So, given all the Hugo hullabaloo this year, let’s hunker down and return to center and simply talk about awesome books by authors you dig.
This is pretty simple: drop into the comments, talk about one book you liked from the science-fiction or fantasy genres — the qualifications must be that the book had to have been released in (I know this isn’t the precise awards timeframe) the last 12 months.
Tell us what it is.
Tell us who wrote it.
Tell us why you love it so.
Forget sanctioned awards right now and just talk about the awards show that goes on and on inside your heart. (The awards show inside my heart is hosted by a Bob Odenkirk and David Cross, FYI. Unless I’m hungry, in which case it’s hosted by a sentient ham sandwich.)
Mark Webb says:
The Godless by fellow Australian Ben Peek was one of my best reads for the last 12 months. Really refreshing take on a fantasy world and delightful use of language. Really enjoyed his treatment of time as well – the book moved seamlessly between the past and present in a way that reminded me of Catch 22 (different techniques, but the same affect).
My internal award ceremony is hosted by a giant steam-powered robot wombat. But that’s Australia for you.
April 7, 2015 — 7:15 AM
D C Grant - Writer says:
Bound – Alex Caine book 1 by Alan Baxter. A great read, fantastic first chapter that hooks you in from the start and then doesn’t let go. I loved it and went on to read the next two in the series.
April 7, 2015 — 7:29 AM
Deanmcsmith says:
Slightly off topic, but his ‘Write the fight right’ is an excellent craft book.
April 7, 2015 — 8:00 AM
Clementine Danger says:
Thanks for the tip! I took one look at that and bought it.
April 7, 2015 — 9:02 AM
Deanmcsmith says:
It was recommended in Rayne Halls ‘Writing Fight Scenes’ another excellent craft book.
April 7, 2015 — 9:13 AM
melorajohnson says:
Just what I needed right now! Thanks!
April 7, 2015 — 9:34 AM
Brenda says:
Oh, ‘A Darkling Sea,’ by James L. Cambias was wonderful! I believe it came out last year, but was reprinted Feb. 2015. It was featured at our library where I work, in a collection titled: ‘Best Books of 2014’.
But why do I choose this one for my comment?! Let me count the ways! The worldbuilding and alien species found in the book were so fresh and original. Well executed and very believable. The characters were well developed, layered, and interesting. He had me fully invested in the outcome of the situation that the humans and aliens found themselves in.
Never boring from start to finish. It was fun and imaginative. And very well written.
I loved it.
April 7, 2015 — 7:39 AM
Paul Weimer says:
I’m going to cheat a little, Chuck, and talk about a book split into two volumes.
K.V. Johansen writes epic fantasy with a Tolkenian like deep worldbuilding history, long lived characters, and Silk Road Fantasy landscapes. Devils, Wizards, Traders, strange magic items, and jealous Gods. The writing is phenomenally good, feeling like a story told in a caravanserai on a long night on the trading road.
The two books, together called Marakand, are The Leopard and The Lady.
I nominated them together for a Hugo last year.
April 7, 2015 — 7:54 AM
Louhish says:
I had to buy these twice – once in e-book so I could read them immediately, and again in paper so I could loan them to all my friends.
There is so much well developed history, both to the world and the characters, but it’s all made to flow naturally within the story.
April 7, 2015 — 7:28 PM
Mikaela says:
I have to make a plug for Wolf Interval by Chrysoula Tzavelas. So good!
April 7, 2015 — 7:57 AM
Deanmcsmith says:
I’m one great big horror geek here, but I did come across a great entry to the Urban Fantasy genre in Becca Mills Solatium (2014), sequel to Nolander. Great writing.
April 7, 2015 — 7:58 AM
Jack Lusted says:
The Inheritance Trilogy by NK Jemsin. A bit of a cheat but the combined book of the trilogy came out last year so I’m going to count it. Absolutely mind blowing world building that produces a unique fantasy tale about gods and mortals that is just so elegantly human. One of the best stories I’ve read in a long long time.
April 7, 2015 — 7:59 AM
Alicia says:
Good cheat – that was the best series I read last year & I was trying to figure out how to make it fit the rules.
