2011 Books of the Year

In terms of sheer volume, 2011 was a pretty average year of reading for me, but when it comes down to quality, this was one of my best years in recent memory.  What made the year so damn special is that I read two books that became immediate all-time favorites.  It has been a while since I’ve read one book in a year that I’d consider an all-time favorite, so to nab two in a year is an extremely special treat for me.  In terms of my reading habits, I more or less stuck to my secret goal of alternating between books and graphic novels. That pattern did fall apart a bit towards the end of the year, when I got crunched for time and certain “must read” titles sat unread on the shelf.  All things considered, the fact that I managed to read about 40 titles, all while attending school full time, and working part time is a number I am pretty pleased with.

So without further ado, I give you the Battle Hymns 2011 Top 5 Books of the Year….

TOP 5 BOOKS of the YEAR:

#5. Moxyland: When I reviewed Moxyland back in April I said it rekindled my love of reading because it felt so incredibly fresh and so clean.  That sentiment still stands because even 8 months later, it still feels the same thinking back on it. 

Moxyland represents two major deviations from my normal reading, for one, it is a science fiction book, a genre I don't dabble in too often, though it appears maybe I should.  Secondly, it is a book written by a woman.  Its a bit embarrassing to admit but I don't tend to read too much stuff by female authors...there's no good explanation why, but I don't.  Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that Moxyland is not my "usual" read, and yet it is one of the best books I've read all year.  So my pearl of wisdom is this: it pays to read outside of your comfort zone on occasion.  

If you haven't had a chance to give Lauren Beukes' stuff a shot yet, I urge you.  I haven't read Zoo City but have heard lots of great things, and I was very impressed with Beukes' effort in the Vertigo Strange Adventures anthology comic.

#4. Retribution Falls:  Hooray for Bucklepunk!  

There's almost no chance Chris Wooding had me in mind when he wrote Retribution Falls but damn if it doesn't seem like he had a little Battle Hymns devil sitting on his right shoulder whispering plot and character advice into his ear while he  toiled away at the manuscript.  This novel has all the makings of a hit: great characters, non-stop action and shenanigans, intriguing characters, and a great plot too.  Hard to argue with all that.

Kudos to Wooding for creating a world that is a nice blend of science and fantasy with engaging, dastardly characters who, despite their shadiness and checkered pasts, are easy and fun to root for.  This is one of those books I couldn't put down simply because it was so much fun to read.  I wanna be a crew member on the Ketty Jay.

  

#3. The Heroes: Joe Abercrombie is a favorite fantasy author of mine, so it is always a pleasure to read one of his books.  However, never before has that pleasure been so um, pleasurable.  

With The Heroes I feel like it all came together for Joe here.  With the story taking place over the course of a few short days in one small area, the scope is much more narrow, and I think that tighter focus made his writing sharper and the story stronger.  

All the things you'd expect from a Joe Abercrombie novel are here:  mixed loyalties, backstabs, betrayals, messy politics, messy battles, messy wounds, characters of ill repute, and much much more.  You can't go too far wrong with any of Abercrombie's stuff, but for my money this is his best effort yet.  

#2. Replay: This title is definitely one that snuck up on me.  Prior to October of this year, I had never even heard of Replay, let alone had any desire to read it, but here it stands at the number two spot.  Not too shabby. 

 So how did I find Replay?

Well, after reading ThePrestige and Mythago Wood both decent to AH-maaaaaaaaa-zing reads, and both recipients of the World Fantasy Award, I figured I’d scour the list of past winners and see if anything else tickled my fancy.  That’s how I met Replay.  We went out for coffee, rode the bus together a few times, had lunch, next thing you know, we’re in bed together.  (Just thought I’d let you know when and where I do most of my reading…)

If you like time travel, Groundhog Day, a realistic romance story, and a book that makes you think, ask questions of your life, and entertains, than Replay is your book.  Mega-highly recommended. 

#1. The Prestige:  Picking my number one book of the year was an incredibly easy task.  For as much as I enjoyed the other titles on this list, The Prestige easily rules them all. 

