2022 Recommended Reading List

 

Welcome to the annual Locus Recommended Reading List!

We are so pleased to share this list of excellent fiction! Published in Locus magazine’s February 2023 issue, the list is assembled by Locus editors, columnists, outside reviewers, and other professionals and well-known critics of genre fiction and non-fiction. We looked at 982 titles from 2022 in short fiction and long fiction. The final recommendations, trimmed down to a somewhat reasonable-length list, are our best recommendations for your consideration. We know there will be titles you loved that do not appear here; it happens every year. Any one of our recommending group would have put together a different exact list, but this is the combined sum of opinions, assessed with great affection and care for the field. There were a lot of great books this year; we could’ve recommended twice as many.

The Locus recommending group this year included EiC Liza Groen Trombi; reviews editor Jonathan Strahan;  reviewers Liz Bourke, Alex Brown, James Bradley, Karen Burnham, Paul Di Filippo, Amy Goldschlager, Paula Guran, Rich Horton, Gabino Iglesias, Maya C. James, Russell Letson, Adrienne Martini, Ian Mond, Colleen Mondor, Tim Pratt, Arley Sorg, Gary K. Wolfe, and Alvaro Zinos-Amaro; staffer Bob Blough; and UK critics Cheryl Morgan and Graham Sleight. Input for the non-fiction section also came in from Niall Harrison and Farah Mendlesohn. The art books section had help from Arnie Fenner, Karen Haber, and senior editor Francesca Myman. Short fiction recommendations added in outside editors and reviewers John Joseph Adams, Ellen Datlow, Sean Dowie, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, Vanessa Fogg, Maria Haskins, Rich Horton, Charles Payseur, Bogi Takács, and A.C. Wise. Some of the reviewers also wrote year-end wrap-ups, which will include their thoughts, plus some favorite books that didn’t make the final list — look for those in the coming weeks or in the February issue of the magazine, available in print and digital editions. Locus thanks all involved for their time and their expertise.

You can let us know what your favorites were by voting in the 2022 Poll & Survey. The Poll decides the winners of the Locus Awards, presented in June 2023, and is open to all to vote on. The Survey helps us be a better magazine. Thank you for participating!

NOVELS – SCIENCE FICTION

NOVELS – FANTASY

NOVELS – HORROR

YOUNG ADULT NOVELS

FIRST NOVELS

COLLECTIONS

ANTHOLOGIES

ORIGINAL

REPRINT

NON-FICTION

ILLUSTRATED AND ART BOOKS

NOVELLAS

NOVELETTES

SHORT STORIES

If you see any typos or errors, please let us know at locus@locusmag.com. Thank you!

[Edited to recategorize Dark Factory to SF.]


 

You can see this list and all of our reviewers’ takes on the previous year in the February Locus. [cover image credit: art by Sergey Nivens/Adobe Stock]

Locus Magazine, Science Fiction FantasyWhile you are here, please take a moment to support Locus with a one-time or recurring donation. We rely on reader donations to keep the magazine and site going, and would like to keep the site paywall free, but WE NEED EVERY READER’S FINANCIAL SUPPORT to continue quality coverage of the science fiction and fantasy field.

©Locus Magazine. Copyrighted material may not be republished without permission of LSFF.

3 thoughts on “2022 Recommended Reading List

  • February 4, 2023 at 7:46 am
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    Disappointed that not a single self-published author is on your list even though hundreds of *great* novels were published in 2022. Clearly, literary agents and publishing house gatekeepers are still in charge of book promotion. The powerful win. Authors and readers lose.

    Reply
    • April 7, 2023 at 9:52 pm
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      Locus can only give to its reviewers what it gets. Pretty sure self-published authors are welcome to send review copies to Locus if they wish.

      Reply
  • April 8, 2023 at 7:37 am
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    The First Fandom Experience titles are published by its authors and other contributors. Our entry this year is “The Visual History of Science Fiction Fandom, Volume Two: 1940.” We appreciate the support of anyone who wishes to encourage self-publishing!

    Reply

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