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

In the madness of 2020, many great books flew under the radar. Here are 15 of the best sci-fi and fantasy novels from last year that may have passed you by.

Let’s face it: last year was hard for everyone, from individuals stuck in their homes to businesses trying to stay afloat in a volatile environment. For instance, it was about as difficult a year as it gets to publish a book. While book sales actually rose in 2020 (up 8.2% print, 15.5% for ebooks, and 16.5% for audiobooks), the majority of fiction sales were comprised of backlist titles and authors, aka stuff that was out before 2020. In-person events like book signings and conventions that typically lend visibility to new books were cancelled or went virtual. Even those coveted book store displays were pretty ineffective for most of 2020, since, you know, going to the store wasn’t really in the cards for much of the year. It was hard for anyone to release a book in 2020, and doubly hard for debut authors.

The flip side of this coin is that you, the voracious reader, may have missed some absolute gems last year. Some of those gems might even have sequels on the way.

So we’ve gathered together 15 of the best sci-fi and fantasy books from 2020 that might have passed you by. These tales represent a range of science fiction and fantasy subgenres, so no matter what your taste, you’re likely to find a new favorite here. Some are by authors who just broke down the doors of the publishing industry in 2020; others are new series by old hands.

Let’s take a look!

1. The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart

This was my personal favorite book that I’ve read from 2020 — but in keeping with the theme of this article, I actually only discovered it recently. That feels like an absolute crime considering how good The Bone Shard Daughter is. It combines elements of epic fantasy and horror in such a unique and fresh way that it stands out even among the many excellent books that have come out in the genre in recent years.

Here’s the official description:

"The emperor’s reign has lasted for decades, his mastery of bone shard magic powering the animal-like constructs that maintain law and order. But now his rule is failing, and revolution is sweeping across the Empire’s many islands. Lin is the emperor’s daughter and spends her days trapped in a palace of locked doors and dark secrets. When her father refuses to recognise her as heir to the throne, she vows to prove her worth by mastering the forbidden art of bone shard magic. Yet such power carries a great cost, and when the revolution reaches the gates of the palace, Lin must decide how far she is willing to go to claim her birthright – and save her people."

The Bone Shard Daughter is one of the most unique fantasy books I think I’ve ever read, in no small part due to the narrative structure the author employs. The two “main” characters of the story are written from a first person perspective…while the rest are told in the more traditional third person limited point of view so popular in modern fantasy. If this sounds like it might be jarring, rest assured: it only enhances the story. It’s a very hard thing for a writer to pull off, and Stewart does it amazingly well.

But hey, you’re not into all that nitty gritty writing stuff. You just want a good story! The Bone Shard Daughter delivers on that end as well. It’s set in a fantasy world on a moving archipelago, where the people of the Empire are forced to give a shard of their skull to the government in a bloody ceremony when they’re children. In turn, the emperor uses these bone shards to create monstrous constructs. And when I say monstrous, I mean it. The Bone Shard Daughter dips into horror in ways that few fantasy books do, right down to its biggest twists…which we can’t talk about here because SPOILERS, but dear god they hit heavy. The magic systems are excellent, combining some magical elements that are as strictly ordered as computer code with other more mystical elements that imbue the world with a huge sense of wonder.

Oh, and it features what might be the most endearing animal companion of any fantasy book in recent memory.

When I said there were hidden gems last year, this book was right at the forefront of my mind. The second book in the trilogy, The Bone Shard Emperor, hits shelves on November 9.

2. Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots

With Marvel and DC bombarding us with new content every couple of weeks, it’s easy to feel superhero exhaustion these days. If you know what I’m talking about, then Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots might be for you. This book is a reversal of classic superhero stories, and fits right into that same niche as The Boys on Amazon Prime Video. Except instead of focusing on super-powered warriors, Hench is told from the perspective of a temp henchwoman named Anna Tromedlov. Anna begins the tale as a remote worker, doing data analysis and spreadsheets for a villain…until she’s invited to a press conference that goes horribly wrong when a superhero intervenes.

There’s a fight, and Anna is seriously injured in the collateral damage. Her former employer kicks her to the curb once they find out how long it’ll take her to heal. Frustrated over the injustice of it all, Anna starts a blog that documents how much collateral damage superheroes cause…and to her surprise, finds her experience is far from unique. Getting the word out is all a matter of compiling the data and clever marketing, which so happens to be something that Anna is an expert at.

Thus begins her rise to becoming a top hench to an even darker villain who recognizes the value in her work. Hench follows Anna’s journey and explores the fun idea that even supervillains need office workers to help them keep the wheels turning.

