I don't normally recommend The Given Day as an entry point for Lehane (or re-entry point), but knowing your tastes, I think you would enjoy that one the most of his works.
I heard of GGK already a few years ago but until 2024 I didn't read any of his books. Like you I read 5 of his books in 2024 and my favourite is still the first one I read : A Brightness Long Ago. Such a beautiful book ! I'll be reading at least a few more of his books this year but I try to not read them too fast one after another or I will have no books of him left to read and when I think of that fact, I become sad. I love his books for the same reasons you mentioned. I would love to start my Malazan journey (well, my second try, I already read 'Gardens of the Moon' 2 years ago but didn't continue, I still don't know why cause I liked it so much) in 2025. I'm so glad that after DNFing you came back to the series and are enjoying the books so much. I hope I'll enjoy my Malazan journey as much as you do :) Looking forward to next Sunday for the Furies !
I remember I agreed with Bridger about GGK being the greatest living fantasy author but after reading his Osten Ard’s Witchwood Crown , for me it is TAD WILLIAMS!! Even though I know I am reading greatness with Wurt’s WoLaS too,I still long to get back to Osten Ard!
The way you describe your love of GGK is just so beautiful, you are singlehandedly rekindling my excitement for his books hahah. And your Malazan journey makes me second-guess every series I have ever DNFed lol. Glad it was such an amazing turnaround for you though! Wonderful list of faves 🤩
The Sarantine Mosaic was also one of my top reads of 2024. I'll be adding more GGK thru 2025 for sure! With Memory, Sorrow & Thorn, as well as Stephenson's Baroque Cycle on the horizon, I don't think 2025 will my year to dip into Malazan - perhaps 2026.
The Red Fury Book Awards reminded me of a comment by author R.L.Styne. He spoke of The R.L.Styne Book Award, which is given every year to an author named R.L.Styne. 😀
Great video Josh! I’ll be reading more GGK this year, and starting Elric. I’m so excited for your Dresden journey. Once I hit book 10 I binged the rest of the series. He’s almost done with the next book as well.
Ooh, what an awesome year of reading, Josh! I read Brightness & the Sarantine Mosaic myself in 2024 and they were both exceptional. I would love to try some crime fiction - thanks for promoting Dennis Lehane as a great place to start! Wishing you an amazing year of reading in 2025!
You're always one step ahead of me, Josh 😂. I'm reading Sailing to Sarantium right now (fourth GGK). Little did we know when you gifted me Arbonne how special he would become for both of us! I had liked him a lot by then but Arbonne elevated his status to a new plane for me. I also have The Count of Monte Cristo and Waylander on the docket for 2025. It should be a good reading year!🎉 Oh, I also stopped Malazan at MOI a few years ago. Have been hesitantly curious to get back but still haven't made the jump.
Yes! Kay is downright remarkable, and A Song for Arbonne remains my favorite of his. A truly beautiful book. The Count of Monte Cristo is high up there and I hope you love it as well. Have a great reading year, Danny!
You’ve lauded Guy Gavriel Kay to the point where I feel I should take a peek. I’m wary of overly flowery/descriptive prose though. As for my books of the year - Lord of a Shattered Land and Demon in White I reckon.
I wouldn't say Kay is overly flowery or overly descriptive, but his prose is definitely very rich and beautiful. Demon in White is up for me in March and I can't wait!
Yay Malazan and Dresden! Those are some of my favorites of all time. I've been reading some crime novels lately too. I was curious about the books that inspired the TV show Bones, and I ended up really liking them. They're completely different than the show, but they still focus on forensic science. I work in a pathology lab so I love reading about the autopsies and stuff. I like to determine how realistic the science stuff is.
Great video! I recently finished Brian Lee Durfee's trilogy and I loved it. It's the first fantasy series I have completed. I plan on reading Poetry, Fantasy, and History for 2025. I have Lions of Al Rassan on my shelf I might get to that too.
Love getting hyped to continue with Drenai on to Waylander! So happy to see Dead Beat on here, and love imagining you getting so pumped up on the bus. Glad you’re liking Proven Guilty too! I really love that one (well that’s true for most of them 😅). Love hearing you talk about Malazan and will be keen to follow your journey through it all. And GGK and Sarantine and Brightness 🔥🔥🔥 What an eloquent way to describe how his narrative voice just makes these stories feel so personally important!
