Year-end review! Best of the best, or if I'm to be entirely honest, the CLASSES of the best of the best. Too many of these "oh my god this if f***ing Year-end review! Best of the best, or if I'm to be entirely honest, the CLASSES of the best of the best. Too many of these "oh my god this if f***ing GREAT" books happened to fall into series. And since I read or re-read a ton of my favorite series this last year, it makes no sense to point at individual novels in the group unless I wanted to give ya'll a list longer than your arm.
Long list, I know, but I did read 565 books this year.
On to the best individual books of the year for me! I'm categorizing a few out of place but in every case, I'm judging them based on how I feel LONG after I've read them. If I still love it months and months after the initial bloom has worn off, they get thrown into this pile. :)
And last, but not least, the Totally Infamous List: Saga, Vol. 9 Vol 8 and ESPECIALLY Vol 9
It broke my heart into millions of pieces.
There might be a ton of honorable mentions and past favorites and Stephen King to mention... but I'm not doing that here. :)
This is just my current, still present in my heart, favorites for the year.
Happy New Year!
And PS:
What kind of moron would I be not to mention that I WROTE almost three books this year? :) Hard-SF goodness. Check them out! Darkside Earther, Degrading Orbits, and Dead End! (The last is almost ready.) :)
PPS:
I just calculated a year-end stats on my spreadsheet and I'm left kinda speechless. Total pages read: 191,682
I was SOOO CLOSE to two hundred thousand pages! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaa.... ...more
Oh, Matilda is the penultimate Mary Sue, but you know what?
I don't care.
She's SO over-the-top brilliant, reading grown-up books Reading with the kid.
Oh, Matilda is the penultimate Mary Sue, but you know what?
I don't care.
She's SO over-the-top brilliant, reading grown-up books after teaching herself to read by five-years-old, playing wonderful pranks to even the score at the injustice of the world and even getting superpowers when it becomes TOO MUCH to bear.
A wish-fulfillment novel? Absolutely! She even gets a much better family and solves all the problems and everything is LOVE AND LIGHT.
Unbelievable? Who cares! It's sweet and Miss Trunchbull was NASTY HORRIBLE and WICKED and deserves EVERYTHING she got!
Plus, I got a little girl to say, "That was AWESOME, daddy!"
The worldbuilding and depth of the characters in this novel gives me the epic sprawl I'm used to in the very best epic fantasies. Lots of unique charaThe worldbuilding and depth of the characters in this novel gives me the epic sprawl I'm used to in the very best epic fantasies. Lots of unique characters broken well outside of the cages of cliche, with each on an arc of growth, discovery, and quickly into a tapestry of huge change across the world being built.
The city is full of corrupt clergy, and rather than being a light romp, the author gives every character a beating heart and a chance to say their peace. We're treated to a big sweep of change, cast along the turbulent waters of revolution, freedom, and a lot of attention to detail.
I'm quite impressed with the tight prose and energy. Nothing happens overnight and the build-up is rather explosive.
In the acknowledgments, I'm actually rather impressed. It might have begun out of a gaming session, but almost nothing about it resembles an actual gaming session. It's a lot more like a careful sprawling epic fantasy a-la Jordan or Erikson rather than Weis and Hickman.
I can very much vouch for some great quality fantasy here. No blowout magics. Rather, a choice and subtle magic that lies in the dreams, the mind, and deep inside the city. :) No spoilers, but I dug it. :) ...more
From the start, this novel throws us head-first into a rich realm of gods and Nordic men and women. I can feel the cold, the furs, and the tradition. From the start, this novel throws us head-first into a rich realm of gods and Nordic men and women. I can feel the cold, the furs, and the tradition. It was almost overwhelming, evoking the feel of an Icelandic epic of men and deeds without necessarily providing us with any kind of depth. And after the fact of reading the novel, I find that it was okay. I did scratch my head and wonder what I was getting myself into, however.
Further into the text, things smooth out nicely, focusing more on the four children of destiny and the ornate sword named Harbinger. This is NOT a regular fantasy giving into all the old tropes of sword and sorcery, instead focusing on magical realism, evocative bloody raids, adventure, and loss. The mysticism is subdued even if it is explored wonderfully.
All told, the author has a fantastic grip on the description, complex storytelling, and even a smooth subtlety not limited to original poetry.
