Top Ten reads this year (2015)

[Fried Egg]

Here we go again. What are you top ten books you have read this year?

As mentioned in another thread my reading rate seems to be in persistent decline. I didn't commit myself to any reading challenges this year, just let my reading nose lead me where it will. With only 28 books read this year, there have still been some greats. Here is my top ten:

1) The End of the Line: An Anthology of Underground Horror - Oliver, Jonathan
2) The Door Into Summer - Heinlein, Robert
3) The Continuous Katherine Mortenhoe - Compton, D.G.
4) Roadside Picnic - Strugatsky, Arkady & Strugatsky, Boris
5) The Light Is the Darkness - Barron, Laird
6) A Wrinkle in the Skin - Christopher, John
7) Carrion Comfort - Simmons, Dan
8) Slan - Vogt, A. E. van
9) The Word for World is Forest - Le Guin, Ursula
10) The Puppet Masters, - Heinlein, Robert

Biggest disappointment of the year: Engine Summer - Cowley, John

 

[Randy M.]

Looking at my own reading, I'm in a similar boat: Haven't finished as many books as I usually do. I do seem to have read quite a few short stories, though.

Favorite novels, order of reading:
Cover Her Face by P. D. James
Tea with the Black Dragon by R. A. McAvoy
In the Forest of Forgetting by Theodora Goss (story collection)
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury (reread)
The Cypress House by Michael Koryta
Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
Hell Train by Christopher Fowler
Nyctophobia by Christopher Fowler
Cotton Comes to Harlem by Chester Himes
The Haunted Hotel by Wilkie Collins

Short stories, order of reading:
"Guests of the Nation" & "My Oedipus Complex" by Frank O'Connor (rereads)
"The Rose in Twelve Petals" & "Miss Emily Gray" & "Lessons with Miss Gray" by Theodora Goss
"There Will Come Soft Rains" by Ray Bradbury (reread)
"The Dreams of Albert Moreland" (reread) & "The Terror from the Depths" (reread) & "Adept's Gambit" by Fritz Leiber
"The Visitor from Down Under" by L. P. Hartley (reread)


Randy M.

 

[soulsinging]

Y'all are putting me to shame... I'll be lucky to get in a dozen books this year (if I finish Shogun, which projects to be near the top of this list so far, and Ready Player One by new year). So I guess this is how I'd rank the 10 I have read, including my rereads

1. Ace of Skulls - Chris Wooding. His underrated Ketty Jay series closes with the kind of multi-setting action set pieces that would do Star Wars or Joss Whedon proud. The crew is as lovable and entertaining as ever, without quite becoming static. I'm going to miss these guys.
2. Dead Beat - Jim Butcher. His books are a riot as always, with some of the best mental CGI action writing out there. Even if his relationships with women are generally painfully awful, watching him fight his way across my former home Chicago is always a joy. Plus... motherflipping T-Rex!
3. Galactic North - Alastair Reynolds. A more digestible chunk of the Revelation Space universe that provides some intriguing background. I enjoyed most of the stories enough to want to tackle the real series, so I'm saving the last story for after his main trilogy, for fear of spoilers.
4. Out of Sight - Elmore Leonard. One of his regarded books and with good reason. Great characters and a slick plot that add up one of the most entertaining crime novels I've read in too long.
5. The Martian - Andy Weir. Great book that made me deeply regret studying literature over engineering.
6. White Road - John Connolly. Solid entry in his Parker series, with a disturbing deep south murder mystery full of twisted family histories and ancient prejudices. Still, plot progression can sometimes be a bit of a chore for noir.
7. Prisoners of Azkaban - JK Rowling. Enjoyed it every bit as much as remembered, but on this reread I find myself looking forward more to the meatier later books.
8. Killshot - Elmore Leonard. My first of his. Better than its reviews but not his best. The characters are engaging but the plot kind of ridiculous.
9. Black Angel - John Connolly. Not bad, but I find his books tend to drag a bit and blur together plotwise. I read this right after book 4 and remember little about it other than its (as always) stellar ominous mood.
10. Game of Thrones - GRRM. I just don't get it. I've read it once through AFFC and was underwhelmed, but liked the tv series so thought I'd try again. Still think it's glacially paced soap opera.

