Including The Devils
Best Fantasy Books of 2020
Below you will find a list of the fantasy books published in 2020 that we enjoyed most. Click on a book title to read the full review.
-
-
2. The Once and Future Witches by Alix E Harrow
This book is pure adventure, brilliantly told, with powerful messages cloaked in the charm and wisdom you’d come to expect from an Alix Harrow story. Like her previous novel, it is a love letter to stories themselves, and it is a profound love of which I am grateful to have shared.
-
3. Age of Empyre by Michael J Sullivan
While Age of Empyre and the whole Legends series may struggle to top ‘The Riyria Revelations’ – for the simple sake that it does not have Royce and Hadrian – it is only by the barest of margins.
-
4. Battle Ground by Jim Butcher
If there's one word to describe this book it's 'change'. Some things have been ticking over in the series for a long while now and at times it seemed like Jim Butcher wasn't sure which way he wanted to take the story. Or even what he wanted to do with Harry. All that is done. Every single element of the series has been levelled by the events on Battle Ground, the city razed to its foundations, the characters broken down to their most essential parts. From this destruction will come something new, a rebuilding of place and person that wouldn't have been possible without such a thorough clearing of the way.
-
5. The Trouble with Peace by Joe Abercrombie
This one has it all. The Trouble with Peace is a quintessential Abercrombie story that draws pieces from all seven First Law novels before it. It features all your returning favorites: trademark humor, horrifying violence, grim wisdom, and an ending that will leave you craving for more. At this point, would you expect anything less?
-
6. Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
This is a novel for those who appreciate high-quality prose and a philosophical engagement with fantasy tropes. It succeeds by refusing bombast, offering instead a profound, sophisticated journey into the architecture of the mind itself.
-
7. The Girl and the Stars by Mark Lawrence
The Girl and the Stars is more than the start of a new series. It’s the culmination of some of the best ideas of Lawrence’s previous works while promising that amazing things are still to come. I can’t wait to get my hands on the next Icepunk book in the Yaz-mere.
-
8. A Time of Courage by John Gwynne
Now THIS is the way you end a series. Readers and writers beware, a new standard has been set. A Time of Courage closes the story arc first begun in Malice, a tale of good and evil recounted by the many loved and hated voices of the Banished Lands. It culminates in a battle so visually and emotionally impactful that I had to put the book down several times just to process what I’d seen and heard and felt.
-
9. Along the Razor's Edge by Rob J Hayes
Along the Razor’s Edge will make you mad. It will make you hold your breath, pump your fist, pause and reflect, and swear at 2am. It will do all these things and more, because it is one hell of a great story. For me, it was more than just reading a book. It was an experience.
-
10. The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
This is a special book, a story that will break your heart on one page and flood it with hope on the next. In this dark and difficult time in which we are living, it is stories like these that help remind us what we’re doing this all for.
-
11. We Ride the Storm by Devin Madson
-
12. The Obsidian Tower by Melissa Caruso
-
13. Age of Death by Michael J Sullivan
Age of Death, then, sees Sullivan continue to solidify himself as one of the greatest practitioners of fantasy literature currently writing, and further builds the foundation from which he will be measured as a champion of the genre in decades to come. Sullivan is not just an author who can wring emotion out of his readers through beautiful character work but is also a first-rate imagination up there with the best. Combined, Sullivan outshines most of his peers and sends a challenge to all.
-
14. Forged by Benedict Jacka
When you finish a book and wonder how the hell the next one will top it, then you know it’s a phenomenal read. That what follows is the finale in this 12 book series only makes the stakes even higher. But after this, I know that whatever Benedict Jacka does for the finale, it’ll be better than I could have imagined. And I cannot wait.
-
15. Temple of Sand by Barbara Kloss
I read this cover to cover in one go and I’m already so desperate for the next book that I’ve put my order in direct with the author. It’s an incredible series that deserves more readers so take a chance. Then get in line behind me for what comes next.
-
16. Blight Marked by Josh Erikson
A seriously epic book that ends with a spectacular finale of world shattering proportions. But wait! Don’t be sad… there’s more. I’m so excited about the direction this series is heading. Promises made. Deals to be kept. Monsters, mayhem, magic. Readers, we are in for something special.
