James Davis Nicoll's 100 SF/F Books You Should Consider Reading in the New Year

[juushika]

Late to the bandwagon, but this is my wander though James Davis Nicoll's 100 SF/F Books You Should Consider Reading in the New Year.

Some thoughts: A great number of women! Otherwise the diversity is pretty standard, at least within the realms of what I read/circles I follow. Nicoll has more tolerance/love for well-intended early SF/F and the way it influenced the genre. Laudable! I do this for tropes I care about! but I can't and wouldn't want to do it this generally, probably because I don't like most genre tropes. Very little that was entirely new to me is an immediate must-read, complicated by the fact that the library doesn't have most of them in ebook. That said, where we overlap on slightly quieter/more obscure SF/F, like "obscure Cherryh" and "obscure Giffith" and "Elizabeth Lynn <3," is delightful. I suppose my standards for more obscure things still work seeking out is, predictably, arbitrary.

Not for me a profoundly useful list, but a fun one, particularly as a meme.


Bold = read it. (37)
Underlined = read something else by the author and/or on TBR. (46)
Strikethrough = no, ty. (8)
* = I may add this to my TBR because of this list. (13)

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison (2014)
The Stolen Lake by Joan Aiken (1981) (I had mixed feelings about Black Hearts in Battersea, but I think I'd like her now, so The Serial Garden is on my TBR)
Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa (2001-2010) (I'll probably finish the Brotherhood anime this year, but I'm insufficiently invested for the manga)
Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō by Hitoshi Ashinano (1994-2006)
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (1985)
Stinz: Charger: The War Stories by Donna Barr (1987) (humor = no)
The Sword and the Satchel by Elizabeth Boyer (1980)
Galactic Sibyl Sue Blue by Rosel George Brown (1968)
The Mountains of Mourning by Lois McMaster Bujold (1989) (I've read ... 3? Bujold without still knowing if I should/shouldn't read more of her work)
War for the Oaks by Emma Bull (1987)
Wild Seed by Octavia E. Butler (1980) (just need to read Survivor!)
Naamah’s Curse by Jacqueline Carey (2010) (I have bounced off Carey before; not sure if I'll try again or where I'll start)
The Fortunate Fall by Raphael Carter (1996)
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (2015) (one of the small minority who hated this book, and more's the pity as there's aspects of the sequel I'd probably like)
Red Moon and Black Mountain by Joy Chant (1970)
The Vampire Tapestry by Suzy McKee Charnas (1980)
Gate of Ivrel by C.J. Cherryh (1976) (slowly working through, you know, everything she's ever written)
Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho (2015)
Diadem from the Stars by Jo Clayton (1977)
The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper (1973) (I read this a few years ago, it didn't grab me enough to continue the series; it's probably better than that first impression but ... TBR so long)
Genpei by Kara Dalkey (2000)
Servant of the Underworld by Aliette de Bodard (2010) (I bounced off of this series, honestly off of all the de Bodard novels I've read, but like and will continue with her short fiction)
The Secret Country by Pamela Dean (1985)
Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany (1975) (more Delany is on my TBR ... maybe I'll get to them this year?)
* The Door into Fire by Diane Duane (1979) (reading her Star Trek, but I had heard vaguely of this series but didn't know it contains a poly relationship! adding to TBR)
On the Edge of Gone by Corinne Duyvis (2016)
Spirit Gate by Kate Elliott (2006)
Enchantress From the Stars by Sylvia Louise Engdahl (1970) (read this some time ago, and would probably like it more now that I've fallen hard for the technology-as-magic trope)
* Golden Witchbreed by Mary Gentle (1983) (a very tentative maybe?)
The Dazzle of Day by Molly Gloss (1997) (this looks like it leans too literary for my patience)
A Mask for the General by Lisa Goldstein (1987) Goldstein is on my list of Jewish authors to read someday; I'll probably start with The Red Magician, if I have the heart for it)
Slow River by Nicola Griffith (1995)
Those Who Hunt the Night by Barbara Hambly (1988)
Winterlong by Elizabeth Hand (1990) (my least favorite Moon so far, I think? but I'm destined to read all her work eventually)
* Ingathering by Zenna Henderson (1995) (a hard "uh.... maybe?")
* The Interior Life by Dorothy Heydt (writing as Katherine Blake, 1990) (maybe!)
* God Stalk by P.C. Hodgell (1982) (long fantasy series bad; relationships with gods in fantasy very good. so, maybe)
Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson (1998)
Zero Sum Game by S.L. Huang (2014) (don't get me wrong, I hear it's great, it just seems too action-y for me)
Blood Price by Tanya Huff (1991) (Huff is de facto TBR material at this point)
The Keeper of the Isis Light by Monica Hughes (1980)
God’s War by Kameron Hurley (2011)
Memory of Water by Emmi Itäranta (2014) (I'm burned out on YA dystopias)
The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin (2015)
Cart and Cwidder by Diane Wynne Jones (1975) (DWJ is also de facto TBR material)
Daughter of Mystery by Heather Rose Jones (2014) (this has been a maybe on my TBR for a while, but I've put it off because I think it may be too light in tone)
Hellspark by Janet Kagan (1988) (this has been on my TBR for seven thousand years; I guess I'll need to find it in print someday)
A Voice Out of Ramah by Lee Killough (1979)
*St Ailbe’s Hall by Naomi Kritzer (2004) (new to me Jewish author! I'll at least look into her work)
