The Fantasy Review’s list of 16 sci-fi and fantasy books to get excited for in 2025. Of course, there are many more books coming out this year, but these are the 16 most anticipated releases of 2025 for us!
If you are interested in any of these titles, and want to find out more or even preorder them, if you click the cover images you will be taken to Amazon (affiliate link).
Anticipated Fantasy Releases for 2025
#1 – Cold Iron Task (The Unorthodox Chronicles #3) by James J. Butcher
Release date: March 4, 2025
I love these books. Dead Man’s Hand was such a surprise for me (book 1 in the series) as I don’t normally enjoy urban fantasy. I want my fantasy EPIC! But after getting hooked on The Dresden Files (written by Jim Butcher, James J. Butcher’s father) and catching up with that, I figured I might as well give this series a go.
It’s got snarky characters, one of the funniest but in-depth buddy cop duos, and an intriguing magic system which is great to see in an urban fantasy story. I’m excited to see where the series goes next.
#2 – Gatebound (The Illborn Saga #3) by Daniel T. Jackson
Release date: February 28, 2025
I mentioned earlier that I wanted my fantasy to be EPIC, well you can’t get much more epic than Daniel T. Jackson’s The Illborn Saga. Both Illborn and Aiduel’s Sin blew me away and quickly became two of my favourite fantasy books of all time.
the best epic fantasy book you have never read
To say this 2025 fantasy release is highly anticipated is an understatement and you can bet everything will be dropped to read this as soon as it lands on my kindle.
#3 – Faithbreaker (Fallen Gods #3) by Hannah Kaner
Release date: March 13, 2025
I really enjoyed Godkiller by Hannah Kaner, but I’m yet to read the second installment of the trilogy. However, I really want to get to it because this is some incredible fantasy that does things differently.
If you want to skip the kings and queens and get to a more grounded story following an individual in a fantasy world, going on adventures, this is the book for you. I realise that I have made it sound “fun” but it’s a dark tale, so don’t go into it thinking it’s going to be a cozy fantasy romp!
#4 – The Book That Held Her Heart (The Library Trilogy #3) by Mark Lawrence
Release date: April 10, 2025
The Book That Wouldn’t Burn (book 1 in the series) was very popular upon release – I don’t know if it was because of the cool cover or what, but nearly every impulse buyer who went on to read the book loved it.
I’ve been waiting for book 3 to complete the set on the kindle and I’m going to binge all three in a row. While I have enjoyed some of Lawrence’s previous work, others have left me feeling disappointed and I was unable to complete a trilogy. This way, I just keep going like it’s one big story and I see how I feel at the end.
#5 – Grave Empire (The Great Silence #1) by Richard Swan
Release date: February 4, 2025
Richard Swan’s Empire of the Wolf trilogy was fantastic! The ending wasn’t what everyone wanted, but it wasn’t bad.
Here he returns with a new series, The Great Silence, and it sounds like a much more epic tale of prophecy and the end of the world. Here we go!
#6 – The Radiant King (Astral Kingdoms #1) by David Dalglish
Release date: March 4, 2025
This new trilogy by David Dalglish is about “immortal demigods, civil wars, and ancient evil” – count me in!
I haven’t gotten round to reading anything by this author previously and that’s on me. So many fantasy fans love his work and it’s a shame I have just never found the time. Well, this is preordered and I’m ready to get stuck in.
#7 – Of Empires and Dust (The Bound and The Broken #4) by Ryan Cahill
Release date: March 31, 2025
The fourth entry to Ryan Cahill’s The Bound and the Broken series is an anticipated fantasy release for 2025 almost purely out of curiosity. Book 3 was MASSIVE and almost impossible to print. I wonder if Cahill will want to go through that admin hell again…
As for the story, I have attempted to get into book 1 a few times and failed. That might not be the fault of the book. I have discarded many books in 2024 due to having a newborn baby around the house! But in the new year, who knows? Perhaps I will try again.
#8 – Engines of War (The Age of Uprising #3) by R.S. Ford
Release date: July 10, 2025
Oh, this is a series that has been on by tbr for so long! It’s exciting to see that Engines of War will be coming out in 2025, so I’ll be adding it to the kindle collection on release day.
