Via Tor.com, here are the winners of the 2014 Nebula Awards. Congratulations to all the winners.
Novel
The Goblin Emperor, Katherine Addison (Tor)
Trial by Fire, Charles E. Gannon (Baen)
Ancillary Sword, Ann Leckie (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
The Three-Body Problem, Cixin Liu, translated by Ken Liu (Tor)
Coming Home, Jack McDevitt (Ace)
***Annihilation, Jeff VanderMeer (FSG Originals)
Novella
We Are All Completely Fine, Daryl Gregory (Tachyon)
***Yesterday’s Kin, Nancy Kress (Tachyon)
“The Regular,” Ken Liu (Upgraded)
“The Mothers of Voorhisville,” Mary Rickert (Tor.com 4/30/14)
Calendrical Regression, Lawrence Schoen (NobleFusion)
“Grand Jeté (The Great Leap),” Rachel Swirsky (Subterranean Summer ’14)
Novelette
“Sleep Walking Now and Then,” Richard Bowes (Tor.com 7/9/14)
“The Magician and Laplace’s Demon,” Tom Crosshill (Clarkesworld 12/14)
***“A Guide to the Fruits of Hawai’i,” Alaya Dawn Johnson (F&SF 7-8/14)
“The Husband Stitch,” Carmen Maria Machado (Granta #129)
“We Are the Cloud,” Sam J. Miller (Lightspeed 9/14)
“The Devil in America,” Kai Ashante Wilson (Tor.com 4/2/14)
Short Story
“The Breath of War,” Aliette de Bodard (Beneath Ceaseless Skies 3/6/14)
“When It Ends, He Catches Her,” Eugie Foster (Daily Science Fiction 9/26/14)
“The Meeker and the All-Seeing Eye,” Matthew Kressel (Clarkesworld 5/14)
“The Vaporization Enthalpy of a Peculiar Pakistani Family,” Usman T. Malik (Qualia Nous)
“A Stretch of Highway Two Lanes Wide,” Sarah Pinsker (F&SF 3-4/14)
***“Jackalope Wives,” Ursula Vernon (Apex 1/7/14)
“The Fisher Queen,” Alyssa Wong (F&SF 5/14)
Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Edge of Tomorrow
***Guardians of the Galaxy
Interstellar
The Lego Movie
Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy
Unmade, Sarah Rees Brennan (Random House)
Salvage, Alexandra Duncan (Greenwillow)
***Love Is the Drug, Alaya Dawn Johnson (Levine)
Glory O’Brien’s History of the Future, A.S. King (Little, Brown)
Dirty Wings, Sarah McCarry (St. Martin’s Griffin)
Greenglass House, Kate Milford (Clarion)
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender, Leslye Walton (Candlewick)
Showing posts with label 2014. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2014. Show all posts
Monday, June 08, 2015
Thursday, April 02, 2015
A Look Back at 2014: Or, Reading and Gender
This is a long overdue article, and one which I meant to write in early to mid January. Of course, my son was born three weeks early and he has sapped all sorts of mental energy. You'll note that I continue to use him as an excuse for things. I'm not sure exactly how long I can pull that off, but I'll keep trying.
In July I wrote an article about gender, and what I read. I read, on average, perhaps 120 books each year. Even with the kid, I'm on track to at least do that again this year (though, my video game playing has significantly decreased). As mentioned in the previous article, over the last six years the percentage of books I have read in a given year which were written by women ranged from 26% and 45%. I noted at the time that the 45% was my progress so far in 2014 and that most years I was somewhere in the 30% bracket.
So, for all the years I have paid attention to the issue of gender, and what I read, I have done a rather crappy job at changing my personal status quo.
Let's actually look at what I did in 2014. The first number represents the count of books written by women, the second is the total books read during that month.
January: 4/14
February: 8/13
March: 7/14
April: 3/6
May: 6/16
June: 3/9
July: 5/10
August: 3/10
September: 4/8
October: 4/9
November: 8/14
December: 7/12
2014: 62/135 (45.92%)
In the end, I stuck right around the same 45% I was at in July, though had I not tanked August I could have been a lot closer to a 50/50 balance. So, given my history of really only reading female authored books three out of every ten times, it's a huge improvement. It's not perfect, but there is no perfect number.
There is no perfect number. The reason I'm tracking this is that a number of years ago I ran across several conversations people about what they were reading, and what does it say if you are only reading books written by men? Hopefully, it means that most of those books you are reading are damn awesome and entertaining and you get full value out of them. As you should.
I noted in July that
That's an important point that still stands. I'm not trying to hit a quota, but I've had a goodly number of women on my "to read" list for a decade without ever picking their books up. Same with those by men (sorry, Peter Hamilton and Alastair Reynolds, I just keep not picking your books up even though I want to). This is about broadening and about discovering awesome writers I really should have been reading all along. C. J. Cherryh? Yeah, she's friggin fantastic but I never read her until 2009 after more than a decade of her being on my radar.
I'm still looking for new shiny things to read, and while I said that I'm not trying to hit a quota, I am consciously trying to read more women. Not because I think doing so is somehow "good for me" or that I'm going to score points with people whose opinions I value, but because there are a wealth of awesome stories out there and if I'm only reading men, I'm missing out on a lot. I'm going to read more of everything. Scott Lynch, Peter Brett, Brian McClellan: I'm reading all of you this year. Kate Elliott, Katherine Kerr, Robin Hobb: I'm also reading all of you this year.
As a side note for where I'm at in 2015 so far, for the first time ever I have read more women than men. I remark on it because of all those years the percentage swung dramatically the other way. This year, it swings in a different direction. Because reading is a conscious choice and there are plenty of books and authors who I know are going to be my favorites and that I'm going to love with a passion. I just have to read them.
As a further side point: I remember being in high school and my father telling me that he made the town librarian fairly mad because she would recommend him books and he told her that he didn't like books written by women. I was shocked and a little upset at the time. Our librarian, who happened to be a woman, was an awesome lady and the best librarian a fledgling geek could have - and she recommended fantastic books written by both men and women. But I never understood cutting off half the population just like that. I also didn't understand how he could tell the difference, except by a name on the cover. Still don't. I didn't get into the fight with him because it wasn't worth it, but it was something that I've remember with a "nope, not going to be like that" firmly planted in my head. I'm going to read it all.
In July I wrote an article about gender, and what I read. I read, on average, perhaps 120 books each year. Even with the kid, I'm on track to at least do that again this year (though, my video game playing has significantly decreased). As mentioned in the previous article, over the last six years the percentage of books I have read in a given year which were written by women ranged from 26% and 45%. I noted at the time that the 45% was my progress so far in 2014 and that most years I was somewhere in the 30% bracket.
So, for all the years I have paid attention to the issue of gender, and what I read, I have done a rather crappy job at changing my personal status quo.
Let's actually look at what I did in 2014. The first number represents the count of books written by women, the second is the total books read during that month.
January: 4/14
February: 8/13
March: 7/14
April: 3/6
May: 6/16
June: 3/9
July: 5/10
August: 3/10
September: 4/8
October: 4/9
November: 8/14
December: 7/12
2014: 62/135 (45.92%)
In the end, I stuck right around the same 45% I was at in July, though had I not tanked August I could have been a lot closer to a 50/50 balance. So, given my history of really only reading female authored books three out of every ten times, it's a huge improvement. It's not perfect, but there is no perfect number.
There is no perfect number. The reason I'm tracking this is that a number of years ago I ran across several conversations people about what they were reading, and what does it say if you are only reading books written by men? Hopefully, it means that most of those books you are reading are damn awesome and entertaining and you get full value out of them. As you should.
I noted in July that
I only know about what I know about. Until I had read Elizabeth Bear, I never knew just how much I would love her writing and how she consistently writes novels that blow me away. Until I just read Katherine Addison after years of being aware of Sarah Monette (her real name) but never reading Monette's books, I would never have known just how good The Goblin Emperor was. Insert any writer you want there. Until I read Carrie Vaughn, I turned away from the thought of the modern urban fantasy / paranormal romance with werewolves and vampires. The list can go on (and on) with any number of writers in any genre, male or female, because so often you just don't know until you give a book a go.
That's an important point that still stands. I'm not trying to hit a quota, but I've had a goodly number of women on my "to read" list for a decade without ever picking their books up. Same with those by men (sorry, Peter Hamilton and Alastair Reynolds, I just keep not picking your books up even though I want to). This is about broadening and about discovering awesome writers I really should have been reading all along. C. J. Cherryh? Yeah, she's friggin fantastic but I never read her until 2009 after more than a decade of her being on my radar.
I'm still looking for new shiny things to read, and while I said that I'm not trying to hit a quota, I am consciously trying to read more women. Not because I think doing so is somehow "good for me" or that I'm going to score points with people whose opinions I value, but because there are a wealth of awesome stories out there and if I'm only reading men, I'm missing out on a lot. I'm going to read more of everything. Scott Lynch, Peter Brett, Brian McClellan: I'm reading all of you this year. Kate Elliott, Katherine Kerr, Robin Hobb: I'm also reading all of you this year.
As a side note for where I'm at in 2015 so far, for the first time ever I have read more women than men. I remark on it because of all those years the percentage swung dramatically the other way. This year, it swings in a different direction. Because reading is a conscious choice and there are plenty of books and authors who I know are going to be my favorites and that I'm going to love with a passion. I just have to read them.
As a further side point: I remember being in high school and my father telling me that he made the town librarian fairly mad because she would recommend him books and he told her that he didn't like books written by women. I was shocked and a little upset at the time. Our librarian, who happened to be a woman, was an awesome lady and the best librarian a fledgling geek could have - and she recommended fantastic books written by both men and women. But I never understood cutting off half the population just like that. I also didn't understand how he could tell the difference, except by a name on the cover. Still don't. I didn't get into the fight with him because it wasn't worth it, but it was something that I've remember with a "nope, not going to be like that" firmly planted in my head. I'm going to read it all.
Friday, February 20, 2015
2014 Nebula Award Nominees
Picked this up first from John Scalzi, below are the nominees for the 2014 Nebula Awards (presented in 2015. I should have some initial thoughts on the nominees next week.
Congratulations to all the nominees.
Novel
The Goblin Emperor, Katherine Addison (Tor)
Trial by Fire, Charles E. Gannon (Baen)
Ancillary Sword, Ann Leckie (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
The Three-Body Problem, Cixin Liu, translated by Ken Liu (Tor)
Coming Home, Jack McDevitt (Ace)
Annihilation, Jeff VanderMeer (FSG Originals)
Novella
We Are All Completely Fine, Daryl Gregory (Tachyon)
Yesterday’s Kin, Nancy Kress (Tachyon)
“The Regular,” Ken Liu (Upgraded)
“The Mothers of Voorhisville,” Mary Rickert (Tor.com 4/30/14)
Calendrical Regression, Lawrence Schoen (NobleFusion)
“Grand Jeté (The Great Leap),” Rachel Swirsky (Subterranean Summer ’14)
Novelette
“Sleep Walking Now and Then,” Richard Bowes (Tor.com 7/9/14)
“The Magician and Laplace’s Demon,” Tom Crosshill (Clarkesworld 12/14)
“A Guide to the Fruits of Hawai’i,” Alaya Dawn Johnson (F&SF 7-8/14)
“The Husband Stitch,” Carmen Maria Machado (Granta #129)
“We Are the Cloud,” Sam J. Miller (Lightspeed 9/14)
“The Devil in America,” Kai Ashante Wilson (Tor.com 4/2/14)
Short Story
“The Breath of War,” Aliette de Bodard (Beneath Ceaseless Skies 3/6/14)
“When It Ends, He Catches Her,” Eugie Foster (Daily Science Fiction 9/26/14)
“The Meeker and the All-Seeing Eye,” Matthew Kressel (Clarkesworld 5/14)
“The Vaporization Enthalpy of a Peculiar Pakistani Family,” Usman T. Malik (Qualia Nous)
“A Stretch of Highway Two Lanes Wide,” Sarah Pinsker (F&SF 3-4/14)
“Jackalope Wives,” Ursula Vernon (Apex 1/7/14)
“The Fisher Queen,” Alyssa Wong (F&SF 5/14)
Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Edge of Tomorrow
Guardians of the Galaxy
Interstellar
The Lego Movie
Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy
Unmade, Sarah Rees Brennan (Random House)
Salvage, Alexandra Duncan (Greenwillow)
Love Is the Drug, Alaya Dawn Johnson (Levine)
Glory O’Brien’s History of the Future, A.S. King (Little, Brown)
Dirty Wings, Sarah McCarry (St. Martin’s Griffin)
Greenglass House, Kate Milford (Clarion)
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender, Leslye Walton (Candlewick)
Congratulations to all the nominees.
