2004: A YEAR IN REVIEW

Continuing the tradition started last year, this is a year-end wrap up for my sf/fantasy/horror experiences for 2004. These are not necessarily things that first appeared this year; they are just the things that I read or watched this year.

THE BEST

• Twistor by John Cramer. An excellent story that kept me turning pages.
• Stiff by Mary Roach. Held my attention from beginning to end. (OK, not a fiction book, but still, this was a darn good read.)
• Nightwings by Robert Silverberg. A highly recommended must-read.
• Eragon by Christopher Paolini. A hugely enjoyable simple fantasy story.
• To Marry Medusa by Theodore Sturgeon. A quick but great read and a fantastic classic. Sturgeon is one of my favorites – he never fails to disappoint.
• Farmer in the Sky by Robert A. Heinlein. Another classic that is a fun read.
• The Genocides by Thomas M. Disch. Disch’s first novel, a post-apocalyptic story, is simply excellent.
• Diamond Dogs & Turquoise Days by Alastair Reynolds. These two novellas, set in the Revelation Space Universe, are both top-notch page-turners.
• The Iron Giant by Ted Hughes. The children’s book that spawned the equally great movie is thoroughly enjoyable for adults too.
• The Golden Transcendence by John C. Wright. A great ending to a consistently well-done trilogy.
• Chasm City by Alastair Reynolds. Highly recommended and, as a stand-alone novel, this is an excellent introduction into Reynolds’ Revelation Space universe.
• Redemption Ark by Alastair Reynolds. The middle, and strongest, of Reynold’s wonderful Revelation Space sequence of novels.
• Some of Your Blood by Theodore Sturgeon. An excellent horror/psychological thriller story.
• The Martian Child by David Gerrold. Light on the sf, but a touching and engrossing story.
• The Risen Empire and The Killing of Worlds by Scott Westerfeld. An excellent example of space opera done to perfection.
• Singularity by Bill DeSmedt. An immersive, taut, science fiction thrill ride.
• The Incredibles – Another winner from Pixar.
• The Day The Earth Stood Still – An excellent movie. One of my all-time favorite SF movies.
• My Short-Story-A-Day Experiment proved to be valuable in terms of discovering new authors and high-quality stories. Sure, there were some bad ones too, but overall, it was a fun and rewarding reading experience. Standout stories read this year are (Go, Go Gadget mail-Merge!)
  • “The Reluctant Book” by Paul Di Fillippo (2000)
  • “Behold The Man” by Michael Moorcock (1967)
  • “Mother to the World” by Richard Wilson (1968)
  • “Paycheck” by Philip K. Dick (1953)
  • “Passengers” by Robert Silverberg (1969)
  • “A Boy and His Dog” by Harlan Ellison (1969)
  • “Pattern” by Fredric Brown (1954)
  • “The Awakening” by Arthur C. Clarke (1952)
  • “Mute Milton” by Harry Harrison (1966)
  • “Close Behind Him” by John Wyndham (1953)
  • “Thirty Days Had September” by Robert F. Young (1957)
  • “To Cuddle Amy” by Nancy Kress (2000)
  • “Regression” by Brian Stableford (2000)
  • “Presence” by Maureen F. McHugh (2002)
  • “When It Ends” by Robert Reed (2000)
  • “The Ladykiller, as Observed from a Safe Distance” by Brian Stableford (2000)
  • “In Paradise” by Bruce Sterling (2002)
  • “Stories For Men” by John Kessel (2002)
  • “Radiant Green Star” by Lucius Shepard (2000)
  • “The Little Lamb” by Frederic Brown (1953)
  • “Caught in the Organ Draft” by Robert Silverberg (1972)
  • “Slow Life ” by Michael Swanwick (2002)
  • “Turquoise Days” by Alastair Reynolds (2002)
  • “Fermi and Frost” by Frederik Pohl (1985)
  • “The Screwfly Solution” by Alice Sheldon writing as Raccoona Sheldon (a.k.a. James Tiptree, Jr.) (1977)
  • “A Pail of Air” by Fritz Leiber (1951)
  • “Black Destroyer” by A.E. van Vogt (1939)
  • “Paying It Forward” by Michael A. Burstein (2003)
  • “Diamond Dogs” by Alastair Reynolds (2002)
  • “Robots Don’t Cry” by Mike Resnick (2003)
  • “Moon Duel” by Fritz Leiber (1965)
  • “On the Orion Line” by Stephen Baxter (2000)
  • “Light of Other Days” by Bob Shaw (1966)
  • “Think Like a Dinosaur” by James Patrick Kelly (1995)
  • “The Empire of Ice Cream” by Jeffrey Ford (2003)
  • “Downloading Midnight” by William Browning Spencer (1995)
  • “Great Wall of Mars” by Alastair Reynolds (2000)
  • “Amnesty” by Octavia Butler (2003)
  • “The Waters of Meribah” by Tony Ballantyne (2003)
  • “Hall of Mirrors” by Fredric Brown (1953)
  • “Brooklyn Project” by William Tenn (1948)
  • “Allamagoosa” by Eric Frank Russell (1955)
  • “The Ice” by Steven Popkes (2003)
  • “Calling Your Name” by Howard Waldrop (2003)
  • “Anomalous Structures Of My Dreams” by M. Shayne Bell (2003)
  • “All You Zombies…” by Robert A. Heinlein (1959)

THE BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENTS

BOOKS I COULDN’T FINISH

The Merchants’ War by Frederik Pohl and Spin State by Chris Moriarty . The Merchants’ War bored me to tears but Spin State was more a victim of poor timing.

BOOKS I FINISHED BUT WISH I DIDN’T

Terraforming Earth by Jack Williamson and Ceres Storm by David Herter. I disliked both of these books to the point of annoyance.