Books of the Year 2016
Best of 2016 – Part 2
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 2016.
The first part, on Fantasy books, is HERE.
And so, in the finest traditions of trying to reduce our lists to five in each category, here’s the first 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).
In no order, Mark Y’s top 5 SF books for 2016:
Creation Machine by Andrew Bannister
I really liked this debut. Creation Machine had the fun feel and rapid pace of an Iain M Banks novel, with big ideas and some impressively nasty aliens, not all human. Loved the main characters, if not always the good guys and girls. Really surprised me, in a good way, and I can’t wait for the sequel due next year.
Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen by Lois McMaster Bujold
Not the best Vorkosigan novel ever, but moving away from Miles as a central character has clearly freed Lois up to write a mature SF novel about growing up disgracefully. Slower paced and more thoughtful than many of the earlier novels in the series, it was nevertheless lovely to be back in the Cetaganda universe.
The Corporation Wars: Dissidence by Ken MacLeod
A pleasing return to Space Opera SF, the first part of this trilogy was a welcome return by Ken. Complex, thought-provoking and surprisingly funny in places, Dissidence gave a new take on a future robot uprising.
Revenger by Alistair Reynolds.
The most enjoyable Reynolds I’ve read in a long while. Not too deep and surprisingly less epic in scale than most of his work, this one sounded like a lot of fun to write. Let down a little by the ending, but still great fun.
See also The Medusa Chronicles by Stephen Baxter & Alastair Reynolds. An interesting counterpoint to Revenger, in that this one was more epic and harder science. Very much in the Clarke style and mode, this was old-school traditional SF and, in typical Clarkean style, light on character. This one nearly made the list, but in the end I chose Revenger.
Possibly my favourite of the year. An unabashedly old-fashioned, sensawunda tale, based initially on fan history but then optimistically taking us forward into space and onward. This sort of book is why I started reading SF in the first place.
Honorable Mentions (Nearly made the list!) – A Night Without Stars by Peter F. Hamilton.
I know Mark Chitty will have more to say about this one, so to try and keep my list to five I reluctantly dropped this one off my list. I really enjoyed Night Without Stars, but it was clearly a second part of a duology and meant to be a series closer. Lots of things tied up, some well-liked characters return and some genuinely exciting parts. Very interested to see where Peter goes next after this one.
The Big Book of Science Fiction, edited by Ann and Jeff Vandermeer
As the title suggests, this is the latest huge tome edited by the Vandermeers. At over 1200 pages, it’s been one I’ve been dipping into since its publication in the summer. The only reason it is an honorable mention rather than in my ‘best of’ list is that I haven’t quite finished reading it all! As ever, it is an eclectic volume, with its over one hundred stories having some expected names absent and some included that have been translated into English for the first time. However the breadth of its vision is impressive.
There was also a set of rereads MarkY really enjoyed:
Foundation and Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov
Citizen of the Galaxy by Robert A Heinlein, in my continuing reread of Heinlein juveniles.
The War of the Worlds by HG Wells
Rob’s Top 5 SF (alphabetical by author)
Babylon’s Ashes by James S.A. Corey
Like Robert Jackson Bennett, if a new Expanse novel publishes in a given year, it will be on my top reads list. Six books into the series and each novel feels fresh without repetitive retreads that can potentially plague long genre series. Equally as impressive at the least, and possibly more impressive as a tangent to that quality is the ability of the series to still surprise. As events unfold over the course of the novel and series, a sense of comfort sets in, the setting become familiar and the characters feel like old, beloved friends. Upsetting that sense of comfort is a skill that must be balanced with care and precision which is exactly how Corey manages to offset that level of comfort that comes across as a natural flow of the story rather than a bomb dropped in just for shock value.
This is also a series book, the second in a dystopic future where the US government is run by a corporation. I can’t imagine how relevant that is right now. I “read” this one as an audio book as I did with the first and I recommend giving that medium a try for these books. Overall, Dawson built very well on the first volume – gives the protagonist Patsy an engaging and even charming antagonist to deal with and provided a wider view of this bleak future. She also gives a lot of hints of where she can go in the final book of the series, which I can’t wait to read.
