Locus Magazine critics' choice for best sf of 2007

The annual Locus Magazine Recommended Reading List just came out -- it's the critical consensus of Locus's reviewers on the best science fiction and fantasy of the year, and a more reliable guide to great speculative fiction you will not find. I'm pleased to say that my short story collection Overclocked and my novella After the Siege made the cut!

SF novels

* HARM, Brian W. Aldiss (Del Rey; Duckworth)
* The Sons of Heaven, Kage Baker (Tor)
* Conqueror, Stephen Baxter (Gollancz; Ace)
* Undertow, Elizabeth Bear (Bantam Spectra)
* Till Human Voices Wake Us, Mark Budz (Bantam Spectra)
* The Yiddish Policemen's Union, Michael Chabon (HarperCollins)
* Spook Country, William Gibson (Putnam; Viking UK)
* In War Times, Kathleen Ann Goonan (Tor)
* The Accidental Time Machine, Joe Haldeman (Ace)
* Mainspring, Jay Lake (Tor)
* The Execution Channel, Ken MacLeod (Orbit UK; Tor)
* Brasyl, Ian McDonald (Pyr; Gollancz)
* Black Man, Richard Morgan (Gollancz; Del Rey as Thirteen)
* Shelter, Susan Palwick (Tor)
* Engineer Trilogy: Devices and Desires / Evil for Evil / The Escapement, K. J. Parker (Orbit UK; Orbit US)
* The Prefect, Alastair Reynolds (Gollancz; Ace 6/08)
* Sixty Days and Counting, Kim Stanley Robinson (Bantam Spectra; HarperCollins UK)
* Bad Monkeys, Matt Ruff (HarperCollins; Bloomsbury UK)
* Queen of Candesce, Karl Schroeder (Tor)
* Halting State, Charles Stross (Ace)
* Ha'Penny, Jo Walton (Tor)
* Axis, Robert Charles Wilson (Tor)

Link

• [Snipe]

  Ms. Nlsn-Hydn:

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  f Mr. Dctrw nd cmpny fnd ths srt f cmmnt nccptbl, thn pls dlt my ccnt.

• [Jeff]

  Good for Charles Stross! Great book!

• [clothingoptional]

  I agree with Jeff. Just finished Halting State on cross-country flight. My head is still spinning. Just a wall of ideas, crashing against the insides of my skull. Wow.

• [stevew]

  3rd vote for Halting State, it was great. Haven’t been to Locus in a while, but this list is what I’d be looking for. Thanks Cory and congratulations.

• [Snipe]

  dn’t mnd Cry’s pndrng whn t’s sbtl, ths pst s ccptbl t m. H dsn’t mntn hmslf n th hdln, mrly n th bdy f th pst nd t’s rlvnt t smthng f brdr ntrst. Cngrts C-mn.

• [remthewanderer]

  I read Mainspring by Jay Lake. I would love to hear others insight on this book. To me this book had a great premise but then a whole lot of nothing. Oh but it did have monkey/human sex. That was great… I mean weird, that was weird.

  Halting State is on my to read book shelf, I think I may pick that up next.

• [Teresa Nielsen Hayden / Moderator]

  Hurrah, Axis and Ha’penny and The Execution Channel!

• [Takuan]

  oh shut up

• [publishscaryshortstories]

  Thanks for posting this list. I have been looking for original short stories, especially sci-fi right now that are 2500 to 3500 words and could have been on Twilight Zone. Any sci-fi writers game? Online submission at http://www.wrongworld.com

• [Snipe]

  Are you a moderator? You never seem to be disemvowelled for trolling.

• [publishscaryshortstories]

  I forgot to mention. Paying pro rates – 7 1/2 cents per word. http://www.wrongworld.com for submission guidelines.

• [burningrome]

  I loved William Gibson’s Spook Country but I fail to see how it’s SF. If it is, then so is Tom Clancy……

• [Ralph Giles]

  Rem: That was my impression as well. Fabulous steampunk fantasy, but then it turned into a christian allegory, with little else around to keep one’s interest if one wasn’t looking to read a christian alegory. And the monkey thing was a bit too…colonial to be great for me.

  I’d love to hear a more positive interpretation.

• [Teresa Nielsen Hayden / Moderator]

  Snipe, Takuan is not a moderator, and he occasionally loses vowels. But he does have this going for him: if he’s going to be grossly condescending, he’ll probably be funny about it. He’ll also acknowledge that that’s what he’s doing, instead of presenting it as unconvincing praise.

• [joelklabo]

  are these ranked? or in no particular order?

• [Moon]

  I only read Spook Country and Brasyl, but if those are two of the best, SF is in trouble.

  They were good, but not great.

  That said, at least I have a reading list!!

• [DEL]

  I have to give a Karl Schroeder and Charles Stross props for their amazing books.

  Halting State like his other works is mind blowing and mind opening.

  Queen of Candensce was just reread amazing character developement and his world building continues to startle. Very original.