Best Fantasy books of the '00s

There's a compilation of reviews of books of the 00s put up today by Johnny of Tower of the Hand, including a few of my contributions. Following are my reviews extracted to succed or fail on their own; please also check out my co-reviewers posts: Aidan at A Dribble of Ink put in one on Perdido Street Station that I like and Adam across the pond at The Wert Zone contributed a good review on The Shadow of the Wind.  Both books have been hovering on the edges of my TBR pile but now reading their thoughts I should really read them now. Johnny, our blog host, and James from Speculative  Horizons rounded out our reviewing cadre. If you missed these books from the last decade now's the time to set things aright.

Neil Gaiman - American Gods - 2001

Any list of the best books of the decade would be remiss without including Gaiman. But which of his many works to choose? For my money,  I recommend American Gods. For me, that was the book that brought Gaiman to my attention and sent me back onwards to find the Sandman, and made me eager for anything else Gaiman ever writes. Gaiman starts with a character with a mystery heritage a'la Corwyn of Zelazny's masterwork Amber series, adds in all the fables and legends of the 'old world ' - particularly the Norse legends for which I am fond, and gently drops in elegant and mind bending atrocities and humble victories. And he ends it all with a war to end all wars, and a love story ending in a second death. Brilliant. But don't just believe me - the book garnered a Hugo and a Nebula award as well.

Jacqueline Carey - Kushiel's Legacy series - 7 books from 2001 through 2009

So you like your fantasy worlds well thought out and coherent? But you don't want a rehash of the dwarves-elves-humans-

halflings-and-orcs melange that Tolkien established for the genre? Check out Carey's world building skills, wherein she plays out an alternate reality of Earth, an Earth where angels were made flesh and left their progeny to do as they please - in the catchphrase of the novel, "to love as thou wilt." The geography is similar, the cultures are familiar, but everything is pushed so-slightly askew, so that for example an encounter with her world's version of Vlad the Impaler seems utterly rancid and completely original. Start with Kushiel's Dart, which introduces courtesean Phadre.  The cleverest piece of the work is how little is owed to the supernatural - similar to masterworks like George RR Martin's, there is magic and mysticism but it is rare and otherworldly, more dreamt than lived, and the characters have to get through mainly on their wits and skills.  And her sex scenes are possibly the best written of anything outside of specifically erotic literature, and tend towards the more exotic and unusual encounters. Also of interest is the thriving fan community, including readers who get body art in imitation of the characters. Final kudos: Carey's put out two finished trilogies in this world encompassing two separate story arcs, and shows every indication of completing a third trilogy by next year. She doesn't leave her fans hanging out forever waiting to find out what happens next in the Kushiel's Legacy series (but, sadly, there are no collectible miniatures either).

Neal Stephenson - Anathem - 2009

For my last pick of the group, I'll take a risk and choose Anathem, although I have yet to meet someone I've recommended it to who thanked me (although it did win a Locus Award). Have you ever read a book that, for weeks afterwards, you were reminded of in many ways? Or that inspired you to make a movie? This book is like that - I'd read something in a science journal or in the news a month later about hieroglyphs or the North Pole and instantly be put in mind of a scene in the book. Stephenson builds a intricate and complicated world, barely believable in its restrictions and interactions, and then interweaves explanations to make it all plausible. The characters start mildly enough but then become more and more interesting until finally one is reading at a fast pace to find out what happens next to them. Imagine Name of the Rose meets Minority Report (minus Tom Cruise), and you'll have an approximation of the story than what Stephenson provides, but much stupider (and neither Eco nor Dick was writing for idiots). Oh - and although I feel this book fits solidly in the fantasy genre, there's a bit of space travel and science chatter to make the science fiction reader at home.

Santa Olivia by Jacqueline Carey

I'm an admirer of the Kushiel series, and recently started looking around for other books Jacquline Carey has written. I found Santa Olivia, and decided to pick it up.

