A friend of mine (you know who you are) asked me to compile a list of books I’d recommend he read, as he’d never seen me with a book that looked boring. I’ve reviewed my share of books on this blog before but not all the ones I’d recommend reading. And many of the reviews are kind of far back. So I figured why not make a list of all the books/series I recommend reading and give a few sentences detailing why I recommend them. This could easily turn into a many-thousand word post so I’m going to limit myself to five books here and come back to this every so often – no fixed schedule just whenever it hits me. In no particular order here are five titles (most of which are the start of a series) that I’d recommend to someone looking for a good read for a week or weekend, along with a brief summary. If I’ve done a longer review of the book I’ll link to that as well.

Leviathan, by Scott Westerfeld 

Genre(s): Alternate History, Steampunk

Sequels? First in a trilogy

This book kicks of a fun series that perfectly shows how you can use tropes without slipping into cliches. It has both a plucky girl trying to get into a male dominated world and a sheltered young man thrust into the hard world to survive as best he can. It focuses on the beginnings of what we would consider the First World War through the eyes of two characters. One is Aleksander Ferdinand, fictional son of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, who flees for his own safety after his father’s death evading the steam powered mecha of the Germans who would take him into custody for “safekeeping”. The other is Deryn Sharp, daughter of a British balloonist who dreams of joining the British Air Fleet, which is composed of flying whales.

If you aren’t hooked yet you have no soul.

Midnight Riot, by Ben Aaronovitch

Genre(s): Police Procedural, Urban Fantasy

Sequels? Four and counting

One night when London Police Constable Peter Grant is standing guard at a murder scene he’s approached by a witness who claims to have seen the murder. There’s a catch, of course: Peter’s witness is a ghost. With nothing save police training to fall back on Peter takes out his notebook and gets a statement. He just doesn’t know what to do with it.

Following this line of investigation eventually brings Peter to the attention of one Thomas Nightingale, Detective Chief Inspector in charge of The Folly and the Last True Wizard in England. (That last part isn’t an actual job title I just call him that.) Nightingale takes Peter under his wing and starts to teach him magic but Peter will need to learn quick – a string of grizzly murders is leaving mutilated corpses across the city and the killer is clearly using magic to do the deed. With nothing but a ghost and a dog for witnesses the two will have their work cut out for them to say the least.

Railsea, by China Meiville

Genre(s): Steampunk

Sequels? None

Humanity has become a ferromaritime species & the great trains ply the ground between the highlands. From exploratory trains to the great mole hunting engines, commerce & communication & indeed survival depend on the trains. There are relics, invaluable pieces of salvage dug out of the heart of the earth. But most of what was has been is forgotten, entombed with the dreadful man-eating moles & giant ants & humanity now lives on the surface of the planet & the surface only. To go down is to be eaten by the hunters in the deep & to climb up is to die in the poisoned skies.

But there are a few who look up at the clouded skies and the towering heights of the highlands & feel a restless stirring. Surely, they think, there’s something beyond it all. & they provision the train & they light the coal or the diesel & they depart for the farthest corners of the Railsea.

Nightlife, by Rob Thurman

Genre(s): Urban Fantasy

Sequels? Oh, yes

Caliban Leandros is a monster – he’s been told that since the day he was born and his mother named him for the monster in Shakespeare’s Tempest. Only his brother Nico believes he can be anything else and it will take all they can do to prove it because Cal’s relatives on his father’s side have come to call and they’re up to no good.

Call them Elves, Faire Folk, what have you (although they prefer Auphe), they used to be the dominant species on the planet, before humanity crept up and outbred them. Now they plan to get back on top and Cal was an integral piece of the plan. Except the brothers Leandros don’t intend to play along. And maybe, between Nico’s training, Cal’s gloomy disposition and the fast talking charm of the neighborhood used car salesman (seriously) they can dig themselves out of trouble before the nightlife claims them for good…

Hounded, by Kevin Hearne

Genre(s): Urban Fantasy

Sequels? First of the Iron Druid Chronicles

When you’re the last Druid on earth it pays to keep a low profile. This is hard to do in an age when Facebook has replaced magic books and dryads rarely come out of their trees anymore. So Atticus O’Sullivan poses as a peddler of medicinal teas and rare books, never mentioning that one of the rare teas halts aging when mixed with a little magic or that some of the old tomes he keeps in the store can actually teach you magic.

Needless to say the fancy slice-through-anything sword stays in the back room at all times.

And not just because it’s kind of out of place – a being so powerful some considered it a god wants that sword and Atticus is determined to keep it from him. But hey, he’s got a trusty wolfhound pal, an unstoppable sword, death incarnate and, best of all, a law firm staffed by werewolves (and one vampire) on his side. What could possibly go wrong?

 

Hopefully you can find something on this list that appeals to you. Happy reading!