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

Monday, November 10, 2014

2014 World Fantasy Award Winners

Via Tor.com

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)
  • Caitlín 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: Caitlín 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: Caitlín 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)
Special Award—Non-professional
  • 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