Top Ten Tuesday – Books with Numbers in the Title

On September 14, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn List4 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. For this week’s Top Ten Tuesday, participants are required to list the favourite books with numbers in the titles. This was an interesting endeavour, and it was one that I have done in a previous Top Ten Tuesday, except then the challenge was to try and come up with a list of 10 books, each of which had a number between one to ten in the title. However, for this list I will instead open my list to any book that has a number in the title, which should widen the various novels I could potentially include. It has also been nearly two years since I produced that previous list, and I will easily have a few more awesome books to add to this list.

I had a bit of fun coming up with this list. It was easy to run through all the novels I have checked out over the years and finding the ones with numbers in their titles. I did have to do a little culling to narrow it to down to my top ten choices, but I was eventually able to do it with a generous honourable mentions section. Also, to make this fit better I choice to exclude those books with ordinal numbers in their titles (for example, third, sixth and ninth), and instead just focus on those novels with basic numbers in the title. While this did mean I lost a few great books, such as The Third Day, the Frost by James Marsden or Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir, I think it made for a tidier list. I ended up coming up with a pretty interesting list in the end and I got a rather interesting spread of titles. So, let us see what I was able to come up with.

Honourable mentions:

Batman: Year One by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli

Batman_Year_One

The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien

Two Towers Cover

Firefly: The Magnificent Nine by James Lovegrove

Firefly The Magnificent Nine Cover

The Lost Ten by Harry Sidebottom

The Lost Ten Cover

Top Ten List:

Patient Zero and Code Zero by Jonathan Maberry

Patient Zero and Code Zero

For this first entry I had a hard time deciding which one of Jonathan Maberry’s excellent novels that contain Zero in the title I should include, so in the end I chose to put both Patient Zero and Code Zero in. Both are these books are key entries in the Joe Ledger series, and while I think Code Zero had the better story, Patient Zero was the introductory novel and set up most of the universe. Both books are really worth checking out and their respective titles refer to something really bad in the context of the story.

One Minute Out by Mark Greaney

One Minute Out Cover

One Minute Out was an excellent novel (one of the best books and audiobooks I read in 2020), and it is probably my favourite novel from Greaney that I have so far read (although, that could change as I am currently in the middle of listening to his debut, Gray Man).

Predator One by Jonathan Maberry

Predator One Cover

The second novel from Maberry on this list (he sure likes putting numbers in his title), this is another particularly good entry in the Joe Ledger series. The title is a reference to Air Force One, which gets electronically taken over during the book (with the President on board) so it can be used as a destructive drone.

The Two-Faced Queen by Nick Martell

The Two-Faced Queen Cover

The stunning sequel to last years top debut, The Kingdom of Liars, The Two-Faced Queen was an exceptional read that was one of my favourite books (and audiobooks) for the first half of 2021.

The Three Paradises by Robert Fabbri

The Three Paradises Cover

The fun and wildly entertaining sequel to last years awesome historical fiction read, To the Strongest, The Three Paradises continues to highlight the incredible chaos that followed in the wake of Alexander the Great’s death, such as the legendary conference held at the location known as Three Paradises.

All New Wolverine: The Four Sisters by Tom Taylor and David Lopez

All New Wolverine Cover

The first volume of an extremely fun comic series, The Four Sisters did a wonderful job introducing the world to a new Wolverine, when the original’s female clone, X-23, takes on the mantle.

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle Cover

A particularly good science fiction murder mystery, The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle (sometimes titled The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle), was an awesome read that makes use of a very clever concept.

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

Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City Cover

One of the funniest and most entertaining reads of 2019, this outstanding novel follows a brilliant fantasy siege storyline where a conman engineer makes use of the secret, 16^th way to defend a city, bluff and BS.

The 22 Murders of Madison May by Max Barry

The 22 Murders of Madison May Cover

One of the more recent books on my list, this fantastic read from Max Berry follows an attempt to stop a parallel universe jumping stalker from killing his victim multiple times.

Veronica Mars: The Thousand Dollar Tan Line by Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham

Veronica Mars - The Thousand Dollar Tan Line Cover

The final entry on this list is the book with the biggest number in the title, the Veronica Mars tie-in novel, The Thousand Dollar Tan Line. This is an awesome read, especially for fans of the show, and I loved its clever story. Best checked out in its audiobook format, which is narrated by Veronica Mars herself, Kristen Bell.

That’s the end of this latest list. I think it turned out pretty well, and I liked the cool selection of novels it featured. All the above novels come highly recommended, and there are some outstanding reads there. Let me know which of the above books you like the most, as well as what your favourite novels with numbers in the title are in the comments below.

Top Ten Tuesday – Books on my Spring 2021 TBR

On September 7, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn List6 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 Books Guaranteed to put a Smile on Your Face. While this was a pretty interesting topic (although my list probably would have primarily been a collection of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels), I thought I might instead bring forward 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 of Spring, this is the ideal time to put this up.

For this list I have come up with 10 of the best novels that are coming out between 1 September 2021 and 30 November 2021. There was a pretty substantial pool of cool upcoming novels that I am excited for, which I was eventually able to whittle down into a great 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.

Honourable Mentions:

Enemy at the Gates by Kyle Mills and Vince Flynn – 14 September 2021

Firefly: Carnival by Una McCormack – 2 November 2021

Aurora’s End by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff – 9 November 2021

Leviathan Falls by James S. A. Corey – 16 November 2021

Top Ten List:

The Wisdom of Crowds by Joe Abercrombie – 16 September 2021

The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman – 16 September 2021

The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik – 28 September 2021

The Bone Ship’s Wake by R. J. Barker – 28 September 2021

The Dark Hours by Michael Connelly – 9 November 2021

Never by Ken Follett – 9 November 2021

The Honour of Rome by Simon Scarrow – 9 November 2021

Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil by Timothy Zahn – 16 November 2021

Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters by Charles Soule, Luke Ross and Neeraj Menon – 23 November 2021

Cytonic by Brandon Sanderson – 30 November 2021

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 pretty epic, and I cannot wait to read each of them soon. Let me know which of the above you are most excited for and stay tuned for reviews of them in the next few months. In the meantime, it looks like I have quite a few books to get through soon and they should all be pretty awesome.

Top Ten Tuesday – The Star Wars Films (Ranked)

On August 31, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn List, Star Wars7 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 topic for this week was fictional crushes, which while interesting, is not my cup of tea, so I thought I would continue a recent trend of mine in these lists and turn to once again looking at some of my favourite film franchises. In recent weeks I have ranked the MCU and the overall DC Comics based film adaptions, both of which proved to be a lot of fun. This week I figured I would do something in a similar vein, and so I am going to rank a particularly favourite franchise of mine, with the Star Wars films.

It should come as no surprise to anyone who has checked out the extensive Star Wars category of my blog that I am a huge fan of this franchise. I have loved these films since I was a little kid, and I have fond memories of watching the original movies on VHS again and again. This love of the franchise has only grown in recent years, as I have become even more obsessed with the extended universe surrounding the film franchise, such as the animated series, the tie-in novels, and the associated comics. Heck, I am literally listening to a Star Wars audiobook at this very moment. In addition, I, like everyone, really enjoyed The Mandalorian, and it looks like Disney has a huge swath of other live-action shows on the way that should prove to be pretty damn awesome (out of all the new shows, I think I’m most excited for the Obi-Wan Kenobi show, which has a lot of potential).

However, the focus of this list is the films, so I have pulled together all the films into one list and ranked them from my least favourite to my absolute favourite. There are 11 live action and one animated Star Wars film currently out now (I’m excluding the Holiday Special and the two Ewok movies), and each of them brings something different to the overall franchise. Due to how much I enjoy the franchise, I initially had a bit of trouble working out how to rank these films, but I was eventually able to sort it out. It helps that, while I do enjoy all the films on this list, some have flaws that I dislike and focusing on them helped me figure it out. I realise that some of my choices are going to be a little controversial, especially surrounding a certain polarising 2017 film. However, I feel that this list accurately reflects my opinions about the franchise, and I am happy with my final choices. So let us see how the various movies ranked up.

List (Ranked Descending Order):

12. The Clone Wars

First on this list we have the only animated feature, The Clone Wars. Set between the events of Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, The Clone Wars film serves as a sequel to the animated Clone Wars micro-series, as well as a pilot episode to the subsequent The Clone Wars animated series. Directed by The Clone Wars showrunner Dave Filoni, this movie looks at the war-torn Clone Wars period and sets Anakin and Obi-Wan against Count Dooku and his followers as they attempt to extort Jabba the Hutt. While this film has its cool moments, it is more childish than the rest of the films and it lacks the complexity that the sequel animated series had. Still, it is a fun entry, and it has the distinction of being the film that introduced the world to Ahsoka Tano, Anakin Skywalker’s apprentice who has gone on to become one of the most beloved figures in the canon. It also introduced a lot of the key characters and voice actors who would later be used in the series, and for that alone it has my appreciation, even if it falls short of the other films.

