Last Updated on December 3, 2024
Tell your TBR piles to grit their teeth and get ready, because you’re about to pile on the pain. 2025 is bringing a wide variety of dark fantasy, cyberpunk, sci-fi, and horror books to our literary shores, and while my credit card is telling me no, my impulse book buying is telling me yes.
As I do at the end of every year, I asked the team what they were excited to read in the next 12 months. While the choices reflect the wide and varied tastes of our team, rest assured that each reviewer looked at this through the lens of what we think grimdark fans enjoy reading–from dark and hilarious fantasy by Joe Abercrombie, to space horror by S.A Barnes, to something with a bit of a younger target audience by Suzanne Collins. Our list has a little something for everyone.
The Library at Hellebore by Cassandra Khaw
Picked by John
I’ve been a huge fan of Cassandra Khaw since publication of their dark fantasy novella, The Salt Grows Heavy, which put a grimdark twist on The Little Mermaid. In their upcoming novel, The Library at Hellebore, Cassandra Khaw combines dark academia with cosmic horror to create a truly disturbing university experience. Hellebore Technical Institute for the Gifted promises an elite education for the dangerously powerful: the Anti-Christs and Ragnaroks, the world-eaters and apocalypse-makers. However, the faculty go on a ravenous rampage, leaving only a few surviving students who become trapped in the school library. The only way to appease the faculty and ensure survival is offering a nightly human sacrifice.
About the book
A deeply dark academia novel fromUSA Todaybestselling author Cassandra Khaw, perfect for fans ofA Deadly EducationandAn Education in Malicewho are hungry for something more diabolical.
The Hellebore Technical Institute for the Gifted is the premier academy for the dangerously powerful: the Anti-Christs and Ragnaroks, the world-eaters and apocalypse-makers.
Hellebore promises redemption, acceptance, and a normal life after graduation. At least, that’s what Alessa Li is told after she’s kidnapped and forcibly enrolled.
But the Institute is more than just a haven for monsters. On graduation day, the faculty embark on a ravenous rampage, feasting on their students. Trapped in the school’s cavernous library, Alessa and her surviving classmates must do something they were never taught: work together.
If not, this school will eat them alive…
Pre-order The Library at Hellebore by Cassandra Khaw
The Outcast Mage by Annabel Campbell
Picked by Chris
A debut from Glasgow-based author, this sits on the boundary between high fantasy and grimdark with a little dark academia thrown in. In a land where social status is defined by your innate magical power a student mage has to find and control her power or face exile or destruction. Helped by a powerful mage, she is drawn into a web of politics and deceit, with her own life and the fate of the realm at stake. Vivid writing, deep world building and a distinct magic system pair with dragons, wizards on the edge and power run wild for a strong coming-of-age story. Ideal for fans of Robin Hobb, Trudi Canavan or Garth Nix.
About the book
In the glass city of Amoria, magic is everything. And Naila, student at the city’s legendary academy, is running out of time to prove she can control hers. If she fails, she’ll be forced into exile, relegated to a life of persecution with the other magicless hollows. Or worse, be consumed by her own power.
When a tragic incident further threatens her place at the Academy, Naila is saved by Haelius Akana, the most powerful living mage. Finding Naila a kindred spirit, Haelius stakes his position at the Academy on teaching her to harness her abilities. But Haelius has many enemies, and they would love nothing more than to see Naila fail. Trapped in the deadly schemes of Amoria’s elite, Naila must dig deep to discover the truth of her powers or watch the city she loves descend into civil war.
For there is violence brewing on the wind, and greater powers at work. Ones who could use her powers for good… or destroy everything she’s ever known.
Pre-order The Outcast Mage by Annabel Campbell
The Last Contract of Isako by Fonda Lee
Picked by Alex
The Last Contract of Isako by Fonda Lee is described by the author as “if Akira Kurosawa wrote Dune”, and that description alone already makes my heart skip a beat. In this cyberpunk-samurai-space opera, an older mercenary takes on one last mission. Lee masterfully blends action and interpersonal politics in her Green Bone Saga series, so I’m excited to see what she does with this new story. The book is scheduled for Winter 2025.