It's well worth the trip if you love cold climes and nordic adventures. :) Much better than some I've read and enjoyable throughout....more
Considering that historians generally equate Christmas with hijinx, this really IS a Christmas story. :)
That being said, our intrepid pee-drenched expConsidering that historians generally equate Christmas with hijinx, this really IS a Christmas story. :)
That being said, our intrepid pee-drenched explorers head to mars against all good sensibilities, precautions, and common sense. Especially since doing so inevitably screws up... everything. History, the timeline, other expeditions... who cares! It's now all about Covering One's Ass.
Good thing we're on the historian's side... right?
If this review sounds like it was written by some octogenarian who sounds like he was forced to watch the latest Marvel movie and discovered that he lIf this review sounds like it was written by some octogenarian who sounds like he was forced to watch the latest Marvel movie and discovered that he liked it, THERE'S A REASON. ;)
My caveat: I am not a huge hockey fan. In fact, when it comes to most books or tv shows or movies related to any kind of sporty topic, I'm already rounding down or trying to find any kind of excuse to run away from it.
Why? I grew up with this s**te. I generally hated the hometown band-together-for-the-team mentality and privately called them all tribal yokels and worse. Let's have an institutionalized us-versus-them mentality, shall we? We can step up our witch hunts and hand out blinders to everyone equally.
Sigh.
So I read this book about a little hard-nosed hockey town because I was forced to. Truth. Someone held my head in position and kept poking me with a burning branch until I finished enough that I would have to do the rest on my own thanks to my OCD that comes with books. HAVE TO FINISH!
So yeah, I did, and you know what? I enjoyed myself.
The wide range of characters with all kinds of flaws butted heads against reality in all the worst ways. Good men and women did bad things and bad men and women did good things. There might have been some feels in here for me.
But more than anything, this is the kind of book that gives fans and non-fans and everyone who might have the slightest bit ambivalence about the crap that goes on in these kinds of insular communities a good long pause. You can say that shit happens, that rapes happen, that star players can and should get off free and clear.
Or, you can be on the shotgun's side.
I might be on the shotgun's side.
So, yeah, beautifully written, sprawling, a panoramic hoard of vivid characters, and a town torn apart. What's not to love? Issues of rape versus the "greater good" smothers these pages and *should* hit everyone in the gut. So yeah, this isn't just a hockey novel. I'll give it that.
Scott Hale has consistently blown me the f*** away with his horror. I'm especially thrilledSo. Someone just got eaten by a god.
That's right! It's ME!
Scott Hale has consistently blown me the f*** away with his horror. I'm especially thrilled when he dives into the epic dystopian landscape of our modern world twisted by the Trauma. These novels are some of the most wickedly subversive and massively wicked epic-fantasy twists I've ever read. And that's saying a lot.
It also says a lot that the most heartwarming scene in the novel is a small child running through a hallway draped with freshly flensed skin, dripping various gore, and the caretaker sees absolutely nothing wrong with picking the kid up and cooing at it. What a sweet child. :)
Or when our most heroic heroes regularly dine on fresh human flesh and we learn real heroism from a walking, talking skeleton. (See The Three Heretics). All gods in these books are EEEEVVVVIIIIILLLL. After reading this, you'll think Cthulhu is a sweet cuddly bunny with a tooth problem.
VIVA LA WORM!
Or, as Scott briefly had in his blurb, "DEICIDE"
Sums it up nicely, since this book is going to put some GODS TO BED. :) :) Epic battles, horrific societies, and that are just the normal people. Just wait till you see the horrorshow that's all monsters and blood and warped realities. :)
SO FREAKING AWESOME!
If there's ANY author more deserving of getting a huge bump in popularity, they're going to have to wait in line behind Scott Hale! :) Seriously. This guy is the BOMB....more
This latest and perhaps last Diary wraps up a very interesting time for our wonderful Security Bot.
Who knew that going completely rogue, hacking his/hThis latest and perhaps last Diary wraps up a very interesting time for our wonderful Security Bot.
Who knew that going completely rogue, hacking his/her own programming, and calling no shots but his/her own could be so HAIRY?
Oh, wait... EVERYONE knew that. :)
I know I just got done hacking my own programming and just went through the exact same issues as our favorite Murderbot. Guilt. Emotion. Friendship. Yeah. I hate all those things, too.
But at least I have my SF soaps! Soaps make everything good.
What's next on the agenda... could it be a full novel with Art? Hmmm???...more
Merry lobstery Christmas! Come take a Reality Pill and make all your trippiest dreams come true!
