December Addendum - best and worst of 2003

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Homesick Alien

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Best fantasy novel of 2003

As the year draws to a close, does anybody wish to share choices for a favourite fantasy novel that was published in 2003?

My choice would be Jeff Vandermeer's Veniss Underground. I consider it more a dark fantasy as opposed to science fiction, though it contains elements of both genres. I found that Vandermeer's beautiful prose and surreal imagery left me haunted and more moved than I had been by any other fantasy novel that was published this year. What's more, I splurged and ordered myself the signed Nightshade Books limited edition, which is a beautiful physical object in its own right.

A close runner-up would be Australian author K.J. Bishop's The Etched City.

Interestingly, both these novels were debuts.
 
Fitz usually puts a sort of informal poll together. Here's a past example:
2001

I couldn't find last years though.

I think it would be good to follow this format again...
 
The Etched City is a great book. I haven't read the other one. I think this was a wonderful year for books, and I think next year will be even better.

My vote goes to Matt Dinniman's "The Shivered Sky". Runner-up is Eragon. Those were also debuts.
 
Paladine of the Souls by LBJ. Fools Fate was long awaited but not surprising in quality whilst Paladine of the souls was a good treat.
 
The Lord of Castle Black by Steven Brust.

It's a very entertaining book, part two of the Viscount of Adrilankha trilogy.
 
Hijacking and adding to Homesick Alien's post of earlier, let's broaden this out a little.

What fantasy has been your highlights (and lowlifes! :) ) of 2003?

What has surprised you as being much better (or worse) than you were expecting?

And what are you looking forward to in 2004 as well as dreading?


For me, the highlights have been Keyes's The Briar King, Bujold's Curse of Chalion, Hobbs Fool's Fate and the Return of the King Movie.

There's a lot of lows out there but I think I'll say no more than Robert Newcomb and the Eddings's Elder Gods.

I'm looking forward to quite a lot next year - as John H has said in his thread.

Hobbit
 
I'm not as voracious as some of you guys when it comes to reading brand new stuff. I don't have the time to read or money to buy every brand new book that comes out. However, I did manage to read The Briar King which I thought was very good. I think that's the ony 2003 book that I read!:rolleyes:
 
I second Robert Newcombe as my worst for 2003. Can't say about Return of the King yet really but in anticipation, I shall throw that in as a highlight of the year and curse of the chalion too, which I forgot to add to Paladin of the Souls.
 
Best: The Darkness that Comes Before R. Scott Bakker

Worst: The Jester James Patterson & Alex Gross (or something)



I third, or whatever, that 2004 is going to be an AWESOME year for great books. Mithfanion/Calibandar posted a great list at asoiaf, and here as well IIRC.
 
film

Hijack away, Hobbit. I noticed you plugged the Peter Jackson's film version Return of the King - not released until 26th December in Australia. :mad:

I can't wait, but I know there's going to be a hint of sadness when it's all over...

A definite highlight of the year in fantasy film for me has been the Two Towers Special Extended Edition DVD. The extra scenes further flesh out the world and story, and provides some huge rewards for fans of the books. Also, hours of documentaries and behind-the-scenes footage are included.

Another excellent fantasy DVD from this year is Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away. A truly beautiful film and a nicely packaged DVD.

By the way, Greg Keyes' The Briar King is in my Christmas stocking and I'm looking forward to it even more now after its multiple mentions on this thread.
 
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worst of 2003

With the publication of Jasper Fforde's The Well of Lost Plots in 2003, I endeavoured to read his Thursday Next series. Unfortunately, I never got as far as the third instalment, after literally being frustrated to the point of renting my copy of The Eyre Affair in two and hurling it across the room. I like comedy, but this inept, precious, needling wheezing of Fforde's does not qualify.
 
Originally posted by coeshaw
My vote goes with Fools Fate by Robin Hobb :)
Click to expand...

I have to second this vote as I thought it was one of the best Hobb books I have read in a while and a great climax for the Tawny Man Series :)

rune
 
Thank you, and apologies, Homesick. I didn't mean to rub the RotK in...I hadn't realised it was till after Christmas for you Antipodeans (or at least those of you who are not New Zealanders?) :(

But having seen it again today... it is great. ;) Would make a great 'after Xmas' event!

You have touched a sensitive spot for me, though, as I haven't seen (but am waiting for!) 'Spirited Away' here - out in February, just in time for Hobbit's birthday! :) Have already got it on the list....might be one for 2004 for me! :)

I think the general feeling is that Two Towers is great, but Two Towers extended is better.... and would agree with your choice!

Interested with your comments about Jasper Fforde, though - I thought his writing's getting better as they go along, and I'm not usually one for 'Humourous Sf/Fantasy' - I find it very difficult to be done well, and consequently I'm not a fan of Thraxas, Andrew Harman, Tom Holt or Robert Rankin (that'll cause me some grief, I'll expect :) ) but I did like the Jasper Fforde books (and that did surprise me!). They are rather British in an Avengers-type way - was that the problem?

