I don’t read very fast but I love reading. I enjoyed all the books I read or listened to this year but these are my favorites and I think you’ll like them too! Check out my top 5 book reviews of 2024 and pick up your copies using my links if you want to support my blog and reviews. Share and celebrate reading and writing today! These are not ranked.

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

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Heir of Fire is the third installment of the Throne of Glass series if you don’t count the prequel short story collection Assassin’s Blade which I was told to read after Heir of Fire. Heir of Fire continues the story of Celaena Sardothien who is a trained assassin who was captured, made a slave, and then became the King of Adarlan’s Champion. In Heir of Fire, she has left the glass castle of Rifthold on a mission to Wendlyn with the King’s order to assassinate the Ashryver royal family. Little does the king know that Celaena’s true identity is that of the heir to the Kingdom of Terrasen, of which Wendlyn would be her biggest ally, were she to take up her birthright and fight against the King of Adarlan. A lot is going on at this point in the series so I will do my best to summarize.

Celaena starts her time in Wendlyn scraping by as a homeless drunken ruffian who hates herself for the events that led her to this point in life. Nehemia is dead, her friend Prince Dorian is stuck with the mad king, and she has already ruined her relationship with her beloved Chaol. She is depressed and barely hanging onto the promise she made to Nehemia to fight the King and protect Elywe, Nehemia’s homeland.

Soon enough Celaena is taken to meet her Aunt Maeve, an extremely powerful Fae queen who resides in Doranelle. She hopes that Maeve has the answers to her questions regarding the wyrdkeys, which are the source of the King of Adarlan’s power. But, Maeve is a dangerous and selfish queen who is as likely to sabotage Celaena as she is to help her. Maeve puts Celaena to the test before she is allowed to see her and enlists her blood-sworn knight Rowan to train and test Celaena. This means teaching her how to use her magic and to switch into her Fae form, which she couldn’t do in Adarlan because magic has been quelled there but not in Wendlyn.

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Celaena spends most of the book learning to use her power and getting her mojo back for the fight to come. Rowan pushes her to the edge of her fragile psyche and all the while they are tracking a series of mysterious supernatural murders in the area. We find out that Rowan has a dark past as well and over time they become more and more bonded by their experiences.

While Celaena is in Wendlyn Prince Dorian is attempting to suppress his magical abilities with the help of a healer and they become quickly infatuated with each other. Chaol is working to find out more about the rebel movement in Rifthold while making preparations to leave the King’s guard and move back to his home in Anielle. Chaol meets Aedion Ashryver who is the King’s most notorious general even though his family was also killed by the King of Adarlan. Aedion and Chaol have a contentious relationship at first but find that their goals align enough to work together to help Celaena.

There’s another character named Manon, who is a Blackbeak witch, who learns how to ride wyverns. This is a side story that I assume meets up with the main story in the next installments. Her story is exceptional and I can’t wait to find out what crazy shit she gets up to in the future. She is fierce but has a rebellious nature that upends the culture she was born into and makes for a complicated foil to the constantly conflicted Celaena. I can’t wait to see them fight or become friends or something sexier maybe?

This book was by far the most emotion-inducing of the series so far and was a delight to read through. I had a hard time putting it down and it left me on the edge of my seat the entire time. There is so much tension and action that there is never a dull moment. Getting to watch Celaena’s power and resolve to grow as she is pushed to become more than a downtrodden slave to the will of others was extremely satisfying and exciting. Her character goes through so much inner and outer turmoil but she just keeps fighting and working toward becoming who she wants to be, which happens to be the hero the world needs in the face of such horrific tyranny.

These books are extremely popular and I can see why. The author is top notch and I am very glad that I have started to read these books. If you are already into the series keep going and read Heir of Fire. If you haven’t started the series you should and as soon as possible. I highly recommend this book!

The Gunslinger by Stephen King

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A long time ago I found myself enamored with the application known as Audible. This was before Amazon took it over but it is mostly the same now. In those days I listened to many spoken word books and other educational materials. One of the books I listened to was Stephen King's The Gunslinger. The Gunslinger is the first book in the 8-book series known as the Dark Tower series. As it has been a sufficient amount of time to forget the majority of the goings on in these old recordings I decided to re-engage with my library of listenables.

The Gunslinger is primarily about Roland who is, as might have been guessed, a gunslinger. In his world, a strange world indeed, gunslingers are few, and their training is harsh. From a young age, he was selected to learn the ways of his father and take up the gun, for what purpose he would learn later, and as he grew into his gifts his unique mind set him apart from his cohort. To pass his training and become a true gunslinger he would have to win his guns by challenging his ruthlessly brutal teacher. The consequences of losing this battle would be exile from everything and everyone he knows but when his mother is attacked he chooses to challenge his master two years earlier than expected.

Presently Roland is chasing the man in black, a mysteriously evil character that is the key to Roland finding the way to the Dark Tower. What Roland will find when he finally gets to The Dark Tower he does not know but he is bound to this fate no matter the cost. Roland trails the man in black throughout the wasteland desert of a world gone mad. On his travels, he finds a small town where a dead man has come back to life but it is not a sign of god but instead a trick of the devil. To survive he has to do things that he is not proud of but his hands know their job and his guns know their marks.

