2011 in review, 3 of 4: Where’s the audiobook?

This is the third of four posts looking back at 2011 in science fiction and fantasy audiobooks. I started with my year in listening and continued with a look into what I missed. Here, I’ll gripe at the world with my list of the most missing audiobooks of the year — those books I wanted to listen to but for which there was no audiobook. Lastly, I’ll lay out my picks for the year’s best in science fiction and fantasy audiobooks. But now: Where’s the audiobook?

NOVELS:

• An Agreement with Hell by Dru Pagliassotti (Apex Book Company, Jan 3, 2011)
• The Hammer by K. J. Parker (Orbit, Jan 5, 2011) — The Speculative Scotsman’s pick for the best book of 2011
• Codename Prague by D. Harlan Wilson and Brett Weldele (Raw Dog Screaming Press, Jan 17, 2011)
• Never Knew Another (Dogsland Trilogy) by J. M. McDermott (Night Shade Books, Jan 18, 2011) — next year’s sequel When We Were Executioners is coming, but I have heard no audiobooks news for either
• God’s War by Kameron Hurley (Night Shade Books, Jan 18, 2011)
• Farlander (The Heart of the World) by Colin Buchanan (Jan 18, 2011)
• Cowboy Angels by Paul J. McAuley (Pyr, Jan 18, 2011) — published in the UK by Gollanz in 2007
• Modem Times 2.0 (Outspoken Authors) by Michael Moorcock (PM Press, Jan 20, 2011)
• Of Blood and Honey (A Book of the Fey and the Fallen) by Stina Leicht (Night Shade Books, Jan 25, 2011)
• The Guardener’s Tale by Bruce Boston (Sam’s Dot Publishing, Feb 1, 2011) — a well-regarded limited edition in 2007, the new edition is getting some interest in awards circles
• The King of the Crags: The Memory of Flames, Book II by Stephen Deas (Feb 1, 2011)
• We, the Drowned by Carsten Jensen, translated by Charlotte Barslund and Emma Ryder (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Feb 9, 2011) — Danish historical fiction saga spanning from 1848 to WW2 (non-genre)
• The Desert of Souls by Howard A. Jones ( Thomas Dunne Books, Feb 15, 2011)
• The Samaritan by Fred Venturini, edited by Kristina Blank Makansi and illustrated by Jane Colvin (Blank Slate Press, Feb 15, 2011 — on the Ranting Dragon’s top 10 list of fantasy debuts
• Absorption. John Meaney (Ragnarok 1) by John Meaney (Gollanz, Feb 2011) — no US release yet
• The Crippled God: Book Ten of The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson (Tor, Mar 1, 2011) — Erikson’s Malazan series is not in audio, other than the Library of Congress editions for the blind
• Revolution World by Katy Stauber (Mar 1, 2011)
• The Winds of Khalakovo by Bradley P. Beaulieu (Night Shade Books, Mar 15, 2011)
• Triptych by J. M. Frey (Mar 21, 2011)
• The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man by Mark Hodder (Pyr, Mar 22, 2011) — while I’m at it, last year’s The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack
• The Enterprise of Death by Jesse Bullington (Mar 24, 2011)
• Embedded by Dan Abnett (Angry Robot, Mar 29, 2011) — Bane of Kings’ pick for best SF release of 2011
• Vegas Knights by Matt Forbeck (Angry Robot, Mar 29, 2011) — one of Bane of Kings’ runners up for fantasy
• Tiassa (Vlad Taltos) by Steven Brust (Tor, Mar 29, 2011)
• The Old Man and the Wasteland by Nick Cole (Nick Cole, Apr 5, 2011) — one of the highest all time rated books at Amazon, Nick’s self-published short novel here has a few bits of uneven line editing here and there, but it plays very well in and around The Old Man and the Sea, Fallout, and more as an old man goes out into the wasteland of post-apocalyptic America — picked up by HarperCollins for multiple novels