Book 1 of the series Engines of Empire and I believe it’s an epic fantasy filled with battles and war – with a spot of revolution. It sounds incredible and I’ve been trying to force my brain to read it for a long time.
#9 – The Witch Roads (The Witch Roads #1) by Kate Elliott
Release date: une 10, 2025
Kate Elliot is one of the best fantasy authors still publishing today. The Crown of Stars series is insanely good, and there are many other series under the author’s belt.
Here comes the latest series by Kate Elliot, starting with The Witch Roads, and I am excited for its release!
#10 – Galaphile (The First Druids of Shannara #1) by Terry Brooks
Release date: March 11, 2025
Shannara isn’t a series I have ever gotten along with. I tried reading The Sword of Shannara at school and gave up after a few chapters. I was more interested in the grimdark stuff back then.
Then the TV series came out and… no, we won’t discuss that…
So, why is this first book in a new series set in Shannara on my list of 16 sci-fi and fantasy books to get excited for in 2025? Because I’m going to give the books another shot!
This time, I’m diving right in with this book. I basically know the plots of the other trilogies and the histories and the characters, so this is a chance to dive into a new story. Maybe I will love it and it will send me right back to the start. We’ll see.
#11 – Winter Warrior (The Wolf of Kings #3) by Richard Cullen
Release date: March 6, 2025
While not technically a fantasy series, this historical fiction series, The Wolf of Kings, by Richard Cullen is definitely the sort of thing us fantasy fans love! Oath Bound, book 1 in the series, was one of my favourite books of 2021, and Shield Breaker was an epic sequel.
Winter Warrior is book 3 and yes, it’s preordered. Look, if you want to follow vikings going into battle and being badass, and you like 1066-onwards history, this book is for you. Fans of John Gwynne and George R.R. Martin will adore The Wolf of Kings.
Anticipated Science Fiction Releases in 2025
#12 – Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Release date: February 27, 2025
Despite only reading one of his many books, Adrian Tchaikovsky is one of my favourite science fiction writers. Children of Time was an outstanding book and I know I need to read more of his work.
Books like The Doors of Eden and Shards of Earth are on the top of the 2025 tbr, but Shroud is now above all of them upon its release. This is a first contact story following characters surviving on an alien planet.
I love these kinds of science fiction stories, and Tchaikovsky always has an interesting worldbuilding twist in there somewhere, so I’m excited to see what that might entail!
#13 – Bee Speaker (Dogs of War #3) by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Release date: June 5, 2025
Because the man never sleeps, Adrian Tchaikovsky is also releasing a third book in his Dogs of War series. I don’t need to repeat everything I have just said, but just know that anything by this author is an anticipated release for me!
#14 – Future’s Edge by Gareth L. Powell
Release date: February 25, 2025
Have you read Descendant Machine? No? Well you should! I adored that book by Gareth L. Powell, and now we have an upcoming science fiction book in 2025, Future’s Edge.
Described as a “gripping and heartfelt horror-tinged space adventure” with space pirates and other cool shit, what part of this premise doesn’t make you want to read it?
#15 – When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi
Release date: March 27, 2025
John Scalzi is brilliant. Redshirts, Old Man’s War, Starter Villain… oh man there are so many great hits from this author. So, why shouldn’t this upcoming science fiction book be as awesome too?
The premise is… the moon turned to cheese.
Yes, you read that right. I am so intrigued by this, especially as a fan of wacky sci-fi like Hitchhiker’s, etc.
#16 – Sunrise on the Reaping (A Hunger Games Novel) by Suzanne Collins
Release date: March 18, 2025
The final sci-fi book to get excited for in 2025 is the latest money grab by The Hunger Games author, Suzanne Collins. I’m kidding – I genuinely think there are some amazing stories to tell in this world and Sunrise on the Reaping sounds awesome!
This book is Haymitch Abernathy’s story of the 15th Hunger Games. It’s going to be tragic, and dark, but also give us another side to a much beloved character from the original series.
I do wonder how different the novel will be from The Hunger Games, but we’ll see. I’m sure Collins has something up her sleeve.