April 12, 2015 — 7:55 AM
B Tonksington-Smythe (@captainraz) says:
I keep raving about “Ancillary Sword” by Ann Leckie which did in fact make the list for best novel, and deservedly so. That and the previous book “Ancillary Justice” just have me making loud wailing noises and vague complaints about “feels”. I’d never read anything like them. The concept blew my mind, I care a lot about the characters and I loved the things with the language of the Radch being bad at gender pronouns and thus everyone is she by default.
Currently reading though the “Mammoth Book of SF by Women” edited by Alex Dally McFarlane, which have way through has yet to give me a story I truly haven’t liked. Highlights so far include “Excerpt from a Letter by a Social-realist Aswang” by Kristin Mandigma, “Somadeva: A Sky River Sutra” by Vandana Singh, “Boojum” by Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette, “Spider the Artist” by Nnedi Okorafor and “Astrophilia” by Carrie Vaughn.
I also really enjoyed reading “Where the Trains Turn” by Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen which is nicely translated by Liisa Rantalaiho. This novella was a read in one sitting story, kind of haunting and took me a while to pin down the scifi aspect of it. Great read.
April 7, 2015 — 8:01 AM
Josh Moyes says:
Man, given the current climate I’m almost loathe to admit what my top picks are. But fuck it, I’mma go all White Guy over here.
The Southern Reach Trilogy by Jeff Vandermeer was extraordinary.
Half a King by Joe Abercrombie was also great, just in very different ways.
Caveat: these might be the only spec-fic books I read last year, so I’m not picking from a huge field.
April 7, 2015 — 8:22 AM
Anthony says:
A great work is nothing to be ashamed of liking. Nor does those two books say anything about you as a person. You’re not a bigot because you liked Abercrombie’s Half a King over all other works you’ve read this year. He does good work. Thanks for the recommendation. 🙂
April 7, 2015 — 9:26 AM
Anthony says:
my grammar errors are real…I must need caffeine.
April 7, 2015 — 9:26 AM
David Wilson says:
I really liked Acceptance by Jeff Vandermeer, a great end to a good triology. I started with the 2nd book first and then went back and read all three in order. I loved the director’s chapters because they are written from a 2nd person (you) point of view.
April 7, 2015 — 8:25 AM
shagun1593 says:
I haven’t read many SFF books, but 1984 by George Orwell and Hunger Games series are my favorite books till now in this genre. George Orwell is great wordsmith and his novels are more of any eye-opener than a literary read.
April 7, 2015 — 8:27 AM
james orion says:
I couldn’t put down Marcus Sakey’s “A Better World.” It’s the second book in his Brilliance Saga. Both books are expertly done. The characters are awesome, the plotting is fast paced- every time you think you have it pinned down he throws another curve your way. His world building takes the book to a whole new level. It takes place in a current day America where since 1980 one percent of the population is born with amazing gifts. These ‘brilliants’ change the way our world works and, because of this, the majority of the world fears them. I’ll leave it at that. Check it out, you won’t be let down.
April 7, 2015 — 8:29 AM
mikes75 says:
M. R. Carey’s The Girl With All the Gifts was absolutely perfect, and Cixin Liu’s The Three-Body Problem hurt my head in the best possible ways. Also Lauren Beukes’ Broken Monsters, which was like The Wire filtered through David Lynch.
April 7, 2015 — 8:42 AM
Nancy Hunter says:
I totally second The Girl With All the Gifts and Broken Monsters. Since we seem to have common reading tastes, I will add Liu’s The Three-Body Problem to my TBR list!
April 7, 2015 — 12:42 PM
cjaybee says:
I strongly agree with a number of prior posts – Sakey, Vandermeer, Abercrombie, Leckie & Baxter – wrote some great books this year and I enjoyed them greatly. As an aside, Vandermeer’s “Wonderbook” should be mandatory study (not just reading) for any writer, speculative fiction or not.
I just finished “City of Stairs” by Robert Bennet Jackson and was blown away by the extraordinary world building, character consistency, “wheel within wheel” plot twists and emotional impact of his reveals during the work. And the novel serves as a perfect example of how to populate one’s pages with interesting, compelling and overall kick-ass side characters who somehow manage to never *quite* eclipse the protagonist’s story.
