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xiaotien
Adept



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  		   Posted 11/25/2007 12:18 AM (GMT -4)    Quote This PostAlert An Admin About This Post.
i just finished it.
 
it's the meaning of night by michael cox.
 
you can get a review over at my website :
 
 
not even a genre (mystery, suspense, family intrigue, anti-hero)
or era (victorian england) that i normally
read. but i would say it is the best book
i've read this year.
 
what's yours?

cindy p.
a little sweet, a little sour.
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Dragon Angel
Lord Dragon



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  		   Posted 11/26/2007 12:07 AM (GMT -4)    Quote This PostAlert An Admin About This Post.
You: The Owners Manual -- non-fiction
Slan by A.E. Van Vogt -- fiction

read free fiction and poetry at http://www.geocities.com/davidolson22/index.html
 
Part dark, part light. And gooey in the middle.

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bleacheddecay
Acolyte



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  		   Posted 11/26/2007 1:41 AM (GMT -4)    Quote This PostAlert An Admin About This Post.
I'm going to have to go with:

Kushiels Avatar by by Jaqueline Carey 5/5

Though I also rated another "Kushiels" book as high, and several Robin Hobb books as high as well.

Still I think that Avatar was my fav book all year under heavy competition! I read a lot of great books this year and I'm not done yet.

bleacheddecay

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Jeff Stehman
Sage

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  		   Posted 11/26/2007 1:30 PM (GMT -4)    Quote This PostAlert An Admin About This Post.
Looking over the list, at the moment I'd say Blood and Honor by Simon R Green, in part because I was surprised by how much I got caught up in it (I've read a lot of Green's mind candy). Matthew Hughes' The Spiral Labyrinth, Joe Haldeman's Infinite Dreams, and Steven Brust's Dzur are in a tight pack right behind it.

If I include audio books, Lois McMaster Bujold's The Warrior's Apprentice blows them all away.

--Jeff Stehman

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PaulMc
Adept



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  		   Posted 11/27/2007 11:15 AM (GMT -4)    Quote This PostAlert An Admin About This Post.
First place
The Tower of Fear by Glen Cook

Runner up
Eisenhorn: Hereticus by Dan Abnett (Warhammer 40K)

(assuming I finish nothing better before Dec 31 smilewinkgrin )

-- Paul McNamee

My Writings
The Tales of Doran Coyle

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peadarog
Acolyte

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  		   Posted 11/27/2007 11:46 AM (GMT -4)    Quote This PostAlert An Admin About This Post.
1. Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
2. Chris Wooding's "The Fade"

I'm sure I've read a lot of other good stuff, but it's not coming to me just now.

Peadar O Guilin

Available now:
"The Mourning Trees" in Black Gate #5
"Fairy Fort" in A Walk on the Darkside
"Hair" in www.feralfiction.com
"Hurdy-Gurdy" in Dark Arts
"The Drain" in Weird Tales
"Where Beauty Lies in Wait" in Black Gate.
Coming Soon:
"The Evil-Eater" in Black Gate.
"The Dowry" in Black Gate

The Inferior from David Fickling Books. Eat or be eaten.
Available in the US and Canada June 2008. Preorder now for the read of your life!

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Laura Stamps
Neophyte



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  		   Posted 11/27/2007 12:32 PM (GMT -4)    Quote This PostAlert An Admin About This Post.

Hmm.  I've read so many good urban fantasy novels this year that it is hard to choose.  Most are by established authors in the genre. 

So I will list the best novels this year by a new author.  That would be the "Anna Strong Vampire Chronicles" novels by Jeanne Stein.  There are just two so far, and I was shocked how good they were: The Becoming and Blood Drive.  If you are into urban fantasy and have a thing for vamps, you'll enjoy this series.  She adds a few creative twists to vamp lore than make this series great fun.

Laura Stamps
Magickal Urban Fantasy Novelist
The Witches of Dixie: Book One of the Witchery Series
(ISBN: 978-0-9798413-0-9, 2007, Trytium Publishing, 245 pages)
Available at Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, your local bookstore
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von Darkmoor
Small Press Publisher (and Dancer still)



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  		   Posted 11/29/2007 4:06 PM (GMT -4)    Quote This PostAlert An Admin About This Post.

