15 great fantasy and science fiction books from 2020 you may have missed

15. The Trouble with Peace by

Give me an excuse to get Joe Abercrombie onto a book list, and dear reader, I will do it. Abercrombie is best known for his First Law book trilogy, which started with The Blade Itself back in 2006. After those three books came out in quick succession and scoured the warmth from the hearts of readers with their bitter ending, Abercrombie went on to write a variety of other works, including three standalone novels set in the First Law world: Best Served Cold (2009), The Heroes (2011) and Red Country (2012).

After that, it’s been a long break from the world inhabited by Logen Ninefingers, Glokta, and the rest of the gang.

Starting with 2019’s A Little Hatred, Abercrombie returned to the world of First Law to write a brand new group of books set about 30 years after the end of the original trilogy. This new trilogy, The Age of Madness, sees the Union moving into the industrial age, with a host of new characters, familiar faces, and descendants of the original crew trying to make sense of their brutal and mercurial world.

The second book of this newest trilogy, The Trouble with Peace, hit last September. I can’t even post a blurb of it, because spoilers…but suffice it to say that if you like your fantasy with a hefty dose of darkness, betrayal, and bleak humor, you will likely love these books. Abercrombie has done an amazing job of picking up the First Law world in a later generation, and given us a whole new set of books to get lost in with an equally memorable cast of characters.

The final book in the trilogy, The Wisdom of Crowds, comes out on September 14, 2021. Less than a month from now!

And there you have it: 15 fantastic sci-fi and fantasy books that might have slipped past your radar in the madness of 2020. May you find a new favorite among them.

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