2018 has been one hell of a year for fiction, with a ton of great novels and comics from a variety of genres. Throughout this year I have had the pleasure of reading a huge number of outstanding novels and now I have the hard task of deciding what my favourite books of the year were. So below, in no particular order, are the books I believe were the best of 2018:

Skyward by Brandon Sanderson

This is one I only just reviewed a few days ago, but it is easily one of the most incredible books of 2018. Legendary science fiction and fantasy author Brandon Sanderson has created another captivating read set in one of his trademark intricate new worlds. Skyward was pretty much the best piece of young adult fiction that I read this year, and I cannot speak highly enough of the high-speed dogfights between human pilots and alien fighters.

Tombland by C. J. Sansom

Another book that I only just recently read, but I found it to be one of the best historical murder mysteries of the year. Readers who get into this latest book in the Matthew Shardlake series will find a novel filled with an incredible amount of historical detail, a focus on an underutilised event from history and a deeply intriguing mystery. All of these come together into a massively compelling narrative that proves pretty damn hard to put down for any substantial length of time.

Deep Silence by Jonathan Maberry

The 10th book in Maberry’s fantastically over-the-top Joe Ledger series, Deep Silence contains a wonderful mixture of weird science, thrilling espionage and some crazy science fiction elements. All of these are pretty darn entertaining by themselves, but together they form a really fun novel that I really enjoyed, and which got me really hooked on Maberry as an author. Deep Silence also had to be my favourite new audiobook of 2018, and I loved the expert and humorous narration by the amazing Ray Porter.

Planetside by Michael Mammay

The science fiction debut of 2018 that came out of nowhere, Planetside was an incredible thriller set on and above an alien planet. Featuring a pretty cool mystery with some amazing twists, as well as an epic and memorable conclusion to the entire story, this was an absolutely fantastic read. Another one with a pretty amazing audiobook, this was an awesome debut and I am already looking forward to the second book in the series.

Star Wars: Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith Volume 3 – The Burning Seas

Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith has to be one of my favourite ongoing comic book series out at the moment. While this third volume of the series is not the only one that came out this year, it was definitely my favourite, with a range of awesome storylines that continue to set up Vader as one of the biggest villains in all of fiction. With some incredible action, some great additions to the Star Wars lore and some intriguing references to the movies, this volume had a little something for everybody and is well worth checking out.

Bloody Rose by Nicholas Eames

The follow-up to Eames’s wildly successful 2017 debut, Kings of the Wyld, this is an extremely fun and highly action packed fantasy adventure. Featuring a fantastic band of fantasy characters as they tramp across the landscape in a journey reminiscent of a rock group tour, this book lives up to its substantial hype and is one of the most straight-up entertaining reads of 2018.

City of Lies by Sam Hawke

From fellow Canberran Sam Hawke comes this outstanding piece of fantasy intrigue in what was probably one of the best fantasy debuts of 2018. Featuring an incredible poison based storyline, this was an amazingly compelling read that contained a number of outstanding mysteries and conspiracies, as well as setting up a new fantasy world for a great new fantasy series.

Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruochhio

Debuting science fiction writer Christopher Ruochhio came out of the gate swinging this year with this epic space opera. Featuring a massive new universe in the future and focusing on the adventures of the man destined to kill a sun, Empire of Silence is a really impressive first outing from this author and an excellent introduction to a bold new science fiction series with a lot of potential.

The Defiant Heir by Melissa Caruso

The follow-up to one of my favourite debuts of 2017, The Tethered Mage, Caruso continues the adventure of her two mismatched companions in this fast-moving sequel that contains all the elements I loved about the first book. Caruso doubles down on the insane magical action and presents a new range of intriguing fantasy adversaries. An epic second book and a fantastic magical adventure.

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

This was another awesome debut for 2018 as author Stuart Turton comes up with an outrageous original concept and uses it to create one of the year’s best mysteries. Essentially a combination of Groundhog Day, Inception, Downton Abbey and one of the old classic murder mystery series, The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle was an extremely clever read that proved very hard to put down.