Best Books of 2017
The books I rated highest from my 2017 reading.
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1

Traitor's Blade
The best swashbuckling fantasy I have ever read. De Castell's Greatcoats are everything the Three Musketeers promised.
A- -
2

Kings of the Wyld
Nicholas Eames captures the fun of old-school adventure with a genuinely fresh voice. Hilarious and exciting.
B+ -
3

Norse Mythology
Gaiman's retelling of the Norse myths is the best introduction to them I have found. Loki is magnificent.
B+ -
4

Red Sister
Mark Lawrence's best book. The convent setting and the protagonist's voice are unlike anything else in fantasy.
B+ -
5

Lucifer's Hammer
Niven and Pournelle's comet-strike apocalypse is relentless. The survival calculus is grimly compelling.
B+ -
6

The Legion of Flame
The second Draconis Memoria novel continues with the same high energy as the first.
B+ -
7

Off to Be the Wizard
A clever premise executed with sharp comic timing. The programmer-discovers-simulation idea is endlessly fun.
B+ -
8

Sins of Empire
McClellan launches a new Powder Mage trilogy with the same reliable quality as the original.
B -
9

A Gathering of Shadows
The second Shades of Magic novel improves on the first. The magical tournament is great fun.
B -
10

City of Miracles
The City of Stairs trilogy ends well. Bennett brings the threads together satisfyingly.
B