2012 In Review

2012 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 life at home and work keeps me crazy busy. I only managed to read 22 books in 2012, a disappointment, but I still count it as a victory. A few interesting stats are summed up below.

 

Stats:

 

• 22 books read
• 13 Published in 2012
• 3 Published in 2011
• 2 Will be published in 2013
• 2 are what I consider YA (up from 0 in 2011)
• 16 are part of a series
• 15 were provided by the publisher
• 4 are debuts
• I read more books published by Random House (7) and its various imprints than any other – 4 from Del Rey, 1 from Doubleday, and 2 from Transworld (which is UK, so I’m not sure if it counts). I also read 5 from Tor and 3 from Night Shade.
• 4 books were published by ‘small press’ (same as last year)
• None were anthologies or collections (down from 1 last year)
• 7 were written by female authors (up from 4 last year and counting K.J. Parker as female) and 2 were written by a person of color or other distinct ethnicity from my own (up from 1 last year) (possibly more since this is a difficult thing to keep track of)
• 3 are what I consider science fiction (same as last year)
• 9 are what I consider epic fantasy (up from 8 last year)
• Only 1 is what I consider steampunk (same)
• 8 are what I consider urban fantasy (up from 6)
• 1 is what I consider sword and sorcery (down from 2)
• Only  is what I consider alternative history/historical fantasy (same)
• I conducted only 1 interview and helped out with a couple of others
• There have been approximately 53,000 site visits this year (not counting RSS) from 144 countries. About the same as last year, and the year before that, and the year before that … – I’m quietly happy as a mid-list blogger.
• The Westeros Forums, Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist and Twitter are the top referring sites (other than Google).
• My post about the release date for the next book by Scott Lynch was the most popular post (when’s it going to be published, Scott?), followed by my review of The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson. Third place goes to 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 was 3^rd place last year as well). This tells me that Joe has a strong staying power (or that my Google-fu for that post is particularly good).
• And I posted a bunch of reviews of the scotch/whisky that I enjoy drinking while I read.

 

So, the best books I read this year are listed below. With only 22 total books read this year, I’ve limited it to the few that managed to stand out.

 

A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson (Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon)

 

For all its flaws, I’d been waiting for this one for almost 20 years and I thought it paid off. Laughter and Tears. (review)




 

 

Of Blood and Honey by Stina Leicht (Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon)
 

Just wow. In any other year this would have been tops. A spectacular debut and I can’t wait for more. (review)




 

 

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Book Depository, Powell’sBooks, Indiebound)

 

I had to see what all the buzz was about. It turned out that I really enjoyed it. (review)

 

Honorable Mentions

 

Of course there are quite a few very good books that didn’t quite crack the uppermost tie – the 2 below just missed the cut. But really, I only read 2 or 3 books that I wouldn’t recommend for one reason or another.

 

Dancing With Bears by Michael Swanwick (review)









 

Blade of Tyshalle by Matthew Woodring Stover (review)







 

 

And for kicks – the worst book I read in 2012

 

City of Dark Magic by Magnus Flyte (review)

 

Please read the review – it was so awful that everyone should have a taste.





 

 

And the most disappointing book I read in 2012

 

Orb, Sceptre, Throne by Ian C. Esslemont (review)

 

After the big improvement that I thought Esslemont had with Stoneweilder (review) I was very disappointed by the step back. This one was a mess that I can only recommend to the hardiest of Malazan fans.

A Challenge From My Wife…Or My Favorite Books

My wife recently issued me a challenge – she asked ‘what are your favorite 5 or 10 books’. On the surface it doesn’t sound like much of a challenge, but she knows me well enough to know that for me it was quite a challenge.

I’m terrible with lists of this sort – my mind simply doesn’t work in terms of favorites. I immediately said I needed qualifiers for a list like that – her response: ‘I knew you’d say that’. I needed to know what she was after – most entertaining books, books that ‘moved’ me the most, that lingered the longest, etc. – because a list of each of those qualifications could be very different. What about series? I may like a series enough to want to include it on the list, but that could be several books long and full of caveats.

So, I pestered her some more – basically she wanted to know what books I enjoyed the most so she could read them and appreciate more about what I like and get to know me better. After 10 years of marriage, I found this very touching – we’ve always shared books, but it’s generally more like ‘I think you’ll really like this book’. This time it’s all about the books I like.

I also got her to cut out series – she doesn’t have much free time, so she just wants books that can stand alone. Awesome, that cut things down considerably.

So, where did I go from there? It was tough and I thought about it quite a lot. But honestly, once I got into it the list began forming rather easily. Now, it’s a list with lots of variety. And some of these are books that I haven’t read in many years, so if I were to read them today I’m unsure if I’d truly place them on the list. Also, some of the books that I really enjoy are because of the ways they may subvert or build from ideas in hundreds of other books that I’ve read – my wife is not as well read in the SFF world to ‘get it’. However, I decided it didn’t matter and just went with my gut. She will probably learn a lot about me – some of it will bewilder her, some of it will amuse her, some of it will be expected, other parts less so. And now you get to too, if you so choose.

I ended up choosing 8 books. Another day may have been more or less and other books may have made the list with some of these being left off. But here is the list at the moment (in no particular order, so I’ll go alphabetical).

City of Saints and Madmen by Jeff VanderMeer (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound)

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

Escape from Hell! by Hal Duncan (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound)

Medicine Road by Charles de Lint (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound)

Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound)

Perdido Street Station by China Miéville (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound)

The Forever War by Joe Haldeman (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound)

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

I thought about giving reasons, but I’m going to keep them to me for now. I’ve linked reviews where available , so you can get an idea (note, some of these reviews are quite old and I would hope that I've improved a bit in my reviewing skills since then). Obviously it’s a very eclectic list – some are probably expected, others are probably not books your familiar with. I’ve ‘enjoyed’ each in some way, though in very different ways. But I’m sure I could find common threads in each if I were so inclined. Anyway, there you have it…as close to an absolute best of list that you’ll ever see from me. Enjoy!

