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harry sidebottom, richard doetsch, olen steinhauer, hero of rome, jon stock, ben kane, sam eastland, the red coffin, justin hill, len deighton, dead spy running, dirty little secret, the caspian gates, sam barone, conflict of empires, michael connelly, blood work, philip kerr, xpd, glenn cooper, the tenth chamber, douglas jackson, free agent, jeremy duns, richard j evans, the coming of the third reich, luke preston, dark city blue, the dying light, henry porter, simon conway, a loyal spy, the road to rome, david downing, tom clancy, the hunt for red october, the thieves of heaven, the istanbul variations, if the dead rise not, shieldwall, zoo station, historical fiction
According to my blog (you’re looking at it) and Goodreads, I seem have read 21 books so far this year.
I though that, as we’re more or less half way through the year now, I’d see about a list of the five books I’ve read and enjoyed the most. I couldn’t get it down to three.
I generally read Historical Fiction, of many different periods, spiced up with Spy stories, stuff about WWII and, well, anything else that takes my fancy. I’ll generally though, sidestep any book written about feelings or with ‘this is an important novel, I urge you to read it’, or thereabouts, on the front.
So here, purely in alphabetical order only, they are. They are books I’ve read in 2013, not necessarily published this year. Click on the picture to go to the Amazon page for that title.
If you agree – or differ – you’re very welcome to say so.
Dark City Blue : Luke Preston
Dark, as the title says. And brutal and brutally honest. A Police drama like few others, shot through (literally) with bullets, with humour, of the dark sort and even with hope. And the good news is, as Herger the Joyous says in The Thirteenth Warrior; “It’s alright, little brother…there are more!“
Luke Preston on Twitter
Dead Spy Running : Jon Stock
Whenever I read in the future, some reviewer (like me maybe) saying ‘I couldn’t put it down, I’ll think of this book. I couldn’t put it down, literally. I could not take my eyes off it for a second. If I did, I was left staring into space thinking “that didn’t just happen, did it? He didn’t just do that did he?”
Jon Stock on Twitter
Hero of Rome : Douglas Jackson
This was something of a surprise, though I don’t really know why it should have been. A delightfully written, fully rounded and full-blooded take on the early Roman invasions and campaigns in England. Again, good news is that it’s just the start of a series featuring the main man Gaius Valerius Verrens.
Douglas Jackson on Twitter
The Coming of the Third Reich : Richard J. Evans
As, for some reason known only to certain higher powers, I am fascinated with the periods before, during and just after the World War II, this was a remarkable find for me. Exhaustive and rewarding in it’s clarity, its detail and it’s thoroughness. This is the first of three and is surely the go-to book on the origins of the Nazi Party in Germany.
Richard J. Evans is obviously far to clever to be on Twitter.
The Road to Rome: Ben Kane
Quite possibly my most enjoyable read of the year so far. Really cannot fully express how much I enjoyed the final chapter in the Forgotten Legion Trilogy. Everything comes from the first two novels comes together in Caesar’s Rome, in a finale full of battles, beatings and backstabbing. I’m also putting my money on it only being a trilogy, so far…
Ben Kane on Twitter
The other books I have read this year are:
A Loyal Spy: Somon Conway
Blood Work: Michael Connelly
Conflict of Empires: Sam Barone
Dirty Little Secret: Jon Stock
Free Agent: Jeremy Duns
If The Dead Rise Not: Philip Kerr
Shieldwall: Justin Hill
The Caspian Gates: Harry Sidebottom
The Dying Light: Henry Porter
The Hunt for Red October: Tom Clancy
The Istanbul Variations: Olen Steinhauer
The Red Coffin: Sam Eastland
The Tenth Chamber: Glenn Cooper
The Thieves of Heaven: Richard Doetsch
XPD: Len Deighton
Zoo Station: David Downing
