Top 5 Tuesday #1: Sequels I Need to Read, Like, NOW!

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Shanah, the Bionic Book Worm.

This week’s topic:

top 5 sequels I need to get to

I have a huge backlog of sequels I need to get to because I keep starting fantasy series but hardly ever complete them. Whenever I  complete one, I experience a little jolt because it’s that rare and thus shocking a thing to do. But the sequels I’d like to prioritize are:

The Fall by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan

This is the second novel in the Strain trilogy, a horror story about a vampire apocalypse that begins in New York City. I read the first book, The Strain, a couple years ago after completing the TV adaptation that aired on FX (I enjoyed it but it sucked) and really liked it. I would like to continue with and complete the story, and I have my fingers crossed that the book’s plot progresses and wraps up better than the TV adaptation, which sucked so bad that I was pissed at it.

Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold

The second novel in the World of the Five Gods series, a fantasy series that begins with The Curse of Chalion, a high fantasy story about a veteran who’s seeking a quiet life but finds himself in the middle of political, and divine, plots when he’s appointed adviser to a princess. I enjoyed The Curse of Chalion and consider it a favorite. I would love to complete at least the first 3 books in this series this year.

The Isle of Blood by Rick Yancey

It’s the third novel in Yancey’s YA historical fiction, horror series, the Monstrumologist, which is about a boy who’s an apprentice to a monstrumologist, a scientist who studies monstrous creatures. I loved the first book, which shares the series title, but wasn’t as enthused about the second book, The Curse of the Wendigo. I love the writing and the character exploration of the monstrumologist, Dr. Pellinore Warthrop. I’d love to continue with this story, but every year I forget to do so. I hope to at least start Isle of Blood this year.

Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan

It’s the sixth novel in Jordan’s 14-book-long high fantasy series about a farm boy who learns he’s special and must save the world from evil. I debate with myself every time I look at this book, which is almost daily. Should I give up on this series or not? I’d wonder to myself. The story is interesting but the writing has started to grate on me and the characters are some of the most annoying I’ve ever read. I’m tempted to DNF it, but I really want to know how it all ends.

Kiss of the Spindle by Nancy Campbell Allen

This is the second novel in Allen’s Steampunk Proper Romance books whose stories seem all to have been inspired by fairy tales. Earlier this year, I read the first novel, Beauty and the Clockwork Beast, which is described as “Jane Eyre meets Beauty and the Beast,” which I think is quite apt. The story was slow in some spots, but I enjoyed it and liked the writing. Kiss of the Spindle is, of course, inspired by Sleeping Beauty.

Have you read any of these? What sequels do you hope to get to this year?

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