At the end of 2018 I set a goal for myself of reading all of the books on the Top 100 Fantasy and Top 100 Science Fiction book lists. It was ambitious. For links to the the full list, see this post. For a quick review of the 44 I’d previously read, see here.
Since then, I’ve read twelve more. (For those of you keeping score, I’ve read 56 fantasy books, and 25 scifi. Clearly I need to shift my focus a bit.)
| The Tree of Swords and Jewels | Cherryh, CJ | F | A classic tale done in a new way. Well worth reading. That said, I like other works by Ms. Cherryh. |
| The Blue Sword | McKinley, Robin | F | Clearly a Young Adult novel, and, IMHO, not the author’s best work. I found the protagonist strident and unapproachable. |
| The Bear and the Nightingale | Arden, Katherine | F | GLORIOUS. Rich and wonderful. Utterly avoids many terrible tropes regarding women and their role in ‘medieval’ times. Looking forward to reading more by this author! |
| The Devourers | Das, Indra | F | Interesting premise in a world one does not usually see. I didn’t love it, but I see why it was chosen. |
| The Library at Mount Char | Hawkins, Scott | F | Like Jemsin’s Broken Earth books, this is a marvelously crafted world that I didn’t like, but think most everyone else I know will love. |
| Outlander | Gabaldon, Diana | F | Nope. This was my 2rd attempt and I just don’t get it. It’s a romance in a fantasy framework and both genres suffer. |
| Tigana | Kay, Guy Gavriel | F | Nope. This was my 3rd attempt and I just don’t get what all the love is about. |
| Kindred | Butler, Octavia E. | F | One of the most unusual time travel stories I’ve ever encountered. Perhaps better for the SciFi list than fantasy, but in any case — HIGHLY recommended. |
| The Broken Crown | West, Michelle | F | Perhaps this is a great book, even a great series, but being plucked down in the middle of a story arc full of complicated characters with no backstory made this utterly incomprehensible. I gave up after 15%. |
| The Black Tides of Heaven | Yang, JY | F | Unexpectedly modern in many ways, particularly in its relationships. Suffers mostly from being very much the FIRST in a series, but without enough world-building. I was glad to have read it, but not interested in going further in the series. |
| Herland | Gilman, Charlotte Perkins | F | Wonderful premise, fascinating story. And incredible how relevant it still is after decades. (Perhaps depressing as well.) |
| Akata Witch | Okorafor, Nnedi | F | Wonderful! A completely new magic system and a look into a life so utterly different from how most of us live. |