Welcome to our now-traditional look over what we at SFFWorld have enjoyed this year. We have tried to limit our choices to five in each category, although as you will see, this can vary. Most are in alphabetical order, or no order of preference.
Part 1: Fantasy Books
The staff involved this year at various stages in the four parts are Rob Bedford, Mark Chitty, Randy Money and Mark Yon.
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Without further adieu, lets get started!
Part 1: Fantasy Books
Rob Bedford:
Long Live Evil (The Time of Iron #1) by Sarah Rees Brennan – This one gest the top fantasy novel of the year for me. Something about the writing, the snarky characters, the genre-savvy of the story, how the story dealt with pain/death/grief really connected with me. Here’s a bit of what I said in my review: “This is a story that plays with tropes and uses them to its advantage in curious, playful, and smart ways. Rae is a person I couldn’t help root for and rally behind. …an incredible start to the Time of Iron series. There’s fun, but there’s also deep stuff playing in the background like the cancer element, of course, but something about believing in yourself. Sometimes it takes being thrust into an unreal situation to get to the heart of who we are.”
The Silverblood Promise (The Last Legacy #1) by James Logan – James was an SFFWorld irregular in the long-ago, but that doesn’t affect my judgement of this novel, which is the best fantasy debut I read this year. I was reminded a bit of Scott Lynch’s The Lies of Locke Lamora and the plot had a bit of an adventure feel reminiscent of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Here’s a bit from my review: “Lukan finds himself entangled with a wrongly convicted murderer, a plot to takeover the city of Saphrona, ancient gods, legendary magic, people who are essentially living legends who strike awe into the hearts of the city, and one of the strangest, most unique kings in any fantasy novel I’ve read over the last few decades.… an assured, extremely enjoyable debut, a highly addictive read. It does not read like a debut novel, but I’d bet Logan’s time at Orbit Books could be one reason for that.”
The Tainted Cup (Shadow of the Leviathan #2) by Robert Jackson Bennett – I’ve been a fan of Bennett’s insightful fiction for the past decade, so this one was rather high on my anticipated list of books releasing in 2024. The short of it, I was NOT disappointed in this tightly plotted fantasy murder-mystery. Here’s a bit from my review: “There is a subtlety to how Jackson has built the world of this novel, he peppers in details throughout the novel giving a nice flavor of a world quite unlike our own. The Empire of Khanum is a very old land, the “Khanum” who founded the empire are long gone, yet their influence absolutely remains. … Bennett has a knack for writing witty, snarky dialogue and that carries on through in this novel, especially the character of Ana. She is a woman who gives zero “figs” if you catch my meaning. She’s the smartest person in the room – any room and even if she’s not in the room – and she knows it. Her brashness is balanced out very nicely by her assistant Kol, who has a very dry, dead pan delivery.”
The Trials of Empire [Link to full series overview at my blog] (Empire of the Wolf #3) by Richard Swan – What a finale! Swan’s series teetered a little more into the dark fantasy/horror realm with each installment, with even more immersive horrific elements in the finale. “The Empire of the Wolf is a magnificent fantasy trilogy. Swan shows great skill in his characterization and how those characters deal with morally complex and philosophical challenges presented throughout the series. Epic Fantasy often flirts with horrific elements, after all, many of these tales demons or demonic entities are major threats or the actual Big Bad/Final Boss. As a reader who thoroughly enjoys horror, I really like when horror elements start to seep into Epic Fantasy and Swan deftly weaves those horrific and terrifying elements into his story. There are some eldritch powers at play in the magical powers in the world of this novel and Swan’s pace at easing those elements into the novel were superb.”
Blood over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang – What’s this, a standalone novel? In Fantasy? What a rarity these days, just look at the books on my top 2024 fantasy reads. This was the second novel I read from Wang in 2024 and she has vaunted to my must-read list as a result. Here’s some of what I said in the linked review: “The magic is unique. The cover of the US Edition from Del Rey depicts what appears to be something like an old-fashioned typewriter with a strange disc where the paper might be standing. What this device actually is amounts to a magical coding device, it is how spells are written and created. It is a fascinating take on magic and an interesting scientific approach to magic. … As my fingers were turning the pages at an increasingly rapid pace, I came to a realization. This novel doesn’t have too much “action” in it. I say that as a bit of a warning, but also to indicate that a novel concerned largely with philosophical arguments about power dynamics, gender and racial inequality, and spell-craft is incredibly gripping and addictive with a magnetic, narrative pull.”
Honorable Mentions: The Slain Divine by David Dalglish; Candle & Crow by Kevin Hearne, Foul Days by Genoveva Dimova.
Mark Yon:
The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
One that Rob reviewed here at SFFWorld and I reviewed elsewhere. We’ve been admiring Robert’s work for a while now, working in Fantasy and Horror. His latest, the first of a new series, is a detective story on a world that has a touch of the J G Ballard’s about it. Strange plants and monsters a world of imperialistic decay, unusual and gruesome deaths and most of all an engagingly odd detective duo. Jackson Bennett’s story is both familiar in structure and unusual in form and characterisation. I look forward to the next book in the series, due next year.
The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown
A portal type story that I guess could be counted as SF, although in the end I’ve included it as a Fantasy book as the science is not really explained, more just ‘used’. In my review elsewhere I said that “The Book of Doors is a novel that begins in the realm of magic realism and ends up as a time travel novel. The initial setting is delightful and will be valued by anyone with a love of books, book shops, and book collecting, although the time travel element may be divisive. Generally it is nicely done, except in one aspect when the unnecessary death of a character seems to serve little use but for an attempt to introduce a twist into the plot.
On the whole, though, the main characters are rather well done. … There is also a minor touch of possible romance hinted at here, although the situation remains unresolved.
Of the minor characters, some… are a little bit more clichéd, yet serviceable, and their quirky and rather unpleasant natures are telegraphed by some rather gruesome deaths, which keeps the peril within the plot a constant….This one begins well and rattles along nicely, carried by the characterisation and the setting, more than enough to reduce the areas of minor irritation. There is an ending of sorts which closes things nicely, whilst also leaving the possibility of further books should this be found to be popular.”
The Silverblood Promise by James Logan
Another that Rob reviewed here and I reviewed elsewhere. This is a traditional Fantasy type story, a solidly immersive and above all entertaining read:
“My immediate thought on finishing the novel was that The Silverblood Promise is a fantasy novel that knows its genre background. There are gritty elements, fruity language and undeniably violent scenes, but is all done with reasonable taste, it feels, which are the life-blood of many Fantasy writers, who I suspect will lap this up.
…The Silverblood Promise is clearly plotted, imaginative, and exciting, without becoming bogged down with side-plots, world-building ephemera or multitudes of moral messages. (Don’t get me wrong, there are moral messages here, obviously, but unlike many new writers today, the author has not forgotten the need to tell a story as well as to make points, nor has he kept repetitively labouring the points throughout the novel.) Part heist, part caper, this entertaining fantasy novel plays to its recognisable strengths and doesn’t outstay its welcome, which after nearly 600 pages is impressive, especially from a debut author.
The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands by Sarah Brooks
Sarah Brooks’s train journey fantasy takes us to strange places indeed. Starting with a steampunk-y version of the Great Trans-Siberian Express in 1899, we travel to the Wastelands, a strange place that changes as you travel through it. What begins as a physically challenging journey ends up as being also mentally challenging as well. I said that: “In summary, The Cautious Travellers Guide to the Wastelands is a real mind-bender of a book. It’s imaginative and well written, memorable for those readers who like weird stuff. Be warned – readers, you may lose connection with reality as the story goes on and end up somewhere very odd indeed.”
The Trials of Empire by Richard Swan
Although this is the third book in a trilogy, it didn’t disappoint. The books have steadily gained momentum, and the last ties things up nicely. Rob’s already given a synopsis, so I won’t repeat it. I did say that “The sign of a good series for me is that you want to go and read it again, to pick up the clues that have been carefully laid out throughout the series. This is how I felt about this trilogy. Although it is perhaps too intense a read to do so straight away, I suspect it is a series that will repay a rereading.
As Epic Fantasy goes, The Trials of Empire and indeed The Empire of the Wolf series, ticks all of the things I would hope for in an Epic Fantasy. Although you may think you know where The Trials of Empire is going, it keeps you guessing to the end. It manages to combine deep philosophical and moral questions with multi-faceted characters that evolve over the length of the series, and it is not afraid to show us, through Helena, the potential horrors that could happen in such a world to such characters. In short, The Trials of Empire is the effective culmination of one of the best Fantasy series I’ve read in recent years.”
Also of merit: The Art and Making of ARCANE. So this is a non-fiction book, based on a television series, which in turn is based on a computer game. I understand that if you don’t like the TV series it is unlikely you’ll look at this book. But I enjoyed the detailed interviews, the extended landscape paintings and the details showing the evolving development of the series, not to mention all the little extras along the way. A late arrival to the review list this year, but still very welcome. A cut above the standard book of this type.
