Books of 2014

Jan 12, 2015 12:33


The annual "What do I think about what I read last year" post!


Overall - best book read in 2014? Plenilune by Jennifer Frietag; I'd guess since I feel it's the one I talked up the most; it was certainly my most anticipated read and I turned around and reread it and am certain to read it again

Best series you discovered in 2014? I read a lot of fanfic this year, and both contenders for this question fall in that sub-category of fiction.

Freezer Burn by DomenikaMarzione catapulted me into the MCU/Captain America fandom. I read it before Winter Soldier came out and had to see if the movie was as good as the fan fiction. (It had an interesting blurb, that's the only explanation I have for why I read something for a fandom I wasn't even in at the time...)

Lineage and Legacy by ruth baulding are reimaginings of a series I read back when Star Wars: EI came out. They expand on the original sources and do a lot more tie-in/tie-back/greater narrative arc stuff.

As an honorable mention, Plenilune has/will have a bunch of companion novels set in the same world but with no publishing plans yet so it only sort of counts.

Most surprising (in a good way) book of this year? I picked up Wired Love: A Romance of Dots and Dashes by Ella Cheever Thayer (published 1880) because a story about a telegraph operator sounded interesting. I was not expecting to find telegraph operators using Morse Code in a way that reminded me of internet chat rooms or instant messaging. Nothing new under the sun, indeed!

Most disappointing book/Book you wish you enjoyed more than you did? The Warden and the Wolf King by Andrew Peterson was much anticipated. I waited and waited for this book and then while it had its good points they ended up being the decorations and not the meat of the story. I stand by my complaint of "[If you're going to kill character x and then bring him back pages later] Why not go with the ending you wanted instead of 'fixing' things?" Ending a book gives a matter closure; and you treat the character death as final so you can get over it... but thaumaturgy in the epilogue is a cop-out. I'm not sure if I object more to the fact that it happened (an in-story problem) or the fact it happened in the epilogue (a technical problem)...

Author you read the most in 2014? I think Domenika Marzione edges out ruthbalding for wordcount? Maybe? *returns with word-count stats* with a couple double-length stories I neglected to take into my estimate, ruthbalding comes in with 833,000 and Domenika Marzione with 725,000

Favorite cover of the year award: Judge by R. J. Larson



The story has an interesting premise, and the writing is decent except for the fact that it progresses in jerks and jolts but there aren't a lot of, "Why would you do that?" moments that have plagued other recent entries in this genre. For example...

Series you gave up on in 2014: Patrick W. Carr's The Staff and Sword series started out okay (the premise is a slightly more palatable version of David Eddings' Elenium which I love but probably wouldn't recommend) and sagged in the middle especially since all the interesting characters changed from their initial introduction (I swear one of the Captains of the Guard dropped two decades; I mean, if he was supposed to be prematurely white-haired like Martel that's one thing but it's sort of important to mention RIGHT AWAY) and waded through a sea of meaningless angst. Also Jerel Law's Spirit Fighter where I thought books three and four sounded interesting (it's like Percy Jackson except with the usual rendering of Nephilim) so I started with the first one and then ranted and raved to myself about all that missed potential and haven't read any more...

Book with a scene that left you reeling: The Scarlet Seed from the Heaven Tree trilogy by Edith Pargeter; Rafe Isambard is perhaps the most memorable new character I was introduced to this year; he's honor and inflexibility taken to the extreme (it doesn't hurt that he's sort of gorgeous) and comes out in the end as not the sort of person you'd want to meet but you admire him from the distance. And then of course, there's the final attempt on his life...

Worst character death: happens in chapters 8-9 in The Silver Eye because SPOILERS and how should we refer to the dead man anyway??? All will be revealed in time but until then...

Favorite couple: Fanny Price/Henry Crawford from Mansfield Park by Jane Austen. *hides from canon among the fan-fics (x) (x)* No, but really. Depending on how much of a cad he'd been before he fell for Fanny (is he just a flirt or would he go further?), and if they actually started talking to each other and he valued her as much as he claimed/acted before she pushed him away without engaging in a discussion, their differences of opinion would have been good for each other.

Things that made me laugh: Thernbaakagen, Holland in The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey; Robot Trip by copperbadge (some vulgarity but the carpool lane incident is hilarious)

Best non-fiction book(s): Agatha Christie: An Autobiography by Agatha Christie was quite interesting for obvious reasons; and Granny D: Walking Across America in My 90th Year by Doris Haddock with Dennis Burke is part autobiography, part political musing, and part walking across America which is one of my favorite things because there are so many ways to do the ultimate hike.

Book you still aren’t sure of your feelings on: On my booklist, the entry for The Glass Sentence by S. E. Grove contains the most ambivalent musings for the year (most reactions that aren't on genre or subject can be summarized as either YAY! or AAAAAAAARRRRGH!). The opening world-building grabs you right away and the story rolls right along, but I'm not sure about the villain or the ending. I do end on a positive note and will probably read the next installment (if I notice when it comes out) so I guess I still agree with myself...

Most beautifully-written book you read in 2014? Plenilune is brightly edged, like a fall sunset when the air is going crisp.

Honorable mention goes to Auralia's Colors by Jeffery Overstreet which reminded me of The Ill-Made Mute by Cecilia Dart-Thornton and Ombria in Shadow by Patricia McKillip; the story itself doesn't reach out and grab you but the prose was good!

meme, review

Previous post Next post
Up