Welcome to My Top Ten of the Past Two Years series, where I look back at my favourite books, games and TV series (amongst other things) during my blogging hiatus.
| My Top Ten Books of the Past Two Years: July 2018 – July 2020 |
Although my numbers have been down over the past two years, I have been fortunate enough to read a whole host of stunning, thrilling and darn right bloody books, and it would be remiss of me not to share them with you all.
And here we hit the crux of the problem…
There are far too many five star reads to choose even ten favourites; but endeavour I must. In an effort not to wind up umm-ing and aah-ing over a mountain of books all day, all series, finished and unfinished, have been lumped together and tied with a bow!
In no particular order, here are My Top Ten Books of the Past Two Years!
| 1. |
Kings of the Wyld
by Nicholas Eames
What a debut! Kings of the Wyld is a funny, action-packed adventure full of mercenaries, manticores and mages. This is a novel which hooks you in early and takes you on a perilous ride to the end – with more bloody battles, monsters and aged mercs than you can shake a stick at.
It’s just so damned good!
Next in Series:
| 2. |
Wrath
by John Gwynne
Just as I took my prolonged break from blogging I finished Wrath, the final instalment in John Gwynne’s The Faithful and the Fallen series. It wrapped events up so perfectly, and delivered such a brilliant conclusion, that The Faithful and the Fallen stand out as one of the best fantasy series I have ever read.
With A Time of Dread already tucked under my belt, it’s safe to say that it’s about time I revisited the Banished Lands once again.
| 3. |
Book of the Ancestor
Red Sister + Grey Sister
By Mark Lawrence
I cannot even begin to describe just how much I love this series. The first two instalments of the Book of the Ancestor are written so well, are so immersive, and have some of the most brilliantly crafted and multi-faceted characters, that they would probably top my list of favourite reads ever – never mind in the past two years!
Holy Sister here I come.
Next in Series:
Bound (Short Story) + Holy Sister
| 4. |
The Iron Ghost
by Jen Williams
Jen Williams is amazing. Her worldbuilding is amazing, her characters are amazing and every book she writes is just.. well… amazing.
The Iron Ghost, the second book in the Copper Cat Trilogy, is chock full of excitement, adventure and good humour, and lived up to all my (very high) expectations.
Next in Series:
| 5. |
The Ninth Rain
by Jen Williams
In the first book in The Winnowing Flame Trilogy, Jen Williams pulls out all the stops to create a vast, beautiful and original fantasy that is sure to be enduring.
The Ninth Rain was so utterly absorbing, and the plot so exciting, that I had to stop myself from reading it all in one go. Not to mention the characters and world building being one hundred per-cent on point.
Next in Series:
The Bitter Twins + The Poison Song
| 6. |
The Greatcoats
Traitor’s Blade, Knight’s Shadow, Saint’s Blood + Tyrant’s Throne
by Sebastien de Castell
Sebastien de Castell’s Greatcoats series takes us on a thrilling journey across troubled lands. Balancing fun and danger in equal measure, this is a world inhabited by complex, amusing characters, where a duel is only a challenge away.
Not a moment went by across all four books where I wasn’t lost in the lives of Falcio, Kest and Brasti – the Three Musketeers of fantasy – and I don’t regret a moment spent with them!
| 7. |
The Grey Bastards
by Jonathan French
Live in the saddle. Die on the hog.
The Grey Bastards is an amazing piece of foul-mouthed, blood soaked, grim and gritty fantasy literature. The winner of 2016’s Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off (SPFBO), this novel sits uncontested in my top ten books of the past two years and I cannot wait to continue the ride.
Next in Series:
| 8. |
Orconomics
by J. Zachary Pike
And another SPFBO winner graces my top ten list… which does make me wonder about all those other amazing self-published books I had no idea existed – and probably still don’t!
Orconomics is a wonderful, satirical, comedy romp through fantasy-land which manages to excite, entertain and even tug on the heart strings at times. Gorm Ingerson and his unwanted band of less-than-merry misfits have become firm favourites.
Next in Series:
| 9. |
Sins of Empire
by Brian McClellan
When I first read Promise of Blood, I enjoyed it so much that I had to create a whole new five-star-plus category when reviewing it; but as time and life caught up with me, I simply forgot to pick up the next two books in the series.
