Every year, I try to choose my favorite book releases, and it’s almost always impossible. For now, I’ve narrowed things down to what I think are the best science fiction and fantasy novels of 2023. Read on to discover some of my favorite books of the year!
Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
Loretta Thurwar and Hamara “Hurricane Staxxx” Stacker are the beloved stars of Chain-Gang All-Stars, a televised death-match competition within the controversial Criminal Action Penal Entertainment (CAPE) program. With Loretta just a few wins away from freedom, she tries to preserve the humanity of her fellow prisoners. CAPE’s corporate owners are fiercely protecting the status quo; however, they are placing obstacles in Loretta’s path with devastating consequences.
While Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah isn’t new to the writing world, Chain Gang All Stars is his first novel. This powerful 2023 debut takes the American prison system we know to a whole new level, and Adjei-Brenyah goes all in with visceral fight scenes and passionate dialogue.
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The Strange by Nathan Ballingrud
1931 in New Galveston means hard living for the Mars colonists. When Silas Mundt’s gang steals her mother’s voice and destroys her father’s will, 14-year-old Anabelle Crisp sets out on a quest for vengeance. Joining forces with a local pariah, Anabelle journeys into the wastelands of the Strange.
Combining elements of True Grit and Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles, The Strange is easily one of the best science fiction and fantasy novels of 2023. Nathan Ballingrud writes a visceral revenge quest you won’t want to miss.
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty
After a long career as one of the world’s most well-known and notorious pirates, Amina al-Sirafi has retired. But when the mother of a crewman tracks her down, a comfortable retirement isn’t enough to turn down a fortune. If she retrieves her old friend’s kidnapped daughter, she’ll be set for life. After reuniting with her old crew, Amina learns this is more than a simple kidnapping. It will take run-ins with terrifying monsters, real magic and actual demons to make it back to her family.
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The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi brought to life one of my favorite new characters of 2023. Shannon Chakraborty’s follow-up to the Daevabad Trilogy is the perfect start to an unputdownable, high-stakes fantasy adventure.
The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera
Fetter’s mother raised him to kill his own father, known as the Peaceful and Kind to his cult of followers. After escaping his blood-soaked childhood home, Fetter heads to the city where he can get lost. In Luriat, however, things are more than they seem. Therapy groups recruit revolutionaries, and almost deities lurk around every corner. Then there are the Bright Doors, portals that make Fetter sick to his stomach and that no one understands. With the arrival of the celebrated Peaceful and Kind imminent, will Fetter embrace his destiny or take the chance to rewrite the world?
If you’re looking for an intense, deep book about choosing your own destiny against insurmountable odds, The Saint of Bright Doors is perfect. This is by far my favorite book of the year and easily one of the best science fiction and fantasy novels of 2023. I can’t wait to see what Vajra Chandrasekera comes up with next.
Godkiller by Hannah Kaner
After losing her family to a fire god, Kissen became a godkiller, slaying deities and seeking vengeance for her family’s murder. One day, however, she encounters a god she can’t kill. Skedi, a young god of white lies, is inexplicably bound to the life of a young noble girl named Inara. Kissen reluctantly agrees to help them sever their connection, and together, they set out to Blenraden, where the last of the wild gods dwell. Each seeks a divine favor, but demonic pursuit and a looming civil war hinder their quest at every turn.
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Godkiller may just barely top 300 pages, but it’s still an amazing example of epic fantasy. With a fully-realized, dark and fascinating setting, Hannah Kaner proves you can create a unique and intriguing fantasy world without a huge word count.
The Thick and the Lean by Chana Porter
In the religious town of Seagate, where abstaining from food is seen as a path to God, Beatrice Bolano struggles with her forbidden passion for cooking and desire for indulgent ingredients. As Seagate intensifies its control, Beatrice faces a choice: suppress her love for cooking or leave her only community.
I adore Chana Porter’s writing, and The Thick and the Lean is as profound and strange as her first novel. This book is one I haven’t seen on many lists of the best science fiction and fantasy novels of 2023, but it’s definitely one to look out for.
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Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh
Kyr spent her whole life training to avenge the murder of planet Earth by the Majoda and the Wisdom, their reality-shaping weapon. Kyr is one of the best warriors of her generation, but when Command turns on her, she takes matters into her own hands. Leaving behind everything she’s ever known, Kyr ventures into a universe more complicated than she could have ever imagined.
Many of the best science fiction and fantasy novels are about found family, and Some Desperate Glory is no exception. Emily Tesh’s queer space opera is a relentless and engaging follow-up to her much cozier Greenhollow Duology.
Witch King by Martha Wells
After waking up underwater above his own dead body, it’s safe to say things aren’t going well for Kai. And when he finds out he’s been entombed for a year and his friends have gone missing too, there isn’t much in this world that will stop him from tracking them down alive or exacting his revenge.
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Witch King is incredibly different from Martha Wells’ Murderbot series, but she writes fantasy just as well as science fiction. Blending fast-paced action and a hard magic system with political intrigue and betrayal, this is a standalone novel with plenty of room for more.
Did any of your favorite science fiction and fantasy books of 2023 make the cut? All of the best books of 2023 are available from your local independent bookstore or Bookshop.org. Let us know below, and keep an eye out for even more of GGA’s favorite things of the year!
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