The thing to be aware of with Speaker for the Dead is that it doesn't so much continue the story as it's just another story that takes place after the first one. Both Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead are amazing but very different books and I've always seen them as 2 standalones that happen sequentially in the same universe.
Hahaha that’s so funny that you said you’re excited to see Gus and Call in their prime. You’ll have to wait till Comanche Moon to see them in their prime. In Dead Man’s Walk they are young, naive, and clumsy. It’s absolutely hilarious to see them this way. I’m very excited to see your review on Dead Man’s Walk. You lead me to reading Lonesome Dove and onward, and so I come back every month or two to see if you read the next one yet. Enjoy it! Dead Man’s Walk is a great one!
Hi Mike! My bf was listening to this video with me, and he heard you say you like Western horror. He wanted me to tell you that he highly recommends The Sixth Gun. It’s a completed graphic novel series by Cullen Bund that he says is absolutely excellent.😊
I'm not really an "audiobooker" either, but after people gushing on the audiobook for DCC I had to check it out and boy were they right! I can't imagine consuming DCC any other way after that audio masterpiece by Jeff Hayes. Either way Mike, I'm glad you're getting into it!
I read my first Western last month, and had a really good time with it. I've heard such good things about Lonesome Dove I think I'm going to have to try and read it in 2025. When I was younger I read a LOT of Orson Scott Card. I'm thinking I should go back to him and reread a few things, and maybe find a few of his books I've never read.
Im with you on the audiobooks...I prefer to read and I don't like listening to books being read to me. I've read DCC and I'm on book 3. I am loving them and hopefully you will too. Hard to say though. As for the Enders books, books 2-4 were decent and book 5 Ender's Shadow is amazing...Just as good as the first IMO. -- Is it just me or does it seem like most booktubers now listen to their books rather than read them? Maybe there needs to be an AudiobookTuber nomenclature. Keep up the great videos!
In case you didn't know, Demon Copperhead is a play on Dickens' David Copperfield. I think you'd get more out of it if you've read that as its sort of a modern day retelling
DCC is happening for Mike!!! Oh man, I'm so excited for you to check out this blessing of a fictional work. Haven't seen a series this addicting (to myself and literally everyone I recommend it to) in a long time. So much fun, maybe I'll make time for a reread on this occasion!
Awesome list! Yeah, I definitely got to mix it up. I’m feeling a slump coming on. Got DCC on my immediate TBR. You got me interested in Lonesome dove and some Janny Wurts. Thanks! 🙏🏽
I love Gillian Flynn! I wish she had more books. If you liked audio more, I'd suggest trying Gone Girl on audio because the narrators do an amazing job, but honestly, the movie was a really good adaptation of the book. Normally, I don't like adaptations of first person POVs because I feel like you lose a lot of internal dialogue, but I was pleasantly surprised. It's still worth the read, though (even physical 😅).
I remember you talking about "palate cleansers" years ago and I did eventually make that a habit. I usually read more than one book at a time and while I am reading this big sprawling epic or a chunky boy sci fi I also am reading something short and zippy. I think it helps me not feel so bogged down by some of these bigger books. All this year I read a Cornwell Saxon Chronicle book every month. I'll be done with that series by April. I have started reading Pathfinder Tales novels, the one I read was fun and reminded me of Dragonlance/Forgotten Realms novels but better quality, might read more of those after I'm done with Uhtred son of Untred. Or, since I like Cornwell so much, I might jump into the Sharpe series. I think there are over 20 of those books.
I've read the first Dungeon Crawler Carl and absolutely loved it! Not my usual but flew through it in only a couple days. Can't wait to see what you think!
So excited for your thoughts on dead man's walk. I think you'll really like it! I'm finally wrapping up comanche moon and it's safe to say the lonesome dove series is easily my favorite series I've read. So good!
I just recently read the first two books of Dungeon Crawler Carl (one very quickly after the other, which should already tell you how I feel about them) and I was surprised by how much fun they were! There’s some alien drama punctuating the story that I really enjoyed. I’m with you on not being an audio book man, and I don’t think reading it detracted from the experience at all, despite the prose itself just being serviceable. Sometimes that’s all a book needs!
Hey Mike! Just wanted to add my two cents into the discussion! In my opinion DCC can be consumed in either format and be enjoyed, I myself have split time between my Kindle editions and the audio books. I will say the hype and praise for the audio books is not overselling it by any means. That being said, I’m not sure who told you that you could just read the first book and be fine, but I would disagree. This is one of those series that’s very silly at the start and hooks you with its humor and refreshing concept/world, but as it goes on it gets more serious, emotional, intense, and the stakes get higher. I hope you enjoy book 1 enough to continue the series because it gets better with each book!
Ender’s Game has been on my radar for a while but didn’t want to get into another long series as I start too many and haven’t finished enough! But if they have a standalone nature, I might give it a go. I always hear great things
Another DCC recommendation, but Audio is most definitely the way to go. Takes it to more than another level. Listen to it on your exercise walk. You are missing out otherwise.
I just finished BlackMouth the other day and thought it was really good. I think the horror level was more akin to SWTWC, but it definitely has IT vibes. This is my second successful Malfi read so he's certainly one to check out.
