2019 Locus Recommended Reading List

At the start of each year, Locus publishes a consensus list from several editors (like Strahan, Horton, Clarke,…) a list of recommended readings of the last year. Here is the one for 2019:

I’ve added my review links and shortened the topics (no YA, Horror, Art).

NOVELLAS

★★★★★ • The Haunting of Tram Car 015 • 2019 • Urban Fantasy novella by P. Djèlí Clark • also Hugo finalist • review
★★★★★ • Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom • 2019 • Near Future SF novella by Ted Chiang • review
★★★★★ • The Deep • 2019 • Fantasy novella by Rivers Solomon • review
★★★★☆ • Permafrost • 2019 • Time travel novella by Alastair Reynolds • review
★★★☆☆ • Her Silhouette, Drawn in Water • 2019 • SF novella by Vylar Kaftan • review
★★+☆☆☆ • To Be Taught, If Fortunate • 2019 • SF novella by Becky Chambers • also Hugo finalist • review
☆☆☆☆☆ (DNF at around 50%) • This Is How You Lose the Time War • 2019 • Time travel novella by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone • review
“The Butcher’s Table”, Nathan Ballingrud (Wounds)
“A Time to Reap“, Elizabeth Bear (Uncanny 12/19)
Vigilance, Robert Jackson Bennett (Tor.com Publishing)
“And Cannot Come Again”, Simon Bestwick (And Cannot Come Again)
Longer, Michael Blumlein (Tor.com Publishing)
Desdemona and the Deep, C.S.E. Cooney (Tor.com Publishing)
“Of Birthdays, and Fungus, and Kindness”,Aliette de Bodard (Of Wars, and Memories, and Starlight)
“Radicalized”, Cory Doctorow (Radicalized)
“Unauthorized Bread”, Cory Doctorow (Radicalized)
Miranda in Milan, Katharine Duckett (Tor.com Publishing)
Alice Payne Rides, Kate Heartfield (Tor.com Publishing)
The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday, Saad Z. Hossain (Tor.com Publishing)
“How Alike Are We“, Bo-young Kim (Clarkesworld 10/19)
“Glass Cannon”, Yoon Ha Lee (Hexarchate Stories)
The Menace from Farside, Ian McDonald(Tor.com Publishing)
“The Work of Wolves“, Tegan Moore (Asimov’s 7-8/19)
“Waterlines“, Suzanne Palmer (Asimov’s 7-8/19)
My Beautiful Life, K.J. Parker (Subterranean)
Sisters of the Vast Black, Lina Rather (Tor.com Publishing)
Ormeshadow, Priya Sharma (Tor.com Publishing)
“New Atlantis”, Lavie Tidhar (F&SF 5-6/19)
Into Bones Like Oil, Kaaron Warren (Meerkat)
The Fire Opal Mechanism, Fran Wilde (Tor.com Publishing)
Catfish Lullaby, A.C. Wise (Broken Eye)
The Ascent to Godhood, JY Yang (Tor.com Publishing)

