes a couple of big 2021 releases I did not get a chance to look at.

Honourable Mentions:

Galaxias by Stephen Baxter

An interesting sounding science fiction novel about the end of the world that would have been fun to check out.

The Keeper of Night by Kylie Lee Baker

One of the coolest young adult fantasy books I didn’t get to read last year.

The Burning by Jonathan and Jesse Kellerman

I have been really getting into Jonathan Kellerman’s novels lately and I reckon I would have enjoyed this fantastic novel if I had a chance to read it.

Star Trek Discovery: Wonderlands by Una McCormack

2021 was a bit of a null year for me when it came to Star Trek fiction as there were several Star Trek great tie-in books I wanted to read but didn’t get a chance to. The one I think I would have enjoyed the most was Wonderlands by Una McCormack that tied into the third season of Star Trek Discovery.

Top Ten List:

Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff

One of the books I most regret not reading last year is the epic Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff. Set in a world completely ruled by vampires, this book chronicles the life of a human resistance fighter/vampire hunter. I have heard some impressive things about Empire of the Vampire, and I really wish I could have read it last year. Unfortunately, I could not fit it into my reading schedule as it is a pretty massive book with an extensive run time. I will try extremely hard to read it this year though, especially if Kristoff has sequels planned.

The Maleficent Seven by Cameron Johnston

Another book I deeply regret not reading in 2021 was The Maleficent Seven by the amazing Cameron Johnston. An intriguing fantasy reversal of classic films like The Magnificent Seven and Seven Samurai, The Maleficent Seven follows seven villains as they join forces to defend a village from an army even more evil than them. I really liked the sound of this book, and I am a big fan of Johnston’s previous novels The Traitor God and God of Broken Things. As such, I will also make a huge effort to check out The Maleficent Seven this year, and I already know I am going to love it.

The Noise by James Patterson and J. D. Barker

James Patterson cowrote several great books in 2021, and while I did manage to enjoy his fun 2 Sisters Detective Agency (cowritten by Australian author Candice Fox), I didn’t get a chance to read his most interesting sounding novel, The Noise. Cowritten by horror author J. D. Barker, The Noise is a trippy and captivating sounding science fiction thriller set in a remote area of America. Filled with mysterious science, government conspiracies and a dangerous elemental force, I was deeply intrigued by this novel and I am hoping to read it soon.

Unforgiven by Sarah Barrie

Unforgiven is a powerful Australian thriller about a former victim of a paedophile who hopes to hunt down her abuser. I heard that this book was pretty epic and intense, and I meant to read it in the last week. I may try and start it in the next day or so, but I will have to see how I go.

The Righteous by David Wragg

Another book that I really regret not reading in 2021 was The Righteous by David Wragg. The sequel to his impressive debut, The Black Hawks, The Righteous apparently continues his cool dark fantasy storyline about a group of mercenaries caught in the middle of an evil conspiracy. This is another one I will make a big effort to read soon and I cannot wait to see what happens to the series’ entertaining protagonists next.

Gamora and Nebula: Sisters in Arms by Mackenzi Lee

An interesting Marvel young adult tie-in by bestselling author Mackenzi Lee, Sisters in Arms was a book I really wanted to read last year, especially after enjoying Lee’s last novel Loki: Where Mischief Lies.

Star Wars: Visions: Ronin by Emma Mieko Candon

A fun tie-in to the Star Wars: Visions anime movies, Ronin was one of the few Star Wars books I didn’t read in 2021 and I hope to rectify that oversight soon.

The Last Watch by J. S. Dewes

This was apparently one of the best debut novels of 2021 and I really regret not checking it out. An epic and fascinating science fiction novel about a group of criminals and failures who try to save the universe, The Last Watch got a lot of love from some top reviewers, and I am keen to see how awesome it truly is.

The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman

Another major novel that got a lot of love in reviewers circles last years was The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman. Set to follow an odd couple pairing in a brutal fantasy world, this was apparently an exceptional novel, and it was one that I regret not getting a chance to read. I might try this year, especially if Buehlman has a sequel on the horizon, and I look forward to seeing what all the fuss is about.

The Liar’s Knot by M. A. Carrick

The final book on this list is The Liar’s Knot by M. A. Carrick, which is the second book in the Rook and Rose series of fantasy novels. I read the first book in this series, The Mask of Mirrors, earlier in the year, and I really enjoyed its fun and compelling story. I was hoping to read the sequel in 2021, but I never got the chance, especially as the audiobook version apparently isn’t out yet (I think I’d want to listen to it). I am hoping to listen to it in a few months’ time, but I’ll have to see how I go.

Well, that is the end of my latest list and it looks like I have a lot catch-up reading to do if I am going to make a dent in it. There are some truly amazing-sounding novels on this list and I fully intend to get through all of them at some point, although with all the outstanding books coming out in 2022, it might take me a little time. In the meantime, let me know what books you most regret not reading in 2021 in the comments below.

Top Ten Tuesday – Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the First Half of 2022 (fantasy)

On January 4, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn Fantasy, List23 Comments

Welcome to my second Top Ten Tuesday list of the week, were I look at my most anticipated fantasy novels coming out in the first half of 2022. Traditionally I usually only do one list to represent the top upcoming books for the year, however, I was inspired to separate out the fantasy novels into a second list due to all the awesome and impressive fantasy reads coming out extremely soon.

2022 is shaping up to be one of the absolute best years for fantasy books with a ton of epic and amazing sounding novels set for release throughout the year. I am particularly excited about the next six months as there are some deeply impressive books coming out that I am extremely excited for. This includes some fantastic sounding sequels, continuations to brilliant series, and several cool new novels for some very talented authors. I have already highlighted several of these books in some previous lists and Waiting on Wednesday articles. Indeed, the last three Waiting on Wednesday posts I have published have all highlighted some particularly epic upcoming fantasy novels. This, as well as some other recent novels I have talked about, made me really appreciate just how awesome the upcoming year is going to be fantasy wise, hence this list.

Just like with my other list of the night, I am only featuring books that are set for release in Australia between 1 January 2022 and 30 June 2022 which I have some descent details about. I also excluded one of the top fantasy books of the year, A Practical Guide to Conquering the World by K. J. Parker, because I have already read it (spoiler alert, it is incredibly awesome and hilarious). Despite only being fantasy books, I ended up with a huge collection of exceptional novels that I wanted to feature, which made completing this list surprisingly difficult. I was eventually able to break it down to the best 10 books (with honourable mentions), and I feel that I have capture the books that are going to be the best fantasy reads of 2022. So let us see what made the cut.

Honourable Mentions:

Rise of the Mages by Scott Drakeford – 25 January 2022

Rise of the Mages Cover

An interesting start to a fun new series.

League of Liars by Astrid Scholte – 22 February 2022

League of Liars Cover

A brilliant sounding young adult fantasy book with a great story about a magical prison break. I already have a copy of this book and I look forward to seeing what happens in it.

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

One Foot in the Fade Cover

The third book from Australian author Luke Arnold that follows on from his fantastic first two novels, The Last Smile in Sunder City and Dead Man in a Ditch.

Engines of Empire by Richard S. Ford – 31 May 2022

Engines of Empire Cover

This is a compelling and interesting fantasy novel that I think has a bit of potential. Focusing on a family of industrialists in a fantasy landscape, this sounds like a great start to an awesome new series, and I am very keen to read it. It looks like we have a bit of a later release date here in Australia, but hopefully I will get a chance to read it at some point this year.

Top Ten List:

The Starless Crown by James Rollins – 4 January 2022

The Starless Crown Cover

The first book on this list is the impressive sounding The Starless Crown by James Rollins. Rollins, who is best known for his thrillers, is making an interesting jump back to fantasy with this novel and I like the cool and intriguing plot this book has.

The Justice of Kings by Richard Swan – 22 February 2022

The Justice of Kings Cover

The next entry, The Justice of Kings by Richard Swan, is another awesome fantasy read with a great deal of potential. Set to combine legal thriller elements with a fantasy setting, I love the sound of this amazing sounding novel and it is already receiving some very positive reviews. I have a feeling that this is going to be one of the best books of the year and I can’t wait to check it out.

Age of Ash by Daniel Abraham – 22 February 2022

Age of Ash Cover

One half of the team behind The Expanse series (make sure to check out my review for the last book, Leviathan Falls), Daniel Abraham heads back to the fantasy genre with the epic Age of Ash. An interesting sounding novel filled with political intrigue and a murder mystery, I think this will be an amazing read and I cannot wait to check it out.

The Bladed Faith by David Dalglish – 5 April 2022

Bestselling fantasy author David Dalglish presents a cool and intriguing first novel in a new series with The Bladed Faith. This book follows a deposed prince who takes up a role of a legendary hero and assassin to avenge his parents and gets sucked into a deadly mission of vengeance. I love the sound of this outstanding read and I look forward to seeing how its fantastic story turns out. No cover yet unfortunately, but hopefully that will come out soon.

The Hunger of the Gods by John Gwynne – 7 April 2022

The Hunger of the Gods Cover

After having one of the best books (and audiobooks) of 2021 with The Shadow of the Gods, fantasy author John Gwynne continues his brilliant Bloodsworn Saga with The Hunger of the Gods. This intense and action-packed series had an incredible introduction and I am extremely confident that The Hunger of the Gods will be an exceptional and excellent read, especially with that epic cover.

The Girl and the Moon by Mark Lawrence – 26 April 2022

The Girl and the Moon Cover

The always enjoyable Mark Lawrence continues his great Book of the Ice series with The Girl and the Moon. The previous two novels, The Girl and the Stars and The Girl and the Mountain have been extremely compelling and I cannot wait to see how this cool series continues.

Kagen the Damned by Jonathan Maberry – 10 May 2022

Kagen the Damned Cover

One of my favourite thriller authors, Jonathan Maberry, is diving into the fantasy genre this year with Kagen the Damned. Set to be an intense and brutal revenge read, I really love the sound of Kagen the Damned and have no doubt it will be another exceptional five-star read.

