You can't go wrong with Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. It is arguably her best book by many people. It is certainly my favorite Christie novel, possibly my favorite novel of all time. To me, And Then There Were None is the birth of the modern locked room thriller. I can't wait to see your reaction. Happy reading, Tori.
Great stack of books! I hope you have time to squeeze in The Traveling Cat Chronicles, it’s a favorite of mine and is both heartbreaking and heartwarming. The Legend of Eli Monpress is on my personal list of must reads for 2025. It caught my attention years ago when compared to Lies of Locke Lamora and has been sitting on my bookshelf for a shameful amount of time. Hope you find some new favs!📚
Lots of great stuff on here! Stoner, Tawny Man, Sun Eater, And Then There Were None, hope you have a great reading year! I'm down to buddy read the Elizabeth Moon trilogy if you need a buddy!
So many amazing books. I really hope you like Ishiguro. It's in my Top 5 of all time. I haven't decided yet what books to prioritize in 2025; I'm going to continue The Suneater series but besides that... idk maybe I'll finally dive back into Cosmere... or maybe Bloodsworn Saga... or maybe I can find the courage to start Malazan. I can't... which to... STOP PRESSURING ME! AAAAAARGH 😵💫🤯
Tori you are gonna LOVE How Do You Live, that is one of my faves I always forget to scream about hahaha. Also, I might just join you for The Island of Sea Women in January if you get to that, I have been meaning to read Lisa See for ages now (not least thanks to you!). Also, heeeeeck yes for Tawny Man!! And A Quiet Vengeance is SUCH a hidden gem, I feel like the character work in there is gonna blow your hair back (or not, if you have the beanie on this winter hahaha). I might also join you for Sun Eater, it's way overdue at this point! Happy reading, hope you enjoy the ones you get to friend 🤩🤩
Hey Tori 👋🏾👋🏾👋🏾 I am currently reading Empire of Silence and it is a pager turner. Can't wait to hear your review. I plan on going immediately into the 2nd book in the series which I never do. Love your Yoshi 🐉.
Eli Monpress!! First time I have seen anyone mention this book on TH-cam. The series is so great. It’s a comfort read for me now after my mom recommended it to me years ago. I hope you enjoy it.
That's awesome that you'll be checking out the The Expanse series. Both the books and the show are excellent! Also, I love the Rurouni Kenshin collection in the background lol. Author aside, it's another fantastic series that manages to be great across multiple mediums.
This is a great idea but knowing myself I'd probably only read a handful of my list. 😅 Oh I'm so excited to see your thoughts on so many. I'm a huge fan of Christie and the Discworld is one of my favourites as well. Ook. We have a few overlapping as well such as Suneater and The Expanse. Wonder which one we'll each prefer. Enjoy your reading, you have a great mix.
Ooof so many awesome books to come!! I'm very curious what you'll think of Stoner. And Tawny Man of course! I'll also be jumping into the Expanse & Suneater soon, so I'm excited to share those journeys with you!
Ooo, ooo, “Stoner”! It was Johanna Reads that got me to read that one, way back in Summer 2023. I thought it was well outside my lane/comfort zone, but I loooved it! A huge surprise for me, very impactful. Hoping you dig it too🤞 I am excited for a great many of my books. I have so many hypewagon tomes!
I would classify The Expanse as more Space Opera than hard SciFi. I will be interested in hearing your opinion on Deeds of Paksenarrion. Lots of great books on your list.
I chose to read And Then There Were None for an assignment my senior year in high school. My memory for things that far back is awful, so I don’t remember much specifics, but I remember enjoying it! I also was supposed to read The Outsiders in 10th grade, I believe, but that was one of my brother and I’s favorite movies at the time (so much so that he watched it nearly every day). So I didn’t actually read it because I knew the movie so well and it actually follows the book very faithfully, from what I’ve heard. And my grades for the book seemed to reinforce that lol. Sons of Darkness nearly sold me just on the cover alone, but then your description makes it sound even better! Definitely thrown into the TBR. I think I’m most excited to read the rest of A Song of Ice and Fire next year. But there’s definitely some contenders. Like some self-pub such as The Way of Edan, Gunmetal Gods, and The Blood Stones!
