Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday! This is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, where a new top ten list hits the web every week!
This week our topic is …
BOOKS ON MY FALL TBR LIST
Trying to decide what books to read is always a great topic for me. I have lots of books to read and never enough time. So it shouldn’t be hard for me to select my top ten books to read this fall — especially since I’m on a mission to clean my bookshelves up. Nope, I’m not dusting. What I’m doing is reading novels that have been sitting around far too long. I want to see if I like them or need to give them to someone who might. And that is why this list is going to focus on ten books/series I intend to make give a try this fall.
1o. THE CURSE OF THE MISTWRAITH
Janny Wurts has always been a favorite author of mine. Indeed, this series is one I’ve been collecting since it began nearly 25 years ago. (Could it be that long ago?) But while I have faithfully purchased each new volume in Wars of Light and Shadow, I have not read a single page in any of those installments. At first, I was merely waiting for a few volumes to come out, then I contracted the Robert Jordan Virus. (You know, the one where you become terrified of beginning any long, epic fantasy series.) Now, though, it has been long enough; either I have to love these books or leave them.
9. THE COMPLETE MORGAINE
I have actually read one of the volumes included in this collection: Exile’s Gate back in 1988. I recall really enjoying it, but I never got around to reading the rest of the series. So when this book came out, I made sure to pick up a copy. But I haven’t made the time to read it. There is no time better than the present, right? That is why I’m going to get to this one in the next few months.
8. THE EYES OF GOD
John Marco’s Tyrants and Kings trilogy is a personal favorite of mine, so I’m sure it doesn’t surprise anyone when I admit collecting this series when it first was published. Nope, I never got around to reading it. Job. Marriage. Bills. Kids. All those things began for me around the time these books hit the market, and they really cut into the reading time. It didn’t cut into my ability to keep buying books though, so I have all four installments in this series. Now, to read them.
7. TWILIGHT REIGN
Several weeks ago, I took inventor of my books for a post. I was amazed at how long I had owned some of the novels I found stacked up in the bookshelf. What shocked me even more was how many of them I had never even opened. And so, I made a vow that from this day forward I will not buy a book I do not attempt to read within a couple weeks (or, maybe, months), which is why this used bookstore find has to be read during the fall. I always try to keep my promises.
6. TEMERAIRE: IN SERVICE TO THE KING
A while back this collection of the first three volumes of Naomi Novik’s long running series fell into my hands during a used bookstore trip. I was overjoyed to discover it. One, because it only cost me a couple dollars. Two, because I was glad to get several books in one volume, since I really expected to like this series. Hopefully, it was money well spent.
5. THE SCIONS OF SHANNARA
I’ve been making a bad joke for years now that it is a requirement that every fantasy fan have, at least, one Terry Brooks Shannara book prominently displayed on their bookshelf. Even if you never read it, the mere presence of Shannara signifies your acceptance into the fantasy fold. Whether you agree or disagree with the meaning behind my poor joke, I have several Shannara series on my shelves, and I want to move them, which means I’m starting with this one.
4. BLOODSONG
I bought the book due to the hype. Now, I feel strong enough to actually take a look at it and see if the hype was well earned. Yeah, I know opinions are mixed about the rest of the trilogy, but this one seems to be loved by nearly all, which terrifies the hell out of me. It always seems these “Can’t Miss” books and I never get along.
3. BEFORE THEY ARE HANGED
Another book I bought because of the hype but am now wary of reading. I suppose I have more cause with this novel, because I didn’t love the first book in the trilogy. It wasn’t bad necessarily, just fairly meh for me. I know I’m committing some fantasy sin by saying that about an offering from Lord Grimdark, but my opinion is my opinion. Be that as it may though, I do intend to read this novel, because . . . it is on my shelf.
2. THE WELL OF ASCENSION
Before anyone assumes this book by Sanderson falls into the hype-made-me-scared category, let me set you straight. Actually, I really liked the first book of this series, The Final Empire. It was so good, the ending so satisfactory, that I have a different problem: no desire to see what happens next. Everything ended so well I can’t see how this book won’t be a big letdown. But I need to read it or trade it, so I’m going to be revisiting this world in the fall.
1. THE DARKNESS THAT COMES BEFORE
I tried to read this quite a while ago. It was interesting enough, but I lost my way with it. Since setting the novel aside, I’ve read more about it, analyzed what fans love about it and what haters dislike, and I can’t help but believe this book and I should really match up well. So, I am going to give it another try. Hopefully, this time things work out, because I already have the next four installments of the series. Yeah, I’m a book hoarder, I already realized that.
Saint’s Blood
Today, I’m happy to have my son, Connor, return to the blog for yet another of his graphic novel reviews. Thankfully, this is becoming something of a regular occasion, and I personally will be enjoying it for as long as it lasts.
About Connor (In his dad’s words):
The Wheel of Osheim
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When I started writing, my inspirations were predominantly David Gemmell, Iain M. Banks, Terry Pratchett and Phil K. Dick. All these writers employed humour, to varying degrees, in their superb work. I have always believed that I have a wicked sense of humour (yeah, right). It followed, then, that when I wrote – in whatever capacity – I would simply find humour in certain dialogues, or situations, and exploit that humour. I couldn’t help it. It was just there. Hollywood are happy to make comedies about funerals, I’m happy to employ humour in my writing, whether that be SF, thrillers or dark fantasy. Often, the darkest subjects are those most prone to offering a humorous context.
My embedded “humour” reached an all-time high in a novel called Biohell, published by Solaris Books in 2006. When Combat K veteran Franco Haggis, (himself, a reasonably humorous character, I surmised – somebody who, when entering a bar, and was asked, “What would you like to drink?” would survey said bar, grin a toothy grin, and retort, “Everything!”) – well, when Franco married his tax-inspector girlfriend, Mel, who then transmogrified into an eight-foot zombie super-soldier whom Franco had to lead around on a chain leash… I was in my element. Unfortunately, the critics did not agree with my humour in this book. And thus, I learned, a more subtle approach was necessary.
characters found themselves in – and are inherently true to the natures of the characters involved. For example, Narnok the Axeman (himself a star from an earlier novel called The Iron Wolves), stubborn, tough-as-a-coffin-nail, angry, bed-tempered, when confronted by a snarky, violent, psychopathic dragon named Volak (whom could easily bite off his head) replies to the question, “What is your name, tiny human?” with the (quite logical, for his nature, I reasoned) with, “I’m Narnok. Don’t forget it. It’s a name I’m going to carve on your arse”. Well, to me, this was humour derived from a moment of peril. It was a candle in the dark. It was a smile at a funeral when one remembers a particularly humorous trait of a lost loved-one. Ultimately, it was the middle-finger of humanity raised against aggression when faced by insurmountable odds. Humour, yes, but highlighting that iron streak in human nature which I find so appealing.
