I’ve already talked about my favourite Black Library novels of 2021, but I think it’s time to look more broadly at the best science fiction and fantasy books I’ve had the pleasure of reading this year. Back in 2020 I put together a Top 20 of 2020 list but this year I’m trimming things back down to concentrate on my top 10, all of which are books I’ve given 5* reviews to (over on Goodreads where star ratings are a thing) and all of which I have sung the praises of all year! As ever it’s proved tricky to narrow things down to just ten, but I’m really happy with this selection – so take a look, and let me know what you think.
To help with my decision-making I’ve made the usual decision to concentrate on books that were published in 2021, which made things a little easier. Of course it also meant that I had to leave some fantastic books off the list, not least Piranesi by Susanna Clarke (published in 2020) which – if pushed – I think I’d have to say is the single best book I’ve read/listened to all year! Have a read of my review if you’d like to get more of my thoughts on that one, and see also my article In Praise of Susanna Clarke. If you haven’t already read Piranesi, I would strongly recommend you give it a go!
I’ve also included an ‘Honourable Mentions’ section in this article to recognise a few more books that didn’t quite make it onto this list but I still very much recommend – so keep reading to have a look at that section too. If you’ve already checked out my Best of Black Library 2021 article then you’ll recognise a couple of those books in this top 10 too – they were just that good – but most of this selection looks away from the worlds of Warhammer and explores all the incredible variety of science fiction and fantasy available these days!
Anyway, here are my top 10 SFF books of 2021 – note that I’ve listed these in the order I read them, rather than any kind of specific ranking.
The Night Parade of 100 Demons by Marie Brennan
Part of Aconyte Books’ range of Legend of the Five Rings novels, this supernatural investigation adventure is packed full of creepy spirits and fascinating Samurai politics, but it’s the central relationship between two mismatched protagonists – and the uncertain romance that burgeons between them – that really makes the book sing. I loved the ‘will they, won’t they’ interplay between stiff, formal Ryōtora and spoiled, easy-going Sekken, I loved (if that’s the right word) all the weird and wonderful horrifying yōkai that they had to deal with, and I loved getting to know more about this intriguing world. You don’t need to know anything about the game this is based on to enjoy this though, so if the sound of a setting inspired by feudal Japan (with monsters and magic), a supernatural mystery and a slow-burn queer romance sounds interesting, I would definitely recommend you give this a go!
Check out my review of The Night Parade of 100 Demons.
Check out my interview with Marie Brennan talking about The Night Parade of 100 Demons.
Penitent by Dan Abnett
After nine years of waiting, Penitent had a lot to live up to…but the sequel to 2021’s Pariah was everything I’d hoped for and more! If you’re not already familiar, this is the second book in Abnett’s Bequin trilogy, which when finished will complete his ‘trilogy of trilogies’…what’s become known as his Inquisitor Cycle, starting with Eisenhorn and then Ravenor. The Bequin books are very different in tone and style to the previous stories, but I just love the baroque strangeness of their almost Dickensian setting, and Abnett’s deliberate approach of keeping secrets from the reader. I won’t give any spoilers, which means I can’t say too much about what happens here, but let’s just say that I’m very much looking forward to finding out what happens in the final book of the trilogy – Pandaemonium – whenever it comes out.
Check out my interview with Dan Abnett talking about Penitent.
Check out my guide to Dan Abnett’s Inquisitor Cycle.
Sistersong by Lucy Holland
There’s something deeply creepy about the Murder Ballads – traditional folk songs usually dealing with some form of grisly death – and Lucy Holland’s retelling of The Twa Sisters is at times as dark and violent as you’d expect given its source material. Blending epic fantasy with folklore, mythology and history, it’s a gripping tale of three English sisters in post-Roman Britain, whose choices will come to define the clash between their people’s pagan beliefs and the growing influence of Christianity. It’s not all dark and gloomy though, as the rapid pace and Holland’s exquisite prose brings the characters and the setting to stunning, evocative life. This isn’t a happy book by any stretch of the imagination, but the way it deals with themes of gender, sexuality and identity, and the role of faith and magic in the power struggle between tradition and modernity, makes it an endlessly fascinating read. I don’t tend to read a lot of historical fiction, and this list is theoretically for SFF books, but the way this blends history with fantasy means it sits comfortably alongside other more overtly fantastical stories.
Check out my review of Sistersong.
Priest of Gallows by Peter McLean
The War for the Rose Throne series continued its incredible run with 2021’s Priest of Gallows, the penultimate volume in this tale of gangsters returning from war and searching for their place in a changed world. By this point in the series Tomas Piety has gone through a lot and found himself in a position he could never have expected, but which we as readers can see as an inevitable outcome of his choices and lifestyle. Finding himself increasingly out of his comfort zone, this is very much the point in Tomas’ story where he’s being forced to truly consider what he wants and what he’s prepared to do to get it. As you might expect from this series so far, it’s bloody and violent and foul-mouthed and utterly unputdownable, with moments that are perhaps the darkest we’ve seen yet from this series (and that’s saying something) – there are moments of hope, but you just know that they’re not going to last for Tomas. There’s one book left in the series, and I find myself both desperate to know what happens next…and dreading finding out.
Check out my review of Priest of Gallows.
Check out my interview with Peter McLean talking about Priest of Gallows.
Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells
I love Murderbot. I mean, I really love Murderbot, and I’ve devoured every story in the series so far. After 2020’s novel-length entry into the series (Network Effect) this sees Wells return to the tried and tested novella format, and I have to say I’m really glad – I thoroughly enjoyed the novel, but it just feels to me like this length really suits the series perfectly. Fugitive Telemetry takes the action back a step or two, set between Exit Strategy and Network Effect and sees Murderbot turning its hand to the art of detection as it tries to determine whether a recently-dead human is a sign that GreyCris is trying to take action against Doctor Mensah. And obviously that can’t stand. It’s as quick and pacy as the best of the other novellas, and Murderbot continues to be an absolute joy to read about, as this time Wells really focuses on questions of identity and purpose. By now Murderbot has got reasonably used to its close human companions, but being forced to work alongside other, less familiar humans brings up all manner of interesting practical and emotional dilemmas. It’s a total joy, and I can’t wait for The Murderbot Diaries to continue!
Check out my review of Fugitive Telemetry.
The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
There’s something absolutely fascinating about Silvia Moreno-Garcia and the way she’s able to shift from genre to genre with each book she writes, yet still maintain a recognisable style and also do each genre justice. I read and loved Gods of Jade and Shadow back in 2020, and I was keen to see what The Beautiful Ones – written before Gods but recently re-released in a lovely new edition – would be like. Turns out it’s totally different, very much a 19th-century novel of manners with just hints of the fantastical in the protagonists’ telepathic abilities and the alternate-history European setting. While I imagine this is probably shelved under Fantasy in the bookstore, it’s really more of a romantic period drama, but once again there’s just enough of the magical here to give it its own identity. It’s a brilliant character drama full of emotional weight and a hefty dose of engaging social commentary, and while it might not appeal to the hardcore fantasy fan it’s really worth checking out for anyone interested in great writing of any genre.
Check out my review of The Beautiful Ones.
A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske
A rich, warm historical fantasy with a queer romance and a wonderfully developed magic system, this is one of those books that was just exactly what I wanted it to be. I’ll admit it was considerably steamier in places than I was expecting, and I don’t read a lot of romance-heavy books, but the central relationship here is so beautifully drawn, and so cleverly woven into the narrative, that I loved it! Essentially an Edwardian novel of manners set to the backdrop of a magical curse and a high-stakes mystery, if you enjoy a good magical alternate history then I really recommend you check this one out; the magic is clever and brilliantly imaginative, the world building is rich and full of detail, and the characters – both the central pair and the supporting cast – are beautifully observed and engaging. I really can’t wait for the next book in the series!
Check out my review of A Marvellous Light.
Ghazghkull Thraka: Prophet of the Waaagh! by Nate Crowley
Probably the book that’s come up the most in my end of year lists and recaps, and comfortably my favourite Black Library novel of the year, this is one of those books that I have a hard time talking about objectively. In my mind it’s just perfectly formed, a book that does what it says on the tin – in this case bringing a legendary character to life like never before – and so much more. It goes way beyond ‘just’ an origin story, offering a bleakly insightful look at the orks as a whole and through them the Imperium, and it’s just the perfect combination of subject matter and author. There’s no better writer than Crowley for finding dark, surreal humour and blending it perfectly with other more serious themes, and reading this I found myself alternating between laughing out loud and stopping to dwell on insights I’d never considered before. Once this is out on general release in 2022 I think it’s going to blow the BL fanbase away!