Currently binge-reading everything else by Jackson I can get my hands on.
April 7, 2015 — 8:53 AM
Joe H. says:
I’m also going to cheat a bit — The Man of Gold by M.A.R. Barker got released in eBook form this year (with possible physical edition to follow) after being out of print since, what, 1984? This was the first novel published for his Tekumel setting, and was instrumental in teaching me that fantasy didn’t have to be just pseudo-European Renaissance Festival settings — Tekumel is populated by numerous strange alien races, and even the humans are pretty non-standard, with intricately detailed cultures that kind of combine features of the Aztecs, the Mughals and Barsoom. And it’s a damned fine story, to boot.
April 7, 2015 — 8:55 AM
Bookewyrme says:
I’m not sure I can pick just one! My two favorites in the last year were Gail Carriger’s latest Finishing School Book, Waistcoats & Weaponry, because I’ve loved her work from the beginning. But I also discovered a new author, Shira Gassman, and read one of her books recently. I read the middle book of her Mangoverse Trilogy, Climbing the Datepalm, and it was lovely. Chockfull of queer characters of color having adventures and being awesome, which is a rare delight indeed.
April 7, 2015 — 9:00 AM
revbobmib says:
I thoroughly enjoyed W&W, too. Prudence is on my must-read-soon list, and I might jump to it after I finish Daniel Levine’s Hyde. (Which, bonus, includes the original story as a lengthy appendix.)
April 7, 2015 — 3:39 PM
Bookewyrme says:
I just started Prudence last night, and loving it already. Though I discovered through reading it that I’ve apparently somehow forgotten to read Timeless! (There was a while where I didn’t keep up with releases from the Soulless series, and somehow missed it).
April 9, 2015 — 12:17 AM
luraj2612 says:
I’m so glad someone mentioned Waistcoats & Weaponry! I was going to cheat and say it even though I’ve yet to actually read it. I just finished the Parasol Protectorate series a couple of weeks ago. The very next day, I read Etiquette and Espionage in one sitting! Curtsies & Conspiracies is sitting right beside me now, though I haven’t read it yet either (will read it later tonight or tomorrow afternoon). I’m having to wait on W&W because the local county library system only has ONE copy! (They have 4 or 5 each of the first two, with my local branch having both of the first two but not the third one.) As I reserved W&W as soon as I finished E&E (and got a few hours’ sleep), I’ve been waiting about two weeks for it and there are still two people ahead of me! Argh!
Well, that ended up longer than expected. Sorry for the ramblyness.
April 7, 2015 — 3:57 PM
revbobmib says:
The good news is that, since the Custard Protocol is a sequel series to the Parasol Protectorate, there should be no reason you can’t dive right into PRUDENCE if it’s available. The Finishing School books should have little or no effect on it.
April 7, 2015 — 4:18 PM
Alexvdl says:
Heck yeah! I burned through the first three Finishing School books in 5 days. Amazing work.
April 7, 2015 — 7:45 PM
Mike Voss says:
Forrest Aguirre is one of those people who lives, insofar as one can, in the world of the wierd. One of his favorite graphic pieces, judging from a recent Goodreads review, is Pim and Francie: The Golden Bear Days, by Al Columbia. I’ll wait here while you go look that up. Okay. You’re perhaps a little frightened of this man now. But imagine instead that the same guy who loves Al Columbia’s truly scary stuff wrote a novel, described in part by the publisher as “a decadent thrill-ride through 18th-century Europe . . . and Hell” that tells the actually sweet and endearing story of a golem and a fairy and their quest to understand the former’s origins. That would be “Heraclix and Pomp”, Aguirre’s first full-length novel after publishing numerous shorter pieces. The gentle golem and playful fairy get into all sorts of problematic situations
in their quest – as one might expect – and Aguirre’s prose style throughout is delightfully descriptive in a “takes-you-there” fashion The mysteries of Heraclix’s origins are revealed at an enjoyable pace and Pomp the fairy learns as much about the human world from Heraclix as she does from following him through it. They even take that journey to the underworld mentioned in the novel’s blurb. Decadent, yes. Scary, not in the way the author’s tastes might lead you to expect. In the end I was left not only with days and weeks of reflection on this novel, but also with a huge desire to read another one like it. Alas, I’ll be hard pressed to manage it, as Aguirre has produced a very singular work here.