About the book
From World Fantasy Award-winning author Fonda Lee comes a searing space opera in which a battleworn samurai’s final mission thrusts her deep into a world of corporate espionage, dark secrets and tarnished honour, where she uncovers a conspiracy that could upend society on an isolated colony planet.
Pre-order The Last Contract of Isako by Fonda Lee
This book and its cover are not yet available, but you can join the author’s mailing list here for more news.
Cold Eternity by S.A. Barnes
Picked by Rai
If Barnes’ previous two forays into space horror (Dead Silence, Cold Eternity) are any indication, this third offering will bring the glorious, anxious isolation of deep space straight to my eager mitts. I have a craving for space horror that Barnes’ has expertly answered with the tense terror and psychological stress she puts her characters through. I can’t wait for this to come out.
About the book
Cold Eternity is the newest action-packed space horror from S.A. Barnes, where desperation for eternal life leads to a fate worse than death…
Halley is on the run from an interplanetary political scandal that has put a huge target on her back. She heads for what seems like the perfect place to lay low: a gigantic space barge storing the cryogenically frozen bodies of Earth’s most fortunate citizens from more than a century ago…
The cryo program, created by trillionaire tech genius Zale Winfeld, is long defunct, and the AI hologram “hosts,” ghoulishly created in the likeness of Winfeld’s three adult children, are glitchy. The ship feels like a crypt, and the isolation gets to Halley almost immediately. She starts to see figures crawling in the hallways, and there’s a constant scraping, slithering, and rattling echoing in the vents.
It’s not long before Halley realizes she may have gotten herself trapped in an even more dangerous situation than the one she was running from….
Pre-order Cold Eternity by S.A. Barnes
The Devils by Joe Abercrombie
Picked by Sally
After getting my heart ripped out by Joe’s 2021 showing, The Wisdom of Crowds, my body is ready for something fast-paced, exciting, witty and fun. Set in a brand new world with a new set of rules and ragtag bunch of characters, The Devils is hands down my most anticipated read of 2025.
About the book
A brand-new epic fantasy fromNew York Timesbestselling author Joe Abercrombie, featuring a notorious band of anti-heroes on a delightfully bloody and raucous journey
Holy work sometimes requires unholy deeds.
Brother Diaz has been summoned to the Sacred City, where he is certain a commendation and grand holy assignment awaits him. But his new flock is made up of unrepentant murderers, practitioners of ghastly magic, and outright monsters. The mission he is tasked with will require bloody measures from them all in order to achieve its righteous ends.
Elves lurk at our borders and hunger for our flesh, while greedy princes care for nothing but their own ambitions and comfort. With a hellish journey before him, it’s a good thing Brother Diaz has the devils on his side.
Pre-order The Devils by Joe Abercrombie
The Gryphon King by Sara Omer
Picked by Arina
Sara Omer’s upcoming debut, The Gryphon King, promises politics drenched in blood, moral ambiguity…and man-eating horses. The excerpt gives a glimpse of what is sure to be an exciting story filled with warring conflict and delicious, dark world building, inspired by Turkic cultures of Southwest Asia.
About the book
The first in a sweeping Southwest Asian-inspired epic fantasy trilogy brimming with morally ambiguous characters, terrifying ghouls and deadly monsters.
Combining cut-throat dynastic politics with expansive worldbuilding and slow-burning romance, this stunning debut is perfect for fans of Godkiller and Samantha Shannon.
Bataar was only a child when he killed a gryphon, making him a legend across the Red Steppe. As an adult, he is the formidable Bataar Rhah, chosen by god to rule the continent that once scorned his people. After a string of improbable victories, he turns his sights on the wealthy, powerful kingdom of Dumakra, whose princesses rule the skies from the backs of pegasuses.