Novel
The Goblin Emperor, Katherine Addison (Tor)
Trial by Fire, Charles E. Gannon (Baen)
Ancillary Sword, Ann Leckie (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
The Three-Body Problem, Cixin Liu, translated by Ken Liu (Tor)
Coming Home, Jack McDevitt (Ace)
Annihilation, Jeff VanderMeer (FSG Originals)
Novella
We Are All Completely Fine, Daryl Gregory (Tachyon)
Yesterday’s Kin, Nancy Kress (Tachyon)
“The Regular,” Ken Liu (Upgraded)
“The Mothers of Voorhisville,” Mary Rickert (Tor.com 4/30/14)
Calendrical Regression, Lawrence Schoen (NobleFusion)
“Grand Jeté (The Great Leap),” Rachel Swirsky (Subterranean Summer ’14)
Novelette
“Sleep Walking Now and Then,” Richard Bowes (Tor.com 7/9/14)
“The Magician and Laplace’s Demon,” Tom Crosshill (Clarkesworld 12/14)
“A Guide to the Fruits of Hawai’i,” Alaya Dawn Johnson (F&SF 7-8/14)
“The Husband Stitch,” Carmen Maria Machado (Granta #129)
“We Are the Cloud,” Sam J. Miller (Lightspeed 9/14)
“The Devil in America,” Kai Ashante Wilson (Tor.com 4/2/14)
Short Story
“The Breath of War,” Aliette de Bodard (Beneath Ceaseless Skies 3/6/14)
“When It Ends, He Catches Her,” Eugie Foster (Daily Science Fiction 9/26/14)
“The Meeker and the All-Seeing Eye,” Matthew Kressel (Clarkesworld 5/14)
“The Vaporization Enthalpy of a Peculiar Pakistani Family,” Usman T. Malik (Qualia Nous)
“A Stretch of Highway Two Lanes Wide,” Sarah Pinsker (F&SF 3-4/14)
“Jackalope Wives,” Ursula Vernon (Apex 1/7/14)
“The Fisher Queen,” Alyssa Wong (F&SF 5/14)
Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Edge of Tomorrow
Guardians of the Galaxy
Interstellar
The Lego Movie
Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy
Unmade, Sarah Rees Brennan (Random House)
Salvage, Alexandra Duncan (Greenwillow)
Love Is the Drug, Alaya Dawn Johnson (Levine)
Glory O’Brien’s History of the Future, A.S. King (Little, Brown)
Dirty Wings, Sarah McCarry (St. Martin’s Griffin)
Greenglass House, Kate Milford (Clarion)
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender, Leslye Walton (Candlewick)
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Books Read: December 2014
My intention was to get this post up immediately following all of my Year's Best and Looking Forward posts, which led to a good run of posting at very end of December and four posts in the first six days of January. That final post was scheduled for and posted on January 6.
The reason we didn't get this post up on January 7 was that on January 6, my very pregnant wife's water broke in the wee hours of the morning and we spent the rest of the day in the hospital waiting for the arrival of our son. Our first child. Andrew decided to make an appearance at 11:49 pm. He's doing great, and so is my wife. But what this has meant in terms of posting is that we spent a couple of days in the hospital and then have been working on figuring this parenting thing out for the last 8 days. By no means do we have it figured out, but I have some spare time while the rest of my family is napping. You could argue that I should be, too.
There are no reviews to link to.
1. Grace's Guide, by Grace Helbig
2. Night Film, by Marisha Pessl
3. Prince of Dogs, by Kate Elliott
4. Hawk, by Steven Brust
5. Revival, by Stephen King
6. Allana, by Tamora Pierce
7. The Art of Asking, by Amanda Palmer
8. The Last Man, by Vince Flynn
9. Unexpected Stories, by Octavia Butler
10. The Deaths of Tao, by Wesley Chu
11. The Terrible and Wonderful Reasons Why I Run Long Distances, by Matthew Inman
12. Steles of the Sky, by Elizabeth Bear
Best Book of the Month: Based on how I listed stuff on my list of the Top Nine Books Published in 2014, I have to go with Hawk. This was Steven Brust in full form and completely delivering a top notch Vlad Taltos novel.
Disappointment of the Month: You generally know what you're getting with a Vince Flynn novel (action, a touch of jingoism, and a lot of ass kicking of terrorists and those who obstruct the safety of the United States). You get an angry Mitch Rapp, which has generally been a solid if flawed ride. The Last Man was Vince Flynn's last published novel and it was written while he was battling the cancer which ultimately took his life. Unfortunately, it wasn't up to the standard of the rest of the series. I have some thoughts on that, but in the end, it doesn't matter. A husband and a father lost his life, and I feel so much more for his family than I care about how this particular novel turned out. I've enjoyed Flynn's work in the past and we have a couple of his books up at the cabin if we need to quickly dive in to something. As a side note, it was recently announced that Kyle Mills will be continuing the Mitch Rapp series. The Survivor (a book Flynn started) may come out in 2015.
Discovery of the Month: I have mentioned this elsewhere, but I really wish I had discovered Tamora Pierce when I was twelve. I liked it at 35, I would have loved it then and would have devoured everything Pierce wrote back then. Allana was fantastic.
Worth Noting: With Steles of the Sky, Elizabeth Bear concluded her superb Eternal Sky trilogy, a "silk road" fantasy with far more eastern than western influences. It is a beautiful and brutal novel and series, and it should be held up as one of the top fantasy series in recent years.
Gender Breakdown: Of the twelve books I read last month, seven were written by women. This marks two consecutive months which I have read more books written by women than by men. This brings my total to 62/135 for the year (45.92%), which is the greatest percentage of female authored books I have ever read in a given year as long as I have been keeping track of this sort of thing. So, that's good, right? It's a start. I have a different and longer post in mind to talk about my year in reading as it relates to gender (a sequel to this one), so I won't bury it all here, but this is nothing more than a start.
Previous Months
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
The reason we didn't get this post up on January 7 was that on January 6, my very pregnant wife's water broke in the wee hours of the morning and we spent the rest of the day in the hospital waiting for the arrival of our son. Our first child. Andrew decided to make an appearance at 11:49 pm. He's doing great, and so is my wife. But what this has meant in terms of posting is that we spent a couple of days in the hospital and then have been working on figuring this parenting thing out for the last 8 days. By no means do we have it figured out, but I have some spare time while the rest of my family is napping. You could argue that I should be, too.
There are no reviews to link to.
1. Grace's Guide, by Grace Helbig
2. Night Film, by Marisha Pessl
3. Prince of Dogs, by Kate Elliott
4. Hawk, by Steven Brust
5. Revival, by Stephen King
6. Allana, by Tamora Pierce
7. The Art of Asking, by Amanda Palmer
8. The Last Man, by Vince Flynn
9. Unexpected Stories, by Octavia Butler
10. The Deaths of Tao, by Wesley Chu
11. The Terrible and Wonderful Reasons Why I Run Long Distances, by Matthew Inman
12. Steles of the Sky, by Elizabeth Bear
Best Book of the Month: Based on how I listed stuff on my list of the Top Nine Books Published in 2014, I have to go with Hawk. This was Steven Brust in full form and completely delivering a top notch Vlad Taltos novel.
Disappointment of the Month: You generally know what you're getting with a Vince Flynn novel (action, a touch of jingoism, and a lot of ass kicking of terrorists and those who obstruct the safety of the United States). You get an angry Mitch Rapp, which has generally been a solid if flawed ride. The Last Man was Vince Flynn's last published novel and it was written while he was battling the cancer which ultimately took his life. Unfortunately, it wasn't up to the standard of the rest of the series. I have some thoughts on that, but in the end, it doesn't matter. A husband and a father lost his life, and I feel so much more for his family than I care about how this particular novel turned out. I've enjoyed Flynn's work in the past and we have a couple of his books up at the cabin if we need to quickly dive in to something. As a side note, it was recently announced that Kyle Mills will be continuing the Mitch Rapp series. The Survivor (a book Flynn started) may come out in 2015.
Discovery of the Month: I have mentioned this elsewhere, but I really wish I had discovered Tamora Pierce when I was twelve. I liked it at 35, I would have loved it then and would have devoured everything Pierce wrote back then. Allana was fantastic.
Worth Noting: With Steles of the Sky, Elizabeth Bear concluded her superb Eternal Sky trilogy, a "silk road" fantasy with far more eastern than western influences. It is a beautiful and brutal novel and series, and it should be held up as one of the top fantasy series in recent years.
Gender Breakdown: Of the twelve books I read last month, seven were written by women. This marks two consecutive months which I have read more books written by women than by men. This brings my total to 62/135 for the year (45.92%), which is the greatest percentage of female authored books I have ever read in a given year as long as I have been keeping track of this sort of thing. So, that's good, right? It's a start. I have a different and longer post in mind to talk about my year in reading as it relates to gender (a sequel to this one), so I won't bury it all here, but this is nothing more than a start.
Previous Months
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
Friday, January 02, 2015
Final Catch Up with the 2014 To-Read List
Back in February I posted a list of 19 books
I wanted to read this year, the list ordered by presumed publication
date. I ran an update to that post back in September, and now that we're into 2015 it is time to run the final update.
I have read 12 of the 19 books from the list. This probably one of the better results from making a to-read list at the beginning of the year. Things happen, publication dates get pushed back. Feist's King of Ashes and Lynch's Thorn of Emberlain were pushed to 2015, so I'm really at 12 of 17 books published in 2014.
If I'm being completely honest, I haven't read Symbiont yet, but I have a copy from the library and I'm going to start it this weekend. So, it's a preemptive count. On the other hand, I own a copy of One-Eyed Jack, but I know I'm not going to start it in the next couple of days, so I'm not counting it as read. I'm nothing if not inconsistent.
There is no reason why I didn't get to One-Eyed Jack or My Real Children.
I'm behind on the Glamourist Histories series from Mary Robinette Kowal, so I was never getting to Valour and Vanity this year. Same with Cibola Burn, though I will be getting Abaddon's Gate from the library in the next week, so I'll have a chance to catch up to the series before Nemesis Games is published.
Finally, Going Gray was self published by Karen Traviss and since my book buying budget is limited these days, I don't expect to be able to purchase it anytime soon and my library may not get it. There is a listing for the book, but I think it is back to when Going Gray had a traditional publisher and I'm not convinced the library will pull the trigger on it as a self published novel. So, one day. I hope Traviss has enormous success with the book, though. Her Wess'har Wars were fantastic, and she has easily been my favorite Star Wars author when she was writing in that universe. I haven't read her Gears of War or Halo novels, but that's entirely due to lack of universe familiarity.
12 out of 19, with two books not published. That's not bad.
I have read 12 of the 19 books from the list. This probably one of the better results from making a to-read list at the beginning of the year. Things happen, publication dates get pushed back. Feist's King of Ashes and Lynch's Thorn of Emberlain were pushed to 2015, so I'm really at 12 of 17 books published in 2014.
If I'm being completely honest, I haven't read Symbiont yet, but I have a copy from the library and I'm going to start it this weekend. So, it's a preemptive count. On the other hand, I own a copy of One-Eyed Jack, but I know I'm not going to start it in the next couple of days, so I'm not counting it as read. I'm nothing if not inconsistent.
There is no reason why I didn't get to One-Eyed Jack or My Real Children.
I'm behind on the Glamourist Histories series from Mary Robinette Kowal, so I was never getting to Valour and Vanity this year. Same with Cibola Burn, though I will be getting Abaddon's Gate from the library in the next week, so I'll have a chance to catch up to the series before Nemesis Games is published.
Finally, Going Gray was self published by Karen Traviss and since my book buying budget is limited these days, I don't expect to be able to purchase it anytime soon and my library may not get it. There is a listing for the book, but I think it is back to when Going Gray had a traditional publisher and I'm not convinced the library will pull the trigger on it as a self published novel. So, one day. I hope Traviss has enormous success with the book, though. Her Wess'har Wars were fantastic, and she has easily been my favorite Star Wars author when she was writing in that universe. I haven't read her Gears of War or Halo novels, but that's entirely due to lack of universe familiarity.
12 out of 19, with two books not published. That's not bad.