Or rather, sidle up to your best buds, take as much LSMerry lobstery Christmas! Come take a Reality Pill and make all your trippiest dreams come true!
Or rather, sidle up to your best buds, take as much LSD or tokes that you like, and welcome the alien invasion, man. Don't forget to jam and rap! This is gonna be one wildly imaginative ride. :)
Welcome to the hippiest days of NYC when walking hallucinations roam the streets or transform them, where milling crowds take the drugs that let their imaginations change reality, where six-foot pacifist lobsters in Jesus Robes enlist a devoted hippie pacifist to fight their wars for them.
WHAT COULD GO WRONG?
Honestly, I've read a good number of mind-blowingly imaginative books that revel in the strange and the wonderful and just don't care whether or not you're on any mind-altering substances. Hell, I've written a few books like that, myself. But after all this time and a rather huge bibliography to draw from, I can honestly rank this one up there with the very best. :)
Context is important. This came out at the height or the very end of the beginning of the LSD heyday in 1967. Chester Anderson more than capitalizes on the movement... he puts himself right in the tale. As a character. With reality slipping all the time.
This is a real trip and a half to read and imagine. I bet he had a fantastic time writing it. :) It takes courage, strength, and fortitude to let quite this much of yourself hang out for the world to see.
Of course, I really should mention that it would work just as well to read this in today's age for one good reason. Comics and superheroes play a huge part. Context-wise, back then, it was usual for kids and a very select number of the counterculture to still love Marvel. Not like today where the love has gone totally mainstream.
So, for the day, it's not exactly normal to read about dropping acid and going totally green-lantern in the middle of NYC. I'm a huge PKD fan, but even he never pulled something quite this extroverted. :)
I'm always a BIG fan of science fiction that girds its loins in the heaviest armor and strides boldly into the darkest, most complicated territories. I'm always a BIG fan of science fiction that girds its loins in the heaviest armor and strides boldly into the darkest, most complicated territories. The more ambitious the novel, the more props I am absolutely forced to give it. :) Of course, it has to also blow me away, but the core courage and not just good writing has to shine through for me to WOOOOOOOO!!!! ;)
It's easy enough to say this is a panopticon where every last bit of our modern lives in this future Utopian California resembles 1984, but it's closer to say it's a slightly different take on The City & the City. Where the other novel is focused on keeping a lie going that separates two overlapping worlds, Winter's police drama is focused on the deeply ironic law that places Truth on the highest pedestal. It's ironic because while all falsehoods are immediately found out and punished thanks to the uber-surveillance State, the Golden State's history is shrouded in mystery. And fiction is utterly subversive despite the deeper truths within it.
White lies carry heavy sentences. Acting is an unheard-of crime.
We follow an old cop whose job is to ferret out lies and watch as his world unravels before him. The mysteries are well-thought out and a perfect foil for the premise. I totally enjoyed the traditional mystery aspects as much as the hardcore social SF.
So is this just another Big Idea dystopian in utopian colors? It might seem that way, but Winters pulls off one hell of a great and *important* read without treading on any other novel's toes. :) No re-hash.
This is about taking on TRUTH head-on. :) Well worth the read!...more
I was thinking to myself as I read this... wow, this seems like a great YA novel that has major overtones of steampunk and dystopia. I would have LOVEI was thinking to myself as I read this... wow, this seems like a great YA novel that has major overtones of steampunk and dystopia. I would have LOVED this back in the early 2000's.
I really should have read it back then. Seriously.
Because now, after a glut of dystopia, strange steampunk (even if it is a far future dystopia), and charming YA characters also glutting the market, Mortal Engines now feels a bit... dated.
The cities chomping down on each other and the later spoilerish coolness is still cool, mind you. And the characters are cute in the "I've seen this a million times by now and sigh" kind of cute way.
But now? Does it really stand as a work of grand imagination? Maybe some bits. The rest, well, it's okay.
Sorry, fans! I think I wanted to love this based on the premise. The bad guys were pretty cool but nothing really that spectacular. A certain assassin, notwithstanding. ...more
It reads like any number of treasure hunting (or salvaging) space opera tomes in that we're focused on an ensemble cast wFirst, the fine and the good:
It reads like any number of treasure hunting (or salvaging) space opera tomes in that we're focused on an ensemble cast with quirks, heisty moments, and quite a few getaway chases. Lots of action and overall, I have nothing I want to complain about when it comes to this. I was thinking of the Italian Job at a few moments, and later of the ONE BIG SCORE kind of trope later on. Fun? Sure! Overall I'm a sucker for this kind of story. The underdogs get rich against all odds and baddies hot on their tail.
