40 fantasy and science fiction books you should read in 2022

Speaking Bones by Ken Liu (The Dandelion Dynasty #4) — June 21

One of the biggest fantasy book releases of 2022 has to be the final volume of Ken Liu’s landmark series The Dandelion Dynasty. Speaking Bones is the fourth book in the series, and will deliver the long-awaited conclusion to the silkpunk epic that began back in 2015 with The Grace of Kings.

Kuni Garu was once a lowly layabout and sometimes bandit before he became the Emperor Ragin of Dara and launched a dynasty that would reshape the future of the continent. As the series has gone on, Kuni’s children stepped up to take over the central focus of the novels, helping usher both readers and Dara itself into a new age of exploration.

Speaking Bones and the preceding volume The Veiled Throne were originally written as one massive book which Liu had to split in half for the sake of publication. As such, it’s expected that this final book will pick up right where The Veiled Throne ended.

Pre-order it: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Books-A-Million

In The Shadow Of Lightning by Brian McClellan (Glass Immorals #1) — June 21

Brian McClellan is best known for his Powder Mage series, which combined French Revolution aesthetics with a detailed magic system. Now McClellan is back with a brand new epic fantasy series in a totally new setting, one where magic is finite and fast running out:

Demir Grappo is an outcast—he fled a life of wealth and power, abandoning his responsibilities as a general, a governor, and a son. Now he will live out his days as a grifter, rootless, and alone. But when his mother is brutally murdered, Demir must return from exile to claim his seat at the head of the family and uncover the truth that got her killed: the very power that keeps civilization turning, godglass, is running out.

Now, Demir must find allies, old friends and rivals alike, confront the powerful guild-families who are only interested in making the most of the scraps left at the table and uncover the invisible hand that threatens the Empire. A war is coming, a war unlike any other. And Demir and his ragtag group of outcasts are the only thing that stands in the way of the end of life as the world knows it.

McClellan’s previous works have been rock solid, but this will be his first totally new epic fantasy setting since Powder Mage, which he deepened even further in the Gods of Blood and Powder trilogy that took place 10 years later. We’re more than a little intrigued to see what he’s come up with.

Pre-order it: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Books-A-Million