I’ve got a rather well-rounded speculative fiction reading list to start off the new year, courtesy of my wife and sister. Wanna see it?

• “_Forever Odd_”:http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780553588262&itm=1 – I’ve been a fan of Dean Koontz’s work for years. I’ve always enjoyed his ability to cross genres in nearly every single book. In high school and college, I’d collected a number of his titles. My interest scaled back in recent years, however, as some of his more recent books seemed, well, a little boring (i.e. _Ticktock_, _Intensity_, etc.). And I was disappointed that (to my knowledge) he never completed the _Fear Nothing_ trilogy – he left far too many questions unanswered at the end of the second book. His “_Odd Thomas_”:http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780553584493&itm=1 trilogy, however, is fascinating and has drawn me back to his work. My wife bought me the second book in the trilogy, and it’s high on my priority list of books to read.
• “_By the Light of the Moon_”:http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780553582765&itm=1 – Continuing with the Dean Koontz theme, this book again adds to my Koontz collection. (I really need to take stock of my Koontz books again and figure out which ones I still need to get copies of.)
• “_Eldest_”:http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780375840609&itm=2 – My sister thrilled me by giving me a Limited Edition copy of Christopher Paolini’s second novel. Now, there are folks who think it’s ridiculous that adults have been so captivated by YA fiction like the _Harry Potter_ and “_Eragon_”:http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780375826696&itm=2 series. Critics further complain that both series read like a junior high writing assignment. In Paolini’s case, it should be noted that he wrote _Eragon_ while still in high school and self-published it. Later, it was discovered by an editor of a major publishing house and reprinted on a large market. As such, I don’t mind the writing style of the first book. It’s a fun and interesting story, and I’m looking forward to digging into _Eldest_ and seeing how Paolini continues the story. I will, of course, have to re-read _Eragon_, though, since I need a refresher on events that have happened there.
• “_The Protector’s War_”:http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780451460776&itm=1 – This one is the sequel to S.M. Stirling’s “_Dies the Fire_”:http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780451460417&itm=1. An unknown extraterrestrial force has rendered all technology on Earth useless, forcing people to fall back to more primitive ways of living. _Dies the Fire_ tells how people come together in tribes in order to survive. _The Protector’s War_ takes place eight years later, as one particular warlord seeks to destroy two tribes and take their lands. It’s an interesting and fascinating story, and I’m looking forward to checking in with some familiar characters again.
• “_Old Man’s War_”:http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780765348272&itm=2 – I’ve been eager to get my hands on some of Scalzi’s books since I stumbled across his blogs this past year. _OMW_ is the first in a trilogy and is Scalzi’s debut novel. It is followed by “_The Ghost Brigades_”:http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780765315021&itm=1 and _The Last Colony_ (forthcoming), both of which I’ll be looking to lay hands on later this year. He’s also written a rather tongue-in-cheek novel titled “_The Android’s Dream_”:http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780765309419&itm=1 that’s just hit bookshelves in the last couple of months.
• “_Elantris_”:http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780765350374&itm=1 – I first heard about Brandon Sanderson’s debut novel through Orson Scott Card’s writings. He had talked about it in one of his semi-frequent reviews, and being the OSC fanboy that I am, if he endorsed with such high praise, then it was something I definitely wanted for my own library. I was finally able to land a copy of _Elantris_, and I’m eager to tear into it.

I’ll be writing reviews for all these books as I complete them, so stay tuned here. Currently, I’m in the midst of Peter F. Hamilton’s 6-volume _Night’s Dawn Trilogy_, so once I complete that, I’ll begin working my way through the rest of these.