Ed’s Most Anticipated Reads of 2025 (SFF Edition)

The Green Bone Saga by Fonda Lee is the high watermark of modern fantasy, as well as helping the “emotional damage” meme continue to thrive, and so any new series by her must be welcomed with appropriate parades and hysteria. But the fact that her next Orbit series is a “cyberpunk samurai space opera” duology described by her as “Akira Kurosawa meets Dune” and “a science fiction mystery chanbara story set on a harsh Arrakis-style tundra planet but blend in Blade Runner vibes and a touch of John Wick” makes this extra appealing because, well, those references. There’s a welcome trend at the moment of fantasy authors looking to write space opera, but world-building master Fonda Lee delving into the genre? This has to be special.

Pre-order The Last Contract of Isako here

Sea of Souls, a dark fantasy novel about a Scottish-inspired fantasy land of sea monsters, ship’s captains and mist-covered secrets was, as I have definitely never told anyone before, my favourite SFF read of 2023. Well now the sequel will be shortly be upon us (5th March) and I cannot wait to discover what Scrimgeour has in store for us for this world of terrifying selkies, understandably annoyed selkies, and people who may turn out to be selkies. Selkies aside, the first book had stunningly atmospheric prose, captivatingly creepy world building and convincing, engrossing characters, and I for one cannot wait to get obsessed again about one of the most exciting fantasy series around.

Pre-order Mists of Memory here

Dark Crescent by Lyndsey Croal

With last year’s novelette Have You Decided on Your Question and this year’s astonishing tour de force collection Limelight, Scottish author Lyndsey Croal has established herself as the master of Black Mirror-style dark sci-fi tales. But as those who’ve followed her lengthy career in short stories know, she also has a dark folklore string to her writing bow, as exemplified by this upcoming collection from Luna Press of dark tales from Scottish folklore, which will see her unique take on all manner of wee beasties (apologies to the Scots there). I love folklore monster shenanigans so I am more excited for this than a banshee before a major disaster (yes I know that’s Irish) but, given Croal’s penchant for emotional extremes and wild inventiveness, we all should be excited at this one.

You come at the Swan, you best not miss. Having won legions of the fantasy world over with his rip-roaring, political-legal-eldritch-horror fantasy trilogy The Empire of the Wolf, detailing the travails of the Empire of Sova and the wickedly memorable character of Sir Konrad Vonvalt, Richard Swan has returned to his fantasy playground two hundred years later. From the sounds of it this is Swan unleashed (a terrifying prospect in any lake scenario), combining his obsession with the weaknesses of empire and the horrors of war against the backdrop of the gunpowder and merchant navy age. Master and Commander with psychotic mermen, anyone?

Pre-order Grave Empire here

Every Dark Cloud by Marisca Pichette

The first ’25 title of acclaimed dark fantasy/horror indie press Ghost Orchid, this sci-fi (or cli-fi, climate change sci-fi if you’re not in the cool sub-genre naming club) novella concerns a world which never sees the sun due to the clouds artificially produced to save the population from the sun’s now-lethal rays. This is a world of navigating by sound and scent and soft light, including the wonderfully eerie bio-luminescence of mushrooms, and a designer of scent-featured houses must uncover a conspiracy at the heart of this sun-deprived society. I have already read this, and so I can tell you that it is a stunningly evocative read of magisterial world building and poignant, powerful relationships built on scent; the concept and the writing and the emotion will blow you away.

I should also tell you that the above comes with a heavy bias warning as, being part of the Ghost Orchid team, I have worked on this book in an editing capacity, but I can still objectively say it’s awesome right? Right? Please say right.

Pre-order Every Dark Cloud here

Earlier this year, R A Sandpiper exploded onto the dark fantasy/romantasy scene with indie hit A Pocket of Lies, a devilishly dark, witty, twist, well-written debut with an ultra-slow-burn enemies to maybe-one-day-lovers romance that appealed to those readers like me who like their romance plots but like them complex and slowly maturing and, of course, filled with 10/10 comebacks. Even romance skeptics should be won over by this series due to its brutal blend of politics, murder and brilliant world building, and given that the sequel A Promise of Blood a few months after was even better, expectations for the third one are currently somewhere above the Himalayas… so let’s hope the author never reads this.