In the interim, Sins of Empire managed to slip its way onto my Kindle, a book set after the events of The Powder Mage Trilogy. In completely uncharacteristic fashion, I cracked it open and waded through a whole swamp of Powder Mage spoilers to its wonderful conclusion. And it didn’t even matter. Sins of Empire is brilliant, Brian McClellan is brilliant, and I think I could read any of his books in any order and would still enjoy the ride!
Next in Series:
Wrath of Empire + Blood of Empire
| 10. |
The Nevernight Chronicle
Nevernight + Godsgrave
by Jay Kristoff
I was reading Nevernight just as I stopped blogging in 2018 and never got to share just how wonderful this book is! Nevernight and its sequel, Godsgrave, are dark, grim and treacherous, and an absolute bloody joy to read.
Kristoff is a master of suspense who takes us through a labyrinth of twists and turns before an always brilliant conclusion. I hadn’t expected to love this series as much as I do and it’s opened a world of Kristoff’s writing that I never even realised existed!
Next in Series:
Stay tuned for my follow up posts:
My Top Ten Games of the Past Two Years
and
My Top Ten TV Series of the Past Two Years
What have been your favourite books of the past few years?
Books by Proxy 
I love seeing Kings of the Wyld on your list, I’m so anxious for the third book in the series to come out already!
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I take it you enjoyed Bloody Rose then?! I cant wait to start it!! 😀
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John Gwynne has quickly become one of my favorite authors and one of the outstanding writers of epic fantasy: I still need to read the last two volumes in The Faithful and the Fallen, while I completed his Of Blood and Bone series, and they are all totally immersive reads….
The same goes for McClellan of course! 🙂
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I remember when I first picked up Malice I couldn’t get into it! I didn’t have to persevere for very long though as I was swept away with the rest of series and had almost forgotten about my faltering start! 😀
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I was lucky in that my first Gwynne read was A Time of Dread: from that point on I was an unreserved fan… 🙂
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What a fantastic list – I completely agree with your choice of Jen Williams’ writing. She is all kinds of fabulous and I’ve read both series and loved them! And while I’ve read Sebastian de Castell’s Spellslinger series and LOVED it – I haven’t had the pleasure of his Greatcoat series – something I need to tuck into. And I’ve had Malice on my TBR pile for YEARS, so that’s another series I should pick up… Thank you for sharing, Proxy. I look forward to reading more about your 2020 choices:))
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Thanks Sarah! I feel almost overwhelmed with just how many amazing sequels I have to read – how do I possibly choose which to read next!?
And you really must try them both! I’m sure you won’t regret it! 😄
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Yes… and like you – I need to sort out the number of series I’m running and put them into a reading order! A task to complete before the end of the month, I think…
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That’s actually not a bad idea! Maybe I should prioritise my unfinished series!
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Beyond excited for these lists, esp this one!!
A lot of these books are on my TBR too. Loved Kings of the Wyld as well. It was such fun and I NEED to read the next book.
Grey Bastards didn’t work out for me though. I ended up DNF’ing it with plans to revisit it another time because I think it’s because I wasn’t in the mood for that story when I picked it up.
Red Sister and those Sebastien de Castell books are high on my TBR.
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Oh I really think you would love the Book of the Ancestor series! It’s wonderful.. and it’s a great example of brilliant female characters written well by a male author! 😀
I hope you end up enjoying The Grey Bastards too! When I first started John Gwynne’s series I almost DNF Malice and had to come back to it. No regrets!
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Wow Wrath looks fun! And this is an awesome list. As someone who wants to find a good new fantasy series or three lol this gives me some ideas!
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Hehe I’m glad to be of help! 😀 I’d be hard pressed choosing a favourite from amongst them!
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Yess Jen Williams. ❤ I need to read a few of these, e.g. Kings of the Wyld. And catch up on Sebastien de Castell — I’ve only read the first book!
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I did that with Castell. I read the first in the Greatcoats series and then left a huuuuge gap before reading the next three all at once! So good! 😀
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Kings of the Wyld is a book that I bought ages ago and I really do need to find time very soon to pick up.
Lynn 😀
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I really do recommend! It’s excellent fun 😀
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