December 2009 Reading

Here's my monthly wrap-up of what I read the previous month. Links, as always, go to the reviews.


Books
124. The Lost Symbol, by Dan Brown
125. PostSecret: Confessions on Life, Death, and God, by Frank Warren
126. Death Troopers, by Joe Schrieber
127. Cut Time, by Carlos Rotella
128. Wall and Piece, by Banksy
129. Button, Button, by Richard Matheson
130. Nightmares and Dreamscapes, by Stephen King
131. Leviathan, by Scott Westerfeld
132. Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins
133. Boneshaker, by Cherie Priest
134. Shadow Boxers, by Jim Lommasson
135. The Women of Nell Gwynne’s, by Kage Baker
136. Imperial Commando: 501st, by Karen Traviss
137. Makers, by Cory Doctorow
138. Eclipse Three, by Jonathan Strahan (editor)
139. Canticle, by Ken Scholes


Graphic Novels
113. Locke and Key: Head Games, by Joe Hill
114. Ex Machina: Smoke, Smoke, by Brian K. Vaughan
115. Preacher: All Hell’s A-Coming, by Garth Ennis
116. Preacher: The Alamo, by Garth Ennis
117. Ex Machina: Ex Cathedra, by Brian K. Vaughan
118. Scalped: Casino Boogie, by Jason Aaron
119. Scalped: Dead Mothers, by Jason Aaron
120. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Predators and Prey, by Jane Espenson
121. 100 Bullets: The Counter-Fifth Detective, by Brian Azzarello
122. Jack of Fables: The Big Book of War, by Bill Willingham


Previous Reading
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November

The Year in Comics: 2009

Until 2009 I pretty well eschewed reading comics. Oh, I gave Joss Whedon’s X-Men books a spin, dipped into Sandman, tried Star Wars: Legacy, and read Buffy: Season Eight, but those were notable exceptions. This year was different. My comic reading in January and February was fairly light since I was just dipping my toes into the world of comics, but starting in March things began to get heavy.

In March I started three major series: Fables, Girl Genius, and Queen & Country. This began my comic obsession. I read as much as I could get my hands on and when I ran out of those first three, I dipped into Y: The Last Man, Preacher, and Transmetropolitan.

Now, at the end of the year, I have finished or caught up with the following:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight
DMZ
Ex Machina
Fables
Girl Genius
Jack of Fables
Preacher
Queen & Country
Star Wars: Legacy
Transmetropolitan
Uptown Girl
Y: The Last Man

I’ve read such short-run work as:
The Arrival
The Bottomless Belly Button
Burnout
Locke and Key
Mouse Guard
Pride of Baghdad
Watchmen
WE3
Whiteout

Now, there are a few series I’m working on right now: 100 Bullets, Bone, and Scalped. But, I’m looking for some new series to try out in 2010.

I’m using Paul Cornell’s Hugo list to get some ideas, and that’s where I discovered quite a few books I read last year.

Books I plan on trying are:
Air, by G. Willow Wilson
Fear Agent, by Rick Remender
I Kill Giants, by Joe Kelly
Incognito, by Ed Brubaker
Madame Xanadu, by Matt Wagner
Rasl, by Jeff Smith
The Umbrella Academy, by Gerard Way
Unknown Soldier, by Joshua Dysart
The Unwritten, by Mike Carey
The Walking Dead, by Robert Kirkman

The only problem that I have here is that I’m limited to what my library has (and my library is awesome, mind you) because I have no budget for purchasing individual issues or collections, with a related problem being that most of the comics I just listed are very early in their runs and that means I will probably only have one collection to read and then wait.

What I need is something that has been out for long enough to have accumulated five or more collections. Hellblazer is an option, that’s something that’s been recommended to me. Greg Rucka is only just beginning his new title Stumptown, so no matter how awesome I think it will be, we’ve only got an issue or two, not even a collection. Once I finish Bone and 100 Bullets, I really need to have something awesome to step up and ready to roll (and even if I wasn’t caught up with Ex Machina, it isn’t awesome).

The Nine Best Reads of 2009

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 2009. 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 2009, this list is for the top books I read in 2009, no matter when the book was published.


1. Ammonite, by Nicola Griffith: This is easily the best novel I read in 2009. Griffith’s deft handling of the cliché reversing “all female world” is nothing like readers might expect, but it is powerfully and purposefully done. In lesser hands Ammonite might be trite or preachy. In the hands of Nicola Griffith the result is nothing short of amazing.

2. The Sparrow, by Mary Doria Russell: This is easily the second best novel I read in 2009. Knowing the result of a first contact mission to another world from the beginning of the novel does nothing to lessen the raw power of Russell’s storytelling.

