2024 Ranked: Books

Welcome to my 2024 Ranked list for Books!

Rules for my rankings are simple, the page contains my ranking from worst to best of all the books I've read over the course of the past year. 

Please be aware these rankings are purely subjective and are based on my own personal opinion.

28. Stone Blind

Stone Blind is a confusing mess of a story.  Sold on the premise that it's a Medusa-centric story which holds a less black and white interpretation of her role from the Greek myths; the actual end product feels tone-blind and messily structured. It's writing style and narrative choices feel quite abhorrent in all honesty and there was no sense of satisfaction after finishing this book up as it's a story which feels all over the place and lacks any key focus to deliver a satisfying narrative experience with. 

27. Doctor Who: Resurrection of the Daleks

It's sad to say, but I feel the written format is not the most ideal way to experience Eric Saward's Resurrection of the Daleks.  The target novelization struggles a lot of the time to tell the story in a way that feels progressive.  It's formatting and pacing topple over one another and hinder what is arguably one of the better Dalek stories out there. It's a story which exudes grittiness at every opportunity but it struggles to focus at central points when necessary.  I feel it's a story far better suited from a visual perspective as apposed to a written one.

26. Outlawed

Outlawed is anything but a conventional western tale. It's female-centric cast of character inhabit a time period which is anything but fair and writer Anna North does a great job in reflecting these themes and concepts in the story. What weights this book down though is it's questionable structure and pacing, as the book meanders about a fair amount from start to finish and it's logical sense leaves a lot to be desired for.  Anna North's writing style is appreciated though, as she is very descriptive and delivers a lot when it comes to slower more dialogue centric moments.

25. Five Broken Blades

Mai Corland is a fantastic world builder. The setting she constructs in Five Broken Blades is one filled with political and cultural substance.  It's just a shame that the remainder of the book fails to capitalize on that quality.  The story is let down considerably due to the poor 1st person writing which feels too scared to let the reader interpret any sense of a sequence and would much rather explain everything to you, even the characters internal dialogue. The tone of the book also struggles to come off as anything but immature, there's a real clash of style in the way characters talk and the world they inhabit.  

24. Desert Oracle: Volume 1: Strange True Tales from the American Southwest

Desert Oracle starts out as a intriguing read, with a plethora of desert-based tales to tantalize you with.  It however loses steam at about the halfway mark as it's stories become very alien-centric.  I understand aliens and the desert have a common history, but it feels like the scope of the book if skewered off balance by how much Ken Layne focuses the page count on these stories. When it's not obsessed with these type of tales, it is shedding a rather insightful light into the many other stories tied to the dry seas of America.

23. Kraven's Last Hunt

Mortality is the strongest component of Neil Kleid's adaptation of the legendary comic book storyline; Kraven's Last Hunt. Diving deep into the dynamic between Spider-Man and Kraven the Hunter, this novel does a great job in defining their relationship by tying them both together through ones fear of death and the others embrace of it.  While I love a lot of the dynamic between the two characters, I do take fault with it's excessive writing and padding. There's some story elements in this book that also feel more like a detractor from the core theme more than they benefit it.

22. Rare Birds

Jeff Miller's Rare Birds is a beautifully endearing story about valuing the beauty of life even in it's lowest moments. It's heartfelt narrative, while compelling on the surface, lacks some notable depth however as I feel Miller wrote the story in a way not to dive too deep in fear of alienating the books young target audience.  Alongside it's low-depth narrative, what also hinders this story somewhat is a pacing which runs way too quick to allow pivotal sequences to flesh themselves out.  

21. Batman: Streets of Gotham - The House of Hush

Paul Dini and Dustin Nguyen work together to cap off Thomas Elliott/Hush's sinister plot in a captivating way.  While straddled slightly with a non-relevant opening narrative, the remainder of this volume showcases Dini's capability as a writer for the Caped Crusader. The choice to focus more in a grounded villain and take a dive into he past that intertwines both him and Batman is a clever and respectable choice.  Dustin Nguyen does a great job visualizing Dini's world with his own unique art style as well. 

20. Alien: Enemy of My Enemy

While it does serve as a competent and fleshed out dive into the written world of the Alien franchise, I can't help but feel Enemy of my Enemy retreads too many familiar aspects. It's setup and story structure feel copied beat for beat from the 2nd Alien film. While it's disappointing to note it doesn't take bolder risks, it's at least somewhat appreciated with how Mary SanGiovanni is able to flesh out the typical Alien experience in a in-depth written format through compelling characters and descriptive sequences

19. Doctor Who: Kerblam!

In a season which was arguably less than memorable, Pete McTighe did a great job in penning one of the main highlights of Season 11 of Doctor Who. His novelization of Keblam! does a wonderful job in translating a lot of the core appeal behind the episode. One of the books biggest feats over the actual episode too is it's attempt to flesh out it's intended message through the inclusion of some additional perspectives in the story. The message is still a bit hard to fully appreciate given the grim reality of the subject matter, but I appreciate Pete giving his best to paint the picture with few more colors.

