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SFF Novellist of the Decade


TheEvilKing

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I don't know really.

My favorite series in all of Fantasy is still a Song of Ice and Fire. This decade has been a very difficult one for the writer though, and his output has been very limited, and not entirely succesful. I thought A Storm of Swords was a tremendously good book, and possibly the best release this decade. AFFC wasn't on the same level, sometimes actually annoying to read, at other times intriguing, but in the end no more than a 7 out of 10 rating. Nothing has displaced GRRM's series as my favorite series though, but I could not confidently call him the best SFF writer of the decade given what we have witnessed. He did have the wonderful Dreamsongs collection published but that was work from before this decade.

Robin Hobb wrote the Tawny Man trilogy, which I thought was a truly wonderful series. Fool's Fate is the only other book from this decade that I enjoyed as much as Storm of Swords. But on the other hand the Soldier Son was an awful, deep disappointment. The Rain Wild Chronicles look to be redeeming her again. She would be one of the contenders, but the Soldier Son series prevents her from winning this for me.

Guy Kay published Lord of Emperors, Last Light of the Sun and Ysabel this decade. He will have another next year. Another contender for me. A lot of people seem to think the books he wrote this decade aren't as strong as his earlier work.

Scott Bakker wrote 4 SFF books and I rate his series highly. Another strong contender.

Joe Abercrombie published 4 very good books and in that sense he surpasses the other really good new fantasists of recent years, like Lynch, Rothfuss, Brett, Scholes, Newton, who all shows enormous promise but haven't published more than 2 books, which is too narrow a range for now.

Daniel Abraham will be mentioned but I still have to read his work.

Neil Gaiman had Anansi Boys and American Gods, both of which I liked, but calling his work the best of the decade goes too far.

I liked the two books I've seen by Keith Donohue.

Jack Vance & Gene Wolfe are two authors from my personal top 10 but given their output I could not include them as nominees for best of the decade, understandable given their age, though Wolfe still publishes regularly. And he does have The Wizard Knight duology I suppose.

I'm fond of JV Jones' Sword of Shadows series but in the end her writing has been similarly limited to Martin's, and has only published two books this decade, if we do not include next year's offering.

Some of David Gemmell's later books like the Rigante quartet and the Troy Trilogy are some of the best books he's written.

Susanna Clarke had Jonathan Strange, but that is just one book, be it a very big one.

Dan Simmons publised Ilium, Olympos, The Terror & Drood. It would be hard not to consider him given all that.

Neal Stephenson wrote the Baroque Trilogy, which I did not care for, and Anathem.

I would actually bring Jeffrey Ford in here. His career really took off this decade with strong and succesfull novels in The Girl in the Glass, The Shadow Year, and The Portrait of Mrs Charbuque is from this decade as well though I didn't care for that one. Aside from that he released no less than 3 fantastic short story collections ( The Fantasy writer's assistant, Empire of Ice Cream and The Drowned Life). He's a contender.

Then there are guys like Steven Erikson and Jim Butcher who have had truly tremendous output this decade as well as commercial success, but I would be very reluctant to put them up as nominees here, for differing reasons.

China Mieville had a sizeable output and I suppose people will consider him. 5 novels and a short story collection, plus a new book due in 2010.

It will be interesting to see if other people here can make a strong case for a particular author.

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AYH can make a stronger case than I can for AFFC, but let it be said that AFFC is, in my opinion, the absolute best of the series. I stand by my thoughts that GRRM is the best fantasy author out there, even if I haven't read half of your list. I also disagree with your assessments on Robin Hobb. IMO Fool's Fate was her weakest book to date, and Soldier's Son had some of her best world building and prose. Nevare was much more human than Fitz, even if he was even whinier.

Some book ideas.

Terry Pratchett has, in my opinion, released his best work in the past decade, even though I dislike Nation, considered by many his best book. He's also released quite a lot of it, even with his Alzheimer's. Combined with a knighthood, I believe he makes a pretty strong case for this title. JK Rowling will have to be considered, even though I dislike her. Steven Brust is good.

If we're going for comics, I have a few names to quote.

