Most readers of my blog (you precious few, you) will know by now that my reading is heavily influenced towards sci-fi and fantasy. In fact, a quick search on Goodreads will tell you that of the 433 books I’ve allegedly read throughout my life (that I remember), about 41.34% fall under that category. So yes… Call me a geek. I don’t care.

In any case, Amazon in their all-power, all-knowing ways, have released what they consider the top 100 sci-fi and fantasy books to read in a lifetime. A good mix between recent books and all-time classics. Some odd choices, and glaring omissions, but a good list nonetheless. Here’s the link if you’re curious:

http://www.amazon.com/b/ref=br_mpk_pck-4_smr?_encoding=UTF8&node=12661600011&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-5&pf_rd_r=1XZYQBH2ECEMXDXZERZK&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=2263802222&pf_rd_i=283155

So… I’ve read quite a few of them, 40% in fact! Not bad, but plenty of those books are on my reading list, so hopefully the number will increase soon. Then again, so many books, so little time.

Here is the list below, and my thoughts on many of them. The * (and bold) indicates those that I’ve read:

1. 1984, George Orwell* – a book where its symbolism transcends over actual story (which was good, but not great). When it comes to Orwell, I prefer Animal Farm!

2. 2001: A Space Odyssey, Arthur C Clarke – never read it… Saw the film instead

3. A Canticle of Leibowitz, Walter Miller – never heard of it

4. A Game of Thrones, George R R Martin* – the ultimate epic fantasy… At least the first three books. Books 4 and 5 have been a struggle. Let’s see how (when? If?) it ends…

5. A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K Le Guin – somehow, never read the Earthsea books. Should be remedied

6. A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L’Engle – I know, I know, sacrilege that I never read this

7. Altered Carbon, Richard K Morgan – I’ve read other Morgan books… Clearly the wrong ones

8. American Gods, Neil Gaiman* – one of my favourite books. Can’t wait for the HBO version

9. Among Others, Jo Walton* – a sweet homage to science fiction

10. Ancillary Justice, Ann Leckie – winner of every recent sci-if award… Soon to be read

11. Annihilation, Jeff Van der Meer – have heard many good things. Should give it a go

12. Assassin’s Apprentice, Robin Hobb – have read the wrong Robin Hobb books… Should really make the time to read these ones…

13. Blood Music, Greg Bear

14. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley* – ultimate dystopia

15. Childhood’s End, Arthur C Clarke

16. Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell* – awesome genre-crossing novel

17. Daughter of the Blood, Anne Bishop

18. Dhalgren, Samiel R Delaney

19. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip Dick – inspiration for Blade Runner. Great movie. Should read the book

20. Doomsday Book, Connie Willis* – great time travel story

21. Dragonflight, Anne McCaffrey – should really give these books a go at one point

22. Dune, Frank Hebert* – Sci fi royalty. “I shall not fear”

23. Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card* – such an amazing book

24. Fahrenheit 451, Rat Bradbury* – classic

25. Foreigner, CJ Cherryh

26. Frankenstein, Mary Shelley* – surprisingly endearing, Shelley’s novel is miles better than the cheesy Halloween interpretations

27. Good Omens, Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett* – excellent book. So damn funny

28. Graceling, Kristin Cashore – really? Well now I’m curious to read it

29. Grass, Sheri S Tepper

30. Guilty Pleasures, Laurell K Hamilton

31. HP Lovecraft Tales, HP Lovecraft – yep, never read Lovecraft

32. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, JK Rowling* – of course I’m a fan, no question

33. How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe, Charles Yu – on my list for a while

34. Howl’s Moving Castle, Dianna Wynne Jones

35. Hyperion, Dan Simmons  – loved his Illium novels. Should give Hyperion a go

36. I Am Legend, Richard Matheson – saw the Will Smith movie… Never read the book

37. I, Robot, Isaac Asimov – copy paste from above

38. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice – also saw the movie… And never read the book

39. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, Susanna Clarke* – probably the best book I’ve ever read

