2024 has been a great reading-year for me. So much so that, rather than giving a shout out to some honourable mentions here, there’s a full list of them in my previous post linked below. The 10 books featured in this list are the cream of the crop and I wholeheartedly recommend each and every one of them if your reading tastes even somewhat align with mine. In this list, I’ll be crowing two authors “king” of their respective genre, I have coincidentally both my longest and (second) shortest book of the year and I will once again feature quite a few underrated gems that you might have never heard of. As always I aimed for a count-down, and as always there will be some wiggle room with regards to exact placement and order. I feel firm about my top 4; the rest could change around at any given day.
A final “apology in advance” before we get into the list. In contrast to my worst-list, very few of these books have dedicated reviews up yet. For many, those are in the making, but they tend to take me longer to produce. Favourites are often more personal to me, and more so based on a feeling than on “objective points”, which makes it harder to articulate in a review. I’ll try to link any full review in the future, but for now the shorter recommendations below will have to do.
10. Alien Clay – Adrian Tchaikovsky
Adrian Tchaikovsky deserves to open this list, not only by virtue of this book in itself, but by seemingly carrying the entire sci-fi genre on his back this year. Within the last few years there’s been a trend in publishing away from hard-sci-fi, in favor of “softer-sci-fi” like speculative literary fiction or climate-fiction. Although I love both (as will be evident later in this list), I want the two to exist in tandem and feel like the harder sci-fi has been seriously falling behind. Tchaikovsky is fighting a one-man-battle to counteract that. This man has been putting out multiple releases a year, all of consistent quality, to the point where I’ve become convinced that this man must be an alien or robot himself… No mere man could be this prolific! I’ve read multiple books by Tchaikovsky this year, but his latest novel stood out as a favourite.
Alien Clay follows a professor of ecology as he arrives on the distant planet of Kiln, tasked to study the ravenous, chaotic and often life-threatening ecosystem on display. This trip isn’t a research-mission, but a thinly veiled death-sentence following his Earth-past as a political activist. Trying his best to stay alive and gain understanding of Kilns strange biology, our protagonist finds himself more and more intwined with the ecosystem that surrounds him.
The book has everything I’ve come to love from this author. At its core is such an original sci-fi concept rooted in real biological science but warped beyond natural. It often felt as if Tchaikovsky had watched That-Bear-Scene from the movie Annihilation and thought: “but what if I build a world entirely around this?”
In many ways Alien Clay also reminded me of Cage of Souls, my personal favourite Tchaikovsky to date. They have similarly voiced protagonists; smart and idealistic men with jaded and cynical humor in the face of insurmountable odds stacked against them. Also similarly is a political subplot to do with a revolution against a tyrannical regime, which rather than overbearing, felt like it added subtle urgency to the plot.This is a must-read for fans of hard sci-fi, as are this authors other works. I hand you the first crown of today, mr. Tchaikovsky: King of Modern Sci-fi.
9. The Night Alphabet – Joelle Taylor
Coming in at number 9 is the most underrated book on this list, releasing to little fanfare in February of this year. I have a fantastic track-record when it comes to poets making their literary fiction debuts, and Joelle Taylor can join the ranks of Salena Godden, Carmen Maria Machado or Ocean Vuong.
The Night Alphabet is a difficult book to summarize, especially without giving any of its reveals away. It’s a speculative literary novel that opens with a woman entering a tattoo-parlor with an unusual request. She wishes final tattoo to add to her already extensive collection of them; a single line that connects them all. Throughout the tattooing process, she takes the two female tattoo-artists working on her on a journey “across the map of her life”; each tattoo revealing a story of her past and weaving an integrate pattern of a turbulent life lived.
The speculative element of this book is a spoiler, but there’s a specific section in my full review dedicated to it. I loved how it fit into the story, emphasizing the themes of transience and connection that are laced throughout the novel. It’s a kaleidoscopic journey of queerness, agency in the face of violence, identity and what is meant by “inhabiting a body”, rather than “being” one, written in the most beautiful form and prose I’ve encountered this year.