 

[J-Sun]

I've also had a quantitatively disappointing year, managing 45 books, though I did read a few magazines and a truckload of webzines. Even qualitatively, this was a down year but still has some good stuff and I had a really good year with some authors. Charles Sheffield wrote my favorite fiction and non-fiction books of the year by a good margin. Jack McDevitt didn't have any non-fiction but wrote my next two favorite SF books. I enjoyed a trilogy by Leigh Brackett and both additions to Jack Campbell's series. The whole alphabetical list (leaving one slot for any spiffy December book) is:

• The Book of Skaith (1974-6 trilogy omnibus) by Leigh Brackett
• The Complete McAndrew (2000 connected collection, expanded twice from 1993 and 1983) by Charles Sheffield
• Firebird (2011 Alex Benedict novel) by Jack McDevitt
• The Hercules Text (1986 novel, revised 2015) by Jack McDevitt
• The Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier: Steadfast/The Lost Stars: Imperfect Sword (2014 novels/series installments) by Jack Campbell
• Mid-World (1975 novel) by Alan Dean Foster
• The Nitrogen Fix (1980 novel) by Hal Clement
• Ocean on Top (1967 serial, 1973 book) by Hal Clement
• Slow Bullets (2015 novella) by Alastair Reynolds

Most of the best short fiction I read this year was in the above or was read for Tangent (list of books and zines) or read from webzines (list of recommended (favorite) stories) or came from "year's bests" (reviews). Other best stories this year include (in order read):

• "Jay Score" from Men, Martians, and Machines by Eric Frank Russell
• "The Proxy Intelligence" from The Proxy Intelligence by A. E. van Vogt
• "The Twisted Men" and "The Earth Killers" from The Twisted Men by A. E. van Vogt
• "Asylum" re-read from Away and Beyond by A. E. van Vogt
• "Running" from The Metrognome by Alan Dean Foster
• "De Profundis" (and a re-read of "Proxima Centauri") from Monsters and Such by Murray Leinster

("Asylum" (1942) and "The Proxy Intelligence" (1968) are actually connected (and, indeed, were "fixed up" into Supermind) and I had already read "Asylum" but had more or less forgotten it by the time I got to "The Proxy Intelligence" which I loved. So that made me re-read "Asylum" and, ironically, I suspect "The Proxy Intelligence" is better by itself as it feels even wilder that way and is a little bit more rational if you actually have the events of "Asylum" fresh in your mind. But both are neat either way.)

The best non-fiction was:

• The Borderlands of Science by Charles Sheffield (1999)
• Creating Short Fiction by Damon Knight (1981, revised 1985)
• Early Greek Science: Thales to Aristotle by G. E. R. Lloyd (1970)

I liked the Lloyd enough to get the sequel, Greek Science After Aristotle (1973) but haven't read it yet. I don't care for Knight's fiction and some of Creating Short Fiction is kind of weird, but it was pretty good. The Sheffield was about the border where science turns into SF and vice versa and should appeal to science fans and especially science fiction writers and readers.

@Fried Egg : especially enjoyed the Heinleins from your list and have the Strugatskys on my "to get" list.
@Randy M. : I recall your Leiber discussion on the Short Story thread - some excellent stuff there.
@soulsinging : also enjoyed that Reynolds a lot and agree with your strategy - I, alas, read the last story before the books. I don't think it hurts to read the story before the novels as far as the story is concerned - more that the novels would probably be more compelling if you hold the story for last. Also consciously decided to try the movie before the book for The Martian (very atypical move for me) but I enjoyed the movie so much I'm going to have to give the book a try.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Not sure I'll get to ten (my reading has been erratic) but books I've enjoyed this year. Also, they won't all be sff, because I don't read exclusively in the genre.

Mother of Eden - Chris Beckett - I really love this series, it's probably my favourite sf reads for a long time. I wondered how Chris would balance the story moving so far forwards and new characters and what not, but he did it beautifully. Love it.

The Minituarist - Jessie Burton - Really enjoyed this. Very clever, very evocative of its time, nice central male character (I found the female ones a little harder to like but overall more intriguing). Well worth a look at

The Woman who stole my life - Marian Keyes - just finished this. Fabulous. Well worth a look at for use of a frame story and for how to keep the predictable will-they/won't-they story fresh.

The long way to a small, angry planet - this is also nearly on my biggest disappointment list. I enjoyed it but it didn't come close to the hype for me. (Actually my biggest disappointment was the first in a fantasy trilogy set locally, but I won't name nd shame.)

Marina - Carlos Ruiz Zafon - sumptuous. Just sumptuous. And creepy. I like it a lot better than his newer one which I also read and which name escapes me.

Winter Ghosts - Kate Mosse - I've never been a huge fan of Mosse, but this I loved. Very evocative of the time and place.

My biggest disappointment was Louis de Bernieres latest. I put it down after about 150 pages.

