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SciFi Book Spot

Science fiction and fantasy reviews from across the City Book Review network, gathered on one page for readers who want the next world, series, or obsession.

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From the Editors

SciFi Book Spot pulls together the strongest science fiction and fantasy reviews from the City Book Review network. Every review here is editorial, written to help readers decide what deserves their time.

More Editorial Picks

Browse the rest of the current sci-fi and fantasy stack.

Cover of Iron Flame
Editorial review from Los Angeles Book Review
Science Fiction & Fantasy

Iron Flame

by Rebecca Yarros

Iron Flame doubles down on the academy pressure, the emotional damage, and the dragon-fueled intensity that made the series explode. Violet is more battered here, and that matters. The book spends real time on endurance,...

Cover of Nettle & Bone
Editorial review from San Francisco Book Review
Science Fiction & Fantasy

Nettle & Bone

by T. Kingfisher

Nettle & Bone is small in scale and huge in imagination. Kingfisher builds a bleak fairy-tale world, then sends Marra on a rescue mission that feels strange, funny, and grim all at once. The magic is odd, the companions are...

Cover of The Ministry of Time
Editorial review from San Francisco Book Review
Science Fiction & Fantasy

The Ministry of Time

by Kaliane Bradley

The Ministry of Time mixes time travel, bureaucracy, and slow-burn character tension into something unusually polished. A civil servant is assigned to help one of history’s displaced figures adapt to the present, and the setup...

Cover of The Bear and the Nightingale
Editorial review from Seattle Book Review
Science Fiction & Fantasy

The Bear and the Nightingale

by Katherine Arden

The Bear and the Nightingale is the kind of fantasy that feels cold on your skin while you are reading it. Arden pulls folktale, winter landscape, and household magic together into a story that feels rooted and eerie at...

Cover of Legends & Lattes
Editorial review from Chicago Book Review
Science Fiction & Fantasy

Legends & Lattes

by Travis Baldree

Legends & Lattes is cozy fantasy with a very clear mission: lower your shoulders and let the story breathe. Viv, a retired adventurer, opens a coffee shop and discovers that the hard part is not slaying monsters, it is...

Cover of The Hurricane Wars
Editorial review from Tulsa Book Review
Science Fiction & Fantasy

The Hurricane Wars

by Thea Guanzon

The Hurricane Wars is a sweeping fantasy built on political conflict, elemental power, and a romance that keeps tightening the screws. Guanzon has a big canvas to work with, and she uses it well. The tension between the two leads...

Cover of A Court of Thorns and Roses
Editorial review from Boston Book Review
Science Fiction & Fantasy

A Court of Thorns and Roses

by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Thorns and Roses is pure gateway fantasy for readers who want fae courts, dangerous bargains, and a heroine who keeps being pulled deeper into trouble. Feyre’s story starts in hardship and then opens into a much larger...

Cover of The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet
Editorial review from Austin Book Review
Science Fiction & Fantasy

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

by Becky Chambers

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is a humane, character-driven space novel that values community as much as adventure. The plot moves through a long journey, but the real pleasure is spending time with the crew and...

Cover of Assistant to the Villain
Editorial review from City Book Review
Science Fiction & Fantasy

Assistant to the Villain

by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

Assistant to the Villain leans into workplace comedy, magical chaos, and a very specific kind of romance tension. Evie is trying to survive an absurdly dangerous job, and the joke of the book is that the job keeps getting more dangerous...