My epic "Blah-blah-blah of 2010" list

4 Comments

The husband and I traded plagues (ie: he has what I had and I have what he had). Thus, since incredibly profound or review-worthy thoughts seem to be impossible for me right now, I’m going to jump on the “blah-blah-blah of 2010” list bandwagon. You can read my reviews of all these books if you take a gander at my Great Index of Reviews. Not all of these books were published in 2010; they were all read in 2010.
Books with the best complex/”gray” characters
  • ·      Engineer Trilogy – K.J. Parker
  • ·      Feast of Souls – C.S. Friedman
  • ·      Curse of the Mistwraith – Janny Wurts

Best contemporary-ish
  • ·      Fevre Dream – George R. R. Martin
  • ·      American Gods – Neil Gaiman
  • ·      Elfland – Frieda Warrington 

Excellent carnage (ie: good battles, blood, war, creative deaths, etc)
  • ·      Gardens of the Moon – Steven Erikson
  • ·      The Lies of Locke Lamora – Scott Lynch
  • ·      Heroes Die – Matthew Woodring Stover 

Most thought provoking
  • ·      The Engineer Trilogy – K.J. Parker
  • ·      Small Gods – Terry Pratchett
  • ·      The Folding Knife – K.J. Parker 

Most Unique magic system
  • ·      Mistborn – Brandon Sanderson
  • ·      Spellwright – Blake Charlton
  • ·      Magister Trilogy – C.S. Friedman 

Incredible worlds
  • ·      Mythago Wood – Robert Holdstocke
  • ·      The Scar – China Mieville
  • ·      The Reality Dysfunction – Peter F. Hamilton

Stunning Prose
  • ·      Mythago Wood – Robert Holdstocke
  • ·      All the Windwracked Stars – Elizabeth Bear
  • ·      Tigana – Guy Gavriel Kay

Strong Female Protagonists
  • ·      The Magister Trilogy – C.S. Friedman
  • ·      All the Windwracked Stars – Elizabeth Bear
  • ·      The Godstalker Chronicles – P.C. Hodgell

Breakthrough authors to be aware of (who only have 1-2 books released)
  • ·      Ian Tregillis
  • ·      Blake Charlton
  • ·      Mark Charan Newton

Most anticipated books that didn’t live up to my expectations – published in 2010
  • ·      The Desert Spear – Peter V. Brett
  • ·      Dragon Keeper/Haven – Robin Hobb
  • ·      The King’s Bastard – Rowena Cory Daniells

Most anticipated books that lived up to and/or surpassed my expectations – published in 2010
  • ·      The Half-Made World – Felix Gillerman
  • ·      City of Ruin – Mark Charan Newton
  • ·      Bitter Seeds – Ian Tregillis 

Overall most disappointing reads of 2010
  • ·      Storm Front – Jim Butcher
  • ·      Pillars of the World – Anne Bishop
  • ·      Beauty – Robin McKinley 

Overall best reads of 2010 (I’m cheating and listing my top 5)
  • ·      The Engineer Trilogy – K.J. Parker
  • ·      Small Gods – Terry Pratchett
  • ·      The Reality Dysfunction – Peter F. Hamilton
  • ·      The Half-Made World – Felix Gillerman
  • ·      It’s a tie between City of Ruin – Mark Charan Newton & Avempartha – Michael J. Sullivan

4 Responses

  • Scott

    YAY Sullivan makes the list!

    Also….HEROES DIE for sheer awesome swearing and carnage candy.

    Sorry you and you hubby are ill. Get better!

  • Jared

    So, I'm gathering that you kind of liked the Engineer Trilogy? 🙂

    Good list – and I really liked your category breakdowns!

    You should treat yourself to a copy of Mark Charan Newton's very first book, The Reef. It is really good, although I think he may be tired of me trying to sell it to people.

  • Murf61

    Hope you are feeling better soon.

    Excellent lists – I like your categories 🙂
    I really must get hold of Bitter Seeds, it seems to have made a lot of Best of 2010 lists.

    Happy Christmas Sarah, and all the best for 2011

  • Sarah (Bookworm Blues)

    Jared, couldn't tell that K.J. Parker was my favorite find of 2010, eh?

    Murf, I really loved Bitter Seeds. I hope you enjoy it, too.

    And happy holidays to all of you, as well!

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