by Doctor Science
For my own reference, and in case any of you are looking for gift-giving suggestions. This list is all fiction I read for the first time in 2014, whether it was published this year or not. In order by author's last name.
The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison (2014). Maybe the best and most realistic "Surprise! You're suddenly the hereditary monarch!" story I've ever read. The hero may be a goblin in an empire of (mostly) elves, but the fact that his royal life is filled with meetings, paperwork, no privacy, and very little freedom for actual action is very realistic. That his success is due more to a good heart than anything else is probably completely within the realm of fantasy, but it's just what I want in a book.
City of Stairs, by Robert Jackson Bennett (2014). A complex fantasy about gods, how imperialism works (and doesn't), how humans are bound by history & culture and how we make and re-make them. Both a spy story and a murder mystery, I have no idea who the character on the cover is supposed to be -- our heroine is, in appearance, a mousy bureaucrat, not a figure from Assassin's Creed.
The Tropic of Serpents: A Memoir by Lady Trent, by Marie Brennan (2014). Less romantic than the first book in the series, more political & anthropological as Lady Trent travels through meta-Africa. Another book wrestling with how imperialism & colonialism work, and which appreciates the variety of human cultures.
A Darkling Sea, by Jim Cambias (2014). Human and alien points of view on a Callisto-like planet. It reminded Mr Dr Science & me very much of Hal Clement's classic Mission of Gravity for the viewpoint of a species in a deeply inhuman environment.
Cibola Burn, by James S. A. Corey (2014). The latest in The Expanse series takes our sundry heroes and other PsOV outside the solar system, to a planet where the first human exploration and settlement is going as messily as you might expect, with people being stupid in characteristically human ways. I particularly liked the character of Elvi (unlike many reviewers, I see) because she never magically gets over her problems communicating with non-scientists.
Full Fathom Five, by Max Gladstone (2014). Another fantasy novel featuring gods and their (possible) deaths, in a culturally-complex parallel world. Despite the misleading cover, this entry in the series is set in sort-of-Hawaii. The characters are IMHO Gladstone's best yet, with multiple PsOV I was really rooting for.
Ancillary Sword, by Ann Leckie (2014). The sequel to Ancillary Justice, which swept the awards for 2013. I just re-read both, and I think Sword is even better than Justice, for its deeper development of society, politics, and moral dilemmas in the Radch. In that way, it's reminding me of the Vorkosigan novels, which about how to make good choices, as much as they are space opera -- one of my favorite combinations.
Something More Than Night, by Ian Tregillis (2013). It starts out as a noir detective pastiche with a fallen angel as the gumshoe, and twists and turns to a *deeply* satisfying ending -- the kind where everything, even what at first seemed like silly or arbitrary style choices, comes together.
The Martian, by Andy Weir (2014). An incredibly realistic story about adventure on Mars, in which the plot involves very little human-to-human conflict, but the universe is *definitely* out to get you. Part of the realism is that the action isn't non-stop: our hero endures brief times of desperate danger, but also long stretches of soul-crushing boredom. Important principles for all space explorers and other adventurers: do the math, practice everything you can ahead of time, and bring duct tape.
Why do you do this to me??? I've got a day job. How am I supposed to cope with this?
/self-centered rant. Now back to your regularly scheduled political infighting....
Posted by: wj | December 11, 2014 at 01:05 PM
What the hell, Amazon?
You send me twelve e-mails a day telling me to buy crap based on my purchase history and no notification that the new Expanse novel is out.
[shakes fist]
Posted by: Chuchundra | December 11, 2014 at 01:31 PM
wj:
Put them on your wish list! Then you can space them out through the new year.
Posted by: Doctor Science | December 11, 2014 at 01:48 PM
of these, i've only read The Martian. but i can second the recommendation. it was indeed a mighty fun book.
Posted by: cleek | December 11, 2014 at 01:51 PM
I must agree as regards Goblin Emperor, City of Stairs and Darkling Sea -- they were all a real pleasure to read, but I felt Max Gladstone totally lost his mojo with Full Fathom Five -- didn't grab me at all the way the first two of his books did.
Posted by: JakeB | December 11, 2014 at 02:20 PM
I too have only read The Martian.
It's OK/good, but I wonder how well it worked as hard SF, as the only treatment of the 'dust' problem related to solar power generation.
