Only the Best of 2011 - End of the Year Wrap-Up and Top 10

It's that time of year, I've always wondered why we do best of lists before the year's even over, I mean, there's still time to finish books. I also fully realize the end of a year is a time for reflection and the new year is a time for new beginnings. At least awards for books occur in the following year, they know what they're doing.


Top 5 (2011 Releases)

5. Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence
4. Shadow's Lure by Jon Sprunk
3. The Whitefire Crossing by Courtney Schafer
2. Theft of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan



1. Heaven's Needle by Liane Merciel

It's really sad there won't be any more books in the Ithelas series as the publisher has discontinued it. I still say it's worth a read along with the first book, The River Kings' Road.


Honorable Mentions

I could pretty much place these in my top 5, it was THAT hard of a decision.


Low Town by Daniel Polansky
Demon Squad: Resurrection by Tim Marquitz


What's Missing? (I stole this from The Speculative Scotsman)


Well, I decided to take my time with some of the biggies this year, you know, wait until there's a bit more progress in the series before I do my big reread... so A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin and Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss.


Oh, and remember The Unremembered (that was on purpose)? It was enjoyable, but not quite an end of the year best.


Top 10 (Published any year)

There wasn't really a big chance for the new kids on the block with some of the classics I read this year and I decided not to count the books from The Wheel of Time that I listened to because that's just not fair. I also didn't include any of the novellas that I snuck in the last few weeks.

10. The Whitefire Crossing by Courtney Schafer
9. I Am Not A Serial Killer by Dan Wells
8. Theft of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan
7. How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu
6. The Waste Lands and The Drawing of the Three by Steven King (same series, same number, doesn't make sense I know)
5. Heaven's Needle by Liane Merciel
4. Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay
3. Stardust by Neil Gaiman
2. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (Even got my wife to read it and she's loving it)


1. Songs of the Dying Earth Edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois


I'll have some posts about goals and how I did this year (sadly not all were met) probably sometime in the new year. Otherwise Happy Holidays and see ya in 2012!

eBook deals from Simon & Schuster

Straight off the press (well, email) from Simon & Schuster, eBook deals aplenty. I've linked a couple of the titles to reviews I've done and there's more I will have to check out...like Zombies vs. Unicorns. How can I possibly pass that up?

Simon & Schuster offers special New York Comic Con eBook promotion

Simon & Schuster is offering a special New York Comic Con eBook promotion from October 11th through November 14th.

eBook titles have been reduced from $7.99 to $3.99 and will include Star Trek, Urban Fantasy, Sci-FI/Horror and teen fiction titles (for a complete list, please see below).

Find all titles here: http://pages.simonandschuster.com/comiccon/

Titles include:

Sci-Fi/Fantasy Horror
GEARS OF WAR: COALITION’S END by Karen Traviss
RISE AGAIN by Ben Tripp
A DARKNESS FORGED IN FIRE by Chris Evans
THE LIGHT OF BURNING SHADOWS by Chris Evans
SOULESS by Christopher Golden
THE RIVER KINGS’ ROAD by Liane Merciel (Works as stand-alone even though 3rd book won't be published)

Original Star Trek Novels
THE NEXT GENERATION: TYPHON PACT #1: ZERO SUM GAME by David Mack
THE NEXT GENERATION: TYPHON PACT #2: SEIZE THE FIRE by Michael A. Martin
THE NEXT GENERATION: DESTINY #1: GODS OF NIGHT by David Mack
THE NEXT GENERATION: DEATH IN WINTER by Michael Jan Friedman
THE ORIGINAL SERIES: ENTROPY EFFECT by Vonda N. McIntyre
TITAN #1: TAKING WING by Michael A. Martin & Andy Mangels
VANGUARD #1: HARBINGER by David Mack
DEPARTMENT OF TEMPORAL INVESTIGATIONS: WATCHING THE CLOCK by Christopher L. Bennett
DEEP SPACE NINE: A STITCH IN TIME by Andrew J. Robinson
VOYAGER: FULL CIRCLE by Kirsten Beyer
NEW FRONTIER: AFTER THE FALL by Peter David
THE LOST ERA: SERPENTS AMONG THE RUINS by David R. George III
DEEP SPACE NINE: TEROK NOR: DAY OF THE VIPERS: by James Swallow
ENTERPRISE: KOBAYASHI MARU by Michael A. Martin & Andy Mangels
THE KLINGON DICTIONARY by Marc Okrand

Urban Fantasy
A RUSH OF WINGS by Adrian Phoenix
STAKED by J.F. Lewis
UNCLEAN SPIRITS by M.L.N Hanover
DEAD ON THE DELTA by Stacey Jay
DARK DESCENDANT by Jenna Black
THE BETTER PART OF DARKNESS by Kelly Gay
MASTER OF NONE by Sonya Bateman
WICKED GAME by Jeri Smith-Ready
SURRENDER THE DARK by L.A. Banks

Teen Fiction
UNWIND by Neal Shusterman
ZOMBIES VS. UNICORNS
EDGE by Rudy Josephs
DELTA ANOMALY by Rick Barba
PATHFINDER by Orson Scott Card
WICKED by Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguie

Review - Heaven's Needle by Liane Merciel (Ithelas 2)

Sequels can be quite the mixed bag. Some show the author is here to stay, while others prove them to be more a one hit wonder. Sometimes sequels, however, are even better than the original; Deadhouse Gates, The Elfstones of Shannara, X-Men 2, etc. I'm happy to report that Heaven's Needle [US] [UK] [Kindle] falls into this latter category as well.

