Best Fantasy Books of 2009

Below you will find a list of the fantasy books published in 2009 that we enjoyed most. Click on a book title to read the full review.

The Judging Eye by R Scott Bakker (The Aspect Emperor: Book 1)

This second series of Eärwa, titled The Aspect Emperor, continues twenty years after The Prince of Nothing series ends. The Three Seas are on the march under the leadership of Anasûrimbo...

Published: 2009

Dust of Dreams by Steven Erikson (A Tale of the Malazan Book of the Fallen: Book 9)

We’re back with the Malazans marching into the Wastelands to meet up with their allies the Burned Tears and the Perish to head into territory where they believe they will have the final confr...

Published: 2009

Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett (The Discworld Series: Book 37)

It has taken me a little while to work up the courage to write this review. Terry Pratchett has always managed to write a book a year for the last little while, and as a result has provided me with...

Published: 2009

Fever Crumb by Philip Reeve (Mortal Engines Quartet: Prequel)

Though I’m still trying to figure out whether its Reeves amazingly detailed imagination or the headstrong Fever Crumb is responsible for it, this book has taken its place in the pinnacle. My ...

Published: 2009

Heroes of the Valley by Jonathan Stroud

Listen then, and I'll tell you again of the Battle of the Rock. But none of your usual wriggling, or I'll stop before I've begun . . .Halli loves the old stories from wh...

Published: 2009

The Other Lands by David Anthony Durham (War with the Mein: Book 2)

In conclusion, this is a book which has lived up to the expectation of Acacia. In many ways it did not feel like a middle volume and in others it fulfilled a middle volume’s purpose. Durham i...

Published: 2009

Tracato by Joel Shepherd (A Trial of Blood and Steel: Book 3)

I love this book, and the moment I finished it I ploughed on into the fourth and final book of the series (Haven). Tracato has kept me up late at night more than once, and diverted my attention fro...

Published: 2009

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (Hunger Games: Book 2)

You want to read this book. There is no other recommendation I can give than that. No matter your age, sex, or favoured genre, Catching Fire will leave you breathless with equal measures of excitem...

Published: 2009

Azazeel by Youssef Ziedan

Set in the 5th century AD, Azazeel is the tale of a Coptic monk's journey from Upper Egypt to Alexandria and then Syria during a time of massive upheaval in the early Church. Azazeel highlights...

Published: 2009

I Am Not A Serial Killer by Dan Wells (John Cleaver series: Book 1)

I'd heard a lot about this book before I finally got the chance to read it. Dan Wells is close friends with Brandon Sanderson, one of my favourite authors, so many of my web searches often turn...

Published: 2009

Dragonfly Falling by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Shadows of the Apt: Book 2)

The story is action packed and Tchaikovsky’s handling of the fight scenes is thrilling. The characters are continuing to grow and we learn more of their motivations. We are also introduced to...

Published: 2009

Palimpsest by Catherynne M Valente

Sei, November, Ludov, and Oleg -- four people unknown to each other but united by grief and their obsession with the city of Palimpsest. Located beyond the human realm, Palimpsest is accessible onl...

Published: 2009

Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey (Sandman Slim series #1)

Life sucks and then you die. Or, if you’re James Stark, you spend eleven years in Hell as a hitman before finally escaping, only to land back in the hell-on-earth that is Los Angeles. Now Sta...

Published: 2009

The Magicians by Lev Grossman (The Magicians series: Book 1)

The fantasy genre always needs an author to come along a show it in a different light and this is exactly what has Grossman has done with The Magicians. He has injected sexual tension and questiona...

Published: 2009

Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson: Book 4)

Mercy Thompson couldn't keep herself out of trouble if her life depended upon it - and it does. After killing one more vampire than the head vampiress commissioned her for Mercy is once again i...

Published: 2009

The Spook's Stories: Witches by Joseph Delaney (The Wardstone Chronicles)

This gathering of five short stories is an invaluable addition to The Wardstone Chronicles; much is explained in detail and Delaney gives Spook’s devotees a greater insight into some of his m...

Published: 2009

Dead And Gone by Charlaine Harris (Southern Vampire Series: Book 9)

Now it's the turn of the weres and shifters to follow the lead of the undead and reveal their existence to the ordinary world. Sookie Stackhouse already knows about them, of course - her brothe...

Published: 2009

Tallow by Karen Brooks (The Curse of the Bond Riders: Book 1)

When Pillar, a simple tradesman from Serenissima, catches the bundle thrown to him by a mysterious, dying rider, he has no idea that he is holding the child who will one day decide the fate of the ...

Published: 2009

The Dragon Whisperer by Lucinda Hare (The Dragonsdome Chronicles: Book 1)

Reading Lucinda Hare’s debut novel The Dragon Whisperer is like riding a dragon. You have to hold on tight during the twist and turns, take time to stop and enjoy the breathtaking view (in th...

Published: 2009

Revolver by Marcus Sedgwick

1910. A cabin north of the Arctic Circle. Fifteen-year-old Sig Andersson is alone. Alone, except for the corpse of his father, who died earlier that day after falling through a weak spot on the ice...

Published: 2009

Crown of Vengeance by Stephen Zimmer (Fires in Eden: Book 1)

The underdog versus a ruling elite is something that we can all relate to no matter what world you are from and there are plenty of parallels with our own history and culture to keep the reader on ...

Published: 2009

Stormslayer by Jonathan Green (Fighting Fantasy: Book 4 (Series 2))

I wouldn’t ordinarily review a book without having reached the end, something I’m determined to do. I’ve lost a fight with a Manticore and fallen from a great height into a lava p...

Published: 2009

The Prodigal Mage by Karen Miller (Kingmaker, Kingbreaker: Book 3)

The constant swearing and angry out-bursts are very similar to Karen Miller’s first series, yet it doesn’t feel old. The tensions are very realistic and the outlook throughout the book ...

Published: 2009

Avilion by Robert Holdstock (Ryhope Wood: Book 7)

This book also shows the evolution of Robert Holdstock’s writing, especially if you were going to read Mythago Wood and Avilion in that order. I felt that the book flowed really well, whether...

Published: 2009

IQ84 by Haruki Murakami

The year is 1984. Aomame sits in a taxi on the expressway in Tokyo. Her work is not the kind which can be discussed in public but she is in a hurry to carry out an assignment and, with the traffic ...

Published: 2009

Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde (Shades of Grey Trilogy #1)

Hundreds of years in the future, after the Something that Happened, the world is an alarmingly different place. Life is lived according to The Rulebook and social hierarchy is determined by your pe...

Published: 2009

Return to the Hundred Acre Wood by David Benedictus

The rumours are true – Christopher Robin is back in the Hundred Acre Wood. From the excitement of Christopher Robin’s return to the curious business of learning to play cricket, Return ...

Published: 2009

The Enchantment Emporium by Tanya Huff (Enchantment Emporium #1)

Alysha Gale is twenty-four, unemployed, and tired of her family meddling in her life personally and magically. So when a letter arrives from her missing grandmother, bequeathing her a junk shop on ...

Published: 2009

The Ghost of Shadow Vale by Jonathan Stroud

Glam killed the monster of Shadow Vale-but he also died in the fight. Now Glam's ghost has come back and he's worse than the monster ever was... Barrington Stoke specialise in books for rel...

Published: 2009

Darkborn by Alison Sinclair (Darkborn Trilogy: Book 1)

For the Darkborn, sunlight kills. For the Lightborn, darkness is fatal. Living under a centuries-old curse, the Darkborn and the Lightborn share the city of Minhorne, coexisting in an uneasy equili...

Published: 2009