2011 was very much a year of flux for science fiction and fantasy; which was a wonderful thing for its fans, who got to experience countless dynamic – and in some cases, ground-breaking – releases.
In 2011, paranormal fantasy may have finally hit its high-water mark. Science fiction – particularly apocalyptic fiction – saw an undeniable revival. Zombie fiction (which I predicted would implode in 2011) continued its meteoric rise with a bunch of fantastic releases, particularly from female writers featuring female heroines. Fantasy had a solid year, due in large part to Patrick Rothfuss’ The Wise Man's Fear and literally dozens of noteworthy debuts, and vampire fiction had a disppointing year with only a few truly outstanding releases.
The steampunk renaissance – which had exploded in 2010 across all genres with stellar releases like Cherie Priest’s Dreadnought (the third installment of her Clockwork Century), Gail Carriger’s Changeless, and The Iron Duke by Meljean Brooks, to name just a few – had a surprisingly weak year in 2011. Yes, there were handful of extraordinary releases (Priest’s Ganymede, Phoenix Rising by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris, et. al.) but the wildly innovative writing that got me so excited about steampunk in 2010 just wasn’t there collectively in 2011.
Paranormal fantasy had a phenomenal year in 2011, powered by releases like Kim Harrison’s Pale Demon, Kat Richardson’s Downpour, Richard Kadrey’s Aloha from Hell, and The Breaking by Marcus Pelegrimas. But for the first time that I can remember – and I’ve been doing this for almost 20 years – 2011 did not produce very many truly exciting debut authors. There were a few stand-up-and-applaud releases – Jonathan Wood’s No Hero was arguably one of the most unique novels I’ve ever read. I described it as a “psychotropic cocktail of science fiction, urban fantasy, Lovecraftian horror, hard-boiled mystery, and unadulterated man love for Kurt Russell.” I also enjoyed Jenn Bennett’s Kindling the Moon, Sandy Williams’ The Shadow Reader, and Kevin Hearne’s Iron Druid Chronicles (Hounded, Hexed, and Hammered) but the number of much-heralded debuts that turned out to be uninspired, cliché-laden schlock was troubling.
The reason that I even bring up debut novelists should be apparent – without new blood, any genre, no matter how popular, will eventually wither. Paranormal fantasy has the most creative writers in all of genre fiction – it’s the wild frontier of genre fiction – but if audacious, new novelists don’t continue to expand the boundaries of paranormal fantasy and redefine was it is, it’ll get stagnant pretty quickly.
2010, for me, was the Year of the Zombie – there were literally dozens of zombie-powered novels that just blew me away in ’10. I didn’t think that kind of innovation could continue in 2011 – but I was totally wrong.
Two things strike me as I look back on zombie fiction in 2011: the continued rise of female writers (and female protagonists) in a category that has been traditionally male – writers like Sophie Littlefield (Aftertime), Rhiannon Frater, Mira Grant, Joan Frances Turner, etc. – and the infusion of more than a few stellar debut novelists. Unlike paranormal fantasy, which had very few noteworthy debuts this year, zombie fiction had a virtual horde of brilliant debuts, including Rhiannon Frater’s The First Days, The Becoming by Jessica Meigs, Thomas S. Roche’s The Panama Laugh, and Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel.
Vampire fiction, which was huge in 2010, had a down year, with only a few truly outstanding releases. Michael Rowe’s debut novel Enter, Night, was easily the most unforgettable read, I described it as “a dark masterpiece that virtually burns the pages with a bloody incandescence.” I also loved Queen of Kings by Maria Dahvana Headley and the final installment of Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan’s The Strain trilogy, The Night Eternal.
2011 was a surprisingly – I would say even shockingly – good year for science fiction. There were solid releases from genre giants like Ben Bova, Robert J. Sawyer, Vernor Vinge, etc. but the most remarkable aspect of the year was the quantity and quality of debut novels: my top five picks were all written by first-time novelists!
Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One was unarguably one of the most entertaining and downright enjoyable novels that I’ve ever read, a “glorious fusion of near future science fiction, epic fantasy quest, and unlikely love story, that above all else, was an homage to the 1980s.” Set in a decidedly dismal near-future beleaguered by an ongoing energy crisis and economic recession, it follows a 18-year old gamer as he tries to unlock the life-changing secrets in a free massively-multiplayer online game that encompasses thousands of virtual worlds and has become “a new way of life” for millions of disillusioned humans seeking escape from their depressing lives. This is a masterpiece – an absolute "must read" for science fiction and fantasy fans, particularly those who grew up during the '80s.
Will McIntosh’s debut novel, an unconventional work of apocalyptic fiction entitled Soft Apocalypse, was so good, I stated in my review: “If Soft Apocalypse isn’t nominated for a Hugo or Nebula Award, I will eat the entire book page by page…
Rob Ziegler’s Seed was another exceptional post-apocalyptic novel, set in a 22nd century America that is inhabited by millions of starving migrants and ruled by a bioengineering corporation/living city/godlike entity named Satori. The government is essentially useless, now only good for helping distribute Satori’s genetically modified seeds to the people. Brilliant world building, an impressively thick storyline, and some powerful social speculation make this another “must read.” Seed is very much comparable to Paolo Bacigalupi’s style of writing, specifically his Hugo Award nominated novelette “The Calorie Man.”
Fantasy in 2011 was all about Patrick Rothfuss and his Kingkiller Chronicle. The two novels in Rothfuss’ Kingkiller Chronicle (The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man's Fear, which was released last March) are unarguably the best fantasy fiction that I have ever read.
There were numerous noteworthy fantasy debuts in 2011 – Col Buchanan’s Farlander, James L. Sutter's Death's Heretic, The Desert of Souls by Howard Andrew Jones, Mark Lawrence's Prince of Thorns, etc. – but in my opinion Rothfuss’ release overshadowed them all.
Here are a few predictions for 2012:
• It should be a big "bounce back" year for vampire fiction if two blockbuster releases hit the shelves: the sequel to Justin Cronin’s The Passage, tentatively titled The Twelve, and the concluding volume of Clay and Susan Griffith’s Vampire Empire trilogy.
• Zombie fiction should have another solid year with the concluding volumes of some great series scheduled to drop in ‘12: namely Horizon by Sophie Littlefield, Blackout by Mira Grant, and Siege by Rhiannon Frater.
• Horror should experience a renaissance with the release of Laird Barron's first novel, The Croning. As Rothfuss is to fantasy, I think Barron could be the horror. The guy is jaw-droppingly brilliant – the next coming of H.P. Lovecraft: mark my words.
• With the first part of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit movie scheduled to debut in December of 2012, I wouldn’t be surprised to see more mainstream readers revisiting classic fantasy and (hopefully) new fantasy – as well as wearing “hairy feet” Hobbit slippers and eating lembas bread for second breakfast.
• And even though one might assume that 2012 will be a great year for apocalyptic fiction (thanks to some old Mayan calendar), I'll predict that we'll see a marked increase in forgettable, end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it novels.
So, with that, I bid a fond farewell to the releases of 2011 – and give much thanks to all of the authors who made it a such an extraorinary year! On to the releases of 2012!!!
Paul Goat Allen has been a full-time book reviewer specializing in genre fiction for the last two decades and has written thousands of reviews for companies like Publishers Weekly, The Chicago Tribune, Kirkus Reviews, and BarnesandNoble.com. He is a member of the National Book Critics Circle.
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