The Locus Magazine Recommended Reading List is an annual, extensive list of the year’s best Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror books, novellas, novels, and short stories, compiled by Locus editors and reviewers, published last year. Announced each February, this list serves as a guide for readers and a basis for Locus Awards nominations. This year they looked at over 1,000 titles between short and long fiction.
Here are the items from the 2025 list that are in the TBP collection.
SCIENCE FICTION NOVELS
SUNWARD by William Alexander (IN PROCESS)
FOLDED SKY by Elizabeth Bear (DB 131985)
OUTLAW PLANET by M. R. Carey (DB 133439 IN PROCESS)
MODERATION by Elaine Castillo (DB 131689)
BOOK OF GUILT by Catherine Chidgey (DB 133144 IN PROCESS)
DREAM HOTEL by Laila Lalami (DB 127950)
METALLIC REALMS by Lincoln Michel (DB 130471)
WHERE THE AXE IS BURIED by Ray Nayler (DB 129470)
SLOW GODS by Claire North (DB 133944 IN PROCESS)
DEATH OF THE AUTHOR by Nnedi Okorafor (DB 127592, BR 26389 IN PROCESS)
ONE WAY WITCH by Nnedi Okorafor (DB 129970)
ESPERANCE by Adam Oyebanji (DB 130707)
SHROUD by Adrain Tchaikovsky (DB 133509 IN PROCESS)
BOOK OF RECORDS by Madeleine Thien (DB 130513)
FANTASY NOVELS
DEVILS by Joe Abercrombie (DB 129814, BR 26297 IN PROCESS, en español DB 131391 EN PROCESO)
TOMB OF DRAGONS by Katherine Addison (DB 128864)
DROP OF CORRUPTION by Robert Jackson Bennett (DB 130146)
ONCE WAS WILLEM by M. R. Carey (DB 128765)
EVERLASTING by Alix E. Harrow (DB 133195 IN PROCESS)
RAVEN SCHOLAR by Antonia Hodgson (DB 129533)
HONEYEATER by Kathleen Jennings (DB 133964 IN PROCESS)
WRITTEN ON THE DARK by Guy Gavriel Kay (DB 129930, BR 26303 IN PROCESS)
HEMLOCK AND SILVER by T. Kingfisher (DB 132568)
KATABASIS by R. F. Kuang (DB 132323, BR 26579 IN PROCESS)
ADVENTURES OF MARY DARLING by Pat Murphy (DB 132409)
HARMATTAN SEASON by Tochi Onyebuchi (DB 130585)
ROSE FIELD by Philip Pullman (DB 133524 IN PROCESS)
SHADOW TICKET by Thomas Pynchon (DB 133273 IN PROCESS, LB 0007823)
ISLE IN THE SILVER SEA by Tasha Suri (DB 133437 IN PROCESS)
INCANDESCENT by Emily Tesh (DB 130051)
QUEEN DEMON by Martha Wells (DB 133426 IN PROCESS)
HORROR NOVELS
WE LOVE YOU, BUNNY by Mona Awad (DB 133174 IN PROCESS)
POSSESSION OF ALBA DIAZ by Isabel Cañas (DB 132041, BR 26485 IN PROCESS)
SPREAD ME by Sarah Gailey (DB 133263 IN PROCESS)
KING SORROW by Joe Hill (DB 133680 IN PROCESS)
BUFFALO HUNTER HUNTER by Stephen Graham Jones (DB 128581, BR 26200 IN PROCESS)
LIBRARY AT HELLEBORE by Cassandra Khaw (DB 131155)
NEVER FLINCH by Stephen King (DB 130236, BR 26240 IN PROCESS, LB 0005618)
BEWITCHING by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (DB 131290, LB 0005631)
IT WAS HER HOUSE FIRST by Cherie Priest (DB 131291)
STAIRCASE IN THE WOODS by Chuck Wendig (DB 128922)
YOUNG ADULT NOVELS
SINGULAR LIFE OF ARIA PATEL by Samira Ahmed (DB 129799)
MAKE ME A MONSTER by Kalynn Bayron (DB 133990 IN PROCESS)
