Top Ten Favorite New-To-Me Authors I Read In 2012

Top Tuesday is upon us again, hosted by The Broke and The Bookish, this time focusing my ten favourite authors, and their books, that I discovered this past year. 

1. Gail Carriger

 

I can't believe that this time last year I was unaware of the awesomeness that is Gail Carriger and The Parasol Protectorate.  The covers never grabbed my attention, so I never read the blurbs.  I don't know what changed my mind, but boy am I glad I finally realised that these books are all about vampires, werewolves and outrageous hats.  Splendidly written, I am excited for her future projects now that Alexia's time as lead narrator is at an end (another star for Carriger for not dragging a series out unnecessarily).  Gail Carriger's website is located here

 

2.  Chuck Wendig

 

 Deranged, witty, filthy, violent.  The list goes on and on as to why I love Chuck Wendig and his Miriam Black trilogy.  Find out more at terrible minds

 

3.  Adam Christopher

 

Adam Christopher impressed me with Seven Wonders, keeping a perfect balance of nostalgia and newness to his superhero tale.  Find out more here

 

4.  Emylia Hall

I signed up for the realreaders scheme early on in the year and wasn't excepting to receive anything when two weeks later a wonderful debut book was sent to me.  I'm not normally a chick-lit person, but Emylia Hall's debut novel was astounding.  I'm really looking forward to reading more of her books in the future.  Find out more here
 

5.  Madeline Ashby

Madeline Ashby is a genius.  There, I said it.  I thought much of vN would go over my head, and yet I wanted to devour every word at a breakneck pace.  Fantastic and intelligent story telling.
Find out more here
 

6.  Tom Pollock

 

I found Tom Pollock's The City's Son imaginative and a sublime example of YA fiction.  Is it time for The Glass Republic yet?
Find out more here
 

7.  Gillian Flynn

 

I had another author in this spot but I changed my mind at the last minute because I am still in awe of how good Gone Girl was.  I've already put two of Flynn's previous books on my reserve list for the new year, and am hoping that they are equally as dark and twisty.

Find out more here
 

8.  Michael Logan

Taking all the cliches of zombie fiction and presenting them in a comically fresh way, Michael Logan deserved the first Terry Pratchett Prize.  Find out more here

 

9.  Robert Jackson Bennet

 

I found Robert Jackson Bennett's The Troupe rather refreshing.  I was expecting something like The Night Circus and ended up finding something better.  Find out more here
 

10.  Nick Harkaway

 

There's only one word to describe Angelmaker and the mind of Nick Harkaway: Barmy.  Find out more here

  

So that's my list, what's on yours?

Seven Wonders

Tony Prosdocimi lives in the bustling metropolis of San Ventura - a city utterly gripped by fear, a city under siege by the hooded supervillain, the Cowl.
  When Tony develops super-powers and acts to take down the Cowl, however, he finds that the local superhero team, the Seven Wonders, aren't anything like as grateful as he had assumed they would be...

 Adam Christopher's homage to the super hero genre could never be accused of being dull.  Seven Wonders is jammed packed with action sequences and various characters that you'd normally find in various graphic novels - some have gloriously funny names - and all of the core players have their chance to shine and their potential explored.
  
  My scatter brain benefited from the overall structure of short chapters that proceeded rather long ones and I also felt that the jumps in narration allowed more freedom to explore how certain characters viewed themselves and then how others viewed them which further emphasised the central theme that power corrupts, even if you don't intend for that to happen...Seven Wonders is exactly as advertised, yet it never keeps in the direction you think it's going to head in.  I thought I had it all figured out and then half way in everything changed!  A fantastic stand-alone novel (but in true superhero fashion, the ending leaves plenty open for a sequel) that would be a great Christmas gift!    

Cool Covers of the Future

Spotted this today over at Angry Robot's website  I've got the first book, Empire State, but haven't read it yet.  I picked that up as part of a 'buy one, get on half price' offer purely because of the cover (and okay, the blurb sounded mighty interesting too) and I might have to purchase this to have a matching set of awesomeness.

Coming Up

 Again, this is what happens if I make eye contact with other shelves when I'm only in the library to return books. I've been trying to limit my library allowance so I can get around to reading the huge stack of books that I bought last year. However, I have no will power and some books are just too darn pretty to be left on a shelf.