April 7, 2015 — 9:01 AM
Sarah Bewley says:
WE ARE NOT GOOD PEOPLE by Jeffrey Somers. Very gritty urban fantasy. The story: In the world of this book, magic costs. It’s fueled by blood, and most magicians will get the blood they need – whether it’s willingly sold or not. Lem has a gift for the words, but refuses to bleed others to fuel his spells. Mags is not too bright, but a huge man, and is Lem’s friend and responsibility. When they accidentally discover a spell about to be completed that will result in the end of life for everyone except a select few – they set out to stop it. In doing so, they set of a chain of events that literally changes time over and over again. Why I love it? Jeffrey Somers has a gift for words that makes you immediately sink into his universe. Every opening paragraph of his books grabs me and drags me right into what is going on. Lem and Mags – their friendship and their loyalty to one another – are the heart of the story. It is impossible not to care about them.
April 7, 2015 — 9:02 AM
PJ Friel-Edwards says:
Just picked up FIXER to give him a try. The world sounds really interesting.
April 7, 2015 — 9:57 AM
Allison M. Dickson says:
BIRD BOX by Josh Malerman.
I love stories that hint at horrifying end of world scenarios without necessarily revealing all the mechanisms. It reminded me a bit of THE ROAD, only with more accessible prose.
April 7, 2015 — 9:08 AM
Brent says:
I struggle to remember just what I’ve read, when, so I’m certain that I’ve forgotten some great books. But one that I read not long ago, and which came out in October 2014, was Patrick Rothfuss’s side-book “The Slow Regard of Silent Things.” I’ve enjoyed the first two books in his Kingkiller trilogy, but they had certain flaws of rambling on in places. But this was a polished little gem, almost more novella than novel in length and tightly structured.
The fantastic thing is that while there is a real plot and emotional highs and lows, it is almost all driven by how the protagonist views the world rather than by what the world does (fair warning: the protagonist is a pretty cracked and skewed lens through which to view the world—we never do know how of how she parses the world is deep insight and how much is internal hallucination).
I’m not claiming that the book is perfect, but I was ridiculously happy while reading it and for days afterwards.
April 7, 2015 — 9:12 AM
Alexvdl says:
I have to throw out some love for GEMINI CELL by Myke Cole. Navy SEAL lich fighting to save his still alive wife? PUlse pounding action AND a love triangle? Myke Cole, you genre-bending son of a gun!
Also, I really, really enjoyed James A. Moore’s SEVEN FORGES and BLASTED LANDS. I want the third one like… NOW.
April 7, 2015 — 9:14 AM
Chris Lites says:
The Peripheral by William Gibson.
This is my review for The Rumpus: http://therumpus.net/2014/11/the-peripheral-by-william-gibson/
April 7, 2015 — 9:17 AM
David Rain says:
“The Girl With All The Gifts” by M.R. Carey because it was a fresh and incredibly engaging take on the zombie apocalypse.
“Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” by David Shafer because it read like Tom Wolfe had written a conspiracy thriller.
“Providence Of Fire” by Brian Staveley because it managed to surpass it’s brilliant predecessor in every regard. Epic fantasy for people who thought they were done with epic fantasy.
“Broken Monsters” by Lauren Beukes because it was the best written all-out supernatural thriller I’ve read in years.
“The Bone Clocks” by David Mitchell because it’s a decade spanning epic filled with fantastic characters AND immortal soul eating villains.
April 7, 2015 — 9:17 AM
Matt Black says:
Year Zero by Rob Ried – satire/comedy sci-fi. Absolutely awesome.
April 7, 2015 — 9:18 AM
Clementine Danger says:
Hey, I didn’t want to bug you about it in the comments for the previous post, but I’ve been dying to know what those two zombie novels you mentioned were. If you’re not comfortable mentioning them here either that’s cool, I respect that. But I’m also really curious.
Year Zero looks awesome. This thread has doubled my To Read list.