Master of Furies by Raymond E. Feist – 9 June 2022

Master of Furies Cover

One of the best fantasy authors of all-time, the exceeding talented Raymond E. Feist, brings his fantastic Firemane Saga to an end with Master of Furies. Following on from King of Ashes and Queen of Storms, this should be an excellent read and I look forward to seeing how this trilogy concludes.

In the Shadow of Lighting by Brian McClellan – 21 June 2022

In the Shadow of Lightning Cover

After wowing the world with his exceptional Powder Mage novels, Brian McClellan is returning with a brand-new series this year. The first book in this series, In the Shadow of Lighting, sounds like an excellent and captivating read and with the talented McClellan at the helm this will easily be one of the best books of the year.

The Martyr by Anthony Ryan – 28 June 2022

The Martyr Cover

The final entry on this list is The Martyr, the follow up to Ryan’s epic 2021 novel, The Pariah. I had an amazing time reading the first book in this series and I already know I am going to deeply love The Martyr when it comes out later this year.

Well that’s the end of this second list. As you can see, there are some mighty impressive fantasy books coming out the first half of this year. All the above entries on this list have an incredible amount of potential and I have a feeling I am going to deeply enjoy every single of one of these great reads. I honestly think that 2022 is going to be an outstanding year for fantasy, not only with these amazing books, but because of some of the other ones potentially coming out later this year (I’m really hoping Joe Abercrombie, Jim Butcher and R. J. Barker all have new novels this year). I look forward to seeing how all these cool novels turn out and I think I am going to have an incredible time reading fantasy in 2022.

Top Ten Tuesday – Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the First Half of 2022 (non-fantasy)

On January 4, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn List12 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. For the first Top Ten Tuesday of 2022 participants get to list their most anticipated upcoming books for the first half of the year. This is a regular post I do each year and I always look forward to highlighting the most awesome looking books for the start of the year. I am actually planning to do two versions of this list, this one and another that will focus on some incredible upcoming fantasy novels, so make sure to check that out as well.

Despite only just starting, 2022 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.

Even though I excluded fantasy books, this ended up being a rather difficult list to pull together due to all the awesome releases coming out in Australia between 1 January 2022 and 30 June 2022. 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. I am also excluding a couple of upcoming books with real potential, mainly because a lot of details about them haven’t been released yet, such as the third book in Conn Iggulden’s Athenian series. So let us get to my selections and find out which upcoming novels are my most anticipated releases for the first half of 2022.

Honourable Mentions

Road of Bones by Christopher Golden – 25 January 2022

A fun and intriguing horror thriller.

Warhammer 40,000: Day of Ascension by Adrian Tchaikovsky – 1 February 2022

One of the best sounding upcoming Warhammer 40,000 novels by impressive science fiction author Adrian Tchaikovsky.

City of the Dead by Jonathan Kellerman – 8 February 2022

Another fantastic Alex Delaware novel from leading crime fiction author Jonathan Kellerman, that follows on from his last amazing novels, The Wedding Guest, The Museum of Desire and Serpentine.

Star Wars: Shadow of the Sith by Adam Christopher – 28 June 2022

There are several interesting new Star Wars novels coming out in 2022 and one of the more intriguing ones is Shadow of the Sith by Adam Christopher (no cover available yet). Set in the gap between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, Shadow of the Sith follows Luke and Lando as they attempt to uncover ancient Sith secrets and identify the new threat rising to destroy the New Republic.

Top Ten List:

Star Wars: The High Republic: The Fallen Star by Claudia Gray – 4 January 2022

The impressive new High Republic subseries of Star Wars novels continues with The Fallen Star by Claudia Gray. Continuing the main storyline contained in previous novels Light of the Jedi and The Rising Storm, The Fallen Star looks set to contain an intense and captivating story as the Nihil launch their most devastating attack yet. I am hoping to start The Fallen Star this week and it should be a pretty epic read.

Dark Horse by Gregg Hurwitz – 8 February 2022

The seventh book in Hurwitz’s action-packed Orphan X series, Dark Horse has a great sounding story and is easily going to be one of the most exciting books of the year.

Usagi Yojimbo: Tengu War by Stan Sakai – 15 February 2022

One of my favourite comic series, Usagi Yojimbo by Stan Sakai, has another great volume coming out early this year. Tengu War, the 36^th volume, looks set to feature several really cool stories in it and I already know I am going to love every page of this exceptional comic.

Sierra Six by Mark Greaney – 15 February 2022

Another epic thriller, Sierra Six will be the 11^th novel in the Gray Man series by amazing author Mark Greaney. I have deeply enjoyed the last few Gray Man novels (One Minute Out and Relentless were particularly good) and I am really looking forward to seeing how this incredible series continues.

The Misfit Soldier by Michael Mammay – 22 February 2022

After deeply impressing me with his debut Planetside series (made up of Planetside, Spaceside and Colonyside), science fiction author Michael Mammay has a cool new novel up his sleeve with The Misfit Soldier. The Misfit Soldier will follow a conman and thief turned futuristic soldier as he attempts to pull off a heist in the middle of a warzone. I love the sound of this book and The Misfit Soldier should be an outstanding read.

An Empty Throne by Robert Fabbri – 1 April 2022

One of the most entertaining historical fiction authors in the world today, Robert Fabbri, will continue his amazing Alexander’s Legacy series with the third book, An Empty Throne. Following on from To the Strongest and The Three Paradises, An Empty Throne will explore the unique chaos that occurred following the early death of Alexander the Great and should be a lot of crazy fun.

Desperate Undertaking by Lindsey Davis – 7 April 2022

Another cool and entertaining historical fiction series continuing this year is the Flavia Albia series by veteran author Lindsey Davis. Set in ancient Rome, this cool series sees its titular protagonist investigate several strange murders around the city, often in hilarious circumstances. Several of the recent books, including Pandora’s Boy and The Grove of the Caesars, have been exceptional reads, and the new upcoming novel, Desperate Undertaking, has a great sounding story about a serial killer obsessed with architecture. Sure to be a gripping and clever read, I cannot wait to check it out.

Star Wars: Brotherhood by Mike Chen – 10 May 2022

Another awesome upcoming Star Wars novel is Brotherhood by Mike Chen. Set at the start of the Clone Wars, this novel will place Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker in a dangerous situation as they attempt to uncover who is behind a terrorist attack on an alien planet. With some cool action and an interesting look at the relationship between former master and apprentice, this will be a great read, especially as it will likely tie into the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi television series.

Kingdoms of Death by Christopher Ruocchio – 17 May 2022

Impressive science fiction author Christopher Ruocchio will continue his massive Sun Eater space opera series this year with his fourth book, Kingdoms of Death. Following on from the outstanding Empire of Silence, Howling Dark and Demon in White, this latest novel will continue to chronicle the life of the universe’s greatest heroes and villains as he fights for humanity’s survival in the stars. This will be an incredible and powerful science fiction read and I cannot wait to see how Ruocchio continues his epic series.

The Omega Factor by Steve Berry – 7 June 2022

The final book on this list is another cool and impressive thriller by the legendary Steve Berry. Berry, who is best known for his Cotton Malone novels (such as The Malta Exchange, The Warsaw Protocol and The Kaiser’s Web), is introducing a new protagonist in The Omega Factor, who is thrust into a deadly historical conspiracy involving a missing piece of artwork. Set to expose a war between the Vatican and a secret order of nuns, this sounds like an awesome novel, and I am very excited to dive into another enjoyable Steve Berry novel

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. Also, make sure to check out my other Top Ten List with the top upcoming fantasy books of 2022.

Top Ten Tuesday – My Favourite Books of 2021

On December 28, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn List130 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. In this final Top Ten Tuesday for the year, participants are tasked with listing their top books of 2021, which is something I look forward to every year. This is a bit of a continuation of a series of lists I have been doing over the last month which have highlighted some of the authors and books I have been most impressed with this year, including my favourite audiobook, favourite debuts and my top pre-2021 books I read this year. However, this list here is the big one as it covers my absolute favourite releases of the year, of which there are quite a few.

Just like with 2020, 2021 has been pretty shitty in places, but thankfully readers got a bit of solace from the fact that this was an amazing year for books, with a huge range of incredible releases coming out across the genres. Not only did several outstanding new series start but we had some exceptional debuts and several incredible trilogies conclude in a big way. I have had an amazing time reading or listening to so many outstanding books this year and quite a few releases have become instant favourites. I must admit that I somewhat struggled to pull this list together, as there were so many books that deserved to be mentioned. Therefore, because I am a very soft touch, and because the quality of the books I read this year was so impressive, I have decided to expand this list out to 20 entries (just like I have the last two years). These 20 books are my absolute favourites from 2021, and I would strongly recommend every one of them to anyone interested in a great read.

To make it onto this list a book needed to be released here in Australia during 2021 (one minor exception) and I had to have read it. I have excluded Never by Ken Follett, as I am only partway through it, and there are many awesome-sounding books I sadly didn’t squeeze into my reading schedule for this year, although I am sure that several of those would have made the cut. I decided to leave off my usual Honourable Mentions section as the extra 10 entries kind of make it unnecessary. There will be a bit of crossover between the below entries and some of my previous lists. Several novels also appeared on my Top Ten Favourite Audiobooks of 2021 list and my Top Ten Favourite Books from the First Half of 2021 list which I ran back into July. Overall, I am fairly happy with how this Top 20 list turned out and I think it contains a pretty good range of novels that really showcases the different types of books that I chose to read this year. So without further ado, here is the list.

Top 20 List (no particular order):

The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik

Let us start this list off strong with the awesome fantasy novel that I still haven’t gotten over, The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik. The sequel to her 2020 hit, A Deadly Education, The Last Graduate continues the impressive Scholomance series in a big way , making full use of its cool characters and uniquely dangerous magical school setting. There were some major developments in this second novel, including an epic and heartbreaking cliff-hanger that is guaranteed to make me pick up the final book next year.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Next we have one of the best science fiction reads of the year. Written by the exceedingly talented Andy Weir (of The Martian fame), Project Hail Mary is a very clever, entertaining and science heavy novel that sees a man travel to a distant star to find a way to save Earth when the sun starts to lose energy. A brilliantly written and deeply captivating read that features a great, surprise supporting character and an awesome twist around the protagonist. Highly recommended!

The Pariah by Anthony Ryan

I had a great time this year checking out new authors, and one of the best was fantasy author Anthony Ryan, who started his Covenant of Steel series with The Pariah. Featuring an epic and captivating tale that follows a young protagonist as he explores a war-torn, religiously ruled landscape, The Pariah was an impressive fantasy read that I could not put down, no matter how hard I tried. I deeply enjoyed this cool book and I cannot wait to grab the sequel, The Martyr, next year.

Relentless by Jonathan Maberry

For the fourth year in a row, one of Jonathan Maberry’s amazing books has achieved a spot on this list (Deep Silence was one of the best books of 2018, Rage was one of the best books of 2019 and Ink was one of the best books of 2020). Relentless, was one of his best, sending his legendary protagonist on deadly revenge mission against his worst enemies as they attempt a new world-ending master plan. I loved this latest science fiction/thriller hybrid from Maberry, especially due to the exceptional character work, and this was a captivating and exceedingly exciting read.

The Wisdom of Crowds by Joe Abercrombie

There was no way that I could exclude the incredible latest book from the legendary Joe Abercrombie, The Wisdom of Crowds, from this list. This exceptional fantasy read perfectly wrapped up the brilliantly dark Age of Madness series (which previously featured the excellent A Little Hatred and The Trouble With Peace). Featuring some of the best and most complex characters you are likely to see in fiction, and an intensely dark tale of revenge, betrayal and revolution, The Wisdom of Crowds is relentlessly entertaining without a single dull moment. I had an incredible time with this book and I cannot wait to see what Abercrombie comes up with next.

Usagi Yojimbo: Homecoming by Stan Sakai

Even after 35 volumes, Stan Sakai’s bestselling Usagi Yojimbo comic (which is one of my favourite all-time comic series) continues to shine with the exceptional Homecoming. Homecoming was another beautifully drawn and narratively rich volume that takes the protagonist on a dramatic journey back to his home village and the many pains that reside there. An exceptional and fun read; I cannot wait to get my hands of Sakai’s next volume, Tengu War, in a few short months.

The Two-Faced Queen by Nick Martell

After producing one of the absolute best debuts of 2020 with The Kingdom of Liars, talented rising author Nick Martell continued his impressive Legacy of the Mercenary King series with The Two-Faced Queen. Featuring deadly assassins, a vengeful queen and even a couple of murderous dragons, The Two-Faced Queen was even more exceptional than his first novel, deeply expanding the cool overarching narrative and adding in even more twists, reveals and surprises. This was one of the best sequels I have ever read, and readers will be quickly drawn into the book’s many mysteries, unique magic and deeply captivating storylines.

Star Wars: Victory’s Price by Alexander Freed

2021 was an amazing year for Star Wars novels, especially with the launch of the High Republic sub-series (Light of the Jedi and The Rising Storm were particularly good). However, one of the absolute best Star Wars books had to be the amazing Victory’s Price by Alexander Freed, which brought the compelling, star fighter focused Alphabet Squadron series to a beautiful end. Perfectly wrapping up the story contained in the first two novels, Alphabet Squadron and Shadow Fall, Victory’s Price was a powerful and intense character-driven war story that focused on five damaged Rebel pilots fighting in the war after the end of Return of the Jedi. This was easily one of the most exciting and moving Star Wars novels I have had the pleasure of reading and it is a must read for fans of the franchise.

The Dark Hours by Michael Connelly

After producing two brilliant reads last year (Fair Warning and The Law of Innocence), bestselling crime fiction author Michael Connelly continues his outstanding Ballard and Bosch sub-series with The Dark Hours. This amazing novel contained another fantastic murder mystery combined with several other great police procedural story lines to create an outstanding overall narrative, expanding the fun partnership established in Dark Sacred Night and The Night Fire. I deeply enjoyed this latest Connelly book and I powered through extremely quickly.

The Bone Ship’s Wake by R. J. Barker

One of the best current authors of fantasy fiction, R. J. Barker, brings his exceptional Tide Child trilogy to a moving and captivating end with The Bone Ship’s Wake. Perfectly following on from The Bone Ships and Call of the Bone Ships, this epic nautical fantasy perfectly wrapped up all the trilogy’s captivating story arcs and character development with some big, emotional moments. I loved every twist and devastating moment in this novel and, thanks to this captivating conclusion, the Tide Child series ended up being one of the best trilogies I have ever had the pleasure of reading.

Colonyside by Michael Mammay

Amazing science fiction author Michael Mammay continued his brilliant Planetside series (made up of Planetside and Spaceside) with Colonyside. This latest novel dragged Mammay’s entertaining and gruff protagonist out of retirement once again to investigate a shady corporate mystery on an alien planet. This book swiftly devolves into an exceptional conspiracy storyline, filled with twists and giant monsters. I had such a wonderful time with this book that it was my one exception to the 2021 release date rule (it had a very late December 2020 release). An impressive and clever read.

The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne

Another amazing new author I checked out this year was the insanely talented John Gwynne, who produced an incredible first entry in his Bloodsworn Saga, The Shadow of the Gods. This amazing first novel contained a brutal and compelling Norse-inspired fantasy tale that followed three awesome central characters as they engaged in their own deeply personal quests. Filled with some outstanding fantasy combat, amazing character moments and a deeply impressive narrative, this was an exceptional and addictive read that made me an instant fan of this author. I have no doubt that the sequel, The Hunger of the Gods, is going to top this list next year and I cannot wait to get my hands on it.

The Dark/Mind Bullet by Jeremy Robinson

2021 was the year that I first tried out some books from compelling author Jeremy Robinson. I actually read two of his books, The Dark and Mind Bullet, both of which were amazing in their own way. While The Dark was a darkly compelling and slick horror read that showcased a brutal invasion from Hell, Mind Bullet was a funny and entertaining science fiction thriller that followed a psychic assassin being hunted by the world’s most unusual killers. Both were outstanding reads that got easy five-star ratings from me, so I had a very hard time choosing between them for this list. Therefore, I decided to include both, as I had such a great time with them and are equally worth checking out.

The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman

Comedian Richard Osman followed up his 2020 debut, The Thursday Murder Club, with another fun and entertaining murder mystery book, The Man Who Died Twice. This compelling and hilarious sequel thrust Osman’s elderly protagonists into another complex investigation, this time involving spies, stolen diamonds, and drug dealers. This book had some amazing moments and ended up being another fantastic read.

Cytonic by Brandon Sanderson

I have been waiting a couple of years for Sanderson to continue his Skyward series and I was very happy to finally get my hands on Cytonic. The third entry in this impressive young adult science fiction series, Cytonic was an exciting and inventive read that continues the captivating tale started in Skyward and Starsight. Taking his eccentric protagonist to a fantastic and unique new setting, Sanderson produced an epic and moving narrative that had me glued from the very first second. There are some big, if sad, moments in this novel and I had a wonderful time listening to it. I am a little miffed that I might have to wait another couple of years for this series to come to an end, but if it is anywhere as good as Cytonic, it will be worth it.

The Housemate by Sarah Bailey

One of my favourite crime fiction books this year had to be the dark and exceptional Australian thriller The Housemate by Sarah Bailey. This wonderful and intense read contains a complex and multifaceted mystery that keeps the reader guessing while they watch the central protagonist become even more unhinged by the revelations from her past. I honestly could not put this great book down and I will be grabbing more of Bailey’s clever novels in the future.

Artifact Space by Miles Cameron

After wowing the world with his fantasy and historical fiction reads, author Miles Cameron had his science fiction debut this year with Artifact Space. This powerful and deeply captivating read transports the reader to a massive spacecraft on a multi-year trading mission. However, the protagonist, a girl with a past and a fake identity, soon finds that her ship is under attack from outside forces and must do everything to save her new home and friends. This was a compelling epic which perfectly shows how talented Cameron is, no matter the genre.

Billy Summers by Stephen King

The master of horror and thrillers, Stephen King, had a great year in 2021 releasing two brilliant reads. While I really must highlight his clever coming-of-age horror read, Later, his best book was the cool thriller, Billy Summers. Billy Summers is a compelling, character driven read that follows a skilled hitman, as he attempts to engage in his last kill, only to run into a ton of surprises and complications. A wildly enjoyable and captivating read that has convinced me to check out more Stephen King books next year.

Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil by Timothy Zahn

The other really good Star Wars novel of 2021 was Lesser Evil, the third book in Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn Ascendancy series. Set before his impressive Thrawn trilogy (made up of Thrawn, Alliances and Treason), Lesser Evil perfectly wraps up the Thrawn Ascendancy series (made up of Chaos Rising and Greater Good) while also exploring the early history and greatest victory/defeat of Zahn’s iconic Grand Admiral Thrawn. Featuring excellent characters, cool universe expansion and some of the best tactical space battles you are likely to see, Lesser Evil was an exceptional read and I really hope that Timothy Zahn has some more Star Wars novels in the works.

Relentless by Mark Greaney

Last, but definitely not least, was the latest epic Gray Man novel from Mark Greaney, Relentless. This awesome novel sets Greaney’s dangerous protagonist on another intense spy mission as he attempts to stop a terrorist attack in Germany. I deeply enjoyed this fast-paced, action-packed and captivating spy thriller, especially as Greaney went out of his way to produce a clever and realistic narrative. I had such a blast with Relentless and I cannot wait to see what deadly adventures occur in his next Gray Man novel.

Well, those are my 20 favourite books of 2021. It turned out to be quite a good list in the end, and I am very glad that I was able to highlight so many fantastic books. 2022 is set to be another excellent year for amazing reads, and I will be examining some of my most anticipated books for the first half of the year next week. In the meantime, let me know what your favourite books of 2021 were in the comments below, and make sure you all have a happy and safe New Years.