• The Unremembered: Book One of The Vault of Heaven by Peter Orullian (Tor, Apr 12, 2011)
• After the Golden Age by Carrie Vaughn (Apr 12, 2011)
• The White Luck Warrior: The Aspect Emperor, Book 2 by R. Scott Bakker (Overlook, Apr 14, 2011)
• The Great Lover by Michael Cisco (Chomu, Apr 14, 2011) — none of Cisco’s “phantasmagorical” novels have come to audio, such as The Narrator
• The Fecund’s Melancholy Daughter by Brent Hayward (ChiZine, May 15) — reviewed positively at Strange Horizons
• Dead of Veridon by Tim Akers (Solaris Books, May 31, 2011) — and while I’m at it 2009’s Heart of Veridon and 2010’s The Horns of Ruin (Pyr) don’t have audiobooks, either
• The Godless Boys by Naomi Wood (Picador USA, Apr 2011)
• There Is No Year: A Novel by Blake Butler (Harper Perennial, Apr 5, 2011)
• Among Thieves: A Tale of the Kin by Douglas Hulick (Apr 5, 2011)
• Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti by Genevieve Valentine (Prime Books, Apr 25, 2011)
• Camera Obscura by Lavie Tidhar (Apr 26, 2011) — as last year’s The Bookman isn’t in audio, either, I don’t hold out too much hope for next year’s The Great Game
• Heaven’s Needle (Ithelas) by Liane Merciel (Pocket Star, Apr 26, 2011) — Only the Best Science Fiction and Fantasy blog picked it as the best of 2011 — the first book of the series, The River Kings’ Road: A Novel of Ithelas, was released in 2010, read by Stefan Rudnicki
• Sensation (Spectacular Fiction) by Nick Mamatas (PM Press, May 1, 2011)
• The Wild Girls (Outspoken Authors) by Ursula K. Le Guin (PM Press, May 1, 2011)
• The Testament of Jessie Lamb: A Novel (P.S.) by Jane Rogers(Paperback – May 15, 2012)
• Dancing With Bears by Michael Swanwick (Night Shade Books, May 17, 2011)
• Zazen by Vanessa Veselka (Red Lemonade, May 22, 2011)
• The Falling Machine (The Society of Steam, Book One by Andrew P. Mayer (Pyr, May 24, 2011)
• The Alchemists of Kush by Minister Faust (Narmer’s Palette, Jun 13, 2011) — Faust’s self-published novel is two stories which can be read in more than one order, of two “lost boys” of Sudan, one being set in the modern day, the other being set 7,000 years ago
• The Uncertain Places by Lisa Goldstein (Tachyon, Jun 15, 2011)
• I Know Not (The Story of Fox Crow) by James Daniel Ross (Jun 15, 2011)
• Miserere: An Autumn Tale by Teresa Frohock (Night Shade Books, Jun 21, 2011) — exiled exorcists and fallen angels meets swords, chainmail, and magic
• Sword of Fire and Sea: The Chaos Knight, Book One by Erin Hoffman (Pyr, Jun 21, 2011)
• Shadow’s Lure by Jon Sprunk (Pyr, Jun 21, 2011) — also last year’s Shadow’s Son and next year’s Shadow’s Master
• The Clockwork Rocket (Orthogonal) by Greg Egan (Night Shade, Jun 21, 2011) — though the charts play perhaps too strong a role for an audiobook without visual aids
• Bright’s Passage: A Novel by Josh Ritter (The Dial Press, Jun 28, 2011) — there is an audio CD from Blackstone Audio, but not a digital audiobook
• Vigilante by Robin Parrish (Bethany House, Jul 1, 2011)
• Impure: Resurrection by J. R. Bailey (iUniverse, Jul 12, 2011) — a self-published adventure fantasy on Paul Goat Allen’s best of the year list in fantasy? I’m intrigued…
