The readers of the Locus Magazine again voted on the best science fiction and fantasy books from last year. Let's have a look who the winners are...
Science Fiction Novel: Abaddon's Gate by James S. A. Corey
It's the third book of Corey's science fiction series called Expanse, which btw. is going to be made into a tv series next year. The first book of this space opera is called Leviathan Wakes (I post the description of the first book because I'm not sure if those from the third one include any spoilers):
"Humanity has colonized the solar system - Mars, the Moon, the Asteroid Belt and beyond - but the stars are still out of our reach.
Jim Holden is XO of an ice miner making runs from the rings of Saturn to the mining stations of the Belt. When he and his crew stumble upon a derelict ship, "The Scopuli," they find themselves in possession of a secret they never wanted. A secret that someone is willing to kill for - and kill on a scale unfathomable to Jim and his crew. War is brewing in the system unless he can find out who left the ship and why.
Detective Miller is looking for a girl. One girl in a system of billions, but her parents have money and money talks. When the trail leads him to "The Scopuli" and rebel sympathizer Holden, he realizes that this girl may be the key to everything.
Holden and Miller must thread the needle between the Earth government, the Outer Planet revolutionaries, and secretive corporations - and the odds are against them. But out in the Belt, the rules are different, and one small ship can change the fate of the universe." (source)
Fantasy Novel: The Ocean At The End Of The Lane by Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman's fairy tale for adults was able to prevail over Stephen King's Doctor Sleep, The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch, Guy Gavriel Kay's River of Stars and Joe Hill's NOS4A2.
"A man returns to the site of his childhood home where, years before, he knew a girl named Lettie Hempstock who showed him the most marvelous, dangerous, and outrageous things, but when he gets there he learns that nothing is as he remembered." (source)
Young Adult Book: The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland And Cut The Moon In Two by Catherynne M. Valente
This book is the third part of the young adult Fairyland series about the twelve year old girl September who goes on an extraordinary journey. I read that this book includes really lovely illustrations by Ana Juan. Here's the description of the first novel called The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland In A Ship Of Ther Own Making:
"Twelve-year-old September lives in Omaha, and used to have an ordinary life, until her father went to war and her mother went to work. One day, September is met at her kitchen window by a Green Wind (taking the form of a gentleman in a green jacket), who invites her on an adventure, implying that her help is needed in Fairyland. [...]" (source)
First Novel: Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
The winner of the Nebula and Arthur C. Clarke Award also won a Locus Award in the category first novel.
"They made me kill thousands, but I only have one target now.
The Radch are conquerors to be feared - resist and they'll turn you into a 'corpse soldier' - one of an army of dead prisoners animated by a warship's AI mind. Whole planets are conquered by their own people.
The colossal warship called The Justice of Toren has been destroyed - but one ship-possessed soldier has escaped the devastation. Used to controlling thousands of hands, thousands of mouths, The Justice now has only two hands, and one mouth with which to tell her tale.
But one fragile, human body might just be enough to take revenge against those who destroyed her." (source)
Novella: Six-Gun Snow White by Catherynne M. Valente
Valente not only won in the category best young adult book, but was also awarded the prize for the best novella with her retelling of the fairy tale Snow White.
"A plain-spoken, appealing narrator relates the history of her parents—a Nevada silver baron who forced the Crow people to give up one of their most beautiful daughters, Gun That Sings, in marriage to him. With her mother's death in childbirth, so begins a heroine's tale equal parts heartbreak and strength. This girl has been born into a world with no place for a half-native, half-white child. After being hidden for years, a very wicked stepmother finally gifts her with the name Snow White, referring to the pale skin she will never have. Filled with fascinating glimpses through the fabled looking glass and a close-up look at hard living in the gritty gun-slinging West, readers will be enchanted by this story at once familiar and entirely new." (source)
Novelette: The Sleeper And The Spindle" by Neil Gaiman
"A thrillingly reimagined fairy tale from the truly magical combination of author Neil Gaiman and illustrator Chris Riddell - weaving together a sort-of Snow White and an almost Sleeping Beauty with a thread of dark magic, which will hold readers spellbound from start to finish. On the eve of her wedding, a young queen sets out to rescue a princess from an enchantment. She casts aside her fine wedding clothes, takes her chain mail and her sword and follows her brave dwarf retainers into the tunnels under the mountain towards the sleeping kingdom. This queen will decide her own future - and the princess who needs rescuing is not quite what she seems. Twisting together the familiar and the new, this perfectly delicious, captivating and darkly funny tale shows its creators at the peak of their talents. Lavishly produced, packed with glorious Chris Riddell illustrations enhanced with metallic ink, this is a spectacular and magical gift." (source)
Short Story: The Road of Needles by Caitlín R. Kiernan
This short story is part of the book Once Upon A Time: New Fairy Tales, a collection of new and retold fairy tales.
Anthology: Old Mars by George R. R. Martin & Gardner Dozois
This anthology includes fifteen science fiction stories by authors like James S. A. Corey, Michael Moorcock, Mary Rosenblum, Ian McDonald and others.
"[...] This new anthology of fifteen all-original science fiction stories, edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois, celebrates the Golden Age of Science Fiction, an era filled with tales of interplanetary colonization and derring-do. Before the advent of powerful telescopes and space probes, our solar system could be imagined as teeming with strange life-forms and ancient civilizations—by no means always friendly to the dominant species of Earth. And of all the planets orbiting that G-class star we call the Sun, none was so steeped in an aura of romantic decadence, thrilling mystery, and gung-ho adventure as Mars. [...]" (source)
Collection: The Best Of Connie Willis
She is the author of Doomsday Book, the first part of the Oxford Time Travel series, All Clear, Passage or Blackout - just to name a few. Here's a link to the book The Best of Connie Willis: Award-Winning Stories.
There were other categories too, like magazine, publisher, editor, artist, non-fiction and art book, but that would have been to many, so if you are interested in the winners of those categories, please visit the Locus Award website.
3
1