Speculiction's Awards - Best Fiction Published in 2024

As is tradition here in the bustling offices of Speculiction, we come together at year's end to look back at the books published in the year, summarize what was read, and choose the best—if possible. (For best of books read in 2024, regardless of publishing year, see here.)

2024 was an average reading year. I can't say great, or even good. Partially this is my own fault. For whatever reason, genre/mainstream books held a larger than normal proportion of consumption, and of those books I read outside the mainstream, few chimed in bells or lifted angelic voices to the heavens for consideration as 'best of the year'. But a book did eventually pop up that is worthy.

On the wider science fiction and fantasy market, female ownership continues. Looking at awards lists, recommended reading lists, and monthly publishing round ups—these are dominated by women, both as authors and commentators. Romantasy, cozy fantasy, and social justice—these are the spotlit books of the past few years, and it continued strongly this year. I avoid this type of fiction, but overall I don't think such domination is a bad thing.  At the meta-level, it means the pendulum has swung to the other side. Where men dominated the majority of the history of the genres (power fantasies, hard science, sword & sorcery, etc.), it seems proper that it swings opposite. After all, a pendulum which doesn't swing is broken, and someday the pendulum will swing back. Thankfully there are substreams and niches where good fiction can still be found. No pendulum needed for that.

The other observation I have, one that is obvious but needs calling out lest we forget, is the utter ubiquity of science fiction and fantasy. Where they were once minor works, written and read by few, with only a few dozen title published per year, the genres have since been amalgamated with every other type of fiction and are being read by all types of people. There are literally hundreds and hundreds of books published each year with either one toe or both feet in fantastika. It's impossible for a reader who enjoys the genres to consume everything. Yes, science fiction and fantasy are well and truly mainstream.

Before getting to Speculiction's selection for best work of fantastika published in 2024, a quick note on honorable mentions. Lake of Darkness by Adam Roberts is engaging, intelligent, and anything but mainstream. Roberts looks at AI, social hierarchies, psychopathy, and astrophysics in this story-within-a-story of mass murder at the edge of a black hole. Roberts' subtle wit helps keep the pages turning all the way to its attempt at a philosophical ending. Polostan by Neal Stephenson, while also intelligent, applies its wit to the delivery of well-paced drama/adventure featuring one woman discovering the nuclear era and capitalism vs socialism in the early 20th century. Soviet steel plants, Chicago's World's Fair, Washington DC communist uprisings, tommy guns, nucelar physics—it's a meaty milieu. Alan Moore's The Great When comes recommended (and not for title). The most delightfully Baroque prose you've read in years, Moore's tale of an Other London has flavor to the bone, if anything for its Guy Ritchie story. I would also make note of Calypso by Oliver Langmead and Gogmagog + Ludluda (duology) by Steve Beard and Jeff Noon. Calypso is written in epic verse—yes, epic verse, a form which is utilized to give a generation starship story the vivacity of Whitman. Yes, Whitman. Gogmagog is a good ol' fashioned river adventure through the eye of a curmudgeonly lady named Cady who likes her pipe as much as being the best boat captain she can be. When a dragon thought lost to legend returns, it's up to Cady to get to the bottom of things, just hopefully not the river bottom..

But of the twenty books I read published in 2024, the best was Juice by Tim Winton. And it's Juice for two reasons. The first is the manner in which Winton brings global warming to life. The book is set years in the future after the golden era we are currently experiencing has died in chaos. The Earth boils, particulary the Australian prairie setting. Summers are lived almost entirely underground, and winters mean most tasks are done dusk to to dawn, not the other way around. People scavenge and trade for batteries, metal, and other leftover valuables that in turn allow them to raise fruits, vegetables and generate water. Second reason is its subtle, thought-provoking discourse on capitalism and socialism, a discourse driven home by the "Lady & the Tiger"ending. Weak reviwers are wont to compare Juice to Mad Max meets Cormac McCarthy's The Road. Don't buy it. This is Kim Stanley Robinson's The Three Californias trilogy with the edge of Paolo Bacigalupi's The Water Knife. Winton fully explores forms of society and economy that we do and don't have much of in the West, but there is a keen blade in some of the story elements which take some of those forms to an extreme. The book had me thinking throughout, and I had to wait two weeks before writing the review—the time was needed for things to settle. The prose is not amazing, but the story woven through the themes is unpredictable and engaging. Novel of the year.

Anthologies and collections are easy. I didn't read any. Unintentional, it was just one of those years. If you happened to read an exceptional one, do let me know.

The only thing left are the novels I had ear-marked, but for whatever reasons didn't get to read. These include: Paolo Bacigalupi's Navola, Catherynne Valente's Space Oddity, Ian McDonald's The Wilding, and Joel Dane's Ragpicker. I'm sure other people's end of year lists will highlight more books that should have been on my radar. Too much published these days...

