On our latest Friday Conversation episode, the group lists our top 5 books for the first half of 2025. Read the list below and listen out the audio version here.
Jarrod (The Fantasy Thinker on YouTube):
5. Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro – AI sci-fi tale with some real heart told from the POV of the AI.
4. A Pack of Wolves by P.L. Stuart– book 5 in the Drowned Kingdom Saga. Probably the best self-published fantasy out there.
3. The Great When by Alan Moore– the 1st book in a new fantasy series by the writer of Watchmen. Fantastic magical mystery tour of late 1940s London.
2. Midnight’s Children by Salmon Rushdie– highly literate and complex themes with lots of humor and magical realism. May be a contender for best of the year once it simmers.
1. Stormed Fortress by Janny Wurts– Book 8 in The Wars of Light and Shadow epic fantasy series. The final book in the Alliance of Light story arc. One of the best endings I’ve ever read.
Jose’s Amazing Worlds of Fantasy
5 – Sunset Swing by Ray Celestin – A crime novel set in 60s L. A. featuring Mobsters, Hollywood, the MK-Ultra project, Louis Armstrong, the C.I.A. funding of the drug trade in South America and a great deal of sleuthing. The most rounded of the four books comprising the City Blues Quartet but also working fantastically as a stand alone. A fun ride!
4 – Wyrd Systers by Terry Pratchett – The first entry of the wonderful Discworld series featuring the witches coven of Granny, Nanny and Magrat. Literary references galore, witty dialogue, observations about the human condition and a good deal of headology. Oh, and we almost got a rendition of that great pub song “The Hedgehog Can´t Be Buggered”!
3 – Guards! Guards! – The eighth entry into the Discworld series and first to feature the City Watch characters. The Discworld is almost settled and the series comes into his own, making it the most unique and wonderful series in fantasy fiction. Dragons, kings in exile, love lost and found, other dimensions and a couple of references to Dirty Harry and Casablanca, impossible not to like!
2 – Boinas Verdes: De Commandos a Pyro Studios: Un Turbulento Viaje del Estrellato al Olvido. A journalistic work with first hand accounts of the creators of the Commandos computer game series, a worldwide hit from a country with an almost non existing computer games industry and lack of talent. An unexpected rise to the top spawning a whole new gaming genre and its eventual death by its inability to deal with sucess.
1 – Como Agua Para Chocolate (Like Water for Chocolate) by Laura Esquivel – One of the maximum exponents of South American Magical Realism. Tita, being the youngest daughter of the owner of a hacienda, is destined to look after her mother and denied the love and life she craves. She pours all her emotions into the meals she cooks for everyone in the household, inadvertedly affecting the behaviour of everyone that eats her food. Forbidden love, the Mexican revolution, parent-child relationships sprinkled with a little bit of the unexplainable and supernatural that makes this novel a joy to read.
5. Battle Ground by Jim Butcher (The Dresden Files #17) – Another great entry in the Dresden series and one of the most fast-paced and tragically violent. About 80% of the book is a non-stop battle. Gripping all the way through.
4. Emphyrio by Jack Vance – Part of the Sci-fi Masterwork series. This is a philosophical and heartfelt hero’s journey with lots of interesting twists and turns and an unforgettable, uplifting ending.
3. The Devils by Joe Abercrombie – Pure entertainment and fantastical mayhem. But under all the jokes and tropes there’s a pretty bold, psychologically charged, and clever narrative filled with references most ‘modern’ readers will likely miss.
2. Watchmen by Alan Moore. – Fucking brilliant. By far the best graphic novel I’ve ever read.
1. Lonesome Dove by Larry Mcmurtry – Grim… so grim. And so well-written. The characterisation is outstanding. Its wit and humour is only matched by its tragedy. One of the best books I’ve ever read. Instant favourite.
Honourable mention:
The Rot by Laeth – A blend of magic realism with cosmic horror. Highly imaginative and immersive. Leath has such an unique writing style and approach to storytelling, you’ll never read anything like it.
In no particular order:
–Yestermorrow by Frasier Armitage– A Prelude to New Yesterday is a fast-paced action-filled science fiction novella, following a father trying to save his daughter and the lengths to which he’ll go to do so. Posing the questions: If you could change the past, where’s your line? How far is too far? And is it worth it?
