The Top 10 of 2003 SF

10/ The Knight: The Wizard Knight, Book 1
by Gene Wolfe
Tor (USA), hc, January 2004 /
(on shelves in 2003, so technically eligible)

Gene Wolfe is no stranger to this top 10 list, having appeared here three years running with each successive volume of The Book of the Short Sun trilogy. Wolfe is no stranger to awards in general, having received many of the most prestigious genre awards (some more than once), including a World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement. The Knight is the first part of a two-volume series called The Wizard Knight. It's about a boy transported to a magical realm, where he is magically transformed into a man who must pursue a quest that takes him into encounters with giants, elves, wizards and dragons. In a nutshell, it sounds like a hackneyed old idea, but of course Gene Wolfe is no hackneyed old writer, and he's able to bring a freshness to the heroic fantasy tradition with this new novel.

10/ The Facts of Life (tie)
by Graham Joyce
Gollancz (UK), hc, December 2002 /
Atria Books (USA), hc, June 2003

Having been first published in 2002, this book was the winner of last year's World Fantasy Award for best novel (co-winner, actually, along with Patricia A. McKillip's Ombria in Shadow). But a new edition in 2003 rendered it eligible for our SF Site top 10, and here it is. The story in this novel follows the Vine family, Martha Vine and her 7 daughters, in post-war Coventry. As Joyce has done in previous novels, he has here offered what can best be described as magic realism. Much of the novel is concerned with domestic life, but in the lives of people for whom premonitions and ghostly visitations are not uncommon. As SF Site reviewer Martin Lewis says, "One of the most interesting achievements of the book is the rendering of the mundane extraordinary and the fantastic commonplace."

9/ Diary
by Chuck Palahniuk
Doubleday (USA), hc, August 2003 /
Jonathan Cape (UK), trade, September 2003
 

If you're a fan of anything written by Palahniuk, author of Fight Club, then you must read this. My personal opinion on this book is that you should read it knowing nothing at all about it. Don't even read the dust jacket blurb. You may feel lost at first, but you're clever; you'll pick up the story as you go along -- and it'll be worth your while. The first 50 pages or so are almost physically painful to read. It's brilliantly written, well-paced, and it goes by quickly enough. But it's the kind of genius that reaches right into your soul and makes you really feel the despair and depression of the narrator. But very soon the story starts to get really interesting. Then it gets even more interesting. Then it gets kind of freaky. If you can't read a book without knowing something about it first, read my review, linked from the cover image above. I'll tell you enough to pique your interest without giving too much away. Definitely one of Palahniuk's best stories to date.

 8/ Broken Angels
by Richard Morgan
Gollancz (UK), hc & trade, March 2003 / mm, December 2003
 

In this sequel to his debut novel, Altered Carbon, Morgan takes us on an adventure of violence, sex, intrigue, violence, politics, warfare -- and did I mention violence? Told in the first person, this is the story of Takeshi Kovacs (from the previous novel), currently acting as a mercenary contracted to quell a rebellion on one of the many inhabited worlds of the 26th century. But Kovacs, grown weary of warfare, is looking for a way out...

Apart from an exciting story, there's also a healthy dose of satire here, if you want to acknowledge it. All in all, Morgan is shaping up to be one sharp writer, offering up some solid genre writing while at the same time turning the genre sideways and giving it a good slap.
 

7/ Pattern Recognition
by William Gibson
G.P. Putnam's Sons (USA), hc, February 2003 /
Viking (UK), hc, April 2003 /
Berkley (USA), trade, February 2004
 

Personally, I've never managed to read a whole book by Gibson. I tried to read Neuromancer, but when I was about halfway through I realized I didn't care in the least what happened to any of his characters, so I tossed it aside and never looked back. Gibson fans tell me I have no soul; I say go back and have another look at Neuromancer -- it's wank. Anyhow, maybe it's time I tried some of his recent work. This book has been shortlisted for the Arthur C. Clarke Award. It only very narrowly missed getting into the SF Site Contributors' Top 10 list, sliding into the #11 spot.

In Pattern Recognition, Cayce Pollard has a special gift -- or curse, depending on how you look at it: she has an intense, violent reaction to logos and name brands. Advertisers find this unusual... erm, skill useful for pointing them in the right direction for the best way to brand their products. This novel offers mystery, suspense, and commentary on our modern consumer culture.