Midnight in Broad Daylight sounds FASCINATING and I'd never heard of it. Achilles in Vietnam is also one I've never heard of. Have you ever read On Killing by Dave Grossman? It's in that vein. (Empire of Silence is very high on TBR for this next year too!)
H3ll YEAH you're reading the EXPANSE ❤❤❤ Can't wait to hear your thoughts about it, it's my favorite sci-fi series of all time. I really loved Bruno's Trilogy, it gets better and better, and the last book utterly destroyed me😅 I'm also super excited about FLAMES OF MIRA! Great video, as always 😊
I would love to read some of those books, too. Some of them are already on my TBR. I would love to read the Malazan series, too, but I don't know when to fit it in. 👍
When you get to the year 2099, you will be very busy!😂 You have some really great reading in store for you in 2025. I hope they are all 5 ⭐ reads for you!
I read The Travelling Cat Chronicles and If Cats Disappeared from the World a couple of years ago! Enjoyed reading both, but the first is 🥰🐾😍 You would probably also like The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa, I loved it so much!😊 The Full Moon by Jø Nesbo, The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst and Bring Me Your Midnight by Rachel Griffin are on my 2025 tbr😊 Thank you for the cute video and happy reading!☺️👋📖
Curse of Chalion is one of my favorites by one of my favorite authors, so I don’t want to stop you from reading it - but I have to warn you the central character is a 30-something man. The older woman you spoke of is a secondary (but integral) character in this book. She’s also the central character of the second book that Bujold set in that world, Paladin of Souls. They’re standalone enough that you don’t have to have read CoC to enjoy PoS, but I still recommend doing so for the added backstory and world-building if nothing else.
Ooooh 😍 I should not be allowed to watch your channel… too many books that sound really interesting 🤔 Ishiguro is an author I want to read as well. And can’t wait to hear your thoughts on empire of silence. I haven’t read it yet but have been listening to everyone’s thoughts. Let’s see how many of these you read in 2025. 11 is the number to beat 😝
2025 is gonna be sick for me. Finishing books 4&5 of a song of ice and fire, dungeon crawler carl, continuing with books 2-4 or 5 of malazan book of the fallen, and starting the journey that is the wheel of time.
Paksennarion! YAY!!!!! If you follow John from Talking Story, my first video I submitted for his Town Square videos was about Elizabeth Moon. It was TS's Sept Town Square video.
Awesome picks. I hope you have a better time with Tower Lord than I did! Deeds of Paksenarrion is a top tier series, but I know how you feel about SA so I feel like I should warn you there's two inclusions - one at the start of the first book that's handled well, and a far more disturbing one near the end of book 3 that was not done gratuitously or for shock value.
Tori I am going to try and copy you for your 25 in 25 as I need something to get me through the next 12 months so I am going to use this list if okay with you prayers and blessings for you and your boyfriend aka husband love 🥰 your Aussie family friend John xxx❤❤❤
I also didn't get as far i had set out for this year, not sure if i'll do any better in 2025 due to having to move to a new house. My hopeful 2025 list though: - «To Ride Hell's Chasm» - «The Black Company» - «Vølven's Vej» / «The Seer of Midgard» by Anne-Marie Vedsø Olesen (norse mythology inspired historical fantasy set during the iron age) - «Dying Earth» & «Lyonesse» by Jack Vance - «The Complete Ruritanian romances» by Anthony Hope (swashbuckling adventure novels set in a fictional european country) - «Den Som Hvisker» (there is no english translation so far) C.A. Wolters (i don't know too much other of it than it's dark fantasy with romance, a prophecy and the main character dealing with Inner turmoil and anger) - «Hills of Heather and Bone» by K.E. Andrews - «Lucie» by Anne-Marie Vedsø Olesen (Vampire fantasy/horror novel with a nordic twist)
