Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays Factioners! At this festive time of year whether you celebrate Yule, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, or any other December holidays, you may end up facing a dilemma that is known far and wide within the SFF universe: What books should you spend your gift cards on??
Earlier this month we asked our readers to give us one book that everyone should buy. New, old, doesn’t matter. It just had to be an awesome book everyone should own. The list we received is of course not close to complete, but if you are super stuck on what to read next, you couldn’t do better than some of these suggestions.
So here they are broken down by section, but in no particular order.
(Oh! And if you think we missed an important one, which we probably did, feel free to add it in the comments!)
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Fantasy
The Angelus Trilogy by Jon Steele
Assassin’s Apprentice (Farseer Trilogy #1) by Robin Hobb
The Barbed Coil by J. V. Jones
An almost perfect standalone epic with fascinatingly drawn magic and excellent characters. – Steven Poore
The Bear and the Nightingale (Winternight Trilogy #1) by Katherine Arden
[This] is a great book. – Charles Hewitt
The Complete Chronicles of Conan: Centenary Edition by Robert Ervin Howard
Court of Broken Knives by Anna Smith Spark
Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
The Earthsea Quartet by Ursula K. Le Guin
[I] always find something new in each re-read. – David Ivor Howells
Empire in Black and Gold (Shadows of the Apt #1) by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Weird, but awesome. – Matt Webb
Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
Keys of the Origin (The Scions of Balance, #1) by Melissa A. Joy
It is an epic adventure with interesting characters, and a beautiful mythology. – Selene Kallan
The Lark and The Wren (Bardic Voices #1) by Mercedes Lackey
Legend (The Drenai Saga #1) by David Gemmell
Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
The greatest fantasy novel ever written that isn’t Lord of the Rings. 🙂 – Kenneth Øster
Monstrous Regiment (Discworld) by Terry Pratchett
Most (if not all) Discworld novels are excellent, but out of my three favourites it is the only one that is mostly a standalone. – Helen Walker
The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle #1) by Patrick Rothfuss
The Queen’s Poisoner (Kingfountain #1) by Jeff Wheeler
Brilliant book and possibly one of my favourite series too. 🙂 – Kshoni Gunputh
Reincarnation Blues by Michael Poore
A really unique and touching read that was spectacularly well written and had the coolest story! – Rachel McCoy
Small Gods (Discworld) by Terry Pratchett
A standalone Discworld [book] that looks at religion and humanity. Funny and thought provoking. – Matthew Cavanagh
To Ride Hell’s Chasm by Janny Wurts
The Tough Guide to Fantasyland by Diana Wynne Jones
Especially if you’re an aspiring author. – Peter McLean
The Traitor Baru Cormorant (Baru Cormorant #1) by Seth Dickinson
Watership Down by Richard Adams
One of my favorite books of all time. – Jennie Ivins
Historical Fantasy
An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears
[This] book blew my mind. – Amy Jordan Ross
Roma (Rome #1) by Steven Saylor
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Sorcerer to the Crown (Sorcerer Royal #1) by Zen Cho
Because it reads like Jane Austen meets fantasy, and simply is a lot of fun! – Julia Kitvaria Sarene
Steampunk
The Invisible Library (The Invisible Library #1) by Genevieve Cogman
Great for book lovers. – Debbie Phillips
Senlin Ascends (The Books of Babel #1) by Josiah Bancroft
Urban Fantasy
The Rook (The Checquy Files #1) by Daniel O’Malley
Because it made me snort and laugh out loud in the subway – perfect to get into a good mood after [stressful] holidays. ? – Julia Kitvaria Sarene
YA Fantasy
The Changeling Sea by Patricia A. McKillip
The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A. McKillip
Not everyone has them. They are short, too, so perfect for a stocking stuffer. – Joe Perry
A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic #1) by V. E. Schwab
Steelheart (The Reckoners #1) by Brandon Sanderson
Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones
A gorgeous meditation on the magic of storytelling, a fairytale about why we need fairy tales, and a sly deconstruction of storytelling tropes, all wrapped up in DWJ’s masterful storytelling. Luminous and essential. – Jonathan Thornton
The Naming (The Books of Pellinor #1) (The Gift in Australia and the UK) by Alison Croggon
Middle Grade & Children’s Fantasy
Dealing With Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicles #1) by Patricia C. Wrede
Half Magic (Tales of Magic #1) by Edward Eager
For children or grandchildren – and fun for adults reading to them. – Sanna Hines
Horror
God’s Demon by Wayne Barlowe
Misery by Stephen King
After reading it this year I would say it is now my favourite of his novels. – Helen Walker
Science Fiction
Always Coming Home by Ursula K. Le Guin
[This is an] incredible and beautiful book. – Jonathan Thornton
Dune by Frank Herbert
Because it’s Dune. – Wulf Moon
Earth Abides by George R. Stewart
The Forever War (The Forever War #1) by Joe Haldeman
Grass (Arbai #1) by Sheri S. Tepper
Thought provoking portrayal of the human response to an incomprehensibly alien world, and a rattling good story. – Matt Willis
Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny
History & Mythology
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
I know it is not fantasy, but it is just so good! I’ve the audiobook and listen almost every eve before I go to sleep. – G. R. Matthews
The Iliad by Homer
The Odyssey by Homer
The Epic of Gilgamesh
Beowulf
For some ripping good storytelling—and to remind us that humans have been telling fantastical, lyrical, violent, and wise tales from the very beginning. – Carol Klees-Starks
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We hope you found something to add to your to-be-read pile. Let us know in the comments if you have a must read book to add to our list!
Happy Holidays from Fantasy-Faction! And Happy Reading!
Richard Marpole
I’m impressed Dragons Of Autumn Twilight made the list. It’s what got me hooked on fantasy back in Middle School.