Library Journal's Top Ten of 2011

[sullivan_riyria]

Library Journal's Annual Best Books Lists came out and here are their picks in the SF/Fantasy Category.

• Anderton, Jo. Debris. Angry Robot. (Veiled Worlds Trilogy, Bk. 1). ISBN 9780857661548. pap. $7.99
• Bova, Ben. Leviathans of Jupiter. Tor. ISBN 9780765317889. $24.99
• Corey, James S.A. Leviathan Wakes. Orbit: Hachette. (Expanse, Bk. 1). ISBN 9780316129084. pap. $15.99
• Goldstein, Lisa. The Uncertain Places. Tachyon, dist. by IPG. ISBN 9781616960148. pap. $14.95
• Gregory, Daryl. Raising Stony Mayhall. Del Rey: Ballantine. ISBN 9780345522375. pap. $15
• Martin, George R.R. A Dance with Dragons. Bantam. (Song of Ice & Fire, Bk. 5). ISBN 9780553801477. $35
• Orullian, Peter. The Unremembered. Tor. (Vault of Heaven, Bk. 1). ISBN 9780765325716. $27.99
• Rajaniemi, Hannu. The Quantum Thief. Tor. ISBN 9780765329493. $24.99
• Sullivan, Michael J. Theft of Swords. Orbit: Hachette. (Riyria Revelations, Vol. 1). ISBN 9780316187749. pap. $14.99
• Vinge, Vernor. The Children of the Sky. Tor. ISBN 9780312875626. $25.99.

 

[Rhodri]

Boy, Library Journal sure love Tor!

And The Unremembered? That towering hit, beloved of critics?

 

[Hobbit]

And The Unremembered? That towering hit, beloved of critics?

Beloved of critics? Rob was not entirely effusive in his SFFWorld review:

Ultimately I can’t come down overly negative or with the highest praise for the novel, which is frustrating as a reader.

Mark

 

[Rhodri]

Sarcasm, sorry. The book got a pretty negative set of reviews:

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8684418-the-unremembered

and there was some talk of amazon being loaded up with 5*s by over-zealous friends with many reviews having to be removed. But that's hearsay.

 

[Hobbit]

Sorry, Rhodri: one of those occasions when typing alone clearly doesn't communicate the point being made!

Lists are always a point of debate, as I'm sure the SFFWorld lists will be when they appear nearer Christmas.

I'm sure there's some people out there who like it, in the same way as people liking Terry Goodkind or 'name-your-alternative-author-of-choice'.

Mark

 

[Luke_B]

I found Rose Fox's SF/F/H list for PW very interesting:

• Zoo City by Lauren Beukes
• Triptych by J.M. Frey
• Unpossible by Daryl Gregory
• Two Worlds and In Between: The Best of Caitlín R. Kiernan, Vol. 1 by Caitlín R. Kiernan
• Erekos by A.M. Tuomala

Maureen McHugh’s collection After the Apocalypse made it onto PW's overall top 10 list (regardless of genre).

It's nice to see a list which doesn't just tick the same boxes as everyone else and brings attention to some less talked about books from small to medium publishing outfits (with the exception of Zoo City which has been very highly praised from all corners).

I've already ordered the Kiernan and Gregory and I really need to get around to the Beukes soon. Has anybody read the Frey or Tuomala and care to share an opinion?

 

[sullivan_riyria]

Boy, Library Journal sure love Tor!

And The Unremembered? That towering hit, beloved of critics?

Yeah that's the second thing I did was count the publishers (well after staring amazed at my name being on it that was). Tor got 4 and Orbit 2. I'm happy with that showing for a realatively small press in comparison.

 

[Seli]

If we are collating, Kirkus reviews has also released their best of (adult market, professional publishers).

THE COLD COMMANDS - by Richard K. Morgan
EMBASSYTOWN - by China Miéville
WITH FATE CONSPIRE - by Marie Brennan
THE HUM AND THE SHIVER - by Alex Bledsoe
THE QUANTUM THIEF - by Hannu Rajaniemi
RULE 34 - by Charles Stross
SCHOLAR - by L.E. Modesitt Jr.
SNUFF - by Terry Pratchett
SPELLBOUND - by Blake Charlton
WHEN THE SAINTS - by Dave Duncan

with some other books that might be within genre boundaries on the more general lists (Stephen King - 11/22/63, Murakami - 1Q84, Morgenstern - The night circus, Grossman - the magician king, and of course if only by his history Stephenson - Reamde)

 

[TooNice]

loved leviathan wakes. i thought the heroes and the wise man's fear were much better than ADWD though. havent read those others.

 

[JustaStaffer]

I found Rose Fox's SF/F/H list for PW very interesting:

• Zoo City by Lauren Beukes
• Triptych by J.M. Frey
• Unpossible by Daryl Gregory
• Two Worlds and In Between: The Best of Caitlín R. Kiernan, Vol. 1 by Caitlín R. Kiernan
• Erekos by A.M. Tuomala

Maureen McHugh’s collection After the Apocalypse made it onto PW's overall top 10 list (regardless of genre).

It's nice to see a list which doesn't just tick the same boxes as everyone else and brings attention to some less talked about books from small to medium publishing outfits (with the exception of Zoo City which has been very highly praised from all corners).

I've already ordered the Kiernan and Gregory and I really need to get around to the Beukes soon. Has anybody read the Frey or Tuomala and care to share an opinion?

After the Apocalypse will make my list this year. It's awesome.

 

[Randy M.]

Library Journal's Annual Best Books Lists came out and here are their picks in the SF/Fantasy Category.

• Anderton, Jo. Debris. Angry Robot. (Veiled Worlds Trilogy, Bk. 1). ISBN 9780857661548. pap. $7.99
• Bova, Ben. Leviathans of Jupiter. Tor. ISBN 9780765317889. $24.99
• Corey, James S.A. Leviathan Wakes. Orbit: Hachette. (Expanse, Bk. 1). ISBN 9780316129084. pap. $15.99
• Goldstein, Lisa. The Uncertain Places. Tachyon, dist. by IPG. ISBN 9781616960148. pap. $14.95
• Gregory, Daryl. Raising Stony Mayhall. Del Rey: Ballantine. ISBN 9780345522375. pap. $15
• Martin, George R.R. A Dance with Dragons. Bantam. (Song of Ice & Fire, Bk. 5). ISBN 9780553801477. $35
• Orullian, Peter. The Unremembered. Tor. (Vault of Heaven, Bk. 1). ISBN 9780765325716. $27.99
• Rajaniemi, Hannu. The Quantum Thief. Tor. ISBN 9780765329493. $24.99
• Sullivan, Michael J. Theft of Swords. Orbit: Hachette. (Riyria Revelations, Vol. 1). ISBN 9780316187749. pap. $14.99
• Vinge, Vernor. The Children of the Sky. Tor. ISBN 9780312875626. $25.99.

The only book I've read in that list is Goldstein's The Uncertain Places. It wasn't bad, but it also didn't grab me the way I would have hoped. It's dealings with Faerie were interesting, though it reminded me Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell to its detriment: Clarke's book had a depth and intricacy that over-matched Goldstein's novel. In parts it plays with material one could find in a horror novel, but doesn't really show conviction -- the cost of dealing with Faerie is severe but not enough to strike awe. At least, not in me.

Having just finished Peter Beagle's Tamsin, I'd say he took a similar approach to comparable material and pulled it off rather better.

This isn't to say that Goldstein's book wasn't entertaining -- there are some striking scenes and passages, and Goldstein writes, line by line, quite well. But I can't imagine it being a top 10 novel of the year unless it was a rather weak year for novels.


Randy M.