When I look at all the science-fiction/fantasy books published in 2013, I tend to shake my fist at the bookshelves: there’s not enough hours in the day! I want to read all the books! I barely scratched the surface!
Out of all the books I did read that were published in 2013, the following five stood out in my mind as the best.
(If you’re wondering why your favorite’s not on the list, it’s most likely because I didn’t get a chance to read it. It’s also possible that I read it and didn’t like it, but that doesn’t sound nearly so nice. We’ll go with the first explanation.)
Fifth Place: Lexicon by Max Barry
The full review is here, but in short: this book had some of the most brilliant writing and exciting plot lines of anything I read all year. It’s got mind control, gun fights, intrigue, betrayal, secret societies, and sociopaths. If it wasn’t for a completely unsatisfying (to me) ending, it would’ve easily been on the top of the list. As is, I still have to put it in the top five. If nothing else, it makes me want to read all of Barry’s other books. The online consensus seems to be that this book wasn’t necessarily his best, and his “not best” effort is still pretty amazing.
Fourth Place: William Shakespeare’s Star Wars by Ian Doescher
I published a review of this a few months ago, and I’m still amazed by the concept. The author didn’t just take Star Wars and add a bunch of “thee’s” and “thou’s;” he’s re-written the entire movie in iambic pentameter. And it makes sense. The idea itself is extremely clever, the execution is spot-on, and you get some new insights into the movie from the extra little soliloquies Doescher wrote for most of the characters. This isn’t a parody of either Star Wars or Shakespeare, it’s really a love-letter to both.
Third Place: Two Serpents Rise by Max Gladstone
I’d been hoping to get this book as a Christmas present, and I did. And then I finished it in three days, that’s how fascinating it is. Unfortunately it’s just not as good as the first book, Three Parts Dead. The story drags about halfway through, several plot elements are surprisingly predictable, and the ending isn’t nearly as satisfying and awesome as the first book.
Bearing that in mind though, it’s still an amazing book. I’ve never seen anything like the world Gladstone has created; equal parts sorcery, god-worship, and cut-throat accounting. It’s in a completely different city from the first book, with different characters, but the epic, decadent feel is still there. He just set the bar really high with the first book.
Second Place: Protector by C.J. Cherryh
The fourteenth book of Cherryh’s Foreigner Universe was released this year, and it shows that the series isn’t losing any steam in its fifth trilogy. The Atevi are my favorite aliens of any book I’ve ever read. Who wouldn’t like imposing, humanoid creatures with a rarely-seen but extremely endearing sense of humor, who treat language as an elaborate combination of superstition and math equations, and solve most problems through a highly-effective Assassin’s Guild?
This book focused a lot on the young Atevi prince and the human friends he made while living on a space station. I feel many books and movies have jumped the shark when they switch focus to a new, younger character, but Cherryh makes it work. Plus we still get to see a lot of the human translator Bren and his fanatically loyal bodyguards, and their interactions are always fun to watch.
First Place: The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
This book seems to be winning all the awards and accolades this year, and it’s no surprise why. I reviewed it here, but all you need to know is that in a very short book Gaiman has created this absolutely lovely, compelling story of dark magic, friendship, and loyalty. It’s Gaiman at his best, and if you’ve always wanted to try his books, this is a perfect one to start with.