Best Books of 2013

The books I rated highest from my 2013 reading.

1. 1
   

   Blood Song

   by Anthony Ryan

   My top read of the year. Anthony Ryan's debut is one of the best fantasy novels of the decade.

   A
2. 2
   

   The Hobbit

   by J.R.R. Tolkien

   Better the second time around. Tolkien's warmth and invention are unmatched.

   A
3. 3
   

   Feet of Clay

   by Terry Pratchett

   Pratchett uses the golem mystery to explore questions of identity and slavery. Brilliant.

   A
4. 4
   

   Across the Nightingale Floor

   by Lian Hearn

   Beautiful Japanese-inspired fantasy. Lian Hearn's prose sets an atmosphere unlike anything else in the genre.

   A-
5. 5
   

   The Mystery Knight

   by George R.R. Martin

   The best of the Dunk and Egg stories. Martin at his most fun and accessible.

   A-
6. 6
   The Man Who Sold the Moon

   The Man Who Sold the Moon

   by Ray Bradbury

   Heinlein's entrepreneurial vision of space colonization reads as almost prophetic today.

   A-
7. 7
   

   Rendezvous with Rama

   by Arthur C. Clarke

   Clarke's sense of scale and mystery is peerless. The alien vessel feels genuinely alien.

   A-
8. 8
   

   Waylander

   by David Gemmell

   Gemmell's lone assassin story is pure heroic fantasy. The ending is memorable.

   A-
9. 9
   

   The Three Musketeers

   by Alexandre Dumas

   The original. The pace, wit, and camaraderie hold up remarkably well.

   B+
10. 10
    

    Casino Royale

    by Ian Fleming

    Fleming's original Bond is sharper and darker than the films. A genuinely good spy novel.

    B+