I want to know what YOU thought were the best science fiction and fantasy books of last year. I will collect votes from this board and the other SF and Fantasy boards I belong to, then post for all to see!

Some short rules: ONLY books published for the first time in 2009 will count -- no paperback reprints of 2008 hardcovers! However, you CAN vote for a book that was ORIGINALLY published in 2009 in mass market -- you do not need to vote only for hardcover and trade paperback novels. I will also accept votes for books that were totally OUT OF PRINT and reissued in 2009. Also, if you are not in the U.S., please note where you are from so I can look up the proper publication information.

If you are unsure if a book was published originally in 2009, you can still vote for it, but note that you are unsure and provide an alternate vote if I have to throw that one out.

Finally, please do NOT vote for more than three books; this is meant to make you really choose your favorites, and besides, I don't need MORE tabulating to do! I will toss out any votes that extend beyond my three-book limit, except in cases like I described above.

(Also, please only vote in one place! So don't vote here and on the SF board. . . they are the same poll! And if you've already voted on Shelfari, where I'm also a member, please don't vote here as well, as that will just confuse me, lol.)

Incidentally, and so that you all can see how it's done, here are my top 3:

1. Naamah's Kiss, by Jacqueline Carey

2. Matter, by Iain M. Banks

3. The Sharing Knife: Horizon, by Lois McMaster Bujold.

(And don't worry, even though I'm posting my votes in multiple places as examples, I will only count them once.)

1. In the Valley of the Kings by Terrence Holt (sci-fi short story collection)

2. The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan (sci-fi/horror novel)

3. Purple and Black by K. J. Parker (fantasy novella)

So, after receiving votes from people on four different websites, here are the results of my highly nonscientific poll:

1. The Gathering Storm, by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
2. The City and the City, by China Mieville (tied)
    First Lord's Fury, by Jim Butcher (tied)
4. Naamah's Kiss, by Jacqueline Carey (tied)
    Unseen Academicals, by Terry Pratchett (tied)
6. The Sharing Knife: Horizon, by Lois McMaster Bujold
7. Purple and Black, by K.J. Parker
8. Bone Crossed, by Patricia Briggs

Despite getting votes from as many places as I could think of, there was surprisingly little overlap in the voting, so to avoid having a list where 8 books were tied for 10th place, I did not include the breakdown of those books that received a vote from only one person. Thanks for participating!