In reality, contamination of life support systems during such a long sojourn would be much more problematic:
http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-05/9/toxic-mars-dust
I don't think (for example) the number of suited EVAs made by the protagonist would be possible without significant (unmentioned) technical advances.
Posted by: Nigel | December 11, 2014 at 07:24 PM
Why do you do this to me??? I've got a day job. How am I supposed to cope with this?.
Seconded.
The wish list isn't going to cut it. I'm already accumulating books faster than I can read them.
Posted by: Nigel | December 11, 2014 at 07:40 PM
re: The Martian, I don't expect it to "run the table" at awards time, the way Ancillary Justice did last year, because (among other things) it's not well-written enough to get a Nebula, IMHO.
Nigel:
My understanding, from reading the recent MIT report on Mars One feasibility, is that Weir's book posits a crucial piece of equipment that doesn't yet exist: an adequate gas-separator, to keep the CO2 , oxygen, and water levels in the habitat atmosphere at appropriate levels.
I wouldn't be surprised if dust is a big issue in "reality", too, though it's possible that a moderately-high humidity in the habitat would take care of the problem of inhalation.
Posted by: Doctor Science | December 11, 2014 at 08:14 PM
Fond as I am of Hal Clement, I just couldn't get into A Darkling Sea. It wasn't bad; just didn't grab me either.
But The Goblin Emperor was fabulous! I lost a whole day (not to mention some sleep at the end), being unable to put it down. Thank you, Dr. Science!
Posted by: wj | December 18, 2014 at 11:01 PM
OK, Doctor S.
Which one or two of these do you recommend to someone like myself, a casual SF fan, but one who is not going to read anything like all the books on your list?
Posted by: byomtov | December 19, 2014 at 09:38 PM
Probably The Martian, The Goblin Emperor, and Something More Than Night. The others are parts of series, and they're also more embedded in current SFnal discussions, which can make them harder to follow.
Posted by: Doctor Science | December 20, 2014 at 11:37 AM
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/jill-kearney/dog-thief-kearney/
Posted by: Laura Koerbeer | December 23, 2014 at 10:34 PM
I don't know if you all will remember, but a while back The Powers That Be were kind enough to feature a short story I wrote here on this blog. It was a story about my pet white rats. The link above is to the Kirkus review of the whole book. I wasn't expecting a review that good. I hope the link works, in case you are interested.
Posted by: Laura Koerbeer | December 23, 2014 at 10:37 PM
The link works. Congratulations, Laura (or Jill). I'm not surprised.
Posted by: hairshirthedonist | December 24, 2014 at 09:18 AM
Damn, Laura, you should have mentioned this before I did all my shopping! Any chance of a dead-tree version any time soon?
Posted by: Doctor Science | December 24, 2014 at 06:52 PM
Dr. S, no, I don't think so. I'm not trying to get it published that way. I never self-identified as a writer (I'm an artist), so, after writing the book I sent it in to Kirkus just looking for an objective professional response. I am not out to make money or get famous or anything. I can email a copy to anyone who wants to read it that way..
Posted by: Laura Koerbeer | December 24, 2014 at 07:48 PM
I read The Goblin Emperor in my free moments last night and today, and while I unquestionably enjoyed it, it was marshmallow fluff to me. Well-phreased, rich, and charming in its construction, but its plot was quite facile in its buildup and lazy in its resolution, and its politics were exasperatingly ham-handed (to put it gently). I'm torn. It was diverting fluff, and Addison is a good writer technically speaking, but its plot - rather than its prose - grated at times, and I'm not overly impressed with Addison as an author.
Not unworthy of being read, I'd agree, but not worth re-reading, and I doubt I could bring myself to read the author's past or future works on this piece's merit.
Posted by: Nombrilisme Vide | December 26, 2014 at 12:57 AM
The Leckie recommendation was most useful, as my daughter had enjoyed the earlier book, and was most pleased to receive the sequel.
After Christmas, came across Lois McMaster Bujold for the first time.
I just finished The Curse of Chalion, and have already kindled the second book...
A fine - and apparently prolific - writer.
Posted by: Nigel | December 29, 2014 at 01:48 PM
My fantasy book of 2014, though, would be Patrick Rothfuss' novella
The Slow Regard of Silent Things.
Posted by: Nigel | December 29, 2014 at 02:02 PM
Nigel, don't miss Bujold's Vorkosigan series, starting with Shards of Honor. They vary from very good to amazing, but all of them are worth reading.
Posted by: wj | December 29, 2014 at 04:17 PM