Best Books of 2025: Fiction

My fiction reading list for this year contains some of the usual suspects (Sanderson, Modesitt, Preston/Child and Box), but also some new authors I have enjoyed.  I greatly enjoyed the three Robert Harris books I read this year, but I was let down with the endings of each of them, which is why none of them made the “best of” list.  Here are the best fiction books I read this year, and the rest (which include 2 “fiction-adjacent” books).

Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson (Stormlight Archive #5).  Weighing in at over 1300 (!!) pages, this is the 5^th installment of Sanderson’s Stormlight series.  This series is meant to be 10 books in all, and Sanderson ties up many plot lines in this book.  Apparently book 6 will start some new plot lines.  Even at its length and the time it took me to read it, it was compelling all the way through.  Cannot wait for #6.

From the Forest by L. E. Modesitt Jr.  Modesitt’s Recluse books are comfort fiction for me.  In some ways, every book or mini-series of books are structured the same way, but for me they are immersive, engrossing and different enough to hold my interest.  Soon I hope to pick up the next book, which apparently contains the same main character as found in From the Forest.

Of Darkness and Light by Ryan Cahill (Bound and Broken series #2)  I read the first of this series last year and enjoyed it.  I read a short novella set in the same world (see below).  But with book number 2, Cahill’s writing and storytelling skills have advanced.  I found this book much more enjoyable and captivating than his previous book, which bodes well for the series.

Isles of the Emberdark by Brandon Sanderson (Secret Projects #5)  A few years ago, Brandon Sanderson broke the Internet and set Kickstarter records for his Secret Project novels.  I did not subscribe, but have picked up all the books over time.  Isles is the surprise 5^th book in the project.  It is more science fiction than fantasy, but Sanderson’s world building is great and I would say this is probably my second favorite of the Secret Project books.

The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz (Hawthrone and Horowitz #1).  This is a unique murder mystery, in that the author, Anthony Horowitz, is actually a main character in the series.  In the book, he partners with Hawthorne, a secretive, enigmatic and brilliant detective.  Horowitz writes himself in to the book – as a best-selling mystery writer – and together they make an interesting pair.  Looking forward to read the second installment.

Bloodless by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (Pendergast series)  It has been a few years since I have read a Pendergast book – I have a few to catch up on.  Bloodless is classic Preston and Child – well-written and plotted, intriguing with a bit of para-normal (parallel universes here) added in.  It’s a page turner!

Other great reads that did not get into the “best” list:

The Fall by Ryan Cahill (Bound and Broken novella)

An Officer and a Spy by Robert Harris

Death in Delft by Graham Brack

Age of Assassins by R J Barker (Wounded Kingdom, #1)

Pompeii by Robert Harris

Nowhere to Run by C. J. Box (Joe Pickett #10)

The Second Sleep by Robert Harris

The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz

Cold Wind by C. J. Box (Joe Pickett #11)

The Maps of Middle-Earth by Brian Sibley

Somewhat Disappointing Reads:

Origins of the Wheel of Time:  The Legends and Mythologies that Inspired Robert Jordan by Michael Livingston (biographical information about Jordan is fascinating, the rest disappointing as it did not add any new information about Jordan’s great series)