1. Annihilation, by Jeff VanderMeer (Feb)
2. Locke and Key: Alpha and Omega, by Joe Hill (Feb)
3. Words of Radiance, by Brandon Sanderson (Mar)
4. Steles of the Sky, by Elizabeth Bear (Apr)
5. Valour and Vanity, by Mary Robinette Kowal (Apr)
6. King of Ashes, by Raymond E. Feist (May)
7. Cyador’s Heirs, by L. E. Modesitt, Jr (May)
8. Defenders, by Will McIntosh (May)
9. My Real Children, by Jo Walton (May)
10. Cibola Burn, by James S. A. Corey (Jun)
11. Mr. Mercedes, by Stephen King (Jun)
12. The Girls at the Kingfisher Club, by Genevieve Valentine
(Jun)
13. One-Eyed Jack, by Elizabeth Bear (Aug)
14. Lock In, by John Scalzi (Aug)
15. Hawk, by Steven Brust (Sep)
16. Maplecroft, by Cherie Priest (Sep)
17. The Thorn of Emberlain, by Scott Lynch (Nov)
18. Symbiont, by Mira Grant (Nov)
19. Going Gray, by Karen Traviss (Dec)
Thursday, January 01, 2015
The Missing: 2014
I posted a similar list in the past,
and I think it is worth posting a number of the books I didn't read in
2011. Now, the actual list is absurdly long, but this is a decent
representation of books I would have liked to have read and, for various
reasons, never did.
For the sake of keeping this list manageable, I limited it to genre books. If I browsed through listings of LitFic and Nonfiction, well, the list would be absurd. Even strictly genre, I could probably grow triple this list with ease. Let's just say that reading 135 books in a year doesn't get you as far as you might think, even if all you read were books published that year (which I didn't)
Half a King, by Joe Abercrombie
The Widow's House, by Daniel Abraham
Dead Man's Hand, by John Joseph Adams
One-Eyed Jack, by Elizabeth Bear
City of Stairs, by Robert Jackson Bennett
Cibola Burn, by James S. A. Corey
Afterparty, by Daryl Gregory
We Are All Completely Fine, by Daryl Gregory
The Magician's Land, by Lev Grossman
Fool's Assassin, by Robin Hobb
Valour and Vanity, by Mary Robinette Kowal
The King's Deryni, by Katherine Kurtz
Prince of Fools, by Mark Lawrence
The Three-Body Problem, by Cixin Liu
The Galaxy Game, by Karen Lord
The Three, by Sarah Lotz
Station Eleven, by Emily Mandel
Crown of Renewal, by Elizabeth Moon
The Adjacent, by Christopher Priest
The Causal Angel, by Hannu Rajaniemi
On the Steel Breeze, by Alastair Reynolds
The Memory Garden, by Mary Rickert
The Emperor's Blades, by Brian Staveley
Fish Tales, by Sheri Tepper
My Real Children, by Jo Walton
Echopraxia, by Peter Watts
The Martian, by Andy Weir
For the sake of keeping this list manageable, I limited it to genre books. If I browsed through listings of LitFic and Nonfiction, well, the list would be absurd. Even strictly genre, I could probably grow triple this list with ease. Let's just say that reading 135 books in a year doesn't get you as far as you might think, even if all you read were books published that year (which I didn't)
Half a King, by Joe Abercrombie
The Widow's House, by Daniel Abraham
Dead Man's Hand, by John Joseph Adams
One-Eyed Jack, by Elizabeth Bear
City of Stairs, by Robert Jackson Bennett
Cibola Burn, by James S. A. Corey
Afterparty, by Daryl Gregory
We Are All Completely Fine, by Daryl Gregory
The Magician's Land, by Lev Grossman
Fool's Assassin, by Robin Hobb
Valour and Vanity, by Mary Robinette Kowal
The King's Deryni, by Katherine Kurtz
Prince of Fools, by Mark Lawrence
The Three-Body Problem, by Cixin Liu
The Galaxy Game, by Karen Lord
The Three, by Sarah Lotz
Station Eleven, by Emily Mandel
Crown of Renewal, by Elizabeth Moon
The Adjacent, by Christopher Priest
The Causal Angel, by Hannu Rajaniemi
On the Steel Breeze, by Alastair Reynolds
The Memory Garden, by Mary Rickert
The Emperor's Blades, by Brian Staveley
Fish Tales, by Sheri Tepper
My Real Children, by Jo Walton
Echopraxia, by Peter Watts
The Martian, by Andy Weir
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
The Nine Best Reads of 2014
As I've mentioned elsewhere: Some people do a top ten list, others do a
top eleven, yet others may only do five. My list is 9 books long. Why?
Partly to be a little bit different and partly because I want the tenth
spot on my list to be reserved for that really great book which I simply
did not get the chance to read during 2014. That really great book may
also be something I have only heard whispers about and I may not
discover for several more years. Whatever that tenth great book is, I’m
holding a spot for it on my list.
Unlike my list of the top books published in 2014, this list is for the top books I read in 2014, no matter when the book was published. I'm also going to cheat a little and where a book overlaps with the previous list, I'm going to use most of the same text. Because I'm lazy.
1. Ancillary Justice / Ancillary Sword, by Ann Leckie: Ancillary Justice won pretty much all the awards it could possibly win, and after all that, still managed to live up to the massive hype it inspired. Ancillary Sword was a sequel that couldn't possibly live up to the first novel, yet, it did. This is top notch science fiction and was, collectively, my favorite reads of 2014. Bring on Ancillary Mercy!!
2. The Eternal Sky, by Elizabeth Bear: The Eternal Sky is comprised of Range of Ghosts, The Shattered Pillars, and Steles of the Sky. It is epic fantasy that we don't see every day, with a very middle eastern and eastern flavor, but don't read this because it's good for you. Read this because it's just friggin good. Elizabeth Bear doesn't write bad books, and this is Bear at the top of her game.
3. The Golem and the Jinni, by Helene Wecker: A beautiful and moving debut in turn of the century New York City, where the city feels almost as much of a character as the immigrant experience and the varied titular creatures also attempting to find both themselves and their way in a world very foreign from what they knew. I'm not sure I can adequately capture just how good this book is. It demands to be read.
4. Annihilation, by Jeff VanderMeer: The Southern Reach trilogy as a whole is strong, but Annihilation's introduction to Area X was what unnerved me the most and set the table for a meal I simply had to come back for.
5. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot: The powerful and moving true story of a woman whose genetic information and her cells taken without her understanding did the world a lot of good, but Skloot explores the intersection of scientific advancement and personal consent by tracking the story of Henrietta Lacks.
6. The Mirror Empire, by Kameron Hurley: Alternate "mirror" worlds, blood magic, and just insane worldbuilding. The Mirror Empire is a kick in the balls of epic fantasy and it's friggin outstanding. Easily one of my favorite reads of the year and one which has me damn near salivating at the thought of reading the second book next year.
7. Hild, by Nicola Griffith: Griffith takes what little is known of the early life of St Hilda of Whitby and extrapolates one possible story of how a young "heathen" girl could become an abbess and adviser to bishops and kings. Spectacular.
8. Sheepfarmer's Daughter, by Elizabeth Moon: I briefly considered having this spot be for the full Deed of Pasksenarrion trilogy, but I'm only 40 some pages into Oath of Gold and I don't see myself making sufficient enough progress in that third book to feel confident enough that it will live up to my expectations. I think it will, but here Sheepfarmer's Daughter will do. It is the opening novel in the trilogy and is very much the story of a young soldier just beginning her career - and how her being a young woman plays into it. This is top notch fantasy, and easily worth discovering if you have not already done so.
9. The Goblin Emperor, by Katherine Addison: My only complaint about this book is that it is a standalone novel, which is something that I both appreciate and am frustrated by, because I very much want more of it. On the other hand, a quality standalone fantasy novel is worth the price of admission.
Previous Best Reads
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2013
Unlike my list of the top books published in 2014, this list is for the top books I read in 2014, no matter when the book was published. I'm also going to cheat a little and where a book overlaps with the previous list, I'm going to use most of the same text. Because I'm lazy.
1. Ancillary Justice / Ancillary Sword, by Ann Leckie: Ancillary Justice won pretty much all the awards it could possibly win, and after all that, still managed to live up to the massive hype it inspired. Ancillary Sword was a sequel that couldn't possibly live up to the first novel, yet, it did. This is top notch science fiction and was, collectively, my favorite reads of 2014. Bring on Ancillary Mercy!!
2. The Eternal Sky, by Elizabeth Bear: The Eternal Sky is comprised of Range of Ghosts, The Shattered Pillars, and Steles of the Sky. It is epic fantasy that we don't see every day, with a very middle eastern and eastern flavor, but don't read this because it's good for you. Read this because it's just friggin good. Elizabeth Bear doesn't write bad books, and this is Bear at the top of her game.
3. The Golem and the Jinni, by Helene Wecker: A beautiful and moving debut in turn of the century New York City, where the city feels almost as much of a character as the immigrant experience and the varied titular creatures also attempting to find both themselves and their way in a world very foreign from what they knew. I'm not sure I can adequately capture just how good this book is. It demands to be read.
4. Annihilation, by Jeff VanderMeer: The Southern Reach trilogy as a whole is strong, but Annihilation's introduction to Area X was what unnerved me the most and set the table for a meal I simply had to come back for.
5. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot: The powerful and moving true story of a woman whose genetic information and her cells taken without her understanding did the world a lot of good, but Skloot explores the intersection of scientific advancement and personal consent by tracking the story of Henrietta Lacks.
6. The Mirror Empire, by Kameron Hurley: Alternate "mirror" worlds, blood magic, and just insane worldbuilding. The Mirror Empire is a kick in the balls of epic fantasy and it's friggin outstanding. Easily one of my favorite reads of the year and one which has me damn near salivating at the thought of reading the second book next year.
7. Hild, by Nicola Griffith: Griffith takes what little is known of the early life of St Hilda of Whitby and extrapolates one possible story of how a young "heathen" girl could become an abbess and adviser to bishops and kings. Spectacular.
8. Sheepfarmer's Daughter, by Elizabeth Moon: I briefly considered having this spot be for the full Deed of Pasksenarrion trilogy, but I'm only 40 some pages into Oath of Gold and I don't see myself making sufficient enough progress in that third book to feel confident enough that it will live up to my expectations. I think it will, but here Sheepfarmer's Daughter will do. It is the opening novel in the trilogy and is very much the story of a young soldier just beginning her career - and how her being a young woman plays into it. This is top notch fantasy, and easily worth discovering if you have not already done so.
9. The Goblin Emperor, by Katherine Addison: My only complaint about this book is that it is a standalone novel, which is something that I both appreciate and am frustrated by, because I very much want more of it. On the other hand, a quality standalone fantasy novel is worth the price of admission.
Previous Best Reads
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2013
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
The Top Nine Books Published in 2014
Some people do a top ten list, others do a top eleven, yet others may
only do five. My list is 9 books long. Why? Partly to be a little bit
different and partly because I want the tenth spot on my list to be
reserved for that really great book which I simply did not get the
chance to read during 2014. That really great book may also be something
I have only heard whispers about and I may not discover for several
more years. Whatever that tenth great book is, I’m holding a spot for it
on my list.
This Top Nine List is more or less in order. Ask me tomorrow and some titles may shift around a little bit. Whichever order the list is in, these are the nine novels published in 2014 which I feel were the strongest titles of the year, popularity be damned.
1. Ancillary Sword, by Ann Leckie: At any given moment, I could shuffle the top four books on this list and feel very comfortable with how everything landed. But at this moment, Ancillary Sword feels the most like the book which should be at the top of this list. After all of the hype and Ancillary Justice winning pretty much everything, Ancillary Sword had a lot of expectation to live up to. It did, but it wasn't just Ancillary Justice Redux. It advanced the story of the first novel but is very much its own thing. It is a worthy successor to one of the best novels of 2013.
2. Annihilation, by Jeff VanderMeer: The Southern Reach trilogy as a whole is strong, but Annihilation's introduction to Area X was what unnerved me the most and set the table for a meal I simply had to come back for.
3. The Mirror Empire, by Kameron Hurley: Alternate "mirror" worlds, blood magic, and just insane worldbuilding. The Mirror Empire is a kick in the balls of epic fantasy and it's friggin outstanding. Easily one of my favorite reads of the year and one which has me damn near salivating at the thought of reading the second book next year.