11. Attack of the Clones

Next, we have the second film in the prequel series, Attack of the Clones. Attack of the Clones is a film that I really enjoyed when I first saw it, however, my opinions on it have radically changed since then. It does have some great moments to it, including the massive war scene, the battle between droids and the entire Jedi Order, and of course the reveal of how much of a badass Yoda could be. However, I feel that its negative features really outweigh the positives, with the worst part of the film being that terrible romance between Anakin and Padme. This entire romance is just wrong, and the scenes focused on them are laughably bad. Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman have zero chemistry, and it doesn’t help that the dialogue between them is terrible, such as that cringe-inducing monologue about sand. Also, did we really need to see one of the great film villains reduced to a whiney teenager. Frankly I tend to fast forward through these scenes, and they kind of ruin the overall movie. Still, the rest of the film is pretty watchable, and I have fun watching it.

10. The Last the Jedi

So here is where the list starts to get a little controversial, and I know some people are going to strongly disagree with my placement of this movie, although I was honestly considering chucking it down to spot 11. The second film of the sequel trilogy, Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi will go down as the most divisive Star Wars movie of all time, with fans either loving it or hating it. I find myself being in the camp of those people who hated the film, and I remember walking out the theatre very disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, The Last Jedi had some great moments, such as that epic Hyperspace move or that cool fight in the throne room, however, that really did not make up for some of the terrible flaws. Half the story doesn’t make sense, the entire Finn/Rose storyline was terrible and didn’t achieve anything, and everything could have been avoided if Laura Dern’s character learnt to share. I didn’t dislike the whole Rey and Luke training part of the film, especially as Luke’s negative feelings about the Force made a lot of sense after everything his family has been through, but all that good will left me when they killed Luke and didn’t even tell Mark Hamill it was happening. Also, why the hell did Benicio del Toro decide his already dreadful character needed to have a lisp, it made no sense. Look, I could honestly go on about this film for ages, but I’ve made my point, and its place on this list is very well deserved.

9. The Rise of Skywalker

Another controversial positioning on this list is the most recent Star Wars film, The Rise of Skywalker. While many consider it one of the worst Star Wars films ever, I have a bit more love for it, mainly because director J. J. Abrams was hamstrung well in advance not only by the terrible plot of the previous film, but by the tragic death of Carrie Fisher. This really limited his story options and it forced him to turn in a sub-par Star Wars film. Despite that, I think he did a decent job, and I have a lot less issues with this film then some of the previous entries on this list. While the story is a little clanky in places, and it is kind of weird that the first hints of the Emperor’s return were featured in Fortnite of all places, this was still a good movie, and I enjoyed some of the great sequences contained within. It wraps up several previous storylines extremely well, and the reveal about Rey’s ancestors was very interesting. While not perfect, I had a good time watching this film, and it is one I will be able to check out multiple times without any issues. However, I really hope that the next time they do a Star Wars trilogy, they have one director and writing team for all three films, as having Rian Johnson’s effort in the middle really stuffed this final entry around.

8. The Phantom Menace

The film that started the prequel trilogies, The Phantom Menace is a great movie that mostly holds up to this day. I first saw this film when I was 8, and it remains a firm favourite of mine. Don’t get me wrong, it does have some flaws, including Jar Jar, the questionable Trade Federation and their more comedic battle droids, as well as the dramatic move from practical effects to computer graphics. Still, there are a lot of awesome things going on with this film and it did a really good job expanding the Star Wars universe and introducing the younger versions of several key characters. I also am a big fan of the pod racing, the more impressive lightsaber techniques, and the clever way they switched around Natalie Portman and Keira Knightley to sell the decoy angle. The highlight of this film is of course the epic final duel between Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan and Darth Maul. The moment that Duel of the Fates starts playing and Maul draws out his double-sided lightsaber is epicness personified, and it ended up being one of the best lightsaber duels of all time. An overall excellent film that I still deeply enjoy watching.

7. Solo: A Star Wars Story

A standalone prequel film that explores the origins of Han Solo, Solo: A Star Wars Story, is a good middle entry on this list that I had a lot of fun with. While not as awesome as it could have been, Solo has a great story to it, and it lacks any major flaws for me to really complain about. While you could consider it a bit of a safe outing from director Ron Howard, I had a blast getting through it. This film features an amazing cast, including Alden Ehrenreich doing a great young Han Solo, as well as Woody Harrelson and Emilia Clark, although Donald Glover easily steals the show as a younger Lando Calrissian. While Paul Bettany isn’t the best villain (he apparently replaced Michael K. Williams, which would have been interesting), I thought he was pretty solid, and the cool reveal about Darth Maul was very satisfying for fans of The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels. I am rather curious about how much better this film could have been with Phil Lord and Christopher Miller directing it, but unfortunately, they fell victim to conflicts with the studio (and Kathleen Kennedy).

6. Revenge of the Sith

Ok, we are in the second half of this list, and in sixth spot we have the third and final film in the prequel trilogy, Revenge of the Sith. The culmination of the entire prequel trilogy, there was a lot resting on the shoulders of Revenge of the Sith and it delivered. While there are some flaws, mostly around Hayden Christensen and his dialogue, the pros of this film more than outweigh the negatives. That epic opening sequence where the two fleets duke it out above Coruscant really sets the tone for the rest of the film, which is loaded with so much great action. The corruption of Anakin is well written, and his eventual fall to the dark side of the Force, is amazing. The sequence where the Jedi are brutally cut down is spectacular, and while you knew it had to happen, it is pretty tragic to behold. However, it is the final fight sequence that really makes this film stand out as Anakin and Obi-Wan finally have their long-awaited duel. This epic fight does not disappoint, and it is still easily the best lightsaber duel out there, with the two Jedi going all-out across a lava planet. An overall epic film, this was easily the best prequel movie and it is still a fantastic watch.

5. The Force Awakens

It did not take long after the massive Disney buyout of the Star Wars franchise for them to make a new film, with The Force Awakens. Helmed by the legendary J. J. Abrams, this great film successfully introduced another era of Star Wars fiction and is a very strong entry in the overall series. Not only does this The Force Awakens make use of some amazing modern graphics, but it contains a really good story that pays homage to the original trilogy, while also setting up a great new story of its own. It also brings together the original cast of Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hammill (admittedly briefly), and more, for the first time in years, and each of the characters got a fitting addition to their story. The tragic death of Han Solo, which was long pushed by Harrison Ford, is an amazing scene, even if it broke your heart a little. The Force Awakens also introduced an excellent new cast, with Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, and Oscar Isaac becoming household names overnight. Their new characters are set up really well, and you get a fantastic mix of great personalities. I really loved what they did with this film, if only a fraction of it could have been carried over to The Last Jedi.

4. Return of the Jedi

How do you end one of the biggest trilogies of all time, with a fun and clever action adventure like Return of the Jedi. Finishing up the original Star Wars trilogy, Return of the Jedi contained an incredible story that not only successfully wraps up the entire trilogy perfectly and gives closure to each of the main characters. While the introduction of the Ewoks was a bit silly (I did like them as a kid), the consecutive fight between Luke and Vader, as well as the space fight, more than make up for this, and they produce an epic conclusion. Easily the best way that anyone has ended a Star Wars trilogy, Return of the Jedi is an exceptional film and a major piece of Star Wars history.

3. A New Hope

The film that started it all, the original Star Wars movie, retroactively titled A New Hope, is an epic space opera that sees a ragtag team of heroes take on an evil empire determined to destroy everything before it. A western, science fiction adaption of the samurai films The Hidden Fortress, this fantastic film has so much going for it, with a great story, an epic musical score, some deeply impressive special effects and a near-perfect cast. Not only does George Lucas successfully introduce his bold new universe, but he also wrote an outstanding film, which achieved a lot with a relatively small budget. There are so many incredible elements to this film, including a memorable villain, some excellent graphics (that still really hold up) and a western style that sets the tone for the entire series. Serving as an inspiration for so many future adventures and stories, we owe a lot to A New Hope, and this near perfect introduction is still one of the best Star Wars films out there. If only Lucas could have left it alone and stopped with all the re-releases and additional scenes.

2. Rogue One

Second place on this list is taken up by the excellent standalone film Rogue One, one of the best Star Wars films we have seen in a very long time. Featuring an excellent, if doomed, new cast, Rogue One serves as a prequel adventure to A New Hope, filling in some plot details, particularly around the Death Star. This movie has an outstanding story to it, with some impressive character development and some of the best Star Wars action out there. It really does not take long for you to become obsessed with this film, and the dramatic and powerful ending, that takes out the entire principal cast, is just so very amazing. I love so much about this film, although nothing can quite top the return of a live-action Darth Vader, especially as he goes full beast-mode on some Rebel soldiers. An absolute highlight of recent films, all future Star Wars entries can learn a lot from Rogue One.

1. The Empire Strikes Back

I am sure no one will be surprised about which film takes the top spot on my list, as it could only be The Empire Strikes Back. A sequel to the incredibly popular first Star Wars film, The Empire Strikes Back had a lot of expectations, and it delivered on all of them. Not only did it expertly continue the brilliant story from the first film, but it expanded on the universe, continued to develop the characters, and took the narrative in some fantastic directions. I loved all the cool inclusions in this film, including Lando and Yoda, and I have an extremely hard time thinking of any flaws this film has. The original graphics are still very impressive, even after all these years, and it contains some of the best acting in the entire franchise. It also features some massively iconic moments and quotes which populate the cultural zeitgeist even till this day. This includes one of, if not the most memorable quotes in all of film, occurring during the amazing reveal about Darth Vader’s true identity. A legendary film, there is nothing better in the entire Star Wars franchise.