The Fireman by Joe Hill (I place here in SF since it is Post-Apocalypse)
Joe Hill’s novels are repeat offenders for me, always at the top of the list whenever he publishes a novel in a given year. Though Mark Y. slotted this up in Fantasy, I’m slotting it in SF for two reasons ([1] because it is a post-apocalyptic novel and [2] I wanted to leave room in fantasy for another book). The Fireman isn’t the first nor will it be the last post-apocalyptic horror novel. Not to make a comparison to The Stand for multiple, obvious reasons is impossible, but it is a very favorable comparison. As is the case with many post-apocalyptic tales, the cause of humanity’s demise serves to peel away layers of civilization and the people themselves become the truly frightening creatures. The intimacy becomes even more focused as Harper is drawn more into the community of Camp Wyndham. As a Nurse, she is an important figure with no doctors or other people with nearly as much medical training as Harper possesses. The Fireman, so named because he dresses the part, but also because he’s learned to control the Dragonscale and the fire he generates, becomes an even more curious figure for Harper in no small part because he lives apart from the community. There’s some archetypal superheroic elements about the character,I loved the character of Harper as well as the titular Fireman.
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
I know this was available in the UK in 2015, but 2016 say the US Print release of this wonderful Science Fiction novel. While the plot keeps the characters going along quite well, the strength of this novel is the characters themselves to a very large degree, and to a smaller, but intimately connected degree, the future galaxy Chambers has created for these characters. The novel works quite episodically, with each character getting their own origin story. In the best ways, I was reminded of one of my favorite, if not very favorite, science fiction show FarScape. A great central character aboard a ship (not a living ship, though) with wonderfully drawn alien characters. This is a novel that would be near the top of the list of books I’d recommend as exactly what epitomizes excellent Space Opera / Space Based Science Fiction
This is the second installment in Sigler’s Generations trilogy, so talking about this book presents a challenge in that too much detail would spoil the first book. So what makes this such an enjoyable novel? First and foremost would be Sigler’s ability to keep the plot moving at a pace that both sates the desire for what comes next while also leaving enough hanging and unexplained that not going to the next chapter is an act of will.
Be that as it may, Sigler packs a great deal of punch, adding to an already anxiety-laden story and building towards what could be a truly epic conclusion to what has thus far been a stunning science fiction saga. If you like character driven stories, set in a future where the survival of the human race is in question, then go catch up with these books before Alone publishes next year (2017).
Honorable mentions: The Three Star Wars novels I read this year: the second installment of the Chuck Wendig written Aftermath trilogy, Life Debt, which bridges the saga from Return of the Jedi to The Force Awakens. Bloodlines by Claudia Gray which is a wonderful, brilliant character study of Leia Organa Solo, and Catalyst by James Luceno which serves as prequel to this year’s Star Wars film, Rogue One. Though not a 2016 novel, I really also enjoyed Paul S. Kemp’s Lords of the Sith which builds on the relationship between Palpatine and Darth Vader.
In no order, Mark C’s top 5 SF books for 2016:
Night Without Stars by Peter F Hamilton (See: told you so! MarkY)
I’m a big Hamilton fan so this was the novel I was looking forward to this year. This isn’t a novel you can approach on its own, but for me it did everything I wanted and needed it to do – it delivered a great conclusion to the Chronicle of the Fallers, yet also answered questions that have been hanging around since the Commonwealth Saga and Void Trilogy. It closed off the Commonwealth Universe for the foreseeable future in a way that gives closure, yet leaves the door wide open for a return. Great stuff.
Survival Game by Gary Gibson
Gibson’s sequel to Extinction Game (review) was very good, expanding the setting of multiple Earth’s in such a way that could lead to many more stories. Thi is exactly the kind of SF I enjoy – thoughtful and intelligent, yet action-packed with great ideas. My only real niggle was that there are plenty of questions left unanswered, some going back to the first book. But don’t let that put you off from a truly great book.
Eternity’s Mind by Kevin J Anderson
Large canvas, multiple viewpoint, galaxy-ranging space opera. There really isn’t much to say other than this ticked my boxes and made me one happy reader.
Quantum Night by Robert J Sawyer
Very, very intelligent SF from Sawyer, so much so that I feel woefully inadequate to even begin to describe the novel. Here’s the publisher’s blurb if you’re interested – and you should be!
There’s one thing you can guarantee from Asher’s writing: action galore. However, this second book in his Transformations trilogy (following on from Dark Intelligence) adds a much deeper layer to the story, questioning many things from the perspective of not only the humans, but also the Prador and the AI. Perhaps more one for fans of Asher’s work given the history of the Polity setting, but still a great read.
Honourable Mentions: The End of the World Running Club by Adrian J Walker, The Sudden Appearance of Hope by Claire North, A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers
And that’s it for the SF this year. Hope you’ve found it useful!
