Top Five Tuesday: U-V-W-X-Y-Z

And here we are, the final, most difficult section of the alphabet on Bionic Book Worm’s Top Five Tuesday journey!  I had to play a little fast and loose with the rules this week, including choosing Z based on the author’s last name.

If you’re curious, here’s the other letters of the alphabet!
A-B-C-D-E
F-G-H-I-J
K-L-M-N-O
P-Q-R-S-T

    

UPROOTED by Namoi Novick
It’s been a while since I’ve read this one, so honestly it wins its spot by virtue of being the only book I’ve read that starts with U.  I DO remember liking it pretty well, this fairy tale about a village where once every ten years, a woman is chosen by a dragon to serve him for ten years.  Agnieszka didn’t expect to be chosen, but her natural curiosity in the dragon’s tower will cause her to become embroiled in magical turmoil she had no idea was happening.

VELOCITY WEAPON by Megan O’Keefe
This was honestly the easiest letter on the list.  VELOCITY WEAPON was a fantastic fun sci-fi read, with the rare honor of causing me to gasp in surprise not once, but twice.  I’m very much looking forward to seeing this series continue on, and returning to the further adventures of Sanda and company.

WILD COUNTRY by Anne Bishop
I had a few options for “W,” but I went with WILD COUNTRY because I have such a complete fondness for THE OTHERS series.  This was a standalone entry in the world, following characters who are usually make only brief appearances in the main series.  WILD COUNTRY succeeded in returning some of the danger to the world of Thasia, where a tenuous peace exists between humans and supernatural creatures who rule the land and just barely tolerate the humans existence.

     

E”X”IT STRATEGY by Martha Wells
I tried not to have duplicate authors on this list, but it couldn’t be helped with the incredibly limited options for this letter!  EXIT STRATEGY is the final book in THE MURDERBOT DIARIES novella series, and it absolutely sticks the landing on a fantastic character arc for an AI that is trying to figure out its place in the galaxy.  It’s full of action and heart and firmly cemented this series in my favorites list.

SC”Y”THE by Neal Schusterman
For my “Y” entry, I’m choosing SCYTHE, a YA book series that took me completely by surprise.  I loved how much though went into the world-building, contemplating just how drastically society would change if death was all but eliminated from the world.  It considers everything from how hospitals function to the stagnation of creativity to the various metrics one could use to determine who has to die to keep the population rate stable.  It’s dark and though-provoking and the trilogy finale is one of my most anticipated books for the fall.

SORCERER TO THE THRONE by “Z”en Cho
I tried SO hard to find a title that started with “Z,” but it just wasn’t in the cards. So instead, I present to you this delightful regency fantasy about a young black man who is selected to inherit the court position of Sorcerer to the Crown.  Along with dealing with those in society who don’t want him to have the position, he has to uncover why magic in England seems to be dwindling – and what that has to do with a gifted magical young woman he’s just run into.