That is the end of my list ranking the various Star Wars films. While I am sure that people will disagree with some of my choices, I think that this accurately reflects my feelings on the entries in this great franchise pretty well. While I may have been a little harsh with a couple of the above films, I will probably end up watching them again multiple times. I had a lot of fun bringing this latest list together, although it does not look like I will have the chance to revisit it any time soon, as there is only one movie on the horizon. Still this upcoming film, Rogue Squadron, which is set for release in December 2023, has some potential and could end up quite high on the next version of this list. Let us hope that the studio does not stuff it up like it did with some other projects and replace the director/writer halfway through production. While we wait for the next film to come out, let me know what your favourite Star Wars films are, and if you disagree about my choices, let me know in the comments below.

Top Ten Tuesday – Books I Wish I Could Read Again for the First Time

On August 24, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn List3 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. For this latest Top Ten Tuesday, participants are encouraged to list the top ten books that they wish they could read again for the first time. This was a very interesting choice of topic and it is one that really resonated with me.

Like many readers and reviewers, I have enjoyed some absolutely cracking novels over the years and there are many that I really wish I could forget having read just so I could have the pleasure of checking them out once again in order to have the same amazing reactions. As a result, the moment that I saw this week’s topic I immediately started gathering a mental list of some great books I would love to enjoy for the very first time once again. There are several reasons why I would like to read a book for the first time again, whether it is to be blown away by a crazy twist, be once again embroiled in the great action, or because some of the outstanding jokes have lost a little bit of impact as I have heard them multiple times. Whatever the reason, I ended up pulling together a decent list containing some pretty fantastic reads, many of which I have praised in prior Top Ten Tuesday articles or in detailed reviews. So let us see what made the top ten.

Honourable Mentions:

The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie

The Bone Ships by R. J. Barker

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

Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan

Top Ten List:

Legend by David Gemmell

For the first entry on this list, I am going to include the fantasy classic, Legend by David Gemmell. Legend was an outstanding and impressive fantasy debut that I had been meaning to read for years, but which I only got a chance to finally do in 2019. However, the moment I finished it, I felt a strong desire to forget everything I knew about it and instantly reread it once again. Legend is a fantastic novel that contains an intense and compelling story about a massive siege where an invincible army attacks a great fortress garrisoned by a severely outnumbered force of defenders and a few legendary heroes. This is easily one of the best siege novels I have ever read, and readers are in for an incredible and deeply exciting time as they get through it. This was an exceptional read, and I really wish I could experience every emotion I felt when I first read this book once again.

Planetside by Michael Mammay

There was no way I could do this list without mentioning the fantastic science fiction debut, Planetside by Michael Mammay. Planetside was an amazing read, but the main reason it makes this list is because it has an outstanding and explosive ending that I absolutely loved. This was a perfect and memorable finale to an already great novel, and it be fun to once again experience all the shock and surprise I first felt when I originally read this book.

Any Discworld Novel by Terry Pratchett

I’m cheating a little here by including a 40+ series of novels in a single post, but I’m going to do it anyway. This is because the Discworld novels are some of my absolute favourite novels and I have so much love for them. Written by the legendary Terry Pratchett, these novels are a unique and exceptional collection of fantasy comedies that contains some extremely clever and inventive humour and jokes. I have read every book in this series, such as Moving Pictures or The Last Continent, multiple times, and I still laugh out loud every time I do. However, no matter how clever of funny a joke is, if you hear it too many times it starts to lose its impact just a little. For that reason, I would love to have the opportunity to read the entire Discworld series for the first time once more, although I imagine I would probably die from laughing too much (totally worth it).

The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini

Another multi-book entry, The Inheritance Cycle was the debut series of bestselling author Christopher Paolini and featured four great books following a teenage dragon rider, Eragon, as he battles the forces of darkness. I have a lot of love for this series, and I deeply enjoyed it when I was younger, especially due to the fantastic narrative and impressive world building. However, after a few rereads of the series, I have noticed some issues that I now can’t ignore whenever I read these books (for example, a winy protagonist and several plot points that bear striking similarities to a certain series of space opera films). While I still really enjoy these novels, it would be good to reread them for the first time and not have some of these flaws already sitting in my head.

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

An epic fantasy classic that features a group of brilliant conmen as they go up against some extremely dangerous opponents, The Lies of Locke Lamora is one of the best fantasy novels I have ever read. Containing a lot of fun betrayals, twists and clever ploys that are still stuck in my head years after reading it, this would be an exceptional novel to read for the first time once again, and I think I might have to do a reread of it soon.

Battle Ground by Jim Butcher

The next entry on this list is Battle Ground, the 17^th entry in the amazing Dresden Files series. Featuring an all-out fantasy war in the middle of Chicago, this was an incredible and thrilling read, and it was one of the best books and audiobooks I enjoyed in 2020. While I had an outstanding time with Battle Ground, it was the first Dresden Files novel I ever read, and I kind of wish I had read the proceeding 16 novels first to give me a little more context and make some of the reveals a little more shocking to me. This feeling has only grown after I started reading some of the earlier books in the series, such as Storm Front, Fool Moon and Grave Peril, as information from Battle Ground ruins some surprises from the earlier books. As a result, I wish I had read this series in order and that the first time I enjoyed Battle Ground was after getting through the rest of the series first. Still, this was a great read, and I have only minimal regrets in jumping the gun on this one.

Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

One of the best modern icons of horror fiction, Mira Grant, did the impossible in the outstanding Into the Drowning Deep (one of my favourite books of 2018), but making mermaids scary. I had an exceptional time reading this fantastic novel the first time, and it would be cool if I could forget all the fun details in it and reread every year on Halloween for the first time.

Green Arrow: The Archer’s Quest by Brad Meltzer, Phil Hester, and Ande Parks

As one of my all-time favourite comics, The Archer’s Quest storyline from Green Arrow is an amazing and complex comic that I deeply enjoy every time I read. Author Brad Meltzer really gets to grips with the complex character of a recently resurrected Green Arrow as he travels the country with his old sidekick, collecting important items from his life. This comic has a powerful focus on Green Arrow’s relationships and shows just how complicated and damaged he truly is. An essential read for all Green Arrow fans, I know that reading it again for the first time would really blow me away.

Skyward by Brandon Sanderson

I was lucky enough to receive a copy of Skyward, Brandon Sanderson’s clever and dramatic young adult science fiction epic, when it first came out, and I quickly became a pretty major fan of it. This was an amazing read, which followed the reviled daughter of a coward as she attempts to prove herself by becoming a pilot to defend her planet from invading aliens. I really became invested in the powerful story of the central protagonist, and it would be so cool to revisit these emotions for the first time all over again.

The Name of the Wind/The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss

The final entry on this list is the exceptional first two books in the Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss. Generally considered to be some of the best fantasy novels of all time, I read these novels a couple of years ago and deeply enjoyed them. There is so much detail, character development and world building contained within, and I know that reading them for the first time would be an amazing experience, and one that would make me fall in love with these novels once more. The one downside of this would be once again experiencing disappointment about the seemingly unlikely upcoming third novel. Still, it would probably be worth it, as these are some outstanding books.

That’s the end of this list and I think it turned out pretty good. Each of the above entries are really good reads, and I think that if I was to read them again for the first time, I would have an incredible time. Let me know which books you would love to read again for the first time in the comments below and make sure to check out some of the above fantastic reads.

Top Ten Tuesday – Favourite Comic Book Animated Series

On August 18, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn Animation, Comics/Manga, List, Superhero3 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 this week was Favourite Places to Read, however, I’m going rogue once again and instead will continue my trend of looking at Comic Book adaptations. Recently I have been highlighting and examining some of the great multi-media features that are adapted from established comic book series. So far, I have looked at my favourite animated comic book films, ranked all the MCU films, and looked at some cool DC Comics films. These were very interesting subjects which really appealed to my likes and focuses, and I am having a blast writing about them. To keep this trend going, I thought that this week I would spend some time looking at some of the incredible animated series based on comic books.

I am sure that all of us can remember watching a comic book adaption on our morning cartoons when we were younger (I know I can, and several examples are featured in the list below). There is an intrinsic connection between comics and cartoons, and Hollywood’s attempts to turn great comics into fun animated entertainment have resulted in some of the best adaptions of the original content out there. I have long enjoyed watching animated series based on comics, and we are currently in a bright new age of animated adaptations, especially with the continued focus on all-things comic book and superhero. As a result, I thought that this would be a great opportunity to explore some of my absolute favourite animated comic book shows.

To produce this list, I pulled together all the best animated shows I have watched over the years that were originally based on some form of comic book. There are quite a few great shows out there that have some origins in the comic book world, and I had a big pool of potential entries to work with. I was eventually able to whittle it down to my absolute favourite 10 shows, with my typical generous Honourable Mentions section. The final list turned out to be pretty interesting, and I was quite happy with the range of shows featured. I have only included shows I have so far watched, so that means a couple of notable series are missing, such as Superman: The Animated Series. I have also tended to steer away from a few 90s classics, such as X-Men or Spider-Man. While I enjoyed these shows when I watched them and they successfully adapt some of the most iconic storylines, they really haven’t aged that well. I also excluded the most recent animated series, What If…?, mainly because there has only been one episode so far, and I want to see at least the whole first season before I make any decision about it, although I am sure it will appear on future iterations of this list. Despite these limitations, I ended up coming up with a pretty cool list, so let us check it out.

