Nothing fills us with joy like falling in love with the first book of a new series. It means that there's more great reading to come for years (barring accident, injury or the Curse of Infinite Recursion that seems to strike genre authors...)
Try as we might, we didn't get to read everything that came out this year, but, of what we did get through, here are the top picks...
The Steel Remains - Richard Morgan
Probably this blog's highlight of 2009 was being 'blurbed' on the cover of Richard Morgan's first foray into fantasy. The Steel Remains is messy, violent, uninhibited and brutal. We can't wait until the sequel.
Soulless - Gail Carriger
Not yet released in the UK, Carriger's captivating debut novel combines familiar elements (steampunk, vampires, werewolves, plucky female protagonists) and wraps them in her infectious prose style. This is an entertaining, easy read with a unique voice.
The Warded Man - Peter V Brett
It feels a little hypocritical to pick an example of world-building as the best new series of 2009, but Brett's series pushed a lot of the right high fantasy buttons.
The Warded Man takes place in an unusual, fascinating world with a thoughtfully-composed system of magic, realistic culture and detailed society. The two protagonists were straight out of fantasy tradition, but they were also excellent guides around a captivating world and narrators for an engaging, cinematic plot.