I think so many people advocate for the Dungeon Crawler Carl audiobook so much because it is one of the best, if not the best, audiobook performance of all time (for me, at least)
Yea !!!! You finally starting the rest of the ender games books I loved them, I have to do a reread after I finish my current series, I love the introspectivness of humanity it presents.
Oooh very curious to hear your thoughts on Demon Copperhead, that has been lingering on my TBR since it was released! And I feel you on the Dungeon Crawler Carl FOMO hahaha, the hype is insane! Hope you enjoy :)
I'll give DCC a shot next year. I finished Curse of the Mistwraith recently, and there's definitely fire where there's all that smoke about that book. I couldn't help it, went straight into the Ships of Merior. I crashed and burned hard on Speaker for the Dead, though it did have some cool concepts. This is an eclectic mix of picks, cool video!
I've read Fight Club. It's fun. I've also had a passing interest in Gillian Flynn's work as well. However, I was disappointed with Bone Tomahawk. Story was fine, but I thought it was a bit too graphic. Anyway, happy reading everyone.
If you want a great collection of western horror, definitely check out the splatter western series. There's a ton of subgenres: slashers, cosmic horror, zombies, vampires, and much more. The best part of the series is that most of the books are under 200 pages. The one I loved this year was Red Station by Kenzie Jennings. Think of this as Texas Chainsaw Massacre on the frontier.
I hope to join you for Demon Copperhead and Fight Club. I’ve been circling Fight Club for years. I’m still hoping you will read The Silence of the Lambs one day!
I have both read and listened to Dungeon Crawler Carl. Excellent either way but DCC audiobook has surpassed First Law series at my #1 audio series. First Law is superb but DCC is just top of the class!
Off the back of your recommendation I picked up the Dresden Files and am really enjoying them. I'm about half way through Words of Radiance and needed a break so whizzed through book 6 of Harry's adventures.
This year I read Piranesi by Susanna Clarke and loved it; so, for 2025 I'm planning to read Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by the same author but I'm impatient and want to read it now, just don't know if I have the time to finish it before 2024 ends since it's a massive book!
Just read Flynn’s short story The Grownup which she apparently wrote for GRRM. I was surprised how forward a writer she is. It made me want to read more by her considering how popular she is.
It was, but I feel like Black Mouth is the perfect novel for Mike, it really does feel like a nod to IT and it was so extremely well-written. I liked Small Town Horror, but it felt a lot tropier thatn Black Mouth for some reason...I think he'll like it :)
I literally cheered in my car when you said you're going to pick up Dungeon Crawler Carl. Been telling all of my friends to read it. I want more people to read it so bad. But to be fair it's very much my sense of humor so it revitalized my reading interest. I want to binge the rest of the series once I finish Stromlight in December.
Man ... I have so many things I want to read next year, but I think I read too slowly to manage it. I want to finish: 1. A Song of Ice and Fire (Planning on finishing A Storm of Swords within end of this year.) I love, love, love, love this series! Great characters, great plot, great world, great *everything.* I'm so excited to continue this series, and hopefully finish it! 2. Lord of The Rings (Finished Fellowship I think two months ago). I wasn't that big of a fan of the first one. The beginning, sure, it was cozy, but that's not quite my type. But it was a very fun read, and it's still an excellent book, the second half being part of the reason. Though, I am excited to finish it. I haven't watched the movies either, so I'm glad, because I can actually visualize everything myself without the movies creeping into my imagination, which is nice (though I have seen images, and those sometimes interfere.) But I have so much I want to start: 1. The First Law. I'm very excited for this, as I've heard it's a shorter and funnier (not MCU funny) A Song of Ice and Fire, which sounds brilliant. 2. Stormlight Archive. This one, I don't know *that* much about, except for the fact that people love it to death, and that it's a huge world with a huge cast of characters and locations. I love ambitious works, so I'm super excited to see what it is about. 3. Mistborn. Surprisingly, not very excited for this, but I *do* want to read it. People have been going nuts over it, and I have the first book on my bookshelf. 4. Sherlock Holmes. A different one, but I got a really beautiful set for really cheap, and I've heard great things about it, and it's non-fiction, and I have to expand my horizon. 5. Wheel of Times. I have read the prologue ... so that kind of sparked my interest. Though I'm absolutely *terrified* by the size of the books, and the quantity of books! But I'll at least start it and see. 6. Kingkiller Chronicles. Oh, I have heard such great and such negative things about this series (or at least the first book) ... it has made me so curious, I need to see what I agree on! (And I love me some interesting prose.) I have more, but those are lower on my list and likely won't be read in 2025.
If the squeaky wheel gets the grease, I realize that I just haven't been recommending Replay by Ken Grimwood enough to you. You mentioned you need more Blake Crouch in your life, well this is a time loop story like Recursion and it's freaking FANTASTIC!!!
I picked up The Spear Cuts Through Water, by Simon Jimenez to break up my reading of The Expanse series. 50% through it. An interesting read. Can’t wait to see how this all comes together!
@ I didn’t read Simon’s debut book. I wanted to try something new and I saw this on some booktuber lists. It’s a different kind of story telling. However, verdict is out until I see how it comes together.
No worries reading Dungeon Crawler Carl, I'm currently reading the latest and still a big fan of the series without having heard a microsecond of the audio. But read the first as a standalone? I think not!!!
I didn’t like Cradle either, but Dungeon Crawler Carl was awesome! Love Ender’s Game, but I actually liked Speaker for the Dead even better, so excited you are reading it next year!
