Lately, I've been on a science fiction and fantasy bender. The last time this happened, I was in college. In the intervening decades, my knowledge of and assumptions about the genre grew quaint and dated. So it was a wonderful surprise to find, when I straggled back by way of my passion for audiobooks, that SFF had grown crowded with brilliant new writers taking things in unexpected directions.
This post is for others who might have wandered away from SFF for a while. That's why I've limited my suggestions to recent novels--my favorites of the audiobooks I listened to in 2014. The list is doubly subjective because narration is a huge factor. I can't get through even a very good book if I hate the voice in my ear. That accounts for at least one award-winning omission.
The descriptions come straight from my blog, so if they seem familiar to you, you must be one of the three people who read it. They are brief because so many of these are series, and it's hard to offer plot details for multiple books.
Even so, it's a long enough list that I refrained from sneaking in audiobooks I listened to in 2013. John Scalzi's Redshirts, Jo Walton's Among Others and Farthing books, Peter F. Hamilton's Void trilogy, and Dan Simmons' Hyperion series will have to wait until I compile an all-time favorites list.
1. THE FARSEER TRILOGY; THE TAWNY MAN TRILOGY; FOOL'S ASSASSIN by Robin Hobb. There is no overstating how much I love these books. I listened to the perfectly narrated audios, then could not bear to leave the characters and their world (and to some extent, the refined British voices of narrators Paul Boehmer and--one of my two all-time favorite narrators--James Langton). So I listened to the series again. And then again. I still return to particularly beloved chapters and scenes. Hobb's brilliance with telling detail creates a richness of characterization that offers something new with every listen. I found the protagonist's bonds with mentors and friends, human and animal, powerful and touching. And the plots were complex, unusual and exciting. This may be my favorite fantasy series ever.
2.
THE STORMLIGHT ARCHIVE by Brandon Sanderson. This series takes place in a world that is wonderfully original and detailed. The characters are vibrant, the magics unique, and no one writes better and more exciting battle scenes. Narrators Michael Kramer and Kate Reading are just right, as the story alternates from male to female protagonist.
3.
THE EXPANSE SERIES by James S.A. Corey. This series started strong and then got more gripping and imaginative with each book. The fourth was constantly exciting, pure space opera bliss. (I hope the SyFy series based on it, coming sometime this year, will do it justice.) And I loved narrator Jefferson Mays' world-weary and expressive voice.
4.
THE GAP CYCLE by Stephen R. Donaldson. I found these books compelling, with their heroes who became villains and villains who became heroes. The story is dark and operatic--loosely inspired by Wagner's Ring Cycle. It builds tension to a degree that can make an emotional wreck of the reader/listener. (It's not for those who require trigger warnings.) It's narrated with nuance and intensity by my other favorite narrator (along with James Langton), Scott Brick. His training in a Shakespeare company is very much on display here.
5.
THE DAGGER AND THE COIN SERIES by Daniel Abraham. This series is gorgeously written, with fascinating characters and an original world teeming with many kinds of beings, all of them well fleshed-out and real-seeming. The plot is exciting, at times terrifying, and it features one of the most interesting and believable villains in science fiction. Pete Bradbury's narration is dry and perfect.
6.
THE MARTIAN by Andy Weir. This book is gripping from sentence one. I am in awe not just of the author's research, but of how exciting he made the science. And I fell in love with the protagonist. Narrator R.C. Bray captures the sometimes-pensive often-smartass tone perfectly.The novel began as an internet freebie then became a $.99 kindle book. A hardcover publisher discovered it, and soon after, Ridley Scott began turning it into a major motion picture starring Matt Damon (coming in November, 2015).
7.
THE DEMON CYCLE by Peter V. Brett. I loved this dark violent world of demons and battles, with its beautifully drawn characters who at first take their situation as a given and then learn to fight against it. The relationships are complex, the plot fast-paced and full of twists, and the world-building is a (creepy) joy. Pete Bradbury's narration is, as ever, excellent.
8.
THE WHEEL OF TIME by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson. I listened to these fourteen audiobooks one right after the other and loved my full immersion into this meticulously drawn world of well-rounded characters and interesting magic. Michael Kramer and Kate Reading alternate narration, depending on chapters' main protagonists.
9.
THE EMPEROR'S BLADES by Brian Staveley. There's a good reason for the fuss that was made over this first novel in a series. It offers engaging protagonists in a fast-paced and unusual story. Simon Vance's narration is characteristically flawless. I can't wait for book two in the series, out January 13.
10.
ELANTRIS by Brandon Sanderson. Here, Sanderson builds another unique world with vivid characters. It's well-narrated by Jack Garrett.
11.
THE LIONS OF AL-RASSAN and TIGANA by Guy Gavriel Kay. Kay's prose is lovely, even mesmerizing, and everything about his complex characters and worlds rings true. The books are both beautifully narrated,
Tigana by Simon Vance and
Lions of Al-Rassan by Euan Morton.
12.
THE QUANTUM THIEF and THE FRACTAL PRINCE by Hannu Rajaniemi. This series, written by a professor of string theory at Edinburgh University, is captivating. The story is thrilling with puzzles, breathtaking in its originality. A few times, the theory behind the action went over this Lit major's head, but the tale flowed so strongly it carried me with it anyway. And Scott Brick's narration was an absolute pleasure.
13.
THE BROKEN EMPIRE SERIES by Mark Lawrence. Lawrence has created a protagonist unlike any other I've encountered--so violent, sarcastic, cruel, wise that I could never predict what he might do or feel. These books are very intense, very well-written (but perhaps not for the faint of heart). Narrator James Clamp brilliantly captured the tone, by turns dry, hostile, pained.
14.
MISTBORN TRILOGY by Brandon Sanderson. Not only does Sanderson build an intricate world here, he devises a fascinating magic system. His characters are vivid, and no one writes better fight scenes. Michael Kramer and Kate Reading do their usual excellent job of narrating.
15. SPARK by John Twelve Hawks. The protagonist of this story suffers from a real-life syndrome that makes people believe they are dead. This adds depth to a well-written thriller with science fiction elements. Scott Brick does an amazing job with the narration, his voice steadily warming as the protagonist becomes less "dead."