Best of 2015 & Hello 2016!

It’s time to say goodbye to the year 2015!  It’s been a very busy year for me, professionally, but I’ve also been able to participate in a number of challenges/events and read-alongs, in addition to my usual reviews. I’ve reviewed 39 books this year, which is a bit higher than the previous year--hopefully I can read even more in 2016!  As usual, I’ve also put together a list of my favorite books reviewed this year, separately for recent and older works.

Most Highly Recommended New Books (published 2013-2015)

• Last First Snow by Max Gladstone: In my opinion, this is the best so far of Max Gladstone’s Craft Sequence.  A prequel of sorts, it features Elayne Kevarian and Temoc during a period of unrest in Dresedial Lex. Full Fathom Five also deserves a mention here, as it was another excellent addition to the Craft Sequence.  
• Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie: This one’s no surprise, as I had Ancillary Justice listed as one of my favorites last year!  The series continues to be exactly what I enjoy reading, and I really need to get around to reading Ancillary Mercy sooner rather than later.
• The Worldbreaker Saga by Kameron Hurley:  A complicated and difficult epic fantasy series. I read and reviewed the first two books, The Mirror Empire and Empire Ascendant, this year. The final volume is yet to be published, planned for 2017.

Most Highly Recommended Old Books (published before 2013)

• The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin: A classic that has endured for nearly half a century. A story about dreams shaping reality, and the morality of using that power.
• Permutation City by Greg Egan: Pretty much everything I wanted from a book about mind uploading. It's the first book I've read by Greg Egan, and I loved it.
• Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey: The Kushiel's Legacy series, together with Worldbreaker, has reinvigorated my interest in epic fantasy. My favorite so far is Kushiel's Dart, but I have also read and enjoyed Kushiel's Chosen and Kushiel's Avatar.

Looking Forward to 2016!

For 2016, I’m looking forward to once again being involved in a variety of read-alongs, events and challenges.  At the moment, I’m in the middle of the 2015-2016 Sci-Fi Experience, and I’m getting ready to start Vintage Sci-Fi Month as well as a read-along of Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel’s Scion.  In addition, I have a few new features I’m hoping to add to the blog.  

Hugo Awards: I’m going to have a few posts discussing what I’m thinking of nominating for the various fiction and dramatic presentation categories, leading up to the nominations deadline.

Short Fiction: If we all learned one thing from the Hugo fiasco last year, it’s that there aren’t enough people reading and nominating short fiction.  This year, I’m hoping to have a monthly feature to highlight recent short fiction that I have enjoyed.  For the previous year, I’ve mostly read freely available fiction, but I will probably buy more magazines and anthologies this year.

Video Games: I put up a review of some science fiction video games for Sci-Fi Month 2015, and it was pretty fun. I’ve been playing lots of xbox 360 games since then, so I was thinking I could review a few of them each month.

Television: I have recently been watching quite a lot of genre television shows, so I thought it could be nice to have a feature (perhaps biweekly or monthly) to talk about them. I meant to do that in Sci-Fi Month as well, but I was planning to review Doctor Who, and then the final episode for that month was Face the Raven, and well...  We’ll see how this goes!

That’s it for 2015, I hope everyone has a wonderful 2016!  

The Best of 2014

The Best of 2014

The fourth calendar year of Tethyan Books is coming to a close! I reviewed a few more books this year than the previous (37), but in my defense I had a busy time planning my multi-continent wedding.  I’m now Mrs./Dr. Allie!  This year should finally be a bit more peaceful, giving me a little more time for reading and reviewing. Now, here are a few of my favorite books of the year.

Most Highly Recommended New Books

These are my most highly recommended books that were published 2012-2014.

Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie: This debut novel made a pretty huge splash, and started a new space opera series.  The main character the human-body ancillaries of a sentient AI spaceship, and the use of female as default gender caught a lot of attention.

The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker: Another debut novel, it is a quieter story about two supernatural creatures who find themselves living in Jewish and Syrian communities in old New York City. 

Abaddon’s Gate by James S.A. Corey: The third novel in The Expanse, a fun space opera adventure series that takes place in our solar system.  This novel introduces new viewpoint characters, and furthers the purpose of the deadly alien protomolecule.

Most Highly Recommended Old Books

These are books that were published before 2012, but which I read during this past year.  I’m sure most of these have been read and enjoyed by many already, but it’s never too late to draw attention to a good book!

 

Anathem by Neal Stephenson: My final review of the year, this philosophical first contact novel has an interesting setting and features many discussions of ideal forms, consciousness, and multiple universes, among other things.