As Roland gets closer and closer to the man in black he meets a young boy named Jake who reminds him of himself. Jake is smart and honorable and they become fast friends. The two new comrades finally catch up to the man in black at the foot of a mountain but when Roland tries to shoot the man he finds his guns no longer want to kill and instead the man in black leads them into the depths of the mountain and they continue to chase him therein. Inside the darkness, Roland and Jake find an old mining cart and travel along it toward an unknown end. There they find mutants who want their flesh and block their path. The man in black lies at the end of the line but when their paths meet it will cost them all something priceless.

Stephen King’s The Gunslinger is a dark and mysterious story that is infinitely compelling. It takes place in a world similar to our own but where death and torment are commonplace and supernatural elements set it apart from the world the reader is accustomed to. The writing is exceptional and there are no dull moments. It is so bound in dark overtones and impending doom that it is hard not to feel a sense of dread while reading it. Good and bad are not so easily defined and with so much left to reveal the Dark Tower series has much more to offer. This is a great start to the series and I will continue this journey that I started years ago once more. I highly recommend The Gunslinger to anyone who enjoys a book that combines many genres in a way that is deftly maneuvered.

The Martian by Andy Weir

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This is the most masculine book ever! It has data, math, engineering, potatoes, problem-solving, and almost zero explicit emotional content. It is about a man who is stuck alone on Mars who never cries or gets depressed or laments about missing his family or friends back on Earth. He just works and solves problems with his superior intellect and indomitable spirit.

The Martian is about the most unflappable man ever, Mark Watney. When his mission to Mars gets attacked by a sand storm and he gets skewered in the gut and his team leaves him for dead Mark doesn’t give up. Instead, he uses his botany and engineering knowledge, which is perfectly convenient, to grow food using his feces, to create water from fuel, and to do a million other scientifically complicated things. He never loses hope and maintains a sense of humor throughout which makes the whole experience light-hearted and fun instead of melodramatic and depressing. Mark uses his childlike creativity to enthusiastically move forward solving potentially fatal problems that would destroy weaker mortals.

Andy Weir is a very unique writer who is somehow capable of taking technically complex scientific concepts and making them palatable to a less technical audience. He can craft a narrative that contains math, chemistry, botany, physics, and other “boring” topics and make them surprisingly compelling. Watching as the main character is nearly killed by the harsh environment of Mars is suspenseful and exciting. I was skeptical that I would like this book because I loved Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary so much that I thought I would be disappointed by comparison, and I saw the trailer for the movie and couldn’t imagine enjoying a book about a lone dude making potatoes on Mars but I enjoyed The Martian entirely. Andy Weir is a master of pacing, organization, and balancing technical information with engaging narrative.

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Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman

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Between Two Fires is a medieval horror genre novel written by Christopher Buelhman. I was very impressed with this book. I knew that it contained elements of Christian mythology but I was surprised by its creativity and depth. It takes place in the 1300’s in France where a plague has decimated the population and forced the world into a hellscape of violence and destitution. God has forsaken humanity and demons run rampant to ruin the souls of all.

In a world where nearly everyone has shed the facade of righteousness and been reduced to beasts, feeding their vices and succumbing to sin, one girl may offer hope. Delphine is not yet a woman. She has lost her family to the plague but somehow retains all the goodness that has otherwise left the world. She befriends a reluctant soldier named Thomas, who was excommunicated, stripped of his lands and title, and whose family was usurped but an invader. Thomas has become a brigand but deep within hides a good man, even if he doesn’t quite believe it. At the beginning of their journey, Delphine and Thomas meet a wine-loving priest named Matthieu Manicotte who has also been shamed and weakened by his transgressions. These three misfit characters make a pilgrimage across the damned countryside in search of redemption for themselves and perhaps the world.

Between Two Fires is a wonderfully written book where poetry seeps through every pore. It is dark and humorous with incredible surprises and mysteries. Delphine and her gang are constantly being tested both physically and psychologically as they encounter the deceptions of satan. Demons made of stone, abominations attacked from the rivers, and temptations of pleasure are just a few of the trials and tribulations that they will encounter. Not to mention the most dangerous foe, their fellow man. They will need a true miracle to make it out alive. But the lord made no answer.

This beautifully grotesque accounting of an epic journey rivals those of The Odyssey and Lord of the Rings, with less fluff and more French words. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants a nightmare-inducing ride down an ecclesiastic rollercoaster.

Super fun!

P.S.

When I have been reading for a while and stop reading my internal monologue takes on the shape and tone of what I have just read. This happens every time I read and I love indulging in the mimicry. Of all the false selves that have possessed my mind after reading, Between Two Fires has been one of the most enjoyable. It beckons back to an older time when language was both subtle and poetic. It creeps into the mind like opium, smoothing the edges and taking you down into its realm.

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

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The Way of Kings is an expansive fantasy tale written by Brandon Sanderson. It centers around a small of characters whose lives are inexorably connected by a fate unknown. Each character holds a key to unlocking the mysteries of the past and ushering in a new era for the world. A world that has been besot by war and unrest. A world that may not last much longer if the forces that led to its upheaval in the past are not discovered and resisted.

