Dan’s 2011 Reading List Year In Review

		Written by Dan on Jan 2, 2012 \| No comments \| Forum Discussion
		Filed under: David Weber, Ed Greenwood, Ekaterine Sedia, Fantasy News, Guy Gavriel Kay, James Lovegrove, Jim Butcher, Lists, Peter V. Brett, Russell K. Kirkpatrick, Stephen Baxter, Steven Erikson, Terry Pratchett

Hello, Ranting Readers. I’m Dan, one of the regular (ish) guest writers for Ranting Dragon, and like all of you, I’m a big reader. I also keep track of every book I read, and this past year I set a new personal record, reading 40,319 pages. I thought I’d compile my thoughts on the year’s reading, generate a few lists to go with the best-of lists appearing all over the internet at this time of year, and give a few of my thoughts on some of the best (and worst) of my 2011 year of reading. Bear in mind, this is what I read in 2011; many (almost all) of these books were not published in 2011.

You can see the complete list of books I read this year on our forums here, since the complete list would take up a pretty big chunk of article space. So without further ado, lets get going.

… Okay, so there’s a bit more ado. I’m going to put the text accompanying each section inside spoiler tags because, well… there might be spoilers in there. That way you can read any of the selections regarding books you’ve already read or won’t read, without a chance of spoiling yourself on one you’re planning to read. So click those buttons at your own risk.

Best Book—Snuff by Terry Pratchett (2011)

While there are many excellent books I read this year of a much more serious mien, I really have to give this award to Sir Terry. This book is right up there with Jingo as the best Discworld novel, part of one of the best fantasy series of all time. It’s a novel of the Watch, which means Vimes and Vetinari—two of my favorite of his characters—and the story is truly excellent. Witty, interesting, focusing on deeper real-world issues, it really has it all. Add in the fact that this could very well be the last Discworld novel, as Sir Terry continues his struggle with Alzheimers. A great loss to the literary community.

Worst Book—Out of the Dark by David Weber (2010)

I’m not sure I’d really classify any of the books I read this year as bad in an objective sense. I didn’t put any down, I didn’t demand any refunds, but Out of the Dark came pretty damn close. It started off as a pretty standard and well-structured hard military science fiction novel from Weber, one of the best in the genre. The story tells of an invading alien species bent on subjugating Earth, being completely unprepared for the sheer bloody-mindedness and stubbornness that humans are infamous for in sci-fi. A worldwide resistance starts up, and the aliens find themselves pressed. All good stuff… until one of the character turns out to be Count Dracula, and vampires kill the aliens and the story ends. Yes, go back and read that again. In a hard-sci-fi novel, vampires kill everyone. There was no foreshadowing, no undercurrent of the occult to presage this development, there’s just suddenly a vampire. If I were less cynical, I might think this was done ironically, but either way, it was a horrible ending, it ruined the book, and if any of you are upset that I just spoiled it, trust me… don’t be.

Best World—The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson (Various)

This was a brand new series to me this year. A friend read Gardens of the Moon and suggested I might like it. I read it in June, came across Deadhouse Gates in August, and then read the other seven basically consecutively through October and November. The world is amazing, the characters are amazing, the style is amazing. I made very big noises about The Name of the Wind when I read it, but now I really have to hand “Best Series In a Long Damn Time” to Erikson and not Rothfuss. If you’ve not read these books yet, you need to get on it right away. Expect to see them appear a few more times in this list.

Best Character—Quick Ben, Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson (Various)

I’ve spent a lot of time while reading Malazan trying to decide if I could possibly pick one person as the “main character” of the series. I think if I was forced at gunpoint to make a selection, it would be Quick Ben. As a character, he fascinates me. He’s set up as someone of great power, many of the very old and powerful characters in the series are wary of him, and he has a certain wit and humor that I really enjoy. Sometimes you wonder whether his power is actually all just a massive bluff that somehow hasn’t caught up with him yet, and then he does something that just drops your jaw. He always seems to be about ten steps ahead of everyone else, and I found myself wishing for more time with him when the story moved away.

Biggest Letdown—Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher (2004)

Before you get angry, let me say, this was not a bad book. It wasn’t even average. It was above average; it was quite good. The only thing is that it was just touted so much to me as being absolutely the best thing evar [sic] that it couldn’t possibly have lived up to it. I was really enjoying The Dresden Files, and several people—including our own resident Butcherite, Garrett—really had nothing but amazing things to say about these books. I read Furies of the Calderon expecting this to be to my reading year what Malazan turned out to be: the big series I read all the way through and suggested to everyone I know. What I got felt like a pretty typical “Against all odds, the one nobody thought could do anything gets powers and saves the day” story. I’ve read too many of those (starting obviously with Frodo and Bilbo) to really be grabbed by it. I still haven’t read the rest of the books, and so far they’re not really on my priorities to get.

Most Novel Concept—The Warded Man by Peter V. Brett (2009)

Considering this was only the third book I read in 2011, the novelty of the concept stood up to a lot of competition. For those of you not familiar with the book, the basic premise is that of a fallen society under constant threat of destruction from a nigh endless horde of demons. The world is safe during the day, but at nightfall, demons appear and ravage the countryside, killing anybody in their way. Only the carefully guarded knowledge of magical wards keeps towns and houses safe. These wards are the only thing between humanity and extinction, and it’s not until the rediscovery of mythical, thought-lost offensive wards that humanity has a chance to even consider fighting back. This rune/ward-based system of magic wasn’t something I’d encountered before except as small fairly undeveloped subsystems of more traditional magic in other fantasy series. The image of a traveler setting up a ring of wards around their campsite and trying to sleep as hordes of demons slam against the shield looking for any flaw to break through really sticks with you, and the eponymous ‘warded man,’ a man who tattoos these wards right onto his skin, is compelling.

Least Novel Concept—Fires of Heaven by Russell K. Kirkpatrick (2004-5)

It’s The Lord of the Rings. Same farmboy, same threat from a great evil over there far away. Same somehow overcoming odds that they had no business overcoming through what seems to be nothing but force of will. Like my other “bad” categories, this is certainly not a bad series, and I enjoyed reading them enough to pick up the next series and enjoy those too, but the concept has been absolutely done to death. At the time of this writing, we have a poll on the site asking for votes on which things in fantasy we’re most tired of seeing, and “Prophecy” and “Farmboys” are far and away the leaders.

Best Inanimate Object—Dragnipur, Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson

The Ranting Dragon’s Favorite article series will be including an article on the staff’s favorite swords. This was my pick for that list, and it still is. Dragnipur is the sword belonging to Anomander Rake, one of a few characters in Malazan that fall into the “Really Big Deal” category in terms of age, power, influence, etc. It is basically a sword linked to some kind of pocket dimension which contains the souls of everybody who was killed by it, pulling a massive wagon down an endless road. The thing just drips with lore and story, and I love it to bits. The image of this giant creaking wagon being pulled by a lifetime of defeated enemies is so compelling.

Top 5 Books or Series

1. Snuff by Terry Pratchett (2011)
2. Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson (2000 – 2011)
3. The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay (1995)
4. The Warded Man by Peter V Brett (2009)
5. Elminster Must Die by Ed Greenwood (2010)

Bottom 5 Books or Series

61: Emperor by Stephen Baxter (2007)
62: The Age of Zeus by James Lovegrove (2010)
63: Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher (2004)
64: The Secret History of Moscow by Ekaterina Sedia (2007)
65: Out of the Dark by David Weber (2010)

And there you have it. My year in review. Agree with any of my choices? Disagree with any of them? Want to duel me to the death for not liking your favorite thing ever? Please comment!

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