The Best of Fiction
My Favorite Reads of 2024
What a year in story I have lived! Truly this year has been my best reading year yet. I have found stories that I think about all the time. I have characters that I love and have learned so much from. I have been transported to different cultures, times, planets, and universes. I have had a blast reading this year and I hope you have as well. So without wasting any more time here are my best of fiction 2024.
Individual Reviews
Shogun by James Clavell: 5 out of 5
Shogun follows three main characters Blackthorne an English sailor, Toranaga the president of the council of regents, and Mariko a daughter of a disgraced daimyo. This book is set the year 1600 in Japan and political machinations are plentiful. This book is primarily a character study taking place amid a massive culture clash. Blackthorne and his crew end up ship wrecked in Japan armed only with their European arrogance. When they are told to behave or die, Blackthorne charts a course of becoming useful. He sets out to learn the language and customs. This is a long book but it rarely feels boring. Even the sections I was less fond of didn't feel laborious. This 428,000 word tome kept me engaged throughout. Clavell writes in the third person omniscient and its absolutely necessary for this book. The scheming and bluffing are just too thick for another writing style. There is action, but this is about the characters and the culture. I found this story to be beautiful and unpredictable. I kept finding myself having to pick up my jaw as the events unfolded. I am so sad that my time with these three characters is over, but I am glad I picked up this book on a whim. If you're at all interested in Japanese culture this would be a great book to read as it introduces many strong cultural themes that still loom large to this day. I cannot recommend this book enough and I cannot wait for the new miniseries.
Beartown by Fredrik Backman: 5 out of 5
Oh my goodness, I'm not sure I've read a book that encapsulates the worst parts of small town life better. This book is a masterpiece that is infuriating and is so real. You know the people in this book and you loath them. This book does deal with issues surrounding a sexual assault and its fall out in a small town that's pinned it's hopes on a hockey team. We cover the ugly side of loyalty, community, and devotion to youth sports. This book despite it's difficult themes reads very quickly or perhaps I was just trying to get away from this slimy town. Adults and teens alike make compromising decision after compromising decision. It hurts to see the prejudice and moral relativity this town exudes. You're from the poor side of town, you're trash. Oh but you can play hockey, good we can use you. You know the truth and that truth can hurt my family, here's some hush money. I think the kid is guilty, but that's off ice stuff so I ignore it. People in this book are so real and yet that's precisely why I hate them. Maggan and Kevin's dad can go drive off a cliff for all I care.
This is a great book, well written, and translated smoothly. This is a book I will not reread for a very long time. I'm glad I've left Beartown. I think this could be a great book to read with a teenager and could spark some great but difficult conversations.
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke 5 out of 5
A book that demands a book club to discuss it. This book is art at its best. Clarke clearly has themes that she wants to explore and yet she has such an open handed approach. There is space in the story for all of us to bring ourselves and really "learn" what we need from this novel. As I've listened and read how others were moved and impacted it has made me love this book more. This is a book I'd love to revisit after a few years. Clarke's prose is just so smooth. Once I surrendered myself to the story and mystery I felt as if I was able to glide through the story. This is truly a book you experience more than you read. I just adored Piranesi's perspective to the world he inhabited and I loved the ending. The mystery and fantasy and science are gripping throughout. I am being vague because I truly believe that the less you know or expect going in the better. Get the book and surrender to it's prose and mystery.
Wool by Hugh Howey 5 out of 5
It's 200+ years in the future and everyone is living in an underground silo. There is one word that is forbidden, out. It's the one word that if uttered everyone knows what follows, a cleaning and no one returns from a cleaning. This book follows the lives of those living in the silo. Secrecy is vital to the silo's order. Some truths are too dangerous for the people. But who is really in control of the silo, the Mayor, the Sheriff, the people, or someone else? This book is great. We get multiple pov’s and our author is ruthless, don't get too attached to anyone. We follow several characters as the secrets that hold the silo start to spill out and the delicate order descends into chaos. This is well written and the mystery just pulls you along. I found the characters vivid even when I hated them. I am very excited to continue this series. One thing to note, this was written in five separate parts but they all combine to tell one story. Some parts have epigraphs, others don't follow our main character, and others have three principle pov's. Personally I loved this and it added to the mystery, suspense and enjoyment.
