Edit October 2/2010

As another case study in book selection, I will bring forward the original post from May, now that I have almost finished the list; I added comments and review links when available to all the books below. I also made a Goodreads list with my top 25 2010 novels which I plan to keep updating as needed – there are 27 books since I put two combos as below, with #26-27 being the second book of the combo, so the true position is with their “pair”.

As an additional remark, out of the 27 books there, only Passion Play and The Noise Within are books I rated below my top A++ rating, since they are very good and with extraordinary but not-yet-fully-realized potential for the series. All the rest have my top rating and the ranking reflects mostly my priorities as novels go in general and sff in particular, rather than any “objective X is better than Y”; those novels are the cream of the crop of 2010 releases for me so far.

There were some big surprises for me since May. Most notably my current #1 novel of the year The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer, the Booker shortlisted Room by Emma Donoghue (#3 mainstream, #12 overall) , the #2 sf (#5 sff and #6 overall) Aurorama by Jean Christophe Valtat, and the #4 fantasy (#6 sff and #7 overall) Cold Magic by Kate Eliott.
I still do not know why I forgot about The House on Durrow Street by Galen Beckett in the post below since that should have been there and as expected it became a top fantasy (#6 fantasy, #9 overall) .

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Here is the original post with comments added in italics:

From my original Top Ten Anticipated Books of 2010, I have read 7 so far (3A++, 1 A+, 2 A, 1 A-, no major disappointments) and the 8th (The Evolutionary Void/PF Hamilton) has just made its way to my house to be read asap; there is also more information available – including confirmation of publication for 2010 or of moving to 2011 – for some of the books in the extended Anticipated Books post, so I thought of doing a new post with the New Top 10 Expected Books which *I do not yet have* and which *are confirmed for 2010.*

While there are several debuts I am very interested in, I will not list them here since my record so far with predicting my degree of interest in such is mixed (see Tome of the Undergates vs The Last Page).

However since I loved Ms. Bernobich’s collection “A Handful of Pearls” (FBC rv soon), I will make an exception for her debut which intrigues me a lot by its association with the Jacqueline Carey Kushiel series which is still my number one completed fantasy series of the 00′s. I will cheat a bit and mention 14 novels since I cannot stop myself…

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1. The Horns of Ruin by Tim Akers (utterly loved Heart of Veridon, so Horns of Ruin is the one novel I give best odds to top The Folding Knife as #1 sff of the year for me now that the new IM Banks Culture is confirmed for 2011 as is the new Mary Gentle novel)

This turned out to be very “not for me”. Great narrative energy that kept me reading but a comic book plot with the 100 repetitions of “in the name of Morgan I smite you” incantation of superwoman on steroids Eva Forge made me thankful it was short enough so I could finish it. Well, Dead of Veridon comes out in 2011 and hopefully the subtlety missing here, will come back since the author writes too well for comics.

2. The Half Made World by Felix Gilman (now that the blurb is available in the Tor catalog(pdf file), this one is even more intriguing and I give it second best odds for #1)

A++ and top 10 fantasy; only half a duology though which lessened a bit its impact; full review soon;

3. Passion Play by Beth Bernobich (see above why)

A+ and great debut with extraordinary promise; full review soon

4. Empire of Light by Gary Gibson (end of series and a dark horse for #1)

A+ and good ending of the series, but I still think the series could have been awesome and stalled slightly after the excellent first volume. FBC Review

5. The Scarab Path by Adrian Tchaikovsky (beginning of new sub-arc in the Kinden series; hard to believe it will top the awesome Salute the Dark, but one can hope)

A++ and top fantasy (as a combo with Salute the Dark) of 2010; FBC review

6. The Black Prism by Brent Weeks (still of great interest and very curious if Mr. Weeks can keep the freshness and exuberance of his debut trilogy)

A++ and #3 fantasy of the year; FBC review

7. Wintertide by Michael Sullivan (another #5 in a series like the Tchaikovsky novel above that will be hard pressed to top the awesome #4, in this case The Emerald Storm)

A++ and #5 fantasy of the year (as a combo with The Emerald Storm which yes, it tops) FBC review soon