Top Ten Tuesday – My Favourite Audiobooks of 2021

On December 21, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, List90 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 list was Books I Hope Santa Brings, and, while this did sound like a fun topic, I instead decided to continue my annual end of year wrap up of some of the best books of 2021. In previous weeks I highlighted some of the best debuts of 2021, as well as the best pre-2021 novels I read in the last year, but this week I am going to look at something near and dear to my heart, the best audiobooks of 2021.

Readers of my blog only need to check out my extensive audiobook category to know that I have a lot of love for the audiobook format. In my opinion, the audiobook is often the best way to experience a good book, and in many cases, this format makes a book a lot more enjoyable for me. As a result, I listened to quite a few audiobooks this year, and while several of them are books that had been released before 2021 and featured in my Throwback Thursday posts, a large majority of them were released this year. There were some truly outstanding and impressive audiobooks released this year, and I already know that I am going to have an extremely hard time coming up with the final version of this list.

For this list I have only included audiobooks released in 2021 that I have listened to and completed, so I am excluding a few audiobooks that were probably pretty awesome, but which I didn’t have a chance to listen to. Despite this, I still ended up with a long list of extremely good audiobooks, all of which were extremely worthy of appearing on this post. To help cut this down, I too into account a range of consideration, including quality of the original novel, skill of the narrator, production value, pacing and other factors, including any featured music or sound effects. Looking at all this I was eventually able to cut the list down to the absolute best 10 audiobooks (as well as an extended honourable mentions section). I had to make some very hard decisions here, and I ended up losing several extremely good audiobooks from this list. Still I think it really represents the best audiobooks I enjoyed this year, and there are some amazing productions down below. So let us see what made the cut.

Honourable Mentions:

Mind Bullet, written by Jeremy Robinson and narrated by R. C. Bray

Jeremy Robinson’s brilliant talent for writing incredibly entertaining novels once again combined perfectly with the fantastic narration of R. C. Bray (who gets a few mentions in this article) to produce an excellent and impressive audiobook production.

Relentless, written by Mark Greaney and narrated by Jay Snyder

A clever and intense spy thriller from the master Mark Greaney that is extremely well adapted by veteran narrator Jay Snyder.

The Man Who Died Twice, written by Richard Osman and narrated by Lesley Manville

After his sensational first novel/audiobook, The Thursday Murder Club, blew everyone away last year, comedian Richard Osman continued his cool series with The Man Who Died Twice. This second book featured another brilliant audiobook adaption narrated by the talented and perfectly cast Lesley Manville, which is really worth checking out.

Colonyside, written by Michael Mammay and narrated by R. C. Bray

Following on from Planetside and Spaceside, Michael Mammay produced another exceptional science fiction thriller with Colonyside, which was massively enhanced by R. C. Bray, whose voice works incredibly well for the gruff, military characters.

Top Ten Tuesday:

Relentless, written by Jonathan Maberry and narrated by Ray Porter

There was no way that the latest epic Joe Ledger audiobook by Jonathan Maberry, Relentless, was not going to make this list, especially as it once again features the fantastic narration of Ray Porter. Relentless is the sequel to Rage (one of the best books and audiobooks of 2019), and contains an impressive story about Mayberry’s iconic protagonist, Joe Ledger, going on a revenge rampage. Porter, who is one of my favourite audiobook narrators, once again expertly inhabited the main characters of this book, ensuring that listeners get a real sense of Ledger’s pain and torment. An incredible production that perfectly brings this novel to life.

The Wisdom of Crowds, written by Joe Abercrombie and narrated by Steven Pacey

Joe Abercrombie’s outstanding dark fantasy Age of Madness trilogy came to an incredible end this year with the captivating and moving The Wisdom of Crowds. Containing a brilliant story and some wonderfully dark and complex characters The Wisdom of Crowds is a terrific read that did a fantastic job wrapping up the stories started in A Little Hatred and The Trouble With Peace (one of the best books and audiobooks of 2020). The excellent Steven Pacey’s amazing voice helped to turn this into an excellent and compelling production, and I cannot wait to grab Abercrombie’s next book in this format.

Star Wars: Victory’s Price, written by Alexander Freed and narrated by January LaVoy

After enjoying physical copies of the first two novels in Alexander Freed’s Star Wars: Alphabet Squadron trilogy, Alphabet Squadron and Shadow Fall, I checked out the third novel, Victory’s Price, on audiobook and was absolutely blown away by it. The Victory’s Price audiobook was just exquisite, combining a perfect and dramatic narrative with amazing Star Wars sound effects, music, and the exceptional voice work of January LaVoy. This resulted in such an amazing audiobook, especially with the iconic Star Wars score working to enhance some of the more intense scenes.

The Bone Ship’s Wake, written by R. J. Barker and narrated by Jude Owusu

Another great trilogy that ended this year was The Tide Child trilogy by R. J. Barker (previously consisting of The Bone Ships and Call of the Bone Ships), which finished with the impressive The Bone Ship’s Wake. Containing an exceptionally moving narrative, The Bone Ship’s Wake was an incredible book that takes the readers on a wild emotional ride. I really enjoyed the audiobook adaption of this cool book. The Bone Ship’s Wake was voiced by the talented Jude Owusu, who expertly brought the compelling characters and brutal nautical setting to life through his narration. The Bone Ship’s Wake was an incredible audiobook that will really drag listeners into this brilliant series.

The Dark, written by Jeremey Robinson and narrated by R. C. Bray

Earlier this year I listened to my first Jeremey Robinson novels, The Dark, something that I am extremely thankful I did. The Dark was a clever and entertaining novel that followed a group of characters as they attempted to survive an invasion from hell. I have a lot of love for this book, not only because of the great story, but because the exceptionally talented R. C. Bray narrated the audiobook. Bray does a beautiful job with this book, expertly narrating the crazy story and enhancing all of Robinson’s unique humour and over-the-top characters, with his great voice work. A fast-paced and brutal novel, The Dark audiobook was a lot of fun, and Bray will ensure you stick to this bonkers story right to the end.

The Pariah, written by Anthony Ryan and narrated by Steven Brand

Leading fantasy author Anthony Ryan produced an excellent brand new fantasy series this year that started with The Pariah. The Pariah followed a complex and interesting protagonist as he tells the reader the story of his life through a chronical narrative. Not only is this a great story, but the audiobook is narrated by the excellent Steven Brand, who perfectly portrays this central figure and ensures that the reader really gets to grips with Ryan’s powerful and detailed story.

Cytonic, written by Brandon Sanderson and narrated by Sophie Aldred

After wowing us with Skyward and Starlight, one of the best authors in the world today, Brandon Sanderson, dropped the third entry in his epic Skyward young adult science fiction series, Cytonic. Cytonic is another captivating read that takes its unique characters to an incredibly weird setting and pits them against impossible odds. Narrator Sophie Aldred is just great here, especially when it comes to portraying the novel’s unpredictable point-of-view protagonist or highlighting the many awesome fighter combat sequences. Cytonic was a brilliant addition to the series and I am extremely glad that I checked it out on audiobook.

The Shadow of the Gods, written by John Gwynne and narrated by Colin Mace

Acclaimed author John Gwynne produced a brand new fantasy novel this year with the much-loved The Shadow of the Gods. Split into three separate storylines that followed some great characters as they traversed a dark fantasy world, each narrative thread was greatly enhanced by the excellent narration from Colin Mace. Not only does Mace perfectly portray all three amazing point-of-view characters, but his impressive voice really brings you into the Norse-inspired fantasy world the story was set in. This was such an amazing audiobook production and I would greatly recommend this format to anyone interested in reading this outstanding fantasy novel.

The Two-Faced Queen, written by Nick Martell and narrated by Joe Jameson

Last year, Nick Martell produced one of the best debuts of the year with The Kingdom of Liars, a truly awesome and exceptional read. Martell followed this debut up in a big way with the sequel, The Two-Faced Queen that featured an exceptional narrative, loaded with an unbelievable number of twists and reveals. The Two-Faced Queen was one of the best books of the year, and I had an incredible time listening to it on audiobook thanks to the talented Joe Jameson. Jameson, who has been narrating some awesome novels lately (such as the Warhammer 40,000 book, Fire Made Flesh) did a great job of enhancing this fantastic novel, and I loved the cool voice and personality he gave to the central character. Jameson’s brilliant narration also helped me follow the many, many complex elements of this novel, and this was a great way to enjoy this impressive novel.

Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil, written by Timothy Zahn and narrated by Marc Thompson

The final audiobook on this list is another Star Wars novel. This time it is the final entry in the Thrawn Ascendancy series by Timothy Zahn, Lesser Evil. Following on from Chaos Rising and Greater Good, Lesser Evil was a brilliant and powerful novel that perfectly wrapped up a great trilogy. Like Victory’s Price, Lesser Evil made exceptional use of the iconic Star Wars music and sound effects, but it also features the notable talents of narrator Marc Thompson. Thompson does a great job coming up with cool voices for the various characters of Lesser Evil, especially its protagonist and villain, which helps to tell the book’s amazing narrative. That, combined with the production values of a Star Wars novel adaptation, helped to turn this into a compelling and enjoyable audiobook that was just amazing.

Well that is the end of this latest Top Ten list, and as you can see, I have been lucky enough to listen to some awesome audiobooks this year. All the above audiobooks are extremely good and I would highly recommend each of them in their audiobook format. There is still a little time for me to listen to a few more great audiobooks this year, and I cannot wait to see how they all turn out. Let me know what your favourite audiobooks of 2021 were in the comments below, and I will have to try and check them out as well.

Top Ten Tuesday – My Favourite Debut Novels of 2021

On December 15, 2021December 15, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn List32 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 involved participants listing the top books on their Summer 2021/22 to-read-list. However, I already produced that list a few weeks ago, so I thought I would take this opportunity to continue my foray into highlighting the absolute best books of 2021. This is an end of year tradition I do each year with several Top Ten Tuesday list, and I started this year’s version last week when I listed some of the best pre-2021 releases I checked out this year. In a continuation of my end of year highlights, for this week’s list I have decided to look at my absolute favourite debut novels of the year.