COSTUMES FOR TIME TRAVELERS by A. R. Capetta (DB 130109)
EXECUTIONERS THREE by Susan Dennard (DB 132374)
NEEDY LITTLE THINGS by Channelle Desamours (DB 127322)
UNDERWOOD TAPES by Amanda DeWitt (DB 127608)
AMONG GHOSTS by Rachel Hartman (DB 130616)
SKY ON FIRE by E. K. Johnston (DB 131193)
TRANSITION by Logan-Ashley Kisner (DB 133675 IN PROCESS)
STARSTRIKE by Yoon Ha Lee (DB 131928 IN PROCESS)
I AM NOT JESSICA CHEN by Ann Liang (DB 127426)
LEAVING ROOM by Amber McBride (DB 133678 IN PROCESS)
NIGHT SWIMMING by Aaron Starmer (DB 129430)
THEY BLOOM AT NIGHT by Trang Thanh Tran (DB 128117)
FIRST NOVELS
RED RABBIT GHOST by Jen Julian (DB 131683)
WHEN DEVILS SING by Xan Kaur (DB 130122)
DWELLING by Emily Hunt Kivel (DBC 32396)
AWAKE IN THE FLOATING CITY by Susanna Kwan (DB 131718)
LUMINOUS by Silvia Park (DB 128486)
NORTH SUN, OR, THE VOYAGE OF THE WHALESHIP ESTHER by Ethan Rutherford (DB 133051 IN PROCESS)
TRANSLATED NOVELS
ON THE CALCULATION OF VOLUME, III by Solvej Balle (DB 133345 IN PROCESS)
UNWORTHY by Agustina Maria Bazterrica and translated by Sarah Moses (DB 128442)
VANISHING WORLD by Sayaka Murata and translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori (DB 130304)
COLLECTIONS
SINKHOLE, AND OTHER INEXPLICABLE VOIDS: STORIES by Leyna Krow (DB 131784)
ANTHOLOGIES
NIGHT AND DAY: DREADFUL DARK: TALES OF NIGHTTIME HORROR/MERCILESS SUN: TALES OF DAYLIGHT HORROR edited by Ellen Datlow (DB 132678)
THESE BODIES AIN’T BROKEN edited by Madeline Dyer (IN PROCESS)
END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT: NEW TALES OF STEPHEN KING’S THE STAND edited by Christopher Golden and Brian Keene; introduction by Stephen King (DB 132544, BR 26600 IN PROCESS)
NON-FICTION
ENSHITTIFICATION: WHY EVERYTHING SUDDENLY GOT WORSE AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT by Cory Doctorow (DB 133269)
ILLUSTRATED AND ART BOOKS
INVISIBLE PARADE by Leigh Bardugo (DB 132020)
NOVELLAS
RIVER HAS ROOTS by Amal El-Mohtar (DB 128099)
WHAT STALKS THE DEEP by T. Kingfisher (DB 133159)
CINDER HOUSE by Freya Marske (DB 133193)
AUTOMATIC NOODLE by Annalee Newitz (DB 131818)
MOUTHFUL OF DUST by Nghi Vo (IN PROCESS)
DON’T SLEEP WITH THE DEAD by Nghi Vo (DB 129212)
MURDER BY MEMORY by Olivia Waite (DB 128766, LB 0005762)
BRIGHTER THAN SCALE, SWIFTER THAN FLAME by Neon Yang (DB 130327)
SHORT STORIES
“Secret Night“ by Nathan Ballingrud (Night & Day DB 132678)
“Fear of the Dark“ by Benjamin Percy (Night & Day DB 132678)
Do you prefer your science fiction set in a gritty, urban, dystopian future? Are you a fan of punk subculture and early hacker culture? Then cyberpunk may be a sub-genre you enjoy! From Philip K. Dick’s DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP?, the novel upon which the movie Bladerunner was based, to ALTERED CARBON, which was made into a Netflix series in 2018, we have lots of cyberpunk classics to choose from.
