Such a great time of year for me book-wise. With Christmas and my birthday being so close together you have the makings of an excellent holiday book haul! Mrs NW took a sneaky photo of my bedside table and posted it here on the blog which gave some of these away already *grumpy face*.

A photo of all the pretty books
Also ordered the following books with online book vouchers:
Brandon Sanderson raves about Nix’s Abhorsen Chronicles so it has been on my TBR list for a while. I read everything by Alastair Reynolds because his books are amazing. Road Brothers is a short story collection giving you an insight into Jorg Ancrath’s buddies from the Broken Empire trilogy which should be pretty dark but interesting as well.
That makes 12 books in total. These will keep me busy for some time!
The Book of Swords: When I asked my mother to get me this book for Christmas she asked if it was a book about pirates for my son. I had to patiently say no and that it is actually a fine collection of stories from the masters of modern fantasy! The main attraction for me with this one was the short story by Scott Lynch titled The Smoke of Gold is Glory (woaaaaaah epic title right!?) – which turned out to be awesome. It also has a story set in the SOIAF universe by George R.R. Martin which is no doubt a big selling point for this book.
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant: This the omnibus edition which includes the first three books. These books have been around forever and many people seem to like it although apparently the main character is somewhat controversial and people either hate him or love him. Sounds like my kind of thing. Any self-respecting fantasy collector should have this one right? I also got Seventh Decimate by the same author. There seemed to be a fair amount of hype surrounding it and it was the best option in the store my gift voucher was for.
Rogues of the Republic (books 2 & 3): The name of this series sounds like it should be the title of the next Star Wars film. You have read my review of the first book here in which case you also know that the first book is hilarious and fun. They are basically about a team of thieves who end up in ridiculous situations. Given how much I enjoyed the first book I decided to pick up the other two. Most people say they are just as good so I figured it was a safe bet.
Best New SF 26: This is a regular collection of SF short stories put together by the respected Gardner Dozois. He chooses the best stories for the year and also sums up the year of SF in general (including movies & games etc.)
The Grace of Kings: I read a short story titled The Hidden Girl by this guy and dayummm it was good. It was no surprise to me that he has won some big awards for his writing. I just had to pick up this book which is the first in his epic fantasy series called The Dandelion Dynasty. The setting is inspired by ancient Chinese stories/history which is a new kind of fantasy setting for me. I have always been interested in Chinese history along with their rich ancient culture so I am very much looking forward to getting stuck in.
Gridlinked: Neal Asher’s books pop up all over the place in the SF fandom. After a recommendation from the ever reliable Bookstooge I decided to give this stuff a go. I wasn’t sure where to start as there seem to be about a bajillion books in this series and ended up just picking this one. Anyone know if this is a good place to start?
Oathbringer: You probably already know about this one. If you don’t please just stop reading now and go and buy every book in the Stormlight Archive and Mistborn series before proceeding further with your life. You won’t regret it.
Hoping to get through these books fairly quickly in line with my 2018 resolution to become a “Power Reader”. I need to try my best to beat back real life with a stick so that I can achieve this coveted title.
That’s a pretty impressive haul! I haven’t used any of my online vouchers yet. I’m slacking.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks! Haha all in good time. Do you have any particular books in mind?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have far too many ARCs to get through to think about that 😢 got all excited when I got the vouchers then remembered my reading pile.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Uuuh, yes, Oathbringer is next in line here as well! Hope I will get to it this month!
I haven’t read any positive reviews on the new donaldson book yet. I’ll be interested to see how you like it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have quite a bit of Sanderson to catch up on when I get around to it. That man writes a lot of books!
I’ll let ya know what I think of the Donaldson book 🙂 It has no map which is not a great start… 😛
LikeLiked by 1 person
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant is awesome, and you are not wrong about the main character being controversial. Really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on that novel, or I should really say novels as of course it’s an omnibus 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m partway through the first book and am loving it so far. The writing itself is very good.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thomas Covenant Chronicles. Read them in highschool and haven’t read a Donaldson book since. I’ll be waiting to see which side of the fence you fall on 🙂
And that is a nice haul!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks. Will let yah know re the Donaldson books! You weren’t a fan?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nope,not a fan. While Elric was my first real brush with the “anti-hero” type of figure, Thomas Covenant was my first brush with the unlikeable protagonist and man, that was tough. It doesn’t help that I read for “hope” and characters like Covenant don’t have any.
I couldn’t have voiced all this at 15 though. I just knew I didn’t like the stuff 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow! You’re going to have a blast reading all those books (or rereading 😀 ).
