Best Fantasy Books of 2012

Below you will find a list of the fantasy books published in 2012 that we enjoyed most. Click on a book title to read the full review.

Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce

Twenty years ago , sixteen year old Tara Martin took a walk into the mysterious Outwoods in the Charnwood Forest and never came back. Extensive searches and police investigations find no trace and ...

Published: 2012

King of Thorns by Mark Lawrence (Broken Empire: Book 2)

To reach greatness you must step on bodies, and many brothers lie trodden in my wake. I’ve walked from pawn to player and I’ll win this game of ours, though the cost of it may drown the...

Published: 2012

Spellbound by Larry Correia (The Grimnoir Chronicles: Book 2)

Spellbound is a book of high stakes and high consequence. The entertainment value is second to none, so don’t go into this book expecting a gentle introduction to plot, setting and character....

Published: 2012

The Woman Who Died a Lot by Jasper Fforde (Thursday Next: Book 7)

The Woman Who Died a Lot was first published in July 2012, number one best-selling author Jasper Fforde's seventh book in his Thursday Next series. A blend of alternate history and comic fantas...

Published: 2012

Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor (Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy #2)

Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love and dared to imagine a new way of living - one without massacres and torn throats and bonfires of the fallen, without revenants or bastard armies...

Published: 2012

The Compleat Ankh-Morpork City Guide by Terry Pratchett

This Guide is simply a must-have for any Discworld fan. You don’t even need to be a fan of the previously published reference-style editions (such as the Companion’s and Almanak’s...

Published: 2012

The Wind Through The Keyhole by Stephen King (The Dark Tower series: Book 4.5)

Today, to my horror, I realised that I had yet to write up a review for Stephen King's The Wind Through The Keyhole, a book that was one of - if not - the best books I read in 2012. Not all tha...

Published: 2012

Ack-Ack Macaque by Gareth L Powell

In 1944, as waves of German ninjas parachute into Kent, Britain’s best hopes for victory lie with a Spitfire pilot codenamed ‘Ack-Ack Macaque’. The trouble is, Ack-Ack Macaque is ...

Published: 2012

The Silvered by Tanya Huff

The Empire has declared war on the small, were-ruled kingdom of Aydori, capturing five women of the Mage-Pack, including the wife of the were Pack-leader. With the Pack off defending the border, it...

Published: 2012

Shadow Ops: Control Point by Myke Cole (Shadow Ops series: Book 1)

Ryan: As a military officer myself, I feel like I can really relate with Cole and the book he has written. It is a book that accurately portrays military life on a military base, while enhancing it...

Published: 2012

The Brides of Rollrock Island by Margo Lanagan

Rollrock island is a lonely rock of gulls and waves, blunt fishermen and their homely wives. Life is hard for the families who must wring a poor living from the stormy seas. But Rollrock is also a ...

Published: 2012

The Killing Moon by NK Jemisin (Dreamblood duology: Book 1)

In the first of her Dreamblood duology, N K Jemisin presents a vivid world of dreams and reality, sanity and insanity, and the stories of the people caught up within it. It’s a compelling tal...

Published: 2012

Dodger by Terry Pratchett

Come one come all to greatest city in the world. In London, all men are free, the streets are lined with gold and the naughty ladies are friendly to all. In London there are geezers on ever street ...

Published: 2012

Spirit of Fire by Stephen Zimmer (Fires in Eden: Book 3)

Ultimately, this is the strongest entry in the series so far and if Zimmer can learn to trust his audiences to fill in the gaps and use their imaginations more often, he will produce much tauter, s...

Published: 2012

The Shadowed Sun by NK Jemisin (Dreamblood duology: Book 2)

Gujaareh, the city of dreams, suffers under the imperial rule of the Kisuati Protectorate. A city where the only law was peace now knows violence and oppression. And nightmares: a mysterious and de...

Published: 2012

The Necklace of the Gods by Alison Goodman (Eona series: Book 2)

The Necklace of the Gods is well-written, well-structured and steadily paced, with Goodman deftly balancing the intimate character scenes with the heavier, action-laden ones. The final battle is br...

