Best of 2010

2010 was another busy year here at Neth Space. The real world has kept me from reading as much as I’d like – but that’s nothing new, just a bit extreme as I dealt with the things ranging from the divorce of my parent to the birth of my second child and a few medical challenges thrown in. I did manage to read 30 books in 2010. A few interesting stats are summed up below.

Stats:

• 30 books read
• 24 Published in 2010
• 3 Published in 2009
• 3 Published earlier (2007, 1976 and 1969)
• 1 was YA (down from 5 in 2009)
• 20 are part of a series
• 25 were provided by the publisher
• I read more books published by Random House (7) and its various imprints than any other – 2 from Del Rey, 2 from Ballantine, 2 from Spectra, and 1 from Pantheon (I suppose you could bounce it up to a total with 8 if you count 1 book from Transworld on the other side of the pond). The next closest were Tor (6), Pyr (4) and Orbit with 3.
• 3 books were published by ‘small press’ (down from 5 last year)
• 2 are short story collections (same as last year)
• 8 are written by female authors (up from 3 last year) and 5 were written by a person of color or other distinct ethnicity from my own (possibly more since this is a difficult thing to keep track of)
• 6 are what I consider science fiction (up from 4 in 2009)
• 10 are what I consider epic fantasy (down from 18)
• Only 1 is what I consider steampunk (down from 3)
• 8 are what I consider urban fantasy (up from 5)
• 4 are what I consider sword and sorcery
• Only  is what I consider alternative history/historical fantasy
• I conducted 7 Interviews and helped out with a couple of others
• There have been approximately 57,000 site visits this year (not counting RSS) from 139 countries. Roughly 45% from the USA, 12% from the UK, and 9% from Canada.
• The Westeros Forums and Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist are the top referring sites (other than Google).
• My review of Towers of Midnight by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson was the most popular post by far. The next most popular post was my review of The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson, so this year seems to have been the year of Brandon. Third place by less than 100 views went to my review of The Passage by Justin Cronin. I find 4^th place very interesting since it is my review of The First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie – a series that has been out for a while now and a review that is several years old. This tells me that Joe has a strong staying power (or that my Google-fu for that post is particularly good).

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So, the best books I read this year are listed below. It’s not a top 10 list and it’s not presented in any particular order – though my ratings of the books generally get higher as you move down the list – with Who Fears Death as the clear top book of 2010.

Kraken by China Miéville (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound)

Kraken is the latest from the highly decorated China Miéville and a return to London. It’s a story of religious, cultist and criminal fanatics, it’s the story of a young man awakening to world around him, it’s a story of loss, it’s an apocalyptic, action-packed thriller, it’s magical, it’s squidpunk, it’s all a bad joke…and it’s simply an example of a master at work. Highly recommended. (full review)

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound)

The Way of Kings is Sanderson’s most recent original work and the first book in a planned massive series. It’s his best book to date and the start of something very promising. The world is wonderfully creative with a deep history and uncertain future, the characters draw you in and make you care, and it all combines into something very special. Sanderson’s name may have leaped into the spotlight on the coattails of The Wheel of Time (though he was certainly on his way up already), but The Way of Kings proves that he belongs. This is a book that all fans of epic fantasy need to read and it could serve a great introduction for new fans to the genre, both young and not-so-young, as long as they can get past intimidation of 1000+ page book. My final thought can only be this: Brandon, when do we get book 2, because I want it now! (full review)

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound)

So, does The Left Hand of Darkness stand up 40+ years later – emphatically, YES! This novel has a timeless feel about it and a wonderful subtly wrapped in important thoughts that are inherent to our society and species. We will always be a gendered society, but just what do these gender roles mean? And the dichotomies within can apply where they weren’t necessarily aimed – the Cold War of the planet Winter now reads much more like an interesting take on the differences between Democrats and Republicans in the US – and I’m sure that those from other places will find their own modern analogs if they wish. This book earns its write to be at or near the top of any ‘best of’ list and easily belongs in a series of Masterworks. (full review)

The Passage by Justin Cronin (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound)

So, the buzz surrounding The Passage is already huge and I see it only growing. It’s a genre book from a literary writer with potential appeal to a much wider audience than either alone. For us genre readers, a vampire apocalypse novel may not seem like it should be the next great book, but as always, it’s all about the execution – and Cronin executes The Passage with near-perfection. This book earns the buzz, this book should be read and discussed widely, this book is both literary and genre, this is a book I highly recommend. (full review)

