There's still two weeks to go, but I know I won't have much time for fiction reading before the New Year, so here are ten fiction titles that I enjoyed in 2003. (Listed alphetically by author.)
KILN People, David Brin — Very cool. Hard boiled SF dective story with an interesting twist on clones. I know some people weren't overly fond of this one, but I greatly enjoyed the author's inventive intertwining of the various points of view. (heh)
Kushiel's Dart (and sequels), Jacqueline Carey — Excellent fantasy with a healthy dose of angst that verges just short of going overboard for my tastes. This is the only fantasy I've read where the S&M elements are actually important to the plot and not just gratuitous titillation.
Curse of Chalion, Lois McMaster Bujold — I so enjoyed this second fantasy by Bujold, that I re-read it right away. I almost never do that.
Across the Nightingale Floor, Lian Hearn — Delightful story set in a fully imagined fantasy world based on Japan. (Thanks for the recommendation, Sarah.)
Speed of Dark, Elizabeth Moon — Amazing. Beautiful. Read this book.
Altered Carbon, Richard Morgan — Mystery-thriller-science fiction. Very, very cool. I hesitate to call this "cyberpunk", lest it be labeled with out-dated notions of what that means, but the influence is there.
Master and Commander, Patrick O'Brian — Of course I had to re-read this one after seeing the movie. It's even better the second time around.
Years of Rice and Salt, Kim Stanely Robinson — Alternate science fiction history spanning a good 1000 years. I may get around to writing a short review of this one someday as a short tagline can't do it justice. It's quite a philosophical book, so it's not one to pick up if you're in the mood for action/adventure.
Cyrano de Bergerac, E. Rostand, trans. Anthony Burgess. I really enjoyed this translation, which takes some liberties with exactness to capture in English the poetry of the original French.
Barry Ween, Boy Genius, vol 1-4, Judd Winick — Graphic novels. Oh my God. F*cking hilarious. And yet very human and touching at the same time. (How does he do it?)
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