It’s that time of year when, as we have done for the last decade or so, we have dragged ourselves from the revelries here at SFFWorld to try and put some sort of order to our favourite (and not so favourite!) stuff from 2019.
And so, in the finest traditions of trying to reduce our lists to five in each category, here’s the second part of our attempt to show what we liked (or didn’t) this year. Taking part are Rob Bedford (Rob), Mark Chitty (MarkC), and Mark Yon (MarkY).
The first part, looking at Fantasy/Horror books is HERE.
Part 2: Science Fiction Books
Mark Yon’s thoughts
This year has been another year that I have enjoyed reading SF more than every other genre.
Like with the Fantasy books, there’s still been a lot of books I’ve wondered what all the fuss has been about, but there’s been a lot more I’ve liked his year. And that can only be good.
Here’s the five new Science Fiction books I have enjoyed most, in no particular order.
I said in my review that any collection of Ted Chiang’s, rare as they are, are a cause for celebration. And so this was. I know that some do not think that it is quite as strong as Stories of Your Life and Others, and admittedly it was a little uneven, but when it was good it was very, very good. My favourite was The Lifecycle of Software Objects, one of the most moving stories I’ve read this year. For that reason alone the book deserves a place on this list.
One of my recent unexpected delights was Revenger, the first book in this series published in 2016. A tale of space pirates, the book was one of the most enjoyable of Alastair’s most recent works. The second didn’t let me down either. The story of Adrana and Fura Ness as they deal with the responsibility of running Bosa Sennen’s ship was both exciting and enjoyable. I look forward to the third book in the series, due out in January 2020.
Discovering Jodi’s St. Mary’s time travel series last year has been an ongoing guilty secret this year. The arrival of the first adjacent novel to the St. Mary’s series was equally as fun. Not to be taken too seriously, Jodi continued to juggle humour with characters you care about and situations both historically educational and entertaining.
This is my reference book of the year. A big fat tome that summarises Jo’s thoughts on each year of the Hugo Awards from 1953 to 2000, originally written as online reviews on the Tor.com website. It loses a point for not being revised up to date, with books mentioned as being out of print when first written now back in print, but Jo’s comments and her admitted foibles are still entertaining. The book I’ve dipped into most this year, and the one that has inspired me most to pick up and read ‘old stuff’. Considering the revisions that the major Awards have had this year, this one reminded me that there has always been controversies in the genre, not just this year.
I enjoyed this twisty-turny reimagining of future combat a la Starship Troopers. There have been times when Kameron’s other work has left me un-moved, but this was more to my tastes. It is clever and entertaining, if a little icky in places.
Honorary Mention also to a slew of older SF I’ve read this year – some of them I’ve even reviewed. Much of this was inspired by already mentioned dipping into of Jo Walton’s book. Of the ‘old stuff’, I’ve continued to find Heinlein to reread, with varying degrees of success, it must be said. As is traditional for me, I’ve enjoyed rereading some Arthur C Clarke and some Isaac Asimov, as well as some lesser-known names that have been both an entertainment and a revelation. Way Station by Clifford Simak was good, up to the ending. Charles Eric Maine’s The Darkest of Nights was darkly engaging, a much-forgotten tale worth a revisit.
Rob’s thought
As usual, I stick closer to the Fantasy/Horror side of things, but there were quite a few impressive novels that fell into the Science Fiction branch of the tree. There will likely be some familiar names on this list from my previous year’s best lists.
This might be my favorite novel of the year
The apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic novel…one of the mainstays of Science Fiction for almost as long as the genre has been around and before…the big elephant in the room, the codifier of the Epic Apocalyptic novel, Stephen King’s The Stand as well as Swan Song by Robert R. McCammon. For me, they are the two high-water marks of the Epic Apocalyptic Novel – grand events, large cast of characters, great characterization, some science that leans heavily on frightful plausibility (with the science featured in Wanderers some of the most well-thought out and chilling in a novel of this scale and nature), and underlying currents of mingled fear, dread, and horror. Having followed Chuck Wending online on Twitter and the Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror community and chatted with him, he’s mentioned these two books as big influences. Knowing that, I’d say Sai Wendig has shown himself at the very least an equal storyteller/writer of the Epic Apocalypse with Wanderers. For me, it is an instant classic, an immediate Modern Masterpiece of the genre, and will probably be my favorite 2019 novel, and a book I will hold very high in my pantheon for years to come.
