Alex Shvartsman's Speculative Fiction

I read a total of 66 novels/novellas in 2024, one full-length non-fiction book and a ton of short stories and articles. Below is the complete list of books I’d finished. There were a handful more that I bounced off of. I tend to finish most but not all of the books I start. The following few were standouts that will make it onto my award ballots. Most of these books wouldn’t be eligible since they were either published prior to 2024 or, in some cases, published in Russian. Here are my top award-eligible picks.

The Book of Love by Kelly Link
The expectations were very high for this powerhouse author’s debut novel, and she doesn’t disappoint. This New England supernatural narrative feels like a spiritual successor to The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov, my favorite Russian language book.

How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler
Humor books are hardly ever considered for awards, but it wont’ stop me from nominating this funny, irreverent take on epic fantasy tropes, where the Chosen One gives up on trying to defeat the dark lord and attempts to become the dark lord instead. Except, not so dark after all.

The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman
This fresh take on Arthurian mythos is engaging and in many ways is the book about how such mythology is built over time as it is about how such legends are formed and morph over time. A brilliant book a decade in the making that was worth waiting for.

And here’s my favorite read of 2024 overall (not award eligible as it was published a few years back):

The Stranger Times by C.K. McDonnell
I know funny. I read a LOT of speculative humor, write a lot of speculative humor, and edit anthologies of it. This was the funniest urban fantasy book I’ve read in a long time. I literally laughed out loud listening to it a number of times. It’s the story of a bunch of ne’er-do-wells who work at a tabloid as they find out the supernatural is very much real.
C.K. McDonnell is the nom de plume of retired stand-up comedian Caimh McDonnell who writes equally funny mysteries under his own name. I now own all of his books and am allowing myself one every few months, so that I can savor them rather than devour them in a matter of weeks.

And here’s the complete list of the books I’ve read/listened to in 2024, in chronological order:

Level Six – William Ledbetter
Level Seven – William Ledbetter
The Praxis – Walter Jon Williams
The Sundering – Walter Jon Williams
Conventions of War – Walter Jon Williams
The Stranger Times – C.K. McDonnell
The Unknown – Anna Askeld (Ru)
Moon Over Soho – Ben Aaranovich
Whispers Under Ground – Ben Aaranovich
The Book of Love – Kelly Link
Hard Magic – Larry Correia
Spellbound – Larry Correia
Ecumene: Puppeteer – H.L. Oldie (Ru)
Warbound – Larry Correia
Tokyo Raider – Larry Correia
Murder on the Oriental Elite – Larry Correia
The Poppy War – R.F. Kuang
The Dragon Republic – R. F. Kuang
The Burning God – R. F. Kuang
The Cognate – Alexi Salnikov (Ru)
Someone You Can Build a Nest In – John Wiswell
Ironclads – Adrian Tchaikovsky
Bear Head – Adrian Tchaikovsky
The Ocean at the End of the Lane – Neil Gaiman
A Close and Common Orbit – Becky Chambers
Brezhnev City – Shamil Idiatullin (Ru)
New Rock New Role – Richard Sparks
The Singularity Trap – Dennis E Taylor
How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying – Django Wexler
Cage of Souls – Adrian Tchaikovsky
Before February – Shamil Idiatullin (Ru)
Rogue Protocol – Martha Wells
Exit Strategy – Martha Wells
The Charming Man – CK McDonnell
Network Effect – Martha Wells
Fugitive Telemetry – Martha Wells
System Collapse – Martha Wells
Refractions – M.V. Melcer
The Bright Sword – Lev Grossman
Grand Central Station – Lavie Tidhar
The Bookman – Lavie Tidhar
Service Model – Adrian Tchaikovsky
The Mercy of Gods – James SA Corey
House of Night – Dmitry Kolodan (Ru)
Dungeon Crawler Carl – Matt Dinniman
All That We See or Seem – Ken Liu
Carl’s Doomsday Scenario – Matt Dinniman
The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook – Matt Dinniman
The Five Points Ripper – Larry Correia
The Gods Below – Andrea Stewart
Plight of the Living Dead – Matt Simon
Tigerman – Nick Harkaway
The Gate of the Feral Gods – Matt Dinniman
Constituent Service – John Scalzi
Slayers – Christopher Golden and Amber Benson
The Butcher’s Masquerade – Matt Dinniman
The Eye of the Bedlam Bride – Matt Dinniman
Not Till We Are Lost – Dennis E. Taylor
Red Rising: Sons of Ares – Pierce Brown and Rik Hoskin
Neom – Lavie Tidhar
The Saint of Bright Doors – Vajra Chandrasekera
Dreadful – Caitlin Rozakis
Saturation Point – Adrian Tchaikovsky
Piranesi – Suzanna Clarke
Glass – Tim Skorenko (Ru)
Intergalactic Megachef – Lavanya Lakshminarayan
Terminal Mind – David Walton