2019 was a really good year for genre fiction. I mean, really good. Between new epics from Leigh Bardugo, Erin Morgenstern, Chuck Wendig, Sarah Gailey, Paul Krueger, Annalee Newitz, and other favorites, we were given the gift of Tamsyn Muir’s lesbian necromancers in Gideon the Ninth, brought through to new worlds in Alix E. Harrow’s The Ten Thousand Doors of January, and introduced to several new shining stars in the galaxy of Science-Fiction and Fantasy books. But as the year comes to a close, we’re starting to look forward to the start of a new decade. After all, a to-be-read pile can never be tall enough—our bookshelves might be starting to cave in, but that’s not going to stop us!
Dark and Deepest Red by Anna-Marie McLemore (Feiwel & Friends, January 14)
I honestly don’t know what kind of demon Anna-Marie McLemore sacrificed themselves to in order to be able to write like they do, but it must have been a powerful one. As the Prince of Contemporary Magical Realism, McLemore’s prose just consistently knocks it out of the park. This one is not so much a Snow White retelling as it is a complete reimagining, a whole do-over, scrap everything you know and devour this one instead. No. Don’t argue with me. I said what I said.
Infinity Son by Adam Silvera (HarperTeen, January 14)
King of hearbreaking mlm stories and haver of flawless skin, Adam Silvera debuts his first fantasy series with Infinity Son. The story follows brothers Emil and Brighton through a magical New York as they struggle with a feeling I think we all feel—the envy and disappointment that comes along with not having magical powers. As a magical war between magic-havers and magic-stealers wages around them, one brother gets pulled into the fight in a way neither of them expected. The story is fast-paced and exciting, but intensely personal too. Plus, in that classic Silvera way, it’s got All The Feels.
Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi (Tor.com Publishing, January 21)
Listen, Tochi Onyebuchi is one of the smartest people I know, and has crafted a world so elegant and exciting I want to personally shove this book into everyone’s hands. Not a joke: if you see me on the street, going up to strangers and sneakily putting Riot Baby into their bags, don’t be surprised. Ella has the gift of premonition and Kev, her brother, is sworn to protect her. But a world full of racism and disparity is against them. The narrative is a powerful take on the Black American experience and the systems that work against us, but also has an immense capacity for hope, love, and fearlessness. A true accomplishment.
The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood (Tor Books, February 11)
Do I have to say anything other than hot lady orcs to get you interested in this one? No, I didn’t think so. Our protagonist, Csorwe, thinks she knows what fate has in store for her: she’s set to be the sacrifice for the Shrine of the Unspoken. But when a powerful mage comes along and offers her a choice, life becomes way more than she imagined it could be, and way more complicated. Larkwood’s prose will catch you hook, line, and sinker, and just when you thought you couldn’t get invested in a new series, The Unspoken Name is sure to swoop in and make you think again. It’s epic in the true sense of the word, and truly just…*chef’s kiss*
Docile by K.M. Szpara (Tor.com Publishing, March 3)
Okay, here’s what you need to know about Docile: it takes place in a too-near-to-feel-comfortable future where debt is inherited by family members, but can be worked off through…let’s just say it: servitude. Elisha makes the choice to become a Docile for a man named Alex, who also happens to be heir to the company that makes Dociline—the drug that keeps Dociles under control. What unfolds is messy, anti-capitalist, pro-human rights epic sexiness. I wouldn’t do Docile the disservice of comparing it to that other well-known kink narrative—it is much more complex than that. All I can say is: hold on to your collars, kids.
House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas (Bloomsbury, March 3)
In her first series for adults, Maas is doing what she does best: creating a world full of magic, adventure, and hella sexy romance. When party girl Bryce’s roommate Dani (who also happens to be the leader of Crescent City’s shifter squad) gets murdered, her whole world gets turned on its head. But it all gets wrapped up, and Bryce returns to her life. Two years later when the murders start again, Bryce gets pulled into the investigation and a cross-continental war full of magical creatures and dark secrets. It’s a unique urban fantasy with magical cell phones and archangels. What’s not to love?
