Take a photo of a barcode or cover
Illumicrate's 100 Best Sci-Fi, Fantasy, & Horror Books of the 21st Century
122 participants (100 books)
Overview
Per Illumicrate:
To mark the first 25 years of the 21st Century, earlier this year the New York Times published its ‘100 Best Books of the 21st Century’, as voted on by industry professionals, “determining the most important, influential books of the era”. While both a huge undertaking and an incredible list, as genre fiction readers and lovers here at Illumicrate, we found the list didn’t quite… float our boat.
In the time since its publication, we (The Illumiteam) have taken it upon ourselves to nominate, vote and rank what we believe to be the best and most impactful Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror (SFFH) books published in the 21st Century.
We hope this list resonates with our customer base and you can be reminded of some nostalgic favourites worth re-reading and more recent releases we think are worth picking up!
Article here: https://www.illumicrate.com/news/100-best-sci-fi-fantasy-horror-books
* many of these are series, so only the first book has been added to the challenge
* many of these are series, so only the first book has been added to the challenge
Illumicrate's 100 Best Sci-Fi, Fantasy, & Horror Books of the 21st Century
122 participants (100 books)
Overview
Per Illumicrate:
To mark the first 25 years of the 21st Century, earlier this year the New York Times published its ‘100 Best Books of the 21st Century’, as voted on by industry professionals, “determining the most important, influential books of the era”. While both a huge undertaking and an incredible list, as genre fiction readers and lovers here at Illumicrate, we found the list didn’t quite… float our boat.
In the time since its publication, we (The Illumiteam) have taken it upon ourselves to nominate, vote and rank what we believe to be the best and most impactful Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror (SFFH) books published in the 21st Century.
We hope this list resonates with our customer base and you can be reminded of some nostalgic favourites worth re-reading and more recent releases we think are worth picking up!
Article here: https://www.illumicrate.com/news/100-best-sci-fi-fantasy-horror-books
* many of these are series, so only the first book has been added to the challenge
* many of these are series, so only the first book has been added to the challenge
Challenge Books
61
A Discovery of Witches
Deborah Harkness
All Souls series by Deborah Harkness (2011)
Diana Bishop, a historian and witch, uncovers an ancient manuscript revealing magical secrets, thrusting her into a world of witches, vampires, and daemons. While her forbidden romance with a vampire blossoms, she navigates dangers and threats to the mortal world both past and present.
“As far as I can tell there are only two emotions that keep the world spinning year after year… One is fear. The other is desire.”
Heather says: A wonderfully complex and magical world, with a wide array of characters and creatures all balancing very real emotions and challenges with politics and desire at the heart of everything.
Jane says: This series is full of everything I love in a fantasy book. It snuck onto my reading list under the guise of a simple, romantic supernatural book with the promise of witches and vampires, but I quickly fell into a world rich with magic and brilliantly complex characters. With a storyline that intertwines and strong character development, you truly feel like you’ve been on a journey by the time you reach the end of book three.
62
The Spirit Bares Its Teeth
Andrew Joseph White
The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White (2023)
After failing to escape an arranged marriage, 16-year-old trans boy Silas is sent to a sanatorium where girls are turned into perfect wives or disappear. When the ghosts of the missing girls haunt him, he must uncover the truth to avoid vanishing himself.
“I want to take myself apart into something else, and if I cannot do that, I want to destroy every part of it that could ever be used against me.”
63
The Knife of Never Letting Go
Patrick Ness
The Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness (2008)
In a town of only men where everyone can hear each other’s thoughts, Todd is on the cusp of manhood and senses that the town is hiding something. After discovering a mysterious girl and a hidden truth that challenges the oppressive society he’s known all his life, he goes on a journey of rebellion and self-discovery.
“But a knife ain’t just a thing, is it? It’s a choice, it’s something you do. A knife says yes or no, cut or not, die or don’t. A knife takes a decision out of your hand and puts it in the world and it never goes back again.”
Tazmyn says: This series consolidated Patrick Ness as one of my favourite writers. He doesn’t talk down to or simplify the travesties of life for his teenage audience, instead, he demonstrates just how awful humans have the capacity to be while showing them that they can survive anything if they love hard enough.
64
Uprooted
Naomi Novik
Uprooted by Naomi Novik (2015)
When Agnieszka is chosen to serve a powerful wizard known as the Dragon, she must learn magic and help defend her village from the dark, corrupting forces of the evil forest threatening their land.
“She’d remembered the wrong things, and forgotten too much. She’d remembered how to kill and how to hate, and she’d forgotten how to grow.”
Ellie says: Naomi Novik is an icon and if you’ve read their backlog of works, you know how adeptly they can move between types and areas of fantasy. In Uprooted, their ability to weave a compelling standalone story shines, and their talent at subtle, intricate, slow-burn romance dynamics is shown off too. It’s a popular fantasy novel for a reason and undoubtedly will become a classic.
65
The Three-Body Problem
Cixin Liu
Remembrance of Earth’s Past series by Cixin Liu (2006)
Translated to English by Ken Liu
Weaving politics, physics and humanity’s role in the universe, the series explores the potential existential threat posed by newly discovered alien life. It follows two perspectives: one during China’s Cultural Revolution, where choices impact humanity’s future, and the other a present-day professor investigating a series of mysterious scientist suicides.
“It was impossible to expect a moral awakening from humankind itself, just like it was impossible to expect humans to lift off the earth by pulling up on their own hair. To achieve moral awakening required a force outside the human race.”
66
Never Let Me Go
Kazuo Ishiguro
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (2005)
Three friends growing up in a secluded boarding school slowly realise that they are clones being raised for organ donation.
“We took away your art because we thought it would reveal your souls. Or to put it more finely, we did it to prove you had souls at all.”
67
A Monster Calls
Patrick Ness
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness & Siobhan Dowd (2015)
Conor, a young boy, is visited by a monster during the night as he struggles to cope with his mother’s terminal illness.
“Stories are wild creatures, the monster said. When you let them loose, who knows what havoc they might wreak?“
The unique narrative structure and portrayal of a young boy’s struggle with his mother’s terminal illness have resonated widely, influencing how fiction addresses difficult and sensitive topics, and setting a new standard for blending narrative and visual storytelling in literature.
Rayna says: I can’t look at the cover of this book without tears coming to my eyes. Breathtakingly brilliant and harrowingly heartbreaking, I highly encourage everyone to get the illustrated Jim Kay version as the illustrations just add another level to the experience of this book. I spent five minutes crying over a devastating two-page spread.
Tazmyn says: Children’s books are often looked over when discussing the “best books of”, but Patrick Ness demonstrates time and time again that young people are not to be spoken down to. This beautiful tale, both magical and devastating, shows us that grief can hit at unpredictable times and there is no one way to deal with the loss of a loved one.
68
Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries
Heather Fawcett
Emily Wilde series by Heather Fawcett (2023)
The adventures of Emily Wilde, a scholar of faeries, as she travels to remote locations to study them, uncovering secrets and forming unexpected friendships.
“Perhaps it is always restful to be around someone who does not expect anything from you beyond what is in your nature.”
Tori says: Emily Wilde is cosy perfection. Genuinely, there are moments in this series when I laughed out loud. Emily is such an endearing, wonderful character who is persistent and inventive the whole way through.
69
The Lies of Locke Lamora
Scott Lynch
Gentleman Bastard Sequence by Scott Lynch (2006)
Locke Lamora, a con artist and master thief in a dangerous fantasy city, pulls off elaborate heists with his band of thieves while facing powerful enemies and navigating intricate schemes.
“There’s no freedom quite like the freedom of being constantly underestimated.”
70
A Deadly Education
Naomi Novik
The Scholomance series by Naomi Novik (2020)
El, a powerful but misunderstood student at a deadly magical school, struggles against her dark destiny while forming unlikely friendships, uncovering secrets, and battling monsters and dangerous magic.
“I decided that Orion needed to die after the second time he saved my life.”
71
Project Hail Mary
Andy Weir
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (2021)
A lone astronaut wakes up on a spaceship with no memory, tasked with saving Earth from an extinction-level threat. As he pieces together his mission, he forms an unexpected alliance with an alien being, and together, they race against time to find a solution.
“I spend a lot of time un-suiciding this suicide mission.”
Akash says: I did not think Andy Weir could top anything after The Martian. Oh, how I was wrong as this book has everything The Martian had and more including falling in love with an unexpected character that you would not think you would. This is one of my favourite sci-fi books and recommend it to anyone that has not read it.
72
A Master of Djinn
P. Djèlí Clark
Dead Djinn Universe by P. Djèlí Clark (2021)
In an alternate 1912 Cairo, Fatma el-Sha’arawi, an agent of the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments, and Supernatural Entities, investigates a mysterious murder that could unravel the balance of the magical and mundane worlds.
“No one who lives here is stupid or gullible. They’re just tired of the exploitation. Tired of being ignored. Desperate ears will listen to anyone offering up others to blame.”