Here Are My Top 10 Reads, What Are Yours?

For this post I thought I would give you a rundown of my 10 favourite books as they stand right now. You may notice that the top 5 are all by the same author. I make no apologies for this. This is my favourite author and I’m yet to find another whose writing I enjoy so much. Then the next three are again from one author – but I note that one of these titles is clearly different from the other two. Anyway, here they are:

1 – The Blade Itself by Joe Abercombie.

The Blade Itself (The First Law, #1)

Wow! I love this book so much. It has everything I want: fantasy, magic, blood, gore, great characters and more. If you haven’t read this, you’re missing out.

2 – Before they are hanged by Joe Abercombie.

Before They Are Hanged (The First Law, #2)

Oh, so awesome.

3 – Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercombie.

Last Argument of Kings (The First Law, #3)

Oh, so twisted.

4 – The Heros by Joe Abercombie.

The Heroes (First Law World, #5)

Oh, so gory!

5 – Best Served Cold by Joe Abercombie.

Best Served Cold

Oh, so good!

6 – Alcatraz Versus The Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson.

Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians (Alcatraz, #1)

This book was a pleasure to read. It is witty and quirky, well paced and fun.

7 – The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson.

The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1)

I loved the magic system in this book, I found it to be very original and interesting.

8 – The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson.

The Hero of Ages (Mistborn, #3)

Because I enjoyed the first book so much and this continues the story.

9 – The Lascars Dagger by Glenda Larke.

The Lascar's Dagger (The Forsaken Lands, #1)

I liked this because the characters were interesting and the paganism that was included in the story really helped to build a magical world for me.

10 – Blood Faerie by India Drummond.

Blood Faerie (Caledonia Fae, #1)

This book surprised me and I found it a really enjoyable read.

And there you have it. So what’s your top ten?

Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why not check out his books here. You can also find his titles available in some libraries.

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Book Review – The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1)
The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Book Review – The Final Empire (Mistborn #1) by Brandon Sanderson The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson is a story of hope. Vin is a Skaa. A slave girl who has learnt to trust nobody. Oppressed, beaten and betrayed, her life feels worthless, until she meets Kelsier, then everything begins to change.

The Cover: A solid fantasy cover that depicts the story well.

The Good Stuff: I loved this book. There is an ‘allomantic’ magic system like I have never seen before (maybe it’s been done before, but this is the first time I have seen it). Personally, I love martial arts and I love the Matrix. The Mistborn in The Final Empire remind of both, they’re like magical Ninja’s with Matrix type abilities. Who doesn’t love a magical Ninja! Kelsier and Vin are both strong characters you will love, both with their own tear jerking stories. The Inquisitors are an original and ominous foe and the Lord Ruler is as much a god as he is made out to be. The characters work well with their individual traits and the world is well constructed with class distinctions, and a believable economy built off the backs off the Skaa.

The Bad Stuff: Okay, I’m going to be quite critical here in a nit-picking way, because I am actively looking for something to say on the bad stuff. Honestly, for me, it came down to two things. Firstly, in the beginning, there was a lot of white boarding in meetings. This took me out of the fantasy world and dropped me into the reality of my day job. There was also some word repetition with sentences ending in the same word or the same word being used several times in a paragraph. On the whole, these things were not a big issue for me, like I said… I’m nit-picking here!

Overall, this is a great fantasy novel and I look forward to reading the rest of Brandon’s books. If they are all as good as this one, I’m in for a very enjoyable time. This one gets a mist swirling, steel burning 5 out of 5 golden bookmarks.

Want to know if you agree with my review? Grab your own copy from these links:

amazon.com
amazon.com.au
Get it on Kobo

Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why not check out his books here. You can also find his titles available in libraries. 

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