4. The Goblin Emperor, by Katherine Addison: My only complaint about this book is that it is a standalone novel, which is something that I both appreciate and am frustrated by, because I very much want more of it. On the other hand, a quality standalone fantasy novel is worth the price of admission.
5. The Book of Unknown Americans, by Christina Henriquez: If there is ever a book that will help people re-think their views on illegal immigration and why the immigrants have come to America and the reasons why they might feel they have no choice to avoid the documented immigration system, it is this novel. But, The Book of Unknown Americans is NOT a didactic polemic on the immigration system, but rather a fictional telling of very real stories of a small set of immigrants and what their lives were like before and now. This is a beautiful book.
6. Hawk, by Steven Brust: I have finally caught up with the Vlad Taltos novels and Hawk is one of my favorites of a series I adore. It brought back so much of what was wonderful of those earliest Jhereg books - Vlad plotting and working a scheme and not telling nearly as much as he should, but doing so right under the nose of the Jhereg. Wonderful.
7. The Girls at the Kingfisher Club, by Genevieve Valentine: This is the novel I didn't realize I always wanted Valentine to write. It is an outstanding novel of 1920's New York, with dance halls and speakeasies.
8. Defenders, by Will McIntosh: Go read a Will McIntosh novel. It doesn't matter which one, but you should be reading Will McIntosh. Earth is invaded by mind-reading aliens. Humans create the "defenders" to defeat the aliens, but that causes a new round of problems. Defenders is excellent, and so is everything else Will McIntosh has written.
9. Steles of the Sky, by Elizabeth Bear: The Eternal Sky trilogy is an impressive piece of epic fantasy, and one which uses a more Eastern setting than Western. I've seen this described as Silk Road Fantasy, but whatever it is - it's damn good fantasy. This is what we expect from Elizabeth Bear, and she continues to hit the mark. Start with Range of Ghosts.
Previous Best Ofs
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
This Top Nine List is more or less in order. Ask me tomorrow and some titles may shift around a little bit. Whichever order the list is in, these are the nine novels published in 2014 which I feel were the strongest titles of the year, popularity be damned.
1. Ancillary Sword, by Ann Leckie: At any given moment, I could shuffle the top four books on this list and feel very comfortable with how everything landed. But at this moment, Ancillary Sword feels the most like the book which should be at the top of this list. After all of the hype and Ancillary Justice winning pretty much everything, Ancillary Sword had a lot of expectation to live up to. It did, but it wasn't just Ancillary Justice Redux. It advanced the story of the first novel but is very much its own thing. It is a worthy successor to one of the best novels of 2013.
2. Annihilation, by Jeff VanderMeer: The Southern Reach trilogy as a whole is strong, but Annihilation's introduction to Area X was what unnerved me the most and set the table for a meal I simply had to come back for.
3. The Mirror Empire, by Kameron Hurley: Alternate "mirror" worlds, blood magic, and just insane worldbuilding. The Mirror Empire is a kick in the balls of epic fantasy and it's friggin outstanding. Easily one of my favorite reads of the year and one which has me damn near salivating at the thought of reading the second book next year.
4. The Goblin Emperor, by Katherine Addison: My only complaint about this book is that it is a standalone novel, which is something that I both appreciate and am frustrated by, because I very much want more of it. On the other hand, a quality standalone fantasy novel is worth the price of admission.
5. The Book of Unknown Americans, by Christina Henriquez: If there is ever a book that will help people re-think their views on illegal immigration and why the immigrants have come to America and the reasons why they might feel they have no choice to avoid the documented immigration system, it is this novel. But, The Book of Unknown Americans is NOT a didactic polemic on the immigration system, but rather a fictional telling of very real stories of a small set of immigrants and what their lives were like before and now. This is a beautiful book.
6. Hawk, by Steven Brust: I have finally caught up with the Vlad Taltos novels and Hawk is one of my favorites of a series I adore. It brought back so much of what was wonderful of those earliest Jhereg books - Vlad plotting and working a scheme and not telling nearly as much as he should, but doing so right under the nose of the Jhereg. Wonderful.
7. The Girls at the Kingfisher Club, by Genevieve Valentine: This is the novel I didn't realize I always wanted Valentine to write. It is an outstanding novel of 1920's New York, with dance halls and speakeasies.
8. Defenders, by Will McIntosh: Go read a Will McIntosh novel. It doesn't matter which one, but you should be reading Will McIntosh. Earth is invaded by mind-reading aliens. Humans create the "defenders" to defeat the aliens, but that causes a new round of problems. Defenders is excellent, and so is everything else Will McIntosh has written.
9. Steles of the Sky, by Elizabeth Bear: The Eternal Sky trilogy is an impressive piece of epic fantasy, and one which uses a more Eastern setting than Western. I've seen this described as Silk Road Fantasy, but whatever it is - it's damn good fantasy. This is what we expect from Elizabeth Bear, and she continues to hit the mark. Start with Range of Ghosts.
Previous Best Ofs
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
Monday, December 29, 2014
The Top Nine Author Discoveries of 2014
It seems I have not put together one of these lists in several years, the most recent being 2011. My mistake. But, since we are coming to the end of another year, it's time to start reflecting on all of the awesome stuff that I've read throughout the year. This has been a year for discovering authors I should have read twenty years ago, but for no reason I can articulate, did not. It is also a year for discovering some of the hotter new authors.
Here then, are my top nine author discoveries of 2014. In the spirit of acknowledging that there is always something or someone I’ve missed, either by a slip of memory or just lack of opportunity, the traditional tenth spot on my list remains blank.
1. Ann Leckie: I've been familiar with Ann Leckie for years, having read her short fiction and eagerly following her excellent short fiction zine GigaNotoSaurus while she was the editor. To that point, Leckie isn't really an author "discovery", but then came Ancillary Justice (my review) and the follow up Ancillary Sword and holy crap, you can still be absolutely blown away and amazed by this wonderful writer who you knew was good but still didn't see this coming. That's Ann Leckie, and that's why she is still a discovery.
2. Rosemary Kirstein: I love discovering authors I should have been reading long ago, and sometimes I hate it. I hate it because The Steerswoman (my review) is a friggin excellent novel and I feel like I've missed out on something by not having discovered this years ago. I love it, because there are all these old "new" novels I haven't read before. Either way, I am so happy that I discovered Rosemary Kirstein this year. I've read The Steerswoman and The Outskirter's Secret and I am looking forward to the next two.
3. Elizabeth Moon: Another writer I discovered much later than I would have liked, but unlike some of the others, I think I hit Moon at just the perfect time. I don't know what my level of appreciation for Sheepfarmer's Daughter (my review) would have been years ago since it is mostly a grunt's level military fantasy novel. Which is to say that I loved it, but like Glen Cook's The Black Company, I needed distance from my teenage years to appreciate it. I am about to start the third Paksenarrion novel, Oath of Gold. I'll be reading Elizabeth Moon for years now.
4. Kate Elliott: You know when you see a series of novels on a shelf for years (maybe fifteen years) and you think, "I should read that soon", but you wait another month and then another and then another year and then more time passes and you keep seeing the book and keep thinking "I should really read that, it looks awesome", but then you don't? Then, some more years pass and you finally do read the book and you seriously get mad that you passed it over for more than a decade because the novel was stupid good and you can't wait to read the next one that you could have also read a decade ago? Yeah, that's Kate Elliott and her Crown of Stars series which begins with King's Dragon. I'm now two books in and I'm still pissed off I waited this long. I feel like I should apologize to someone, but I'm not sure who.
5. Katherine Addison: Despite being on my radar for years and years as Sarah Monette, I had never read any of her solo novels (I had read A Companion to Wolves (my review), which she wrote with Elizabeth Bear and it was excellent), but then The Goblin Emperor (my review) was published under the pseudonym of Katherine Addison and I finally picked up one of Sarah's novels. It just felt like it was time and the book to read. Folks, it is excellent and one of the best novels of 2014 (spoiler alert for my forthcoming Best Of list).
6. Wesley Chu: What can I say, I'm apparently a sucker for stories where aliens crash land on earth and inhabit humans as "hosts" and shape the direction of human history for their own purposes. I'm sure I've read other books with that overall subject, but if not, Chu's Tao novels are still excellent on their own merit. Start with the first book, The Lives of Tao (my review), continue on with The Deaths of Tao, and then wait eagerly for The Rebirths of Tao in April. Do it now.
7. Helene Wecker: Go read The Golem and the Jinni (my review). If that is a debut novel, I can only imagine what Wecker's second novel will be like. I can't wait.
8. Tamora Pierce: I read Alanna just a couple of weeks ago. It was published in 1983, and I swear to you that if I read that book when I was ten or twelve or fifteen years old instead of when I was thirty five, Tamora Pierce would be one of my favorite writers of all time. I plan to read more of Pierce's work, but I feel like I really missed out on an opportunity to have a favorite writer hit me at just the right time. I would have devoured Alanna as a teenager.
9. Lois McMaster Bujold: It is weird to think that I met an author years before I ever read any of her work, and it is not because she wasn't published yet. I met Bujold the first year I attended Fourth Street Fantasy, had a very brief chat with her (not knowing yet who she was), and then never quite got around to reading any of the numerous novels she had published and won awards for. And then I read Barrayar (my review) and wondered why in the world I hadn't been reading Bujold for years because it was a simply fantastic novel that I couldn't possibly read fast enough.
Previous discoveries can be found for 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011
Here then, are my top nine author discoveries of 2014. In the spirit of acknowledging that there is always something or someone I’ve missed, either by a slip of memory or just lack of opportunity, the traditional tenth spot on my list remains blank.
1. Ann Leckie: I've been familiar with Ann Leckie for years, having read her short fiction and eagerly following her excellent short fiction zine GigaNotoSaurus while she was the editor. To that point, Leckie isn't really an author "discovery", but then came Ancillary Justice (my review) and the follow up Ancillary Sword and holy crap, you can still be absolutely blown away and amazed by this wonderful writer who you knew was good but still didn't see this coming. That's Ann Leckie, and that's why she is still a discovery.
2. Rosemary Kirstein: I love discovering authors I should have been reading long ago, and sometimes I hate it. I hate it because The Steerswoman (my review) is a friggin excellent novel and I feel like I've missed out on something by not having discovered this years ago. I love it, because there are all these old "new" novels I haven't read before. Either way, I am so happy that I discovered Rosemary Kirstein this year. I've read The Steerswoman and The Outskirter's Secret and I am looking forward to the next two.
3. Elizabeth Moon: Another writer I discovered much later than I would have liked, but unlike some of the others, I think I hit Moon at just the perfect time. I don't know what my level of appreciation for Sheepfarmer's Daughter (my review) would have been years ago since it is mostly a grunt's level military fantasy novel. Which is to say that I loved it, but like Glen Cook's The Black Company, I needed distance from my teenage years to appreciate it. I am about to start the third Paksenarrion novel, Oath of Gold. I'll be reading Elizabeth Moon for years now.
4. Kate Elliott: You know when you see a series of novels on a shelf for years (maybe fifteen years) and you think, "I should read that soon", but you wait another month and then another and then another year and then more time passes and you keep seeing the book and keep thinking "I should really read that, it looks awesome", but then you don't? Then, some more years pass and you finally do read the book and you seriously get mad that you passed it over for more than a decade because the novel was stupid good and you can't wait to read the next one that you could have also read a decade ago? Yeah, that's Kate Elliott and her Crown of Stars series which begins with King's Dragon. I'm now two books in and I'm still pissed off I waited this long. I feel like I should apologize to someone, but I'm not sure who.
5. Katherine Addison: Despite being on my radar for years and years as Sarah Monette, I had never read any of her solo novels (I had read A Companion to Wolves (my review), which she wrote with Elizabeth Bear and it was excellent), but then The Goblin Emperor (my review) was published under the pseudonym of Katherine Addison and I finally picked up one of Sarah's novels. It just felt like it was time and the book to read. Folks, it is excellent and one of the best novels of 2014 (spoiler alert for my forthcoming Best Of list).
6. Wesley Chu: What can I say, I'm apparently a sucker for stories where aliens crash land on earth and inhabit humans as "hosts" and shape the direction of human history for their own purposes. I'm sure I've read other books with that overall subject, but if not, Chu's Tao novels are still excellent on their own merit. Start with the first book, The Lives of Tao (my review), continue on with The Deaths of Tao, and then wait eagerly for The Rebirths of Tao in April. Do it now.