I wouldn't presume to suggest what you might like, but some of my opinions on books on your list: For me, Tower Lord is to Bloodsong as Servant of the Empire is to Daughter of the Empire: The character works isn't quite as good, the plot isn't as tightly crafted, and it's just not as enjoyable a read. But I still liked Tower Lord quite a bit. I will recommend anything by Bujold anytime. The Five Gods World (Chalion series and Penric and Desdemona series) does all the things that Bujold does well - excellent characters that are extremely sympathetic, strong plots, interesting world building and touches of humor in an overall serious story. Moon is another writer whose work I'll consistently recommend. The Deed of Paksenarrion has excellent character work and very good to excellent military fantasy plotting. It goes very, very dark at a certain point, in some extremely unpleasant ways, but that bit is integral to the story. It does reduce my desire for a reread, but in no way does that mean I am unhappy to have read the series. I prefer her Paladin's Legacy series, which is more straight political fantasy and her Vatta's War series, which is among the best space opera I've read, but that's a personal taste issue. I'm not a huge fan of real grimdark. But Sheepfarmer's Daughter is definitely a 5-star read for me. I hope your experience of Empire of Silence will be better than mine was; the odds favor that, since everyone else seems to love it. But it really didn't work for me at all. See also Pratchett, whose books I really tried to like and just never did. Not that there's any similarity in writing between Pratchett and Ruocchio, of course. I'm just saying that you might not want to trust my taste. 8-)
And Then There Were None is 🔥🔥. Have you ever read All Quiet on the Western Front? I know you love Civil War fiction/NF. I've read it twice now and it really gets into the nitty gritty of the fallout of war so highly recommend for your writing war research. And speaking of Vietnam, I read The Things They Carried. 😢😢 LOVED it. I'm currently reading Steinbeck in Vietnam.
Yes: «Discworld», «The Expanse» & «Sun Eater»! 😎🙌 Will start on «Gael Song» after I have finished Roger Zelazny’s «Lord of Light» and John Gwynne’s «Fury of the Gods»! As for myself, my 2024 TBR: «Doom of Destiny» (Sundered Nation #3) by Vaughn Roycroft (Epic/Historical Fantasy inspirert by the Historical Ancient Goths and the Rohirrim of Tolkien, with a dash of «Dune») «Alamut» by Vladimir Bartol (Philosophical Historical Fiction, set among the Order of Assassins Sect during the Crusades, with parallels to the growth of Fascism in Bartol’s own 1930s) «Mannen som bar solen» («The Man Who Carried The Sun») by Kristian Bang Foss (Historical Fiction set in the Nordic Bronze Age) «Hengist» by Sean Poage (Historical Fiction, set during the Anglo-Saxon Invasion of Britain) «All the Horses on Iceland» by Sarah Tolmie (Historical Fiction/Fantasy about an Medieval Icelander’s Journey to Central Asia) «Bloodstone» & «Dark Crusade» by Karl Edward Wagner (Both in the «Kane» series, S&S/Proto-Grimdark) «Lancelot» by Giles Kristian (Arthurian Fantasy/Historical Fiction) «Navola» by Paolo Bacigalupi (Fantasy inspired by Renaissance Italy & «The Godfather») «Carthage Ascendant» by Mary Gentle (Book of Ash #2, Alt-Historical Military Fiction inspired by the Mercenary Wars of the Renaissance) «The Blood Dimmed Tide» by Stephen Aryan (Fantasy inspired by the Mongol Conquest of Persia) «Firelord» by Parke Godwin (Arthurian Historical Fiction) «Women of Troy» by Pat Barker (Historical Fiction take on the Iliad, from the perspective of Achilles’ and Agamemnon’s «War Bride» Briseis) «The Crystal Cave» by Mary Stewart (Arthurian Fantasy from the perspective of Merlin) «The Wolf Den» by Elodie Harper (Historical Fiction set in the, eh, «Red Light District» of Ancient Pompeii) «Informocracy» by Malka Older (Cyberpunk) «Brothers of the Wind» by Tad Williams (Prequel to «Memory, Sorrow & Thorn», Epic Fantasy) «The Folding Knife» by KJ Parker (Political Fantasy) «Pompeii» by Robert Harris (Historical Crime Fiction, set against the Destruction of Pompeii) «The Bright Sword» by Lev Grossman (Arthurian Fantasy) «Augustus» by John Williams (Epistolary Historical Fiction about the Eponymous Roman Emperor’s Life) The “Aspect Emperor» series by R. Scott Bakker (Epic Dark/Grimdark Fantasy, sequel series to «The Prince of Nothing» Trilogy) «Written in the Dark» by Guy Gavriel Kay (Published in 2025, Fantasy inspired by Medieval France) Cheers Tori! 😃
