Top Fantasy and Science fiction books 2022
Before I start talking about science fiction books – I hope you have a fantastic New Year and that your 2022 wasn’t as horrendous as everyone else’s seemed to have been. I was going to do a whole-year review of films, books, TV shows and so on, but that would take forever. I recently bought a new kindle and have been upping my reading game.
So instead of an epic list, I will instead write about some of the best fantasy and science fiction books I read this year, in case you are looking for something to read.
These aren’t books that necessarily came out this year, and they don’t include everything I’ve read, but they’re all great. I hope they help you find something new.
Some of the best fantasy and science fiction books I read this year:
Leviathan Falls by James SA Corey- The Expanse Books 9
I kicked off the year by reading Leviathan Falls by James S.A. Corey. I won’t talk about it too much because it will be spoiler-filled and only of interest to someone who has read the first eight in the series.
I loved this book, and I loved this series. I wrote a review of the Expanse whole series that is spoiler free if you’re interested in checking out what it is all about. The TV show is also superb.
The great thing about Leviathan Falls is that it wraps up the series nicely and ties up all the loose ends. So if you’ve been burned before, don’t worry. The Expanse is one of the best series out there. You can check it out here.
Off to Be the Wizard by Scott Meyer (Magic 2.0 Book 1)
This list is not exclusively science fiction books, although Off to be the wizard by Scott Meyer is a sci-fi and fantasy hybrid.
The story consists of a fellow who finds out we are all in a computer program and decides to be a wizard in medieval England.
It is a fast and lighthearted read which mostly hits the mark. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but not quite as many other readers going by the reviews. It is definitely worth checking out. You can read my review here, or alternatively, read a million other reviews and buy it here.
The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
The Wheel of Time series needs no introduction and has so far been a lot of fun. I read the third, fourth, and fifth books this year, and they were all superb.
I have heard that there are a couple of books coming up that are a bit slow, but then things pick up again. Although others argue that those books build the world more and others say just one book is slower.
Whatever. If two or three middle books of a 15-book series are slow, that is fine with me. The Wheel of Time series is well worth checking out, especially if you want to really get epic.
The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher
As the Wheel of Time is so epic, I have been cleansing my palate with shorter series, like The Dresden files. (Also, a lot of PG Wodehouse, but I am focusing on fantasy and science fiction books.)
I have heard that people say the first three are the worst, and then the series gets better and better. If that’s the case, I am in for a superb time as I read books one and two last year and three and four this year. All were superb, and I’ll admit that book four, The Summer Knight, was the best.
The series centres around a wizard in modern-day Chicago who is dealing with a lot of magical shenanigans. It is a lot of fun, and I can’t wait to read the next one. Read my review of the first book, Storm Front, by clicking on this. You can also see the full series and other reviews here.
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Project Hail Mary is a one-off book by Andy Weir – the guy who wrote The Martian. Like The Martian, it is a first-person narrative by someone who is great at science and having an adventure.
I loved this book, the scenario, and the characters involved. There’s a lot of humour, and the logical, scientific approach was particularly appealing.
Basically, if you like The Martian, which I did – my book review – then you’ll love this.
You can check it out here. Highly recommended.
We Are Legion (We Are Bob) (Bobiverse Book 1) by Dennis Taylor
We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis Taylor is the first in a series of four science fiction books and is a lot of fun.
The story concerns a man called Bob, who is unfortunately killed right at the beginning of book one. Kind of happily, he is brought back 100 years later as an AI in control of a spaceship built for exploration.
He is not alone in this, and some rival nations have been doing the same thing. Space then starts to get busy.
You can more about the Bobiverse here.
First and Only (Gaunt’s Ghosts Book 1) by Dan Abnett
I’ve quite a lot of Warhammer 40k on my shelves, but it seemed such a daunting universe to get into, I kept putting it off. This year I what many on the internet had recommended as a good introduction to it all – First and Only by Dan Abnett.
It follows the story of Imperial Commissar Gaunt and the Tanith First as they battle the forces of Chaos. It’s a very exciting read, and although there is clearly a big Warhammer 40k universe out there, this was a gentle intro.
(I’m also reading the first in the epic Horus Heresy, also by Abnett, but one thing at a time.) Soon, everyone will be talking about Warhammer 40,000, so get to know it now! You can read my review here. Alternatively, you can see more here. Great fun!
Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames
Kings of the Wyld really caught me off guard. I was in a bookshop in Bangkok, and the cover seemed cool enough to buy. Then I was hooked.
The book is a ‘let’s get the band back together’ story with a twist – the band were a group of legendary mercenaries in a fantasy world.
Like so many on this list, it turns out to be book one of a series. But it stands up fine as a solo book and is really, really fun.
You can read my review, or you can check it out on Amazon. Highly recommended.
Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold
I had been meaning to read the Vorkosigan Saga for decades now. After spending a couple of days researching reading orders, I went with Shards of Honor. Seriously, there is a lot of debate, but most agree this is a great starting spot.
The story involves two great characters on opposing sides in a war getting stranded on a planet with each other. Then things develop between them, and the whole tale scales up in excitement. You can read my review here.
This book kind of pairs with another and is part of a much larger 17-book series. Going on the strength of this one, I will be reading the rest. You can see the whole series here.
So there you go. Some of the best fantasy and science fiction books around. Or at least that I read this year. I have quite a few ongoing, but they were in other series or fiction. I read some great crime books by JD Kirk and Richard Osman, for example.
One thing I noticed is that I seem to be in the middle of over a dozen series at once. Next year, I will have to finish some.
I hope this helped at least one person find something good to read next year. You can also look at my book page for other reviews. Look to the top of the page.
Or even better, ring in the new year with something I wrote! (At least have a look.)
Whatever happens – I hope you have a fantastic new year and a superb 2023!