Tell Me What to Read!

by wjw on February 3, 2015

With all sort of grand opportunities arising for you to vote me a literary award, I feel I should mention again the stories I’ve had published in 2014. If you blah blah these stories worthy, then please blah blah nominate blah blah award blah blah eternal gratitude blah among the immortals blah blah shitload of money blah.

(Sorry, but I’m sure we can all recite these lines by heart by now.)

But still, I think I had some good stories.

“The Golden Age,” novella, DEAD MAN’S HAND, ed. John Joseph Adams, Titan Books, May 2014.
“Diamonds from Tequila,” novella, ROGUES, ed. Gardner Dozois and George RR Martin, Bantam, June 2014.
“Prompt. Professional. Pop!” novella, (Wild Cards), Tor.com, November 2014.
“Road Kill,” WILD CARDS: LOWBALL, Tor books, November 2014.

I get to vote for these awards myself, so I’d consider it a favor if you’d tell me what stories and novels you consider award-worthy, so I can read them and maybe vote for them myself.

The works must have been published in 2014, and with that one stipulation, I’d like to know what you enjoyed!

Gary Gibson February 3, 2015 at 3:10 pm: Well, I think that Jeff Vandermeer trilogy qualifies, and that’s pretty good. There’s also Echopraxia, by Peter Watts – available in a joint edition with Blindsight.
mearsk February 3, 2015 at 3:30 pm: “The Martian” by Andy Weir, because it was pretty damned good.
Kristin February 3, 2015 at 5:44 pm: I second The Martian. Definitely good.
pixlaw February 4, 2015 at 12:12 am: I loved W. Gibson’s new one, ‘The Peripheral’ which is both pretty damn depressing at points and still full of the kind of marvelous descriptions of cultural detritus that he specializes in. And even if it’s only kind of a sequel, Martha Wells had a new Raksura book out (‘Stories of the Raksura’). Her stuff is SO good and SO under-appreciated it’s a sin. Thus I recommend her works at all times and in all circumstances. And finally, Tobias Buckell’s ‘Hurricane Fever’ was a pretty cool mixture of near future extrapolation and a bent James Bondesque adventure tale starring a Caribbean born protagonist fighting an evil supra-rich swine. A hoot in some ways, and in other ways not at all.
TRX February 4, 2015 at 5:01 am: I enjoyed “The Rhesus Chart” by Charles Stross, but as far as I can tell that’s the only thing I read in 2014 that came out in 2014, other than your “Prompt, Professional, Pop!”

Looking at some of the online book lists, it doesn’t look like my favorite authors got much new stuff out in 2014. (directs a hard look toward New Mexico…)
Geoff February 4, 2015 at 11:08 pm: My two 2014 award-worthy books are “The Three-body Problem” by Cixin Liu (It is still with me, months later. Such a different tone than a western SF work) and “City of Stairs” by Robert Jackson Bennett.

The new books by Leckie and Hurley are very good, as well, but fell a bit short of an award.
M. Adrian Sellers February 5, 2015 at 3:54 am: California Bones by Greg van Eekhout
Lyndon R February 6, 2015 at 9:38 pm: “Europe in Autumn” by Dave Hutchinson is fantastic, and also has an Estonian main protagonist, which you might appreciate.
Allen February 11, 2015 at 2:11 am: “The Flight of the Silvers” – the best new book I read in 2014. Good plot, good characters, interesting ideas. Very cinematic.

“The Magician’s Land: A Novel” – well written, a good ending to the trilogy, but that’s enough of that. No mas.

“The Girl With All the Gifts” – fast read, very enjoyable.

“Echopraxia” – I didn’t really like it. Very unlikable characters. Kind of muddled.

“Queen of the Dark Things: A Novel” – good, not great. “Dreams and Shadows” was better.

I liked Vandermeer’s Southern Reach trilogy but didn’t love it. “Finch” is still his best book, by far.