Seriously, why is no one discussing 'Hidden Signs of the Universe by Olivia Cooper'? This forbidden book is a goldmine of knowledge that can sincerely change your life
I don't know who told you that the Expanse counts as hard Scifi, because it certainly isn't. Even when situated in a not so far away future, It isn't even that much concerned with the science in the fiction and just because it doesn't go into more fantastic territory like Star Trek did, it still isn't hard SF. Also in defense of the Raven's Shadow saga, I think that a lot of the negative reaction towards book 2 and 3 has to do with the first one being so bloody brillant. And I have to admit that book 3 was a bit of a let down for me as well, because it shifted the narrative in directions I didn't particularly like and worse, because of what happened at the end of book two, it also shifted the focus away from the main character. This said, I really loved book 2 because not only did it introduce one of my favorite characters with Reva, but also because I loved the build-up to the book's conclusion even more than the one of book 1, which had a bit too much of an unreliable narrator for my own taste. And book three is still a great novel with tons of interesting events, that I would reread without any problems, and probably will, because I have yet to read the duology conclusion of the Vaelin saga. I'm not too much into fiction outside of Fantasy and SciFi these days, but I have loved Ishiguro's works in the past, so I think you'll be in for a treat with that one. And as far as non-fiction goes, I still have a few books to read, including Chris Wickham's "Medieval Europe", Mary Beard's History of Ancient Rome "SPQR" and last but not least, Jill Lepore's "These Truths" about the history of the U.S., which I have already started ( and I think it's brillantly written).
Thanks for commenting! I should definitely have clarified that a bit better, it's a step toward hard sci-fi compared to what I'm used to, but I know there are a lot of sci fi books and series that are WAY more hard system than Expanse. I'm a clueless sci fi newb so I'm still getting used to the spectrum XD That's a great point about Raven's Shadow, and I think you're absolutely right. Anything was going to be a tough follow up to Blood Song because it was so good. I'm definitely looking forward to finishing the series and reading more of Ryan's other work as well. Mary Beard is a legend! I love her documentary videos, and I had no idea she wrote books as well. Definitely checking those out. I hope you enjoy all your reads in 2025!
@@ToriTalks2 Thanks and back to you. Though as I mentioned to fellow booktuber Petrik Leo, I really have to speed up my reading if I want to read all of them. I used to read way more, but these days I often feel too exhausted to read for a longer period of time, so books I used to peruse in 2 or 3 days nowadays can easily take me 2 weeks to get through. Unluckliy making FOMO into a sad reality.
You can't go wrong with Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. It is arguably her best book by many people. It is certainly my favorite Christie novel, possibly my favorite novel of all time. To me, And Then There Were None is the birth of the modern locked room thriller. I can't wait to see your reaction. Happy reading, Tori.
I love so many of these books! I can't wait to get your reactions on a ton of them. I have to catch up to you in City Watch! Carrot 4 Life!
Great stack of books! I hope you have time to squeeze in The Traveling Cat Chronicles, it’s a favorite of mine and is both heartbreaking and heartwarming. The Legend of Eli Monpress is on my personal list of must reads for 2025. It caught my attention years ago when compared to Lies of Locke Lamora and has been sitting on my bookshelf for a shameful amount of time.
Hope you find some new favs!📚
Lots of great stuff on here! Stoner, Tawny Man, Sun Eater, And Then There Were None, hope you have a great reading year! I'm down to buddy read the Elizabeth Moon trilogy if you need a buddy!