Honourable Mentions:

Men in Black

Men in Black Animated Series

While strongly inspired by the films, this awesome show had a lot of connections to the original Men in Black comic, and it is an outstanding animated series with some incredible opening credits.

Ultimate Spider-Man

Ultimate Spider Man

This was a really good modern take on Spider-Man that nicely tied into some of the other Marvel shows running at the same time. Featuring some unique and cool adventures, this was an excellent series.

Wolverine and the X-Men

Wolverine and the X-Men

A brilliant series that was cut off far too soon after only a single season (an unfortunate casualty of the Disney buy-out of Marvel). The first season was extremely strong, and if it had gone on for longer, it would have easily been in the Top Ten.

Generator Rex

Generator Rex

Based on an extremely short-lived comic, Generator Rex was an epic and entertaining animated show. Set in a world where everyone has been infected by nanites, it follows titular hero Rex, a teen who can control his nanites and turn them into weapons, as he fights monsters and great villains. A very cool show that had a great run, and which even featured a fantastic crossover with Ben 10.

Top Ten List (Unranked):

Invincible

Invincible

Let us start off with the recently released Invincible. Invincible is an exceptional and amazing adaption of the comic of the same name, which follows a young hero as he attempts to follow in his father’s footsteps. Featuring an awesome cast, this show really does the comic justice and is very dark and bloody. I loved the changes they made to the story, while also keeping all the best bits of the comic, including that incredible twist. I literally just finished the final episode a couple of hours ago and I am still reeling from how brutal it got. A deeply impressive show, if you have not checked out this first season yet, you are missing out.

Harley Quinn

Harley Quinn

From one of the darkest shows on this list to one of the funniest, Harley Quinn is another relatively recent animated show that is extremely cool. This hilarious show features an R-rated look at one of DC’s most popular characters as she strikes out on her own. Featuring the voice of Kaley Cuoco in the titular role, this witty and fun show contains a fantastic and moving story that dives into the heart of the protagonist, while also showing off some excellent supporting characters. I love the great combination of over-the-top humour, intense violence, clever parodies, and emotional storylines, and I am really looking forward to the third season.

Young Justice

Young Justice

I must admit that I was initially wary when Young Justice was announced, as surely no show about young heroes could ever top Teen Titans. However, the moment I watched the first episode I was an instant life-long mega fan. With a surprisingly deep and complex narrative about a group of sidekicks who become the covert-ops wing of the Justice League, Young Justice was an impressive and compelling series that quickly produced two fantastic and moving initial seasons. Featuring a strong group of core characters, this series adapted several great storylines from the comics, while also telling its own clever and unique overarching narrative. I loved all the twists and character development that occurred, and I was so very, very happy when DC eventually announced a third season. This third season was even more adult than its predecessors and it continued to expand on the series extremely well. There is another season on the horizon and despite knowing nothing about it, I am already immensely confident that I will love it.

The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes

Avengers_Earth's_Mightiest_Heroes_Vol_3_2_Textless

As you can probably imagine, there have been several attempts to adapt the Avengers into an animated series, and in my opinion the best example of this is The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Taking most of its cues from the comics rather than the MCU, this outstanding series really captures the heart of the team and presents an exceptional take on each of the main characters. The first season is pretty perfect and comes together extremely well. The second season, while a tad rushed in places, is also incredibly cool, and features an amazing version of the Secret Invasion arc. Unfortunately, this series was cancelled well before its time, but while it was going, it was incredible.

Batman: The Animated Series

Batman - The Animated Series

There are many, many Batman series out there, but none have captured the titular hero, the outrageous villains, and the grim setting of Gotham City as perfectly as Batman: The Animated Series. With some deep and adult storylines, this series never pulled any punches, despite being a kids show, and for many, it was the best introduction to Batman and the world of comics that you can ask for. Serving as the definitive animated version of Batman out there, this incredible series features all the classic Batman characters, and even introduced a few new iconic faces, such as Harley Quinn. You also have to love the voice cast, especially with Kevin Conroy providing the quintessential Batman voice, while Mark Hamill is the ultimate animated Joker. I am lumping in The New Batman Adventures into this entry as well, mainly as it served as a continuation of the original show. I also must call out Batman Beyond here, which serves as a great end note to this series, especially with that dark and epic connected film, Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker.

Justice League/Justice League Unlimited

Justice League Unlimited 2

For this next entry I am combining the crowning jewels of the DC Animated Universe, Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, as they are honestly just the same show. Continuing some of the great storylines from Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series, this cool series brought together seven heroes who formed the Justice League to fight some of the DC Universe’s best and most dangerous villains. This series contains some incredible storylines, which are easily appealing to both a younger audience and veteran fans of the comics. I have a lot of love for both the original Justice League, which focused exclusively on the seven founding members, and Justice League Unlimited, which massively expanded the roster with a great cast of supporting characters. Despite how epic and captivating the other seasons are, my favourite storyline is the one surrounding the Justice League facing off against Project Cadmus, as it contains some of the best writing and some deep examinations of the nature of power and the potential threat that a group of heroes could pose. A must watch series for all fans of the Justice League and DC comics in general, you will love this show.

The Spectacular Spider-Man

The Spectacular Spider-Man

As Marvel’s most iconic and popular comic character, Spider-Man has had an insane number of animated shows over the years, but to my mind, the best is The Spectacular Spider-Man. Featuring a perfect take on the character without needlessly rehashing his origin tales, this series serves as a great adaption while also providing its own unique story. Every episode of this show is deeply entertaining, while also diving into the mindset of the teenage hero, his friends, and his menagerie of villains. Out of all the shows, I think this one captures the teenage years of Peter Parker the best, while also adding in some more modern twists to ensure it still holds up after all these years. I can honestly watch this entire series in one extended series, it is that damn good. Unfortunately, as with many of the best Marvel television shows, The Spectacular Spider-Man ended way too soon, although its final episode did wrap things up nicely. An excellent and compelling series.

Teen Titans

Teen Titans

When there’s trouble you know who to call, Teen Titans!!! Yeah, that theme song says it all when it comes to Teen Titans. This was a wonderful and spectacular show that had just the right mixture of silliness and darkness. Following the adventures of the titular superhero team, for four seasons, Robin, Starfire, Raven, Cyborg and Beast Boy fought a series of outrageous villains, with a combination of skill and humour. With some very distinctive characters, a Japanese inspired art style and two versions of the same theme song, this was one of the most unique shows out there with a style all its own. While there was a definite focus on humour and friendship, many of the storylines have a deeper, more emotional edge to them that will appeal to watchers of all ages, and there is constant and compelling character development. This series also contains several outstanding antagonists, with the highlight being Ron Pearlman’s Slade (Deathstroke). I cannot express how much I love this fantastic animated series, and I have watched it many, many times.

X-Men: Evolution

X-Men Evolution

I have mentioned a couple of X-Men shows so far, but the one that I think is the best, by dint of being still watchable and having a decent run, is X-Men: Evolution. Evolution features an impressive X-Men narrative that focuses on teenage versions of most of the main characters. Featuring all your favourite X-Men, this was a really cool and compelling take on the iconic team, and it contains so many great story arcs, many of which dealt with the comic’s overarching themes of discrimination and prejudice. While there are a lot of great impacts of this series, easily the best thing this show ever did was introduce the character of X-23, Wolverine’s murderous female clone, who is one of my favourite X-Men characters. An impressive and important series that is well worth a watch.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003 and 2012 series)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Joint

For the final entry on this list, I am going to combine two separate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shows, with both the 2003 and 2012 series. Based on the comics of the same name, I have a lot of love for both Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles adaptations, and I honestly enjoy both equally (hence the shared spot on this list). While both follow the same characters with similar adventures, these are very different series that go in some unique directions. The 2003 series was the one I grew up with, and I still really love its drawing style and darker storylines. The 2012 series on the other hand works its CGI animation and anime inspirations extremely well, resulting in more humour and homages to popular culture. Despite this apparent divide, the 2003 series did have some extremely funny moments and episodes, while the 2012 series got extremely dark in places. I also deeply appreciate that both shows feature appearances from my favourite comic character, Usagi, with the rabbit ronin teaming up with the ninjas in multiple fun episodes. As a result, I would strongly recommend both these series as they serve as excellent introductions to this fantastic franchise.

Well, that’s the end of this list. As you can see, there are some truly awesome animated comic shows out there, and I am really passionate about which ones I watch. I am pretty happy with how this list turned out, and I think the unique spread of shows really reflects my tastes and preferences. Each of the above shows is extremely good, and I would highly recommend all of them. This is probably a list I will revisit in the future, especially as there are more and more comic-inspired animated series coming out all the time. With shows like Invincible and What If…? bringing in a whole new generation of fans to animated adaptions, it is only a matter of time before the other companies start adapting all manner of comics into something cool. I am already excited about a couple on the horizon (they are apparently working on an Usagi Yojimbo animated series 😊 😊 😊), and I look forward to watching them in the future. In the meantime, let me know which of the above shows you enjoyed, and if you have any recommendations for other cool animated comic book series, I will be interested in seeing what else is out there.