The Electric Heir by Victoria Lee (Skyscape, March 17)
The sequel to thicc boi The Fever King is even thiccer, and knowing Mx. Lee’s excellent understanding of character development and their skill at creating tense situations (sexual or otherwise), The Electric Heir is sure to leave us all on the edge of our seats. Our boy Noam is a technopath working to overthrow the government in order to protect undocumented immigrants affected by magical outbreaks. Book two gives us even more political intrigue, even more sticky situations, and even more magic.
The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin (Orbit, March 24)
Of course we’re stoked for the new one from Queen Jemisin, Patron Saint of Sci-Fi That Knocks The Breath Outta You. Sentient New York City? Ancient evil? City kids kicking ass? Heck yes, sign me tf up.
Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, April 7)
You know what I love? A novel that flips a trope on its head so completely, we’re forced to rethink everything we know. That’s what Roth is doing with Chosen Ones, a story about five teenagers who have already saved the world and have to get back to real life afterwards. But of course, that isn’t so easy. Roth is a magician when it comes to well-crafted dystopias, and this is her first book for adults. I honestly can’t wait to see how this story deals with fame, trauma, mental health, and the fate of the world.
The Last Emperox by John Scalzi (Tor Books, April 14)
That’s right, this is the last book in the incredible Interdependency series, Scalzi’s space opera trilogy. We’re finally going to find out the fates of Emperox Grayland and her people in this stunning story about the true weight of power, sacrifice, and trying to keep control. The ride so far has been truly wild, and we know Scalzi is capable of even more. This one is sure to keep us flipping pages and wishing it would never end.
Incendiary by Zoraida Córdova (Disney-Hyperion, April 28)
This is the start of a brand new series by Zoraida Córdova, author of the brilliant Brooklyn Brujas series. Inspired by Spain during the Inquisition, Cordova has created a beautiful world full of thieves, spies, kings, and everything we love in an epic fantasy story. Following a memory thief named Renata (whom I’m already in love with), we set off on a top secret mission to save the lives of the people of Moria, and the boy Renata cares for. Knowing Córdova’s talent for slow burn romances and inventive brujeria, this one is sure to be a BANGER.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (The Hunger Games, #0) by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic, May 19)
Katinss Everdeen took the world by storm in the Hunger Games trilogy, a story about rebellion in the face of a government that demanded human sacrifice, disparity, and fear. In this new book, we revisit the world of Panem sixty-four years earlier for the Tenth Hunger Games. I’m excited to read more about how Panem came to be so damn terrible, and just how different the Games were at the start. More anti-fascist dystopia? I Volunteer.
Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (Tor.com Publishing, June 2)
So anyway if you haven’t read Gideon the Ninth yet, log off the internet right now and get yourself to a library or bookstore. And then pre-order Gideon’s woman, Harrow. Tamsyn Muir’s weird, gothic, beautiful world of queer space necromancers gets expanded in Harrow the Ninth, as we focus in on our favorite angel of death (or maybe undeath), Harrowhark Nonagesimus as she forges her own path and finds herself. The strength of Muir’s storytelling and unique prose is really on display here to the point that it’s almost sickening. Like, Tamsyn, how dare you?? How dare you be this good. Hot damn.
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas (Feiwel & Friends, June 9)
Okay, just hear me out: trans boy Yadriel summons a ghost and then can’t get rid of him. Now, said ghost (Julian) determined to cause some trouble while he has the opportunity. Yeah, we love a bad boy, especially a stupid hot Latinx ghost boy. Cemetery Boys is giving us everything: brujería, romance, hijinx, and real heartwarming friendship. This one is just what your heart needs right now and it absolutely cannot be in my hands soon enough.
