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2011 Best of Fiction: The Complete List

Cover art for THE RICHEST HILL ON EARTH
FICTION
Released: Dec. 1, 2011
Kirkus Star THE RICHEST HILL ON EARTH
by Richard S. Wheeler
"Passionate, intelligently written, thoroughly entertaining historical fiction."
Wheeler (The Deliverance, 2003, etc.) brings to life robber barons, Irish immigrant miners and lost souls among the trash heaps and bawdy houses, headframes and smelters of 1890s Butte, Mont. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE PRAGUE CEMETERY
FICTION
Released: Nov. 8, 2011
Kirkus Star THE PRAGUE CEMETERY
by Umberto Eco
"What does it all add up to? An indictment of the old Europe, for one thing, and a perplexing, multilayered, attention-holding mystery. Expect it to find many readers."
Eco (The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana, 2005, etc.) doffs his scholarly gown and dons his trench coat for another bracing--and controversial--mystery. Read full book review >
Cover art for WHEN THE SAINTS
FICTION
Released: Nov. 1, 2011
WHEN THE SAINTS
by Dave Duncan
"An authoritative reworking of history, combining a splendid welter of religious and political intrigues with Duncan's typically inventive, deft handling of magic and character-driven action. After some rather inattentive efforts in the past few years, the author is back in top form."
Second installment of the versatile, talented Duncan's latest historical fantasy, following Speak to the Devil (2010), set in Jorgary, a fictional country in late 15th-century Central Europe. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE SISTERS
FICTION
Released: Nov. 1, 2011
THE SISTERS
by Nancy Jensen
"Encompassing the lives of women in the 20th century, this sprawling saga is tender and satisfying, with a heartbreaking end."
A single tragic event shapes four generations of American women in this accomplished and poignant debut. Read full book review >
Cover art for 11/22/63
FICTION
Released: Nov. 1, 2011
Kirkus Star 11/22/63
by Stephen King
"Though his scenarios aren't always plausible in strictest terms, King's imagination, as always, yields a most satisfying yarn."
King (Under the Dome, 2009, etc.) adds counterfactual historian to his list of occupations. Read full book review >
Cover art for SCHOLAR
FICTION
Released: Nov. 1, 2011
Kirkus Star SCHOLAR
by L.E. Modesitt Jr.
"Perhaps the best so far in this consistently fascinating series."
First of a new trilogy set on the world of Terahnar, set hundreds of years before the previous books (Imager's Intrigue, 2010, etc.), where a handful of people have the power to create objects through visualization. Read full book review >