Order [book in series=yearoffirstbook.book# (eg 2014.01), stand-alone or one-author collection=3333.pubyear, multi-author anthology=5555.pubyear, SFM/MM=5000, interview=1111]: 2010

Birdbrain: A depressing account of a disastrous vacation

Birdbrain by Johanna Sinisalo

A man and a woman go on an extended hiking tour of Australia and New Zealand, and especially Tasmania, Australia’s island state, in Birdbrain by the Finnish writer Johanna Sinisalo. Neither is a particularly likable person, or has a particularly interesting voice.

Jyrki makes his living as a roving bartender, spending a few months here, a few weeks there. He is a snob about hiking and camping, expressing nothing but disdain for any campsite that offers bunk beds in a bare bones cabin instead of a place to pitch your tent.

Sleight of Hand: 13 excellent stories by Peter S. Beagle

Sleight of Hand by Peter S. Beagle

Peter S. Beagle will probably always be best known for The Last Unicorn, the 1968 fantasy novel many consider his masterpiece, but the author has assembled a long and impressive bibliography since this perennial classic, including several excellent short story collections. The most recent of these is Sleight of Hand, recently released by Tachyon. If all you know of Peter S. Beagle is The Last Unicorn,

The Replacement: Different opinions

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

Mackie Doyle is a Replacement — a changeling. When he was a baby, the fairies left him in the crib when they took the real Malcolm Doyle away. His family knows this, but he needs to keep it a secret from the rest of Gentry, his hometown. Mackie tries to be a normal teenager — he goes to school, the teenage night club, and to parties. But he can’t go to church where his father is the pastor because it’s painful to stand on the consecrated land.

Expiration Date: On the Edge

Expiration Date by Duane Swierczynski

[In our Edge of the Universe column, we review mainstream authors that incorporate elements of speculative fiction into their “literary” work. However you want to label them, we hope you’ll enjoy discussing these books with us.]

Mash up a mystery, a graphic novel sensibility and a fantasy time travel novel, and what have you got? The Edgar-nominated Expiration Date by Duane Swierczynski, a novel so compelling that you’ll want to read it in a single sitting.

Instructions: Safely traverse enchanted lands

Instructions by Neil Gaiman

As one might expect from Neil Gaiman, Instructions is an unusual little book, and despite technically being a picture book, isn’t necessarily something you would give to a child. Not that the content is objectionable — just a tad incomprehensible to anyone who isn’t well versed in the rules and patterns of fairytales. With that in mind, a child might be the perfect audience! I think what I’m trying to say is thatInstructions is a story for those who love stories,

The Raven Queen: Courageous but unlikable heroine

The Raven Queen by Jules Watson

Jules Watson’s The Raven Queen is a historical fantasy based on the ancient Irish legends about Queen Maeve. Red-haired and fiery-tempered, since childhood Maeve has resented being used by her father, King of Connacht, as a political tool. He has sent her as a peace-bride to acquire alliances with various neighboring warlords, but Maeve doesn’t tend to actually foster peace anywhere she goes. In fact, she has just returned home to her dying father after running away from her third husband, the powerful King Conor — an action that will surely bring Conor’s wrath against Connacht at a time when they do not have a strong leader.

The Bards of Bone Plain: Celebrates the power of music, language, and love

The Bards of Bone Plain by Patricia McKillip

In This Land, the Bards Have Forgotten Their Magic…

Patricia McKillip does it again! Unique among fantasy writers for her dreamy prose, her ability to meld complex characterization with original fairytale plots, and her ability to slip in a clever twist or two before the story’s end, McKillip returns to form after the slightly lackluster The Bell at Sealey Head (great build-up, terrible climax) with The Bards of Bone Plain.

The Lifecycle of Software Objects: Not long enough

The Lifecycle of Software Objects by Ted Chiang

Ted Chiang is one of my favorite writers. He only writes one short story, novelet or novella a year, it seems, but every one is a masterwork. A year in which Chiang’s name does not appear on every award ballot means that he’s skipped writing for a year. (If you haven’t yet read Stories of Your Life and Others, I strongly urge you to do so at once. This is what brilliance looks like.)

In The Lifecycle of Software Objects,

Blue and Gold: Fast, intense, and dramatic

Update: We now know that K.J. Parker is a pseudonym of Tom Holt.

Blue and Gold by K.J. Parker

Talk about unreliable narrators! If you like that technique, you’re sure to enjoy K.J. Parker’s Blue and Gold. It’s a fast, intense, and dramatic little book that will entertain you for an afternoon.

Saloninus is probably the cleverest alchemist who ever lived (or is he?). After publishing several important (?) papers and losing his tuition money, he drops out of the university and begins a life of crime,

The Clockwork Three: This stands out

The Clockwork Three by Matthew Kirby

Amid the several highly anticipated children’s and YA works this year by big names such as Suzanne Collins and Rick Riordan, one can be forgiven for missing the entry onto the stage of Matthew Kirby’s first novel, The Clockwork Three. Forgiven, but no longer excused, for among all those much more hyped releases (though they are often justifiably hyped), this stands out as among the best. There. Now you know.

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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