Our first important character is Kaladan, a young man who was once a proud warrior but has been enslaved. His efforts to save those around him have only led to destruction and death for everyone he’s cared about but somehow he still lives. As he discovers who he is he has to wrestle with the uncertainty of his choices and whether he is the reason for so much loss. Should he just give up or should he continue to lead those around him even if it means certain death? He is accompanied by a strange spren named Syl who is a small sprite-like creature who takes the shape of a young woman when she isn’t flitting around like the wind. She doesn’t remember why she can talk or why she is linked to Kaladan. Is she the reason for all his troubles or is she the key to his salvation?

The next character whose life is intertwined with the fate of the world is Shallan. She is a young woman with a talent for still-life charcoal sketches who has made her way to Kharbranth, the city of learning, to hopefully become the ward of Jasnah, a brash woman who stopped believing in the gods and is now searching for clues as to why her father, the former king, was assassinated. Shallan has a secret agenda and if Jasnah takes her in she plans on stealing Jasnah’s soulcasting device to save her destitute family back home. Soulcasting is a kind of magic that allows the wielder to change one material into another. From wood to food or stone to smoke. Soulcasting is a coveted and dangerous power and Shallan is willing to do anything to obtain this power but in so doing she might lose everything. Is the risk worth the reward?

Dalinar Kholin is a beast of a warrior and a veteran of many wars. The latest war is in the Shattered Plains, where he leads his army against the Parshendi, a group of savage killers who sing to each other behind bodies that can grow stone-like armor. The Parshendi are not human and as we learn more about them we discover that they might not be the unsophisticated brutes that we once thought. Dalinar fights along with many other Brightlords and Highprinces who don’t work together for the riches in the Shattered Plains but they all fight for vengeance over the death of their assassinated king and for their new king. Dalinar becomes more and more conflicted about this war and wishes to unite the Princes and Lords to finally win the war but in so doing he puts a target on himself. He sees visions of the past and whether he is going mad or not he will see his mission through to save his kingdom and family.

Dalinar and Sadeas, another Highprince, wield Shardblades. They are magical swords made from mist and steel and they appear in their hands after ten heartbeats. Shardblades are a coveted and godlike weapon that can slice through inorganic material like a hot knife through butter and when these blades touch living material it doesn’t so much as cut but it instead just kills. Shardbearer is an army to themself. If the shard bearer also wears the Shardplate armor, a gem-infused set of impenetrable armor that gives the wearer strength and speed, then they become a formidable force in the battles they undertake. Dalinar and Sadeas are old friends but now seem to be working at odds toward the same goal of protecting the King and saving the realm. Will they work together and unite the Highprinces or will their differences drive them apart? Will Dalinar’s honor stay true or will Sadeas’ ruthlessness win the day?

Zseth is truthless. Zseth is helpless. Zseth is a slave to powerful men who wield him like a storm of destruction. He has the power to manipulate gravity itself and wields a Shardblade to boot. His skills were used to kill King Gaviliar and are now being used to create a path of destruction across the world. Whoever holds the oathstone is his master and he obeys them no matter the cost to his soul. His white robes are known throughout the kingdoms as a symbol of his unstoppable power to kill. He longs for an enemy that might finally be able to stop him but until then he will continue to use his immense power to kill those his masters wish.

The Way of Kings is immense and enthralling. Not since Dune have I been so enticed by a world with such a rich history to discover. There are so many questions to answer and so much under the surface that I can’t wait to learn more about the world Brandon Sanderson has created here. Bit by bit the world is illuminated and as the world expands shadows are cast creating more mysteries to uncover. It is like a puzzle where the closer you get to completing it the more pieces show up in the box.

One thing The Way of Kings has that Dune doesn’t is an infinitely more comprehensive text. I loved Dune but it was very difficult to comprehend line by line. When reading the Dune books I found myself just continuing to read even if I didn’t fully understand everything and after a while, it started to make sense. It was like a kaleidoscope of images and words that only worked as a larger piece but Brandon Sanderson’s writing is much more grounded and accessible. The Way of Kings is complex in its world-building but its writing is plain. It isn’t boring but it isn’t immensely dense or complicated either. There are some made-up words but they are not hard to understand in context and I didn’t feel like I had to push myself to keep going in the hope that it would work out, it just works like a modern fantasy should work.

The Way of Kings is not a casual reading experience but it is enjoyable and action-packed. The characters are well-developed and relatable driving me to want to learn more. It progresses somewhat slowly at first but continues to pick up steam as it moves along continuously toward an epic and climactic finale which is also a cliffhanger. There are more books in the series and I have Words of Radiance, the next one, ready to go. I’m planning on diving into it as soon as I get through some of the Court of Thorns and Roses books by Sarah J. Maas. I loved her Throne of Glass series and want to try out more of her books.

I highly recommend The Way of Kings to anyone who wants to dive into a sophisticated and expansive Fantasy series in the same vein as Dune or Game of Thrones. Its world and history are unique and everything has an internal logic that makes it easy to immerse one’s self in it. Go get yours today!

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