My favorite reads of 2017

I had a lot going on in the latter quarter of the year that led me to slack off a bit in my reading, but it was still a pretty good year.

It was a year of discovering new voices for me. At least three quarters of the books that I read were by authors that I had not read before – some brand new, and at least one a classic author that I’d never given a shot. A few of my favorites also delivered solid additions to my library, and I took a few trips down memory lane, as well.

As I do every year, I want to make it clear that this list is in no way a “best of.” I simply don’t get to read enough books to qualify me to say what was the best of the year. These are just my favorite reads of 2017 (some of which are not from 2017). They also are in no particular order, though I’ll admit the first few are definitely my favorites.

Reader Picks: Your favorite posts of 2017

The list of most-viewed items this year is interesting and a bit disappointing in that it's almost chronological for the first half of the year. Usually the entries are scattered, with a few things getting big bursts of interest. Of course, that result is pretty par for the course with the way this blog went this year -- a great deal of traffic early, tapering off late. That's most likely my fault, as work consumed me much of the second half of the year, and I did much less reading and writing than usual. When you go a month between posts, things tend to die.

Still, I'll keep with tradition in hopes that things pick up in the coming year and offer the most viewed posts of 2017.

10. "Son of the Black Sword," by Larry Correia. Published May 2. A bit of a departure from what I'm used to with Correia -- more serious with less humor -- but I enjoyed it quite a bit.

9. "The Death of Dulgath," by Michael J. Sullivan. Published April 11. I waited far too long to visit with my old friends Royce and Hadrian. Not the best of Sullivan's Ryria novels, but certainly not a disappointment.

Review: "The Death of Dulgath," by Michael J. Sullivan

It’s been too long since I traveled with Royce Melborn and Hadrian Blackwater, so it was good to see them again in Michael J. Sullivan’s “The Death of Dulgath” ($14.95, Riyria Enterprises).

Riyria has drawn one of its strangest assignments yet. After three failed assassination attempts, Royce and Hadrian have been hired to protect the Lady Dulgath, who rules over a strange and prosperous land where it never rains during the day and crops never fail.

Well, not protect, exactly. Royce has been hired to find the best way to assassinate her so that the local officials can prevent it.

The Lady Dulgath, though, turns out to be quite a bit more than Royce and Hadrian expect. She seems to have knowledge beyond her years, and she’s also seemingly unconcerned about the attempts on her life.

Add to that the fact that Royce and Hadrian don’t exactly endear themselves to the local public upon their arrival, and you have a very uncomfortable situation for our favorite thieves.

My favorite reads of 2014

It's that time of year again when all the "best of" lists arrive. I do those over on my music site, but I do something a little different here.

Because my reading time is limited, and there's really no possible way that I could read every book in every genre that I enjoy, I don't believe it's really reasonable for me to say what the best books of the year are. Instead, I simply offer up my favorite reads of 2014.

Not all of them will be from 2014. There are a couple from 2013, one that's nearly 20 years old, and even one from 2015. They're also in no particular order. The first three or so stand out as the ones that had the biggest impact, but after that things get a little muddy and, if I rewrote this list 10 times, the order would likely change every time.

Enjoy, and I'll see you next year.

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.

Review: "Hollow World" by Michael J. Sullivan

I almost didn’t want to read Michael J. Sullivan’s “Hollow World” ($15.95, Tachyon Publications).

Don’t get me wrong. I love Sullivan’s work. His tales of the Riryia are some of my favorite fantasy discoveries of recent years – the kind of rousing, old school adventure tales that brought me to the genre in the first place. Now, he suddenly shifts to science fiction, a genre that I don’t read often and am very picky about what I do read.

But the Riryia tales were too good for me not to give “Hollow World” a go, and, oh man, wow.

Ellis Rogers leads an unhappy life. He’s stuck in a loveless marriage and has been since the suicide of his son, a tragedy that he’s still trying to cope with. Now, he’s been diagnosed with a terminal illness and is looking at six months if he’s lucky.

During his years of misery, Ellis has secretly built a time machine in his garage. With the news of his impending death, he decides to go against his character, throw caution to the wind and crank up the machine for a trip 200 years into the future. He misses slightly.

Review: "The Rose and the Thorn" by Michael J. Sullivan

I’m not usually big on prequels. In most cases, I think it takes some of the suspense and tension out of the story because you know what happened. I’ll make a very big exception for Michael J. Sullivan’s “The Rose and the Thorn” ($16, Orbit), though. Not only is it a great prequel, but one of the best books in his Riyria series.

We rejoin Hadrian and Royce during the uneasy tension of their early days together, as Hadrian tries to prove to Royce that people are basically good and Royce tries to prove his position that everyone is selfish and uncaring. The book opens on this note as Hadrian pauses to help a woman who says she needs a drunken, threatening man removed from her barn. That man proves to be none other than Viscount Albert Winslow, and the woman, well, let’s just say she’s not as helpless as she pretended.

