Another chapter in the history of Earth passes! Reviewing my year in reads, I’ve determined my top five favorite novels.

# 1: Divine Summons

Divine Summons was a blast to read. I finished the whole series quickly. Despite its odd PoV preferences, I was hooked. Its hard fantasy setting and solid characters were excellent, coupled with high action and adventure. I loved the character interactions; for me, strong characters make or break a story. The series isn’t finished yet, from what I gather, so I’ll look forward to further installments!

# 2: Oath of the Oucast

Oath of the Outcast was excellent with its characters, premise, and worldbuilding. I loved the Celtic themes, and the antagonists were diabolically superb. What gripped me the most were the character-to-character relationships and how they evolved. Tension was great, and I came away satisfied after this short series.

# 3: Dragon Champion

Dragon Champion comes in third place. Its fantasy themes were great, and the unique dragon-protagonist premise I enjoyed. The story’s pacing could have been spruced up a bit, but it improved significantly towards the end. Like Oath of the Outcast, this story did well in maintaining tension, keeping me at the edge of my seat.

# 4: Mistborn, the Final Empire

Who doesn’t like Brandson Sanderson? As always, Mistborn delivered. It had been years since I read it, and I’ve started a whole reread of the series. I never finished past book two for that matter, but now I intend to. With good characters, premise, and pacing, the story was great to reread. The combat still felt a bit overwhelming and complex—it takes a bit to get used to. I’ll look forward to the sequels in 2022!

# 5: Theft of Swords

Theft of Swords was a mixed bag. The first book was okayish, but it could have used another pass over for edits. The characters were a bit underdeveloped too. This changed in book two of the volume. Many of the issues were fixed, and the story and characters became likable. The plot grew intricate, and I found myself enjoying the story. I’m unsure if I will read the rest of the series, however.

There you have it! 2021 was fun with all its great reads, and I’m stoked for 2022. I already have several books in mind—my own figurative book pile, if you will.

What are your favorite reads of 2021? Are you looking forward to reading more awesomeness in 2022? Let me know in the comments below!

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Aspectä rey’lief, fair reader, and thanks for reading!
—Ed R. White