Alan Moore has had League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, which is too literary and intellectual for my tastes and for many other people's. However, Alan Moore. That's enough for a nomination. Rich Burlew has Order of the Stick, in my opinion the best webcomic out there, a work that transcends its original premise and stands on its own as a great fantasy work, not just a good D&D parody. Tarol Hunt's Goblins: Life Through Their Eyes can recieve the same praise, although they're very different in tone, OOTS being a gag-a-stip comic with a bad case of Cerebus Syndrome, and Goblins being a serious and dark deconstruction of D&D's heroics. I've also heard great things about Y: The Last Man, which is sci-fi.

These aren't votes, mind you. Just saying some more that I thought of.

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Terry Pratchett and China Mieville have to be up there for me, combining a decent output with high quality, although Pratchett's best work was probably in the 1990s.

Kearney has had a decent output - six books this decade - and some of those are very high in quality. Hamilton has had seven books out this decade as well, but I think he's slightly dropped in quality from his late 1990s heyday. Still, Pandora's Star is a fantastic novel.

Richard Morgan has also to be in contention, as does Ian McDonald. Bakker I would agree with. Elliott gets some harsh press, but I think she has enough good points (particularly in Crossroads moreso than Crown of Stars) to put her on a shortlist, although not at #1.

Gaiman's again slightly past his best, but still very reliable.

GRRM's output has been limited, as has Christopher Priest's, despite the fact that his one book released this decade may be the best genre book of the decade for me.

For new writers this decade, Abercrombie and Abraham would be highly-rated. Lynch and Rothfuss need some more books out before they can be contenders, but perhaps they will be contenders for the 2010s?

Jordan put out four books this decade, but definitely not among his best work. Sanderson has had eight books out so far as well, and will reach nine before the end of this year, and some of those books are enjoyable, if not outstanding.

Bakker has to be in the discussion for his five books and him taking epic fantasy in an interesting direction.

Alastair Reynolds would be very high on such a list for me. In fact, IIRC Revelation Space came out in 2000, meaning his whole novel and collection career to date is contained in this decade. Very impressive.

I haven't read enough Neal Asher to put him definitively on such a list, but what I've read so far I'm impressed by.

If Erikson was more consistent, I'd rate him on the list, but he's a bit all over the place quality-wise. DHG and MoI are excellent books though.

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Actually, now that I've thought about it, GRRM's output was actually higher than Neil Gaiman's, I think.

Three Wild Cards novels that I know about, a few comic book adaptations, a sci-fi novel, and numerous anthologies featuring stories of his. As well as developing a television series.

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If the decade were 1996-2005, it would be GRRM, no question. But due to the arbitrary nature of our calendar, two books alone isn't enough for me to rank him among the best.

My vote would go for Bakker or Stephenson. I prefer Bakker; he's been productive, original, and very well-respected. I have a lot of problems with his work, but I can't deny that he's talented, and made a hell of a mark on the field.

On the other hand, a lot of people really like Stephenson. I think his prose and characters are rather flat, but if you consider SFF as the "literature of ideas", then Stephenson's had a good run this decade, and even managed to get some fans who normally don't read SFF.

Authors to watch next decade: Brandon Sanderson and Scott Lynch.

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Mieville gets the nod from me if I absolutely had to pick one name. Perdido and the Scar were close to masterpiece level for me, while Iron Council and City & the City were a cut below but still very intriguing. On the whole, I appreciate that Mieville kindled/rekindled interest in the whole Weird thing, but at the same time I also love that much of his work is really in tune with "what came before" in terms of certain tried and true pulp and secondary world elements.

Honorable mentions:

Wolfe - Short Sun was this decade, and that work was still better than pretty much anything else the genre routinely offers despite that I didn't think it was on par with New Sun and Long Sun. Wizard Knight was brilliant. On some days, I think it's my favorite fictional work of all time.

Stover - Blade of Tyshalle remains one of the best SFF works I've ever read. That in itself makes Stover among the decade's best for me, but I also give him credit for the follow-up in Caine Black Knife and the fact that I think he's one of if not the main reasons why Star Wars is still relevant.

And a few others. Mitchell and Lethem for their SFF works disguised as "mainstream literary." Martin and Erikson are the class of the epic subgenre. Maybe Kelly Link if we're looking at short fiction.

