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Here are the best of 2008. These are not necessarily things that first appeared this year, they are just the things that I read, watched or listened to this year, excluding personal reading projects.
The best books I read in 2008 were:
- Rollback by Robert J. Sawyer (2007)
- Laika by Nick Abadzis (2007)
- Spectrum 14 edited by Cathy and Arnie Fenner (2007)
- The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. LeGuin (1971)
- Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (2008)
- The Affinity Bridge by George Mann (2008)
- Necroscope by Brian Lumley (1977)
- Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle (1963)
- The Watchmen by Alan Moore (1987)
- Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse edited by John Joseph Adams (2008)
- Seeds of Change edited by John Joseph Adams (2008)
- Galactic North by Alastair Reynolds (2007)
- Mini-Masterpieces of Science Fiction edited by Allan Kaster (2008)
- Fast Forward 2 edited by Lou Anders (2008)
- Iron Man (2008)
- The Dark Knight (2008)
- Wall-E (2008)
- Planet of the Apes (1968)
- Timecrimes (2007)
BOOKS, ANTHOLOGIES AND COLLECTIONS:
Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse edited by John Joseph Adams- Half the Blood of Brooklyn by Charlie Huston
Debatable Space by Philip Palmer- Three Shadows by Cyril Pedrosa
- The Dreaming Void by Peter F. Hamilton
Rollback by Robert J. Sawyer
Jumper by Steven Gould
Griffin's Story by Steven Gould
Jim Baen's Universe #11- Hunter's Run by George R.R. Martin, Gardener Dozois, & Daniel Abraham
- Galactic Empires edited by Gardner Dozois
- Blue War by Jeffrey Thomas
Laika by Nick Abadzis- [Various] 2007 Nebula Award Short Fiction Nominees
- Spectrum 14 edited by Cathy and Arnie Fenner
- Space Vulture by Gary K. Wolf and Archbishop John J. Meyers
- Pump Six and Other Stories by Paolo Bacigalupi
- The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. LeGuin
- The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction, Volume 2 edited by George Mann
- Majestrum by Matthew Hughes
- Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
- [Various] 2008 Hugo Award Short Fiction Nominees
- The Digital Plague by Jeff Somers
- Little Vampire by Joann Sfar
- Jim Baen's Universe #12
- The Crystal Cosmos by Rhys Hughes
- [Various] Chris Roberson's Celestial Empire Stories (Part 1)
- The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year Volume 2 edited by Jonathan Strahan
- Sly Mongoose by Tobias S. Buckell
- The Affinity Bridge by George Mann
- Plague Year
- Seeds of Change edited by John Joseph Adams
- Stalking the Unicorn by Mike Resnick
- Galactic North by Alastair Reynolds
- Mini-Masterpieces of Science Fiction edited by Allan Kaster
- The Year's Best Science Fiction #25 edited by Gardner Dozois
- Zoe's Tale by John Scalzi
- Pirate Sun by Karl Schroeder
- Every Last Drop by Charlie Huston
- Sideways in Crime edited by Lou Anders
- Necroscope by Brian Lumley
- Beyond Apollo by Barry Malzberg
- Stalking the Vampire by Mike Resnick
- The Living Dead edited by John Joseph Adams
- Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle
- Sunborn by Jeffrey A. Carver
- Hater by David Moody
- Iron Jaw and Hummingbird by Chris Roberson
- Extraordinary Engines edited by Nick Gevers
- Fast Forward 2 edited by Lou Anders
- The Watchmen by Alan Moore
- Cloverfield - Take away the gimmicky shaky camera and you have a mediocre monster flick.
- Spider-Man 3 - Lots of good elements but sadly not put together well.
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - Yeah, totally incredulaous, but still a high nostalgic quotient.
- Iron Man - A well-done superhero flick? What could possibly be better? Maybe...
- The Dark Knight - Not just a good superhero flick, but also a great film.
- Wall-E - When I hear people who didn't get it, I tell them "What? It's a biting social commentary on modern cosumerism and eco-negligence. What's not to love?"
- Light and the Sufferer - A near-identical translation of the source material, with the same problems, too.
- Planet of the Apes (1968) - An excellent science fiction film whose social commentary still stands up today.
- The X-Files: I Want to Believe - Felt like a decent epsiode of the TV series.
- Transformers - Dumb fun.
- Timecrimes - A tightly-plotted, intelligent time travel thriller.
There's not much to report on the television front. This was the year I gave up on Heroes and The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Clone Wars never held my attention for more than 3 episodes.
I've been enjoying Eureka, Doctor Who, The Sarah Jane Adventures, and especially the new X-Files clone Fringe. Oh, and Doctor Horrible was exactly the opposite.
SUMMARY
I had a very good reading year! Compared with last year, I did a much better job choosing material that suited my tastes. Some of the worst reading experiences were with short stories. I read fewer books than last year, I think because time has been at a premium. I therefore augmented my reading time with graphic novels and shorter works. I still managed to get in 51 book-related reviews done, though, which is more than I thought I'd do.
Anyway, that's my year!
Comments (11)
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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday January 01, 2009 at 12:28 AM
© 2009 SF Signal
John, I enjoy your reviews, but I'd like to ask how old you are? It seems you enjoy books which seem made for younger readers, so I'd like to know.
Posted by Jerry on Thursday January 01, 2009 at 4:02 PM
Interesting assessment. How did you arrive at it? I count only three books specifically aimed at young adult readers...
At any rate, I'm old enough to have seen Star Wars when it was originally released at my local drive-in and tell my kids "I remember when..." 
Posted by John D. on Thursday January 01, 2009 at 6:19 PM
Hi John, Well, it wasn't meant to be demeaning, and I see you didn't take it that way. I notice you seem to have chosen some graphic novelsand I always thought these were for younger readers.Apparently I am wrong as I just noticed on Scalzi's site that he is looking forward to seeing Watchmen( I guess it's being made into a movie?) Upon those recommendations I will check out this book. Also since you'd reviewed older books( nothing wrong with that, in fact it is very welcome) like Planet of the Apes, I merely guessed you were in your 30s or so. Sometimes generational differences can play important parts in choosing one's reading material. Keep up the good work
Posted by Jerry on Thursday January 01, 2009 at 9:43 PM
Thanks, Jerry. I think it's wise for readers of reviews to take note of a reviewer's likes and dislikes if so inclined...that way they can decide if that reviewer's tastes match their own.
And yes, Watchmen is definitely *not* aimed at young adult readers. I wasn't too excited about film, so I read the graphic novel to see what the hubbub was about. It's certainly an eye-opener if you thought graphic novels are meant for younger adults. And now I definitely want to see the film.
Posted by John D. on Thursday January 01, 2009 at 9:56 PM
A very nice year in review, John. I was hoping you would do one. I have already noted several books that I want to read after checking out the links to your reviews, including the the Alastair Reynolds short story collection. I am a big fan of the medium and am always looking for new collections to read. I think I'll check out Chasm City first though based on your review to give me at leas some background of the world first.
I thought you did a particularly nice job of reviewing Zoe's Tale considering that you rated it much lower than I did. You really hit on the strengths and gave legitimate reasons for downgrading your rating without putting others off reading it. Very well done, I learned a lot from that review.
I also really want to pick up and read Pump Six by Paolo Bacigalupi at some point this year. I enjoyed The People of Sand and Slag in the Wastelands collection last year and have read so many good things about him that I do want to check that collection out.
I look forward to seeing what you read/review in 2009. Happy New Year John and thanks for all you do to make SFSignal a wonderful place to visit.
Posted by Carl V. on Friday January 02, 2009 at 1:42 AM
I was surprised we'd only read three books in common, all collections--the Reynolds and Dozois anthologies. I'd have given the Dozois sets higher ranks, but I'm nuts for his tastes--his anthologies have let me sample shorter works by authors now among my favorites. Speaking of such, I missed the review of Galatic North somehow, and just read it last month. I was surprised you didn't mention the sadistically Bierce-ian horror aspect of three stories--I quite loved seeing Reynolds pull that off! And his tales in the Dozois anthologies show how he's capable of much more beyond his Revelation Space setting . . .
(Oh Carl, I'd avoid Chasm City for a bit--I find it the least of his books, and it reads more like a first novel. There's a lot of cyberpunk pastiche, and a lot of what I term "I've got the gun!" "Aha, no, now I've got the gun!" plotting. Galactic North is a better introduction to his linked space opera novels . . .)
From this list, I'm most intrigued by the new Anders collection, I've heard nothing but good things. And I was surprised by the omission of Swanwick's Dragon's of Babylon, surely on most award short lists. And the lack of Hellboy II--but I'm more fond than most of Del Toro, to say nothing of Selma Blair in tight leather pants--but it's not my list!
Posted by Jeff Legg on Friday January 02, 2009 at 10:34 AM
Carl,
Thanks for the kind words. And I would definitely recommend Pump Six if you are at all interested. That one is already lauded by many as one of the Best collections of the year.
Jeff,
I can only comment on what I've consumed. I haven't read the Swanwick (though heard good things about it) and I haven't seen Hellboy II yet as much as I wanted to (though I heard mixed things on that one). And I have to respectfully disagree, I think the standalone Chasm City is an excellent introduction to Reynolds. But I also agree: Galactic North is another great Reynolds introduction and there is a Revelation Space story, so...either or. (Ooh! And also Diamond Dogs and Turquoise Days!)
Posted by John D. on Friday January 02, 2009 at 10:49 AM
Jerry, did you know that the Golden Age of SF is eleven? John is just young at heart.
So, what was the grand total on individual short stories (not anthologies)? I broke my previous record...
Posted by Fred Kiesche on Friday January 02, 2009 at 12:56 PM
I gave up counting a couple of years ago. I guess I'm just an underachiever. You, on the other hand, are a Maniac. A maniac!
Posted by John D. on Friday January 02, 2009 at 4:39 PM
John and Jeff. I split the difference and ordered both from my library. I try to read short stories on the weekends mostly so the reality is that I may be reading some of the stories from Galactic North while I'm reading Chasm City, but since I read about this first here I'll opt for starting Chasm City first. I appreciate the advice from you both though.
As for Hellboy II, I'm with Jeff on that one. I'm a big del Toro fan and possibly look at the film through fan-colored glasses, but I really enjoyed it. The only thing that annoys me is that there are extras on the blueray that I want and I do not have the money to do blueray and HD tv at this point so I opted to not buy either copy of the dvd at this point. Someday...
Posted by Carl V. on Friday January 02, 2009 at 5:30 PM