Raise your hand if you knew that Gene Wolfe put out a book this year.

I didn't.

I read it the week it came out. It's not his best, but it's good.

As much as I love Wolfe, I don't think Pat would be a big fan of his work. He might like The Book of the New Sun though. Maybe Latro too.

Umm...Sedia's first book was published back in 2005, if memory serves, Pat. The Secret History of Moscow was her second novel ;)

And Ben,

I knew that, because I read An Evil Guest in galley/ARC format back in May. Not one of his best efforts. If anything, one of his lesser novels.

Reading Neuropath felt like getting my brain scrubbed and put back in my head. Thought provoking but not on my top ten list.

Much as I like Bakker personally and much as I've enjoyed his other work, Neuropath won't make my list either, SQT. Perhaps I'll blog about my reasons why later, if I feel well enough to complete the ones I need to write first!

Great awards. Awesome diversity through my point of view. I like the template, seriously, awesome taste [just like mine].

Anyways now I want to read the secret history of Moscow.

Opinos about Ekaterina Sedia's books are two-minded.

A lot of people like THE SECRET HISTORY OF MOSCOW more than ALCHEMY OF STONE.
For me it is just the other way round.

But I agree 100% with your opinion about
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke. I read the book 2 years ago and it was boring.

I'm still finding it difficult to comprehend how people with the mental capacity for something more than Dragonlance, Salvatore or Goodkind, could not like Clarke... I would've thought native speakers would have bigger appreciation of their own language.

Erm, if Neuropath doesn't get the number 1 spot on your SFF list because it's not a speculative fiction title, why is it any more appropriate that it gets the number 2 spot?

Neuropath is an SFF novel. I think Pat's claiming it isn't just to piss Scott off ;-)

Last time I checked we didn't actually have mind-control machines that can make people do stuff they don't want to. That makes it SF. Or arguably more genre than THE TEN THOUSAND, anyway (which is just the Anabasis on an alien planet with the names changed, which is fine because it is still awesome).

Even money says Larry will write a post to protest against Pat's Top 20 and his awards before the day is out. Then, VanderMeer and a few wankers will discuss everything at length while 99.9% of SFF fandom don't give a fuck!;)

I read the new Wolfe, by the way. Nothing special considering who wrote the book. I'll be surprised if it makes a few Top Books of 2008 lists. Other than Larry's, of course!

Great diversity, Pat.:) Love the blog!!

Kim

Kim,

You'd be totally wrong on both counts. I've read 9 out of the 21 books Pat's mentioned and I have no problems with any of them. I just have a few other preferences.

As for the Wolfe, you didn't read what I said above, did you? I considered it to be a rather poor effort by him and it is nowhere near any Top lists of mine. Speaking of which, my own lists are still in progress (completed the fourth out of at least 8 and maybe 10 essays) if you care to weigh in on those... ;)

Woah. . I never made a top list for *anything* before (except elementary school troublemakers, but that was a while back). . thanks Pat, and happy holidays!

I'm looking forward to these awards every year. Keep up the good work, Pat!

Though you might want to bring them back to being the Terry Awards!!! That was just too funny!

Hey pat, can you set up a permalink for this post?

I want to submit the link to Reddit.com, maybe net you a few more readers while i'm at it.

The permanent link is: http://fantasyhotlist.blogspot.com/2008/12/hotties-2008-year-end-awards.html

Boo! Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell is a great book! And to be frank, its the Malazan series that scoops the prize for most overrated novel every time in my book. Other than that, a nice round-up of the year. Thnaks for your ongoing work on this blog from a semi-regular reader.

Damien G. Walter
http://damiengwalter.wordpress.com

Came to the blog via subterranean press. Overall disappointing. This blog is clearly an homage to the populists, rather than a honest broker of what is out there. Let us take a simple example. 'Wild Cards' This started many years back with some top notch authors GRRM et al writing what was clearly crap they could not publish elsewhere. It was lousy the first time around. If Pat is saying the new series is as good as the old, it does not say very much for it.

Then we have the weekly Weis-Hickman. This is like 'Lost in Space' same episode every week, just the names and bit players swap around. Then I looked at Pat's listing more closely, how many Canadian authors are listed? Then I realized reading down further - the blogger (Pat) is Canadian! Duuh!

If was more properly listed as the Canadian, and maybe North American top 20 SFF, with a token nod towards European fiction, that would have been far less misleading.

Pat finally gives the entire game away by attacking Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke. Hoew dare it win awards when it was not written by a Canadian - shame on those voters...BTW Many of which are the same people Pat lauds.

Yes, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell was harder to read as it was clearly outside the (D&D) box. I am sorry that you had such difficulty working through a more challenging tomb Pat. Maybe we can get Susanna Clarke to simpler text with pictures in her next full scale enterprise into the SFF world.

As to the "name" Subterranean is making for itself, a friend of mine is still waiting for his Master Li Limited Edition for which he was charged more than two months ago. Go Subterranean!

summary of earlier quote by different anonymous:
"you didn't like Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrel? Then you must be a fucking dumbshit because anybody with any intelligence likes exactly what I do. Idiot."

Hey Pat, I'm new here and I'm glad to say I that we have almost the same taste in fantasy novels :p

Great blog and more power to you!