Some new favorites for me in 2024 were Aussie author T.R.Napper - "36 Streets" and "Ghost of the Neon God", Arkady Martine - "A Memory Called Empire" and "A Desolation Called Peace", Hannu Rajaniemi - "Darkome" and "Summerland". But the book that left me stunned was "The Summer That Melted Everything" by Tiffany McDaniel. It might hit American's differently, but as an Australian looking at America at the moment this book was electric from start to finish.
I couldn’t agree with you more on Memories of Ice. I restarted my Malazan journey last year as well after DNFing the first time. I’ll be starting House of Chains next month. Can’t wait! GGK is phenomenal. I read A Song for Arbonne last year based on your recommendation and it’s definitely one of my top 5 reads for 2024.
I started the Dresden Files with Dead Beat. It's the one I recommend new readers start with. From here forward they are all good, but for emotional impact, Changes and Battle Ground, and for just good fun, Skin Game are worth waiting for.
Great list, thank you! couldn't agree with you more regarding Malazan :-) Do you have plans to read "The Fionavar Tapestry" by GGK in 2025? I have it on my shelf for many years and never tried it.
If you like david gemmell try his Jon shannow I only read his first book but I remember it been good, it only when I hear you reading rift war and gemmel and other that you appreciate the classic fantasy novels thanks
I'm on the last section of Deadhouse Gates, and I have to admit, I'm not jiving with it as much as Gardens, although looks like Felisin has finally become interesting. I'm still going to stick with the series though
GGK is my favorite author (with Robin Hobb, whens shes at her best, as a close second) so it makes sense that he become yours as well. Go ahead and give in to your GGK love. Stephen has so many fans he won't even notice. ;-) I'm happy you included Moorcock in your best of the year list. He was a favorite of mine back in high school (i'm 55 now) so its nice to see some old school stuff make the list. I've said it before but here I go again... I enjoyed the Chronicles of Corum more than Moorcock's Elric stuff so give that a shot if you find yourself needing to scratch your classic fantasy itch. As for Malazan, its interesting to me that you got such an emotional punch from book 3 (the last one I read) when Erickson's sin as an author is that his character work is so poor I felt nothing when a certain person bites the dust. Maybe I'm missing something. I'll get around to House of Chains eventually to see if the spark can be rekindled. Lastly, I'm going to recommend again that you read The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman. Its the best thing I've read since GGK's All the Seas of the World.
Yes, I'll definitely explore the Corum books at some point. I do want to read the last Elric omnibus which is the later trilogy that he wrote. And I did write down The Blacktongue Theif at your suggestion and will get to it at some point. I'm actually starting All the Seas of the World tomorrow or the next day!
I finished Three Musketeers in December. Great book, but for me the Athos, Porthos and Aramis were very unlikeable characters. My Top 5 for last year (not counting Dune Trilogy and Hobbit/LoTR which I read every few years) Kim Stanley Robinson - Aurora Jean Genet - Our Lady of the Flowers ( A book so far out of my reading zone) Fedor Dostoevsky - The House of the Dead or Prison Life in Siberia. Elmore Leonard - The Bounty Hunters Mickey Spillane - Kiss Me, Deadly
Your return to Malazan after DNFing the series was triumphant! I’ll see if I can make my own redeeming return to Dennis Lehane sometime. 😅
I don't normally recommend The Given Day as an entry point for Lehane (or re-entry point), but knowing your tastes, I think you would enjoy that one the most of his works.
@ I will definitely consider this!
I heard of GGK already a few years ago but until 2024 I didn't read any of his books. Like you I read 5 of his books in 2024 and my favourite is still the first one I read : A Brightness Long Ago. Such a beautiful book ! I'll be reading at least a few more of his books this year but I try to not read them too fast one after another or I will have no books of him left to read and when I think of that fact, I become sad. I love his books for the same reasons you mentioned.
I would love to start my Malazan journey (well, my second try, I already read 'Gardens of the Moon' 2 years ago but didn't continue, I still don't know why cause I liked it so much) in 2025. I'm so glad that after DNFing you came back to the series and are enjoying the books so much. I hope I'll enjoy my Malazan journey as much as you do :)
Looking forward to next Sunday for the Furies !
Yes, I understand wanting to slow down your consumption of Kay's books. I wish I could show that restraint!
I remember I agreed with Bridger about GGK being the greatest living fantasy author but after reading his Osten Ard’s Witchwood Crown , for me it is TAD WILLIAMS!! Even though I know I am reading greatness with Wurt’s WoLaS too,I still long to get back to Osten Ard!
