Traditionally published:
Although I often gravitate towards indie books, I am also a slave to mood, and 2025 was a year I attempted to catch up on many books and authors that I felt I should already know whilst also giving my reading list a sprinkling of something completely new.
Most of the year I have been blessed by two traditionally published series’ that I believe everyone should experience. Not just for the skill and storytelling expertise from the authors themselves but also because they both take beloved genres and carve their own groove, something I find uplifting and enjoyable to experience.
Priest of Bones and Priest of Lies, War for the Rose Throne books 1 & 2,
by Pete McLean
The first two books from the War for the Rose Throne series were certainly a highlight of my year, so much so that I didn’t stop for a breath between Priest of Bones and Priest of Lies, the equally excellent second book in the series. It’s worth saying at this point that I will absolutely be jumping back into this series and that only TBR pressures and promises have caused a break in my time in Ellinburg. I will be very happy to revisit as soon as possible.
This series is fantastic!! Dark, gloomy, introspective and bloody in all the right places. Comparisons could be drawn to many of my favourite entertainment themes, but I wouldn’t want to actually compare as Mr McLean does this fantasy underground, gang/criminal enterprise thing so well it might just bump a certain biker-based TV show down a few spots in my mental score chart.
Covering a diverse spectrum of content, such as PTSD, the plight of the veteran after war, neurodiversity, class systems, morality, found and blood family, these books are agile and awesome. So much rich content all packaged into a violent, political and thought-provoking journey made even more enjoyable via exceptional character work and an unflinching knowledge of knowing its own identity.
This is dark fantasy done well without retracing a single step from the genre itself. Unique but comfortable in raising its hat to passing tropes and equally happy to slice that hat across the jugular of mediocrity.
Empire of the Wolf series
by Richard Swan
The entirety of this series is to blame for my aforementioned broken promises and issues around TBR navigation. Once I began The Justice of Kings, (Book 1) I was powerless to stop until the last page of the third book, The Trials of Empire. This is a series that leaves me speechless in terms of reviewing. It has so much in the way of fantasy nutrition that it should be taught in schools.
Again, this is a series that very much creates its own groove yet manages to pay homage beautifully to the genre throughout. Political, rumbling with threat and national turmoil on a macro level but also brutally efficient at the chokehold of personal and emotional exploration. Bonds between characters are literally forged before your eyes, forcing utter and unyielding devotion to characters and ideas that are both familiar and entirely fantastical. There are highs and lows, admittedly more of the latter, but the playing field of this incredible adventure is fraught with doom, there simply isn’t time or inclination to sit around and strum loots or tell tall tales, there is work to be done and that responsibility never ends. Having said that, it seemed this sprawling, beautifully crafted world and its woven plots full of intrigue and culture also ended seemingly in no time. At no point was reading this series a chore despite the mire that Mr Swan often insisted I drag my mind through in order to tackle the abundant threats from (effectively) hell as it bubbled over from the afterlife to smash into the fragile house of cards built by the ignorant and the rich (Steady, don’t get too topical now!)
To summarise, please read these books, every person that does so closes a door to hell and makes the world a better place!
Indie published
As I stated above, this year did not have a particularly indie focus for me, but not by design, mood and the risk of breaking promises forced my hand to some extent as to what I read. Here are the indie books that made the top of my list for the year.
Hall of Bones
by Tim Hardie
Narrated by the amazing RJ Bailey, the audiobook of Hall of Bones was well worth the wait for me. Despite owning a physical copy for some time, I didn’t truly start devouring this viking inspired beast of a book until audio was available. Audio just seems to suit my life more and my old eyes at the moment!.
The cast of Hall of Bones is incredible, and this fact alone places Tim Hardie’s (and RJ Bailey’s) talents on a plinth in my fictional longhouse long before the story grabs you by the oesophagus and swings you around inside said longhouse. I will say that at the time of writing this blog I have not finished the book and my detailed review will become available soon after, but the breadth of cultures and the impressive use of time and generation across this story, as well as the perfectly timed emotional wounding puts this book firmly on this list. There is a wonderful balance of family loyalty and the bonds of heritage versus the more unstable and primitive ideas of politics and duty that keeps this story thrumming with emotive energy.
The Scroungers
by Thomas J Devens
Another incredible indie book that captures the true essence of grimdark, dragging it through the mud and blood of the aftermath of war and shaping it into a cast of dark, flawed and utterly enjoyable characters. This story, at its heart, is a mystery, a hunt for a killer amongst killers, but its backdrop is the thing that truly won me over. Set during an aspect of war we rarely see in fantasy, when the fires die down, and the blood seeps into the earth leaving redundant warriors and obsolete allegiances, what comes next?
As it happens Thomas J Devens has the perfect extracurricular activity to focus on, and the diverse and frankly broken characters come together, fall to the wayside or succumb to horrible bloody death. This one is not for the fainthearted, nor is it a story to easily forget.
For my full review, visit: https://fanfiaddict.com/review-the-scoungers-vermin-of-the-old-empire-by-thomas-j-devens/
God Slayer
by Robert Jones
Another book that I must confess to having not reached the end of yet but the fact that it made it here should give you an idea of the quality we are talking about. With prose that flows through the mind’s eye with a familiar ease and a nod to the likes of Abercrombie and Ryan without ever becoming too dense to slow the story, this book seemed at home in my head from the first page.
It’s black powder military; it’s emotive and inspiring, handling different sides of the city’s bombardment and survival with great skill and diverse voicing during the first section. Everything in this book so far slips in with such natural finesse that I hardly knew I was reading. World and character building is equally natural, having trimmed every scrap of fat with steadfast military blades honed to maximum efficiency.
This is one to watch and one I can’t seem to put down, not to mention that cover!!
A short year for my reading but one full of new identities, diverse flavours and unforgettable stories. Each of these books has left a mark on me and carved a new niche in a genre that sometimes struggles to shine beneath the weight of its many contributors.
From me, and all my incredible Fanfiaddict family, I give my thanks for the support, the passion and the investment from the SFF community. The world may seem scary right now, but may we all find solace in the pages of a good book and find the strength to endure through the inspiration of those we admire.
See you all in 2026,
DB Rook
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