I've a short list to choose from this year, but thus far I'd say

#1 for me is:

    Midnight Tides - Steven Erikson (imagine that . . . ;-) )

      Runners up being:

        The Healthy Dead - Steven Erikson 
        The Lees of Laughter's End - Steven Erikson (hmmm, I sense a pattern here . . . devil )

      To break the monotony, I'll say the best non-Erikson book I've read this year is:

              His Majesty's Dragon - Naomi Novik

            ~~~~~~~~~~
            Jason M. Waltz
            Fantasy Acquisitions Editor Staffs & Starships Magazine
            Anthology Editor Flashing Swords
            ~~~~~~~~~~
            Ever waltz with the Devil? Visit von Darkmoor's thoughts to find out (and read a review or two).
            ~~~~~~~~~~
            Critical Eye of the Dragon Avatar courtesy of crystalwizard

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            Daniel Ausema
            Acolyte

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                          		   Posted 11/29/2007 6:04 PM (GMT -4)    Quote This PostAlert An Admin About This Post.
            The two that stand out most in my memory are

            *Orphan Tales book 1 by Cat Valente (haven't read book 2 yet and probably won't get a chance until January at the earliest)
            *Dictionary of the Khazars by Milorad Pavic

            There have been a lot of great ones, but these stand out.

            Twigs and Brambles (my writing blog)

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            Nathan Jerpe
            Acolyte



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                          		   Posted 11/29/2007 8:15 PM (GMT -4)    Quote This PostAlert An Admin About This Post.
            The Sirens of Titan, by Kurt Vonnegut.
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            Gustavo
            Sage



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                          		   Posted 11/30/2007 12:49 AM (GMT -4)    Quote This PostAlert An Admin About This Post.
            Non fiction: "I, Asimov" by Isaac himself was simply brilliant - I sometimes forget how good the guy was at just telling a story and keeping reader interest. And besides it tells about the writing life, and the pulp era, and just basically about life in the science fiction community as it was then.

            Fiction: Hunters of Dune - I've read all of the original Dune books and the prequels, and this is the first of the new ones that I felt was up to the level of the original stuff.
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            peadarog
            Acolyte

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                          		   Posted 11/30/2007 5:44 AM (GMT -4)    Quote This PostAlert An Admin About This Post.
            Daniel Ausema said...

            *Dictionary of the Khazars by Milorad Pavic


            Now that is one amazing book. It's a very long time since I read it, but I loved the author's introduction. Something along the lines of: "I'll write this before my dinner in order to ensure that I don't dawdle, as long as you, the reader will promise to read it after your dinner..." I know I'm mangling that...

            Peadar O Guilin

            Available now:
            "The Mourning Trees" in Black Gate #5
            "Fairy Fort" in A Walk on the Darkside
            "Hair" in www.feralfiction.com
            "Hurdy-Gurdy" in Dark Arts
            "The Drain" in Weird Tales
            "Where Beauty Lies in Wait" in Black Gate.
            Coming Soon:
            "The Evil-Eater" in Black Gate.
            "The Dowry" in Black Gate

            The Inferior from David Fickling Books. Eat or be eaten.
            Available in the US and Canada June 2008. Preorder now for the read of your life!

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            xiaotien
            Adept



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                          		   Posted 11/30/2007 6:05 PM (GMT -4)    Quote This PostAlert An Admin About This Post.
            thanks for chiming in everyone.
            i love the diverse tastes we have.

            i think rounding out the top five
            for me would be :

            american gods
            brave new world
            in cold blood
            confessions of an ugly stepsister

            cindy p.
            a little sweet, a little sour.
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            Gustavo
            Sage



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                          		   Posted 11/30/2007 8:46 PM (GMT -4)    Quote This PostAlert An Admin About This Post.
            I also read Brave New World this year, but I found it weaker in its portrayal of the socialist dystopia than 1984 (which I also read this year). So you might enjoy that one too...
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            xiaotien
            Adept



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                          		   Posted 11/30/2007 8:49 PM (GMT -4)    Quote This PostAlert An Admin About This Post.
            gustavo, i've got 1984 on the shelf "waiting" as well.
            even tho a classic, they aren't genres i usually delve into.
            i know i'll read it one of these days, most likely in 2008!
            thanks for mentioning it!

            cindy p.
            a little sweet, a little sour.
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            humboldthny
            Stablehand



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                          		   Posted 12/2/2007 11:46 PM (GMT -4)    Quote This PostAlert An Admin About This Post.
            It was a bit of an underwhelming year of reading for me - the only book I remember really liking this year was World War Z.

            The Perfect Royal Mistress: A Novel was decent as well; a fictionalized account of the relationship between Charles II and Nell Gwynn.

            Neither earned a permanent spot on my bookshelf tho'.
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