WWW Wednesday – 7 August 2024

On August 8, 2024 By The Unseen LibraryIn WWW WednesdayLeave a comment

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

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

So, let’s get to it.

What are you currently reading:

A Darkness Returns by Raymond E. Feist (ebook)

I just started reading the new Raymond E. Feist novel, A Darkness Returns. An intriguing high fantasy novel, A Darkness Returns sets up a cool new series from Feist that brings together two of his prior series set on different worlds. I am already really enjoying this book, and I cannot wait to see how it turns out.

Warhammer 40,000: Lelith Hesperax: Queen of Knives by Mike Brooks (Audiobook)

I was still in a big Warhammer mood this week, so I decided to listen to the latest Warhammer 40,000 audiobook, Lelith Hesperax: Queen of Knives. Written by Mike Brooks, who has released several amazing Warhammer novels in recent years, this new book will follow members of the canon’s most duplicitous race, as they battle for power and their immortal souls. I’ve only made a little bit of progress on this book so far, but I am very intrigued by its cool plot. Lelith Hesperax: Queen of Knives is a relatively short Warhammer audiobook, so I will probably finish it off in the next couple of days, and I cannot wait to see how it unfolds.

What did you recently finish reading?

The Outsider by Stephen King (Audiobook)

I quickly finished off the audiobook of The Outsider by Stephen King this week, and boy was it epic. One of the better Stephen King novels I have so far read, I cannot wait to review it.

Sentinel by Mark Greaney (Trade Paperback)

Sentinel Cover

A sequel to Greaney’s previous novel, Armored, Sentinel was an intense and deeply exciting action read that proves hard to put down.

Warhammer 40,000: Renegades: Lord of Excess by Rich McCormick (Audiobook)

A fantastically over-the-top Warhammer 40,000 novel that follows the very best of the bad guys. I just finished this audiobook off, and it was pretty damn awesome. Easily one of the best debuts I have so far read this year.

The Mercy of Gods by James S. A. Corey (Trade Paperback)

The team behind The Expanse, James S. A. Corey, produced another exceptional science fiction read with The Mercy of the Gods. Epic in scope and plot, this was one of the very best science fiction books of 2024.

Breaking the Dark by Lisa Jewell (Trade Paperback)

An intriguing murder mystery novel set in the Marvel universe and following the damaged figure of Jessica Jones as she investigates an unusual crime. Breaking the Dark was an outstanding read, and I am hoping to get a review up for it soon.

What do you think you’ll read next?

Confessions of the Dead by James Patterson and J. D. Barker

If I manage to get through my current book this week, I will probably start reading the compelling sounding thriller, Confessions of the Dead next. A dark and chilling read, Confessions of the Dead has a lot of potential, and I cannot wait to check it out.

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

WWW Wednesday – 31 July 2024

On July 31, 2024 By The Unseen LibraryIn WWW Wednesday1 Comment

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

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

So, let’s get to it.

What are you currently reading:

The Outsider by Stephen King (Audiobook)

For the last week I’ve mostly been getting through the audiobook of The Outsider by Stephen King while away on a road trip. Unsurprisingly considering who the author is, The Outsider is a pretty dark and powerful read that sees unnatural forces surround a gruesome murder investigation. I have absolutely loved powering through this book in the last week, and I only have a little bit left until it’s finished. I will hopefully get a review of The Outsider up ASAP and I cannot wait to talk about how great this book is.

Sentinel by Mark Greaney (Trade Paperback)

Sentinel Cover

A sequel to Greaney’s previous novel, Armored, Sentinel provide readers with an intense, action-packed read, and I am looking forward to seeing how it unfolds. Due to being away, I haven’t made that much progress with Sentinel in the last week as I would have liked, but I am hoping to make up some ground in the next couple of days.

Warhammer 40,000: Renegades: Lord of Excess by Rich McCormick (Audiobook)

A fantastically over-the-top Warhammer 40,000 novel that follows the very best of the bad guys. I haven’t made any progress on Lords of Excess in the last week due to other reading commitments, but I will start listening to it again in the next day or so and hopefully I can finish it off by this time next week.

What did you recently finish reading?

The Sandman: Act III by Neil Gaiman (Audiobook)

Another outstanding adaptation of the iconic The Sandman comic. Act III was a fantastic and addictive affair with an elaborate story and exceptional celebrity cast, and it proved to be a great follow up to the excellent Act I and Act II of the series.

What do you think you’ll read next?

The Mercy of the Gods by James S. A. Corey

One of the next books I am hoping to read is The Mercy of the Gods by the team behind The Expanse, James S. A. Corey. The Mercy of the Gods has an epic and deeply compelling plot, and this will probably end up being one of the very best science fiction books of 2024.

Breaking the Dark by Lisa Jewell

I am also hoping to read the intriguing murder mystery novel Breaking the Dark in the next week. Written by acclaimed crime fiction author Lisa Jewell, Breaking the Dark is set in the Marvel universe and will follow the damaged figure of Jessica Jones as she investigates an unusual crime. I am very curious about how this book is going to turn out and I have a feeling it is going to be awesome.

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

Top Ten Tuesday – Top New-to-Me Authors That I Read in the First Half of 2024

On July 31, 2024 By The Unseen LibraryIn List2 Comments

In addition to highlighting some of the best pre-2024 novels I read in the first half of this year, I am also taking this opportunity to list the best New-to-Me authors I have so far read this year.

Each year I am lucky enough to read a great number of awesome novels and this often includes books written by authors whose work I was previously unfamiliar with. 2024 is so far proving to be a great example of this as there were an incredible collection of amazing novels written by authors who were completely new to me. This included some debuting authors, as well as more established writers whose work I only got around to reading this year. Many of these new-to-me authors produced some truly exceptional novels, including one or two which I consider to be some of the best books released in 2024 so far and I really feel the need to highlight them here.

To appear on this list, the book had to be one I read this year and be written by an author who I was unfamiliar with before 2024. If I had not read anything from this author before last year or if their book was a debut, it was eligible to appear here. After some hard work, I was able to whittle this down to a manageable top ten list, with my usual generous honourable mentions section. I am really surprised at some of the impressive and enjoyable authors I had to exclude from this list, but I think the below entry really highlights the best new-to-me authors I have enjoyed so far in 2024.

Honourable Mentions:

Rich McCormick – Warhammer 40,000: Renegades: Lords of Excess

An excellent debuting author who released the Warhammer 40,000 novel, Lords of Excess. I am still currently in the process of reading Lords of Excess (which is why I’m leaving McCormick as an honourable mention for now), but I love the clever story this new author has come up with.

Mark Wales – Outrider

Former soldier turned media personality Mark Wales produced a very cool debut with the Australian thriller Outrider.

Paul Morgan – The Winter Palace

I had fun with my first Paul Morgan novel, The Winter Palace, which contained a great story about star-crossed lovers in occupied Poland.

Jon Lindstrom – Hollywood Hustle

Actor Jon Lindstrom made a fantastic writing debut this year with the cool thriller Hollywood Hustle.

Top Ten List:

Douglas Preston – Extinction

I had an awesome time getting to know science fiction thriller author Douglas Preston this year with his new novel, Extinction. A crazy and over-the-top novel, Extinction followed a compelling murder investigation which takes place in a luxury park loaded with clones of pre-historic animals.

James Logan – The Silverblood Promise

An outstanding and bold fantasy debut from a great new author.

C. J. Box – Three-Inch Teeth

A highly entertaining and exciting thriller from an author I’m glad I checked out.

C. J. Tudor – The Gathering

An excellent murder mystery novel set in a world with complex human and vampire settlements.

Victoria Hayward – Warhammer 40,000: Deathworlder

An outstanding and dark debut with lots of action, adventure and carnage.

James Grippando – Goodbye Girl

I ended up very wowed by the cool legal exploits of author James Grippando with this fantastic novel.

J. D. Barker – Behind a Closed Door

While I have read some of Barker’s collaborations, Behind a Closed Door was the first solo novel from the author I have experienced, and it found it to be an thrilling and clever read.

Steven B. Fischer – Warhammer 40,000: Witchbringer

A talented author with a real flare for complex characters whose first novel, Witchbringer, I should have read much sooner.

James Patterson and Nancy Allen – The No.1 Lawyer

The No.1 Lawyer was a great introduction to the writing style of the Patterson/Allen collaboration, and I loved the impressive and captivating story contained in this book.

C. A. Parker – Song of the Samurai

An excellent debuting historical fiction author who utilised their unique passions in this debut novel.

Well, that’s the end of this latest Top Ten list. I think it turned out rather well and it encapsulates some of the best new authors I have checked out so far in 2024. I look forward to reading more books from these authors in the future and I have no doubt they will produce additional epic and incredible reads. It will be interesting to see what other great New-to-Me authors I will get to experience in the rest of 2024, and I am sure there are going to be some exceptional new books from them.

Top Ten Tuesday – Novels from the First Half of 2024 that I Still Need to Read

On July 9, 2024 By The Unseen LibraryIn List6 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. The official topic for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday was to return to a previous list you’ve done as part of a Throwback Freebie. However, I decided to instead continue my literary examination of the first half of 2024 by looking at the top books from the first half of the year that I still need to read.

While I have already enjoyed a substantial number of outstanding novels in 2024, there are still quite a few impressive novels from the first half of the year that I have yet to read. Many of these were on my most anticipated books lists for 2024 (both fantasy and other), and while I was really excited for them, I have honestly not had a chance to check all of them out yet. Therefore, I am going to use this freebie session to shame myself in the hope that it gets me into gear to finally check out these epic reads. This proved to be an easy list to pull together, as many of these books have been weighing on my mind for a while. All 10 novels below (plus honourable mentions) sound really, really good, and I hope I get the chance to read all of them soon.