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In terms of media saturation, it'd obvious be works released in the 2000's by J.K. Rowling and Stephanie Meyer, followed by Charlaine Harris and Patricia Briggs, I'd imagine.

In terms of influencing trends, then it'd be China Miéville and Jeff VanderMeer, although VanderMeer might be more important as an editor who has helped shape perceptions of the "New Weird" movement.

In regards to non-category SF, Susanna Clarke and Alice Sebold released huge-selling works that had crossover appeal.

Junot Díaz won the freakin' Pulitzer Prize for a novel about a SF-loving fan and is now working on supposedly "genre" novel.

Jeffrey Ford keeps putting out high quality novels and story collections on a regular basis, winning all sorts of awards in SF/F and mystery categories.

Patrick Rothfuss had one of the bestselling debuts of the decade.

And then there's Roberto Bolaño...such a tragedy that he died in 2003...

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Scott Bakker wrote 4 SFF books and I rate his series highly. Another strong contender.

I'm not nearly as well-read as many of you, but Bakker's my pick as well.

I prefer Bakker; he's been productive, original, and very well-respected. I have a lot of problems with his work, but I can't deny that he's talented, and made a hell of a mark on the field.

:agree:

There are times where I shake my head at his writing, but they've certainly kept me thinking about them after I've put the books down. Very solid reads.

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Bakker is my pick as well.

He's imo the best new sff writer to emerge this decade. I'm so grateful that this board introduced me to his stuff. He's got a superb trilogy, a very solid start to a new trilogy, and the underrated neuropath finished. Does anyone know anything about the white luck warrior and the disciple of the dog?

I badly want him to become a bestseller.

Abraham is also excellent. Wonderful wonderful writer. Such controlled polished prose. Excellent characterization and firm command of his story. Just simply don't like him as much as Bakker.

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Mieville gets the nod from me if I absolutely had to pick one name. Perdido and the Scar were close to masterpiece level for me, while Iron Council and City & the City were a cut below but still very intriguing. On the whole, I appreciate that Mieville kindled/rekindled interest in the whole Weird thing, but at the same time I also love that much of his work is really in tune with "what came before" in terms of certain tried and true pulp and secondary world elements.
I'm inclined to lean in this direction too. I have a big soft spot for Stephenson, but when I think of the effort I had to apply to slog through parts of the Baroque Cycle - much as I enjoyed it - then I have to put him in second place. I can't say that reading Mieville ever requires as much effort.
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I'm not nearly as well-read as many of you, but Bakker's my pick as well.

:agree:

There are times where I shake my head at his writing, but they've certainly kept me thinking about them after I've put the books down. Very solid reads.

My pick as well. I'm not nearly as well-read in the genre as a lot of the regulars here, but from what I have completed, he beats any and all challengers hands down in terms of prose, characterization, depth of thought and thematic exploration. It's difficult to even frame a comparison of The Judging Eye or TDtCb with, say, the work of Rothfuss or Lynch, which appear as cute and amusing semi-YA in contrast.

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I'm such a Gene Wolfe fanboy....for the Wizard Knight alone this guy wins in my world.

This is my impulsive answer.... I would have to think about this question for a long time before I trust myself.

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I'll follow the herd. R. Scott Bakker, without a doubt. :) It's been a genuine pleasure to read his books.

I'm always looking out for news on Rothfuss and Lynch. I really think they could be up there in the next decade, gunning it out. Hopefully they don't suffer the same issues GRRM has with his writing.

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So he's not actually an SFF novellist yet then?

Defining "SF" is like a judge defining obscenity. If Díaz considers himself to be part of the SF scene, then he is. And considering he's editing a SF anthology that's coming out in 2011, I'd have to say he's part of it.

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Defining "SF" is like a judge defining obscenity. If Díaz considers himself to be part of the SF scene, then he is. And considering he's editing a SF anthology that's coming out in 2011, I'd have to say he's part of it.

I would think that one might need a little more than a belief that one is writing SF to actually be considered an SF writer. After all, if that was all it took, then the opposite would also have to apply, and Terry Goodkind wouldn't be a fantasy writer. Speculative Fiction is a hard to define category (Science Fiction is somewhat narrower), but there should at least be something speculative about a book for it to be considered Speculative Fiction.

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