So many amazing books. I really hope you like Ishiguro. It's in my Top 5 of all time. I haven't decided yet what books to prioritize in 2025; I'm going to continue The Suneater series but besides that... idk maybe I'll finally dive back into Cosmere... or maybe Bloodsworn Saga... or maybe I can find the courage to start Malazan. I can't... which to... STOP PRESSURING ME! AAAAAARGH 😵💫🤯
Tori you are gonna LOVE How Do You Live, that is one of my faves I always forget to scream about hahaha. Also, I might just join you for The Island of Sea Women in January if you get to that, I have been meaning to read Lisa See for ages now (not least thanks to you!).
Also, heeeeeck yes for Tawny Man!! And A Quiet Vengeance is SUCH a hidden gem, I feel like the character work in there is gonna blow your hair back (or not, if you have the beanie on this winter hahaha). I might also join you for Sun Eater, it's way overdue at this point!
Happy reading, hope you enjoy the ones you get to friend 🤩🤩
I read The Housekeeper and the Professor just this month! Beautiful book, and Yoko Ogawa is a wonderful author.
Awesome! I can't wait to read it.
Hey Tori 👋🏾👋🏾👋🏾 I am currently reading Empire of Silence and it is a pager turner. Can't wait to hear your review. I plan on going immediately into the 2nd book in the series which I never do. Love your Yoshi 🐉.
Eli Monpress!! First time I have seen anyone mention this book on TH-cam. The series is so great. It’s a comfort read for me now after my mom recommended it to me years ago. I hope you enjoy it.
That's awesome that you'll be checking out the The Expanse series. Both the books and the show are excellent!
Also, I love the Rurouni Kenshin collection in the background lol. Author aside, it's another fantastic series that manages to be great across multiple mediums.
This is a great idea but knowing myself I'd probably only read a handful of my list. 😅
Oh I'm so excited to see your thoughts on so many. I'm a huge fan of Christie and the Discworld is one of my favourites as well. Ook.
We have a few overlapping as well such as Suneater and The Expanse. Wonder which one we'll each prefer.
Enjoy your reading, you have a great mix.
I completely failed at this in the last 2 years, but now its time to try again and pick out 25 books.
Ooof so many awesome books to come!!
I'm very curious what you'll think of Stoner. And Tawny Man of course!
I'll also be jumping into the Expanse & Suneater soon, so I'm excited to share those journeys with you!
Ooo, ooo, “Stoner”! It was Johanna Reads that got me to read that one, way back in Summer 2023. I thought it was well outside my lane/comfort zone, but I loooved it! A huge surprise for me, very impactful. Hoping you dig it too🤞
I am excited for a great many of my books. I have so many hypewagon tomes!
I would classify The Expanse as more Space Opera than hard SciFi. I will be interested in hearing your opinion on Deeds of Paksenarrion. Lots of great books on your list.
I chose to read And Then There Were None for an assignment my senior year in high school. My memory for things that far back is awful, so I don’t remember much specifics, but I remember enjoying it! I also was supposed to read The Outsiders in 10th grade, I believe, but that was one of my brother and I’s favorite movies at the time (so much so that he watched it nearly every day). So I didn’t actually read it because I knew the movie so well and it actually follows the book very faithfully, from what I’ve heard. And my grades for the book seemed to reinforce that lol.
Sons of Darkness nearly sold me just on the cover alone, but then your description makes it sound even better! Definitely thrown into the TBR.
I think I’m most excited to read the rest of A Song of Ice and Fire next year. But there’s definitely some contenders. Like some self-pub such as The Way of Edan, Gunmetal Gods, and The Blood Stones!
Midnight in Broad Daylight sounds FASCINATING and I'd never heard of it. Achilles in Vietnam is also one I've never heard of. Have you ever read On Killing by Dave Grossman? It's in that vein. (Empire of Silence is very high on TBR for this next year too!)
Goodluck with ur reading!! 😊
Thank you!
Hi. I've read Leviathan Wakes and I would say it's not too hard sci-fi. Very fast paced and can be read as a standalone.
