Escape into worlds where magic flows like rivers and heroes forge legends with every step. Whether you’re seeking epic quests across mystical realms or intimate tales of wonder, fantasy literature offers boundless adventures waiting to unfold. From timeless classics to modern masterpieces, these must-read fantasy books will transport you beyond the ordinary into realms where anything is possible.
Your Next Favourite Fantasy and Sci-Fi Read
The Blue Place
9781837264483 | Headline Review | BPB
Nicola Griffith

‘Danger is desperately seductive . . .’
Aud Torvingen is a rangy six-footer with eyes the colour of cement and a tendency to hurt people who get in her way. Born in Norway, she now lives in the sticky heat of Atlanta-a security consultant gliding between the city’s elegant elite and its sleazy underbelly.
One night during a thunderstorm Aud collides with a running woman, and to survive the deadly mix of forgery, drugs, and murder that follows, she must risk losing herself to that cool blue place where violence is bliss . . .
The First Murder on Mars
9781409199199 | Orion | BPB
Sam Wilson

This is the story of the first human being born on Mars: Rose Fuller, who saw a better future than the one that came to pass.
And Dylan Ward, a woman raised in the vast wilderness of the frontier, who will find her way back to it.
It is a story about a man who went missing, and the man who wants to find out what he knew.
A story about what makes us human – and how we might live once we leave our home.
The story of the first murder on Mars.
A page-turning science-fiction thriller with big ideas at its heart – perfect for fans of The Martian and The Expanse.
Minds in Transit
9781647101732 | CAEZIK SF & Fantasy | PB
Joan Slonczewski

An artist’s brain rules a team of a million microbial minds—from the Campbell Award winning author of A Door into Ocean.
In the hundred-level city of Iridis, human lords recycle diamonds and emeralds down to the Underworld while sentient machines pilot lightcraft and perform surgeries. Microbial minds expand the brains of scientists and artists. The artist Chrys directs her microbes to paint startling installations, design smart buildings and fix quantum networks. A world-size virtual intelligence called Transit commissions Chrys to create a whole new city on another planet.
But unexpected flaws fracture her designs. Microbial criminal gangs invade Chrys’s brain to kill off her own micros and take control. In Iridis, the roots of buildings grow cancers that escape the Underworld and cause earthquakes. Outlawed machines shake down shops and kidnap human lords for ransom. The city’s rulers ignore the signs of collapse, then face a new threat that no mind foresaw.
Daughters of Flood and Fury
9781803367828 | Titan Books | TPB
Gabriella Buba

This powerful sequel to Saints of Storm and Sorrow brims with unruly magic and pirates, moon-eating dragons and sizzling Sapphic romance. Enthralling Filipino-inspired fantasy for fans of The Hurricane Wars, R.F. Kuang and Tasha Suri.
Five years after the fall of the Palisade in Aynila, the Codicíans are closing in with a vast armada. Lunurin and Alon have been working desperately to solidify their alliances across the archipelago, but petty rivalries, suspicion, and conflicted loyalties threaten to undermine their efforts. To stand any chance, they must unify the disparate factions of their forces at the festival of the eclipse, when the laho will swallow the moon, and the islands’ magic will be at its strongest.
Inez has been training as a tide-touched healer, but the gentle side of her goddess’s gift does not come naturally to her. When she hears rumors that her sister, Catalina, has returned to the archipelago, Inez embarks on a dangerous journey over the sea. Aboard a pirate ship, she meets the fierce firetender Umali, who has no fear of her own power, and burns brighter than anyone Inez has ever known. Yet Inez worries her untamed, hungry magic may prove too much even for a pirate captain, and the threat of the Codicíans’ return hangs heavy over both their heads.
Three goddesses stand ready to fight. But without human allies, even their power may not be enough to keep Aynila and the archipelago free.
Basilisk
9781803367354 | Titan Books| TPB
Matt Wixey

A terrifying and unputdownable horror-thriller novel of fiendish puzzles, compelling mysteries and paranoia about an enigmatic hacker, a deadly online game, and a cyber weapon that makes people go insane. Perfect for readers of Paul Tremblay, Neal Stephenson and Mark Z Danielewski’s House of Leaves, and the people who just have to know the answer.
Alex Webster is an ethical hacker who, like most hackers, prefers questions to answers. So when she and a colleague, Jay Morton, stumble across a mysterious game created by a shadowy figure known as The Helmsman, they are instantly hooked.
As they solve increasingly bizarre puzzles and uncover The Helmsman’s deranged manifesto, they are pursued by a sinister group known only as XXX XXXXXXX XXXXXX, who will do anything to stop them uncovering the Basilisk, a cognitive weapon which makes anyone who understands it lose their mind.
When Jay disappears, as they hone in on the truth of the Basilisk, Alex is left trying to piece together what’s happened to her friend, escape the awful smiling glitch people stalking her every move, and solve The Helmsman’s final puzzle.
The Library at Hellebore
9781835414125 | Titan Books | HB
Cassandra Khaw