Voland - I've seen that one around, but not dared pick it up. Isn't Patterson usually a thriller writer or perhaps 'Tom Clancy type' writer, normally? When I saw it I thought someone was trying to 'do a Michael Crichton' and write a spec fic book for mainstream readers. (Agh....I've slipped into that genre trap again! :) ) Patterson, from what I've (very)briefly read, seems similar to Matthew Reilly, who I've not been impressed with either, but definitely has fans. :) (That's usually amongst the readers who haven't realised SF was doing that stuff 40 years ago.... ;) )

Hobbit
 
Originally posted by Hobbit
Interested with your comments about Jasper Fforde, though - I thought his writing's getting better as they go along, and I'm not usually one for 'Humourous Sf/Fantasy' - I find it very difficult to be done well, and consequently I'm not a fan of Thraxas, Andrew Harman, Tom Holt or Robert Rankin (that'll cause me some grief, I'll expect :) ) but I did like the Jasper Fforde books (and that did surprise me!). They are rather British in an Avengers-type way - was that the problem?
Click to expand...

Hobbit, I'm not sure what you mean by Averngers-type way - is it that mix of fantasy and mystery genres? I kind of enjoy the Harry Potter books and I think they're very British. Also, in the past I've enjoyed the decidedly British humour of the likes of Kyril Bonfiglioli and his Mortdecai Trilogy (not fantasy but excellent crime novels IMO). It's more that I didn't find Fforde funny and I don't think he is being as clever as he thinks he is. And I can't enjoy the story without the humour because it is riddled with cliches, or appears that way to me.

Apologies to all Fforde fans - I know I'm in the minority with him, so I guess I'm just missing out on something. I'm sure others would put The Well of Lost Plots amongst their favourites for the year...
 
Yes, homesick - you may know this already, but The Avengers was a TV series in the 1960's here in the UK, which mixed 60's kitsch with James Bond, thrillers, horror and scifi with humour. Very surreal in places. Thursday Next always reminds me of Emma Peel. :)(There was also a very-bad-movie with Uma Thurman and Sean Connery made in the 1990's that missed the point almost entirely!)

I see Fforde's books as a development of that and as such the cliches are part of the fun. There's lots of digs and tributes to nongenre novels too which I liked and some of the places named if you see them in real life are not quite what Fforde suggests. It may be that I've bought into the cliches, though... :)

But I guess it also shows the difficulties with humour to a point, something I'm always aware of when reading 'funny' books. No apology needed! :)

I know others who love the authors I've mentioned above, but leave me cold.

Hobbit
 
Just heard that The Etched City by K.J. Bishop is on the fantasy short-list for the Aurealis Awards. I look forward to it winning (well, fingers crossed). I think the stiffest competition will come from Garth Nix.
 
Kate Elliott The Gathering Storm

Michelle West Riven Shield

Gregor Keyes Briar King

Robin Hobb Fool's Fate

Lucky, I didn't pick any real bad ones.

One huge disappointment was
of course

Robert Jordan's Crossroads of Twilight.
 
Here's my list

Best first novel of the year
The Darkness that Comes Before by R. Scott Bakker.
Simply amazing, almost too daunting a novel to tackle, but by novel's end, everything is worth it. Bakker invests such a deep history into his world, such depth into his characters it is difficult to believe this is his first.

Best Fantasy Novel of the Year:
The Briar King by Greg Keyes. Simply the best offering from the genre. This is perhaps one of the most outstanding opening novels I have ever read. Keyes has staked a claim for territory George R.R. Martin once laid claim. This book was above nearly everything I opened this year. This is saying alot when new novels from Tad Williams, John Marco and James Barclay were available.

Best non-first series book of the year:
Golden Fool by Robin Hobb.
This novel was so fantastic it is worthy of mention. Hobb continues to impress with the tale of FitzChivalry and Bingtown. The only disappointment is the fact that there is only one book remaining in this sprawling saga.

Worst book of the year:
Without a doubt, those pieces of paper between cardboard titled Hades Daughter by Sara Douglass. It was the biggest waste of my reading time this year.

Best Anthology
Mojo: Conjure Stories edited by Nalo Hopkinson
First story to last, each one in this themed collection was a solid effort. Of course some were stronger than others, but overall amazing.

Best Reprint/Classic Reissue
You'd be hard pressed to find a better one than The Coming of Conan the Cimmeran by Robert E. Howard. There may be a few that can give this one a run for its money, but nothing as widely available as this one. Del Rey is doing a wonderful thing by churning out these stories for today's readers.

Authors I've missed this year:
George R.R. Martin
Guy Gavriel Kay
Sean Russell
Stephen R. Donaldson
Matthew Stover*

(*Yes he published a Star Wars novel this year, but all of his fans are yearning for further adventures of Caine)
 
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