6/ The Darkness that Comes Before

by R. Scott Bakker
Penguin (Canada), trade, January 2003 /
The Overlook Press (US), June 2004 /
Simon & Schuster (UK), trade, March 2004

Not only is this the first novel of an epic fantasy trilogy, it's also the first novel of R. Scott Bakker. It's clearly the result of a great deal of careful preparation and world-building. The exotic cultures of this world are fully realized, which lends further depth to the characters of the story. This book largely sets the stage for what is to follow, but already we're introduced to a holy war on the brink of Apocalypse in a world that has already seen one Apocalypse.

In her SF Site review, Victoria Strauss describes this book as "a strikingly original work, the start of a series to watch. For readers who enjoy being challenged, or those looking for epic fantasy that explores beyond the typical tropes and themes, it's very much worth seeking out."

5/ Quicksilver: The Baroque Cycle, Book 1
by Neal Stephenson
William Morrow (USA), hc, October 2003 /
Heinemann (UK), hc, October 2003
 

One of the SF Site contributors argued vehemently against this book being eligible, as it's more "mainstream, historical fiction." Still a good read, mind you, but is it really speculative fiction? Well, enough other SF Site contributors felt that it was sufficiently speculative to warrant voting for it on this top 10 list, where it fell comfortable into the #5 slot. It's also been shortlisted for the Arthur C. Clarke Award, so clearly we aren't the only ones who feel it has some genre-related elements. Alex Lightman, in his SF Site review, offers the opinion that "Quicksilver's primary value is to show the authentic roots of science fiction." He also warns that, at 1,000 pages, it's only the first in a planned trilogy. A serious heavyweight read, with more than just it's page count in common with Cryptonomicon.
 

4/ Kalpa Imperial
by Angélica Gorodischer, translated by Ursula K. Le Guin
Small Beer Press (USA), trade, July 2003
 

This little gem was first published in 1983 in Argentina. It was translated from the original Spanish by none other than Ursula K. Le Guin and published in its first ever English translation in 2003 by Small Beer Press. This story of "The Greatest Empire that Never Was" takes place in an undefined setting that seems vaguely medieval European, and follows various different Emperors as well as the little people of the Empire. David Soyka, in his SF Site review, explains that "the unnamed narrator... constantly reminds us that we are reading not only a story, but a story recounted according to the way the narrator wants to tell it. Which has a lot to do with the art of storytelling and nothing at all to do with history. Or the pretense of a history." The unknown elements, then, are irrelevant. The story is everything. And this one is definitely worth reading.

3/ Ilium
by Dan Simmons
Eos, HarperCollins (USA), hc, July 2003 /
Gollancz (UK), hc & trade, August 2003

For pure entertainment value, Dan Simmons remains one of my all-time favourite authors. He's so visual in his writing that you can't help but wonder when his work will be translated to the silver screen. This ambitious novel is no exception. The siege of Troy is being re-enacted by mortals, heroes and gods, but this time it's taking place on Mars. And in attendance as witnesses are revivified Homeric scholars. Watching in fascinated uncomprehension are the pampered remains of the human race on Earth. And interfering in ways they didn't anticipate are a couple of artificial life forms from the further reaches of our solar system, one a fan of Proust, the other an avid student of Shakespeare's sonnets. My only quibble is that, much in the same way that the Hyperion and Endymion books were really two novels in four books, Ilium is clearly only half a novel -- but, so far, one that is easily as good as anything Simmons has given us before.

2/ Veniss Underground
by Jeff VanderMeer
Night Shade Books (USA), hc, April 2003 /
Prime Books (USA), trade, April 2003 /
Tor (UK), trade, October 2003

Number one last year with his stunning collection, City of Saints and Madmen, Jeff VanderMeer once again makes a superb showing on our top 10 list with his new novel Veniss Underground. In his SF Site review, William Thompson likens VanderMeer's Veniss to China Miéville's New Crobuzon. It's a very different milieu from the territory of VanderMeer's Ambergris, but one that is nevertheless dark and mysterious -- only in different ways. VanderMeer has an incredible talent for conjuring a palpable atmosphere out of almost nothing. With very few words, he'll have you fully committed to his nightmarish creations. And in this very short novel, he'll drag you, mesmerized, through the hellish darkness into the cold sweat of a bleak dawn. There are so many layers to this seemingly spare novel, that I'm still marvelling at the elegance of the writing. For a glimpse of true literary genius, read Veniss Underground.