A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow (TorTeen, June 2)
You know what we love? Stories about female friendship. You know what we love even more? When those two friends are young black women trying to make their way in the world. Even more than that? When one of them is a siren, and the other is being haunted by her past. When the murder of another siren shocks the world, Tavia must protect her secret. With Effie at her side, the two girls fight to keep each other safe and sane in a story about friendship, legacy, and magic. Morrow’s debut MEM knocked me full on my ass, and this one will do no less for you.
A Peculiar Peril (The Misadventures of Jonathan Lambshead) by Jeff VanderMeer (Farrar, Straus and Giroux BFYR, July 7)
VanderMeer has been called a lot of things—a master of weird fiction, “the weird Thoreau”, “possibly haunted”, “really a komodo dragon” (okay, that last one he said himself)—but one thing is for sure: he’s one of the most interesting writers working today. After blowing our minds with Borne and the Southern Reach trilogy, VanderMeer is giving us a YA novel about a boy investigating his grandfather’s death, which is definitely not from natural causes. In fact, it might have been from the most unnatural causes. It might have been something behind one of three strange doors. It might be something you wish you didn’t know about. The first of two books, A Peculiar Peril is gonna be one you’ll be talking about even after the final page.
The Relentless Moon by Mary Robinette Kowal (Tor Books, July 14)
MORE. LADY. ASTRONAUTS! Hugo Award winning Mary Robinette Kowal gives the people what they want with this new addition to her series about women who are kicking ass and taking names in space. The Relentless Moon takes place in parallel to The Fated Sky (book 2) and focuses on Nicole Wargin and Myrtle Lindholm in the Lunar colony. I don’t know about you, but I’m about ready to inject this straight into my heart.
Beowulf: A New Translation by Maria Dahvana Headley (MCDx FSG/FSGOriginals, August 25, 2020)
Author of The Mere Wife (a Beowulf retelling from the perspective of Grendel’s mother) and all around badass Maria Dahvana Headley has gifted us with a new translation of our favorite warrior-kills-monster-then-monster mama-kicks-ass tale, Beowulf. I’ll admit that I’m a sucker for classical folklore through a modern lens, so I’m really excited for this. Plus, if this tweet is anything to go by, it’s going to be a joy ride:
In case you missed it yesterday.
The first word of this translation is “Bro.”
And Grendel’s Mother is a warrior woman, not an “ugly troll lady.”
Among other things.https://t.co/rLDbF0cQ99
— Maria DahvanaHeadley (@MARIADAHVANA) November 13, 2019
The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson (Del Rey, August 4)
The multiverse exists, with one caveat: if your AU self is still alive, you can’t travel to their world. Fortunately for Cara, her other selves keep dying, so she’s in a unique position to hop between worlds. But of course, her ability gets coopted because Capitalism, and of course, shit eventually hits the proverbial fan. This is such a wild story unlike anything you’ve ever read before and I genuinely can’t wait for it to be in everyone’s hands. It’s a book that asks questions about who we are as people, what makes you you, and how we find our place in the world.
A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine (Tor Books, September 15)
A Memory Called Empire was honestly a knockout in the way that we always want books to be: truly fantastic worldbuilding that feels so real you just want to be a part of it, characters that grow and glow, and a mystery that keeps getting more and more complicated as it goes on. A Desolation Called Peace builds on that and gives us more in a way we’d never expect. Martine has crafted a space opera so compulsively readable it almost gives me whiplash.
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke (Bloomsbury, September 15)
The author of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell is BACK WITH A VENGEANCE, announcing two new books coming out after a 15-year hiatus. The first, Piranesi, genuinely has me so hype I don’t know if I’ll be able to wait until September. This is mainly because it involves some of my favorite narrative features: a CREEPY HOUSE and a CREEPY NAMELESS SCIENTIST. Gimme some postmodern naming techniques and mysterious messages from another world. It’s gonna be so good.
To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini (Tor Books, September 15)
The writer of Eragon is back with a galaxy-spanning sci-fi adventure centered around discovery and first contact. The story kicks off when xenobiologist Kira Navárez finds an unexpected alien relic, and evolves into a tale full of everything we love about science fiction. Paolini is a master storyteller, and this one is sure to become another necessary read.