April 7, 2015 — 9:37 AM
Matt Black says:
So I don’t want to drag either author into these shenanigans, but
A) it turns out both authors have been mentioned in other threads, so I won’t really be dragging them into the Hugo nonsense
B) I figure leaving a five-star review for each one can’t really hurt them, so here are my reviews of both series’.
http://alfalfamargaritas.blogspot.com/2015/04/when-there-is-no-more-room-in-hell.html
I will note that the right-leaning series immediately passes the Bechdel test and has NOTHING racist, homophobic or misogynistic.
April 7, 2015 — 11:37 AM
revbobmib says:
I own both series, and read the first book of the left-leaning one long enough ago that I should probably re-read it before proceeding to book two. I’ve deliberately held off on starting the other series, deciding to let all four books come out so I can zip through them all at once. Eventually. 🙂
April 7, 2015 — 4:15 PM
Matt Black says:
All of four books in each series are great. 4 or 5 stars for each books, 5/5 overall for each series.
April 7, 2015 — 4:52 PM
melorajohnson says:
I’m going to go totally main stream here (partially because I just don’t have enough time for reading) but I really loved the latest Dresden novel by Jim Butcher. It felt like he came back to some of his better writing. That chat with Harry and Hades was *grinz* sublime for me.
April 7, 2015 — 9:40 AM
PJ Friel-Edwards says:
Husband and wife team, Ilona Andrews are at the top of my awards list with their book MAGIC BREAKS. It’s book seven of the Kate Daniels Urban Fantasy series (it might be listed under Paranormal Romance, but it’s not even close to a bodice ripper so don’t let that scare you off) and it gave fans of the series that father-daughter showdown we’d all been craving.
The reason I love the book (and the whole series) so much is because of Kate. She’s not just some chick with a magic sword and a bad ass attitude (although, she has attitude in spades). She’s strong, caring, funny, logical, stubborn, self-sacrificing, and just utterly human. I absolutely believe that she exists somewhere on Earth and I want her to be my best friend. haha! I’ve also NEVER rolled my eyes at anything I’ve read in their books. That doesn’t happen often for me.
To sweeten the pot, the authors have created a fascinating world that’s deadly, but not without hope and a few chuckles along the way. And what they did with vampires is worth the price of admission alone. 😉
April 7, 2015 — 9:43 AM
Tasha Turner says:
I second this book and series. Fantastic world building, characters are 3 dimensional (including secondary), humor, a gritty world, and plenty of action. It’s Urban Fantasy, but because it’s written under a woman’s name and trad published it has a bit of romance *rolls eyes* so some readers mistakenly classify it under paranormal romance.
April 7, 2015 — 1:53 PM
PJ Friel-Edwards says:
Agreed. 🙂
April 7, 2015 — 2:28 PM
Jennifer Lawrence says:
Hot Lead, Cold Iron by Ari Marmell just blew me away. (May 2014). The style, the characterization, the sly little bits of wordplay, the tone, and of course, the subject matter. Eagerly looking forward to the sequel next month.
The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black (January 2015). Drawn in from the very first paragraph.
Neil Gaiman’s Trigger Warning. Not finished with it, but so far, I’ve cried twice, burst out laughing once, and had to put the book down and back away in horror once.
Sparrow Hill Road by Seanan McGuire. Eep. Migods.
April 7, 2015 — 9:56 AM
UrsulaV says:
Amal El-Motar did some fantastic short stories last year. And I liked “Written on the Hides of Foxes” by MacFarlane quite a lot.
April 7, 2015 — 10:15 AM
Sigrid Ellis says:
Oh, I *loved* City of Stairs, by Robert Jackson Bennett. This book, this BOOK, y’all.
The cranky judge who is a retired commander — and who happens to be a fifty-something woman.
The investigator who is underestimated because she is a younger woman.
The bodyguard who in underestimated because he is a “savage” outsider.
The ENTIRE look at colonialism and its effects, in a way that isn’t preachy or bombastic.
The lovely murder mystery, in which a locked room is not a locked room.
I love this book.
April 7, 2015 — 10:17 AM
Debbie says:
your comments convinced me to give it a look. Thanks!
April 7, 2015 — 11:05 AM
kathrynflaherty says:
Emergence (Dave verses the Monster book 1) by John Birmingham. I got sucked right in and I was cheering as I read it. The action was nonstop with high fantasy tropes in a modern setting.