The only reason for it not being higher in my top 10 is how incredibly difficult to read I found some parts. There are themes of violence, abuse (psychological, physical and sexual) and loss of bodily autonomy that are handled incredibly well, but made this a really challenging read. For part of the story we’re placed in the mind of an incredibly vile, misogynistic and abusive character. These parts are essential to the rest of the novel, but made me want to take several showers to wash any association with that character off me.
These scenes in the end only heightened the contrast to the feeling of connection and “homecoming” I felt at the end, that brought tears to my eyes. If you’re read this book, you’ll know what I’m talking about.
Overall, one of the best books of 2024, just not one I can universally recommend to everyone. Then again, isn’t it often the best books that aren’t universal…?
8. Green Fuse Burning - Tiffany Morisson
In the number 8 spot is second shortest book I read this year, but one that completely blew me away with the incredible punch it packed in just over 100 pages.
This is an independently published eco-horror novella that explores themes of grief over the loss of a parent, queerness, death and rebirth, all through a lens of natural beauty and terror. A struggling artist, stuck in art-block after the death of her father, is offered a solo-cabin-holiday by her girlfriend, in hopes of sparking her creativity. Surrounded by the brackish waters of the lake and oppressive swamp-mists, Rita’s mind indeed begins to blossom with uncanny visions. Told alongside the descriptions of the series of painting created during her trip, we follow Rita’s journey in the natural bog, as well as the swampy depth of her own mind into the decaying depth of her grief.
In addition to resonating with its themes, I was completely pulled in by Tiffany Morisson’s prose. Hallucinatory, profound and lyrical; this reads like an unhinged extended poem, where not a single word feels out of place.
7. The Way of Kings – Brandon Sanderson
Forming the middle-part of this list is a cluster of fantasy-novels, starting with the most universally beloved one: The Way of Kings. Neither this book, nor the man behind it need much introduction. Sanderson is often hailed as the Master of Modern Fantasy, and I’m willing to grant him that title too.
The Way of Kings is the first novel in his Stormlight Archives series, which is probably his magnum opus, spanning five massive novels and a handful of novellas. Despite my love for Sanderson’s previous works, I’ve been so intimidated to start this series for its sheer size and massive world. I’m so happy to say that I was in good hands. From the characters, to the worldbuilding, to the masterful pacing and storytelling-technique: this book is near perfection, in addition to being incredibly accessible and addictive to read. The only reason for not ranking it higher on this list is that exact feeling of “near perfection”, which has me worried about continuing the series. Sometimes something can be só polished, that it veers into “uncanny” territory and loses its personality and originality a bit. The Way of Kings is not there yet, but might be at risk for it. As for now, my investment in Bridge 4, Kaladin and Shallan prove differently, so I just desperately hope that that feeling keeps up when I continue the series in 2025. You can read more of my thought in my review here.
6. The Tainted Cup – Robert Jackson Bennett
Robert Jackson Bennett cemented his place as an auto-buy fantasy author in my book with the Foundryside trilogy, and his latest release didn’t disappoint. The Tainted Cup is the beginning of a new series, which blends a murder-mystery with a Sherlock-Watson-style detective-duo with a high fantasy world crafted with the meticulous care we know from Bennett.
We follow an eccentric detective and her assistant, each with a set of uniquely enhanced skills, investigate the puzzling murder of an imperial officer, who appeared to have died as a result of a tree sprouting from his chest. Our detective-duo soon find themselves on the trail of a string of poisonings with a biological contagion, with ties into the high societies of the empire. To keep it short: I adored every single element of this story. From the intriguing mystery, to the exquisite in-depth worldbuilding, to the Sherlock-and-Watson like dynamic of our protagonist duo... It’s not an easy task to write brilliantly intelligent characters, with genuinely funny banter between them, but Bennett manages to nail it at every turn. As an added bonus; I loved the themes of neurodivergence and embracing the strengths of differences within this story and its protagonists. I can’t wait to see more of these characters as the series continues. The more closed-room murder-mystery also made for the perfect introduction to what is clearly a larger world out there (I NEED to know more about the Leviathans and the way they’re tied to this magic system!!), and I can’t wait to see how Bennett expands on that in the sequels.
