Locus Magazine · Issue 781 · February 2026

2025 Recommended Reading List

Science Fiction · Fantasy · Horror · Young Adult · Translations · Short Fiction
All links go to Amazon.ca search results for the title and author. Links are search URLs — results may include multiple editions. Magazine-published short fiction and novelettes are noted separately and not available as standalone books.

Science Fiction Novels

32 titles
SunwardWilliam AlexanderSaga
Amazon.ca
Dark DiamondNeal AsherPyr / Tor UK
Amazon.ca
The King Must DieKemi Ashing-GiwaSaga
Amazon.ca
The Folded SkyElizabeth BearSaga / Gollancz
Amazon.ca
LandfallJames BradleyHodder & Stoughton
Amazon.ca
Outlaw PlanetM.R. CareyOrbit
Amazon.ca
ModerationElaine CastilloAtlantic UK / Viking
Amazon.ca
The Book of GuiltCatherine ChidgeyJohn Murray
Amazon.ca
Picks & ShovelsCory DoctorowAd Astra / Tor
Amazon.ca
Notes from a RegicideIsaac FellmanTor
Amazon.ca
When We Were RealDaryl GregorySaga
Amazon.ca
The EssenceDave HutchinsonNewCon
Amazon.ca
The Dream HotelLaila LalamiPantheon
Amazon.ca
Transmentation | TransienceDarkly LemBlackstone
Amazon.ca
All That We See or SeemKen LiuSaga / Ad Astra
Amazon.ca
Metallic RealmsLincoln MichelAtria
Amazon.ca
Red Star HustleSam J. MillerApprehension / Red Star Hustle
Amazon.ca
Where the Axe Is BuriedRay NaylerMCD / Weidenfeld & Nicolson
Amazon.ca
Slow GodsClaire NorthOrbit
Amazon.ca
Death of the AuthorNnedi OkoraforMorrow / Gollancz
Amazon.ca
One Way WitchNnedi OkoraforDAW
Amazon.ca
EsperanceAdam OyebanjiDAW / Arcadia UK
Amazon.ca
Halcyon YearsAlastair ReynoldsGollancz / Orbit US
Amazon.ca
The Shattering PeaceJohn ScalziTor
Amazon.ca
When There Are Wolves AgainE.J. SwiftArcadia UK
Amazon.ca
We Lived on the HorizonErika SwylerAtria
Amazon.ca
Song of SporesBogi TakácsBroken Eye
Amazon.ca
ShroudAdrian TchaikovskyTor UK / Orbit US
Amazon.ca
The Book of RecordsMadeleine ThienNorton / Granta UK
Amazon.ca
A Philosophy of ThievesFran WildeErewhon
Amazon.ca
Hole in the SkyDaniel H. WilsonDoubleday
Amazon.ca
The Salt OracleLorraine WilsonSolaris
Amazon.ca

Fantasy Novels

27 titles
The DevilsJoe AbercrombieTor / Gollancz
Amazon.ca
The Tomb of DragonsKatherine AddisonTor / Solaris UK
Amazon.ca
A Granite SilenceNina Allanriverrun
Amazon.ca
Lessons in Magic and DisasterCharlie Jane AndersTor / Titan UK
Amazon.ca
Angel MakerElizabeth BearSobbing Squonk
Amazon.ca
A Drop of CorruptionRobert Jackson BennettDel Rey / Hodderscape
Amazon.ca
Once Was WillemM.R. CareyOrbit
Amazon.ca
The SovereignC.L. ClarkOrbit
Amazon.ca
The Works of VerminHiron EnnesTor
Amazon.ca
Dead Hand RuleMax GladstoneTor
Amazon.ca
The EverlastingAlix E. HarrowTor
Amazon.ca
The Raven ScholarAntonia HodgsonOrbit / Hodderscape
Amazon.ca
Secrets of the First SchoolT.L. HuchuTor
Amazon.ca
HoneyeaterKathleen JenningsTor
Amazon.ca
Written on the DarkGuy Gavriel KayAce / Viking Canada
Amazon.ca
Hemlock & SilverT. KingfisherTor
Amazon.ca
Snake-EaterT. Kingfisher47North / Titan UK
Amazon.ca
KatabasisR.F. KuangHarper Voyager
Amazon.ca
The Adventures of Mary DarlingPat MurphyTachyon
Amazon.ca
Harmattan SeasonTochi OnyebuchiTor
Amazon.ca
WaterblackAlex PhebyTor / Galley Beggar UK
Amazon.ca
Major ArcanaJohn PistelliBelt
Amazon.ca
The Rose FieldPhilip PullmanKnopf / Penguin UK
Amazon.ca
Shadow TicketThomas PynchonPenguin / Jonathan Cape
Amazon.ca
The Isle in the Silver SeaTasha SuriOrbit
Amazon.ca
The IncandescentEmily TeshTor / Orbit UK
Amazon.ca
Queen DemonMartha WellsTor
Amazon.ca