• Out of the Waters (The Books of the Elements, Vol. 2) by David Drake (Tor, Jul 19, 2011) — and while I’m at it, the first book The Legions of Fire (though now I’ve read both books so far in this series in print, so…)
• Heart of Iron by Ekaterina Sedia (Prime, Jul 19, 2011) — “In a Russia where the Decembrists’ rebellion was successful and the Trans-Siberian railroad was completed before 1854…”
• The Goblin Corps by Ari Marmell (Pyr, Jul 26, 2011)
• Tattoo by Kirsten Imani Kasai (Jul 26, 2011)
• The Whitefire Crossing (Shattered Sigil) by Courtney Schafer (Jul 26, 2011)
• Den of Thieves: The Ancient Blades Trilogy: Book One by David Chandler (Harper Voyager, Jul 26, 2011)
• The Apocalypse Gene by Suki Michelle and Carlyle Clark (Parker Publishing, Jul 30, 2011)
• Mortality Bridge by Steven R. Boyett (Subterranean Press, July 31, 2011) — via John Scalzi’s Whatever blog’s “Big Idea”
• The Black God’s War [A Stand-Alone Novel] (Splendor and Ruin, Book I) by Moses Siregar III (Cup of Gold, Aug 1, 2011) — one of a small crop of excellent self-published science fiction and fantasy this year
• The Damned Highway: Fear and Loathing in Arkham by Nick Mamatas and Brian Keene (Dark Horse, Aug 2, 2011)
• Prince of Thorns (The Broken Empire) by Mark Lawrence (Aug 2, 2011)
• Circle Tide by Rebecca K. Rowe (EDGE, Aug 15, 2011)
• Isles of the Forsaken by Carolyn Gilman (ChiZine, Aug 15, 2011)
• By Light Alone by Adam Roberts (Gollanz, August 18, 2011) — so far this has not been published in the US, let alone in audio
• Mayan December by Brenda Cooper (Prime, Aug 23, 2011) — and while I’m at it, the excellent Building Harlequin’s Moon isn’t in audio, either, nor is her Silver Ship series
• With Fate Conspire by Marie Brennan (Aug 30, 2011)
• Thomas World by Richard Cox (Aug 30, 2011) — on Paul Goat Allen’s best of the year list in SF
• Dark Tangos by Lewis Shiner (Subterranean, Aug 31, 2011) — Shiner’s latest is a taut thriller set in Argentina; while I’m at it we still don’t have audiobooks for Frontera, Deserted Cities of the Heart, Slam, Say Goodbye, or Black & White
• The Rift Walker (Vampire Empire, Book 2) by Clay Griffith and Susan Griffith (Pyr, Sep 6, 2011) — audiobook coming in 2012 from Buzzy Multimedia, along with an audiobook for The Greyfriar (book one), both narrated by James Marsters
• Into the Hinterlands by David Drake and John Lambshead (Baen, Sep 6, 2011)
• Legacy of Kings: Book Three of the Magister Trilogy by C. S. Friedman (Sep 6, 2011) — along with book one, Feast of Souls, and book two, Wings of Wrath
• Spellbound by Blake Charlton (Tor, Sep 13, 2011) — also his 2010 debut Spellwright
• The Highest Frontier by Joan Slonczewski (Tor, Sep 13, 2011)
• Prospero Regained (Prospero’s Daughter) by L. Jagi Lamplighter (Tor, Sep 13, 2011)
• Briarpatch by Tim Pratt (ChiZine, Sep 15, 2011)
• The Pattern Scars by Caitlin Sweet (ChiZine, Sep 15, 2011)
• Erekos by A M Tuomala (Candlemark and Gleam, Sep 20, 2011) — one of Publishers Weekly’s top picks for sf/f in 2011
• The Islanders by Christopher Priest (22 Sep 2011) — published only in the United Kingdom so far, it looks like a Gollanz US edition is coming in 2012
• Scriber by Ben S. Dobson (Sep 23, 2011) — another well, well-reviewed self-published fantasy for 2011
• Redlaw by James Lovegrove (Solaris, Sep 27, 2011) — “vampires meet Dirty Harry”
• Osama by Lavie Tidhar (PS Publishing, Oct 1, 2011) — I agree with Jeff VanderMeer: ”it needs a North American trade publisher”. I’ll add: it needs an audiobook publisher!