Okay, and then the bad. With one caveat. It may not annoy ANYONE other than me, but a future society hundreds of years in the future needs to have some kind of reason for switching from SF tech to Magic. There's spaceships, explosions, fast cars, AIs, and battlesuits. Instead of going along with the normal genre, the author or perhaps some pressure from an editor to get rid of all the "hard" techy bits just substituted any regular techy handwavium with Magic. Arcana, magic, and powered glyphs. Power your car, sick your mind magic on AI computers, hack with magic, shield your ship with magic, put people to SLEEP with magic.
I suppose it's too hard to rely on fuel, raw ability, intelligence, physics, or drugs.
I've read a lot of great magic mixed with high-tech societies, but the worldbuilding here is sub-par and reason-less. Even with the final reveal and the tragedy there (which was exciting) the rest of the magic system could have used a LOT of fleshing out. I invite him to read some Sanderson. :)
Otherwise, if I could only get over my fairly large gripe, the novel was entertaining enough. :)...more
I'm frankly getting rather awed by Peter F. Hamilton.
Any single book doesn't quite DO his stories justice, which is kind of weird because each book sI'm frankly getting rather awed by Peter F. Hamilton.
Any single book doesn't quite DO his stories justice, which is kind of weird because each book seems to be bigger than a mountain, more sprawling than wide plains, and filled with meandering and sometimes inconsequential passages. They could be tightened up with more focus on the core stories and threads. Easily.
BUT.
When it comes to the sheer scope in time and space for all his books, each of which is interconnected with common events, histories, and characters who live for an awfully long time thanks to the heavy SF factors of re-life and alternate methods like multi-life, dream paradise, AI, or even some much stranger methods... everyone eventually comes back to play in this awesomely developed universe.
It only keeps getting larger and stranger with every new book. Some characters don't get interesting until after their lives get turned upside down, others are fantastic from the get-go. But when it comes to every core story met with truly awesome convergences between all these threads, Hamilton just can't be beaten.
His imagination is truly phenomenal.
Okay, this kinda sounds like an apology for his work, but don't be confused. I love this. It has a few faults, but damn, when I compare this to practically any other SF author on the grounds of glorious worldbuilding and scope of characters, Hamilton basically wins by default.
Epic SF, folks. Just think of the most sprawling fantasy you most love and multiply it by two, give it everything from bionics, massive dreaming collectives, a total space-opera atmosphere with multiple alien forces, and then shake it up by having an intelligent UNIVERSE threaten to grow and eat our own. Epic stakes. Epic scope. And through it all, thousands of years of novels and history pulling forward to this late historical date.
I'm frankly amazed. And it's getting better with every book I read.
The last time I was this bowled over was the first time I read through the WoT series. Both have their faults. But for the patient reader, both are freaking awesome. :)...more
I've been steadily raving about Asher's novels more and more because they just keep getting BETTER and BETOh my god. Or, I should say, Penny Royal. :)
I've been steadily raving about Asher's novels more and more because they just keep getting BETTER and BETTER. This Transformation trilogy has got to be my absolute favorite.
Actually, the whole weaving of all these threads from book one to the end was so thoroughly SATISFYING that I may just start raving about it to non-specialized high-tech space-opera fans and just start pulling in normal SF fans to point and say... "Just look at this trilogy, skip the rest, just read this and MARVEL at the juicy characters, epic events, and thoroughly F***ed-up poison chalice wish-granting going on here.
Get your wishes granted! But Penny Royal, the mad AI that almost all of the Polity AIs fear, and rightly so, thinks on a VERY twisted path. The second novel was fantastic for giving us the AI's history, but the third novel gets the Mad AI Factory back online in a big way and EVERYONE is out to put an END to it. And Penny Royal.
And if that wasn't enough, the whole twisted story of Penny Royal creating many teams of creatively uber-powerful peeps of all walks and races JUST to murder the hell out of him because he's JUST TOO POWERFUL and suffers HUGE guilt for the things that broke his mind... well... I can't think of a better or more satisfying end to this trilogy than what we got.
