It’s July, so time to show off some of the novels I’ve read this year, like a cat stacking up dead lizards on your porch.
My plan this year was simple: read 24 books (double what I read last year), and only pull books I already own but haven’t read yet. One, to actually get to some of the books I’ve been gifted over the past couple decades, and two, because money.
Overall, it’s been a solid six months. Almost all bangers.
Alright, here we go:
THE BRIGHT SWORD – Lev Grossman
Talk about a great start to my year. Lev Grossman (THE MAGICIANS) rarely disappoints, and has become one of my go-to writers. I know I can buy one of his books without looking and trust I’m getting a page turner. (V.E. Schwab is another recent addition to that list, read INVISIBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LA RUE).
My wife, Gina, turned me onto THE BRIGHT SWORD, because she knows my deep love of King Arthur tales and my even deeperer nerdery for Arthurian myth.
What’s it About: An aspiring country knight, Collum, journeys to Camelot to join the Round Table. Turns out, he’s a little late. Collum and the surviving Knights of the Round Table struggle to maintain the myth, heroism, and ideals of Camelot in a world that is moving on. Full of awesome, memorable characters that will stick in your memory long after the book goes back on the shelf. Dagonet and Dinadan being two particular standouts.
Recommendation: High and hardy, especially for lovers of fantasy, subversive takes on myths, and fans of “bunch of misfits and castoffs are the only hope we have left” stories. People interested in Breton/Roman history, the damage of colonization, and how cultures evolve. I also love how it handles Lancelot, it’s pretty in-line with my take on a controversial character.
THE HOBBIT – J.R.R. Tolkien
Remember how I said I was only going to read books I never read before as part of my challenge?
Anyway, it’s THE HOBBIT and I read it again. To be fair to my lying ass, I haven’t read it since 2002 or so, which in this high-speed modern era of contextless permacontent, is like having never read it at all.
What’s It About: A guy convinces his hairy friend to rob a billionaire.
Recommendation: Obviously.
THE ONCE AND FUTURE KING – T.H. White
King Arthur again?! Yes. THE ONCE AND FUTURE KING is the cornerstone Arthur story in the modern era and I’d never read it. Which, after THE BRIGHT SWORD, was beginning to feel negligent. Especially as an amateur Excali-Bro, a term I definitely didn’t just make up for Arthur-fans.
Plus, what would Walter Blunt and Mangeto think if I’d skipped it?
What’s It About: The novel follows Arthur through childhood, his education, his reign, and his death. The first part, “The Sword in the Stone,” was adapted into the 1963 Disney movie of the same name. The other parts of the novel were not, probably because of all the incest, communism, and murder. What makes the book so important, and great, is that Arthur’s story is presented as a fable for governance, fickle subjects, and for the horrors of the early 20th century.
When Mordred’s faction shows up wearing all black with red arm bands, talking about strength and purity of blood, it’s not hard to extrapolate what White is really commenting on.
Recommendation: Easily. It’s a little Lancelot-heavy for me, especially in the middle, but the story is timely, smart, funny, and heartbreaking. If the concept of cycles between good rulers and bad rulers, populism, and the tricky nature of inspiration and justice are on your mind (I can’t imagine why they would be), this may do you some good. Or sink you deeper into a depression hole. Either way you’re gonna feel something.
Arthur’s final “monologue” in his tent at Camlann is one of the most moving things I’ve ever read.
THE SUN DOG – Stephen King
Stephen King is my guy, my dude, my “main man boatshoes” as my father would say for some reason. However, I don’t have too much King on this year’s list precisely because I’m trying to expand and not be so damn predictable.
And because I’ve read like 85% of his work already and I don’t have many left at my house, but we’ll move on from that.
What’s It About: THE SUN DOG is a tight novella about a kid getting an evil camera for his birthday. It’s basically a proto-Goosebumps story, written about three years before the first Goosebumps came out. No one captures the mind of a kid quite like Stephen King: the odd maturity combined with the deep naivete, the strange and painful events we try to forget, the near-suicidal impulsivity.
Recommendation: King fans, Goosebumps fans, people who like short tales of the macabre. There’s also an evil dog, so, King fans again.
BLOOD OF ELVES – The Witcher #1 – Andrzej Sapkowski
I’ve read all of the Witcher short stories that lead up to the novels (and loved them), but I’d yet to dig into the actual series itself. Despite being a huge fan of the Witcher 3 game, the Witcher animated films, and about one-third of the Netflix series. Plus being a high-fantasy dork in general.
What’s It About: It’s funny, Geralt of Rivia is barely in BLOOD OF ELVES, so when people clutch their pearls about Ciri being announced as the main character of the new Witcher game I can’t help but wonder if said clutchers ever cracked the books. Ciri is front-and-center here, holed up in Kaer Morhen, doing witcher-training and mystical drug trips with Triss.
I will say, it’s a little slow, and not much happens in this book. It’s definitely a setup piece, and it feels it. So far I prefer the short stories, but I’m always ready to be wowed going forward.
Recommendation: Witcher game/show/film fans, particularly ones who need to turn over every rock (that’s me). Fantasy fans. People who like characters talking about war for seventy pages.
REMOTE CONTROL – Nnedi Okorafor
My older brother Bill gave me this book a few years back, we we’re going to start a book club but then ADHD happened. However, I’m incredibly glad he put this story in my hands.
It’s a short piece with tight, musical prose and an immediately gripping central idea.
What’s It About: When Sankofa gets upset, everyone around her dies. Like, everyone within earshot. Unfortunately, the powers kick on when she’s a little girl, and well, you can guess the rest. The story follows her trying to live some kind of life, becoming a kind of modern goddess as her legend spreads.
Recommendation: Highly recommended. Great, original story told artfully and sparingly. It has an awesome Afro-Futurism angle that Okorafor never fully describes. She trusts the reader to come to it on their own, while still playing in magic and myth.
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES: THE ROAD TO NEVERWINTER: MORE COLONS REQUIRED – Jaleigh Johnson
I love the movie, okay? I’m not gonna turn my nose up at a corporate tie-in novel.
If you haven’t seen the movie, go see it now. I won’t wait–I’ll keep typing because I’m in the past–but this blog will be here for you when you return.
What’s It About: How Edgin (Chris Pine) met Holga (Michelle Rodriguez), Simon the Sorcerer (Justice Smith), and Forge (Hugh Grant). And, more importantly, how they become a group of charming thieves and adventurers.
Recommendation: Yes, it’s a blast. THE ROAD TO NEVERWINTER is written in a very modern, almost meta style, and fits in perfectly with the tone of the movie. Honestly, Johnson captures the characters themselves so well that I could hear Chris Pine or Hugh Grant delivering the lines in my head.
Fans of the movie, fans of D&D in general, or people looking for a light but delightful summer fantasy read.
The Second Half of 2025
I’ve got a few books on the docket for the second half of the year, because I’m trying to catch up on my infinite backlog instead of buying new books. My intent was to read 24 books, and as I am currently at seven books this is gonna be a busy six months.
One of the big reasons for my lack of speed was one of the books I’m currently reading: WAY OF KINGS, by Brandon Sanderson. I’m halfway through that book, which is like five books, so add a couple more courtesy numbers to my tally to balance the scales. Honestly, THE ONCE AND FUTURE KING is also five books long, so the lesson is I need to pick shorter books when I do this next year.
Here’s a quick peak at my shelf to see what’s coming up. Many of them are long because I’m an idiot:
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