So glad you're loving Tad Williams! He's off to a tremendous start for me!
The way you describe your love of GGK is just so beautiful, you are singlehandedly rekindling my excitement for his books hahah. And your Malazan journey makes me second-guess every series I have ever DNFed lol. Glad it was such an amazing turnaround for you though!
Wonderful list of faves 🤩
Sorry to make you second guess your DNF's! Eeek lol
really glad you are enjoying The Dresden Files and Malazan! Looking forward to the Red Fury Awards! Getting my tux out!
Yes! More tuxedos on booktube.
The Sarantine Mosaic was also one of my top reads of 2024. I'll be adding more GGK thru 2025 for sure! With Memory, Sorrow & Thorn, as well as Stephenson's Baroque Cycle on the horizon, I don't think 2025 will my year to dip into Malazan - perhaps 2026.
No need to rush into Malazan, most people DNF
Some great things on the horizon (and beyond!) for you!
@ Just started A Song For Arbonne. 😁
@@MuleFace100 YES!
The Red Fury Book Awards reminded me of a comment by author R.L.Styne. He spoke of The R.L.Styne Book Award, which is given every year to an author named R.L.Styne. 😀
A great year of reading for you!
Indeed!
Great video Josh! I’ll be reading more GGK this year, and starting Elric. I’m so excited for your Dresden journey. Once I hit book 10 I binged the rest of the series. He’s almost done with the next book as well.
I've heard others mention they binge the series right around "Changes" so I look forward to getting there!
Ooh, what an awesome year of reading, Josh!
I read Brightness & the Sarantine Mosaic myself in 2024 and they were both exceptional. I would love to try some crime fiction - thanks for promoting Dennis Lehane as a great place to start!
Wishing you an amazing year of reading in 2025!
I hope Dennis Lehane's works work for you. Happy Reading!
You're always one step ahead of me, Josh 😂. I'm reading Sailing to Sarantium right now (fourth GGK). Little did we know when you gifted me Arbonne how special he would become for both of us! I had liked him a lot by then but Arbonne elevated his status to a new plane for me.
I also have The Count of Monte Cristo and Waylander on the docket for 2025. It should be a good reading year!🎉
Oh, I also stopped Malazan at MOI a few years ago. Have been hesitantly curious to get back but still haven't made the jump.
Yes! Kay is downright remarkable, and A Song for Arbonne remains my favorite of his. A truly beautiful book. The Count of Monte Cristo is high up there and I hope you love it as well. Have a great reading year, Danny!
You’ve lauded Guy Gavriel Kay to the point where I feel I should take a peek. I’m wary of overly flowery/descriptive prose though. As for my books of the year - Lord of a Shattered Land and Demon in White I reckon.
I wouldn't say Kay is overly flowery or overly descriptive, but his prose is definitely very rich and beautiful. Demon in White is up for me in March and I can't wait!
Sounds like a fantastic year. Very much looking forward to the awards ceremony.
Thanks! It certainly was a great year!
We're at the same place in Dresden and Malazan! I'll see if I can keep pace.
Awesome!
I need to read GGK. It sounds amazing to read his books.
Yay Malazan and Dresden! Those are some of my favorites of all time. I've been reading some crime novels lately too. I was curious about the books that inspired the TV show Bones, and I ended up really liking them. They're completely different than the show, but they still focus on forensic science. I work in a pathology lab so I love reading about the autopsies and stuff. I like to determine how realistic the science stuff is.
I enjoy crime fiction because it's often so different from epic fantasy and even a lot of my historical fiction choices.
Great video! I recently finished Brian Lee Durfee's trilogy and I loved it. It's the first fantasy series I have completed. I plan on reading Poetry, Fantasy, and History for 2025. I have Lions of Al Rassan on my shelf I might get to that too.
Durfee's trilogy is fantastic! Glad you enjoyed it.
“that was beautiful”, what more can we want from the books we read?
Indeed!
Love getting hyped to continue with Drenai on to Waylander!
So happy to see Dead Beat on here, and love imagining you getting so pumped up on the bus. Glad you’re liking Proven Guilty too! I really love that one (well that’s true for most of them 😅).
Love hearing you talk about Malazan and will be keen to follow your journey through it all.
And GGK and Sarantine and Brightness 🔥🔥🔥
What an eloquent way to describe how his narrative voice just makes these stories feel so personally important!
