Best Fantasy Books of 2013

Below you will find a list of the fantasy books published in 2013 that we enjoyed most. Click on a book title to read the full review.

The Aylesford Skull by James P Blaylock (A Tale of Langdon St. Ives #1)

The Aylesford Skull is for me a piece of art. James P. Blaylock has created a truly magical story, where most authors who write steampunk go for a direction of a more bold and brash steampunk setti...

Published: 2013

Emperor of Thorns by Mark Lawrence (Broken Empire: Book 3)

The path to the throne is broken – only the broken can walk it. The world is cracked and time has run through, leaving us clutching at the end days. These are the days that have waited for us...

Published: 2013

Shadow Ops: Fortress Frontier by Myke Cole (Shadow Ops series: Book 2)

Okay, I'm almost done gushing. Fortress Frontier is an excellent book, one that hits all the right notes for me. There might be a few people this type of book doesn't work for, the military...

Published: 2013

Beyond The Veil by Tim Marquitz (Demon Squad: Book 5)

With Beyond The Veil, Marquitz is keeping the Demon Squad series up there amongst The Dresden Files, The Iron Druid Chronicles, and Sandman Slim as some of the best urban fantasy available. While t...

Published: 2013

The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes

There are so many questions which lead you into dark places including: How does someone make the decision to kill people? Can a first kill be an accident? Does violence always escalate? Lauren Beuk...

Published: 2013

The Treasury of the Fantastic by David Sandner and Jacob Weisman

Ryan: The Treasury of the Fantastic is an amazing collection of 44 poems, short stories and novellas, all fantasy related, all published before 1923. The anthology editors, David Sandner and Jacob ...

Published: 2013

Ghost Hawk by Susan Cooper

In the winter of his eleventh year, Little Hawk goes deep into the forest, where he must endure a three-month test of solitude and survival which will turn him into a man. But outside the woods, th...

Published: 2013

The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch (The Gentleman Bastard Sequence: Book 3)

The Republic of Thieves is not the explosive return that many people are probably hoping for, but it is still one of the best books I have read this year. There are problems with pacing and the amb...

Published: 2013

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Ryan: An intimate trip down memory lane to a time when things were much more fantastical than what they are now. This a story that is simple on the surface, but with a depth of immersion that depen...

Published: 2013

Winter by William Horwood (Hyddenworld: Book 4)

Storms rage as the worst winter in living memory ravages the human and Hydden worlds. The prophesied End of Days is here and the universe is dying, yet only a few are even aware of the forces at wo...

Published: 2013

The Golem and the Djinni by Helene Wecker

Helene Wecker writes elegantly and fluently, her characters are constantly fascinating and exploring their histories is a joy. The main setting and the narrative evoke wonderful images of nineteent...

Published: 2013

The Tragedy Paper by Elizabeth LaBan

Every year at an exclusive private boarding school in New York state, the graduating students uphold an old tradition – they must swear an oath of secrecy and leave behind a “treasure&r...

Published: 2013

The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud (Lockwood & Co #1)

The five books that make up the Lockwood & Co series are so good that's I'm currently re-reading them all. I also hold The Bartimaeus Trilogy and stand-alone novel Heroes of the Valley ...

Published: 2013

Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami

Tsukuru Tazaki had four best friends at school. By chance all of their names contained a colour. The two boys were called Akamatsu, meaning ‘red pine’, and Oumi, ‘blue sea’,...

Published: 2013

Pantomime by Laura Lam

R.H. Ragona's Circus of Magic is the greatest circus of Ellada. Nestled among the glowing blue Penglass - remnants of a mysterious civilisation long gone - are wonders beyond the wildest imagin...

Published: 2013

The Art of War by MC Scott (Rome: Book 4)

The novel is what I have come to expect of Manda Scott. It is different in style to her previous outing with Pantera. Personally, I prefer this style. The next will inevitably be different again. F...

Published: 2013

Poison by Sarah Pinborough

It’s Snow White, but not as you know her... Take a wicked queen, a handsome prince, a beautiful princess, and a poisoned apple... and now read the true story of Snow White, told the way it al...

Published: 2013

No Return by Zachary Jernigan

On Jeroun, there is no question as to whether God exists--only what his intentions are. Under the looming judgment of Adrash and his ultimate weapon--a string of spinning spheres beside the moon kn...