Top Ten Tuesday – My Favourite DC Films, Ranked

On August 10, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn List11 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. The official topic for this week was Secondary/Minor Characters who Deserve More Love, which, while interesting did not appeal to me. Instead, I figured I would do something a little more in my wheelhouse and turn my mind to the film adaptions of DC Comics. I am currently in a major DC Comics mood, and the reason for this was the awesome recently released film, The Suicide Squad. The Suicide Squad was an absolute blast from start to finish, and it was probably one of my favourite films of the year, and the best entry in the current DC Extended Universe (DCEU). I loved this film so much, and so I thought I might do some related posts this week, starting with this Top Ten Tuesday.

While not as prolific or as impressive as Marvel in recent years, DC Comics has produced some awesome film adaptions of their comic properties over the years, including animated films, standalone films, series, and the recent DCEU films. Despite some regrettable duds, there are still some outstanding DC films out there, and I thought that I would take the time to highlight them in this list. I recently did a similar list for Marvel films (where I ranked the MCU), although rather than feature all the films of a particular shared universe, I am going to look at my absolute 10 favourite DC films of all time and have a go at ranking those.

I had a few rules in place when I started making this list. I was only going to feature films based on mainstream DC Comics, so that excludes excellent films like Watchmen or V for Vendetta, both of which’s source material was published by DC Comics, and probably would have made the list. I also excluded films I haven’t seen, such as Joker (I know, I know, it’s on my to-watch list) and Justice League: The Snyder Cut (I honestly can’t be bothered watching this film again no matter how they recut it). I am sure that some readers will be amazed that I have excluded a few classic films, such as the Michael Keaton Batman or the Christopher Reeve Superman films, but to be honest, I was never a big fan of them (I’m such a millennial). However, I did leave the list open to animated films (check out my previous list to see how much I enjoy them), with a couple making the cut. Using these criteria, I was able to come up with and rank my absolute 10 favourite DC films, and I think my list turned out pretty good as a result. So buckle in and see which great films made the cut.

Honourable Mentions:

Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay

Suicide Squad Hell to Pay Poster

The best Suicide Squad movie I’d seen before last week.

Wonder Woman 1984

Wonder Woman 1984 Poster

Not as polished as the first film, but still lots of fun.

The Death of Superman

Death of Superman Poster

An outstanding piece of animation that will make you care for Superman again, and then absolutely break your heart.

Suicide Squad

Suicide Squad (2016) Poster

Ignore the plot and the villains and focus on the amazing main cast and the great music.

Top Ten List (Ranked in Descending Order):

10. Justice League Dark: Apokolips War

Justice League Dark - Apokolips War

Let’s start this list off with a bang and look at the awesome and incredible animated film, Justice League Dark: Apokolips War. This fantastic film serves as the culmination of 15 brilliant, animated films and sends the entire Justice League through hell and back as they attempt to save the world. Exceedingly grim, emotionally draining and featuring some massive moments and an amazing voice cast, Apokolips War is a thing of beauty and comes highly recommended.

9. Batman: Under the Red Hood

Under the Red Hood Cover

My current favourite DC animated film is the 2010 classic, Batman: Under the Red Hood. A near-perfect adaptation of the Under the Hood comic storyline, this epic film is one of the best Batman films in existence. Containing a deep and emotionally rich story, this is an exciting and moving tale, which sees Batman come to terms with the ghosts of his past. Featuring an exceptional voice cast, including Bruce Greenwood, Jensen Ackles, Neil Patrick Harris, Jason Isaacs, and John DiMaggio as a particularly impressive Joker, you will love every second of this cool film.

8. Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman Poster

The moment that this film came out was the moment that the DCEU actually got good. Following on from a couple of disappointing duds, Wonder Woman tells an exciting and powerful origin tale of one of DC’s most iconic characters. With a great cast, a cool story, a tragic ending, fantastic music (Wonder Woman’s instrumental theme is so epic) and some impressive action (that no man’s land scene is just amazing), this is a captivating and distinctive film. If only that final battle scene could have been a little less cheesy, then this film would be way higher up on the list.

7. Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)

Birds of Prey Poster

Another great entry in the DCEU is the wacky and relentlessly entertaining Birds of Prey. This cool film sees the return of Margo Robbie as fan favourite Harley Quinn and includes an amazing cast of characters. An unfortunate casualty of COVID-19, this was one of the best (and only) comic films of 2020, and I had a great time watching it. Special mentions to Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Huntress and Ewan McGregor as Black Mask, who really added a lot of fun to this already hilarious film.

6. Shazam

Shazam Poster

One of the main reasons that the DCEU is doing so much better these days is because the films try to embrace their fun side a little more. Nothing encapsulates this philosophy more than Shazam, which utilises some great humour to tell a very fun and surprisingly deep story. Featuring the origin of long-time DC character Captain Marvel/Shazam, this film featured a heart-warming tale of a teenager who gains the power of a god and has some fun with it. I love the combination of adult and teen actors, and Zachary Levi, Asher Angel and Jack Dylan Grazer absolutely rock as the three main characters. There are so many fun moments in this film, although I particularly loved their take of training montage sequence, which had me in stiches. A really cool and excellent film.

5. Aquaman

Aquaman Poster

I had a hard time figuring out whether to rank this film higher or lower than Shazam, but in the end I ranked it higher, because I think it is an overall better movie, even if it does not reach the same levels of humour. After making Aquaman cool in Justice League (one of the few good things you can say about Justice League), Jason Momoa returns to the role in a feature film and knocks it out of the park. Thanks to James Wan’s impressive directing, Aquaman was a major CGI epic that not only dives into the heart of its main character but presents an outstanding adventure at the same time. All the underwater scenes are stunning, and every sequence is visually beautiful and eye-catching. A powerful film that serves as a true anchor to the DCEU.

4. Batman Begins

Batman Begins Cover

To my mind there is not better film version of the Batman origin tale than 2005’s Batman Begins. Based on the Batman: Year One comic and written and directed by the unbelievable Christopher Nolan, this amazing film reinvents the iconic character and gives him a bold new story to follow. Containing an epic cast of some of the best actors on the planet, this outstanding film had me from the moment Liam Neeson delivered his prison cell monologue, all the way to its explosive ending. I have seen this film so many times, and only the very best comic adaptions can rank above it.

3. The Suicide Squad

The Suicide Squad Cover

Now we are at the latest DC film to be released, with The Suicide Squad. After the mediocre performance of the first Suicide Squad live-action film, the legendary James Gunn takes the helm producing an outrageous, hilarious, and downright bloody film. While I was expecting something pretty incredible, I was blown away with how good this film was, and I loved every second of it. Gunn ensures that The Suicide Squad has all the utter carnage and absurdity a Suicide Squad movie needs, and the entire outstanding film is carried on a back of bizarre group of characters and actors. On paper you wouldn’t assume that a team of Idris Elba, John Cena, Margot Robbie, and the voice of Sylvester Stallone, would work, however, it does, with all the characters playing off each other perfectly to bring you an exceptional performance. I have so much love for this film, and it is a major favourite for me now.

2. The Dark Knight Rises

The Dark Knight Rises Poster

Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy comes to an end perfectly with The Dark Knight Rises, a grim and powerful film. Taking inspiration from The Dark Knight Returns comic, this great movie features an outstanding story that shows a fallen Batman return to save his city one last time. With the entire trilogy flowing into this film perfectly, you will be hit by every emotional imaginable as you witness Batman’s final adventure. On top of the great cast from the previous two movies, Tom Hardy shines as Bane while Anne Hathaway manages to redeem Catwoman after her last film outing. With a nail-biting conclusion, an amazing twist, and a moving ending, this was an amazing way to conclude the defining Batman film series.

1. The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight Cover

“And here we go!” Ok, so the top film on this list is going to come as no surprise to anybody. The Dark Knight is easily the best DC film of all time, and honestly it is probably the best comic film ever made (sorry Infinity War and Deadpool 2). Featuring the epic and tragic performance of the late, great Heath Ledger, this movie contains the perfect portrayal of the Joker, who brings all manner of madness and chaos to an already dark setting. I could honestly watch this film 100 times and not get bored, and I know most comic fans could do the same. I cannot see how this film could ever be upstaged by any other comic film adaption, and it was the only entry that could sit at the top of this list.

So that is the end of this Top Ten list and I think it did a good job of capturing my thoughts on the current DC film adaptions. I am sure that this will provoke some disagreement, so let me know your opinions in the comments below. I will probably come back to this list at some point in the future after I check out some more films, and maybe revaluate my decisions. Hopefully some of the planned upcoming DC films will be great, and if they can knock any of the above off this list, I will be excited. Until then, make sure you check out The Suicide Squad, because it is pretty damn awesome.

Top Ten Tuesday – Titles or Covers that Made Me Want to Read/Buy a Book

On August 3, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn List2 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. For this week’s Top Ten Tuesday, participants are tasked with listing the top titles or covers that made them want to read or buy a book. This is a pretty cool topic and it gives me an excuse to highlight some of my favourite covers and titles.