5. Dreams of the Dying – Nicholas Lietzau
Cracking the top 5 is my favourite high-fantasy novel of 2024, which also happens to be the most underrated one of them all. Dreams of the Dying is an independently published fantasy novel that absolutely blew me out away with its quality, and the emotional impact it had on me.I was already familiar with this world from the game Enderal (an indie total-conversion-mod for Skyrim, which I absolutely adored) for which Lietzau did the story-writing too. Here he translates and expands his story into novel-format, focusing in on a protagonist that some might recognize from the games too.
Dreams of the Dying is set in an empire on the brink of collapse as the emperor lies suspended a preternatural coma without any signs of awaking. In the power vacuum left behind, chaos seems the only winning force. Against this turbulent background, we follow a troubled mercenary, haunted by the trauma of a recent war, as he takes a desperate contract in search of an arcane cure for the emperors affliction. The journey that follows takes him, not only across the lands, but across the planes of his own mind and the dreams of the emperor himself.
What makes this novel so great is its perfect blend of brilliant character-work, a tight fantasy-plot with elements that might be considered (cosmic) horror, and its intelligent look at philosophical and existential themes, without becoming too heavy-handed with them. Mortality, trauma and PTSD are at the center of this story and interwoven with the main characters arc with great impact. With the strong competition surrounding it (just look at the rest of this list for examples), I don’t say this lightly: Jespar is my favourite character of 2024. I might catch some flak for placing this indie novel over highly polished, traditionally published novels like The Way of Kings, but I firmly stand by that. The “less polished” parts only added to the books originality and character and the emotional impact it had on me. Besided, the sheer skill needed to produce such a masterpiece by yourself makes this top-5 spot highly deserved.
4. Sheine Lende – Darcie Little Badger
Tied with Acceptance by Jeff Vandermeer, Sheine Lende my most anticipated release of 2024; it being the prequel to one of my favourite comfort-books of all time Elatsoe. Although I was convinced nothing would match my love for that book, Darcie Little Badger somehow managed to do just that, perhaps even surpassing it…
These books take place in an alternate reality close to our own, where elements of Native American mythology like ghosts and mythological creatures are a part of everyday life. Elatsoe follows the story of a Lipan-Apache teen and her Ghost-dog Kirby on a mission to track down the person responsible for her cousins killing. Throughout her story, Elatsoe (nicknamed Ellie) has already hinted at her family’s unique gift for summoning animal-ghosts popping up through the generations. In Sheine Lende, we get to see this for ourselves through the story of Ellie’s grandmother Shane.
Although the story follows a completely new set of characters and can be read as a standalone, there are many references back and forth, which I think you’ll get the most out of if you read them in publication order. As mentioned; this had everything the original had and more: strong community vibes, heavy themes handled with absolute care, and an overall feeling of deeply radiating comfort. Emotional, magical, and feeling like a hug from a family member; yes, this is the final book this year that made me tear up in that bittersweet mix of love and sadness.
A full review can be found here for Elatsoe and here for Sheine Lende.
Fair warning with regards to my top 3. Here’s where logic and coherence go slightly out of the window… They say that love is irrational and in the case of me and my reading, that has proven to be true multiple times. I adored all three of these books to a point where I sat down to write full reviews for them, but simply couldn't articulate how much love I feel for them. All three of these books have the following in common:
- I read them all twice this year
- They all resonated on a deeply emotional level with me with regards to their themes.
- All have stunning prose that carried the aforementioned themes straight into my heart. - I found little to no flaws in any of these, which is a rare thing for me to say.
3. Death Valley – Melissa Broder
In the number 3 spot is perhaps the most marmite book of this entire list, if its low average rating on Goodreads is anything to go by. And I sort of get why… Death Valley is a the kind of strange literary fiction novel that packages a characters emotional journey into a strange and existential fever dream. It’s also very much a “messy woman’s inner world”-kind of book, with a… let’s call it “interesting” sense of humor. All of those elements more often miss than hit for me. This book however struck true.
