Recap: My First 50 Books of 2024 (8-14)

No. 8: Starship Troopers

Author: Robert A. Heinlein

Published: 1959 by G. P. Putnam's Sons

Genre: Science Fiction, Military, Coming-of-age

Series: N/A

Best Bits: Deep world-building, power armor, giant alien bugs, military strategy written by an actual military man.

My Rating: 5/5

No. 9: A Wizard of Earthsea

Author: Ursula K. le Guin

Published: 1968 by Parnassus Press

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Coming-of-age

Series: Earthsea (Book 1 of 6)

Best Bits: Flawed but likeable protagonist, seafaring adventure, magic schools, and facing your inner demons.

My Rating: 5/5

No. 10: Before They are Hanged

Author: Joe Abercrombie

Published: 2007 by Gollancz

Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Grimdark

Series: The First Law Trilogy (Book 2 of 3)

Best Bits: Brutal action, political backstabbing, and TONS of obscene language.

My Rating: 3/5

No. 11: The Last Argument of Kings

Author: Joe Abercrombie

Published: 2008 by Gollancz

Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Grimdark

Series: The First Law Trilogy (Book 3 of 3)

Best Bits: Flesh-eating monsters and a chaotic final battle.

My Rating: 2/5

No. 12: Tarzan of the Apes

Author: Edgar Rice Burroughs

Published: 1912 by A. C. McClurg

Genre: Adventure, Pulp Fiction. Survival

Series: Tarzan (Book 1 of 24)

Best Bits: Wild jungle animals, feral warriors, bloody violence, and wonderfully cheesy romance.

My Rating: 4.5/5

No. 13: Weird of the Skull Totem

Author: Erik Waag

Published: 2024 (Independently published)

Genre: Fantasy, Sword & Sorcery, Horror

Series: Skarde - The Wandering Sword (Book 2 of an ongoing series)

Best Bits: Pirate battles, brutal barbarian antihero, cannibal wizards, and a magic berserker sword.

My Rating: 5/5

No. 14: Caravan of the Damned

Author: Chuck Dixon

Published: 2023 by Castalia House

Genre: Fantasy, Sword & Sorcery, Grimdark

Series: Chuck Dixon's Conan (Book 2 of an ongoing series)

Best Bits: Desert beast-men and not much else...

My Rating: 1.5/ 5