All Systems Red by Martha Wells: 5 out of 5
This was a fun novella which follows a SecUnit as it protects an archeological survey team. He has hacked his governor module, isn't particular good or thorough at his job, binges tv, and hates talking to humans. In many ways this is an exploration of neurodivergence. Its a short novella, that really make you care for this SecUnit that is socially awkward.
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen 4.5 out of 5
This is the best Jane Austen I've read to date. It's incredibly funny with vivid characters. The story centers around two sisters. One sister is full of passion and ideals and the other is well full of sense and sensibility. Through their story we get scandal and secrets that threaten to rip hope and heart out of these two women. As with all Jane Austen novels, romance mixes with wealth and social status. I found this novel to be the best of her works. It's not as bloated as her other works and the humor is dialed up as well as the characters and drama. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the Dashwood's.
Trials of Empire by Richard Swan: 4.5 out of 5
The story picks up with Konrad and Helena traveling north to find a missing Sovan Legion. As our heroes seek to counter Claver we see them wrestle with compromise. The Dogmen of the south are finally fleshed out in this third book as we visit their land as well. Swan carries us deeper in the planes of existence beyond the mortal realm. We see people grappling with powers, forces, and entities beyond themselves to horrific ends. Swan delivers a fitting conclusion to his stellar debut series. This book series has been a fresh take on the fantasy genre. This book more than the other two explores horror elements to great success. Swan is a great writer and this is a new favorite series. Other reviewers I follow have talked about the book being over stuffed and should have been 1 or 2 more books. I hard disagree. I can't imagine how boring this third book would have been if it went on for 1 to 2 more books after this. We do zoom around the map a bit, but nothing felt rushed to me. I don't need pages up pages describing the lilies in the field.
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir: 4.5 out of 5
A man wakes up and finds himself naked, hooked up to medical equipment, and unable to remember his name. Ryland Grace has been sent on a mission to save humanity, but his two comrades are dead and he is an amnesiac. This book grips you from the first page with Weirs engaging mix of sarcasm and tension. This is a hard and grounded Science Fiction book. I'm not scientist and most of the science was beyond me, but Weir is a master at explaining everything simply. The science is difficult, but you know exactly what is at stake in any given moment. The cussing is almost completely absent in this book compared to The Martian, this is a welcome difference. In many ways this book is similar to the Martian and yet its different enough that it's fresh and unpredictable. If you liked The Martian you'll like this book as well. This book doesn't quite fly as high as The Martian, but is still great.
The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie 4.5 out 5
A man is standing on a tube station platform when he turns in fright and stumbles onto a live track. A man in a brown suit examines the man and declares him dead. And watching it all happen is Anne Beddingfield a nice English girl recently orphaned and looking for adventure. In the commotion she picks up a mysterious note dropped by the man in the brown suit. That note would get her more than enough adventure to satisfy. This was a incredibly fun adventure that spans England to South Africa. Agatha is at her best when she has you traveling on an adventure. This book has vibrant characters that make you chuckle and gasp. Anne in particular certainly has strong opinions about men and women and romance. This isn't so much an amazing mystery as it is a fun adventure with fun characters.
Dark Frontier by Matthew Harffy 4.5 out of 5
This is everything I want in a western. It has frontier corruption and justice, gunslinging, and a dash of mystery. Gabe Stokes is an Englishman, former military, and metro cop. The story follows him as he arrives in 1890's Oregon answering the call of his old war buddy. He is soon thrust into to the complex war over grazing rights. Grant is a ruthless and slick beef cattle rancher who seemingly will stop at nothing to expand his operation and his pocketbook. Stokes saddles up next to a motely crew as he seeks justice in the American west. Harffy is as deft at the western as he is at the early English middle ages. I really enjoyed this novel and the climax and conclusion are a fast paced sprint to the finish that left me wanting to reread it just to make sure I didn't miss anything. Dark Frontier is what my nostalgia riddled mind remembers older westerns being. There isn't a disappointing chapter, page, or sentence in this book. I also love the Author's note at the end as it only heighted my appreciation for the love, work, and research that Harffy poured into this novel.
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