I loved it because it was exactly what I needed to read at the time, pure escapism.
April 7, 2015 — 10:19 AM
pmillhouse says:
LOVED LOVED The Guardian Angel of Farflung Station by Ed Hoorneart. Terrific space opera plot, great setting, awesome character development, and I seriously loved the romance.
Here’s the Link: http://www.amazon.com/Guardian-Angel-Farflung-Station-ebook/dp/B00OGNOTZY/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1428417014&sr=1-1&keywords=The+angel+of+farflung+station
April 7, 2015 — 10:36 AM
pmillhouse says:
OOps – it’s Ed Hoornaert. (Can’t type.)
April 7, 2015 — 10:42 AM
Cyd says:
Feed by Mira Grant.
It has zombies, and government conspiracies about said zombies, and how the work evolved after the Rising, and snark and journalism and this book is awesome. I can’t say how awesome it is.
The award ceremony inside my heart, would of course, be held by Luna Lovegood.
April 7, 2015 — 10:42 AM
Cyd says:
Feed by Mira Grant.
It has zombies, and government conspiracies about said zombies, and journalism, and lots and lots of implied things.
My internal award system is hosted by Luna Lovegood.
April 7, 2015 — 10:55 AM
Debbie says:
I loved Skin Game. I HATE it that Jim Butcher’s fabulous book is caught up in this controversy, and I’m scared to death he is going to read all this crap about it and decide to pull his book.
Skin Game was Harry Dresden at his finest, and has really come into his power and who he is and more importantly who he doesn’t want to be. The whole series is a regular re-read for me, and each time thru I discover more nuances. Jim Butcher is excellent at planting seeds and then germinating them 5 or 10 books later!
April 7, 2015 — 11:04 AM
Deanmcsmith says:
Completely agree with everything you’ve said here Debbie. Spot on.
April 7, 2015 — 11:40 AM
christophergronlund says:
Add me to the Vandermeer love, and add to that The Thyme Fiend (novella) by Jeffrey Ford. (Because anytime there is new Jeffrey Ford in the world, things are just a little bit better…)
April 7, 2015 — 11:38 AM
Matt Black says:
Oh I totally forgot
Mercury Falls – by Robert Kroese
The story of what happens when an angel in charge of the apocalypse decides he wants nothing to do with it anymore.
April 7, 2015 — 11:40 AM
genghisphilip says:
Max Gladstone’s Full Fathom Five ( http://www.amazon.com/Full-Fathom-Five-Novel-Sequence/dp/0765335743 ) is excellent and carries a trans character throughout without being tokenizing or making trans identity the only focus of the character. Also, custom built Gods. C’MON.
April 7, 2015 — 11:45 AM
PM Newton (@pmnewton) says:
I’m with George RR Martin in bringing the love to Emily St John Mandel’s ‘Station Eleven.’ It was simply splendid but I’ll let George convince you:
“One could, I suppose, call it a post-apocalypse novel, and it is that, but all the usual tropes of that subgenre are missing here, and half the book is devoted to flashbacks to before the coming of the virus that wipes out the world, so it’s also a novel of character, and there’s this thread about a comic book and Doctor Eleven and a giant space station and… oh, well, this book should NOT have worked, but it does. It’s a deeply melancholy novel, but beautifully written, and wonderfully elegiac … a book that I will long remember, and return to.”
What he said.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2015/mar/11/george-rr-martin-game-of-thrones-emily-st-john-mandel-station-eleven-hugo-award
April 7, 2015 — 11:45 AM
Gerald Hood says:
My favorite would have to be Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson. Shocking I know, considering it’s a little book by an unknown author. I loved it because it’s got an amazing cast of characters, a rich world and great action scenes.
April 7, 2015 — 11:55 AM
J.C. McKenna says:
CITY OF STAIRS was my absolute favorite of the past year (of the past several years, really). Marvelous, immersive world-building, well rounded characters, and some hearty metaphysical meat to chew on. I’m floored it’s not on the shortlist this year. I thought for sure it was a shoo-in.
