‘Tis the season of joy, and a merry christmas unto you all. I look out of my window at a winter wonderland, which looks lovely until I contemplate a four hour drive tomorrow morning. Brrrrrr.
But christmas is not only the season of good cheer, smiling kiddies and presents under the tree. It is also the season of end-of-year best-of lists. So has Santa anything in his sack for me? Oooh! Pat of Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist voted Best Served Cold his Number 1 book of 2009!
What’s that you say? It’s a 7? Well, you know, if you squint and kind of turn your head a bit sideways…
Ken has his best reads of 2009 up as well, though they’re not necessarily in order, so let’s just ASSUME that he thought Last Argument of Kings was bestest of all, shall we?
As for genre sf&f author Andy Remic, he didn’t think The Blade Itself was the best fantasy he read this year at all, he thought:
“The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie is the best new fantasy book I’ve read in the last 10 years. Yes. You heard that right … The writing is precise, perfectly crafted, and so very well put together, the story is a sublime interaction better than any so-called World of Warcraft immersion, and the violence and language a necessary harshness of the world Abercrombie has created.”
Zing! A very merry yuletide, everyone.
8 comments so far
He has a reason for thinking it's the best book he's read this decade. Because simply it is just that damn good. It's true, it's damn true.
Number 7? It made at least number 3 in My Top 10 Books of the Year… thanks for great stories Joe!
Yeah i've got one of those long and painful journies to the north too. I'm driving from London to Whitby tomorrow as some genius in my family thought it'd be a good idea to rent a manor house up there and bring the whole family.
Aside from that, Merry Christmas
Seriously. 7?!
Here it is kicking off my top 5.
I'm an Abercrombie newbie this year and The Blade Itself is one of the best trilogies I have read.
Santa is bringing me a nice hard back of Best Served Cold in a couple of days and I have been speed reading my way through my current book just to make sure I'm ready to rock!
Have a good 'un,
Mark C
You've been my xmas/bday/xmas gift to my brother for the third event in a row now–thanks!!! So convenient. Would have been four on his next bday, but he was amazed enough at Blade and Hanged that he had to go right out and buy Argument for himself, couldn't wait. at least he left me BSC for this one…
Werthead was rather impressed as well.
http://thewertzone.blogspot.com/
Ah well. Bah. Humbug an all that.
Nearly Headless Ned.