3. By the Mountain Bound, by Elizabeth Bear: It seems I am not able to make one of these lists without placing one of Elizabeth Bear’s novels at or near the top, and for good reason. She’s really good. By the Mountain Bound is a prequel to All the Windwracked Stars. It ends where the first novel begins, and yet, knowing the ending, we find that we don’t know a thing about what came before. A surprising, beautiful, and heartbreaking novel. It changes our understanding of All the Windwracked Stars and makes the reader question what The Sea Thy Mistress will be.

4. Cyteen, by C. J. Cherryh: Murder. Genetic Engineering. Galactic, personal, ethical, and sexual politics. Cyteen has it all. Reading Cyteen caused me to go out and buy more of Cherryh’s work.

5. Boneshaker, by Cherie Priest: This is Cherie Priest at the top of her game. Her richly imagined alternate history Civil War era steampunk novel, now with airships and zombies, is outstanding.

6. Leviathan, by Scott Westerfeld: A steampunk novel set in an alternate World War I where the factions at war are split down technological lines. It treats both the history are its audience with respect and in the end, what matters is that Leviathan is a rollicking tale.

7. Imaro, by Charles Saunders: An epic sword & sorcery novel featuring an alternate-African setting with a truly African hero. It’s fantastic.

8. Warbreaker, by Brandon Sanderson: With his last novel before the publication of The Gathering Storm, Brandon Sanderson proved his versatility in creating another distinct magic system in a world built with secrets. This thick single volume fantasy raises the bar for what readers should expect from Sanderson’s fiction and helped build anticipation for what he would be able to do with the Wheel of Time.

9. City Without End, by Kay Kenyon: If you’re not reading Kay Kenyon, you’re missing out on some great science fiction. This is the third volume of a series that improves with each offering.


Previous Best Reads
2006
2007
2008

Top Nine Books Published in 2009

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 2009. 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 sort of / kind of in order. The first two on the list are very much in their proper order, but after that things get a bit trickier. Whichever order the list is in, these are the nine novels published in 2009 which I feel were the strongest titles of the year, popularity be damned.


1. By the Mountain Bound, by Elizabeth Bear: It seems I am not able to make one of these lists without placing one of Elizabeth Bear’s novels at or near the top, and for good reason. She’s really good. By the Mountain Bound is a prequel to All the Windwracked Stars. It ends where the first novel begins, and yet, knowing the ending, we find that we don’t know a thing about what came before. A surprising, beautiful, and heartbreaking novel. It changes our understanding of All the Windwracked Stars and makes the reader question what The Sea Thy Mistress will be.

2. Boneshaker, by Cherie Priest: This is Cherie Priest at the top of her game. Her richly imagined alternate history Civil War era steampunk novel, now with airships and zombies, is outstanding.

3. Leviathan, by Scott Westerfeld: A steampunk novel set in an alternate World War I where the factions at war are split down technological lines. It treats both the history are its audience with respect and in the end, what matters is that Leviathan is a rollicking tale.

4. Warbreaker, by Brandon Sanderson: With his last novel before the publication of The Gathering Storm, Brandon Sanderson proved his versatility in creating another distinct magic system in a world built with secrets. This thick single volume fantasy raises the bar for what readers should expect from Sanderson’s fiction and helped build anticipation for what he would be able to do with the Wheel of Time.

5. City Without End, by Kay Kenyon: If you’re not reading Kay Kenyon, you’re missing out on some great science fiction. This is the third volume of a series that improves with each offering.

6. Best Served Cold, by Joe Abercrombie: Want some nasty violence that gets down in the mud? Want a novel of revenge filled with misplaced loyalty and double crosses? Want to expand on the world of the First Law trilogy which tells a completely different story? Joe Abercrombie gives the reader all that and much more in Best Served Cold, a nasty delight of a novel.

7. The Gathering Storm, by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson: It should perhaps go without saying that this was my most anticipated volume of the year, but the thing is, I was also the most nervous about it. Yeah, I like Sanderson’s original fiction, but would he be able to pull off a Wheel of Time novel? Could he make it as good as the best of Jordan’s work? The answer, I think, was a resounding yes.

8. The Quiet War, by Paul McAuley: This is a smart, smart novel dealing with the future humanity and who gets to choose it. I very much wish to read Gardens of the Sun, and sooner rather than later.

9. Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins: Despite how awesome The Hunger Games were, my expectations were not exceptionally high for Catching Fire. The premise of the first novel did not seem to lend itself to a sequel and I wasn’t sure that Collins would be able to pull it off. She did, and then some.