It’s no small feat to stand out in today’s hyper-saturated superhero market, yet Walschots’ debut novel pulls it off in a way that is both darkly funny, relatable, and extremely satisfying.

3. The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood

"What if you knew how and when you will die? Csorwe does—she will climb the mountain, enter the Shrine of the Unspoken, and gain the most honored title: sacrifice. But on the day of her foretold death, a powerful mage offers her a new fate. Leave with him, and live. Turn away from her destiny and her god to become a thief, a spy, an assassin—the wizard’s loyal sword. Topple an empire, and help him reclaim his seat of power. But Csorwe will soon learn—gods remember, and if you live long enough, all debts come due."

The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood was one of the breakout fantasy releases of 2020. The story follows Csorwe, an orc priestess who was fated to be sacrificed to the gods…only to escape at the last minute with the help of a mysterious wizard.

Larkwood has talked about how Ursula K. LeGuin’s The Tombs of Atuan was a huge influence on this book. Like Tombs, The Unspoken Name sees the hero escaping from a dark cult with a wizard…except unlike Ged, this wizard is very morally dubious and has designs on his new charge that are not at first clear. Grappling with the new life she never expected to have, Csorwe has to make peace with herself and her place in the multiverse.

Yes, I said multiverse. This is a world-hopping story with tons of cool creatures and original fantasy races. Expect the unexpected.

4. Nophek Gloss by Essa Hansen

What’s that you say? You like your sci-fi to be imaginative, with mind-blowing ways of looking at the universe, countless different kinds of aliens and infinite possibilities?

Reader, Nophek Gloss is a book for you. Here’s the back-of-the-book description:

"Caiden’s planet is destroyed. His family gone. And, his only hope for survival is a crew of misfit aliens and a mysterious ship that seems to have a soul and a universe of its own. Together they will show him that the universe is much bigger, much more advanced, and much more mysterious than Caiden had ever imagined. But the universe hides dangers as well, and soon Caiden has his own plans. He vows to do anything it takes to get revenge on the slavers who murdered his people and took away his home. To destroy their regime, he must infiltrate and dismantle them from the inside, or die trying."

Nophek Gloss is the first book of author Essa Hansen’s The Graven trilogy, and it doesn’t take very long for things to kick off. Within the first few chapters, the story’s young protagonist Caiden is put through an incredibly traumatic experience that soon sets him on a path of revenge. I won’t say much here for the sake of spoilers, but it involves huge, bestial creatures called Nophek that have a gemstone in their brains which can be harvested and used for fuel. It’s one of the most valued substances in the universe.

That’s the tiniest glimpse of the glorious weirdness that is Nophek Gloss. It’s not a hard science fiction book, per se, though there’s plenty of science included. Instead, Nophek Gloss has the kind of boundless imagination you’d hope to find in a space opera, where you never know what fascinating turn lies ahead, making it the kind of book that can easily keep a reader guessing. It also features a strong found family element as Caiden gets to know the various alien and human members of his crew, including the traumas that have set each of them on this journey. And it tackles ideas like gender identity superbly well and thoughtfully, as well as including neurodivergent characters. It’s a super unique read; there’s just nothing else out there quite like it.

The next book in The Graven trilogy, Azura Ghost, is due out on February 1st, 2022.

5. Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Since we’re talking about unique reads, I’d be remiss not to bring up Harrow the Ninth. Unlike some of the other books on this list, the sequel to Tamsyn Muir’s 2019 debut Gideon the Ninth actually got quite a lot of hype, so much so that it would feel dishonest to assemble a list of great 2020 books and not include it.

If this is the first time you’re hearing about these books, or you haven’t read them, I’ll try to give you the closest thing to a spoiler-free rundown as I can manage. The first book in Muir’s The Locked Tomb series followed the necromancer Harrowhark Nonagesimus and her cavalier Gideon as they compete in a tournament of sorts, rife with murder, mayhem and mystery. The winner of the tournament ascends to become a lieutenant to a god-like necromancer Emperor…if they survive.

This series is often described is as “lesbian necromancers in space.” This is a spot-on description…but it also doesn’t come anywhere close to scratching the surface of this series. Gideon the Ninth was a brashly fun book filled with dirty jokes, humor, and darkly gothic world building. Harrow is a very different sort of book that spends a large amount of time and energy dealing with the fallout of the previous entry…and how it’s effected the mind of its titular character.

I’ve seen a few reviews online describe this book as a “puzzle-box,” and that phrase has perhaps never been more aptly used than here. There are multiple timelines being explored here, ad nothing is as it seems. The book brings the idea of the unreliable narrator to a whole new level.