7. Helene Wecker: Go read The Golem and the Jinni (my review). If that is a debut novel, I can only imagine what Wecker's second novel will be like. I can't wait.
8. Tamora Pierce: I read Alanna just a couple of weeks ago. It was published in 1983, and I swear to you that if I read that book when I was ten or twelve or fifteen years old instead of when I was thirty five, Tamora Pierce would be one of my favorite writers of all time. I plan to read more of Pierce's work, but I feel like I really missed out on an opportunity to have a favorite writer hit me at just the right time. I would have devoured Alanna as a teenager.
9. Lois McMaster Bujold: It is weird to think that I met an author years before I ever read any of her work, and it is not because she wasn't published yet. I met Bujold the first year I attended Fourth Street Fantasy, had a very brief chat with her (not knowing yet who she was), and then never quite got around to reading any of the numerous novels she had published and won awards for. And then I read Barrayar (my review) and wondered why in the world I hadn't been reading Bujold for years because it was a simply fantastic novel that I couldn't possibly read fast enough.
Previous discoveries can be found for 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011
Tuesday, December 02, 2014
Forthcoming Books: January - February - March 2015
Coming to the end of the year, it is time to look ahead
towards some interesting stuff being published in the beginning of 2015. I'm using the Locus Forthcoming list
because even though it may not be exhaustive, it is a fairly
representative list of what is coming out over the course of a year. My
list below is based simply on that which strikes my own fancy, and I'm
sure I'm overlooking all sorts of excellent stuff that if only I knew
more about it or was familiar with the author's work, I would be excited
for it. But, alas, I am not.
Later this month there will be the annual look at the books I am most excited for coming out any time next year, and you will see books slide from year to year to year depending on delays and such. But for this post, it is just the first three months.
January: I am a book behind on the Tao series from Chu, but The Lives of Tao (my review) was a breath of fresh air in my reading. Rebirths of Tao is volume three in the series, so I better get a move on. I adored Jo Walton's Among Others, so at this point any new Walton is cause for celebration.
Rebirths of Tao, by Wesley Chu
The Just City, by Jo Walton
February: New Elizabeth Bear, which needs no explanation. I thought the first Wastelands anthology was fantastic (my review) and I'm a sucker for post apocalyptic fiction. I actually have the Kate Elliott collection on my Nook, so that's something I'll chip away at pretty soon. And a new Kelly Link collection, which even though I'm not necessarily as big of a fan as many others, I think it is worth noting and worth reading.
Wastelands II: More Stories of the Apocalypse, by John Joseph Adams (editor)
Karen Memory, by Elizabeth Bear
The Very Best of Kate Elliott, by Kate Elliott
Get In Trouble, by Kelly Link
March: I'm a bit less excited by this month and I expect that what I read from March will be read months if not years down the line. But, I'm two books into Peter Brett's series and I enjoyed them like a good 80's fantasy (my review of The Warded Man), Daryl Gregory's Pandemonium was excellent (my review) and I keep talking about his new books without reading them, and while I loved Bitter Seeds from Ian Tregillis (my review), I still haven't read anything else of his.
The Skull Throne, by Peter V. Brett
Harrison Squared, by Daryl Gregory
The Mechanical, by Ian Tregillis
Later this month there will be the annual look at the books I am most excited for coming out any time next year, and you will see books slide from year to year to year depending on delays and such. But for this post, it is just the first three months.
January: I am a book behind on the Tao series from Chu, but The Lives of Tao (my review) was a breath of fresh air in my reading. Rebirths of Tao is volume three in the series, so I better get a move on. I adored Jo Walton's Among Others, so at this point any new Walton is cause for celebration.
Rebirths of Tao, by Wesley Chu
The Just City, by Jo Walton
February: New Elizabeth Bear, which needs no explanation. I thought the first Wastelands anthology was fantastic (my review) and I'm a sucker for post apocalyptic fiction. I actually have the Kate Elliott collection on my Nook, so that's something I'll chip away at pretty soon. And a new Kelly Link collection, which even though I'm not necessarily as big of a fan as many others, I think it is worth noting and worth reading.
Wastelands II: More Stories of the Apocalypse, by John Joseph Adams (editor)
Karen Memory, by Elizabeth Bear
The Very Best of Kate Elliott, by Kate Elliott
Get In Trouble, by Kelly Link
March: I'm a bit less excited by this month and I expect that what I read from March will be read months if not years down the line. But, I'm two books into Peter Brett's series and I enjoyed them like a good 80's fantasy (my review of The Warded Man), Daryl Gregory's Pandemonium was excellent (my review) and I keep talking about his new books without reading them, and while I loved Bitter Seeds from Ian Tregillis (my review), I still haven't read anything else of his.
The Skull Throne, by Peter V. Brett
Harrison Squared, by Daryl Gregory
The Mechanical, by Ian Tregillis
Monday, December 01, 2014
Books Read: November 2014
The positive to take away from this is that I was able to get the post up on the first day of the month. The negative is that I don't have any reviews to link up. I had anticipated only finishing nine or ten books, but I had a couple days at the very end where I powered through several. I do count books that, for whatever reason, I was unable to finish. I want to be able to record those as well.
1. The Collected Stories of Jean Stafford, by Jean Stafford (unfinished)
2. The Way West, by A. B. Guthrie
3. As You Wish, by Cary Elwes
4. The Complete Peanuts: 1991-1992, by Charles M. Schulz
5. Yes Please, by Amy Poehler
6. Golden Fool, by Robin Hobb
7. Shouldn't You Be in School?, by Lemony Snicket
8. The Sapphire Rose, by David Eddings
9. Shattered Pillars, by Elizabeth Bear
10. Unlocked, by John Scalzi
11. Not That Kind of Girl, by Lena Dunham (unfinished)
12. Some Luck, by Jane Smiley
13. The Outskirter's Secret, by Rosemary Kirstein
14. Facing the Music, by Jennifer Knapp
Best Book of the Month: I am simply enamored with Rosemary Kirstein's Steerswoman books and I really want to see how she continues to develop this world - how the "magic" continues to be revealed as science. I reviewed the first book, The Steerswoman, back in April. The Outskirter's Secret is a worthy follow up.
Disappointment of the Month: I've been chipping away at Lemony Snicket's prequel series to A Series of Unfortunate Events, but this latest entry was fairly dull and tedious. Alternately, my tolerance for his particular style of writing was much lower than usual and I'm sure my child will love this book if he discovers it in five to ten years. Or something.
Discovery of the Month: No discoveries for November.
Unfinished of the Month: There is nothing particularly wrong with Jean Stafford's Pulitzer Prize winning collection, but there was also nothing that made me want to read another story. I read the first several, and then skipped ahead a few times. Disinterest.
Worth Noting: Fans of Jennifer Knapp's music or those who followed the Christian music scene in the late 90's and early 2000's may wish to check out her memoir, Facing the Music - which talks about her journey in and out (and in again) of the music industry, her faith, and her relationship with a woman (which is only notable because of how the Christian music industry and many churches treat homosexuality and as such, it becomes a significant part of her story). I have been a big fan of Knapp's, once frequented the Alabaster Arts message boards, and I am more than thrilled to see her recording new music. That her earlier "Christian" music spoke about her own doubts and struggles is what resonated with me and the continuing journey of her music speaks to me, still. Plus, it's just damn good music. Facing the Music is worth checking out.
Gender Breakdown: Of the fourteen books I read last month, eight were written by women, which may mark the first month since I've been keeping track of this sort of thing that I have read more female authored books in a given month than those written by men. This brings my total to 55/123 for the year (44.71%). Looking at what I currently have out from the library, I expect December to be similar to November with a solid chance of a second month reading more books written by women.
Previous Months
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
1. The Collected Stories of Jean Stafford, by Jean Stafford (unfinished)
2. The Way West, by A. B. Guthrie
3. As You Wish, by Cary Elwes
4. The Complete Peanuts: 1991-1992, by Charles M. Schulz
5. Yes Please, by Amy Poehler
6. Golden Fool, by Robin Hobb
7. Shouldn't You Be in School?, by Lemony Snicket
8. The Sapphire Rose, by David Eddings
9. Shattered Pillars, by Elizabeth Bear
10. Unlocked, by John Scalzi
11. Not That Kind of Girl, by Lena Dunham (unfinished)
12. Some Luck, by Jane Smiley
13. The Outskirter's Secret, by Rosemary Kirstein
14. Facing the Music, by Jennifer Knapp
Best Book of the Month: I am simply enamored with Rosemary Kirstein's Steerswoman books and I really want to see how she continues to develop this world - how the "magic" continues to be revealed as science. I reviewed the first book, The Steerswoman, back in April. The Outskirter's Secret is a worthy follow up.
Disappointment of the Month: I've been chipping away at Lemony Snicket's prequel series to A Series of Unfortunate Events, but this latest entry was fairly dull and tedious. Alternately, my tolerance for his particular style of writing was much lower than usual and I'm sure my child will love this book if he discovers it in five to ten years. Or something.
Discovery of the Month: No discoveries for November.
Unfinished of the Month: There is nothing particularly wrong with Jean Stafford's Pulitzer Prize winning collection, but there was also nothing that made me want to read another story. I read the first several, and then skipped ahead a few times. Disinterest.
Worth Noting: Fans of Jennifer Knapp's music or those who followed the Christian music scene in the late 90's and early 2000's may wish to check out her memoir, Facing the Music - which talks about her journey in and out (and in again) of the music industry, her faith, and her relationship with a woman (which is only notable because of how the Christian music industry and many churches treat homosexuality and as such, it becomes a significant part of her story). I have been a big fan of Knapp's, once frequented the Alabaster Arts message boards, and I am more than thrilled to see her recording new music. That her earlier "Christian" music spoke about her own doubts and struggles is what resonated with me and the continuing journey of her music speaks to me, still. Plus, it's just damn good music. Facing the Music is worth checking out.
Gender Breakdown: Of the fourteen books I read last month, eight were written by women, which may mark the first month since I've been keeping track of this sort of thing that I have read more female authored books in a given month than those written by men. This brings my total to 55/123 for the year (44.71%). Looking at what I currently have out from the library, I expect December to be similar to November with a solid chance of a second month reading more books written by women.
Previous Months
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Books Read: October 2014
Once again, apologies for the tardiness of this post as well as the general lack of content. I'd like to tell you that next year I'll have a consistent posting schedule (though I did well for a few months this year), but my wife and I are expecting our first kid in January and I'm pretty sure that will throw some kinks in the frequency of updates.
No reviews to link, though I did start an Ancillary Sword review four times without figuring out just how to write about it.
1. The Silkworm, by Robert Galbraith
2. Broken Monsters, by Lauren Buekes
3. Lock In, by John Scalzi
4. Acceptance, by Jeff VanderMeer
5. The Ruby Knight, by David Eddings
6. He Drank, and Saw the Spider, by Alex Bledsoe
7. Ancillary Sword, by Ann Leckie
8. The Humans, by Matt Haig
9. My Life, by Li Na
Best Book of the Month: Ancillary Sword is not only the best book I read last month, it will surely be in contention for the best book of the year. As good as Ancillary Justice was (my review), Ancillary Sword is better. Different, but also better. Dazzling.
Disappointment of the Month: None, really.
Discovery of the Month: Also none.
Books and Bars of the Month: I read The Humans for book club, and I'm hoping that unlike the last few months, we're able to actually make it to be part of the conversation. I like the concept, and the book improved as it went on, but I don't know that I'd really recommend it.
Worth Noting: If you haven't been reading Alex Bledsoe's Eddie LaCrosse novels and you'd like a different slice of fantasy like a detective novel set in a traditional medieval fantasy setting, you should really check these out. They begin with The Sword-Edged Blonde (my review) and the latest (He Drank, and Saw the Spider) might be the best of the bunch.
Gender Breakdown: Of the nine books I read last month, four were written by women (Robert Galbraith is a pseudonym of J. K. Rowling). This brings my total to 47/109 for the year. I'm slowly creeping the percentage up to a 50/50 split, though I'm not quite sure I'll get there this year.
Previous Months
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
No reviews to link, though I did start an Ancillary Sword review four times without figuring out just how to write about it.
