For the dedicated sci-fi and fantasy reader, it’s a great time to be alive. In recent years, the SFF genre—already vast and varied—has sprinted off into fascinating new territories, thanks to the already remarkable weirdness of the 21st century.
 
In celebration of which, we have compiled the following collection of the most popular SFF books of the past three years, according to Goodreads regulars. All the titles below were published in the U.S. between June 2023 and June 2026, and each has an average star rating of 3.5 or better.
 
As always, genre can be a slippery thing—especially in these aisles—but we did our best to identify books that can be properly designated as science fiction and/or fantasy. So, for instance, we filtered out romantasy and straight-up horror and other books readers might be used to seeing in different categories.
 
Experienced fantasy readers will find plenty of familiar author names here: Joe Abercrombie, Leigh Bardugo, Alix E. Harrow, T. Kingfisher, R.F. Kuang, Brandon Sanderson, and V.E. Schwab. Veteran sci-fi authors in the mix include James S.A. Corey, Fonda Lee, John Scalzi, and Jeff Vandermeer.  
 
Also look for individual titles that punched through the genre ceiling to make noise in the larger book world, like the ferocious metafiction of Nnedi Okorafor’s Death of the Author, or Robert Jackson Bennett’s mystery/fantasy hybrid The Tainted Cup. You’ll also find popular series like Matt Dinniman’s unstoppable Dungeon Crawler Carl saga and Martha Wells’ oddly adorable Murderbot books.
 
Lots of vampires and magical libraries, too, plus a few nice cozy options. If nothing else, enjoy the regular instances of gorgeous cover art.
 
In fact, you can click on those images for more information about each title, plus reader ratings and reviews. If anything here floats your boat, use the Want to Read button to add books to your digital shelf.