Top 5 Reads for first half of 2010 (Plus Top 5 Most Anticipated)

With the year half over I thought now would be a good time to reflect on what I've enjoyed the most so far this year and what I'm most looking forward to for my loyal readers to squeeze a few more reads in their busy summer. In no particular order here are my favorite reads of the year:

Bitter Seeds by Ian Tregillis - A shockingly good debut. Tregillis has an ability to twist history in a beautiful and sometimes scary ways. His characters have depth and he puts each and every one of them through paces of mental and physical anguish.

Empire in Black and Gold by Adrian Tchaikovsky - This is a book that leads to so much as the series progresses. A wonderfully imaginative fantasy world with technological advancement  that makes sense along with human's having insect abilities. An odd coalescing that works so well.  And you never know what Tchaikovsky is going to throw at you next. The second volume Dragonfly Falling is a actually stronger though, but for those uninitiated start with Empire.

Horns by Joe Hill - Where did this kid come from? Oh, yeah he is Stephen King's son, but Hill picks apart characters better and can do a fine and believable ending more imaginative than his father has done lately. Horns will be seen as a classic of the Horror genre years from now.

Retribution Falls by Chris Wooding - I've already gushed about this one quite a bit so let me just say this book has everything an adventure novel should have. Great characters, story arcs, tension, and setting.

Nights of Villjamur by Mark Charan Newton - What an awesome and expansive world with a history of more than 60,000 years in the making. Shades of Mieville and Vance do apply.

Bonus classic:

A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr. - If you have never read this you should. One of the best Apocalyptic novels ever that spans thousands of years as humanity tries to rebuild itself after a nuclear holocaust. There are three linked novellas that comprise the whole with each story separated by 600 years as the Order of Leibowitz strives to collect and safe guard humanity's store of books and other written knowledge through the eons.

The Way of Kings was pretty close as well and might knock one of the above once I reflect a little more.  Kraken nearly made it too, but was a bit of a mess in many ways.

Now here are the books I'm most looking forward to that will be out before the end of the year:

Kill the Dead by Richard Kadrey - Sandman Slim kicked the right amount of ass and Kadrey certainly has plenty more to do with this character. October release.

Antiphon by Ken Scholes - The third Psalms of Isaak. September release, but I'm reading the arc right now. So far I'm not as enthralled as I was during the first two, but I've plenty more to go.

Dreadnought by Cherie Priest - Can this live up to the steampunkitude of Boneshaker? We shall see. Clementine definitely surpassed my expectations although it had a very different temperament than Boneshaker. October release.

The Horns of Ruin by Tim Akers - I'm really eager to see how Aker's develops his style of Noird a bit more after Heart of Veridon. November release.

Black Lung Captain by Chris Wooding - Wooding's first Tale of the Jetty kept me on the edge of my seat from the first page, which is why I can't wait for this to land in my mail box. I've had it on pre-order since before I finished Retribution Falls. July UK release.

Also, I'm really looking forward to Mike Resnick's The Buntline Special. Weird West here we come. I just noticed that of the five mentioned above only one is not from a series. Hmmm.... So what are you favorite reads this year and what are you looking forward to?


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