Best books of 2014
I've been feeling for a while now that I could begin writing about books again, so what better way to start than to comment on the best reads of 2014. I'm not going to do any numbered listing, just comment on the most memorable reads with some silly categories.
Best YA
Janni Lee Simner's Bones of Faerie (reread) and Faerie Winter
Set in a postacopalyptic world where a war between humans and faerie damaged both worlds, and left wild magic among humans. A young girl set out to find her mother, but finds friendship, her powers, and a task of repairing things.
I haven't yet read the third book in the sequence, but it's waiting on my TBR mountain.
Best Åcon guest
Karen Lord: The Best of All Possible Worlds
Okay, I didn't actually attend Åcon, but she was the GoH there this year, so I think this counts. The book is a beautiful exploration of different cultures and habits on a small world of settlers, while also showing the growth of understanding and personal relationships between the people who set out on the excursion.
Best Finnish comic
Kati Närhi: Saniaislehdon salaisuudet
Funny and quirky, and I wouldn't mind reading more.
Best non-fiction
Raisa Porrasmaa: Japani pintaa syvemmältä: Muutakin kuin sake, sushi ja samurait
Mielenkiintoinen ja varsin luettava katsaus japanilaiseen kulttuuriin.
Best new comic
Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples: Saga, Vol. 1-4
I could also name it the comic of the year or best new sf comic. A wonderful story with interesting characters, started when two soldiers from the opposing sides of a neverending war fall in love, have a child, and decide to run away.
Best novel that won all the awards Plus it's sequel
Ann Leckie: Ancillary Justice & Ancillary Sword
Yes, the first book won about all the SF awards this year and deservedly. It's an engaging read and posits interesting ideas about what a human or an individual means.
I liked AS just as much, though the setting is different and it's more about colonialism, but the main character's development is still as fascinating as in the first one. I can't wait for the final book in this trilogy!
Best feelgood fantasy
Katherine Addison: The Goblin Emperor
A young man, half goblin, half elf, suddenly becomes an emperor when his father and older brothers die. He hasn't had a happy childhood and has been mostly neglected by his father and abused by his guardian. Still, he sets out to become a good emperor and a better man than his father was and pretty much succeeds in it, despite his inexperience and forces at court opposing him.
Saddest fun read of the year
Diana Wynne Jones: The Islands of Chaldea
Left unfinished by DWJ at her death and completed by her sister, this was lots of fun and I enjoyed it a lot, but I still couldn't help feeling sad at times, since this was the last DWJ book.
Most addictive "new" series
Jim Butcher: "Dresden Files"
I've read a couple of short stories set in Butcher's world in various anthologies, but I hadn't read any of the novels before this, so I decided to check out the first three books from the library. As a result, I breezed through about all of the series in November and December (I still have one book on hold, should get it soon).
I like urban fantasy as a genre and these fit the bill. However, I'm not too keen on the later developments on the series, though I'm waiting to see where it goes with it.
Best YA
Janni Lee Simner's Bones of Faerie (reread) and Faerie Winter
Set in a postacopalyptic world where a war between humans and faerie damaged both worlds, and left wild magic among humans. A young girl set out to find her mother, but finds friendship, her powers, and a task of repairing things.
I haven't yet read the third book in the sequence, but it's waiting on my TBR mountain.
Best Åcon guest
Karen Lord: The Best of All Possible Worlds
Okay, I didn't actually attend Åcon, but she was the GoH there this year, so I think this counts. The book is a beautiful exploration of different cultures and habits on a small world of settlers, while also showing the growth of understanding and personal relationships between the people who set out on the excursion.
Best Finnish comic
Kati Närhi: Saniaislehdon salaisuudet
Funny and quirky, and I wouldn't mind reading more.
Best non-fiction
Raisa Porrasmaa: Japani pintaa syvemmältä: Muutakin kuin sake, sushi ja samurait
Mielenkiintoinen ja varsin luettava katsaus japanilaiseen kulttuuriin.
Best new comic
Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples: Saga, Vol. 1-4
I could also name it the comic of the year or best new sf comic. A wonderful story with interesting characters, started when two soldiers from the opposing sides of a neverending war fall in love, have a child, and decide to run away.
Best novel that won all the awards Plus it's sequel
Ann Leckie: Ancillary Justice & Ancillary Sword
Yes, the first book won about all the SF awards this year and deservedly. It's an engaging read and posits interesting ideas about what a human or an individual means.
I liked AS just as much, though the setting is different and it's more about colonialism, but the main character's development is still as fascinating as in the first one. I can't wait for the final book in this trilogy!
Best feelgood fantasy
Katherine Addison: The Goblin Emperor
A young man, half goblin, half elf, suddenly becomes an emperor when his father and older brothers die. He hasn't had a happy childhood and has been mostly neglected by his father and abused by his guardian. Still, he sets out to become a good emperor and a better man than his father was and pretty much succeeds in it, despite his inexperience and forces at court opposing him.
Saddest fun read of the year
Diana Wynne Jones: The Islands of Chaldea
Left unfinished by DWJ at her death and completed by her sister, this was lots of fun and I enjoyed it a lot, but I still couldn't help feeling sad at times, since this was the last DWJ book.
Most addictive "new" series
Jim Butcher: "Dresden Files"
I've read a couple of short stories set in Butcher's world in various anthologies, but I hadn't read any of the novels before this, so I decided to check out the first three books from the library. As a result, I breezed through about all of the series in November and December (I still have one book on hold, should get it soon).
I like urban fantasy as a genre and these fit the bill. However, I'm not too keen on the later developments on the series, though I'm waiting to see where it goes with it.