NOVELETTES

★★★★★ • Phantoms of the Midway • 2019 • Ghost novelette by Seanan McGuire (in anthology The Mythic Dream) • review
★★★★☆ • Omphalos • 2019 • Speculative fiction novelette by Ted Chiang • review
★★★★☆ • The Justified • 2019 • Africanfuturism novelette by Ann Leckie (in anthology The Mythic Dream) • review
★★★★☆ • For He Can Creep • 2019 • Fairy tale by Siobhan Carroll • also Nebula finalist • review
★★★★☆ • Kali_Na • 2019 • Cyberpunk short story by Indrapramit Das • review
★★★+☆☆ • Binti: Sacred Fire • 2019 • Afrofuturism novelette by Nnedi Okorafor • review
★★★☆☆ • Emergency Skin • 2019 • Transhuman SF novelette by N.K. Jemisin • review
★★★☆☆ • His Footsteps, Through Darkness and Light • 2019 • Fantasy novelette by Mimi Mondal • review
★★☆☆☆ • The Blur in the Corner of Your Eye • 2019 • Weird fiction novelette by Sarah Pinsker • also Hugo finalist • review
☆☆☆☆☆ (Horror, didn’t read) • “A Strange Uncertain Light”, G.V. Anderson (F&SF 7-8/19)
“A Handful of Sky“, Elly Bangs (Beneath Ceaseless Skies 6/20/19)*
“Erase, Erase, Erase”, Elizabeth Bear (F&SF 9-10/19)
“While Dragons Claim the Sky”, Jen Brown (Fiyah Spring ’19)
“About the O’Dells”, Pat Cadigan (Echoes)
“The Airwalker Comes to the City in Green“, Siobhan Carroll (Asimov’s 11-12/19)
“Anosognosia”, John Crowley (And Go Like This)
“A Shade of Dusk”, Indrapramit Das (Echoes)
“Charlie Tells Another One“, Andy Duncan (Asimov’s 9-10/19)
“The Sun from Both Sides“, R.S.A. Garcia (Clarkesworld 5/19)
“A Country Called Winter”, Theodora Goss (Snow White Learns Witchcraft)
“Late Returns”, Joe Hill (Full Throttle)
“Deep, Fast, Green”, Carole Johnstone (Echoes)
“The Tree of Self-Knowledge”, Stephen Graham Jones (Echoes)
“Now Wait for This Week“, Alice Sola Kim (The Cut 1/17/19)
“Nice Things“, Ellen Klages (Uncanny 5-6/19)
“Contagion’s Eve at the House Noctambulous”, Rich Larson (F&SF 3-4/19)
“The Ocean Between the Leaves“, Ray Nayler (Asimov’s 7-8/19)
“Blood, Bone, Seed, Spark“, Aimee Ogden (Beneath Ceaseless Skies 2/14/2019)
“One Thousand Beetles in a Jumpsuit“, Dominica Phetteplace (Lightspeed 8/19)
“The Narwhal”, Sarah Pinsker (Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea)
“In This Moment, We Are Happy“, Chen Qiufan (Clarkesworld 8/19)
“Reunion”, Vandana Singh (The Gollancz Book of South Asian Science Fiction)
“Ice Cold Lemonade 25¢ Haunted House Tour: 1 Per Person”, Paul Tremblay (Echoes)
“Windrose in Scarlet“, Isabel Yap (Lightspeed 10/19)
“The Archronology of Love“, Caroline M. Yoachim (Lightspeed 4/19)

