Usually, after having read three books from any one author (in this case, all the books he’s published) I feel I can safely say that I’m starting to get an idea of what he or she is all about. With Robert Jackson Bennett, this is far from being the case. His first two offerings, Mr. Shivers and The Company Man, were vastly different books; one a sublime horror tale set in America of the Great Depression, the other a twisted noir investigation. With his third work, Bennett takes us somewhere else again, setting-wise of course, but more notably, thematically. At times dazzling, eerie, touching, but always captivating, The Troupe is Bennett continuing to prove his mettle as a writer of fine fiction, and redefining the notion of ‘versatile writer’ as we know it.

Though I gave the first of Michael J. Sullivan’s Riyria Revelations volumes - Theft of Swords - a review back in November, I never did get around to sharing my thoughts on the second installment, Rise of Empire. In fact, I haven’t really gotten around to review much in the past... two months. This changes today. Lucky you. As I was saying: I never got around to saying anything about Rise of Empire. For the purposes of discussing the final volume of Sullivan’s initially self-published, old-school fantasy epic, let me just say it was a solid follow up to its predecessor. With Heir of Novron, Sullivan brings the ever-enticing tale of Royce and Hadrian to an end with two final adventures that blow the four that came before out of the water. Everyone loves and epic ending to, well, and epic fantasy - Sullivan proves how well he can deliver just such an ending.

In yesterday’s ‘The Great LBR 2011 Retrospective, Part 1’ I took a look at the ten best genre novels of the year. Today, it’s time to take a look at the best genre publisher or imprint for the year. I don’t want to take up too much of your time on this fine Christmas Eve, but before I get around to doing all the proclaiming winners and what not, I’d like to give a bit of an overview of the thought process I went through to select the winner. Then, we’ll see who won. Shall we begin?

It’s been quiet around here, don’t you think? With not a single review in a month, it’s fair to say I’ve been a bad, bad blogger. But hey, I’ve been busy. And for reasons unknown to me, I’ve been struggling to force myself to write reviews (which is why I haven’t written any). The holiday season, however, is much progressed and the end of the year is nearly upon us. Not to end the year on a bad note - and as a show of good faith for my dedication to reviewing - I give onto thee LBR’s 2011 retrospective. Rankings, awards, and reflections follow...

Michael J. Sullivan’s road to publication is the dream of every self-published writer out there. After having released the first five books in his epic fantasy series the Riyria Revelations by his own means and seeing his books met with fulgurant enthusiasm (and sales figures), Orbit opted to pick up all six of the books in his series. Theft of Swords - the Orbit published omnibus version of the first two books - showcases Sullivan’s lean prose and fun, classically oriented storytelling style. Though overly simplistic in some regards, the first volume in Sullivan’s series is an enjoyable and well-crafted one.

Stephen Deas - most-famously author of the Memory of Flames series that began with The Adamantine Palace - came at us last year with a fresh offering set in his established world and geared towards a slightly younger audience. The Thief-Taker’s Apprentice was a fine beginning to a new series. Though the core investigation featured was largely less enticing than it could have been, the novel’s setting and well-wrought characters presented much possibility for the future. Making away with distracting side-plots, Deas in this second Thief-Taker novel, The Warlock’s Shadow, tightens the plot, focusing it on Berren and he continues to haphazardly seek his place in the intrigue-tinged and vibrant city of Deephaven.

Every once in a while there comes a book I feel absolutely unqualified to review. The latest of these is Christopher Priest’s (of The Prestige fame) newest book, The Islanders. Having not read anything from Priest in the past, I was both tentative and truly excited to dig in. What I was met with is a piece of fiction so vibrant, subtle, passionate and so damn clever it made me feel inadequate. But in a good way. The kind of way where I’m more than happy to reduced to a state of primal awe at an artist’s expression of his thoughts on themes and topics equally diverse and important, and do so intelligently, gracefully without sacrificing readability. For a first experience, Priest sure knows how to impress.