The Fifth Season is unique in so many ways and utterly magnificent how it all fits together.  The story takes some time to get used to as we follow three different plots, one of which is written in 2nd person point of view, but they fit together beautifully and as you get 1/3 of the way through the book you keep wanting to press on.

Earth (or this Earthlike fantasy planet) has become a world with disastrous nuclear winter-type long seasons (referred to as Fifth Seasons) due to geologic volatility. Humans live in comms (communities) which prepare for these long seasons. There is a long and often referenced history to the world as it is and there are humans able to keep it stable through their ability to control the earth with their minds. These people are often hated, but necessary and controlled by the guardians.

There is so much to say about this book, but I don’t want to give too much away. Undoubtedly it is one of the best science fiction / fantasy novels of all time. I cannot recommend The Fifth Season enough.

Felan’s Rescue is now available on Audiobook!

Felan’s Rescue is now available in Ebook form (and Kindle Unlimited), Hardback, and Paperback!

When I reviewed A Clash of Kings back in 2013, I said, “I thought it was every bit as good as A Game of Thrones.”  Though I have Game of Thrones higher on this list because I think it probably stays with me a little more in terms of memorable moments, I think that statement is basically accurate. 

This book was particularly great for two of my favorite characters Jon Snow and Tyrion Lannister. The Night’s Watch plotline really started to pick up and got me very intrigued for the future volumes. It was cool to see the difference in how Tyrion handled all the leaders at Kings Landing as compared to Ned Stark who clearly was not prepared for all the deceit. All the magic which was kept to the periphery in A Game of Thrones became more and more prominent.

GRRM continued to give us plot twists we did not see coming. He keeps readers on their toes throughout the book. Another special part of Martin is his ability to make us have complicated feelings about his characters.  This book only had one scene with Jamie Lannister (to my recollection) and yet it set up so much of where his character was going and began to shift my view on a character that I hated in the first book.  In 2013, I wrote (having not read beyond Clash at the time) “Jamie Lannister…has had his share of treachery and yet I have a grudging respect for his perverse sense of morality. A scene between him and Catelyn Stark to me was the highlight of this book.” 

 I stand by that.  I loved that scene.  It’s the scene from this novel that stays with me to this day.  And Jamie went on to be the most compelling character in the series, at least from my perspective.  The first three books in Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire series are an absolute triumph in storytelling.  It’s no surprise how great they translated to tv and how much mainstream audiences embraced this story. 

Felan’s Rescue is now available on Audiobook!

Felan’s Rescue is now available in Ebook form (and Kindle Unlimited), Hardback, and Paperback!

I mentioned before that Abercrombie is my favorite fantasy offer, so it may surprise people that this is the only novel from the original First Law trilogy on my list (the other two weren’t far off).  The Blade Itself took a while for the plot to get going and built to a typical quest fantasy trope.  In Before They Are Hanged the plot is clear, it moves, and Abercrombie begins to turn typical quest fantasy tropes on their head. 

Before They Are Hanged is three different stories one a quest to find the seed that allows the Magi to bring magic from “the other side”, an investigation to uncover a treasonous plot and defend a city, and a war in the north where unexplained happenings are a major factor. I felt each story worked well in its own way. 

The thing Abercrombie does better than anyone in fantasy is write incredible characters, and this novel was no exception.  Our main characters all get great moments.  We get introduced to the Dogman for the first time and of course, Nicomo Cosca is introduced.  Cosca for me is an all-time character and is one of the highlights of the novel.  The First Law trilogy is mostly excellent, but this novel is its crown jewel. 

Felan’s Rescue is now available on Audiobook!

Felan’s Rescue is now available in Ebook form (and Kindle Unlimited), Hardback, and Paperback!

               This is another big jump for me as we go from elite novels to elite plus…the rest of these novels are pretty much flawless in my book and are really only differentiated by personal taste.  There are some books that just stand out from the rest. This is one of those books.

Golden Son is the brilliant sequel to Red Rising.  It builds on the universe created in Red Rising, raises the stakes, increases the already breakneck pace, and delivers a relentlessly exciting masterpiece.   It was non-stop excitement from beginning to end. 

The relationships Darrow builds throughout the story are fully realized, even with the plot moving at an incredible pace. There is real weight to what happens. A chapter called “A Dance” is wonderfully written and really highlights the complexity of his relationship with Mustang… that scene and their last scene together in this book really stand out to me and separate this book from the prior one. Darrow really comes of age.  I won’t spoil any more, but after the end, I needed to immediately move on to the final book in the trilogy. Read this series. 

Felan’s Rescue is now available on Audiobook!

Felan’s Rescue is now available in Ebook form (and Kindle Unlimited), Hardback, and Paperback!

It’s the 8^th book out of 9 in the Expanse series and the quality of the series doesn’t drop a bit.  The threat of Laconia is central to the story but the series-defining threat building since the introduction of the protomolecule in book 1 trumps everything else. Our favorite characters get great moments and the table is set for a dazzling conclusion in book 9.

I can see why this is the best-reviewed in the series on goodreads (though all get really solid reviews).  Not much else to say about an 8^th book in a 9-book series without giving too much away from the earlier books, but if you’ve gone this far in the series this surely won’t disappoint.

Felan’s Rescue is now available on Audiobook!

Felan’s Rescue is now available in Ebook form (and Kindle Unlimited), Hardback, and Paperback!