April 7, 2015 — 11:56 AM
miceala says:
Oh dear lord, just one favorite? Probably gotta single out FAIREST by Marissa Meyer. It’s the prequel to her current, developing quartet, but it’s a prequel that focuses on the *villain’s* backstory. In the first three books that Meyer’s released, the villain, Lavana, is pretty much definitively despicable. Maybe a moment of humanity glimmers through, since Meyer doesn’t exactly ever write flat, static characters if she can help it, but for the most part, it’s pretty easy to just straight-up hate Lavana and be entirely justified in doing so. And then FAIREST comes along and suddenly you’re actually *sympathizing* with this character. In a very uncomfortable, why-are-you-so-misguided-Lavana, I-feel-actually-feel-BAD-for-you-about-your-mistakes kind of way. But allowing any sort of grey area for this character was not a thing I expected to do so *easily.* AND Meyer uses the prequel to develop the backstory for the protagonist of the final book we’re all waiting on, WINTER. And she doesn’t do it in a beat-the-reader-over-the-head kind of way. Not that that’s ever her style anyway. For a borderline-novella, FAIREST does a lot to explode open the quartet’s general story arc. It’s glorious.
April 7, 2015 — 12:28 PM
Shanan Winters says:
I had the pleasure of doing some of the editing for The Magician: Book One of the Rogue Portal series by Courtney Herz. It’s good stuff! Seriously, go check it out (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25144607-the-magician?from_search=true&search_exp_group=group_a)
April 7, 2015 — 1:08 PM
Andrew DeYoung says:
Chris Beckett’s Dark Eden. There’s a sequel, Mother of Eden, coming out in May, and I can’t wait to read it.
April 7, 2015 — 1:22 PM
Elena Linville says:
I absolutely loved ABYSS BEYOND DREAMS by Peter F Hamilton. Best sci-fi book of 2014 in my opinion and excellent start to a new series set in the Commonwealth world. The worldbuilding, the characters, the sheer scope of it… all of it left me breathless by the time I finished the book. Plus this world has many similarities with the Culture series by Iain M Banks that I absolutely adore.
April 7, 2015 — 2:03 PM
Tasha Turner says:
Long Hidden: Speculative Fiction from the Margins edited by Rose Fox & Daniel Jose Older.
This was a Kickstarter project. Honestly I expected to see a number of pieces from this as nominees for the Hugo this year. Every story and essay I’ve read so far touched me in some way. It’s been a hard read as it touches on a lot of difficult topics but well worth the effort.
From Goodreads:
In 1514 Hungary, peasants who rose up against the nobility rise again – from the grave. In 1633 Al-Shouf, a mother keeps demons at bay with the combined power of grief and music. In 1775 Paris, as social tensions come to a boil, a courtesan tries to save the woman she loves. In 1838 Georgia, a pregnant woman’s desperate escape from slavery comes with a terrible price. In 1900 Ilocos Norte, a forest spirit helps a young girl defend her land from American occupiers.
These gripping stories have been passed down through the generations, hidden between the lines of journal entries and love letters. Now 27 of today’s finest authors – including Tananarive Due, Sofia Samatar, Ken Liu, Victor LaValle, Nnedi Okorafor, and Sabrina Vourvoulias – reveal the people whose lives have been pushed to the margins of history.
April 7, 2015 — 2:11 PM
RSAGARCIA says:
I think it came out in the qualifying period…Artic Rising by Tobias Buckell. If not, then Hurricane Fever.
April 7, 2015 — 2:14 PM
Adam gaylord says:
For short fiction, I loved “Till Death” by L.L. Phelps:
http://dailysciencefiction.com/science-fiction/space-travel/l-l-phelps/till-death
April 7, 2015 — 2:28 PM
Elaine Gallagher says:
The Moon King by Neil Williamson. It is a beautifully written fantasy set in a world that is refreshingly different and strange. The characters are engaging and sympathetic, and the luck monkeys are just beautiful. Yes, monkeys that bring you luck 🙂
April 7, 2015 — 3:02 PM
Stefan (Far Beyond Reality) says:
“The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August” by Claire North blew my mind — it’s simply one of the best books I’ve read in ages. Her second novel “Touch” just came out last month, and is also brilliant. (Not really her second novel — this is a pseudonym for someone who’s written sixteen novels by now.)
April 7, 2015 — 3:05 PM