SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

My top books released in 2017 were:

Etched in Bone by Anne Bishop - I have thus far inhaled every book of this series
Silence Fallen by Patricia Briggs - Love my UF. The past few books of this series have been hit or miss, but this one came through
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden - I seen to have an affinity for fantasy inspired by Russian folklore



Top books that I read in 2017 that were not published this year:
Moon Over Soho - I had a bit of a thing for Rivers of London this year
Broken Homes
Foxglove Summer
The Last Colony
Magic Binds
The Book of Phoenix
The Caves of Steel
I, Robot
Machine Man

Faves published in 2017
The Stone Sky, in fact I read the whole Broken Earth trilogy, by N.K. Jemisin this year. I cannot recommend it enough. Intense and challenging.
The Stars Are Legion, by Kameron Hurley. Not like anything I've read before.
River of Teeth and Taste of Marrow, by Sarah Gailey. Alternate history of the west WITH HIPPOS! Really fun. I think a #3 is coming out next year. Yay!
Home, this is #2 in the Binti series, by Nnedi Okorafor, and I think #3 is coming out next year. Fun sci-fi/ afro-futurism with an engaging main character.
Passing Strange, by Ellen Klages. Fantasy set in WWII San Francisco, magical and loving story about the city without shying away from the (true, historical) painful parts as well.

Faves published before 2017
The Lies of Locke Lamora, by Scott Lynch. Fun, clever heist novel set in a gritty, Renaissance-ish city with magic. Lies, deception, and unforeseen complications. I just wanted to keep reading when it was over.
I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life, Ed Yong. Non-fiction but really interesting and eye-opening about the complicated interactions and co-evolution between animals, including humans, and their microbial partners.
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, loved the characters and their interconnected stories.
The Goblin Emperor, I became very attached to main character Maia.

I only read three books published in 2017:
The Stars Are Legion by Kameron Hurley - 1 star
Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames - 3 stars
Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman - 3 stars

My only 5-star books of the year were:
The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins
The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester (re-read)

There were some 4-star books worth recommending, including:
The Circle by Dave Eggers
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick 4: The Minority Report by Philip K. Dick
The Long Home by William Gay
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
The Odessa File by Frederick Forsyth
The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian by Robert E. Howard
Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
Savages by Don Winslow
The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
The City & the City by China Miéville
At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

And although I haven't quite finished it yet, Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang stands an excellent chance of making it on the above list.

My 5-star reads regardless of year:

Always Coming Home by Ursula K. Le Guin
Mornings on Horseback: The Story of an Extraordinary Family, a Vanished Way of Life, and the Unique Child Who Became Theodore Roosevelt by David McCullough
Wolf Moon by Ian McDonald
The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic by Leigh Bardugo
The Refrigerator Monologues by Catherynne M. Valente
Monstress, Vol. 2: The Blood by Majorie Liu
The Two of Swords by K.J. Parker

I started the year with an excellent series "Long Price Quartet” by Daniel Abraham A Shadow in Summer and seem to be ending it with another one “Demon Cycle” The Warded Man by Peter V. Brett.

Other highlights were "The Sanctuary Duet" starting with Dust and Light and "Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne" starting with The Emperor's Blades

Best read from 2017: The Stone Sky

Top 5 Published in 2017
Persepolis Rising (Expanse #7) by James SA Corey - the series has matured
All Systems Red (Murderbot #1) by Martha Wells - funny and refreshing
City of Miracles (Divine Cities #3) of Robert Jackson Bennet - fantastic ending, one of the rare trilogies that became better in every book
Assassin's Fate (Fitz and the Fool #3) by Robin Hobb - I am not a fan of the ending but what an emotional journey
Sins of Empire (God's of Blood and Powder #1) by Brian McClellan - love the characters, magic, worldbuilding, pacing, plot, you don't feel like reading a doorstopper.

Top 5 Read in 2017
The Black Lung Captain (Tales of Ketty Jay #2) by Chris Wooding - I am pretty obsessed with this series. One if not the best ragtag team trope stories ever.
Ninefox Gambit (The Machineries of Empire #1) by Yoon Ha Lee - immersive (slowly showing and not telling), cool characters, fresh world building with maths, faction wars, and cool spaceships.
Angles of Attack (Frontlines #3) by Marko Kloos - military SF at its best
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman - this is why I love Middle grade novels
The Tyrant's Law (The Dagger and the Coin #3) by Daniel Abraham
- an underrated series that everyone who love epic fantasy must read. I think Daniel Abraham can be the next GRRM. He has the same ability to write distinct character voices.

Anyway, I noticed almost all are parts of series. Will try more stand-alones next year and finish the series I follow.

I'm years behind in my reading, but some books I read and liked in 2017 -

Monster Hunter Nemesis

Raising Caine

The Kill Society - surprisingly, this one was published in 2017

I only read two books actually published in 2017: The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter and A Closed and Common Orbit.

Between the two, Orbit was the better offering, for me. Such a nice series. I'm looking forward to the next one!

I gave five stars to two books. First, long-time favorite (and reread) The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. Adams has been gone for over fifteen years and I still feel sorrow that we won't see anything new from him.

Second, Between the World and Me. I still can't put its impact into words.

My personal favorites this year were also buddy reads: Daughter of the Forest with its lovely slow-burn romance, and Illusion, a fantasy re-envisioning of the French Revolution.