All links are to the original reviews.

Previous Best Ofs
2006
2007
2008

Top Nine Author Discoveries of 2009

There is something to be said about talking about books. After all, that’s what we read. But, just as much fun as discovering a great new book is discovering a great new author. Or, even discovering a great older author. It’s all new if you have never read an author before.

So, in honor of authors, those wonderful people who write the wonderful books, here is a list of some of the authors I encountered for the first time in 2009.


1. Nicola Griffith: I can’t say for sure what put Griffith on my radar, but I read Ammonite earlier this year and I fell in love. Ammonite is a beautiful novel and, spoiler alert, one of the best I read this year. I picked up a copy of Slow River and I hope to read more of Griffith’s work in 2010.

2. Steven Brust: For two years I had seen Brust at the Fourth Street Fantasy convention and for two years I heard people praising his Vlad Taltos novels. For some reason I didn’t pick one of them up until late this year. Folks, Brust is *good*. I’ve read Jhereg and Yendi and I expect to devour a good portion of his back catalog in 2010.

3. C. J. Cherryh: Blame Jo Walton. Walton had a series of posts on Tor.com about Cherryh and her work and she sold me on giving Cherryh a shot. I had been carrying this lingering negative assumption about what sort of novel Cherryh wrote based entirely on her name (the H on the end was a weird turn off when I was fifteen) and some of the covers I saw on her books in the mid 1990’s. At this point I can only assume they were of the Chanur novels because those covers still make me cringe. What I discovered, though, was some smart science fiction that completely erased an irrational impression caused fifteen years ago. Cyteen was a fantastic starting point and I’ll be delving into more of Cherryh’s work in 2010.

4. Peter S. Beagle: By my age most fantasy readers had discovered Peter Beagle’s work some fifteen to twenty years ago with The Last Unicorn. I managed to make it past my thirtieth year without having read The Last Unicorn. I still haven’t. What I have read is two collections of Beagle’s short fiction and they were each fantastic. Next year I plan to read his career retrospective The Mirror Kingdoms as well as rectifying that failure of my childhood and read The Last Unicorn.

5. Mary Doria Russell: The Sparrow. Need I say more? It is a beautiful and painful novel.

6. Charles Saunders: His debut (thirty years ago) sword and sourcery epic Imaro is a fantastic novel and though he has published few novels over his career, Saunders may well be one of the unsung giants of the field. Imaro deserved to have a larger readership than it received and I expect to read the second Imaro novel in 2010.

7: Stephen Baxter: I’ve discovered Baxter through some of his shorter work and 2010 should see me delving into his novels, but what I’ve read of Baxter has been fantastic.

8. Ken Scholes: Lamentation was an impressive debut novel and I have high hopes for the rest of the Psalms of Isaak.

9. Suzanne Collins: I don’t know if I will be inspired to check out the rest of her work, but the first two volumes of The Hunger Games trilogy is absolutely fantastic.


For the curious, here are my lists from 2007 and 2008.

5 Favorite Blogs: 2009 Edition

Aidan recently posted his list of his five favorite blogs of 2009, and Larry responded by talking about blogs that challenge the reader.

I figured, why not?

So, I took a spin through Bloglines with an attempt to identify five blogs I would imprecisely label as "favorites". Think of this a snapshot as to what I find the most engaging / interesting on December 27, 2009.

There is no order here.

OF Blog of the Fallen: What I like best about Larry's blog is the essays. He'll hit on something that interests him enough to write about that is outside the bounds of a review. It may be a take on an internet kerfuffle, or to take another reviewer to task for something, or his posing a question, or perhaps his answer. It's his questioning and searching and pointing out flaws that intrigues me.

The Wertzone: This is one of the few blogs I read for the reviews, though generally here I'm looking for his reviews of classic works of the genre. Retrospectively, I enjoy Adam's writing on books I've read and appreciated. Adam seems to have an inexhaustible trove of information about epic fantasy contained in his head. Very readable.

Torque Control: Nominally a blog of the editors of Vector Magazine, I tend to think of Torque Control as the personal playground of Niall Harrison. As such, this is very smart stuff and Niall writes as much about short fiction as he does novel length work - which I appreciate. Niall is very much into the conversation about fiction and his blog is a great resource (as well as part of that great conversation.)

Whatever: The personal blog of some strange chap named John Scalzi who finds time between taking pictures of his animals, sunsets, fingernails, his ranting, helping out other writers with his Big Idea, creatively consulting for television, and generally being a decent chap to occasionally string together enough words to put into book format. You may have heard of him. I focus a decent amount of my online attention to skiffy things, but John's blog is a fairly diverse cross-section of his interests. It's quite good. But, he gets some 45,000 visitors a day, so you probably don't need me to tell you that.


