Best books of 2023

[System Sound]

11 hours ago, Noserenda said:

That does remind me of the reason id heard as to why the Prospero box had no tie in novel, apparently Nick Kyme wrote one, but it was so bad that even he couldnt get it published. Which makes one wonder just how bad it was.

I call bs on that. Seems like a random rumour some one just made up. Especially when The Thirteenth Wolf audio drama exists, that's is based on the box set.

[Aramis K]

Genefather was my favourite this year.

 

Lots I enjoyed about End and the Death, but lots of slog in there too. I do like when the threads weave together. I do not like giant sentences and endless frozen vignettes. I want more tell less show, somehow.

 

Cain: Vainglorious was nice, though I'd like to see some progression for Cain into new things.

 

Also read the Vampire Genevieve series which reappeared in a Humble Bundle, some very old world charm there.

[sitnam]

I have yet to read Genefather, which is next on my queue, but would be hard for it to top Fall of Cadia as my 40k book of the year. I’d be happy to be wrong, but Robert Rath is just a winner for me

 

My vote for BL book of the year might be with Godeaters Son though. AoS was very strong this year compared to 40k imo, though I don’t read Heresy so I can’t speak on that front

[Urauloth]

Dawn of Fire: Sea of Souls is a late contender but damn, it's extremely good. I think it narrowly tops out everything else for me. Great way to round out a year full of strong offerings.

[Nagashsnee]

2 minutes ago, Urauloth said:

Dawn of Fire: Sea of Souls is a late contender but damn, it's extremely good. I think it narrowly tops out everything else for me. Great way to round out a year full of strong offerings.

Yeah....same here, genefather was good but sea of souls was fantastic. 

[Noserenda]

Might have to push Sea of Souls back onto the reading list it seems

[neOh (AV)]

This year for Black Library - 100% IMO.  

 

Final of the year - The End And The Death I & II
I know, it's a bit strange to add TEATD to this list without the third part, but it's impossible to avoid it. Storylines meet, everything collapses around, climax here, climax there, duel after duel, "oh, I haven't seen you since Old Earth"...
I'm afraid to imagine how many souls of writers locked in the cellars of the Black Library went to mentally support Abnett during the writing this so-far-dilogy.

Epic of the year - The Fall of Cadia
While Dan Abnett is in the basement draining people's energy to write TEATD and Pandemonium, Robert Rath suddenly took it upon himself to create his own version of the "legendary ending" - a giant epic tale about the Fall of Cadia. It would seem that everything is already known, there is no intrigue, but Rath did an excellent job. Yes, sometimes overlong, but dramatic and heart-wrenching, The Fall of Cadia allowed us to "feel" that war through the eyes of many characters, from ordinary guardsmen to Abaddon's inner circle.

Pleasant surprise of the year - Sea of Souls
I was expecting another nail in the coffin of Dawn of Fire. Instead, I got the best Navy story since Rennie's Lord Solar Macharius and Williams' Relentless. Chris Wright is on top! 

Disappointment of the year - Shadowsun
T'au is an interesting and not boring faction. Kelly, stop making them boring. Please.

"I thought you'd be more interesting" of the year - The Lion: Son of the Forest
The return of the Primarch. A significant event that should be described accordingly. But instead, I read 200 pages of running after the bad CSM on the outskirts of the Imperium, which is sometimes interrupted by the apology of another Fallen group by the Lion. In general, the Lion's personality was really well-written, but I was hoping for much more. Oh, and the reference to the legend of the Green Knight was pretty nice.

Fantasy of the Year - Godeater's Son
The Realms of Sigmar through the eyes of a Chaos warrior. Through the eyes of a Chaos warrior who, surprisingly, can evoke sympathy or at least understanding. Of course, there are many moments for which Nguyen can be criticised, but in general, this novel turned out to be the best AoS work I've read this year - not just another battle report or tie-in, but a really good story.

Short Story of the Year - The Sum of Its Parts
Rhuairidh James appeared on my "must read" list like a bolt from the blue, writing a sad, wistful, yet somehow warm story about the long life of an ordinary tank.

LE of the Year - The Dark Coil Collection
Exactly one thousand copies. Each with a unique signature. Collect them all and solve the mystery. Perhaps never before have BL LE's been so valuable.

