Hello book lovers! It’s 2024 and that means we’ve all got a fresh year full of reading to look forward to. But what is there to read? There’s millions of books out there and tons of blog lists recommending those books. So, I decided to come up with my own list of what I think might be worth reading this year. For the most part these will be fantasy or science fiction books but that’s just my taste. If you read anything this year and you like it, you win your year in reading. I’ll get into why I think the books below are worth reading but a lot of them have been around for a long time so it might be a re-read for you. Anyway, I hope you like the list!
The Dune Series
Dune is one of the most brilliant science fiction books of all time. It has an epic and sweeping story spanning entire planets but it focuses on a small group of characters in a desperate situation. You probably know there was a Dune movie released in 2021 and there will be a part two of that film released this year. Both films are based on the first book in the series. There are a total of 6 books in the series so if you enjoy the first one, there’s still plenty to read after that first book.
The Wheel of Time Series
No matter how you feel about the adaptation of the Wheel of Time series, the books written by Robert Jordan have been well loved for decades. There is good reason for this as the stories are immersive and sweeping and contain everything you would want in a fantasy series while providing incredible and unexpected twists. The book to start with is The Eye of the World but there are a whopping 14 books to read. The last three were written by Brandon Sanderson who we’ll be talking about later in this list but the rest were written by Jordan himself. If you haven’t started reading this series, 2024 is the perfect year to start. There have been 2 seasons of The Wheel of Time television show released with a third on the way.
The Time Corrector Series
In the past few years one of the most beautiful books I have read was The Winding by Avi Datta. This is the first part in the Time Corrector series. It’s full of interesting time travel concepts but also contains an incredible romance story. A third volume of the series is on the way and I’ll be reviewing that book in February. If you are looking for a great science fiction book, a great romance, or simply an amazing story, I can’t recommend this series enough. With there only being three books so far, it should be pretty quick to catch up and get a bit further on your reading challenges this year.
The Lord of the Rings
Okay, I know, I know, every fantasy fan has probably already read this. But, if you are like me, you can never get enough of these books. It’s where a lot of western fantasy comes from and Tolkien’s genius is virtually unmatched in literature. If that weren’t enough, there is a re-release of the Lord of the Rings films in January and, believe it or not, another LOTR related movie is coming out in 2024. It’s called The War of the Rohirrim and is going to be an animated film starring the voice talents of some of the cast from the live action films. That makes 2024 the perfect year to revisit this series. (Well I think every year is the perfect year for that but at least I have an excuse now)
Literally anything by Brandon Sanderson
Who is the least adapted but most prolific fantasy author alive today? Hands down, Brandon Sanderson. To say he is prolific is truly an understatement, this guy writes volumes of books the way I consume popcorn. My personal favorite series of his is The Stormlight Archives but these books are all huge so I am plodding my way through them. He also has the notable and extremely enjoyable series Mistborn, a great single volume novel called Elantris and a series of Y.A. books called Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians. A lot of his books tie together into a shared universe he calls the Cosmere which leads to plenty of fun and interesting easter eggs. I haven’t come across one of Sanderson’s books I don’t like, however, he writes an incredible amount of books so I have not nearly read them all. 2024 is a good year to start these books because, well, any year is a good year to start his stuff and he’s overdue for an adaptation of his work in film or television so you might as well get on the bandwagon where all the cool kids are now.
Conclusion
This is by no means an exhaustive list of great science fiction and fantasy books. Other great authors to consider include N. K. Jemisin with her Broken Earth series, The Binti series by Nnedi Okorafor, anything by Neil Gaiman, The Earthsea Cycles by Ursula K. Leguin and The Dark Tower series by Stephen King. Put simply, there are too many books out there for me to read so I can’t tell you everything you should read but those are a few of my suggestions for the year.
What are you planning to read this year? I’m always looking for a good book recommendation, especially in sci-fi, fantasy, and horror categories so let me know in the comments!
Literally yours,
Slick Dungeon
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That’s some heavy reading, all right. If I may suggest something more current, check out Martha Wells’ Murderbot series. Action packed adventures of a machine intelligence trying to find its way in a universe of corporate sabotage.
Sounds like a good read, I’ll have to check it out!