Best 2015, Best Books, Best Year-End, Fantasy, Fiction & Literature, Science Fiction

The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Books Of 2015 (A Year-End List Aggregation)

234 different books were found in the 28 “Best Science Fiction & Fantasy” book lists we consulted. Of the 234 books, 79 titles appeared on multiple lists. Several familiar faces can be found in the top list, with a few authors appearing multiple times. Sequels or parts of series also dominate the list, but original entries carved their way in as well.

We added pictures and links for the top 34 science fiction and fantasy books that appear on 4 or more lists, with the additional titles listed after. To see our aggregated year-end lists for other categories, follow the links below.

The Best Non-Fiction Books of 2015

The Best Cook Books of 2015

The Best Art & Photography Books of 2015

The Best Graphic Novels of 2015

The Best Poetry Books of 2015

The Best Biography & Memoir Books of 2015

The Best Science Books of 2015

The Best History Books of 2015

 



The 34 Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Books of 2015


1) Uprooted by Naomi Novik

Appears On: 15 Lists
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Uprooted by Naomi Novik


2) Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie

Appears On: 11 Lists
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Ancillary Mercy (Imperial Radch #3) by Ann Leckie


3) Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson

Appears On: 11 Lists
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Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson


4) Seveneves by Neal Stephenson

Appears On: 11 Lists
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Seveneves by Neal Stephenson


5) The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

Appears On: 10 Lists
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The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth #1) by N.K. Jemisin


6) The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson

Appears On: 9 Lists
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The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson


7) A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

Appears On: 8 Lists
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A Darker Shade final for Irene


8) The Mechanical (The Alchemy Wars) by Ian Tregillis

Appears On: 8 Lists
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The Mechanical (The Alchemy Wars #1) by Ian Tregillis


9) Twelve Kings in Sharakhai by Bradley Beaulieu

Appears On: 7 Lists
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Twelve Kings in Sharakhai (The Song of the Shattered Sands #1) by Bradley P. Beaulieu


10) Dark Orbit by Carolyn Ives Gilman

Appears On: 6 Lists
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Dark Orbit (Twenty Planets) by Carolyn Ives Gilman


11) Radiance by Catherynne M. Valente

Appears On: 6 Lists
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Radiance by Catherynne M. Valente


12) Sorcerer to the Crown: A Sorcerer Royal Novel by Zen Cho

Appears On: 6 Lists
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Sorcerer to the Crown (Sorcerer Royal #1) by Zen Cho


13) The Aeronaut’s Windlass by Jim Butcher

Appears On: 6 Lists
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The Aeronaut's Windlass (The Cinder Spires #1) by Jim Butcher


14) The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi

Appears On: 6 Lists
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The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi


15) Three Moments of an Explosion by China Mieville

Appears On: 6 Lists
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Three Moments of an Explosion- Stories by China Miéville


16) Fool’s Quest by Robin Hobb

Appears On: 5 Lists
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Fool's Quest (The Fitz and The Fool Trilogy #2) by Robin Hobb


17) Half the World and Half a War by Joe Abercrombie

Appears On: 5 Lists
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Half the World (Shattered Sea #2) by Joe Abercrombie


18) Luna: New Moon (Luna #1) by Ian McDonald

Appears On: 5 Lists
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Luna- New Moon (Luna #1) by Ian McDonald


19) Shadows of Self by Brandon Sanderson

Appears On: 5 Lists
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Shadows of Self (Mistborn #5) by Brandon Sanderson


20) The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

Appears On: 5 Lists
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The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins


21) The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

Appears On: 5 Lists
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The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers


22) The Vorrh by Brian Catling

Appears On: 5 Lists
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The Vorrh by Brian Catling


23) Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances by Neil Gaiman

Appears On: 5 Lists
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Trigger Warning- Short Fictions and Disturbances by Neil Gaiman


24) A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by George R. R. Martin and Gary Gianni