–The Iron Crown by L.L. MacRae– Book one of the Dragon Spirits, The Iron Crown is an epic fantasy of the highest degree. With darkness, humor, heart, loveable (and hateable) characters in a vivid setting, it is an immersive tale that pulls the reader in and doesn’t let up until it’s done and you’re scrambling for book two.
–Residuum by DB Rook– A Darkening Dawn novella, Residuum is the abomination formed when a lab disaster erupts, fusing Terminator and Black Mirror into an eldritch nightmare, all seen through the bleary haze of, I don’t know… Time Bandits? If you’re looking for a dystopian science fiction horror turned fun space adventure, read this!
–The Hallows by H.L. Tinsley– A gritty noir laced with humor and loveable characters in an interesting setting: gun fights, floating, ass-kicking nuns, monsters, some nasty come downs, tight friendships, an awesome set of lore… just a straight up unique, interesting story and my absolute favorite crew of characters.
–Hall of Bones by Tim Hardie– Book one in the Brotherhood of the Eagle, is a sprawling, Norse-inspired epic full of excellent characters, deep lore, a rich history, weird magic, political intrigue, this book has it all and executes it masterfully. And it’s only the first book in the series!
–Dance With Me by Livia J Elliot– Book one of Tales of the Bookshelves is a fairy tale exploration of trauma woven with impeccable talent and care. It’s dark. It’s harrowing. It’s beautiful. And perhaps most importantly, it’s hopeful.
Karl:
I’ve had the Revelation Space series by Alastair Reynolds for some time now and I don’t know what took me so long to get to it, talk about world building, take that a giant step further with universe building. Cracking first book. Looking forward to continuing the series.
The Lost Book Shop by Evie Woods, nice little book so I thought while reading it, quaint was a word I was using for it. Having had time to digest it, I think so much more of it now than just quaint. A book lovers book … I likes it.
Never Flinch – Stephen King. His recurring character Holly Gibney receives a lot of slack, unfairly so in my opinion. Enjoyed every minute with this one.
Loving the Jack Reacher series on Prime so I am surprised at myself for not getting to the books before this year. Book one Killing Floor by Lee Child. Looking forward to diving back into this series.
Was looking forward to reading Upgrade by Blake Crouch especially given how good previous books Dark Matter and Recursion are. Didn’t quite live up to those two other books but still good enough to make a top of list for the first half of this year.
My most anticipated read of the year will be coming early on in the second half of the year. London Rules by Mick Herron … part of the Slow Horses / Slough House series.
5. The Sacrificers by Rick Remender, Max Fiumara and Dave McCaig – From start to finish every issue has been fantastic. The artwork does a lot of heavy lifting in telling the story and our main characters arc has been nothing short of stunning. Actions have consequences and while you think you are enacting revenge and making the world better, it turns out not everyone wants the world to change and you hurt the same people you’re trying to save.
4. Assorted Crisis Events by Deniz Camp and Eric Zawadzki – Time is having a crisis, and we follow the people trying to still live their lives while assaulted by time loops, alternate realities and different versions of themselves appearing. The setup alone is compelling, but what Camp and Zawadzki have done with this setup is something I haven’t seen done in comics in a long time – maybe ever. They are telling deeply personal and emotional stories that leave me thinking for weeks after.
3. The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy -The second book in the Border Trilogy is almost as good as the first. A coming of age story that explores life, revenge, redemption, forgiveness and the human spirit. I’m starting to really click with McCarthy’s writing style and I’m absolutely hooked. The last page gutted me.
2. The Scroungers by Thomas J. Devens – I was in a bit of a reading funk when I picked up The Scroungers. It’s a novella that follows a soldiers from different sides of a battle start to question what they are fighting for when the royals are dead. So they decide to put down their swords and have a beer instead. What follows are surprises, death, laughs and more death. No character is safe and they are all flawed. I had a great time with this book, it reminded me of why I love reading in the first place. Just a great time.
1 All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy – From the title I didn’t know what to expect, but after starting the Border Trilogy I couldn’t stop. Another coming of age story (turns out I do like coming of age stories after all) that explores life, time, loss, love and violence. This book has a little bit of everything, and is going to be on my top 10 all time list.
