Our 2024 picks: Aotearoa New Zealand science fiction, fantasy and speculative fiction
Join us as we look back at our favourite New Zealand science fiction, fantasy and speculative fiction published this year!
Some quick notes... These are our picks for adults, but as an added bonus, we've also included a couple of younger reader titles that we feel a wider adult audience might enjoy (find these in the last few spots below).
One of the younger reader titles we're highlighting, is Pōneke local (and arts and literary maven!) Claire Mabey's debut book, The Raven's Eye runaways, published this year.
Have a browse and find Claire's book and our other picks below:
Browse our picks
It’s not often we recommend two books in the same year by one author (our next pick is also an H. G. Parry title), however H. G. Parry is one of our favourite New Zealand writers currently working in the fantasy genre. If you’ve never fallen under her writing spell, her two books this year could well convert you into being a fan.
Heartless is an exceptional example of her output; an origin novella set in the world of Peter Pan, it centers on how the child James Hook becomes the villain pirate of Neverland. Parry creates a delicious, compelling, multi-layered read - at turns frightening and haunting, and at others charming and lovely. This is a novella that peeks behind the veil and explores what it truly means to never grow up. Enjoy!
The scholar and the last faerie door / Parry, H. G.
The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door is H. G. Parry’s second full-length novel released in 2024, and our second pick of the year. The novel was described by no less than New York Times' bestselling author Allison Saft as 'Easily my favourite read of this year'. Set in a secret magical academy in England in 1920 and on the battlefields of WWI, this is another totally unputdownable and compelling read from this fabulous writer.
The sunforge / Stronach, Sascha
The Sunforge is the much-anticipated latest instalment of Sascha Stronach's Endsong trilogy - a Māori-inspired, queer, fantasy, biopunk series. If you'd like to give it a go and start at the beginning, the first book in the series is The Dawnhounds, and there is an as yet unnamed third instalment still in the pipeline.
The amethyst kingdom / Mulford, A. K
The Amethyst Kingdom is the fifth and final novel in The Five Crowns of Okrith romantasy series, and it doesn't disappoint! This latest instalment has the same signature mix of romance, magic, politics and magical court machinations that has earned the series a passionate following. For those wondering where to start, The High Mountain Court is the first book in the series.
Emergency weather / Jones, Tim
In a very different vein, Emergency Weather by Tim Jones is a powerful, prescient and compelling climate change thriller, set in the very near future in the Wellington region in Aotearoa. The novel centers around three very different characters who have to face the climate crisis head-on when a giant storm builds and then hits our capital city.
How to get the girl and not destroy the world / Cardno, Marie
This is the final book in The Monster Girlfriend trilogy. If you are unfamiliar with the series, this is a wickedly funny, sapphic monster rom-com series, where the love interests are a volatile witch and a sweet tentacle monster. Need I say more?
When the moon hatched / Parker, Sarah A.
Sarah A. Parker's When the Moon Hatched shot to fame on TikTok in 2023; was snapped up by one of the big publishing houses soon after; and has since gone on to be a major international bestseller. This is a fast-paced high fantasy novel with lots of romantic threads (and uniquely imagined dragons!). A second instalment (The Ballad of Falling Dragons) is scheduled for publication in 2025.
Echoes of Earthshine / Harding-Shaw, Melanie
Melanie Harding-Shaw’s Echoes of Earthshine is a tense, enemies-to-lovers, standalone paranormal romance that takes place in the Melded Earths world immediately following the events of the Soul Court Ascension trilogy.
Beside the River Styx / Fletcher, Helen Vivienne
Beside the River Styx is Helen Vivienne Fletcher's new short story collection. Featuring nine tales in total, this is a rich blend of stories:
"A body is found. A girl watches for witches. A town turns against a young mother, and a man kills with humour. A library survives in a world without paper; a cursed pendant changes necks. Nine dark, twisty and comically criminal short stories." (Catalogue)
The Grimmelings / King, Rachael
If you're like us, and you also enjoy dipping into YA and children's fantasy books, here's one for you. This is Rachael King's teenage supernatural horse folk magic tale The Grimmelings:
"The same evening Josh Underhill went missing, the black horse appeared on the hill above the house. Ella knows that words are powerful. So she should have known better than to utter a wish and a curse on the same day. Who is Gus, the boy with the impish grin, who seems to appear in answer to her wish? And what does the black horse want? When Ella finds that her grandmother's warnings of creatures that dwell in the lake are more than just stories, she and her pony Magpie are drawn into a dangerous, life-saving mission..." (Catalogue)
The Raven's Eye runaways / Mabey, Claire
This is another children's title that we think adults would also enjoy!
Claire Mabey is a founder of Verb Wellington and LitCrawl Wellington, and a staple of the Pōneke arts and literary scene, and The Raven's Eye Runaways is her first book (and we've been so excited for it!). It's a hugely enjoyable parallel medieval world fantasy quest novel that has books firmly at its core. Enjoy!
"Three young people and a one-eyed raven join forces to fight against the oppressive regime that restricts the gift of reading to an elite few and aims to squash magic. Getwin is a bookbinder working from dawn till dusk with her mother at Raven's Eye Bookbindery. Joane is a scribe, living in a monastic-style castle, where she and other girls are forced to copy manuscripts until their fingers bleed. Buckle is Getwin's loyal and close friend. When Joane escapes her prison-like life and the soporific tea that drugs her, she is rescued by Getwin and Buckle. They go in search of Getwin's mother, who has been taken by the regime. They encounter many dangers and must travel through a fearful city and a magical forest. Will they find her safe? And what is the terrible truth behind everything they think they know about their world?" (Catalogue)