Horror Novels

14 titles
We Love You, BunnyMona AwadMarysue Rucci / Scribner UK
Amazon.ca
The Possession of Alba DíazIsabel CañasBerkley / Solaris UK
Amazon.ca
Black BraneMichael CiscoClash
Amazon.ca
Spread MeSarah GaileyNightfire
Amazon.ca
The NeedfireMK HardySolaris
Amazon.ca
King SorrowJoe HillMorrow / Headline UK
Amazon.ca
The Buffalo Hunter HunterStephen Graham JonesSaga / Titan UK
Amazon.ca
The Library at HelleboreCassandra KhawNightfire / Titan UK
Amazon.ca
Never FlinchStephen KingScribner / Hodder UK
Amazon.ca
The BewitchingSilvia Moreno-GarciaDel Rey / Arcadia UK
Amazon.ca
It Was Her House FirstCherie PriestPoisoned Pen
Amazon.ca
AnimalsGeoff RymanNewCon
Amazon.ca
The Crimson RoadA.G. SlatterTitan UK
Amazon.ca
The Staircase in the WoodsChuck WendigDel Rey
Amazon.ca

Young Adult Novels

14 titles · [SF] [F] [H] = subgenre
The Singular Life of Aria PatelSamira AhmedLittle, Brown · SF
Amazon.ca
Make Me a MonsterKalynn BayronBloomsbury · H
Amazon.ca
Costumes for Time TravelersA.R. CapettaCandlewick · F
Amazon.ca
The Executioners ThreeSusan DennardTor Teen · H
Amazon.ca
Needy Little ThingsChannelle DesamoursWednesday · F
Amazon.ca
The Underwood TapesAmanda DeWittPeachtree Teen · H
Amazon.ca
Among GhostsRachel HartmanRandom House · F
Amazon.ca
Sky on FireE.K. JohnstonDutton · F
Amazon.ca
The TransitionLogan-Ashley KisnerDelacorte · H
Amazon.ca
StarstrikeYoon Ha LeeDelacorte / Solaris UK · SF
Amazon.ca
I Am Not Jessica ChenAnn LiangHarper · F
Amazon.ca
The Leaving RoomAmber McBrideFeiwel and Friends · F
Amazon.ca
Night SwimmingAaron StarmerPenguin Workshop · H
Amazon.ca
They Bloom at NightTrang Thanh TranBloomsbury · H
Amazon.ca

Debut Novels

12 titles
A Song of Legends LostM.H. AyindeOrbit UK / Saga · F
Amazon.ca
Acts of GodKanan GillBlackstone · SF
Amazon.ca
Red Rabbit GhostJen JulianRun For It · H
Amazon.ca
When Devils SingXan KaurHolt · H
Amazon.ca
DwellingEmily Hunt KivelFarrar, Straus, Giroux · F
Amazon.ca
Awake in the Floating CitySusanna KwanPantheon · SF
Amazon.ca
LuminousSilvia ParkSimon & Schuster · SF
Amazon.ca
Archive of Unknown UniversesRuben Reyes Jr.Mariner · SF
Amazon.ca
North Sun, Or The Voyage of the Whaleship EstherEthan RutherfordA Strange Object · H
Amazon.ca
Nothing in the BasementRomie StottDybbuk · H
Amazon.ca
BlobMaggie SuHarper · F
Amazon.ca
Sour CherryNatalia TheodoridouTin House · F
Amazon.ca