Dark academia meets cosmic horror in this murderous tale of betrayal and broken hearts at an elite academy for the gods and monsters of the world, perfect for fans of The Atlas Six, If We Were Villains and Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil.
The Hellebore Technical Institute for the Gifted is the premier academy for the dangerously powerful: the Anti-Christs and Ragnaroks, the world-eaters and apocalypse-makers.
Hellebore promises redemption, acceptance, and a normal life after graduation. At least, that’s what Alessa Li is told when she’s kidnapped and forcibly enrolled.
But there’s more to Hellebore than meets the eye. On graduation day, the faculty go on a ravenous rampage, feasting on Alessa’s class. Only Alessa and a group of her classmates escape the carnage. Trapped in the school’s library, they must offer a human sacrifice every night, or else the faculty will break down the door and kill everyone.
Toward Eternity
9780063450325 | HarperVia | BPB
Anton Hur

Negotiating the terrain of Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun and Emily St. John Mandel’s Sea of Tranquility, a brilliant, haunting speculative novel from a #1 New York Times bestselling translator that sets out to answer the question: What does it mean to be human in a world where technology is quickly catching up to biology?
In a near-future world, a new technological therapy is quickly eradicating cancer. The body’s cells are entirely replaced with nanites—robot or android cells which not only cure those afflicted but leaves them virtually immortal.
Literary researcher Yonghun teaches an AI how to understand poetry and creates a living, thinking machine he names Panit, meaning Beloved, in honor of his husband. When Yonghun—himself a recipient of nanotherapy—mysteriously vanishes into thin air and then just as suddenly reappears, the event raises disturbing questions. What happened to Yonghun, and though he’s returned, is he really himself anymore?
When Dr. Beeko, the scientist who holds the patent to the nanotherapy technology, learns of Panit, he transfers its consciousness from the machine into an android body, giving it freedom and life. As Yonghun, Panit, and other nano humans thrive—and begin to replicate—their development will lead them to a crossroads and a choice with existential consequences.
Exploring the nature of intelligence and the unexpected consequences of progress, the meaning of personhood and life, and what we really have to fear from technology and the future, Toward Eternity is a gorgeous, thought-provoking novel that challenges the notion of what makes us human—and how love survives even the end of that humanity.
House of the Beast
9780008672515 | HarperVoyger | TPB
Michelle Wong

Step into the House of the Beast with this dark fantasy debut from The Legend of Korra graphic novel illustrator Michelle Wong – featuring illustrations throughout by the author.
You are a very lucky young lady, to be chosen by the Dread Beast.
Alma would not have chosen the Beast. But when her mother falls ill, she is not left with the luxury of choice. After all, luxury was never something they could afford.
Forced into a desperate bargain with her estranged father and his house, one of the noble families that serve the gods and wield their powers, she irrevocably binds herself to the Dread Beast, the most fearsome of the gods. However, it is a vow made in vain when death comes for her mother anyway.
Now vengeance is Alma’s sole aim. And she has a god on her side – a beautiful, eldritch monster with starlit hair. The Beast that has chosen her.
A darkly enchanting fairy tale with blood on its teeth, House of the Beast is a story of revenge, resilience, and the power of love to see us through the darkness – beautifully illustrated throughout by the author.
‘A beguiling tale of strange gods, cosmic horrors, and ruinous revenge, House of the Beast dazzled me. With compelling characters and masterful worldbuilding, Wong’s debut is sure to become a celebrated classic’ Erin A. Craig, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Thirteenth Child
Coming Soon!
Send Flowers
9780857308931 | Verve Books | PBO
Emily Buchaan

Fiona, better known as eco-influencer @FoliageFifi, hasn’t left her flat since her boyfriend, Ed, died. She blames herself for what happened to him and for the failure of their climate activist group. But when Ed’s favourite plant appears on her doorstep with an anonymous note, Fifi feels a glimmer of hope. She sprinkles his ashes into the soil and wakes to find that the plant has flowered. Not just that – it can talk. Her explanation? Ed is back. This time as a houseplant.
Intent on keeping Ed and his flowers alive, Fifi follows his cues into a world on the brink of climate collapse. But when Ed becomes demanding, urging her towards the people and places that left her scarred, Fifi realises that preserving his life could mean risking her own.
How far will she go to keep him blooming?
Set in a future that feels all too real, Emily Buchanan’s startlingly original debut explores the right to protest amidst climate chaos, the importance of community in weathering life’s storms and the resilience of love and hope in a world that seems beyond saving. Perfect for fans of Shark Heart by Emily Habeck, Death Valley by Melissa Broder, The Overstory by Richard Powers and Weather by Jenny Offill.
The Last Voyage
9781399814140 | Hodder & Stoughton | TPB
Brian D. Mclaren

It’s 2056 and international oligarchs have pushed the world to the precipice of ecological, economic, and nuclear catastrophe. But two philanthropists have teamed up to establish a long-term colony on Mars. Could this daring outpost be the next chapter in the story of the human race?
Assembling a crack team of experts including scientists, engineers and ecologists, the colony begins to establish a viable outpost on our nearest planet. But the team quickly runs into problems as they bear the responsibility of creating a new humanity. Can they work out what has gone wrong before it’s too late? And will the passengers of the last voyage from earth bring what’s needed for this fledging community to flourish?
This first volume in a thrilling new trilogy from Brian McLaren, explores what it means to be human and what would we choose to bring with us or leave behind, if we were to start all over again..