All in all, this is a brilliant novel -- full of inventive ideas, complex and fascinating characters, and an underlying sense of mystery and dread that never diminishes.
 

1/ The Light Ages
by Ian R. MacLeod
Ace (USA), hc, May 2003 /
Earthlight (UK), hc, June 2003

This is it. This is the book that the SF Site contributors voted as the number one best book of 2003. It was head and shoulders above the rest. In fact, everyone who voted for this book ranked it as either their number one or number two choice -- it's that good.

The setting is an alternate England in the midst of an Industrial Revolution powered by a dangerous and magical substance called aether, mined from the earth. Exposure to aether can cause humans to change. These Changelings become horrifying, magical creatures, not quite human anymore, and they are taken out of society to suffer untold abuses or to be exploited for their newfound relationship to aether.

The main protagonist, Robert Borrows, is raised in a poor northern mining town, son of a member of the Toolmakers' Guild. After his mother is claimed by the magic of aether, Robert makes his way to London where he becomes a revolutionary, striving to destroy the class system that perpetuates the poverty and misery of those who labour so hard for the the very element that benefits the rich and powerful.

Near Misses

How can we stop at 10, when there are so many great books? How could we resist? We can't. We never do. So, in the tradition of the SF Site Top 10 lists, here are some honourable mentions that very narrowly missed Top 10 status.

• #11 The Golden Age by John C. Wright(Tor, USA & Canada, hc, April 2002);
• #12 Light by M. John Harrison (Victor Gollancz, UK, hc & trade, October 2002);
• #13 The Birthday of the World and Other Stories by Ursula K. Le Guin (HarperCollins, USA & Canada, hc, March 2002 / Perennial, HarperCollins, USA & Canada, trade, March 2003);
• #14 Leviathan 3 edited by Jeff VanderMeer & Forrest Aguirre (Ministry of Whimsy/Prime, USA, trade, March 2002);
• #15 (tie) Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang (Tor, USA & Canada, hc, July 2002);
• #15 (tie) A Year in the Linear City by Paul Di Filippo (PS Publishing, UK, hc & trade, April 2002);

Other Honourable Mentions

Here, in no particular order, are a few other titles, only slightly further down the list, but also deserving of honourable mention:

• Schild's Ladder by Greg Egan (Victor Gollancz, UK, trade, February 2002);
• Everyone in Silico by Jim Munroe (Four Walls Eight Windows, USA & Canada, trade, November 2002);
• Dangerous Visions, 35th Anniversary Edition edited by Harlan Ellison (ibooks, USA, Canada & UK, hc & trade, October 2002);
• Any Time at All, The Lives and Times of Roxanne Bonaventure by Chris Roberson (USA, trade, September 2002);
• American Gods by Neil Gaiman (Harper, USA & Canada, mm, April 2002 / Headline, UK, mm, March 2002/ William Morrow, USA & Canada, hc, June 2001 / Feature, UK, hc, July 2001) -- as mentioned above, this one was number 2 on our list last year, but the mass market edition garnered some further notice this year.

I also want to highlight a couple of the better comic books/graphic novels that appeared in 2002 that didn't quite make it to the Top 10:

• Girl Genius by Phil and Kaja Foglio (Airship Entertainment, USA, hc & trade graphic novel, July 2002 / ongoing comic book series) -- mad science, romance and madcap adventure in a bizarre steampunk setting;
• Midnight Nation written by J. Michael Straczynski, illustrated by Gary Frank (Image Comics, USA & Canada, graphic novel trade, December 2002 / Image, Top Cow, 12-issue comic book series ended July 2002) -- the tale of a man who is ripped out of conventional existence and who must therefore follow a quest to save his own soul. One of the best self-contained comic book series in some time; for my money, better even than Alan Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (and Alan Moore is one of my all-time favourite comic book writers).