This is one of those rare, absolutely amazing books.  The characters are phenomenal, the plotting is fantastic, and the story is one that will give you plenty to think about long after you’ve read the final words.  I think what I love the most about The Prestige  is that it practically begs to be read and re-read over and over again.  There is a large degree of unreliable narration, and half-truths being flung around that it can be very difficult to figure out what really happened. 

With dual narrators, and plenty of lies and deceit, I’m not totally sure I even know what went down, but I know I loved every page of The Prestige and I’m already thinking about when I should read it again.  If you haven’t had the opportunity to give this one a read, I urge you to make it happen.  This is one of best books I’ve ever read. 

Honorable Mention:

The Dark Tower: It was a pretty awesome achievement to finish out Stephen King’s Dark Tower series this year, and I thought the series couldn’t have had a more fitting ending.  I’m very excited for 2012’s addition to the series.

20^th Century Ghosts: Got a little father/son thang going here…Simply put, I was very impressed with Joe Hill’s debut short story collection.  With each story you get a different brand of horror, and each one is amazing.  

Book Review: The Heroes

When I find an author that I enjoy, like Joe Abercrombie, I usually tend to stretch his or her books out, so that I'm enjoying something by that person on a yearly basis.  I read Best Served Cold back in the summer, so what am I doing reading another Abercrombie book this year?  Well, as I've established before, I can be mentally weak at times.  Basically what happened was that there was a gift card to a certain online book seller, and I spent it all in one epic book buying fest, and what you see before you is one of those purchases.  Money well spent.

Like The First Law and Best Served Cold books before it, The Heroes is set in the same universe.  This time around the focus of the story is much more fine tuned, and takes place over the course of a few days.  Thousands of men from either the North, or the Union are converging on a forgotten hill set in the middle of a small farming valley near the border of the two lands.  It is there in that valley and on that hill named The Heroes that the two sides will clash.

As I mentioned earlier, The Heroes is tightly focused.  That brief description I just gave is just about all there is to this book; a three day battle over useless, abandoned land.  However, that tight focus is what makes this book great.  The focus of this novel is so sharp that the pacing is wonderful, and the action is pretty much non-stop.

I've gotten so accustomed to massively epic fantasy with huge worlds, hundreds of characters, and numerous story lines that a book The Heroes, that takes place on such a small scale, almost seems improbable.  I've noticed myself becoming increasingly burnt out on epic fantasy the past couple years, so a book like this was a welcome alternative.

The one complaint I did have about the small setting was that I found myself confused sometimes about the scale of the battlefield. It seemed like troop movements, and how long it took them to cover distances was inconsistent at times.  Though legitimate maps are provided in a Joe Abercrombie book for the first time, it was still hard to judge distances between regiments, and battle lines at times.  Still, a minor complaint, and one that is grossly outweighed by all the positives.

Since The Heroes is set in the same world as the rest of Abercrombie's books, there are a few recurring characters that devoted readers will be familiar with.  A few of the names that are back in varying capacity are Black Dow, Calder, Scale, Caul Shivers, Jalenhorm, Byaz, and Bremer dan Gorst.  Alongside these familiar names are a wonderful cast of new characters as well.  Though I did enjoy reading all the characters, I've begun to notice a familiar Joe Abercrombie character building pattern: each character seems to embody one main, overriding trait like self pity, ambition, or self perseverance, and then have a few other less prominent traits mixed in.   Now, I will agree that many people in the world do tend to have a well defined character such as those in Abercrombie's books, but I feel like this model for character building doesn't allow me to really discover the depths of Abercrombie's characters.  That said, his characters are very memorable, and fun to read about so I can't complain too much.

The story is told through a variety of point of view characters but I definitely had favorite point of view characters on each side.   For the Union, Bremer dan Gorst was my favorite to root for.  The guy is an all out beast when it comes to war, but mentally he's a mess, and enjoyed seeing if he'd ever manage to straighten himself out.  For the North, Curnden Craw, a veteran, a named man, and leader of a dozen was a probably the easiest character in the book to root for.  I found myself fretting over his well being like a nervous soccer mom.  The other point of view characters were all fun to read, and that factor is a big reason why this book is so damn great.