I have a somewhat eclectic method of choosing what books I want to read. While I mostly tend to read novels due to the author, plot description, recommendations from other reviewers, or because it is an entry in a series or franchise I like, quite a few first catch my eye due to colourful or crazy covers, or titles that really stand out (or a combination of the two). I have a lot of love for authors who invest in beautiful covers to highlight their novel’s style or plot features, and I also really enjoy cool and catchy titles. It honestly did not take me long to come up with a list of fun covers and titles, and I was eventually able to whittle it down into a Top Ten List. I tried to avoid using any novel where something else drove me to check the novel out, although there are a couple of cool Star Wars examples I had to include. I really enjoyed all the cool covers/titles below, especially as there are usually some great stories contained within them.

Honourable Mentions:

Star Wars: Vader – Dark Visions by Dennis Hallum

It has Darth Vader decked out as a black knight, how could I possibly resist this comic?

Child of a Mad God by R. A. Salvatore

A People’s History of the Vampire Uprising by Raymond A. Villareal

Black Leviathan by Bend Perplies

Top Ten Tuesday:

Mecha Samurai Empire by Peter Tieryas

Let us start with an extremely cool cover and a very fun name, Mecha Samurai Empire. I still remember the first time that I saw this book, as I was instantly drawn to the samurai mecha standing in front of a Japanese flag. I also was very intrigued by the name, Mecha Samurai Empire, and I had to know more about it. While the plot details did sway my decision, I already knew I was going to buy this book the moment I saw it. It really did not disappoint either, with an exciting and clever story about mechas in an alternate United States that lost World War II. This is such a great book, and the sequel, Cyber Shogun Revolution, follows the trend by having a fantastic cover a catchy title.

The Traitor God by Cameron Johnston

With a sleek, compelling name and a very well-crafted cover, The Traitor God quickly drew my attention before I even read the plot synopsis. This cover perfectly captures the dark feel of the novel, and the mysterious title is a fantastic part of the plot. This was a fantastic book, and led to a great sequel, God of Broken Things, which also featured an outstanding cover.

#Murdertrending by Gretchen McNeil

I don’t know what drew me to #Murdertrending more, the unique, twitter-handled title, or the fun cover where a group of stick figures are in danger. It probably was the title, and I liked the way in which McNeil was building up the novels critique of the social media obsessed world. Overall, this cover/title combo really grabbed my attention and forced me to buy this book.

The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne

I have mentioned a few times that one of the reasons I checked out The Shadow of the Gods was because of positive reviews from other fantasy fans. However, long before I heard about how good the story was, I found myself rather drawn to The Shadow of the Gods’ incredible cover. The giant dragon facing off against a lone hero is exceptionally drawn, and I loved how the artist brings this scene to life in its own distinctive and unique way. Suffice to say, this cool cover had The Shadow of the Gods well on my radar before it came out, and I probably would have read this novel, even if I had heard nothing from other reviewers.

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Gideon the Ninth was another book where the cover dragged me in, although in all fairness, it is a pretty damn impressive cover. The beautifully drawn artwork features a red-haired swordswoman with skull-themed face paint walking through a mass of exploding skeletons. I mean, if that does not draw your interest and attention, nothing will. In addition, when I received the book, it was a fantastic hardcover with black edging to the pages, which really gave of a mysterious and powerful theme to it. I was so hooked even before I found out it was a novel about lesbian, space-faring necromancers, and seeing the plot only convinced me to read it quicker. This was an outstanding novel, which Muir followed up last year with Harrow the Ninth, another novel with an extremely epic cover.

Strange Practice by Vivian Shaw

Strange Practice features a great cover with a doctor standing above a vampire filled coffin. That outstanding cover contained so much detail, and I loved the combination of classic vampire aesthetics with a modern London backdrop to it. The combination of black and white walls and characters against blood red floors, coverings and cityscape works surprisingly well, and it helps to deliver a very striking cover. This awesome art really dragged me towards this book, and I had a wonderful time reading this and its fun sequel, Dreadful Company, which also featured an amazing cover.

City of Bastards by Andrew Shvarts

Ok, for this one, it was all about the name. City of Bastards is such an evocative title, and it definitely caught my attention when I first saw it as it opens up so many different story and tonal possibilities. Couple that with the pretty neat cover, which makes amazing use of colour (the purple and the blood red really work well together), and I was rather hooked on this book before I even picked it up and read what it was about.

Star Wars: Death Troopers by Joe Schreiber

A few years ago, while randomly skimming online, I saw the cover for Star Wars: Death Troopers, which really had me hooked (hah). Something about that visual of a bloodied Storm Trooper helmet suspended by a meat hook really struck me, and it drove me to grab an audiobook version of that book that very night. Thank goodness I did, as this was a really fun novel, that features zombies on a Star Destroyer attempting to eat Han and Chewie. An outstanding book that is one of my favourite horror novels, thank goodness I saw this cover.

The Bone Ships by R. J. Barker

Now, I must admit that I probably would have read this book even without seeing the name or cover. I had already enjoyed Barker’s excellent Wounded Kingdom series (made up of Age of Assassins, Blood of Assassins and King of Assassins), so I would have been curious about his next series. However, the moment I saw the cover for The Bone Ships, I knew that this book would be something special that I would need to read. The incredible cover featuring a beautifully rendered dragon, is just amazing, and the title The Bone Ships, really fires up the imagination. The combination of these features made The Bone Ships a must read from me well before I’d seen the plot, and it fully convinced me to get The Bone Ships, which ended up being one of the best books (and audiobooks of 2019).

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

When I first saw Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City, I initially wasn’t to impressed by the cover. However, there was something about the unique name that got me curious enough to check out some more details and that’s when I found out that this was a fun sounding fantasy novel. I had an absolute blast reading this novel, which was one of the best books of 2019, and it also led me to the sequel, How to Rule an Empire and Get Away With It, one of the most hilarious books I read last year. I honestly might have missed this series if that catchy name and cover didn’t grab my attention, which would have been a real shame.

Well that brings another Top Ten Tuesday to a close. As you can see from the above, there are some truly awesome and fun covers and titles in my reading history. Each of these featured novels come highly recommended, and I hope you also like the titles and cover art. I hope you enjoyed my latest list and let me know what covers or titles drew you to a book in the comments below.

Top Ten Tuesday – My Favourite Audiobooks from the First Half of 2021

On July 27, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, 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 topic for this week is Books I’d Want With Me While Stranded on a Deserted Island, but I am going to do something a little different and instead look at my favourite audiobooks from the first half of 2021. This is a continuation of my Top Ten list from a few weeks ago that featured my favourite overall novels from the first half of 2021.

People familiar with my blog will know that I have a great deal of love for the audiobook format, and it is one of the main ways that I tend to check out books. Each year I enjoy a great number of different audiobooks and use the format to check out recent releases and older novels. I have been enjoying audiobooks for years, and it is amazing the various ways in which listening to a book can enhance your enjoyment. A great narrator can really bring you into the story, and I find that listening to a book enhances the amount of detail that you can take in. In addition, other features, such as great voices, music and sound effects can really make an audiobook something special, and there some great examples of that out there. This year alone I have listened to several outstanding audiobooks, includes some of my favourite books from early 2021. Because I love this format so much, I thought I would take this opportunity to highlight my favourite audiobooks from the first half of the year.

To pull this list off I had a look at all the 2021 releases that I listened to on audiobook to figure out my favourites. It turns out that I have already gone through quite a few this year so there was a very large collection of potential additions to this list. I was eventually able to whittle it down to the ten audiobooks I consider to be the best, as well as a generous honourable mention section. There is a bit of a crossover with my previous Favourite Books from the First Half of 2021 list, but I think there are enough new additions to make this list worthwhile. I did prioritise audiobook production and narration over story in a few places, as outstanding narration or use of music and sound effects can enhance the plot. That is why so many Star Wars novels made this list, because they are awesome productions, which are really worth checking out. I am pretty happy with how the overall list turned out and I think that the below entries really highlight what my favourite audiobooks are.

Honourable Mentions:

The Coward, written by Stephen Aryan and narrated by Matt Wycliffe

Serpentine, written by Jonathan Kellerman and narrated by John Rubinstein

Prodigal Son, written by Gregg Hurwitz and narrated by Scott Brick

The Girl and the Mountain, written by Mark Lawrence and narrated by Helen Duff

Top Ten List (No Particular Order):

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

One of my favourite books of the year, The Two-Faced Queen, is easily one of the best audiobooks as well. There were actually two separate audiobook versions of this book, and I chose to go with the Joe Jameson version, since he previously narrated Martell’s debut novel, The Kingdom of Liars. I am a big fan of Jameson, especially after his work on books such as King of Assassins by R. J. Barker, and he did another amazing job on this book. The Two-Faced Queen audiobook is an excellent and addictive listen, and I would wholeheartedly recommend this format to anyone wanting to enjoy this awesome five-star novel.

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

Earlier this year, impressive author Alexander Freed finished off his Star Wars: Alphabet Squadron series with Victory’s Price, and in the process created one of the best books of 2021. This audiobook massively enhances the already incredible and moving narrative within this exceptional novel, utilising outstanding voice work from January LaVoy, as well as the iconic Star Wars score and sound effects. Easily one of best audiobooks of the year.

