My 2025 in Books

So, it hasn’t been 2025 for a while, but releasing my debut novella, Caldera’s Edge, really felt like the capper-offer of 2025 rather than the jumper-offer of 2026. The whole year felt like the build-up to finally putting my first book out into the world, and now that that’s been done and I’ve had some time to reflect, it finally feels like a new year to me. Speaking of the release of my new book, I got a nice write-up in the McMaster University student newspaper, The McMaster Silhouette!

            For this post, I thought I’d take a look back at the book-centric portion of my life for the past year. So, here are the books I read in 2025 in the order that I read them, and my rating and thoughts on each of them. I’m a slow reader, so it’s not an especially long list. I’ll try to keep things as spoiler-free as possible although a few minor ones might creep through, so read on if you dare.

Wind & Truth - Book 5 of The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson

Rating:  6.5/10

Thoughts:

            At a little over 1,300 pages, this book is the longest in a series of already ridiculously long books. It’s the longest book I’ve ever read. An absolute chonker that I had to end up double-teaming (doing the audiobook during my work commutes and reading while at home) to make sure I got through it in a reasonable amount of time. I’m starting off by mentioning the length, because I think it’s this book’s biggest weakness.

            I liked this book. The hype I felt for it to come out at the end of 2024 was huge, because I LOVE Stormlight, and this marks the series-midpoint and end of the first “arc” (there are five more to be released still). So, I went in expecting cliffhangers, a changed status-quo, big revelations, and maybe even a character death or two. And it delivered on all those. I just didn’t love it the way I wanted to.

            There were several things that had been set up in previous books that I was excited to see explored, and this book ended up not doing much with them. That was surprising. The things that did get focused on tended to feel a bit out-of-nowhere to me, and I often found myself asking why certain things were happening. The fight scenes and everything involving Adolin and Hoid were all great though, along with the worldbuilding and lots of other strong points.

            This is tied with Oathbringer for my least favourite book of the Stormlight Archive, but it’s still very enjoyable and is a worthy addition to the series. When the books are all taken together, this is beyond epic, and I’m excited to see what comes next. Looking forward to 2032 or whenever the next one comes out.

To Be Taught If Fortunate by Becky Chambers

Rating:  10/10

Thoughts:

            I made a previous blog post specifically about this novella, so I clearly either loved it or hated it. I loved it, in case you couldn’t tell from my rating. It’s as close to perfect as I can think of. It’s an extremely intimate portrayal about what space exploration could look like in the 22nd century. There are some pretty wild ideas and imagery here, but it’s all wonderfully grounded by the extremely relatable characters. Also its vision of what the future looks like, with a citizen-run space program, feels very optimistic. I really appreciated that. I also enjoyed reading something on the shorter side, after the marathon that was Wind & Truth.

            It’s written in first-person and follows the crew of four astronauts as they explore four wildly different exoplanets and conduct scientific research. Our narrator, Ariadne, undergoes a different body metamorphosis on each world, depending on the needs of each environment. So on one planet where darkness is constant, her body is transformed to be luminescent. On another, where her role will involve lots of overly heavy lifting of equipment, her body transforms to be much stronger than a normal person. This might seem pretty out-there, but there it is based on experimental research happening currently for potential future space missions.

            Becky Chambers is such a fantastic writer, and you really feel what Ariadne does as she undergoes these physical changes, as well as the fear and despair that can come from being adrift in deep space, not knowing what might be happening on Earth, and knowing that you’ll never see your loved ones again. But the overall message of this book is very hopeful for the future, and it really feels like a great antidote for the current era of space exploration being overrun by billionaires and gross capitalist thought. Of course, that’s not to say that NASA and other space agencies around the world aren’t doing amazing inspiring things, because they are. It can just be hard to not be cynical about these things. This book really helps with that. Plus it’s a short, easy read, so there’s no reason not to blast off with Becky! Do it!

Son of the Hounds by Robert Sutherland

Rating:  N/A (in a good way)

Thoughts:

            So, the reason that I can’t honestly rate this book is because I am terribly biased towards loving it, which I did. This is because it was written by my grandfather, Robert Sutherland. Over the decades he wrote several great young adult novels. Many of them fall into the category of historical fiction, and this is one such novel. I had read this book as a child, but that was decades ago, so it was an utter joy to read it again. It was one of my favourites of his while I was growing up.