Here is the complete summary, by rating, of books published this year I've read:

5.0

N/A

4.5

N/A

4.0

Juice by Tim Winton – Juice uses one man's personal story growing up in the searing Australian outback during peak global warming to examine and cross-examine capitalism. CEOs portrayed as gangsters, the story gets a keen edge when Winton takes Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil to their next logical conclusion in their fight against such powerful people. The ending, however, is open ended, letting the reader think back over the events of the story and form their own conclusion—the aspect of the book most controversial but perhaps most recommendable.

Lake of Darkness by Adam Roberts – Writing my review of Lake of Darkness I realized Roberts is quietly one the tip-top most unique writers of science fiction the past couple of decades. Who else would look for the philosophical intersection of AI, social hierarchies, psychopathy, and astrophysics in a story-within-a-story about a mass murderer at the edge of a black hole? Add a nod or two to Jules Verne and a touch of subtle Roberts wit and you've got an engaging, readable novel that never ceases to surprise as it twists and turns to its conclusion.

Polostan by Neal Stephenson – I enjoyed Stephenson's Baroque Cycle—eight novels that brought to life the Renaissance, early Dutch stock markets, and global trade in a swashbuckling, alchemical adventure. Polostan is a return to that type of fiction—exploring history through drama and adventure, except this time it is the early 20th century. A woman, part Russian, part American, comes in ever closer contact to the discovery of neutrons and electrons, and just as much, the closer she gets to the early clashes of socialism and capitalism.

The Great When by Alan Moore – Take Guy Ritchie's Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and garnish it with a Lovecraftian London, then sautee gently for forty-five minutes in a delicatly chopped mix of the most Baroque prose you've read in a long time. Serve warm from the pan. This may be the novel that kept me up the longest in 2024. The story is good not great, so why? It's Moore' way with words—his style, his word play, and the way those give texture and flavor to the characters and their story. Young Dennis Knuckleyard, assistant bookshop keeper to Coughin' Ada, caught up in an Other London beyond his comprehension. Don't be fooled by the mundaity of the title.

Absolution by Jeff VanderMeer – Myself, like a lot of people likely, thought VandMeer had finished with his Area X trilogy. Not the case. Ten years later he's back with what amounts to semi/quasi/almost/maybe origin stories of the Floridian invasion of the surreal. The three intertwined stories are expertly well written. VanderMeer imbues the idea of tingly Other better than 99.9% of writers. I only question the need for the novel. Area X being Area X, VanderMeer could write a dozen more such books...

3.5

Calypso by Oliver Langmead – Yes, Walt Whitman writing a generation starship story is how I would encapsulate Calypso. If vivacious epic verse does not sound inviting, don't read. But if the poetic space around a conflict between naturalists and mechanists to terraform and colonize a extraterrestrial planet does, maybe have a go. Langmead ensures his narrative darts and flashes like a school of kaleidoscope fish.

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett – A murder mystery unraveled by the setting as much as its two core characters, The Tainted Cup is the first of a trilogy set on a land where leviathans threaten from the sea while houses and courts war on land. No cliffhanger ending, however, Jackson Bennett wraps up the mystery in tantalizing fashion. This is not Pulitzer material, more beach read, and imminently readable for it.

Gogmagog & Ludluda by Jeff Noon & Steve Beard – This duology of novels starts with an irascible, foul-mouthed, pipe-smoking old lady named Cady, lets you fall in love, then sends her on a fantastical river journey that tops itself imagnatively one time after another. The climax loses something for the amount of ideas preceding it, but the overall balance, combined with the consistency of off-kilter style from Noon and Beard, make this a rich entertainment.

Catchpenny by Charlie Huston – I harp about style on Speculiction, and Catchpenny is one where Huston makes the ordinary something more through prose alone. Sharp, direct, and paced, Huston tells the story of a ne'er-do-well who gets caught up in gangster voodoo affairs beyond the ability of his 1980s sense of cool to overcome. Huston excellently unpacks scenes and chains them together to form an engaging tale. An interesting idea is presented, that of power being collected in objects that get lots of eyes, e.g. the Mona Lisa, but objects that are virtual, e.g. a Mona Lisa jpg, collect zero. This power can then be used by people with the right knowledge. The artist in me wanted to see that explored further, but alas <sarcasm alert> Huston has the right to do what he likes with his story. If only every story were how I—I!!!—wanted it the world would be a perfect place...

The Book of Elsewhere by China Mieville and Keanu Reeves – I bounced off the central conceit of The Book of Elsewhere (based on Reeves' graphic novel BZKR), that of a superhero immortal trying to die, but I have to give Mieville his due. He takes a few left over things from the kitchen and creates a wholly palatable dish. Deft editing, Mievillie's idiosyncratic prose, and a strong scene presentation make the novel better than it had a right to be.