Sitting here writing a letter I am going to mail off today. I will check this out later. I think I'll listen to some Primus for now. American Life maybe.
@@mikesbookreviews I finally got around to watching the video. I don't normally respond once a creator has reponded to a comment, but I feel like I should, because I wanted you to get my thoughts on American Psycho. As a satire writer, a couple of months ago I bought American Psycho to see what was the top form in the modern genre. I considered Fight Club, but as I have seen the movie too many times I decided I would get more out of American Psycho, plus American Psycho is more controversial. I probably don't have to worry about a spoiler-free review, because I am sure you have seen the movie. For one, I liked the book more than the movie. Yes, it's greusome and definitely has a main charachter that doesn't think much about women, but people like that exist in life, and it's a satire. I don't unerstand how it's common for people now to say you can't write about this, like misogyny, violence and abuse towards marginilized communities, etc. These things exist, and not talking about them or pointing them out as mistakes doesn't serve anything well, especially the art of storytelling. If we can't have books with topics like those in them because they "glorify things," then why the hell is there child sexual abuse all over, awful things, especially in YA. sorry to digress. I am real mad at Trad Pub. Back to American Psycho. I was very annoyed at first at the type of filler Brett Easton Ellis used in the book. The type of world building filler in this book is Patrick Bateman noting every single brand and type of shirt everyone and he wears. He uses the word "double-breasted" hundreds of times. At first I was annoyed, but then I understood what he was doing. It was pointing out the shallow nature of Patrick, which painted his psychotic rage and killing sprees up more, to where the reader understood that his psychopathic tendencies were the true depth of his character. I got used to him describing what everyone else was wearing, and enjoyed the poetic sounds of all of the scenes and clothing he described. Then when the good bits came in it made them a lot better. Overall, I give the book a solid four. It could be higher, if about 20,000 words describing clothes and objects would have been cut from it, ti would be higher. Best part of the novel was the tingle of the meaning of the text, which made it all better. I have read books like that, like Joyce Carol Oates' Wonderland, where the book slogged on, but the tingle you felt when you got what it was all about and trying to say made the boring bits ok. (nods to Talking Story John when borrowing Tingle. The Tingle is, Indeed, very real) Also, hearing Patrick Bateman drone on about all of the clothing, etc. made me remember some gay friends that had that superpower to know what brand of everything everyone had. Brett Ellis was a NY gay man, so he is well-versed in that type of stuff.
I'll be interested in what you think of Dead Man's Walk. I read the two prequels first and by the time I got to Lonesome Dove, I was so tired of him introducing characters only to have them do dumb stuff and get killed, that DNF'ed Lonesome Dove when you know who gets killed. Knowing that may make the prequels more enjoyable.
I have In the Valley of the Sun by Andy Davidson on my list, sounds like a good western/vampire horror. Not familiar with Wraiths of a Broken Land, but I really want to read some of Zahler's novels because his movies are spectacular. Ever read any Joe Lansdale? He has quite a few western horror stories. He's one of my favorite authors, but I prefer his crime stuff.
You should check out hidden pictures by Jason Reulak That sounds right up your alley it’s a supernatural mystery and it’s probably one of the best recent standalones I’ve read
Dungeon Crawler Carl is a great palate cleanser series! The series is AMAZING, which says a lot because LitRPG is NOT for me but I love Carl and Princess Donut
You should check out hidden pictures by Jason Rekulak it’s probably one of the best recent books I’ve read. It’s like a supernatural mystery. It sounds right up your alley. I read it because joe Hill had glowing things to say about it and I totally agree.
Demon Copperhead could potentially be a great Quilluminati read. If we don't like it, let's blame John! 😂Reading Janny Wurts' To Ride Hell's Chasm is a great way to get a sense of her writing style, and it is indeed a standalone. And, yes, Janny is the best!
I just finished reading Janny's1st novel,Sorcerer's Legacy a couple of days ago and It's not too bad definitely interesting enough to where I wanna read more
You should check out hidden pictures by Jason Reulak it’s a supernatural mystery and it sounds right up your alley. It’s probably one of the best standalone books. I’ve read this year.
Well there are a handful of books just added to the TBR...I got no time for all these. Unfortunately I didn't really like Fight Club, but will be curious how you like it.
Tim Powers is fantastic. My favorite is Declare, it's a spy thriller in the Middle East with djinn. Though On Stranger Tides (pirates, Caribbean Sea and voodoo) and The Drawing of the Dark (medieval Europe and European folklore alongside one of the sieges of Vienna) may be closer to fantasy stories.
I’m not sure about series, but I’m hoping to read more Cormac McCarthy, Robert McCammon and Neil Gaiman and they write mostly standalones. I’ll probably read a couple of classics as well like The Count of Monté Cristo, Oliver Twist and Great Expectations, or something like that.
You can read Daughter of the Empire as a stand-alone! Shogun meets Game of Thrones! I would start with that book! I found To Ride Hell’s Chasm very dense reading. If Chasm is your not jam, pick up Daughter, it is a perfect book.
Mike, I share your love for Ender's Game. (Never saw the twist coming in that one.) But I tried to read Speaker of the Dead 2 or 3 times and just couldn't get past the first chapter. If you get to it next year, I'll be very interested in what your take on it is. If you like it, I'm likely to go in on it whole hog.
