I couldn’t say why it took me so long to get around to finally tackling the fourth and last Top 10 Redux article, but better late than never, right? Let’s take a look at the books I still cherish with all my heart, and the new entries that have won me over in the years since the original version of this list!
Same as before, I’ll also include a list of books which have been knocked out of the top ten from the last version of the list. I’ll also highlight new entries to the list in RED.
Knocked From the List: Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox (Eoin Colfer), Psycome: Volume 4 (Mizuki Mizushiro), Vampire Academy: Blood Promise (Richelle Mead), Throne of Glass: Queen of Shadows (Sarah J Maas)
10) Prey (Michael Crichton)
What a fall from grace, huh? Well, not really! It isn’t as if I like this book any less than I did a few years ago, it’s that I like other books even more! I’ve really read a lot of fantastic new books over the past few years, so Prey had some really stiff competition. Anyway, I still really enjoy this novel, especially the slow-paced family drama beginning, and the absolutely nuts final act and villain twists. It’s the Michael Crichton book I’d recommend to people the most (aside from Jurassic Park, and my recommendation there would be more because of accessibility/digestibility). A super fun Sci-Fi read.
9) Bloodlines: Silver Shadows (Richelle Mead)
I just reread this book (and this series) a week ago, and it’s still an incredible book, and easily the high-point of the entire Bloodlines series. The relationship dynamics between Sydney and Adrian are at their most tense and compelling, and the lightning-paced final act is filled with some refreshing moments of levity, some really cute and wholesome romance parts, and a great final standoff. These moments of catharsis are a much-needed blessing in the face of the real star of this book, it’s villain: Grace Sheridan. She’s an utterly phenomenal foe who ushers in some of the most twisted and dark moments of the entire series, and you really root for her downfall from page one.
8) Legacy of Steel (Matthew Ward)
Despite having only read this series once (though it’s been a few years, so I should get on a reread sometime soon), I still fondly remember this book. It has a leg up due to all of the heavy-lifting of the worldbuilding and character introductions having happened in the first book, and it avoids the extreme emotions of the final book of the trilogy (which I mean as a compliment to the third book, it’s just a book that really takes it out of you to read!). It’s the perfect middle-chapter of a story, and has so many highlights and great character beats I’d never have the time to talk about all of them here! Seriously, if you love Fantasy with an emphasis on worldbuilding, politics, and war, you have to give this series a read! It’s phenomenal!
7) The Darkness Before Them (Matthew Ward)
And yet, I genuinely think Matthew Ward’s subsequent fantasy trilogy is even stronger than his first showing, which I never would have thought possible before diving into this series. The worldbuilding is just as great, and the characters might be even better, and it’s all buoyed by a layer of fun magical shenanigans that the more grounded Legacy Trilogy veered away from. And, to be candid, the reason why this first entry in the trilogy is my favorite is because I’m still floored by how brilliantly a certain character is handled, and how every single thing they do and say is laced with about twenty layers of complexity and intrigue! This is another banger of a series that should not be missed if you love Fantasy and aren’t turned away by the sight of a 600+ page series of books!
6) Supernova (Marissa Meyer)
I also reread this series not too long ago, and it’s still one of my all-time favorite stories told within the Superhero genre. I’m not cynical or nihilistic (or vulgar) enough to really jive with stories like The Boys and Invincible (no shame to people who like them), but I still appreciate stories in the Superhero genre that deconstruct what it means to be a hero, and what it means to be a villain. The journey of main heroine Nova is nothing short of perfection (after all, she did score the #1 spot on my list of favorite literary protagonists), and the rest of the supporting cast is excellent too. This final book is still a little difficult to get through for all the best reasons, but the way it all comes together at the end is fantastic. It’s such a compellingly-crafted world of superpowers that I’d love to be able to live in too, which are always fun literary worlds to get immersed in!
5) These Burning Stars (Bethany Jacobs)
For most multi-entry series, I usually find that it’s not the first installment that is the strongest. After all, you’ve got to do a lot of set up to establish the pieces on the board before you’re able to start playing with them. There are outliers though (including the Matthew Ward book two places up from this), and These Burning Stars is 100% one of those. In fact, being fully candid here, I haven’t even gotten around to reading the rest of the series yet! I was just so blown away by this debut that I still can’t stop thinking about it. An insanely intriguing world, great action, awesome character moments, and one of the single most jaw-dropping character twists of all time, that completely and utterly upends the concept of the entire novel. Phenomenal piece of Sci-Fi goodness that I can’t recommend enough!