18. Pebble & Dove

Familial trauma lays at the heart of Pebble & Dove by writer Amy Jones.  The novel focuses on the complicated relationship shared across two generations of mother and daughter. It's a wonderfully transparent story which aims to dissect the grey nature behind upbringing and how finding common ground between one another is more important than focusing on our differences.  Despite struggling from some descriptive and pacing issues, the way Amy Jones ties all these themes together through the use of a beautiful 80 year old manatee called Pebble gives this book a truly memorable impression. 

17. The Connellys of County Down

Tracey Lange does an excellent job constructing a narrative that feels grounded in mature concepts, but smart enough to deliver an uplifting message through it.  It's focus on a semi-dysfunctional trio of siblings shows it's ability to construct an intimate setting with compelling themes to support it.  Even if the final arc doesn't reflect the same quality as the first two portions of the book, it's still a remarkably appealing read from start to finish.

16. Doctor Who: The Essential Terrance Dicks Volume 1

Volume One of The Essential Terrance Dicks is a wonderful tribute to the well regarded work of Doctor Who screenwriter Terrance Dicks. A compilation of some of his highest rated works of novelization for the show, these five stories each represent a core appeal behind not only the stories of Doctor Who, but Dicks' ability to restructure them in written form.  Not all of the stories hit it out of the park, and some of them do suffer slightly from pacing and plot issues, but the majority of them all set a solid impression as to why Dicks is considered one of the very best writers and script editors in the shows history.

15. Doctor Who: The Stones of Blood

The Stones of Blood is a classic-era Doctor Who story which delivers on all the quintessential elements that helped define Tom Baker's era of the show.  Its mystery is well defined, with a great collection of characters and sequences that give the story a nice blend of horror and sci-fi.  The tone and structure of the story is given an extra boost with the balance between horror and levity that the dialogue manages, especially through The Doctor's own role within the narrative.  It's interesting that I had never seen the serial prior to reading this novel, so the fact it was able to catch my attention this easily makes me excited to see the actual episodes now.

14. Doctor Who: The Zygon Invasion

Peter Harness accomplishes so much with his novelization of the Series 9 two-parter of Doctor Who. The Zygon Invasion is smart, gritty and ultimately intelligent in it's ability to not only tell an engaging Doctor Who narrative but to also commentate and reflect on the modern political landscape in a way that feels insightful.  These two things never detriment each other either. Harness recognizes the core quality behind the Zygon as a threat in Doctor Who and uses them and the ensemble cast to the fullest of his ability to deliver a story which deserves way more appreciation than it gets.

13. A Psalm for the Wild-Built

A Psalm for the Wild-Built is a wonderfully positive look at a far off future layered with deeper concepts relating to finding our purpose.  Becky Chambers utilizes all her prior sci-fi experience in crafting an embracing world to serve as a backdrop to some fundamental philosophical considerations.  The only real gripe that comes from me on this book is it's short page count makes for a rather uneven pacing but even that isn't enough to really disregard the insightful experience this book has the potentiality to bring to it's reader.

12. Thrawn: Alliances

The dynamic of Darth Vader and Grand Admiral Thrawn is something I never knew I wanted to see explored until Timothy Zahn came along and wrote it into existence. Thrawn: Alliances pits the two iconic Star Wars characters together in a team up storyline spanning across two different periods.  The character work is brilliant in this book as Zhan brilliantly realizes the uneven footing Thrawn and Vader share across the course of the story.  The scope of the story fails to come off nearly as captivating however as it's focus is spread too thin across the two central storylines.

11. A Most Agreeable Murder

Julia Seales does a grand job in meshing period piece romance together with classic murder mystery.  The narrative structure balances both an endearing story about duty vs independence with a surprisingly witty and enthralling murder.  Comedy is a key element of the tone behind the book too and it's really impressive how the tone is able to be both humorous and sincere when the moment calls for it. It's a very sharp and well-paced story too, showing a clear understanding for outlining a well-layered mystery while keeping the pace of the story consistently moving.