6. To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini

Moving away from debuts or sequels to debuts for a minute, let’s touch on a few better-known authors. Did you know that Christopher Paolini, the author of the Inheritance series, released his first book in almost a decade last year? And it was a sci-fi epic that served as the introduction to a whole new universe that Paolini is developing to write stories in: the Fractalverse?

Here’s the back-of-book description:

"During a routine survey mission on an uncolonized planet, xenobiologist Kira Navárez finds an alien relic that thrusts her into the wonders and nightmares of first contact. Epic space battles for the fate of humanity take her to the farthest reaches of the galaxy and, in the process, transform not only her – but the entire course of history."

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is a tremendously ambitious book that spans nearly a thousand pages of space exploration and, as the description says, lots of galactic warfare. When the main character Kira unknowingly comes into contact with an alien object on the planet she’s hoping to settle down on, it ends up totally upending her life and thrusting her onto a voyage to find…a magical artifact?

This was perhaps one of the more polarizing SFF books of 2020, and with good reason. While it initially comes off and is pitched as a hard sci-fi book, a lot of fantasy elements creep in as the novel goes on, putting it somewhere in the awkward middle of those two genres. If you enjoyed Eragon and its sequels, you will likely find some things to love in this novel. If those weren’t your jam, don’t be surprised if this isn’t either.

Regardless, To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is absolutely worth noting. It was one of the year’s major releases from an author whose work was incredibly formative for a ton of readers.

7. Network Effect by Martha Wells

Martha Wells, author of the incredibly well-received and successful Murderbot novellas, released her first full-length novel in that universe last year. If this is the first time you’re hearing about Murderbot…where have you been?! The four novellas that preceded Network Effect all followed the titular Murderbot, one of the most fun, hilariously well-realized science fiction characters of the past decade, a self-aware android who doesn’t particularly enjoy humans and just wants to be left alone. Or so it tells itself.

I can’t talk too much about the plot without spoiling any of the preceding works, so what I’m going to do instead is show you the back-of-book description for Network Effect, which gives an idea of the tone these fantastic works have:

"You know that feeling when you’re at work, and you’ve had enough of people, and then the boss walks in with yet another job that needs to be done right this second or the world will end, but all you want to do is go home and binge your favorite shows? And you’re a sentient murder machine programmed for destruction? Congratulations, you’re Murderbot. Come for the pew-pew space battles, stay for the most relatable A.I. you’ll read this century. — I’m usually alone in my head, and that’s where 90 plus percent of my problems are. When Murderbot’s human associates (not friends, never friends) are captured and another not-friend from its past requires urgent assistance, Murderbot must choose between inertia and drastic action. Drastic action it is, then."

Network Effect won the Nebula award last year, and was nominated for a bunch of other accolades as well. If you haven’t gotten in on Murderbot yet, you’re missing out. There’s just…no other way to put it.

8. The Midnight Bargain by C.L. Polk

The Midnight Bargain marks C.L. Polk’s first book outside their popular Witchmark trilogy, and it’s a step into a subgenre that we don’t see a whole lot of: Regency Romance meets magical fantasy. This book has the kind of breathlessly romantic elements you’d expect out of Bridgerton or Pride & Prejudice, except with a sweeping undercurrent of magical repression.

I’ll let the back-of-book do the talking here, because it fills in all the details really well and sums up this tale far better than I could:

"Beatrice Clayborn is a sorceress who practices magic in secret, terrified of the day she will be locked into a marital collar that will cut off her powers to protect her unborn children. She dreams of becoming a full-fledged Magus and pursuing magic as her calling as men do, but her family has staked everything to equip her for Bargaining Season, when young men and women of means descend upon the city to negotiate the best marriages. The Clayborns are in severe debt, and only she can save them, by securing an advantageous match before their creditors come calling. In a stroke of luck, Beatrice finds a grimoire that contains the key to becoming a Magus, but before she can purchase it, a rival sorceress swindles the book right out of her hands. Beatrice summons a spirit to help her get it back, but her new ally exacts a price: Beatrice’s first kiss . . . with her adversary’s brother, the handsome, compassionate, and fabulously wealthy Ianthe Lavan. The more Beatrice is entangled with the Lavan siblings, the harder her decision becomes: If she casts the spell to become a Magus, she will devastate her family and lose the only man to ever see her for who she is; but if she marries—even for love—she will sacrifice her magic, her identity, and her dreams. But how can she choose just one, knowing she will forever regret the path not taken?"

The Midnight Bargain converses with other Regency Romance works in a really fresh way, using its magic to highlight the issues with its blatantly sexist society. The story’s heroine is forced to chose between love and learning magic, knowing that she can never have both…unless the whole system comes crumbling down.

