James Nicoll Reviews

As with the previous core lists, here are twenty Speculative Fiction Works featuring notable cities chosen entirely on the basis of merit and significance to the field¹. No implication is intended that these are the only twenty books you should consider².

• Aria by Kozue Amano

• Etched City by K. J. Bishop

• Above by Leah Bobet

• Midnight Never Come by Marie Brennan

• Cinnabar by Edward Bryant

• The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette de Bodard

• Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany

• The Drowning City by Amanda Downum

• Slow River by Nicola Griffith

• Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner

• The Book of the Mad by Tanith Lee

• Wizard of the Pigeons by Megan Lindholm

• Missing Man by Katherine MacLean

• The City Under Ground by Suzanne Martel

• Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor

• The Buried Life by Carrie Patel

• Naked in Death by Nora Roberts

• The Just City by Jo Walton

• Updraft by Fran Wilde

• Metropolitan by Walter Jon Williams

Persons unfamiliar with one or two of the works, congratulations! You’re one of today’s Ten Thousand!

1: There are two filtering rules: 

• Only one work per author per list

• Any given work by a particular author can appear on only one list. A given author may, however, have works on various lists but each instance of their work will be unique. 

2: NO IMPLICATION IS INTENDED THAT THESE ARE THE ONLY TWENTY BOOKS YOU SHOULD CONSIDER.