FWIW, cross-referencing Locus Magazine’s list of 2011’s SF/F novels with the Goodreads data for each novel yielded these two lists. It’s hard to do anything about the astonishing number of urban fantasy novels that crowd the top of the rankings, because there are too many series that appeal to both typical SF/F readers and typical paranormal fiction readers. I could exclude a bunch of them arbitrarily, or I can accept that there’s an interesting question about Goodreads rankings for SF/F: why is paranormal fiction generally rated so much higher than other SF/F?
The 10 most read SF/F novels of 2011, ranked highest to lowest number of readers:
- Harris, Charlaine, Dead Reckoning
- Harkness, Deborah, A Discovery of Witches
- Martin, George R. R., A Dance with Dragons
- Morgenstern, Erin, The Night Circus
- Rothfuss, Patrick, The Wise Man’s Fear
- Moning, Karen Marie, Shadowfever
- Briggs, Patricia, River Marked
- Cline, Ernest, Ready Player One
- Butcher, Jim, Ghost Story
The ~95 SF/F novels of 2011 with 25+ reviews that still scored above 4.0, ranked from highest (4.55) to lowest (4.0):
- Moning, Karen Marie, Shadowfever
- Andrews, Ilona, Magic Slays
- Rothfuss, Patrick, The Wise Man’s Fear
- Caine, Rachel, Last Breath
- Harrison, Kim, Pale Demon
- McGuire, Seanan, One Salt Sea
- Erikson, Steven, The Crippled God
- McGuire, Seanan, Late Eclipses
- King, Stephen, 11/22/63
- Ione, Larissa, Immortal Rider
- Mead, Richelle, Succubus Revealed
- Sagara, Michelle, Cast in Ruin
- Murphy, C. E., Spirit Dances
- Cline, Ernest, Ready Player One
- Sullivan, Michael J., Theft of Swords
- Correia, Larry, Monster Hunter Alpha
- Butcher, Jim, Ghost Story
- Griffith, Clay, & Susan Griffith, The Rift Walker
- Thurman, Rob, Blackout
- Carey, Mike, The Naming of the Beasts
- Chance, Karen, Hunt the Moon
- Grant, Mira, Deadline
- Wooding, Chris, The Black Lung Captain
- Estep, Jennifer, Spider’s Revenge
- Kenyon, Sherrilyn, Born of Shadows
- Wells, Dan, I Don’t Want to Kill You
- Arthur, Keri, Darkness Rising
- Thurman, Rob, Basilisk
- Berg, Carol, The Soul Mirror
- Griffin, Kate, The Neon Court
- Hanover, M. L. N., & Daniel Abraham, Killing Rites
- Koch, Gini, Alien Proliferation
- Sanderson, Brandon, The Alloy of Law
- Andrews, Ilona, Fate’s Edge
- Lee, Sharon, & Steve Miller, Ghost Ship
- Monk, Devon, Magic on the Line
- Saintcrow, Lilith, Angel Town
- Chan, Kylie, Red Phoenix
- Hearne, Kevin, Hexed
- Correia, Larry, Hard Magic
- Peeler, Nicole, Tempest’s Legacy
- Chan, Kylie, Blue Dragon
- Frohock, Teresa, Miserere: An Autumn Tale
- Hunter, Faith, Mercy Blade
- Abercrombie, Joe, The Heroes
- Connolly, Harry, Circle of Enemies
- Rowland, Diana, Secrets of the Demon
- Cherryh, C. J., Betrayer
- Frost, Jeaniene, One Grave at a Time
- Carey, Jacqueline, Naamah’s Blessing
- Adams, Cat, Demon Song
- Briggs, Patricia, River Marked
- Hearne, Kevin, Hammered
- Monk, Devon, Magic on the Hunt
- Pratchett, Terry, Snuff
- Robertson, Linda, Arcane Circle
- Williams, Sandy, The Shadow Reader
- Aguirre, Ann, Aftermath
- Armstrong, Kelley, Spell Bound
- Bakker, R. Scott, The White Luck Warrior
- Koch, Gini, Alien in the Family
- Painter, Kristen, Bad Blood
- George, Jessica Day, Tuesdays at the Castle
- Martin, George R. R., A Dance with Dragons
- Ringo, John, Citadel
- Hearne, Kevin, Hounded
- Jones, Darynda, First Grave on the Right
- Mann, George, The Immorality Engine
- Mead, Richelle, Iron Crowned
- Canavan, Trudi, The Rogue
- Esslemont, Ian C., Stonewielder
- Morgenstern, Erin, The Night Circus
- Elliott, Kate, Cold Fire
- Green, Simon R., A Hard Day’s Knight
- Hodder, Mark, The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man
- Moon, Elizabeth, Kings of the North
- Wells, Jaye, Green-Eyed Demon
- Carriger, Gail, Heartless
- Corey, James S. A., Leviathan Wakes
- Martin, Gail Z., The Sworn
- Valente, Catherynne M., Deathless
- Caine, Rachel, Unseen
- Gregory, Daryl, Raising Stony Mayhall
- Phoenix, Adrian, Etched in Bone
- Aaronovitch, Ben, Moon Over Soho
- Ballantine, Philippa, Spectyr
- Bennett, Jenn, Kindling the Moon
- Wells, Martha, The Cloud Roads
- Liu, Marjorie M., Within the Flames
- Britain, Kristen, Blackveil
- Weber, David, How Firm a Foundation
- Chan, Kylie, White Tiger
- Charlton, Blake, Spellbound
- Francis, Diana Pharaoh, Crimson Wind
- Stein, Jeanne C., Crossroads
Christopher Pound 