8. Empire by Steven Saylor (now confirmed for August; my favorite living non-sff author is always a must; I may do a dual review with its precursor Roma)

A++ and #4 mainstream novel of the year; FBC review

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9 (tie). Absorption by John Meaney (early reviews were somewhat mixed; on preorder from BD)

B- and disappointing; hope the next novel brings the scattered stuff here together; FBC Review

Black Lung Captain by Chris Wooding (loved Retribution Falls, let’s see if the author can keep the freshness and the pace)

B and somewhat disappointing; has some great stuff, but a lot of farcical stuff too which worked in Retribution Falls sometimes because it was new, sometimes because it was just slightly on the other side of the farce, while here it tips over; I may do a full review or not depending on how other novels line up; I am in for Iron Jackal

Transformation Space by Marianne de Pierres (another end of series and a book that can get very high in my end of year lists)

the only 2010 one I am missing so far; hopefully will get it soon

The Immorality Engine by George Mann (cannot wait to see how the first arc of the Newbury/Hobbes series ends)

2011

Skywatcher by Jon Connington (loved the author’s debut quite unexpectedly a lot and I really, really want to see what’s next)

reading it now; seems as good as the first one

The Blood of Alexandria by Richard Blake (same as above, except that this is book three in a pretty anachronistic series that nonetheless managed to hook me by the narration of its irrepressible and cynical (anti)hero and which I plan to review soon – for fantasy lovers, this series is what I imagine Joe Abercrombie would write as historical fiction)

still unread, but will get to it sooner rather than later

Edit 6/30/2010 – a little update

The new IMB Culture novel has been brought forward to October 2010 so Surface Detail should be #1 there

Yes, Surface Detail should have been #1 since as expected it became my #1 sff and sf of the year and #2 overall. FBC Review soon

Absorption (FBC Rv, B-) was somewhat disappointing though i have high hopes for the sequel because its main fault was too many threads, too little pages

Passion Play (A+, first impressions here) was not quite what I expected and the Kushiel’s comparisons area bit misleading since this one is almost pure romantic fantasy; loved it once I realized the way it goes and the series has great potential but the sequels will decide how great it will be.

Got Blood of Alexandria which is the same cynical fun of #1/#2 and will read soon and got Black Prism too which starts very well, also to be read soon

Fantasy Book Critic

New work in progress, a new equine piece, a pegasus with draconic like wings! Dark bay with an appaloosa influence! it is mixed medium (watercolor paint, colored pencil and ink) on 8×10 watercolor paper. Hope to have it done within the next day or so! Interested? send me an offer

The Fantasy Art of Candace Bell

I bought necron battleforce and some other minis like 2 tomb spyders, destroyer lord, lord with warscythe, lord with orb and couple flayed ones. I think that’s great starter for necrons. Monolith will be added in future.

Enjoy my necron wallpaper! It's free for You. (1980×1080)

Concept

Ok, I’ve got lots of minis but what now? How to paint it? Browsing CMON galleries was very helpful – this one is somethink what I want (http://coolminiornot.com/123471). I like sandy, bright colours but this one is too orange. My decision is to paint them little greeny like rotting flesh, so I use this paint.

Painting Armor

I tried to find optimal way to paint whole army and here You have what I’ve got:

Prime with white spray paint, it can be GW Skull White or Vallejo White primer or something else. Wash it with watered down Scorched Brown. After this operation You can see where is the light! Awesome! Next step is to deep shadows, so You can take Scorched Brown and make shadows deeper, one droplet of Chaos Black can help.

When your deepest shadows are done You can highligt this surfaces. Mix Scorched Brown with Graveyard Earth 50/50 , and glaze with this mixture. Still adding some Graveyard Earth and glazing to pure earth color. When it’s done You will see brown unhappy necron warrior. To made him happy You have to highlight dully Graveyard Earth color. Great paint to do this is Rotting Flesh. At the end we need strong highlights!  Add to Rotting Flesh some Skull White 75/25 and highlight edges and brigtest places. You’re done! Now get a cup of tea and take a break. Don’t forget to wash Your brush.

