Fiction and fantasy 13130 update

Prolific author Sarah J. Bonus trivia: The series has been officially optioned for adaptation on the streaming platform Hulu.

Want to Read saving…. Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Opening Round: Nov 16 - 28 In the first round there are 20 books in each of the 17 categories, and members can vote for one book in each category. Final Round: Nov 30 - Dec 05 The field narrows to the top 10 books in each category, and members have one last chance to vote!

Welcome back. But as she and Pan fight to unravel the truth they realise that someone — or something — is determined to stop them. After the epic world-building and fast-paced adventures in Susan Dennard's previous fantasy books, Truthwitch and Windwitch , existing fans won't need much persuading to be very excited about Bloodwitch , the third novel in the Witchlands series.

Find out more about these epic fantasy novels in our introduction to the world of the Witchlands here. No list of the best fantasy books would be complete without a John Gwynne novel.

One of the most anticipated publications of , in A Time of Courage , The King of the Otherworld is finally free and angels, demons and heroes face their ultimate fight for the Banished Lands. Discover all the books set in John Gwynne's Banished Lands universe.

In Brian Naslund's must-read debut fantasy novel we meet Bershad, an adventurer sentenced to kill dragons for a living after being caught trying to assassinate a fellow noble. When the king who sentenced Bershad offers him a way out of his forced occupation and exile, Bershad sees a way to earn redemption, but it won't be easy. Blood of an Exile , the first book in the Dragons of Terra series is packed with adventure and of course, lots of dragons.

The second book in this unmissable fantasy series is set after the events of Blood of an Exile , as dragon-slayer Bershad and his crew can only hope they have enough strength to face what's in store next. A foreign emperor is raining an army, and he'll stop at nothing to crush the kingdom and take control of its highly-prized dragons. The third book in Seth Dickinson's critically acclaimed fantasy quartet, Masquerade, The Tyrant is the perfect fantasy novel to pick up if you're looking for a page-turner.

After years of service to the corrupt Imperial Republic of Falcrest, Baru Cormorant finally knows how to shatter it. But, as her divided mind turns on itself, Baru's enemies close in and she must choose between genocidal retribution, and a harder path.

The Lowlands have lived in peace and prosperity for decades, but now an ancient Empire is conquering city after city, and the Lowlands are next. Stenwold Maker, spymaster, artificer and statesman, sees the threat, but can he convince his people of the danger that is coming? Published in , The Fifth Season is the first fantasy novel in N. Jemisin's Broken Earth trilogy. With this remarkable work of fantasy fiction, Jemisin became the first black author to win the Hugo Award for Best Novel in , and what's more, the next two instalments in the series The Obelisk Gate and The Stone Sky also went on to win the same prize, making Jemisin the first-ever author to win the award for all books in a trilogy.

With fascinating geologic forces and systemic issues of oppression, marginalization and the misuse of power at its heart - The Fifth Season and the entire Broken Earth trilogy is lauded for the complex and richly-coloured world in which it is set. Considered a work of science fantasy, the trilogy is set in a far-future Earth, upon a continent known as the Stillness, which is plagued by apocalyptic natural disasters known as Seasons, that can last for generations.

Book one follows the story of Essun, a woman living an unremarkable life in a quiet town until three tragedies strike in one day. Her husband murders their beloved son in cold blood and kidnaps their daughter, a world-spanning empire falls, and a great rift has been torn into the Stillness throwing into the sky enough ash to block the sun's light for years to come.

Essun's fight to save her daughters in this dying land, begins. Young witches Safiya and Iseult have a habit of finding trouble. After clashing with a powerful Guildmaster and his ruthless Bloodwitch bodyguard, the friends are forced to flee their home. Many would kill for her magic, so Safi must keep it hidden — lest she be used in the struggle between empires. Discover everything you need to know about the Witchlands with our guide. Described by M. He leads the Royal Society of Unnatural Philosophers, whose duty it is to keep the levels of magic stable — but they're failing.

The supply of magic is being disrupted by the Fairy Court, and war with France means the government wants to drain this scarce resource even further.

When Zacharias meets ambitious orphan Prunella Gentleman they find that her recent magical discovery might just change the nature of sorcery forever. Professional spy Irene works for the mysterious Library, along with her enigmatic assistant Kai.

Their mission is to steal a dangerous book from an alternative London. But when they arrive, it's already been stolen. To make things more complicated, this alternative world is infested with chaos, full of supernatural creatures and unpredictable magic. Discover the world of The Invisible Library series. Set in the Banished Lands where armies of men and giants clash in battle, this is an epic fantasy series not to be missed.

The hugely anticipated debut by Jenn Lyons is the first fantasy book in the A Chorus of Dragons series. Brim-full of big ideas — body-swapping, prophecy, rich worldbuilding and grim commentaries on many aspects of empire — to name but a few, this is the tale of Kihrin, a young prince cursed with bad luck and worse prophecy.

