2023 Reading Challenge
It’s been such a long time since I posted here! I guess that’s hardly surprising, given the last few years. As well as navigating the pandemic, I’ve been hard at work writing books and took over as Chair of the British Fantasy Society, so I’ve been spinning a lot of plates. I’m hoping to be a bit more regular about posting here though.
Those of you who follow me on social media may already know about the towering TBR beside my bed. I’ve started to fear that it’s going to fall over one night and crush me, so I’ve challenged myself to do something about it this year by reading almost exclusively books which I already own (with the exception of a few new releases which I’m impatiently awaiting). So, when I spotted everyone’s favourite Womble running a TBR reduction challenge, I figured I had to join in. You can read more about the challenge here. I thought it would be fun to blog a bit about the experience.
The goal for January was nice and easy - read the newest book on your TBR. Well, wouldn’t you know it, I received a few books as Christmas gifts, one of which leapt off the top of the pile and into my hands. Priest of Crowns by Peter McLean.
This is the fourth and final book in the War for the Rose Throne series and I’ve been looking forward to it for ages, so it was a lovely way to start the challenge. Thomas Piety is a priest, a gangster and a Queen’s Man and we’ve followed his story since he first returned from fighting in the war only to discover that there was another kind of war waiting for him at home.
I love this series so much. It’s a lesson in crafting a distinctive character voice and writing morally grey characters. Thomas is a gangland boss, but he’s not without his redeeming qualities. He cares deeply about those close to him and believes in taking care of the people in his streets. I won’t say too much more because spoilers, but this was a fitting, if gut-wrenching, finale to the series.
The stretch goal for January, was to read the oldest book on your TBR. That proved to be difficult to work out as I had lost track of how long some of the books had been there. So I settled on one that I knew had been hanging around for a while: Gibbous House by Ewan Lawrie
Lawrie is one of my fellow Unbounders and this book went through crowdfunding around the same time as Ashael Rising did. It’s described as a Victorian gothic thriller, so it was an obvious choice for me to support it.
The book follows the story of Alasdair Moffat, who has inherited an estate in Northumbria from his late wife’s uncle, but all is not as it seems. I really enjoyed the way that Lawrie plays with and subverts some common gothic tropes and there was a lot to love about this book. For me, the ending didn’t quite land, but I enjoyed the rest of the book enough that I’ll probably read the next in the series.
I also managed to read some urban fantasy in January: The Devil Walks in Blood by David Green
This is a special edition which includes the opening novella of the series, Dead Man Walking. Nick Holleran is a private detective who used to take on shady cases - until one of them led to him bleeding to death in an alley. A passer-by resuscitated him and ever since he woke up Nick has been able to see ghosts, monsters and all manner of supernatural things. Not only that, but he discovered that Earth is actually a plane of Hell. Now he only takes on the righteous cases.
I’m a little bit in love with Nick Holleran. These books are great fun. There’s a bit of darkness - it wouldn’t be a David Green novel without some - but it’s also full of heart and a lot of humour. Think Dresden, but better. I can’t recommend these books highly enough.
Womble’s challenge for February is to read 28 short stories, which I’m already underway on, but I’ll report back on that next month.