This was tough, especially where books were concerned, so I've bent the rules a little (hey, this is my journal, so no griping about that!) - all of the following are in no particular order...
Top 5 books:
1. The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison - wonderful, beautifully-written with top notch world-building and characters who grow and learn as the book progresses.
2. Binary and Regeneration by Stephanie Saulter - I came across the first book in this trilogy at WorldCon, now it's complete and I recommend it highly to everyone. It's set in a recognisable future-London where the people living there are dealing with the aftermath of genetic engineering and dealing with how we decide just who is human.
3. The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette de Bodard - you know a book is good when you're left going 'what?' at various points while reading it. A fantasy book set in a Paris shattered by a magical war, this book is populated by fallen angels and dragons, among others.
4. The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin - what a fantastic book, again wonderful world-building as I've come to expect from this author, and absolutely gutting emotionally at points. First book of a new trilogy, that's the only complaint I would have about this...
5. Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie - I'd all but prepared myself for this, the final book of the Imperial Radch trilogy, being a bit of an anti-climax but needn't have worried. I have a feeling I'll be re-reading these books at some point in the future.
E.T.A: Honourable mentions to Wake of Vultures by Lila Bowen, A Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab, City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett, The Copper Promise by Jen Williams, Hunter's Moon by Rebecca Levene and The Traitor by Seth Dickinson, among (many) others...
Top 5 graphic novels:
1. Saga volumes 3 & 4 - I can just repeat what I said last year about the first two volumes: 'I'd heard a lot of good things about this series, all of which were true. Clever and funny, with some great characters, it's also stunningly drawn.'
2. Bitch Planet volume 1 - there's going to be a lot of folks getting 'non-compliant' tattoos after reading these books, which are dystopia set in a world where pretty much any behaviour (by a woman, at least) can get that label slapped on.
3. Ms Marvel volumes 1-4 - wow. If the idea of a Pakistani-American teenage girl as a superhero isn't enough on its own to get you interested, then there's probably not much hope for you. Great writing, encounters with various classic Marvel characters and also some new faces in the mix as well.
4. Unbeatable Squirrel Girl volume 1 - I loved this book. It ought to be dumb, rebooting a character like this, but it's been done with so much humour and humanity that I couldn't help falling for Doreen and her squirrel sidekick, Tippytoe.
5. Hawkeye volumes 3 and 4 - to be perfectly honest, I liked volume 3 (which was mostly about Kate) much more than volume 4 (about the return of Clint's brother, Barney) but it's still all good.
Honourable mentions to Princeless volume 1 and Sex Criminals volume 2.
Top 5 books:
1. The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison - wonderful, beautifully-written with top notch world-building and characters who grow and learn as the book progresses.
2. Binary and Regeneration by Stephanie Saulter - I came across the first book in this trilogy at WorldCon, now it's complete and I recommend it highly to everyone. It's set in a recognisable future-London where the people living there are dealing with the aftermath of genetic engineering and dealing with how we decide just who is human.
3. The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette de Bodard - you know a book is good when you're left going 'what?' at various points while reading it. A fantasy book set in a Paris shattered by a magical war, this book is populated by fallen angels and dragons, among others.
4. The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin - what a fantastic book, again wonderful world-building as I've come to expect from this author, and absolutely gutting emotionally at points. First book of a new trilogy, that's the only complaint I would have about this...
5. Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie - I'd all but prepared myself for this, the final book of the Imperial Radch trilogy, being a bit of an anti-climax but needn't have worried. I have a feeling I'll be re-reading these books at some point in the future.
E.T.A: Honourable mentions to Wake of Vultures by Lila Bowen, A Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab, City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett, The Copper Promise by Jen Williams, Hunter's Moon by Rebecca Levene and The Traitor by Seth Dickinson, among (many) others...
Top 5 graphic novels:
1. Saga volumes 3 & 4 - I can just repeat what I said last year about the first two volumes: 'I'd heard a lot of good things about this series, all of which were true. Clever and funny, with some great characters, it's also stunningly drawn.'
2. Bitch Planet volume 1 - there's going to be a lot of folks getting 'non-compliant' tattoos after reading these books, which are dystopia set in a world where pretty much any behaviour (by a woman, at least) can get that label slapped on.
3. Ms Marvel volumes 1-4 - wow. If the idea of a Pakistani-American teenage girl as a superhero isn't enough on its own to get you interested, then there's probably not much hope for you. Great writing, encounters with various classic Marvel characters and also some new faces in the mix as well.
4. Unbeatable Squirrel Girl volume 1 - I loved this book. It ought to be dumb, rebooting a character like this, but it's been done with so much humour and humanity that I couldn't help falling for Doreen and her squirrel sidekick, Tippytoe.
5. Hawkeye volumes 3 and 4 - to be perfectly honest, I liked volume 3 (which was mostly about Kate) much more than volume 4 (about the return of Clint's brother, Barney) but it's still all good.
Honourable mentions to Princeless volume 1 and Sex Criminals volume 2.
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