Ordinarily, this is the time of year when I would be talking about nominations for the Hugo Awards. I'm not participating this year for a couple of reasons. The most important reason is that this year's Worldcon will be held in China. While I'm sure that Chinese SF/F fans are nice people, they are saddled with a murderous regime that will not hesitate to use any opportunity to propagandize their actions. I'm unwilling to help create such opportunities.
Free the Uyghurs. Hold free/fair multi-party elections. Leave Taiwan alone. Then we can talk.
Instead, I thought I would review the books that I have completed this year. Included in the "completed" list are books that I set aside due to a lack of interest. There are some Hugo Award-related comments included.
This was a pretty good year for me in that most of the books I picked up were books that I actually enjoyed. There were a few where the book couldn't live up to the "elevator pitch" and one where the "elevator pitch" was completely wrong but the book was fantastic anyway.
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Like others, I read for enjoyment and seek books that interest me. There are times when I read a book simply based on my past experiences with an author's work. Other times, I will pick up a book based on a recommendation from a trusted source. On rare occasions, advertising works!
Many of these books are the first in a series. I once heard Peter V. Brett talk about his approach to writing a series. The first book, in his opinion, should be a complete story. The reader shouldn't be left feeling that there is more to come. After that point, if a reader opts to continue the series, then cliffhanger endings are fair game. I agree. I wish more authors agreed with that approach as well.
The books are (mostly) in reverse order of when they were read. Those at the top (mostly) are the ones that I read most recently.
| Title | Author | Rating | Quick Take |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Dream of the Iron Dragon | Robert Kroese | 4.5 Stars | People from our future being chased through outer space end up being teleported to our past. Suddenly cut off from modern technology, the survivors have to find a way to make themselves useful so they can survive. Furthermore, they have to find a way to send a coherent message to the future to hopefully prevent the imminent end of humanity back in their own time. By the end of the book, the only thing of value they possess is the knowledge in their heads. A good premise with reasonably interesting characters. This is the first in a series. Fortunately, it tells a complete story. |
| 36 Streets | T.R. Napper | 5 Stars | The story is about a Vietnamese girl who went to Australia as a refugee from the war. Not that war. The other war coming a few years in the future when China starts taking control of the Far East and no one is around to stop them. After returning to Vietnam, our protagonist, Lin, ends up in a purported street gang acting as an enforcer. She didn't start out that way, but she had training. A lot of it. Only after her friend and sister end up as collateral damage in the war between the street gang and the occupying Chinese forces does she learn exactly why the gang exists. The story is fully laced with cyberpunk elements as well as crime noir and a bit of MilSF. A great combination. Very worthy of Hugo Award recognition. |
| Iron Truth | S. A. Tholin | 4 Stars | This book recently won the Self-Published Science Fiction Contest. So I had high hopes. The book was reasonably well written with characters that were intriguing. Future miners dig too deeply on an off-Earth planet and unleash "something" that seizes control of people's minds. The event prompts the formation of an authoritarian state to "defend Earth". So fantasy mixed with science fiction. Not really in my wheelhouse. Also, this is the first book in a series and it shows. A good read, but I'm not anxious to return to the series. |
| Transmutation Texas | R.H. Snow | 3.5 Stars | This first in a series is set in a world where some sort of virus has wreaked hell on humanity. Much of civilization is gone. What remains is a population of normal humans and those that have been changed by the virus. Remarkably, there are very few women that survived the virus. The post-apocalyptic society that remains is twisted by the new reality. The story is reasonably well written. A few of the character interactions didn't seem well justified. And this is the "first in a series" where the end of the book is clearly not the end of the story. |
| Against All Gods | Miles Cameron | 5 Stars | This first in a series appears to be based on Bronze Age deities. Ignore the elevator pitch/summary and just strap in for one helluva ride. This world is inhabited by humans and a race of insects. Both are dominated by "gods" that possess immense power. The gods are slowly losing their ability to use that power. By the end of the book, the origins of their power and their ability to control the world become much murkier as the humans and insects are in turn thrust together and then forced into conflicts by gods playing power games. Definitely worthy of Hugo consideration. |
