The 2018 Works We Loved Thead

zanzjan

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This thread is for written works (short fiction, novels, etc.) we loved that were published in 2018, with an eye both towards recommending works to fellow readers and to throw titles in the Community Consideration Hat for next year's awards season. This is NOT a self-promo spot, so recommendations should not come from those works' authors. Mod has x-ray vision and can see right through your clever self-promo-ing disguise. (Many thanks again to MonsterTamer for the reminder.)
 

David Odle

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It's rare that DSF doesn't deliver a descent story. More often than not, it's a terrific story. Today's "Small Sacks of Children" upheld the expectation.
 

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Iron Gold by Pierce Brown (Red Rising #4).

I really enjoyed the first trilogy, and this one is so much better.
 

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Auryn Hadley released Kiss of Death a couple weeks ago and I've already read it twice! First book in her latest series and it's just as good (maybe even better) than her prior series!
 

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Really enjoying JT Nicholas' SINthetic, the New Lyons Sequence triology. Got a Bladerunner/Black Dahlia vibe and it's not a long read. Hoping the third act doesn't splat, but I don't think this one is going to let me down.
 

P.K. Torrens

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Semiosis by Sue Burke is amazeballs.

It’s a really, really cool space-colony story with intelligent alien plants. Need I say more?
 

MonsterTamer

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Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

Alright. One of my reading buddies heard an interview about this book on NPR. Here was how he pitched it to me:

"Hey Monster, I just heard about this new book. It's African high fantasy."

Don't say anything more - I'm in. African high fantasy!? YES! So I picked it up ASAP and just finished.

Here's the article:

https://www.npr.org/2018/03/10/590073021/children-of-blood-and-bone-is-a-feast-for-hungry-readers

I think books like this are IMPORTANT. And I'm yelling that for sure. I think we should support these kind of works. But I recommend with a few caveats I was not aware of before I started. First, this is solid, 100% through and through YA. "She released the breath she didn't know she was holding," and all of the rest of it. I like YA. I just didn't know I was getting into YA, and I like to be mentally prepared for it before I jump in. This is a debut novel. If you like the whole "heroes go on a quest to find magical objects and take them to a special place to save the world" trope, this book is for you.

I think the world built in this novel is great. The magic is interesting, and the characters are refreshingly different from a lot of what I've encountered. As this author grows, her novels will be amazing. This one is good. I hope it inspires more like it, and look forward to the continuation.
 
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MonsterTamer

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Grey Sister by Mark Lawrence, Second Book of the Ancestor

This series may make my short list of all-time favorite fantasy series. Red Sister, the first in the series, was one of my favorite reads last year. This installment is just as good.
 

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Beneath the Sugar Sky (Wayward Children #3) by Seanan McGuire

I have enjoyed all of the books in this series so far. If you need something short and quick, these are good choices. I struggle with classifying books - these are not in any way children's books, and I'm not sure if they are YA, either. They don't feel like most YA I've read, though the characters are mostly teens.
 

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A Court of Frost and Starlight (ACOTAR #3.1) by Sarah J. Maas

A novella, after the events of book 3. Reading SJM books is a lot like sitting down with a bag of really good potato chips. Not too healthy, but good. You say to yourself, "I'll eat a handful, and then I'll be done, because these aren't good for me, but they taste good and this is a treat." And then an hour later, you look down and realize you ate the whole bag.

I honestly don't know what the plot was. But this series and this author are just so easy to read.
 

MGraybosch

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I laughed my ass off while reading Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente. The fact that she opened the novel with a quote from "Hard Rock Hallelujah" by Lordi was enough on its own to make the book worthwhile.
 

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The Queens of Innis Lear by Tessa Gratton
King Lear has always been a favorite of mine. This follows loosely, and I won't point out where it differs to prevent spoiling it. This is a stand alone, and the writing is beautiful throughout.
 

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I recently read Circe by Madeline Miller, and it was spectacular and continued the extremely wonderful Murderbot Diaries series with Artificial Condition. I cannot recommend Martha Wells' Murderbot stuff enough. I recently started on Witchmark by C. L. Polk, but I'm only a couple of pages in. So far so good.
 

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Artemis by Andy Weir.

If you loved his first novel The Martian (which became a movie starring Matt Damon), you'll definitely enjoy this fast-paced thriller about a girl who grew up on humanity's first and only moon base. It takes some fun twists you won't expect.
 

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Spinning Silver by Naomi Novak

I've been eagerly and not so patiently awaiting this book. It's wonderful. If you loved Uprooted, this is worth your time.
 

BT Lamprey

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I wholeheartedly agree with the Murderbot Diaries recommendation. Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells is an outstanding, charming, and touching entry into the series.

I just wish they were each a bit longer!

Really, the whole series is a great entry point for the genre.
 

zanzjan

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I wholeheartedly agree with the Murderbot Diaries recommendation. Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells is an outstanding, charming, and touching entry into the series.

I just wish they were each a bit longer!

Seconding (thirding?) this, and a note that I believe a full-length Murderbot novel is in the works...
 

BT Lamprey

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Seconding (thirding?) this, and a note that I believe a full-length Murderbot novel is in the works...

That's fantastic news.

I'm really taken with her work, and I don't think I've encountered a robot with as much pathos since Marvin the Paranoid Android.
 

PeteMC

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I've been all about the sequels to last year's debuts this year - these were all brilliant:

Ravencry by Ed McDonald
The Tower of Living and Dying by Anna Smith Spark
King of Assassins by RJ Barker
The Bitter Twins by Jen Williams
 

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Kingdom of Ash (Throne of Glass #7) by Sarah J. Maas

This is the last book in the series. The author did a remarkable job wrapping up the many unanswered questions the first 6 books generated.
 

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Muse of Nightmares (Strange the Dreamer #2) Laini Taylor

This is the second in this duology, and is one of my favorite series. And, to my great delight, this series is connected to the Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy.