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J.M. (Joe)’s Year In Books

J.M. (Joe)’s 2025 Year in Books

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J.M. Martin’s Followers (163)

J.M. (Joe)’s Bookshelves

to-read (567)
currently-reading (8)
read (1187)
anthologies (32)
arthurian-or-celtic (27)
assassins (22)
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J.M. (Joe)’s Friends (1,132)

A.J. Smith

34 books | 59 friends

L.E.

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J.M. Martin

Goodreads Author

Born

in Lexington, KY, The United States

February 28, 1970

Website

https://www.jmmartinauthor.info/

Twitter

martinjm70

Genre

Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Paranormal

Influences

David Gemmell, Joe Abercrombie, Lloyd Alexander, J.R.R. Tolkien, Rob ...more

Member Since

August 2009

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/jmmartin

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Joe is a multi-talented creative with a background in the comic industry. He worked at Caliber Press in the mid-90s where he contributed to various projects including a collectible card game based on Todd McFarlane's Spawn universe, designed covers and advertisements, managed the company's art archives, lettered comics, and wrote a 17-issue run of a fantasy comic series. From 2001 to 2005, he was the managing editor of Privateer Press, where he edited and wrote RPG game supplements, illustrated maps, and managed a team of writers. He served as the managing editor for syndicated magazine YOUnique from 2006 to 2008, interviewing local personalities and guiding the direction of articles. Joe is the author of the Dead West series and has writte ...more

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Combine Editions
J.M. Martin’s books

Average rating: 3.89 · 1,666 ratings · 268 reviews · 32 distinct works • Similar authors

	Blackguards: Tales of Assassins, Mercenaries, and Rogues by J.M. Martin (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Glen Cook (Introduction), Bradley P. Beaulieu (Goodreads Author) 3.84 avg rating — 767 ratings — published 2015 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Iron Kingdoms Character Guide by J.M. Martin (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Rob Baxter, Brian Gute 4.20 avg rating — 41 ratings — published 2004 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Warmachine: Prime (Steam Powered Miniatures Combat) 3.79 avg rating — 28 ratings — published 2003 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Witchfire Trilogy, Collected Edition (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying, Iron Kingdoms Setting) 3.83 avg rating — 24 ratings — published 2005	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Tisarian's Treasure by J.M. Martin (Goodreads Author), Julie Dillon (Illustrator) 3.94 avg rating — 18 ratings — published 2011 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Emergence (Humanity 2.0, #1) by J.M. Martin (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Edward M. Erdelac (Goodreads Author), Oksana Dmitrienko (Illustrator) 3.87 avg rating — 15 ratings — published 2016 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Blackguards Blacklist: Anthology Companion by J.M. Martin (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Tim Marquitz (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Rob J. Hayes (Goodreads Author) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 2015	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Legendlore: Tainted Soul by J.M. Martin (Goodreads Author), Philippe Xavier (Illustrator) 4.33 avg rating — 3 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Legends of Camelot by J.M. Martin (Goodreads Author), Mike Peters (Illustrator), Jose Trudel (Illustrator) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 1998	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	From Aisle to Alter: Unexpected Love Series Book 1 4.50 avg rating — 2 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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46 posts
J.M. Martin's Blog

A Response to HBO's Paterno

HBO [RECENTLY] AIRED A MOVIE about Joe Paterno. The film stars Al Pacino as Paterno and chronicles Paterno's fall from grace in November 2011 when he eclipsed the NCAA's all time coaching wins record AND was fired from PSU for his culpability in allowing Jerry Sandusky to sexually molest young boys. After viewing the film, I can say it failed to reveal the Paterno I personally experienced as an as Read more of this blog post »

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Published on April 11, 2018 10:50

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Series by J.M. Martin

Humanity 2.0 (1 book)
by

J.M. Martin (Goodreads Author) (Editor),

Edward M. Erdelac (Goodreads Author),

Oksana Dmitrienko (Illustrator),

Tim Marquitz (Goodreads Author),

Eloise J. Knapp,

C.T. Phipps (Goodreads Author),

Jeff C. Carter (Goodreads Author),

Geoff Brown,

more…
3.87 avg rating — 15 ratings

J.M. (Joe) is Currently Reading

J.M. (Joe) is currently reading

Unsouled (Cradle, #1)

by Will Wight (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Dec 14, 2025 04:51PM

J.M. (Joe) is currently reading

The Daughters' War (Blacktongue, #0)

by Christopher Buehlman (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: dark-fantasy, fantasy, grimdark, currently-reading

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Dec 06, 2025 04:36PM

J.M. (Joe) is currently reading

Kings of the Wyld (The Band, #1)

by Nicholas Eames (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: fantasy, humor, currently-reading

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Nov 26, 2025 09:26PM

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J.M. (Joe)’s Recent Updates

J.M. (Joe) liked Steven's review of DC Finest: Team-Ups: Chase to the End of Time:
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J.M. (Joe) rated a book really liked it The Call of Cthulhu: A Mystery in Three Parts by H.P. Lovecraft	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Dec 30, 2025 05:09PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Can You Survive the Zombie Apocalypse? by Max Brallier. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Can You Survive the Zombie Apocalypse? by Max Brallier <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
J.M. (Joe) is currently reading Unsouled (Cradle, #1) by Will Wight (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Dec 14, 2025 04:51PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Unsouled by Will Wight. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Unsouled by Will Wight <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
J.M. (Joe) started reading The Daughters' War (Blacktongue, #0) by Christopher Buehlman (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Dec 06, 2025 04:36PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Daughters' War by Christopher Buehlman. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Daughters' War by Christopher Buehlman <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
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Nov 30, 2025 09:38PM · 1 like · like · see status · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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Quotes by J.M. Martin (?)