1. The Silkworm, by Robert Galbraith
2. Broken Monsters, by Lauren Buekes
3. Lock In, by John Scalzi
4. Acceptance, by Jeff VanderMeer
5. The Ruby Knight, by David Eddings
6. He Drank, and Saw the Spider, by Alex Bledsoe
7. Ancillary Sword, by Ann Leckie
8. The Humans, by Matt Haig
9. My Life, by Li Na
Best Book of the Month: Ancillary Sword is not only the best book I read last month, it will surely be in contention for the best book of the year. As good as Ancillary Justice was (my review), Ancillary Sword is better. Different, but also better. Dazzling.
Disappointment of the Month: None, really.
Discovery of the Month: Also none.
Books and Bars of the Month: I read The Humans for book club, and I'm hoping that unlike the last few months, we're able to actually make it to be part of the conversation. I like the concept, and the book improved as it went on, but I don't know that I'd really recommend it.
Worth Noting: If you haven't been reading Alex Bledsoe's Eddie LaCrosse novels and you'd like a different slice of fantasy like a detective novel set in a traditional medieval fantasy setting, you should really check these out. They begin with The Sword-Edged Blonde (my review) and the latest (He Drank, and Saw the Spider) might be the best of the bunch.
Gender Breakdown: Of the nine books I read last month, four were written by women (Robert Galbraith is a pseudonym of J. K. Rowling). This brings my total to 47/109 for the year. I'm slowly creeping the percentage up to a 50/50 split, though I'm not quite sure I'll get there this year.
Previous Months
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
Monday, November 10, 2014
2014 World Fantasy Award Winners
Via Tor.com
Congratulations to all the winners.
Novel
Novella
Short Story
Anthology
Collection
Artist
Special Award—Professional
Winners of the Life Achievement Award were anounced last night:
Congratulations to all the winners.
Novel
- Winner: Sofia Samatar, A Stranger in Olondria (Small Beer Press)
- Richard Bowes, Dust Devil on a Quiet Street (Lethe Press)
- Marie Brennan, A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent (Tor Books)
- Neil Gaiman, The Ocean at the End of the Lane (William Morrow/Headline)
- Helene Wecker, The Golem and the Jinni (Harper/Blue Door)
- Gene Wolfe, The Land Across (Tor Books)
Novella
- Winner: Andy Duncan & Ellen Klages “Wakulla Springs” (Tor.com, 10/13)
- CaitlÃn R. Kiernan Black Helicopters (Subterranean Press)
- KJ Parker “The Sun and I” (Subterranean magazine, Summer 2013)
- Veronica Schanoes “Burning Girls” (Tor.com, 6/13)
- Catherynne M. Valente, Six-Gun Snow White (Subterranean Press)
Short Story
- Winner: CaitlÃn R. Kiernan, “The Prayer of Ninety Cats” (Subterranean magazine, Spring 2013)
- Thomas Olde Heuvelt, “The Ink Readers of Doi Saket” (Tor.com, 4/13)
- Yoon Ha Lee, “Effigy Nights” (Clarkesworld, 1/13)
- Sofia Samatar, “Selkie Stories Are for Losers” (Strange Horizons, 1/13)
- Rachel Swirsky, “If You Were a Dinosaur, My Love” (Apex Magazine, 3/13)
Anthology
- Winner: George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois, eds. Dangerous Women (Tor Books/Voyager UK)
- Kate Bernheimer, ed., xo Orpheus: Fifty New Myths (Penguin Books)
- Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, eds. Queen Victoria’s Book of Spells: An Anthology of Gaslamp Fantasy (Tor Books)
- Stephen Jones, ed. Flotsam Fantastique: The Souvenir Book of World Fantasy Convention 2013 (Smith & Jones/PS Publishing)
- Jonathan Oliver, ed., End of the Road: An Anthology of Original Short Stories (Solaris Books)
- Jonathan Strahan, ed., Fearsome Journeys: The New Solaris Book of Fantasy (Solaris Books)
Collection
- Winner: CaitlÃn R. Kiernan, The Ape's Wife and Other Stories (Subterranean Press)
- Nathan Ballingrud, North American Lake Monsters: Stories (Small Beer Press)
- Laird Barron, The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All and Other Stories (Night Shade Books)
- Reggie Oliver, Flowers of the Sea (Tartarus Press)
- Rachel Swirsky, How the World Became Quiet: Myths of the Past, Present, and Future (Subterranean Press)
Artist
- Winner: Charles Vess
- Galen Dara
- Zelda Devon
- Julie Dillon
- John Picacio
Special Award—Professional
- Winner: Irene Gallo, for art direction of Tor.com
- Winner: William K. Schafer, for Subterranean Press
- John Joseph Adams, for magazine and anthology editing
- Ginjer Buchanan, for editing at Ace Books
-
Jeff VanderMeer & Jeremy Zerfoss, for Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction (Abrams Image)
- Winner: Kate Baker, Neil Clarke & Sean Wallace, for Clarkesworld
- Scott H. Andrews, for Beneath Ceaseless Skies
- Marc Aplin, for Fantasy-Faction
- Leslie Howle, for Clarion West administration
- Jerad Walters, for Centipede Press
Winners of the Life Achievement Award were anounced last night:
- Ellen Datlow
- Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
Wednesday, October 08, 2014
Books Read: September 2014
All apologies for the delay in my monthly Books Read post and also for the overall lack of content. There's been a number of things happening on the homefront. First, we moved into our new house (from apartment), so there's been a plethora of home related items to take care of. Second, I have a test coming up next week that I would really love to excel at, so that's been taking a good chunk of the remaining time. Third, life's just been extra busy.
So, I'll probably need a little bit more time to sort this stuff out, but we're close to being through this busy patch. After which, I'll resume the Memories Of series with Pern and Midkemia, plus at least one more after that. We'll see.
The link below is to the one review I managed to write.
1. Landline, by Rainbow Rowell
2. Bravo, by Greg Rucka
3. Words of Radiance, by Brandon Sanderson
4. Hurricane Fever, by Tobias Buckell
5. The Mirror Empire, by Kameron Hurley
6. Book of Iron, by Elizabeth Bear
7. The Diamond Throne, by David Eddings
8. Maplecroft, by Cherie Priest (unfinished)
Best Book of the Month: I was completely caught up in both The Mirror Empire and Words of Radiance. If you're a fan of the massive tomes of more traditional epic fantasy, you really can't go wrong with Words of Radiance. But in the same vein, I kept needing to know more about what's going on in The Mirror Empire. I couldn't review it and do it justice, but that's a landmark fantasy that I hope will be recognized as such for some time. There's a lot to unpack in it, but it's worth the effort.
Disappointment of the Month: This may be the only time I ever put one of Elizabeth Bear's books in the Disappointment category, but I struggled to engage with the novella. Given that I nominated Bone and Jewel Creatures for the Hugo a few years back, it's not the setting of this prequel I struggled with. I don't know. Whatever it was, it's me.
Discovery of the Month: None.
Unfinished of the Month: I've plowed through most of Cherie Priest's novels, and there is seriously nothing wrong with Maplecroft, but I had to force myself to keep picking the book up. I'll give this one another try in the future.
Worth Noting: David Eddings, man. Writing up the Memories of Riva column had me feeling nostalgic and while I'm still not sure the Belgariad will hold up for me, The Diamond Throne mostly did. Mostly. So much of the book is obvious, but it's good fun if you don't think too much about what's going on or examine any of the issues too seriously. But for Eddings, it's damn near adult and it's a piece of my teenage years that happily I can still enjoy. I'll finish up the Elenium before putting Eddings back to bed, possibly for good.
Gender Breakdown: Four of the eight novels I read (or attempted to read) were written by women. Half isn't bad, though I suppose one could argue with me over Maplecroft. This brings me to 43/100 for the year.
Previous Months
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
So, I'll probably need a little bit more time to sort this stuff out, but we're close to being through this busy patch. After which, I'll resume the Memories Of series with Pern and Midkemia, plus at least one more after that. We'll see.
The link below is to the one review I managed to write.
1. Landline, by Rainbow Rowell
2. Bravo, by Greg Rucka
3. Words of Radiance, by Brandon Sanderson
4. Hurricane Fever, by Tobias Buckell
5. The Mirror Empire, by Kameron Hurley
6. Book of Iron, by Elizabeth Bear
7. The Diamond Throne, by David Eddings
8. Maplecroft, by Cherie Priest (unfinished)
Best Book of the Month: I was completely caught up in both The Mirror Empire and Words of Radiance. If you're a fan of the massive tomes of more traditional epic fantasy, you really can't go wrong with Words of Radiance. But in the same vein, I kept needing to know more about what's going on in The Mirror Empire. I couldn't review it and do it justice, but that's a landmark fantasy that I hope will be recognized as such for some time. There's a lot to unpack in it, but it's worth the effort.
Disappointment of the Month: This may be the only time I ever put one of Elizabeth Bear's books in the Disappointment category, but I struggled to engage with the novella. Given that I nominated Bone and Jewel Creatures for the Hugo a few years back, it's not the setting of this prequel I struggled with. I don't know. Whatever it was, it's me.
Discovery of the Month: None.
Unfinished of the Month: I've plowed through most of Cherie Priest's novels, and there is seriously nothing wrong with Maplecroft, but I had to force myself to keep picking the book up. I'll give this one another try in the future.
Worth Noting: David Eddings, man. Writing up the Memories of Riva column had me feeling nostalgic and while I'm still not sure the Belgariad will hold up for me, The Diamond Throne mostly did. Mostly. So much of the book is obvious, but it's good fun if you don't think too much about what's going on or examine any of the issues too seriously. But for Eddings, it's damn near adult and it's a piece of my teenage years that happily I can still enjoy. I'll finish up the Elenium before putting Eddings back to bed, possibly for good.
Gender Breakdown: Four of the eight novels I read (or attempted to read) were written by women. Half isn't bad, though I suppose one could argue with me over Maplecroft. This brings me to 43/100 for the year.
Previous Months
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Forthcoming Books: October - November - December 2014
Coming to the end of 2014's third quarter, it is time to look ahead
towards some interesting stuff being published in the final three months of the year. I'm using the Locus Forthcoming list
because even though it may not be exhaustive, it is a fairly
representative list of what is coming out over the course of a year. My
list below is based simply on that which strikes my own fancy, and I'm
sure I'm overlooking all sorts of excellent stuff that if only I knew
more about it or was familiar with the author's work, I would be excited
for it. But, alas, I am not.
October: I'm a huge fan of Brust's Vlad Taltos series and he simply cannot write them fast enough for me now that I have finally caught up with the series. After the year Ancillary Justice has had, I'm not sure any explanation is needed for Leckie's follow up. I'm behind on my Hamilton, but I wanted to note this one anyway.
Hawk, by Steven Brust
The Abyss Beyond Dreams, by Peter F. Hamilton
Ancillary Sword, by Ann Leckie
November: What Baxter I have read has been fantastic, and this seems to be an impressively ambitious new novel. I'll read everything Stephen King writes, same with Modesitt's Recluse series, and I'm interested to see where Mira Grant takes the Parisitology series. It's not as impressive, thus far, as the Newsflesh novels, but it's still a good read.
Proxima, by Stephen Baxter
Symbiont, by Mira Grant
Revival, by Stephen King
Heritage of Cyador, by L. E. Modesitt
December: It's been 8 years since Katherine Kurtz published Childe Morgan, the second volume in her trilogy of the same name. I haven't loved this trilogy (so far) the way I have many of her other Deryni novels, but new Deryni is always cause for celebration. I only hope that, now that the trilogy is complete, she might work on either the 948 novel or the Orin and Jodotha novel which she hinted about years ago. I've also never read Nora Jemisin's Inheritance trilogy, so what better time than a new omnibus?
The Inheritance Trilogy, by N. K. Jemisin
The King's Deryni, by Katherine Kurtz
October: I'm a huge fan of Brust's Vlad Taltos series and he simply cannot write them fast enough for me now that I have finally caught up with the series. After the year Ancillary Justice has had, I'm not sure any explanation is needed for Leckie's follow up. I'm behind on my Hamilton, but I wanted to note this one anyway.
Hawk, by Steven Brust
The Abyss Beyond Dreams, by Peter F. Hamilton
Ancillary Sword, by Ann Leckie
November: What Baxter I have read has been fantastic, and this seems to be an impressively ambitious new novel. I'll read everything Stephen King writes, same with Modesitt's Recluse series, and I'm interested to see where Mira Grant takes the Parisitology series. It's not as impressive, thus far, as the Newsflesh novels, but it's still a good read.
