It’s time for our Best of 2020 list! Some might even say it’s past time, though we ask you to consider a) the general state of the world and b) there were a lot of incredible books released last year! Though 2020 was shit, its books were not.
Despite the garbage fire that was last year, The Fantasy Inn hit some significant milestones! We opened a Patreon to support our podcast and provide extra content to those who wanted it. We reached over 20K downloads for the podcast. We were lucky enough to help grow the loveliest community of readers and writers on Discord. And we continued to post as many reviews as our collective mental health allowed, which we’re counting as a win.
Once again, we are incredibly grateful to be part of such an excellent community. Thank you for reading, listening, following, and helping us to escape into the books we love.
Here are our respective top 5 SFF reads of 2020:
Sharade’s List
Well that was certainly a year that happened.
While we’re dancing on the ashes of 2020 to the sweet sound of Ding-Dong! the Witch Is Dead, and eyeing 2021 with a healthy, well-earned wariness, it must be said that books, at least, weren’t a crushing disappointment. Far from it.
I must admit that I haven’t read as many SFF books as I usually do, but I can still pick 5 favourites. And I am grateful to every single one of them to have provided me with an escape because, wow, this fucking year.
1) Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo: I have no idea why I picked up this book. On paper, it’s very much not my thing. While I was craving fluff, Ninth House is viscerally (and this adverb is often literal in the book) raw. But it was cathartic. I am looking forward, and dreading, the sequel.
2) The Empire of Gold by S.A Chrakraborty: that the final Daevabad book was going to feature in my favourite list was pretty much a foregone conclusion. Or was it? Because I almost wasn’t able to pick it up. Severe Epic Fantasy Fatigue is a thing, and it’s no joke. Luckily, the audiobook helped, and by the end I had to put it aside and pick up the ebook to go faster. The ending to this series couldn’t have been more perfect. Whatever Shannon does next, I’m in (apparently it’s PIRATES, which…gaaah, heart eyes).
3) The Stariel Series by AJ Lancaster: on the one hand, I’m mad I haven’t started reading this earlier. On the other hand, it gets me closer to the end of the series, since the 4th and final book is planned for 2021. Imagine Downton Abbey. Now introduce fae politics. See what I mean? The series has everything I love about fantasy, from the level-headed lead characters to the pinch of magic, and let us not forget a healthy romance plot.
4) The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune: Because of course. This book seemed designed to counter some of the effects of 2020, with its gentleness and optimism. It did seem overly sweet at times but I’m the kind of person who shoves ridiculous quantities of sugar if the tea is a bit bitter. And boy was 2020 over-steeped.
5) Jade City by Fonda Lee: Ah yes, the “it was only a matter of time” book. I’ve always known I was going to love it, so I’m glad to have it confirmed. Come for the cool magic, stay for the amazing family dynamics (and also, the cool magic). I have Jade War ready to go but I am looking at it like a piece of cake that can bite. Yummy but fuck, it’s going to hurt. Jade Legacy is out this year so I’ll need to brace myself for more heartbreak. Can’t wait.
Tam’s List
Picking 5 books was a little bit easier this year than it has been previously, mostly because I haven’t actually read that many books this year. It’s been busy and I’ve not been great at focusing on print books, so I’ve only read 33 this year. Anyway, there were still some amazing books in there, so let’s talk about those.
Kopratic’s List
Okay so, I personally had a great year of reading in terms of choosing books I loved. Last year I had a hard time making a list because I didn’t read as much. This year I had a hard time making a list because I read too many wonderful things! Assume that all my reasons for these books are just incoherent screams of hype.
1) MEM by Bethany C. Morrow
2) Woven in Moonlight by Isabel Ibañez
3) Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
4) Split Tooth by Tanya Tagaq
5) The Book of Koli by M.R. Carey
This is not an exhaustive list. In fact, I tried making an honorable mentions section, but it just ended up with way too many books. A great problem to have no doubt. But I’ll try limiting it to just 3 books across 3 categories. Honorable Mention Backlist Book: My Life in the Bush of Ghosts by Amos Tutuola. HM Sci-Fi: Unconquerable Sun by Kate Elliott. HM New-to-Me Author: Hollow Empire by Sam Hawke
Jenia’s List
This year has been pretty bonkers, huh? On the other hand, in terms of reading, I had a pretty great time! I challenged myself to read more genres outside of SFF and found myself really loving them. That does mean I’m currently reading less SFF overall, but it still remains my go-to genre when I need a pick-me-up. Which I needed a lot of in 2020 :’) In no particular order:
1) Ten Thousand Stitches by Olivia Atwater — This is such a delightful fantasy-of-manners. It’s really everything I want in a story like this: cute romance, a fairytale retelling, fae, needlework, and of course class politics.