“...knowing the full depth of any human, knowing their hopes and frailties, the hurts of their past, the tremor with which they reach for the future...that knowledge is akin to love.”
― J.M. Martin, Blackguards: Tales of Assassins, Mercenaries, and Rogues

1 likes

“There is evil in all of us, and it is the mark of a man how he defies the evil within.”
― J.M. Martin, Blackguards: Tales of Assassins, Mercenaries, and Rogues

0 likes

“Assassination is murder with somebody else’s purpose.”
― J.M. Martin, Blackguards: Tales of Assassins, Mercenaries, and Rogues

0 likes

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Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Sword & Sorcery: ...: David Gemmell Returns - Legends Prequel Story	3	22	Oct 24, 2014 07:19AM
Sword & Sorcery: ...: HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE: Card Game	1	13	Oct 27, 2015 03:38AM
Sword & Sorcery: ...: 2016 Jan-Feb Anthologies	63	51	Feb 19, 2016 09:12AM
Fantasy Book Club: Joe's On Beyond Zebra Challenge -- Completed!	30	59	Dec 12, 2016 12:16PM
2026 Reading Chal...: M's 365	20	237	Dec 22, 2017 11:09AM
Goodreads Librari...: This book is not mine, please move it (part 19)	1634	2908	Aug 26, 2025 03:53AM
Sword & Sorcery: ...: * What are you currently reading?	3160	708	Dec 28, 2025 01:02PM
Goodreads Authors...: * Welcome Fantasy Authors and Readers!	2184	7117	Jan 01, 2026 05:44PM

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J.M. (Joe)’s Quotes

“Courage is found in unlikely places.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien

tags: bravery, courage

3214 likes

“Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.”
― Groucho Marx, The Essential Groucho: Writings For By And About Groucho Marx

tags: animals, books, dogs, friends, humor

37983 likes

“Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”
― Neil Gaiman, Coraline

tags: books, dragons, fairy-tales, inspirational, paraphrasing-g-k-chesterton

45237 likes

“We make choices everyday, some of them good, some of them bad. And - if we are strong enough - we live with the consequences.”
― David Gemmell

194 likes

“Civilized men are more discourteous than savages because they know they can be impolite without having their skulls split, as a general thing.”
― Robert E. Howard

tags: humor, life, politics, society

659 likes

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J.M. (Joe)’s Friend Comments

Comments (showing 1-8) post a comment »

date

newest »

message 8: by Scott

Dec 25, 2014 01:44AM

Merry christmas.

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message 7: by L

Nov 01, 2012 01:27PM

Dear J.M,
I would like to thank you so much for being my friend here on GoodReads. I very much look forward to future book discussions with you, as it seems we have a lot in common in regards to liking the fantasy, sci-fi and historical fiction genres and authors too. Thank you once again, it is a real privalidge.
Kind Regards
Lucinda x

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message 6: by Rachel

Jul 28, 2012 07:31AM

LOL, nice to meet you! Central Baptist, though, not St. Joseph. :)

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message 5: by J.M. (Joe)

Jul 08, 2012 02:49PM

Thanks for the add! I hope you might feel inclined to check out Tisarian's Treasure at some point (or at least add to your To-Read list). To answer your question regarding the RPG stuff, I met a dude named Matt Wilson at a convention in Cincinnati back in the '90s. He was the art director for a little CCG called Magic at the time, but was also interested in comics and I happened to be penning one called Legendlore. So we kept in touch and, eventually, he called and pitched me on a company he was starting called Privateer Press. I was substitute teaching at the time, so it was a great situation for me as far as investing time in writing gaming material for a start-up. Long story short, it was a "who you know" kinda opportunity. I worked for Privateer around five years, taking the reins as managing editor, and helping develop the Iron Kingdoms and guide the ship to a few ENnie Awards. Definitely a fun time.

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message 4: by Michael

Jul 08, 2012 01:36PM

Hey, thanks for the request, J.M.! You've written some intriguing-looking stuff. How did you get into writing RPG books? That's awesome.

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message 3: by J.M. (Joe)

Feb 17, 2011 10:12AM

Gurgi, Fflewdurr, Gwydion, and the budding romance between Taran and Eilonwy? The menace of Arawn and his Cauldron-Born? Awesome. I've been such a fantasy geek since an early age and absolutely loved those books as a teen. I re-read the Chronicles when I was around 30 and they still held up.

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message 2: by Rupa

Feb 17, 2011 07:07AM