I mentioned multiple times throughout the year that 2021 was a pretty awesome year for debuts and boy did I mean it. There were an incredible number of new authors releasing some impressive and entertaining debut novels this year, and I was lucky enough to receive a huge bundle of them to review. I always love checking out new authors as they produce their first book or take a foray into a whole new genre, and I was blown away with some of the talent this year. As such, I am really glad that I can highlight some of the absolute best in this Top Ten list.

To be eligible for this list, the book had to be either the first novel from a new author released in 2021, or a novel that was extremely different from an author’s previous work (their debut in the genre). I ended up reading a huge collection of debuts this year, so I had a bit of a hard time coming up with the list, as there were a lot of good options. I was eventually able to whittle it down to a manageable list of 10, with my typical generous Honourable Mentions section. The result was an excellent list that I feel perfectly captures my favourite debuts of the year and highlights them accordingly. So, let us see what made the cut.

Honourable Mentions:

Falling by T. J. Newman

Falling Cover

An interesting and fast paced thriller debut that follows a pilot whose family is kidnapped in order to force him to crash his plane. Intense and exciting.

Small Acts of Defiance by Michelle Wright

Small Acts of Defiance Cover

Small Acts of Defiance was a great Australian historical drama from new author Michelle Wright set in occupied Paris. This book had a brilliant and powerful story about resistance no matter the odds and is really worth checking out.

Breakout by Paul Herron

Breakout Cover

This year urban fantasy author Paul Crilley came up with a new writing handle, Paul Herron, to produce his first thriller, Breakout, a fast-paced and ultra-exciting novel about an inmate trying to escape a flooded prison filled with the worst killers in the country. One of the most action-packed novels of the year, this was an interesting change of pace from Crilley, so I am treating it as a debut.

City of Vengeance by D. V. Bishop

City of Vengeance Cover

One of the more interesting historical fiction debuts of 2021 was City of Vengeance by D. V. Bishop. This cool book follows a historical investigation in Renaissance Florence and proved to be an intriguing and dark murder mystery with some clever flashes to a real historical case.

Top Ten List:

The Frenchman by Jack Beaumont

The Frenchman Cover

The first book on this list is the brilliant and compelling thriller debut, The Frenchman by Jack Beaumont. Written by a former French intelligence operative, The Frenchman has an exciting tale of intrigue, espionage, and betrayal, as a French spy attempts to gain information on a chemical plant in Pakistan while also trying to balance his professional and personal lives. An outstanding and clever novel with a ton of realism to it.

The Mask of Mirrors by M. A. Carrick

The Mask of Mirrors Cover

Readers were treated to a fantastic fantasy debut this year from the author M. A. Carrick, with The Mask of Mirrors, a complex and powerful read about a con artist attempting to infiltrate high society in a corrupt and dangerous fantasy city. Carrick is actually the joint pen name of established authors Marie Brennan and Alyc Helms, but as this is their first collaboration and they are using a pseudonym to do so, I am treating it as a debut from a new author. This was an excellent fantasy debut, and I was lucky enough to recently receive a copy of the sequel, The Liar’s Knot, which I am hoping to read very soon.

Inscape by Louise Carey

Inscape Cover

After previously writing fantasy fiction with her family, the incredibly talented Louise Carey had her solo debut this year with Inscape, a compelling and exciting cyberpunk, dystopian thriller. Set in a future world where everyone has advanced technology loaded into their brains, this book follows a young corporate agent as she attempts to discover who is attacking her parent company. Containing a brilliant story and a great new universe, this was a fantastic read that is really worth checking out.

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

She Who Became the Sun Cover

One of the most highly anticipated debuts of 2021 was She Who Became the Sun by Australian author Shelley Parker-Chan. Set in the chaotic Yuan dynasty of China, this book follows a girl who takes up the identity of her dead brother to steal his great destiny. A clever reinvention of a famous Emperor’s rise to power, containing some intriguing gender swapping and fantasy elements, She Who Became the Sun rightly deserves all the praise it received, as it is a fun and amazing book.

The Councillor by E. J. Beaton

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Another great debut from an Australian author, The Councillor was a captivating and impressive fantasy novel that I deeply enjoyed. Following a troubled palace scholar who rises to a position of power after the death of her queen, The Councillor is filled with a ton of captivating political intriguing, fascinating magic, and some complex and manipulative characters. An awesome and powerful read, I cannot wait to see where Beaton takes this great series next.

Fire Made Flesh by Denny Flowers

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Written as part of the Necromunda sub-series in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, Fire Made Flesh is Denny Flowers’ first full-length novel, and it takes the reader on a wild adventure to a haunted and chaotic underground settlement where various eccentric beings fight for power. A really entertaining read that fits perfectly into the cool Necromunda setting, I deeply enjoyed this novel and it was one of the craziest books I read all year.

Lies Like Wildfire by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez

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There was no way I could exclude the outstanding young adult thriller, Lies Like Wildfire from this list. Lies Like Wildfire was Jennifer Lynn Alvarez’s first foray away from middle-grade fiction and features an incredible plot about a group of friends who accidently start a devastating wildfire and attempt to cover up their actions. A powerful and dramatic novel filled with lies, betrayals and jealousy, Lies Like Wildfire was an exceptional read, and I cannot wait to see what Alvarez writes next.

Among Thieves by M. J. Kuhn

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Easily one of the best debuts of 2021 was the excellent Among Thieves by M. J. Kuhn. Essentially a compelling fantasy heist novel, this book follows several unique and entertaining characters as they attempt to steal a powerful artefact from an impregnable magical fortress. However, every member of the crew has their own motivations for being there, and all of them are planning to betray the rest. This was an outstanding and deeply entertaining read which really sets Kuhn up as a rising star in the fantasy genre.

The Apollo Murders by Chris Hadfield

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I had an absolute blast reading The Apollo Murders, the first fictional book from astronaut turned author Chris Hadfield. Set in 1973, this book envisions a 18^th, fictional Apollo mission, filled with all manner of espionage, disaster, and stowaway Soviet cosmonauts. Incredibly intense and loaded with a fantastic amount of information about space flight, The Apollo Murders was an amazing read and I deeply enjoyed all the different genres that Hadfield was able to feature in his debut novel.

The Dying Squad by Adam Simcox

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The final debut on this list was the clever supernatural murder mystery, The Dying Squad by Adam Simcox. Following a dead police detective and his feisty ghost partner as they attempt to solve the protagonist’s murder, this was an excellent and clever read that I had a wonderful time with.

Well, that is the end of this list. As you can, there were some incredible debut novels that came out this year and I had a blast getting through all of them. Each of the above debuts are really worth checking out, and I had an amazing time exploring these talented authors’ first forays into fiction. I am really excited to see what these authors produce next, and I have a feeling that quite a few are going to become major figures in their genres.

Top Ten Tuesday – My Favourite James Bond Films Ranked (December 2021)

On December 7, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn List2 Comments

Welcome to another addition of Top Ten Tuesday which I run in conjunction with The Artsy Reader Girl. This is actually my second Top Ten Tuesday of the week, but I only just saw the new James Bond movie, No Time to Die, and it kind of inspired me. To that end, I thought I would take this opportunity to rank all 25 of the official (Eon) James Bond films in order from my least favourite to absolute favourite. This is a bit of a continuation of some recent lists where I have ranked some of my other favourite film franchises (including Star Wars, MCU and DC Comics films), and I look forward to seeing how it turns out.

I have long been a major fan of the James Bond franchise of films as my brother and I really enjoyed them when we were young. Something about the awesome combination of action, over-the-top characters, incredible gadgets and elaborate scenarios really appealed to us (lets face it, we were teenage boys), and we had an absolute blast watching and re-watching them again and again. This love of the franchise has continued well into the present and they remain some of my absolute favourite movies. However, not all James Bond films are created equal.

After some major consideration (and multiple changes), I was eventually able to settle on a ranking, which I think reflects my opinions about this franchise. This list is based on my personal preferences, and I have taken several factors into consideration, including overall quality, impact, creativity, my personal nostalgia, and how well it has stood the test of time. I might put a little bit of preference towards some of the Pierce Brosnan films, as he was my favourite Bond growing up, but overall I think that this is a fair assessment of all 25 films. I have also excluded the two unofficial films, Never Say Never Again and the comedic Casino Royale, which are frankly terrible. Let us see where each of these brilliant spy masterpieces ended up.

List (ranked by descending order):

25. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)

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There has to be a bottom to this list, and in this case it is the unfortunate On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Featuring the only Australian James Bond, George Lazenby (which makes this a little harder to say), On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is a pretty terrible film, especially compared to the rest of the franchise. Not only does Lazenby do a poor imitation of Connery’s Bond rather than doing his own thing, but the story is also extremely silly. I generally skip over it every time I do a big James Bond rewatch. Still, the impacts of this film are felt to this day, especially as it features the death of Bond’s first wife, and is the origin of the line “We have all the time in the world”, which was used to such great effect in No Time to Die. Also, my wife gives this one points for featuring Diana Rigg and Joanna Lumley.

24. A View to a Kill (1985)

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There is a pretty big gap in quality between On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and the rest of the entries on this list, but my next least favourite is probably the last Roger Moore film, A View to a Kill. While this film has some great elements, especially Christopher Walken as the villain, it was a bit of a low point in the franchise. While still giving a game performance, Moore was nearly 60 in this film, and it shows. I also think the viewers’ tolerance for the more zany aspects of the Moore films kind of wanes at this point, making it a bit harder to watch. As such, I have to chuck it towards the bottom of this list, although it is still a fun and compelling entry in this series.

23. Live and Let Die (1973)

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From the last Roger Moore film to the very first. Live and Let Die is an interesting entry in this franchise, although it really is not one of my favourite due to its mediocre storyline, the uninspired supporting cast, and the somewhat problematic portrayal of the antagonists. Still, this movie does have some high points, notably that banger of a title song by Paul and Linda McCartney, and the fun scene with the crocodiles (with subsequent boat chase). A great introduction to Moore as the character, but not one of his strongest films.

