Top Five Reads of 2009

I was hoping that I would have a greater selection to choose from this year. I was on target for 50 books read this year, but then I got a new job and 50 became 35. On the bright side that is 6 more books to choose from than last year.

Without further Ado...

#5 Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie

While I do not think that this book is better than his First Law trilogy, 'Best Served Cold' is still an entertaining read. I had very high expectations of this book when it came out and I think that had affected my overall enjoyment of this book which is a shame. The advantage of 'Best Served Cold' is the fact that it is a stand alone book.

The book follows a woman called Monza Murcatto, a once loved and trusted general. However, her paranoid boss betrays her. He sets up a trap, kills her brother, stabs and throws her off a mountain. Yet she survived. While she is recovering from her grievous wounds she has had plenty of time to plan her revenge on the seven men who were involved in her betrayal. Once recovered, she gathers a motley crew: A master poisoner and his apprentice, a Northman (barbarian), an ex-general of the Thousand Swords (mercenaries), an ex-convict and an ex-inquisitor (government lackey). How will she exact revenge? Seven against the resources of a whole nation!

"You know your in for a comedy filled killing spree when Abercrombie is writing" - Sleeping With Books

#4 The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathon Stroud

I have read more young adult (YA) books this year than I have ever had, and time after time I am surprised at how much I enjoy them. Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riodian, Candle Man by Glenn Dakin, The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula Le Guin are just some amazing YA books I have read. However I felt that Stroud's Book 1 of the Bartimaeus Trilogy topped them all. It was funny, clever, fast paced and had that page turner quality you want from a book.

The book follows a young magicians apprentice called Nathaniel, who in his impatience summons a powerful 5000 year old Djinni, Bartimaeus. He charges Bartimaeus to steal the Amulet of Samarkand off a powerful Magician and soon things go terribly wrong for Nathaniel and his Djinni. One rule and really the only rule of being a magician is to never let someone know your 'true name' as your true name grants power over you. Well Nathaniel has slipped up.

Definitely a must read YA book. The chapters with Bartimaeus are written in the first person, while chapters with Nathaniel are written in the third person. This has also made reading a little more interesting because of the different perspectives.

"So refreshing to see a YA book that is different from the rest. Funny, Distinctive and a great read" - Sleeping With Books

#3 Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Phillip K. Dick

I remember watching this film when I was 18...and hated it. If you don't know the film...well that is because the film was re-titled as Blade Runner. Yes, I know that the film was great blah blah, but I was 18 ok! I liked the explosions of the 90's and Blade Runner didn't have any!

So 9 years later I read the book and you know what? It made my top 5 reads of 2009.

It is the year 2019 and human replicants (clones) with artificial intelligence are a possibility. However, like pets, they need to be registered and owned by someone but there replicants who seek freedom and escape. Rick Deckard is a bounty hunter whose job is to hunt down these renegades and retire them. Although the replicants have A.I. they lack one very human trait, the ability to be empathetic. This is the key to finding out replicants and real humans.

"'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep' is not a simple science-fiction book, Phillip K. Dick delves much deeper, philosophically and psychologically" - Sleeping With Books

#2 Fevre Dream by George R.R. Martin

While waiting for Martin to actually finish the 5th book of the Song of Ice and Fire series, I began reading more of this other works. Fevre Dream instantly hooked me in and I finished it within several days. The setting, the character depth and the storyline just draw you in. You can really start to appreciate Martin as an absolute genius and that he is not just a one series wonder.

Abner Marsh's dream of racing the Eclipse, the fastest Steamboat on the Mississippi River is destroyed when a storm sinks all but one of his ships. It wasn't long that a stranger named Joshua York meets him in St. Louis and offers him money for half his company. Marsh is an honest man, as honest as he is fat and ugly and refuses to cheat York out of his money. But when York offers to build Marsh a boat fast enough to compete with the Eclipse, Marsh is hooked. The Fevre Dream is built and Marsh could not be happier. However, when Joshua York refuses to come out during the day and makes unscheduled stops that takes up valuable delivering time, Marsh's crew are muttering among themselves and Marsh has questions of his own.

"Interview with a Vampire meets Buffy: The Vampire Slayer" - Sleeping With Books

#1 Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

I read this book in January and it was such a hard book to top and as this shows, nothing did this year. Mistborn is the first book of the trilogy with the same name. The subsequent books being 'The Well of Ascension' and 'The Hero of Ages'. The magic systems used in this world were so unique to me and I liked it very much. Sanderson has a lovely way of introducing characters and making you like them. From this book, one of my favourite ever characters in Sci-Fi or Fantasy was created.