Translated Novels

19 titles — new category in 2025
On the Calculation of Volume IIISolvej BalleNew Directions · tr. Hersi Smith & Russell
Amazon.ca
The UnworthyAgustina BazterricaScribner · tr. Sarah Moses
Amazon.ca
The Village at the Edge of NoonDarya BobylevaAngry Robot · tr. Yazhbin Chavasse
Amazon.ca
The Midnight ShiftCheon Seon-RanBloomsbury · tr. Gene Png
Amazon.ca
A Thousand BluesCheon Seon-RanDoubleday UK · tr. Chi-Young Kim
Amazon.ca
Red SwordBora ChungHonford Star · tr. Anton Hur
Amazon.ca
The Midnight TimetableBora ChungAlgonquin · tr. Anton Hur
Amazon.ca
IceJacek DukajHead of Zeus · tr. Ursula Phillips
Amazon.ca
School of ShardsMarina & Sergey DyachenkoHarper Voyager · tr. Meitov Hersey
Amazon.ca
Dead SoulsHan SongAmazonCrossing · tr. Michael Berry
Amazon.ca
The Place of ShellsMai IshizawaNew Directions · tr. Polly Barton
Amazon.ca
We ComputersHamid IsmailovYale UP · tr. Fairweather-Vega
Amazon.ca
Blood for the Undying ThroneSung-il KimTor · tr. Anton Hur
Amazon.ca
Artificial TruthJ.M. LeeAmazonCrossing · tr. Sean Lin Halbert
Amazon.ca
Sea NowEva MeijerTwo Lines · tr. Anne Thompson Melo
Amazon.ca
Vanishing WorldSayaka MurataGrove · tr. Ginny Tapley Takemori
Amazon.ca
Dengue BoyMichel NievaAstra House · tr. Rahul Bery
Amazon.ca
Into the SunC.F. RamuzNew Directions · tr. Baes & Ramadan
Amazon.ca
The Wax ChildOlga RavnNew Directions · tr. Martin Aitken
Amazon.ca

Short Fiction Collections

20 titles
Call and ResponseChristopher CaldwellNeon Hemlock
Amazon.ca
The Other ShoreRebecca CampbellStelliform
Amazon.ca
Moon SongsCarol EmshwillerThird Man
Amazon.ca
Haunted Ecologies and Other StoriesCorey FarrenkopfJournalStone
Amazon.ca
The House of IllusionistsVanessa FoggInterstellar Flight
Amazon.ca
Letters from an Imaginary CountryTheodora GossTachyon
Amazon.ca
Uncertain Sons and Other StoriesThomas HaUndertow
Amazon.ca
Bright Dead StarCaitlín R. KiernanSubterranean
Amazon.ca
Histories Within UsMatthew KresselSenses Five
Amazon.ca
Sinkhole, and Other Inexplicable VoidsLeyna KrowPenguin
Amazon.ca
ChangelogRich LarsonFairwood
Amazon.ca
The Essential Patricia A. McKillipPatricia A. McKillipTachyon
Amazon.ca
One Message RemainsPremee MohamedPsychopomp
Amazon.ca
Teenage Girls Can Be DemonsHailey PiperTitan UK
Amazon.ca
The Revelation Space Collection Vols. 1 & 2Alastair ReynoldsGollancz
Amazon.ca
Masters of Science Fiction: Pamela SargentPamela SargentCentipede
Amazon.ca
Crows and SilencesLucius ShepardSubterranean
Amazon.ca
Tell Me Yours, I'll Tell You MineKristina TenStillhouse
Amazon.ca
PortalmaniaDebbie UrbanskiSimon & Schuster
Amazon.ca
A Catalog of StormsFran WildeFairwood
Amazon.ca