You should read hidden pictures by Jason Rekulak it’s probably one of the best recent standalone books, I’ve read . It’s a supernatural mystery and it sounds right up your alley. I picked it up because Joe Hill had nothing but glowing things to say about it and I totally agree.
Sin Du Jour by Matt Wallace is my favorite pallette cleansing series. It's a catering company in our world that serves supernatural beings. It's crazy and fun.
Very interested in trying Dead Man's Walk. Speaker for the Dead is great if you go into it with an open mind, it's very different compared to Ender's Game.
Fight Club is an excellent book!!!!! Speaker for the Dead is nothing like Enders' Game. It's got Ender in it. Very imaginative, good book. If you want more Ender's Game like energy, the Shadow series is great, follows Bean's story. Got dungeon Crawler on my ereader to check out and definitely do another Mcmurtree as Laredo was awesome! Sooooooo when are you going to read the year 2000 World Fantasy Award winning book? ;)
Tim Powers is one of my favorite authors, though Stress didn't do much for me. My personal favorites are The Anubis Gates and Declare. The Fault Lines series is really good too, Last Call is book one. If you enjoy an adult beverage or two, The Drawing of the Dark is something a bit different. Powers' writing has a voice that is distinctly his own and you'll know a story is written by him when you read it. Dungeon Crawler Carl - hell yeah! The more you know about (A)RPG (Diablo Baldur's Gate) and MMO (World of Warcraft) video games, the more you'll get out of it.
Hey there mike I'm on book 5 of the dungeon crawler Carl series and I've only listened to a couple of the audiobooks And they are pretty fun but I can tell you That the 1st book is very fun just to read It's got some silly points in it but it's nowhere near Level of pointless silliness The the 1st couple books DiscWorld were. And the farther you get into the series Better it gets they're still absurd moments but it really takes on a dark and serious tone
Although Fight Club and American Psycho thematically and stylisticly fit onto a similar shelf, I much preferred Ellis' work over Palahniuk's. I think Fight Club is a bit breezier of a read, but i think while requiring a bit more effort, American Psycho has a more rewarding after effect. All this to say, give A.P. a chance regardless of your takeaway from F.C.
I think you may need to read Ender in Exile before Speaker. I'm not sure. II cannot recommend it highly enough though. I remember liking it almost as much as Game. 'm going to check out Stress after I finish Sword of Shannara
I’ve read fight club twice, it’s great i have two other chuck P books but have not read them. I keep seeing either he’s the worst or the best writer. But fight club is a great great book
I finished a fantasy series the beginning of this month and since then I have struggled to get into a new one. My brain is just not having it haha. So, one way I fix that is just reading random manga on KU until I can read something else.
![Seungmin "그렇게, 천천히, 우리(As we are)" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kAzmhLHePqU/mqdefault.jpg)
The thing to be aware of with Speaker for the Dead is that it doesn't so much continue the story as it's just another story that takes place after the first one. Both Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead are amazing but very different books and I've always seen them as 2 standalones that happen sequentially in the same universe.
Yeah but knowing why ender cares so much about other alien life is pretty important to speaker of the dead.
Going into it knowing that will certainly help.
Agreed
Hahaha that’s so funny that you said you’re excited to see Gus and Call in their prime. You’ll have to wait till Comanche Moon to see them in their prime. In Dead Man’s Walk they are young, naive, and clumsy. It’s absolutely hilarious to see them this way. I’m very excited to see your review on Dead Man’s Walk. You lead me to reading Lonesome Dove and onward, and so I come back every month or two to see if you read the next one yet. Enjoy it! Dead Man’s Walk is a great one!
"Dungeon Crawler Carl" is a fantastic read!
Yes! The Anubis Gates and The Stress of Her Regard and really really good. Hopefully they will make you check out more of Powers' books.
I’m hoping so!
Hi Mike! My bf was listening to this video with me, and he heard you say you like Western horror. He wanted me to tell you that he highly recommends The Sixth Gun. It’s a completed graphic novel series by Cullen Bund that he says is absolutely excellent.😊
Bookmarking this video. Gonna need some of these for when I begin my Malazan journey!
I'm not really an "audiobooker" either, but after people gushing on the audiobook for DCC I had to check it out and boy were they right! I can't imagine consuming DCC any other way after that audio masterpiece by Jeff Hayes. Either way Mike, I'm glad you're getting into it!
I read my first Western last month, and had a really good time with it. I've heard such good things about Lonesome Dove I think I'm going to have to try and read it in 2025.
When I was younger I read a LOT of Orson Scott Card. I'm thinking I should go back to him and reread a few things, and maybe find a few of his books I've never read.
Always good to start the weekend with one of Mike's videos 🤠
🤗
Im with you on the audiobooks...I prefer to read and I don't like listening to books being read to me. I've read DCC and I'm on book 3. I am loving them and hopefully you will too. Hard to say though. As for the Enders books, books 2-4 were decent and book 5 Ender's Shadow is amazing...Just as good as the first IMO. -- Is it just me or does it seem like most booktubers now listen to their books rather than read them? Maybe there needs to be an AudiobookTuber nomenclature. Keep up the great videos!
Yeah, it does seem like most booktubers are listening to audiobooks only now.
Never read the book 📖 but The HBO adaptation of Sharp Objects is fantastic!
Highly recommend it.
