The Top 15 Fiction Books I've Read since January 2015

In keeping line with the current theme of reading, this is the list of my favourite fiction books I have read since January 2015. I will be working backwards from 15. 15) Three by Jay Posey. This is the first book I have read of this author and it was something I just saw by accident in the library. It was a post-apocalyptic sci-fi adventure story. It was not your usual zombie story, where mankind have collapsed in the present, but rather in the near future where humans give themselves modifications. It is a really enjoyable story, and it does have a Joe Abercrombie feel to it as it is quite grim dark in places. It is worth a read for those into this genre. 14) Fevre Dream by George R.R. Martin. Fevre Dream is a vampire novel set on the Mississipi river. It is one of the best written vampire novels that has for the most part slipped through the cracks. The book is set during the mid 1800s in the USA, and it has that classic George R.R. Martin style of writing that really brings that time period alive. It is a really enjoyable story and a must read for any horror or George R.R. Martin fan. 13) The Third Nero by Lindsey Davis. The Third Nero is set during ancient Rome. It's actually the fith book in the series, which I did not realise when reading it, yet it all made sense at the time because of my own interest in ancient history and culture. It is not a war story, but rather an ancient rome thriller where the character Flavia Albia, who is asked by Palace officials to help to expose a plotter within the Secretariat, but when she starts to investigate the plot could not be bigger, because in Rome there's someone who presents himself as the long dead Emperor Nero with the help of the Parthians and the Roman plotter. It is another really well written book, and it has made me want to read the rest of the series in the future. 12) The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway. This is quite different than most of the books on the list as it is set in the real world, during the Bosnian war in the 1990s. The book is told through different inhabitants, one is a sniper, and the other are just ordinary citizens living day to day in the siege. There's not much joy in this book, but it is engaging and it does show you the grim reality of what war is like on the everyday citizens. 11) Hyperion by Dan Simmons. This is a really interesting sci-fi book that covers a vast amount of time, and ideas; its like several books in one and yet Dan Simmons manages to connect them all together. The characterisation throughout is well done as is the world building with the Bikura and other concepts. There's also the threat of the "shrike" but he doesn't overplay it. Some authors tell you everything and leave nothing to the imagination yet he doesn't do that. The book while slow at times, is really enjoyable and finishes on a cliff-hanger for the next book. 10) Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri. This is a debut novel by Tasha Suri, and its also so far the first in a duology, with Realm of Ash. The story follows Mehr and has a mixed heritage that allows her to see into the "magical realm" as it were and interact with the daiva. Unlike many of the fantasy books I have read such as Game of Thrones, The Court of Broken Knives, the Faith and the Fallen series by John Gwynne, this is a much smaller scale of fantasy. It does not feature great wars or features a multitude of characters from all sorts of different perspectives. Some might find that limiting but Suri does a good job of characterisation and world-building as well as story to keep readers interested right up until the end. It deserves to be on the list. 9) The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi. The Windup Girl is a biopunk set in the near future in Thailand with biotechnology being dominant as well as corporations but also bioterrorism. Paolo really captures the world of Thailand--the old world the one that we are kind of familiar with, but also the new world. The new world that is dominated by technology. This is one of the few books on the list that I would actually want to see on the big screen in a cinema or a live action TV-series. The story is well written as is characterisation making it a must on everyone's wishlist. 8) Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. I read this in 2020 during the global pandemic, and while there were restrictions and this book along with 1984 was one of the ones that kept popping up in conversations. The book is a dire warning about social control in society, the characters aren't allowed to be separate from one another, and have to take happy drugs to keep them in their spaced out state of mind. It is quite thought provoking, as the entire society is built around the foundation of keeping people happy. Happiness is key. So worrying about aging and all the other things that come with life are pushed away. The actual story and characterisation is a bit weaker, but the writing, and bleak atmosphere make up for it. 7) The Diabolic by S.J. Kincaid. This was another futuristic sci-fi book, in the age of empires but unlike a lot of those similar stories, it is still small scale, and very personal rather than lots of characters, lots of strange worlds and aliens