Best Fiction Reads of 2023

As I look back at my fiction reads for 2023, I see that for the second year in a row, science fiction was quite popular with me.  I still read some good fantasy novels – see below – and at least one thriller, but for some reason over the past few years I have re-discovered how fun good sci-fi can be.

 Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson.  It is always a good year for a new Brandon Sanderson book – and since he broke Kickstarter with his 4 “secret projects”, we get 4 of them.  Tress is a bit different than any other Sanderson novel.  His inspiration was the William’s Goldman’s classic novel The Princess Bride, but he then asks the question – what would it look like if the princess went in search of her lost love?  This is a wonderful, light-hearted and surprisingly humorous read.

 

Murtagh by Christopher Paolini.  Christopher Paolini burst on the scene years ago as the teenage bestselling author of Eragon.  After four Eragon novels, he moved into science fiction.  With Murtagh, he returns to the world of Eragon with a stand-alone novel after the events of the inheritance cycle.  The book stars Eragon’s half-brother and his dragon Thorn.  The plot is rather simple, but Paolini adds character depth and brings it to life nevertheless.

 

Old Man’s War by John Scalzi.  This is a great little science fiction novel.  Human beings have spread throughout the universe and have encountered many alien races, some very dangerous.  As a result, soldiers are always needed.  As every human on Earth approaches retirement, they get offered a choice.  Live on subsistence until death or, volunteer as a soldier and receive a newly rejuvenated body.   This is the story of a group of those soldiers.

 

The Waking Fire by Anthony Ryan.  Ryan has built another intriguing world with this series, of which The Waking Fire is the first installment.  The series has a unique “magic” system and lots and lots of dragons to go along with all the adventure, combat and world building.  What is not to like?

 

Fairhaven Rising by L. E. Modesitt Jr.  I am not sure why I love Modesitt’s Recluse series of books so well.  My son thinks they are boring and slow moving.  They are slow moving and even at times formulaic, but I find them deeply immersive, although I find his fascination with food a bit strange.  This book – the 22^nd Recluse novel!! – is about the origins and growing power of the wizard city of Fairhaven.

 

2^nd Tier Reads – still very entertaining.

Lesser Evil by Timothy Zahn (Thrawn Ascendency #3)

Old Bones by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

Foreigner:  A Novel of First Contact by C. J. Cherryh

Caliban’s War by James S. A. Corey (The Expanse #2)

Abaddon’s Gate by James S. A. Corey (The Expanse #3)

The Thousand Deaths of Ardor Benn by Tyler Whitesides (Kingdom of Grit, #1)

Cibola Burn by James S. A. Corey (The Expanse #4)

Nemesis Games by James S. A. Corey (The Expanse #5)

 

3^rd Tier Reads – I finished them, but they were disappointing on some level:

Babel:  An Arcane History by R. F. Kuang