Replay by Ken Grimwood: The story of a man who relives his life multiple times, Replay shows what a person might make of themselves with unlimited chances.

The Broken Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin:  The second book of Jemisin’s Inheritance Trilogy, The Broken Kingdoms gives a new view of the world that has been shaped by the events in The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. Jemisin has become one of my not-to-miss authors.

Challenges

In 2014, I participated in a few year-long reading challenges hosted by WWEnd.com’s Roll Your Own Challenge. Specifically, I participated in 12 Awards/12 Months, Second Best, Fantasia, and I Just HAVE to Read More of that Author.  The books I've read and their reviews are listed and linked here.  This year, I will probably participate in a few as well, though I haven’t yet completely decided which ones.  Once I have that settled, I’ll put up a 2015 Challenges tab!

For the New Year

I am hoping that my life will settle down a little this year, and I’ll have time to accomplish more on the blog front: 

• Finally catching up on my reviews, so that none end up being posted over a month after I’ve read them.   
• Finishing reading all the Hugo winners—I’ve had about eight left for a few years now, so I think 2015 is the year to get to them all!
• Getting more involved online.  I will try to keep up with various blogs by people who share my interests, and to comment more often.  I also hope that I’ll have more time this year to be more involved with WWEnd.com.
• As always, I hope to read a few more books this year than I have for the past few years. I’ll see how that goes!

What are the best books you’ve read this year?

The Best of 2013

The Best of 2013

The third calendar year of Tethyan Books is coming to a close! I didn’t end up reviewing quite as many books as I’d hoped this year (36), but I did end up getting my doctorate in physics!  The coming year has some major changes ahead as well, but I hope I can learn from experience and keep up with my reviews a bit better this time around.  Hopefully, I can also nudge my number of reviews for 2014 back up above 50. 

Most Highly Recommended New Books

These are my most highly recommended books that were published 2011-2013.

Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente: A fascinating and sometimes bewildering combination of Russian folklore and history, this story of Marya Morevna and Koschei the Deathless was my first review of 2013.

Three Parts Dead by Max Gladstone: An impressive debut novel with a unique take on magic and deities, and a vivid, energetic world I hope to revisit in his future novels.

The Drowning Girl by Caitlín R. Kiernan: A poetic story from the point of view of a mentally ill woman, who struggles to explain and make sense of her experiences in a narrative shaped by urban myths, popular culture, and art.

Most Highly Recommended Old Books

These are books that were published before 2011, but which I read during this past year.  I’m sure most of these have been read and enjoyed by many already, but it’s never too late to draw attention to a good book!

Ash: A Secret History by Mary Gentle: An impressively detailed story of mercenaries in 15^th century Europe, as well as a science fictional mystery.

Mars Trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson: I know this is a series, not a single book, but I finished the final book in 2013.  This trilogy is the most detailed imagining of the colonization of Mars (and further) that I have ever read.

A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller:  The only novel he published in his lifetime, this story follows a certain monastery through the long destructive cycle of human civilization.

Challenges:

Thanks to WWEnd’s Women of Genre Fiction Reading Challenge, I became familiar with many new-to-me authors this year.  In addition to Mary Gentle and Caitlín R. Kiernan, I really enjoyed Pat Cadigan’s Fools, Robin Hobb’s Assassin’s Apprentice, and Patricia A. McKillip’s Ombria in Shadow.

This year, the WWEnd Reading Challenge theme is wide open!  The site is inviting people to design their own challenges, in what is called “Roll-Your-Own ReadingChallenge.”  There are already a number of interesting challenges here, including the one I designed, 12 Awards in 12 Months.  My visual art skills are pretty much nonexistent, so I’m going to have to forgo having a banner for my particular challenge. Everyone is welcome to join me in my reading challenge, but there are plenty more to choose from if mine doesn’t strike your fancy!

Happy Reading in 2014!

Best of 2012

The Best of 2012

This New Year’s Eve marks the close of the second calendar year of Tethyan Books, and it's time to go through some of this year’s highlights.  I’ve reviewed 47 books this year, which is a bit lower than 2011.  I think that’s because this year has been a little busier, mostly due to the approaching the end of my graduate school years.  2013 is going to be a pretty busy year as well, what with defending my thesis, job searching, and probably moving somewhere.  2013 is going to be a challenging year, but I'm ready to give it my best!   

Most Highly Recommended New Books

These are my most highly recommended books that were published in 2011-2012.  I’ve mostly read books that were nominated for awards this year, but there were a few that I chose on a whim or due to the recommendations of other blogs.

1) Among Others by Jo Walton: A fantasy story of a young SF fan finding her niche and coping with family problems, which resonated strongly with many long-time readers of science fiction.

2) Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey: A space opera with elements of noir and horror, this collaborative novel kicks off an impressive new series.

3) The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairlyand in a Ship of HerOwn Making by Catherynne M. Valente: The first of Valente’s series of young adult Fairyland novels, the prose is beautiful and the content is surprisingly dark.

4) God’s War by Kameron Hurley: The story of a bounty hunter named Nyxnissa, who lives on a disease-ridden colonized planet that is the site of a perpetual holy war.

5) The Killing Moon by N.K. Jemisin: In an Egypt-inspired fantasy world, two priests who practice dangerous dream magic investigate the circumstances that led to the existence of a murderous rogue priest.

Most Highly Recommended Old Books

These are books that were published before 2011, but which I read during this past year.  I’m sure most of these have been read and enjoyed by many already, but its never to late to draw attention to a good book!

1) The Sparrow by Maria Doria Russell: In this story of faith and suffering, Jesuit priest Emilio Sandoz gives an account of a tragically failed first contact mission.

2) The Uplift War by David Brin: In this well-told classic science fiction story, Earth species and their allies resist the occupation of their colony planet, Garth, by a militarily superior avian alien species.

3) Perdido Street Station by China Miéville: A story set in the amazingly creative and complex city of New Crobuzon, following primarily the experimental scientist Isaak and the monster he unwittingly unleashes.

4) The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch: The first Gentleman Bastard novel, following an audacious group of conmen in the brutal and deadly city-state of Camorr.

5) Blindness by José Saramago: A disturbing story of the collapse of civilization following a universal outbreak of an inexplicable blindness disease.

Reading Challenges

In 2012, my two main reading challenges were the Grand Master's Reading Challenge at WWEnd and Calico Reaction's Theme Park Challenge.  I successfully completed the GMRC, which was to read a book by twelve different Grand Masters during 2012.  I didn't keep up with all of the Theme Park challenges, but I read most of them!

This year, I'm planning to participate in two challenges from the same places! The first is the Worlds WithoutEnd website’s Women in Genre Fiction challenge.  This challenge is to read twelve female authors I’ve never read before, over the course of twelve months.  The second is Calico Reaction blog’s Ladies First dare series. She'll dare everyone to read a specific book by a female author each month. I was surprised that both sources picked a similar theme, but I think the two reading challenges will complement each other nicely. 

Books that I Absolutely Plan to Read in 2013

There are a number of books I intended to read this year, but then didn’t get around to for various reasons.  Some of it was due to limited time, some of it was due to me being easily distracted and simply forgetting about them.  For this reason, I’m going to write these books down in a list, so that I will not forget them for another year!  I guess this can be considered my New Year’s resolution.

• ·            Grey, Jon Armstrong : I read and enjoyed Yarn, but then somehow never got around to Grey.
• ·            The Love We Share Without Knowing, Christopher Barzak : I read One For Sorrow, and then was interested in reading this one.
• ·            Vorkosigan Saga, Lois McMaster Bujold: I think I’ve made decent progress with the saga this year.  I just finished Ethan of Athos, and will be picking back up in 2013 with Brothers in Arms. I may not finish the series in the coming year, but there will be progress!
• ·            The Expanse, James S.A. Corey: I haven’t yet read book 2, Caliban’s War, which was released in June 2012.
• ·            Eona, Alison Goodman: This is the second half of a duology I intend to finish, which began with Eon.
• ·            The Bel Dame Apocrypha, Kameron Hurley: God’s War was mentioned in the list books above, and I’m in the middle of Infidel at the moment. Rapture will be read sometime in 2013
• ·            The Rest of N.K. Jemisin’s Novels: I’ve read the first of the Inheritance Trilogy and the first of the Dreamblood duology.  I would like to finish both series.
• ·            The Fractal Prince, Hannu Rajaniemi: I’m not sure how I missed this one coming out, but it’s the sequel to The Quantum Thief. I had meant to grab this one when it was published.
• ·            Small Change Trilogy, Jo Walton: I’ve read a few of her novels now, and pretty much loved them all.  It’s kind of embarrassing that I haven’t gotten around to finishing the Small Change Trilogy, and I hope to correct that soon.
• ·            Blue Mars, Kim Stanley Robinson: This one is right on schedule.  I read 1 KSR novel a year, and this January’s will be Blue Mars.
• ·            Children of God, Mary Doria Russell: I’m a little nervous about reading a sequel to such a wonderful book, but I hope it will live up to my expectations!