Published: 2012

The Feathered Man by Jeremy de Quidt

In a German town, long ago, lives a tooth-puller’s boy called Klaus. It isn’t Klaus’s fault that he sees his master steal a diamond from the mouth of a dead man in Frau Drecht&rsq...

Published: 2012

Kings of Morning by Paul Kearney (The Macht: Book 3)

Death comes easily in a Kearney book. Nobody is excused the end of a spear or blade, except maybe Rictus who – having read all three books now – stands up as the one character who Kearn...

Published: 2012

The Blinding Knife by Brent Weeks (Lightbringer: Book 2)

I don’t think I’ve enjoyed a fantasy novel quite as much as Week’s second in his “Lightbringer” series. The reason is that his form taps neatly into the great fantasy ...

Published: 2012

The Emperor's Soul by Brandon Sanderson

Shai is a Forger, a foreigner who can flawlessly copy and re-create any item by rewriting its history with skilful magic. Condemned to death after trying to steal the emperor's sceptre, she is ...

Published: 2012

Blackbirds by Chuck Wendig

Miriam Black knows when you will die. Still in her early twenties, she's foreseen hundreds of car crashes, heart attacks, strokes, suicides, and slow deaths by cancer. But when Miriam hitches a...

Published: 2012

Shadow of the Hawk by Curtis Jobling (Wereworld: Book 3)

Everything great about this series is still here; great action, proper adventure, genuinely interesting characters, shades of grey and heart wrenching twists and turns....

Published: 2012

Theft of Swords by Michael J Sullivan (The Riyria Revelations #1)

Michael J. Sullivan is one of the most talked about authors around the fantasy community at the moment. His independently published six book series, The Riyria Revelations, has sold a bucket load o...

Published: 2012

The City's Son by Tom Pollock (The Skyscraper Throne #1)

Imaginative, innovative and bursting with creativity, this is a wonderfully confident debut that will have even the most critical fantasy fans clamouring for more....

Published: 2012

Blue Remembered Earth by Alastair Reynolds (Poseidons Children: Book 1)

The ending just leaves you wanting more. The story itself is complete, but you just want to turn the page and find out what happens next in this Universe, I’ve already pre-ordered the next no...

Published: 2012

Echoes of the Past by Tim Marquitz (Demon Squad: Book 4)

I said that Echoes of the Past is a book of revelations, but as I write this review I am realising this is more a book of transition. There are significant shifts in plot, character, and setting, a...

Published: 2012

Sela by Jackie Gamber (Leland Dragon Series: Book 2)

Peace was fleeting. Vorham Riddess, Venur of Esra Province, covets the crystal ore buried deep in Leland's mountains. His latest device to obtain it: land by marriage to a Leland maiden. But th...

Published: 2012

The Mystic Accountants by Will Macmillan Jones (The Banned Underground: Book 2)

Ultimately this book works because it is a good story and great fun. It respects the genre in which it is set and targets its humour at a range of topics. I look forward to the third in the series,...

Published: 2012

Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris (Southern Vampire Series: Book 13)

A lot of questions which can only be found by reading the book, I have loved this series from the start and can’t wait to find out what will happen in the future, can you?...

Published: 2012

Rise of the TaiGethen by James Barclay (Elves Trilogy: Book 2)

Rise of the TaiGethen is a perfect example of why Barclay is one of the best in the business. Without the historical nuance that Erikson writes, Barclay delivers a book that is nevertheless heart w...

Published: 2012

Bloodhoney by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell (Wyrmeweald: Book 2)

I'm a little late getting to reading and reviewing the second book in the trilogy (it was released seven months ago) but am very glad to have at last found the time. Stewart & Riddell are t...

Published: 2012

Nest of Serpents by Curtis Jobling (Wereworld: Book 4)

The fourth in the Wereworld saga continues to deliver action and adventure in abundance. There are twists and turns and some pleasant surprises. Jobling has found his stride, and we feel like we...

Published: 2012

Alif the Unseen by G Willow Wilson

He calls himself Alif - few people know his real name - a young man born in a Middle Eastern city that straddles the ancient and modern worlds. When Alif meets the aristocratic Intisar, he believes...

Published: 2012

Tomorrow the Killing by Daniel Polansky (Low Town: Book 2)

Tomorrow the Killing is a great addition to the Low Town series, and I was more than pleased to see the past of Warden and that is pretty gruesome and dark. The continuation of the dark and gritty ...