I've thought a bit about what the fifth blog I wanted to highlight when I checked Bloglines one more time. There were several blogs bolded with new entries, but only one brought a quiver of real interest and excitement.


Alison McGhee's Blog: Alison is an infrequent poster, but her posts are almost all lyrical stories rather than what we generally think of as a "Blog Post", be it an essay or a review. Her Christmas post is one example. Or this one about things she used to believe, which is a post that haunts me for a variety of reasons. McGhee is one of my absolutely favorite authors (and I think I almost met her once) and her blog is a quiet delight.

The Missing: 2009

Last year Larry posted a list of books which he managed not to read over the course of 2008 and which might otherwise have had a chance to make his Year’s Best list. I liked the idea so much that I made a similar post of my own.

Well, it’s that time of the year and lists have been popping up all over the place.

This is my list of books published in 2009 and which I just didn’t get around to reading. While I can’t say for sure whether the books on this list would end up with a slot on my Year’s Best lists, I would consider them to be notable releases that have a shot.

With just over a week left in 2009 there is a chance I might get to one or two of the below listed books, but my first priority is to finish Eclipse Three, Canticle, and Makers.


Finch, by Jeff VanderMeer: I haven’t read much of VanderMeer’s fiction, though I think he’s got a great eye as an editor. I have a copy of this staring me straight in the eye and I really hope I can get to it this year.

The Shadow Pavilion, by Liz Williams: This is the latest Detective Inspector Chen novel and there is a new one scheduled for 2010. Williams does a great job with these.

Metatropolis, by John Scalzi (editor)

The Other Lands, by David Anthony Durham: This actually makes me sad. Despite how much I enjoyed Acacia: The War with the Mein, I completely forgot about this book and flat out missed it.

Diving into the Wreck, by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

The Windup Girl, by Paolo Bacigalupi: This is arguably the premiere release of 2009.

Flood, by Stephen Baxter: I have only just discovered Stephen Baxter but I have very much liked what I’ve read and I think this could be a great one. I should really make an effort to get to Flood next year or I’ll have no chance of reading the follow up, Ark.

Under the Dome, by Stephen King

Drood, by Dan Simmons

The Magicians, by Lev Grossman: Didja know I turned down a review copy of this one earlier in the year? It didn’t seem like something I would be that interested in. Then all the praise started flooding in. I doubt I’ll get to this one next year either, but it’s one for the list.

The City & The City, by China Mieville

The Devil’s Alphabet, by Daryl Gregory: After his World Fantasy Award nominated Pandemonium, I am very interested to see what Gregory has for the reader in his second novel.

November 2009 Reading

Here's my monthly wrap-up of what I read the previous month. Links, as always, go to the reviews.

Books
114. Olive Kitteridge, by Elizabeth Strout
115. Omen, by Christie Golden
116. Yendi, by Steven Brust
117. Nightmares in the Sky, by Stephen King and F. Stop Fitzgerald
118. The Living Dead, by John Joseph Adams (editor)
119. Always Forever, by Mark Chadbourn
120. By the Mountain Bound, by Elizabeth Bear
121. The Quiet War, by Paul McAuley
122. Steal Across the Sky, by Nancy Kress
123. Best Served Cold, by Joe Abercrombie



Graphic Novels
95. Y: The Last Man: Girl on Girl, by Brian K. Vaughan
96. Scalped: Indian Country, by Jason Aaron
97. Ex Machina: March to War, by Brian K. Vaughan
98. Transmetropolitan: Dirge, by Warren Ellis
99. DMZ: War Powers, by Brian Wood
100. Transmetropolitan: The Cure, by Warren Ellis
101. Y: The Last Man: Paper Dolls, by Brian K. Vaughan
102. Y: The Last Man: Kimono Dragons, by Brian K. Vaughan
103. Preacher: Dixie Fried, by Garth Ennis
104. 100 Bullets: Hang Up on the Hang Low, by Brian Azzarello
105. Preacher: War in the Sun, by Garth Ennis
106. Transmetropolitan: Tales of Human Waste, by Warren Ellis
107. Star Wars: Vector, Volume 2, by John Ostrander
108. 100 Bullets: A Foregone Tomorrow, by Brian Azzarello
109. Y: The Last Man: Motherland, by Brian K. Vaughan
110. Y: The Last Man: Whys and Wherefores, by Brian K. Vaughan
111. Transmetropolitan: One More Time, by Warren Ellis
112. Preacher: Salvation, by Garth Ennis

Previous Reading
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October

Stuff: 11/13 Edition

Stephen King has a new story up at The New Yorker: "Premium Harmony"

Mary Robinette Kowal will be editing the first volume of The Hugo Award Showcase, the "2010" edition, which one imagines will be for the 2009 fiction.

