Across 2020, our friends from QBD Books provided Supa-Fans with a monthly list of their most-anticipated releases. Now, they’ve gone over all of those recommendations and picked some of the best for your reading pleasure.
Before you get stuck into what’s coming in 2021 (and completely wipe 2020 from your memory), make sure to check out the below!
Troy
By Stephen Fry
Troy was worth the wait!
Finally getting to read this book was like falling back into step with old friends. This series, while not a perfect reference tool, is an incredible piece of storytelling.
Stephen Fry, as many will know, is a master storyteller, and he holds nothing back with the conclusion of his series on the Greek myths. If you are experienced with the Greek myths, this series is a fantastic addition to your collection. However, if you have little to no experience with Greek myths, these books are accessible enough to be your springboard into a greater understanding. With many timelines and story arcs, the Greek myths can quickly become overwhelming. Stephen Fry keeps to a predetermined path, making it much easier to keep up with.
– Emily, QBD Books Knox City, VIC
Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
By Suzanne Collins
It was wonderful stepping back into the world of Panem, this time from the perspective of everyone’s favourite villain, President Snow! (or Coro, as he’s known at this point).
Following his rise from civil war survivor to future leader of the Capital and Districts, this was a fun and exciting read, and it was a great experience finding out how so many events would filter down through the years towards the original Hunger Games Trilogy!
– Lewis, QBD Books Miranda, NSW
The Last Emperox
By John Scalzi
The future of civilisation spans galaxies – star systems many light years apart, yet dependent upon each other for survival. Trade is facilitated by The Flow – a hyperspace stream that allows faster than light travel between star systems. In The Last Emperox – the third and final book in The Interdependency trilogy – The Flow is already collapsing, and threatening the continued existence of humanity.
True to form for author John Scalzi, this series is fast-paced and light, but swimming in banter and offering some prescient commentary on human response to crisis. If you like your space opera loaded with snark, look no further. This series delivered the twists and turns in spades and almost had me throwing my book across the room in disbelief. This is a very satisfying conclusion to the trilogy that began with The Collapsing Empire.
– Jeremy, QBD Books Support Office, NSW
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
By V.E. Schwab
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue was easily one of my most anticipated reads of 2020.
V.E. Schwab has created what I believe to be a modern-day classic, a fact I do not think I have overstated.
At its core, this book is about agency and connection. It is the sort of book I would expect literary students to be studying in the coming years.
So, what makes this book so good?
This story is full of the complexities of human existence, with many layers and possible interpretations. In remembering Addie LaRue, we remember ourselves, and what it is that makes us who we are. How are you going to connect with others, and are you going to leave a lasting impact on the world? What does it mean to belong to someone, or to have freedom from the expectations of those around you?
– Emily, QBD Books Knox City, VIC
The Last Smile in Sunder City
By Luke Arnold
One of the best debut fantasy novels I’ve read for a long while, I kept needing to put this book down, just to catch my breath from laughing so hard! Fetch Phillips is such an irreverent narrator, and unreliable to boot, but his perspective makes you only want to read more!
The way Arnold spins language, plot and telling a great story, while also sneakily world-building in a land so much, yet so little like our own, I can’t wait to read more from the Black Sails star!
– Lewis, QBD Books Miranda, NSW
The Left-Handed Booksellers of London
By Garth Nix
I had been waiting for this one all year, and luckily, it did not disappoint! I first heard about this book back when I was reading an ARC of Angel Mage last year, and honestly, just the title alone was enough for my little, bookseller heart to be sold on it.
In a year where lockdowns were the norm, and more people than ever were turning to the comforting escapism of books, Left-Handed Booksellers provided the perfect respite from reality. Set in an alternate (more inclusive) 1980s London, this was a fast-paced, action-fantasy thriller that celebrated the importance of all things bookish. With Nix’s clever mash-up of mythology and imagination, Left-Handed Booksellers was a fantastical treat, suitable for young adults and adults alike.
