2012 Books of the Year

2012 was my most productive reading year since I started Battle Hymns...I chalk that up to my two hours of bus commuting each day.  On top of that, 2012 was my most adventurous year of reading yet as well.  I definitely made more of an effort this year to go out of my reading comfort zone and try new authors and try new reads.  I tried to reflect those efforts in this year end list.

Of all my 2012 year end lists, this one was the hardest to put together.  The top two were clear-cut but the three, four and five spots were tough to decide on.  I should mention that this is not a list of my favorite 2012 books.  Rather, it is a list of my favorite books that I read during the 2012 year.  The publication date of these books was not taken into consideration.  Without further ado....

#5. Among Others: This was one of those books that just barely missed being incredible.  If not for what I saw as a bit of a let-down at the end, Among Others could have easily topped this list. As much as this book is a magical work of fantasy, it's also a love letter to the fantasy and sci-fi genres themselves which I found quite amazing.

There were other books I read this year that I graded higher, and some of those didn't make this list. Among Others deserves a nod though as it is wholly responsible for kindling my interest in older works of fantasy and science fiction. If not for this book, there'd be no "Kicking it Old School" feature on this blog, and I would have missed out on some great reads in the process.  Among Others is one of those books that I started reading slower the closer I got to the end because I didn't want the experience to be over. It's truly a book that I treasured.  

#4. Scourge of the Betrayer: Scourge was a fantasy debut that not only lived up to my expectations, but actually surpassed them, all while coming off as something different and fresh.  Those qualities lead to a sure-fire winner in my book.

Scourge of the Betrayer is a book with sharp writing and deep character exploration.  Braylar is one of the more compelling fantasy characters I've read, and I found it impossible to not want to read more once I'd turned the final page of this novel. As much as I want to see where this story will go, I'm equally as interested in discovering what has come before with the characters and this world.  For my money, this was the best mainstream fantasy I read in 2012.

#3. Leviathan Wakes: I don't often fancy myself much of a science fiction reader, and I certainly haven't had much success with the space operas I've tried to read in the past. However, I'm a huge fan of Leviathan Wakes.  The writing duo of Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, who form like Voltron to make James S.A. Corey, seemed to have folks like me in mind when they created this space opera series that is pared down, and accessible, all while providing a fantastic read.

With limited POVs and a scope that is within our own solar system, this story was right up my alley.  I enjoyed the story, the characters, and the politics of the worlds and civilizations that are depicted in this novel.  This was one of the more engaging reads of the year for me, and it was nice to experience sf that pushed all the right buttons for me. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what else this series has in store.

#2. Kafka on the Shore: As great as those books mentioned before on this list are, Kafka on the Shore stands out as a completely amazing novel.

I'd never read a Haruki Murakami novel before this, and Kafka on the Shore served as a revelation as to what I'd been missing out on. The writing here is just a cut above what I normally see in my other reads.  I've rarely seen such incredible character development, and the visuals Murakami evokes are wonderful.  A great read on all levels, and book that I can't recommend more strongly.

#1. The Islanders: Speaking of books that stand out as singularly amazing, The Islanders is definitely one such book.  This jigsaw puzzle of a novel had me spellbound with its mystery and myth.  Christopher Priest takes a wholly unique approach to telling his story of murder, art, islands, and the folks who inhabit them. I loved every page of this book.

I love that I had to work for the results I got from the reading experience, and I love that I look forward to reading The Islanders again some day to see what I notice on a second read through that I missed on my first go-round.  Simply one of the most wonderful books I've read.

Hey, I should point out that this is two in a row for Mr. Priest, as he took the number one spot last year for The Prestige. If you aren't reading this guy yet...

Most Honorable Mention:

Bitter Seeds: Definitely one of the sharper reads of the year for me.  Mad Science, Nazis, and magic...an entertaining combo for sure! Also, I can't get Gretel, the pre-cognitive who seems to be pulling all the strings, out of my head.

Theft of Swords: Heroic bro fantasy at it's finest.  Sullivan manages to make each installment stand on it's own, yet each story works in many over-arching plot threads that deal with a more epic story.  I'm anxious to read further on in this series.  Great stuff.

Well, there you go.  My top five reads from the 2012 year.  What'd I miss out on? What, I ask you, Battle Hymns readers, were your favorite reads of the year?

Kick It Old School

As I mentioned in my review of Jo Walton's Among Others, the book is in one part, a love letter to the sci-fi and fantasy from the 50's to early 80's.  Since I wasn't born until the early 80's and didn't start reading sf/f until the early to mid 90's, I missed out on a bunch of these authors and books.  My reading in the genre has been primarily contemporary authors and their works, so I've only just barely scratched the surface of what could be considered "classic" authors.

