40 fantasy and science fiction books you should read in 2022
By Daniel Roman
Fevered Star by Rebecca Roanhorse (Between Earth & Sky #2) — April 19
Rebecca Roanhorse’s 2020 novel Black Sun made tons of waves in the fantasy community when it came out due in no small part to the richly detailed worldbuilding inspired by the Pre-Columbian empires of the Americas, like the Aztec and Maya. It’s difficult to create a fantasy world that stands out in today’s flooded market, but Roanhorse achieved that with this series. She’s been recognized for it with a Hugo nomination and a television adaptation in the works at AMC.
Black Sun followed several memorable characters, including Xiala, a ship captain who has the magical blood and lineage of the Teek, a female-only sea-faring people who live on a mythical island. The story begins with her bringing Serapio, a blind and scarred young man with an ominous future, to the holy city of Tova just in time for a winter solstice celebration that happens to coincide with a solar eclipse. The whole story is laced with magic and culture, and it’s told with incredible attention to detail.
Fevered Star continues right on from the climactic events of Black Sun. Soon we’ll be able to see what the next chapter holds.
Pre-order it: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Books-A-Million
One Foot In The Fade by Luke Arnold (Fetch Phillips #3) — April 26
If urban fantasy is more your jam, you’ll be happy to know that Luke Arnold has another Fetch Phillips book coming out this year. One Foot in the Fade sees our intrepid detective Fetch Phillips taking on another case that will likely affect the fate of Sunder City, a once-magical metropolis that found new ways to light its fires of industry in the series’ previous outing, Dead Man In A Ditch. That was one of my favorite books of 2020, so anticipation is high for its sequel.
If you haven’t heard of Fetch Phillips yet but like stories like The Dresden Files, this is probably going to be one of your new favorites:
In a city that lost its magic, an angel falls in a downtown street. His wings are feathered, whole—undeniably magical—the man clearly flew, because he left one hell of a mess when he plummeted into the sidewalk.
But what sent him up? What brought him down? And will the answers help Fetch bring the magic back for good?
Working alongside necromancers, genies, and shadowy secret societies, through the wildest forests and dingiest dive bars, this case will leave its mark on Fetch’s body, his soul, and the fate of the world.
Pre-order it: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Books-A-Million
