Dee’s driven, edgy character is so compelling – Newman writes these tricky protagonists with amazing skill. This has been one of the outstanding science fiction series of the last few years for me and this latest slice in the adventure held me to the end. See my review.Ītlas Alone – Book 4 of the Planetfall series by Emma Newman

It certainly isn’t a children’s read – as the exploitation of the magic kingdom takes some shocking turns, and while Wynne Jones doesn’t go into graphic detail, they are still there. I’d read this book before – but listening to the excellent narration by Jonathan Broadbent brought home the darker side of the story.

See my review.ĪUDIOBOOK The Dark Lord of Derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones This one has stayed in my memory and I’ve found myself often thinking about it. I loved the layered characterisation of Odysseus and his complex relationships in this intelligent and politically aware retelling of events leading up to the Trojan War. Oracle’s War – Book 2 of The Olympus series by David Hair and Cath Mayo And none of this top ten rubbish – I can’t possibly whittle down my list any further. It might be that I didn’t originally give a 10 – but something about these books has stayed with me and won’t let go, which is why they have made the cut. In no particular order, these are the books that have stood out for me. Needless to say, I’ve added to that list…ĭuring 2019 I read 168 books and wrote 129 full reviews, with 26 still to be published. The highlight being my immediate love affair with audiobooks, once I got hold of a Kindle Fire which could cope with the selection I’d already bought my dyslexic grandson to encourage him to keep reading. I have had another stormingly good reading year.

Planetfall book review