Brilliant! I'm dancing about here in utter glee! :)...more
This novel has a ton of great worldbuilding... as in, the grand majority of your reading pleasure may very well be in the worldbuildiWord to the wise:
This novel has a ton of great worldbuilding... as in, the grand majority of your reading pleasure may very well be in the worldbuilding going on here. My recommendation? Skip to the appendix first, give it a brief, probably delighted, gander. Then, read the timeline. Do not skip the timeline. This will give you all the proper context to go into the novel proper. :)
But wait, Bradley, is that REALLY necessary? I mean, even Peter F Hamilton can be read without that long, long, detailed timeline at the beginning of his novels.
Yes, certainly, you can, but I would caution you to be patient because the full import of all the things that happen in this Future History skipping forward 2000 years is full of scientifically created vampires in a full cyberpunk world having undergone civil wars, vastly altered political landscapes, and herds of human meat ready for the dining pleasure of the "Martyrs".
Is this vast tapestry of bloodsuckers well thought out? Hell yeah. Right down to the ongoing mystery of where the Hierophant came from, the cult that sprang up around him, the general social and socioeconomic landscape, scientific progress, and so much more.
But what about the story?
Pretty damn fun. It has a good number of twists but the core is an immortal daughter's rebellion. :)
This is NOT your standard horror or SF epic. Or UF, for that matter. This is a fully realized future history with a fully explained SF core for every horror element here. Nicely done, I might add.
This is not a light read, overall, but it isn't particularly difficult, either. It is, however, worth investing a lot of effort. Well done....more
I mean, to me, I expected the grand wheel of Hubris to dunk Ella and Io under the water of fate, but similar to the firstJust what IS the Fall of Io?
I mean, to me, I expected the grand wheel of Hubris to dunk Ella and Io under the water of fate, but similar to the first novel... the rising and falling aren't that spectacular. It's more of a personal choice rather than an epic downfall. :)
It's okay. :) We have a lot more to entertain us here.
Like heists, flashbacks to events that will already have happened right AFTER the events in the first book, heists, tons of action, heists, and feeling all buddy-buddy with the Yakuza. Oh, and did I mention h.... oh wait... I think I did. :)
An alternative title to this novel might be, "Everyone Hates Ella." Except for Cameron, of course, although he's just a stupid man. :) It's kinda nice to enjoy a relatively hated MC for once. She doesn't have much going for her and her alien is kinda a f***-up, too. This is no surprise.
No spoilers, but I had a good time with this. It's pure popcorn fiction.
It's aliens riding our meat-bags in a mutually beneficial arrangement, a whole taking over the world conflict between the good aliens and the bad, and an extended roll in the mud. :)...more
Now, this is one fun ride down the dark, disturbing forest of the modern educational system, full of the seven deadly sins, gross incompetence, and scNow, this is one fun ride down the dark, disturbing forest of the modern educational system, full of the seven deadly sins, gross incompetence, and scarred children.
In other words, it's funny as hell.
Roe took us into a public institution last time. This one is quite a bit more private. Her experience in the system comes out with wildly satirical flair. It's awfully oddball and sharp and full of great moments.
What makes this stand out is the PoV of the headmaster. It feels quite English, quite droll, but also as zany as you might expect. Birds and torture go quite nice with the seven sins pig. Does anyone want to stage a play?
I would absolutely recommend this for anyone who's in the mood for modern mainstream matriculation mania. :)
This is a totally enjoyable return to the Tao universe. Or, I should say, to the Earth set up in the Lives of Tao with all its sparkly aliens still fiThis is a totally enjoyable return to the Tao universe. Or, I should say, to the Earth set up in the Lives of Tao with all its sparkly aliens still fighting a civil war using humans as their bodies. :)
Hey, and not only do we have a new personality to get to know and love (or hate) in Io, but Tao himself shows up and plays a big role! Woo! Cameron!
But it is Ella who really shines here. Our Indian thief has all the trademarks of an underdog hero. It has the feel of the first Tao book with one HUGE difference. The lines of engagement, of just who is good and who is not, are VERY blurred. :) Or at least, Io believes so. This makes for some very interesting conflicts going forward.
I already have huge trust in Chu for this universe and loved the previous Tao books. They went crazy with the action. :) This one is shaping up to be one hell of a great series. :)
I don't generally expect much out of in-between novellas in series, and this one had all the markings of a gratuitous "oh, we're getting married, let'I don't generally expect much out of in-between novellas in series, and this one had all the markings of a gratuitous "oh, we're getting married, let's roll in the mud with the relatives" kind of story...
But what I got was that AND a bonafide whodunit with a jewel heist, an attempted mass murder, hate, graft, blackmail, and a little kiddo coming into her own.
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