on each page as you might have in Star Wars books, or the complexity of Dune. The star character in this one is a Diabolic, a bodyguard that is built to kill called Nemesis and is supposed to protect her owner, Sidonia. This was a book I read in a short space of time and even though I read it in 2018, it was one of the standout books in that year for me. 6) Dark Eden by Chris Beckett. Dark Eden is the first in a trilogy, it is set in the future with colonists that crash landed on a planet, and left their own devices, so much so that in fact that the descendants of colonists have started to act tribalistic in the way they communicate and behave. Even language, which makes it either irritating or fascinating for readers. An example is that instead of saying "very bad" and instead using reduplication with phrases like "bad bad" or "bad bad bad." To add to that the characters are all very young, apart from one or two adults, so there's little adult viewpoint in the world, so even describing the world is like the lens of a child, for example "cold, dark" is used to describe ice cold mountains. The characterisation and world is incredible and totally unforgettable and deserves its place on the list. 5) Animal Farm by George Orwell. Animal Farm much like Brave New World is another classic, about the poorly run manor farm led by Mr. Jones. All the animals led by Snowball and Napoleon lead a revolt to take over the manor farm. The book is sensational even now, with a dire warning about revolutions and communism. I won't go into much of it now as I will be writing a longer blog post on the book but I will say Animal Farm is very cleverly written in the way in illustrating over generations that knowledge gets lost or altered and most people don't even realise it. It can apply to any generation, anywhere at any time. It is enjoyable while also quite miserable as there's no hope in that story, just misery. 4) Revenger by Alastair Reynolds. Revenger is another sci-fi and it is the first part ina trilogy. I so far have read two of the three in the trilogy. It is set in space with two sisters, Adrana and Arafura "Fura" that get attacked on a ship, Monetta's Mour by the infamous space pirate Bosa Sennen, separating the sisters. The story revolves around Fura trying to track down her sister. This is another small scale sci-fi book, with a very small cast, but it is a very fun story with space pirates and well written female characters. What's not to like? 3) The Reapers Are the Angels by Alden Bell. This is my all time favourite horror novel. It's an apocalyptic wasteland set in America with Zombies. I'm not a big fan of zombie books, but this is by far the best and my favourite. It centers around the character Temple, one of the best written female bad-ass characters, who's resourceful, and practical as well as a fighter though she does have flaws. It doesn't end the way you expect either. It's world building is fun, the characters are really interesting or perculiar in many ways. I've read it more than once, and I'll be reading it again. 2) The House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds. Unlike many of Alastair's novels, this is a standalone novel. House of Suns is yet another sci-fi set millions of years in the future, with humans all across the milky way. However humans coexist with a species of sentient robots called the Machine People with the usual technology found in sci-fi such as stasis fields, anti-gravity and stellar engineering but more importantly cloning that is the main plot point that centers around the Gentian line, Abigail Gentian and her 999 clones or as the book calls them "shatterlings." As individuals are able to shatter themselves into clones and then have reunions and able to pool their memories together which is a very unique take on the whole cloning technology that I have honestly not yet seen before in sci-fi books. It is oneof the best sci-fi books I have ever read and it alongside Revenger and Terminal world make Alastair Reynolds my favourite sci-fi author. 1) The Dragon's Path by Daniel Abraham. Dragon's Path is the first in a five part high fantasy series and I have read all of them. The series is brilliant from start to finish. Daniel Abraham did lessons in writing for George R.R.Martin, and it shows. The Dragon's Path much like Game of Thrones has a multitude of different character povs, from Cithrin the aspiring banker, to Geder the bullied yet intelligent minor noble. Then there's the honourable Sir Dawson Kalliam and his wife Clara, the brave Captain Marcus Wester and Master Kit, the apostate. It is different to a lot of books that I have read that are also High Fantasy, for one Cithrin is a banker so there's quite a lot of discussion of banking and economics that is used to describe character motivations throughout the plot, and it does play a large part throughout the series and it does not feel dry, it blends seamlessly into the plot and helps add so much more to an already vibrant and bustling world that has been created. The entire series is worth the investment, there is never a dull moment. There's never a moment where you think, "oh why is in here?" like padded elements just to get the page number up. Every character feels important and interesting with their own part to play in the plot.