Here's a compilation of Q&A sessions between Brandon Sanderson and the Storm Leaders on the current Wheel of Time tour. There's not a lot of new here, but it's interesting all the same.

Scott Westerfeld contributes to The Big Idea over at Scalzi's blog. I've GOT to read this one.

Clarkesworld Magazine is having a Citizenship Drive.

October 2009 Reading

Here's my monthly wrap-up of what I read the previous month. Links, as always, go to the reviews.

Books
99. Tender Morsels, by Margo Lanagan
100. Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell
101. Crossroads of Twilight, by Robert Jordan
102. Night of Knives, by Ian Cameron Esslemont
103. Outcast, by Aaron Allston
104. The Ebb Tide, by James Blaylock
105. Chasing the Dragon, by Justina Robson
106. Burn Me Deadly, by Alex Bledsoe
107. Odd and the Frost Giants, by Neil Gaiman
108. Imaro, by Charles Saunders
109. Seven for a Secret, by Elizabeth Bear
110. Ace in the Hole, by George R. R. Martin (editor)
111. Jhereg, by Steven Brust
112. Knife of Dreams, by Robert Jordan
113. The Gathering Storm, by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson


Graphic Novels
79. Fables: The Dark Ages, by Bill Willingham
80. Star Wars Legacy: The Hidden Temple, by John Ostrander
81. DMZ: Friendly Fire, by Brian Wood
82. DMZ: The Hidden War, by Brian Wood
83. DMZ: Blood in the Game, by Brian Wood
84. Jack of Fables: Americana, by Bill Willingham
85. Jack of Fables: Turning Pages, by Bill Willingham
86. Ex Machina: Fact v Fiction, by Brian Vaughan
87. Transmetropolitan: Gouge Away, by Warren Ellis
88. Uptown Girl: All the Right Friends, by Bob Lipski
89. Mouse Guard: Winter 1152, by David Petersen
90. Transmetropolitan: Spider’s Trash, by Warren Ellis
91. Y: The Last Man: Ring of Truth, by Brian K. Vaughan
92. Preacher: Ancient History, by Garth Ennis
93. Girl Genius: Agatha Heterodyne and the Chapel of Bones, by Phil and Kaja Foglio
94. 100 Bullets: Split Second Chance, by Brian Azzarello

Previous Reading
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September

September 2009 Reading

Here's my monthly wrap-up of what I read the previous month. Links, as always, go to the reviews.

I'm a little behind in putting out the list. Clearly.

I broke out the graphic novels from the rest of the books.

Books
90. We Never Talk About My Brother, by Peter S. Beagle
91. Invincible, by Troy Denning
92. Millenium Falcon, by James Luceno
93. It, by Stephen King
94. Winter’s Heart, by Robert Jordan
95. Mage-Guard of Hamor, by L. E. Modesitt, Jr
96. Pandemonium, by Daryl Gregory
97. Purple and Black, by K. J. Parker
98. Filter House, by Nisi Shawl


Graphic Novels
63. Ex Machina: The First Hundred Days, by Brian K. Vaughan - September
64. DMZ: On the Ground, by Brian Wood
65. Y: The Last Man: One Small Step, by Brian K. Vaughan
66. Crisis on Infinite Earths
67. Transmetropolitan: The New Scum, by Warren Ellis
68. Bone: Eyes of the Storm, by Jeff Smith
69. DMZ: Body of a Journalist, by Brian Wood
70. Y: The Last Man: Safeword, by Brian K. Vaughan
71. Jack of Fables: Jack of Hearts, by Bill Willingham
72. Ex Machina: Tag, by Brian K. Vaughan
73. DMZ: Public Works, by Brian Wood
74. Echo: Moon Lake, by Terry Moore
75. Jack of Fables: The Bad Prince, by Bill Willingham
76. Transmetropolitan: Lonely City, by Warren Ellis
77. 100 Bullets: First Shot, Last Call, by Brian Azzarello
78. Bone: The Dragonslayer, by Jeff Smith


Previous Reading
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August

Forthcoming 2010: Q1

Welcome to the latest installment of "Stuff I'm Looking Forward To This Year". As always, I take my information from the Locus Forthcoming list, plus a little bit of extra research when I'm aware of things that should be on the Locus list and are not.


