Like many others, I turned to books to escape the horror show that was 2020. And more than any other year of my life I found myself predominantly reading fantasy novels. This isn’t unusual because fantasy is my preferred genre. But with all of the uncertainty of everything happening in the world – and the fact that 2020 already felt like we were living in a dystopian sci-fi novel – meant that I turned to the genre that has always been a form of escapism and a source of comfort for me. Even the darker fantasy books still held more hope than our current timeline. So without further ado, here are our top 10 fantasy books of 2020 presented in alphabetical order (by author’s last name) because I can’t rank these books I loved so much (the alphabetizing is because I am still a bookseller at heart).

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Image via Macmillan Publishing

Piranesi is an incredibly fitting novel for the year of the pandemic that forced us all into isolation. The book is many things, but part of that is a deep meditation on being alone.  Author Susanna Clarke wrote this novel after a long illness that prevented her from writing for many years. In an interview with The Guardian, the author speaks to the foundations of the novel and also references one of my favorite graphic novel series of all time.

“Some ideas go into your mind and become part of the furniture,” she says. “I also remember reading in Alan Moore’s Promethea comics that ‘We’ve all had this dream of wandering in a great house’, and I thought yes, I do have that dream quite often! I was trying to conjure up an environment that is quite startling, but at the same time you think, ‘I’ve almost been here before.’”

The sophomore novel from the author of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell was released an astonishing 16 years after Clarke’s first novel. The main character is the titular Piranesi (which may not be his real name) who lives alone in a House with endless hallways and mysterious statuary. Clarke describes the novel as being “about a man who lives in a House in which an Ocean is imprisoned.” The book is otherworldly and haunting, full of magic and mystery.

Trouble The Saints by Alaya Dawn Johnson

Image via Tor

Trouble The Saints is a little bit different from the others on this list, and that is a good thing. It is a standalone novel like some of the others, it is also a kind of alt-history period piece. But it is pure magic all the way through. The story follows three complicated protagonists who are entangled with a mob boss. Each of them is a person of color who has the power of the ‘saint’s hands’ that gives them unique supernatural abilities. The crime lord in question wants to utilize that power for his own gain, and each character has to deal with the horrors that they have inflicted (intentional or not) due to their abilities.

The novel is an intense character exploration, as each individual must process their internal struggles before addressing the external dramas. It builds a rich and evocative world that confronts headon issues like racism, xenophobia, and prejudice. A bold and extraordinary standalone novel from Alaya Dawn Johnson.

The Once & Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

Photo by Emily O’Donnell

In case you missed my glowing review of The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow, you should know that I loved this book deeply. It felt like the book I had been waiting my whole life to read. It is a beautiful story about three sisters who strive to return witchcraft – along with women’s power – to the world. Overlapping with the suffragette movement of the 1890’s, it is an alternate history novel where witchcraft was once very real and powerful. A timely and timeless novel that also examines the complicated bonds of sisterhood, magic, and power. This book is absolutely one of my top 10 fantasy novels of 2020.

The Burning God by R.F. Kuang

Image via Harper Collins

The final chapter of R.F. Kuang’s epic Poppy War series. The Burning God has been hailed as a masterpiece and the best written book of the entire trilogy. (Full disclosure: I am still on the second book of this series, so I have to attempt to avoid spoilers while looking up details of this book.) The series is an epic fantasy that draws from real-world events in Chinese history including the Nanjing Massacre. Although the heavy source material and traumatic moments that happen throughout the series can be difficult to read, Kuang makes up for it with her beautiful prose and heartbreaking emotional beats. These books are complex and character driven, asking hard questions and not providing any easy answers. There is no binary battle between good and evil here, and that is part of the strength of the series.

The Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson

Cover Art for Rhythm of War by Michael Whelan via Tor Forge

What books were in your top 10 fantasy novels of 2020? Let us know in the comments, and join the conversation with Comic Years on Facebook and Twitter today!

(Featured image: Photo by Jaredd Craig on Unsplash)

Emily O'Donnell is a writer and photographer with roots in some of the earliest online fandoms. She cut her genre teeth on the Wizard of Oz books at the tender age of 6 years old, and was reading epic adult fantasy novels by the age of 10. Decades later, she still consumes genre fiction like there is no tomorrow. She is delighted to be living through the golden age of sci-fi and fantasy popularity. She is unashamed of the amount of fanfiction that still lingers online under her name.