2009 Book of the Year Awards

We’ve been on a brief hiatus from the site, but I’m going to kick it off when the nominations for the Peter Hodges (fourth annual) book of the year awards.

For me to consider a novel in this category, it must have been published during the calendar year of 2009, I must have read it, and it must be in the genre of speculative fiction.

The nominees are:

• The Sword of the Lady, S. M. Stirling
• Warbreaker, Brandon Sanderson
• Without Warning, John Birmingham
• Best Served Cold, Joe Abercrombie
• First Lord’s Fury, Jim Butcher

In two cases, there are authors who published twice during the year, and both of their novels were eligible. Brandon Sanderson continued the Wheel of Time series with The Gathering Storm. Despite the fact that this is the best Wheel of Time novel since Lord of Chaos, this is continuation of Robert Jordan’s world. It is expertly executed, but does not show Brandon Sanderson’s originality in the same way that Warbreaker does. Jim Butcher wrapped his Codex Alera series (First Lord’s Fury) and also published Turncoat, the latest of the Harry Dresden cycle. While I love the Dresden novels, they’re mass-market urban fantasy that doesn’t show the range that Butcher is capable of.

I’ll ponder the range of each novel over the next few weeks or so and announce the winner. Feel free to sound off in the comment section below on the nominees, or on a novel I may have left out.