The Best Fantasy and Sci-Fi Books of 2024

Within moments of cracking open the cover to Marie-Helene Bertino’s Beautyland, I was sold. She has followed up her 2020 novel Parakeet with a landmark work of literary science-fiction, set in the crosshairs of “two celestially significant events occurring simultaneously: The departure of Voyager 1 and the arrival of Adina Giorno, early and yellowed like old newspaper,” the author writes. As the Voyager 1 space probe sets its sights on the final frontier, so does the child Adina make a home for herself on Earth. But she is, in many ways, no less foreign to the planet than Voyager 1 is to the outer galaxy: Adina discovers that she’s been sent by her extraterrestrial relatives to report back her earthly findings, all via fax machine. (“Upon encountering real problems, human beings compare their lives to riding a roller coaster, even though they invented roller coasters to be fun things to do on their days off,” Adina notes in one such missive.) This is a wonder of science fiction: as tender and intimate as it is conceptually courageous.

Dark academia, dark romance, dark violence—there’s no question Tigest Girma’s debut novel bears an appropriate title for its deliciously paranormal fantasy. Immortal Dark is Girma’s debut, in which the orphan Kidan Adane must navigate the delicate (and dangerous) vampire-human ecosystem at Uxlay University in order to discover what’s become of her missing sister. In Girma’s world, human families acquire power through soul-binds with vampires, and as Kidan soon learns, her relationship with her own soul-bound vampire, Susenyos Sagad, only proves more complicated the more they resist each other. This is a thrillingly inventive series opener and a welcome refresh in the vampire genre.

The eagerly awaited follow-up to Heather Fawcett’s first title in the popular Emily Wilde series, Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands is a winsome tale of fairies and academia, an ideal pick for fans of cozy fantasy. Set in 1910, the story follows the titular Emily, a faerie scholar who’s completed an encyclopedia of Fair Folk and is working next on a map of the creatures’ realms. But her relationship with the exiled faerie king Wendell Bambleby promises to complicate much more than her research, particularly as she and Bambleby hunt for the door back to his kingdom—and attempt to dodge his family’s assassination attempts. Clever, immersive, yet approachable for more casual readers, Map of the Otherlands is a genre-blending joy.

The jacket-copy description of Yume Kitasei’s The Stardust Grail—an “anti-colonial space heist”—was more than enough to pique my interest. So imagine my pleasure upon realizing that “space heist” is only one of many sci-fi selling points in this riveting, richly textured book of interplanetary politics, alien friendships, cultural relics, and prescient visions. (As other reviewers have pointed out: Yes, it’s a bit like Indiana Jones in space.) Our protagonist is Maya, once a renowned intergalactic thief but now a 30-something graduate anthropology student at Princeton. Her friend, an alien named Auncle, seeks her help in tracking down a “grail” that could save Auncle’s species from extinction. But simply finding the artifact isn’t the only challenge Maya and her crew will face—as they’re not the only ones after it. The creativity of Kitasei’s sophomore novel consumes and delights.

Nettle and Bone author T. Kingfisher’s latest horror-fantasy takes a few pages from a lesser-known Brothers Grimm tale called The Goose Girl, and A Sorceress Comes to Call proves just as eerie, enchanting, and suffused with tension. This is no escapist read; Kingfisher’s fairytale is a dark portrait of magic and abuse as experienced by protagonist Cornelia, who lives with her manipulative sorceress mother, now in pursuit of marriage to a man known as the Squire. But the Squire’s sister, Hester, can recognize the abuse Cordelia hasn’t the words to name—and she’s determined to prevent it from consuming her brother. A Sorceress Comes to Call is utterly absorbing…if not exactly the lightest fare on this list.

As featured in ELLE editors’ favorite books of 2024: “I love just about any type of fantasy novel, but my unequivocal favorite type of fantasy novel is one that feels grounded—in which the mechanics of the magic system and the inner workings of a magical society feel like they’d actually work, if only magic were to exist. Blood Over Bright Haven is exactly that type of book, self-published by M.L. Wang in 2023 before it was traditionally acquired and published this year. Wang’s magic system is unique and clever; her society of Tiran is stomach-turning in its reflection of our own. Unflinchingly political and clear-eyed in its sense of justice, Blood Over Bright Haven had me sneaking away from dinner to turn a few more pages.”