January
Prince of Storms, by Kay Kenyon: This is the conclusion to Kenyon's series The Entire and the Rose. It's some of the best science fiction being published today.

The Best of Joe R. Lansdale: Does the title not say everything you need to know about this? Lansdale is one hell of a writer and a Best Of will surely be one of the year's best publications.

Iorich, by Steven Brust: Last month I read Jhereg, the first Vlad Taltos novel from Steven Brust. Iorich is the twelfth novel in the Vlad Taltos series and there are six other ancillary novels set in that world. So, even though there is no chance I am going to be caught up with Brust by the time this novel is published, it is a mark of just how much I liked Jhereg that Iorich is on the list.


February
Mirror Kingdoms, by Peter S. Beagle: I have only just discovered Peter Beagle and this is a career retrospective collection from SubPress. Count this as one of the year's essential collections.

Horns, by Joe Hill: You've read Heart-Shaped Box, right? On the strength of one novel, I'm ready to go anywhere Joe Hill is willing to take me.

The Iron Khan, by Liz Williams: This is the fifth volume of the Detective Inspector Chen series. I've read the first three and have the fourth begging me to be read.


March
Bone and Jewel Creatures, by Elizabeth Bear: C'mon now, it's a new novella from Bear. Click on the link and check out the cover.

Chill, by Elizabeth Bear: Chill is the follow up to last year's novel Dust. It's one of the few Elizabeth Bear novels I haven't read, but I do have a copy, so I'll try to catch up before Chill is published.

Warriors, by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois: Military SFF, edited by GRRM, and featuring a new Dunk and Egg story? Not to mention the rest of the contents of the antho.

The Trade of Queens, by Charles Stross: This is the concluding volume to The Merchant Princes. I don't consistently love the execution of this series, but I'm generally interested enough to want to know what's next. Well, this is what's next.


I am also hard at work in compiling a list of the top books I'm anticipating for all of next year. I'll publish that list in late December or early January.

Amazon's Top 10 Science Fiction & Fantasy Books of 2009

Amazon.com has published their editor's choice Top 10 list for SF&F books. It's a very interesting list.

1. Palimpsest, by Catherynne M. Valente
2. The Red Tree, by Caitlin R. Kiernan
3. The Other Lands, by David Anthony Durham
4. American Fantastic Tales: Boxed Set, by Peter Straub
5. Boneshaker, by Cherie Priest
6. The Other City, by Michal Ajvaz
7. Yellow Blue Tibia, by Adam Roberts
8. Eclipse Three, by Jonathan Strahn
9. Interfictions 2: An Anthology of Interstitial Writing, by Christopher Barzak
10. The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart, by Jesse Bullington

As if I needed it, I think I just found another reading list.

What is somewhat curious, though, is that China Mieville's The City & The City made their overall top 10 list, but not the SFF list.

catching up again with my anticipated reading list

Back in January I posted a list of the 16 books I was most interested in reading this year. In July I took a look at how I was doing at that time. Here's one more peak.


1. The Gathering Storm, by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
2. A Dance with Dragons, by George R. R. Martin
3. Best Served Cold, by Joe Abercrombie
4. Seven for a Secret, by Elizabeth Bear
5. The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year: Volume Three, by Jonathan Strahan, editor
6. Chasing the Dragon, by Justina Robson
7. The Revolution Business, by Charles Stross
8. The Walls of the Universe, by Paul Melko
9. The City & The City, by China Mieville
10. City Without End, by Kay Kenyon
11. The God Engines, by John Scalzi
12. Steal Across the Sky, by Nancy Kress
13. Warbreaker, by Brandon Sanderson
14. Federations, by John Joseph Adams, editor
15. The Son of Retro Pulp Tales, by Joe R. Lansdale
16. Republic of Thieves, by Scott Lynch

Three of these books have not yet been published, and of those, we won't see the Martin and Lynch this year.

That just leaves me with five books to read from my original list. I own the Strahan, pre-ordered the Scalzi, and have the Kress coming from the library. I feel god about getting the Abercrombie from the library by the end of the year, but I'm just not so sure I'm going to get to the Mieville this year.

But, given that I made this list back on January 6, I think I've done fairly well in identifying new 2009 books that I was interested in and then getting a hold of them to read.

August 2009 Reading

Here's my monthly wrap-up of what I read the previous month. Links, as always, go to the reviews.