Published: 2013

Deadbeat - Makes You Stronger by Guy Adams

Max and Tom are old, old friends, who used to be actors. Tom now owns a jazz nightclub called Deadbeat which, as well as being their source of income, is also something of an in-joke. In a churchya...

Published: 2013

Dreaming Of Zhou Gong by Traci Harding (Time Keeper Trilogy #1)

Harding should be praised for bringing something original and organic to the fantasy genre, and taking a chance on an ancient chinese backdrop more than pays off. If you are tired of reading the sa...

Published: 2013

The Year of the Ladybird by Graham Joyce

It is the summer of 1976, the hottest since records began and a young man leaves behind his student days and learns how to grow up. A first job in a holiday camp beckons. But with political and rac...

Published: 2013

Ninja: Death Touch by Chris Bradford (Ninja Trilogy #1)

Ninja: Death Touch is a fun, dangerous adventure where Lord Oda could be victorious in battle if Taka and his friends can't fend off his ruthless army. I liked the death touch aspects of the st...

Published: 2013

Chosen by Benedict Jacka (Alex Verus series: Book 4)

In writing this fourth book in his Alex Verus series, Benedict Jacka has written the most powerful and emotionally gripping entry into the series as well. Jacka has visibly grown as an author over ...

Published: 2013

When the world was flat (And we were in love) by Ingrid Jonach

When sixteen-year-old Lillie Hart meets the gorgeous and mysterious Tom Windsor-Smith for the first time, it’s like fireworks — for her, anyway. Tom looks as if he would be more interes...

Published: 2013

Control by Kim Curran (Shift series #2)

Control improves on every aspect of Shift, just like a good sequel is supposed to do. It was a little slow in the middle but Curran seriously knocked the ending out of the ball park. The biggest pr...

Published: 2013

The Clown Service by Guy Adams (The Clown Service #1)

The Department: Section 37 Station Office, Wood Green. The Boss: August Shining, an ex-Cambridge, Cold War-era spy. The Mission: Charged with protecting Great Britain and its interests from paranor...

Published: 2013

Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett (The Discworld Series: Book 40)

Terry Pratchett is simply one of the greatest writers to have ever lived. His prose, humour, insight, and imagination are individually rare in current literature, and absolutely unparalleled when c...

Published: 2013

The Rabbit Back Literature Society by Pasi Ilmari Jaaskelainen

Only very special people are chosen by children's author Laura White to join 'The Society', an elite group of writers in the small town of Rabbit Back. Now a tenth member has been selec...

Published: 2013

Blood Song by Anthony Ryan (Raven's Shadow: Book 1)

JJoshua: Beautifully written, wonderfully cast and populated, Anthony Ryan does indeed seem to be placing himself as one of the next master storytellers. The characters are brilliant, at once ...

Published: 2013

The Fell Sword by Miles Cameron (The Traitor Son Cycle #2)

Loyalty costs money. Betrayal, on the other hand, is free. When the Emperor is taken hostage, the Red Knight and his men find their services in high demand - and themselves surrounded by enemies. T...

Published: 2013

Dangerous Women by George RR Martin

Filled with the fantasy genres biggest names (and, I believe, big names from other genres), this anthology manages to compile together some of the best short stories around.George R.R. Marti...

Published: 2013

The Deaths of Tao by Wesley Chu (Tao #2)

The Prophus and the Genjix are at war. For centuries they have sought a way off-planet, guiding humanity's social and technological development to the stage where space travel is possible. The ...

Published: 2013

Drakenfeld by Mark Charan Newton

The monarchies of the Royal Vispasian Union have been bound together for two hundred years by laws maintained and enforced by the powerful Sun Chamber. As a result, nations have flourished but corr...

Published: 2013

Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft (The Books of Babel #1)

An extraordinary debut that is well worthy of the hype. A beautifully written, highly engaging page-turning masterpiece where I was on Tom's side every step of the way. This isn't the ...

Published: 2013

Cold Steel by Kate Elliott (Spiritwalker: Book 3)

Trouble, treachery and magic seem to follow Cat Barahal wherever she goes. The Master of the Wild Hunt has stolen away her husband. The ruler of the Taino kingdom blames her for his mother's mu...

Published: 2013

Countdown City by Ben H Winters (The Last Policeman Trilogy #2)

Countdown City explores themes and asks the questions that every good work of dystopian should: How would people behave? What would happen to society? Would shops stay open? Would food be easily av...

Published: 2013