The Lord Ruler has lived for a 1000 years and his empire is split into two factions. Those of nobility, are physically, mentally and financially superior to the Skaa and are a part of the Lord Ruler's upper class. The nobility get to have magnificent balls, trade, plot and generally be happy about their lives. The other faction, the Skaa are a slave race not too different from humans (the nobility) and are considered inferior in every way and are there to be used and abused by the nobility.

During these many years of rule. People have revolted against the Lord Ruler. People have tried to kill him, all of them have failed, but it isn't for a lack of trying. How do you kill a man...no a God, when beheading him is only a minor annoyance?

Kelsier is a Mistborn. A man with special talents, he can manipulate people's emotions, control metal with a thought and gain superhuman strength when called for. He is wants to overthrow the Lord Ruler, but being Mistborn isn't enough, because he is not unique.

I really can't give this book enough justice. It was such a great read and I am looking forward to the day that I reread this series. Brandon Sanderson is also the person the Jordan family selected to ghost write the last three books of 'The Wheel of Time' by Robert Jordan.

"Mistborn is character driven and has amazing plots. Sanderson has captured everything great about fantasy and put it into 3 very enjoyable books" - Sleeping With Books

Review: The Mistborn Trilogy

Ruling a country can be very hard. You have limited resources, limited time and people contradicting and opposing you. 

Now what would happen if you have lived for a 1000 years as a ruler of an empire. Could you not create a perfect system for your citizens to live in? Maybe you don't want to. The Lord Ruler didn't.

The Lord Ruler has lived for a 1000 years and his empire is split into two factions. Those of nobility, are physically, mentally and financially superior to Skaa and are part of the Lord Ruler's upper class. The nobility get to have magnificent balls, trade, plot and generally be happy about their lives. The other faction are the Skaa. A slave race not too different from humans (the nobility) and are considered inferior in every way and are there to be used and abused by the nobility. 

During these many years of rule. People have revolted against the Lord Ruler. People have tried to kill him, all of them have failed, but it isn't for a lack of trying. How do you kill a man...no a God, when beheading him is only a minor annoyance?

Kelsier is a man with special talents. He is a Mistborn. A man with superhuman power (allomancy) who can "burn" 10 different metals in his body. Each metal does something different. Heighten senses, increase strength, manipulate metal, control emotions and see the future! But how does a man like Kelsier attempt to over throw the Lord Ruler when the Lord Ruler himself has a score of 'Inquisitors' who can do the same thing as Kelsier? What does Kelsier know that others do not? What makes him believe in his delusions of grandeur?

I find it is hard to review an entire trilogy because you cannot give anything away. Anything you say while reviewing books 2 and 3 will sometimes spoil the previous books that are unread by you, the readers. So I have to review the 'Trilogy' as a whole and I can tell you that it blew my mind. The books are very character driven and you get to know each of the characters very well. The plot is amazing and Sanderson did a fantastic job of keeping us guessing at what would happen next. The magic in the world is quite unique, besides allomancy, there is also feruchemy. Feruchemy has a lot of the same powers as allomancy, but instead of "burning" metals to induce the powers, you have to store them before hand. To gain speed, you have to store speed beforehand; the consequence being you are slow for a period of time. 

For people who have read my "Author Moments You Love to Hate", I can tell you that there are not many if at all anything you could begrudge Sanderson about. His character names have unique names without being hard to pronounce; they are flawed in a good way; there is a detailed map (that's for you I.J. Parnham!), the books aren't overly long to bog you down and nothing is filler.

Sanderson also succeeds where others have failed; the ending to each book and to the trilogy as a whole. The first book finishes in a way where you could leave it at that and be very content but you would want to read on. The second book has a major cliff-hanger and makes you want to read the next one. The third book finishes with a flurry and satisfyingly I might add. It ties up a lot of loose ends without using too many or too little pages. And it actually finishes the trilogy. No potential cliff hanger and that is what really pleased me. 

Sure, I believe that Sanderson could continue in the Mistborn world but he doesn't have to and his fans (which include me) won't bay for his blood because he has left something unfinished.

Mistborn would now be the one of the first books I would recommend to anyone ages 15+ regardless if they read fantasy or not.

"Mistborn is character driven and has amazing plots. Sanderson has captured everything great about fantasy and put it into 3 very enjoyable books." - Sleeping With Books