From The Washington Post:
People sometimes say science fiction basks in optimism for a better future, while fantasy is about nostalgia for an imaginary past. But this year’s most notable fantasy books worked to uncover historical crimes, while science fiction warned of coming evils.
The good news? The best sci-fi and fantasy books of 2023 will give you hope and strength in the toughest times.
‘The Deep Sky,’ by Yume Kitasei
This was a year of strong debuts, but Kitasei’s murder mystery in space is a mind-blowing performance even by those standards. “The Deep Sky” makes even familiar space adventure tropes brand new, including desperate maneuvers, an unreliable A.I., a malfunctioning virtual-reality system and a multinational crew whose members have secret agendas of their own. But what sticks with me is Kitasei’s thoughtful exploration of friendship, identity and a fractured mother-daughter relationship. (Book World review.)
‘Silver Nitrate,’ by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Movies enchant in more ways than one in this chilling tale of film nerds colliding with occultists who seek a special film with arcane powers. Moreno-Garcia reinvents herself from book to book, which makes each a unique treat, but this time around her protagonists are among her most compelling. “Silver Nitrate” hits especially hard when it explores colorism in both mysticism and Mexican society, and the need to survive by creating your own private language. (Book World review.)
‘Rouge,’ by Mona Awad
Belle’s snow-white mother dies, leaving her half-Egyptian daughter with a house full of weird beauty products and a connection to an even weirder beauty cult. “Rouge” could have been a polemic against the beauty-industrial complex, but instead it delves fearlessly into trauma, internalized self-loathing and the dangers of falling for a movie star — in this case, one who visits through a magic mirror. At the core of it all, Awad finds an astonishing tenderness. (Book World review.)
‘White Cat, Black Dog,’ by Kelly Link
When present-day writers retell old fairy tales, it can come across as mere annotation, but Link’s revamped classics feel brand new. Her characters navigate bizarre situations with arbitrary rules, but also find love and kindness in the oddest places. There’s a literal trip to hell and — much worse — a never-ending layover caused by a series of canceled flights. Plus a post-apocalyptic traveling band. By turns unsettling and delightful, “White Cat, Black Dog” captures the essential poetry at the heart of fables. (Book World review.)
‘The Water Outlaws,’ by S.L. Huang
Speaking of retellings of classics, Huang’s epic saga of martial arts and insurrection is inspired by the seminal Chinese novel “Water Margin.” Huang writes action that feels both kinetic and spiritual. And her community of rebel bandits strikes up a fascinating debate about how to save a country from itself. Tearing myself away from this addictive book was one of the hardest things I’ve done lately. (Book World review.
‘The Great Transition,’ by Nick Fuller Googins
In a year full of climate stories, Googins’s quasi-thriller was among the most emotionally compelling and humane. In the near future, teenage Emi attends the commemoration of the anniversary of our victory over climate change, but there’s a terrorist attack and her mother goes missing. Emi soon discovers that the fight to save the planet hasn’t really ended. Through Emi’s parents, Googins shows the different ways people process trauma and just how much the fragile salvation of our world cost them. (Book World review.)
‘Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon,’ by Wole Talabi
I’ve been describing “Obalufon” as a thrilling heist novel with a deep, crunchy backstory. Shigidi is a minor god of nightmares who used to work for the hyper-capitalist Orisha Spirit Company but now freelances with his succubus lover, Nneoma. Shigidi and Nneoma have history, in both senses of the word, and their romance is intertwined with the political intrigues of gods and mystics. An action-packed romp coupled with a thorny love story: Who could ask for more? (Book World review.)
‘Godkiller,’ by Hannah Kaner
In “Godkiller,” gods have been outlawed, and Kissen exterminates them for a living — until she finds one she can’t kill. It’s a setup for a classic fantasy road trip, with a motley group and plenty of wild action. But it’s also a vehicle for exploring the different meanings of divinity and why people need something to believe in. (Book World review.)
Link to the rest at The Washington Post
Of the first five listed, only one (_Godskiller_) has appeared on the shelves of the regional Barnes and Noble. Make of it what you will.
I wouldn’t consider any of these actually belonging to the SFF genre. They sound more like literary novels to me, the sort of stuff I wouldn’t touch.
The only one I was remotely interested in was the first one. I love sci-fi mysteries, but both components the sci-fi and the mystery have to be strong, and it looks like each component was weak in this one.
But I don’t bother with reviews from generic newspaper columnists. I prefer to find reviewers who like the same things I like for similar reasons, and hate the same things I hate for similar reasons. Then when they review something new-to-me, I can trust them.
I suppose that it is good clickbate, but this whole “10 best” trope has been very silly for many years and really needs to be killed off. A more appropriate title would be “my 10 favourite books from the trivial proportion of this years new SFF that I’ve managed to read”, but I guess that this would get few takers unless tied to a famous name.
This also applies to the various book awards (of which there are now far too many), though those with enough nominators might have trawled a larger part of the market. For example, sixty or so years ago, there was quite a good chance that the voters for the Hugo Awards had read pretty much all the SF published in the year. Nowadays, whilst I’m sure it is fun for those involved in the process – and there is no reason to decry their efforts – there is no particular reason to take note of the results (unless your tastes chance to align with those of the voters).
“…there is no particular reason to take note of the results (unless your tastes chance to align with those of the voters).”
Or your politics.
Remember the puppies! (A war cry?)
Once it was proven how *cheap* it was to game the system it (and most other awards) lost most if their credibility.
It’s the same for “bestseller” lists: once the NYT admitted it was strictly a promotional tool for recent (corporate publisher/advertiser) releases nobody in the know credits the ratings.
I’ve long (four-plus decades) snarkily stated that a review source that doesn’t print at least one third reasoned, substantially negative reviews is not credible — because knowing what doesn’t meet the “standards” is critical to giving credance to statements of what does. The NYTBR has continuously failed this test since the early 1980s, as has every other non-category-specific widely-accepted review source. Remember, Sturgeon was an optimist; go ahead, do the math, determine the statistical chances of a review source printing more than two-thirds “positive” reviews being a representative sample out of a population that is more than 90% worthy only of “negative” reviews. (Hint: It’s a really small probability, regardless of “degrees of freedom” or inclusion of “lukewarm” reviews.)
Yep. It made me look at (and reject) a couple.
I doubt I would buy any of these especially as described in the OP.