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The Top 10 of 2009

Posted by -Slamel- On Monday, February 15, 2010

OK, we got called out on it, so to prove that we respond to almost ALL requests. Here is the Top 10. We didn't particularly want to do one, since we only had 4 months of publishing reviews before the year was over, and there were only 26 or 27 books in our Books We Like tag group at the time. But here we are...doing what you wanted, because we are just that great.


Steve's Best 10 Novels of 2009

Note: I have cheated here. Some of these are US releases where I saw fit. Some are UK releases. It's my list. I can do what I want. And no, I will not put an order to them. I refuse. They all do different things incredibly well.

Patient Zero - Jonathan Maberry
The Affinity Bridge - George Mann
Diving into the Wreck - Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Best Served Cold - Joe Abercrombie
Toll the Hounds - Steven Erikson
I Am Not a Serial Killer - Dan Wells
Lamentation - Ken Scholes
The Grave Thief - Tom Lloyd
Dawnthief - James Barclay
Night of Knives - Ian Cameron Esslemont

Steve's Worst 2 Novels of the Year
The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown
A Princess of Landover - Terry Brooks

Steve's 2010 Most Anticipated Novels
Swords & Dark Magic - Various. Edited by Lou Anders and Jonathan Strahan
Watcher of the Dead - J.V. Jones
The Crippled God - Steven Erikson
The Republic of Thieves - Scott Lynch
The Ragged Man - Tom Lloyd
Mr. Slaughter - Robert McCammon (Technically I'm not anticipating this. I have it. It is a beautiful book. I will review it shortly.)
The Dragon Factory - Jonathan Maberry
A Dance with Dragons - George R. R. Martin (I know, I know. Wishful thinking here...)
Dan Wells' novels in their various US/UK releases (this is more for you readers...I've read their awesomeness already)
Way of Kings - Brandon Sanderson


Nick's Top 10 Novels of 2009

Note: Maybe not the best novels written in 2009 (OK some of them are) but the books that I enjoyed the most.

Best Served Cold - Joe Abercrombie
The City and The City - China Mieville
The Grave Thief - Tom Lloyd
Nightchild - James Barclay
The Silver Skull - Mark Chadbourn
Starship: Flagship - Mike Resnick
Servant of a Dark God - John Brown
Neuropath - R. Scott Bakker (OK Why is this here? The review bashed the book. Well, for one simple reason. This book fueled many of the debates that I love so much. The aftermath of reading this book gave me plenty of entertainment. The book sucked.)
The Devil You Know - Mike Carey
Patient Zero - Jonathan Maberry

Nick's Worst 2 Novels in 2009
The Law of Nines - Terry Goodkind
The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown

Nick's 2010 Most Anticipated Novels
Shadow's Son - Jon Sprunk
The Ragged Man - Tom Lloyd
Empire in Black and Gold - Adrian Tchaikovsky (And book 2 and 3 of the Shadows of the Apt series.)
Ghosts of Manhattan - George Mann (Technically I'm not looking forward to this anymore, since I have read it. I AM looking forward to reviewing it though. Awesome book. Look forward to the review folks.)
Shadow Prowler - Alexey Pehov (Once again, technically not looking forward to it anymore, since I have read it. It is awesome! Especially if you are a fan of Russian writers.)
The Unit - Terry Dehart (Ditto, except for the Russian writer part.)
Sword and Dark Magic - Various. Edited by Lou Anders and Jonathan Strahan
The Republic of Thieves - Scott Lynch
The Prodigal Mage - Karen Miller
Watcher of the Dead - J.V. Jones
Pinion - Jay Lake


Our 2009 Last Impressions
So. There you have it. Our various lists. As we looked over the lists of books we read, and compared it to the list of books coming out this year, we decided that 2009 was a great year for readers. And 2010? It will be WAY awesome. Seriously, just LOOK at those two lists we made!

18 comments

  1. Anonymous Said,

    awesome, but if i may one suggestion: Links to more information about the books would have been nice.

    Posted on February 15, 2010 at 9:15 AM

     
  2. Jon Sprunk Said,

    I made the list! Woot. Hopefully I can move from "Most Anticipated" to "Best."

    Thanx guys!

    Posted on February 15, 2010 at 5:32 PM

     
  3. -Slamel- Said,

    Here's hoping!

    Posted on February 15, 2010 at 6:36 PM

     
  4. Jon--
    Nothing a little bribery can't fix...

    Posted on February 16, 2010 at 10:25 AM

     
  5. Craig Said,

    Maybe a little optimistic side to hope Republic of Thieves will come out this year.

    Posted on February 16, 2010 at 4:33 PM

     
  6. -Slamel- Said,

    I wouldn't say so. Scott has been writing furiously since he came from "personal leave". The prologue for The Republic of Thieves is on his page, he has the short story in Swords and Dark Magic, his own Queen of the Iron Sands, and Republic comes out in... October, I believe. I'll be heartbroken if it doesn't, but the prospects are looking good.

    Posted on February 16, 2010 at 7:48 PM

     
  7. Anonymous Said,

    no one hopes for "the wise mans fear" ?

    Posted on February 17, 2010 at 5:08 AM

     
  8. I want to hope for THE WISE MAN'S FEAR, but I expect it will be released next summer. I hesitated even putting Martin on the list for the same reason. In fact, I'm actually regretting putting Martin there. Pretend Martin isn't there anymore. Instead?

    Kraken - China MiƩville

    As for Republic of Thieves, it's gonna come out. It was supposed to come out in March, but got pushed to a UK October release. US release? Some months later I imagine, but who cares--I've already pre-ordered the import.

    Posted on February 17, 2010 at 8:59 AM

     
  9. koshr Said,

    according to amazon.de they would have kraken send to me in 2-4 weeks but its >20 euros.

    Posted on February 17, 2010 at 10:36 AM

     
  10. Jon Sprunk Said,

    Steve --
    Are you willing to take extensive compliments (on your intellect, looks, physique, etc...) in lieu of cash?

    Posted on February 17, 2010 at 3:50 PM

     
  11. I find that acceptable. Though the way to REALLY win my heart (and Nick is no different) is to place us in your novels as cameos, and then kill us off in gruesome fashion.

    Posted on February 17, 2010 at 4:12 PM

     
  12. -Slamel- Said,

    ^ Second'd

    Posted on February 17, 2010 at 5:02 PM

     
  13. Anonymous Said,

    Thanks for making the list guys! I take back that you don't listen to requests :D

    Posted on February 18, 2010 at 5:19 PM

     
  14. -Slamel- Said,

    Now, my questions is, why are you still posting as anonymous?

    Posted on February 18, 2010 at 6:29 PM

     
  15. Anonymous Said,

    I just saw that there will be some king of prequel to lies of locke lamora.Will that be released before republic of thieves or after ?

    Posted on February 22, 2010 at 9:32 AM

     
  16. November is the current UK release estimate for the prequel to Locke Lamora.

    Posted on February 23, 2010 at 3:17 PM

     
  17. thetopten Said,

    Top 10 Novels By Genre @ http://www.thetoptenworld.com/Top_10_Book_Categories.html

    Posted on June 7, 2010 at 5:17 PM

     
  18. William Said,

    You should do a follow up on the most anticipated lists of "the best of"-reviews. I would really like to see an overview of whether those novels lived up to your expectations. (I know there are reviews of some, maybe most, but a summary is nice, just to see how well you guys predict.)

    Posted on September 19, 2011 at 1:50 PM

     

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