leoryff's Top Ten Novels!

Leoryff’s Top Ten Novels!  
10-7!  

Hey all!  In order to celebrate 10k page views (after five years) I am trying something new.  

I’m sure most of you have already seen a bunch of top ten videos and the like on YouTube.  If I were a more video maker inclined person, I’d make one there.  But since I’m not, I will do a Top Ten the only way I know how!  


deviantArt literature!  


Some people might claim this is just view and comment bait, and that might be partially true.  But I realize that, after five years on dA, I know a fair bit about the people I watch, but I rarely talk about myself.  This is a quick way to do that. (and padded my gallery a bit.)

Today, we will talk about my top 10 favorite novels.  A novel is, in my opinion, any book of at least 15  chapters, containing at least 90% words over pictures.  Therefore, manga and comics will not be included in this list.  

Also, this list will focus only on books and series that I have read.  If you have any suggestions for me, I would be happy to hear them.  

This list will be divided into three parts in order to maintain a reasonable document length.  The rest shall be uploaded in a day or two.  You won’t wait long, I promise!  

Let’s get started!!!

Number 10
The Seventh Tower Series
By Garth Nix


Sometime in high school I stumbled upon The Seventh Tower series.  Individually, these 6 books are a little short to be called full length novels,(Each is about the length of an Animorphs book.) so I am putting the whole series up for number ten since, even to this day, the story has really stuck with me.  

It starts with the hero looking for a MacGuffin needed to help his ill mother.  Things go downhill fast, and he finds himself teaming up with someone he’d rather have avoided in order to get home and stop a massive conspiracy.  

This series has a rather interesting style of magic use.  It revolves around light, magic stones, shadows, and the entire color spectrum.  (Including Indigo, even if science says it isn’t a color of the rainbow anymore.)  It also has one of my favorite fictional board game concepts, which I might want to try and create myself one day…  

The reason why it is No. 10 is mostly because it’s been a while since I read this series.  However, if you can find it, I highly recommend a read through.  The first volume is called “The Fall”, and since this is a series meant to be read in order, I would start there.  





Number 9
The Saga of Darren Shan:  Sons of Destiny
By Darren Shan

First time I heard of Darren Shan’s story was in the manga version.  (Yes there’s a manga version, but I suggest the novels first.)  The Legacy of Darren Shan (called the Cirque Du Freak series in America) is 12 volumes long.  While the whole series is filled with twists and surprises, my favorite is the final volume, “Sons of Destiny.”  

Since this is the last volume of the series, I will endeavor to explain my preference without spoiling the series.  “Sons of Destiny” brings all the mysteries of the series to a close.  The main character, Darren Shan, (Same name as the author.  There’s a reason for that.) is finally brought face to face with his destiny.  Finding that his destiny sucks, some quick thinking lets him pull one over on fate itself and he gets the last laugh.  

Also, those of you sick of the Twilight series representing vampire fiction will be pleased to know that this is a vampire story that is actually GOOD!  Action, drama, comedy.  All this happens over the course of twelve volumes.  The reason why this is number 9 is that one of my fav characters ends up dead and another character has a rather bad OOC moment.  But still, the ending is filled with good feels, and the buildup to it is great.  I recommend this series, novel and manga version, to anyone looking for a creative supernatural story.  The first volume is called “Cirque Du Freak.”  



Number 8
Maximum Ride:  The Angel Experiment
By James Patterson

The first volume of James Patterson’s “Maximum Ride” series, and the only James Patterson series I’ve actually read.  There’s an ongoing comic for this series too, but it’s an American comic, not manga.  (Just to be distinct.)  I also prefer the comic to the novels, but I’ll discuss that later.  

Some of you might have read my fic “A New Life:  A Maximum Ride Crossover”.  If so, thanks!  If not, go do that!  

Anyway, basic plot of the book is that six kids with bird wings on their backs are on the run from the crazy/evil scientists that gave them those wings in the first place.  Did that get your attention?  I hope so, because plot is not really a big thing in this series.  It is very much character driven, and the eventual attachment I formed for these characters is what pulled me through the first 8 books of this series.  And since volume one is when they were introduced, it is my fav.

During research for this list, I learned that a ninth book is due out in a couple months, so maybe the standing will change.  Who knows?  But the reason why this is number 8 is due to the fact that it often feels like six different writers worked on this series.  There are plot twists for the sake of plot twisting.  New characters and developments are built up to be rather important and end up never seen again.  It just seems like no one had a plan when writing this series.  

Still, I highly recommend the series to anyone who loves a decent action/drama.   The comic is from YenPress, and is ongoing. I like it better than the novel so far, but that may change come the ending.  





Number 7
Star Wars:  The Thrawn Trilogy
By Timothy Zahn

A trilogy (go figure) of Star Wars novels takes number 7.  There are, again, comics for these novels, and they follow the plot quite well.  But the artists for each comic are different, almost to the point of being unable to tell they are the same story.  As such, I prefer the novels to the comics.  

At its core, this trilogy is about the birth of Han and Leia’s twins, Jaina and Jacen Solo.  The main antagonist, Admiral Thrawn, is attempting to kidnap them for a Sith Lord that is aiding in his (myriad of) plans.  The remnants of the Empire are also trying to take over the galaxy again, and that helps add fuel to the plot.  

Luke also meets Mara Jade, who wants to kill him.  And this story is where the species of the Noghri are introduced.  The Noghri are basically the ninja’s of the Star Wars galaxy, and are expert badasses.  

This is number 7 because, while I like it as a Star Wars fan, that’s probably the only reason I like it.  Some of Thrawn’s plans are a bit convoluted, and sometimes the story can get a bit slow in each book.  Other than that, nothing stands out too much.  Neither complaints nor praises.  If you are familiar with the Star Wars expanded universe, I would suggest this trilogy for you.  The first book is called “Heir To The Empire.”  






To be continued in Part Two!