Appears On: 4 Lists
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A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (The Tales of Dunk and Egg #1-3) by George R.R. Martin, Gary Gianni (Illustrator)


25) Get In Trouble by Kelly Link

Appears On: 4 Lists
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Get in Trouble by Kelly Link


26) Golden Son: Book II Of The Red Rising Trilogy by Pierce Brown

Appears On: 4 Lists
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Golden Son (Red Rising #2) by Pierce Brown


27) Signal to Noise by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Appears On: 4 Lists
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Signal to Noise by Silvia Moreno-Garcia


28) The Dark Forest by Cixin Liu

Appears On: 4 Lists
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The Dark Forest (Three Body #2) by Liu Cixin


29) The Just City by Jo Walton

Appears On: 4 Lists
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The Just City (Thessaly #1) by Jo Walton


30) The Philosopher Kings by Jo Walton

Appears On: 4 Lists
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The Philosopher Kings (Thessaly #2) by Jo Walton


31) The Shepherd’s Crown by Terry Pratchett

Appears On: 4 Lists
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The Shepherd's Crown (Discworld #41) by Terry Pratchett


32) The Skull Throne by Peter V. Brett

Appears On: 4 Lists
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The Skull Throne (The Demon Cycle #4) by Peter V. Brett


33) The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps by Kai Ashante Wilson

Appears On: 4 Lists
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The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps by Kai Ashante Wilson


34) The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu

Appears On: 4 Lists
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The Three-Body Problem (Three Body #1) by Liu Cixin



Books 35 to 52


All appear on 3 lists a piece

  • Apex by Ramez Naam
  • Escape from Baghdad! by Saad Hossein
  • Lightless by C.A. Higgins
  • Magic Shifts by Ilona Andrews
  • Planetfall, by Emma Newman
  • Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
  • Slade House: A Novel by David Mitchell
  • The Autumn Republic by Brian McClellan
  • The Buried Giant: A Novel by Kazuo Ishiguro
  • THE DEATH HOUSE BY SARAH PINBOROUGH
  • The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu
  • The Liar’s Key by Mark Lawrence
  • The Providence of Fire by Brian Staveley
  • The Watchmaker of Filigree Street” by Natasha Pulley
  • Touch by Claire North
  • Vermilion by Molly Tanzer
  • Vision in Silver, by Anne Bishop
  • Wake of Vultures by Lila Bowen

Books 53 to 79

All appear on 2 lists

  • A Head Full Of Ghosts: A Novel by Paul Tremblay
  • Angel of Storms by Trudi Canavan
  • Archivist Wasp by Nicole Kornher-Stace
  • Bitch Planet Vol. 1: Extraordinary Machine by Kelly Sue DeConnick, illustrated by Valentine De Landro
  • Europe at Midnight
  • Firefight by Brandon Sanderson
  • Flex/The Flux, by Ferrett Steinmetz
  • Gold Fame Citrus: A Novel by Claire Vaye Watkins
  • Half-Resurrection Blues by Daniel José Older
  • Karen Memory, by Elizabeth Bear
  • Last Song Before Night by Ilana C. Myer
  • Mort(e), Robert Repino
  • Nemesis Games by James S.A. Corey
  • Not On Fire, But Burning: A Novel by Greg Hrbek
  • Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
  • Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older
  • Sleeping Embers of an Ordinary Mind
  • Slow Bullets
  • The End of All Things (Old Man’s War #6)
  • The Heart Goes Last
  • The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette de Bodard
  • The Invasion of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
  • The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman
  • The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon
  • The Only Ones by Carola Dibbell
  • Updraft
  • Winter by Marissa Meyer

 

 


The 155 Additional Books Appearing on a Single List

 

