The Best Books I Read in 2015

While several of these books came out in 2015, a few were out earlier and one comes out in January. So here they are in the order I read them, my favourite books read in 2015.
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The Martian by Andy Weir - No real surprise here.  It's such a fun book and the movie adaptation was great.  It was pretty refreshing seeing a science fiction man vs nature story.

The Skull Throne by Peter Brett - I LOVE the Demon War saga, and this book upped the ante.  Can't wait for the next book to come out.

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman - This book made dragons feel fresh again. Brilliant writing with a protagonist I really felt for.

Of Noble Family by Mary Robinette Kowal - Another series I loved and am sad to see come to an end. This Regency/fantasy mash-up worked better than I would have expected. I'm curious to see what Kowal will write next.

Binary by Stephanie Saulter - The second book in the REvolution trilogy, both of which are excellent, thought provoking science fiction novels.

A Darkling Sea by James Cambias - a great first contact novel set deep within an alien ocean.

The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson - An absolutely brilliant debut about colonialism and what someone's willing to do - and give up - to achieve a goal.

Against a Brightening Sky by Jaime Lee Moyer - Third in a series set in 20th Century San Francisco, it combines fantasy elements and mysteries. Some great characters too.

City of Blades by Robert Jackson Bennett - The unexpected sequel to last year's brilliant City of Stairs is equally awesome.  It's out January 26th (so my review isn't up yet) and is definitely worth picking up.

Karen Memory by Elizabeth Bear - A super fun steampunk romp with a wild West feel to it.

Book Review: Karen Memory by Elizabeth Bear

Pros: great world-building, fun characters, interesting plot  

Cons: some crude language

Karen Memery works as a ‘seamstress’ in Madame Damnable’s Hotel Mon Cherie.  When two women knock on their door running from one of Peter Bantle’s cribs by the pier, Karen stands up to him and the roughs who’ve come to take the women back.  Bantle’s got a special machine and he’s running for mayor, and things in Rapid City start to go downhill fast for the ‘seamstresses’, especially when U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves rolls into town, looking for a killer.

You get a wonderful first chapter explaining how Karen’s a ‘seamstress’ and a seamstress, making her own dresses for her, ahem, actual work.  You also get a great introduction to her co-workers and the environment they work in vs environments other ‘seamstresses’ have to work in.  So when a ‘seamstress’ from a much worse environment show up, you’re already sympathetic towards her.

The world is basically a decent sized town in the wild west, if the wild west had dirigibles and other steampunk accoutrements - like a souped up Singer sewing machine that straps on.  There’s also a wide variety of characters, from the black marshal (patterned off of a real man), a lot of spunky women (not all of whom are white), some Russians, a native man, and others.  The cast makes the city feel real - and remembers the history of the Western coast, with China towns, escaped slaves, indentured servants, and more.   

Bear’s prose is fun, seeing through Karen’s eyes, though it takes some getting used to as the grammar’s atrocious.  There’s a lot of period - and character - appropriate terms (including derogatory terms for people of other races/nationalities) and swearing, which some may find offensive. 

The plot rambles a bit, as Karen isn’t always at the centre of things, but is quite interesting and coalesces in a series of fights that make for an exciting climax.

This is an excellent book.  Highly recommended.