| Tread of Angels | Rebecca Roanhorse | 5 Stars | This is a standalone novella set in a fantasy world where angels and demons once fought on Earth. The main demon, Abbadon, fell in battle and now humans and "Fallen" demi-humans mine the bones of his corpse for the element Divinity that powers the world in steam-punkish fashion. Within that tableau is a tale of a caste structure that condemns some to lesser lives while granting others great privileges. It takes a deft authorial touch to write a story containing so much social critique while keeping the sub-text behind the text. Ms. Roanhorse possesses just such a deft touch. Just take my money, ma'am. Hugo Award worthy. |
| Warlord | Doc Spears | 3.5 Stars | The elevator pitch got me. You take an elite team of US Army Green Berets and drop them in a fantasy world. The fantasy world just happens to be a pastiche of Barsoom as envisioned by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Instead of John Carter, we get Benjamin Colt. A self-doubting professional soldier. His team is teleported to Mars along with a magic taco generator that can print anything. So they will always have ammo for their weapons. If you can set aside the fact that the plot is ripped almost whole from Mr. Burroughs, the repetitive "Green Berets are big and bad" mini-essays, and the beauty worship of Talis Dorman then this is a fun book. |
| Servants of War | Larry Correia and Steve Diamond | 5 Stars | Larry and Steve team up to tell a fantasy/horror tale about people that have been teleported from our world into this magic-infused world as some sort of cosmic refugees. But this new world isn't necessarily better. Our protagonists live in a country with a dictator that demands military service during a war, murders/disappears people for marginal infractions, and generally keeps his people poor and disempowered. If it sounds a bit like the 1930s under the old Soviet Union, then you get the vibe exactly. The dictator's army includes a special unit that operates a set of magical golems/automatons. You have to have some innate magical ability in order to communicate with the golems. One of our protagonists has that in spades. Despite having such power, the dictator's army is at a stalemate (and perhaps losing) with an opponent that embraces change and technology. The fact that they lob hellfire bombs probably helps keep things even. A great ride. Absolutely to the top of the genre writing. Worthy of Hugo consideration. |
| Fairy Tale | Stephen King | 4 Stars | Mr. King is America's master storyteller. He can twist nothing into an engrossing tale about characters so vibrant that you could swear that one of them just walked in the room. In this case, he starts with a pedestrian family dealing with significant (if mundane) challenges. He makes you care about their ordinary lives and starts tossing curve balls at them and at you, constant reader. |
| The Flock | J. Todd Scott | 2 Stars | I'm not sure what attracted me to this novel, but I couldn't finish it. I think it is intended to be suspenseful with an implication of fantasy/horror elements. I moved on after reading roughly 1/4 through the book as there weren't any characters of interest and the implications of supernatural activities were not evolving/resolving. |
| Strange Company | Nick Cole | 3 Stars | I think Nick Cole is too frequently overlooked as an author of memorable genre fiction. But this book was a bit of a miss. It features a modern military unit in a universe where something akin to "magic" is possible. The magic is enhanced "scientifically". I'm not a big fan of mixing science and fantasy, but if that's where you are going, then go all the way. There were powerful magics available in the story that were left unused while people were shooting weapons with wild abandon. |
| A Crown for Cold Silver | Alex Marshall | 3 Stars | I wanted to read this book after reading a short story by Alex contained in the Evil is a Matter of Perspective anthology. The short story comes from the same world as this novel and was very good. Unfortunately, this book didn't live up to expectations. This competently written book was undermined by the use of modern vernacular in a fantasy setting and characters being constantly high/drunk/whatever without any consequences (with one exception) to their ability to otherwise participate in the story. |
| A Touch of Death | Rebecca Crunden | 3 Stars | This book was noted as a hidden gem by the File770 team participating in the Self-Published Science Fiction Contest. I found substantial flaws in the world-building and in the contrived dilemma of the main characters. I only finished it because of the File770 team's recommendation. |
