After going over our top video games, motion pictures, and television programs of the year thus far, it’s time to discuss our best science fiction and fantasy books. We offer a wide selection of new fantasy and sci-fi for you to explore this year, including new books from well-known authors, outstanding debuts, and short-story collections.
Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Books
Fantasy and science fiction are frequently considered to be two unique and distinct genres. But as time has repeatedly revealed, the distinctions between the two genres are not as firm as first thought. After all, space opera is essentially imagination in space.
However, some books purposefully blend aspects of science fiction and fantasy to create something fresh. Enter the science-fantasy genre.
Science-fantasy includes some of the best elements of both parent genres, whether it involves two parallel universes, interplanetary colonization that leads to the abandonment of technology in favor of magic or scientific achievements so astonishing that they resemble magic.
Today, we will talk about the best science fiction and fantasy books:
The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez
Key Features
- Publisher: Del Rey (August 30, 2022)
- Language: English
- Hardcover: 544 Pages
- Weight: 1.76 Pounds
Overview
There are many things that The Spear Cuts Through Water is. The story of Jun and Keema, two strangers who help a fallen god in escaping captivity at the hands of her ruthless husband, the emperor, and their kids, properly known as the Three Terrors, is the story’s central plot. However, the book’s narrative alternates between Jun and Keema’s story, the performance of it, and the experience of one man watching from the audience—though he is destined to forget what he has seen as soon as he leaves the theatre. The adventure is actually being acted out in a magical theatre in another dimension hundreds of years later.
With its fluid surrealism, The Spear Cuts Through Water is reminiscent of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, but Jimenez infuses his own immersive style by fusing first-, second-, and third-person viewpoints. Jimenez’s choice to repeatedly interrupt the main narrative with the free-flowing thoughts of random characters gives you the impression that you are floating through this realm, both bound to and freed by his captivating style.
Therefore, The Spear Cuts Through Water is about many different things, as I indicated. It’s a mesmerizing rhyme to myth and oral storytelling. It is a serious investigation of family and identity. The Spear Cuts Through Water is, above all, a love story—and it’s unlike any other you’ve read. Said Sadie Gennis
The Oleander Sword by Tasha Suri
Key Features
- Publisher: Orbit (August 16, 2022)
- Language: English
- Paperback: 512 Pages
- Weight: 1.35 Pounds
Overview
The Oleander Sword is a violent epic that steadily builds toward complete disaster, in contrast to the first Burning Kingdoms book, which was a gloriously lush work of world-building and slow-burn romance. In the conclusion of The Jasmine Throne, Malini and Priya’s paths part ways as Malini launches her cruel campaign against her brother to seize the throne, and Priya assumes her position as an Elder of Ahiranya.
However, the two women seize the chance to reunite and overthrow Parijatdvipa when they recognize an opportunity to work together to help each of their own populations. However, the kingdom is not only at risk from Malini’s brother. New information about the Yaska causes Priya and Bhumika to reevaluate their people’s history and devotion to their faith while the rot spreads throughout the kingdom.
The Oleander Sword by Suri further complicates the already complex dynamics of the story by fusing together and clashing political schemes, personal aspirations, and religious convictions in captivating and frequently painful ways.
The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Key Features
- Publisher: Dely Rey (July 19, 2022)
- Language: English
- Hardcover: 320 Pages
- Weight: 1.15 Pounds
Overview
The most recent book by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a retelling of the H.G. Wells classic from 1896. However, Moreno-Garcia placed it in Yucatán in 1871, at the height of the Caste War, when the Mayan people rebelled against their Mexican and European overlords.
This Gothic narrative is recounted from the young woman’s viewpoint at its core, just like in her prior works. Carlota Moreau is confined to her father’s estate on the Yucatán Peninsula, where she shares her home with hybrid animals made of both animal and human DNA. Although the outside world might perceive these hybrids differently, she raises them as siblings. She has had a “disease of the blood” for a long time, which her father has managed by administering jaguar “gemmules” regularly.
Her father claims to manage a sanatorium, trying to conceal the Lovecraftian horrors housed inside to keep their work secret.
Carlota adores her house and believes that no other area could possibly have such a wealth of natural beauty, but she is starting to worry that something is wrong. Her skepticism only grows as Eduardo Lizalde, the doctor’s benefactor’s son visits the estate. The Daughter of Doctor Moreau is a gripping page-turner that also explores colonization, class, and what it means to be human.
Speaking Bones by Ken Liu
Key Features
- Publisher: Gallery / Saga Press (June 21, 2022)
- Language: English
- Hardcover: 1072 Pages
- Weight: 2.63 Pounds
Overview
Writing this blurb was something I was dreading because, in my opinion, it would be hard to do Speaking Bones justice in only a few hundred words or fewer. My difficulty is thematically related to one of the series’ main themes—that people’s truths are too nuanced and contradictory ever to be entirely represented. The intricate workings of people’s emotions, thoughts, and relationships are frequently deprived of context, simplified, misunderstood, or even forgotten, leaving behind a unified, tidy-wrapped past that is simple to understand.
However, there is strength and truth in these stories as well. And in Speaking Bones, mastering the art of storytelling is just as crucial as knowing how to wield a sword, a garinafin’s force, or a king’s grace.
Speaking Bones is a multigenerational drama with intricate details whose scope and ambition would be overwhelming if it weren’t for Liu’s skillful direction. There are pages of technical specs for inventions, dialogue that sounds more like poetry, gods and war, political scheming, and philosophical discussions. The issues the book addresses and its value of empathy make them difficult to forget. But what has stuck with me the most is the difference between the stories I read about the people and the ways those stories are recreated, both inside the book and outside of it, as I try to spread my enthusiasm for this tale. That translation leaves a lot out, but neither version is any less accurate for it.
