Just got round to checking the SFsite‘s lists of best books of 2003, as follows; X means I’ve read it with link to a review if I did one, O means I haven’t, and I note my intentions as well. Any further feedback – especially on the lines of “X is fantastic” or “Y stinks” – much welcomed.
| readers’ list | contributors’ list |
| 1st X Ilium by Dan Simmons – will look out for the sequel | 1st O The Light Ages by Ian MacLeod – generally recommended, but I can wait until paperback in April |
| 2nd O Venniss Underground by Jeff VanderMeer – rated second in both lists; even the paperback seemed a bit pricey but if it’s as good as his City of Saints and Madmen perhaps I shall think again | |
| 3rd O The Darkness that Comes Before by R. Scott Bakker – rave reviews, maybe I’ll pick up the paperback in Dublin or Belfast when I’m there in two weeks | 3rd X Ilium by Dan Simmons – see above |
| 4th X Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson – good stuff, though really too long | 4th O Kalpa Imperial by Angélica Gorodischer, tr Ursula Le Guin – sounds very intruguing, but will be impossible to find in the shops; probably will buy it from Amazon if I find my economics suddenly improving |
| =5th O The Light Ages by Ian MacLeod – see above =5th O Absolution Gap by Alastair Reynolds – I was underwhelmed by the first in this series and unless I hear that this is far better and doesn’t require reading the others first I will leave it. |
5th X Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson – see above |
| 6th X Pattern Recognition by William Gibson – Gibson’s first decent novel in my (heretical) view | 6th 0 Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde – will buy this one on sight in paperback, as I enjoyed the two predecessors |
| 7th O Fool’s Fate by Robin Hobb – this is one author I’ve never got into though enthusiasts are pretty evangelical; does anyone here think she’s on a par with George R.R. Martin? | 7th O Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett – impressive that the contributors rather than the readers rated this; I think Pratchett may be only now getting into his stride; buy on sight in paperback for me |
| 8th O Broken Angels by Richard Morgan – sounds rather gory | =8th O Diary by Chuck Palahniuk – sounds rather weird =8th O Succession by Scott Westerfield – two novels rather than one; quite a commitment to make for an otherwise unknown author; any views out there? |
| 9th X Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling – too long; she’s losing her edge | =9th O The Golden Transcendence by John C. Wright – I have a feeling I read the first of this series and quite liked it but not enough to read the rest =9th O Succession by Scott Westerfield – see above |
| 10th O The Briar King by Gregory Keyes – piles of this author’s books in the local remainder bookshop, which is a bit worrying when you consider that I live in Belgium | =10th O The Facts of Life by Graham Joyce – won World fantasy Award, sounds rather good =10th O The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric and Discredited Diseases ed Jeff VanderMeer and Mark Roberts – with a title like that, how could anyone resist? (though I’ll wait till the paperback; I hope there will be one) =10th O The Knight by Gene Wolfe – again, universally recommended; but I can wait for the paperback |
I’m trying to figure out if that’s the one I’ve inherited from an uncle. Does it feature sentient cabbages?