So 6 that stood out for me. That's not bad. My most eagerly awaited reads for 2016 are Teresa's Hobgoblin night, Chopper's Heir to the North and Iain MacDonald's Luna.

 

[tinkerdan]

I’ve read over one hundred and thirty novels this year and I have a few to go yet. I’ve a large number that I’ve loved and many of what I read have been from new authors and self-published and my choices are suited to my tastes more than they would be to any sort of analysis of the writing although they all do quite well at that.
• Endeavour (A Sleeping Gods Novel)by Ralph Kern
• Emergence by Nick M. Lloyd
• Day One (Sol War 1) by John Jay Forsberg
• Saves Nine by Les Lynam
• Beautiful Intelligence by Stephen Palmer
• The Healers of Meligna Series Boxed Set (Healers of Meligna #1-3)by K.J. Colt
• Inish Carraig by Jo Zebedee
• The Great Symmetry by James R. Wells
• The Steerswoman (Steerswoman series book1)by Rosemary Kirstein
• A Study in Silks(The Baskerville Affair Book1) by Emma Jane Holloway


There have been some disappointments and many might be attributed to books or authors I’ve heard so much praise for; that just didn’t do it for me.
• Perdido Street Station (New Crobuzon Book 1) by China Mieville
• Consider Phlebas (A Culture Novel Book 1)by Iain M. Banks
• Hylozoic by Rudy Rukker


Then we have some honorable mentions::Because ten isn’t enough when you reach one hundred.

The Tesla Legacy (Joe Tesla Series 2) by Rebecca Cantrell
People Of The Tiger (The Rational Future Series) by Wayne Edward Clarke
Tempest by Julie Cross
Oracle by Susan Boulton
Full Fathom Five by Max Gladstone
Abendau's Heir by Jo Zebedee
Goblin Moon:Mask and Dagger 1 by Teresa Edgerton

 

[Boreas]

Highlights:

• High-Rise (1975) by J. G. Ballard
• Slow Bullets (2015) by Alastair Reynolds (novella)
• 2312 (2012) by Kim Stanley Robinson
• The Good Fairies of New York (1992) by Martin Millar
• Master and Commander (1969) by Patrick O'Brian
• Swordspoint (1987) by Ellen Kushner
• Iron Council (2004) by China Mieville
• The Master of Whitestorm (1992) by Janny Wurts
• Musashi (1935, English trans. 1981) by Eiji Yoshikawa (a reread, but I adore it each time)
• Seveneves (2015) by Neal Stephenson

Honourable mentions:

• Sylvester, or the Wicked Uncle (1957) by Georgette Heyer
• The King's Justice: Two Novellas (2015) by Stephen R. Donaldson (esp. the second, longer novella, The Augur's Gambit)

Hall of Shame:

• Armada (2015) by Ernest Cline

The Ballard novel probably ended up being one of the most impressive in the way it unsettled me. It was my first foray into Ballard's dark psyche. The Millar and Heyer works were light and sparkling with unexpected elements of humour that really tickled my funny bones. Actually, O'Brian, too - there were some positively brilliant little moments of humour in a novel where I wasn't expecting such at all. Reynolds left me salivating for more in that particular milieu he created. Robinson and Stephenson were good counterpoints on similar themes, both very impressive works. Cline's sophmore effort...turned out the most insufferable I've read in years. I didn't want to finish it, but some masochistic streak kept me going. I'm currently reading Ian McDonald's Luna: New Moon. Only about 30 pages in, but I'm actually loving it so far. Might become another highlight.

 

[martin321]

Here is my top ten list for 2015:

1. The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
2. Mainline by Deborah Christian
3. The Death of Grass by John Christopher
4. Web by John Wyndham
5. I, Claudius by Robert Graves
6. Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian
7. Tea with the Black Dragon by Roberta A. Macavoy
8. The Shape of Water; The Terracotta Dog; The Snack Thief by Andrea Camilleri (Montalbano #1-3)
9. The Eyes of the Overworld; Cugel's Saga by Jack Vance (Dying Earth #2-3)
10. Endeavour by Ralph Kern

I've read quite a lot of books by Jack Vance and John Wyndham (Web was the only re-read on the above list). John Christopher and R.A. Macavoy, I last read in the 1980s. Patrick O'Brian is the only other author that I've read before; the rest are all new authors to me.

