2018 is almost over! We hope you’ve had a wonderful reading year and that our work here at FanLit helped you achieve that.
Now we want to know: What is the best book you read in 2018?
It doesn’t have to be a book that was published in 2018. Just read in 2018. It doesn’t even have to be speculative fiction.
Feel free to post a full review of the book here, or a link to the review on your blog, or just write a few sentences about why you thought it was awesome.
Next week we’ll be telling you about our favorite SFF books published in 2018.
And, as always, we have plenty more reading recommendations on our Fanlit Faves page and our 5-Star SFF page. And we’ve also got a constantly updating list of new and forthcoming releases.
One commenter will choose a book from our stacks.
We’ve got a couple of giveaways still current.
We’re updating our theme, so things may be a little messy or slow until we’re finished. Thank you for being patient with us!
It is too hard to boil down to one! Ok, if I had to choose just one, I’d say Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saienz. This book put me on a roller coaster – one minute being frustrated with the characters, next my heart breaking for one of them and ended with happy tears. Not genre but very well recommended by me.
And because I can’t stop myself, here are the other six 5 star books I read this year:
Lies Sleeping by Ben Aaronovitch – the latest in the Peter Grant urban Fantasy series where British wit encounters weird shenanigans and policeman Peter is the man to deal with it.
The Privilege of Peace by Tanya Huff, the final Torin Kerr military scifi full of snark and bada$$ery.
This Would Make a Good Story Someday by Dana Alison Levy which is a quiet story about family and how important it is.
Linesman by SK Dunstall the first in an interesting scifi trilogy where the downtrodden ends up being a bit more important than expected. Really good sneaky humor and heart.
Burn Bright by Patricia Briggs the latest in the Alhpa & Omega werewolf series which was a spinoff of her Mercy Thompson series. Both excellent and full of mystery with a touch of humor and romance.
Wildfire by Ilona Andrews, the third in the Hidden Fire series in which magic plays a major role in society and life whether you have it or you don’t. Also with romance.
I am not much of a writer. That said, here I go. I read The History of Jihad by Robert Spencer and I thought it was great. Very informative and factual with copious footnotes.
Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty
Definitely Snow Crash. Neal Stephenson made a real masterwork with this book. It has ancient religious history, future(esque) computer science, and most of all, good plotting and witty dialogue. Reading this book is pure pleasure. I’m so glad my friend Nate assigned it in his Science Fiction class I sat in on.
Green Rider by Kristin Britain
The one I just finished, Garth Nix’s Sabriel. Re-reading it, I’m again blown away by what a fascinating world he creates.
“The Hell Divers” series by Nicholas Sansbury Smith. I like the non-stop excitement!
“A Gentleman in Moscow” (Amor Towles) lasted me the longest.
My favourite is Josiah Bancroft’s Senlin Ascends.
I agree with Felicity, I’d have to say it was Senlin Ascends.
Here is my review:
https://hippogriff.wordpress.com/2018/05/14/book-review-senlin-ascends-by-josiah-bancroft/
Cameron Johnston’s The Traitor God was a close second…
Night and Silence by Seanan McGuire
“Vita Nostra” by Marina and Sergey Dyachenko pushed my original #1, “The Murderbot Diaries (#1-4),” to #2.
Here’s the link to my Top Ten of 2018: https://mistyaquavenatus.com/2018/12/31/why-you-need-to-readmy-selections-for-best-speculative-fiction-books-of-2018/
This was not an easy year from which to pick one best book. Cloud and Ashes had the “extremely difficult masterpiece” category all to itself–but I only finished that book in 2018, most of it I read on and off over the previous seven years. Of the books I started and finished in 2018, the best would probably be John Crowley’s Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymr. Crowley is just an outstanding writer, and this book speaks pointedly to our current plight in the timeless language of myth.
Runners up would be, for a fun standalone, Half-Witch by John Schoffstall, and for a series opener, Brian’s McClellan’s Sins of Empire. Two other series I read that had very good books 1 and 2 were Red Sister and Grey Sister by Mark Lawrence and The Tethered Mage and The Defiant Heir by Melissa Caruso. All in all, a pretty good year for reading.
I had several books that really hit the nark for me in 2018 but the one I enjoyed the most was We are Legion – We are Bob (Bobiverse #1) by Dennis Taylor. I went on to also read both of the sequels and am eagerly awaiting the next book coming out in 2019. Other books that I also enjoyed greatly were The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal and The Outsider by Stephen King.
If I absolutely have to pick one it has to be Devil in the Grove by Gilbert King. An in depth look at the tragic incident of The Groveland Boys and Thurgood Marshall.
For sci/fi fantasy it’s a toss-up between Abaddon’s Gate by James S. A. Corey and The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal.
Crown of Feathers was probably my favorite read of 2018. It doesn’t release until February, but I was fortunate enough to get an arc through work, and I loved it!
Felicity Parker, if you live in the USA, you win a book of your choice from our stacks.
Please contact me (Marion) with your choice and a US address. Happy reading!