I don’t know how I persuaded myself that 2017 was such a bad reading year. Sure I didn’t read as much as the last two years but still, looking back at what I read, I discovered some really good books!
Today I am here to talk about very good books, books that might not have blew me away this year but that I am still very happy I ended up reading and that I think are very much worth a mention.
So here are my honorable mentions (in no particular order, they are all good):
- The Fortress at the End of Time by Joe M. McDermott
The Fortress at the End of Time follows a soldier working in a miserable space sation at the end of the word where boredom is the only think think striving. This is not an action packed military SF book but a quiet story of someone who just want to have more for a life than a slow death on a planet where the suicide rate is so high that people won’t talk to you for the first few months “just in case”. This is a very sad book but it touched me and I still find myself thinking about it to this day.
- I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
I don’t know why I haven’t read this earlier, I mean this book is a classic (and one of my dad’s favorite book) for a reason. It is so relevant that it could have been written today. I don’t have much to say about it except that, if you have not read it yet and you love SF, you should definitely give it a try. I really have to read more Asimov this year!
- Beloved by Toni Morrison
Beloved is a heartbreacking tale about motherhood and slavery. It is sad, hard, complicated but also beautiful. This is one of my mother’s favorite books so I guess my parents must have amazing taste because I tend to really enjoy the things they love!
As with I, Robot, I think I should probably re-read Beloved in the future to get more out of it.
- The Prey of Gods by Nicky Drayden
On a completely different note, The Prey of Gods by Nicky Drayden is an utterly crazy book full of witches, AIs, drugs and uprisings. Is it perfect? No but it’s bloody fun and I am eagerly waiting for Drayden’s next novel coming out later this year.
- The Real Town Murders by Adam Roberts
Someone has to explain to me why Roberts isn’t more famous, his works are amazing. Granted, I have only read two of his books and a couple of his short story but that’s enough for me to know that 1) the man is smart and has a great sense of humor 2) I don’t know where he finds his ideas but he make them work very well. The Real-Town Murders is an exciting thriller that manages to be very humorous while still presenting a future where humans have left the Earth for Internet. Highly recommended.
- The Last Days of Jack Sparks by Jason Arnopp
This book is insane but also hilarious. I didn’t know I could have so much fun reading horror books. I devoured this one in a couple sittings and I want more.
What are some of your 2017 honorable mentions? 🙂
Hear, hear to more Asimov!
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I want to focus more on reading older SF books and Asimov is a the top of my list! 🙂
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It’s funny – of all the Asimov I’ve read, I think I, Robot is actually my least favorite. I mean the stories were kind of cool and clever, but I don’t remember it seeming particularly cohesive or engaging. Now Foundation I really dig, and I think the Robot novels with Daneel Olivaw were fun.
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Well that’s good to know I have a ton of great books ahead of me! What really struck me in I, Robot was the way it tackled the evolution of robots and how humans reacted to them. I found this point particularly interesting as some of the situations presented could actually happened in real life if we manage to create AIs.
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Love your list, especially seeing Jack Sparks on it, which I adored! Prey of Gods is one I just couldn’t get to, but I’m hoping to pick up some of my poor neglected 2017 books in 2018:-)
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The Prey of God almost made it to my favorite, it is so fun and different, a real breath of fresh air! 🙂
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The Fortress at the End of Time sounds really intriguing. I Robot and Beloved have both been on my shelves for many years – sounds like I should make the effort to read them.
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The Fortress at the End of Time is a very sad book and it’s not something I would recommend to everyone but I think it is very good and quite worth a read! ^^
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I’ve read a couple of these and want to pick up Jack Sparks – I bought a copy ages ago but just never seem to make the time for my own books, which is something I hope to change in 2018.
Lynn 😀
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I picked it up on whim last October and it was awesome, you should give it a try next Halloween! It is both spooky and hilarious 😀
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You’ve piqued my curiosity with your mention of Adam Roberts: given your enthusiastic comments, I will look him up and add him to my “next” list! 🙂
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Great! After reading The Real-Town Murders I bought four of his books and I can’t wait to read them! I heard amazing things about Bête and Jack Glass 🙂
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So excited to see Jack Sparks got an honorable mention. I don’t tend to reread books, but that one always tempts me to pick it up again. I can’t wait for Arnopp’s next project 🙂
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I really need to get to The Prey of Gods in 2018! It sounds amazing!
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Oh it is! 😉
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