Pre-order A Claiming of Souls here

This year’s dark urban fantasy debut from Brigids Gate Press, The Hiding, was a statement of intent from Alethea Lyons: atmospheric, surreal, chilling prose; a witty found-family cast giving strong Buffy/Charmed vibes; and a fantastic setting in an alternate York where monsters and all things supernatural are supposedly banished behind a magical veil. The sequel, which promises another supernatural killer and more truths revealed about the main character witch Harper, offers a welcome return to one of the most evocatively haunting worlds in fantasy right now.

Pre-order The Somnia here

Reviewer of this website and all-round venerated wit of the online fantasy realm Tom Bookbeard, possibly not his real name, is leaping into the indie fantasy realm at some point in 2025 with his debut The Corsair which is about SKY PIRATES. PIRATES… IN THE SKY. Do I have any more information at the moment? No. Do you need any more than that to be excited? No. I have heard a sample of it which suggests to me that this is the real deal, and I for one am awaiting a book about SKY PIRATES with the kind of rabid enthusiasm you would expect.

Follow Tom on Bluesky here to keep up to date with news about his book about SKY PIRATES

Another 2025 read that I have already read, yet am including here like a wild rule breaker because the anticipation is to see what readers make of it, Casual is a near future sci-fi-horror tale from the consistently reliably brilliant indie press Tenebrous. It’s about a pregnant woman who uses a neural gaming app to manage her anxiety yet is faced with having to turn it off under law before she gives birth. It’s a startlingly creative, blisteringly immersive tale about one woman’s attempt to reclaim control while all around her are seeking a claim over her autonomy in a worryingly plausible future world of the rich/poor divide, intrusive tech and manipulative care-givers. You can read more about it in my review here if you want… but the key thing to know is that it’s as close to an essential SFF read next year as they come.

Pre-order Casual here

The Iron Road by David Wragg

The Iron Road will conclude the Tales of the Plains trilogy, the second series from master of humour-with-heart epic fantasy David Wragg. The second book released this year, The Company of the Wolf, was my favorite fantasy of the year, so I await this one like the location of the fountain of youth. This is a series in which Wragg has leveled up as an author, describing the journey of middle-aged mother and warrior Ree and her teenage daughter Javani across the rebel-strewn and East India Company-corporate-alike Plains with a deep reservoir of characterization that has provided some heartbreaking moments so far amidst all the pitch-perfect wit and snark. If he can strike gold again with the trilogy finisher then this will be a series for the ages.

Pre-order the Iron Road here

V E SCHWAB’S TAKE ON VAMPIRES

…that is all I have to say on the matter

Pre-order Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil here

The Sins of Steel and Shadow by Steve Pannett

Steve Pannett thoroughly impressed me last year with his indie fantasy debut The Hunter’s Lament, featuring a gritty, twisty, well-written mercenary fantasy story with a surprising emotional punch within the bleak tale. For his next one, he’s doing vampires, which is a quick way to my Nosferatu heart, but intriguingly this tale features a protagonist who is one of the “turned” – neither human nor vampire – and so is reviled by them both. Intriguing concept this, and I have high hopes for his sophomore effort.

Seven Recipes for Revolution by Ryan Rose

A contender for one of the most original or at least notable hooks of the year is Ryan Rose’s epic fantasy debut from Daphne Press, which features a butcher called Paprick who carves meat from dead kaiju (very big monsters if you’ve been in a cultural cave) to harness their magical powers in meals for the rich. Paprick has the goal of being a chef but what he ends up doing could stir a class-based revolution. Anything described as a food-based fantasy immediately feels fresh (do not pardon the pun, it was great) and combine that with the theme of “down with the rich” and this feels like a perfect story for both our times and our palate.

Pre-order Seven Recipes for Revolution here