  • A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
  • A CROWN FOR COLD SILVER BY ALEX MARSHALL
  • A Planet For Rent by Yoss, translated by David Frye
  • A Wild Swan: And Other Tales by Michael Cunningham
  • Aftermath (Star Wars: Aftermath #1)
  • AliceAug 4, 2015 by Christina Henry
  • Alive: Book One of the Generations TrilogyJul 14, 2015 by Scott Sigler
  • All That Outer Space Allows
  • An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
  • An Inheritance of Ashes
  • Angles of Attack
  • Arcadia by Iain Pears
  • Armada
  • Bats of the Republic by Zachary Thomas Dodson
  • Battlefront: Twilight Company by Alexander Freed
  • Battlemage by Stephen Aryan
  • Beacon 23: The Complete Novel
  • Binary
  • Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
  • Black Wolves by Kate Elliott
  • Boundary Crossed
  • BrainWeb
  • Broken Dolls by Tyrolin Puxty
  • Burned (Fever #7)
  • Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
  • CHASING THE PHOENIX
  • China Miéville: Critical Essays
  • Chocky, John Wyndham
  • City of the Iron Fish by Simon Ings
  • Clade
  • Clockwork Lives by Kevin J. Anderson and Neal Peart
  • Cold Hillside
  • Crashing Heaven by Al Robertson
  • Crooked
  • Dark Ascension
  • Dark Intelligence by Neal Asher
  • DAY FOUR BY SARAH LOTZ
  • Dayblack
  • Dead Heat (Alpha & Omega #4)
  • Descender Volume 1: Tin Stars by Jeff Lemire, coauthored and illustrated by Dustin Nguyen
  • Dragon Heart: A Fantasy Novel
  • Empire Ascendant (Worldbreaker Saga #2) by Kameron Hurley
  • Fake Fruit Factory by Patrick Wensick
  • Falling in Love with Hominids by Nalo Hopkinson
  • Fallout (Lois Lane)
  • Find Me: A Novel by Laura van den Berg
  • Futuristic Violence: A NovelOct 6, 2015 by David Wong
  • Gemini Cell by Myke Cole
  • Gene Mapper
  • Ghost Fleet: A Novel of the Next World War
  • Ghost Summer: Stories Tananarive Due
  • Gutshot: Stories by Amelia Gray
  • Gypsy by Carter Scholz
  • Half a King – Shattered Sea 1
  • Hannu Rajaniemi: Collected Fiction by Hannu Rajaniemi
  • Imperial Handbook: A Commander’s Guide (Star Wars (Chronicle))Aug 11, 2015 by Daniel Wallace
  • In Midnight’s Silence
  • Ink and Bone: The Great Library, by Rachel Caine
  • Interstellar Cinderella by Deborah Underwood, illustrated and co-authored by Meg Hunt
  • Invasion of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
  • King of Thieves (Star Rogue, #1)
  • Knight’s Shadow by Sebastien de Castell
  • Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor
  • Let Me Tell You: New Stories, Essays, And Other Writings by Shirley Jackson
  • Letters to ZellJul 1, 2015 by Camille Griep
  • LITTLE SISTER DEATH BY WILLIAM GAY
  • LOST GIRL BY ADAM NEVILL
  • Lungdon: Book Three (The Iremonger Trilogy) by Edward Carey
  • Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, Book 1: The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan
  • Magonia
  • Marilyn’s Monster by Michelle Knudsen, illustrated by Matt Phelan
  • Nimona by Noelle Stevenson
  • Octavia’s Brood: Science Fiction Stories from Social Justice Movements, edited by Walidah Imarisha and adrienne maree brown
  • Of Noble Family by Mary Robinette Kowal
  • One Night in Sixes
  • Our Lady of the Ice by Cassandra Rose Clarke
  • Persona by Genevieve Valentine
  • Pool by Jihyeon Lee
  • Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas
  • Recurve (Elemental #1)
  • Revision, by Andrea Phillips
  • Scion of Ikshvaku
