Best Novels of 2006

[Elliot Kane]

What are the top five novels ou got this year? Publication date doesn't matter, only when YOU got them

Mine are:

Wintersmith, by Terry Pratchett. The third Discworld novel to feature young witch Tiffany Aching, who is inadvertantly caught up in the dance between the spirits of Summer & Winter...

Forest Mage by Robin Hobb. Book 2 of the Soldier Son trilogy, in which the hero must slowly come to terms with magical powers he does not want - and that carry a price he is certainly unwilling to pay!

Shield Of Thunder by David Gemmell. Gemmell died of a heart condition just before this was released. It's the second part of his re-telling of the myth of Troy, and a superb book in its own right. Fantasy lost one of its finest.

Shadowfall by James Clemens. Relatively new author for me, in that I only discovered him in 2005, but a very good one. Shadowfall concerns a world which has been torn apart by a supernatural accident that it is barely recovering from - only to be threatened with being torn apart again...

Eldest by Christopher Paolini. The second book in the series that opened with Eragon. Very good, but I'm still puzzled how on Earth they'll make a film when the series it's based on isn't even finished yet...

[SilvaShado]

I've been jumping around a few different series as I'm able to find the books cheaply via thrift stores and used book stores.

The Dark Hunter series by Sherrilyn Kenyon - Starting with the prequel Fantasy Lover, this series is currently 10 books long and has some short stories in anthologies and several future releases planned. It's a romance series that has deep roots in mythology and fantasy set in the "real" world. Kenyon has a way of writing that makes even eating a watermelon sexy, but also draws in the reader with the depth of the world and characters. The stories aren't just for pure sexual stimulation, though there are plenty of moments that do. ^_~

In Death series by J. D. Robb - All of the titles are something "In Death," like Glory in Death or Immortal In Death. The series revolves around a homocide detective named Eve Dallas. It's the future where technology has advanced, genetics are controlled, but there's still crime and murder. And it's up to Eve to protect the innocent and defend the dead and not get killed in the process. While this is obviously a romance series, I like it for it's mysteries and detective aspects. There's over 26 books plus a few anthologies, and she writes them pretty quickly. I think I'm only missing two and an anthology.

Vampire Hunter D series by Hideyuki Kikuchi and illustrated by Yoshitaka Amano. I love the animes and always wanted to read the books. They're finally coming out and they're quite good. I have all 6 to date, though I haven't read 5 or 6 yet. The stories are gritty, which is pretty outside my norm, but I'm enjoying them thoroughly. They're very captivating stories that pull you in and don't let go. I've finished many of them in just one or two days simply because I can't put down the book.

Circle Trilogy by Nora Roberts - A circle of 6 will come together to save the world from the Vampire Queen and her army - the sorcerer, the witch, the warrior, the scholar, the one of many forms, and the one that's been lost. It's a world jumping story that goes from 12th century Ireland to present day New York and then two of the six come from the fantasy world of Geall. I'm on the second book already, having just finished the first book in 4 days. I'm sure I'll have the third one finished by the end of the year. It's quite good and addicting. I love the character interactions.

I don't have a fifth one at the moment. I'll have to think on it.

[Alrik]

You've already got Wintersmith ? I'm so jealous ! ;D

Seriously, I'm waiting until it gets released with soft cover, as I always do. And I'm quite exited for it already, since I saw it in a bookstore several weeks ago !

[met]

Best for me was the latest George RR Martin - his Game of Thrones set are amazing. Hedge Knight graphic novel was also a really good transfer from story to comic.