Top Ten Series I'd Like To Start But Haven't Yet

Top Ten Tuesday Time, as always hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.  It is a great topic this week as it is all about series that I would like to start but haven't just yet.  Funnily enough, I've made a bit of progress through my way through my SILTSBHY list this year, but there are still plenty of others that I haven't got round to starting yet.

1. The James Bond books by Ian Fleming

Bought most of these for my BF.  Waiting for him to read them all so I can steal them.

2. Nadia Stafford by Kelley Armstrong

 Armstong's two books about a hit woman were released before I found her Otherworld Series.  I really want to see what her non-paranormal fiction is like, yet I can never seem to remember to order them from the library.  The third book is out later this year, so maybe it's time I checked them out...

3.  The Dustlands - Moira Young

Blood Red Road caught my eye one lazy afternoon in the Norfolk and Norwich Millennium Library.  From what I gathered The Dustlands series is dystopian and is supposed to have similarities to the Chemical Garden Trilogy by Lauren DeStefano.

4.  The Night Watch - Sergei Lukyanenko

Have you noticed that my book list on the right never changes?  I'm determined to make a dent in that list this year, as I've wanted to read The Night Watch for two years now!  I heard good things about the series from a friend, and I mean Russian Vampires?  Yes please!

 

5. The Collector - Chris F. Holm

Love the cover, premise sounds good, just got to make a start on this Urban Fantasy Noir!
 

6. Codex Alera - Jim Butcher

 I haven't read many books in the epic fantasy genre, but I'm think Butcher's series may be a good way to start.

7. Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle

This is terrible.  I should have read all of these by now.  By the end of the year I am determined to have at least started reading some Sherlock stories.
 

8. Miss Marple - Agatha Christie

I've grown up in a house that adores Agatha Christie mysteries, both in book and T.V form, but I've never attempted to read any.  I'd like to try and attempt making my way through all of them at some point.

 

9.  Darkness Rising - Kelley Armstrong

 I've been waiting for all three books of Armstrong's latest YA series to come out so I could read them in one go.  With The Rising coming out in April, it's go time...

 

10. Alex Versus - Benedict Jacka

 

Jacka's Alex Verus series is marketed as a cross between Rivers of London and The Dresden Files.  This is technically a cheat as I finally started the series last week...but I like to break rules every now and again.

That's my list for this week!  What series are on yours?

Fated

Camden, North London.

 

A tangled, mangled junction of train lines, roads and waterways.  Where minor celebrities hang out with minor criminals and where tourists and moody teenagers mingle.

 

In the heart of Camden, where rail meets road meets leyline, you'll find the Arcana Emporium, run by one Alex Verus.  He won't sell you a wand or mix you a potion, but if you know what you're looking for, he might just be able to help.  That's if he's not too busy avoiding his would-be apprentice, foiling the Dark, outwitting the Light and investigating a mysterious relic that's just turned up at the British Museum.

 

Benedict Jacka's first novel in the Alex Verus series is marketed as a cross between Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London and Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files.  While for me Fated wasn't hate at first read, it wasn't a book I'd be raving down the street about either. 

Fated has an interesting plot, involving the British Museum, but it doesn't have the sense of place that the Rivers of London series has, and it doesn't have the wit of Jim Butcher.  There is also the problem that there are too many similarities to my favourite fictional Chicago native (even if Jacka does give that wink at the beginning that Verus exists in the same universe as Harry. Maybe there could be a cross-over book collaboration between Jacka and Butcher in the future?).  However, this is only the first book.  As the series continues, I hope that  Benedict will brake away from the Dresden comparisons and find a niche for his characters.

Another problem with Fated is that there is too much telling and not enough showing in the first half of the book.  There's so much that the reader needs to know about Alex's world, it did feel like I was the apprentice being lectured.  I was pleased that the final act seemed to have found a good balance between action and information, making me realise that this series may be worth sticking with. 

The characters already have clear personalities, but not ones that I'm totally in awe of.  Due to all the telling, Alex has a teachers tone that makes him sound a lot older than his years and a little bit too serious for my taste. Then there's Luna, who I wish had a bit more of a backbone.  Although Jacka does hint that there's more to Luna than he's letting the reader privy to.  Therefore, it will be interesting to see how he expands not only her character, but her mythology, throughout the series.

I've got the second book Cursed and I've read other reviews saying that the series does improve, so I'm sticking with Verus for now.