Keep it up! 👍🏻.
Oh man, Fight Club! I read that when I was a teen and loved it. I may have to do a re-read whenever you get to it.
Yeah my wife raves about the book as better than the movie.
In case you didn't know, Demon Copperhead is a play on Dickens' David Copperfield. I think you'd get more out of it if you've read that as its sort of a modern day retelling
DCC is happening for Mike!!! Oh man, I'm so excited for you to check out this blessing of a fictional work. Haven't seen a series this addicting (to myself and literally everyone I recommend it to) in a long time. So much fun, maybe I'll make time for a reread on this occasion!
I gave Ender’s Game 5 stars and Speaker for the Dead 4 stars. It’s a lot more slow and philosophical but I still liked it.
Awesome list! Yeah, I definitely got to mix it up. I’m feeling a slump coming on. Got DCC on my immediate TBR. You got me interested in Lonesome dove and some Janny Wurts. Thanks! 🙏🏽
Glad it helped!
I love Gillian Flynn! I wish she had more books.
If you liked audio more, I'd suggest trying Gone Girl on audio because the narrators do an amazing job, but honestly, the movie was a really good adaptation of the book. Normally, I don't like adaptations of first person POVs because I feel like you lose a lot of internal dialogue, but I was pleasantly surprised. It's still worth the read, though (even physical 😅).
I remember you talking about "palate cleansers" years ago and I did eventually make that a habit. I usually read more than one book at a time and while I am reading this big sprawling epic or a chunky boy sci fi I also am reading something short and zippy. I think it helps me not feel so bogged down by some of these bigger books.
All this year I read a Cornwell Saxon Chronicle book every month. I'll be done with that series by April. I have started reading Pathfinder Tales novels, the one I read was fun and reminded me of Dragonlance/Forgotten Realms novels but better quality, might read more of those after I'm done with Uhtred son of Untred. Or, since I like Cornwell so much, I might jump into the Sharpe series. I think there are over 20 of those books.
I've read the first Dungeon Crawler Carl and absolutely loved it! Not my usual but flew through it in only a couple days. Can't wait to see what you think!
So excited for your thoughts on dead man's walk. I think you'll really like it! I'm finally wrapping up comanche moon and it's safe to say the lonesome dove series is easily my favorite series I've read. So good!
I just recently read the first two books of Dungeon Crawler Carl (one very quickly after the other, which should already tell you how I feel about them) and I was surprised by how much fun they were! There’s some alien drama punctuating the story that I really enjoyed. I’m with you on not being an audio book man, and I don’t think reading it detracted from the experience at all, despite the prose itself just being serviceable. Sometimes that’s all a book needs!
Hey Mike! Just wanted to add my two cents into the discussion! In my opinion DCC can be consumed in either format and be enjoyed, I myself have split time between my Kindle editions and the audio books. I will say the hype and praise for the audio books is not overselling it by any means. That being said, I’m not sure who told you that you could just read the first book and be fine, but I would disagree. This is one of those series that’s very silly at the start and hooks you with its humor and refreshing concept/world, but as it goes on it gets more serious, emotional, intense, and the stakes get higher. I hope you enjoy book 1 enough to continue the series because it gets better with each book!
Ender’s Game has been on my radar for a while but didn’t want to get into another long series as I start too many and haven’t finished enough! But if they have a standalone nature, I might give it a go. I always hear great things
Another DCC recommendation, but Audio is most definitely the way to go. Takes it to more than another level. Listen to it on your exercise walk. You are missing out otherwise.
I just finished BlackMouth the other day and thought it was really good. I think the horror level was more akin to SWTWC, but it definitely has IT vibes. This is my second successful Malfi read so he's certainly one to check out.
I think so many people advocate for the Dungeon Crawler Carl audiobook so much because it is one of the best, if not the best, audiobook performance of all time (for me, at least)
Dang.
Yes! This and First Law series are the best audiobooks I have listened to. And I have hundreds of them.
I certainly wasn’t expecting the narration to sound like a mix of Captain Kirk, Kronk, and John Wayne.
Yea !!!! You finally starting the rest of the ender games books I loved them, I have to do a reread after I finish my current series, I love the introspectivness of humanity it presents.
Oooh very curious to hear your thoughts on Demon Copperhead, that has been lingering on my TBR since it was released! And I feel you on the Dungeon Crawler Carl FOMO hahaha, the hype is insane! Hope you enjoy :)
I'll give DCC a shot next year. I finished Curse of the Mistwraith recently, and there's definitely fire where there's all that smoke about that book. I couldn't help it, went straight into the Ships of Merior. I crashed and burned hard on Speaker for the Dead, though it did have some cool concepts. This is an eclectic mix of picks, cool video!
I feel like Mistwraiths is something I should know but I can’t place it.
@mikesbookreviews you're probably thinking Mistborn, there are creatures called mistwraiths in there.
The North Water by Ian McGuire.
Great read. Set on a whaling ship in the 1800's. Great short read
I've read Fight Club. It's fun. I've also had a passing interest in Gillian Flynn's work as well. However, I was disappointed with Bone Tomahawk. Story was fine, but I thought it was a bit too graphic. Anyway, happy reading everyone.
If you want a great collection of western horror, definitely check out the splatter western series. There's a ton of subgenres: slashers, cosmic horror, zombies, vampires, and much more. The best part of the series is that most of the books are under 200 pages. The one I loved this year was Red Station by Kenzie Jennings. Think of this as Texas Chainsaw Massacre on the frontier.