Anthologies

18 titles — original & best-of
Night & DayEllen Datlow, ed.Saga · Original
Amazon.ca
Storyteller: A Tanith Lee Tribute AnthologyDay, Bissett & Gidney, eds.Essential Dreams · Original
Amazon.ca
These Bodies Ain't BrokenMadeline Dyer, ed.Page Street · Original
Amazon.ca
The End of the World As We Know ItChristopher Golden & Brian Keene, eds.Gallery · Original
Amazon.ca
Will This Be a ProblemSomto Ihezue & Olivia Kidula, eds.Shilitza · Original
Amazon.ca
Bandigoat: A Collection of Strange & Horrible TalesRakesh Khanna, ed.Blaft · Original
Amazon.ca
We Will Rise AgainKaren Lord, Annalee Newitz & Malka Older, eds.Saga · Original
Amazon.ca
Amplitudes: Stories of Queer and Trans FuturityLee Mandelo, ed.Erewhon · Original
Amazon.ca
As the Earth Dreams: Black Canadian Speculative StoriesTerese Mason Pierre, ed.Spiderline · Original
Amazon.ca
Signos: A Fiction Anthology of Filipino SupernaturalAcuña, Bengan et al, eds.Radix · Best Of
Amazon.ca
The Black Fantasticandré m. carrington, ed.Library of America · Best Of
Amazon.ca
The Best Horror of the Year, Volume SeventeenEllen Datlow, ed.Night Shade · Best Of
Amazon.ca
The Year's Top Hard Science Fiction Stories 9Allan Kaster, ed.Infinivox · Best Of
Amazon.ca
The Year's Top Tales of Space and Time 5Allan Kaster, ed.Infinivox · Best Of
Amazon.ca
The Year's Top Robot and AI Stories: Sixth Annual CollectionAllan Kaster, ed.Infinivox · Best Of
Amazon.ca
The Best Weird Fiction of the Year: Volume 1Michael Kelly, ed.Undertow · Best Of
Amazon.ca
Year's Best Canadian Fantasy and Science Fiction: Volume ThreeStephen Kotowych, ed.Ansible · Best Of
Amazon.ca
The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2025Nnedi Okorafor & John Joseph Adams, eds.Mariner · Best Of
Amazon.ca

Non-Fiction

15 titles
The Outspoken and the IncendiaryTerry BissonPM
Amazon.ca
Amazing Worlds of Science Fiction and Science FactKeith CooperReaktion
Amazon.ca
EnshittificationCory DoctorowMCD
Amazon.ca
ColourfieldsPaul KincaidBriardene
Amazon.ca
Spring, Summer, Asteroid, Bird: The Art of Eastern StorytellingHenry LienNorton
Amazon.ca
Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E. ButlerSusana M. MorrisAmistad
Amazon.ca
Black Apocalypse: Afrofuturism at the End of the WorldTavia Nyong'oUniversity of California Press
Amazon.ca
Dreaming of Autonomous Vehicles: Miloslav (Miles) J. BreuerJaroslav OlsaSpace Cowboy
Amazon.ca
Racebook: A Personal History of the InternetTochi OnyebuchiRoxane Gay
Amazon.ca
The Ultimate Cosmos: How a 1933 Serial Novel Reshaped Science FictionDavid & Daniel Ritter, eds.First Fandom Experience
Amazon.ca
Dispelling Fantasies: Authors of Color Reimagine a GenreJoy Sanchez-TaylorOhio State University Press
Amazon.ca
Why I Love Horror: Essays on Horror LiteratureBecky Siegel Spratford, ed.Saga
Amazon.ca
Reimagining Science FictionGary Westfahl, ed.McFarland
Amazon.ca
Space Ships! Ray Guns! Martian Octopods!: Interviews with Science Fiction LegendsRichard Wolinsky, ed.Tachyon
Amazon.ca
Octavia E. Butler: H is for HorseChi-ming YangOxford University Press
Amazon.ca

