I made a few half-assed justifications about why I was posting a top 10 articles of 2017 when I did. There are no justifications for this. It is utter untogetherness at work and pure indulgence to think there's any import to this list. But since I like to make self-indulgent decisions when blogging, here it is. Enough waffle - here it is from the top.
1) Three Parts Dead by Max Gladstone
Okay, going back to self-indulgence - I'm super stunned I haven't taken time to rave about how much I love this book here. Because I really love this book. It features one of the more imaginative, 'wow', downright cool presentations of magic and its impact on a secondary world I've ever seen and will probably ever see.
Beyond that though there's a very well-crafted and appealing book in just about every way. Gladstone has the Pratchett-esque knack of of making characters feel interesting, familiar and unique in a few short lines. He also manages to mix wry dark humour with incisive thinking and prose in a way that reminds me somewhat of Pratchett too.
The only place Three Parts Dead is lacking is when it comes to the murder mystery and plot. It's intriguing but after a while, it feels a little thin with not enough false trails to keep the mystery alive. Even then, Gladstone manages the sound and fury of the climax more than well enough to satisfy. Overall, it makes for a phenomenal book. Absolutely phenomenal.
2) The Goddess Project by Bryan Wigmore
This lost out by the thinnest of hairs. Given there's been quite a bit about this book on the blog, there isn't a huge amount left for me to say again. It hits a lot of the same notes as TPD for me; innovative world affecting magic, mystery, and interesting characters. Clearly this is one of my favourite flavours of fantasy now.
What it does differently, and what I love, is the feeling of the book. It isn't magic as industry, it is magic - and a world - as mystery. Without stinting on the world we see, just about everything important about The Goddess Project is a mystery of some sort and that really drags me in.
You'd think after a year, I'd be able to identify something of a weakness in this book for me. Still can't. I know some people don't get on with the prose and the dialogue. Don't really agree with that, although I guess the dialogue doesn't pop and sizzle like parts of TPD. But this just as good and my gift buying patterns over the last year prove it.
3) Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie
Here's my Abercrombie history. Read The First Law trilogy and really liked parts, was meh at other parts. Re-read some parts and was really meh. Read Best Served Cold and decided to believe all the hype.
The thing I like most about Abercrombie is the tone of his work. It reads like a trad fantasy and a spaghetti western/Pulp Fiction at the same time. That's how blood-heavy fantasy should be. That he's got a Gemmell-esque knack for showing the psychology of violence provides the other half of the coin needed to pull off blood-heavy fantasy.
And everything else, he does well to very well. I have been severely remiss in not chasing up his other books.
4) Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
It's one damn good year when this only hits number four. Gaiman's greatest gift as an author (arguably) is his portrayal of normal confused people in abnormal confusing circumstances. And (arguably) he never does it better than he does in this book.
He's also got as great a sense of place here as ever, strong pacing, and a wicked sense of humour. It maybe isn't as epic as American Gods or as full of wonder as Neverwhere and Stardust, but it occupies a very comfortable middle ground between the two. Arguably his best book? Very arguably, but about as good as fantasy gets.
5) Horns by Joe Hill
Just about everything else on this got a 5 from me on GoodReads but this only got a 4. Which just goes to show I know less about Jon Snow. Horns' ideas and creepiness have stuck with me. The big reveals have only got more effective with time. The heavy handed use of theme has become more acceptable. Sometimes you don't realise just how much enjoyment you'll get out of a book when you've finished it - and I knew I'd enjoyed it a lot when I'd finished. Superior gothic mystery.
6) Angel's Truth by AJ Grimmelhaus
For sheer untrammeled fun, this retro-styled adventure novel (you could imagine it as a D&D module) was about as good as 2017 got for me. Its written with a nice mix of modern sensibility and old school charm that gives it a really good tone and aesthetic, which is backed up with a good twisty story line. It lacks the thematic depth to crack the top five here but hey, fun is fun. This book was so much fun.
7) Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock
From uncomplicated fun to complicated, thought-provoking, sometimes not fun. It's a very, very good book in a lot of ways, but I think for most people, sooner or later one of the tonal shifts or long explanations will lose them a little. It did so for me. The richness of idea and depth of emotion still made it a favourite for me. I'm not sure who's writing this sort of sombrely beautiful and imaginative fantasy today, but I need to find out.
8) The Imbued Lockblade by MD Presley
This one nearly slipped my mind because I beta'ed it rather than brought it. Well. I say beta'ed. What I mean is I read it, wrote an email saying "Yeah, you got it" and got one back saying "That's it?". That was it. My favourite part is the complexity and unrelenting nature of the plot - and flashback narrative arc - but other readers seem to go on more about the characters and world. They're certainly interesting, but it's the arc that has the magic here for me. I'm looking forwards to seeing this series go forwards a lot whereas with other books on this list I've been ambivalent about reading the others.
9) Temeraire by Naomi Novik
Good example of the last sentence right here! Temeraire's mix of period Hornblower-esque adventures with the Weyrs of Pern was a huge amount of fun to read. My mum absolutely loved it and got half the series. I've yet to read any of the others. Fear the novelty of the idea will fade thin and reveal there was nothing behind the curtain? I did find the plot wore somewhat thin in this book. But it was still a lot of fun and I should try the rest.
10) Jade City by Fonda Lee
I really wanted to love this book. Really really wanted to. Wuxia Godfather is such an awesome idea. And I liked it a lot, or it wouldn't be here. But I didn't love it because, as I recently said, there's simply too much story for the pages. But Lee certainly did enough justice to the idea of Wuxia Godfather that I'll be keeping tabs - and Wuxia Godfather is surely all I need to tell people to get others to try this book.
HMs
The Ninth Rain by Jen Williams: A lot of fun - arguably more fun than some of the stuff on the list - but lacked the emotional heft to etch it into my memory
City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett: Probably cracks this list if I didn't hate present tense; hella admirable, but I hate present tense. Only present tense book I've finished though.
The Night Circus by Erin Mogernstern: Deserves all its praise but ultimately the big moments just missed the bullseye for me.
Waters And The Wild by Jo Zebedee: Slow start keeps it out of the list but very good when it gets going.
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