22. Diamonds are Forever (1971)

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Sean Connery’s movies are rightly lauded as classics, but out of all of them, Diamonds are Forever is probably my least favourite. Forced to bring back Connery after Lazenby’s sudden departure, the film faced some major issues, namely a resentful lead actor. Still, this ended up being a fun and clever film that harkened back to the original classics. Charles Gray plays a great Blofeld, and you have to love the fun tandem of Mr Wint and Mr Kidd. While I did dislike the way that Bond pretty much got over his dear, departed wife in five seconds flat, this film ends the initial SPECTRE storyline rather well. Not the best film, but pretty watchable, and it lives on in the original Austin Powers film which parodied many elements from it.

21. Spectre (2015)

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The first Daniel Craig film to feature on this list is the very disappointing Spectre. While an okay film, Spectre was unable to live up to its highly regarded predecessor, Skyfall, and proved to be a bit of a let-down. While Craig was amazing and the film had its excellent recurring cast firmly in place (Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw and Naomie Harris), the rest of the characters were not great. I was severely disappointed by Christoph Waltz as Blofeld, Dave Bautista’s Mr Hinx was killed too early and Léa Seydoux was only an okay Bond Girl here. I also rather disliked its ending that saw Blofeld captured and Bond run off with a girl for a happy future. Still, it had some great scenes, especially that opening sequence with the continuous shot, as well as that fun car chase that was very reminiscent of the classic films. I just wish it had lived up to some of the other Craig films.

20. Octopussy (1983)

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Next on this list, we have peak Roger Moore with the classic Octopussy. This fun film takes the audience on a great adventure throughout India as Bond attempts to stop a nuclear attack. This film has many enjoyable elements, from the tense bomb defusing scene, the interesting supporting cast, that cool opening scene with the mini-jet plan, and the final battle that sees Bond assist a group of female circus performers assault a fortress. While not my favourite Moore film, it is a great addition to the franchise that I have enjoyed multiple times.

19. You Only Live Twice (1967)

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Another classic film from Connery’s era, You Only Live Twice is interesting entry in the franchise that has its ups and downs. I quite like the fun story, the over-the-top action, the inclusion of some fun gadgets (that helicopter), the first encounter with Blofeld, and the massive attack on the volcano lair. However, it is very hard to look past the extremely inappropriate portrayals of Japanese people in this film, as the creators succeed in hitting every stereotype they could. Add in that terrible “disguise” for Connery, and it makes You Only Live Twice one of the most problematic James Bond films out there. Still, it is an exciting classic; just try not to think too hard about it.

18. Moonraker (1979)

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To me, nothing better represents the absurdity of the Roger Moore era than Moonraker. This film is an absolute masterpiece in over-the-top spy stuff, with larger-than-life characters, complex plots, and futuristic space travel. The entire space eugenics storyline is just bonkers, especially as it leads up to an elaborate battle in space between laser-wielding bad guys and US Marines. Add in the return of Richard Kiel’s Jaws, and you have yourself an absolutely insane film that should not work at all, but, it does! Moonraker is easily one of the most entertaining James Bond films of all time, as long as you can overlook its many quirks and just have fun with it.

17. From Russia with Love (1963)

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Hot off the success of the first film From Russia with Love sends Bond on a covert action to Istanbul. What follows is a brilliant old-school spy film that experiments with some classic Bond elements, such as gadgets and the recurring villains SPECTRE. While nominally a Cold War thriller, the creators throw in the machinations of the villainous organisation to see Bond surrounded by enemies on all fronts while forced to protect a valuable asset. This has a lot of great elements to it, including some impressive villains and a clever story. One of the more underrated James Bond films; it is a brilliant classic that I have a lot of fun watching.

16. Die Another Day (2002)

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As I mentioned above, the Pierce Brosnan films are some of my absolute favourite entries in the James Bond franchise. However, Die Another Day is probably the worst of them, despite its all-star cast and great use of nostalgia. While the film has a very promising start, with Bond captured by North Korea and tortured for years, the plot starts to get more and more ridiculous the further you get in, with face-changing technology, giant sun-wielding satellites, and cybernetic suits. The creative team really focused more on action and CGI than substance, and it results in some stupid sequences, including Bond wind-surfing a tidal wave. However, I also love many elements about this film, from the two amazing Bond Girls, Halle Berry and Rosamund Pike, the multiple homages to the previous films (Die Another Day was the 20^th overall entry in the franchise), Madonna’s theme song, and that brilliant car chase sequence on the ice that saw two gadget-laden cars face off. While this was an explosive way to end Brosnan’s tenure, it could have been better. Still, it is extremely watchable and jammed full of exciting scenes that still mostly hold up.

15. Quantum of Solace (2008)

Next, we have the second Daniel Craig James Bond film, Quantum of Solace. Quantum of Solace is a solid James Bond movie that maintains the gritty feel established in Casino Royale while also continuing several great storylines from it. Craig, Judi Dench, Giancarlo Giannini and Jeffrey Wright continue to shine, and there are some other impressive performances, including Olga Kurylenko and a slimy David Harbour. I also deeply appreciated the continuation from Casino Royale, especially when it comes to Bond’s unresolved grief for Vesper. However, Quantum of Solace is a somewhat unmemorable film, mainly because it sits between two of the best James Bond movies of all time. While some story elements do come up in later entries like Spectre, you can easily skip this film and still enjoy the rest of the interconnected Daniel Craig movies without missing anything. I also found the villains to be pretty underwhelming, except Jesper Christensen’s Mr White, who barely appears after his initial appearance. Don’t get me wrong, there are some great moments, including the opening sequence, the interrogation in Spain, and the opera sequence, but it really could have been so much more.

14. For Your Eyes Only (1981)

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At number 14 we have the underrated Roger Moore classic, For Your Eyes Only. This fun entry in the franchise contains a taught and clever story that harkens back to the classic spy elements of its predecessors, rather than the over-the-top elements of the rest of Moore’s run. This film is brilliant, with a fantastic espionage storyline that sees Bond try and recover a stolen piece of military hardware. Set throughout Europe, this film makes great use of multiple settings, including that awesome mountaintop monastery, and has one of the more inventive car chases. For Your Eyes Only doesn’t always get the love and attention it deserves.

13. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

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Next up we have The Spy Who Loved Me, the exciting and slightly crazy James Bond film that really helped to set the tone for all of Moore’s subsequent entries. Featuring an over-the-top villain, an underwater base, and Bond’s female Russian counterpart, The Spy Who Loved Me is an absolute classic, with some of the most iconic Bond moments and characters. Not only do you have the brilliant underwater car sequence, but this film also sees the introduction of Jaws, one of the best henchmen ever. This film has so much fun stuff going on within it, and is an absolute must-watch for all James Bond fans.

12. The World is Not Enough (1999)

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Another great Pierce Brosnan Bond film, The World is Not Enough is an awesome entry and it was actually the first James Bond film I ever saw at the cinemas. Brosnan continues to shine as the suavest Bond, with some fantastic and defining moments, including an impressive opening sequence in the Thames. While I love Brosnan here, he is let down by some of his co-stars, especially Denise Richards, who is easily the worst Bond Girl of all time (oh the Christmas puns). That being said, Judi Dench is once again brilliant, and Robbie Coltrane has some great moments reprising Valentine Zukovsky. This film also notable for containing the last appearance of Desmond Llewwlyn’s Q, whose retirement has some extreme emotional potency after the actor’s premature death. While not one of Brosnan’s best efforts, this is still an amazing film, and there is a lot to love about it

11. No Time to Die (2021)

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The latest James Bond film and the final one to feature Daniel Craig in the titular role, No Time to Die was a long time coming. This film has a brilliant story that seeks to bring together all the preceding films and wrap them up properly after the disappointing outing that was Spectre. I found myself getting really drawn into the very clever story of No Time to Die, which made use of some outstanding action sequences and interesting call-backs to Craig’s prior films. While the antagonist is nothing to write home about, the rest of the cast is brilliant, especially Craig, whose brooding veteran spy is perfectly portrayed. Léa Seydoux is a vastly better character in her second outing, Jeffrey Wright gets a fitting final outing as Felix Leiter, Lashana Lynch is an interesting new 007, and I found Ana de Armas’s Paloma to be a lot of fun. This film all leads up to a surprising and memorable conclusion, which I rather liked, although I understand some established fans were less keen. An exceptional film that redeems the franchise after Spectre, the next Bond has some big shoes to fill after Craig’s final performance.

10. Thunderball (1965)

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One of the all-time classic Connery performances, this fourth James Bond film is a compelling and exciting tale of espionage and villainy in the Bahamas. Featuring some outstanding sequences, including a massive underwater battle between henchmen and the Navy, this is a brilliant film and one of the better Connery performances. A favourite of all James Bond fans, it is a shame its legacy has been tarnished by the infamous Never Say Never Again.

9. Dr. No (1962)

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The original James Bond film Dr. No is a masterpiece that expertly introduces the character and the villainous figures he fights. Connery shines here as Bond, playing the character perfectly and giving the spy all the dignity and intensity it required. While it does get more outrageous towards the end, especially with its no-handed villain, for the most part Dr. No comes across as a hard-nosed spy thriller, and I think they got the right blend of classic espionage and fun Bond elements. An excellent film that perfectly started this entire franchise.

8. Licence to Kill (1989)

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I have always believed that the two Timothy Dalton films are some of the most underappreciated entries in the entire franchise. This is particularly true for his first film, Licence to Kill, which was way ahead of its time. Licence to Kill is a clever and intense film that sees Bond go rogue and engage on a revenge mission after his best friend is fed to a shark on his wedding day. This fantastic film has the sort of intense grittiness which would not become common in the James Bond films until the Daniel Craig era. Not only are several villains killed in some incredibly brutal ways, but the horrifying fates of Felix and his wife are surprisingly dark for this period of the franchise. While the audience of the time disliked this intense violence, I think it works from a more contemporary perspective and I really appreciated the way in which the creative team tried to modernise the franchise. This film has a brilliant cast to it, and I loved Dalton’s take on the titular character. Robert Davi serves as a sinister South American drug lord with a love of bloody revenge, and it was very satisfying to see him taken down. I also enjoyed Carey Lowell as a badass Bond Girl, especially after that fantastic introduction in the bar. Throw in a brilliant turn from Desmond Llewelyn’s Q, who shows up on vacation to help his wayward “nephew”, and a young Benicio del Toro as a deadly henchman, and this turned out to be a powerful and memorable entry in the franchise.

