Digital Sextant

I read a whole bunch of books this year, and these are among the best.

Calibre by Ken Bruen
Tells the story of a group of police officers in Wales(?) investigating a variety of cases.  Refers to and models itself on the Ed McBain 87th precinct series, with a nod to Jim Thompson as well.  Fast-paced and quick, with solid dialog and excellent characters. Great meta-detective fiction as well.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
Excellent and gripping, a murder mystery in the cold air of Sweden. Financial scams, awesome punk rock computer hacker girls, journalist excitement. Lives up to the hype.  Is particularly good at uncovering the seething underbelly of Swedish wealth and privilege.  Also brings the characters alive by making them interesting and rounded.  There’s a 100 page section about 1/3 of the way through that you won’t be able to put down.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
The story of a poisoning (I think) with a bunch of suspects and a monumentally good conclusion.  Poirot comes out as a fussy little Belgian (which he is); reading the book thoroughly reinforced the Platonic Ideal of Poirot and its resemblance to David Souchet.  This has often been hailed as one of the best Classical detective novels written, or at least one of Christie’s best. I agree.

Infected by Scott Sigler
Alien spores strafe the U.S. Midwest, springing up blue triangles that take over their host’s thoughts and grow into horrible monsters.  One ex-football player with anger problems finds the experience intolerable, and awesomeness ensues.  A taught, delicious medical/sf/horror thriller with gruesome gore and memorable characters.  I enjoyed the sequel, Contagious, as well.

Hyperion by Dan Simmons
On the mysterious planet Hyperion lives the extra-dimensional warrior god Shrike; capricious and violent, the deadly enigma offers hope for five pilgrims pursuing the legend that the Shrike will grant a wish and life to one person from each party.  Like the Canterbury tales, but in space. Could have been several delightful short novels. I’m holding off reading the other books for fear that they won’t be as good.

Anathem by Neal Stephenson
A huge doorstop of a book, but one that combines Stephenson’s brilliance at mixing ideas with fiction to his old skill at weaving excellent SF tales. Anathem describes an alternate future Earth in which civilization has risen and fallen many times, impressing on man the need for timeless institutions that revere knowledge.  These institutions, called Maths, are like science monasteries, where pure research combines with ascetic life and contemplative existence.  But when a ship from another universe shows up and starts the worlds’ sabers rattling, our young hero must join with other Devout to help save the world.  Probably not for a Stephenson newbie, but fantastic for an old hand like me.