Standalone Fantasy & Science Fiction Reads for Adults

Updated May 14, 2025
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Babel : or the necessity of violence : an arcane history of the Oxford Translators' Revolution
Kuang, R. F.
Paper Book
Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller from the author of The Poppy War   "Absolutely phenomenal. One of the most brilliant, razor-sharp books I've had the pleasure of reading that isn't just an alternative fantastical history, but an interrogative one; one that grabs colonial...
This is how you lose the time war
El-Mohtar, Amal
Paper Book
HUGO AWARD WINNER: BEST NOVELLA NEBULA AND LOCUS AWARDS WINNER: BEST NOVELLA ONE OF NPR'S BEST BOOKS OF 2019 Two time-traveling agents from warring futures, working their way through the past, begin to exchange letters--and fall in love...
Project Hail Mary : a novel
Weir, Andy
Paper Book
THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE MARTIAN * Soon to be a major motion picture starring Ryan Gosling, directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, with a screenplay by Drew Goddard From the author of The Martian, a lone astronaut must...
The Raven tower
Leckie, Ann
Paper Book
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2020 WORLD FANTASY AWARD Gods meddle in the fates of men, men play with the fates of gods, and a pretender must be cast down from the throne in this masterful first fantasy novel from Ann Leckie, New York Times...
Recursion : a novel
Crouch, Blake
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * From the bestselling author of Dark Matter and the Wayward Pines trilogy comes a relentless thriller about time, identity, and memory--his most mind-boggling, irresistible work to date, and the inspiration for Shondaland's...
Upgrade : a novel
Crouch, Blake
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * "If Michael Crichton had written a superhero novel, it would look a lot like Upgrade."--The New York Times Book Review "You don't so much sympathize with the main character as live inside his skin."--DIANA GABALDON, #1 New York...
Magic for liars
Gailey, Sarah
Paper Book
A 2020 LOCUS AWARD FINALIST FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL Sharp, mainstream fantasy meets compelling thrills of investigative noir in Magic for Liars, a fantasy debut by rising star Sarah Gailey. Ivy Gamble was born without magic and never wanted it....
Dark matter : a novel
Crouch, Blake
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * OVER ONE MILLION COPIES SOLD! * NOW STREAMING ON APPLE TV+ A "mind-blowing" (Entertainment Weekly) speculative thriller about an ordinary man who awakens in a world inexplicably different from the reality he thought he knew--from the...
Uprooted
Novik, Naomi
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE NEBULA AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL * Naomi Novik, author of the New York Times bestselling and critically acclaimed Temeraire novels, introduces a bold new world rooted in folk stories and legends, as elemental as a Grimm fairy tale. HUGO AWARD FINALIST * NAMED...
The Martian
Weir, Andy.
Paper Book
Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way...
Starter villain
Scalzi, John
Paper Book
Now a New York Times bestseller! Inheriting your uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who's running the place. Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher...
Ink blood sister scribe : a novel
Törzs, Emma
Paper Book
NAMED A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR & ONE OF THE BEST FANTASY NOVELS OF THE YEAR  "Astonishing and pristine, the kind of debut I love to be devastated by, already so assured and sophisticated that it's difficult to imagine where the author can go from here. . . ....
The starless sea
Morgenstern, Erin
Paper Book
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Night Circus, a timeless love story set in a secret underground world--a place of pirates, painters, lovers, liars, and ships that sail upon a starless sea. Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a graduate student in Vermont when...
The starless sea
Morgenstern, Erin
Paper Book
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Night Circus, a timeless love story set in a secret underground world--a place of pirates, painters, lovers, liars, and ships that sail upon a starless sea. Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a graduate student in Vermont when...
The night circus : a novel
Morgenstern, Erin.
Paper Book
In this mesmerizing debut, a competition between two magicians becomes a star-crossed love story. The circus arrives at night, without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within nocturnal black and white striped tents awaits a unique...
The book of doors : a novel
Brown, Gareth
Paper Book
A debut novel full of magic, adventure, and romance, The Book of Doors opens up a thrilling world of contemporary fantasy for readers of The Midnight Library, The Invisible Life of Addie Larue, The Night Circus, and any modern story that mixes the wonder of the unknown...
Nettle & Bone
Kingfisher, T.
Paper Book
Winner of the Hugo Award for Best Novel An Instant USA Today & Indie Bestseller An Oprah Daily Top 25 Fantasy Book of 2022 A Vulture Best Fantasy Novel of 2022 An NPR Best Sci Fi, Fantasy, & Speculative Fiction Book of 2022 A...
Under the whispering door
Klune, TJ
Paper Book
A NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY, AND INDIE BESTSELLER One of Buzzfeed's "Best Books of 2022"! An Indie Next Pick! A Locus Awards Top Ten Finalist for Fantasy Novel A Man Called Ove meets The Good Place in Under the...
The ministry of time
Bradley, Kaliane
Paper Book
ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF SUMMER 2024 * A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * HUGO AWARD FINALIST FOR BEST NOVEL * WINNER OF THE GOODREADS CHOICE AWARD FOR SCIENCE FICTION * A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK * A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: NPR, VANITY FAIR, ESQUIRE<...
The invisible life of Addie LaRue
Schwab, Victoria
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER USA TODAY BESTSELLER NATIONAL INDIE BESTSELLER THE WASHINGTON POST BESTSELLER Recommended by Entertainment Weekly, Real Simple, NPR, Slate, and Oprah...
The invisible life of Addie LaRue
Schwab, Victoria
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER USA TODAY BESTSELLER NATIONAL INDIE BESTSELLER THE WASHINGTON POST BESTSELLER Recommended by Entertainment Weekly, Real Simple, NPR, Slate, and Oprah...
The midnight library
Haig, Matt
Paper Book
An instant New York Times bestsellerA GOOD MORNING AMERICA Book Club Pick Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had...
The cartographers : a novel
Shepherd, Peng
Paper Book
USA TODAY AND LA TIMES BESTSELLER Finalist for the LA Times Book Prize! "The Cartographers is one of those brilliant books you have to read twice." -- Washington Post "There are echoes of Borges and Bradbury, Pynchon and Finian's Rainbow, but Ms. Shepherd's...
Comfort me with apples
Valente, Catherynne M.
Paper Book
Comfort Me With Apples is a terrifying new thriller from bestseller Catherynne M. Valente, for fans of Gone Girl and Spinning Silver A Shirley Jackson Award finalist! A Locus Award finalist! Sophia was made for him. Her...
All the birds in the sky
Anders, Charlie.
Paper Book
Entertainment Weekly's 27 Female Authors Who Rule Sci-Fi and Fantasy Right Now Winner of the 2017 Nebula Award for Best Novel Finalist for the 2017 Hugo Award for Best Novel Paste's 50 Best Books of the 21st Century (So Far) List "The...
Piranesi
Clarke, Susanna
Paper Book
New York Times Bestseller Winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction World Fantasy Awards Finalist From the New York Times bestselling author of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, an intoxicating, hypnotic new novel set in a...
The inheritance of Orqui?dea Divina : a novel
Córdova, Zoraida
Paper Book
Perfect for fans of Alice Hoffman, Isabel Allende, and Sarah Addison Allen, this is a gorgeously written novel about a family searching for the truth hidden in their past and the power they've inherited, from the author of the acclaimed and "giddily exciting" (The New York Times Book Review<...

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