While reading fiction makes you more empathetic as a person, reading science-fiction and fantasy, in someway, broadens your imagination. These books make one better understand and, probably, question our reality through stories that take place in different realms. Here we list down some popular sci-fi and fantasy books of 2019 which you might like to add to your reading list. They'll transport you to a different world, and keep you hooked till the very end. So, check out this list!
1. 'Fall, or, Dodge in Hell' by Neal Stephenson
Award-winning American author Neal Stephenson's science-fiction novel 'Fall, or, Dodge in Hell' released in June 2019. The story unfolds in parallel worlds in the future. Multi-billionaire Richard “Dodge” Forthrast is the founder of Corporation 9592, a gaming world. He is fond of his niece Zula and his grand-niece Sophia. But during a routine medical check-up which went wrong, Dodge is pronounced brain-dead by the doctors and his family is left devastated with the sudden turn of events. When his will, which he wrote in his youth, surfaces it brings more surprises. According to it, Dodge's brain should be preserved in a tech company by Elmo Shepherd until such technology is created that his mind can be transferred to a computer. Years later, Dodge's grand-niece Sophia develops a way of regenerating his brain; she makes him a-sort-of God in the Bitworld, which is a parallel digital world. It's the time when the internet has taken over the terrestrial world, called Meatspace; people can now travel to Bitworld using Sophia's new technology. And now, Dodge and the late Elmo are fighting for power in Bitworld.
2. 'Pan’s Labyrinth: The Labyrinth of the Faun' by Guillermo del Toro and Cornelia Funke
'Pan’s Labyrinth' by Guillermo del Toro and Cornelia Funke is inspired by the 2006 film. The story follows a young woman Ofelia. When Ofelia meets Capitan, she knows right away that he has a dark personality regardless of his smiling self. 'But nothing can prepare her for the fevered reality of the Capitán's eerie house, in the midst of a dense forest which conceals many things: half-remembered stories of lost babies; renegade resistance fighters hiding from the army; a labyrinth; beasts and fairies. There is no one to keep Ofelia safe as the labyrinth beckons her into her own story, where the monstrous and the human are inextricable, where myths pulse with living blood,' reads the book's blurb. This fantasy novel will transport the readers to a different realm of fairies and beasts.
3. 'Black Leopard, Red Wolf' by Marlon James
Man Booker-winning author Marlon James' 'Black Leopard, Red Wolf' is a surreal epic fantasy, which is also the first book in The Dark Star Trilogy. The story merges fantasy, history, myths and folklores thus transporting the readers to a fictional place full of adventures and dark happenings. The book is set in Africa, at a time when there are political upheaval and rumours of an impending war between rival kingdoms. The story follows Tracker, a young, gay, tough and unsentimental hunter who has “a nose for finding what would rather stay lost”. While he is hired to find a child who went missing three years ago, he is unaware of the reason behind it. Slowly he realises that he is not the only one in search of the lost boy; Tracker meets various characters — from the shape-shifting man-cat Leopard to Bunshi the witch-- and joins their gang in search of the boy. But just as these characters have the power to shape-shift, their intentions and loyalties also change. Will they find the boy and who is this missing boy? The readers discover the answers to these vital questions in this book.
4. 'Shadow Warrior' by Christine Feehan
The fourth book in The Shadow Series, 'Shadow Warrior' returns to the Ferraro family; the story follows Vittorio Ferraro, who is a shadow walker. He also has a hypnotic power through which he can get people to do as he wishes. Vittorio notices all his brothers finding love wistfully, but he doubts if he will find anyone. As fate would have it, he finds Grace Murphy and they both fall for each other. Meanwhile, Grace has powers of her own and a past she needs protection from.
5. 'The Night Window' by Dean Koontz
'The Night Window' by Dean Koontz is the fifth and final book in the popular Jane Hawk series. The series follows Jane Hawk, a rogue FBI agent who is in search of her husband's killer(s) and the reason for it. Her husband is said to have committed suicide but Jane knows that it isn't true. She is in hiding as she is being hunted by some government officials. The Arcadians, who are her enemies, want to see her dead; they drug people and have total mind control over them thus controlling those who are considered a threat to them.
6. 'Storm Cursed' by Patricia Briggs
'Storm Cursed' is the 11th part of the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs. The book takes the plot forward-- after the events of 'Silence Fallen', Mercy and Adam's house has become a place for human and fey interactions. The story begins with her managing the supernaturals in her area, soon finding out that there is some black magic being done there. The appearance of zombie pygmy goats worries Mercy; when she calls Elizaveta's family for some information, her call is answered by a stranger which further adds to her woes! Suspicious with the turn of events, Adam and Mercy investigate these fishy circumstances and in turn, find themselves tangled with powerful witches.
7. 'War Storm' by Victoria Aveyard
'War Strom' by Victoria Aveyard is the fourth and last book in the Red Queen series. 'War Storm' starts an hour after the end of 'King's Cage', where Cal is now King Tiberias. Mare had refused the offer to be his consort, and instead continued her mission with the Scarlet Guard. While Mare is still the protagonist in this book, the story is also told through the perspectives of Cal, Maven, Iris and Evangeline. In this last book, readers can see all the characters growing and coming to terms to their fate.
8. 'Dragonslayer' by Duncan M. Hamilton
The first book in The Dragonslayer Trilogy, this book is set in a world where dragons are believed to be extinct and so there is no more need for dragonslayers in the kingdom. But as long-forgotten places are disturbed again in the search for power and things and creatures which were long dormant are awaken, the kingdom is now in need of a dragonslayer again. Guillot, who was a dragonslayer years ago, is the only one left who can save the kingdom. Readers who love fantasy fiction, dragons and medieval settings would like this book.