  • Shadow Study by Maria V. Snyder
  • SISTERS OF THE REVOLUTION: A FEMINIST SPECULATIVE FICTION ANTHOLOGY
  • SKIN BY ILKA TAMPKE
  • Son of the Black Sword by Larry Correia
  • Sorcerer of the Wildeeps, by Kai Ashante Wilson
  • Speak: A Novel by Louisa Hall
  • Starborn: Book One: The Worldmaker Trilogy – The Worldmaker Trilogy 1
  • Strands of Sorrow (Black Tide Rising, #4)
  • SuperMutant Magic Academy by Jillian Tamaki
  • Sword of the North by Luke Scull
  • Tales From The Loop by Simon Stalenhag
  • Tales Of The Marvellous And News Of The Strange by translated by Malcolm C. Lyons, illustrated by Coralie Bickford-Smith
  • THE AFFINITIES
  • The Beast of Cretacea by Todd Strasser
  • The Beautiful Bureaucrat: A Novel
  • The Best of All Possible Worlds
  • The Blondes: A Novel by Emily Schultz
  • The Book of Phoenix by Nnedi Okorafor
  • The Child Eater
  • The Country Of Ice Cream Star by Sandra Newman
  • The Court Of Fives by Kate Elliott
  • The Daughters: A Novel by Adrienne Celt
  • The Dead Mountaineer’s Inn: One More Last Rite For The Detective Genre by Boris Strugatsky, Arkady Strugatsky, translated by Josh Billings
  • The Death of Dulgath by Michael J. Sullivan
  • The Devil’s Detective by Simon Kurt Unsworth
  • The Dinosaur Lords by Victor Milán
  • The Dirty Dust: Cré Na Cille by Máirtín Ó Cadhain, translated by Alan Titley
  • The Drafter, by Kim Harrison
  • The Dread Wyrm by Miles Cameron
  • THE EMPRESS GAME BY RHONDA MASON
  • The Fifth Heart by Dan Simmons
  • The Fire Sermon
  • The Fold
  • The Fool’s Quest – Fitz and the Fool 2
  • The Galaxy Game by Karen Lord
  • The Gameshouse by Claire North
  • THE GLORIOUS ANGELS BY JUSTINA ROBSON
  • The Gracekeepers: A Novel by Kirsty Logan
  • The Incarnations
  • The IX by Andrew P. Weston
  • The Labyrinth of Flame
  • The Only Words That Are Worth Remembering by Jeffrey Rotter
  • The Price of Valor by Django Wexler
  • The Queen of the Tearling
  • The Rebirths of Tao by Wesley Chu
  • The Red Trilogy (3 Book Series)
  • The Red: First Light Linda Nagata
  • The Sandman: Overture by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by JH Williams III
  • THE THREE MOMENTS OF AN EXPLOSION BY CHINA MIEVILLE
  • The Total Emasculation of the White Man by David Valentine Bernard
  • The Turnip Princess And Other Newly Discovered Fairy Tales by Franz-Xaver von Schönwerth, translated by Maria Tatar,
    illustrated by Engelbert Suss
  • The Ultra Fabulous Glitter Squadron Saves the World Again
  • The Unmapped Sea by Maryrose Wood, illustrated by Eliza Wheeler
  • THE VAGRANT BY PETER NEWMAN
  • The Visible Filth by Nathan Ballingrud
  • The Wake by Paul Kingsnorth
  • The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma
  • The Whispering Swarm – Michael Moorcock
  • The Wolf Border by Sarah Hall
  • The World Before Us: A Novel by Aislinn Hunter
  • Thicker Than Blood (The Twenty-Sided Sorceress #6)
  • Unbound by Jim C Hines
  • Warheart by Terry Goodkind
  • Warship (Black Fleet , #1)
  • Welcome to Night Vale
  • Where The Bird Sings Best by Alejandro Jodorowsky, translated by Alfred MacAdam
  • Winged Histories
  • Wolf Winter
  • Working for Bigfoot by Jim Butcher
  • Yield the Night (Steel & Stone #3)
  • Your Alien by Tammi Sauer, illustrated by Goro Fujita
  • Zeroes: A NovelAug 18, 2015 by Chuck Wendig
  • Zisle

The 28 “Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Book” Year-End Lists Consulted