The Christmas rush and elation is over. Most everyone seemed happy with the holiday around my house, which is always nice. But all the last minute shopping, family visits, and lazy leisure time definitely put a major kink in my reading, so this week is catch up time.

The first book I’ll be finishing up this week is a great short story collection.

Road Brothers by Mark Lawrence

Genre: Fantasy – Grimdark

Series: The Broken Empire #3.5

Publisher: self-published (December 15, 2015)

Author Information: Website | Twitter

Length: 124 pages

10 short stories from the lives of Jorg and his Road Brothers. Contains spoilers for the Broken Empire trilogy. 5 of the stories have previously been published in anthologies, Contains the short story ‘Sleeping Beauty’ that is also sold separately. A total of 43.000 words or just over half the length of Prince of Thorns.

Praise for the book.

“What wonderful short stories that include characters from The Broken Empire series and The Red Queen’s War. They were each unique and offered insight into events that happened before or in between adventures we experience in the full-length novels. They do contain spoilers. My particular favorite was “The Nature of the Beast”, about Brother Rike. There’s a quote from it that really stood out and makes me remember the gut-grinding twist at the end of Emperor of Thorns. It’s a powerful piece of writing in a short story that matches the intensity of the novel. I highlighted it in my Kindle and made a note so it would be easy to find again. The note said, “Damn!!” I only meant to use one exclamation point, but hit the second by mistake and realized it was really worth keeping there.

Loved this. Thanks for sharing these incredible short stories in this volume, Mr. Lawrence!” – ARC

Purchase the book at Amazon.

Path of Destruction by Drew Karpyshyn.

Genre: SciFi – Star Wars

Series: Darth Bane #1

Publisher: Del Rey Books (June 6, 2007)

Author Information: Website | Twitter

Length: 324 pages

Once the Sith order teemed with followers. But their rivalries divided them in endless battles for supremacy. Until one Dark Lord at last united the Sith in the quest to enslave the galaxy—and exterminate the Jedi. Yet it would fall to another, far more powerful than the entire Brotherhood of Darkness, to ultimately realize the full potential of the Sith and wield the awesome power of the dark side as never before.

Since childhood, Dessel has known only the abuse of his hateful father and the dangerous, soul-crushing labor of a cortosis miner. Deep in the tunnels of the desolate planet Apatros, endlessly excavating the rare mineral valued throughout the galaxy, Dessel dreams of the day he can escape—a day he fears may never come. But when a high-stakes card game ends in deadly violence, Dessel suddenly finds himself a wanted man.

On the run from vengeful Republic forces, Dessel vanishes into the ranks of the Sith army, and ships out to join the bloody war against the Republic and its Jedi champions. There, Dessel’s brutality, cunning, and exceptional command of the Force swiftly win him renown as a warrior. But in the eyes of his watchful masters, he is destined for a far greater role in the ultimate Sith plan for the galaxy—if he can prove himself truly worthy.

As an acolyte in the Sith academy, studying the secrets and skills of the dark side at the feet of its greatest masters, Dessel embraces his new Sith identity: Bane. However the true test is yet to come. In order to gain acceptance into the Brotherhood of Darkness one must fully surrender to the dark side through a trial by fire that Bane, for all his unquenchable fury and lust for power, may not be strong enough to endure . . . especially since deception, treachery, and murder run rampant among the Sith disciples, and utter ruthlessness alone is the key to survival. Only by defying the most sacred traditions, rejecting all he has been taught, and drawing upon the long-forgotten wisdom of the very first Sith can Bane hope to triumph–and forge from the ashes of that which he must destroy a new era of absolute dark power.

Praise for the book.

“In the latest Star Wars novel, Karpyshyn (Temple Hill) charts the evolution of an antihero almost as chilling as Darth Vader. “A thousand years before the Republic’s collapse and Emperor Palpatine’s rise to power,” Des, the young “Force”-gifted son of an abusive miner, wins big in a high stakes game with some Republic soldiers, but kills a sore loser. To avoid imprisonment, Des joins the Sith’s Brotherhood of Darkness that’s battling the Jedi’s Army of Light. Des becomes Lord Bane after his abilities earn him a place at the Sith Academy on the planet Korriban. Determined to excel, Bane secretly trains with the devious Githany, former Jedi turned Sith, but after she betrays him, he decides to fly solo and delve deeper into the Sith past. The intensity lets up on occasion, but on the whole the author delivers a solid space adventure sure to satisfy the Star Wars faithful.”

– Publishers Weekly

“The new Star Wars novel harks back to the oldest republic of them all, in which there are thousands of dark lords of the Sith. Darth Bane, one of the most powerful, foresees that internecine quarrels are going to destroy everyone, and with them, possibly, the knowledge for using the dark side of the Force. He promulgates the Rule of Two–rule by two Sith at a time–a master and a loyal apprentice. First master: Darth Bane. A high body count ensues, also a galaxy-shaking alteration in how adepts approach the Force.” – Booklist

Purchase the book at Amazon.

And lastly, I am going to start and finish last weeks book: The Providence of Fire.