4) Throne of Glass: Kingdom of Ash (Sarah J Maas)
Thanks to Matthew Ward, there’s a few fantasy novel series that I enjoy a little more than Throne of Glass nowadays, but you still would be hard pressed to find a grand finale as enjoyable as this. And one would sure hope that the finale would be worthwhile after so many books of build-up. Thankfully, it’s stellar, managing to tie a neat (if sometimes emotional) bow on every lingering plot thread and character arc introduced over the course of this excellent series. There’s a bunch of twists, some shocking reveals, a really great character moment from an unexpected person, some stunning scenes that are still burned into my memory, deep sacrifices, and a hugely cathartic ending that feels like I’m leaving a world of adventure and friends behind. It’s great, and easily exceeds expectations.
3) The Bound Worlds (Megan E O’Keefe)
I’m a huge fan of Sci-Fi, but I wouldn’t normally describe myself as a fan of Romance. I might have to think about changing that stance of mine, though, because The Bound Worlds (and the entire trilogy it’s a part of) is some of the best storytelling that I’ve ever read. Seriously, it’s a fantastic series that I could sing the praises of for hours. I didn’t really think you could marry the two disparate ideas of intensely technical Sci-Fi and superbly paced Romance, but apparently you can! Everything about this series is immaculate, and it all comes together into a perfect and emotional conclusion with this final instalment here. I’m not sure I even breathed once during the entire last fifty pages, and I love how the author pushed me into thinking “gosh darn it, I wanted this to go a different way“, only to brilliantly pivot me right back into “oh, yes, this is exactly what I wanted“!
Now my only issue is that I feel like I’m going to inevitably compare all future Romance subplots in the books I read to this one, and ultimately come up lacking!
2) Little Monsters (Kara Thomas)
Maybe the scariest book I’ve ever read, and absolutely the best YA book that I’ve ever had the joy of being able to experience. This is a book that haunts my very dreams, and I think I’ll still remember it vividly even decades from now (I mean, obviously I will, because I plan to reread this absolute gem every few years, minimum).
Some books have ghosts, and zombies, and evil curses. But some books just present a scenario so horrifyingly chilling that you don’t need the supernatural at all to have trouble sleeping that night. Little Monsters is one such book, and I’m almost sad that I can never experience the sensation of complete-and-utter dread I felt when I first realized what the story was trying to say, and the full extent of the plot twist dawned on me. I can only dream to write a YA book this good one day, and the insane twists and crazy climax of this novel are probably going to inspire my own writing style for years to come.
1) Halo: Fall of Reach (Eric Nylund)
Partially because of the years of memories I have with this book, and partially because of just how objectively good this book is, Halo: Fall of Reach remains atop my list of favorite books.
I still remember the day I was at a Salvation Army with my mom one afternoon after church, idly browsing the shelves (it was a Wednesday, a day where they used to (and maybe still do) have really good sales). Lo-and-behold, I stumble upon this book (a slightly-worn copy with the cover falling off). I hadn’t even truly played a Halo game before (outside of a match or two when my older brother had some friends over one night, and they had space for an additional player). But the book looked super neat, so I asked my mom if I could get it, and probably because she didn’t know any better, she allowed me to!
I was definitely too young to read the book. And I don’t mean in terms of sexual content (there is none), or even necessarily in terms of blood or language (which there is a fair bit of both). Just in terms of how detailed and technical the Sci-Fi elements could be, and how involved the storyline and world was. I’d never read anything like this book up until that point in my life, and I honestly don’t even think I understood half of what I was reading. But that’s okay, because not only did I still love it, but I came to understand it more and more as I reread it about a dozen times over the next five years!
It’s super good, and does everything you could ever want in a Sci-Fi (except I guess Romance, but hey, you can just go read The Bound Worlds for that). Even if you never plan to play a Halo game, I recommend this book with every fiber of my being.
But hey, that’s just my opinion!
The Contrarian Corner 