 

[hitmouse]

9 good ones:

Earth Abides George Stewart
Ancillary Mercy Anne Leckie
Silverlock John Myers Myers
The Exile Kiss George Alec Effinger
American Tabloid James Ellroy
Mani: Travels in the Southern Pelloponese Patrick Leigh-Fermor
Neverwhere Neil Gaiman
A History of Wales John Davies
What If: serious scientific answers to absurd hypothetical questions Randall Munroe

 

[Bick]

I like this annual thread as I have a list of the books I've read over the year and I enjoy poring over it and selecting 10. These are in reading order, not enjoyed them in order:

Clifford D Simak - All Flesh is Grass
Ray Bradbury - The Martian Chronicles
Jane Austen – Northanger Abbey
Honoré de Balzac - Cousin Pons
Robert Charles Wilson - A Hidden Place
Charles Portis - True Grit
Barrington J. Bayley - The Garments of Caean
P. G. Wodehouse - Young Men in Spats
Stephen Baxter - Raft
Poul Anderson - Tau Zero
Octavia E Butler - Dawn

For the eagle-eyed among you I must admit that, like Spinal Tap's amp, my list goes up to eleven. I miscounted as I wrote the list and find now that I cannot remove any.

Some additional stats for the year, because.. well, just because:

Books read (to date) 44 - not a high water mark for me, but not awful. More than last year, less than 2013, same as 2012. Of course, I will beat 2012 yet, as I'm currently reading a Star Wars book that goes down like hot chocolate.

Most read authors over the year: Wodehouse (4), Simak (4), Poul Anderson (3), Alan Dean Foster (3), Balzac (2), Niven (2 co-authored) - all other authors just one book each.

 

[soulsinging]

Of course, I will beat 2012 yet, as I'm currently reading a Star Wars book that goes down like hot chocolate.

Which one, if you don't mind my asking? I haven't read one in years and if ever it seemed like the time...

 

[Bick]

Which one, if you don't mind my asking? I haven't read one in years and if ever it seemed like the time...

I don't mind at all soulsinging - it's Heir to the Empire, the first in the Thrawn trilogy. l've long heard that these are actually pretty good, so thought I'd give it a go. Fine so far, but I've just started. As to SW novels generally, I've found in the past that I like the work of James Lucino particularly. Not sure if he's ever written much outside of SW, but I'd give it a go if he had. Sorry all, this has been an off topic aside...

 

[J-Sun]

Most read authors over the year: Wodehouse (4), Simak (4), Poul Anderson (3), Alan Dean Foster (3), Balzac (2), Niven (2 co-authored) - all other authors just one book each.

Interesting. I forgot to do that part though the pairs of Jack Campbell, Hal Clement, Jack McDevitt, Charles Sheffield, and A. E. van Vogt can be derived from the first post. I also read 3 James White Sector General books and I went a little Foster crazy (your fault - and just wait until next year ) and read 8 of those.

I don't mind at all soulsinging - it's Heir to the Empire, the first in the Thrawn trilogy. l've long heard that these are actually pretty good, so thought I'd give it a go.

I picked that trilogy up a couple of years ago, myself, though I haven't gotten to it yet. I read a little Zahn long ago (loved Spinneret and enjoyed the Cobra and Blackcollar books, too) and felt the urge to see about getting back into him, so re-read some in 2013 and bought a bunch more and plan ("hope" might be more accurate) to read some this year. He's a very Fostery guy in the sense of being famous for ties despite writing a ton of non-tie stuff, not getting much or any critical respect or awards (he did win one Hugo), and being pretty darned good despite that.

 

[Bick]

... and I went a little Foster crazy (your fault - and just wait until next year ) and read 8 of those.

Sorry! I compelled folk to read lots of Simak too. I wonder what kick I'll get onto next year. I like the idea that you may get me back - I'm curious to see what half forgotten hero you get us all reading.

I read a little Zahn... a very Fostery guy in the sense of being famous for ties despite writing a ton of non-tie stuff, not getting much or any critical respect or awards (he did win one Hugo), and being pretty darned good despite that.

Interesting perspective. I wonder what the full list of such authors looks like? Who else would be on it? I think I appreciate skill at the craft, and i think these kinds of authors are generally skilled artisans, rather than inspired artists (a point I think you eloquently made about Foster in the past). I think Asimov was actually in that camp, but of course he doesn't get in the club as he was far too lauded and respected.

 

[soulsinging]

I don't mind at all soulsinging - it's Heir to the Empire, the first in the Thrawn trilogy. l've long heard that these are actually pretty good, so thought I'd give it a go. Fine so far, but I've just started. As to SW novels generally, I've found in the past that I like the work of James Lucino particularly. Not sure if he's ever written much outside of SW, but I'd give it a go if he had. Sorry all, this has been an off topic aside...