All this clever plotting is great, but what elevates Velocity Weapon are the difficult questions and themes presented within this enjoyable storytelling. Questions about the validity of wars, why they are fought, and the lies and misdirections that help to maintain conflicts. There are some clear and uncomfortable parallels to the current world in which we live. Equally important a theme are the effects the war have on the people who fight them, both the physical effects like damaged limbs as well as the mental/PTSD effects, even the ramifications of PTSD on an AI. Of course we see much of this through Sanda, a remarkably imagined character. She’s suffered a great deal when we meet her, and continues to suffer as the novel unfolds. There’s a great deal of mental twisting for poor Sanda (though you should never say THAT to her) and she truly suffers some terrible mental anguish. There’s hope; though. She’s a strong enough person that the good in her wants to help another victim, a victim who may have equally been the one victimizing her. Velocity Weapon is just the first in The Protectorate series and shows much promise for what’s to come. O’Keefe has seamlessly switched gears in the genre with this novel and if anything has upped her already impressive storytelling/writing game.
Three novellas published over the last couple of years bound up in one omnibus for 2019… To say that the saga of Binti is a modern masterwork is obvious. Despite the tragedy throughout the series, the physical tragedies, the emotional baggage Binti brought with her when we first met her to the profound affect those physical
tragedies had on Binti, one thing was even more clear. Hope. This is very much a forward-thinking series with a charmingly brilliant and empathetic protagonist. Okorafor impressively packs these short novels/novellas with an incredible amount of emotion, fantastical ideas, and philosophical ideals in and of themselves. That the trilogy (plus short story) is under 400 pages and is so powerful is a marvel of storytelling. I was utterly transfixed by Binti’s story, filled with wonder and awe, and found myself hungry for more of her story and more of Nnedi Okorafor’s Africanfuturism as a whole.
I enjoyed this novel a great deal. It is one of the great contemporary science fiction novels that perfectly balances what makes classic space-based science fiction so much fun with fantastically modern sensibilities. If I can level any criticism it is that a couple of key elements in the story were predictable. On the other hand, there were plenty of plot elements that took me by surprise. With an ending that begs for more stories to be told about Viv and her crew, Gladstone also brings some closure.
Empress of Forever is a perfect example of classic science fiction with a forward-thinking mindset.
- Tiamat’s Wrath by James S.A. Corey
At this point in time, it should be an assumption that an Expanse novel will make this list if one is published in the calendar year we are reviewing. The Corey collective continues to build the final act in their saga with changes in character roles as a result of a 30-year time jump in the story. The rotating cast of POV characters continues with a couple of returning characters into the fray.
Mark Chitty’s thoughts
Science Fiction is my go-to genre, and this year an overwhelming majority of my reads was SF. I did a lot of catching up with reading, and re-read a few favourites over the course of the year, but did catch a few of the new releases I wanted to get to. In no particular order, here’s what I enjoyed the most:
I’ve really enjoyed Hamilton’s new series, and after a first volume that was good but felt like a big set up, Salvation Lost hits the right stride. With a fascinating society on display (both near and far future), and worldbuilding done like no other author, I loved this book. Look for the finale on my list next year!
- Tiamat’s Wrath by James S.A. Corey
Much as Rob says, it’s a no-brainer to include one of the best SF series published on this list. I always enjoy what’s on offer, and the authors never fail to give me more than what I wanted. I doubt anyone reading this has yet to pick these books up, but if that’s the case I highly recommend them.
- No Way by S J Morden
No Way is the sequel to Morden’s One Way, a novel of convicts being sent to Mars to set up a base under the guidance of one company employee. But then murders begin, and everyone is a suspect. No Way picks up the story immediately, dealing with the aftermath of events and throws impending issues at Frank Ketteridge, our lonely protagonist. This was a better novel than One Way, if only because it felt clearer from the outset, and gave a little more of the ‘lone human on Mars trying to survive’ story that many people love. Morden nailed it.
- Wanderers by Chuck Wendig
Rob covers Wanderers above much more eloquently than I could, but suffice to say I thought it was an excellent addition to the post-apocalyptic genre, almost on par with King’s The Stand in my view. Fantastic storytelling, characters, and ideas.
- Delta-V by Daniel Suarez
I’ve quite enjoyed Suarez’s novels in the past – Daemon was an enjoyable debut, though I never did get to Freedom. In 2017 I read and enjoyed Change Agent, which surprised me somewhat (for reasons that escape me now). Delta-V was a solid SF tale of the first people to mine a near-Earth asteroid, and all the tests and troubles they go through from being recruited through to arriving and mining. I’ve added Suarez to my read-on-publication list now, and eagerly look forward to his next book.