7. The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)

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Out of all of Roger Moore’s Bond films, my favourite has to be The Man with the Golden Gun. The Man with the Golden Gun is a brilliant outing that sees Bond take on the ruthless and talented assassin Francisco Scaramanga. Scaramanga is easily one of the best and most iconic antagonists ever featured in a Bond film, due to the charismatic portrayal by the late, great Christopher Lee. Lee, who was one of Fleming’s inspirations for James Bond thanks to his time in the Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, brings some real style and depth to this villainous role, and he definitely comes across as a villain even more skilled than Bond. Unfortunately, the rest of the cast really cannot stand up in comparison. I am not a fan of Britt Ekland’s Mary Goodnight, Nick Nack is a problematic henchman, and why did they bring back Clifton Jame’s racist J. W. Pepper? A fun and exciting entry in the franchise, I loved this film and Lee remains as one of the best James Bond villains out there.

6. The Living Daylights (1987)

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The other Dalton film that is extremely underrated is the 1987 action-packed thriller, The Living Daylights, which dials back the intense violence of Licence to Kill and attempts a more classic outing. This film sees Bond forced into a battle with the KGB by villainous forces, which eventually leads to a massive battle in Afghanistan. This awesome film never slows down and features an impressive supporting cast of characters. I love several of the fun sequences in this movie, from the fantastic car chase sequence in Russia, to the continuous adventures in Afghanistan, whose historical inclusion as the good guys is very interesting in light of contemporary events. I am also a big fan of that whistle-activated key finder gadget, which opened up many fun moments. I really wish that Dalton had been given more films to work with, although that would have affected the next entry on this list.

5. GoldenEye (1995)

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Pierce Brosnan’s initial outing as Bond sets him against a dangerous foe, a rogue former 00 agent with a vendetta against England who manages to obtain a dangerous EMP space weapon. I have a lot of love for GoldenEye, and it is probably the entry I have watched the most over the years. Its plot is pretty perfect, making full use of being the first Bond film produced after the fall of the Soviet Union, and featuring a hacker-based story with some impressive scenes and great characters. Not only is Brosnan perfect as a smooth and exciting Bond, but Sean Bean is one of my favourite villains as Alec Trevelyan (006). Throw in great performances from Robbie Coltrane, Alan Cumming (“I am invincible!”), and Judi Dench as the new M, and you have one of the strongest casts out there. I love so much about this film, especially that fun tank chase through Moscow, and it perfectly revitalised the series after a long hiatus.

4. Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

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To my mind, Tomorrow Never Dies is easily one of the best and most entertaining James Bond films out there, and if this list were based purely on my nostalgic joy, it would easily be number one. Tomorrow Never Dies was the first Bond film I ever saw, and it sparked a lifetime of love and enjoyment that lasts until this day. This cool film features an intriguing tale of a crazed media baron who attempts to start a war between Britain and China in order to boost his ratings and get television access into China (it sounds silly, but we all know Rupert Murdoch has done worse). There is so much awesome things about this film, especially as it has one of the best opening sequences of all time: “What the hell is he doing?”, “His job!” The film takes a bit of a darker turn with the attack on the British frigate (that drill torpedo gave me nightmares), which forces Bond right into the middle of a deadly situation. The subsequent massive scenes, such as the hilarious remote control car chase, the motorcycle scene in Ho Chi Minh City, and the final assault on the stealth boat, are all well paced out and perfectly choreographed, and you are not short of action or fun here. Michelle Yeoh and Teri Hatcher shine as the Bond Girls (especially Yeoh), while Jonathan Pryce is a pretty funny and crazed villain. There is honestly not a single thing that I dislike about this film, and I will watch this without hesitation anytime it shows up on the TV.

3. Casino Royale (2006)

While many people had their doubts about Casino Royale before it was released, thanks to the combination of a blonde Bond and the film serving as a reboot of the franchise, it ended up being an absolute masterpiece that perfectly adapted the classic James Bond novel of the same name into an official Eon production. I deeply enjoyed the fresh new take, with a modern and dark look at espionage, with Bond a new agent who is already a little disturbed and a tad psychotic. Craig is incredible here, and I loved his brooding take on the character, which was so different from the classic portrayals. At the same time, Mads Mikkelsen is an outstanding villain as always, bringing a real sinisterness to the role, while not being too over-the-top. I also enjoyed Eva Green’s Vesper Lynd, who proves to a real match to Bond in the female lead, while also leaving a lasting impression on the protagonist. Throw in excellent supporting performances from Giancarlo Giannini, Judi Dench and Jeffrey Wright, and this film perfectly introduced viewers to a new era of the franchise and easily silenced all doubters. Easily the best first-Bond film of all time, it set Craig up perfectly, and I loved how story elements from here would be reutilised in the rest of Craig’s outings.

2. Skyfall (2012)

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In the penultimate spot, we have the 2012 epic, Skyfall. This epic Craig film sees Judi Dench’s M face the consequences of her past mistakes when a dangerous villain reappears. There are so many exceptional elements to Skyfall, including the amazing title song by Adele, the dark and clever story, and some exceptionally crafted sequences. Craig plays an even more damaged Bond in this film, forced to come out of a self-imposed retirement to save the day, while Javier Bardem shines as Rauol Silva, a terrifying villain. Judi Dench’s final outing is one of her best, and you really get a feel for the relationship she has formed with both Bond and the franchise. There are also some outstanding introductions to the new recurring cast of Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris and Ben Whishaw, whose performances helped to round this film out extremely well. I loved everything about this film, from the perfect opening sequence, to the fantastic siege of Bond’s childhood home, and I get a gut-punch every time I see that powerful final sequence with M. Pure excellence and the best of the modern James Bond films.

1. Goldfinger (1964)

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While some of the more recent films are exceptional in a modern sense, I had to include the absolute classic Goldfinger in top position. The third film in the franchise, Goldfinger, is peak James Bond which still holds up to this day, introducing iconic elements that would be used for years to come (even in the latest film), and engaging audiences like never before. Featuring a brilliant plot that evolves from a simple investigation into gold smuggling to an assault on Fort Knox, this is a clever and perfectly paced narrative which has some extremely fun and clever highs, while also adding in gadgets and the outrageous characters we would all come to know and love. There are so many iconic elements to this film, including Harold Sakata’s incredible turn as Oddjob, the hilariously named Pussy Galore, the iconic Aston Martin DB5 car (with an ejector seat), to the massive action sequence at the end. It also features one of the best and most memorable exchanges in film history: “Do you expect me to talk?” “No, Mr Bond. I expect you to die”, which remains one of my all-time favourite quotes. An outstanding and epic film that perfectly captures everything great about the James Bond franchise. I think any future James Bond films will need to do something extremely special to have a hope of dislodging Goldfinger from the top of this list, although I really hope they try.

As you can see, I have put a lot of thought into this list, and I think this captures my feelings and opinions about this incredible franchise. I will plan come back to this list at some point in the future once some new James Bond films are released, although I may end up revaluating a few rankings. I cannot wait to see what the future of this awesome film series will hold, and I look forward to finding out who the new Bond will be (I would personally love Idris Elba). Let me know what you think about my choices in the comments below, and I will be interested to find out which James Bond film is your absolute favourite.

Top Ten Tuesday – Favourite Pre-2021 Novels

On December 7, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn List13 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. This week participants of Top Ten Tuesday get a freebie to list whatever topics they want. I am planning to take advantage of this by doing two lists. Not only have a done a movie-related list ranking the James Bond movies, but I am also going to start my annual end-of-year lists here by looking at my favourite pre-2021 novels that I read this year.

Each December I have a lot of fun looking at some of the best and most impressive books and comics that I have read throughout the year in a series of Top Ten Lists. While these lists usually focus on 2021 releases, for the last few years, I have also taken the time to list out some of the best novels with pre-2021 release dates that I have read in the last 12 months. There are some excellent older novels out there that I haven’t had the chance to read before this year, and it is always fun to go back and explore them. I ended up reading a bunch of awesome older books throughout 2021, including some pretty incredible novels that got easy five-star ratings from me and are really worth checking out.

To come up with this list I had a look at all the novels I read this year that had their initial release before 2021. This included several 2020 releases I only got a chance to check out this year, as well as a few older novels that I had been meaning to read for a while. I was eventually able to cull this down to a workable Top Ten list, with a descent honourable mentions section. This new list ended up containing an interesting combination of novels, although there was a bit of an overload of entries from the Dresden Files’ series by Jim Butcher, as well as some Warhammer 40,000 novels, both of which I really got into throughout this year. Still this honestly reflects the best pre-2021 novels I read throughout the year, so let us see what made the cut.

Honourable Mentions:

Trollslayer by William King – 1999

I have been meaning to check out the awesome Gotrek and Felix series of Warhammer Fantasy novels for ages and the recent release of the early entries on audiobook gave me the perfect opportunity to finally do so this year. The first book in this series was the fantastic, Trollslayer, which introduced the two mismatched companions, Gotrek the dwarven Slayer and Felix the human poet, and highlights some of their earliest adventures throughout the Warhammer Fantasy world in a series of exciting and fun short stories. This was an excellent initial entry by William King and it made me a massive fan of the unique tandem of Gotrek and Felix.

Skavenslayer by William King – 1999

I ended up loving Trollslayer so much that I immediately read its sequel, Skavenslayer, which proved to be just as fun as the first book. Skavenslayer has a more connected story that shows Gotrek and Felix getting caught up in a Skaven invasion of Nuln. I had an absolute blast with the humour in this novel, especially surrounding the bickering and backstabbing Skaven, and I powered through it in a couple of days.

