Speculative fiction, according to Wikipedia, is “an umbrella genre encompassing narrative fiction with supernatural or futuristic elements.” As such, it includes science fiction, fantasy, alternate histories, dystopias, utopias, horror, apocalyptic fiction, supernatural fiction, superhero fiction, etc. Browse the list below for some titles in this wide-ranging genre.
Iron Gold by Pierce Brown – Ten years after the revolution that was supposed to bring freedom but instead brought endless war, Darrow and the Rising battle the remaining Gold loyalist forces in order to abolish the color-coded caste system, only to be challenged by dangerous new enemies. Follows the Red Rising Saga (trilogy).
Semiosis by Sue Burke – Human survival hinges on a bizarre alliance in Semiosis, a character driven science fiction novel of first contact by debut author Sue Burke.
Starless by Jacqueline Carey – Lush and sensual, Starless introduces readers to an epic world where exiled gods live among us, and a hero whose journey will resonate long after the last page is turned.
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline – Immersing himself in a mid-21st-century technological virtual utopia to escape an ugly real world of famine, poverty and disease, Wade Watts joins an increasingly violent effort to solve a series of puzzles by the virtual world’s super-wealthy creator, who has promised that the winner will be his heir.
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch – Kidnapped and drugged at gunpoint for inexplicable reasons, physics professor Jason Dessen awakens in a lab and is informed that his entire life has been an illusion and that he is being hunted by a deadly adversary.
Temper by Nicky Drayden – An underprivileged twin, marked by tattoos of his vices, worsens his strained relationship with his brother when he begins hearing voices and experiences an inexplicable craving for blood.
American Gods by Neil Gaiman – Just released from prison, Shadow encounters Mr. Wednesday, an enigmatic stranger who seems to know a lot about him, and when Mr. Wednesday offers him a job as his bodyguard, Shadow accepts and is plunged into a dark and perilous world.
Faith by Jody Houser – Orphaned at a young age, Faith Herbert – a psionically gifted “psiot” discovered by the Harbinger Foundation – has always aspired to greatness. But now this once ordinary teenager is taking control of her destiny and becoming the hard-hitting hero she’s always known she can be – complete with a mild-mannered secret identity, unsuspecting colleagues, and a day job as a reporter that routinely throws into her harms way! Well, at least she thought it would…
An Excess Male by Maggie Shen King – Finally saving up enough money for a matchmaking dowry, a young, single man in China, one of 40 million who can’t find wives because there aren’t enough women, finds himself deeply connecting with a woman who already has two husbands.
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang – An epic historical military fantasy, inspired by the violent history of China’s 20th century, follows the efforts of an unexpected, dark-skinned war orphan to obtain an education at Nikan’s most elite military school in spite of prejudice and the challenges of her lethal shaman skills, which raise her awareness about the existence of gods and the imminence of war.
Red Sister by Mark Lawrence – Entering a convent where girls are selected to train in either religion, combat or magic, Nona, while training in combat, finds herself at the center of an epic battle for empire on the outer reaches of a dying universe.
Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller – When a climate-wars project involving the construction of a sophisticated floating city in the Arctic Circle begins to succumb to corruption and crime, the arrival of a woman riding an orca at the side of a polar-bear companion brings together four people to stage strategic acts of resistance.
Only Human by Sylvain Neuvel – In her childhood, Rose Franklin accidentally discovered a giant metal hand buried beneath the ground outside Deadwood, South Dakota. As an adult, Dr. Rose Franklin led the team that uncovered the rest of the body parts which together form Themis: a powerful robot of mysterious alien origin. Third Book in the Themis series, which begins with Sleeping Giants.
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik – Deciding to collect on the outstanding debts owed her family of moneylenders, a young woman is overheard boasting about being able to turn silver into gold by the creatures who haunt the wood, in this reimagining of the Rumpelstiltskin story.
Witchmark by C.L. Polk – After going to war to escape his destiny, Miles Singer is unable to leave his past behind when he, after faking his own death, reinvents himself as a doctor at a cash-strapped veteran’s hospital where he can no longer hide what he truly is.
Embers of War by Garth L. Powell – The sentient warship Trouble Dog was built for violence, yet following a brutal war, she is disgusted by her role in a genocide. Stripped of her weaponry and seeking to atone, she joins the House of Reclamation, an organisation dedicated to rescuing ships in distress. When a civilian ship goes missing in a disputed system, Trouble Dog and her new crew of loners, captained by Sal Konstanz, are sent on a rescue mission, which will turn out to be far more complicated than anticipated… First in a trilogy.
Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice – When a small Ojibwa community in the far north loses power at the beginning of the winter, residents do not realize it is because society in the south is failing, and when people arrive from the south, harsh conditions take their toll.
Unholy Land by Lavie Tidhar – Pulp fiction author Lior Tirosh returns to his homeland in East Africa to find his childhood friend dead and Tirosh the main suspect.