Sleepless by Charlie Huston (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound)

So Sleepless is an apocalyptic crime story plus many other pieces that all add up to literary fiction. Yes, this is a book that is both genre and literary (in spite of having a plot). It is very much a discussion on the human condition – it’s just that most of the human conditions viewed are what so many of us would choose to deny exist. This is both a book that I can’t recommend highly enough and a book that I don’t think I ever want to read again. It is excellence, it is depressing as hell, and thankfully, it’s not entirely without hope. (full review)

Crack’d Pot Trail by Steven Erikson (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound)

Erikson has written something I think all authors dream of writing at one point or another but are either too scared or too smart to actually put on paper. Well, as a fan, a critic, and a far from noble knight, I have to say that I loved every juicy bit of Crack'd Pot Trail – I think I’ve developed a taste for it. (full review)

Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound)

As I keep getting at, Who Fears Death is a lot of things, but most importantly, it’s a beautifully written book in a setting can only be considered unique in the world of fantasy. Okorafor’s writing magically reveals the story, effortlessly endearing characters to the reader, and engineering a story that simply must be read. The African feel of Who Fears Death may be what sets it apart from its contemporaries, and it may be the reason many choose to read or pass it by, but the timeless, human story within is the real reason to pick it up.

The bottom line is that Who Fears Death is the chance that readers should take. It celebrates the true diversity of SFF literature and reveals the struggles of a part of the world often overlooked. It’s a timeless, human tale that I highly recommend. (full review)

Honorable Mentions

Of course there are quite a few very good books that didn’t quite crack the uppermost tie – the 5 below just missed the cut. But really, I only read 1 or 2 books that I wouldn’t recommend for one reason or another.

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin

Riddle-Master by Patricia A. McKillip

Towers of Midnight by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson

How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu

Diving into the Wreck by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

And for kicks – the worst book I read in 2010

The Chamber of Ten by Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound)

While The Chamber of Ten is a bit of a breath of fresh air in the world of urban fantasy – there’s not a werewolf or vampire in sight – it suffers under the generic feel of feeling like a Dan Brown imitation. The prose is a bit better that Dan Brown, but the storytelling is not. I think traditional SFF fans won’t find it terribly interesting and traditional thriller fans won’t buy into the speculative aspects of the story. This seems to leave The Chamber of Ten without an audience. (full review)

Best of 2009 at Neth Space

It's that time of year again – when a blog like this one is all but required to produce a year's end post prior to the actual end of the year. So, here we are.

Well it’s been another busy year here at Neth Space. The real world has kept me from reading as much as I’d like – but that’s nothing new. I did manage to read 33 books this year (though by true year’s end I’ll probably be at 34 or 35). I suppose a few milestones were reached – sometime over this year I officially went over 100,000 site visits, though with RSS followers who knows when this actually occurred – I’m up to several hundred followers through various RSS feeds. I took the plunge and joined the Twitter phenomenon and I’m up to nearly 250 followers there. A few interesting stats are summed up below.

So, Happy Fesitivus, Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year, Happy End of a Decade (though I believe it technically ends next year) or whatever season’s greetings you would like.

Stats:

• 33 books read
• 27 Published in 2009
• 4 Published in 2008
• 2 Published earlier (2006 and 2001)
• 5 are YA
• 24 are part of a series
• 30 were provided by the publisher
• I read more books published by Tor (9) than any other. The next closest were Pyr with 4 and Del Rey and Bantam/Transworld with 3 each.
• 5 books were published by ‘small press’
• 2 are short story collections
• Only 3 are written by female authors and only 3 were written by a person of color (possibly more since this is a difficult thing to keep track of)
• Only 4 are what I consider science fiction
• 18 are what I consider epic fantasy
• 3 are what I consider steampunk
• 5 are what I consider urban fantasy
• 2 are what I consider alternative history/historical fantasy
• I conducted 12 Interviews and I was interviewed twice
• There have been approximately 50,000 site visits this year (not counting RSS) from 124 countries. Roughly 50% from the USA, 10% from the UK, and 9% from Canada.
• The Westeros Forums and Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist are the top referring sites (other than google).
• My review of The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson was the most popular post by far. The next most popular post with under half of the views was a post discussing the release of the prologue for Dust of Dreams by Steven Erikson.
• The top referring search phrase (other than ‘Neth Space’ and ‘nethspace) was ‘eon dragoneye reborn sequel’ – but adding up the various combinations of ‘Brent Weeks’ and ‘Black Prism’ would push it to the top.
• People visited the blog via such varied search phrases as ‘cow skin soup’, ‘deep fried haggis’, ‘how did bloody mary got kill’, ‘giant escape r sub zero aus england’, ‘chicken springs road arizona’, and ‘secret agent game where the guy gets to the door and opens the door and gets to win’