A loss we won't forget - Warhammer Horror
A promising series that has given us a lot of interesting and even unique works, and this year it has been replenished only with... Two collections. The first contains previously published novels, and the second contains short stories, including only 2 new ones.

Misprint of the Year - Rfalmslayer
- Who are you, warrior?
- I am Gotrek Gurnisson, the Rfalmslayer!

Stylish hat of the year - Justin D. Hill
No, have you seen it? It's pure style.

Honourable mentions:
Bad Loon Rising, Genefather, Altar of Maws, and Starstruck

Edited December 31, 2023 by neOh (AV)
misprints

[WARMASTER_]

As other have said I think like this year has been relatively sparse in new releases, though I still enjoyed a few reads

 

My top spot has to go to Cypher! This books seems to split opinions but I loved it, dripping in fantastic world building, Great prose [John’s prose really lends itself to this kind of story] well paced and John gave just enough away to make Cypher much more interesting but also not just give away everything [For me restraint is always best with that kind of character] 

 

[should also note the Audiobook for this one is one of the best performances BL has ever put out the Readers voice is literally perfect for Space Marines]
 

 

Angron - Another enjoyable read although I found myself much more interested in the GK sub plot than the main WE storyline. David G really manages to capture the esoteric brotherhood that is the GK’s perfectly IMO and i found myself always being disappointed leaving that story arc! I wish the book read more like ADB’s Emperors Gift with Angron being an overarching shadow in the book and only really turning up to destroy everything at the end… Still a good read nonetheless 

 

Volume I - really enjoyed this one especially the first half? “Fragments” is Dan at his best, he’s one of the only authors that can simultaneously capture the sheer scale of a conflict while at the same time zooming in and showing the cost at an individual level, really is just great writing on his part! The Vengeance Spirit initial assault I also thoroughly enjoyed! However maybe it’s just me but I’m thoroughly bored with the John + Ol sub plot so that somewhat drops the book for me as I’m almost scanning the page to get through 

 

[cheywood]

Edit: whoops, posted this in the 2022 thread which someone resurrected last year, so now I’ve resurrected it again. My apologies. @Kelborn would it be possible to move this post to the 2023 thread when you have a chance?
 

I’m very late to the party, as ever, but I finally finished all the 40k novels I was interested in from last year. Here’s what I thought

 

Disclaimer: I read almost everything 40k related, though I skipped Vainglorious because I’m behind on Cain, and skipped both The Rose in Darkness and Wrath of the Lost out of distaste for the authors’ past works. I’m also not quite through Leviathian, but it’s quite forgettable at best so I’m not concerned with that. 
 

1. The End and The Death Volume 1 - Controversial I know, but I just adore the strangeness of it. It truly feels like something otherworldly in comparison to every BL novel that’s come before it. The mix of styles, the turgid, beautifully purple prose. It’s excessive and absurd, but in a way I find utterly captivating. 
 

2. Fall of Cadia - a brilliant ‘elevated meat and potatoes’ 40k novel to counterbalance Abnett’s more refined fare. From the endless little details and historical references Rath throws in, to his strong eye for character and sense for story structure this is a massive event made into a perfectly digestible story filled with heartbreaking and heart-rousing moments of tragedy and triumph. Rath’s definitely the most American voice BL has, which is neither good nor bad, and I think it gives a wonderfully refreshing look at 40k in general. It’s more informal, a bit more grounded in historical military experience and at times a bit cartoony. Above all I think Rath has shown himself to be a versatile writer who can adapt genres like spy thrillers and historical war films into 40k with great ease. He reminds me a little bit of an early career Abnett in that way, always drawing from existing media to interpret 40k through new lenses.

 

3. Sea of Souls - Chris Wraight has finally delivered the Imperial Navy novel I’ve wanted for years. It’s filled with wonderful detail on the lives and logistics of serving on such a vast beast, treating the ship as a world in miniature. The void battles are exhilarating and complex, not just a mess of explosions and boarding actions like some 40k. It also has some of Wraight’s finest character work, with almost everyone feeling fully realized and complex. The fact that Wraight pairs all this with his best Fehervari impression is absolute perfection. Couldn’t recommend this enough, and I can’t Wraight for whatever he has up next. 