My only issue with this book is, much like Nix’s other standalone titles, the characters were too loveable, too addictive to leave after only one book. (I need more of Merlin, the gender-fluid, gun-slinging, monster-slaying, poetry writing bookseller in my life!) I guess all I can do now is hope that Garth Nix is ready and willing to write a sequel! Perhaps down the road we’ll get to read about the right-handed booksellers of London?
– Alyssa, QBD Books Mt Druitt, NSW
The House in the Cerulean Sea
By T.J. Klune
This is hands down not only one of the best books that I’ve read in 2020, but one of the best books that I have ever read. The House in the Cerulean Sea is a magical and profound novel that truly takes the reader on an experience. This novel follows Linus Baker, a caseworker for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth, as he begins his new job on Marsyas Island Orphanage, where there are six ‘dangerous’ children.
The House in the Cerulean Sea explores family and the notion that sometimes you find them in unlikely ways. This enchanting story is exceptional and breathtaking. It will make you smile and laugh and just feel safe. There is magic and so much banter. And you never know what is going to happen next. This is a warm novel that explores what it’s like to be a little different. I highly recommend this to anyone. Because it is simply amazing.
– Angelique, QBD Books Broadmeadows, VIC
The Two Lost Mountains
By Matthew Reilly
With so many curve balls thrown at us last year, it was refreshing to receive something that gave us exactly what it promised. This sixth book in the Jack West Jr series is as exciting as its predecessors, and packs enough excitement to satisfy anyone who loves action/adventure stories.
Full of fast paced action sequences, with enough twists and turns to keep the pages flying, this penultimate adventure is a rollercoaster that will make the wait all the harder for the final book in the series. (Luckily Reilly has just announced there will only be a 12-month wait this time)!
This is fun on a page, and deserves to be considered one of the highlights of 2020.
– Nigel, QBD Books Mt Druitt, NSW
Piranesi
By Susanna Clarke
This book caught me totally off guard. The blurb had caught my attention, it was definitely an interesting premise, but when I started reading it, I just couldn’t put it down. It took me all of two days to finish this book! With every chapter I read, I would say, “This is the last one,” but the mystery just kept getting better, and eventually I gave in and just stayed up into the night.
I tend to describe this book as an alternate universe mystery, with a bit of a crazy cult thrown in. It’s written in the style of a diary as the main character, Piranesi, begins to realise that some things aren’t adding up, and that the House might not be what he thought. It was very different from what I expected, but in the best possible way. It is going in at the top of my favourite books for 2020 for sure!
– Tahlia, QBD Books Albury
House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City # 1)
By Sarah J. Maas
If you are a fan of Sarah J. Maas, you already know what I am going to say… this book was incredible!
An urban fantasy, mystery, romance, in the well-known style of SJM. With a diverse cast of characters and a world to rival her other books, SJM has introduced us to what is bound to become the series to put Throne of Glass to the test. With book one, House of Earth and Blood, spanning almost 900 pages, the story of Bryce and Hunt is just beginning. Family drama, relationship drama, general world drama, SJM is the queen of drama and I for one am here for it.
I loved House of Earth and Blood and am looking forward to the next instalment, where I am hoping at least some of my “OMG what just happened?” questions will finally be answered.
– Emily, QBD Books Knox City, VIC
The Strangeworlds Travel Agency
By LD Lapinski
2020 threw a lot of incredible reads our way. From Jessica Townsend’s Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow to Matthew Reilly’s Two Lost Mountains, readers have been given a year of action and adventure. My pick for the best title of the year though would have to go to debut children’s author LD Lapinski and their novel The Strangeworlds Travel Agency. Lapinksi has delivered to readers an adventure that cannot be contained in a single suitcase.
Flick Hudson moves to a small town where not much happens. Her family is consistently busy and she is often left to her own devices. One day she happens across a run-down looking store packed to the brim with suitcases, and upon entering, learns that she has the ability to see magic in the world.
The first in what is set to be an incredible series, this book brings in a diverse cast of characters, and is an #ownvoices narrative with incredible queer representation. Lapinski’s novel is, in my opinion, the best book to be released in 2020 – something that is no easy feat, given everything that has come out. While this is a middle-grade novel, it is one that can (and should) be enjoyed by all readers!