            It takes place during the war of 1812, and follows a young Canadian teenager as he tries to save his family from the invading American soldiers. It’s a fictional retelling of the story of Laura Secord, with our main character, Jimmy taking on the role that she actually played in the war. It’s a very quick read, and a lot of fun, especially if you live in southern Ontario, where this book takes place. It makes mention of places like Stoney Creek and Grimsby, so I really enjoyed that. My grandpa loved Canadian history, and you can really tell from the way he describes the places, as well as the details, like the weapons and uniforms worn by the soldiers. It’s an all-around charming read, with plenty of excitement and fun, so I highly recommend this one if young-adult mystery/historical fiction is your thing.

            On a personal note, I’m always on the lookout for copies of the books that Robert Sutherland wrote, so if you ever happen to find a used copy of any of his books anywhere, please send me a message. I want it!

Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore

Rating:  6/10

Thoughts:

            It really pains me to rate a book by Christopher Moore so low. I’ve been a big fan of his books for a long time. I’ve read Practical Demon-Keeping, Lamb, Fluke, Island of the Sequined Love Nun, and Sacre Bleu and I’ve loved them all, particularly Fluke. If you’re not familiar with his work, I highly recommend it. It’s always hilarious, bizarre, surreal, vulgar, and surprisingly heartfelt. He also often dips into historical fiction, and the amount of research he does is genuinely impressive. And this book is honestly no exception. So why didn’t I like it as much?

            To start with, it’s a vampire book. That doesn’t automatically mean it’s bad, but vampires often just don’t do much for me. I find they are played out and over-done these days. I don’t feel this way just about vampires either, but about all regular fantasy-style races and creatures. Werewolves, elves, dwarves, gnomes, orcs/goblins… and yes, even dragons. They’ve just all been done SO many times. Part of the reason I like Brandon Sanderson so much is that he goes out of his way to create original creatures and races of people, something that is often inexplicably missing from most fantasy literature I’ve read, even the almighty A Song of I’ve and Fire.

            This isn’t to say Christopher Moore isn’t original. He’s extremely original, and that’s what really draws me to his work. You absolutely cannot predict which way one of his books might twist and turn, and that is a bit of what made this particular book less interesting to me. It wasn’t extremely predictable, but it also wasn’t all that surprising or engaging. There are some very funny moments and weird characters, but it just felt far less inspired than his other work.

            Bloodsucking Fiends is the first book of a series (I believe the only series of books Moore has done, although I could be wrong about that), so it must have been popular when it was released way back in in 1995(!), but it just did not grab me. Maybe I would like the subsequent books more, but I probably won’t read them. I’m sure I’ll return to his work though. He really is a fantastic and underrated writer, with a huge catalog of great books, so I really think you should check him out. Just not this particular one.

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss – Book 1 of The Kingkiller Chronicles

Rating: 8

Thoughts:

            So, if you are at all plugged into the world of fantasy literature, you’ve at the very least heard of this book and this author. It comes with a fair amount of baggage, being the first installment of a trilogy that has yet to be finished. At this point it has been fifteen years since the second book was released, and there is still no sign of the third. Add to that the fact the Rothfuss has engaged in some shady behavior (although nothing bad enough to make boycott his work like J.K. Rowling or Neil Gaiman) and you get the idea. He’s often put into the same category as George R.R. Martin, and not undeservedly so.

            Okay, so now that that little preamble is out of the way, what is the actual book like? It’s really good. It is utterly immersive, taking it’s time to let you live in its world and get a feel for it. It’s certainly high fantasy, but very grounded and believable. Also, the writing is gorgeous. Even the people who hate this book tend to agree with that point. It’s written mostly in first person, which I’m often not a fan of, but Rothfuss does it really well. And the framing story, which is returned to several times throughout the book, is just as mysterious and cool as the main plot.