I found the story entertaining and engaging, and a quick read. The setting is this: in a future time, but not so very far distant, a disease breaks out with a high mortality rate. In response, the US closes its Southern border with a wall, leaving a span of land as a buffer zone and declares the people within as no longer being US citizens. In this zone various military outposts are built, staffed by Americans within the wall to defend against a deadly but unseen enemy - whether the virus or a mysterious raider known as El Segundo is only to be guessed at. And such guesses should not be made aloud.

A military base puts certain pressures on the surrounding populace, and in such a pressured area as this the strains are nearly visible. One soul takes advantage of the zone to attempt to sneak away; but in passing through, he fathers a child before moving on. He was a hybrid human, a GMO and not technically a citizen but actually property of the US government.

The child grows; the child shows the traits of the father. And the child is tested in ways one might expect are just as harsh as anything the father went through. But one difference remains - she chooses this path, and could leave it if she chose. Her determination and pique make the story arc in a trajectory that is inevitable and still mesmerizing.

I'd recommend this book to any fans of the Kushiel series. The protagonists' parallels to Phèdre are evident, and while the relationships and plottings of the characters are nowhere as nuanced and brilliant as those in the Kushiel series there is a certain prospect of intrigue which is unsettling. I found myself wondering at one point if the child's father was the same as the General, and trying to second guest the motives of the priest as well.

I have a thing for dystopia novels. If you do too - or if like me you're waiting for the next installment from Terre d'Ange - check out Santa Olivia.

Phèdre could do pilates

I recently started taking yoga again with an instructor who I haven't worked with before. He's tough - "can make it burn faster than anyone" as said a fellow student - and the class is convenient, hosted on-site at my work. Hooray for employers who value work-life balance and wellness!

Incongruously, during a particularly grueling pose, I recalled vividly a scene from Jacqueline Carey's novel Kushiel's Avatar where Phèdre guides a boat while fleeing pursuing warriors; if she could hold a pose overnight, I supposed I could make it through a yoga class. And so I did.

That did remind me, however, that I recently finished Kushiel's Mercy and hadn't yet shared my thoughts on it. It is good; darned good, and a heroic parallel to the first trilogy's story arc. I admire Carey for being able to create a flowing narrative and then create a parallel story to it that was so readable. She does tip her hat to readers who notice the similarity with some dialog between Sidonie and Imriel

"It's so very peculiar the way the events in our lives cast reflections."
"...Phèdre and Josselin went on a quest to find the Name of God and bind an Angel. You and I seek to free a demon with a word."

It lacked the darkness and brightness of the earlier series, and there were parts of it that seemed to be just tidying up plot lines hanging from the prior series; but there were also delightful references back to scenes in the first trilogy as well. One of the problems with doing this sort of trilogy is that the reader knows already that the main characters are bound to succeed, and thus read to reveal the details of their story. The risk to the main characters is expected to be real and harrowing but survivable, and that proves to be the case here.

Carey has started on her next book, Naamah's Gift, as noted on her website updates. I'm happy to hear she will be continuing the narrative for Terre d'Ange, and will look forward to the next books in the series.

Kushiel?

Kushiel's Justice by Jacqueline Carey is a book for a reader who isn't afraid to be challenged by the author. Carey has constructed a rich alternative history/fantasy book with a pantheon based on the traditional Judeo-Christian theology. If that isn't enough for you, various characters have unusual predilictions - and not just the bad guys either.

I found the book's concepts intriguing - is there a recursive problem in having a son of the son of god? - and the characterizations deft and engaging. I loved the heroine Phèdre in the initial 3 books of the series, and her infrequent presence in these 3 books has been too little a view of her adventures. Imriel is developing nicely as a hero with a conflicted background: son of traitors, adopted by the heroes of the realm and rescued from abuse and certain death. He overcomes these epic beginnings with a cynical yet hopeful outlook, trying to find out for himself who he is whilst all around him roles are offered to him. Overall, I'd recommend the book but be warned about the content for certain sections.