When rumours reach the capital that the infamous warlord is moving on Dumakra, Nohra Zultama prepares to face him. She and her sisters are feared warriors, goddess-blessed and mounted on winged, man-eating horses. But as deceit and betrayal swirl through her father’s court, Nohra soon learns the price of complacency. With her city under Bataar’s rule, Nohra vows to take revenge. But her growing closeness to Bataar’s wife, Qaira, threatens to undo her resolve.
When rioting breaks out and mythic beasts incite panic, Nohra must fight alongside Bataar to keep order, her mixed feelings towards the man she’s sworn to kill becoming ever more complicated. Old evils are rising. Only together will Nohra and Bataar stand a chance against the djinn, ghouls, and monsters that threaten to overrun their world.
Inspired by the diverse Turkic cultures of Southwest Asia, this gorgeously written fantasy is sure to sweep readers off their feet.
Pre-order The Gryphon King by Sara Omer
Dissolution by Nicholas Binge
Picked by James
I was a huge fan of his novel Ascension so when the author approached me asking if I would consider reading his new novel, a SF techno thriller that is like Inception meets Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind with elements of cosmic horror, I was all in. Grimdark Magazine favourite T.R. Napper rated it 5-stars and called it ‘a taut techno-thriller with compassion and intelligence’. I cannot wait to read this and see if my brain can keep up.
About the book
A woman dives into her husband’s memories to uncover a decades-old feud threatening reality itself in this staggering technothriller from the bestselling author ofAscension
Maggie Webb has lived the last decade caring for elderly husband, Stanley, as memory loss gradually erases all the beautiful moments they created together. It’s the loneliest she’s ever felt in her life.
When a mysterious stranger named Hassan appears at her door, he reveals a shocking truth: Stanley isn’t losing his memories. Someone is actively removing them to hide a long-buried secret from coming to light. If Maggie does what she’s told, she can reverse it. She can get her husband back.
Led by Hassan and his technological marvels, Maggie breaks into her husband’s mind, probing the depths of his memories in an effort to save him. The deeper she dives, the more she unravels a mystery spanning continents and centuries, each layer more complex than the last.But Hassan cannot be trusted. Not just memories are disappearing, but pieces of reality itself. If Maggie cannot find out what Stanley did all those years ago, and what Hassan is after, she risks far more than her husband’s life. The very course of human history hangs in the balance.
Pre-order Dissolution by Nicholas Binge
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab
Picked by Esmay
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab. Why? Because Schwab’s deliciously dark imagination never fails to crush my soul, and when you mention vicious vampires, toxic relationships, morally gray lesbians, and female rage to me, all the buzzwords are buzzing. It promises to be a wildly unique character-driven dark historical fantasy genreblend that spans centuries and continents, following three young women whose lives are inextricably linked together in the most unexpected and twisted ways. As a dedicated Schwab fan, I am beyond excited to read an unapologetically raw story that she apparently put even more of her own heart and soul into than Addie LaRue. Bring on the emotional turmoil!
About the book
From V. E. Schwab, the #1New York Timesbestselling author ofThe Invisible Life of Addie LaRue:a new genre-defying novel about immortality and hunger.
Santo Domingo de la Calzada, 1532.
London, 1837.
Boston, 2019.
Three young women, their bodies planted in the same soil, their stories tangling like roots.
One grows high, and one grows deep, and one grows wild.
And all of them grow teeth.
Pre-order Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab
Katabasis by R.F Kuang
Picked by Abergale
My most anticipated read of 2025 is R.F Kuang’s Katabasis. Magicians and a trip to hell? You don’t have to tell me twice. Two PhD students (also magicians) take a trip to the underworld to save the soul of their dead advisor so that he can write their recommendation letters. Kuang’s Babel is easily one of the most tabbed books on my shelf, so I am ready for this epic adventure that promises magic, heartache and a world in which Dante and Orpheus could be best friends.