H3ll YEAH you're reading the EXPANSE ❤❤❤ Can't wait to hear your thoughts about it, it's my favorite sci-fi series of all time. I really loved Bruno's Trilogy, it gets better and better, and the last book utterly destroyed me😅
I'm also super excited about FLAMES OF MIRA!
Great video, as always 😊
I would love to read some of those books, too. Some of them are already on my TBR. I would love to read the Malazan series, too, but I don't know when to fit it in. 👍
When you get to the year 2099, you will be very busy!😂 You have some really great reading in store for you in 2025. I hope they are all 5 ⭐ reads for you!
Wow what a year you have set up!
I can’t wait!!! 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻
I read The Travelling Cat Chronicles and If Cats Disappeared from the World a couple of years ago! Enjoyed reading both, but the first is 🥰🐾😍
You would probably also like The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa, I loved it so much!😊
The Full Moon by Jø Nesbo, The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst and Bring Me Your Midnight by Rachel Griffin are on my 2025 tbr😊
Thank you for the cute video and happy reading!☺️👋📖
Curse of Chalion is one of my favorites by one of my favorite authors, so I don’t want to stop you from reading it - but I have to warn you the central character is a 30-something man. The older woman you spoke of is a secondary (but integral) character in this book. She’s also the central character of the second book that Bujold set in that world, Paladin of Souls. They’re standalone enough that you don’t have to have read CoC to enjoy PoS, but I still recommend doing so for the added backstory and world-building if nothing else.
Ooooh 😍 I should not be allowed to watch your channel… too many books that sound really interesting 🤔 Ishiguro is an author I want to read as well. And can’t wait to hear your thoughts on empire of silence. I haven’t read it yet but have been listening to everyone’s thoughts. Let’s see how many of these you read in 2025. 11 is the number to beat 😝
Loved Never Let Me Go. Very moving.
I've been hearing amazing feedback on that one!
Book of the Long Sun (Gene Wolfe) and Gormenghast (Mervyn Peake) are definitely the two books I’m most determined to make myself read in 2025.
2025 is gonna be sick for me. Finishing books 4&5 of a song of ice and fire, dungeon crawler carl, continuing with books 2-4 or 5 of malazan book of the fallen, and starting the journey that is the wheel of time.
Paksennarion! YAY!!!!!
If you follow John from Talking Story, my first video I submitted for his Town Square videos was about Elizabeth Moon. It was TS's Sept Town Square video.
Awesome picks. I hope you have a better time with Tower Lord than I did! Deeds of Paksenarrion is a top tier series, but I know how you feel about SA so I feel like I should warn you there's two inclusions - one at the start of the first book that's handled well, and a far more disturbing one near the end of book 3 that was not done gratuitously or for shock value.
Tori I am going to try and copy you for your 25 in 25 as I need something to get me through the next 12 months so I am going to use this list if okay with you prayers and blessings for you and your boyfriend aka husband love 🥰 your Aussie family friend John xxx❤❤❤
I also didn't get as far i had set out for this year, not sure if i'll do any better in 2025 due to having to move to a new house.
My hopeful 2025 list though:
- «To Ride Hell's Chasm»
- «The Black Company»
- «Vølven's Vej» / «The Seer of Midgard» by Anne-Marie Vedsø Olesen (norse mythology inspired historical fantasy set during the iron age)
- «Dying Earth» & «Lyonesse» by Jack Vance
- «The Complete Ruritanian romances» by Anthony Hope (swashbuckling adventure novels set in a fictional european country)
- «Den Som Hvisker» (there is no english translation so far) C.A. Wolters (i don't know too much other of it than it's dark fantasy with romance, a prophecy and the main character dealing with Inner turmoil and anger)
- «Hills of Heather and Bone» by K.E. Andrews
- «Lucie» by Anne-Marie Vedsø Olesen (Vampire fantasy/horror novel with a nordic twist)
I wouldn't presume to suggest what you might like, but some of my opinions on books on your list:
For me, Tower Lord is to Bloodsong as Servant of the Empire is to Daughter of the Empire: The character works isn't quite as good, the plot isn't as tightly crafted, and it's just not as enjoyable a read. But I still liked Tower Lord quite a bit.
