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by Neil Walsh For the past 6 weeks or so, we've been soliciting your votes on what you thought were the best books of the year 2000. The result is this, the third annual SF Site Readers' Choice Best SF & Fantasy of the Year Top 10 List. And once again, SF Site readers know what they like. The number one choice was the clear winner very early on, and the votes just kept pouring in. Thanks to everyone who voted! If you compare this list to the SF Site Contributors' Best Read of the Year: 2000, you'll note that there is some overlap between readers' and reviewers' choices. I take this as a sign that we, the SF Site, are continuing to review the books you want to hear about and/or we are pointing you to the sort of thing you like. However, you'll also note some surprising discrepancies between the two lists, which may be an indication that the SF Site reviewers (who, after all, don't have the opportunity to read all the books we want to in the course of a year) could take a lead from our readers and find a few good books we might not otherwise have considered. You'll note that both lists are dominated by fantasy titles. Indeed, more than a few voters commented on the relative dearth of truly excellent science fiction in recent years. Perhaps we are living in the Golden Age of epic fat fantasy series...
The Top
10 Where applicable, you may click on a book's title for a full review.
10/ Deadhouse Gates Also in the #10 spot on the contributors' list, this is the second in Erikson's 10-volume epic Tales of the Malazan Book of the Fallen, and the direct sequel to his first fantasy novel, Gardens of the Moon (1999), which was reprinted in mass market edition in 2000. As a result of that reprinting, votes for Erikson were split between the two volumes of his series; if you were to count both books together, Erikson would rise a few notches in the esteem of the SF Site readers. In the course of this vast and complex novel, there is enough intrigue, magic and warfare to keep even the most hard-core fantasy fans salivating, and enough solid characterization to make sure we care. This is very memorable fantasy fare, with some way-cool ideas and imagery, although it is certainly not a light-reading beach book. Sit up and pay attention. You'll be glad you did.
In a review of a previous volume in the series, SF Site Reviewer Jim Seidman praised Jordan for his excellent writing. His main complaint -- and a common one at that -- was that the book left you wanting more, and having to wait. (It does, after all, take rather longer to write a book than to read it.) The same could be said for Winter's Heart, and there are still at least 3 more volumes to follow. For a series that was originally projected to span 8 volumes, we're now at volume 9, and the end of the story is not yet in sight!
8/ The
Truth In The Truth, William de Worde uses the printing press to present Ankh-Morpork with its very first daily newspaper. The results, as we have come to expect from this author, are nothing less than tremendously entertaining. SF Site's Steven H Silver says: "Pratchett has indicated that he is interested in exploring new areas of the Disc through different characters and settings. If The Truth is any indication of how he intends to make these explorations, the Disc is going to become a stronger and more vibrant setting, which should be able to garner legions of new fans in addition to the hordes Pratchett already commands."
This is another example of the SF Site readers and reviewers thinking in tandem. It was #6 on the contributors' list, and you've voted it into the #7 spot. In this book, the city of Galveston, Texas, is as an oasis of sanity in a world gone mad. Well, mostly. As SF Site reviewer David Soyka explains: "Occult forces have been confined in an eternal Mardi Gras carnival celebration segregated from the 'real' city, which has contrived to maintain a sense of 'normalcy' using jury-rigged technology and an oligarchic government." One central theme or concept of this novel is the game of poker -- a game which, like life, is anything but fair. It's a truth that sometimes, no matter how good a player you might be, you still lose. But in the case of Galveston, the only way you'll lose is if you don't read it. This is a truly remarkable novel, brutally told and peopled by solidly real characters.
6/ Prophecy Victoria Strauss said of the first volume: "Readers will be left satisfied for the moment, while still eagerly anticipating the further adventures of Rhapsody and her friends." Obviously Victoria was correct, and many readers have made the commitment to follow this new series from a strong new fantasy writer.
by J.K. Rowling Bloomsbury (UK) / Raincoast (Can) / Arthur A. Levine (US), hardcover, July 2000 It seems odd to me that last year's Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, 3rd book in the immensely popular Harry Potter series, was #3 on the SF Site Contributors' Top 10 for 1999, and didn't appear on the Readers' Choice list; while this year the 4th book in the series has attained the #5 spot on the Readers' list and didn't appear at all on the Reviewers' list. I can't explain it; I'm only pointing it out. At any rate, I expect the Harry Potter series and its Wizard school at Hogwarts need no introduction at this point in time. It's a particularly clever young adult fantasy series in that the succeeding volumes become increasingly more sophisticated, with the result that a young reader who follows the series will find more depth and more challenge as she or he increases in reading ability. It's also particularly clever because it's thoroughly enjoyable to adults as well.
4/ Ship of Destiny As SF Site's Wayne MacLaurin says, "Robin Hobb just keeps getting better and better." Looks like there are quite a few of us now who are anxious to see what she'll bring us next.
This was the #1 choice on the contributors' Top 10 list. So if you've already chosen it as #3 on your list, then I guess we're not steering you too far wrong here. It's a clever blend of SF & fantasy, following the adventures of Ash, a 15th century female mercenary captain and, in the frame story, following the adventures of the 21st century scholar who discovered the manuscript telling of Ash. There is some debate between the scholar and his would-be publisher about whether the manuscript, and indeed the whole legend of Ash, is mere fiction or actual history. As the story unfolds, the scholar discovers that it may be both -- that the world and the history we know may not be the only world and the only history. In the words of SF Site's David Soyka: "An incredible book that, if there were any justice, should be #1 on everyone's list. I fear people might be put off from reading this book by its size -- but it truly is a page-turner, even with all the pages there are to turn." Hear! hear! If you haven't already done so, seek this book out, read it, and be amazed.
2/ Lord of
Emperors This concluding book of the 2-volume Sarantine Mosaic, and the sequel to Sailing to Sarantium, was #3 on the contributors' list. It's obvious that when Kay sets out to write a fantasy novel, he researches a particular period until he knows it so well that when he presents a parallel setting in his creation there is no doubt in the reader's mind that this imaginative locale is as real as any that ever existed. In this case, Sarantium is parallel to Constantinople during the reign of Justinian, builder of the magnificent and monumental church, Hagia Sophia. Personally, I have a healthy respect for a fantasy writer whose hero is a mosaicist who only ever draws a sword once and is greatly relieved that he doesn't actually have to use it, since he's not really sure how. But even the grand players in this novel -- the Emperor and Empress of Sarantium, for example -- are equally human: real and complex credible characters. And, best of all, what happens is not at all what you expect. A brilliant conclusion to a terrific series.
In his review, Wayne MacLaurin says: "It's particularly impressive that while jumping back and forth amongst the characters, no one character really takes over. Every story is given more or less equal billing (with respect to intensity and importance) and I never found myself dismissing one chapter, hoping to get back to 'something better.' Given how many characters and stories he is juggling, this speaks volumes about Martin's skill as a writer." And speaking of volumes, there are more coming in this series, which is now only halfway done. No doubt the next one, A Dance with Dragons, will be appearing on a future Best Of list...
The Runners-Up
Beyond the top 3 on this list, the competition was really quite fierce.
Here are some of the runners-up in the Readers' Choice list, just to give
you an idea of what else your fellow readers would recommend: I could go on, but I really do have to stop somewhere. So let me end here by saying thank you, once again, to everyone who participated. I think there are quite a few who will be reading this feature looking for the recommendations of readers like themselves. I hope this list leads you to find something new to enjoy!
Neil Walsh is the Reviews Editor for the SF Site. He lives in contentment, surrounded by books, in Ottawa, Canada. |
9/ Winter's Heart
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