Entertainment
The 6 Best Fantasy Books Released Since 2020, Ranked
The COVID-19 pandemic was but one of the reasons why the 2020s have been absolutely transformative for not just speculative fiction, but literature as a whole—fantasy literature being no exception. From the boom in popularity of the cozy fantasy subgenre, the rise of romantasy through its popularity on social media, a push for more diverse voices and international mythologies, and a dramatic surge in sales, fantasy literature has seen several key evolutions over the course of the 2020s so far. As a natural result of those transformations have come several exceptional books that, a few decades from now, will likely be counted among the greatest works of fantasy from the first half of the 21st century.
Whether we’re talking about a momentous installment in a beloved high fantasy book series, such as The Wisdom of Crowds; an unforgettable standalone title for those not looking to get into any new series, such as Piranesi; or any other sort of fantasy gem, the best books that the genre has delivered since 2020 are all proof of how great of a decade this has thus far been for people who love reading fantasy. These last six years have indeed delivered something exceptional for pretty much any and all sorts of fantasy literature fans, so there’s no excuse to not check out what contemporary times have to offer in this department.
6
‘Piranesi’ (2020)
Piranesi is the second novel by the exceptional English author Susanna Clarke, whose groundbreaking 2004 debut, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, won the 2005 Hugo Award for Best Novel. It was due to a severe case of chronic fatigue syndrome that it took 16 years for the world to be treated to Clarke’s sophomore novel, but the wait was more than worth it. Heavily inspired by the short stories of legendary Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges, Piranesi is written as a journal, following a man who lives alone in a building of infinite size, called The House, whose massive layout he lives to meticulously catalog. People looking for a great standalone fantasy book that requires no series commitment ought to check out Piranesi.
Radically original, profoundly emotional, and powerfully surreal in its fantastical world-building.
Piranesi is just about as close to true perfection as fantasy can come, a beautifully inventive and hypnotically written work whose themes and environment unsurprisingly resonated greatly with readers locked down in quarantine due to the pandemic. Radically original, profoundly emotional, and powerfully surreal in its fantastical world-building, it’s a deep philosophical meditation on themes like identity, the reconstruction of self, and the relationship between humanity and the natural world. The very concept The House was already instantly fascinating on paper, but the way Clarke leverages a unique structure and perfectly-paced prose to elevate that premise makes it all the more admirable.
5
‘Jade Legacy’ (2021)
Fonda Lee has not yet established herself as a true giant of contemporary speculative fiction, but she’s well on her way to doing just that—largely thanks to her incredible Green Bone Saga trilogy, an urban high fantasy story about a family leading a martial arts crime syndicate in a brutal clan war over a rare mineral that grants superhuman powers. The final installment in the series is Jade Legacy, winner of the 2022 Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, where the Kaul family’s struggle for survival transforms into a decades-long global geopolitical conflict over the monopoly of the titular magical resource.
It’s one of the best fantasy books of the 2020s so far, because where many high fantasy trilogy conclusions as action-packed as Jade Legacy end up feeling rushed or overly focused on action, Lee develops her story with remarkable patience. Perfectly paced, hugely ambitious, and emotionally riveting, this fantasy epic has a story that spans the course of a whopping three decades, with some of the most masterfully natural and well-executed use of time jumps in the modern history of fantasy literature. All the character arcs come to satisfying boiling points, the world-building (deeply inspired by different Asian cultures) is phenomenal, and the book’s philosophical meditations are massively effective. All in all, Jade Legacy is a must-read for fans of both high fantasy and urban fantasy.
4
‘Tress of the Emerald Sea’ (2023)
The 21st century has seen many a master of fantasy literature hard at work, but few giants of the genre have been as prolific and successful throughout the last 26 years as Brandon Sanderson. The author and his groundbreaking Cosmere shared universe have completely re-shaped the fantasy genre throughout the 21st century, so it was terribly exciting when Sanderson announced in 2022 that he had written four secret novels during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through a public funding campaign, he released the first of the Secret Projects and the opening installment of the Hoid’s Travails series: Tress of the Emerald Sea, about an ordinary girl who stows away on a ship to rescue her friend from a dangerous sorceress.
Though sometimes categorized as Young Adult fantasy, this masterpiece inspired by William Goldman‘s The Princess Bride can be thoroughly enjoyed by fantasy lovers of all ages, seeing as it’s one of the best high fantasy books of the last five years. It’s an exquisitely subversive fairy tale that feels refreshingly different from the rest of Sanderson’s oeuvre, instead delivering a cozier adventure that’s a total love letter to classic high-seas swashbuckling fantasy. Tress is a delightful protagonist to follow around on her adventures, the magic system and world-building are about as enrapturing as any Sanderson fan would expect, and Hoid’s witty narration is as brilliantly satirical as it is surprisingly deep.
3
‘The Burning God’ (2020)
R. F. Kuang‘s Poppy War trilogy is one of the most significant landmarks in the modern history of grimdark fantasy, a masterful series that maps mid-20th-century Chinese history onto a high fantasy setting in ways that proved nothing short of groundbreaking. The final installment in the series is The Burning God, where fire shaman Rin returns to her home village after surviving betrayal and a brutal civil war. While The Poppy War, the first book in the series, heavily mirrored the Second Sino-Japanese War; and The Dragon Republic, its sequel, shifted the focus to political splintering; The Burning God is a specific parallel of the Chinese Civil War and the early years of the People’s Republic of China.
Deconstructing the archetype of the traditional fantasy hero while masterfully exploring the deepest nuances and intricacies of Chinese history.
However, one doesn’t need to be Chinese, or even be particularly knowledgeable about Chinese history, in order to deeply enjoy The Burning God is a high fantasy fan. It’s one of the best fantasy books of the last 10 years, a brutal tale with a level of commitment to realism and themes of the cyclical trauma of colonization and war that you don’t often see in speculative fiction. Deconstructing the archetype of the traditional fantasy hero while masterfully exploring the deepest nuances and intricacies of Chinese history, Western colonialism, and white supremacy, Kuang delivered a gem that’s bound to be a modern classic a few years from now.
2
‘The Wisdom of Crowds’ (2021)
Joe Abercrombie‘s First Law series is one of the greatest in the modern history of fantasy. Composed of two trilogies, two short story collections, and three standalone novels, it completely revolutionized grimdark fantasy and showed how the genre could be used to deconstruct traditional epic fantasy tropes. The series’ second trilogy is the Age of Madness trilogy, whose final installment, The Wisdom of Crowds, is deemed by some to be Abercrombie’s magnum opus. In it, the collapse of an industrialized empire into mob rule replaces old oppression with a chaotic new form of tyranny. What follows is a big part of the reason why the Age of Madness series could be considered one of the best fantasy book trilogies of all time.
Packed with the brutal cynicism, sharp sense of satirical humor, and brutal realism that makes the entire First Law series and Abercrombie’s oeuvre as a whole so special, Wisdom of Crowds is a masterful study of themes of revolution and the bloody cycle of tyranny which will likely only keep getting better with age. It’s flawlessly subversive and full of complex thematic and narrative layers, bolstered by its fascinating character arcs and exceptional pacing. At over 500 pages in length, the book maintains a relentless sense of momentum through it all, aided by Abercrombie’s biting dark humor and masterful use of shifting points of view.
1
‘Babel’ (2022)
Also known as Babel, or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution, Babel is another masterpiece by the groundbreaking R. F. Kuang, perfect for those who loves the Poppy War trilogy. Set in an alternative fantastical version of Oxford in 1830s England, where Britain’s global supremacy are fueled by the use of magic silver bars, the book is a powerful critique of British imperialism, racism, and relentless capitalism. Politically complex, thematically layered, wonderfully imaginative, and perfectly paced, it’s more than worthy of being hailed as the greatest fantasy book of the 2020s so far.
Babel is one of those fantasy books that are absolutely perfect masterpieces, a magnificently ambitious and meticulously researched fantastical period piece whose vital messages are transmitted with such passion and originality that instead of feeling didactic, they feel genuinely thought-provoking and complex. It’s one of the most revolutionary works that the dark academia genre has ever seen, written with a level of understanding of all of its genres and subgenres that it adds something of tremendous value to each and every one of them. If one wanted to understand what has made 2020s fantasy literature so special over the course of these last six years, there would be no better place to start than Babel.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login