That sets the stage for the birth of Riryia. The pair heads back to Medford House to visit their friend Gwen DeLancey only to be shockingly turned away. They find themselves across the street at the establishment of the girls’ old boss Grue, where they find that Gwen was brutally beaten on the street. That sets Royce on a course of vengeance that will alter the political landscape and set some of the events of the Riryia Revelations into motion.

Review: "The Crown Tower" by Michael J. Sullivan

What do you do when you end your series with some finality, but your No. 1 reader wants more tales about your character? Michael J. Sullivan takes us back to the beginning in "The Crown Tower" ($16, Orbit).

As Sullivan explains in the introduction to the book, his wife wanted to read more about his hero Hadrian Blackwater, but he felt that any other story he had to tell about Hadrian and his partner Royce Melborn would feel tacked on. Instead, he takes us 12 years into their past, to the moment that they came together thanks to a university professor.

Arcadius, of the University in Sheridan, has purchased Royce's freedom from Manzant prison and asks for a service in return. The professor was also friends with Hadrian's father and calls the warrior to him to fulfill one of his father's final wishes. The result is a near impossible heist and an unlikely alliance between the fierce warrior Hadrian, who is looking for something a bit more noble in life, and the ruthless and amoral Royce, whose response to every problem is a knife to the throat.

Favorite reads of 2012

I’m going to try something new this year. I’ve been reluctant to do a year-end list for books because it’s such a daunting task. It’s fairly easy with music because I get tons of new music, I can easily listen to it on the go, and at the end of the year, I feel like I’ve at least heard all of the major releases in my favorite genres.

Books are tougher. In a good year, I figure I read 40-50 books. That’s not even a drop in the bucket as far as what’s released, even just in my favorite genres. Plus, I’m always dipping back a few years to pick up books that I missed or revisiting some classics that I either missed or haven’t read in years.

So this list certainly won’t reflect “the best books of 2012.” Instead, I’ll just call it my list of favorite books that I read in 2012. It doesn’t necessarily mean the book was released in 2012, and I’m not making it a Top 10 or putting any numeric requirement on it at all. If I read it and really liked it, it’s here. Beyond the first two, they’re in no particular order.

Review: "Heir of Novron" by Michael J. Sullivan

When I began “Heir of Novron” ($14.99, Orbit), the final volume of Michael J. Sullivan’s Riyria Revelations more than a month ago, I expected to have a review up in about a week. Life, though, often intervenes. Let it be known that the delay is no fault of the author, who has delivered another rousing adventure tale to end this enjoyable series.

Treachery is the name of the game in the first book, “Wintertide.” Princess Arista of Melengar travels to Aquesta, the seat of the new empire, in an attempt to free the Nationalist leader Degan Gaunt, also believed to be the legendary Heir of Novron, from his imprisonment and impending execution. Instead, she ends up as part of the entertainment at the upcoming Wintertide celebration, to be executed as the Witch of Melengar alongside Gaunt. The empress Modina, really a village girl named Thrace that church officials have set up as a puppet leader, is also to be married to a top church official. An accident is sure to follow the brief wedding. But the empress is more aware than they think and may have some surprises up her sleeve.

Review: "Rise of Empire" by Michael J. Sullivan

There’s a fundamental shift in “Rise of Empire” ($14.99, Orbit), the second volume (or, if you want to get technical, the third and fourth books) of Michael J. Sullivan’s Riyria Revelations.

The first, “Theft of Swords,” was a fun romp with his pair of rogue heroes, the noble Hadrian Blackwater and the less-than-noble Royce Melborn. In “Rise of Empire,” things get a little more serious and involved. But that’s also a good thing.

As the book starts, the royal empire has taken control of most everything. The church has put the puppet empress Modina – known to our heroes as the village girl Thrace who hired them to save her village from a dragon-like creature in the first book – on the throne. Only Melengar and a band of Nationalists stand between the empire and complete domination.

Review: "Theft of Swords" by Michael J. Sullivan

“Theft of Swords” ($14.99, Orbit) collects the first two of Michael J. Sullivan’s Riyria Revelations series. Five of the six books, which were written for Sullivan’s dyslexic daughter and his own enjoyment, were published through independent and small presses before being picked up by Orbit, which released the books as a trilogy featuring two each.

In “The Crown Conspiracy,” the first of the two books collected in “Theft of Swords,” we meet our heroes, a pair of dashing and likeable rogues by the names of Royce Melborn and Hadrian Blackwater. We meet them in a most interesting scene that immediately lets the reader in on the kind of heroes they are. Highwaymen attempt to hold them up and, of course, fail, but the two thieves, who call themselves the Riyria, leave their would-be attackers a bit red-faced with some tips about how to do it better next time. It’s a great scene that instantly endears the reader to the duo.