Best of 2011

The Best of 2011

I hope everyone’s having a happy holiday season! As you might have guessed from the less frequent posts, mine’s been a little busy.  The first calendar year of Tethyan Books has come to a close, and I’d like to do a quick recap of some of my favorite novels and authors I encountered in my reading this year.  I didn’t really have an explicit goal for my blog this year, but I am very happy with how everything has developed.  I’ve read over 70 novels since the creation of this blog, and I’ve experienced the works of many excellent authors. I’ve had a lot of fun working on Tethyan Books, and I’m looking forward to another year full of speculative fiction!

Most Highly Recommended New Books

These are my most highly recommended books published in 2010-2011, read in the 2011 Calendar year.  I tried, moderately successfully, to keep up with most of the major science fiction and fantasy awards of 2011, and all of these are novels I read as a part of that effort.

1)   Zoo City by Lauren Beukes: A creative dark South African fantasy, set in a world where the guilt of criminals manifests as companion animals.

2)   Feed by Mira Grant: A refreshing take on a post-zombie-apocalypse world, with much attention to the epidemiology of the disease and the effects of the continuing existence of zombies on society.

3)   The Dervish House by Ian McDonald: A beautifully written, complex story set in near-future Istanbul, where ancient myths and traditions coexist with developing nanotechnology.

4)   Blackout by Connie Willis: The first half of Willis’ WWII time travel novel, focusing on the efforts of British civilians during the war.

5)   Redemption in Indigo by Karen Lord: A story modeled after folk tales, telling a story of redemption, human worth, and a Chaos Stick.

Most Highly Recommended Old Books

These are novels that I read for the first time in the previous year, though they were published before 2010.  There’s so much wonderful speculative fiction that’s been written over the years, I don’t think there’s any way a person could ever truly catch up!

      1)   Gateway by Frederik Pohl: A well-known science fiction classic, which combines a story of massive structures and alien technology with the human story of a deeply flawed protagonist.

      2)   Declare by Tim Powers: A mix of a spy novel and a dark fantasy, set in a vividly described 20^th century Europe.  It follows existing historical events, but contains an elaborate supernatural behind-the-scenes story to explain oddities in recorded history.  

      3)   Doomsday Book by Connie Willis: Willis’ time travel novel featuring England in the 1300s.  To my mind, it’s the strongest of her time travel series, and it features effective parallel stories in both the past and the future.

      4)   China Mountain Zhang by Maureen F. McHugh: A novel that focuses on character over plot, exploring the life of a gay, half-Chinese man—and the lives of other people he encounters—in an oppressive Communist Chinese-dominated future.

      5)   Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson: A how-to book for colonizing Mars. Or, more seriously, Red Mars is an incredibly thorough fictional account of Earth’s colonization effort of Mars, with attention paid to almost every aspect of the venture (social, political, financial, ecological, scientific…).

Authors Discovered in 2011

On top of my most highly recommended novels, I wanted to mention a few other authors whose work I’ve become familiar with in the past year.  These are specifically authors who haven’t been mentioned yet in this post.

1)   Octavia E. Butler: I’ve read a lot of Butler’s work this year, both her alien ‘invasion’ trilogy Lilith’s Brood and Parable series.  Her stories tend to explore various social issues relating to religion, gender, race, or class.  I was saddened to find that Butler died 5 years ago, but she has left behind work that will surely be appreciated by the world for many years to come.

2)   Jo Walton: The two novels I read by Walton this year, the alternate history murder mystery, Farthing, and the charming story of Victorian dragons, Tooth and Claw, were both incredibly entertaining and startlingly dissimilar in both style and content.  Walton seems to be a particularly versatile author, and I’m looking forward to checking out the rest of her work in the years to come.

3)   Jon Armstrong: I only read Yarn, Armstrong’s second novel, but I was really impressed with the creative world building and the seemingly endless energy of the prose.  I’m planning on picking up his debut novel, Grey, sometime in the near future.

4)   Hannu Rajaniemi: His debut novel, The Quantum Thief, was sometimes confusing, but was full of many creative ideas.  I’m looking forward to seeing how Rajaniemi will continue the story he began in his debut.

There’s necessarily a lot I’ve left out of this post.  For instance, I’ve definitely enjoyed reading cyberpunk by William Gibson and Neal Stephenson, though they didn’t get a mention here.  Lois McMaster Bujold has also been a fairly frequent presence in my reviews, and I pretty much always enjoy her novels.  There are also some newer authors, like Charles Yu, Nnedi Okorafor, and Christopher Barzak, whose work I definitely intend to follow.  Overall, I think there are a lot of amazing writers working in speculative fiction today, and I can’t wait to see what they’ll come up with next!