Deryni Rising by Katherine Kurtz (1970)
Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner (1987)
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle (1962)
Magic or Madness by Justine Larbalestier (2005)
The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin (1974)
Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie (2013)
Biting the Sun by Tanith Lee (Also titled Drinking Sapphire Wine, 1979) (I keep bouncing off of Lee, but may give her another try)
Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee (2016)
Wizard of the Pigeons by Megan Lindholm (1986)
Adaptation by Malinda Lo (2012) (some of the only YA I've enjoyed lately; the rest of her work is on my TBR)
Watchtower by Elizabeth A. Lynn (1979) (I've read most of her work and should seek out the rest, I love her so so much)
* Tea with the Black Dragon by R.A. MacAvoy (1983) (maybe too light for me? but, as always, Walton makes me reconsider)
* The Many-Colored Land by Julian May (tentatively! and not for any time soon, as this series looks like A Lot)
The Outback Stars by Sandra McDonald (2007)
China Mountain Zhang by Maureen McHugh (1992) (I should put some of her other work on my TBR)
Dreamsnake by Vonda N. McIntyre (1978) (love this book; have been reading more of her on account)
The Riddle-Master of Hed by Patricia A. McKillip (1976) (slowly working through all of McKillip's work)
Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees (1926)
* Pennterra by Judith Moffett (1987) (heavy emphasis on human/alien sex? okay)
The ArchAndroid by Janelle Monáe (2010) (this isn't ... a book? ??)
Jirel of Joiry by C.L. Moore (1969)
Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (2016)
The City, Not Long After by Pat Murphy (1989) (The Falling Woman is the one on my TBR)
* Vast by Linda Nagata (1998) (premise looks intriguing. FWIW, GoodReads confirms this can be read as a standalone)
Galactic Derelict by Andre Norton (1959) (I read The Beast Master, but have meant to read more Norton some day)
His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik (2006) (love this series so much! haven't gotten along as well with her other work)
Dragon Sword and Wind Child by Noriko Ogiwara (1993)
Outlaw School by Rebecca Ore (2000)
Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor (2014) (I've read about half her work with mixed results; unsure if I'll read more)
Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce (1983) (still reading the Emelan books!)
Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy (1976)
* Godmother Night by Rachel Pollack (1996) (this looks v. up my alley)
Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti (1859)
My Life as a White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland (2011)
The Female Man by Joanna Russ (1975) (another "read it all, eventually" author)
Stay Crazy by Erika L. Satifka (2016) (I want to asterisk this so bad but I know it'd be both too funny & wildly triggering)
The Healer’s War by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough (1988)
Five-Twelfths of Heaven by Melissa Scott (1985) (read Trouble and Her Friends with mixed results; Dreamships is on my TBR but I bounced off of my first attempt at it)
Everfair by Nisi Shawl (2016) (this didn't work out, but I'll read future novels from her)
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (1818)
* A Door Into Ocean by Joan Slonczewski (1986) (soft "maybe?")
The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart (1970) (as a kid, with no strong desire to reread/read other Stewart)
Up the Walls of the World by James Tiptree, Jr. (1978) (All Tiptree is on my "get to it someday" list)
The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner (1996) (this is low on my "maybe someday before I die" list)
The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge (1980) (I dismissed this a while ago as not my style; maybe someday I'll reconsider?)
All Systems Red by Martha Wells (2017) (other Wells has worked for me! this series didn't so much)
* The Well-Favored Man by Elizabeth Willey (1993) (this has been on my radar before b/c fantasy of manners)
Banner of Souls by Liz Williams (2004)
Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson (2012)
Ariosto by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro (1980)
Ooku by Fumi Yoshinaga (2005-present)

Comments

[ambyr]

I share your dislike for The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet and I don't think the sequel improves on anything. And Naamah's Curse is definitely not where I'd start with Carey (unless the thing you bounced on is specifically discomfort with BDSM, in which case . . . maybe, I guess.) But The Door into Fire is great! (I mean, very very 70s, objectively kind of a mess in many ways, but it's the series of my HEART anyway).

[juushika]

I wish my elibrary had The Door into Fire! But it looks like she has them on her website, so when I have discretionary funding I may have to ... buy ebooks? for maybe the second time in my life? But I expect it'll be worth it.

[thawrecka]

I got about halfway through Lagoon, realised I wanted to care but still didn't, and gave up. I think the only thing of Okorafor's I've read that I liked was a short story. Everything else, the much beloved Binti included, I've been underwhelmed by.

[juushika]

I've found value in all the Okorafor I've read, and I thought the Binti books had fun & vivid worldbuilding, but I'm still in the "overall, underwhelmed" camp; I just don't get along with her basic writing style, I think. Which is okay! But disappointing, insofar as that value and her concepts both make me want to keep trying.