            The most common complaints with this book are that the main character is a “Gary-Stu” (infallible and good at everything the first time he tries it) and that there isn’t really much of a plot. It’s funny because both these things are true, but the book somehow manages to turn them into positives in my opinion. You spend a lot of time just living with the main character, Kvothe, seeing his early childhood and into his teen years. You spend chapters and chapters hanging out with him and the surrounding characters, just getting vague hints about what the overall plot might be, and just when you start to feel like things aren’t going anywhere, the setting and characters change and things jump forward. The pacing was mostly great, although I do understand how someone might think things are going on for too long. It’s a fine line to walk, and I think this book mostly pulls it off.

            If I had one major criticism, it’s that there are a couple times when significant plot points completely hinge on coincidences, with one instance feeling way too unbelievable to me. Also, some of the supporting characters aren’t all that interesting in this book, although I will say that this improves in the second book, which I am currently reading at the time of my writing this. You’ll hear about that in my “My 2026 in Books” blog post.

            Ultimately, the fact that there is no final book in the trilogy does not make this series not worth it to get into. It reminds me of the Dune and A Song of Ice and Fire in that way, and those are top fiver series for me. I wouldn’t put this up there with those series personally, but many people do.

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaicovsky

Rating:  10/10

            I made this blog post mostly because I wanted to talk about this book, but if you don’t already know what it’s about, I really don’t want to spoil anything at all for you. So, I’ll just say that there are absolutely wacky things going on here. The time span of the book is several millennia, and things like generation ships, uploading consciousness to computers, the nature of evolution and communication, and the toll that immortality takes on a person’s mind are explored in absolutely unique ways.

            The main feature of this book is the focus on what I’ll call the non-human characters. They really do steal the show and are the coolest thing about this book, which is absolutely bursting with cool things. The major complaint that I’ve seen is that the human characters are boring in comparison to the non-humans. I really don’t agree with that. The book jumps back and forth between the humans and non-humans going on their own very distinct and separate journeys, and I was never disappointed when the narrative would switch to the humans. Wild, interesting stuff is happening the entire time, and the climax is intense. Surprisingly, things end on a very optimistic note, considering all the messed-up stuff that happens along the way.

            There are two sequels, and I’ve been told that they are not direct continuations, but more different takes on the same idea and themes. I haven’t read those, but they are absolutely on my list. This is my favourite book that I read in 2025 and I’m really excited to read more Adrian Tchaikovksy. He’s extremely prolific in both sci-fi and fantasy, so there’s lots to check out.

 A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by George R.R. Martin

Rating: 9/10

Thoughts:

            I originally read this collection of three novellas about ten years ago, back when it was published in this format (they had previously been published separately, but not collected in one volume). This was in 2016, and Game of Thrones was still coming out, so I think the publishers really wanted to put something out to capitalize on the show’s popularity, since the actual next book in the series, The Winds of Winter was nowhere to be seen. And it still isn’t, ten years later. I’m not bitter, I promise. Anyways, I wanted to re-read these with the new show coming out.

            These are just as fantastic as the first time I read them. GRRM is such a great author, and he is really able to make the characters and their world feel so real. I would say the third novella, The Mystery Knight is my favourite here, partially because of its connections to the main series, but also for subtlety that George does so well. The second novella, The Sworn Sword is the weakest of the three to me, but still very entertaining. I’m looking forward to seeing who is cast at Ser Bennis the brown when it gets adapted for the show, which I love.

            So yeah, not a huge amount to say here. If you like any A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones stuff, then this is about as good as it gets, and is considerably less dark than the main series, so it’s a nice change of pace.

            And there you have it! I read those seven books in 2025. Right now, I’m most of the way through The Wise Man’s Fear, the sequel to The Name of the Wind. It’s a great book in it’s own way and continues the story from the first book in some pretty interesting ways. Then next up it’s Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. I’ve been meaning to read it for quite a while, and with the movie coming out, I have to do it now. Then it will be Joe Abercombie’s newest book, The Devils, and then The Will of the Many by James Islington. After that, I’m really not sure. I have been wanting to go back and read Abercrombie’s standalone novels from The First Law world, since I’ve only read his first trilogy, so that might happen. And always in the back of my mind is the Malazan Book of the Fallen series. That’s a pretty enormous undertaking, so we will see about that. I’ve also been thinking about re-reading Dune Messiah, with the third Dune movie coming out at the end of the year, so I may get to that too.

            I’m planning on doing one of these posts every year, so hopefully I get to my 2026 post while it’s actually 2026, but no promises!