Ho! Ho! Ho!

And after a day off to deliver all those books (sorry you got that one but you know what you did this year) Santa Womble arrives just in time for bookshops to start opening again with some fantasy themed treats to help you find a new read, spend those book tokens or just possibly a late gift for someone.

Novellas

A magical forest that is not at all safe awaits in the wonderful The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed

A murder mystery with added magic awaits in the impressive The Djinn's Apple by Djamila Morani (Translated by Sawad Hussain)

Proving Grimdark is not nearly as gone as some say is the excellent and often funny In The Shadow of Their Dying by Michael R Fletcher and Anna Smith Spark where everything goes wrong for a heist gang out of their depth.

Fantasy without dragons is unthinkable and I loved the unqiue take we get in The Fireborne Blade by Charlotte Bond for good measure its sequel then plays with the myths of lands of the dead and also delivers a dragon-cat so not reading The Bloodless Princes would be a huge mistake!

An excellent mix of history and myths with gods offering all kinds of bargains stood out for me in Ghost Apparent by Jelena Dunato which was excellent

A subtle exploration of loss and why stories aid grief was very well handled in Mammoths at the Gates by Nghi Vo

Some delicate storytelling awaits in YA tale Fire Heart by Joyce Chng which I also enjoyed

Novels

One of the best fantasy novels I read in 2024 is House of Open Wounds by Adrian Tchaikovsky an army hospital in a fantasy world is a genius concept and played with beautifully. Do not be surprised to see another book make the reviews next week in this series!

A series I am enjoying a lot and have no idea where it goes next is the Avatars of Ruin series and the latest instalment raised the odds a lot in Blood War by Tej Turner .

Mixing old gods, capitalism and a daring heist on the British Museum a huge amount of fun was had reading Shigidi and The Brass Head of Obalufon by Wole Talabi which is well worth your time!

It was also lovely to see a fine ending to the Hall of Smoke Quartet with Pillar of Ash by HM Long and I’m looking forward to what Long has next for us!

For me a painfully accurate look at being young and human but also filled with flawed immortals I hugely enjoyed The Book of Love by Kelly Link

One of the best debuts this year is Fathomfolk by Eliza Chan which delivers a tale of warmth, inventiveness and smart looks at how our own world works. I am so ready for the next part of this series!

I’m tempted to put this in SF and Fantasy but it blurs all the boundaries and is beautiful - the amazing The Siege of Burning Grass by Premee Mohamed should be on your shelves and in your hands.

Mixing ancient myth and history but also delivering compelling and unique characters I hugely enjoyed Song of the Huntress by Lucy Holland which really worked for me.

For similar reasons the lyrical The Heart of Winter by Shona Kinsella cements Kinsella as an author to watch out for as we mix Scottish history with gods and creates something beautiful.

An excellent tale of revenge and loss awaits in the magnificent The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo where we travel with shapeshifters in early 20th century China and Japan. A wonderful piece of storytrelling.

For innovation and a lovely mix of the old and new I heartily recommend The Garden of Delights by Amal Singh which was a hugely refreshing read.

i also enjoyed returning to a tale of magic, gods and revolutions with The Fire Within Them by Matthew Ward really fleshing out the series.

It is very hard not to just be wowed by the excellent The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera a tale of Unchosen Ones, a fascinating fantasy city and a powerful tale of family secrets and more. A writer to watch out for.

Merging Fantasy with the feeling of a western works incredibly well in The Hunters by David Wragg with bounty hunters giving chase and then in The Company of the Wolf by David Wragg a small town finds itself fending off a mercenary army.

delivering the landing to an excellent series and take on the greek myths that really worked for me is The Last Song of Penelope by Claire North

Another smart retelling awaits in Elusive by Genevieve Cogman where again revolutions and the weird myths of the Scarlet Pimpernel but with added vampires creates a very impressive tale.

Moving away into truly strange and inventive fantasy we return to the forests in Warlords of Wyrdwood by RJ Barker and this is an ambitious story doing its own thing and I love to read that matched by Barker’s excellent use of voice to tell stories.

Filled with action and some lovely allegory about colonialism is the powerful Kavithri by Aman J Bedi with an uncompromising main character who wants to do the right thing for her people.

I was also very impressed by The Shetland Witch: Or, Atropos Wants Her Shears Back by Kate Macdonald where greek myths collide with the rich assortment of myths to be found in the Shetland Isles and something very special and interesting awaits!

Who does not like seeing a new Green Man book and The Green Man's War by Juliet E McKenna delivers something different with some of the creepiest villains I’ve read!

The idea of future based fantasy is incredibly explored and the writing is something to savour in We Are All Ghosts In The Forest by Lorraine Wilson