Ah, that was actually the first Star Wars book I read and the entire trilogy is excellent. When I started thinking about reading SW that was actually the first set of books I thought of! Sadly, I found a lot of SW novels after that to be bad to middling, though there were occasional gems. I don't think I read any by Lucino though, so maybe I'll take a crack at that. Thanks for the tip and enjoy your run through the Thrawn trilogy, they are top notch!

 

[ratsy]

I don't currently have a list of my top ten reads of the year, but I did keep track and I'm on my 43rd book of the year which is pretty solid for me.

But more importantly, I read 11 books by Chrons authors! Now that is pretty cool. Keep it up SFFChrons authors! We're going to take over the world one day

 

[Extollager]

No, I'm mentioning just one. My book of the year is Eugene Vodolazkin's Laurus.

Magic Realism: Laurus by Eugene Vodolazkin

 

[Bugg]

I'm cheating a little because this year I set about finishing Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series. I read from book #8 (The Ionian Mission) through to the final completed book, #20 (Blue at the Mizzen), and I could have quite easily filled my list with books from that series, I loved them so much. It's far and away my favourite series of books, now.

Taking those out of the equation, my ten favourites by other authors would be these:

Blindsight by Peter Watts
Echopraxia by Peter Watts
Luna: New Moon by Ian McDonald
Caesar by Colleen McCullough
The Silence by Tim Lebbon
The Shrinking Man by Richard Matheson
A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan
Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold
The Empty Throne by Bernard Cornwell
Carter Beats the Devil by Glen David Gold


Honourable mentions for a couple of non-fiction books I really enjoyed:

Commander: The Life and Exploits of Britain's Greatest Frigate Captain by Stephen Taylor
Winter King: The Dawn of Tudor England by Thomas Penn

 

[J-Sun]

Sorry! I compelled folk to read lots of Simak too. I wonder what kick I'll get onto next year. I like the idea that you may get me back - I'm curious to see what half forgotten hero you get us all reading.

Yeah, I read one Simak as well and have more lined up. I went to the library book sale recently and, not satisfied with that, went to a book store I don't often get to and found So Bright the Vision as half an Ace double for a buck. Sorry for the misunderstanding, too - when I said "wait until next year" I just meant I have yet more Foster in the pipe. I have tried to think of a forgotten hero but it seems like the ideal person would be someone who was huge at some point, is less so now, and has a reasonable book list that people might be able to find some of. That's hard to match. I do have a couple of people I could maybe try, though. We'll see next year.

Interesting perspective. I wonder what the full list of such authors looks like? Who else would be on it? I think I appreciate skill at the craft, and i think these kinds of authors are generally skilled artisans, rather than inspired artists (a point I think you eloquently made about Foster in the past). I think Asimov was actually in that camp, but of course he doesn't get in the club as he was far too lauded and respected.

Yeah, I admire craftsmanship and people who provide honest entertainment. I think it's really underrated - some kind of weird "Puritan reading ethic." I've never read Kevin J. Anderson and, as some "entertainers" really do suck, maybe he does, but reading folks slagging him in another thread around here once again makes me want to give him a try. If he was good, he'd probably qualify. Keith Laumer would probably be on it. It amazes me but I don't recall having read any H. Beam Piper but I suspect he's another. Probably lots of folks. Problem is, you have to catch most of them while they're active because the critics tend to bury them as soon as they can.

Anyway - sorry if we're digressing and distracting from the lists. It is interesting to see what folks have enjoyed this year. I hope to read more lists. I do have those Watts' on my 2get list, Bugg, and I hope I like them as much as you.

 

[kythe]

I've read 24 books this year, including short story collections as "books". Like last year, I'm still reading mostly classics since there are so many good ones.

Here are the ones I think were probably most outstanding:

Speaker for the Dead - Orson Scott Card
The Illustrated Man - Ray Bradbury
The Chrysalids - John Wyndham
No Blade of Grass - John Christopher
Beyond the End of Time (anthology) - Frederik Pohl, editor
A Game of Thrones - George R.R. Martin
More Than Human - Theodore Sturgeon
Faerie Tale - Raymond E. Feist
The October Country - Ray Bradbury
The City and the Stars - Arthur C. Clarke

Some excellent but random short stories:
Beyond Lies the Wub - Philip K. Dick
The Second Variety - Philip K. Dick
The Wall of Darkness - Arthur C. Clarke

Least favorite reads:
Stranger in a Strange Land - Robert A. Heinlein. It started off strong, but degenerated into a long exposition about free love and spirituality that was quite a doozy.
Xenocide - Orson Scott Card. Sequel to Speaker for the Dead. It has a great premise, but is long and boring.