9. Under the Lesser Moon by Shelly Campbell

"“Dragons once led our people across the wastelands, away from storms, and toward hunting grounds.” That’s what the elders say, but Akrist has squinted at empty skies his whole life. The dragons have abandoned them, and it’s Akrist’s fault. He’s cursed. Like every other firstborn son, he has inherited the sins of his ancestors. In his camp, he’s the only eldest boy left. Something happened to the others. Something terrible. When Akrist befriends Tanar, an eldest boy from another tribe, he discovers the awful truth: they’re being raised as sacrifices to appease the Goddess and win back her dragons. The ritual happens when the dual moons eclipse. Escape is the only option, but Akrist was never taught to hunt or survive the wastelands alone. Time is running out, and he has to do something before the moons touch."

Under the Lesser Moon is Shelly Campbell’s debut novel, a dark work of fantasy that pushes into some really cool areas. While the tale of Akris’ escape is gripping, to my eye one of the most unique things about Campbell’s debut is the world she has created. Under the Lesser Moon takes place in a Stone Age-inspired fantasy world, blending together some of the genre’s better known trappings (like dragons) and works like Jean M. Auel’s Earth’s Children books.

I haven’t heard of many books with a setting in this same ballpark, and that alone would be enough to make Under the Lesser Moon stand out. But it also has an edgy, powerful story to tell, one that is dark, brutal, and haunting by turns.

The sequel, Voice of the Banished, comes out on November 7.

10. The Obsidian Tower by Melissa Caruso

Diving deeper into fantasy territory, we have The Obsidian Tower by Melissa Caruso. This book is a spinoff of Caruso’s Swords & Fire trilogy, which began with The Tethered Mage — but you don’t have to have read the first series in order to enjoy it. True, it does lend extra depth to your understanding of the world to have those books as a reference, but The Obsidian Tower is the start of a brand new trilogy, and is designed to be accessible to readers new and old alike.

The story follows Ryxander, the warden of the titular obsidian tower. Safeguarding the tower and making sure it is never opened has been the duty of Ryx’s family for generations — for so long that no one is even sure what’s inside it or what its purpose is anymore.

"The mage-marked granddaughter of a ruler of Vaskandar, Ryx was destined for power and prestige at the top of Vaskandran society. But her magic is broken; all she can do is uncontrollably drain the life from everything she touches, and Vaskandar has no place for a mage with unusable powers. Then, one night, two terrible accidents befall her: Ryx accidentally kills a visiting dignitary in self-defense, activating a mysterious magical artifact sealed in an ancient tower in the heart of her family’s castle. Ryx flees, seeking a solution to her deadly magic. She falls in with a group of unlikely magical experts investigating the disturbance in Vaskandar—and Ryx realizes that her family is in danger and her domain is at stake. She and her new colleagues must return to the family stronghold to take control of the artifact that everyone wants to claim—before it destroys the world."

As you might guess, the mystery of the tower unravels throughout the book. We also get a heaping dose of political fantasy driven by groups with conflicting aims. Caruso does some really interesting things with her magic system in this series, which sees Ryx’s abilities tied directly to her family’s land. However, due to a childhood accident, her abilities also have the unfortunate downside of draining life from things near her. This forces her to maintain a difficult balance in order not to destroy everything around her, and makes her an incredibly intriguing hero.

The next book in the trilogy, The Quicksilver Court, is due out on October 12.

11. The Chimera Code by Wayne Santos

Switching things up a bit, let’s step into the realm of cyberpunk. The Chimera Code by Wayne Santos is a thriller set in the 22nd century, when global power has shifted away from the U.S. after World War III altered the geopolitical landscape. Brazil is the new center of a much more inter-connected world — one with cybernetic enhancements, fascinating technology, and magic.

Yup, magic. The Chimera Code combines both the tech side of cyberpunk stories with magical elements that you might not normally see in a story in this genre. Into this excellently set-up world comes a group of mercenaries tasked with a dangerous mission, a Chimera Team led by a mercenary named Cloke.

"Everything’s for hire – even magic. If you need something done, Cloke’s one of the best; a mercenary with some unusual talents and an attitude to match. But when she’s hired by a virtual construct to destroy the other copies of himself, and the down payment is a new magical skill, she knows this job is going to be a league harder than anything she’s ever done."

The found family is strong in this one, as Cloke takes her team on one daring outing after another. The Chimera Code also gets points for its portrayal of Zee, a non-binary hacker. This is a fun, snappy book, and the first in Santos’ Witchware series.