So, the best books I read this year are listed below (the exception is Escape From Hell! which was actually read at the end of 2008 but after the best of list had already been posted). It’s not a top 10 list (you’ll find 11 or 12 entries depending on how you count) and it’s not presented in any particular order – though my ratings of the books generally get higher as you move down the list.


Canticle by Ken Scholes (US, UK, Canada, Indiebound)

Scholes’ second book, Canticle, shows significant improvement over his already impressive debut, Lamentation. This is an epic fantasy series that all fans should be reading – this is a series that should be talked about – this is something special. The song that is Canticle demands a response, a response that will come in the forthcoming Antiphon, a response that I cannot wait to see. (full review)

Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie (US, UK, Canada, Indiebound)

Series come to an end – and I’ve said before how it’s often a bitter-sweet kind of moment. With the Last Argument of Kings, Abercrombie seems to have poured on the bitter – which makes it all the more sweet. Abercrombie hasn’t been writing the standard epic fantasy trilogy – and the proof is in the ending. This series has overwhelmed many and under-whelmed more than few – but it something that fans of epic fantasy simply must read for themselves. (full review)

Buyout by Alexander C. Irvine (US, UK, Canada, IndieBound)

Buyout by Alex Irvine caught me by surprise. I was looking for a change of pace and the obvious message behind this book looked to be the thought exercise my brain needed. It proved to be much more. So, science fiction isn’t dead, though it does beg the question of what kind of buyout it could get. (full review)

World’s End and Darkest Hour by Mark Chadbourn (US, UK, Canada, IndieBound)

Originally published in 1999 in the UK, World’s End by Mark Chadbourn begins the Age of Misrule trilogy and a series of books that follow. Simply put: it completely blew me away. I was sucked into the fascinating tale of Celtic magic in conflict the modern world, where evil seeks the end of the world, where ‘good’ may be little better, and those charged with saving us all have their own problems to deal with. Highly recommended. (full review)

Escape from Hell! by Hal Duncan (US, UK, Canada, Indiebound)

Escape From Hell! is a wild ride through the literal Hell – a pulp adventure and angry condemnation. I suppose that some may consider it blasphemy – I consider it brilliant fiction. It’s rare for me to think such, but Escape From Hell! would make a great movie, if anyone had the guts to make it. (full review)

The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson (US, UK, Canada, Indiebound)

While part of me triumphs over completing another series, I also lament the passing of a great story. The Hero of Ages shows how well a series can end and has left me greatly satisfied. (full review)

Twelve by Jasper Kent (US, UK, Canada, Indiebound)

Whether your are looking for a beautifully told historical novel, a cunning vampire tale, or a stark war novel, Twelve will satisfy. Kent embraces both genre and history, resulting in a book that defies classification and spans multiple boundaries. Early success has already lead to the expectation of more to come – the Danilov Quintet will span important events throughout 19th and early 20th Century Russia, with Thirteen Years Later coming soon. After Twelve, I can’t wait to see what Kent throws at us next. (full review)

The Last Hot Time by John M. Ford (US, UK, Canada, Indiebound)

So, what is The Last Hot Time? Well it’s an Americana, elf-punk, urban fantasy, gangster tale, love story hiding the classic American coming-of-age story that can serve as a metaphor for so much more. Or more simply it’s a new classic of SFF literature from a sadly deceased giant of genre and a must-read book. (full review)

The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson (US, UK, Canada, Indiebound)

In all this, The Gathering Storm comes across as I expected – this is a book that those who are still excited about The Wheel of Time will love and it’s a book that will have plenty to complain about for those seeking it. Sanderson does an admirable job of picking up a series at its climax and staying true to it and its fans. Exciting events occur, longstanding mysteries revealed, plots and arcs come to fruition – some scenes in this book will become iconic to the series as a whole. But, the Last Battle hasn’t yet begun, the characters still haven’t been brought together, and major anticipated events remain. All in all, I couldn’t be happier – reading The Gathering Storm brought back my love for these characters and this world. They’ve been a part of my life for nearly 15 years and getting more was a joy. The series is on the right track and Sanderson has proven to me that he deserves to be in the driver’s seat – I simply can’t wait to read what comes next. (full review)

