I’ve just about wrapped up my final read of the year, and my totally normal brain won’t let me start a new book until the new year, so I now feel comfortable bringing you a full rundown of my year’s reading. Well, as comfortable as I ever am. Before I get into the numbers, however, I want to make a quick note about how high some of those numbers are.

The fact is that I read a lot of books. Arguably more than is healthy. the reasons are threefold. One, I have always been an eager reader. I just keep powering on. Two, being a fan of Star Trek and older science fiction means that a lot of the books I read are fairly short. Back when I was trying to keep up with epic fantasy, I probably read half as many books, but the same number of pages. The third point is that studying for an MA absolutely broke my brain in ways I don’t think can be fixed. A lot of the time, I’m taking in books more as information than as art. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it is different to a lot of other readers.

Seriously, unless you want to run a pseudo-academic blog, just read books more slowly. You’ll probably get more out of them. Now. On with the stats.

READING STATISTICS

Raw Data

• 133 novels (up 30 from last year)
• 4 fix-ups (up 1 from last year)
• 0 novellas (down 3 from last year)
• 10 anthologies (down 4 from last year)
• 6 omnibuses (down 2 from last year)

• 57328 pages in 2024 (up 7561 from last year)
• 156.63 pages per day (up 20.29 from last year)

• 1* Ratings: 1 (up 1 from last year)
• 2* Ratings: 22 (up 2 from last year)
• 3* Ratings: 49 (up 1 from last year)
• 4* Ratings: 55 (up 11 from last year)
• 5* Ratings: 26 (up 11 from last year)
• Average * Rating: 3.54 (up 0.16 from last year)

The surprise here is reading more novels, but fewer of every other print format. The lack of novellas came as a shock, but that’s because I’ve been reading a lot of old novels that would probably be considered novellas if they were released today. Unlike last year, I never really took a month off from my relentless reading pace, so numbers are high across the board.

More books means more rating across the board, which is to be expected. However, it’s quite clear that one of two things is happening. Either I’m staying with more familiar ideas and authors, or I’m getting better at judging which books I will and will not enjoy ahead of buying them. That slight increase in average rating probably represents a bit of both worlds. I have had some brilliant surprises this year, but a firm bedrock of reliable authors has also helped out.

Top Authors
(counting only those by whom I have read more than one book this year)

• Christopher Ruocchio ( 5.00 star average) (2 books)
• Adrian Tchaikovsky (5.00 star average) (2 books)
• Ben Bova (4.75 star average) (4 books)
• Stephen Baxter( 4.60 star average) (5 books)
• Roger MacBride Allen ( 4.33 star average) (3 books)
• David Mack ( 4.00 star average) (3 books)
• Edmond Hamilton (4.00 star average) (2 books)
• Andy Mangels & Michael A. Martin (4.00 star average) (2 books)
• Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore (4.00 star average) (2 books)

Ruocchio and Tchaikovsky are no surprises at the top. One has some of the best prose in modern SF, and the other has some of the best ideas. Helping their respective cases were pairings of great releases. Bova and Baxter continue to secure tops spots as I work through their extensive back catalogues. The two surprises here are Hamilton and Allen, who have both built on strong previous reads to rise up the rankings. Meanwhile, the collective works of Mack, Mangels, Martin, Ward, and Dilmore represent a strong showing from Star Trek as I continue winding my way through the Litverse.

Top Genres
(counting only those from which I have read more than one book this year)

• Grimdark SF ( 4.50 star average) (5 books)
• Time Travel (4.00 star average) (4 books)
• Hard SF ( 3.95 star average ) (21 books)
• Military SF ( 3.67 star average) (9 books)

A strong run from Black Library puts Grimdark on the top spot, which is somewhere I didn’t think it reach. Another big surprise was Time Travel. It’s not a genre I read much from anymore, but it looks like there’s some good stuff here. Hard SF and Military SF are expected arrivals, but I am surprised to see no Space Opera fighting for the top spots.