• Neverwinter: Neverwinter Saga, Book II by R. A. Salvatore (Wizards of the Coast, Oct 4, 2011) — really? R. A. Salvatore publishes a Drizzt book and there’s no audiobook!? The mind boggles…
• The Traitor’s Daughter by Paula Brandon (Spectra, Oct 4, 2011) — another of Paul Goat Allen’s picks of the fantasy releases in 2011
• Technicolor Ultra Mall by Ryan Oakley (EDGE, Oct 15, 2011)
• Jesus and the Eightfold Path by Lavie Tidhar (Immersion Press, Oct 20, 2011)
• King’s War: The Knights of Breton Court 3 by Maurice Broaddus (Oct 25, 2011) — and books 1 and 2, natch
• Master of the House of Darts: Obsidian and Blood Book 3 by Aliette de Bodard (Angry Robot, Oct 25, 2011) — nor January’s Harbinger of the Storm: Obsidian & Blood, Book 2 or last year’s Servant of the Underworld: Obsidian & Blood, Book 1
• Parallel Stories: A Novel by Péter Nádas, translated by Imre Goldstein (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Oct 25, 2011) (non-genre) — update: coming in early 2012 to audio
• The Third Section by Jasper Kent (Pyr, Oct 25, 2011) — from Library Journal: Jasper Kent adds a third volume, The Third Section (Pyr: Prometheus), to “The Danilov Quintet,” his historical vampire series set in 19th-century Russia.
• The Kingdom of Gods (The Inheritance Trilogy) by N. K. Jemisin (Orbit, Oct 27, 2011) — the first two books in the series are in audio, so I’m holding out hope for this one
• Burn Baby Burn: A Supervillain Novel (WHOOSH! BAM! POW!) by James Maxey (Oct 30, 2011) — Maxey’s fantasy novels come from Solaris, this second superhero novel (after Nobody Gets the Girl) is self-published
• The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (Outspoken Authors) by Cory Doctorow (PM Press, Nov 1, 2011)
• Enter, Night by Michael Rowe (ChiZine, Nov 8, 2011)
• Stands a Shadow (Heart of the World) by Colin Buchanan (Nov 8, 2011)
• Seed by Rob Ziegler (Night Shade Books, Nov 8, 2011)
• R/evolution: A Mosaic Novel (Book One) by Tenea D. Johnson (Counterpoise, Nov 3, 2011)
• Ten Billion Days and One Hundred Billion Nights by Ryu Mitsuse and Alexander O. Smith (Nov 15, 2011)
• The Freedom Maze: a novel by Delia Sherman (Small Beer Press, Nov 22, 2011)
• Hearts of Smoke and Steam (Society of Steam, Book Two) by Andrew Mayer (Pyr, Nov 22, 2011)
• When the Saints by Dave Duncan (Tor, Nov 22, 2011)
• Theft of Swords (Riyria Revelations) by Michael J. Sullivan (Orbit, Nov 23, 2011)
• Cassie Fogg and the Unwound Knight (Tales of Knight Mechantry) by David S. Goodwin (Nov 26, 2011) — another well-received self-published novel
• The Emperors Knife (Tower and Knife Trilogy) by Mazarkis Williams (Nov 29, 2011)
• Pilgrim of the Sky by Natania Barron (Candlemark and Gleam, Dec 13, 2011) — late, but coming; Natania tells me perhaps as soon as January 1!
• Count to a Trillion by John C. Wright (Tor, Dec 20, 2011)
• Winning Mars by Jason Stoddard (Prime Books, Dec 20, 2011) 
• Beta Test by Eric Griffith (Hadley Rille Books, Dec 20, 2011) — another of the “Big Idea” books which looked interesting
• Theatre of Curious Acts by Cate Gardner (Hadley Rille Books, Dec 21, 2011)
• The Demi-Monde: Winter: A Novel (The Demi-Monde Saga) by Rod Rees (Dec 27, 2011, William Morrow) — published early this year by Quercus in the UK
• City of Light and Shadow: City of a Hundred Rows, Book 3 by Ian Whates (Angry Robot, Dec 27, 2011)
• Empire State by Adam Christopher (Angry Robot, Dec 27, 2011)