Published: 2012

A Blink of the Screen by Terry Pratchett ()

A Blink of the Screen charts the course of Pratchett's long writing career: from his schooldays through to his first writing job on the Bucks Free Press,; to the origins of his debut novel, The...

Published: 2012

The World of Poo by Terry Pratchett

Whether you have an adventuresome young boy (or girl) or a love of anything Pratchett then you will most definitely relish this book....

Published: 2012

Endless by Matt Bone (Crescent: Book 1)

After an inexplicable catastrophe on Earth, John Bridgeman is left to scrap out a solitary existence, surrounded by bodies and haunted by the girlfriend he cannot allow to die. His headaches are in...

Published: 2012

Conception by Matthew Sturges

Volume 7 is called Conception, Fig who we have been following through the House of Mystery, seeing how all these stories have been weaving together is now on her own and having to face her fears, w...

Published: 2012

One Hundred Years of Vicissitude by Andrez Bergen

This book is by turns educational, inspiring, traumatic and humorous. It is also one of the best books I have read this year. So, if you are looking for an extremely alternate take on a Christmas C...

Published: 2012

Legion: Skin Deep by Brandon Sanderson (Legion series #2)

Leeds is a genius; his mind contains too much information. And to cope it has split his skills off into individual personalities. They crowd his head, and he lives with them in a vast, empty mansio...

Published: 2012

Dragon Lords Rising by Lucinda Hare (The Dragonsdome Chronicles: Book 3)

Anyone who has read the first two books will be glad to know that time is still divided up into amazingly named segments (such as ‘at the hour of the dozy hedgehog’) and that characters...

Published: 2012

Redeye by James Lovegrove (Redlaw series #2)

Redlaw: Redeye is a good book but compared to the first book, there was just a bit less magic to it. Though the action, the battle and the persona of John are still great as well as the introductio...

Published: 2012

The Last Policeman by Ben H Winters (The Last Policeman Trilogy #1)

What's the point in solving murders if we're all going to die soon, anyway? Detective Hank Palace has faced this question ever since asteroid 2011GV1 hovered into view. There's no chanc...

Published: 2012

Three Parts Dead by Max Gladstone

A god has died, and it's up to Tara, first-year associate in the international necromantic firm of Kelethres, Albrecht, and Ao, to bring Him back to life before His city falls apart. Her client...

Published: 2012

Hemlock Grove by Brian McGreevy

The body of a young girl is found mangled and murdered in the woods of Hemlock Grove, Pennsylvania, in the shadow of the abandoned Godfrey Steel mill. A manhunt ensues - though the authorities aren...

Published: 2012

Insurgent by Veronica Roth (Divergent Trilogy #2)

Veronica Roth's bestselling Divergent seemed to take the world by surprise, an unexpected book that happened to be released at just the right time to resonate with audiences and critics alike. ...

Published: 2012

Crossed Blades by Kelly McCullough (A Fallen Blade Novel #3)

Aral was an assassin and sorcerer in the service of Namara, one of her Blades of Justice. Then his goddess was murdered, her temple destroyed and her followers slain or driven into hiding. For six ...

Published: 2012

Harvest by William Horwood (Hyddenworld: Book 3)

It is August, time of the first harvest, traditional time of plenty. But at the farthest reaches of the Hyddenworld, in sea-bound Englalond, disaster looms. A blight in the land is growing, marked ...

Published: 2012

Besieged by Rowena Cory Daniells (Outcast Chronicles: Book 1)

Sorne, the estranged son of a King on the verge of madness, is being raised as a weapon to wield against the mystical Wyrds. Half a continent away, his father is planning to lay siege to the Celest...

Published: 2012

The Janus Affair by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris (A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences #2)

Similarly to Phoenix Rising, the steampunk element is not to be missed, from lococycles to automatons, ornithopters and cyborgs with firearms hidden in prosthetics. I did feel the shift from focusi...

Published: 2012

Immortal City by Scott Spear

What if angels not only walked among us - but were our celebrities? What if they saved people for money? That's the reality in Angel City, where hot young Jackson Godspeed is the angel everyone...

Published: 2012