Fifty of the greatest debut SFF novels ever

Jeff Somers is the author of Lifers, the Avery Cates series from Orbit Books, Chum from Tyrus Books, and the Ustari Cycle from Pocket/Gallery, including We Are Not Good People. At the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy blog he tagged fifty of the greatest debut sci-fi and fantasy novels ever written, including:

Throne of the Crescent Moon, by Saladin Ahmed (2012)

Detroit’s own Saladin Ahmed was shortlisted for the John W. Campbell Awards for Best New Writer in 2010 on the strength of his short fiction. For his wonderful debut, he drew inspiration from One Thousand and One Nights and Middle Eastern legend to tell the story of an aging, prickly demon hunter roped into one last job. In a genre glutted with Euro-centric epics and Tolkien riffs, this small-scale, character-focused monster mash was a breath of fresh air, and not only because the setting—it’s not every day the protagonist of a fantasy novel is a grumpy, out of shape old man. Though the start of a planned series, a sequel has yet to materialize as Ahmed has struggled with writer’s block and moved on to comics and TV work. Happily, this one stands alone perfectly well, and is worth treasuring.

Read about another entry on the list.

Throne of the Crescent Moon is among Emily Temple's ten best contemporary novels by and about Muslims and Rachel Hartman's top five theological fantasies for ecstatic atheists.

The Page 69 Test: Throne of the Crescent Moon.

My Book, The Movie: Throne of The Crescent Moon.

--Marshal Zeringue