YOUNG ADULT: I don’t read too many YA books but a couple this year really had my interest

• Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor (Viking Juvenile, Apr 14, 2011)
• Planesrunner (Everness, Book One) by Ian McDonald (Pyr, Dec 6, 2011)

YOUNG READERS: For some reason I find myself reading more YR than YA; probably that’s reading with my kids but some of it is just being annoyed at “whiny teen angst” YA voices and finding “curious kid” much more interesting:

• The Boy at the End of the World by Greg Van Eekhout (Jun 21, 2011) — and while I’m at it, his previous young reader novel, 2010’s Kid Vs. Squid and his debut novel, 2009’s Norse Code
• The Death of Yorik Mortwell by Stephen Messer and illustrated by Gris Grimly (Random House Books for Young Readers, Sep 27, 2011) — I read a chapter at a time of this quirky little book to my kids and we all enjoyed it; while I’m at it, last year’s Windblowne is also not in audio…

ANTHOLOGIES and COLLECTIONS: I only listened to a few of these last year (the Wild Cards anthologies come to mind) but in previous years I enjoyed the METAtropolis anthologies, and I’ll be listening to William Gibson’s Burning Chrome very soon:

• The Collected Stories of Carol Emshwiller, Vol. 1 by Carol Emshwiller (NonStop Press, Jan 1, 2011)
• Brave New Worlds: Dystopian Stories edited by John Joseph Adams (Night Shade Books, Jan 25, 2011) with stories by Ursula K. Le Guin, Cory Doctorow, Paolo Bacigalupi, Orson Scott Card, …
• Crucified Dreams by Joe R. Lansdale (Tachyon, Feb 17, 2011) — well, I wasn’t expected to see an audiobook of a reprint urban horror anthology, but… I’ve heard this one is quite good
• Welcome to the Greenhouse by Gordon Van Gelder (OR Books, Feb 21, 2011) — new science fiction on climate change
• Sleight of Hand by Peter S. Beagle (Tachyon Publications, Mar 1, 2011) — see a review over at The Daily Monocle
• Nascence: 17 Stories That Failed and What They Taught Me by Tobias S. Buckell — combination story collection and writing instruction
• Life on Mars: Tales from the New Frontier edited by Jonathan Strahan (Viking, Apr 14, 2011) — new stories from Cory Doctorow, Nnedi Okorafor, and many more
• Let’s Play White by Chesya Burke (Apex, Apr 26, 2011)
• Eclipse 4: New Science Fiction and Fantasy edited by Jonathan Strahan (Night Shade Books) includes original stories by Peter Beagle, Emma Bull, Andy Duncan, Elizabeth Hand, Gwyneth Jones, Kij Johnson, James Patrick Kelly, and Michael Swanwick (and more) (Night Shade Books, May 3, 2011)
• The Trouble With Eating Clouds by Edmund R. Schubert (spotlight publishing, May 16, 2011)
• When the Hero Comes Home edited by Ed Greenwood (Dragon Moon Press, Jun 10, 2011)
• Supernatural Noir edited by Ellen Datlow (Dark Horse, Jun 22, 2011)
• The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Eighth Annual Collection by Gardner Dozois (Jul 5, 2011)
• The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities: Exhibits, Oddities, Images, and Stories from Top Authors and Artists edited by Ann Vandermeer and Jeff Vandermeer (Harper Voyager, Jul 12, 2011) — lots of lovely illustrations and photos here, but plenty of great fiction, too
• There Is No Wheel by James Maxey (spotlight publishing, Jul 15, 2011)
• Never Never Stories by Jason Sanford (spotlight publishing, Jul 15, 2011)
• Bluegrass Symphony by Lisa L Hannett with an introduction by Ann Vandermeer (Ticonderoga, Jul 31, 2011)
• The Wild Side: Urban Fantasy with an Erotic Edge (Baen Fantasy) edited by Mark L. Van Name (Baen, Aug 2, 2011)
• The Urban Fantasy Anthology by Peter S. Beagle and Joe R. Lansdale (Aug 15, 2011)
• We Others: New and Selected Stories by Steven Millhauser (Aug 23, 2011)
• Panverse Three edited by Dario Ciriello (Panverse, Sep 1, 2011)
• Anthology: Ghosts by Gaslight: Stories of Steampunk and Supernatural Suspense edited by Jack Dann and Nick Gevers (Sep 6, 2011)
• Blood and Other Cravings edited by Ellen Datlow (Sep 13, 2011)
• Creatures: Thirty Years of Monsters by Clive Barker, Christopher Golden, Joe R. Lansdale and Robert McCammon (Sep 26, 2011)
• I’m With the Bears: Short Stories from a Damaged Planet edited by Mark Martin, with an introduction by Bill McKibben (Oct 1, 2011) — stories from Margaret Atwood, Paolo Bacigalupi, Kim Stanley Robinson, David Mitchell, and more
• ODD? edited by Jeff VanderMeer and Ann VanderMeer (Cheeky Frawg, Oct 9, 2011)
• Solaris Rising: The New Solaris Book of Science Fiction by Peter F. Hamilton, Alastair Reynolds, Ken Macleod and Stephen Baxter (Solaris Books, Oct 26, 2011)
• The Bible Repairman and Other Stories by Tim Powers (Oct 31, 2011)
• Kafkaesque: Stories Inspired by Franz Kafka edited by John Kessel and James Patrick Kelly (Tachyon, Nov 1, 2011)
• Unpossible and Other Stories by Daryl Gregory (Nov 1, 2011)
• The Other by Matthew Hughes (Underland, Nov 1, 2011)
• After the Apocalypse: Stories by Maureen F. McHugh (Small Beer Press, Nov 8, 2011) — recently selected as one of Publishers Weekly’s best books of the year in any genre — and, per Small Beer Press’s Gavin Grant, coming next year from Recorded Books
• Anthology: Lightspeed: Year One edited by John Joseph Adams (Nov 15, Prime Books)
• New Cthulhu: The Recent Weird by Neil Gaiman, China Mieville, Caitlin R. Kiernan and Sarah Monette (Nov 22, 2011)
• Anthology: Alien Contact by Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, Orson Scott Card and Cory Doctorow (Paperback – Nov 22, 2011, Night Shade Books) edited by Marty Halpern
• A Stark And Wormy Knight by Tad Williams (Dec 21, 2011) — print versions coming in 2012 from Subterranean Press
• Heiresses of Russ 2011: The Year’s Best Lesbian Speculative Fiction by Georgina Bruce, Jewelle Gomez, Michelle Labbe and Tanith Lee (Dec 30, 2011)
• Gothic High-Tech by Bruce Sterling (Dec 31, 2011, Subterranean Press)