Over at SFF World, in the Fantasy Book of the Month discussion thread, we've talked about whether or not having read those books makes Among Others more enjoyable.  The verdict on that matter is mixed, but regardless, the book has led a few folks, myself included, to hit up the used bookstores in search of some old-school sf/f.  Here's what I've dug up:

In the same SFF World thread, I wished for a complete list of all the old school sf/f books mentioned in Among Others and boy, was my wish ever granted.  Jo Walton herself stopped by and provided a couple of really cool links that list all the books read or mentioned by Mori in Among Others.  A veritable treasure trove of authors and their works.  Here's an alphabetical list by author from Walton's Live Journal page.  For those of you who are more visual and/or into Pinterest, there's also a link to someone's Pinterest wall that has all the covers.  Gotta love the old school cover art!

I've been spending my spare time researching the titles on the list and updating my list of books I want to read.  I can't wait to get reading on some of these.  Expect to see some reviews here in the coming months!

Book Review: Among Others

Among Others is a unique and catchy tale told in first person, diary entry style which I hear is called Epistolary style.  (Word of the day!) Whatever you want to call it, this is an incredibly easy book to fall into, and one of the most unique novels I've ever read.


We meet Morwenna Phelps, the voice of this epistolary narrative, after recent half-eluded to events, (some sort of showdown with her magic-using mother), which left her hobbled, and her twin sister dead. Morwenna has run away from her hometown in Wales to her father's estate in England and the father, whom she barely knows, has shuffled her off to an elite boarding school where Mori feels like a complete outsider.

Gone are her days of exploring industrial ruins and conversing with the fairies who dwell there, gone is her sister, her constant companion in life, and gone is her sense of belonging.  What's left, her only refuge from her bratty classmates and her mother's spiteful letters, is her love for books. Science fiction books to be more precise.

After swearing off magic, expect for protective purposes, Mori is tempted to once again use her arts to find a circle of like-minded friends, but she fears her magic will draw the attention and wrath of her mother.

Among Others is a lot of things, all them great. For one, it's a coming of age story, which tend to be hit or miss with me.  I initially balked at the idea that this was a coming of age tale, because Mori seemed so mature, and intelligent for her age. At the very least she seems equal to many of the adults around her, but there is a large degree of growth that she experiences in this novel and it was nice to witness her growth through her diary entries.


Secondly, Among Others is very much a love letter to the science fiction and fantasy novels of the 50's, 60's and 70's.  Mori is a huge sf fan, and through these works she learns about life, connects with other people, and grows.  Make no mistake, this girl is incredibly well read.  I think those who are well versed in the works of LeGuin, Heinlein, Zelazny, Delany, and many others will likely find a deeper connection to this novel, but I had only read a mere fraction of the novels that get attention in Among Others and at times I felt like I wasn't quite getting the fullest understanding of Mori's thoughts.  Still, despite that, I had little problem enjoying the novel, and even if one hasn't read pretty much every sf novel published between 1950-1980 that factor will in no way kill anyone's enjoyment of this novel.

Thirdly, Among Others is one of those rare books where I was able to feel like each time I opened it up to read I was falling into another more magical and wonderful world.  It's an experience that as a kid, got me to fall in love with books, but as an adult had been an elusive feeling.  This was one of those books though. Just in case you were wondering, the feeling is still just as wonderful now as it was then.

The author, Jo Walton, has done a fine job crafting her characters here, particularly Morwenna. She's a very interesting person, and getting inside her head made for an exciting journey.  She's also incredibly easy to root for.  There's an prologue entry from four or five years prior to the events of the novel, and through that we get a chance to see Mori before the events that led her to runaway from home and she is much softer edged and lighthearted than the Mori we see in the main narrative.  That glimpse into her past gave insight into the person she was in current times.  It was a pretty simple device, but one that paid big dividends throughout the novel.

Since the story is told through diary/journal entries, at first I felt like I was wrongfully spying on a perfect stranger, but after a while morphed into feeling like Mori was letting me in on her life.  I definitely enjoyed this style of telling the story, and I think Walton's handling of this unique style was flawless.  An impressive feat for sure.

Though I enjoyed Among Others immensely, I did have a couple gripes.  There were some plot elements, and I wont name names for fear of spoiling things, that I wished had remained a mystery throughout.  Let's just say there's some reveals I could have done without, and I think had they remained a mystery, would have added more power to the narrative.  Also, there's one scene between Mori and her father that should have had great repercussions for their relationship that I think wrongfully got glossed over and put in the rear view mirror.  Lastly, the opposing forces of Mori and her Mother don't play out to a very satisfying ending.  This element was most responsible for taking away a bit of my enjoyment.

Those few gripes sit heavily, because this book came so close to being something really special.  I enjoyed this book, but it just missed hitting the bullseye by a small fraction.  Still, this is an impressive work of fantasy and worthy of high praise.  Walton has chiseled out a piece of writing that is honed and focused and near perfect.  Definitely worth a read.

Grade: B+

***Among Others is also the SFF World fantasy book of the month for March, 2012.  Stop by and join the conversaton!***