Aside from the great cast of point of view characters, there are many secondary characters that populate this book, and give it more life.  I think Abercrombie is at his best and  having the most fun when he's writing the rough and rowdy Northmen, and it showed with characters like Whirrun of Bligh, Glama Golden, and Cairm Ironhead.

Looking back at Abercrombie's past novels, I would say they all pale in comparison to The Heroes.  This is definitely his best effort yet.  Looking back at Best Served Cold, it could have done with a tighter focus and feels bloated in retrospect. The fact that I loved that book should prove just how much of an improvement this book is.

On top of being a great read, there are a few important developments that occur in The Heroes that make me very excited for Abercrombie's next effort, whatever that may be and whenever that may come.  Fans of Abercrombie's previous works will feel right at home with the gritty violence, realistic characters, and balls out action.  For those of you who haven't read Abercrombie's stuff, I would advise starting with The Blade Itself and plowing through his stuff from there.  You wont regret it.

Grade: A+

Review: Best Served Cold

In the mood for a tale of brutal revenge?  Joe Abercrombie's standalone fantasy novel, Best Served Cold will quench your thirst like a cold beer on a hot summer day.

Monza Murcatto is a soldier of fortune, and her mercenary company, The Thousand Swords, are the best in the business.  For the last few years, she's been winning some key victories for Duke Orso of Talins as he conquerors his way towards a crown.  Murcatto's many victories have made her popular with the common folk...too popular.  Fearing Murcatto will launch a coup and overthrow all that Orso has worked for, the Duke stages a slick betrayal that leaves Murcatto's brother dead, and herself stabbed, chucked off a mountain, and left for dead. 

Murcatto escapes death, and after some serious mending is left with a broken and rickety body.  The mental and physical pain of the ordeal is nothing compared to her all encompassing thirst for vengeance, a thirst that can only be slaked by the blood of the seven people responsible for her betrayal.

In many ways Best Served Cold is a simple novel; Seven sections that detail the efforts to slay one of the seven people responsible for Murcatto's betrayal.  Sure, that would be an accurate way to describe the novel, but if Best Served Cold was just about Murcatto killing off seven dudes, it would feel like a shitty action flick.  Luckily, Abercrombie is one of the best in the business and he fills his tale with some highly memorable characters.

The seven people responsible for Murcatto's betrayal are seven of the most powerful people in the country and it would be silly to think that Murcatto could knock them all off by herself.  In need of assistance, she assembles an entertaining collection of rogues and villains to help her achieve her bloody goals.  While all these characters are very interesting and well developed, I found Friendly, a former convict who is obsessed with numbers, and Nicomo Cosca, Murcatto's former general who she betrayed in order to steal his job, my two favorites.  

All the characters in Best Served Cold have some dark pasts, and along the way it seems that many of them would change due to the events of the story.  I found the progression of the character arcs to be one of the more interesting qualities of the book, though the results make me wonder what dark visions of human nature Abercrombie possesses.

Since Murcatto decided to take her revenge one person at a time, the story had a bit of the ol' caper feel to it. The only difference being that they would set up an elaborate plan to kill someone rather than snatch a bunch of jewels.  As I read, I found myself thinking of other caper tales like the Ocean's Eleven movies and Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora, except Best Served Cold is bloodier, ballsier, and better. 

My copy of Best Served Cold weighs in at a hefty 880 pages but the book never felt like a slog because the story plows along and more often than not left me gasping for air with all the goings on.  This wasn't like other fat fantasy novels where it feels like the author needed a better editor.  Despite the size, the plotting is nice and crisp. 

After having read and loved Abercrombie's The First Law trilogy I had a feeling he was heading for fantasy writing greatness. Best Served Cold pretty much cements the fact that Abercrombie is one of the best in the business.  I can easily say that Best Served Cold is one of my favorite fantasy reads of the year so far.  I highly recommend this one.  Abercrombie  is rapidly becoming one of my favorite fantasy novelists, and I'm looking forward to when I can get my mitts on his most recent effort, The Heroes.  If you haven't gotten around to Abercrombie's works by all means, get to it.

Grade: A