SHORT STORIES

★★★★☆ • Blood Is Another Word for Hunger • 2019 • Weird short story by Rivers Solomon • review
★★★★☆ • Do Not Look Back, My Lion • 2019 • High Fantasy short story by Alix E. Harrow
★★★★☆ • Give the Family My Love • 2019 • SF short story by A.T. Greenblatt • review
★★★★☆ • Thoughts and Prayers • 2019 • Near Future SF short story by Ken Liu • review
★★★+☆☆ • As the Last I May Know • 2019 • Alternate History short story by S.L. Huang • review
★★★+☆☆ • I (28M) created a deepfake girlfriend and now my parents think we’re getting married • 2019 • Near Future SF by Fonda Lee • review
★★★☆☆ • A Brief Lesson in Native American Astronomy • 2019 • SF story by Rebecca Roanhorse (in anthology The Mythic Dream) • review
★★★☆☆ • A Catalog of Storms • 2019 • Surreal fantasy short story by Fran Wilde • also Nebula finalist • review
★★★☆☆ • Fisher-Bird • 2019 • Fantasy short story by T. Kingfisher (in anthology The Mythic Dream) • review
★★★☆☆ • The Dead, In Their Uncontrollable Power • 2019 • SF short story by Karen Osborne • review
★★★☆☆ • Lest We Forget • 2019 • Military SF short story by Elizabeth Bear • review
★★☆☆☆ •It’s 2059, and the Rich Kids Are Still Winning• 2019 • Near Future SF flash story by Ted Chiang
★+☆☆☆☆ • The Girl Who Did Not Know Fear • 2019 • Short story by Kelly Link • review
“58 Rules to Ensure Your Husband Loves You Forever“, Rafeeat Aliyu (Nightmare 2/19)
“The Bookstore at the End of America”, Charlie Jane Anders (A People’s Future of the United States)
“The Night Princes“, Megan Arkenberg (Nightmare 6/19)
“A Bird, a Song, a Revolution“, Brooke Bolander (Lightspeed 9/19)
“The Migration Suite: A Study in C Sharp Minor“, Maurice Broaddus (Uncanny 7-8/19)
“The Galactic Tourist Industrial Complex”, Tobias S. Buckell (New Suns)
“Canst Thou Draw Out the Leviathan“, Christopher Caldwell (Uncanny 5-6/19)
“Beyond the El“, John Chu (Tor.com 1/16/19)
“The Shadow We Cast Through Time”, Indrapramit Das (New Suns)
“Love in the Time of Immuno-Sharing“, Andy Dudak (Analog 1-2/19)
“The Boy on the Roof“, Francesca Forrest (Fireside 11/19)
“On the Shores of Ligeia“, Carolyn Ives Gilman (Lightspeed 3/19)
“Before the World Crumbles Away“, A.T. Greenblatt (Uncanny 3-4/19)
“Repatriation“, Nalo Hopkinson (Current Futures)
“Therein Lies a Soul“, Osahon Ize-Iyamu (The Dark 6/19)
“Mighty Are the Meek and the Myriad”, Cassandra Khaw (F&SF 7-8/19)
“Dustdaughter“, Inda Lauryn (Uncanny 1-2/19)
“Moses“, L.D. Lewis (Anathema 4/19)
“Signal“, L.D. Lewis (Fireside 8/19)
“The July Girls”, Alison Littlewood (Echoes)
“Haven“, Karen Lord (Current Futures)
“Fare“, Danny Lore (Fireside 8/19)
“As Dark as Hunger”, S. Qiouyi Lu (Black Static 11-12/19)
“The Things Eric Eats Before He Eats Himself”, Carmen Maria Machado (The Mythic Dream)
“Labbatu Takes Command of the Flagship Heaven Dwells Within”, Arkady Martine (The Mythic Dream)
“Under the Hill”, Maureen McHugh (F&SF 9-10/19)
“The Robots of Eden”, Anil Menon (New Suns)
“Shucked”, Sam J. Miller (F&SF 11-12/19)
“Adrianna in Pomegranate“, Samantha Mills (Beneath Ceaseless Skies 2/14/19)
“On the Lonely Shore“, Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Uncanny 3-4/19)
“Old Media“, Annalee Newitz (Tor.com 2/20/19)
“Beyond Comprehension“, Russell Nichols (Fireside 1/19)
“Tiny Bravery“, Ada Nnadi (Omenana 10/19)
“Dune Song“, Suyi Davies Okungbowa (Apex 5/19)
“Sturdy Lanterns and Ladders“, Malka Older (Current Futures)
“The Painter of Trees“, Suzanne Palmer (Clarkesworld 6/19)
“Secret Stories of Doors”, Sofía Rhei (Everything is Made of Letters)
“In That Place She Grows a Garden”, Del Sandeen (Fiyah Spring ’19)
“Advice For Your First Time at the Faerie Market“, Nibedita Sen (Fireside 7/19)
“We Sang You as Ours“, Nibedita Sen (The Dark 6/19)
“Mother Ocean“, Vandana Singh (Current Futures)
“Wilderling“, Angela Slatter (The Dark 5/19)
“The Last Voyage of Skidbladnir“, Karin Tidbeck (Tor.com 1/14/19)
“Boiled Bones and Black Eggs“, Nghi Vo (Beneath Ceaseless Skies 4/11/19)
“The Doing and Undoing of Jacob E. Mwangi“, E. Lily Yu (Asimov’s 5-6/19)
“The Valley of Wounded Deer“, E. Lily Yu (Lightspeed 10/19)
“Many-Hearted Dog and Heron Who Stepped Past Time“, Alex Yuschik (Strange Horizons 6/17/19)