Relentless, written by Mark Greaney and narrated by Jay Snyder

One of the leading authors of spy thrillers, Mark Greaney, produced another intense and exciting novel this year with Relentless. Thanks to some excellent voice work from Jay Snyder, the Relentless audiobook was pretty damn impressive, and you are in for a real treat with this exhilarating novel.

Star Wars: Light of the Jedi, written by Charles Soule and narrated by Marc Thompson

Another outstanding Star Wars audiobook was Light of the Jedi, the introductory novel in the new High Republic range. Just like Victory’s Price, Light of the Jedi makes full use of the Star Wars music and effects to produce a fantastic listen. However, Light of the Jedi also features the incredible voice work of Marc Thompson, one of the best narrators utilised by the Star Wars franchise. Thompson produces a raft of great voices to highlight the new characters featured within this novel and it was really fun to hear him tell this story. Thompson is lending his vocal talents to several other outstanding Star Wars audiobooks this year, including the latest High Republic novel, The Rising Storm, which is another great audiobook to check out.

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

After hearing some incredible things about the latest John Gwynne novel, I ended up checking out The Shadow of the Gods on audiobook. Not only was this book one of the absolute best fantasy releases of 2021 but the audiobook format was pretty damn exceptional. Colin Mace’s voice really fit the dark fantasy setting and he really dives into the complex characters to highlight their deeper feelings and hidden rages. An impressive and captivating listen.

Later, written by Stephen King and narrated by Seth Numrich

I was deeply impressed earlier this year when I checked out the audiobook format of the latest Stephen King novel, Later. Outstanding new narrator Seth Numrich really dives into this excellent novel, and I had a wonderful and freaky time getting through this fantastic audiobook.

The Bone Maker, written by Sarah Beth Durst and narrated by Soneela Nankani

I had an absolute blast listening to the latest great fantasy novel from Sarah Beth Durst, The Bone Maker, especially as narrator Soneela Nankani does a great job bringing the novel’s damaged protagonists to life.

Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy: The Greater Good, written by Timothy Zahn and narrated by Marc Thompson

The final Star Wars audiobook on this list is the second Thrawn Ascendancy entry, The Greater Good. Thompson once again lends his incredible voice to this great book, bringing the unique characters to life. However, his best work is reserved for main character Grand Admiral Thrawn, as Thompson perfectly replicates the character’s voice from the Star Wars Rebels animated series. This makes for a complex and powerful audiobook, and I loved every second I spent listening to it.

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

One of the fastest rising science fiction authors, Michael Mammay, continued to impress earlier this year with Colonyside, the third entry in the Planetside series, which was another awesome read. You really need to listen to this novel’s audiobook format, as narrator R. C. Bray brings a certain necessary gruffness and fun to the central character. An amazing book to listen to!

The Mask of Mirrors, written by M. A. Carrick and narrated by Nikki Massoud

The final entry on this list is the great fantasy novel, The Mask of Mirrors by M. A. Carrick. The Mask of Mirrors is a particularly fun and intriguing read, and I found myself really drawn to its audiobook format. This is mainly because of narrator Nikki Massoud, who strategically utilises a fantastic range of voices and accents to turn this amazing book into an incredible listening experience.

That is the end of my latest list. As you can see, I have a pretty typical Unseen Library Top Ten List (I’ve got to fit in as many Star Wars novels as possible), but I really do think this represents all of my absolute favourite audiobooks from the first part of 2021. All of the above audiobooks come highly recommended, and in my opinion, the audiobook format really enhances all of these great reads. Let me know what your favourite 2021 audiobooks are in the comments below, and I look forward to seeing which of the above make my Top Audiobooks of 2021 list later this year.

Top Ten Tuesday – My Favourite Books from the First Half of 2021

On July 6, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn List16 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. The task for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday was originally to list the reasons why I love reading, however I am going to go off topic and instead look at something else. We have just crossed into the second half of 2021, which has already proven to be a pretty fantastic year for books. I have read some incredible novels so far this year, including impressive standalone books, amazing new entries in established series and fantastic debuts. Because of this, I thought that I would take the time to work out what my top ten favourite books from the first half of 2021 were.

Once I knew what I wanted to pull together for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday, I started taking a hard look at all the different novels that I have read this year. To be eligible, a book had to be released in (or extremely close to) the first half of this year. I have also excluded any books released during this period that I have not so far read, although a couple of releases I have my eye on might have appeared on this list if I had had the chance to read them before now.

Coming up with this list proved to be a rather bigger task than I originally intended, as I ended up amassing nearly 20 different releases, all of which I consider to be some pretty outstanding reads. I ended up being able to eventually whittle this down to an acceptable Top Ten list, although I did include my typical generous honourable mentions section. I am rather happy with how this list turned out, although I am surprised at some of the great releases that ended up being excluded. Still, the books below represent what I considered to be some of the best books from the first half of 2021, and I would strongly recommend each and every one of them. So let us see what made the cut.

Honourable Mentions:

Prodigal Son by Gregg Hurwitz

The Warsaw Orphan by Kelly Rimmer

Later by Stephen King

The Girls I’ve Been by Tess Sharpe

Top Ten List (no particular order):

The Two-Faced Queen by Nick Martell

The first book on this list is the incredible and wildly addictive fantasy masterpiece, The Two-Faced Queen by Nick Martell. Serving as the sequel to last year’s amazing The Kingdom of Liars (which was one of my favourite books, audiobooks, and debuts of 2020), The Two-Faced Queen continues the compelling adventures of its angsty and relatable protagonist, Michael Kingman, as he attempts to uncover the mysteries and conspiracies of his home city. Containing a wild mass of unique opponents, plots and hidden secrets, this book holds your attention from beginning to end and is one of the best sequels I have ever read.

Star Wars: Victory’s Price by Alexander Freed

Next up we have the obligatory Star Wars entry on this list, Victory’s Price by Alexander Freed. While there have been several other great Star Wars releases this year (Light of the Jedi and Greater Good were both fantastic), none of them were as impressive as Victory’s Price. Serving as the third and final entry in the Alphabet Squadron series (which previously featured Alphabet Squadron and Shadow Fall), this incredible book features a powerful, character driven narrative that provides readers with tragedy, amazing character development and a full-on war story amid the Star Wars universe. Beautifully written and incredibly moving, Victory’s Price perfectly wraps up the Alphabet Squadron trilogy and is one of the best Star Wars novels out there.

Relentless by Mark Greaney

Epic spy thriller author Mark Greaney returns with the 10th book in his outstanding Gray Man series, Relentless. I have been deeply enjoying the Gray Man novels over the last couple of years (check out my reviews for Mission Critical and One Minute Out), so I knew I was going to be in for a good time with Relentless. This was another particularly thrilling tale of international espionage and plots, as Court Gentry and his comrades go up against a sinister, world-changing conspiracy. A fantastic and action-packed read that comes highly recommended.

The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne

Next of this list we have the fantasy novel that everyone was talking about this year, The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne. Set in a Norse inspired dark fantasy world shattered by warring gods, The Shadow of the Gods contains a powerful and addictive narrative which sets three amazing protagonists on quests for redemption, honour, and family. Containing some extraordinary world building, great characters, and a really impressive story, this was one of the best fantasy books of the year, and I loved every second I spent reading it.

Artifact Space by Miles Cameron

Superstar author Miles Cameron made his science fiction debut earlier this year with the captivating Artifact Space. Containing an epic voyage throughout the stars, Artifact Space was an awesome read, that takes its damaged protagonist to some amazing places as they try to save their ship from a dangerous alien conspiracy.

Usagi Yojimbo: Volume 35: Homecoming by Stan Sakai

I doubt anyone is too surprised that the latest Usagi Yojimbo volume has appeared on this list. Written by one of my favourite authors, Stan Sakai, this latest volume of the long running series was extremely moving and deeply compelling, as Usagi goes through some harsh adventures near his long-avoided home province. With incredible art, powerful character work and some very elaborate stories, this was another excellent addition to one of the best comic series out there.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Another new to me author who blew me away this year was the outstanding Andy Weir, who produced one of the best science fiction novels of 2021. Project Hail Mary contains an extraordinary tale of an amnesiac scientist sent out into space to find out how to save the sun from burning out. Containing a deeply enjoyable and addictive story, I powered through Project Hail Mary in no time at all and loved every second of it. One of the easiest books of 2021 to recommend, you must check Project Hail Mary out.

The Bone Maker by Sarah Beth Durst

After deeply enjoying her 2020 novel, Race the Sands, I was eager to explore another fun standalone fantasy novel from bestselling author Sarah Beth Durst, and boy was I in for a treat with The Bone Maker. This clever novel follows five former heroes who are once again drawn into a deadly battle for their nation. Readers will fall in love with the novels damaged heroes, especially after they once head the call to battle, even after all the loss and trauma they have suffered.

Colonyside by Michael Mammay

Now, technically this novel was released in 2020, however, considering it only came out 31 December (which was technically 1 January 2021 in Australia), I am choosing to count this as a 2021 release instead. Colonyside is the third novel in the fantastic and impressive Planetside science fiction thriller series. Following on from the amazing Planetside (one of the best books of 2018) and Spaceside (one of the best books of 2019), Colonyside places its infamous protagonist in the middle of another dangerous conspiracy, as he searches for a missing person on a hostile alien planet. A masterful and thrilling novel, I deeply enjoyed this amazing book.

