My Top Ten Books of 2011

I have read 88 books so far this year, and should get to (and maybe even pass) 90 by New Year's Day.  SO, unless I read something exceptionally good in the next 2 weeks, this is pretty much my top ten list for 2011.  I had some difficult decisions to make, as I was fortunate enough to read an unusually large amount of GOOD books this year.


Here's my Top Ten, with links back to my original reviews:



10) IDOLS & CONS by S.S. Michaels.  There were a few stellar debut novels released in 2011, and this was easily one of the best.
IDOLS & CONS by S.S. Michaels
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9) THE SORROW KING by Andersen Prunty.  Bizarro fave Prunty showed he can write a solid horror novel on par with the big boys.  This is as creepy as it gets.
THE SORROW KING by Andersen Prunty
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8) THE GERMAN by Lee Thomas.  Here's one author who continues to get better with each passing novel or short story.
THE GERMAN by Lee Thomas
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7) FOR EMMY by Mary SanGiovanni.  SanGiovanni's novella is (hands down) the SCARIEST horror story I read this year.  It packs more punch than most full-sized novels.
FOR EMMY by Mary SanGiovanni
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6) DEVIL TREE by Steve Vernon.  Leaving his trademark dark humor behind, Vernon also took his gloves off and delivered a genuinely frightening horror novel.
DEVIL TREE by Steve Vernon
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5) ENGINES OF DESIRE by Livia Llewellyn.  The all-around BEST (and most original) short story collection of 2011.  A couple of stories have stayed with me since reading this back in February.
ENGINES OF DESIRE by Livia Llewellyn
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4) RULE 34 by Charles Stross.  In this loose sequel to Stross' 2007 novel HALTING STATE, we're back in the world of an ever-present Internet where obscure appliance murders cause headaches for Inspector Liz Kavanaugh.  This quirky futuristic thriller is a prime example of why Stross is one of the best science fiction writers working today.
RULE 34 by Charles Stross
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3) RETURN TO DARKNESS by Michael Laimo.  Laimo's 2004 DEEP IN THE DARKNESS is an all-time personal favorite of mine.  This long-awaited sequel is every bit as scary, engaging, and downright DARK as the original.  It's the fastest I've read through a novel in ages.
RETURN TO DARKNESS by Michael Laimo
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2) KIN by Kealan Patrick Burke.  Burke pulled off no small feat here: he took what could have been a silly, b-movie backwoods redneck slasher plot and turned it into something fresh and terrifying.  Brilliant.
KIN by Kealen Patrick Burke
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AND NOW, MAY WE HAVE A DRUM ROLL PLEASE:

1) EUTOPIA by David Nickle.  Nickle's debut novel reads as if written by a seasoned pro.  EUTOPIA combines several genres into a strange, conspiracy-laden yarn of subtle terror and memorable characters that was a PURE pleasure from start to finish.  THE most impressive (and all around best) novel I read this year.
EUTOPIA by David Nickle
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Some other titles that didn't make my top ten list but I felt compelled to mention:
- COSMIC FORCES by Gregory Lamberson is the third novel in his Jake Helman supernatural P.I. series, and like the two before it's packed with non-stop occult action goodness and gives us a deeper look into Helman's mind.
- IN LAYMON'S TERMS edited by Kelly Laymon, Steve Gerlach and Richard Chizmar.  This HUGE, long-awaited tribute (in both fiction and remembrances) to the late Richard Laymon was well worth the wait.  Not just for Laymon fans, it deserves a place on ANY horror fiction fan's bookshelf.
-DARK STARS RISING by Shade Rupe is a mammoth collection of interviews the author conducted over the years with some of the wildest, strangest, and most innovative entertainers, artists, and film makers on the planet.  UK Publisher Headpress gets major kudos here for the most ATTRACTIVE page layouts I've seen in many a moon.
Eric Mays' KARAOKE DEATH SQUAD was one of the more entertaining bizarro novels with an idea that I still can't get enough of.  It WILL make you want to pick up a microphone...

See ya next year, kiddies!