Necron armor painting step-by-step

Painting Metallics

Now it’s time know how to paint metallics. Usually start with Boltgun Metal, my favourite metallic. Next step is watered down Scorched Brown. After dry You can appy Devalan Mud wash – 2 thin layers. Highligt with watered Boltgun Metal. Finishing highlight is Mithril Silver. Apply Mithril Silver very carefully only on highest surfaces and edges.  Now You can look at your old, dirty steel.

Necron metallics painting step-by-step

Necron Lord and Resurrection Orb

Necron Lords act as leaders and energy loci for the Necron Warriors. clad in crumbling vestments and wielding ancient, arcane staffs, they are a chilling sight on the battlefield, directing the attack in unnatural silence.

Necron Lord and Resurrection Orb

Necron Lord and Resurrection Orb

Necron Lord and Resurrection Orb

Necron Destroyer

Destroyers are a heavily altered form of the Necron Immortal. Their torso is fused to a skimming flyer enabling them to attack faster and further than the Immortals.

Necron Destroyer

Necron Destroyer

Necron Destroyer

Necron Destroyer

Necron Destroyer

Necron Lord with Warscythe

Necron Lords act as leaders and energy loci for the Necron Warriors. clad in crumbling vestments and wielding ancient, arcane staffs, they are a chilling sight on the battlefield, directing the attack in unnatural silence.

Necron Lord with Warscythe

Necron Lord with Warscythe

Necron Lord with Warscythe

Necron Warriors

The skeletal Necron warriors are a spine-chilling sight, bullets and lasblasts bouncing harmlessly from their metallic limbs. The gauss flayer they wield is no less terrifying, stripping targets atom by atom. Units of metallic warriors advancing across the battlefield is the defining feature of a Necron army.

First finished Necron Warrior front

Work In Progress pictures

Destroyer body (WIP)

Destroyer body and head with basecoat (WIP)

Lord with warscythe

Lord with warscythe front (WIP)

Lord with warscythe back (WIP)

Scrab swarm (only right bottom scrab is fully finished)

Scrab Swarm (WIP)

Necron Nightbringer

More very very soon. I hope to make better pictures.

Fantasygames

With all of the amazing video games out there, there’s not a whole lot of reason to drop back into the board game chest anymore.  Unless of course you have kids, the real reason board games keep getting made.  That’s the real reason all games keep getting made I guess, except for those creepy porn ones.

Over the last two months my wife and I have started the board game revival.  This is an experiment we’ve done where we’ve gone back over all the old board games with our daughters to see which ones still make the fun grade.  This is what we found out.

We started with axis and allies.  The axis and allies board game is a classic.  It is a World War II dice driven reenactment that goes really deep on strategy.  You can play with two to five people and take over one or more of the countries involved in the conflict.  Germany and Japan start off with the most troops but limited land mass.  Russia is a disaster where the US and Britain start off with a nice navy and air forces.  We had a great time dusting this bad boy off, but the kids couldn’t totally engage.  Once they got past the unit game pieces they got bored quickly.  The strategy of this game requires at least a seventh grade grasp of history and sense of place.

The next one we dove into was Monopoly.  Don’t think this is news to anybody, but Monopoly is an old school, cut-throat capitalistic nightmare where only one person reigns victorious over the salty tears of all the other players.  I forgot how long and painful this game can be.  I’m sure Gordon Gecko loves it.  After this painful reenactment we dropped Monopoly and picked up Monopoly Junior so the kids could really get into it.  I gotta say, Monopoly Junior is waaaay more fun.  The game only lasts about a half an hour and you’re dealing with much smaller denominations.  You also end up buying properties in an amusement park which is way more fun for the kids.  This is a keeper.

Next, we hit Sequence.  The Sequence board game is a hell of a lot of fun.  It’s a combo between poker and a traditional board game that relies almost entirely on luck.  This makes it great for kids of any age.  At least those old enough that putting poker chips in their mouths is not the high point of the game.

We then tried a variety of pc board games.  The World of Warcraft game was way too complex.  The instructions were like War & Peace.  Definitely not something for the young kids.  The hardcore WoW players would love it though.

