Gooks and Bames

Recommended Books

Don’t know what to read next? You’ve come to the right place! On this page you’ll find a list of some of my favourite books and authors, as well as an alphabetical list of all the reviews I’ve published on this site.

Recommended Books

Jennifer Fallon

One of my all-time favourite series is the ‘Second Sons Trilogy’, and I’m also a big fan of the ‘Tide Lords’. Her books tend to a have a minimal use of magic, and focus more on politics (this is particularly true of the ‘Second Sons’). Interesting characters, original plots, lots of twists and turns… what more could you want?

‘The Scar’ by China Mieville

I’ve only read ‘The Scar’ and ‘Perdido Street Station’ by Mieville. ‘Perdido Street Station’ got great reviews, but I think ‘The Scar’ is far better. The style is the same, however it’s quite a bit shorter and the plot moves along at a faster pace. I also liked the characters in ‘The Scar’ more than in ‘Perdido Street Staiton’. If you enjoyed ‘Perdido Street Station’, you should really enjoy ‘The Scar’.

Charles de Lint

Generally, I don’t like urban fantasy, I think it’s usually pretty cheesy. The only exception I make to this rule is Charles de Lint. His writing is beautiful, and he draws you into this magical world and makes you wonder. I always enjoy his books, and whenever I finish I always want to revisit Newford. His books are generally pretty short, so if you come across one them, you should definitely give him a go.

Guy Gavriel Kay

I’ve read a lot of his books and my favourites are ‘Tigana’ and ‘A Song for Arbonne’. I find his writing very unique, I don’t think there’s another author quite like him. He really creates a tapestry of the world, he doesn’t so much focus on one well-defined plot. I’ve never been able to guess the endings to any of his books, but they’ve always been satisfying, even if not exactly what I wanted.

‘The Name of the Wind’ by Patrick Rothfuss

This was a fantastic first novel, very powerful and emotional. What I liked most about it was that I could see how Kvothe’s personality could get him into so much trouble, without the assistance of any enemies or dragons or whatever. I like it when characters are the source of their own downfall. ‘A Wise Man’s Fear’ wasn’t quite up to the standard of ‘The Name of the Wind’ (but considering how good it was, is that surprising?), but I’m really looking forward to the conclusion of this series.

While the books I just mentioned are some of my favourites, I’m also a big fan of: Dianna Wynn Jones, Garth Nix, Raymond E. Feist, Stephen Donaldson, John Marsden, George R. R. Martin, Kate Elliot, Anne McCaffrey, Susanna Clarke and Terry Pratchett.

List of Reviews

Book reviews published on the site are listed alphabetically by the author’s surname.

Joe Abercrombie, ‘Half a King’

Paolo Bacigalupi, ‘The Windup Girl’

Anne Bishop, ‘Landscapes of Ephemera’ Duology

Clare Carson, ‘Orkney Twilight’

Suzanne Collins, ‘The Hunger Games’

Kate Elliott, ‘The Spiritwalker Trilogy’

Gillian Flynn, ‘Gone Girl’

Neil Gaiman, ‘The Ocean at the End of the Lane’

Stella Gemmell, ‘The City’

Robert Harris, ‘Pompeii’

Elizabeth Haydon, ‘Rhapsody’, ‘Prophecy’ and ‘Destiny’

Guy Gavriel Kay, ‘The Last Light of the Sun’

Patricia Kennealy, ‘The Copper Crown’

Stephen King, ‘Under the Dome’, ‘The Stand’

Scott Lynch, ‘The Republic of Thieves’

Julian May, ‘The Many-Coloured Land’

China Mieville, ‘The Iron Council’

Kate Morton, ‘The Secret Keeper’

Pat Murphy, ‘The City, Not Long After’

Naomi Novik, ‘His Majesty’s Dragon’, ‘Throne of Jade’, ‘Black Powder War’, ‘Empire of Ivory’

Louise Penny, ‘How the light gets in’

Mario Puzo, ‘The Godfather’

Melanie Rawn, ‘In the Ruins of Ambrai’ and ‘The Mageborn Traitor’, ‘The Dragon Prince’

Adam Roberts, ‘By Light Alone’

Kim Stanley Robinson, ‘2312’

Brandon Sanderson, ‘The Final Empire’, ‘Words of Radiance’, ‘The Way of Kings’