Proxima, by Stephen Baxter
Symbiont, by Mira Grant
Revival, by Stephen King
Heritage of Cyador, by L. E. Modesitt
December: It's been 8 years since Katherine Kurtz published Childe Morgan, the second volume in her trilogy of the same name. I haven't loved this trilogy (so far) the way I have many of her other Deryni novels, but new Deryni is always cause for celebration. I only hope that, now that the trilogy is complete, she might work on either the 948 novel or the Orin and Jodotha novel which she hinted about years ago. I've also never read Nora Jemisin's Inheritance trilogy, so what better time than a new omnibus?
The Inheritance Trilogy, by N. K. Jemisin
The King's Deryni, by Katherine Kurtz
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Catching Up: The 2014 To-Read List
Back in February I posted a list of 19 books I wanted to read this year, the list ordered by presumed publication date. I meant to do this update post a couple of months ago, but time got away from me, I completely forgot, and here we are. I'll update this again at the end of the year.
So far I have read 7 of the 19 books from the list, which for me is actually pretty good. Even better, I have a copy of Steles of the Sky at home, and expect to get through One-Eyed Jack, Lock In, and Hawk in the near future from the library.
I'm at least one book behind on three of the series volumes, so I won't get to Valour and Vanity, Cibola Burn, or The Thorn of Emberlain until I catch up.
Feist's King of Ashes has been pushed to next year. Going Gray has already been published, but Traviss has self-published the volume so my ability to get a copy might be a bit more limited as my book buying budget is very low (hey, we just bought a house and we've got a baby on the way) and my library carries few self published titles.
So far, so good.
So far I have read 7 of the 19 books from the list, which for me is actually pretty good. Even better, I have a copy of Steles of the Sky at home, and expect to get through One-Eyed Jack, Lock In, and Hawk in the near future from the library.
I'm at least one book behind on three of the series volumes, so I won't get to Valour and Vanity, Cibola Burn, or The Thorn of Emberlain until I catch up.
Feist's King of Ashes has been pushed to next year. Going Gray has already been published, but Traviss has self-published the volume so my ability to get a copy might be a bit more limited as my book buying budget is very low (hey, we just bought a house and we've got a baby on the way) and my library carries few self published titles.
So far, so good.
1. Annihilation, by Jeff VanderMeer (Feb)
2. Locke and Key: Alpha and Omega, by Joe Hill (Feb)
3. Words of Radiance, by Brandon Sanderson (Mar)
4. Steles of the Sky, by Elizabeth Bear (Apr)
5. Valour and Vanity, by Mary Robinette Kowal (Apr)
6. King of Ashes, by Raymond E. Feist (May)
7. Cyador’s Heirs, by L. E. Modesitt, Jr (May)
8. Defenders, by Will McIntosh (May)
9. My Real Children, by Jo Walton (May)
10. Cibola Burn, by James S. A. Corey (Jun)
11. Mr. Mercedes, by Stephen King (Jun)
12. The Girls at the Kingfisher Club, by Genevieve Valentine
(Jun)
13. One-Eyed Jack, by Elizabeth Bear (Aug)
14. Lock In, by John Scalzi (Aug)
15. Hawk, by Steven Brust (Sep)
16. Maplecroft, by Cherie Priest (Sep)
17. The Thorn of Emberlain, by Scott Lynch (Nov)
18. Symbiont, by Mira Grant (Nov)
19. Going Gray, by Karen Traviss (Dec)
Friday, September 05, 2014
Books Read: August 2014
Below is a listing of all of the books I read in August. All links go to my reviews.
1. The Girls at the Kingfisher Club, by Genevieve Valentine
2. Annihilation, by Drew Karpyshyn
3. The Devil's Snake Curve, by Josh Ostergaard
4. Authority, by Jeff VanderMeer
5. Earth Awakens, by Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston
6. Cyador's Heirs, by L. E. Modesitt, Jr
7. The High Druid's Blade, by Terry Brooks
8. Memory of Water, by Emmi Itaranta
9. Divided Allegiance, by Elizabeth Moon
10. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, by David Shafer (unfinished)
Best Book of the Month: Whether this is Best or Favorite, I was completely hooked by Genevieve Valentine's The Girls at the Kingfisher Club. I think I said everything I wanted in my review, but even though I didn't quite expect this after Mechanique, this is the novel I am not at all surprised Valentine wrote. It's fantastic, people. Read it.
Disappointment of the Month: It is difficult to decide if my disappointment was the new Terry Brooks, from which I expected a little bit more since he seemed back on track after The Dark Legacy of Shannara trilogy and instead got something that seemed like he farmed out the novel to a writer who isn't on his game or if it was The Devil's Snake Curve which is a book of essays on baseball combined with offbeat meditations of America. As a Books and Bars pick, it should have been perfect, but I found it mostly tedious and the essays were more quick thoughts than actual essays of any length. I think I'll pick both.
Discovery of the Month: None.
Unfinished of the Month: The New York Times suggested that Whiskey Tango Foxtrot may be "the novel of the summer" for 2014. I didn't care. It did read a bit like a less esoteric DeLillo novel, but through one hundred pages or so I realized that I was forcing myself to keep reading out of some misguided need to finish everything that isn't completely awful. I stopped. I expect that I stopped just short of the point where things would begin to ramp up and get truly absurd and interesting, but if I have to force myself to continue, I shouldn't.
Worth Noting: I never quite managed to write the review of Authority that I had planned and almost started several times, but Authority spins a different side of the story of the Southern Reach. It deals with the fallout from Annihilation (my review) and while it focuses on a different character outside of Area X, it is very much informed by it and still has that claustrophobic feel of Annihilation. More so, perhaps, because now we've got governmental bureaucracy clustered around the weirdness of Area X.
Gender Breakdown: Three out of the ten books I read last month were written by women, which isn't a very good representation. The thing is, I saw this coming, but since these were mostly library books that all came at the same time, I read myself into a corner. I'm looking to have a stronger rest of the year. Right now all of my own books are boxed up for the forthcoming move, but I'm pushing to get a number of things from the library and then when I'm all moved in a couple of weeks, it's on like Donkey Kong. I am currently at 39/92, which rounds up to 42.4% of the books I've read this year are written or edited by women. On one hand, I believe that is possibly the strongest percentage I've had. On the other, I can do better.
Previous Months
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
1. The Girls at the Kingfisher Club, by Genevieve Valentine
2. Annihilation, by Drew Karpyshyn
3. The Devil's Snake Curve, by Josh Ostergaard
4. Authority, by Jeff VanderMeer
5. Earth Awakens, by Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston
6. Cyador's Heirs, by L. E. Modesitt, Jr
7. The High Druid's Blade, by Terry Brooks
8. Memory of Water, by Emmi Itaranta
9. Divided Allegiance, by Elizabeth Moon
10. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, by David Shafer (unfinished)
Best Book of the Month: Whether this is Best or Favorite, I was completely hooked by Genevieve Valentine's The Girls at the Kingfisher Club. I think I said everything I wanted in my review, but even though I didn't quite expect this after Mechanique, this is the novel I am not at all surprised Valentine wrote. It's fantastic, people. Read it.
Disappointment of the Month: It is difficult to decide if my disappointment was the new Terry Brooks, from which I expected a little bit more since he seemed back on track after The Dark Legacy of Shannara trilogy and instead got something that seemed like he farmed out the novel to a writer who isn't on his game or if it was The Devil's Snake Curve which is a book of essays on baseball combined with offbeat meditations of America. As a Books and Bars pick, it should have been perfect, but I found it mostly tedious and the essays were more quick thoughts than actual essays of any length. I think I'll pick both.
Discovery of the Month: None.
Unfinished of the Month: The New York Times suggested that Whiskey Tango Foxtrot may be "the novel of the summer" for 2014. I didn't care. It did read a bit like a less esoteric DeLillo novel, but through one hundred pages or so I realized that I was forcing myself to keep reading out of some misguided need to finish everything that isn't completely awful. I stopped. I expect that I stopped just short of the point where things would begin to ramp up and get truly absurd and interesting, but if I have to force myself to continue, I shouldn't.
Worth Noting: I never quite managed to write the review of Authority that I had planned and almost started several times, but Authority spins a different side of the story of the Southern Reach. It deals with the fallout from Annihilation (my review) and while it focuses on a different character outside of Area X, it is very much informed by it and still has that claustrophobic feel of Annihilation. More so, perhaps, because now we've got governmental bureaucracy clustered around the weirdness of Area X.
Gender Breakdown: Three out of the ten books I read last month were written by women, which isn't a very good representation. The thing is, I saw this coming, but since these were mostly library books that all came at the same time, I read myself into a corner. I'm looking to have a stronger rest of the year. Right now all of my own books are boxed up for the forthcoming move, but I'm pushing to get a number of things from the library and then when I'm all moved in a couple of weeks, it's on like Donkey Kong. I am currently at 39/92, which rounds up to 42.4% of the books I've read this year are written or edited by women. On one hand, I believe that is possibly the strongest percentage I've had. On the other, I can do better.
Previous Months
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
Friday, August 01, 2014
Books Read: July 2014
Below is a listing of all of the books I read in July. All links would go to my reviews, but I was out of town for two weeks in the middle of the month and never quite got around to writing any. Sorry, folks.
1. Nexus, by Ramez Naam
2. The Wall Around Eden, by Joan Slonczewski
3. Warbound, by Larry Correia
4. King's Dragon, by Kate Elliott
5. Sunshine, by Robin McKinley
6. Civilwarland in Bad Decline, by George Saunders
7. The Book of Unknown Americans, by Cristina Henriquez
8. The Risen Empire, by Scott Westerfeld
9. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot
10. A Dance With Dragons, by George R. R. Martin
Best Book of the Month: Everyone should read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Period. This is the multi-faceted story of the titular woman whose cancer cells were taken and used without permission (which was very much the norm then, and potentially still now) and which led to numerous medical breakthroughs. So, the story is of Henrietta Lacks, her family (who only found out about how Henrietta's cells were being used until decades later), the science behind the HeLa cells and what came from it, and how this all ties together. It's really good.
Disappointment of the Month: George Saunders had been recommended for years as being one of America's top short story writers, and a friend with good taste also recommended this collection in particular. My wife read Tenth of December from Saunders and wasn't impressed, but I had a copy of Civilwarland sitting at home. I took it with me to San Diego...and I just could not engage with the stories. There's a chance if I read this when I was twenty and working with post-teenage ennui that I would have loved this, but I'm in a very different place now and I just couldn't deal with what Saunders is doing.
Discovery of the Month: I'm not sure I should call a book that has been on my radar for fifteen years a discovery, but when I finally read it and find that it is exactly as good as I had hoped it would be, it sort of is a discovery. This would be King's Dragon, the first of Kate Elliott's Crown of Stars series. If you like the epic fantasy stuff, and want something gritty and real, you really need to start with King's Dragon.
GRRM of the Month: I finally finished A Dance With Dragons a couple of days ago. It's good, I enjoyed it, but I also felt like it was pretty much just setting things up for a really awesome sixth book than it was telling a great story on its own. It felt a little disjointed, more so than A Feast for Crows did.
Worth Noting: I feel that The Book of Unknown Americans is about to become required reading in the next couple of years. A) It's really damn good. B) It provides the modern immigrant experience of why people are still coming to America from Mexico and Central America, and it does so by simply telling several stories that interlink, with some interstitials filling in more immigrant stories from minor characters in the novel. C) Also, it's really damn good.
Gender Breakdown: Half of the books I read this month were written by women. Not a bad month.
Previous Months
January
February
March
April
May
June
1. Nexus, by Ramez Naam
2. The Wall Around Eden, by Joan Slonczewski
3. Warbound, by Larry Correia
4. King's Dragon, by Kate Elliott
5. Sunshine, by Robin McKinley
6. Civilwarland in Bad Decline, by George Saunders
7. The Book of Unknown Americans, by Cristina Henriquez
8. The Risen Empire, by Scott Westerfeld
9. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot
10. A Dance With Dragons, by George R. R. Martin
Best Book of the Month: Everyone should read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Period. This is the multi-faceted story of the titular woman whose cancer cells were taken and used without permission (which was very much the norm then, and potentially still now) and which led to numerous medical breakthroughs. So, the story is of Henrietta Lacks, her family (who only found out about how Henrietta's cells were being used until decades later), the science behind the HeLa cells and what came from it, and how this all ties together. It's really good.
