Picked up from
Almeda. I'm going to track which books I read this year. Last year I read 59
- 'Date' below means the date I finished reading it;
- Origin abreviations: [ARC] means advanced reading copy; [G] means gift or giveaway (free); [L] means I got it from the library; [N] means new book (retail); [O] means online/electronic book; [P] means proofreading; [R] means a re-read; [S] means secondhand.
- Entries in Bold contain Hugo Award Eligible Material
- Jan 09: Empire State by Adam Christopher, 2012, Angry Robot, SF Superhero-Pulp-Detective, [L]
It is a fresh spin on classic tropes
- Jan 27: Thief's Covenant by Ari Marmell (Widdershins #1) 2012, Pyr (Prometheus Books), Fantasy [L]
The book is as hard to pin down as it's protagonist
- Jan 28: Kiss Me Twice by Mary Robinette Kowal, TBD, TBD, SF [P]
In a future with A.I.'s murder is still murder
- Feb 23: The Killing Moon by N. K. Jemisin (Dreamblood #1) 2012, Orbit (Hachette), Fantasy [L]
"Spiritual Guardians" in a desert culture.
- Mar 05: 2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson 2012, Orbit (Hachette), SF, Space Opera [L]
The ideas are more powerful than the story
- Mar 27: A Cast of Stones by Patrick W. Carr (The Staff & The Sword #1) 2013, Bethany House (Baker Publishing Group), Fantasy [ARC]
Errol starts as a wonderfully flawed character, but conflict rubs off his rough edges making him like a polished stone.
- Mar 29: Touched By An Alien by Gini Koch (Katherine Katt #1) 2010, Daw (Daw), SF [S]
- Apr 05: Scholar by L.E. Modesitt, Jr. (Imager Portfolio #4) 2011, Tor (Macmillan), Fantasy [N]
Enjoyable story in spite of the author's over reliance on familiar themes.
- Apr 06: Old Man's War by John Scalzi (OMW #1) 2005, Tor (Macmillan), Space Opera [S]
An interesting spin on military SF
- Apr 25: The Whitefire Crossing by Courtney Schafer (Shattered Sigil #1) 2011, Night Shade Books (NSB), Fantasy [G]
A compelling story of constraints
- May 04: The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi (OMW #2) 2006, Tor (Macmillan), Space Opera [S]
Answers many questions of the first book.
- May 11: The Hidden City by Michelle West (The House Wars #1) 2007, Daw (Daw), Fantasy [G]
Epic without being overly complex
- May 16: Changeless by Gail Carriger (Parasol Protectorate #2) 2010, Orbit (Hachette), Fantasy [L]
A lively (if predictable) story where the biggest twist was the teaser for the next book
- May 31: The Palace Job by Patrick Weeks, 2012, Tyche Books, Fantasy [N]
Ocean's Eleven in a secondary world fantasy. Too many characters unfortunately
- Jun 21: The Heir of Night by Helen Lowe (Wall of Night #1) 2010, EOS (HarperCollins), Fantasy, secondary world [S]
Characters, setting, and plot are promising, but not fully rewarding.
- Jul 26: Blackout by Mira Grant (Newsflesh #3) 2012, Orbit (Hachette), SF [N]
There were some large disbelief hurtles early on, but they paid off in the end
- Jul 28: Music City by Sara M. Harvey, TBD, TBD, Urban Fantasy [P]
Exploring some of the less known Celtic roots of Nashville
- Aug 26: The Girl who Soared over Faryland and Cut the Moon in Two by Catherynne M. Valente (The Girl Who... #3) 2013, Feiwel and Friends (MacMillan), Fantasy, YA [G]
September and the author have both grown in the third book of this series.
- Sep 04: Pilgrimage by Matthew Wayne Selznick (Charters #2) 2013, MWS Media, SF (superhero) [N]
A very different book than the first
- Sep 16: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (Peculiar #1) 2011, Quirk (Quirkbooks), YA, Period/Urban Fantasy [G]
A clever gimmick leads to fascinating adventure
- Sep 21: Redshirts by John Scalzi, 2012, TOR (Macmillan), SF Space Opera [G]
A genre platypus, it looks like a duck at first but then becomes something else
- Sep 27: Nightshifted by Cassie Alexander (Edie Spence Series #1) 2012, St. Martins (Macmillan), Urban Fantasy [S]
- Oct 02: His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik (Temeraire #1) 2006, Del Rey (Random House), Historical Fantasy [S]
I love when characters are in training
- Oct 10: Princeps by L.E. Modesitt, Jr. (Imager Portfolio #5) 2012, Tor (Macmillan), Fantasy [N]
I like his administrative adventures
- Oct 25: Chimes At Midnight by Seanan Mcguire (October Daye #7) 2013, Daw (Daw), Urban Fantasy [N]
In a story I was waiting for, less was revealed than I hoped
- Nov 08: Libriomancer by Jim Hines (Magic ex Libris #1) 2012, DAW (Daw), Urban Fantasy [N]
- Nov 19: Imager's Battalion by L.E. Modesitt, Jr. (Imager Portfolio #6) 2013, Tor (Macmillan), Fantasy [N]
Covers some new ground, though the ending was never in doubt
- Nov 22: The Last Colony by John Scalzi (OMW #3) 2007, Tor (Macmillan), Space Opera [S]
A good story, though a bit more high view than I usually like
- Dec 18: Zoe's Tale by John Scalzi (OMW #3) 2008, Tor (Macmillan), Space Opera [S]
My complaint about the previous book being "high view" this book fixes it.
- Dec 31: Indexing by Seanan McGuire, 2013, 47North (Amazon), Urban Fantasy [N,O]
The ultimate modern fairy tale