Finch by Jeff VanderMeer (US, Canada, Indiebound)

Finch answers many of the mysteries posed in the first two books of the Ambergris Cycle while standing well enough on its own to introduce new readers to Ambergris. It must be described as noir though the setting of Ambergris sets it apart – is it fantasy, urban fantasy, horror, a political thriller, noir, fungalpunk? Is it all of the above, none of the above? Finch is what you make of it – for me, it’s one of the best books I’ve read this year. (full review)

Medicine Road by Charles de Lint (US, UK, Canada, Indiebound)

In short, I cannot recommend Medicine Road highly enough – though please take note that due to the place I am in the world, it reached me at an exceptionally personal level. I’ve been awed by the writing of de Lint in the past and haven’t read him in some time, and now I feel that it would be a terrible shame to go as long before I read him again. (full review)

Honorable Mentions

Of course there are quite a few very good books that didn’t quite crack the uppermost tier, but are certainly books that I recommend.

• Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
• A Madness of Angels by Kate Griffin
• The Other Lands by David Anthony Durham
• Lamentation by Ken Scholes
• No Dominion by Charlie Huston

And for kicks – the worst book I read in 2009:

The Sheriff of Yrnameer by Michael Rubens (US, UK, Canada, Indiebound)

Frankly put, if I hadn’t been in a small Arizona town on a work assignment that gave me the choice of watching other people work or reading while watching people work with a choice only 3 books (all of which I read), The Sheriff of Yrnameer is not a novel I would have finished reading. Of course, this is a humor novel, which means that if the novel doesn’t appeal to your sense of humor, it’s unlikely you’ll enjoy it. The Sheriff of Yrnameer clearly didn’t appeal to mine – maybe it will appeal to yours, but I won’t bet on it. (full review)

 

Best Endings in SFF

John over at Grasping for the Wind has a new Inside the Blogosphere article. The question is 'What are the best endings in science fiction / fantasy novels?

I give my 2 cents in a pretty wide-ranging field of participants.

2008 - A Year in Review

So, it’s once again time for a year-end roundup of favorites, and it’s once again a bit before the new year as well (see the best of 2006 and 2007). This year has been a busy year for me – my 14 month old son has more or less completely consumed my life and we moved from the relative hell of the desert to the tranquility of the mountains – which included the stress of buying and selling a house in the early stages of what seems to have become some sort of financial armageddon. But, I digress.

A major impact is that this year, I’ve only read about 25 books, which is about half of what I generally aim for (I’ll probably knock out 1 or 2 more before it officially becomes 2009). Of those, 16 were 2008 releases, 8 were earlier than that, and 1 is a 2009 release.

The following 10 stand out above the rest (scoring around 8 or above on my rating scale). Furthermore, the top five stand out even more and are truly outstanding books. Of the top 10, 5 are 2008 releases, 4 earlier, and 1 is the 2009 release. In the top 5, 2 are 2008 releases, 2 are earlier, and 1 is the 2009 release.

Anyway, this year’s best reads at Neth Space:

The Best

Neuropath by Scott Bakker. Bakker branches out into the near-future thriller world with Neuropath, and I have to say that he does so in a big way. The disturbing audacity of this book alone is enough for it to appear on this list.




Already Dead by Charlie Huston. Already Dead is the first book in Huston’s Joe Pitt series. Pitt is your standard PI in a noir world, only he’s a vampire. This book is fun, fast and refreshing. I really need to read more of these.





The Lees of Laughter’s End by Steven Erikson. I believe that in spite of his fame for the mammoth Malazan Book of the Fallen big fat fantasy, Erikson really excels with his shorter fiction. The Lees of Laughter’s End is the best of these that I’ve read.





Lord Tophet by Gregory Frost. The concluding volume of the Shadowbridge Duology, Lord Tophet is the second half of a beautifully written story about stories.





Zoë’s Tale by John Scalzi. Scalzi cracks into the list with his best written book to date. Zoë’s Tale straddles the line between YA and adult oriented fiction and has all the usual charms of a Scalzi book with a bit of something extra.



The Best of the Best

Mistborn: The Final Empire and The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson. Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn series is turning out to be a real breath of fresh air. It both subverts and embraces the typical epic fantasy genre and it does both well. Fans of epic fantasy should run out and read these now if they haven’t already – and the final book is already published.