Disappointment of the Month: George Saunders had been recommended for years as being one of America's top short story writers, and a friend with good taste also recommended this collection in particular. My wife read Tenth of December from Saunders and wasn't impressed, but I had a copy of Civilwarland sitting at home. I took it with me to San Diego...and I just could not engage with the stories. There's a chance if I read this when I was twenty and working with post-teenage ennui that I would have loved this, but I'm in a very different place now and I just couldn't deal with what Saunders is doing.
Discovery of the Month: I'm not sure I should call a book that has been on my radar for fifteen years a discovery, but when I finally read it and find that it is exactly as good as I had hoped it would be, it sort of is a discovery. This would be King's Dragon, the first of Kate Elliott's Crown of Stars series. If you like the epic fantasy stuff, and want something gritty and real, you really need to start with King's Dragon.
GRRM of the Month: I finally finished A Dance With Dragons a couple of days ago. It's good, I enjoyed it, but I also felt like it was pretty much just setting things up for a really awesome sixth book than it was telling a great story on its own. It felt a little disjointed, more so than A Feast for Crows did.
Worth Noting: I feel that The Book of Unknown Americans is about to become required reading in the next couple of years. A) It's really damn good. B) It provides the modern immigrant experience of why people are still coming to America from Mexico and Central America, and it does so by simply telling several stories that interlink, with some interstitials filling in more immigrant stories from minor characters in the novel. C) Also, it's really damn good.
Gender Breakdown: Half of the books I read this month were written by women. Not a bad month.
Previous Months
January
February
March
April
May
June
Tuesday, July 08, 2014
Thoughts on the Hugo Award Nominees: Best Novel
Ancillary Justice, by Ann Leckie
Neptune's Brood, by Charles Stross
Parasite, by Mira Grant
Warbound, by Larry Correia
The Wheel of Time, by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
Neptune's Brood: This is the one nominee I have not read. I suppose I could just post this sometime next month and give myself plenty of time to read it, but the fact is that I have no interest in this novel. I struggle with reading most of Stross's work and I tried to read Saturn's Children and I just could not engage with the novel. Why read the sequel, then?
The Wheel of Time: This makes me sad. I have a deep and abiding love for The Wheel of Time, and it is a series I expect to re-read again in the future (having read those early novels many times). Heck, I hope any future children I may have will read and love these books as I have. The problem I have that seems to grow the more I think about it is that while The Wheel of Time as a whole is technically eligible, this isn't a single novel. It's a single story (mostly), but not a single novel. How can I possibly judge 14 books (15 if you count the prequel) which were published over 23 years and have deeply impacted my love of fantasy fiction against any other single work published in 2013? While this nomination is a love letter and a thank you to all that Robert Jordan has given us, I think that fans would have been better served to have nominated A Memory of Light instead. Sure, it doesn't stand so much on its own feet, and it would be a case where the nomination of the one book is really a nomination for the series, but I think it would be a more valid nomination. I also think that I would have ranked my vote differently if A Memory of Light was nominated over The Wheel of Time. But, it isn't. If I should consider the Best Professional Artist based on the body of work published in 2013 (see some of my thoughts on Richard Powers and the Hugo from 2010), should we not be considering Best Novel the same way? The Wheel of Time, as a whole, does not represent the best of the field from last year. It represents the collective emotion we have over two decades of following and loving a series. That's not the same thing.
Warbound: I have never read any of Larry Correia's novels before and Warbound is the third (and concluding?) volume of the Grimnoir Chronicles. My hope going into this was that it would also stand own as much as it concludes the story of the first two books. Happily, it does. I expect that I missed all sorts of stuff from not having read the other books, and that events and character interactions did not resonate as much as they would have had I encountered them before, but Correia did an excellent job telling this story in such a way that someone walking in fresh could pick up and follow along just fine. This is a pulpy adventure set in an alternate history and feels a bit like it crossed its streams with Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn in how some of the powers developed (minus the whole eating metal thing), but it's a good deal of fun to read.
Parasite: If I didn't know better, I would have thought that Parasite was an offshoot of Grant's Newsflesh trilogy. It's not, but it sure does feel the same. Part of that, I think, is the Mira Grant brand. So far, Grant writes one particular type of book - which works just fine and is perfectly enjoyable. I'm looking forward to the second book this fall and will snatch it right up when it is published. But, with that said, it did feel like a partial rehash of Newsflesh, and not quite as good as those books. I would generally consider Warbound and Parasite to be on a par with each other, but I enjoyed Parasite just a little bit more.
Ancillary Justice (my review): Really, Ancillary Justice is in a class by itself here. I expect that my nominating ballot would have looked drastically different than the final ballot, but the one constant would have been this book. This is a wonderful novel, and I would reference back to my review because I think I said everything I had to say there.
Of course, I do not have a vote for the Hugo Awards because I am not a member of Worldcon this year (I have been in the past), but if I did, this is how I would vote. I don't feel that No Award is justified over any of the novels here, and despite my expectation of dislike for Neptune's Brood, I wouldn't rank it below No Award without having at least attempted it. I also wish there was a way to suggest just how much of a gap there is between Ancillary Justice and the rest of the nominees.
My Vote:
1. Ancillary Justice, by Ann Leckie
2. Parasite, by Mira Grant
3. Warbound, by Larry Correia
4. The Wheel of Time, by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
5. Neptune's Brood, by Charles Stross
6. No Award
Other Hugo Thoughts:
Short Story
Dramatic Presentation (Long Form)
Neptune's Brood, by Charles Stross
Parasite, by Mira Grant
Warbound, by Larry Correia
The Wheel of Time, by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
Neptune's Brood: This is the one nominee I have not read. I suppose I could just post this sometime next month and give myself plenty of time to read it, but the fact is that I have no interest in this novel. I struggle with reading most of Stross's work and I tried to read Saturn's Children and I just could not engage with the novel. Why read the sequel, then?
The Wheel of Time: This makes me sad. I have a deep and abiding love for The Wheel of Time, and it is a series I expect to re-read again in the future (having read those early novels many times). Heck, I hope any future children I may have will read and love these books as I have. The problem I have that seems to grow the more I think about it is that while The Wheel of Time as a whole is technically eligible, this isn't a single novel. It's a single story (mostly), but not a single novel. How can I possibly judge 14 books (15 if you count the prequel) which were published over 23 years and have deeply impacted my love of fantasy fiction against any other single work published in 2013? While this nomination is a love letter and a thank you to all that Robert Jordan has given us, I think that fans would have been better served to have nominated A Memory of Light instead. Sure, it doesn't stand so much on its own feet, and it would be a case where the nomination of the one book is really a nomination for the series, but I think it would be a more valid nomination. I also think that I would have ranked my vote differently if A Memory of Light was nominated over The Wheel of Time. But, it isn't. If I should consider the Best Professional Artist based on the body of work published in 2013 (see some of my thoughts on Richard Powers and the Hugo from 2010), should we not be considering Best Novel the same way? The Wheel of Time, as a whole, does not represent the best of the field from last year. It represents the collective emotion we have over two decades of following and loving a series. That's not the same thing.
Warbound: I have never read any of Larry Correia's novels before and Warbound is the third (and concluding?) volume of the Grimnoir Chronicles. My hope going into this was that it would also stand own as much as it concludes the story of the first two books. Happily, it does. I expect that I missed all sorts of stuff from not having read the other books, and that events and character interactions did not resonate as much as they would have had I encountered them before, but Correia did an excellent job telling this story in such a way that someone walking in fresh could pick up and follow along just fine. This is a pulpy adventure set in an alternate history and feels a bit like it crossed its streams with Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn in how some of the powers developed (minus the whole eating metal thing), but it's a good deal of fun to read.
Parasite: If I didn't know better, I would have thought that Parasite was an offshoot of Grant's Newsflesh trilogy. It's not, but it sure does feel the same. Part of that, I think, is the Mira Grant brand. So far, Grant writes one particular type of book - which works just fine and is perfectly enjoyable. I'm looking forward to the second book this fall and will snatch it right up when it is published. But, with that said, it did feel like a partial rehash of Newsflesh, and not quite as good as those books. I would generally consider Warbound and Parasite to be on a par with each other, but I enjoyed Parasite just a little bit more.
Ancillary Justice (my review): Really, Ancillary Justice is in a class by itself here. I expect that my nominating ballot would have looked drastically different than the final ballot, but the one constant would have been this book. This is a wonderful novel, and I would reference back to my review because I think I said everything I had to say there.
Of course, I do not have a vote for the Hugo Awards because I am not a member of Worldcon this year (I have been in the past), but if I did, this is how I would vote. I don't feel that No Award is justified over any of the novels here, and despite my expectation of dislike for Neptune's Brood, I wouldn't rank it below No Award without having at least attempted it. I also wish there was a way to suggest just how much of a gap there is between Ancillary Justice and the rest of the nominees.
My Vote:
1. Ancillary Justice, by Ann Leckie
2. Parasite, by Mira Grant
3. Warbound, by Larry Correia
4. The Wheel of Time, by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
5. Neptune's Brood, by Charles Stross
6. No Award
Other Hugo Thoughts:
Short Story
Dramatic Presentation (Long Form)
Tuesday, July 01, 2014
Books Read: June 2014
Below is a listing of the books I read in the month of June. All links go to my reviews.
1. The Lives of Tao, by Wesley Chu
2. The Oldest Living Things in the World, by Rachel Sussman
3. The End is Nigh, by John Joseph Adams and Hugh Howey
4. The Goblin Emperor, by Katherine Addison
5. Defenders, by Will McIntosh
6. Mr. Mercedes, by Stephen King
7. Bad for You, by Kevin Pyle and Scott Cunningham
8. Ancillary Justice, by Ann Leckie
9. Mookie, by Mookie Wilson
Best Book of the Month: I'm flipping between Ancillary Justice and The Goblin Emperor, which makes me wonder what will happen when I'm putting together my best of the year list. Today, I'll say The Goblin Emperor.
Disappointment of the Month: The only real disappointment, per se, is Bad for You. It's a book that details "the war on fun" throughout history and tells much of the story through comic strip panels. I'm sure I knew that when I first put it on my "to read" list, but I had forgotten by the time I grabbed the book from the library. The first couple of examples were interesting, but it began to drag by the end.
Discovery of the Month: I had never heard of Wesley Chu before his Campbell nomination. I had a blast reading the first Tao novel and I will certainly be reading the next two.
Worth Noting: One thing that I think is extra awesome is that while The End is Nigh is the first of three apocalyptic anthologies from JJA and Howey, a number of the authors will be writing linked stories in each volume, so we'll be able to follow the changing world of each apocalyptic setting. Oh, and it's one hell of a good anthology. Will McIntosh is always solid and the Defenders is worth checking out. And for you New York children of the 80's, Mookie Wilson's autobiography must be read. It's an interesting contrast from what I remember of reading Gary Carter's bio when I was younger.
Previous Months
January
February
March
April
May
1. The Lives of Tao, by Wesley Chu
2. The Oldest Living Things in the World, by Rachel Sussman
3. The End is Nigh, by John Joseph Adams and Hugh Howey
4. The Goblin Emperor, by Katherine Addison
5. Defenders, by Will McIntosh
6. Mr. Mercedes, by Stephen King
7. Bad for You, by Kevin Pyle and Scott Cunningham
8. Ancillary Justice, by Ann Leckie
9. Mookie, by Mookie Wilson
Best Book of the Month: I'm flipping between Ancillary Justice and The Goblin Emperor, which makes me wonder what will happen when I'm putting together my best of the year list. Today, I'll say The Goblin Emperor.
Disappointment of the Month: The only real disappointment, per se, is Bad for You. It's a book that details "the war on fun" throughout history and tells much of the story through comic strip panels. I'm sure I knew that when I first put it on my "to read" list, but I had forgotten by the time I grabbed the book from the library. The first couple of examples were interesting, but it began to drag by the end.
Discovery of the Month: I had never heard of Wesley Chu before his Campbell nomination. I had a blast reading the first Tao novel and I will certainly be reading the next two.
Worth Noting: One thing that I think is extra awesome is that while The End is Nigh is the first of three apocalyptic anthologies from JJA and Howey, a number of the authors will be writing linked stories in each volume, so we'll be able to follow the changing world of each apocalyptic setting. Oh, and it's one hell of a good anthology. Will McIntosh is always solid and the Defenders is worth checking out. And for you New York children of the 80's, Mookie Wilson's autobiography must be read. It's an interesting contrast from what I remember of reading Gary Carter's bio when I was younger.
Previous Months
January
February
March
April
May
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