The Interdependency Series on NPR’s List of Favorite SF/F of the Last Decade
Posted on August 18, 2021 Posted by John Scalzi 15 Comments
Which, you know, is nice. Here’s the whole list, in case you’re curious. I think it’s a pretty darn defensible list of choices for the last decade in SF/F. It reflects both the current state of the art in the genre, and what’s been commercial and buzzy, concepts that sometimes but not always overlap. And while of course there are places to argue with the list (one or more of your favorite SF/F books/series is almost sure not to be in there but could have been), as a general gestalt of the field’s last decade, it’s solid. I’m happy to have my work in there. If this is the Interdependency’s peer group, it’s in impressive company.
(Also this is the second NPR SF/F overview I’ve been on; a decade ago Old Man’s War got onto the previous one covering the whole of the genre to that date. Can’t complain about that. Nice to see my career’s got a bit of leg to it.)
So, if you’ve been meaning to catch up on more modern SF/F but don’t know where to begin, or have a friend in a similar boat, here’s a good list to get you started, and clearly, you can branch off from there.
— JS
Whoa, what a list. So many favorites on there! I think I’ll make myself a nice checklist and add the rest to my TBR list. You are in some great company there, but then, so are they.
Congratulations. Well deserved, along with everyone else on the list.
Good variety! I made my own list before looking at this one and there was considerable overlap. Also, I was reminded of several titles/series I’ve been meaning to try. Too bad they only allowed one title (or series) per author – I have Naomi Novik’s “Uprooted” on my own best list, along with “Spinning Silver.”
This has been a gloriously vibrant decade of SFF – a thrill to witness. I’ve so far read only six of these, but five of those I loved, and there are at least another five here by authors who have each written other books I’ve loved. Most of the remaining titles I’ve heard about and can’t figure out why I haven’t read yet! A wonderful problem to have.
I enjoyed the Interdependency, and I’ll recommend The Poppy War, too. Impressive list.
Nice! I’ve been waiting for their list!
So many that I don’t know of! I could easily spend hundreds of dollars getting many of the books on this list.
I guess if I can partially adjust to the “new wave” science fiction I can partially adjust to this too. I mean, I’ve already read almost everything from my formative years, back in the days when I couldn’t afford anything brand new.
If I’m not too lazy, I will copy it all out (or print it) and then have it to check every time I’m in a book store. And then I can feel excited when I am shopping. Hurray!
I’ve read 11 of the books/series on this list. I’ve heard of nearly all the others. Honestly, this whole list is basically what I’ve wanted to read recently. So, as a look at the state of SF/F right now, yeah, it’s a really good list.
”. To the reader who said they voted “because of Kiva Lagos,” we say, us too.”
Possibly not in those exact words. #@#@ yes
This is basically a purpose-built checklist for ME. Having read a bit under half of it, and loved about 90% of that, I’m definitely putting most of the rest of it into my queue. Which already is growing faster than I can whittle it away. Poor me… [insert snarky emoji here]
It’s a little disheartening how many of these authors/books I’m unfamiliar with. I’ll have to keep this list for reference. Although if The Broken Earth wasn’t on the list it would have been invalid anyway.
It’s a solid list. I’ve spread it around to some friends. I’ve read several on it and have heard of most of them. There’s a couple series I might check out now because they’re on the list.
This is a great list. I have read under half the works on it, but of those I agree with all of what is said about them. I even love the categories.
Bear’s “White Space” novels, Pinsker’s “Song for a New Day”, North’s “First Fifteen Lives of Harry August” were all amazing but didn’t make the list.
Some authors whose works I loved that aren’t on the list are probably for the same reason: Gaiman, Gibson, KSR, Stephenson, Stross, Walton.
That is a heck of a list. Of the things I’ve read, only one didn’t quite work for me (and technically, it was the sequel, not the first book which was amazing). I’ve heard of most of the rest and more than a few were already on my TBR list. Even more impressive, given their rules there’s very little that comes to mind as being obviously left out, some things I could argue for of course but nothing that screams “How could you overlook this?”