Ho Ho Ho!!!

And last but not least we come to the realm of fantasy and yet more treats for you to enjoy over the festive period. Or to give to your loved ones! It has been another great year for fantasy seeing amazing debuts, standalones and conclusions or starts to impressive series

Hall of Smoke by H M Long — A brilliant standalone where a war between two tribes becomes a war of empires and a battle between the gods. A name to watch! Strongly recommended!

The Forever Sea by Joshua Phillip Johnson — A fascinating concept of a novels tarting a new series where the world is now a deadly sea of plants and ships race across it. Memorable and ambitious

The Library of the Dead by T L Huchu — A hugely impressive start to a brand-new series set in a post-apocalyptic Edinburgh but focused on a young woman who can talk to the dead. Hugely loved this and well worth your time.

Fireheart Tiger by Aliette de Bodard — A brilliant novel that explores toxic relationships wrapped in a fascinating magical world.

The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna — A stunning YA adventure exploring the role of young women in a society where men are in charge. It is a brilliant story gripping you from the start. You need to read this!

Brother Red by Adrian Selby — Another standalone entrant in a unique series where each book looks forward in time to the development of a magical empire. A tale of loyalty, honour and the fall of the world. Beautiful!

Black Water Sister by Zen Cho — A brilliant supernatural thriller where a young woman emigrated to Malaysia finds herself haunted by a relative and battling a vengeful god! Excellent stuff!

The Future God of Love by Dilman Dila — A brilliant novella where a slightly over ambitious storyteller finds himself in great danger. The worldbuilding is also highly enjoyable

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri — A brilliant start to a series I think will be very popular. Combining great writing, awesome characters and a sense of great danger to come – you need this!

The Difficult Loves of Maria Makiling by Wayne Santos — A rather delicious smart tale of gods, modern Canada and learning to get things right. Inventive and funny as well!

The Unbroken by C L Clark — You will find this is one of the most powerful and enticing fantasy stories of the year. A brilliant dissection of colonisation as well as a magical story with two intense flawed characters you cannot take your eyes off.

Advanced Triggernometry by Stark Holborn — A return to a weird wild west where the outlaws are mathematicians. A smart tale exploring out society can sometimes fear truth.

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke — A puzzlebox of a story where alternate worlds, secrets and creating your own reality all combine to create something unforgettable

The Book of Disappearance by Ibtisam Azem (translated by Sinan Antoon) — A tale exploring life in Gaza and making some very powerful points over the issues for those living in this dangerous time. Haunting, intelligent and powerful.

Sistersong by Lucy Holland — Now this is a wonderful story mixing Arthurian legend with modern issues and creating a brilliantly written piece of standalone fantasy you all should have on your shelves.

All The Murmuring Bones by A G Slatter — A tale of a quest in a land made of dangerous dark folk tales and delivers a wonderful journey.

A Master of Djinn by P Djeli Clark — Another inventive story creating its own alternate world of djinn, magic and most importantly what would happen if a major power was not in Europe. I want so many more stories in this world

The Bone Ship's Wake by RJ Barker — The remarkable end of a remarkable series. All the characters put this on the line and this ends in kittens or tears but one of the best series out there.

The Green Man's Heir by Juliet E McKenna — I am very late to the party but this rural contemporary fantasy series is something special. Go get it!!

The Knight's Daughter by Jo M Thomas — A medieval novel that plays with the genre of the stories and has highly amusing footnotes. Well worth a look!

Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia — Vampires as crime lords in Mexico should be enough of a pull but once again Moreno-Garcia’s writing made this a highlight for me.

Gigantic by Ashley Stokes — Funny, smart and brilliantly delivered this tale of monster hunters in Surrey should be on all your reading lists. The approach for a fool to tell us his life story is remarkable!

The Janus Cycle by Tej Turner — A hugely inventive contemporary fantasy using a mosaic of various character’s short story t0 tell a powerful wider tale of being who you are.

The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart — A return to another inventive magical series and the character work here is a major pull as well. Can’t wait to see how this story finishes!

The Lighthouse Witches by C J Cooke — A tale of three women across time connected by the power of the fae. Time travel, folklore and family love all collide very skilfully on a strange Scottish isle

Monkey Around by Jadie Jang — Another inventive start to a ne series. This tale of a character who lives in two cultural worlds at once gets combined with one of my favourite tricksters

Wendy, Darling by A C Wise — Its way about time someone explored the dark side of the boy who never grew up and Wise delivers a clever tale of toxic masculinity and learning to come out of its power.

Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon — A knock out stunning tale with one of the most remarkable uncomfortable characters you will learn how to understand the way they see the world. Please remember to read this

Trail of the Cursed Cobras by Barry Nugent — Last but by no means least this hugely entertaining tale of five schoolkids solving a mystery of dark magic, cults and secret societies. You will read this with a huge smile on your face! Go get it!!