It’s been a busy year—the arrival of another mini-me, work pressure, finishing another novel—so I haven’t read as much as I would have liked. However, amidst the 40 or so books I did manage, there were quite a few crackers. It’s probably a bit early, but the following three are my favourite books of 2015 (read this year, not necessarily published this year).
I’d highly recommend you get out there and read them—particularly the first two, which deserve a wider audience.
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, By Becky Chambers
It is wonderfully imagined, and every species has its own logic. This isn’t some random scifi bar into which the author jams aliens with tentacles, forehead genitals and fur just because they look cool.
The only flaw, and it wasn’t big enough to ruin my enjoyment, comes from the very sweetness that makes the book so good. Again, there isn’t really a great deal of plot, but along the way the crew does have the odd adventure and encounters a bit of danger (giant swarming insects, boarding by space pirates, mines on a vessel).
However, there is no tension, because it is very obvious from the beginning that this is not the sort of book in which characters die in horrible ways just after the author has made you love them. I like that, but it did sort of make the action scenes feel a bit pointless, as you don’t feel the characters are in any danger.
Even the one character who does ‘die’ was, in my view, the one that brought the least emotional impact, almost as though the author was afraid to bring any real darkness into this cosy world.
You know what, though? I’m being picky. It just feels good to read a book that focuses on the best in people, instead of levering open the cracks and exposing the flaws. This book will make you believe people are fundamentally good, or at least will be in a few centuries. It’s worth reading for that alone.
A Kill in the Morning, by Graeme Shimmin
Sometimes I don’t understand the world of books. Over the last few years, I’ve read many hyped thrillers that turned out to be rather dull – average plotting, predictable characters, and clunky writing. Yet they sell like crazy because the publishers choose to push them.
Then there is a book like A Kill in the Morning, which pisses merrily all over these over books from a great height, yet remains scandalously unread a year after its release.
This is possibly the best alternative history book I’ve read. Not just because of the thrilling story line, great writing, excellent pacing and so on, but because of the smart twist at the end. Yes, I saw it coming, but it was still a very clever way to play with the whole alternative history genre.
If you enjoy thrillers, war tales and/or alternative history, go buy this book right now.
Station Eleven, by Emily St. John Mandel
A beautiful book of loss, regret and, ultimately, hope. I don’t think I really need say much else, because this book is doing rather nicely, thank you, and needs less of a plug than the other two above—which are just as deserving of hefty sales and widespread acclaim. But that’s the world of books for you.