40. Kindred, Octavia Butler

41. Kushiel’s Dart, Jacqueline Carey

42. Lord Fould’s Bane, Stephen Donaldson

43. Neuromancer, William Gibson – another one I should’ve read…

44. Nights at the Circus, Angela Carter

45. Old Man’s War, John Scalzi – have read other Scalzi books… Hit and miss

46. Outlander, Diana Gabaldon – started it, never finished it. Not sure why

47. Pawn of Prophecy, David Eddings

48. Period Street Station, China Mieville – have read other Mieville books, but clearly not his top

49. Ready Player One, Ernest Cline* – geek pop culture overdose… Love it

50. Red Mars, Kim Stanley Robinson

51. Red Rising, Pierce Brown – on my list

52. Riddle-Master, Patricia McKillip

53. Ring world, Larry Niven

54. Sabriel, Garth Nix

55. Sandman Slim, Richard Kadrey* – was okay… Expected more

56. Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut* – great classic

57. Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson* – the father of cyberpunk!

58. Solaris, Stanislaw Lem

59. Starship Troopers, Robert Heinlein – saw the (ridiculously over the top) movie

60. Stories of Your Life and Others, Ted Chiang

61. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert Heinlein

62. The Colour of Magic, Terry Pratchett – yes, I know, how could I not have read any Discworld novel?

63. The Curse of Chalion, Lois McMaster Bujold

64. The Dark is Rising, Susan Cooper – yep, another one of those I should’ve read and never come around to it

65. The Dispossessed, Ursula K Le Guin

66. The Dragonbone Chair, Tad Williams – have read a few of Williams novels… Just not this one

67. The Eye of the World, Robert Jordan – I recognise that this one is unforgivable… One day I’ll start the Wheel of Time… One day

68. The Forever War, Joe Haldeman

69. The Golden Compass, Philip Pullman* – among my favourite books of all time

70. The Golem and the Jinni, Helene Wecker* – such a great book. Highly recommended

71. The Gunslinger, Stephen King* – “Long days and pleasant nights” If you haven’t read the Dark Tower books, you don’t know what you’re missing!

72. The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood* – the mother of dystopian fiction?

73. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Addams* – 42!!!

74. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien* – never been that crazy about the Hobbit, to be honest

75. The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins* – Battle Royale with cheese! Still, very enjoyable

76. The Last Unicorn, Peter S Beagle – another one of those books I should’ve read as a kid

77. The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K Le Guin

78. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis* – oddly, I haven’t read all the Narnia books, just the ones with the kids

79. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien* – “One ring to rule them all”

80. The Magicians, Lev Grossman* – Harry Potter goes to college… And Narnia. And somehow, it really works

81. The Martian, Andy Weir* – probably the best Sci-fi I’ve read in a long time

82. The Martian Chronicles, Ray Bradbury

83. The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley

84. The Name of the Wind, Patrick Rothfuss* – fantasy as it should be written!

85. The Princess Bride, William Goldman* – “My name is Inigo Montoya”

86. The Road, Cormac McCarthy* – so bleak, and so good

87. The Rook, Daniel O’Malley* – such an awesome book, so glad to see it recognised

88. The Sparrow, Mary Doria Russell

89. The Speed of Dark, Elizabeth Moon

90. The Stars My Destination, Alfred Bester

91. The Sword of Shannara, Terry Brooks – nope… No Brooks books either

92. The Time Machine, HG Wells* – who doesn’t enjoy the work of Wells?

93. The Time Traveler’s Wife, Audrey Niffenegger* – Ultimiate scifi love story

94. The Way of Kings, Brandon Sanderson – surprised this one is included over Sanderson’s great Mistborn series. Will have to give it a go

95. The Windup Girl, Paolo Bacigalupi* – great book, glad to see it here

96. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Jules Verne* – love the Verne books

97. Uglies, Scott Westerfield

98. Uprooted, Naomi Novik* – really? Am I the only one who didn’t like this book? Try Temeraire instead

99. Wool, Hugh Howey* – it was good but not sure it was worth the hype

100. World War Z, Max Brooks* – proper storytelling, great book

So, there you have it. I’m surprised by some of the choices, and shocked by somed of the omissions : no The Night Circus. What about The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August? Where’s Joe Abercrombie, or Scott Lynch? And where’s Michael Chricton? Jurassic Park, anyone? Unforgivable.

Then again, it’s going through the list that I realise how many big names in the genre I’ve skipped. Jordan, Brooks, Hobbs… They all need revisiting. It’s time to get my act together, right some wrongs, and get to reading. Alas, so many books, so little time.

I went to my first real book signing event. Got to meet David Mitchell, he signed my editions of Cloud Atlas, the Bone Clocks, and Slade House. Very nice guy, got to chat a bit about his latest novel… but obviously was ushered out quite quickly as the queue was getting large. 

Suffice to say, I’m a fan of his work. Have really enjoyed his novels, and will always be in the lookout for any new work.

In fact, I got to read an advanced copy of Slade House, courtesy of Netgalley. Here’s the review:

Slade House – David Mitchell

  
A short novel (novella?) from David Mitchell, set in the world of The Bone Clocks, one of my favorite recent reads. And for the most part, it’s excellent. The characters, the world-building, the story, all top-notch. Just till the end, it reads almost as a stand-alone. The ending however, links up very much to The Bone Clocks… to a point where I doubt the end makes any sense to those who haven’t read the other book. Would be curious to see how people who haven’t read The Bone Clocks react to the ending. Overall, a nice, quick read from an amazing story-teller. The ending, though, maybe could’ve been done a little bit better, I fear. 4 out of 5.

If you haven’t read The Bone Clocks or Cloud Atlas, I highly highly recommend them.

I’m well behind my target to read 40 books this year (nothing new there)… If you were wondering, I’ve read 26 so far… And with only 2 months left, not looking likely. 

But still, taking my role of reviewer quite seriously, so, here are a couple of reviews, courtesy of Netgalley:

Sorcerer to the Crown – Zen Cho

  
The marketing blurb for “Sorcerer to the Crown: reads for fans of Susanna Clarke. I enjoyed the book, I really did… but it comes nowhere near “Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell”, probably one of my favourite novels of all time. So… expectations set too high… doomed to fall short. This reads more like Naomi Novik’s Temeraire series, but with magicians instead of dragon riders. 

The world setting was well thought, the story interesting and compelling, but ultimately, the author strives more for style than substance, focussed a bit too much on capturing the Gregorian speech and customs which Clarke handled so well, and losing out on much needed character building and story development. Still enjoyable, but one can’t help but feel it could’ve been so much more. 

3.5 out of 5
Sleeping Giants – Sylvain Neuvel

  
This book is not out for a while, but got a well advanced copy courtesy of Netgalley. It’s described as “World War Z meets The Martian”… again another case of mismarketing, I’m afraid. Book was okay, a story of the discover of an old giant robot buried across the world, and the race to build it, understand it and use it., told mostly through interviews, logs and journals. That’s all I can say really… some interesting sequences and developments, but wasn’t that exciting, or compelling… just okay. 

3 out of 5.

How times have changed… before, when on holiday, that was the time I would catch up on my reading. Now, when on holiday with an 11 month old… if you manage to read a page that’s a victory in itself. So, don’t expect much in the way of new book recommendations from my end for the time being. But I did manage to read a couple of books recently, so here goes:

The Bone Clocks – David Mitchell

After a string of okay-ish books as of late, it was so refreshing to finally read a novel so incredible as The Bone Clocks. Loved every word, and it ranks quite high on the list of favourite reads this year. For any who have read Mitchell’s other works such as Cloud Atlas, you come to expect a novel that it’s impossible to assign to one genre, but one that bounds across so many that it’s impossible to keep up. Ultimately, a compelling story of immortality and the extremes to which humanity is willing to go to pursue it, told through the eyes and life of an amazing central character. Extremely, highly recommended. 5 out of 5.

The Library at Mount Char – Scott Hawkins

Earlier this year, I read a book called The Honours, which was beautifully written, had amazing character and world building, was all I wanted in a book… except it’s extremely weak story. The Library at Mount Char is not the greatest when it comes to writing, it is very weak in character building (beyond its main protagonist), and you really wish it was better edited, but man what an amazing story. And like The Honours, you feel let down because it could’ve been so much more. I loved the premise of the book, and I really really wish it was executed better. It could’ve easily been my best book of the year if somehow The Library at Mount Char and The Honours would just merge into one… alas, was not the case. I’ll still give it 3.5 out of 5… but I wanted to give it oh so much more. What a shame…