The Expanse author James S.A. Corey has delivered one hell of a space opera with his series opener The Mercy of Gods, a sprawling distant-future story of alien civilizations, galactic subjugation, and the (literal) puzzles humans must solve to keep breathing. A human named Dafyd Alkhor is readers’ entry point to this uncertain reality, in which an alien empire known as the Carryx scoops up captives—such as Dafyd himself—to pit them against one another. They must prove their worth to the Carryx in order to ensure their respective species’ survival. Such massive stakes make for a naturally exciting premise, but Corey ensures that the book’s emotional heft doesn’t falter with its inciting incident. A strong start to an explosive new sci-fi series.

As featured in ELLE’s best books of summer 2024: “The Magicians author Lev Grossman took on what seemed the impossible: making the Arthurian legend feel fresh. Miraculously, he’s done just that with The Bright Sword, which answers what came after King Arthur’s fall. By the time protagonist Collum of Mull arrives in Camelot, he’s too late: Arthur is dead, the Round Table is in shambles, Lancelot and Guinevere are gone, and Britain is ruptured. But there are still a few allies for Collum to raise arms with, including Sir Palomides, Sir Dagonet, and Nimue (Merlin’s former apprentice), with whom he must seek a new king and a new future with Britain. Fans of classic fantasy and ancient magic will devour this one.”

When I unboxed my copy of The Teller of Small Fortunes earlier this year, I couldn’t stop staring at the cover: There’s something so warm and soothing about the scene it presents, in turn setting the tone for Julie Leong’s cozy fantasy. The Teller of Small Fortunes is a found-family tale of a fortune teller who keeps her predictions “small,” focused on everyday events rather than prophetic visions. But when one such fortune nevertheless draws her into the search for a missing child, the fortune teller’s previously isolated, nomadic reality becomes one of companionship. This book provided a refreshing dose of comfort in an often bleak year.

An inventive, vivid take on the Chosen One narrative, Kamilah Cole’s So Let Them Burn is the sort of young-adult fantasy novel both teenage and maturer readers will enjoy—particularly given Cole’s knack for juggling action-heavy dual perspectives. The premise involves 17-year-old Falon, whose ability to wield the power of the gods provides the strength she’ll need to liberate the island of San Irie from the colonizing forces of the Langlish. But her sister has unexpectedly bonded with a dragon from the Langley Empire, and when those dragons turn feral, the gods inform Falon she must eradicate them—and those bonded to them. Desperate to save each other, Falon and Elara flesh out this tale from alternating third-person perspectives in Cole’s exhilarating first entry in a promised series.

As artificial intelligence increasingly supplements—or, depending on your perspective, infects—our lived reality, speculative fiction is twisting to meet the moment. Helen Phillips’s Hum is a truly artful example, a near-future novel that straddles the line between familiar and prophetic. The story is straightforward: A woman desperate for cash undergoes an experimental face surgery, and with the money from that surgery, she purchases her family passes to a supposed botanical wonderland at the heart of her climate change-ravaged city. But as her device-addicted husband and children literally “touch grass,” happiness proves elusive—particularly when she must rely on a robotic “hum” to reunite her with her missing children. Compact but alarming, astute but compassionate, Hum probes the challenge of connection: analog, digital, and otherwise.

The other “of Gods” title on this list is quite the departure: a series closer rather than an opener, and a Norse mythology-inspired fantasy rather than a space opera. I lost count of how many times I saw The Fury of the Gods pop up on my TikTok and Instagram feeds this fall as fantasy fans devoured it and posted feverish recommendations. John Gwynne’s Bloodsworn Saga conclusion is indeed an outstanding feat, an action-packed story of clashing monsters, seafaring battles, and characters who remain emotionally vibrant amidst a backdrop that’s “epic” in every sense of the word. This is the kind of book that converts casual fantasy fans into die-hards.

The sequel to Isabel Ibañez’s What the River Knows, Where the Library Hides brings the author’s Secrets of the Nile YA duology to a sweet and satisfying close. A fantasy romance set in 19th-century Egypt, where ancient magic is far from the only danger threatening Inez Olivera, Where the Library Hides presents Inez with the chance to seek justice after the life-imploding events of River—but only if she can depend on a marriage of convenience with her rival, Whitford Hayes. A page-turner brimming with betrayal and adventure.

