For me it was Kraken by China Mieville. This book just completely clicked with me. I loved its take on religion, cults and gods. Everything just felt so perfect, like the author was pulling straight from my brain. Every few pages he introduced a new worldbuilding element that completely blew my mind. (My favorite was the character who has lost his belief in God due to science, and so tries to destroy Darwin's specimens because he believes that symbolic magic will cause evolution itself to be destroyed. Such a crazy plot point but it's so interesting and I love the idea of symbolism becoming literal through magic. )
It might not be the greatest book in terms of objective quality; I do think it's pretty good but i cant really be unbiased on it. Either way it's extremely dear to my heart. Mieville's writing generally resonates with me, but especially this book in particular. Also it gave me a bit of an obsession with sea creatures.
Some other books I've felt this way about have been Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, Atmospheric Disturbances by Rivka Galchen, and Palimpsest by Catherynne Valente. What are yours, and why?
by moss42069