The Ruin of Kings is a fantastically complex and multi-layered fantasy book, and characters like Doc and Galen, alongside Kihrin's own well-balanced set of talents and flaws make this a promising new fantasy series. The Gunslinger by Stephen King The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett The quest led them to a host of truly memorable characters, multiple wonders, incredible adventures—and strange coincidences, which were really not coincidences at all.

And it involved them in an ancient crime that still perturbed the serenity of Heaven. Simply and charmingly told, this is a wry tale, a sly tale, and a story of wisdom delightfully askew. Once read, its marvels and beauty will not easily fade from the mind. The author claims that this is a novel of an ancient China that never was. But, oh…it should have been! The Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart Mythago Wood won the World Fantasy Award on its first publication in , and secured Robert Holdstock's reputation as one of the major fantasy writers of our time.

Now it returns to print in America for the first time in nearly a decade. Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock But what if, for once, the predictions are right, and the apocalypse really is due to arrive next Saturday, just after tea? You could spend the time left drowning your sorrows, giving away all your possessions in preparation for the rapture, or laughing it off as hopefully just another hoax.

Or you could just try to do something about it. The Famished Road by Ben Okri Was by Geoff Ryman Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice Towing Jehovah by James Morrow The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman A Game of Thrones by George R. Martin Rowling The Moon and the Sun by Vonda N. McIntyre With his life in pieces and nothing to keep him tethered, Shadow accepts a job from a beguiling stranger he meets on the way home, an enigmatic man who calls himself Mr.

A trickster and a rogue, Wednesday seems to know more about Shadow than Shadow does himself. Soon Shadow learns that the past never dies. This is the author's preferred text, never before published in the UK, and is about 12, words longer than the previous UK edition. American Gods by Neil Gaiman The Etched City by K. Bishop The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss The Magicians by Lev Grossman Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.

Jemisin Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor Among Others is at once the compelling story of a young woman struggling to escape a troubled childhood, a brilliant diary of first encounters with the great novels of modern fantasy and science fiction, and a spellbinding tale of escape from ancient enchantment. As a child growing up in Wales, Morwenna played among the spirits who made their homes in industrial ruins. But her mind found freedom in the science fiction novels that were her closest companions.

When her half-mad mother tried to bend the spirits to dark ends, Mori was forced to confront her in a magical battle that left her crippled--and her twin sister dead. Fleeing to a father whom she barely knew, Mori was sent to boarding school in England--a place all but devoid of true magic. There, she tempted fate by doing magic herself, in an attempt to find a circle of like-minded friends.

But her magic also drew the attention of her mother, bringing about a reckoning that could no longer be put off Combining elements of autobiography with flights of imagination, this is a stunning new novel by an author whose genius has already been hailed by dozens of her peers. Among Others by Jo Walton The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern In The Golem and the Jinni, a chance meeting between mythical beings takes readers on a dazzling journey through cultures in turn-of-the-century New York.

Chava is a golem, a creature made of clay, brought to life to by a disgraced rabbi who dabbles in dark Kabbalistic magic and dies at sea on the voyage from Poland.

Chava is unmoored and adrift as the ship arrives in New York harbor in Ahmad is a jinni, a being of fire born in the ancient Syrian desert, trapped in an old copper flask, and released in New York City, though still not entirely free Ahmad and Chava become unlikely friends and soul mates with a mystical connection. Marvelous and compulsively readable, Helene Wecker's debut novel The Golem and the Jinni weaves strands of Yiddish and Middle Eastern literature, historical fiction and magical fable, into a wondrously inventive and unforgettable tale.

The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker In desperation, Jevick seeks the aid of Olondrian priests and quickly becomes a pawn in the struggle between the empire's two most powerful cults. Yet even as the country shimmers on the cusp of war, he must face his ghost and learn her story before he has any chance of becoming free by setting her free: an ordeal that challenges his understanding of art and life, home and exile, and the limits of that seductive necromancy, reading.

A Stranger in Olondria is a skillful and immersive debut fantasy novel that pulls the reader in deeper and deeper with twists and turns reminiscent of George R.

Martin and Joe Hill. A Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro The Fifth Season by N. The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu A Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho Scythe by Neal Shusterman The City of Brass by S. Chakraborty The Kaul family is one of two crime syndicates that control the island of Kekon. Yes, without a doubt, both are unknown concepts, but in the case of fiction the unknown is treated as something that must be understood, for it can cause great change to the present world.

However, in fantasy the unknown element is to be cherished, because it is strange by nature. Thirdly, they can also differ in settings. For example, dragons and wizards are usually placed in the previous timeline. This means that they more or less occurred in the past. Because of such characteristics, most of these past unknown concepts are considered as fantasies.

But with fiction, the concepts are often applied in the future, as in advanced technologies and other life forms in space. To give more concrete examples of fiction, some of its most popular themes are: Time traveling, worm holes, aliens and super intelligent robots. Fantasy includes concepts like talking animals and plants.

Lastly, fiction is much closer to the facts, or are all based on facts. Although they are still not true, they are almost always likely to be true. Conversely, fantasies are often concepts that are scientifically impossible, as in the case of talking plants and flying horses.