Protector by Conn Iggulden

The final entry on this list is the outstanding Protector from Conn Iggulden, which follows on the from the great 2020 novel, The Gates of Athens. Featuring an awesome story about some of the key battles between the Greeks and the Persians, this was a fantastic piece of historical fiction that is really worth reading.

That is the end of this list. As you can see, I have already read some amazing and epic books so far in 2021 and we are only halfway through the year. I am pretty happy with how this list turned out, especially as it features some extraordinary reads. It will be interesting to see which of these books ends up being amongst my top reads of 2020, and while I would assume all the above will make the cut, there is some pretty hefty competition coming up in the second half of 2021. Let me know what you think about the books that made my Top Ten list, and also let me know what your favourite releases from the first half of 2020 are.

Top Ten Tuesday – Most Anticipated Releases for the Second Half of 2021

On June 29, 2021June 29, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn List17 Comments

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

2021 has so far been a pretty amazing year for books, with some outstanding and impressive novels coming out and blowing me away. However, the year is far from over and there are a number of incredible and epic-sounding novels set for release in the second half of 2021. To fill out this list I have scoured my list of anticipated upcoming releases and tried to work out which of the books coming out between the start of July and the end of December I am most looking forward to.

This proved to be a rather hard list to finalise, mainly because of how many awesome novels are coming out in the next six months. I honestly had enough awesome upcoming novels on my radar to turn this into a Top 20, but I decided instead to make some hard decisions, and I ended up cutting out several impressive upcoming releases, leaving me with a list mostly featuring books from some of my favourite authors. Despite this, I am rather happy with the eventual choices that I made, and I think that this list reflects which upcoming novels I am going to have the most fun reading. Due to how much potential that I think the entries on this list have, several have previously appeared in my weekly Waiting on Wednesday articles, as well as on my recent Winter TBR list. However, there are also some interesting new books that I am discussing for the first time here, which gives this list a bit of variety. So let us get to my selections and find out which upcoming novels are my most anticipated releases for the second half of 2021.

Honourable Mentions:

Billy Summers by Stephen King – 3 August 2021

The Maleficent Seven by Cameron Johnston – 10 August 2021

The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik – 28 September 2021

The Honour of Rome by Simon Scarrow – 11 November 2021

Top Ten List (by release date):

Relentless by Jonathan Maberry – 13 July 2021

This list is off to an extraordinarily strong start as it features the second awesome entry in the Rogue Team International series by the always impressive Jonathan Maberry, Relentless. Spinning off from Maberry’s outstanding Joe Ledger series (which features such epic reads as Patient Zero, Code Zero and Deep Silence), the Rogue Team International series continues to follow action hero Joe Ledger as he goes up against crazy opponents wielding the weirdest science and technology. The first novel in this thrilling series, Rage, was an amazing read that was one of my favourite books (and audiobooks) of 2019, and which ended on a fantastic, if tragic, note. This sets up Relentless to be a gripping and bloody novel filled with revenge as an emotionally compromised Ledger goes up against a new breed of dangerous enemies.

Starlight Enclave by R. A. Salvatore – 3 August 2021

One of my absolute favourite fantasy authors of all times, R. A. Salvatore, returns with the first book in a brand-new series that sets his iconic and long-running protagonists on a whole new adventure. This first book, Starlight Enclave, will follow on from the events of the previous trilogy (made up of Timeless, Boundless and Relentless), and should result in a very impressive and exciting fantasy read.

The Wisdom of Crowds by Joe Abercrombie – 16 September 2021

The master of dark fantasy, Joe Abercrombie, returns with the third and final entry in his intense and addictive Age of Madness trilogy. Both previous novels in the series, A Little Hatred and The Trouble with Peace, have been incredible masterpieces with some deeply impressive stories to them and I am expecting great things for this final novel. The Wisdom of Crowds will focus on the aftermath of the revolution that occurred at the end of The Trouble with Peace and should result in an epic and captivating tale.

The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman – 16 September 2021

Following his incredible debut novel, The Thursday Murder Club, comedian Richard Osman returns with a much-anticipated sequel novel, The Man Who Died Twice, which will present his retired protagonists with another intriguing case. The Thursday Murder Club was one of the runaway hits of last year, and it was easily one of the best novels, audiobooks, and debuts, I had the pleasure of reading in 2020. As a result, I have extremely high hopes for The Man Who Died Twice, and I cannot wait to see what hilarious and clever things are featured in this new novel.

The Bone Ship’s Wake by R. J. Barker – 28 September 2021

Over the last two years, the deeply impressive R. J. Barker has been wowing me, and the rest of the fantasy community, with his epic and captivating novels about the notorious crew of the Tide Child. The Tide Child trilogy, which has so far consisted of The Bone Ships and Call of the Bone Ships, is an outstanding and compelling series, which places a great group of characters in a dark and bloody fantasy world, where crews of condemned men fight aboard ships made from dragon bone. The final entry in this trilogy, The Bone Ship’s Wake, looks set to provide an epic and memorable conclusion to this incredible series, especially after Barker ended Call of the Bone Ships on such a fantastic and moving cliff-hanger. Unfortunately, there has been no preview of The Bone Ship’s Wake’s cover yet but based on how cool the covers for the other entries in The Tide Child trilogy have been, I am sure it is going to be something extremely awesome.

The Dark Hours by Michael Connelly – 9 November 2021

After a bumper 2020 where he released two fantastic crime novels, Fair Warning and The Law of Innocence, bestselling crime fiction author Michael Connelly returns with another intriguing and exciting novel, The Dark Hours. The third entry in the Ballard and Bosch sub-series, which has so far consisted of Dark Sacred Night and The Night Fire, The Dark Hours will set its protagonists on the trail of a clever and conniving killer. This has the potential to be one of the best crime novels of 2021 and I cannot wait to see what unique case Connelly has come up with this time.

Never by Ken Follett – 9 November 2021

I was a little surprised earlier this year when I saw that highly acclaimed author, Ken Follett, was releasing a novel this year, especially after The Evening and the Morning, came out last year. However, I am not one to complain when another awesome Follett novel drops into my lap, especially as his new upcoming book, Never, looks set to be an intriguing world-spanning thriller novel. With an intense and captivating sounding narrative, Never, should be an incredible read and I am exceedingly keen to check it out.

Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters by Charles Soule, Luke Ross and Neeraj Menon – 23 November 2021

While I was very tempted to include the new upcoming Thrawn Ascendancy novel, Lesser Evil, on this list, it quickly became apparent that the piece of Star Wars fiction I am most looking forward to in the second half of 2021 is the major crossover comic, Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters. War of the Bounty Hunters, which is set between the events of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, details a brutal fight to claim Han Solo’s frozen body after a major returning character steals it from Boba Fett. Serving as a crossover between the four current Star Wars ongoing series, Star Wars (2020), Darth Vader (2020), Doctor Aphra (2020), and Bounty Hunters, this crossover series sounds like awesomeness personified, and there have already been some major twists and reveals. I cannot wait to check this comic out, although I probably will wait until the collected edition comes out in November. This will be one of the biggest Star Wars events of the year, and as a Star Wars mega-fan, I am deeply, deeply excited for it.

Cytonic by Brandon Sanderson – 25 November 2021

Perhaps the greatest authors of fantasy and science fiction in the world today, the legendary Brandon Sanderson, has a new novel coming out in November, and it is one that I am particularly eager to get my hands on. This new book, Cytonic, is the third entry in the gripping and clever Skyward series of young adult science fiction novels, which has so far featured two exceptional novels, Skyward and Starsight. Featuring an intriguing and complex narrative around humans fighting aliens in a deadly war for survival, the Skyward series has been deeply impressive and thrilling, and I have had so much fun with the first two novels. This next book in the series, Cytonic, looks set to take its likeable protagonist on another unique adventure, this time into a whole new dimension. This novel has an immense amount of potential, and I already now it is going to be epic beyond belief.

A Practical Guide to Conquering the World by K. J. Parker – 25 November 2021

The final entry on this list is A Practical Guide to Conquering the World by K. J. Parker, which is probably going to be the funniest books I read all year. Over the last two years, Parker has released two outstanding and hilarious fantasy novels as part of The Siege series, which takes place during an insane and long-lasting siege of a fantasy city. Featuring two very clever and loosely connected novels, Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City and How to Rule an Empire and Get Away With It, this series featured two fantastic narratives around unqualified, but devious men, taking control of the siege and attempting to win it through unconventional means. I have absolutely loved the first two novels in this series, and I was very excited to see that a third entry, A Practical Guide to Conquering the World, is set for release in November. While no plot details are currently available, I am extremely confident that this will be a fantastic tale political intrigue, treachery, and humorous ambition, as a new non-hero rises to the challenge of ruling the world.

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 every one of the books I mentioned above has some amazing potential, and most, if not all, will probably end up with a full five-star rating from me. I cannot wait to see what awesome and exciting stories the entries on this list contain, and I think that I am going to have an incredible time in the second half of 2021. While I am waiting to get my hands on these books, why not let me know if any of the above interest you, and let me know what your most anticipated releases for the next six months are in the comments below.