My books of 2017
2017 is done, and it's time to figure out my ballot for the Hugo Award. Which means it's time to figure out my five favorite novels of 2017.
This has not been an easy choice. SFF has never been better than it is right now. A plethora of new and exciting voices has brought diversity and new energy to the field, and saved it from stagnation. Any number of novels could have found their way to my ballot, and I'm sure excellent novels I won't be nominating will make it to the final ballot.
So let's talk 2017 novels!
The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin
This is the third and final novel in Jemisin's Broken Earth trilogy. This trilogy, which started with The Fifth Season, has been a landmark, a watershed, a milestone, other words meant to denote that this is some super important shit. I'm not going to say anything about the plot, as this is a final book in a trilogy, but I will say things definitely come to a head, we learn many things, and in the end... well. You'll have to read to find out. Both previous novels in the series won the Hugo for Best Novel, and it was well deserved both times. No trilogy has ever had each novel win. I'm rooting for Jemisin to set a precedent.
An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon
If The Stone Sky is a crowning achievement of a writer at the peak of her powers, this novel is the stellar, eye opening debut that leaves a reader stunned. Solomon has taken the plantations of southern US during slavery, and transplanted them on a generation spaceship. The result is a staggering, painful, powerful novel that marks Solomon as a writer to watch.
An Unkindness of Magicians by Kat Howard
Yup. My ballot is going to have two novels that start with "An Unkindness of," and I ain't even sorry. This is Howard's second novel, and it is a well polished. terrifically plotted tale of justice and revenge set among the secret magical society of New York City. What happens when someone you sacrificed as a pawn comes back as a powerful player, ready to tear your world down? This is that story.
Provenance by Ann Leckie
Leckie established herself as one of the biggest names in science fiction with her brilliant Radch trilogy, aka the "Ancillary" novels. Now she returns to the same universe, in a self contained novel that may not have the weight of the trilogy, but is way more fun. It's a heist novel, a rollicking adventure. But it also features Leckie's keen eye for world building and dealing with societies.
Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty
Lafferty's previous novels were fun, funny romps of urban fantasy. This one is a closed room murder mystery, except the closed room is a spaceship, and the murdered are also the suspects and the investigators. Because they're clones, who's predecessors were killed, and were awoken with memory backup that does not include the months leading up to one of them murdering all of them. It's a brilliant novel, and an impressive level up for an author I already liked a lot.
While I absolutely loved The Fifth Season (as a story of loss and finding of oneself), and while The Obelisk Gate was really strong but in different ways (living with the closeness of betrayal, rather than the impersonal as in the first), I do feel the third book was a bit too long, that it only mostly cared about the "background" it provided, which was very strong, but the time given to the characters in the present felt diluted. As if the book needed 100-200 more pages there.
Was it a worthwhile cap to the trilogy? Certainly, but I do feel it was a noticeable step down from the 2nd book, which was a step down from the first.
I have Provenance, just reading some Gene Wolfe before returning to newer books...
Both of the Unkindness stories look interesting, so I'll give them a look. Hm, the Lafferty book looked not as interesting, until we got to the "clones" twist. I might have to look at that one as well... Also sounds like a great setup for a Paranoia RPG campaign.
Thanks for the list!
I didn't think of it as "background," because it concerned an important character. Also, did you just wish for it to be both longer AND shorter? I am confused!
I wrote it as "Background" to not spoil it to others reading the discussion who hadn't read the series yet.
I meant "diluted" in another way, there's too much, "But all such stories are the same, so I'll spare you," where they just cover a huge chunk of time with a sentence or two. Diluted in its impact, like a weak tea, rather than bloated.
We're gonna have to politely disagree on this. I thought the book was masterful.
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