GGK indeed makes his works feel important! I'll be starting All the Seas of the World either tomorrow night or Wednesday night!
Some new favorites for me in 2024 were Aussie author T.R.Napper - "36 Streets" and "Ghost of the Neon God", Arkady Martine - "A Memory Called Empire" and "A Desolation Called Peace", Hannu Rajaniemi - "Darkome" and "Summerland". But the book that left me stunned was "The Summer That Melted Everything" by Tiffany McDaniel. It might hit American's differently, but as an Australian looking at America at the moment this book was electric from start to finish.
In the last week, I've heard several people mention Arkady Martine - I need to look that author up!
I couldn’t agree with you more on Memories of Ice. I restarted my Malazan journey last year as well after DNFing the first time. I’ll be starting House of Chains next month. Can’t wait!
GGK is phenomenal. I read A Song for Arbonne last year based on your recommendation and it’s definitely one of my top 5 reads for 2024.
Glad A Song for Arbonne resonated with you as well! I love that so many of us have been discovering his works!
I started the Dresden Files with Dead Beat. It's the one I recommend new readers start with. From here forward they are all good, but for emotional impact, Changes and Battle Ground, and for just good fun, Skin Game are worth waiting for.
Great list, thank you! couldn't agree with you more regarding Malazan :-) Do you have plans to read "The Fionavar Tapestry" by GGK in 2025? I have it on my shelf for many years and never tried it.
Yes, I'll be reading Fionavar at some point this year. It's not on the schedule yet, but it'll definitely happen!
When I finish Once and Future King, I’m going to read my first Guy Gavriel Kay book. I think it should be a smooth transition.
Enjoy!
If you like Dennis Lehanne you will love The power of the dog trilogy by Don Winslow
Most of Don Winslows books are great
Good to know!
If you like david gemmell try his Jon shannow I only read his first book but I remember it been good, it only when I hear you reading rift war and gemmel and other that you appreciate the classic fantasy novels thanks
I think I'll be planning everything by Gemmell at some point!
Currently one fifth of the way through Mystic River. Enjoying it so far. Cheers.
I hope you continue to enjoy it!
My favorite book of Malazan is the Crippled God.
Some of my favorite books of 2024:
The Boys in the Boat, Ordinary Grace, and the Little Lair.
I've heard many pick The Crippled God as their favorite - I can't wait to get there!
I'm on the last section of Deadhouse Gates, and I have to admit, I'm not jiving with it as much as Gardens, although looks like Felisin has finally become interesting. I'm still going to stick with the series though
I hope the ending of that books is something you love like I do!
GGK is my favorite author (with Robin Hobb, whens shes at her best, as a close second) so it makes sense that he become yours as well. Go ahead and give in to your GGK love. Stephen has so many fans he won't even notice. ;-) I'm happy you included Moorcock in your best of the year list. He was a favorite of mine back in high school (i'm 55 now) so its nice to see some old school stuff make the list. I've said it before but here I go again... I enjoyed the Chronicles of Corum more than Moorcock's Elric stuff so give that a shot if you find yourself needing to scratch your classic fantasy itch. As for Malazan, its interesting to me that you got such an emotional punch from book 3 (the last one I read) when Erickson's sin as an author is that his character work is so poor I felt nothing when a certain person bites the dust. Maybe I'm missing something. I'll get around to House of Chains eventually to see if the spark can be rekindled. Lastly, I'm going to recommend again that you read The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman. Its the best thing I've read since GGK's All the Seas of the World.
Yes, I'll definitely explore the Corum books at some point. I do want to read the last Elric omnibus which is the later trilogy that he wrote. And I did write down The Blacktongue Theif at your suggestion and will get to it at some point. I'm actually starting All the Seas of the World tomorrow or the next day!
I feel like I can safely assume ggk is going to be in this vid 😂
Haha great guess!
GGK claims another, ha.
HA! Indeed!
I finished Three Musketeers in December. Great book, but for me the Athos, Porthos and Aramis were very unlikeable characters.
My Top 5 for last year (not counting Dune Trilogy and Hobbit/LoTR which I read every few years)
Kim Stanley Robinson - Aurora
Jean Genet - Our Lady of the Flowers ( A book so far out of my reading zone)
Fedor Dostoevsky - The House of the Dead or Prison Life in Siberia.
Elmore Leonard - The Bounty Hunters
Mickey Spillane - Kiss Me, Deadly
I need to read more Elmore Leonard - I've only read one of his so far.