Best Fantasy Books of 2014

Below you will find a list of the fantasy books published in 2014 that we enjoyed most. Click on a book title to read the full review.

  5. Queen of the Dark Things by Robert Cargill

    Queen of the Dark Things by Robert Cargill book cover

    C. Robert Cargill delivers a gritty, globetrotting sequel that deepens the mythic stakes of his world. Wizard Colby Stevens, haunted by his past, must navigate a landscape where folklore is literal and lethal. The novel stands out for its masterful blending of disparate mythologies, from Australian Aboriginal lore to European fairy tales. It is a world where magic feels ancient and heavy with debt. While the pacing is faster than its predecessor, it maintains a sombre, mythic weight. Cargill explores how stories shape reality and the terrifying price one pays for tampering with the fundamental dark things.

    Buy on Amazon | Read our full review of Queen of the Dark Things by Robert Cargill

  6. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

    Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel book cover

    Emily St. John Mandel offers a refreshing, hopeful take on the post-apocalypse. Twenty years after a flu pandemic collapses civilisation, a travelling troupe of actors and musicians performs Shakespeare for the small settlements that remain. The novel moves between the "before" and "after," weaving together the lives of characters connected to a single actor. It focuses on the idea that "survival is insufficient" - that humans need art, beauty, and memory to truly live. It is a beautifully written, melancholic, yet ultimately optimistic story about what we choose to preserve when everything else is gone.

    Buy on Amazon | Read our full review of Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

  11. City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett

    City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett book cover

    Robert Jackson Bennett's "The City of Stairs" is a masterful "Divine Noir" that redefines the genre. Set in Bulikov, a city where the gods were murdered and their reality-bending miracles have become dangerous "stairs" to nowhere, it follows diplomat-spy Shara Thivani. The book is fantastic because it treats magic as a forensic puzzle and a geopolitical scar. By blending a tense murder mystery with deep themes of colonialism and theology, Bennett creates a world that feels ancient yet startlingly original. It is a brilliant, brainy investigation into what happens when the "impossible" becomes a crime scene.

    Buy on Amazon | Read our full review of City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett