2005 SFFWORLD BEST READS!

[Rob B]

I've been doing this the past few years so....

Since 2005 is coming to a close, we can start compiling what members of these forums thought was the best Speculative Fiction book(s) published in 2005.

As in the past we should keep this simple so the minimal criteria is as follows:

1. You actually read the book between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2005
2. It was published in 2005. This can be either the first Hardcover edition or the first paperback edition (for the paperback to qualify, it has to be the First paperback edition i.e. while Pandora’s Star was first published in US Hardcover in 2004, the US paperback was published in January 2005 so it falls within the criteria).
3. If the book, like Jeff VanderMeer’s Veniss Underground, was published by a small press publisher prior to 2005 (VanderMeer’s was published by Wildside Books in 2004 and NightShade in 2003) and received a wider release through one of the Big publisher this year (BantamSpectra September 2005).
4. If the book, like Justina Robson’s Silver Screen was published by a UK publisher earlier (1999 in this case) and received a US release this year (Pyr)

This topic resides in the Fantasy forum, since it is the forum with the most traffic. However, all genre books under the above criteria will be eligible: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Horror and all combinations of the three. I will be posting an announcement/topic to the whole site to get people who normally don't visit the fantasy forums to come here and post their choices.

Pick five (5) books you enjoyed the most. Points will be doled out as follows – 8 points for the best book, 4 points for 2nd best book, and 3 point for 3rd best book, 2 points for the 4th book and 1 point for the 5th book, such that:

1. Book A by Rob 8 points
2. Book B by Gary 4 points
3. Book C by Hobbit 3 point
4. Book C by KatG 2 point
5. Book C by Dag 1 point

We can run this thing through February, giving people time for to read any last '05 releases they receive as Holiday gifts, and I'll add up the votes/points and post the results in February.

Some other things to keep in mind:

• Keep it only to your top 5 books.
• If you feel only 3 or 4 books make your cut, that is fine.
• Don't start a discussion explaining why you disagree with a person's choice... there are other topics for that... just post your top 5 and leave it at that. (I will be printing this whole thing once voting closes and I don’t want to have to go through reams of paper containing explanations)
• Make sure you post in order of Preference... and if you post 7 favorite... only the top 5 will be used for voting tabulatoins. I know this is common sense... but trust me... it does and has happened.
• Moderators/Admins WILL be deleting any large explanations as to why people chose their top 5 books.
• Moderators/Admins will also delete any titles beyond 5
• You can list a TIE for one of the five places; however, the points will be divided between the books. i.e. if you place Silverheart and Looking for Jake as tied for 3rd place, each book will only get 1½ points

Publication dates:

• Amazon.com will tell you the publication date - people do ask.
• The book itself will have the publication date - again, people do ask
• Locus Online's Forthcoming books for 2005 and the top of HERE for December 2005.

If you have any other questions of a book's eligibility PM a mod/admin.

Have fun with this!

Rob

[Luke_B]

1. Magic For Beginners by Kelly Link
2. Laughin' Boy by Bradley Denton
3. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
4. Accelerando by Charles Stross
5. The Girl in the Glass by Jeffrey Ford

[Rhiannon]

1. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
2. The Riddle by Alison Croggon
3. The Naming by Alison Croggon
4. Rebel Angels by Libba Bray
5. Skybreaker by Kenneth Oppel

[Mithfânion]

1. The Warrior Prophet by R.S. Bakker
2. A Feast for Crows by G.R.R. Martin
3. Anansi Boys by N. Gaiman
4. Girl in the glass by J. Ford
5. Shaman's Crossing by R. Hobb

[Randy M.]

Ha! Easy question. The best book I read in 2005 published in 2005 was,
J. K. Rowling's _Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince_.


Randy M.
(It's a mere quibble that it was the only book I finished in 2005 published in 2005.)

[DrBloodmoney1]

Alright:

1. Feast for Crows
2. Wizard-Knight by Wolfe
3. The Warrior-Prophet by Bakker
4. Anansi Boys by Gaiman
5. HP and the Half-blood prince by Rowling

[Eleal]

1. Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
2. The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde
3. Daughter of Ancients by Carol Berg

[Kaellyn]

The Knight by Gene Wolfe
The Wizard by Gene Wolfe
Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
The Warrior Prophet by R. Scott Bakker
Straken by Terry Brooks

[Grawgos]

1-Feast for crows by GRRM

2- Crimson sword by Eldon Thompson

3- Shadowfall by James clemmens

4- Tyranny of the Night by Glen Cook

5- Elantris by Brandon Sanderson

[Leiali]

1. The Warrior Prophet by Scott Bakker
2. Shamans Crossing by Robin Hobb

Not read much this year.

[ezchaos]

1. Warrior Prophet by Scott Bakker
2. Midnight Tides (Canadian Mass Market edition) by Steven Erikson
3. The Iron Council by China Mieville
4. Looking for Jake by China Mieville
5. The Light Ages by Ian R MacLeod

[Theodor]

Good moment to jump on the boat.
I am armed and unemployed, worry not.

1. The Knight, Gene Wolfe
2. The Wizard, Gene Wolfe
3. A Feast for Crows, GRRM
4. Taverns of the Dead, Kealan Patrick Burke
5. The Runes of the Earth, Stephen R. Donaldson [paperback, 2005]

[Psylent]

1. Perfect Circle by Sean Stewart
2. Knife of Dreams by Robert Jordan.
3. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

[Bridie]

1: the riddle- alison croggon
2:lord loss- darren shan
3: bloodsong- melvin burgess

ive not read much that was an 05 release either

[cheese]

Haven't read too many 2005 books but...
1. The Warrior Prophet- Scott Bakker
2. A Feast for Crows- George R.R Martin
3. The Wizard- Gene Wolf
4. Iron Council- CHina Mievelle
...cant think of any others at the moment..