– Dion, QBD Books Macarthur Square, NSW
To Sleep In A Sea of Stars
By Christopher Paolini
This sci-fi debut by one of the best modern voices of fantasy was one of my personal favourites last year. It had such a fresh and exciting way to go about exploring the big questions that so often hallmark the genre!
Both a fantastic new approach, but also full of references, both to other sci-fi favourites and to some of Paolini’s other work (we see you, Chris!), I cannot recommend this enough as a different way of approaching the genre! Despite looking intimidatingly large, this book speeds along faster than the Millennium Falcon completed the Kessel Run!
– Lewis, QBD Books Miranda, NSW
Havenfall
By Sara Holland
I really feel like Havenfall flew under the radar last year. I don’t believe it has received the attention it is due. I loved everything about this book, from the setting, to the premise of the story.
I felt like I was part of the story, a fly on the wall if you will. The atmosphere was palpable, the characters believable, and the pace and intrigue at just the right level to keep me interested. I am invested in the outcome of this story, and look forward to book two, where I hope we may travel off-world via one of the portals and get to experience one of the other worlds mentioned in book one.
– Emily, QBD Books Knox City, VIC
Chain of Gold (The Last Hours #1)
By Cassandra Clare
Cassandra Clare did it again with one of her latest books in the Shadowhunter world. We go back in time with this series, and follow the children of characters from Clare’s The Infernal Devices series. When Cordelia Carstairs travelled to London, she didn’t expect there to be a series of demon attacks that devastate the London Shadowhunter community. Now Cordelia, Lucie and the Merry Thieves must fight enemies they weren’t prepared for, while also surviving each other.
I loved being back in this world, with some new and exciting characters. I never know what Cassandra Clare is going to throw at me. I was truly on the edge of my seat throughout this whole book. Chain of Gold is a set up for some very big things to come, and that terrifies me. The writing in this one is fantastic, and I loved that we get to know some new characters, but also get to see some old faces.
– Angelique, QBD Books Broadmeadows, VIC
Queen of Storms
By Raymond E Feist
The second book in the Firemane Saga picks up immediately after the first book, following Hatu and Hava. In Queen of Storms, Feist creates a tightly weaved balance of plotting and world-building that ties threads together in some parts, whilst revealing deeper mysteries in others.
This sequel has a distinctly darker tone than King of Ashes, with tragedies that shape the course of events and a main antagonist that is shrouded in mystery. Feist was one of the formative authors in my introduction to fantasy, and revisiting him is like a warm hug and a cup of hot chocolate. This book is no exception – full of old school charm and dependable fantasy tropes, proving once again that Feist is a master of the genre. The series will conclude with King of Flames (publication date not yet known), but this saga feels like there’s enough story in it for ten books!
– Jeremy, QBD Books Support Office, NSW
Rhythm of War
By Brandon Sanderson
Without a doubt, this was my favourite sci-fi/fantasy novel of 2020. Whenever a Brandon Sanderson novel is released, I put aside everything else, turn everything off, and experience his craft in all of its glory. This release builds upon everything the other books of the Stormlight Archive (as well as the wider Cosmere) have done so far, and raises the stakes in such unexpected, and shattering ways. It makes me not want to have to wait three years until the next one!
Whilst not as fast-paced as Oathbringer, Sanderson’s previous Stormlight Archive novel, Rhythm of War acts as a gorgeous, penultimate pathway into the fifth and final Stormlight Archive book (at least for the first five!)
– Lewis, QBD Books Miranda, NSW
How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories
By Holly Black
Earlier last year I (being slow on the uptake) finally read Holly Black’s New York Times bestselling Folk of the Air trilogy, and promptly concluded that it was the pinnacle of YA. Obviously, when Holly Black released a companion to the series, How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories, I read it ASAP.
I was not at all disappointed. How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories is a whimsical collection of short stories, told from the perspective of the original trilogy’s bad boy love interest: fairy royalty Cardan Greenbriar.
How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories, is more than just a fun read (though it is that too); it reminds us to be grateful for our ability to love and our ability to be loved by others. An important thing to remember in a year when many people have felt the most alone.
– Tash, QBD Books Penrith, NSW