Toll the Hounds by Steven Erikson. Toll the Hounds is Book 8 in Erikson’s massive series The Malazan Book of the Fallen and perhaps the best one so far. With the strong thematic presence, this entry isn’t for the faint of heart, and I stand by my minority opinion about just how good this book is.



Heroes Die by Matthew Woodring Stover. It’s been 10 years since Heroes Die was originally published and it stands that time well – in fact this is one of the first of what has now become the common, gritty fantasy. And it can kick the ass all those Johnny-come-latelies.



The Dragons of Babel by Michael Swanwick. Along with the book below, The Dragons of Babel stands as my favorite read of 2008. Swanwick beautifully subverts and satires epic fantasy as it tackles both light and weighty themes. Swanwick is an author I need to read more of.



The Judging Eye by R. Scott Bakker. Sharing the top spot, Bakker offers a great preview for 2009. The first book in a new trilogy following his much-acclaimed The Prince of Nothing Trilogy, The Judging Eye is more accessible to the average reader without sacrificing the depth that gained Bakker so much acclaim. A powerful start to a new trilogy.

Year in Review – 2007

It’s been a great year of reading. I did not read as much as I’d have liked – I expect by year’s end I’ll number just short of 40 books read this year. Out of those 40 or so books, most have been books I’d happily recommend, but there’s always a desire to single out the year’s best. Below are my top 11 for 2007 – why 11, because I like it better than 10 (top 11 for 2006). These are presented in no particular order and I’ve starred 2007 releases – enjoy!

Neth Space’s Top 11 Reads for 2007

Bangkok Tattoo by John Burdett (review). The second adventure of Detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep of the Royal Thai Police provides a unique view on so many aspects of western culture from the east. I simply love these stories – I also really enjoyed *Bangkok Haunts (review).

Vellum by Hal Duncan (review). Started in 2006 and finished in 2007, this book is numerically speaking, the highest rated book I’ve read since starting this blog. The language is beautiful in ways that genre books rarely show and story can be powerfully evocative.

*Mainspring by Jay Lake (review). This book debuted with mixed reviews and widely different interpretations – some have seen religious allegory (both positive and negative) and others something else entirely. It is a unique vision of a steampunk earth with God’s creation obvious to all. I include this book because it made me think – possibly more so than any other book I read this year – and that is a powerful thing.

*The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie (review). I simply love this first book of The First Law trilogy. It is epic fantasy that does very little that is new or original – but, it’s all about the execution. Abercrombie laughs at maps and detailed world building while putting all his emphasis on the characters – and they are great characters. It’s written with more wit than most writers use in their entire career.

*The Metatemporal Detective by Michael Moorcock (review). These are the collected stories of Moorcock’s detective Seaton Bregg and his nemesis through the multiverse, Count Zenith. It’s an homage to pulp mysteries of the past, often presented with biting satire, and full of fun for those who have been following Moorcock’s multiverse (and perfectly safe for those who, like me, haven’t). Moorcock is a master writer that any lover of books should read.

*The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (review). This book debuted to huge amounts of buzz and tremendous support from its publisher – it deserves every bit of it in my opinion. It’s a wonderfully told story that engages the reader in a way that few books do.

*Feast of Souls by C.S. (Celia) Friedman (review). Another first book of a new trilogy (three of these recommendations are), and another great introduction. Friedman has been at this for a while and delivers a wonderful set-up with an intriguing magic system and a gritty take on gender relations (yes, I used the word gritty – just not where you typically see it these days).

*New Amsterdam by Elizabeth Bear (review). A wonderfully told mosaic novel set in an Elizabethan, steampunk world. Framed with Sherlockian mysteries, New Amsterdam is a character study of two courtesans and their master, an immortal and two mortals, two men and woman, two respected investigators and a youth – it all depends on the point of view.

*Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (review). A completed series is a wonderful thing – and this is probably the most anticipated series completion in human history. I was amazed to Rowling deal with this unprecedented level of pressure and deliver what I consider to be a great conclusion to her landmark a series.

*The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski (review). Polish master fantasist Sapkowski delivers a powerful mosaic introducing his protagonist of the Witcher Saga. Image fairy tales retold from the distinctive point of view of the Slavic world – you’re only part of the way there.

Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock (review). This World Fantasy Award-winning novel has justifiably become a classic of fantasy literature. Evoking a deep, primal reaction from within the reader, I cannot recommend this book enough.

* Released in 2007