Eyes of the Void by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Key Features
- Publisher: Orbit (May 3, 2022)
- Language: English
- 608 Pages
- 85 Pounds
Overview
The one thing that used to keep the Architects, an alien race of moon-sized planet-destroying ships, at bay is no longer effective. So how does humanity react to this? With power grabs, petty fights, and internal strife. Idris Tellemier, the only person to have ever spoken to an Architect, is at the heart of everything; he spends most of the Eyes of the Void being bargained over, used, and kidnapped for safety and political benefit. Idris is responsible for saving the world, but his comrades aboard the Vulture God are in charge of protecting Idris.
In Eyes of the Void, Solace, Kris, Kit, and Ollie—who justly receives her own point-of-view chapters this time—manage the volatile political climate and fight off foes including the Architects, cults, and members of their own community in order to defend their odd family.
As the crew of the Vulture God becomes more trapped with brand-new people, creatures, and cultures in Eyes of the Void, Adrian Tchaikovsky’s dizzyingly complex story has a chance to shine. Idris’ search to discover how to stop the Architects reveals astounding truths about the world’s very nature of the world, and even while the novel creates more questions than it answers, the compounding riddles increase the stakes to heart-pounding heights.
The Hacienda by Isabel Canas
Key Features
- Berkley (May 3, 2022)
- Language: English
- Hardcover: 352 Pages
- Weight: 1.2 Pounds
Overview
The Hacienda would be just up your (haunted) alley if you liked Mexican Gothic. This Gothic is set in the immediate aftermath of the Mexican War of Independence at the opulent Hacienda San Isidro. Beatriz’s future is bleak; her father was put to death, and she and her mother are practically penniless. She believes that all her issues have been resolved when Don Rodolfo Solórzano makes a marriage proposal. She will transform Hacienda San Isidro into a house with large windows and lovely gardens that she and her mother have long desired.
The Hacienda, however, is not what it seems. It is horribly haunted, evoking images of blood-stained floors and crumbling walls, turning off the lights, and creaking doors. The monster in this story lives in the home, but it is also the house. Rodolfo has gone on a business trip, and his sister, who resides at the house, treats Beatriz with contempt at every step, leaving Beatriz alone and without allies. Who is going to rescue her from this house? And if she is unable to make this work, who would provide her and her mother with a place to live? Only Padre Andrés, a young priest with his own secrets, is available to assist.
The Hunger of the Gods by John Gwynne
Key Features
- Orbit (April 14, 2022)
- Language: English
- Weight: 1.98 Pounds
Overview
Gods have returned to Vigri, overturning the delicate balance of society. Only now, it’s not only mortals battling for dominance, vengeance, or loyalty to their families. The Bloodsworn Saga, now in its second installment, is still a ruthless and vicious story with vivid action, flawless world-building, and a constantly expanding cast of morally grey people.
Okra, Elvar, and Varg, our original protagonists, continue stubbornly down their paths to rescue and avenge those taken from them, even if it means fighting (or enslaving) a god, as many rushes to secure footholds of power in the shifting global order.
The storylines of the individuals were essentially distinct in the previous book, but in this one, fate and (mis)fortune show how closely their fates were interwoven. The Hunger of the Gods is an enormous reward for the groundwork Gwynne painstakingly built down in The Shadow of the Gods and a thrilling preparation for the series conclusion. It is fast-paced and filled with exciting action throughout.
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
Key Features
- Publisher: Knopf; First Edition (April 5, 2022)
- Language: English
- Hardcover: 272 Pages
- Weight: 1 Pound
Overview
Both Station Eleven and The Glass Hotel introduce their casts in fragments, gradually showing how each of these individuals knows the others. Emily St. John Mandel has used this technique to great effect. The timeline of the Sea of Tranquility is even wider, spanning from the 1910s until a time when people dwell in lunar colonies. Characters from The Glass Hotel serve as some of the novel’s main foci, and if that’s your thing, the book also establishes an official Mandel multiverse.
The complete embracing of one of my favorite science fiction clichés in Sea of Tranquility is my favorite aspect of the book. It’s a time travel tale with several intelligent turns, all written in Mandel’s fluid, reflective style. Anyone who adores The Matrix films or cherishes Disney’s Loki will enjoy this book.
Final Words
If you love reading science fiction and fantasy books, this article will surely help you to find the best science fiction and fantasy books . In this article, we have compiled the best books that you will surely love reading. After reading this article, you will be able to know which books you should order and add to your library. We always try to share honest reviews of the best books for our readers. Keep reading our books to learn about the trends in the publishing industry, DIY ideas, reviews about books, and more. If you have a book in your mind that you want us to review, please drop your comments below.
FAQ
Can a Book Be Both Fantasy and Science Fiction?
Fantasy and science fiction both depict worlds that are unlike our own and deal with the speculative. Because of the striking similarities between the two genres, science fantasy and fantasy science fiction are frequently combined. Star Wars is a fantastic illustration of this.
What Do Fantasy and Science Fiction Have in Common?
The fact that both genres frequently have a lot of imaginative, creative components is one of the similarities between science fiction and fantasy. And you may employ the same mythological structures in science fiction stories as in fantasy stories.
Why is Fantasy More Popular than Sci-Fi?
Because fantasy places a greater emphasis on character and plot, it is more widely read than science fiction. The name speaks for itself. Fantasy is a topic frequently discussed on this subreddit, goodreads, and other communities, whether in relation to Lord of the Rings or more recent works like Stormlight Archive and Lightbringer.