12. Colonyside by Michael Mammay

Michael Mammay’s Colonyside — the author’s third book about Carl Butler, a cynical military hero who is put through one ringer after another — snuck in right at the end of 2020. The first two books, Planetside and Spaceside, saw Butler being manipulated into webs of scheming and corporate greed.

You might think a guy would learn…or maybe it’s just that someone’s got it out for him. Book three of this military sci-fi series sees Butler going off to a remote colony to solve a missing persons case, but of course, things get way more complicated than expected.

"Carl Butler was once a decorated colonel. Now he’s a disgraced recluse, hoping to live out the rest of his life on a backwater planet where no one cares about his “crimes” and everyone leaves him alone. It’s never that easy. A CEO’s daughter has gone missing and he thinks Butler is the only one who can find her. The government is only too happy to appease him. Butler isn’t so sure, but he knows the pain of losing a daughter, so he reluctantly signs on. Soon he’s on a military ship heading for a newly-formed colony where the dangerous jungle lurks just outside the domes where settlers live. Paired with Mac, Ganos, and a government-assigned aide named Fader, Butler dives head-first into what should be an open and shut case. Then someone tries to blow him up. Faced with an incompetent local governor, a hamstrung military, and corporations playing fast and loose with the laws, Butler finds himself in familiar territory. He’s got nobody to trust but himself, but that’s where he works best. He’ll fight to get to the bottom of the mystery, but this time, he might not live to solve it."

Being a third book, it’s hard to talk too much about this one without giving away anything about the previous entries. Suffice it to say that Mammay just seems to be getting better with each novel, and his books are excellent for scratching that military sci-fi itch.

The author’s next book, The Misfit Soldier, is a standalone book not connected to the Planetside books. It’s due out on February 2, 2022.

13. A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians by H.G. Parry

Let’s take a breath for a moment, and imagine…what if magic existed at some of history’s most pivotal moments? What if, say, Robespierre had been able to harness magical abilities during the Reign of Terror amid the French Revolution? These kinds of questions are built into the fabric of The Shadow Histories duology by H.G. Parry. The first book, A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians, released last year to a lot of critical acclaim…and when you consider the sheer feat that Parry accomplished, it’s no real surprise.

This is a revisionist history tale, combining the best elements of historical fiction while asking how magic would have fundamentally changed history in fascinating ways. Here’s the blurb:

"It is the Age of Enlightenment — of new and magical political movements, from the necromancer Robespierre calling for revolution in France to the weather mage Toussaint L’Ouverture leading the slaves of Haiti in their fight for freedom, to the bold new Prime Minister William Pitt weighing the legalization of magic amongst commoners in Britain and abolition throughout its colonies overseas. But amidst all of the upheaval of the enlightened world, there is an unknown force inciting all of human civilisation into violent conflict. And it will require the combined efforts of revolutionaries, magicians, and abolitionists to unmask this hidden enemy before the whole world falls to chaos."

There are very few books out there like Parry’s masterwork, and now that the sequel A Radical Act of Free Magic is out as well, the entire story is available to binge-read.

14. The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin

For the final two books on this list, we’re going to move away from debut or newer authors and onto some really well-established writers who released new books or started new series in 2020. When it comes to the bad timing of releasing books during the year of COVID, The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin is a novel that comes straight to mind — it hit shelves right in the middle of March, when the first stage of the worldwide lockdown was kicking into high gear.

Granted, Jemisin is a well-established enough author that the start of her new The Great Cities trilogy still held its own, and has received award nominations and accolades aplenty. But in case you missed out on it what with all the mayhem, let’s give this one a look:

"In Manhattan, a young grad student gets off the train and realizes he doesn’t remember who he is, where he’s from, or even his own name. But he can sense the beating heart of the city, see its history, and feel its power. In the Bronx, a Lenape gallery director discovers strange graffiti scattered throughout the city, so beautiful and powerful it’s as if the paint is literally calling to her. In Brooklyn, a politician and mother finds she can hear the songs of her city, pulsing to the beat of her Louboutin heels. And they’re not the only ones. Every great city has a soul. Some are ancient as myths, and others are as new and destructive as children. New York? She’s got six."

The City We Became follows a group of people who unknowingly become avatars of New York City, which is being attacked by a sort of Eldritch horror that only they can see. When the city needs to be defended, it reaches out and empowers these avatars to do the job.

The idea of bringing NYC to life, portraying its vastness and diversity through its avatars and their differing backgrounds, has got to be one of the most unique story ideas in recent years.

It also makes me really curious about where the series is going to go from here. It sounds like we’ll be seeing more of New York City in the sequel, but so far news has been sparse.

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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