Best of 2005 Part Five: Novels

As usual, I didn't read nearly as many new releases as I would have liked, but I did run across several good ones.

Tor was responsible for two of my favorite reads of the year, Paul Park's A Princess of Roumania, the first in what promises to be a wonderful trilogy featuring gorgeous writing and complex characters. I didn't want Andreas Eschbach's The Carpet Makers (translated from the German by Doryl Jensen) to end, but when it did, I was blown away. Eschbach is one of the few writers who can successfully combine elements of sf and fantasy. Let's hope we see more of his works translated soon.

In horror, Tom Piccirili's paperback original November Mourns is an extremely creepy tale of revenge in the Deep South. I don't know how much time Piccirili's spent down there, but he knows the true horrors that can be found in backwoods areas you'd rather not visit. A lighter, yet effective read was first-time writer Cherie Priest's Four and Twenty Blackbirds, which is actually an expansion of an earlier novella. Priest is a writer to watch – she's got a great voice, the right mix of humor and tension, and the ability to keep the pages turning. The ending was a bit of a disappointment, but don't let that keep you from giving it a look.

I don't normally read Romance, but I'm glad I picked up Clarion buddy Marjorie M. Liu's first novel Tiger Eye. This paranormal romance is a great ride, full of fun, adventure, danger, and of course, romance. Plus the writing is fantastic. Keep 'em coming, Marjorie!

Jeffrey Ford's The Girl in the Glass came out this year and I liked it, but I loved his 2002 novel The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque. If you haven't read Ford, this is a great place to start.

I didn't read very many mystery/detective novels, but I did enjoy Michael Connelly's The Closers, even though 2003's Lost Light is a better book.

Some of the other books I enjoyed this year:

Motherless Brooklyn (1999) – Jonathan Lethem
The Plot Against America (2004) – Philip Roth
The Good House (2003) and My Soul to Keep (1997) – Tananarive Due (I don't know why more people don't know about Due. She's fantastic.)
Declare(2001) – Tim Powers
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (2004) – Susanna Clarke
Tainaron (2004) – Leena Krohn
Veniss Underground (2003) – Jeff VanderMeer
The Things They Carried (1990) – Tim O'Brien
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1962) – Ken Kesey
Dracula (1897) – Bram Stoker
The Dying Earth (1950) – Jack Vance