My latest “official” reading project is over. It took longer than expected, but that’s ok – reading is first and foremost a pleasure for me, not a race.
There were several books that I liked a lot, and, as I hoped, I discovered many authors that I’ve already added to my “read more of” list (Hopkinson, Mohanraj, Shawl, Okorafor, Walton and de Bodard, for example).
Below are my “best of” picks from the project – the books that have stayed with me most insistently.
The Last Man by Mary Shelley (1826; full writeup here)
Despite some problems and datedness (extreeeeemely slow beginning; inclusion of super-long monologues with pedantic-sounding language to modern readers) the end-of-days tension and horror were created effectively and without viscera.
Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula LeGuin (1969; full writeup here)
LeGuin just rocks so much.
Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold (1988, full writeup here)
My introduction to the quaddies in her Vorkosigan universe.
Warchild by Karin Lowachee (2002; full writeup here)
Emotionally charged story with excellent pacing and reveal. Like The Last Man, also without graphic violence, yet with palpable tension.
P.S. Find all posts in the project with the 21 authors tag.