The mountain fortress of Duradh Mal was mysteriously destroyed centuries ago. And now, in its shadow, evil stirs. . . .

Unaware of the danger, two inexperienced Illuminers set out for the village of Carden Vale, at the foot of Duradh Mal, to minister to the people. The warrior Asharre, her face scarred with runes, her heart scarred by loss, is assigned to protect the young clerics. But in Carden Vale they find unspeakable horrors—the first hint of a terrifying ghost story come true.

The Sun Knight Kelland has been set free by the woman he loves, the archer Bitharn, but at the cost of undertaking a mission only he can fulfill. Joined by a Thornlord steeped in the magic of pain, they too make their way to Duradh Mal. There lies the truth behind the rumors of the dead come back to life, flesh ripped from bones, and creatures destroying themselves in a violent frenzy. And if Kelland cannot contain the black magic that has been unleashed after six hundred years, an entire world will fall victim to a Mad God’s malevolent plague. . . .

Heaven's Needle is the second novel of Ithelas, following the extremely well-done debut, The River Kings' Road. As you'll notice from the blurbage above, there's a distinct lack of some of the main characters from River Kings', Brys Tarnell (great name btw) and Odosse. Instead, the story focuses on Bitharn and Kelland and some new characters who will more than win you over.

While we're on that note, I think it was a great move on Merciel's part to change the focus a bit in this novel. Brys and Odosse had their time and I really think their story was over, at least for now, and this new focus really worked.

Just when Bitharn and Kelland were really realizing their love for each other, Kelland is taken away from her, to the dungeons of the Thorns. This is as tragic as it gets and even though Bitharn has certain responsibilities as a Celestian, she realizes the true purposes behind all the rules and laws, thus opting to follow the spirit of the law instead.

We also get a look at some other players in the game, and really only glimpses into the dangerous games they're playing. As I mentioned in my review for River Kings', Merciel has created a magic system that is completely dependent on religion. Only those anointed to a certain calling can utilize magic in their name, be they Celestians or Thorns.

In Heaven's Needle, not only does a new evil enter the struggle, but these other players attempt to use magic on their own, without the blessing of the gods, thus welcoming all sorts of new problems.

There was more questing going on in Heaven's Needle than in the first book, but while Merciel could focus on the travelogue, she focuses instead on the emotional struggles of the characters. They quest, but the book isn't about the quest so much, and I'm glad the book wasn't padded to do so. While running the risk of a few spoilers, Merciel also created some amazing monsters that really creeped me out, but had me running back for more.

Merciel really focuses on some very human themes in this book that had me doing a lot of introspection myself. We all have principles we hold dear in our lives and Merciel shows how easy it is to give up what is you one step at a time. It doesn't happen all at once, but the more you allow to happen that goes against what you believe in, the sooner you'll find that you've completely given up.

Why Read Heaven's Needle?

All in all, this is a great series, that has only gotten better. I was doing everything I could to find time to read Heaven's Needle and that's always a good sign. I can't wait for more from Liane Merciel.

4.5 out of 5 Stars

Review - The River Kings' Road: A Novel of Ithelas by Liane Merciel

While visiting the rival's city of Willowfield, the Lord of Bull's March, Sir Galefrid, has been ambushed by a dark magic only a Thorn could wield. The entire town is decimated, except for Brys Tarnell, who is able to escape just before the bloodmist fully takes its toll.

The coincidences and timing make it hard to believe it's only the workings of a Thorn and its bloodmagic. Sir Kelland, a knight of the Sun, blessed to work magic in the goddess Celestia's name, and Bitharn, hopelessly in love with Kelland, are asked to investigate by the Lord of Langmyr and governing province of Willowfield who had hoped to enter peace talks with the rival lord, Sir Galefrid.

Set in my favorite subgenre, that of secondary world epic fantasy, The River Kings' Road [US] [UK] is the first in the series of Ithelas (the second, Heaven's Needle [US] [UK], having been recently released).

As Peter William mentions in his review, there's a lot of competition (or maybe just a lot of books) in this subgenre with the very easy possibility of good works being lost in the sea of junk. Luckily for me, I have friends that know a good thing when they see it.

I still can't believe this was a first novel for Liane Merciel. Her prose is crisp and the pacing is perfect. I was deeply involved with the characters, and even her antagonists are hard not to like, or at least respect, they reside in a nice gray area.

The magic is centered around certain rituals that invoke a goddess' power. The Thorns' magic is based around their worship of the goddess of pain, so their rituals are pretty sick and twisted indeed. Kelland, as a knight of the Sun, has certain magical abilities which, like the Thorns, aren't completely explained, but also based in ritual (although more inward than the Thorns' outward pain infliction).

This brings up a great point that sets Merciel apart. Not only is her magic something different than the usual, but her entire story isn't run-of-the-mill either. There is no quest, but the world she's created is mysterious and vast nonetheless.

Once you get past the confusion at the beginning, mostly in trying to figure out which town belongs in which kingdom and who's on whose side, The River Kings' Road is a very satisfying read.

Why Read River Kings' Road?

Liane Merciel deserves much more credit than she has received until now and I hope her audience continues to grow and grow. I really enjoyed her debut, The River Kings' Road, and I'm extremely excited for the next installment, Heaven's Needle. Highly Recommended!

4 out of 5 Stars (Loved it!)

Check out an interview with Liane Merciel at Speculative Book Review.

Copy provided by Simon and Shuster Pocket