NON-FICTION:

• Aerotropolis: The Way We’ll Live Next by John D. Kasarda and Greg Lindsay (Mar 1, 2011)
• Monstrous Creatures: Explorations of Fantasy through Essays, Articles and Reviews by Jeff VanderMeer (Guide Dog Books, Mar 11, 2011)
• Postcolonialism and Science Fiction by Jessica Langer (Dec 20, 2011 by Palgrave Macmillan) — excerpted here at io9

So. That’s a lot; too much to be useful. I cut quite a bit off of this list, too, but didn’t pare it down all the way to a list like “titles I would buy tomorrow if they were released”. On that list? At least: R/evolution, Postcolonialism and Science Fiction, Mechanique, Never Knew Another, Ten Billion Days and One Hundred Billion Nights, Briarpatch, Sensation, and (most especially) Lavie Tidhar’s Osama, which is my #1 “where’s the audiobook?” for 2011. I want to listen to it:

UPDATE:

Audible wrote to let me know that some of these are in production or coming soon:

• The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man by Mark Hodder (Pyr, Mar 22, 2011) — while I’m at it, last year’s The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack – We’ll have the whole series on Jan. 24
• Dead of Veridon by Tim Akers (Solaris Books, May 31, 2011) — and while I’m at it 2009’s Heart of Veridon and 2010’s The Horns of Ruin (Pyr) don’t have audiobooks, either – all coming in 2012
• Among Thieves: A Tale of the Kin by Douglas Hulick (Apr 5, 2011) – being produced by Tantor; we expect to have this either by the end of this month or early in January
• Dancing With Bears by Michael Swanwick (Night Shade Books, May 17, 2011) – coming Feb. 28 (along with 4 other Swanwick novels)