Only the Best (of the Year) - Top 10 New Releases of 2012

One day I'll lighten up on the use of parentheses, but that day is not today!

The following are my top 10 New Releases of 2012. This may not be the first during this season of list-posting, so be prepared for at least one more list displaying my top reads regardless of publishing year. Which, to be honest, is really just another way to cheat and add more books to lists. Don't blame me, I can't tell you enough how good of a reading year I've had. This is not really a bad problem here.

Top 10 of 2012:
10. Shadow's Master (Shadow Saga #3) by Jon Sprunk (review) [interview]

Keeping up the same action-packed pace as the rest of the trilogy, Shadow's Master is an excellent conclusion to a great series. While things wrap up nicely (for the most part), it didn't feel like such a perfect wrap-up, more like a transition to the next stage and I really liked that.

9. Echoes of the Past (Demon Squad #4) by Tim Marquitz (review)

If you're ready for a different kind of urban fantasy, this is just for you. If you're ready for action-packed fun and your jokes are often accused of being perfect for a junior high kid, this series is perfect. The Demon Squad series is my favorite urban fantasy series for good reason and Echoes of the Past is a worthy installment.

8. The Wind Through the Keyhole (Dark Tower #4.5) by Stephen King (review)

As someone who considers Wizard and Glass one of his all-time favorite books (inside and outside of the Dark Tower universe), I love me a good flashback. Not everyone does and I'll even admit that I thought this book would be a tale of the Ka-tet, not another flashback within a flashback. I'd still recommend this to fans of the Dark Tower and even non-readers alike.

7. This Dark Earth by John Hornor Jacobs (review)

All in all, if you're going to read a zombie book, you should read This Dark Earth. Once you start, you won't be able to put it down anyway, so start now.

6. The Tainted City (Shattered Sigil #2) by Courtney Schafer (review) [interview]

One of the best reads this year as well as last, Courtney Schafer has delivered again. Not only with engaging characters and compelling plot, but with something new and diverse that I can't wait to come back to in The Labyrinth of Flame, book three in The Shattered Sigil Trilogy. 

5. King of Thorns (Broken Empire #2) by Mark Lawrence (review)

Lawrence has created a series that challenges your perceptions and manages to be compulsively readable. The Broken Empire trilogy is an experience to say the least. I couldn't put it down and that's partly because I couldn't look away. King of Thorns takes the anti-hero to a whole new level, one who gives Logan Ninefingers of Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy a run for his money.

4. Shadow Ops: Control Point (Shadow Ops #1) by Myke Cole (review)

Myke Cole is an author to watch and Shadow Ops: Control Point is possibly the best debut of the year [it was very close]. I know it's early yet, but I couldn't put this book down and that goes a long way for me.

3. Kings of the Morning (Macht #3) by Paul Kearney (review)

Paul Kearney has created a  history that is epic in every sense of the word and this trilogy is military fantasy at its best. It's so easy to get sucked in, this series was made for multiple readings and the stories are just as thrilling as those of the 300 Spartans at the Hot Gate. You come to see people doing the impossible and that's what you get.

2. Red Country by Joe Abercrombie (review)

Some people may be put off by a bit of a slow start, but once you reach the halfway point you will have a decidedly difficult time putting the book down. This was a great reminder that I need to read more Abercrombie and soon. Red Country manages not only to be a stellar fantasy, but ranks with the best of the western genre as well. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid eat your heart out.

1. The Troupe by Robert Jackson Bennett (review)

Bennett not only writes about magic, but his writing itself is imbued with magic and a bit of humor and even a little darkness. To be mentioned in the same breathe as Neil Gaiman would be no stretch of the imagination. The Troupe may just be the best book of 2012. [and it was!] 

Best Anthology:
Fading Light: An Anthology of the Monstrous, Edited by Tim Marquitz (review)

If you're looking for a great Halloween read, it would be hard to find better. If you're looking for an excellent anthology in general, you've found it. Fading Light is easily one of the best anthologies I've ever read, second only to Songs of the Dying Earth.

Honorable Mention:
The Hollow City by Dan Wells (review)
Scourge of the Betrayer (Bloodsounder's Arc #1) by Jeff Salyards (review)

EDIT: I don't know why I didn't link my reviews to these Honorable Mentions, so here they are.

Review - This Dark Earth by John Hornor Jacobs

I picked this book up not because I'm a fan of a good zombie book (even though I am), but solely on the strength of the reviews of his debut novel Southern Gods.

I haven't read it, but I will now.

This Dark Earth [US] [UK] takes us from the beginning of the zombie apocalypse through the early development of a new civilization. Not treading a whole lot of new ground here are we?

And I think that's what's blowing me a way with this book is that it's nothing new, but at the same time it felt fresh and vibrant and I COULD NOT put it down. I guess that shows what kind of writing chops this author has.

We start out following Doc Lucy Ingersol's point of view as the first of the outbreak begins to show up in the hospital in which she works. The waiting room breaks out in what I can only compare to Draculas. All hell breaks loose.

She gets away, barely, and gets picked up by a trucker who goes by the name of Knock Out...just as the world is being blown to smithereens, or just well-placed nukes in every major city.

While this isn't a whole lot different from the normal zombie fair, I can say he does a few things differently, at least in my limited experience. The first, is the entire set up of the novel. It's only made up of 7 chapters, each, for the most part, is a different character and in first person. They're all interconnected somehow and thus, you're able to get really close to each of the main characters.

The characters are for the most part relatively serious, but of course there's quite a bit of tongue-in-cheek. I usually get annoyed by this sort of thing, especially when it's done constantly, but it fit so well and the humor was so spot on, it worked perfectly. Here's a favorite quote, from the engineer, that occurs later in the book although I've taken out any spoilers for the most part:

I've brained 170 zeds. Klein says he's at 180, but there's not a lot of time for talking now. I'd be hard-pressed to say who's Legolas and who's Gimli. I'm taller and gay, so I'll take the elf.

The second thing is that you can't trust what will happen with these characters. Obviously, this is a zombie novel and of course no one's really safe...but then, The Walking Dead still has most of the main characters, even Carl...wait...where's Carl!?!?!

Speaking of The Walking Dead, if you're a fan of the show, I think you'll really connect with this book. Some of the same themes show up here, such as the need to avoid cities with their huge populations.

Okay, I'll stop talking about The Walking Dead, as much as I love that show. This Dark Earth would definitely not be viewable on TV. The back cover of the book has a quote from S.G. Browne that says this book is The Road meets World War Z. While I haven't read WWZ, I have read The Road and I can kind of see where he's coming from. The people who have survived at 3 years out are some of the nastiest around. There are good people granted, but where would the fun be if only those existed.

While this book is much more on the pulp end of things, I can definitely see that this comparison to The Road makes sense. There are some truly poignant events that occur that had my emotions running high. I can also say that I don't think I've read anything more brutal than what happens to one of the characters and the whole time it felt like I was going through it. On that note, this book definitely isn't for the faint of heart. Lots of blood and guts fill the pages, not to mention some other uncomely acts.

All in all, if you're going to read a zombie book, you should read This Dark Earth. Once you start, you won't be able to put it down anyway, so start now.

4 out of 5 Stars (Highly Recommended)

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher