Science fantasy blurs the line between the known and the fantastical, creating uncharted territories of imagination where scientific principles intertwine with magical forces and where futuristic technologies coexist with ancient mystical powers. This curated reading list invites you to traverse the uncharted territories of imagination, where scientific principles intertwine with magical forces, and where futuristic technologies coexist with ancient mystical powers. Science fantasy is a genre (or subgenre) of speculative fiction perfect for readers of science fiction and readers of fantasy.
If you’re a reader of either genre, consider the books from this list when selecting what you’re going to read next. Through these handpicked selections, you'll explore worlds where advanced science and breathtaking fantasy coalesce, offering an enchanting tapestry of stories that challenge the limits of both reality and the human mind. Prepare to be enthralled as you dive into a collection that blurs the line between the known and the fantastical, inviting you to ponder the infinite intricacies of existence itself.
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DB 97319 How Rory Thorne destroyed the multiverse by K. Eason
Annotation: Princess Rory Thorne must use the fairy blessings gifted to her at birth to change the multiverse--or possibly destroy it. When her father is assassinated, Rory is betrothed to a prince of a distant world. She discovers a plot to unseat her betrothed and steal his throne. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2019.
DB 112824 Hell’s gate by David Weber
Annotation: "In the almost two centuries since the discovery of the first interuniversal portal, Arcana has explored scores of other worlds - all of them duplicates of their own. Multiple Earths, virgin planets with a twist, because the ''explorers'' already know where to find all of their vast, untapped natural resources. Worlds beyond worlds, effectively infinite living space and mineral wealth. And in all that time, they have never encountered another intelligent species. No cities, no vast empires, no civilizations, and no equivalent of their own dragons, gryphons, spells, and wizards. But all of that is about to change. It seems there is intelligent life elsewhere in the multiverse. Other human intelligent life, with terrifying new weapons and powers of the mind...and wizards who go by the strange title of ''scientist''." -- Provided by publisher. -- Some violence and some strong language.
DB 103459 The Atlantis gene by A.G. Riddle
Annotation: Off the coast of Antarctica, a research vessel discovers a mysterious structure buried in an iceberg, and a geneticist makes a groundbreaking discovery. When Dr. Kate Warner makes a potentially incredible breakthrough in curing autism, her work might be the key to the next stage of human evolution. Strong language, violence, and some descriptions of sex. Commercial audiobook. 2014.
DB 100906 The midnight library by Matt Haig
Annotation: After she attempts suicide, Nora wakes up in a mysterious library. The shelves are full of books, each the story of another reality. One tells the story of your life as it is, along with other books for the other lives you could have lived. Contains some descriptions of sex, some violence, and strong language. Commercial audiobook. 2020.
DB 97490 Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Annotation: The Emperor has invited the heirs to each House to a deadly trial of wits and skill. If Harrowhark succeeds she will be become an immortal, all-powerful servant of the Resurrection, but every necromancer needs their cavalier. Without Gideon's sword, Harrow will fail, and the Ninth House will die. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2019.
DB 83924 All the birds in the sky by Charlie Jane Anders
Annotation: Patricia and Laurence became friends as children, until her budding powers as a witch and his love of science set them on different paths. Years later they meet again in San Francisco, on opposite sides of efforts to save the planet. Some strong language and some descriptions of sex. Bestseller. 2016.
DB 77063 The iron wyrm affair by Lilith Saintcrow
Annotation: Sorceress Emma Bannon is directed by the spirit of Britannia--via Queen Victrix--to protect mentath Dr. Archibald Clare, an unregistered logic genius, and discover who is behind the deaths of others like him. Clare and Bannon must learn to trust each other to survive. Strong language and some violence. Commercial audiobook. 2012.
DB 82240 The fifth season by N.K. Jemisin
Annotation: Essun is a woman living in a world ruled by the violent tectonic activity it experiences. She comes home to find her husband has killed her son and kidnapped her daughter, all for the secret ability Essun and her children have to control the Earth. Strong language, some violence, and some explicit descriptions of sex. Commercial audiobook. 2015.
DB 85294 Our lady of the ice by Cassandra Rose Clark
Annotation: In Hope City, Antarctica, four individuals shape the city's future. Eliana is a PI searching for passage to the mainland, Diego is a gangster's right-hand man, Marianella is an aristocrat with a dangerous secret, and Sofia is an android who has begun to evolve. Strong language, some violence, and some descriptions of sex. 2015.
DB 108246 Goliath by Tochi Onyebuchi
Annotation: "In his adult novel debut, Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and NAACP Image Award finalist and ALA Alex and New England Book Award winner Tochi Onyebuchi delivers a sweeping science fiction epic in the vein of Samuel R. Delany and Station Eleven. In the 2050s, Earth has begun to empty. Those with the means and the privilege have departed the great cities of the United States for the more comfortable confines of space colonies. Those left behind salvage what they can from the collapsing infrastructure. As they eke out an existence, their neighborhoods are being cannibalized. Brick by brick, their houses are sent to the colonies, what was once a home now a quaint reminder for the colonists of the world that they wrecked. A primal biblical epic flung into the future, Goliath weaves together disparate narratives--a space-dweller looking at New Haven, Connecticut as a chance to reconnect with his spiraling lover; a group of laborers attempting to renew the promises of Earth's crumbling cities; a journalist attempting to capture the violence of the streets; a marshal trying to solve a kidnapping--into a richly urgent mosaic about race, class, gentrification, and who is allowed to be the hero of any history." -- Provided by publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2022.
DB 108151 Kundo wakes up by Saad Z. Hossain
Annotation: "Hundreds of miles away from the techno-utopia of Kathmandu, the all-powerful, all-seeing AI known as Karma has gone silent, leaving the dying city of Chittagong--along with all its remaining residents to continue its inexorable fall into the sea. Kundo, once a famous artist with the Karma points to prove it, goes searching for his missing wife, only to uncover more inexplicable disappearances. And so Kundo and a group of motley companions embark on a tumultuous journey through an overwhelming maze made up of Chittagong's neighborhoods, the hidden backrooms of video game parlors, and the depths of cyberspace, culminating in the realm of the djinn themselves, in search of love, redemption, and a good meal." -- Provided by publisher. -- Strong language. 2022.
DB 96395 The grand dark by Richard Kadrey
Annotation: The Great War is over and the city of Lower Proszawa celebrates peace with a new age of decadence. Largo is an addict with ambition. He meets a contact among the elite who will set him on the course to lift himself up out of the streets. Some descriptions of sex, some strong language, some violence. Commercial audiobook. 2019.