[Abyss]

 amphibian, on 21 December 2023 - 04:00 AM, said:

... I really enjoyed Mike Carey writing another Felix Castor story (The Ghost in Bone).
...

...wait....

WHAT???
*googles*
*finds*
*buys*

[Abyss]

 JPK, on 21 December 2023 - 03:59 AM, said:

 Abyss, on 21 December 2023 - 03:32 AM, said:

2023 Bestestiest Reads...

GO

Well, what were they then? Trying to keep us in suspense?

Atter i posted that i did a quick scan... my year's highs were high and the lows were low and i couldn't decide quickly...

CONTENDERS FOR BEST READ OF THE YEAR

Esslemont's FORGE OF THE HIGH MAGE
Wes Chu, ART OF PROPHECY
Illona (and that other guy) Andrews' MAGIC TIDES / MAGIC CLAIMS
Sanderson's THE SUNLIT MAN

...those four were the ones that jumped out as my fave reads of the year. I think MAGIC is eliminated because while it was so very great to revisit the Katemine, 'best of' is a lofty thing. SUNLIT was good, very good even, but on the 'fantasy lit that blew me away' scale FORGE and ART were better.
Between the top two... tough call... when i reread my posts i see i enjoyed the hell out of FORGE but there were elements that were less 'wow', while ART OF PROPHECY just surprised me on every point and exceeded any expectations i had, so my bestest read of 2023 goes to Wes Chu's ART OF PROPHECY, w FORGE OF THE HIGH MAGE in a close second place.


More year end thinks when i have a minute. Trying to clear work for holiday time and the damn shoggoths keep spawning and emailing themselves to third world spam accounts.

[worry]

For me the best were definitely The Books of Babel by Josiah Bancroft & A Creature Wanting Form by Luke O'Neil. Babel kept improving all the way to its glorious end, and proved that even nerds can be heroes. A Creature Wanting Form is dozens of short stories, many of them quite brief, and it really got to the heart of what it feels like here at the end of things. Very sad, very funny. Not always ha-ha funny.

Honorable mentions are: The House War (1-3) which is all I read from Michelle West so far and really liked, particular her characterization. Strange Beasts of China by Yang Ge, which many of you also read, and was really unique even if a little too opaque sometimes. Really cool out of left field selection. Sad that Apt passed away shortly after we all finished it.
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata - this one's hard to describe. It's short, acerbic, funny, and thoughtful.Forge of the High Mage - maybe the wheels came off the bus of continuity a bit in this one, I dunno, but I still enjoyed the adventure all the way through.

Graphic Novels/Comics:The Immortal Hulk -- maybe up there in the top 3 things I read. I don't read superhero comics that often anymore but I love Hulk and this got him exactly right.Gender Queer -- I think comics are such a cool way to do memoirs / autobios, and this is one of the best ones I've read.
Paper Girls -- I wanted to read this before watching the Amazon show, and I wound up liking it a lot, and then I didn't end up watching the Amazon show cuz they cancelled it after just the one season. Oh well, it's great fun and does time travel pretty well. I might still watch the show eventually.

[Tiste Simeon]

Forge of the High Mage by Esslemont is definitely one of the best I've read this year.

I also really enjoyed The Malevolent Seven by Sebastian de Castell.

I think my read-through (or listen through I suppose) of the Rivers of London series was this year. And they were utterly phenomenal.

[flea]

worry, on 21 December 2023 - 04:58 PM, said:

Sad that Apt passed away shortly after we all finished it.

Wait, what?

[worry]

Sorry that was a joke because he hasn't been posting lately! Hopefully he's currently safe and well.

[polishgenius]

Best book I read last year: At the Feet of the Sun, by Victoria Goddard. As I've been saying in the reading threads, Goddard is some kind of wizard. Feet of the Sun is a very different book to Hands of the Emperor, but just as delightful.

Honourable mention: The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez, a weird-as-shit story of revenge, redemption, and love. It's not going to be everyone's cup of tea just because it's so bizarre but the storytelling on show is superb.

Honourable mention: The Ballad of Perilous Graves,by Alex Jennings - a sort-of-New-Orleans based jazz-and-blues-led coming of age adventure fantasy. A delight.


Best book I read last year that came out last year: probably Shadow Baron, the second in the Burnished City series by Davinia Williams. Improved on the already-rolicking Notorious Sorcerer, which I read at the start of the year. It's just really good high-magic city-based rogue fun, which I think would be right up this board's alley tbh.



Honourable mention: The Archive Undying by Emma Mieko Candon is a bit too messy at the end to nick the top spot, but it's atmospheric as hell, one of the best premises I've read in ages, and characters which while frustrating are interestingly unusual in a bunch of ways.