Best Fantasy Books of 2021

The Fantasy Novels of 2021 That Won Awards and Readers' Votes

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Which fantasy novels defined 2021? This list ranks the year's books by how many independent signals back them: the Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy and Locus awards, and the Goodreads Choice Awards, where readers vote.

Books that won or were shortlisted for several awards come first, followed by the books readers voted for most.

The ranking

1

A Master of Djinn

by Clark, P. Djèlí

Nebula, Locus, and Alex Award-winner P. Djèlí Clark goes full-length for the first time in his dazzling debut novelCairo, 1912: Though Fatma el-Sha’arawi is the youngest woman working for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchant...

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2

The Jasmine Throne

Princess Malini has been exiled by her ruthless brother, the emperor, to the Hirana, a ruined mountain temple that once guarded a source of deathless water. She is held there, watched and slowly poisoned.Priya, a maidser...

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3

She Who Became the Sun

by Parker-Chan, Shelley

In 1345, China lies under harsh Mongol rule. For the starving peasants of the Central Plains, greatness is something found only in stories. When the Zhu family’s eighth-born son, Zhu Chongba, is given a fate of greatness...

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4

Jade Legacy

Jade, the mysterious and magical substance once exclusive to the Green Bone warriors of Kekon, is now coveted throughout the world. Everyone wants access to the supernatural abilities it provides. As the struggle over th...

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5

A Court of Silver Flames

by Maas, Sarah J.

Sarah J. Maas's sexy, richly imagined Court of Thorns and Roses series continues with the journey of Feyre's fiery sister, Nesta.Nesta Archeron has always been prickly – proud, swift to anger and slow to forgive. And sin...

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6

Under the Whispering Door

by Klune, T. J.

A Man Called Ove meets The Good Place in Under the Whispering Door, a delightful queer love story from TJ Klune, author of the New York Times and USA Today bestseller The House in the Cerulean Sea.Welcome to Charon's Cro...

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7

The Unbroken

by Clark, C. L.

Touraine was taken from her North African homeland as a child and trained as a soldier in the army of the empire that conquered it. When her unit is sent back to garrison the capital of Qazāl, she is a loyal soldier with...

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8

Light From Uncommon Stars

An adventure set in California's San Gabriel Valley, with cursed violins, Faustian bargains, and queer alien courtship over fresh-made donuts.Shizuka Satomi made a deal with the devil: to escape damnation, she must entic...

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9

Black Water Sister

"A reluctant medium is about to discover the ties that bind can unleash a dangerous power . . . . When Jessamyn Teoh starts hearing a voice in her head, she chalks it up to stress. Closeted, broke and jobless, she's movi...

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10

The Crown of Gilded Bones

by Armentrout, Jennifer L.

She's been the victim and the survivor…Poppy never dreamed she would find the love she’s found with Prince Casteel. She wants to revel in her happiness but first they must free his brother and find hers. It’s a dangerous...

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11

Ariadne

by Saint, Jennifer

Ariadne, Princess of Crete, grows up greeting the dawn from her beautiful dancing floor and listening to her nursemaid’s stories of gods and heroes. But beneath her golden palace echo the ever-present hoofbeats of her br...

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12

The Last Graduate

by Novik, Naomi

"A budding dark sorceress determined not to use her formidable powers uncovers yet more secrets about the workings of her world in the stunning sequel to A Deadly Education, the start of Naomi Novik's groundbreaking cros...

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13

The Shadow of the Gods

by Gwynne, John

A century has passed since the gods fought and drove themselves to extinction. Now only their bones remain, promising great power to those brave enough to seek them out. As whispers of war echo cross the land of Vigrið,...

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14

The Witch's Heart

by Gornichec, Genevieve

Angrboda is a witch of the giants, punished by Odin for refusing to tell what she knows. He has her burned three times and her heart torn out, and she escapes to a remote forest, where she is found by Loki.Their love is...

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15

The Book of Magic

by Hoffman, Alice

For three hundred years, a curse has brought death or tragedy to anyone who loves a member of the Owens family. When Aunt Jet reads her own death in a deathwatch beetle and a young man's life is in danger, three generati...

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16

The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina

by Córdova, Zoraida

"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...

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17

The Wolf and the Woodsman

In the vein of Naomi Novik’s New York Times bestseller Spinning Silver and Katherine Arden’s national bestseller The Bear and the Nightingale, this unforgettable debut— inspired by Hungarian history and Jewish mythology—...

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18

The Hidden Palace

by Wecker, Helene

In New York in 1900, Chava, a golem made of clay, and Ahmad, a jinni made of fire, renew a friendship that is as close as it is difficult. They are very different, and they can never be quite what each other needs.Around...

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19

For the Wolf

by Whitten, Hannah

Red is the second daughter of her kingdom, a role that means she will be sacrificed to the Wolf, a creature in the Wilderwood who is said to keep the old gods imprisoned. She carries a dangerous power of her own and goes...

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20

The Chosen and the Beautiful

Immigrant. Socialite. Magician.Jordan Baker grows up in the most rarefied circles of 1920s American society—she has money, education, a killer golf handicap, and invitations to some of the most exclusive parties of the J...

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Trending Books in Best Fantasy Books of 2021

The Wolf and the Woodsman

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The Book of Magic

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The Shadow of the Gods

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Jade Legacy

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A Court of Silver Flames

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Under the Whispering Door

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The Unbroken

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Light From Uncommon Stars

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The Chosen and the Beautiful

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The Witch's Heart

Gornichec, Genevieve

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