Bookbanter’s Top 20 Reads of 2015
Seveneves
Neal Stephenson
The research at times is mind boggling as he goes from complex aerospace technology to well calculated genetics to thought out sociology. He literally brings the human race to the brink of extinction. [READ REVIEW]
.2.
Bazaar of Bad Dreams
Stephen King
The Bazaar of Bad Dreams is perhaps King’s best collection of stories since his debut collection Night Shift. [READ REVIEW]
.3.
Dead Ringers
Christopher Golden
What they have in common is a special house where bad things happened, where bodies were found that had been buried for a long time. [READ REVIEW]
.4.
The Sandman Overture
Neil Gaiman
Dream travels to a place and time where he encounters the many manifestations of the sandman across the entire universe. [READ REVIEW]
.5.
Aurora
Kim Stanley Robinson
. . . humanity has specifically evolved to survive on Planet Earth, wherever they hope to travel to in the universe they will be landing on a planet or moon where they have not evolved and face high risk to become sick and infected . . . [READ REVIEW]
.6.
The Wright Brothers
David McCullough
He doesn’t just tell the story of flight, but shows the full lives of the Wrights; how they interacted with each other and lived their daily lives. [READ REVIEW]
.7.
The Fifth Heart
Dan Simmons
Sherlock Holmes is in Paris on a foggy night and finds Henry James by the Seine about to commit suicide. [READ REVIEW]
.8.
The Fold
Peter Clines
The problem is there have been a few anomalous readings, and one person who was visiting to check out the device, went through with no problem, then flew back home and apparently went insane, claiming his wife wasn’t who she said she was. [READ REVIEW]
.9.
Uprooted
Naomi Novik
The Dragon is an old wizard who lives in his tower, guarding and protecting the realm from the forest. Those who stray into the forest rarely ever come out alive; those that do come out changed, twisted, evil things looking to hurt and kill. [READ REVIEW]
.10.
Saturn Run
John Sandford & Ctein
Then the race is on to get a crew together and get them to Jupiter as quick as possible to find what out what’s going on. [READ REVIEW]
.11.
Stranger
Rachel Manija Brown & Sherwood Smith
You’re either a normal human or a mutant who is “Changed,” giving you special powers and abilities. There are those who will respect you for being different and others who will despise you, even inside those safe town walls, so watch your back. [READ REVIEW]
.12.
The Best Team Money Can Buy
Molly Knight
Just as they began the interview in his native Texas, Kershaw learned he had just gotten a new contract with the Dodgers for a record seven-year $215 million deal. But he still did the interview, even though his phone was vibrating nonstop. [READ REVIEW]
.13.
The Marvels
Brian Selznick
When he finds his uncle, he convinces him to let him stay in the wonderfully unusual house of Albert Nightingale which is kind of a combination of Hearst Castle and Winchester Mystery house . . . [READ REVIEW]
.14.
The Living Years
Mike Rutherford
But Mike also has plenty of stories and anecdotes to tell and doesn’t hold back when it comes to commentary on “drugs and rock’n’roll.” [READ REVIEW]
.15.
Career of Evil
Robert Galbraith
Thinking it a possible gift from her fiance, she opens it up and discovers a woman’s severed leg inside. [READ REVIEW]
.16.
Saga Volume 4
Brian K. Vaughan
Alana is an actress in an underground entertainment outlet known as the Open Circuit, but there is a lot of stress and strain forcing her to take a drug to cope. [READ REVIEW]
.17.
Finders Keepers
Stephen King
The question is should Pete turn in what he has found to the authorities, or perhaps use the money to help his family who are in deep financial troubles and at risk of divorce? [READ REVIEW]
.18.
Solarversia
Toby Downton
The year is 2020 and Solarversia is an MMORPG like no other. It lasts an entire year, as players complete puzzles and obstacles, leveling up and traveling to new places around the planet. By the time the game officially begins, there are 100 million players. [READ REVIEW]
.19.
The Sculptor
Scott McCloud
After having a conversation with a deceased family member he strikes up a deal with death and is able to create art with his bare hands. [READ REVIEW]
.20.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
George R. R. Martin
In some ways, these stories are on par and perhaps a little better than the lengthy books, for they are simpler, more straightforward and Martin seems to be having more fun in this world when it’s not tied up with the giant, overwhelming series. [READ REVIEW]