I will recommend anything by Bujold anytime. The Five Gods World (Chalion series and Penric and Desdemona series) does all the things that Bujold does well - excellent characters that are extremely sympathetic, strong plots, interesting world building and touches of humor in an overall serious story.
Moon is another writer whose work I'll consistently recommend. The Deed of Paksenarrion has excellent character work and very good to excellent military fantasy plotting. It goes very, very dark at a certain point, in some extremely unpleasant ways, but that bit is integral to the story. It does reduce my desire for a reread, but in no way does that mean I am unhappy to have read the series. I prefer her Paladin's Legacy series, which is more straight political fantasy and her Vatta's War series, which is among the best space opera I've read, but that's a personal taste issue. I'm not a huge fan of real grimdark. But Sheepfarmer's Daughter is definitely a 5-star read for me.
I hope your experience of Empire of Silence will be better than mine was; the odds favor that, since everyone else seems to love it. But it really didn't work for me at all. See also Pratchett, whose books I really tried to like and just never did. Not that there's any similarity in writing between Pratchett and Ruocchio, of course. I'm just saying that you might not want to trust my taste. 8-)
You HAVE to try Ryan Cahill's Bound and Broken epic fantasy series. I bet you'd love it.
I read book 1 this year! It wasn’t my cup of tea, but I can definitely see why it appeals to other readers!
And Then There Were None is 🔥🔥.
Have you ever read All Quiet on the Western Front? I know you love Civil War fiction/NF. I've read it twice now and it really gets into the nitty gritty of the fallout of war so highly recommend for your writing war research.
And speaking of Vietnam, I read The Things They Carried. 😢😢 LOVED it. I'm currently reading Steinbeck in Vietnam.
That Shawna Lawless trilogy is on my priority list for 2025.
Nice!
Paksenarrion needs more attention🎉
From what I’ve heard, I agree!
Yes: «Discworld», «The Expanse» & «Sun Eater»! 😎🙌 Will start on «Gael Song» after I have finished Roger Zelazny’s «Lord of Light» and John Gwynne’s «Fury of the Gods»!
As for myself, my 2024 TBR:
«Doom of Destiny» (Sundered Nation #3) by Vaughn Roycroft (Epic/Historical Fantasy inspirert by the Historical Ancient Goths and the Rohirrim of Tolkien, with a dash of «Dune»)
«Alamut» by Vladimir Bartol (Philosophical Historical Fiction, set among the Order of Assassins Sect during the Crusades, with parallels to the growth of Fascism in Bartol’s own 1930s)
«Mannen som bar solen» («The Man Who Carried The Sun») by Kristian Bang Foss (Historical Fiction set in the Nordic Bronze Age)
«Hengist» by Sean Poage (Historical Fiction, set during the Anglo-Saxon Invasion of Britain)
«All the Horses on Iceland» by Sarah Tolmie (Historical Fiction/Fantasy about an Medieval Icelander’s Journey to Central Asia)
«Bloodstone» & «Dark Crusade» by Karl Edward Wagner (Both in the «Kane» series, S&S/Proto-Grimdark)
«Lancelot» by Giles Kristian (Arthurian Fantasy/Historical Fiction)
«Navola» by Paolo Bacigalupi (Fantasy inspired by Renaissance Italy & «The Godfather»)
«Carthage Ascendant» by Mary Gentle (Book of Ash #2, Alt-Historical Military Fiction inspired by the Mercenary Wars of the Renaissance)
«The Blood Dimmed Tide» by Stephen Aryan (Fantasy inspired by the Mongol Conquest of Persia)
«Firelord» by Parke Godwin (Arthurian Historical Fiction)
«Women of Troy» by Pat Barker (Historical Fiction take on the Iliad, from the perspective of Achilles’ and Agamemnon’s «War Bride» Briseis)
«The Crystal Cave» by Mary Stewart (Arthurian Fantasy from the perspective of Merlin)
«The Wolf Den» by Elodie Harper (Historical Fiction set in the, eh, «Red Light District» of Ancient Pompeii)
«Informocracy» by Malka Older (Cyberpunk)
«Brothers of the Wind» by Tad Williams (Prequel to «Memory, Sorrow & Thorn», Epic Fantasy)
«The Folding Knife» by KJ Parker (Political Fantasy)
«Pompeii» by Robert Harris (Historical Crime Fiction, set against the Destruction of Pompeii)
«The Bright Sword» by Lev Grossman (Arthurian Fantasy)
«Augustus» by John Williams (Epistolary Historical Fiction about the Eponymous Roman Emperor’s Life)
The “Aspect Emperor» series by R. Scott Bakker (Epic Dark/Grimdark Fantasy, sequel series to «The Prince of Nothing» Trilogy)
«Written in the Dark» by Guy Gavriel Kay (Published in 2025, Fantasy inspired by Medieval France)
Cheers Tori! 😃
I really enjoyed the two by Juliet Marillier. 💜
That’s great to hear!
