Koontz, Meyer, Martin and more
I love a good series. You get to know the characters and follow them through book after book. The only problem is the waiting. Waiting, waiting, waiting for the next in the series to be released.
Here are a few good series with new installments coming soon. You still have time to catch up if you are interested.
“Odd Hours” by Dean Koontz coming out May 20
I’ve seen many comments from Koontz fans who say that Odd Thomas is their favorite of the author’s characters. The series centers on Odd, a fry cook who sees ghosts and solves crimes in a sort of “Ghost Whisperer” way. This is the fourth book featuring Odd. The books pretty much follow the same formula, but they are still fun to read. The other books featuring Odd are “Odd Thomas,” “Forever Odd” and “Brother Odd.”
“The Time Paradox” by Eoin Colfer coming out July 15
“Time Paradox” is the sixth book in the Artemis Fowl series. Fans of Harry Potter should enjoy these novels. Artemis is a sometimes criminal, sometimes heroic boy genius and the series follows his adventures in the fairy realm. The books feature plenty of fun characters, including a farting dwarf and a smart-mouth centaur. The other books are “Artemis Fowl,” “The Arctic Incident,” “The Eternity Code,” “The Opal Deception” and “The Lost Colony.”
“Breaking Dawn” by Stephenie Meyer coming out Aug. 2
Book four and the last in the “Twilight” series, “Breaking Dawn” is sure to be a best-seller. These novels follow the romance between teenage Bella and her vampire beau Edward. The books are pretty fun for adults as well as teens, if you can get past a 100-year-old or so vampire having the hots for a kid. There are good vampires, bad vampires, werewolves, family drama and teen angst, not to mention life-or-death conflicts. I find Bella a little whiny at times, but I still love the series and have already pre-ordered “Breaking Dawn.” The film version of “Twilight” hits theaters in December. I hope the movie version of Edward (Robert Pattinson aka Cedric Diggory from the “Harry Potter” movies) is as dreamy as the book version. The other books are “Twilight,” “New Moon” and “Eclipse.”
“Brisingr” by Christopher Paolini coming out Sept. 20
How long have I been waiting for this book to come out? Feels like forever. “Brisingr” is the third chapter in the “Inheritance” series, which was originally supposed to be a trilogy, but the author said he couldn’t wrap it all up in the third book so there will be a fourth (more waiting). This is another series Harry Potter fans should enjoy. The books center around young hero Eragon, who discovers a dragon’s egg and eventually finds himself in the middle of a battle between good and evil. Pretty standard fantasy stuff but still a good read. Please don’t judge the books by the first movie. The other books are “Eragon” and “Eldest.”
“A Dance with Dragons” by George R.R. Martin coming out Sept. 30
If there is a series worth catching up on, the “Song of Ice and Fire” is the one. These huge epic fantasies by Martin are as good as the genre gets. These books are so packed with interesting characters I just couldn’t put them down once I got started. They are very long, but I enjoyed every page. There are kings and queens, barbarians, magic and pretty much everything you can imagine, and a lot you can’t, especially since Martin isn’t afraid to kill off a major character here and there. The twists and turns keep readers guessing as they follow the trials of their favorite characters. I’ll be rereading these before the fifth one comes out. The other books are “A Game of Thrones,” “A Clash of Kings,” “A Storm of Swords” and “A Feast for Crows.”