Between Earth and Sky by Rebecca Roanhorse (Saga Press, TBA 2020)
We don’t know much about this new book from one of our greatest SFF writers, but what we do know is that Rebecca Roanhorse is sure to BRING. IT. This is the start of a new epic fantasy trilogy inspired by Ancestral Puebloan culture, featuring a matriarchal society, dark magic, and what is sure to be a complex web of secrets and schemes. Roanhorse is adding to a growing canon of epic fantasy that defies expectations (read: Western traditions), and this one is definitely a can’t-miss.
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab (Tor Books, TBA 2020)
Lemme say a thing about Victoria Schwab. She knows what she’s doing, and she’s very good at it, and she gets better and better with every new release. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is classic Schwab: a gothic aesthetic, a badass woman at the center, and some dark magic chaos. When Addie LaRue sells her soul to live forever, she’s cursed to be forgotten by those she meets. Then one day, she meets someone who remembers her. This one is gonna fit on your shelf right between The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus and Wuthering Heights.
Stormlight Archive Book #4 by Brandon Sanderson (Tor Books, TBA 2020)
If you’re anything like us here at Tor.com, you’ve been anxiously following Sanderson’s updates on the new addition to the Stormlight Archive. What we can expect from Sanderson’s return to Roshar and the Cosmere universe is a delightfully complex narrative featuring multiple viewpoints, possible flashbacks to characters we’ve loved and lost, and what will likely be a book so huge you could kill a dude with it. Sanderson is so skilled at crafting fantasy worlds, it’s no wonder he’s become a household name. Stormlight 4 is sure to blow all other epics out of the water.
Isn’t the newest “Dresden Files” FINALLY coming out in 2020?
Can’t wait for Paolini’s new work!
I’m excited for the books from Silvera, Maas, Cordova, Johnson, and Roanhorse. Some of the others may also be good, but I may need to hear them described differently.
What a selection! This is a mix of people whose work I already adore, those who have been on my radar whose work I’ve been very much hoping to get to, and a few I’ve never heard of but have now added to my list of books to watch for. Wow!
Many of these I am looking forward to but Rebecca Kuang’s The Burning God floats my boat more than all the rest, not to mention the hope of more “Laundry” from Charlie Stross.
You left out Murderbot! Network Effect by Martha Wells is due out May 5.
@1 – I would assume so, since Butcher made it official that Peace Talks is Done For Real The End and everything, and there’s not much of this year left, but nothing’s been announced by him or publisher yet regarding a date.
Silvera… “mlm stories”: that might be read as “multi-level marketing.” Perhaps MM?
A Memory Called Empire was so so good, waiting until September for A Desolation Called Peace is going to be tough.
All these, and CL Polk’s Stormsong, too!
Great list, but also: Wayword Children book in January and new Murderbot! Just such an exciting year!
In theory, the fourth and last book in Ada Palmer’s Terra Ignota series, “Perhaps the Stars”, will be published in 2020. That tops my list so much other books don’t even register.
You forgot “The Winds of Winter” by George R.R. Martin coming out in 2020.
Ok, that was mean, I apologize! :-)
Juanma — Perhaps the Stars will be out early in 2021. It’s done, I’ve read it, it’s amazing and worth the wait.
Some interesting choices there.
Micaiah Johnson’s The Space Between Worlds gets my primary attention. I love multiverses in stories and have written fan fic and hobby stories with some of those ideas, so I’m intrigued to see what a PROFESSIONAL writer will do with it.
Also, I’m looking forward to Kevin Hearne’s new Ink & Sigil series, set in the same world as his Iron Druid series, shortly after the events of the final book in that one.
@13 – not mean at all, and it actually should be on the list.