It’s the best of the three Lord of the Rings novels (it’s also the best of the excellent movies).  Not burdened by the formation of the quest and travelogue of Fellowship and without a seemingly disconnected story like the scouring of the Shire in Return of the King, the Two Towers has little waste and is a tour de force of incredible moments.  From Frodo and Sam’s journey, to the meeting of the Ents, to all the incredible action in Rohan, this one never lets up.  The story in fact had so many incredible moments that the movie moved a couple to Return of the King.

            The novel is divided into two main parts.  The first is the happenings in Rohan where Saruman’s influence is felt throughout the kingdom.  The second is the journey of Sam and Frodo, as they try to get to Mordor to destroy the ring of power.  Both parts are full of great action and compelling characters.  Gollum’s role in this one is huge and so crucial to the story.  I also was a huge fan of Faramir from the beginning.  The Lord of the Rings is a masterpiece, and The Two Towers is the best of the three. 

Felan’s Rescue is now available on Audiobook!

Felan’s Rescue is now available in Ebook form (and Kindle Unlimited), Hardback, and Paperback!

No novel has ever had me fully on board as quickly as The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.  The title alone sold me and then the opening page had me thinking…”yea, this is definitely for me.”  From the description of the solar system as the “uncharted backwaters” of the galaxy, to calling humans (“ape descended life forms”) primitive because of their love of digital watches, to saying Jesus was “nailed to a tree” for saying we should treat each other well, Adams tickled all my humor nerves from the jump.  Then he managed to tell a hilarious story, with fun, interesting characters while continuing to make me laugh throughout.

               The entire concept of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is incredible, high-concept science fiction.  Traveling the Galaxy on a budget, like high school graduates might travel Europe…the idea is so simple and so brilliant.  Arthur, Ford, Trillian and Zaphod give a great core four to explore the universe with (and of course Marvin, our depressed robot).  The book is so much fun, I’d even be willing to listen to some Vogon poetry if it meant I got to enjoy this one again and again. 

Felan’s Rescue is now available on Audiobook!

Felan’s Rescue is now available in Ebook form (and Kindle Unlimited), Hardback, and Paperback!

This is probably the weirdest fit for this list and the novel I like more than I am guessing most Science Fiction and Fantasy fans.  It’s historical fiction.  It’s horror.   It’s probably a stretch to call it fantasy, but there are plenty of fantastical elements in the story and I think it is so brilliant I just had to include it on my list.

I have incredible admiration for the work of Dan Simmons. He always seems to put a great deal of research and effort into his books. Going back to the Hyperion Series and the Illium/Olympos books where he was able to blend literature and poetry of Keats, Shakespeare, Chaucer and others into fascinating futuristic science fiction.  The Terror quite simply is one of the most incredible works of fiction I have ever encountered. The Terror is historical fiction with a blend of horror. The horror aspects of the story involving the massive white predator that terrorizes the ship are intense and fascinating. A scene where the Ice master tries to escape from the monster is among my favorite in the book.

But had Simmons avoided the fantastical elements altogether and made this purely historical fiction, the novel would still work.  What makes this book so special is the realism Simmons is able to invoke about what it would be like to be stuck in the ice in the arctic and the incredible decisions the captain is forced to make to keep his crew alive. 

At its core, this is a tale of survival in a place nature doesn’t want you to survive. The research Simmons had to do to create that realism is incredible. At times I got cold just reading this story.  Simmons manages to convey the brutality of this icy setting and the medical issues they faced trying to survive with incredible depth and almost excessive brutality. The Terror is just a masterful piece of literature, one that I would recommend to anyone. It is a brutal tale with much devastation along the way, but it is certainly a worthy journey.

Felan’s Rescue is now available on Audiobook!

Felan’s Rescue is now available in Ebook form (and Kindle Unlimited), Hardback, and Paperback!

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell was one of those books that had insane praise, that you almost felt you had to read.  So, I did, and I was rewarded with an incredible, unique reading experience.  That being said, you have to commit if you are to read it. It takes a good 100-200 pages to really get into the flow of the story.  Clarke creates a system of magic for early 19th century England that seems perfectly believable.  And she does it with a flare and style few authors achieve. 

The relationship between Norrell and Strange is what makes this book so special. Their worldviews are so different, their philosophies collide and yet, there clearly is a level of respect between them. It is interesting that Norrell is the meticulous, more careful magician but it is his reckless use of magic in summoning the Faerie that caused much of the problems later on. At 850 pages, this book reads even longer because of the inordinate number of footnotes (Clarke often goes on for pages), but those footnotes color the entire story and give the reader a great understanding of magic in England.  Clarke blends beautiful prose, a unique style, and an intriguing story to create a reading experience like no other novel. 

Felan’s Rescue is now available on Audiobook!

Felan’s Rescue is now available in Ebook form (and Kindle Unlimited), Hardback, and Paperback!

While Prisoner of Azkaban is the best individual novel in the series, Half Blood Prince combines a great individual novel with a perfect book for its place as the penultimate novel in the series.  This novel is the most focused on Voldemort but in the best way. 

And most importantly, the titular character (spoiler warning) is also Rowling’s best literary creation.  Severus Snape is the best part of the Harry Potter series.  He’s the complicated antagonist that brings out the best in this series.  I finished this book and knew fans would be debating Snape until the final novel was released.  He’s that important to the narrative.  For as long as Half-Blood Prince is, it doesn’t feel like it meanders around nearly as much as the prior 2 novels (and Deathly Hallows) because every scene really matters to the overall narrative of the series.  This novel is Rowling at her best.

Felan’s Rescue is now available on Audiobook!

Felan’s Rescue is now available in Ebook form (and Kindle Unlimited), Hardback, and Paperback!