3.0

Playground by Richard Powers – Well written milquetoast, that is my three-word description of Playground. This tale of three characters involved in the future of the ocean features sharply defined characters, excellent scene descriptions, and thematic intentions few can doubt. The environment is important, ok. Socio-economics plays a role in people's well-being, ok. Women can occupy roles typically occupied by men, ok. But Powers does not challenge the reader in any way while presenting these themes. Even on the right, is there anyone who doubts these concepts? Even Trump knows the environment is important, and he's an idiot. Bottom line is that Playground reads wonderfully smoothly, but it doesn't get the reader's brain gears turning in any fashion. See Tim Winton's Juice for a political/environmental novel that challenges any reader's preconceptions.

Past Crimes by Jason Pinter – If there is a textbook how to write a Hollywood thriller, Past Crimes follows it to the letter. It produces a well-paced story that excitingly escalates—past the ability to suspend plot disbelief in the final chapters. Mixing true crime with a virtual theme park, it has a solid concept at its foundation, and Pinter keeps his prose smooth and succinct. It's impossible to ask such a book to have realistic characters given how they increasingly bend the knee to thrills and plot. But for brainless entertainment, it's a good specimen.

The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman – The past decade has seen increasing amounts of books, often by women, which refocus or rewrite well-known legends and stories from the perspective of secondary characters. Circe, The Penelopiad, and on and on goes the list. The Bright Sword is precisely such a book about Arthurian legend. Which is a shame. Grossman has a subtle, sharp imagination to create scenes which drive the quests and adventures, and his prose constantly keeps things on point. It's the overt political agenda which disappoints—to check off every point on the DEI list—race, transexuality, homosexuality, reparations, and on and on. Like a clock, Grossman goes through the list, diluting what is otherwise a good book. To be clear, I'm not against any specific point on the DEI agenda; it's the forcing—the clear ulterior motive beyond telling a good story—which bothers me.

The Mercy of the Gods by James S.A. Corey – Retro science fiction written in a contemporary voice, that is The Mercy of Gods in a nutshell. Humanity is slaughtered by a powerful alien species, and the remnant still alive is taken captive and enslaved on their alien. The beginning of a good ol' fashioned “humans fight against the odds to take down their alien overseers”, “James S.A. Corey put a lot of effort into the numerous aliens populating the story, but as is often the case with space opera, forego developing characters as much.

The Practice, The Horizon, and The Chain by Sofia Samatar – A generation starship story, Samatar tells of a slave in the hold who is given a degree of freedom to assist a researcher on a higher level of the ship. The researcher a former slaver herself, together they undertake sociology studies. Samatar putting her own sociology studies front and center, the book takes the evil of capitalism as a cornerstone and builds a narrative of enslavement upon it. The readers enjoyment of the narrative will depend on that fact. The story is well-written, however, which means there is still a chance at intellectual engagement.

2.5

The Tusks of Extinction by Ray Nayler – This is one of those stories which invokes the Simpsons' line “Won't somebody please think of the children?” Replace the children with animals killed by humans for food, materials, or sport, and you've got the theme of the novella. The animals in question are mammoths, massive mammals brought back to life Jurassic Park-style in the Russian steppe and who are now hunted by tourists. It's a simple story, brought to life in simple fashion, with a simple sappy theme. “Won't somebody please think of the mammoths...” The theme of human usage of animals as livestock deserved a more complex treatment.

The Silverblood Promise by James Logan – If the only thing you read is mainstream swords & sorcery, then this book will be up your alley. It's got adventure, magic, rogues, and robbers. If you're looking for fiction with a bit more depth and nuance, this will be churnalism. Nothing to finger as egregious or terrible, Logan does everything 'right', but does nothing good or great or distinguishing. It's part of the ubiquity machine churning out such fiction these days.

Disquiet Gods by Christopher Ruocchio – I have enjoyed Ruocchio's space opera series The Sun Eater to date. Hayden Marlowe can have interesting, large-scale adventures. But I struggled with this one. It builds to the requisite big screen moments, and reveals more of Marlowe's story in dramatic fashion. I just couldn't get my heart into it. My gut says this is because Ruocchio has persistently extended the series by one. more. book. First it was a trilogy, then tetraology then... We're on the fifth book here, and I'm not sure the end is in sight. I will end by saying, if you (yes, you) loved the series so far, don't let my lack of engagement stop you. It's likely you will love this too.

2.0

The Crypt of the Moon Spider by Nathan Ballingrud – Reading this novella I could not shake the feeling This is being written to spec, This is being written to spec, This is... It nagged me and nagged me, every large, uncertain step the story takes. Body horror, random revenge scenes, existential horror, girl power, gothic horror, major character introductions near the climax, dream sequences—this was a semi-mess to my reading brain that seemed to want to get out the door more than it wanted to have time to settle in Ballingrud's imagination into a cohesive, balanced story. For people who like insane asylym-esque horror with a touch of splatterpunk, by all means have a go.