One interesting note: GRRM had an exchange with New Zealanders a month or two ago about staying in NZ to write WoW leading up to the Worldcon there in July 2020. GRRM indicated that if he wasn’t done by then, he may well take them them up on the offer. While a thin reed, this indicates he is (finally) getting close even if he is not making cryptic posts suggesting completion the way he did before ADWD. Assuming this is true, based on past experience, it is reasonable to expect a relatively short (six mo) turnaround once he finishes writing, as previous sections have undoubtedly already been fully edited. So… a Spring finish and a November/December issuance is within the realm of possibility.
“The 25 Most Anticipated SFF Books of 2020”
As chosen by whom?
No C.K. Polk? Been looking forward to Stormsong since I finished Witchmark. Odd to leave out the sequel to the book that won the Nebula and World Fantasy award for 2019. For those interested, February 11.
@6 already mentioned the new Murderbot—which is definitely on my list.
BUT
my most anticipated book of 2020 is Trader’s Leap, a continuation of the Liaden Universe by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller.
2020 is going to be epic, I’m so excited!!
The only thing in this list that is “can’t miss” for me is Beowulf: A New Translation by Maria Dahvana Headley. I have a soft spot for it and enjoy comparing translations of it – it’s almost as much fun as comparing translations of The Divine Comedy. It will be interesting to see where her cultural assumptions take us with that “Bro” as Seamus Heaney’s “So” showed us of his. I’ll have to reread “Beowulf: The Monsters and The Critics” right before it too :D
Scalzi is a pretty safe bet too, I’ll grant, but it’s hard to be excited about part III if you haven’t read I & II < LOL >
Bluejo
Ok, I’m very jealous right now.
But also happy to hear that the book is so good. And sad to have to wait until 2021.
So many emotions.
What about the new Rothfuss book?
@23: Well, indeed, what about the new Rothfuss book (which I take to be a reference to Doors of Stone)? Is there any credible indication that it’s going to be released in 2020 and thus should be anticipated?
@jens: Its not listed on Locus’ Forthcoming Books thru Sept. 2020, so not likely we’ll see it next year.
@25: My questions directed at Mat (#23) were largely rhetorical.
I don’t expect to see Doors of Stone anytime soon. Rothfuss seems to be busy playing video games rather than finishing this book of his which was supposed to be finished almost 13 years ago. Apparently, there’s a rumor that it has a pub date of August 2020 but unless this is confirmed by the publisher (and backed up by them having received the completed manuscript) I won’t bet 2 dollars on that.
The situation is even more sketchy than with Martin’s Winds of Winter – at least he is working on it, albeit in an apparently very inefficient manner. And even in his case, I’ll dismiss the announcement to have the manuscript ready for next years NZ Worldcon or else he’ll have himself locked up in a cabin there. I don’t know how someone can take this as a serious comment rather than a humorous remark – and yet plenty of people take that as gospel and get their hopes high…
May we have another list..Most Anticipated Anthologies/Collections of 2020?Please.
Pat.B.
Juanma: My first thought upon seeing this list was also ADA PALMER!
…until I remembered (having seen it on twitter) that it is, as BlueJo noted, not due out until 2021. Alas! But I totally feel your pain. It’s hard to focus on any books coming out in 2020, so much do I look forward to the one coming out in the year after…
I hope that the series, once finished, will get something like the recognition it deserves. May be my favorite SF book of the last decade (and given all the amazing stuff that’s come out, that’s saying a *lot*).
C L Polk’s Stormsong!
@26 In addition to waiting on Patrick Rothfuss, where is Scott Lynch? I have been waiting on book 4 in his series for years.
Well, I had already pre-ordered The Last Emperox as I’ve read the two earlier books in the series and loved them. I also picked up the previous books by Martine and Headly (A Memory Called Empire and The Mere Wife). Some of the others look interesting but too pricey to pre-order blind.
Dear me. Dear me.
OK, I’m a traditionalist.
Where is Vernor Vinge when we need him?