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yup, I’m very much looking forward to it 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hello Mr NW, great haul you have there. I too have a birthday close to Christmas (it was really annoying when I was a kid, I had a choice of two little presents or a “bigger” one for Xmas…then nothing for the rest of the year!) I think I will have to try this Stormlight/Mistborn series. oh and Happy Birthday, and New Year!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah, the old combined-gift trick is a favorite for parents trolling their children 😛 Happy new year to you as well! Do let me know what you think if you give those series a go.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I will see which of these books are available at my local library, I have to return a copy of Thrawn later today. And I am still working on that Fantasy map, I just realised I was short of locations so need to come up with a few more!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow! Great haul.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love the Abhorsen chronicles. I read them when I was a teen, and they inspire me to write Fantasy fiction. I have to reread them. All the books in your haul look fabulous.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad to hear that you loved them. They sound exactly like my kind of books.
I saw that you are working on a series of your own and I am looking forward to reading more about The Staghorn Crown.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That is a phenomenal haul! I have read both The Book of Swords and Seventh Decimate, but maaaan everything else you got are making me salivate like a mad man! 😀 Happy belated birthday and I hope you’ll enjoy every single one of these!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks! I won’t lie, I’m quite excited about most of these 🙂 Especially The Grace of Kings.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great haul! Happy Birthday! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you 🙂
LikeLike
Great haul and Happy Birthday!
Overtime I read one of your posts I add books to my TBR haha.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks 🙂 Haha my TBR list has been growing much faster than I can read them ever since I started reading blogs.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m definitely one of the people that needs to crawl under a rock with some Sanderson books and come back in a few weeks as a better and more wholesome person.
I read the first Abhorsen book and it was very interesting. I intend to continue the series at some point in the future.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes! Definitely go and read a Sanderson book. That man is an abomination. His books are tomes and he produces them at a neck-breaking pace. And yet somehow they are of outstanding quality without fail. Just my opinion of course 🙂 The first Mistborn book is a great place to start.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, happy belated birthday! I see some great stuff in your haul. The Grace of Kings and Oathbringer were five star reads for me. I still need to read Seventh Decimate, though I’ve heard some mixed things. I hope we’ll both enjoy it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you 🙂 I’m very excited about The Grace of Kings in particular as Ken is a great writer. Have you read the second one as well?
I look forward to seeing what you think of Seventh Decimate as well.
LikeLike
Yes, I’ve read the sequel as well. I loved it just as much as the first 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
This haul is giving me book envy. 😍
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha I get book envy a lot reading book blogs 😛 I have to stop myself going on book buying frenzies that would put my family on the streets.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Have you seen the Instagram book pictures? They are beautiful!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Book 2 of Rogues of the Republic is just as fun as book 1, and I’ve kept procrastinating with reading book 3 because I know then the fun will be over… Happy reading!!!!! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Just about finished the second one and having a blast. It’s funny because I’m usually not a fan of too much humor in my fantasy books but Weekes seems to have a really good balance. I really like the situational humor. It reminds me a bit of the Gentleman Bastard series.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes the humor always strikes the right note here, and it’s no mean feat since humor is a difficult beast to tame… 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Happy birthday! That looks like a good few kilograms of books 😉 Reading them seems like a good bicep exercise – two birds with one stone 😉
LikeLike
Yeah. I often find fantasy books are wrist-breaking tomes. Perhaps I should take a photo of my arms before and after to track my body-building progress.
LikeLike
I haven’t read any of them, but they look great. Happy Birthday indeed!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lol! I got the Book of Swords too. It was an impulse buy otherwise I’d have waited until it’s published in paperback. But I’m happy I got it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I haven’t read all of the stories in it yet but so far pretty much all of them have been enjoyable. Definitely a good buy.
LikeLike
Lovely book haul. I’ve read three of these, Weekes, Lawrence and Liu and enjoyed all of them. I need to get to Oathbringer next. I love that series – but, I’ve bought it on audio and as I read the first two I’m now questioning that decision. I’m not sure it’s a good idea to jump from one to the other in the middle of a series.
Time will tell.
Lynn 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks. Glad to hear you enjoyed them as it means good reading ahead for me. I’ve never tried an audiobook before but I am tempted to give them a go. Might help the work hours pass by more quickly.
LikeLike
What a fantastic haul! And of course Sanderson is amazing 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks. He certainly is. I can’t see how he can be so good and churn out so much material. Something supernatural going on there.
LikeLike
Ha! Happy Birthday, an impressive haul! This is the time of year I also stock on books; my birthday is 10th Jan so yeah, I get books for christmas, books for my birthday, and usually amazon or book vouchers which then also go on books of course xD
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks! Hope you had a good birthday 🙂 Got any books you’re excited about this year?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh yes, Jen Williams’ Copper Cat trilogy, Age of Assassins, Sharp Ends,. Ooh Beren and Luthien!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Those look like great books. First I have heard of the Copper Cat ones though. I look forward to reading about them on your blog!
LikeLiked by 1 person
The copper promise, book one of the trilogy is already up on my blog and I’d highly recommend it!
LikeLiked by 1 person