73. Down and Dirty, by George R. R. Martin (editor)
74. Revelation, by Karen Traviss
75. Bone Dance, by Emma Bull
76. The Sun Inside, by David J. Schwartz
77. Eclipse, by Stephanie Meyer
78. Federations, by John Joseph Adams (editor)
79. Milk, Sulphate, and Alby Starvation, by Martin Millar
80. Strange Roads, by Peter S. Beagle
81. The Language of Dying, by Sarah Pinborough
82. Starfall, by Stephen Baxter
83. Downbelow Station, by C. J. Cherryh
84. Kitty Raises Hell, by Carrie Vaughn
85. Tales from Outer Suburbia, by Shaun Tan
86. The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman
87. The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
88. The Path of Daggers, by Robert Jordan
89. Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall

Graphic Novels
60. Burnout, by Rebecca Donner
61. Preacher: Proud Americans, by Garth Ennis
62. The Plain Janes, by Cecil Castellucci


The best books of the month were The Language of Dying, Starfall, The Graveyard Book, and Born to Run.

The worst...Eclipse. Anyone surprised by that?

Previous Reading
January
February
March
April
May
June
July

July 2009 Reading

Here's my monthly wrap-up of what I read the previous month.

64. Inside Straight – George R. R. Martin (editor)
65. Warbreaker – Brandon Sanderson
66. Spicy Slipstream Stories – Nick Mamatas and Jay Lake (editors)
67. Forty Thousand in Gehenna – C. J. Cherryh
68. Shadow Magic – Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett
69. The Pilo Family Circus – Will Elliott
70. Darkest Hour – Mark Chadbourn
71. A Gentleman’s Game – Greg Rucka
72. Who Killed Amanda Palmer - Amanda Palmer and Neil Gaiman

Graphic Novels
50. Queen & Country: Declassified, Volume 2 – Greg Rucka
51. Queen & Country: Declassified, Volume 3 – Greg Rucka
52. WE3 – Grant Morrison
53. Queen & Country: Operation Stormfront – Greg Rucka
54. Queen & Country: Operation Dandelion – Greg Rucka
55. The Complete Peanuts: 1971-1972 – Charles M. Schulz
56. Bone: The Great Cow Race –Jeff Smith
57. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight: Time of Your Life – Joss Whedon
58. Queen & Country: Operation Saddlebags – Greg Rucka
59. Queen & Country: Operation Red Panda – Greg Rucka

The best books of the month were Warbreaker and Inside Straight. No real question there. Nothing so bad to suggest a "worst".

My review of Shadow Magic should post at Fantasy Magazine sometime.

Previous Reading
January
February
March
April
May
June

catching up with my anticipated reading list

Way back in January I posted about the 16 books I was most interested in reading this year. The list was focused on 2009 titles. I haven't been this reflective in the past, but let's take a look to see how I'm doing.

1. A Memory of Light, by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
2. A Dance with Dragons, by George R. R. Martin
3. Best Served Cold, by Joe Abercrombie
4. Seven for a Secret, by Elizabeth Bear
5. The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year: Volume Three, by Jonathan Strahan, editor
6. Chasing the Dragon, by Justina Robson
7. The Revolution Business, by Charles Stross
8. The Walls of the Universe, by Paul Melko
9. The City & The City, by China Mieville
10. City Without End, by Kay Kenyon
11. The God Engine, by John Scalzi
12. Steal Across the Sky, by Nancy Kress
13. Warbreaker, by Brandon Sanderson
14. Federations, by John Joseph Adams, editor
15. The Son of Retro Pulp Tales, by Joe R. Lansdale
16. Republic of Thieves, by Scott Lynch

Starting with the strikethroughs, that's what I've read - with two exceptions. I haven't read Seven for a Secret, but I own it and I plan to read it in the next month. Maybe it shouldn't have a strikethrough. I also own Federations and I'm a couple of stories in. That counts.

Not everything on the list has been published
A Memory of Light: The Gathering Storm (November)
A Dance of Dragons (Q4, maybe?)
Chasing the Dragon (August)
The God Engines (December) - preordered
The Son of Retro Pulp Tales (August)
Republic of Thieves (.............)

The Strahan is due next week, I think, and that's also preordered (got a shipping confirmation last week)

All told, I'm not doing too badly in terms of reading what has been published. Best Served Cold is on hold with the library (listed as "on order"). I expect to read the Nancy Kress this year, but I'm not sure about the Mieville. It deserves its place on the list, but Mieville requires this emotional investment to pick up the book that I'm just not prepared to work up to. His stuff is heavy.

Here's the good news: Everything (except one novel) that I have read from this list has been quite good. I don't expect many more disappointments (The Revolution Business being the one).

Still a good list and I look forward to reading the rest of them.