The Return by Harry Sidebottom – 2020

An epic and clever historical read by the impressive Harry Sidebottom, The Return is a compelling read that sees a damaged Roman soldier return home only to encounter a series of dark murders. I was really glad that I got a chance to read The Return this year after missing out on it in 2020, and it ended up being a compelling read.

Either Side of Midnight by Benjamin Stevenson – 2020

Another 2020 novel I read towards the start of the year, Either Side of Midnight is a compelling Australian murder mystery that serves as a sequel to Stevenson’s first book, Greenlight. Either Side of Midnight had a brilliant thriller storyline, and it was one of the cleverest crime fiction books I had the pleasure of checking out this year.

Top Ten List (by original publication date):

First and Only by Dan Abnett – 1999

2021 was the year that I really dove into the Warhammer extended universe, a decision that I am very happy about as there are some exceptional works there. While the Gotrex and Felix novels were my go-to series for Warhammer Fantasy, when it came to Warhammer 40,000 the clear choice was easily First and Only by legendary Warhammer fiction author Dan Abnett. First and Only is the first book in the acclaimed Gaunt’s Ghosts series, which follows a group of Imperial foot soldiers as they fight and die across the myriad dangerous battlefields of the 41^st millennia. This first novel introduced the reader to the key Ghosts and takes them on a compelling and deadly series of adventures featuring war, death, and conspiracy. A wonderful and deeply exciting read, I cannot wait to enjoy the rest of the series next year.

Storm Front by Jim Butcher – 2000

Another series that I decided to really dive into this year was the exceptional Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher. Generally considered the gold-standard of urban fantasy novels, this series blends fantasy and crime fiction elements in the city of Chicago. I fell in love with this series last year when I checked out the awesome 17^th novel, Battle Ground (one of the best books and audiobooks of 2020) which convinced me to go back and read some of the earlier entries. As such, I read the initial novel, Storm Front, towards the front of 2021 and I had a wonderful time with it. Storm Front contains an excellent story that introduces the protagonist, rogue wizard Harry Dresden, and follows his investigation of a series of magical murders around town. I had an absolute blast with this novel, and while it isn’t Butcher’s best work, it was an excellent debut that serves as a great first entry in this iconic series.

Daemonslayer by William King – 2000

Out of the three Gotrek and Felix novels I have so far had the pleasure of reading, I think that Daemonslayer is probably the best. This cool novel sees the titular protagonists journey to the most dangerous place in the entire Warhammer Fantasy universe, the Chaos Wastes, to face daemons, monsters and warriors of Chaos. This novel has a more complete and linear story than the preceding two entries, which makes for a stronger tale. An extremely exciting and action-packed epic, I look forward to reading more of these novels in the future.

Fool Moon by Jim Butcher – 2001

The second Dresden Files novel I checked out in 2021 was the fantastic Fool Moon, which I found to be one of the strongest overall entries in the series. Fool Moon pits the protagonist against multiple tribes of werewolves, each of whom have their own magical origins, as he attempts to solve the murder of a friend and clear his name. This was a very clever and intense novel, and I deeply enjoyed the excellent story and powerful scenes that Butcher was able to craft together.

Grave Peril by Jim Butcher – 2002

I really got into the Dresden Files novel this year and quickly read Grave Peril right after finishing off Fool Moon. Grave Peril was another exceptional read that saw Dresden face off against vampires, elves and a nightmarish being of pure evil. This was another awesome novel that added in some great key characters, new antagonists, and substantial universe expansion. Featuring some truly dark moments and some major character development, this was an outstanding novel that I had a lot of fun with.

Summer Knight by Jim Butcher – 2002

The fourth and final Dresden Files book I managed to get through this year was the awesome Summer Knight. This book sees Dresden forced to work for the Winter Court of the elves who need him to solve a murder. Summer Knight has a great story that moves at an extremely quick pace and takes the protagonist to some awesome new places. I had an excellent time with Summer Knight, and indeed all the Dresden Files books I read in 2021 and I look forward to further exploring this series next year.

The Gray Man by Mark Greaney – 2009

Another series that I decided to go back and check out this year was Mark Greaney’s epic Gray Man spy thriller series. I have been deeply enjoying Greaney’s more recent Gray Man novels, such as Mission Critical, One Minute Out and Relentless, and I thought that it would be good to back and check this series out from the start, especially as there is a movie adaptation coming out next year. I ended up having an incredible time with The Gray Man which set’s the protagonist, Court Gentry, against a horde of professional hit teams. An exceptional and action-packed thrill ride, I cannot wait to see how the movie version of this turns out. I am also extremely excited for some other Greaney books coming out in the next couple of months, as they should be pretty damn awesome.

Star Wars: Maul: Lockdown by Joe Schreiber – 2014

2021 was a great year for new Star Wars novels, many of which were pretty damn exceptional. However, one of the downsides of this was that I had less time to read some older Star Wars novels. I did however get a chance to read Maul: Lockdown by Joe Schreiber, whose previous Star Wars novel, Death Troopers, was an awesome horror read. Lockdown has an awesome (and currently non-canon) story about Maul being sent to infiltrate a maximum-security space prison that runs a series of death fights. This was a great and compelling read, and I loved all the fun elements featured within. I am hoping to check out a couple more earlier Star Wars novels next year, and there are a few that I currently have my eye on.

State of Fear by Tim Ayliffe – 2019

Another excellent book I checked out this year was the 2019 novel State of Fear by Australian author Tim Ayliffe. I had been hoping to read this one for a while, especially after enjoying Ayliffe’s first novel The Greater Good, and I finally got the chance this year in the lead up to Ayliffe’s third novel, The Enemy Within. State of Fear was a great Australian thriller that set the protagonist against a dangerous terrorist threat both in Sydney and in London. Featuring some intense emotional moments and an impressive story, State of Fear is an excellent read and I look forward to checking out more of Ayliffe’s novels in the future.

Kal Jerico: Sinner’s Bounty by Josh Reynolds– 2019

The final entry on this list is the incredibly awesome Kal Jerico: Sinner’s Bounty, which is part of the Necromunda sub-series of the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Sinner’s Bounty was initially released in 2019, but an audiobook version came out last year, which was a lot of fun to listen to. Featuring one of the best characters in the Warhammer 40,000 canon, notorious bounty hunter Kal Jerico, this novel takes the protagonist and his team to an obscure Underhive town to get a rich bounty. Forced to contend against monsters, religious zealots, rival bounty hunters and an army of mutants, the protagonists have a cool and fun adventure, filled with intense action, fun humour, and a ton of treachery. An amazing and deeply enjoyable read, I am very glad I decided to check this book out.

And that is the end of this list. As you can see I have managed to check out a bunch of epic pre-2021 novels this year. Each of the above were exceptional and fun reads and I would strongly recommend them, especially if you are in the mood for some fun fantasy or science fiction adventures. I look forward to reading some other older books in 2022, and it will be interesting to see what makes my next version of this list then. I imagine it will end up looking a little similar, especially as I have plans to continue several of these series, especially the Dresden Files, as well as examining some other outstanding Star Wars and Warhammer novels. Make sure to check back in next week for some other end-of-year lists as I continue to highlight some of my favourite reads from 2021.

Top Ten Tuesday – Books on my Summer 2021-22 TBR

On November 30, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn List13 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 Bookish Memories, however, I decided to instead move up my quarterly post about the best upcoming books to be read (TBR) for the following three months. This is a regular post I do at the start of each season, and as this is the first week or Summer (Winter for you folks up North), 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 December 2021 and 28 February 2022. There are quite a few very cool novels set for release in the next few months that I am very excited for, including some highly anticipated reads. I was eventually able to whittle these 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 some really impressive and enjoyable reads. I am incredibly excited for the next three months as there are some incredible novels coming out, several of which I already know are going to be amongst the best books of 2021 and 2022.

Honourable Mentions:

The Liar’s Knot by M. A. Carrick – 9 December 2021

Outcast by Louise Carey – 25 January 2022

Warhammer 40,000: Day of Ascension by Adrian Tchaikovsky – 1 February 2022

Age of Ash by Daniel Abraham – 22 February 2022

Top Ten Tuesday (by release date):

Armored by Mark Greaney – 9 December 2021

The Starless Crown by James Rollins – 4 January 2022

Star Wars: The High Republic: The Fallen Star by Claudia Gray – 4 January 2022

Over the last year, some of the best Star Wars novels have been part of the awesome High Republic publication range. Set hundreds of years before the films, High Republic fiction covers a whole new era of the Star Wars universe and has an extremely distinctive feel and some great new antagonists. The Fallen Star will be the third adult novel in this series and will continue the major storylines set up in Light of the Jedi and The Rising Storm. I am really looking forward to this new novel, especially as the plot suggests that the villainous Nihil will be launching an attack on the Jedi stronghold of Starlight Beacon, which will force the various characters into a desperate life and death struggle. I cannot wait to see how this book plays out, and I am excited to see another book from author Claudia Gray, especially after how her impressive last two novels, Into the Dark and Master & Apprentice (one of my favourite Star Wars books).

A Practical Guide to Conquering the World by K. J. Parker – 11 January 2022

I had to include the third and final entry in K. J. Parker’s brilliant Siege trilogy, A Practical Guide to Conquering the World, on this list. The Siege trilogy features three loosely connected fantasy novels that depict the comedic defence of a besieged city through unconventional tactics. This outstanding fantasy comedy series has so far featured Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City (one of the best books of 2019) and How to Rule an Empire and Get Away With It (one of the best books of 2020). While there are only minimal details about this novel now, I already know that I am going to laugh myself silly reading it and that it will be one of the most entertaining novels I will check out in 2022.

Dark Horse by Gregg Hurwitz – 8 February 2022

City of the Dead by Jonathan Kellerman – 8 February 2022

Usagi Yojimbo: Volume 36: Tengu War! by Stan Sakai – 15 February 2022

Sierra Six by Mark Greaney – 15 February 2022

The Misfit Soldier by Michael Mammay – 22 February 2022

The Justice of Kings by Richard Swan – 22 February 2022

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.