@30: Laura, unfortunately I don’t have a publisher’s insider knowledge. I’ve followed the situations of some authors whose work I’m interested in but that’s all. I could write a little about how Lynch’s case is different because his delays have a very different, sad reason; he also communicates more openly about his work than Martin and especially Rothfuss.
But all of this is beside the point. At least the point I tried to make with my first comment (#24, directed at Mat).
What I tried to say is that, to my knowledge, neither The Winds of Winter nor The Doors of Stone are scheduled for release in 2020. Actually, we don’t even have an idea the progress the respective author has made with their books, apart from speculation. I’m sure there are a lot of people who anticipate an eventual release but the titles presented in this article are books that positively have a release date in 2020.
The next Gentleman Bastard installment, The Thorn of Emberlain, should come out in 2020, though. Lynch tweeted back in May of this year that he completed the manuscript. It’ll have to be edited and go through the usual publishing process but I would expect it sometime in 2020.
My guess is that it’s not mentioned in the article because the release date has not yet been announced.
Echoing @1 and @7, I cannot believe that the next installment of Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files, “Peace Talks”, is not at the very top of this list…or at the very least, the top of the date TBA list.
I would also add to this list “False Value”, the upcoming book #8 in the Rivers of London/Peter Grant series, by Ben Aaronovitch, which will be published Feb 25, 2020.
I’m actually quite surprised that Marshall Ryan Maresca’s People Of The City is not on this list, what with it being the apparent culmination of his four Maradaine series coming together. I know that’s one of MY most anticipated for the year, at the very least.
I’m most looking forward to Seven Sisters, the sequel Neil Gaiman has written that follows Neverwhere. Locus lists the publication date as September 2020. Can’t wait!
Is it just me, or does this list contain way more romance books that normal for a SFF list? Also, we are getting both Dresden #16 and Rick Riordan’s Apollo #5 in 2020.
These articles always ignore the indie authors. The book I’m most anticipating after reading the prequel story in the Dreamtime Damsels & Fatal Femmes Anthology is Beyond the Crystal Mountains by Jaq D. Hawkins. That one promises to be good!
Looking forward to Kerr’s new Deverry novel Sword of Fire which should come out next February.
Also Gaiman’s Seven Sisters!
I’m also intrigued by Suzanne Collins’ new Hunger Games novel. This could be really good if done well!
I’m looking forward to Katherine Addison’s The Witness to the Dead which is set in the same world as The Goblin Emperor.
There are some great suggestions here in the comments and I’d like to add another, “The Oppenheimer Alternative” by Robert J. Sawyer.
I’m looking forward to that weird fantasy trilogy that Daniel Abraham mentioned a couple times over the past few years.
So many titles coming out this coming new year! Still trying to dig out of my TBR mountain from the great year 2019 was! Have to say I have been anxiously awaiting HARROW THE NINTH since devouring GIDEON all the way light years back in September! I believe Cixin Liu has another book coming out in the spring as well! Plus a new book of short stories THE HIDDEN GIRL AND OTHER STORIES by Ken Liu and the third book in his DANDELION DYNASTY series!!?? Going to be a phenomenal year for scifi, fantasy and genre bending fiction! Haven’t seen anything solid yet but heard the second volume in Marlon James’ DARSTAR TRILOGY is maybe due in 2020 also but not sure how likely that will be…..
Oh, and the third book in Christopher Ruocchio’s SUNEATER SERIES, DEMON IN WHITE! Sequel to Evan Winter’s RAGE OF DRAGONS and the third installment in Jenn Lyons’ A CHORUS OF DRAGONS, THE MEMORY OF SOULS!
William Gibson, Agency and Emily St John Mandel, The Glass Hotel are two I have pre-ordered…..
It’s “affected” not “effected.”
@46 – Fixed, thanks.
@39. Kerr’s new book is already on my preorder list.
I’m also looking forward to Kate Elliott’s latest gender flipped Alexander in space although saddened Dead Empires seems to have gone the way of Doors of Stone or Winds ofWinter.