Our story begins with our protagonist arriving alone at a Best Western Motel, seeking respite from an emptiness that plagues her. She has fled to the California high desert to escape a cloud of sorrow—for both her father in the ICU and a husband whose chronic illness is worsening – under the blistering sun. What the motel provides however, is not peace but a path, thanks to a receptionist, towards a nearby hiking trail. What follows is a hallucinatory hike across a seemingly impossible desert. When she soon loses the trail and wanders the desert completely alone with her spiraling thoughts, her journey turns as much inwards as outwards.
In its own eccentric way, this is a near perfect exploration of themes of family, father-daughter-relations, caregiving/hospice care, love in all its forms and the grief that matches it. It also feels like a perfectly edited novel too: filled with striking sentences that contain not one word too many. Original, messy, poignant and, yes, at times hilarious; I didn’t expect to love this (or relate to it) as much as I did. The odd humor and bizarre imagery help to create a soft contrasting pillow against the otherwise hard hitting themes, making it readable, fun ánd cathartic.
2. Our Hideous Progeny – C.E. McGill
This year, I undertook a little project of reading a bunch of adaptations of beloved classics, specifically horror-classics. Little did I know how much of a homerun that experiment would be. I also didn’t anticipate that one of these books would make my nr. 2 spot on the favourite list, yet here we are.
Our Hideous Progeny is a debut novel that doesn’t so much reimagine, as continue the story of Frankenstein, from the perspective of his great-niece Mary Frankenstein. Mary, with a sharp mind and a sharper tongue, is keen to make her name in this world of natural science alongside her geologist husband Henry, but without wealth and connections, their options are limited. That is until Mary stumbles across her great uncles letters, and the idea of recreating his experiment starts to take root in her mind. Not with a human body, mind you, but with an entirely new creature of her own...
I frankly (no pun intended) don’t yet know how to fully articulate my love for this novel. I wanted to write a full review, but I still feel like my words won’t do it justice… It’s a layered experience that sunk its teeth in me and didn’t leave my mind ever since I read it almost 10 months ago now.
On the surface, a classic gothic tale of scientific ambition, hubris, and creation like the original. Just below, a feminist outcry for the unsung women in scientific history and an exploration of queerness, otherness and learning to embrace the hideous-side of oneself. Then in the depths; a narrative of illness, body, childlessness and legacy, that struck a personal chord in a way I didn’t anticipate. I adored every monstrous and wronged second of it.
1. Private Rites – Julia Armfield
Whenever Julia Armfield publishes something, it seems to make an appearance on my favourites list; first with her short-story collection Salt Slow in 2019, then with her debut novel Our Wives Under the Sea in 2022. It seems neither she nor I am ready to break that tradition, as here she is again.
Part horror, part literary, part climate-dystopia, Private Rites follows three sisters coming together after the recent passing of their father to discuss the inheritance. Their dad, a famous architect of “climate-proof” buildings, has left them his masterpiece: a glass house designed to withstand flooding. Meeting inside these glass walls, the sisters are overwhelmed by a sense of haunting that dredges up something sinister from the murk of memory.
In turn, I am haunted by this book. Haunted by its relentlessly stunning prose, its literary layering (hello King Lear retelling!), its characters and their sister-dynamic. Haunted by its themes of liminality, fluidity, grief and disconnection. Haunted by its deeply claustrophobic and almost voyeuristic atmosphere, peering into the lives of these three characters, as a quiet apocalypse takes place both inside and outside. Julia Armfield writes the books I want to write, but don’t have the words to do so. I will happily let her do the talking for me…
That brings us to the end of my favourites list, and the end of this look-back at 2024. In my final post before the new year, I’ll be looking forward; posting my 2025 Master-TBR and reading plans for the upcoming year. Until then, I’d love to hear your favourite book(s) of the year, especially if you’d think I might like them too. Feel free to send me a recommendation or a comment here or on my Goodreads.
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