December 2025 list by Bonnie Bradford |
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The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2025
by Nnedi Okorafor, editor
Of science fiction and fantasy, guest editor Nnedi Okorafor writes, “There are times when it feels like a box, but within it, technically, you can expect anything.” The twenty stories in this collection simultaneously fulfill and defy expectations of genre, showcasing boundary-pushing authors at their best.
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Blood for the Undying Throne
by Sung-Il Kim
Nothing can stop the Empire’s insatiable conquest.
Not gods, not dragons, not armies.
But heroes still rise.
Bleeding Empire series.
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The Door on the Sea
by Caskey Russell
When Elan trapped a salmon-stealing raven in his cupboard, he never expected it would hold the key to saving his people from the shapeshifting invaders plaguing their shores. In exchange for its freedom, the raven offers a secret that can save Elan's home. Raven and Eagle series.
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The Finest Edge of Twilight
by R. A. Salvatore
My name is not Drizzt's daughter!
Breezy Do’Urden , te daughter of legendary Dungeons & Dragons adventurers Drizzt Do'Urden and Catti-brie fights to build her own legacy in a brand-new series.
Dungeons & Dragons series.
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The High Heaven
by Joshua Wheeler
Inspired by the true story of a UFO cult in a village near White Sands, this novel traces Izzy Gently's whole life: from early tragedy, through addiction and a rich cast of eccentrics in Texas, to New Orleans, where Izzy is haunted by her past even as she uses lessons from childhood to counsel people who have lost the ability to see the moon.
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Higher Magic
by Courtney Floyd
Dorothe Bartleby, a struggling mage student, with intense anxiety is struggling to prove that classic literature contained magic--while learning to wield her own stories to change her institution for the better.
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Hole in the Sky
by Daniel H. Wilson
On the Great Plains of Oklahoma, in the heart of the Cherokee Nation, a strange atmospheric disturbance is noticed by Jim Hardgray. Then, in an undisclosed bunker somewhere in the United States, a threat forecaster known only as the Man Downstairs sends a message directly to the president: “First contact imminent.”
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The Isle in the Silver Sea
by Tasha Suri
In an England fueled by stories, the knight and the witch are fated to fall in love and doom each other over and over, the same tale retold over hundreds of lifetimes. As they seek a way to break the cycle, the two will need to write a story stronger than the one that fate has given to them. But what tale is stronger than The Knight and the Witch?
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The Keeper of Magical Things
by Julie Leong
Certainty Bulrush wants to be useful—to the Guild of Mages that took her in as a novice, to the little brother who depends on her, and to anyone else she can help. Unfortunately, her tepid magic hasn’t proven much use to anyone... until she's assigned to work with Mage Aurelia.
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Legalist
by L. E. Modesitt, Jr.
Fifty years after the establishment of the Imperium, and 450 years before the events of Isolate, Dominic Mikail Ysella must build a coalition within the Council and quietly draft a new constitution to save the Imperium from itself. Grand Illusion series.
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The Lost Reliquary
by Lyndsay Ely
The Devoted Lands was once home to many gods. Now, after centuries of brutal wars, only Tempestra-Innara, the Enduring Flame, remains. As a divine warrior, Lys is outwardly loyal to her goddess. If she dreams of deicide and freedom, well, that’s her business. Divine Thrall series.
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The Mist Thief
by LJ Andrews
Skadi first met her husband-to-be with blades in hand on the opposite side of a battle. She tried to kill him, so he made her his wife. She lost, and he claimed his prize. It should be easy to hate him...except her new husband makes not falling in love, well, challenging. Ever Seas series.
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No Life Forsaken
by Steven Erikson
Amidst the ashes of a failed rebellion in Seven Cities, new embers are flaring to life. There are furrowed brows at the beleaguered Malazan Legion headquarters in G’danisban, for it would appear that yet another bloody clash with the revived cult of the Apocalyptic is coming to a head. Witness trilogy.
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The Ordeals
by Rachel Greenlaw
Sophia DeWinter has only known life bound by a blood bond to her cruel uncle, the Collector. When she learns of Killmarth College, an elite academy for magic wielders outside of the Collector’s control, she knows it is her only chance to finally break free. But to gain entry, she will have to compete in a series of brutal trials that many hopefuls don’t survive—the Ordeals.
Killmarth Trials series.
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Queen Demon
by Martha Wells
Kai, the Witch King, along with his companions Ziede and Tahren, travel with to the university of Ancartre in search of the elusive Hierarchs' Well. Can Kai stop the rise of a new Hierarch? And can he trust his companions to do what’s right? Rising World series.
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The Sword of Light
by Heather Graham
The mystical Tuatha Dâe Danann walked the hills of ancient Ireland long before the first king ever ruled. Before they made way for mankind, they left behind objects of incredible power that would reveal themselves when most needed. When invaders from the North arrive, it feels like the moment that has long been foretold has finally come.
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When They Burned the Butterfly
by Wen-Yi Lee
Singapore, 1972: Newly independent and grappling for power in a fast-modernizing world. Here, gangsters in Chinese secret societies are the last conduits of their ancestors' migrant gods, and the back alleys where they fight are the last place magic has not been assimilated and legislated away.
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The Works of Vermin
by Hiron Ennes
As an exterminator, Guy hunts the uncanny pests that crawl up from the river into his city. His latest quarry is a worm the size of a dragon with a deadly venom and a ravenous taste for artwork. No sane person would hunt it--if they had the choice. Guy doesn't have a choice...
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