10. The Fires of Pompeii

The Fires of Pompeii serves as a definitive story in the world of Doctor Who. The Target novelization by the screenwriter James Moran reflects all the key strengths of the episode through a well written prose. At it's heart the story pays great tribute to the tragedy behind the eruption of Mount Vesuvius while additionally encompassing all the levity and imagination which makes it a memorable story in the long-running Sci-Fi television show.  One thing that makes this novelization stand out more than other Target books is it's ability to re-tell the story in a new format as apposed to simply following the core beats of the original script.

9. Star Wars - Heir to the Empire

Serving as the very original story that introduced Star Wars fans to Grand Admiral Thrawn, Heir to the Empire more than earns the legacy that it's garnered over the decades. Taking place soon after the conclusion of Return of the Jedi, the first book in this trilogy does a fantastic job in setting up a story of intrigue and espionage on a scale commonly associated with the grand world of Star Wars.  

8. Normal People 

Sally Rooney's Normal People is one of the best romance stories I've read in a long time.  The writing does a wonderfully clever job in reflecting the realistic landscape of romance in a modern world.  The way the central characters Connell and Marianne are defined is clever and very insightful. The struggle their lives put them through and the way they magnetize back around one another for better or worse reflects how insightful this author is in capturing real romance.  The only thing that trips this story up a little bit for me is the pacing which runs the story down at times to focus on character insight too many times. 

7. Needful Things

Needful Things was my first dive into the world of Stephen King and it was a brilliant choice all things considered. Centering around a small coastal town in Maine, the narrative of this book tackles the idea of desperation and manipulation in some really clever ways.  I loved the writing structure behind this book too, King knows how to plot out a story with strong and engaging writing.  While it's narrative setup is strong, the prime issue that hindered my time with the story was it's concluding parts; which ultimately felt poorly realized compared to the remainder of the book.

6. Bright Young Women

Modern society puts too much interest in serial killers and not enough in their victims.  Bright Young Women is a book which recognizes that and portrays its story through the lens of two incredible women who are impacted by the deplorable actions of Ted Bundy.  Jessica Knoll writes a story which is incredibly insightful and does everything possible to showcase the worthwhile stories these women have to tell.  It's structure wobbles somewhat throughout the course of it's page count, but that is a minor blemish on an otherwise emotional reading experience.

5. The Republic of Thieves

The fantastical world within Scott Lynch's Gentleman Bastard series is given a much appreciated extension with the 3rd entry The Republic of Thieves.  Following directly on from the narrative of the 2nd entry, the plot of Republic of Thieves feels notably more focused and encompasses interesting plot elements referenced from the prior two books. Additionally, it's writing style and world building complement one another to give the book a remarkably memorable impression to draw any fantasy fan into it's intriguing setup.

4. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow and Tomorrow

Love and video games are two things you don't often associate with one another.  Coming from personal experience however, I know how much video games can help to flourish and define loving relationships.  Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin also recognizes that beautiful connection between love and video games.  It's a really captivating story that works to showcase the world of video game development all the while delivering a beautifully endearing story about the long lasting relationships between it's two central characters Sam and Sadie.  

3. Dune

Frank Herbert's Dune set a benchmark for the science fiction genre when it originally released in 1965 and its impact is still felt to this very day. The world building and concepts at play in Dune are nothing short of phenomenal. The amount of time and care Herbert gave to defining the universe of Dune and its characters is layered considerably. With an imaginative world and compelling ideas at play, the narrative of Dune stands strong in delivering a memorable story which is open to a number of different interpretations.  The only thing that knocks Dune down on my personal rating is it's pacing, which I understand is slow for a particular reason but it did still impact my engagement with the story somewhat.

2. Heartstopper. Volume Five

Heartstopper may not represent me when it comes to my own identity and sexuality, but what this series does is capture the essence of young love in a way I cannot give enough praise.  Volume five of Charlie and Nick's story does a fantastic job in pivoting focus onto the more mature aspects of their relationship and the way the two learn to exist both with and without one another.  I adore how this story focuses on building up on their beautiful connections not just between Charlie and Nick but their wider cast of friends and family.  One of the key things that defines this series is the art though, and Alice Oseman delivers yet again with an illustrative style that is so creative and expressive that it literally jumps off each page.

1. Fire and Blood

George R.R. Martin seems incapable of putting a foot wrong when it comes to delivering stories within the World of Ice and Fire.  His bloody and dramatic accounting of the history of House Targaryen is a clear showcase of his commitment to delivering exceptional fantastical stories.  Written as a historical re-telling as apposed to a conventional story, this book does a phenomenal job in outlining the first hundred and seventy years of Targaryen rule in Westeros.  It's ability to delve and transcribe the history in a unique perspective all the while delivering a large amount of depth gives this book a truly memorable impression that will stay with me for a very long time to come.