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With the kvetching out of the way, there were some great genre novels in 2009.
The finalists below are chosen because we believe they'll stand the test of time. They all bring something extraordinary to genre fiction, above and beyond their sheer entertainment value.
Finalists:
Best Served Cold - Joe Abercrombie
Joe Abercrombie's fourth book is where he demonstrated (ably) that he's far more than a one-hit wonder. A change of protagonist (and a female one, at that) and location from his First Law trilogy, Best Served Cold deftly combines spaghetti western with low fantasy. Mr. Abercrombie's latest is gritty, darkly comedic and extremely clever.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies - Jane Austen & Seth Grahame-Smith
Grahame-Smith's simple, goofy idea had us giggling from start to finish. A painfully familiar book... plus zombies. Already oft-imitated but never equalled, this is a naughty little spin on a Big Book that has raised the profile of the publisher, zombies and arguably genre as a whole. The trend may already be tiresome, but the original book has a lot to recommend it.
The Magicians - Lev Grossman
We've cheated this book by not giving it a full review already, but Grossman's well-orchestrated mixture of The Secret History and Narnia is a fascinating and unusual read. This year's Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, The Magicians is carefully-crafted and excellently well-written - a breakout hit that sold well to non-genre fans as well. It is an unusual, mature look at magic and its practitioners. Oddly, I think it would be ruined by sequels, but as a stand-alone character study, it stands out as one of the year's finest books.
The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet - Reif Larsen
We've given Larsen's debut novel about six thumbs up already, but this is a seriously captivating coming of age story that skillfully draws on science fiction and fantasy elements.
The City & The City - China Mieville
A perfect combination of character development and world building, all wrapped up in intelligent writing and a memorable, dolorous, emotive tone. The City & The City is a peerless thriller that reminds me of the crazy, explorative early days of paperback science fiction. Appropriate to the plot, Mieville is unafraid of boundaries, and it shows. The City & The City defies categorization but was easily our pick for the year's best new book.