Top Publishers
(counting only those from which I have read more than one book this year)

• Tor ( 4.40 star average) (10 books)
• Arrow ( 4.00 star average) (3 books)
• Black Library ( 3.88 star average) (8 books)
• Ace (3.86 star average) (7 books)
• Pocket Books (3.51 star average) (53 books)

Tor sweeps to the top spot, proving that there’s still something to be said for the Big Five after all the recent upheavals. Black Library makes its expected appearance, and Pocket Books rockets into the rankings courtesy of Star Trek. Arrow and Ace prove the quality of older books, and collectively represent some of my better US acquisitions

2024 READING PLANS: FINAL UPDATE

Series to Continue/Finish

The Grand Tour Universe, by Ben Bova – I made some good progress at the beginning of the year with a quartet of novels from two different series. Bova is nigh impossible to get hold of in the UK, but my US trip did bring me two more novels that I will be starting in the new year. This is one of those sagas that I’m going to be nibbling away at for some time.

Dune Prequels, by Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson – I wrapped up the Caladan trilogy at the start of the year, but haven’t found a copy of the latest Princess of Dune yet. There are no announced releases on the horizon, however, so I’ve got time to catch up. I expect anything new is dependent on the success of the Dune Prophecy TV show, which I also have not seen.

Alex Benedict, by Jack McDevitt – This year, I only read Seeker from this series, but it has established McDevitt as a potential favourite author. The good news is that I’ve managed to acquire three more books in the series from various second-hand shops, so I’ve got plenty to read in 2025.

Skyward, by Brandon Sanderson – Another series I ticked off the list early in the year. I’ve definitely aged out of the target audience for this one, and have increasing reservations about Sanderson’s work as a whole. A spin-off series was announced, but I’ve decided not to continue with the setting.

Halo, by various authors – You may have noticed a severe lack of Halo reviews on this blog. That started because I didn’t have any of the books lying around, but as time went on, I realised I didn’t miss having it in my life. I enjoyed the books I’ve already read, but I really don’t need another complicated universe in my life. I’m not saying never, but this is one that’ll be dropping off the list for the foreseeable future.

Star Trek, by various authors – My initial plan was to focus on the Next Generation and Deep Space Nine relaunches, but plans rarely survive contact with reality. I’ve read a fair bit of pre-relaunch TNG, and as I type this I’m reaching the end of DS9’s Mission Gamma quartet, but the big surprise this year has been Peter David’s New Frontier It’s been a series of real ups and downs, but David’s unique style has made for a nice change of pace among the darker turns of the later Litverse. One big surprise was David Mack joining me me to talk about his latest Picard novel Firewall.

Venture SF, by various authors – I’m making slow progress of this one, but I can happily report that what I have read has varied between good and great. Richard C. Meredith and Edmond Hamilton have secured places on my best of the year list, and it was fun to revisit where David Drake’s career started with Hammer’s Slammers. This is another series that’s a little hard to find, but I’m keeping my eye out wherever I go.

Warhammer 40,000, by various authors – I’ve fallen a little behind on the newer releases, and in several cases have opted to wait for the paperback or audio edition. Nevertheless, Warhammer remains a cornerstone of my reading. I was also lucky enough to get an ARC for Victoria Hayward’s Deathworlder, as well as to interview the author.

Series to Start

Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card – I started this, and in just two books have resolved not to continue. I’ve seldom seem a more jarring disconnect between books one and two of a series. I will continue to recommend Ender’s Game to people, but the rest of the series (and the ensuing universe) is something I won’t be reading.

Xeelee, by Stephen Baxter – Happily, I stumbled across a cheap copy of the omnibus for this series, and it went some way to convincing me that Baxter is one of the greatest living SF authors. I’ve still got another three Xeelee novels, and a few more in the same universe, to read, and I could not be more eagerly anticipating them.

A Step Into the Unknown

Greg Bear – I made a tiny bit of progress with Greg Bear after I picked up a copy of Eon. even though it’s one of his best-known works, I didn’t find it all that engaging. However, he has plenty of different series and standalones to choose from, so I’m going to pick another book next year. Odds are currently looking good for Blood Music or Darwin’s Radio.

John Brunner – His earlier pulp work had me excited, but after slogging through Stand on Zanzibar, I’ve concluded that Brunner isn’t to my tastes. His later, more acclaimed, works are very much a part of the New Wave movement, and that’s not where my focus is right now. There’s a chance I’ll read more of his early novels, but they’re not a priority.

Derek Kunsken – I have The Quantum Magician in my audio library, but I haven’t had time to listen to it yet. That makes it an obvious priority for next year, and I will be reporting back.