We stopped with the Qwirkle board game.  I don’t know that you can really call it a board game.  It was more of a crazy combo between Scrabble and Dominoes.  The kids loved it though and my wife and I found it hard not to compete full bore against each other.  Always fun to see the competitive side yanked out of her.  Out of all the games we played this was the most fun of them all for the whole family.

We’re back to video games for now, but after this little experiment we’re going to need some board game storage to back up the video game storage we just purchased.  We’ll definitely get back to the board games.  This kind of entertainment is much better for the family dynamic and overall way healthier than video games.

Sci-Fi & Fantasy Review

1		As reported by NASCAR analysts on Sunday Jeff Gordon collected his first win on his 17th attempt at both Phoenix and Texas. Now I predict Jeff Gordon will want to push for a second date at Homestead every year otherwise he won’t win there until 2015. In 2007 Jeff Gordon collected his first win at Phoenix, but remember he was pretty lucky that day with the caution. He does however have the 3rd best finish average in the series at 10.2.
-	Jeff Gordon
2		I personally was more impressed with Johnson’s second place finish then Gordon’s victory. The 48 car was junk early in the race but Chad Knaus worked his magic on the Lowes car and that thing came to life. Expect Johnson to be the car to beat at Phoenix as he attempts to get his fourth win in a row out in the desert.
-	Jimmie Johnson
3		Big brother Busch had another strong Intermediate track performance at Texas and overcame his poor qualifying position and finished 8th. Kurt Busch is strong at Phoenix and is second overall among active drivers in laps lead in the desert (508). With the new improved Dodge power plant under his hood this year and his strong 2nd place finish the last time the series visited Phoenix, Kurt might just be able to get the job done on Saturday night (4/18).
+2	Kurt Busch
4		I’ve had my doubts about Stewart’s team earlier this year but it looks like their starting to come around. I like teams that get top fives at Intermediate tracks and earlier this year Stewart just seemed to be a top ten car. Top five finishes are where the big points are and nobody wins the championship anymore with just top tens. Look for Stewart to have a good run at Phoenix and once again contend for his 3rd top five in a row.
+4	Tony Stewart
5		Kyle Busch was just having one of those days at Texas that drives fantasy racers crazy. Kyle’s season so far has been either been a feast of a famine in 2009. Last year Kyle had 2 top tens at Phoenix so he might bounce back but then again he might not…………..
-1	Kyle Busch
6		Mark Martin had his 3rd top ten in a row so things are only looking up for Martin. Last year at Phoenix in the later stages of the race Martin looked like the car to beat until the 48 team worked a fuel mileage miracle. At Phoenix Martin has an average finish of 9.4, 1 win, 9 top fives, and 15 top tens. Also Martin leads the series in total laps led at Phoenix (676).
+4	Mark Martin
7		Just last week I promised myself I would start paying a little bit more attention to Clint Bowyer. Well look what happened? Actually I’m probably doing him a favor by dropping him in my rankings because he always performs his best when he’s underrated. I expect good things out of Bowyer at Phoenix which is similar to New Hampshire where Bowyer collected his first career win.
-4	Clint Bowyer
8		Carl Edwards looked awfully good at Texas but yet he managed to drop one spot in my Power Rankings? Well last year the 99 car team had magic or at least that’s what I’ve been speaking about for the last couple of weeks. Is it really there this year? Is it? This lack luster finish (compared to what it could have been) falls on the pit crew this time which spoiled their opportunity at the win.
-1	Carl Edwards
9		I think Denny Hamlin is missing the short tracks already, but Hamlin fans fear not because he also likes flat ones. Hamlin is a solid driver at the one mile tri-oval called Phoenix. In 7 career races Hamlin has 4 career top fives and has a good average finish position of 11th.
-3	Denny Hamlin
10		Matt Kenseth remains steady in the 10th position and the points bleeding appears to have halted for the 17 team down in Texas. I honestly don’t know what to tell you about Kenseth at Phoenix. He has one career win there but he also has a BAD average finish position of 18.5. He seems a bit risky to use this weekend when there are safer options available.
-	Matt Kenseth
11		Jeff Burton had one of his better runs of the season at Texas and he even moved into the top 12 in points. I’ve been speaking out against Burton so far this year but he is far from safe here. With drivers like Martin, Harvick, Earnhardt Jr, and Biffle lurking behind him he better start collecting some top five finishes otherwise someone else will and they will bump him out of 12th.
+2	Jeff Burton
12		I’ve never quite understood Greg Biffle. At times he can be rewarding and at other times he’ll bite you in the butt. So here is my fantasy advice for the day, don’t touch him. Always go after consistency in your fantasy ventures. Playing fantasy games with a risky approach is fun…………. but is it sustainable?
+3	Greg Biffle
13		Dale Earnhardt Jr basically had his 2009 template race at Texas. If only his pit crew didn’t use a shorter pole this weekend (That’s a new one) then at least his pit penalties could have been avoided. As I said earlier this year, Earnhardt Jr is on my primary fantasy racing team this year and I feel the same pain that all the other members of Jr Nation feel. Anyone got a good luck charm?
-1	Dale Earnhardt Jr
14		Where was Harvick on Sunday? He sure sunk like a rock, but why was the 29 off so much? I expected some good things out of Harvick in Texas especially with his 4th place finish at Atlanta. Inconsistency is probably my number one fantasy racing pet peeve (have you noticed) and the fact that it happened at an Intermediate track that is in the Chase (oh the humanity) should be considered unacceptable for an organization like RCR.
-3	Kevin Harvick
15		Kasey Kahne finished 19th at Texas. The main question I have for fantasy racers that like Kahne is “Do you trust him”? His career points finish trend isn’t something that should be overlooked. Every other year he has a good season and in this cycle he’s in the bad one.
-1	Kasey Kahne

