Like looking directly into the sun, confronting the blurred space between the real and unreal (as well as the eldritch terrors that lurk within) poses a grave threat to those doing so head-on – at least to anyone other than weary intermediary Idris Tellemier, whose risk is merely reduced rather than eliminated. This acceptance set me up well for Lords of Uncreation, which revolves around concepts that even the characters find impossible to understand, and whose minds may literally break if they try to. Reading the Final Architecture series, I had to accept long ago that I would never fully grasp the nuances of some of its central concepts, even if I understood them on an instinctual level. Image: Orbit Lords of Uncreation (The Final Architecture #3) by Adrian Tchaikovsky We’ll keep this updated throughout the year, in reverse chronological order, so the newest releases will always be listed first. Whichever direction you head in, it will be sure to grip you - and make you think. It has also been a standout year, so far, for supernatural horrors and thrillers. There’s a preponderance of post-post apocalyptic science fiction unpacking lofty ideas like sentience and humanity, often set on different planets or among the stars. Though we seem to have crested the wave of pandemic novels, that sense of dread and discoloration has lingered, written into novels of new forms. Many of our favorites once again blur the line between sci-fi and fantasy - but this year was a particular standout for books blurring the line between SFF and other genres, from historical fiction Westerns to fable retellings to intergenerational sagas in translation.

Though we’re only halfway through the year, it’s been packed with excellent science fiction and fantasy books.

Philippa ballantine book of the order