Standalone Fantasy & Science Fiction Reads for Adults

Updated May 14, 2025
Drag items up and down to your preferred order then select the "Save Order" button.
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...
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...
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...
The Martian : a novel
Weir, Andy
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * "Brilliant . . . a celebration of human ingenuity [and] the purest example of real-science sci-fi for many years . . . utterly compelling."--The Wall Street Journal The inspiration for the major motion picture ...
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...
The night circus
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, V. E.
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
Between life and death there is a library.  When Nora Seed finds herself in the Midnight Library, she has a chance to make things right. Up until now, her life has been full of misery and regret. She feels she has let everyone down, including herself. But things are about to change.<...
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...

Library staff! You can create and contribute to lists. Contact your catalog administrator or log in here.