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)

 

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

2007 Hugo Nominations

I am not a member of the WSFS and therefore not eligible to vote or nominate for the Hugo. This doesn’t bother me much, but I've decided to share what I would nominate if I could. I don’t feel I’m qualified to speak for nominations in categories other than best novel, so my comments are limited to best novel only.

It is very important to note that there is a very good rule change this year according to Kevin Standlee. I’m quoting this from comments he gave at William Lexner’s Hugo post.

…the Business Meeting may (and in 2006 did) pass a eligibility-extension resolution providing that works originally published outside the United States of America and first published in the United States of America in 2006 shall also be eligible for Hugo Awards given in the following year. Therefore, those works published previously in the UK and Australia are eligible for the 2007 Hugo Awards if their first US publication was in 2006.

If a book that was released outside of the US previously got a Hugo nomination (such as River of Gods by Ian McDonald) it is not eligible for a second nomination (which makes sense).

The following are books that I would nominate (or consider nominating) for best novel.

Vellum by Hal Duncan. With the rule change this is eligible, and would get my vote to win, no matter what it’s up against. It’s an amazing work. (review)

His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik. A very fun and new approach to dragons – definitely a recommended read and deserves a nomination, but not the win. (review)

The Thousandfold Thought by R. Scott Bakker. This is the best fantasy series to come around in years. Bakker deserves the nomination for this conclusion to his excellent trilogy, and I certainly wouldn’t complain too loudly if he won (though I don’t think he has a chance in hell of even getting nominated – too bad). (review)

Infoquake by David Louis Edelman. A new twist on sci-fi as the corporate board room of the future takes center stage. This is an excellent debut novel and should appeal to usual Hugo-voting crowd. (review)

Mappa Mundi by Justina Robson. A great hard sci-fi thriller that will make you think. It’s another book that should appeal to the Hugo crowd, and has earned the right to be nominated. (review)

The Crooked Letter by Sean Williams. This is dark fantasy as I’ve not seen it before. Another work deserving of nomination. (review)

So, those are the books that I’ve read that I feel deserve nomination. There are a few that I haven’t read yet, that I trust do indeed deserve nomination. These include:

• The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
• Blindsight by Peter Watts
• Shriek: An Afterword by Jeff VanderMeer
• The Road by Cormac McCarthy

So, nominate books if you can, and vote when the finalists come out. If you're like me and can't, know that the above books are probably worth reading.

EDIT: For those that are members of the WSFS and are going to nominate for the Hugo awards, you should read this post by Patrick Nielsen Hayden which points out some important errors in the nominating form.

I Hate Making Lists!

I am very bad at making lists, and this is nothing new. Ask me what my favorite of anything is and you’ll probably get a vague, non-committal answer. A list is just another form of an absolute for me – it’s either part of the list, or not – it’s absolute, it’s certain. I don’t deal well with things that way (ironically, some of the more keen observers may be able to make a connection between opposition to absolutes in an inclusion in one of the lists at the end of this post). I’m even worse when I’m asked to rank things in lists.

Lists just don’t allow for the expression of different moods, different times, different audiences, different circumstances, what I haven’t read, what I don’t know about, etc. I almost want to list all the reasons I hate lists, but I know I’ll leave something out – do you feel my pain here people.

I’m a bit better at making lists when it’s from some finite group of a reasonable size. For example – I was able to make this best of list for books I read in 2006. But even that was a struggle.

Several years ago as part of a detailed personality test that I got to do as part of pre-marital counseling I found out that my dislike of lists goes strait to my personality (INTP for those who are curious). This came up fairly often since several of the exercises were making and ranking various lists – basically I would find ways to eliminate things by making them irrelevant. In the end this would make that particular exercise almost useless since my ranking method was totally incompatible with the scoring system.

So, I was asked for a top 10 list for books and a top 5 list for series over at Fantasybookspot. As an associate review for them, I can see why, but it just chafes – in a really uncomfortable place. If I were asked to make this list in a week, it’d probably be different. If were for a different audience – it’d be different. I’ll look at the list a year from now and wonder what the hell I was thinking. I hate these lists. Anyway, below are those lists – I at least got them changed from Top 10 to Recommended Books or Series (and notice the lack of numbers - they are in no particular order or rank).

Be assured that there are reasons for the books and series making these lists and they are of course personal to me – they are my lists, however much I hate them. Comment, criticize, ignore…whatever. I’ll back up why it’s on my list if you want, but I just can’t bring myself to do a more detailed explanation of each item at this time.


Recommended Books

• City of Saints and Madmen – Jeff VanderMeer (review)
• Vellum – Hal Duncan
• Tigana – Guy Gavríel Kay
• Perdido Street Station – China Miéville
• The Years of Rice and Salt – Kim Stanley Robinson
• The Forever War – Joe Haldeman (review)
• Good Omens – Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
• Infoquake – David Louis Edelman (review)
• Snow Crash – Neil Stephenson (review)
• Kafka on the Shore – Haruki Murakami (review)

Recommended Series

• Wheel of Time – Robert Jordan
• Malazan Tales of the Fallen – Steven Erikson
• The Prince of Nothing – R. Scott Bakker (review)
• The Dark Tower – Stephen King
• A Song of Ice and Fire – George R.R. Martin