Honourable Mentions:

The Burning Land by David Hair

An epic fantasy novel that I know I would have an amazing time reading.

The Trials of Empire by Richard Swan

One of the big fantasy releases of 2024. I left this book as an honourable mention, mainly because I haven’t read the preceding book in the series yet, and I would need to do that before even contemplating reading The Trials of Empire. Still, this seems like a big gap in my 2024 reading schedule, and I should try to get up to date with this series ASAP.

Past Crimes by Jason Pinter

A cool and exciting science fiction thriller that sees true-crime documentaries get way too interactive in the future.

Top Ten List:

Death on the Tiber by Lindsey Davis

Probably the book I am most surprised about not having read yet is the new Flavia Albia novel from Lindsey Davis, Death on the Tiber. An excellent and intriguing historical murder mystery, Death on the Tiber is the latest book in one of my favourite series and looks set to throw the protagonists into another complex murder in ancient Rome. I always have so much fun with this series, so it’s very surprising that I haven’t read it yet. This will hopefully be resolved soon, as it will likely be one of my top books of the year.

Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Another major book from the first half of 2024 that I really need to check out is Service Model by acclaimed science fiction author Adrian Tchaikovsky. The second of four books Tchaikovsky has coming out this year, Service Model will follow a rebellious robot who gains sentience and becomes determined to destroy the crumbling remnants of human society. I have no doubt this is going to be an epic read, and I am going to try very hard to read it as soon as humanly possible.

How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin

One of the more compelling murder mystery novels from the first half of 2024, How to Solve Your Own Murder sounds like an extremely fun read, and I must try to check it out.

Warhammer 40,000: Renegades: Lords of Excess by Rich McCormick

I have had a lot of fun with several Warhammer books in 2024 so far, but the key one I’ve missed out on reading is Lords of Excess by debuting author Rich McCormick. Part of the Renegades subseries that highlights Chaos Space Marine warbands, Lords of Excess follow the hedonistic Emperor’s Children as they attempt to bring their twisted version of perfection to an isolated world. I love the sound of this book, especially as you know more chaos and destruction is likely on the way, and it is always fun to read a Warhammer book told from the villain’s perspective. I might honestly try to start listening to the audiobook version of Lords of Excess in the next week or two, especially as I need another Warhammer 40,000 fix.

The Shadow King by Harry Sidebottom

Another major historical fiction book from the first half of 2024 that I need to check out is the epic novel, The Shadow King by Harry Sidebottom. Sidebottom is a fantastic author, and I have had a wonderful time with all his recent books set in the Roman empire. The Shadow King will see Sidebottom examine Alexander the Great’s empire in an intriguing new way, and I know that I will find the whole thing deeply fascinating and exciting. As such, I will hopefully make time to read The Shadow King soon, especially as I will be very disappointed not to read this book by the end of 2024.

The Instruments of Darkness by John Connolly

John Connolly is an author who I have been meaning to read for years. I had hoped that his latest book, the intense and dark legal thriller The Instruments of Darkness, would have been a good opportunity to enjoy his work for the first time, but I have yet to have the time to read it. I am still optimistic that I will be able to read The Instruments of Darkness soon, as it sounds like a very complex and powerful novel.

Assassins Anonymous by Rob Hart

A very fun sounding thriller about a retired assassin in a killer support group who is dragged back into the world of contract killing against his will. I honestly fell in love with Assassins Anonymous’s fun sounding plot the moment I read the synopsis and I have been meaning to grab a copy since it came out. Hopefully I get one soon, as this sounds like such an exciting and awesome book.

Star Wars: The Living Force by John Jackson Miller

While there were a few Star Wars novels out in the first half of this year, the one I most regret not reading is The Living Force by John Jackson Miller. Set just before the events of The Phantom Menace, The Living Force is a compelling entry to the canon that focuses on the various members of the Jedi Council. I love the sound of this awesome book and I am hoping to listen to it in the future, as it should be a fantastic novel.

The Mystery Writer by Sulari Gentill

An intriguing and captivating murder mystery from a very talented Australian author, The Mystery Writer sounded like a very impressive novel, and I have had some great experiences with Sulari Gentill in the past. I look forward to checking this book out at some point in the future and I am sure it will be an outstanding read.

Five Broken Blades by Mai Corland

The final book from the first half of 2024 that I want to highlight here is the fantasy debut Five Broken Blades. Following five dangerous rogues tasked with killing a tyrannical king, Five Broken Blades sounds like a very awesome book, and I have heard some great things about it. I currently have the audiobook version of Five Broken Blades ready to go and I am hoping to listen to it soon, especially as I am in the mood for some fun and fierce fantasy fiction.

Well, that is the end of this latest list. As you can see, there are a bunch of exceptional novels from the first half of the year that I need to check out. All the above books sound incredibly epic, and I am going to have to try a lot harder to start reading through them. In the meantime, let me know which books released in the first half of the year you most regret not reading in the comments below.