Anubis Gates is a terrific book!
I hope to join you for Demon Copperhead and Fight Club. I’ve been circling Fight Club for years. I’m still hoping you will read The Silence of the Lambs one day!
I loooved Dead Man's Walk, probably my second favorite. Fast-paced, action packed with an awesome cast of side characters.
Cannot wait!
Speaker of the dead was good it was my first book this year. I'm eventrally going to do the whole series.
Speaker for the Dead is my favorite book. Some of my favorite reading memories/
Bret Easton Ellis is a must. Less than Zero and Rules of Attraction
I’ll get to American Psycho eventually
I’m currently rereading Dracula as a palate cleanser, and I’m also rereading it because I’m writing a short story about Jonathan Harker for a contest.
I have both read and listened to Dungeon Crawler Carl. Excellent either way but DCC audiobook has surpassed First Law series at my #1 audio series. First Law is superb but DCC is just top of the class!
Off the back of your recommendation I picked up the Dresden Files and am really enjoying them. I'm about half way through Words of Radiance and needed a break so whizzed through book 6 of Harry's adventures.
Dresden is so fun!
Mike - you should try the Revenant !!! Fast paced, in the American west, some doom and gloom and such a fast read !
This year I read Piranesi by Susanna Clarke and loved it; so, for 2025 I'm planning to read Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by the same author but I'm impatient and want to read it now, just don't know if I have the time to finish it before 2024 ends since it's a massive book!
Yeah, when I saw the length of that book it chased me off ha ha
Dungeon crawler carl for the win. I hope you love them.
Just reread Fight Club back in September. Knowing the twist adds so much.
Oh nice!
Just read Flynn’s short story The Grownup which she apparently wrote for GRRM. I was surprised how forward a writer she is. It made me want to read more by her considering how popular she is.
I’ve read this one twice. It was freaky good!!
Yeah I’ve been interested for a bit
I’ve never read fight club either but I just got it and look forward to reading it.
You have to read “Comanche Moon”. Other than “Lonesome Dove” itself, I think it’s best
Ronald Malfi's Small Town Horror was fun.
It was, but I feel like Black Mouth is the perfect novel for Mike, it really does feel like a nod to IT and it was so extremely well-written. I liked Small Town Horror, but it felt a lot tropier thatn Black Mouth for some reason...I think he'll like it :)
So I have heard
@@TheHammy1987 I think I'd like it too! I'll be looking for it.
Last Picture show by Larry Mcmurtry. It will hit you hard
Louis lamour short story collection are my go to pallets cleaner right now.
I literally cheered in my car when you said you're going to pick up Dungeon Crawler Carl. Been telling all of my friends to read it. I want more people to read it so bad. But to be fair it's very much my sense of humor so it revitalized my reading interest. I want to binge the rest of the series once I finish Stromlight in December.
😆
Man ... I have so many things I want to read next year, but I think I read too slowly to manage it.
I want to finish:
1. A Song of Ice and Fire (Planning on finishing A Storm of Swords within end of this year.) I love, love, love, love this series! Great characters, great plot, great world, great *everything.* I'm so excited to continue this series, and hopefully finish it!
2. Lord of The Rings (Finished Fellowship I think two months ago). I wasn't that big of a fan of the first one. The beginning, sure, it was cozy, but that's not quite my type. But it was a very fun read, and it's still an excellent book, the second half being part of the reason. Though, I am excited to finish it. I haven't watched the movies either, so I'm glad, because I can actually visualize everything myself without the movies creeping into my imagination, which is nice (though I have seen images, and those sometimes interfere.)
But I have so much I want to start:
1. The First Law. I'm very excited for this, as I've heard it's a shorter and funnier (not MCU funny) A Song of Ice and Fire, which sounds brilliant.
2. Stormlight Archive. This one, I don't know *that* much about, except for the fact that people love it to death, and that it's a huge world with a huge cast of characters and locations. I love ambitious works, so I'm super excited to see what it is about.
3. Mistborn. Surprisingly, not very excited for this, but I *do* want to read it. People have been going nuts over it, and I have the first book on my bookshelf.
4. Sherlock Holmes. A different one, but I got a really beautiful set for really cheap, and I've heard great things about it, and it's non-fiction, and I have to expand my horizon.
5. Wheel of Times. I have read the prologue ... so that kind of sparked my interest. Though I'm absolutely *terrified* by the size of the books, and the quantity of books! But I'll at least start it and see.
6. Kingkiller Chronicles. Oh, I have heard such great and such negative things about this series (or at least the first book) ... it has made me so curious, I need to see what I agree on! (And I love me some interesting prose.)
I have more, but those are lower on my list and likely won't be read in 2025.
First Law is bessssst
If the squeaky wheel gets the grease, I realize that I just haven't been recommending Replay by Ken Grimwood enough to you.
You mentioned you need more Blake Crouch in your life, well this is a time loop story like Recursion and it's freaking FANTASTIC!!!
I’ll look it up
I picked up The Spear Cuts Through Water, by Simon Jimenez to break up my reading of The Expanse series. 50% through it. An interesting read. Can’t wait to see how this all comes together!
After Vanished Birds I just can’t. Ha.