About the book
Dante’sInfernomeetsSusanna Clarke’sPiranesiin this all-new dark academia fantasyfrom R. F. Kuang, the #1New York Timesbestselling author ofBabel and Yellowface,in which two graduate students must put aside their rivalry and journey to Hell to save their professor’s soul—perhaps at the cost of their own.
Katabasis, noun, Ancient Greek:
The story of a hero’s descent to the underworld
Alice Law has only ever had one goal: to become one of the brightest minds in the field of Magick. She has sacrificed everything to make that a reality: her pride, her health, her love life, and most definitely her sanity. All to work with Professor Jacob Grimes at Cambridge, the greatest magician in the world.
That is, until he dies in a magical accident that could possibly be her fault.
Grimes is now in Hell, and she’s going in after him. Because his recommendation could hold her very future in his now incorporeal hands and even death is not going to stop the pursuit of her dreams….
Nor will the fact that her rival, Peter Murdoch, has come to the very same conclusion.
With nothing but the tales of Orpheus and Dante to guide them, enough chalk to draw the Pentagrams necessary for their spells, and the burning desire to make all the academic trauma mean anything, they set off across Hell to save a man they don’t even like.
But Hell is not like the storybooks say, Magick isn’t always the answer, and there’s something in Alice and Peter’s past that could forge them into the perfect allies…or lead to their doom.
Pre-order Katabasis by R.F Kuang
Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
Picked by Sab
This instalment follows Haymitch Abernathy in the second quarter quell, where twice the number of tributes get sent into the games, and only one comes out. The Hunger Games will always remain a modern classic for me, so I’m very excited to read Haymitch’s story. It’s for sure my most anticipated read of 2025.
About the book
When you’ve been set up to lose everything you love, what is there left to fight for?
As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes.
Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves.
When Haymitch’s name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He’s torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who’s nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town. As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he’s been set up to fail. But there’s something in him that wants to fight . . . and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena.
Pre-order Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
Whisper on the Wind by Luke Arnold
Picked by Lucy
Definitely really looking forward to Luke Arnold’s Whisper on the Wind (Orbit)–the fourth instalment in his Fetch Phillips book series. I love Arnold’s sharp, witty writing–reminiscent of Aaranovitch and Pratchett–and his depiction of Fetch as a beaten down man-for-hire in the fantastical, messy, gritty place that is Sunder City. Particularly with how One Foot in the Fade ended, I can’t wait to see what happens next.
About the book
Fetch is done being a hero.
Once a detective, all he wants now is to run his cafe in peace. Sunder City is still recovering from the sudden and violent end of magic, and if one man can’t solve all its problems, he can at least stop some people going hungry.
But when a kid on the run shelters in Fetch’s cafe, and a chain of gruesome murders begins among Sunder’s high and mighty, trouble is brought to Fetch’s door.
There’s a word whispered on the wind, and that word is revolution…
Pre-order Whisper on the Wind by Luke Arnold
Lightfall by Ed Crocker
Picked by Fiona
The book I am most looking forward to next year is Lightfall by Ed Crocker. Luckily for me it’s out in January so I don’t have long to wait! Lightfall is Crocker’s debut novel and it is described as a ‘stunning epic fantasy’ and compared to the works of Jay Kristoff and Richard Swan–and I enjoyed everything I’ve ever read from those two so Lightfall sounds like a promising debut. This novel is full of vampires, werewolves, and sorcerers set in a world where the quality of the blood you drink determines your strength. Cheap, weak, blood won’t sustain you for long but the nobility can afford the good stuff and can survive almost indefinitely. Oh, and no one can leave the last remaining vampire city. Which should be fine, apart from the fact there’s a murderer hiding amongst them.