This blog is mainly about books, but every now and then I’ll throw in some movie posts… because why not. In this case, it is closely based on a book, as I’m extremely psyched about the new “The Martian” movie. Why? Because it’s probably the best book I’ve read this year (though it came out earlier), and it couldn’t look more promising. On that basis, I had a recent chat with my friend Felipe over good sci-fi films I’ve recently seen which he should watch, and decided to share those recommendations here. In no particular order:

Edge of Tomorrow

Say what you like about Tom Cruise, how likeable or dislikeable he is, but when it comes to blockbusters, the man seldom gets it wrong. And with this film, he couldn’t have had it more right. It’s an amazing movie, a sci-fied Groundhog Day that hits every note. The movie suffered from terrible marketing (don’t know how many times they changed the name), which may have hindered your awareness of the film. Go see it now if you haven’t. See it again if you have.

Moon

The story of a man stuck on his own in the moon, willingly… the film that put director Duncan Jones (of Source Code fame) on the map, it’s a riveting, bleak, dark insight into the human mind. Definitely worth a watch.

Ex Machina

Probably one of the best films I’ve seen about AI, the film focusses on the Turing Test, whether you can tell man from machine, and what would happen when that is accomplished…. and its not good for us, I’m afraid. Very well made, worth having a look.

Interstellar

Christopher Nolan can do no wrong. This is such a good film, superbly acted, extremely well made. Even though you have to really strain yourself to listen to what Matthew McConaughey is saying all the time (why does he have to whisper in every movie?) the movie grips you from the start and never lets you go. Love the science, love the story… great movie.

About Time

This is a funny one, because it’s more rom-com than sci-fi, but still definitely worth watching. The latest from Richard Curtis, he of Notting Hill, Love Actually, et al, this is a story of a young guy who discovers a time travelling gene runs in is family, allowing him to jump back in time to find the right girl. It’s a really sweet movie, highly recommended.

Felt like sharing this one… 

Very proud that the little one shares my love for books… Very scared that he will destroy them all!! 

It has been an insane period at work… those days when you thought the summer was a quiet period are long gone, and I struggle to recall a time where I’ve been as busy as I have been over the last two months. That of course has lead to a dismal reading performance, and complete neglect of my book reviewing duties. Nonetheless, I have managed to slightly move down my reading list and cross some books I was very much looking forward to reading during this time. So here are the reviews:

  
Queen of Fire – Anthony Ryan (courtesy of Netgalley)

Third and final chapter of the Raven’s Shadow trilogy. I’ve previously reviewed the first two instalments in this blog. In short, the first one was amazing – among the best epic fantasy books I’ve ever read. The second, well, it was okay but not nearly as good as the first. So obviously, the pressure was on for Queen of Fire… Will it make it a memorable story, a masterful conclusion, or will it become just one more could’ve been but wasn’t… Alas, it was not meant to be. Over God knows how many pages, we are presented with a number of somewhat disjointed stories following different characters as they tried to wrap an ever more confusing story. What worked so well with the first book, the focus on main character Vaelin, is forgotten in this book, to the point that at the end you no longer really care what happens to the characters. The book just fails to grip you, to keep you engaged in the story, and at the end leaves you with a sense of “was this really worth it?” When you commit to these type of books, epic stories told over bible-size volumes, they better be worth it. This wasn’t. If you like fantasy, do read the first book, Blood Song. It really is an incredible read. But then, skip the next two and just use your imagination and picture how you would’ve ended it, saving you precious reading time. 2.5 out of 5.

  
The Book of Speculation – Erika Swyler (courtesy of Goodreads)

This book has been on my to-read list for some time, given the strong hype that surrounded the debut novel. I received a copy via Goodreads, and dove straight in. Told across centuries, the story follows a family of carnival performers from 1800s America to present day, seemingly affected by a curse that make the women in the family drown at an early age. In the meantime, you’re provided an insight into carnivals and performer troupes throughout time, the workings of tarot readers, mermaid acts, and countless other carnival acts. The book is very atmospheric, and I found it quite enjoyable. To a point. The main mystery to solve the curse was a bit weak, and I just failed to engage much with the story. A good read, but not necessarily as good as I thought it would be. 3.5 out of 5

Alas. It has happened. I’ve become a snob. Of sorts. Many of my friends will say that I’ve always been a snob, but never in the literary way. I would read anything and everything, and chances are, I would enjoy everything I read. A book had to be really terrible for me to say “Hmmm… that wasn’t great.” But the more I read, the more “refined” I get, and the more difficult I am to please. And I hate that… it was better before when I was less demanding. And now, I come to review my latest two reads, courtesy of Netgalley. Books which in a previous life I would have gushed over and recommend it to people, but that now I consider derivative, unsurprising, and plain boring. For that, I apologise to the authors… it’s not their fault that I’ve become a snob. Oh well, on with the reviews!

