Hi everyone, can’t believe that I’m back for another monthly wrap-up so soon. I’ve been getting back in the groove with some high/epic fantasy books in July, although I did feel a need to switch gears a bit after reading a pretty darn big one, which was none other than the massive sixth book in the Wheel of Time series.
NB. Books are rated within its genre. For avoidance of doubt, rereads are not considered for Book of the Month.
Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Series: The Founders Trilogy (Book #1 of 3)
Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Science Fantasy, Urban High Fantasy, Science Fiction
Pages: 512 pages (Hardcover)
Published: 1st August 2018 by Crown (US) & Jo Fletcher (UK)
Thrillingly fun and highly imaginative, Foundryside is one of the most promising starts to a series I have read.
ARC was provided by the publisher—Del Rey—in exchange for an honest review.
Locklands by Robert Jackson Bennett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Series: The Founders Trilogy (Book #3 of 3)
Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Science Fantasy, Urban High Fantasy, Science Fiction
Pages: 560 pages (Kindle edition)
Published: 28th June 2022 by Del Rey (US) & Jo Fletcher (UK)
Locklands is a truly inventive, emotional, genre-blending, and reality-defying finish to The Founders Trilogy.
“We’re all the result of countless actions and choices made throughout the centuries, and the odds of those actions and choices going the exact same way again are basically nil.”
Click here if you want to see the list of all the books I’ve read so far this year: Petrik’s Year in Books (2022)
Between 1st January 2021 and 27th June 2022, I’ve read 39 novels + 55 manga/manhwa volumes (31k pages).
Please read this first. There will be three rules I set in this list in order for me to give appreciation to more authors rather than having only a few authors hoarding this list. These rules allow me to highlight more authors, and at the same time, I’ll also be able to include both new and older books (many of them still need attention) that I read within this year.
Do note that although there’s a rank to this list, I HIGHLY recommend every book/series listed below because I loved all of them immensely, and they received a rating of 4.5 or 5 out of 5 stars from me. Without further ado, here are the top 10 books I’ve read this year so far! (All full reviews of the books listed can be found on Novel Notions and my Goodreads page.) …
Cover art by Gary Ruddell
Hyperion by Dan Simmons
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Series: Hyperion Cantos (Book #1 of 4)
Genre: Science Fiction, Space Opera
Pages: 483 pages (Kindle Edition)
Word count: 167,000 words
Published: 26th May 1989 by Spectra
My 600th review goes to Hyperion, an absolutely imaginative and magnificent classic science fiction novel.
After years of having Hyperion by Dan Simmons on my TBR, I can finally say that I’ve read this beloved classic sci-fi novel. Before I started reading this novel, I didn’t know much about the premise or the content of the Hyperion except that there’s this creature called The Shrike in it, and also this book or series is one of the most beloved and highly praised sci-fi novels of all time. I’m actually pretty shocked that Hyperion was first published in 1989. This felt like a book written way ahead of its time, and I’m not surprised this has become a classic now. Hyperion has been on my TBR pile for almost 6 years, and because I’ve been missing sci-fi a lot lately, I thought I might as well read this series now, and I’m definitely not disappointed by the first installment of the series.
Upgrade by Blake Crouch
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
I received an advance copy of this novel from the publisher, Ballantine Books, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
When I received an email announcing not only the galley release of Upgrade, but my randomly pre-approved status for it, I was ecstatic. I legitimately squealed. Dark Matter and Recursion were both instant favorites for me, so I couldn’t wait to read whatever Crouch had written next. Then I read the synopsis, which immediately brought to mind the movie and subsequent tv series, Limitless. I loved both iterations of the story, so my excitement swelled even larger. But Upgrade took that basic premise and encompassed not only the radical expansion of the mind, but of the workings of the body, as well. Even more amazing!
“The greatest threat to our species lies within us.”
However, whether due to my irrationally high expectations and excitement or the fact that I might not have been quite intelligent enough for this book, Upgrade left me feeling vaguely disappointed. While still a good story, it didn’t pack the same punch for me as its two predecessors. Subjectively, at least. Remember that this is strictly my opinion from my own experience with the book. No doubt this will be on several Best of 2022 lists. It just won’t be on mine. …
This is my journey in books for 2021!
Hi everyone, TS here! Firstly, I’d like to acknowledge that I’ve been inconsistent in my blogging/reviewing on Novel Notions this year. I couldn’t find the energy or will or brain-power as I found myself in a new expanded role at work that has a challenging learning curve, and discovered that I enjoy cooking and baking (even embarked on sourdough) so much that I started spending a lot of time in the kitchen.
I did manage to meet my reading challenge of 100 books this year regardless, and it’s probably the most diverse year of reading that I’ve had in my entire life. While fantasy remains my favourite genre for its sense of wonder, I found myself gravitating a lot towards mysteries this year, and also reading a lot more non-fiction.
I’ve decided to organise my best reads of 2021 a bit differently from prior years, somewhat thematically instead of the usual parameters and rankings.
And we’ll start with….
…
Cover Illustration by: Daniel Dociu
Leviathan Falls by James S.A. Corey
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Series: The Expanse (Book #9 of 9)
Genre: Sci-fi, Space Opera
Pages: 543 pages (Kindle Edition)
Published: 26th March 2019 by Orbit
My last review of 2021 is for the conclusion to the first big space opera series of novels I’ve ever finished to its completion, and I’m glad it’s The Expanse. …
Cytonic by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Series: Skyward (Book 3 of 4)
Genre: Science fiction, young adult
Published: 23rd November 2021 by Gollancz (UK) and Delacorte Press (US)
No surprises, Cytonic was a superb read filled with brilliantly creative worldbuilding and compelling characterisation that I’ve always expected, and received, from Sanderson.
It all started with a novella that he wrote and submitted to a magazine way back before he was even published. That piece of work received an honourable mention at the Writers of the Future contest in 2003, and after substantial re-editing in 2008 won first place in the UPC Science Fiction Award in Spain, and was published in the Oct/Nov 2008 issue of Asimov’s Science Fiction. However, for the most of the past decade, most readers have only known Sanderson as a bestselling fantasy author as aside from a few short stories, he had not really written a science fiction series. That is, not until Skyward came about – and it was just as fantastic as his fantasy writing. The fact that it’s YA took away nothing from his ability to spin the most incredibly engaging stories set in the most imaginative settings.
ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Cover art illustrated by: Felix Ortiz
Cover art designed by: STK.Kreations
Blacklight Born by Alexander Darwin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Series: The Combat Codes Saga (Book #3 of 3)
Genre: Science fiction, Dystopia, Martial Arts
Pages: 379 pages (Kindle edition)
Published: 14th July 2021 by Insight Forge Press (Self-published)
To my own bafflement, I finally finished reading a series for the first time this year. …