Reading List Ramble

At the time of writing, I’m reading Rome and the Mediterranean, by Titus Livy, the last of his works I have to read. But I also have a pretty hefty reading list of mostly fantasy books and for those looking for something to sink their teeth into I thought a menu of fantastic fare might prove useful (not least as many will soon be getting bookstore gift vouchers and the like).

I’ve read the first three Chronicles of the Black Gate, by Phil Tucker, and really enjoyed them a lot. They’re set in a fictional world with different parts accessed by various gates (the Black Gate leading somewhere rather horrid, and the White Gate opening the path to Heaven). The plot has nice twists and turns, and the characters shift and change in a credible way that makes friends into enemies and vice versa. It’s entertained me so far and I will be buying the later entries at some point.

Whilst we’re on sequels, I’ve really enjoyed the Stormlight Archive series by Brandon Sanderson. Especially good for fans of enormo-books, the latest instalment, Rhythm of War, came out in November (part 4, I think) and each entry is about 1,200 pages. Lots of world-building, interesting backstories and epic fantasy for those with a voracious appetite.

Chris Wooding’s Tales of the Ketty Jay is a quartet of rollicking adventures in an engaging steampunk world. Annoyingly, I’ve already read them. However, he does have another series, The Darkwater Legacy, and I’ve been meaning to give that a look. And if you haven’t read Tales of the Ketty Jay I can strongly recommend it.

I recently read and reviewed The Faithful and the Fallen part 1: Malice, by John Gwynne. It took me a little while to get into it, but the plot twists were very nicely handled and the finale was excellent. The sequel is called Valour, and is on the ever-growing monstrosity that is my reading list.

A couple of months ago my internet fell off, so I had a few days with limited distractions and no possibility of work. Luckily, I also had Half A King by Joe Abercrombie, which I absolutely devoured in a couple of days (fastest I’ve read a book for an awfully long time). The other two parts in the Shattered Sea Series are most definitely to be read in the future.

In the more distant past I wrote some Snapshot reviews, reviewing just the samples of various books. I found this pretty fun and also discovered some very promising stories, most of which I haven’t read yet due to my inability to bend time.

The Copper Promise, by Jen Williams, was right up my street, an old school fantasy of treasure hunting and torture.

Kingshold, by DP Woolliscroft, had an intriguing setup of a kingdom shifting from monarchy to democracy and a range of engaging POV characters, and is something I’ve always intended to read in full.

The Thief Who Pulled On Trouble’s Braids Michael McClung, and Dangerous to Know by KT Davies both piqued my interest and opened series focusing on thieves with intriguing premises.

Those are just the things off the top of my head. There are plenty more great samples I encountered during the Snapshot reviews, and hopefully, if you like fantasy, that’ll provide you with some ideas of what to consider if you’ve got money to burn and aren’t sure what to try next.

Thaddeus