Check out my review of Ghazghkull Thraka: Prophet of the Waaagh!
Ronin by Emma Mieko Candon
I don’t think I’ve ever read a book quite like Ronin, with a setting that in theory should be so familiar yet in practice feels so new and thrillingly unfamiliar. I mean, I read a lot of IP fiction and I’m used to exploring shared worlds or universes, but the way in which Ronin takes the idea and the feel of Star Wars and presents it in a totally fresh light – in this case through the lens of Japanese culture and mythology – was at times a bewildering experience, but always fascinating and deeply enjoyable. I think it helped that this builds upon the brilliant story told in episode 1 of Star Wars: Visions, so I already had both a visual and narrative impression before going in, but to my delight this story took things in totally unexpected directions, and I loved every minute of it. As far as I’m concerned, this is now the gold standard for IP fiction.
Check out my review of Ronin by Emma Mieko Candon.
A Master of Djinn by P Djeli Clark
I’ve recommended this whole series to so many people this year, it’s just wonderful – three short stories, a novella and now a novel, all set in an alternate early-20th century Egypt populated by djinn, angels, ghuls and all manner of other supernatural entities. It’s a fabulous setting, ideal for these sorts of urban fantasy mystery stories, and while the shorter stories did a great job of bringing it to life this full length novel really hammers home just how great it is! Clark does a brilliant job of making the previous stories feel relevant and connected to the events of the novel, while digging deeper into the characters – Fatma in particular is just a joy to read about – and the broader social context of the narrative. If you’re at all interested in a fun but powerful fantasy series written from a non-western perspective, this series is 100% worth getting on board!
Check out my review of A Master of Djinn.
Check out Josh Reynolds’ guest review of A Master of Djinn.
Honourable Mentions
So those are my ten favourites from 2021, but in order to narrow things down to ten I had to leave a lot of great books off the list. With that in mind, here are a few honourable mentions for books published in 2021 that I would also recommend you check out. Once again I’ve listed these in order of when I read them. Note that I haven’t included any Black Library books in this section – instead, you can see my Best of Black Library 2021 article for my other favourite BL novels of the year.
Bear Head by Adrian Tchaikovsky
The sequel to the phenomenal Dogs of War, this picks up where its predecessor left off and takes things all the way out to Mars, in another powerful sci-fi tale of bioforms, technology-driven ethical dilemmas, and questions of what constitutes ‘human’. It’s a touch more conventional than Dogs of War, but a worthy sequel. Check out my review here.
Last One at the Party by Bethany Clift
With a very sci-fi central concept and a modern, accessible style, this is a great crossover novel that should appeal to both SF fans and general fiction readers – even though the post-apocalyptic backdrop might still be a bit on the nose for some readers. I loved it, but just keep an eye out for the seagulls. Check out my review here.
What Abigail Did That Summer by Ben Aaronovitch
Probably my favourite of the Rivers of London novellas, this is a joy from start to finish with Abigail easily proving worthy of her own story and the talking foxes coming perilously close to stealing the show. The only downside is that now I want a whole spinoff series about Abigail and the foxes! Check out my review here.
Absynthe by Brendan P. Bellecourt
A powerful, engaging slice of retrofuturistic alternate history, this feels a bit like The Matrix if it had been set in the 1920s, with hints of Inception in its illusory nature, and yet with a clear sense of its own unique identity despite those influences. The worldbuilding is brilliant, but doesn’t detract from what is a compelling story full of empathy and hope. Great stuff. Check out my review here.
The Hood by Lavie Tidhar
I still don’t really know what I read, several weeks after finishing (and reviewing) The Hood, but I do know that it was awesome! It’s a madcap blend of ideas and influences, all based around the idea of Robin Hood – the idea, not so much the person – and the sinister nature of Sherwood Forest, wrapped up in a brilliant sense of time and place. Don’t expect to understand everything that goes on…but the wild journey is so worthwhile! Check out my review here.
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So there you have it – my top 10 SFF books of 2021, plus another five honourable mentions. I would happily recommend every one of these books, and I hope you’ll be tempted to pick up some of them after reading this (if you haven’t already)! I would love to know what your own favourites have been this year, so let me know in the comments below or over on Twitter.
See also: Best of Black Library 2021
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