2) Zone by Mathias Énard — Like I said, I’ve been trying to branch out a bit. This is a depressing French book about a soon-to-be-ex-spy, sitting on a train and ruminating on the long history of conflicts around the Mediterranean. I don’t think I can even really recommend this book to people, it’s weird and grim and kind of pretentious, but I just really loved it.
3) The Trojan War Will Not Take Place by Jean Giradoux — Another French author, but this is a play written in the interwar period. Despite being nearly a century old, its anti-war themes feel just as fresh today. (Also published in English as Tiger at the Gates.)
4) Turning Darkness Into Light by Marie Brennan — A sequel to the Lady Trent series, about her linguist granddaughter. I love the Lady Trent books so much. This sequel is just as fun, but has a special place in my heart for focusing on historical linguistics. Look, dragon naturalism adventure is cool and all, but is it as cool as sitting at a table all day decoding ancient tablets? (Note: this book is also exciting for non-linguists, no matter how badly I sell it.)
5) A whole bunch of nonfiction books! I branched out to reading nonfiction regularly this year, and it was probably the highlight of the year for me. Here’s a few: Debt by Graeber (left-wing history of debt); Owls of the Eastern Ice by Jonathan C. Slaght (ornithologist in far-east Russia); An Odyssey by Daniel Mendelsohn (autobiography about the Odyssey and a father and son); A Paradise Built in Hell by Rebecca Solnit (ruminations about communities hit by disasters); Living Mountain by Nan Shepherd (nature writing about a mountain); and I could keep going…
Hiu’s List
I’m pretty sure I said the same last year, but I hate lists like this. It’s like having to choose your favourite child. Admittedly, 2020 wasn’t quite as strong a reading year for me as previous years had been. Don’t get me wrong, there was still a lot of books I enjoyed. Just… fewer that blew me away. Here are those few, in no particular order.
Queen of the Conquered by Kacen Callender — I spend a very long when reading this book hoping for something to happen. And when it did… well, Callender gave me everything I could have ever wanted.
The Once and Future Witches by Alix Harrow — I don’t know that I have enough superlatives to describe Alix Harrow’s writing. I fell in love with it, and with her characters.
Call of the Bone Ships by RJ Barker — A shock, I know. I adore the world that Barker is building. It’s so unique, and the people in it play with my emotions in a way that, frankly, shouldn’t be allowed.
The Obsidian Tower by Melissa Caruso — I binged my way through this book so fast. So fast. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted a protagonist to find a friend more. Can’t wait to dive deeper into this series.
The Black Coast by Mike Brooks — Yup. I’m cheating. This book is releasing in 2021. In my defence, it was probably my favourite read of last year. I loved pretty much everything about it. The use of multiple languages. The idea of two cultures coming together for mutual benefit. People standing up for what’s right. Dragons. You don’t want to miss the release of The Black Coast.
Travis’s List
My favorite read of the year is also my favorite series of the year, my favorite audiobook of the year, and maybe my favorite YA series ever. And if you notice that this list overlaps a lot with this year’s podcast interviews, well, I’m a shameless fanboy who loves to chat with my favorite authors.
1) Before the Devil Breaks You by Libba Bray — The entire Diviners series is incredible. I loved the characters, the jazz age setting, and the brutally unflinching examination of the darker side of America. And as an audiobook junkie, I was constantly in awe of January LaVoy’s narration.
2) Unconquerable Sun by Kate Elliott — You don’t often find a better tagline than “gender bent Alexander the Great in SPACE!” This book more than lived up to that premise and cemented Kate Elliott’s position as one of the most skilled SFF writers alive.
3) The Midnight Bargain by C.L. Polk — In a year like 2020 I clung to any light in the darkness, and this book brought me so much sheer unbridled joy. It’s funny, sweet, and has so much to say about women’s rights.
4) The First Sister by Linden A. Lewis — I grabbed an early review copy of this book based on the cover and immediately fell in love. It’s an epic space opera with heaps of social commentary and simply impossible to put down… Which probably explains why I’ve been recommending this book to anyone who will listen.
5) The Mask of Mirrors by M.A. Carrick — So this book is a 2021 release but I got to read it early and you’ll have NO IDEA how awesome that is until you read this book for yourself. This book is the triple threat of great characters, compelling plot, and some of the most intricately brilliant worldbuilding I’ve ever read.
1 thought on “The Fantasy Inn’s Best of 2020”