Just curious, do you plan to continue the first law books ?
Someday I’ll go back to the standalones! But after two series endings that I really didn’t like, there are a lot of other things I want to read first!
Great video,I'm reading georges cosmic treasure hunt. By Lucy and Stephen hawking.
I forget, what of the Ender's Game series have you read?
Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow. I started reading Speaker for the Dead a long time ago but just couldn't get into it.
Seriously, why is no one discussing 'Hidden Signs of the Universe by Olivia Cooper'? This forbidden book is a goldmine of knowledge that can sincerely change your life
That’s not the type of book I typically read, but I’m glad you enjoyed it!
I don't know who told you that the Expanse counts as hard Scifi, because it certainly isn't. Even when situated in a not so far away future, It isn't even that much concerned with the science in the fiction and just because it doesn't go into more fantastic territory like Star Trek did, it still isn't hard SF.
Also in defense of the Raven's Shadow saga, I think that a lot of the negative reaction towards book 2 and 3 has to do with the first one being so bloody brillant. And I have to admit that book 3 was a bit of a let down for me as well, because it shifted the narrative in directions I didn't particularly like and worse, because of what happened at the end of book two, it also shifted the focus away from the main character.
This said, I really loved book 2 because not only did it introduce one of my favorite characters with Reva, but also because I loved the build-up to the book's conclusion even more than the one of book 1, which had a bit too much of an unreliable narrator for my own taste. And book three is still a great novel with tons of interesting events, that I would reread without any problems, and probably will, because I have yet to read the duology conclusion of the Vaelin saga.
I'm not too much into fiction outside of Fantasy and SciFi these days, but I have loved Ishiguro's works in the past, so I think you'll be in for a treat with that one. And as far as non-fiction goes, I still have a few books to read, including Chris Wickham's "Medieval Europe", Mary Beard's History of Ancient Rome "SPQR" and last but not least, Jill Lepore's "These Truths" about the history of the U.S., which I have already started ( and I think it's brillantly written).
Thanks for commenting! I should definitely have clarified that a bit better, it's a step toward hard sci-fi compared to what I'm used to, but I know there are a lot of sci fi books and series that are WAY more hard system than Expanse. I'm a clueless sci fi newb so I'm still getting used to the spectrum XD
That's a great point about Raven's Shadow, and I think you're absolutely right. Anything was going to be a tough follow up to Blood Song because it was so good. I'm definitely looking forward to finishing the series and reading more of Ryan's other work as well.
Mary Beard is a legend! I love her documentary videos, and I had no idea she wrote books as well. Definitely checking those out. I hope you enjoy all your reads in 2025!
@@ToriTalks2 Thanks and back to you. Though as I mentioned to fellow booktuber Petrik Leo, I really have to speed up my reading if I want to read all of them. I used to read way more, but these days I often feel too exhausted to read for a longer period of time, so books I used to peruse in 2 or 3 days nowadays can easily take me 2 weeks to get through. Unluckliy making FOMO into a sad reality.
"And Novia." ❤❤❤❤🎉😂
Always the kitty cameos 😂
Novia!!!! 🐈