@ I didn’t read Simon’s debut book. I wanted to try something new and I saw this on some booktuber lists. It’s a different kind of story telling. However, verdict is out until I see how it comes together.
I’m also excited to try out Tim Powers.
No worries reading Dungeon Crawler Carl, I'm currently reading the latest and still a big fan of the series without having heard a microsecond of the audio. But read the first as a standalone? I think not!!!
I've read the kindle versions of the first 4 Dungeon Crawler Carl books and am on the 5th one now. So good and still super fun in non-audio form.
Glad you're enjoying it!
I didn’t like Cradle either, but Dungeon Crawler Carl was awesome! Love Ender’s Game, but I actually liked Speaker for the Dead even better, so excited you are reading it next year!
Oh wow! Hope I have the same experience.
Sitting here writing a letter I am going to mail off today. I will check this out later. I think I'll listen to some Primus for now. American Life maybe.
Primus is the best!
@@mikesbookreviews I finally got around to watching the video. I don't normally respond once a creator has reponded to a comment, but I feel like I should, because I wanted you to get my thoughts on American Psycho.
As a satire writer, a couple of months ago I bought American Psycho to see what was the top form in the modern genre. I considered Fight Club, but as I have seen the movie too many times I decided I would get more out of American Psycho, plus American Psycho is more controversial. I probably don't have to worry about a spoiler-free review, because I am sure you have seen the movie. For one, I liked the book more than the movie. Yes, it's greusome and definitely has a main charachter that doesn't think much about women, but people like that exist in life, and it's a satire. I don't unerstand how it's common for people now to say you can't write about this, like misogyny, violence and abuse towards marginilized communities, etc. These things exist, and not talking about them or pointing them out as mistakes doesn't serve anything well, especially the art of storytelling. If we can't have books with topics like those in them because they "glorify things," then why the hell is there child sexual abuse all over, awful things, especially in YA. sorry to digress. I am real mad at Trad Pub.
Back to American Psycho. I was very annoyed at first at the type of filler Brett Easton Ellis used in the book. The type of world building filler in this book is Patrick Bateman noting every single brand and type of shirt everyone and he wears. He uses the word "double-breasted" hundreds of times. At first I was annoyed, but then I understood what he was doing. It was pointing out the shallow nature of Patrick, which painted his psychotic rage and killing sprees up more, to where the reader understood that his psychopathic tendencies were the true depth of his character. I got used to him describing what everyone else was wearing, and enjoyed the poetic sounds of all of the scenes and clothing he described. Then when the good bits came in it made them a lot better.
Overall, I give the book a solid four. It could be higher, if about 20,000 words describing clothes and objects would have been cut from it, ti would be higher. Best part of the novel was the tingle of the meaning of the text, which made it all better. I have read books like that, like Joyce Carol Oates' Wonderland, where the book slogged on, but the tingle you felt when you got what it was all about and trying to say made the boring bits ok. (nods to Talking Story John when borrowing Tingle. The Tingle is, Indeed, very real) Also, hearing Patrick Bateman drone on about all of the clothing, etc. made me remember some gay friends that had that superpower to know what brand of everything everyone had. Brett Ellis was a NY gay man, so he is well-versed in that type of stuff.
I'll be interested in what you think of Dead Man's Walk. I read the two prequels first and by the time I got to Lonesome Dove, I was so tired of him introducing characters only to have them do dumb stuff and get killed, that DNF'ed Lonesome Dove when you know who gets killed. Knowing that may make the prequels more enjoyable.
Wraiths of the Broken Land is a great book, you won’t be disappointed.
I have In the Valley of the Sun by Andy Davidson on my list, sounds like a good western/vampire horror. Not familiar with Wraiths of a Broken Land, but I really want to read some of Zahler's novels because his movies are spectacular.
Ever read any Joe Lansdale? He has quite a few western horror stories. He's one of my favorite authors, but I prefer his crime stuff.
You should check out hidden pictures by Jason Reulak That sounds right up your alley it’s a supernatural mystery and it’s probably one of the best recent standalones I’ve read
I’ll add it to my list as well.
Dungeon Crawler Carl is a great palate cleanser series! The series is AMAZING, which says a lot because LitRPG is NOT for me but I love Carl and Princess Donut
Hope I feel similarly
You should check out hidden pictures by Jason Rekulak it’s probably one of the best recent books I’ve read. It’s like a supernatural mystery. It sounds right up your alley. I read it because joe Hill had glowing things to say about it and I totally agree.
Demon Copperhead could potentially be a great Quilluminati read. If we don't like it, let's blame John! 😂Reading Janny Wurts' To Ride Hell's Chasm is a great way to get a sense of her writing style, and it is indeed a standalone. And, yes, Janny is the best!
I just finished reading Janny's1st novel,Sorcerer's Legacy a couple of days ago and It's not too bad definitely interesting enough to where I wanna read more
Thanks for putting her on my radar!
I really loved The Empire Trilogy she wrote alongside Raymond E Fiest too.
You should check out hidden pictures by Jason Reulak it’s a supernatural mystery and it sounds right up your alley. It’s probably one of the best standalone books. I’ve read this year.
Well there are a handful of books just added to the TBR...I got no time for all these. Unfortunately I didn't really like Fight Club, but will be curious how you like it.
Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes, The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje, a possible Emily Henry are some of the titles
Try listening on 2.2x speed WHILE reading along for Dungeon Crawler Carl. The voices are fantastic by the narrator and will make it more fun.
Tim Powers is fantastic. My favorite is Declare, it's a spy thriller in the Middle East with djinn. Though On Stranger Tides (pirates, Caribbean Sea and voodoo) and The Drawing of the Dark (medieval Europe and European folklore alongside one of the sieges of Vienna) may be closer to fantasy stories.
Christopher can’t say enough about him.
I’m not sure about series, but I’m hoping to read more Cormac McCarthy, Robert McCammon and Neil Gaiman and they write mostly standalones. I’ll probably read a couple of classics as well like The Count of Monté Cristo, Oliver Twist and Great Expectations, or something like that.
You can read Daughter of the Empire as a stand-alone! Shogun meets Game of Thrones! I would start with that book! I found To Ride Hell’s Chasm very dense reading. If Chasm is your not jam, pick up Daughter, it is a perfect book.
Mike, I share your love for Ender's Game. (Never saw the twist coming in that one.) But I tried to read Speaker of the Dead 2 or 3 times and just couldn't get past the first chapter. If you get to it next year, I'll be very interested in what your take on it is. If you like it, I'm likely to go in on it whole hog.
Black Mouth is an excellent choice - I really think you'l like it. :)
I’m hoping!
I always keep a McCarthy Novel on the ready for a little Palette cleanse!
Ruocchios pitch about that Powers book made me want to read it, still have yet to own it though. Dead Mans walk is great and comanche moon is better.
And I immediately add to my kindle. I need something after or next to Last Argument of Kings and Best Served cold
I agree with everyone. I think Demon Copperhead was an amazing read. It was such a good book and I think you’d like it.
🤞
You should read hidden pictures by Jason Rekulak it’s probably one of the best recent standalone books, I’ve read . It’s a supernatural mystery and it sounds right up your alley. I picked it up because Joe Hill had nothing but glowing things to say about it and I totally agree.
Thanks for the recommendation! I'll add it to my list.
Sin Du Jour by Matt Wallace is my favorite pallette cleansing series. It's a catering company in our world that serves supernatural beings. It's crazy and fun.
You'll like gillian Flynn man, I was reading her books even before Stephen King somehow as a kid they will definitely impress you
Very interested in trying Dead Man's Walk. Speaker for the Dead is great if you go into it with an open mind, it's very different compared to Ender's Game.
Fight Club is an excellent book!!!!!
Speaker for the Dead is nothing like Enders' Game. It's got Ender in it. Very imaginative, good book. If you want more Ender's Game like energy, the Shadow series is great, follows Bean's story.
Got dungeon Crawler on my ereader to check out and definitely do another Mcmurtree as Laredo was awesome!
Sooooooo when are you going to read the year 2000 World Fantasy Award winning book? ;)
Tim Powers is one of my favorite authors, though Stress didn't do much for me. My personal favorites are The Anubis Gates and Declare. The Fault Lines series is really good too, Last Call is book one. If you enjoy an adult beverage or two, The Drawing of the Dark is something a bit different. Powers' writing has a voice that is distinctly his own and you'll know a story is written by him when you read it.
Dungeon Crawler Carl - hell yeah! The more you know about (A)RPG (Diablo Baldur's Gate) and MMO (World of Warcraft) video games, the more you'll get out of it.
Seems those that have read Powers love him.
Hey there mike I'm on book 5 of the dungeon crawler Carl series and I've only listened to a couple of the audiobooks And they are pretty fun but I can tell you That the 1st book is very fun just to read It's got some silly points in it but it's nowhere near Level of pointless silliness The the 1st couple books DiscWorld were. And the farther you get into the series Better it gets they're still absurd moments but it really takes on a dark and serious tone
I think you'll really enjoy Janny Wurts
Although Fight Club and American Psycho thematically and stylisticly fit onto a similar shelf, I much preferred Ellis' work over Palahniuk's. I think Fight Club is a bit breezier of a read, but i think while requiring a bit more effort, American Psycho has a more rewarding after effect. All this to say, give A.P. a chance regardless of your takeaway from F.C.
Finishing up Amrican Psycho now, on of the weirdest and craziest books I've ever read
On the horror/western crossover, you should listen to Spiritworld's Deathwestern album if you haven't checked it out already 🤘
I think you may need to read Ender in Exile before Speaker. I'm not sure. II cannot recommend it highly enough though. I remember liking it almost as much as Game. 'm going to check out Stress after I finish Sword of Shannara
Wraiths of the Broken Land is solid, but Zahler’s other western, A Congregation of Jackals, is awesome.
It’s a subgenre I can’t get enough of.
I’ve read fight club twice, it’s great i have two other chuck P books but have not read them. I keep seeing either he’s the worst or the best writer. But fight club is a great great book
Oh you should read Dark Places by Gillian Flynn. It's way darker than Sharp Objects
Harlan cobens books are worth the read
Going to continue reading some classics and Stephen King. Other than that, we'll see what the mood says next year.
Hey don’t wanna release any Quilluminatti secrets but I would be cool trying out some Kingsolver. Just sayin.
Gotta read Demon Copperhead!!!
I finished a fantasy series the beginning of this month and since then I have struggled to get into a new one. My brain is just not having it haha. So, one way I fix that is just reading random manga on KU until I can read something else.