Onebadwheel NASCAR Blog

Brandon Sanderson making the rounds again this week, interviewing across the fantasy blogosphere, and Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist offers a review of The Way of Kings. A few other reviews and interviews crossed this week including The Exile by Diana Gabaldon and an interview with Naomi Novik. A new Harry Potter film trailer was released, and don’t miss Pat Rothfuss in Clash of the Geeks. And, as always, The Guild with another home run episode.

• Review: The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson @ Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist
• Review: The Exile by Diana Gabaldon @ Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review
• Review: Soul Stealers by Andy Remic @ Fantasy Book Critic
• Review: The Spirit Thief by Rachel Aaron @ Grasping for the Wind
• Interview: Brandon Sanderson @ The Mad Hatter
• Interview (video): Brandon Sanderson @ BSC
• Interview: Naomi Novik @ The BookBanter Blog
• Interview: Brent Weeks @ BSC
• Film: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows trailer released @ Geeks of Doom
• Film Review: Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole @ Time Out Chicago
• Release: Clash of the Geeks by Various (feat. Patrick Rothfuss) @ Grasping for the Wind

The Guild: Season 4, Episode 10: Festival of the Sea

Fantasy Book News

Fantasy Book News

Towers of Midnight holds strong in the number one position for the third week straight, with the only other book from last week being The Exile by Diana Gabaldon. New entries this week include Bayou Moon and Alpha, with The Gathering Storm (Kindle Edition) making a return to the Amazon top 5 fantasy bestseller list this week.

1. Towers of Midnight (Hardcover) by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
2. Bayou Moon (Kindle) by Ilona Andrews
3. The Gathering Storm (Kindle) by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
4. Alpha (Kindle) by Rachel Vincent
5. The Exile (Hardcover) by Diana Gabaldon

Fantasy Book News

Introit
Boyce: O where shall wisdom be found
Responses: Shepherd
Psalms: 27 – 29
Hymns: 455 tune 94, ‘Let me but feel’ tune NEH 320
Canticles
Moore: Canterbury Service
Anthem
Parry: There is an old belief
Voluntary: Mendelssohn War March of the Priests

Fantasy Music List

Here is the cover for next year’s new Jacqueline Carey novel, Naamah’s Blessing.

Along with video of Jacqueline reading from that forthcoming book!
Suvudu » Science Fiction and Fantasy Books, Movies, Comics, and Games