The Well of Ascension

The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson

After really enjoying The Final Empire, the first instalment in the Mistborn Trilogy, I was excited to get to The Well of Ascension to continue Vin’s story. Although The Final Empire had felt like a complete narrative, there were still many questions I had surrounding the ending and what would happen next for the characters that I had come to be invested in across the previous novel. I generally enjoyed The Well of Ascension, and I am particularly intrigued by what it sets up for The Hero of Ages, but I did feel that it was treading water in some aspects. However, I enjoyed being back with the characters and seeing how Sanderson explored the nuances of what happens in a city after the evil power ruling it has been defeated.

The Vanished Bride

The Vanished Bride by Bella Ellis

Towards the end of last year, I discovered that I had been missing out on a series of historical mystery books in which the Brontë sisters solve eerie crimes. Given that I also finished reading all of the novels of the Brontës last year, it seemed a good time to pick up this series inspired by their lives and writings. As someone who does not read much crime or mystery fiction, I always enjoy stepping into that genre and I knew from reading reviews that this would be a great book for escapism during the busy end of the Autumn term. I very much enjoyed stepping into this world in my lunchbreaks in the lead up to Christmas and getting to know Ellis’ interpretation of the Brontë sisters as characters.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John le Carré, narrated by Michael Jayston

Back in 2020, one of the recommendations I was given for my 30^th birthday was John le Carré’s Karla trilogy, part of the larger George Smiley series which comprises Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy; The Honourable Schoolboy; and Smiley’s People. Knowing that le Carré is a well-respected writer, as well as being one of my Dad’s favourite author’s, I had been meaning to pick up one of his books at some point, and stumbling across the audiobook recently gave me the perfect prompt to make a start. I was a little unsure whether I would be able to follow it as an audiobook, since I have previously struggled with crime fiction in that format, but I did not find it to be a problem at all and I had a really good experience listening to it on my walks to work.

The Kingdom of Copper

The Kingdom of Copper by S. A. Chakraborty

One of my goals in the past couple of months has been to continue with some of the series that I have started over the last few years. For the Daevabad Trilogy, continuing on with the series came around sooner rather than later as I picked up The Kingdom of Copper only a couple of months after reading The City of Brass. I enjoyed the first instalment in this trilogy immensely and I found The Kingdom of Copper to be even more engaging, with interesting character development and twists throughout the narrative that I was not expecting.

NW

NW by Zadie Smith

It has been a long time since I picked up a fiction work by Zadie Smith, although I did read her non-fiction work Intimations back in 2020. Before that, however, the last Smith book I had picked up was Swing Time several years ago, which I enjoyed. I had been meaning to read NW for a while, and seeing reviews start to come in for her most recent novel prompted me to keep an eye out for this older work of hers in the second hand bookshops. It didn’t take me long to find a copy and I was then able to make some time on various train journeys to read it. Much like Smith’s other fiction works, I found NW to be an intriguing narrative with flawed characters, complex relationships, and no easy conclusions.

Flamefall

Flamefall by Rosaria Munda

If there is any series that makes me as stressed as Robin Hobb’s Farseer trilogy, it is Rosaria Munda’s Aurelian Cycle. Having read and really enjoyed Fireborne some time ago, I have been looking forward to reading the second instalment in the trilogy, Flamefall, and it definitely lived up to my memory of the first instalment. Knowing that I had a busy few weeks coming up, I thought this would be a great book to escape into during that time, forgetting that I would be so absorbed by the plot that it would be a hard narrative to step away from.

Lud-in-the-Mist

Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees

Earlier this year, I heard about Lud-in-the-Mist for the first time and I have been so excited to get round to reading it. As someone with an interest in the history of literature, and particularly women’s writing, reading a pre-Tolkien fantasy novel written by a woman was something I was very interested in. Finding out that it had served as the inspiration for many modern fantasy writers made me even more curious to read it, and so I knew that it would be a priority read for me this term. I really enjoyed this novel, with its larger-than-life characters and comedic tone, and found it to be very reminiscent of traditional fairy tales.

The Final Empire

The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

After enjoying Warbreaker a couple of years ago, I knew that the Mistborn Trilogy would be my next Sanderson read. I was able to pick up the complete trilogy at a second hand book sale and I have really been looking forward to reading this series that I have heard so many good things about. The autumn term is always harder for me to find time to read, but I was taking every spare moment I did to read the first Mistborn instalment, The Final Empire. I found it to be an absorbing read, with characters that I was really invested in and turns in the narrative that I was not expecting.

Crook Manifesto

Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead

Having loved Colson Whitehead’s Harlem Shuffle, I was really excited to continue reading the next instalment of the Harlem Trilogy, Crook Manifesto. Although Harlem Shuffle could be read simply as a stand alone book, I was intrigued to see how Ray Carney’s step into the world of crime would come to back to haunt him in Crook Manifesto. I found this second instalment of the Harlem Trilogy to be just as solid as the first, full of the same dark humour and intrigue, but with the space to delve deeper into the motivations and flaws of the characters.

The Winter King

The Winter King by Bernard Cornwell

I had been thinking of reading The Winter King in time to watch the new adaptation which is coming out this year, so when I found a copy in a second-hand bookshop in the summer, it seemed a good time to pick it up. I knew that it was an Arthurian retelling, but outside of that I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this novel. I found it to be an engaging read, with plenty of turns in the narrative that I was not expecting, however it was a little dark and brutal for my taste and I may not continue on with the trilogy.