NOVELS – SCIENCE FICTION

The Silver Wind, Nina Allan (Titan US & UK)
The City in the Middle of the Night, Charlie Jane Anders
(Tor; Titan)
The Testaments, Margaret Atwood (Nan A. Talese; Chatto & Windus)
Ancestral Night, Elizabeth Bear (Saga; Gollancz)
Gamechanger L.X. Beckett (Tor)
Rule of Capture, Christopher Brown (Harper Voyager US)
Escaping Exodus, Nicky Drayden (Harper Voyager US)
Perihelion Summer, Greg Egan (Tor.com Publishing)
The Book of Flora, Meg Elison (47North)
Empress of Forever, Max Gladstone (Tor)
The Light Brigade, Kameron Hurley (Saga; Angry Robot UK)
Luna: Moon Rising, Ian McDonald (Tor;Gollancz)
The Future of Another Timeline, Annalee Newitz (Tor; Orbit UK)
Atlas Alone, Emma Newman (Ace; Gollancz)
The Memory Police, Yoko Ogawa (Pantheon; Harvill Secker)
The Need, Helen Phillips (Simon & Schuster; Chatto & Windus)
Fleet of Knives, Gareth L. Powell (Titan US & UK)
The Forbidden Stars, Tim Pratt (Angry Robot US & UK)
Million Mile Road Trip, Rudy Rucker (Night Shade)
Stealing Worlds, Karl Schroeder (Tor)
Fall; or, Dodge in Hell, Neal Stephenson (Morrow; The Borough Press)
The Rosewater Insurrection/The Rosewater Redemption, Tade Thompson (Orbit US & UK)
Wanderers, Chuck Wendig (Del Rey; Solaris)
Golden State, Ben H. Winters (Mulholland; Century)
Frankissstein, Jeanette Winterson (Grove; Jonathan Cape)

NOVELS – FANTASY

★★★★☆ • Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City • 2019 • Fantasy novel by K.J. Parker • review
A Little Hatred, Joe Abercrombie (Orbit US; Gollancz)
The Dollmaker, Nina Allan (riverrun; Other Press)
The Warrior Moon, K Arsenault Rivera (Tor)
The Hod King, Josiah Bancroft (Orbit US & UK)
Ninth House, Leigh Bardugo (Flatiron; Gollancz)
The Red-Stained Wings, Elizabeth Bear (Tor)
The True Queen, Zen Cho (Ace; Macmillan)
The House of Sundering Flames, Aliette de Bodard (Gollancz; JABberwocky)
Ivory Apples, Lisa Goldstein (Tachyon)
The Sinister Mystery of the Mesmerizing Girl, Theodora Goss (Saga)
A Brightness Long Ago, Guy Gavriel Kay (Berkley; Viking Canada; Hodder & Stoughton)
The Raven Tower, Ann Leckie (Orbit US & UK)
Jade War, Fonda Lee (Orbit US & UK)
Unraveling, Karen Lord (DAW)
Air Logic, Laurie J. Marks (Small Beer)
Middlegame, Seanan McGuire (Tor.com Publishing)
Gods of Jade and Shadow, Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Del Rey; Jo Fletcher)
The Starless Sea, Erin Morgenstern (Doubleday; Harvill Secker)
Gingerbread, Helen Oyeyemi (Riverhead; Picador)
Lanny, Max Porter (Graywolf; Faber & Faber)
Storm of Locusts, Rebecca Roanhorse (Saga)
The Iron Dragon’s Mother, Michael Swanwick (Tor)
Dead Astronauts, Jeff VanderMeer (MCD; Fourth Estate)
Lent, Jo Walton (Tor)
The Bird King, G. Willow Wilson (Grove)