 

4. The End and The Death Volume 2 - Just like the first, a brilliant and bewildering look inside the strange mind of Dan Abnett. I loved this one as well, but the excessively short chapters and lack of novelty compared to the first part knock it down a few places for me. Increasingly I think of these books as Abnett’s literary interpretation of a hallucinogenic trip. The come up, the breakdown of time and space, the increasingly strange and repetitive prose that all slowly dies back down a bit by volume 3. It all feels very psychedelic to me, albeit as interpreted through the lens of future dictatorship in a world defined by magic and impossible cruelty. 

 

5. Cypher: Lord of The Fallen - Far too short, but I loved every second of it. The depiction of Terra is absolutely perfect, the prose achingly gorgeous. 40k novels about significant characters almost always reset to the status quo by the end, so I’m not mad about the limited plot and lack of info on Cypher himself. French has really reinvented himself as an author in recent years, with his post Siege works all being shorter and filled with brilliant prose. He’s also talking a lot more about the craft of writing. Sounds like he’s in a good place artistically and I always like to see that. Curious to see how Ahriman Undying is. 
 

6. Genefather - a fun, characterful novel from Guy Haley is just what I want every year. He can keep his doorstoppers, they’re not bad, but you can tell when Haley’s having fun writing vs doing what’s needed, and this book clearly feels like the former. I don’t think it’s particularly insightful on Bile, especially compared to Reynolds’ work, but it’s not appalling superficial either. Rather I think it does a good job looking at the faults of both Bile and Cawl by comparing them to one another. Good prose and fun dialogue round out one of Haley’s better works. I really hope the promise of this novel is delivered upon and Haley takes Cawl on a proper widescreen adventure next time. 
 

7. Ashes of Cadia - A fantastic debut for Reid (would be the best except for Noah Van Nguyen existing). You get a strong cast of characters, an exciting setting, good action scenes, a wealth of gruesome medical detail (Reid is a surgeon I believe) and a decent enough plotline. There were aspects of this I didn’t like - Laskari’s plotline felt like a young adult story and the story in generally felt slightly contrived, but as an introduction to Ursula Creed it works quite well. Very much looking forward to Reid’s Morvenn Vahl novel. Hopefully she continues to explore the medical side of 40k, I think that’s something most authors struggle to write about in sci-fi, where you have a lot more mathematicians than you do doctors. 
 

8. Da Gobbo Rides Again - a fun novella filled with hilarious moments. Up there with Severed as the funniest novella in 40k, I laughed aloud at numerous points. Unliked Severed it doesn’t feel as innovative, in that James is clearly playing off Brooks’ work at times. Overall a great debut. 
 

9. The King of the Spoil - I was surprised how much I liked this by the end. It felt a little young adult at first, but develops into a powerful look at the everyday horror of the Imperium and the way it drives people to despair and rage. The mystery component of it felt a little underdone, but by the end that wasn’t something I was worried about. Another year, another strong Crime novel.

 

10. Longshot - in a year of Cadian novels this took an interesting and grounded approach. Reminded me of the Russian front during WW2, which I think is intentional. A good look again at the everyday horrors of the Imperium, this time from a martial as opposed to a civil perspective. 

 

Honorary mention - God Eater’s Son. Probably the best AOS novel I’ve read, and among the most unique looks at Chaos BL has or will ever published. This took 5th place on my full BL list and I, like a few other Fraters, just want to recommend it to everyone as something worth turning to AOS for. Beautiful, beautiful prose and a wonderfully complex philosophical discussion of Chaos lie within its pages.

Edited February 14 by cheywood

[Kelborn]

Done, though I have retired from my duties as a mod, end of last year.

 

And before you ask why I bear the title, in staying true to the imperial efficient bureaucracy, some wheels take longer than others. ;)

 

 

[cheywood]

36 minutes ago, Kelborn said:

Done, though I have retired from my duties as a mod, end of last year.

 

And before you ask why I bear the title, in staying true to the imperial efficient bureaucracy, some wheels take longer than others. ;)

 

 

Ah I didn’t realize that. Thank you, and thanks for all your efforts in moderating the forum!

[Kelborn]

Thank you.

Thankfull to have been in charge of you ragtags. ;)

 

But finally, finally am I not forced to read spoiler tags anymore and can enjoy books by myself. Haha :P

 

Thanks for the past years.

It was an honor. <3