Reader Picks: Your favorite posts of 2014

Before I get into my favorite reads of 2014, I want to give my two loyal readers the spotlight. So, based on page views, here are the Top 10 reviews of 2014, according to readers of The Royal Library. There will be some overlap with my list, coming soon.

Thanks for reading the blog this year, and I hope to see you again in 2015.

10. "Raising Steam" by Terry Pratchett. Published May 7. It's hard to go wrong with Sir Pterry, even if there's not quite as much bite as there used to be in his work.

 9. The Legend of Drizzt: "The First Notch," read by Felicia Day. Published August 20. So, my experiment with Audiobooks got derailed quickly as I found it hard late in the year to spend an hour or so listening to a story. You guys seemed to enjoy the first installment (or maybe it just had to do with the flirty cosplay photo of Felicia Day?), so I may try to finish this series up in the new year.

8. "The Crown Tower" by Michael J. Sullivan. Published January 16. The first of two Sullivan works to appear on this list. This book begins a series of prequels based on his popular characters Hadrian Blackwater and Royce Melborn.

7. "Veil of the Deserters" by Jeff Salyards. Published December 5. The second volume of Bloodsounder's Arc is the most recently published post to make your list. It got good traffic quickly as I explained how Salyards won me over after I was unsure of the first book in the series.

6. "Promise of Blood" by Brian McClellan. Published March 26. Brian McClellan was one of my favorite discoveries of the past year. Obviously, you guys like him, too, as "Promise of Blood" is the first of two McClellan books on the list. You guys have great taste.

5. "The Emperor's Blades" by Brian Staveley. Published February 1. My own reading list was a little short on the epic fantasy this year, but Staveley offered one of the most promising starts that I've read to a series in a while with this one. Can't wait for round two, coming soon.

Tie - 4. "The Rose and the Thorn" by Michael J. Sullivan. Published August 18. We have a tie at No. 4 between two authors who have already appeared on the list. They're also both second books in the series. To me, this is one of the best installments in Sullivan's tales of Royce and Hadrian, though not my favorite Sullivan book of the year, I don't think. See that one on my list.

Tie - 4. "The Crimson Campaign" by Brian McClellan. Published August 26. McClellan's already promising and original Powder War series got even better in the second installment. I definitely agree with my readers that it's one of the top five books of the year.

3. "Prince of Fools" by Mark Lawrence. Published July 28. Lawrence, to me, is one of the best authors to hit the scene in the last five years or so. Though I don't like Prince Jalan as much as Jorg, this was another promising start. Obviously, you agree.

2. "The Willfull Princess and the Piebald Prince" by Robin Hobb. Published August 11. August was a good month for the blog. There were a lot of articles you guys liked. I'm a little surprised that it was not my review of Hobb's "Fool's Assassin" that drew the most attention, but this one.

1. "Boy's Life" by Robert McCammon. Published June 10. Talk about an oldie but goodie. I waited a long time to read this book, and my review of it drew more than twice the traffic of the No. 2 choice on this list. A lot of people connect with it, it seems, and now I know why.