Hello Good people,
I hope this finds you well.
A belated Merry Christmas to you, I hope you have a fun New Year’s celebration but a safe one whatever you are doing. My New Year’s Eve will consist of a nice glass of something and a good book to read once my wife inevitably falls asleep whilst watching a serial killer documentary. Romantic times.
This year I received a book (yeah!) for Christmas. James Islington’s The Will of the Many and I am excited to dive into it in the New Year. There is nothing better than losing yourself in a great book.
I’ve been good this xmas as well, not too many mince pies and this year I did indeed try ‘Love Actually’ and I enjoyed it, though I visit hell and damnation upon Colin Firth, that dude always gets me a bit teary eyed? To offset the sap, I also watched the Grinch, the Jim Carey version, I mean it is the best right?
Still, another year is all but over bar the party and what a year it has been. A crazy year politically and around the world. Whilst I am fortunate that my little piece of it has been untouched it has been a difficult and horrid year for many others. I hope 2026 sees a turnaround and that things pickup but if not then at least there is always a good book to lose yourself in (mine… cough, cough).
You will have noticed that my newsletters have been sparse this year as have my book reviews. I offer no excuses but will try to do better in 2026.
RECENT BOOKS I HAVE READ BUT NOT REVIEWED.
Okay, I used a similar header in last year’s newsletter but whilst thinking it was not all that catchy back then, I have come to quite like it. It’s direct and to the point which I’ve been told I need to do more of 😊
So, this year I have read 37 books. Yeah, I know, I hear you, read less write more you lazy ass (that’s me not you – you should definitely read more). You will have noticed however that I did not send out reviews for 37 books. This is mostly because they were series I was reading or continuing. Of the first time books/series I have read but not reviewed I will give you a quick break down now of those that were okay(ish):
Loremaster – Ascension of a Street Rat Books 1-3 By M.E Robinson. Cover shown is from Book 2. The first two books are 4/5 stars whilst the third is a 5/5 for me. A proper review will follow shortly.
Ember Awaken Online -Tarot Book One by Travis Bagwell. 4/5 Stars. This book was okay, the writing quality was great but the story just did not do it for me. It never captured my imagination, and I think the reason for this was the immersion into the Awaken world was not absolute. Finn, a programming AI genius and the MC had to decant from the system regularly and it just detracted from the whole thing. I mean I know none of it is real, but I did not want to be reminded every few chapters of this fact by him waking up in the real world all the time.
Scorpion’s Fury (Metal Legion 1) by C H Gideon. 4/5 stars. Sci-Fi with mechs what is not to love. It was well written, the story was decent with loads of action and plenty of military jargon for the aficionados out there that was surprisingly easy to understand and those kickass futuristic weapons. I should have given this a full review, but my rating will have to do for now. I may well read book 2.
Zombie Fallout by Mark Tufo. 4/5 stars. It’s a Zombie book. The characters were good, the writing was good, the zombies were good the action was good. There was a lot of good in this book. It’s just that well, other than the freaky ass Zombie queen it was pretty vanilla. A fun read on a rainy afternoon with no hint of a zombie apocalypse on the horizon…. But that’s when they usually start right? Oh and there is 10 books in the series.
The Path of Ascension by C Mantis. 5/5 stars. Orphan makes good, rags to riches LitRPG story that I really enjoyed. I should of given this a proper review rather than just a rating but life was busy back then. I kind of stopped on book 3 because these are long ass books and I was a bit meh after reading 2000 pages of it but I may well return for book 4 at some future date.
BOOKS I TRIED TO READ BUT DNF’d – Another catchy header!
Induction by Sean Oswald
Unexpected Healer by Jonathan Brooks. YA book.
Hellbreaker Book 1 by Unberogen Daboss – Daboss? Really? Just no bro, no.
Apocalypse Regression by R A Mejia.
Defiance of the Fall by Thefirstdefier
MY BOOK OF THE YEAR
This is an easy shout. I have read and posted my review of the Grand Game by Tom Elliot, a LitRPG for me that is as good as any I have ever read. It by far and away the best new book I have read this year and I have hovered through all 9 books in the series, each adding more nuance and depth. If LitRPG is your jam then this is masterful and you should give it a try.
So my Book of the Year Winner is…
The Grand Game by Tom Elliot. 5/5 Stars. Fun read, fast action, great story and brilliant characters. A masterful piece of story telling that I enjoyed way to much. I mean it should be illegal for a story to be this compelling in a sub genre of fantasy that is filled with well…. Fluff. It was nice to find a diamond in all that.
You can read my full review here
Finally….
THE MORHUDRIM CYCLE
I am still deep into writing book four of the Morhudrim Cycle – Chaos Reign
I had hoped to have finished the first draft by now and my original intention of releasing at the end of 2025 is well and truly down the toilet. It has been a busy year for me and the time I would love to have devoted to writing is not what it should have been or what I wished for. This volume too has been tricky to write, getting the different story arcs threaded and plots coming together and it has taken a few more pages than expected. In fact, volume 4 is going to be the largest book yet (sorry!) but I am nearing the end of the first draft. Maybe… Hopefully….
There is not much else to report really. I have not done much marketing (any) or promotion (any) other than on my website, facebook author page and X. So, if you love my books then please help spread the love by telling your mates or even people at the bus stop, on the train! you know the routine.
As ever, thank you for your support. It means the world to me and I really, really appreciate it. May you find peace, love and a good book to read in 2026.
Cheers
A D Green
A D Green 