First Half of 2009: The Nine Best Reads

Time for a quick review of the best books I’ve read in the first half of 2009. Now, bear in mind that only three of the nine are 2009 publications. This list isn’t about the best books published in 2009 (I do a list of that at the end of the year) but just about what the best of what I’ve read so far this year.

This list is not in ranking order, but rather the order in which I read each of the nine.

Fathom, by Cherie Priest
A Companion to Wolves, by Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear
Last Argument of Kings, by Joe Abercrombie
The Sparrow, by Mary Doria Russell
Hand of Isis, by Jo Graham
City Without End, by Kay Kenyon
Lamentation, by Ken Scholes
Ammonite, by Nicola Griffith
Cyteen, by C. J. Cherryh

I’ve linked up my reviews of each.

I’m rather curious which books will make my end of year list for the top nine books I’ve had the pleasure to read. I suspect Ammonite, City Without End, and The Sparrow are near locks. Hand of Isis won’t make the final list (I almost cut it from this one). The rest? It’s going to be tough paring down the top nine for the year. I recently read a novel which is sure to make my list.

Good stuff here. Gotta tell you.

June 2009 Reading

On the heels of my much delayed post on what I read in May, here's the same for June.


54. Ammonite – Nicola Griffith
55. Genesis – Paul Chafe
56. Cyteen – C. J. Cherryh
57. Gifts - Ursula K. Le Guin
58. The Sioux Spaceman – Andre Norton
59. Fury – Aaron Allston
60. The Eye of the Monster – Andre Norton
61. The X Factor – Andre Norton
62. The Walls of the Universe – Paul Melko
63. Voorloper – Andre Norton


Graphic Novels
43. Fables: The Good Prince – Bill Willingham
44. Fables: War and Pieces – Bill Willingham
45. Whiteout: The Melt – Greg Rucka
46. Queen and Country: Operation Blackwall – Greg Rucka
47. Preacher: Til the End of the World – Garth Ennis
48. Pride of Baghdad – Brian K. Vaughan
49. 30 Days of Night – Steve Niles

The four Andre Norton novels were part of an omnibus edition which will be reviewed for Fantasy Magazine. Here's the short of it: They weren't good, no matter what John Ottinger says. He's wrong.

The best books of the month were Ammonite and Cyteen. Also - Pride of Baghdad is something special.

The worst, the Norton. Though, I've not a whole lot of patience for Genesis, either.

Previous Reading
January
February
March
April
May

May 2009 Reading

Once again, I am way late in doing a wrap up post of what I've read. This is for May 2009. I'll post the June listing later today.


44. The Edge of the World – Kevin J. Anderson
45. The Six Directions of Space – Alastair Reynolds
46. Toll the Hounds – Steven Erikson
47. Rides a Dread Legion – Raymond E. Feist
48. Inferno – Troy Denning
49. A Crown of Swords – Robert Jordan
50. World’s End – Mark Chadbourn
51. Lamentation – Ken Scholes
52. Gunpowder – Joe Hill
53. Tsunami – L. Timmel Duchamp

Graphic Novels
27. Y: The Last Man: Unmanned – Brian K. Vaughan
28. Fables: The Mean Seasons – Bill Willingham
29. Girl Genius: Agatha Heterodyne and the Golden Trilobite – Phil and Kaja Foglio
30. Girl Genius: Agatha Heterodyne and the Voice of the Castle – Phil and Kaja Foglio
31. Preacher: Gone to Texas – Garth Ennis
32. Fables: Homelands – Bill Willingham
33. Fables: Arabian Nights (and Days) – Bill Willingham
34. Queen and Country: Operation Crystal Ball – Greg Rucka
35. Fables: Wolves – Bill Willingham
36. Fables: Sons of Empire – Bill Willingham
37. Transmetropolitan: Year of the Bastard – Warren Ellis
38. Bone: Out from Boneville – Jeff Smith
39. Queen and Country: Declassified, Volume 1 – Greg Rucka
40. Star Wars Legacy: Alliance – John Ostrander
41. Whiteout – Greg Rucka
42. Y: The Last Man: Cycles – Brian Vaughan
43. Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall – Bill Willingham


If you didn't notice, I got a bit obsessed with Fables this month. I'm now all caught up with the published collections, so that'll slow down. I'm still reading graphics, but perhaps not in the raw volume I did in May. We'll see if saying that will make me a liar.

Anyway, the best books of the month are Gunpowder and Lamentation. The best graphics, as you might guess, are Fables and Queen & Country.

The worst is easy. The Edge of the World by Kevin Anderson.


Previous Reading
January
February
March
April