-
17. Shorefall by Robert Jackson Bennett
-
18. The Lessons Never Learned by Rob J Hayes
Hayes has won several awards over the course of writing career, most recently the Booknest novel of the year, and is once again a finalist for this year’s SPFBO, which he won in a previous year. But through all his accolades and experiences in the self- and trad-published industries, there is no doubt in my mind that ‘The War Eternal’ is the crown jewel of his writing career. There is more going on beyond Eska’s endeavors that will be revealed in From Cold Ashes Risen, and I can hardly wait to find out how this story will pan out. All I know for sure is that it’s going to be fantastic, and you'll be plotting your own mission of vengeance if you miss it.
-
19. Kings of Heaven by Richard Nell
Kings of Heaven concludes one of my all-time favorite series in riveting fashion. It surprises and it saddens, and it gives the cast the ending they deserve.
-
20. The Midnight Lie by Marie Rutkoski
By far the most impressive part of The Midnight Lie is the writing, the author playing with lyrical or prosaic language in turn. Each sentence is cleverly crafted and beautifully evocative, emphasising the tone of the scene or clashing with it in arresting discord. It has sentences that stop you in your tracks; more than the weirdness of this imagined world, it is the enchantment of the words that take you somewhere magical.
-
21. The Shadow King by Alec Hutson
Hutson’s The Shadow King is a wonderful conclusion to his epic trilogy. It has a perfect classic fantasy feel. A wonderful epic fantasy to read curled in a blanket on a snowy morning sipping coffee. The way the various plot threads come together in a satisfying way is a masterful achievement. It's epic fantasy comfort food in the best sense of the term.
-
22. The Bard's Blade by Brian D Anderson
The Bard's Blade delivers modern fantasy at its finest. While it has definite vibes of classical, chosen-one fantasy, (which, come on, though overused is popular for a reason) Brian D. Anderson has suffused the tale with his own fresh take on this well-loved staple, successfully composing an enthralling first entry in The Sorcerer's Song series.
-
23. Peace Talks by Jim Butcher
This new perspective provides the opportunity for a fascinating exploration of what Harry expects from himself, and what we expect from him as a result. Grown up Harry is much more dangerous, and that opens up a whole new world of possibilities. It’s a fun read and a great set up for Battle Ground in September.
-
24. Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton
Hollow Kingdom is a riotous, feathered masterpiece that proves the end of the world is better viewed through the eyes of a foul-mouthed crow. S.T., our domesticated avian hero, is a delight. His quest to save his 'Moany Bone' human and the domestic animals of Seattle is both hilarious and unexpectedly moving. Kira Jane Buxton nails the balance between gross-out zombie humour and a profound love for the natural world. It is a refreshing spin on the apocalypse, trading grit for wit and wings. If you love Pratchett's whimsy mixed with a dash of gore, this is a must-read adventure.
Best Fantasy of 2025
Best Fantasy of 2023
Including Hell Bent
Best Fantasy of 2022
Including Babel, Fairy Tale
Best Fantasy of 2021
Including She Who Became the Sun, The God is Not Willing, A Marvellous Light and The Shadow of the Gods
Best Fantasy of 2020
Including The Unspoken Name, Age of Empyre, The Once and Future Witches and The Trouble with Peace
Best Fantasy of 2019
Including A Brightness Long Ago, The Raven Tower, The 10,000 Doors of January and Beneath the Twisted Trees
Best Fantasy of 2018
Including Circe, The Ember Blade, The Fall of Gondolin and The Poppy War
Best Fantasy of 2017
Including The Fall of Arthur, The Stone Sky, Godsgrave and Tarnished City
Best Fantasy of 2016
Including All the Birds in the Sky, Nevernight, Wrath and Fellside
Best Fantasy of 2015
Including The Hollow Boy, Ancillary Mercy, Half the World and Ruin
Best Fantasy of 2014
Including The Slow Regard of Silent Things, Fool's Assassin, Words of Radiance and The Oversight
Best Fantasy of 2013
Including Emperor of Thorns, The Shining Girls, The Republic of Thieves and The Ocean at the End of the Lane
Best Fantasy of 2012
Including Some Kind of Fairy Tale, King of Thorns, The Wind Through the Keyhole and The Killing Moon