| Reign & Ruin | J.D. Evans | 2 Stars | This book won SPFBO in 2021. I am usually thrilled to read a SPFBO winner. This is a rare clunker. Poor character development/motivations. Poor plotting. If it hadn't won SPFBO, I'd have given this book the Dorothy Parker treatment at least halfway through it. |
| Fevered Star | Rebecca Roanhorse | 5 Stars | The second book in a series continues the tale of Serapio who has been re-made as the Crow God in a world inspired by pre-Columbian Americas. Ms. Roanhorse is the rare author for whom I don't need an elevator pitch to know that her work will be worth my time. Just take my money! Hugo Award worthy. |
| King of the Bastards | Brian Keene | 2 Stars | This book could have been great. But it refuses to stick with any constant plot. The protagonist is a Conan knock-off living in a world of magic that uses modern vernacular. I finished it, but all I can say is that it is "a book". |
| Tales of the Greatcoats Vol. 1: Swashbuckling Fantasy Stories | Sebastien de Castell | 5 Stars | A series of short stories from de Castell's world of the Greatcoats. Sadly, you need to have read the Greatcoats series to maximize your enjoyment of these stories. But they are entertaining nonetheless. Sebastien is an overlooked gem of an author. |
| Titan | Robert Kroese | 4 Stars | A billionaire inventor/businessman looks to increase his holdings by mining asteroids and other celestial bodies. He develops the technology to capture those bodies in the earth's gravitational well. Previously, he had developed a functioning sort of electronic currency which was tangentially related to social media. At the same time, governmental debt is threatening to cause global hyperinflation. His mining operation gets sabotaged at precisely the wrong time. Engrossing characters/plot where the sub-text wears to a diaphanously thin veneer in just a couple of spots. Worthy of Hugo Award consideration |
| MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors | Richard Hooker | 4 Stars | I grew up watching the TV show MASH. The earlier seasons are better, in my experience. I finally took some time to read the source material for the TV show and the movie. The book is a series of vignettes rather than a longer narrative tale. The humor and the tall tales are easily recognizable to anyone who has served in the military. Surprisingly and refreshingly, it didn't contain any of the forced anti-militarism that was present in the TV show. |
| The Girl in the Gun Club: My Time as One of the Few Good Men | Tracy Salzgeber | 5 Stars | Ms. Salzgeber is a US Marine. The book details her relationship with the Marine Corps and the Marines with whom she served. Ms. Salzgeber doesn't hold back in praising or criticizing the Corps, individual Marines, or herself. A refreshing critical take on our beloved Corps. |
| Son of the Black Sword | Larry Correia | 5 Stars | My first Larry Correia novel. It is a dandy of a fantasy novel with a setting reminiscent of India. The best warrior in the world has been living a lie. He is not a favored son of a powerful house. He is a servant from the lowest social caste that mistakenly became bonded to the house's most powerful sword. What happens when he learns the truth. Worth every minute. I'll definitely be back for more. I know it isn't likely, but this series should be a strong contender for the Hugo Awards. |
| Ice and Monsters | Peter Nealen | 3.5 Stars | A US Marine recon team ends up passing into another world populated by fantastic people and creatures with magical abilities. Can the recon team survive? There is a MilSF sub-genre that involves putting a modern military into non-modern settings. This book did a decent job of avoiding the penchant to handwave away serious questions like "what happens when we run out of bullets". If you like that sub-genre, then this book is for you. |
| Island in the Sea of Time | S.M. Stirling | 5 Stars | Great time-travel story sending a US Coast Guard training vessel back in time. They face the challenge of life without modern conveniences while also seeking to preserve their technological advantages. I'd like to continue reading the series. Side note - the author covers several modern social issues within the story without letting them get in the way of the story. Something modern authors need to re-learn. |
| Isolate | L.E. Modesitt, Jr. | 4 Stars | A slow-burn fantasy setting for a discussion of politics and political systems. The political ideas are thought-provoking and interesting. The fantasy setting was intriguing, but not without issues. A couple of plot issues. While a fan of Modesitt's work, I probably won't continue this series. |
Ratings in italics are pending. Sorry. Just haven't gotten around to posting a formal review.
I hope your 2023 in books is plentiful and enjoyable.
Edited for spelling and to add 2 books that my Kindle reader didn't share with Goodreads. 12/29/2022