[thawrecka]

I always think Okorafor has the coolest ideas, but, yes, I don't get along with her basic writing style, either. I think in my case it's less the prose and more what she chooses to focus on within a particular idea being less interesting to me, which is a shame because she has so many cool ideas.

[chthonic_cassandra]

This is a very interesting and curious list! I've only read about 30 of them.

If you're trying to get back into Carey, I would not recommend Naamah's Curse, which I thought was really quite bad (that trilogy in general I found unconvincing; it wore out my patience with the things about Carey that already irritated me).

Biting the Sun, on the other hand, is really interesting, and will make a good counterpoint to some of Delany if you do end up reading him in the near future (I am fascinated by the parallels between that novel and Delany's Triton, which take a similar world-building premise in very different directions).

I have been frustratedly trying to find a copy of Dreamsnake for a while now.

[juushika]

Santa Olivia and Saints Astray are the Carey books on my TBR, purely because someone I know enjoyed them, not because I have any idea where/how to begin with her work. Kushiel's Dart I read ages ago, and was probably unfairly critical of, but has made me less than enthused about trying books from that series again.

Lee/Delany is not a combo that I would have expected for comparison, and makes me more interested in both!

[phoenixfalls]

Agree with other commenters that Naamah's Curse is not the place to start with (or return to) Jacqueline Carey. It's the middle book in the weakest of the D'Angeline trilogies, and its presence on this list utterly baffles me.

May I ask which Bujold books/novellas you've read? And what you liked/disliked about them? I may be able to recommend continuing or not continuing! (Or at least fill you in on how much what you like or dislike is present in other of her stories.)

[juushika]

The Hallowed Hunt (on your recommendation, lo these many years ago, when I was searching for bond animal/bond animal-adjacent books! this one I liked, particularly like how characterization interacted with plot/speculative elements--it had a strong, convincing interior view)

and Penric's Demon (liked! great, id-level concept!) and Penric and the Shaman (really disliked--it left that central concept I care about behind, and showed me that I don't hugely like Bujold's general plotting or tone--too humorous/wry--when the concept isn't something I really grab on to.)

Which doesn't mean Penric and the Shaman didn't have an interesting premise--I think that had I not been looking for more of the same from the first book, maybe it would have been fine?--but I think the high-ish fantasy/secondary world/long series/wry humor of Bujold isn't by default my style, so if I'm not primarily there for the concept, particularly how the characters intimately interact with/are affected by the concept, then it doesn't work out. And that seems like a crapshoot re: further reading, which is why I haven't tried again.

(FWIW it's worth, whether or not it's helpful and/or Bujold is for me, looking at general trends in my responses to her work was actually fascinating)

[phoenixfalls]

I'm very glad The Hallowed Hunt pleased!

I actually haven't read any of the Penric books. When they were first published by Subterranean Press I couldn't afford them, and now that I can probably afford Subterranean Press list price books, they're of course out of print and ridiculously marked up through second-hand retailers. Also, I'm kind of hoping they'll put together an omnibus of them someday?

(Though from the jacket blurb I gather that the first Penric book starts by killing off one of my favorite of Bujold's characters, so I wasn't exactly panting to read it.)

In terms of other Bujold that you might click with rather than bounce off of, my best recommendation might be The Spirit Ring. It was her first fantasy novel, set in an alternate Renaissance Italy, and features ghosts and golems. I can't quite articulate why I'd recommend that one, but something about you saying "how the characters intimately interact with/are affect by the concept" made me think of it.

[juushika]

It's absolutely an arbitrary/already difficult to articulate metric, so no justification required; I believe you that it sounds like a good pick, and will put it on my list! Thanks.

(I was lucky that my digital library had the Penric books—in audio, even. I love Subterranean Press, but, yeah, their prices can be a roadblock.)

[minutia_r]

I really really liked the first few Kencyrath books and I think you may like them too--they sort of pair with Cyteen in my mind as World Of The Consent Issues. They went downhill for me after the third book, and then in the sixth book (I think it was the sixth book) there was the Surprise Fantasy Islamophobia.

My favorite Bujold have always been the Vorkosigan books. The Spirit Ring is not bad, but the autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini, on which it is to some degree based, is better.

[juushika]

That' super useful info re: the Kencyrath books, ty! Knowing that there's probable give up points especially so, since it may let me have my cake & eat it too, getting the content I want without getting stuck with an endless number of sequels.

[starshipfox]

As a teenager I LOVED Lee's "Biting the Sun". It's one of those books I'm a little afraid to reread now, lest I don't enjoy it so much. I remember it being very, very funny, but essentially a narrative about autonomy.

I haven't read all that many of these, so it's an interesting list for me. It's really nice to see your edits / additions, as I trust your opinions!

[juushika]

I'm glad the list was interesting! And I'm glad we can productively bounce TBR fodder off each other. (Speaking of: just finishing up The Owl Service; spoiler warning but I thought it was fantastic.)