Series
Centenal Series INFOMOCRACY by Malka Older (DB 84733)
Maddaddam Series MADDADDAM by Margaret Atwood (DB 77487, BR 20284)
Sprawl Series NEUROMANCER by William Gibson (DB 34589, BR 09062)
Takeshi Kovacs Series ALTERED CARBON by Richard K. Morgan (DB 75061, BR 22417)
Warcross Series WARCROSS by Marie Lu (DB 89192)
Zer0es Series ZEROES by Chuck Wendig (DB 83598)
Stand-Alone Novels
DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP? by Philip K. Dick (DB 54649, BR 14247)
FUTURE HOME OF THE LIVING GOD by Louise Erdrich (DB 87990, BR 22380, en español DB 102396)
HOPELAND by Ian McDonald (DB 119547)
NOOR by Nnedi Okorafor (DBC 24787)
SLEEPLESS by Victor Manibo (DB 111238)
SNOW CRASH by Neal Stephenson (DB 57673)
TECHNOGENESIS by Syne Mitchell (DBC 17063)
TROUBLE AND HER FRIENDS by Melissa Scott (DB 39645)
Do you like a little science fiction in your Victorian era historical fiction? Then you just might like steampunk. Here are some classics in this science fiction sub-genre that you may enjoy, including Jules Verne’s TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA, which is often considered the first steampunk novel. We have both stand-alone and series in the list below, and we’ve even included a nonfiction title for those who want to learn more about this phenomenon. As always when listing a series, we have started you off with the first title. So, strap on those goggles, don your top hat, and enter into the strange and fantastic world of steampunk.
Series
Burton and Swinburne Series STRANGE AFFAIR OF SPRING HEELED JACK by Mark Hodder (DB 73822)
Cinder Spires Series AERONAUT’S WINDLASS by Jim Butcher (DB 82604)
Clockwork Century Series BONESHAKER by Cherie Priest (DB 70887)
Hungry City Chronicles Series MORTAL ENGINES by Philip Reeve (DB 58198)
Infernal Devices Series CLOCKWORK ANGEL by Cassandra Clare (DB 72530)
Iron Seas Series IRON SEAS SERIES, BOOKS 1-4 by Meljean Brook (DB 84388)
Leviathan Series LEVIATHAN by Scott Westerfeld (DB 70906)
Matt Cruse Series AIRBORN by Kenneth Oppel (DB 59792, BRG 00708)
New Crobuzon Series PERDIDO STREET STATION by China Mieville (DB 58795)
Parasol Protectorate Series SOULLESS by Gail Carriger (DB 81166)
Stoker and Holmes Series CLOCKWORK SCARAB by Colleen Gleason (DB 79548)
Tales of Ketty Jay Series RETRIBUTION FALLS by Chris Wooding (DB 89160)
Stand-Alone Novels
AGAINST THE DAY by Thomas Pynchon (DB 63890)
DIAMOND AGE by Neal Stephenson (DB 41956)
DIFFERENCE ENGINE by William Gibson (DB 36050)
TIME MACHINE by H. G. Wells (DB 33367, BR 08652, LB 06039)
TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA by Jules Verne (DB 57020, BR 09469)
Nonfiction
STEAMPUNK BIBLE: AN ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO THE WORLD OF IMAGINARY AIRSHIPS, CORSETS AND GOGGLES, MAD SCIENTISTS, AND STRANGE LITERATURE by Jeff Vandermeer (DBG 09391)
Are you a Star Wars fan? Do you know all the trivia and often make edits on Wookieepedia? Does it drive you absolutely nuts to read the books out of order? Or maybe you’re trying to find the books that are canon now that Disney acquired the Star Wars franchise and removed the “Extended Universe” novels. We at the Talking Book Program (TBP) have your back. Below is a list of the books in our collection, both “canon” and “legacy,” as well as organized chronologically by era and when the action occurred.
This is an ever-evolving list. The current iteration was compiled using the source below. As the NLS collection grows daily, this may not be a complete list of our holdings.
