My Top 10 Books/Series I Read in 2024
#10 Blind Chaos by CrimCat
A fanfiction of Beneath the Dragoneye Moons that is just fucking delightful. Made me fall in love with that world again, I absolutely recommend it if you're familiar with the source.
#9 Sporemageddon Vol. 3 by RavensDagger
The third volume of a wonderfully revolutionary story about a little girl sticking it to the entire concept of industry. You can imagine why I like it so much.
#8 Hive Minds Give Good Hugs by Natalie "Thundamoo" Maher
The most dense and morally fascinating of Maher's books. It was the last I got around to (other than Are You Even Human?, which is still releasing serially and I couldn't put here in good conscious.) and the one I recommend most to newcomers to her work, even if they're all fucking fantastic.
#7 The Type Specialist by Incarnated Whisp
The Pokémon fanfiction that put the fire (or should I say acid?) in my belly to start writing my own fanfic. It's classic Pokémon adventure fun with the added depth and maturity of the written word, without dragging it out of the lighthearted root of the setting. The approach to adapting Pokémon to the format was what inspired me most, and for good reason. (Embarrassingly, I haven't finished it.)
#6 Judicator Jane (books 1-3) by Brian Rouleau
A LitRPG about morality. I've had plans for my own LitRPG series, and this one stole some of the thoughts right out of my head. It has heart and tenacity in spades. I love a book that gives me something to chew on after it's done, and this series was like a crate full of bubblegum.
#5 Ruri Dragon (After the hiatus) by Masaoki Shindo
I loved the Ruri Dragon oneshot, was enthralled when I found the chapters from its initial serialization, and I could not have been happier that it returned this year. It's a conversational, affable, contemporary, and deeply human piece of art. It has none of the bullshit that makes most manga so unreadable and all of the parts that cement the artform as something worthwhile. Every character feels like a whole and entire person that could be brought off the page any minute, and I would love to meet them all.
#4 Bioshifter (Vol. 1-3) By Natalie "Thundamoo" Maher
I let Maher off lightly in the recommendation for Hive Minds Give Good Hugs, but dude Thundamoo is for the freaks! This is a story that made me cry over and over again with grief, laugh over and over again with glee, shout over and over again in shock and excitement, and still my main takeaway was that I need more body horror in my life. The core theme of this series is something everyone should know about. These books fucked me sideways, and I literally came back to do it again.
#3 Worm by Wildbow
Where to start? I do not want to spoil a thing about this book. It is so fucking good and you should go and read the shit out of it right now. Yes, that's the praise I'm giving the #3 spot, the other two are even better. It's got superpowers and they're cool, but that is far from the main draw. Is it rough around the edges? Yes. Is it bad about certain things? Yes. Does any of that affect how much it grabbed my brain by the balls? Fuck no!
#2 Artificial Jelly (books 1 & 2) by Dustin Graham
Honestly, I didn't expect this to take this spot. Artificial Jelly, unlike my other favorite books and series this year, does not stick to one theme that pulses at its heart. Instead, Artificial Jelly has something effecting and important to say about every single one of the questions and ideas that have pervaded this year for me. It's a story about a general artificial intelligence born into a virtual cage, and what happens next. Read it.
#1 Vigor Mortis (Vol. 1-4) by Natalie "Thundamoo" Maher
These books are the reason that two other entries of this list are by Natalie "Thundamoo" Maher, they made me fall in love with her writing. I found them at a time I was in need of something to latch onto, and what a handhold I found. THEMES. I fucking love a good theme! Vigor Mortis is all about our monstrous natures, a theme I desperately needed tackled at the time. Every new horror of the body, mind, and/or soul didn't just elicit a girlish squeal of excitement and intrigue (and more than a few times arousal), but also a beautifully fucked up philosophy debate between me and the book. EVERY. SINGLE. CHARACTER. is a challenge to your view of how morally right beings should act, and I would not have it any other way. Best of all, it does not feel preachy, it is an excellent experience the whole way through regardless of if you engage with it. I have two complaints, but they are not for this post, because I need you to go out and buy these fucking books. They will make your life better.
