Best fantasy novels by year
Here’s an updated list, including books I read in the last 2 years. Winner Runner Ups Year Author Title Author Title 2014 Claire North The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August 2013 Julie E. Czerneda A Turn of Light 2012 Will McIntosh Hitchers Joanne Bertin Bard’s Oath 2011 Erin Morgenstern […]
Best fantasy & science fiction movies by year
Here’s an updated version of this list, including movies I watched in 2016. Year Winner Runner Ups 2016 Arrival Captain America: Civil War Kubo and the Two Strings Deadpool Equals Finding Dory Star Trek Beyond X-Men: Apocalypse Zootopia 2015 Inside Out Advantageous Mad […]
Author discovery of the year
I discovered several terrific authors in 2016. The one that wins the prize is Ken Liu, for The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories. Runner ups are Claire North for The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, Erin Morgenstern for The Night Circus, and Hal Clement for Mission of Gravity. The next runner ups are Emily St. John […]
SF & fantasy TV shows
Here’s an updated version of this list, including seasons of TV shows I watched in 2016. 5/5 Agents of SHIELD 4.5 4.5 5 4.67 Angel 5 5 5 5 5 5 Babylon 5 4.5 5 5 5 4.5 […]
The Night Circus
{4.5/5} “‘Names are not of nearly as much import as people like to suppose,’ the man in the grey suit says. ‘A label assigned to identify you either by this institution or your departed parents is neither of interest nor value to me. If you find you are in need of a name at any […]
Angel & Faith (season 10)
{4.5/5} “Angel does what he wants, right? But if somebody else wants to do the same thing, he slams the door. Probably doesn’t seem fair. So I’ve thought about it. And I’ve decided… I can live with that.” Angel & Faith season 10 (5 volumes) by Victor Gischler, Will Conrad & others, published in 2014-16 […]
The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories
{5/5} “There are no heroes, Tian Haoli. Grand Secretary Shi was both courageous and cowardly, capable and foolish. Wang Xiuchu was both an opportunistic survivor and a man of greatness of spirit. I’m mostly selfish and vain, but sometimes even I surprise myself. We’re all just ordinary men — well, I’m an ordinary demon — […]
Elements
{4.5/5} “Alone, she fled Boston, making her way from culverts to abandoned sheds, hiding from the world while building her own place in it. Living off the grid meant no formal education, no military training, no family, no friends. She had constructed a hole in the world and waited for me to join her.” Elements […]
The Lorax
{4.5/5} “You do know that you are talking in rhyme, don’t you?” The Lorax, released in 2012 The Once-ler cut down a tree to make a thneed. People loved the thneed and they wanted more. The Lorax spoke for the trees — after speaking with him, the Once-ler promised he wouldn’t cut down any more […]
Kubo and the Two Strings
{5/5} “‘Don’t you ever say anything encouraging?’ ‘I encourage you not to die.’” Kubo and the Two Strings, released in 2016 Kubo tells stories. One day he forgets that he’s not supposed to be out after dark, and his evil aunts come looking for him. Then he finds himself in a story with a talking […]