Closing out Rebecca Roanhorse’s Between Earth and Sky trilogy, Mirrored Heavens offers a worthy finale to the epic Roanhorse began in 2020 with Black Sun. Inspired by the pre-Columbian indigenous cultures of North America, Mirrored Heavens is a multi-layered saga of god-avatars, opaque prophecies, and unspeakable sacrifices as fan-favorite protagonists Xiala and Serapio contend with the weight of great power.

In Tlotlo Tsamaase’s future Botswana, consciousness can be delivered from body to body, making the life of protagonist Nelah possible. Her body used to belong to a criminal, which means the government has her microchipped: Her husband can control her, and the government can watch and assess her every move. Nelah is waiting for her child—gestating in an artificial womb—to arrive, but before that can happen, she and the man she’s in love with (a man who’s very much not her husband) commit a dangerous crime. The resulting fallout haunts Nelah (sometimes literally) in this sci-fi horror novel’s resolute skewering of misogyny.

Faebound—with its simply stunning cover—takes place in a world where elves, humans, and fae once co-existed, but now only elves remain, and they’re eternally at war. Sisters Yeeran and Lettle soon find their lives bifurcated by the fighting: Yeeran is exiled outside the Elven Lands, and Lettle must pair up with one of Yeeran’s soldiers, Rayan, to find her lost sibling. Only then do they each discover that the fae are alive and well, and that the magic in store for them is well beyond what they’d once expected. This is a passionate and intriguing—but accessible—beginning to a planned Sapphic romantasy trilogy.

Although cozy fantasies aren’t exactly a new phenomenon, they’ve received a surge of post-pandemic attention amongst readers, and Sarah Beth Durst’s The Spellshop epitomizes the subgenre’s appeal. Sentient plants, magical jams, winged kittens, piles of books, and a faraway island cottage set the scenery for Durst’s romance between a librarian-turned-spell merchant and her unexpectedly handsome neighbor. Simple but not overly simplistic, this is an enveloping, easy read—a perfect pick for the holiday season.

The next entry in Nisi Shawl’s anti-colonial alternative history series, the second after Everfair, Kinning is a profoundly well-realized work of world-building. Sprawling in its characters and themes, vaguely reminiscent of Game of Thrones’ political dramas, Shawl’s afrofuturist sequel explores the aftermath of Everfair’s Great War, the country having successfully pushed Europe out of the territory. Citizens plan to spread further peace via a fungus that generates empathy in those who interact with its spores, even as Everfair itself remains threatened from outside and within its borders. This is a complex, challenging story, but without question an impressive one.

The Tainted Cup is the beginning chapter of Robert Jackson Bennett’s Shadow of the Leviathan series, and it imbues elements from myriad genres—primarily fantasy, sci-fi, and mysteries—to create a delicious detective story set in an equally unforgettable magical world. In Bennett’s Khanum, where massive leviathans threaten the world outside the empire’s walls, an imperial officer is murdered in an aristocrat’s summer home. Two detectives, Ana and Din, must tackle this mystery. Together, they make something of an odd couple: Ana’s brilliance rivals that of Sherlock Holmes himself, while Din is a magically enhanced “engraver,” one with a perfect memory. These lead protagonists’ platonic partnership, and Bennett’s remarkable imagination, make this book a strange and singular thrill.

I predict we might see another dystopian fiction boom in the coming years, and if that’s the kind of sentence that excites you, then you need to pick up Fernanda Tría’s Pink Slime. Translated to English by Heather Cleary, Pink Slime is—on its surface—a plague story, a narrative of ecological disaster in a world poisoned by an algae bloom. But the plot is less focused on the roots of the disaster itself than on the sense of paralysis it perpetuates in the unnamed narrator, who’s caught between the needs of her mother, her ex-husband, and the boy she babysits. These three are the poles around which her life is oriented, and she knows not (perhaps even cares not) how to escape them, even if the surrounding climate devastation gives her every reason to leave. Tight, resigned, and steadfastly perceptive, this book should not be missed.