Illustrated & Art Books

20 titles
The Invisible ParadeLeigh Bardugo & John PicacioLittle, Brown
Amazon.ca
Frank Frazetta: Fine LinesSara Frazetta & Arnie Fenner, eds.Frazetta Girls
Amazon.ca
The Art of Gervasio GallardoGervasio GallardoCentipede
Amazon.ca
Bob Haberfield: The Man and His ArtBen Haberfield, ed.Jayde Design UK
Amazon.ca
Starling HouseAlix E. Harrow, art by Rovina CaiSubterranean (illustrated ed.)
Amazon.ca
The Art of Kelogsloops: From Sketch to FinishKelogsloops3dtotal
Amazon.ca
Designing Terry Pratchett's DiscworldPaul KidbyHarper / Doubleday UK
Amazon.ca
The Fantastic Art of Ron TurnerJohn LawrenceTelos
Amazon.ca
CarmillaJ.S. Le Fanu, art by Rosemary Valero-O'ConnellBeehive
Amazon.ca
SentienceVanessa LemenSpiridon Giannakis / Éditions Caurette
Amazon.ca
The Last Battle at the End of the WorldJeffrey Alan LoveFlesk
Amazon.ca
Graciela in the AbyssMeg Medina, art by Anna & Elena BalbussoCandlewick
Amazon.ca
The Space CatNnedi Okorafor, art by Tana FordFirst Second
Amazon.ca
Illustrations & IlluminationsJames A. OwenCoppervale
Amazon.ca
The Verdant CompanionStephanie Pui-Mun LawLlewellyn
Amazon.ca
Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene Volumes 1–3Rebecca K. Reynolds / Justin GerardSky Turtle
Amazon.ca
Infected by Art Volume 13Todd Spoor & Bill Cox, eds.Dynamite
Amazon.ca
Sunset at Zero PointSimon StålenhagSaga US
Amazon.ca
Faraway DreamingUlla ThynellAtthis Arts
Amazon.ca
Icons of the Fantastic: Illustrations of Imaginative Literature from the Korshak CollectionZehnder & Brinley, eds.University of Delaware Press
Amazon.ca

Novellas

Standalone books only — magazine-only pieces noted separately below
The Orb of CairadoKatherine AddisonSubterranean
Amazon.ca
The Iron Below RemembersSharang BiswasNeon Hemlock
Amazon.ca
The Adventure of the Demonic OxLois McMaster BujoldSpectrum
Amazon.ca
Redundancies and PotentialsDominique DickeyNeon Hemlock
Amazon.ca
No Such Thing as DutyLara Elena DonnellyNeon Hemlock
Amazon.ca
The River Has RootsAmal El-MohtarTordotcom
Amazon.ca
What Stalks the DeepT. KingfisherNightfire
Amazon.ca
ApprehensionMary Robinette KowalApprehension / Red Star Hustle
Amazon.ca
The Death of MountainsJordan KurellaLethe
Amazon.ca
The Dead WithheldL.D. LewisNeon Hemlock
Amazon.ca
Cinder HouseFreya MarskeTordotcom
Amazon.ca
Automatic NoodleAnnalee NewitzTordotcom
Amazon.ca
StarstruckAimee OgdenPsychopomp
Amazon.ca
Making HistoryK.J. ParkerTordotcom
Amazon.ca
But Not Too BoldHache PueyoTordotcom
Amazon.ca
The Dagger in VichyAlastair ReynoldsSubterranean
Amazon.ca
Psychopomp & CircumstanceEden RoyceTordotcom
Amazon.ca
No One To Hold the Distant DeadK.L. SchroederPsychopomp
Amazon.ca
The Oblivion BrideCaitlin StarlingNeon Hemlock
Amazon.ca
Lives of Bitter RainAdrian TchaikovskyHead of Zeus
Amazon.ca
The CreatorAliya WhiteleyNewCon Press
Amazon.ca
A Mouthful of DustNghi VoTordotcom
Amazon.ca
Don't Sleep with the DeadNghi VoTordotcom
Amazon.ca
Murder by MemoryOlivia WaiteTordotcom
Amazon.ca
Brighter than Scale, Swifter than FlameNeon YangTordotcom
Amazon.ca
Magazine-Only Novellas & Novelettes — Not Available as Standalone Books
"Murder on the Eris Express" — Beth Goder (Analog 3–4/25) · "Quantum Ghosts" — Nancy Kress (Asimov's 3–4/25, 5–6/25) · "The Hidden God" — T.R. Napper (Asimov's 3–4/25) · "Those Uncaring Waves" — Yukimi Ogawa (Clarkesworld 3/25) · "The Chronolithographer's Assistant" — Suzanne Palmer (Asimov's 7–8/25) · "Descent" — Wole Talabi (Clarkesworld 5/25) · "The Apologists" — Tade Thompson (Clarkesworld 11/25) · "The Twenty-One Second God" — Peter Watts (Lightspeed 6/25)