Armada – Ernest Cline

“Ready Player One” was a brilliant book. Loved every word. And hey, I wasn’t the only one. Last I heard Steven Spielberg will be directing the film adaptation. So, when I got the chance to read Ernest Cline’s second novel, was all over it. “Armada” was in fact very high on my anticipated books for 2015. But as in all books that follow a brilliant debut, there’s always a sense of trepidation that the second will just not be that good, the dreaded “sophomore slump” they refer to in sports. “Armada” unfortunately falls under the “sophomore slump” category. The fault comes that the story is just not that good. At times, it just doesn’t make any sense. The premise of average video gamers that get called upon to fight an alien invasion should’ve been exciting, but it just felt boring. The book is similar to “Ready Player One” in its continuous homage to pop culture. But whereas in the first novel the references felt fresh and appropriate, here they felt forced and stale. And it’s a shame, I really wanted to enjoy this book. Maybe in a previous life… but having now read “Enders Game”, “Dune”, “Snow Crash” and the countless other scifi books and shows “Armada” pays homage to, this book just falls way short of the peerset it aspires to belong to. Feel free to give it a pass. 2.5/5.

Uprooted – Naomi Novik

I’m a big fan of Naomi Novik’s extraordinary “Temeraire” (or “His Majesty’s Dragon”), which was an incredible read (at least the first books were… the series ended up dropping in value considerable after every instalment, to the point I never felt compelled to finish it). With an incredible amount of advance praise being heaped on her latest book “Uprooted,” I obviously felt drawn to read it. Well… to be honest, not sure what all the acclaim is about. It was a passable read, but that’s about it, more m’eh than anything else. Reviewers highlight is fresh take on old-fashioned fairy tales… I didn’t see it. The book had some good moments, but overall, can’t feel strongly enough to recommend this. Oh well… 2.5 / 5.

My thoughts on a couple of recent reads…

The Honours – Tim Clare

This has been a very difficult book for me to review. For starters, I loved the main character Delphine. She was extremely well-built, and her personality flowed out of the pages as if she was real. Some people have compared Delphine to His Dark Materials’ Lyra, and indeed, there is a very strong resemblance in their wilfulness, resourcefulness, and outright incredible imagination. She was a joy to read. Likewise, the writing of the book was captivating. Tim Clare wrote this novel beautifully, each passage wonderfully constructed, kept your attention and kept you coming back for more. On those merits, a fully get the praise given to The Honours. But here’s the thing… I finished the book, and I realised that actually I didn’t really gave a damn about the story. A setting so wonderfully constructed, for nothing. The book mainly spends its majority trying to keep us at our toes that a great mystery is afoot, and finally when it reaches its climax, it was m’eh. And that’s a crying shame, because it feels that all the effort creating a wonderful main character and a compelling setting went to waste. I give it 3.5 for effort, and it really was a great effort, but not that great of an execution.

The Just City – Jo Walton

I can see how this book won’t be for everyone. The premise consists of the goddess Athena deciding to build Plato’s Just City (from The Republic) as an experiment, with scholars being brought from across centuries to make it work. If you don’t care much for Greek mythology, or philosophy, chances are, you are not going to enjoy this. But as I do care, I found it fascinating, thought-provoking, powerful in so many ways. To me this has been a wonderful book, and as it ended in a cliff-hanger, can’t wait for the sequel. You don’t really need to have read Plato’s work to enjoy it (my knowledge of Plato mainly comes from having read “The World According to Sophie”, another wonderful book). I found The Just City an excellent read, and very happy to have come across it. 5 out of 5.

As some may know, I consider “Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell” one of the best books I’ve ever read… So, when I heard the news the BBC was making a TV adaptation of the novel, well…very excited to say the least. And so, the time is near, as the show premieres on Sunday (May 17th). Here’s the trailer for your viewing pleasure:

Now you know what I’ll be doing come Sunday night!