About the book
A novel of vampires, werewolves and sorcerers,Lightfallis the stunning debut epic fantasy by Ed Crocker, for fans of Jay Kristoff’sEmpire of the Vampireand Richard Swan’sThe Justice of Kings
For centuries, vampires freely roamed the land until the Grays came out of nowhere, wiping out half the population in a night. The survivors fled to the last vampire city of First Light, where the rules are simple. If you’re poor, you drink weak blood. If you’re nobility, you get the good stuff. And you can never, ever leave.
Palace maid Sam has had enough of these rules, and she’s definitely had enough of cleaning the bedpans of the lords who enforce them. When the son of the city’s ruler is murdered and she finds the only clue to his death, she seizes the chance to blackmail her way into a better class and better blood. She falls in with the Leeches, a group of rebel maids who rein in the worst of the Lords. Soon she’s in league with a sorcerer whose deductive skills make up for his lack of magic, a deadly werewolf assassin and a countess who knows a city’s worth of secrets.
There’s just one problem. What began as a murder investigation has uncovered a vast conspiracy by the ruling elite, and now Sam must find the truth before she becomes another victim. If she can avoid getting murdered, she might just live forever.
Pre-order Lightfall by Ed Crocker
The Way Up is Death by Dan hanks
Picked by Beth
I think I might have a heart attack reading this book in the best possible way. The premise seems incredible, a minute by minute race of random people. You never know what depths of strength or depravity people will go to when pushed to their utmost limit. Ones that seem weak and insipid on the surface can have a core of strength while others who are outwardly loud and bold could easily crumble in the face of something unimaginable. Characters who have to brave sinking ships, haunted houses and other waking nightmares, yes please.
This is the kind of novel that shows the true colors of people, and I cannot wait to dive in and learn what it means to Ascend.
About the book
With no understanding of what the tower is or why they’ve been chosen, thirteen seemingly random strangers must battle to reach the top of a tower before the countdown clock reaches zero… and the world faces a potentially catastrophic fate.
When a mysterious tower appears in the skies over England, thirteen strangers are pulled from their lives to stand before it as a countdown begins. Above the doorway is one word: ASCEND.
As they try to understand why they’ve been chosen and what the tower is, it soon becomes clear the only way out of this for everyone is… up.
And so begins a race to the top with the group fighting to hold on to its humanity, through sinking ships, haunted houses and other waking nightmares. Can they each overcome their differences and learn to work together or does the winner take all? What does the tower want of them and what is the price to escape?
Pre-order The Way Up is Death by Dan hanks
Grave Empire by Richard Swan
Picked by Adrian
The book I can’t wait for you all to read in 2025 is Grave Empire by Richard Swan (closely followed by Paved with Good Intentions by Peter McLean). Set 200 years after the events of The Empire of the Wolf (starting with The Justice of Kings) Grave Empire is like reading the dark fantasy version of the Conquistadors heading into the Amazon jungle and being brutally butchered. The feeling of horror and the sheer emptiness and size of the Empire of Sova creates a magnificent backdrop to the machinations of empires as they go to war against the backdrop of a potentially humanity-ending dark magic plague.
About the book
Blood once turned the wheels of empire. Now it is money.
A new age of exploration and innovation has dawned, and the Empire of the Wolf stands to take its place as the foremost power in the known world. Glory and riches await.
But dark days are coming. A mysterious plague has broken out in the pagan kingdoms to the north, while in the south, the Empire’s proxy war in the lands of the wolfmen is weeks away from total collapse.
Worse still is the message brought to the Empress by two heretic monks, who claim to have lost contact with the spirits of the afterlife. The monks believe this is the start of an ancient prophecy heralding the end of days—the Great Silence.
It falls to Renata Rainer, a low-ranking ambassador to an enigmatic and vicious race of mermen, to seek answers from those who still practice the arcane arts. But with the road south beset by war and the Empire on the brink of supernatural catastrophe, soon there may not be a world left to save…
Pre-order Grave Empire by Richard Swan
