The Tufted Shoot: 2003 Retrospective

A tree of immense girth grows from a tufted shoot; a terrace of nine levels rises from a clump of soil; a journey of a thousand miles begins under the first tread.

--Laozi, Dao De Jing, ch. 64

When I originally wrote this note out, in mid-April, it was already four months tardy. Somehow, it's made it to Labor Day weekend by the time I've gotten around to actually posting it. Something about a computer upgrade combined with router change... Anyway, upon the occasion of writing my last year-end retrospective, it seemed that a fairly momentous year had just passed, but I think it fair to say that this year's (that is, 2003) momentous quotient passed it rather handily. For one thing, the new fiancée alluded to in last year's note has since become the new wife (in fact, as of this writing, we've passed our first year anniversary). Also, I changed residences, not once, but three times; began working at a law firm in downtown SF; took and passed the California bar exam; and was admitted to the practice of law in the state of California. All of which provides a convenient and even half-believable excuse for why I've so often been dilatory about updating this book log, or in any event a better-sounding excuse than what's probably the real reason, which is that I'm lazy.

One side effect of being busy with other stuff is that the reading rate went way down, dropping from last year's over 100 to this year's 63. Again, it's mostly novels, with some graphic novels thrown in here and there. Looking over the list, it seems to me that not only is the quantity down, but taken as a whole, the quality seems to be down a bit this year, too; several of last year's "honorable mentions," for instance, would have probably made it onto this year's "best" list. So here are my eight best books of 2003 (still alphabetical by title), with a few honorable mentions following :

Eight Best Books of 2003

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay Jewish cousins fight the horrors of WWII by creating and publishing comic book stories. Sounds silly; it emphatically is not. Great prose, touching characters, absorbing story.

The Dying Earth Quirky characters cavorting through the bizarre landscapes of an Earth set millions of years in the future. Magic seemingly works, or at least the technology is so indistinguishable from magic as to make no difference. Carrying it all along is Vance's unique prose style.

The Golden Age Opening salvo of a trilogy set thousands of years in the future. Wildly inventive world-building, with all the techno-magic gadgets your heart might desire, frames a mystery story of a golden scion fallen from grace and seeking to find out why.

Ilium The Trojan War being played out for the amusement of the gods, except the gods are advanced "trans-humans," and they've stuck a resurrected 20th century historian in the middle of things to record the action. Crazy fun to read. (update: nominated for the Hugo, and probably would have got my vote).

Paladin of Souls Sensible mid-Western humanism set in a nice pseudo-Iberian peninsula fantasy milieu. (update: won the Hugo; I probably would have put it second, but I don't have a quibble with it winning).

Quicksilver Stephenson does the Glorious Revolution and sundry other events appurtenant thereto, like, say, the dawning of the Age of Enlightenment. Not as successful or flat-out fun as Cryptonomicon, but still quite an achievement.

Sandman X: The Wake Concluding volume of the Sandman compilations (I'm ignoring a couple of subsequent additions); a fine winding up, with excellent artwork.

Summerland Your standard "young boy tapped to save the world from impending Ragnarok by winning a baseball game" story, except it's really, really good. Really.

Honorable Mentions

The Anubis Gates Secret history, with Victorian poet battling Egyptian sorcerers.

Carter Beats the Devil The fictionalized life and exploits of one of the last of the great stage magicians in the early years of the twentieth century.

The Emperor of Ocean Park Reflective African-American law professor at an elite university searches for the mystery at the center of his deceased father's life.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Like this needs an explanation... Harry and the gang rise to the occasion as things start to get really serious.

Kushiel's Avatar Everyone's favorite courtesan/masochist goes on another peripatetic save-the-world jaunt.

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