Can't Wait Sci-Fi/Fantasy of 2020

Science Fiction/Fantasy books for 2020

Fantasy by Decade:
1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s
1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, 2020s

Locus Recommended Fantasy:
2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015,
2014, 2013, 2012, 2011

Science Fiction By Decade:
1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s,
1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, 2020s

Science Fiction By Year:
2020
2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010
2009

Can't Wait Sci-Fi/Fantasy By Year:
2022, 2021, 2020
2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011
1

by
4.62 avg rating — 109,385 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
2

by
4.47 avg rating — 60,925 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
3

by
3.90 avg rating — 58,538 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
4

by
4.48 avg rating — 378,775 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
5

by
3.83 avg rating — 353,509 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
6

by
4.22 avg rating — 42,260 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
7

by
4.33 avg rating — 52,179 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
8

by
4.30 avg rating — 47,356 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
9

by
4.08 avg rating — 13,921 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
10

by
4.50 avg rating — 39,800 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
11

by
4.60 avg rating — 23,957 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
12

by
4.24 avg rating — 206,463 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
13

by
4.43 avg rating — 28,783 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
14

by
3.82 avg rating — 9,573 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
15

by
3.92 avg rating — 21,934 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
16

by
4.21 avg rating — 814,790 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
17

by
4.11 avg rating — 23,965 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
18

by
4.48 avg rating — 21,132 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
19

by
4.28 avg rating — 8,640 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
20

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 124,743 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
21

by
3.68 avg rating — 288,107 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
22

by
4.44 avg rating — 438,207 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
23

by
4.49 avg rating — 8,881 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
24

by
4.21 avg rating — 35,583 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
25

by
3.87 avg rating — 16,630 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
26

by
4.39 avg rating — 8,114 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
27

by
3.74 avg rating — 7,432 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
28

by
4.28 avg rating — 31,114 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
29

by
4.34 avg rating — 5,328 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
30

by
4.11 avg rating — 19,035 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
31

by
3.90 avg rating — 5,722 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
32

by
4.38 avg rating — 7,164 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
33

by
4.31 avg rating — 73,407 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
34

by
3.92 avg rating — 3,305 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
35

by
4.38 avg rating — 115,432 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
36

by
3.78 avg rating — 46,978 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
37

by
3.92 avg rating — 55,462 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
38

by
3.65 avg rating — 6,009 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
39

by
3.65 avg rating — 3,854 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
40

by
3.80 avg rating — 4,540 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
41

by
4.51 avg rating — 19,658 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
42

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 3,379 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
43

by
3.63 avg rating — 18,085 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
44

by
4.33 avg rating — 2,974 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
45

by
3.73 avg rating — 9,612 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
46

by
3.32 avg rating — 7,358 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
47

by
3.87 avg rating — 145,970 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
48

by
4.02 avg rating — 39,069 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
48

by
3.72 avg rating — 2,364 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
50

by
4.46 avg rating — 9,073 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
51

by
3.57 avg rating — 1,464 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
52

by
3.67 avg rating — 31,261 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
53

by
4.23 avg rating — 3,264 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
54

by
4.41 avg rating — 36,761 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
55

by
3.79 avg rating — 9,533 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
56

by
3.56 avg rating — 5,136 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
57

by
3.91 avg rating — 2,152 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
58

by
3.74 avg rating — 4,722 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
59

by
3.42 avg rating — 4,943 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
60

by
4.51 avg rating — 90 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
61

by
4.16 avg rating — 10,216 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
62

by
4.06 avg rating — 66,525 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
63

by
3.68 avg rating — 27,088 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
64

by
3.95 avg rating — 11,921 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
65

by
4.38 avg rating — 11,326 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
66

by
4.22 avg rating — 1,252 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
67

by
3.84 avg rating — 4,139 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
68

by
3.99 avg rating — 27,230 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
69

by
3.73 avg rating — 21,221 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
70

by
3.73 avg rating — 3,000 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
71

by
4.15 avg rating — 7,321 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
72

by
4.11 avg rating — 5,933 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
73

by
3.71 avg rating — 6,829 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
74

by
4.31 avg rating — 2,887 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
75

by
3.68 avg rating — 2,850 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
76

by
3.82 avg rating — 164,530 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
77

by
3.86 avg rating — 6,257 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
78

by
4.56 avg rating — 2,009 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
79

by
3.87 avg rating — 8,580 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
80

by
3.83 avg rating — 1,206 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
81

by
4.31 avg rating — 5,831 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
82

by
3.51 avg rating — 2,423 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
83

by
3.75 avg rating — 4,473 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
84

by
4.02 avg rating — 6,473 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
85

by
4.20 avg rating — 5,164 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
86

by
3.95 avg rating — 1,696 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
87

by
4.19 avg rating — 3,750 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
88

by
3.72 avg rating — 15,717 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
88

by
3.82 avg rating — 4,035 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
90

by
4.04 avg rating — 21,034 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
90

by
3.83 avg rating — 4,251 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
92

by
4.47 avg rating — 8,141 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
93

by
4.15 avg rating — 13,256 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
94

by
3.72 avg rating — 2,036 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
95

by
3.59 avg rating — 3,128 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
96

by
3.37 avg rating — 803 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
97

by
4.09 avg rating — 7,692 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
98

by
4.11 avg rating — 728 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
99

by
4.18 avg rating — 8,451 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
100

by
4.28 avg rating — 131 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
480 books · 1,438 voters · list created March 29th, 2019 by Katie (votes) .
238 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


Katie 6456 books
6 friends
Selina 1043 books
7 friends
Hannah 1359 books
172 friends
isidora crni biser 2208 books
526 friends
Jain 839 books
26 friends
Emma 1678 books
6 friends
Mark 1789 books
12 friends
Jessica (justagirlwithabook) 1702 books
186 friends

More voters…


Comments Showing 1-27 of 27 (27 new)

dateDown arrow    newest »

message 1: by Rox (new)

Rox Would it be possible to have a separate list for YA titles (starting with this 2020 list and going forward)? I've just gone through the 2019 list, and at nearly 600 titles it got a little cumbersome to navigate, and as far as I gathered, at least half were YA titles. (My apologies if this has been brought up before.)


message 2: by Betsy (new)

Betsy Wow, someone added a bunch of books that don't belong here.

The Art of Racing in the Rain (#66) was released in 2008.

Where the Crawdads Sing (#64) isn't sci fi or fantasy and was released in 2018

Nevernight (#63) was released in 2016

Wonder Woman (#61) was released in 2017

Scythe (#60) was released in 2016

Verity (#58) was released in 2018 and isn't sci fi or fantasy

Of Ice and Shadows (#55) was released in 2019


message 3: by Betsy (new)

Betsy OK, I just went through and deleted all the ones from my previous comment.


message 4: by Liz H (new)

Liz H {Redd's Reads} Deleted Queen of Nothing as it was bumped up to a 2019 release!


message 5: by Brian (new)

Brian Dead Astronauts by Jeff VanderMeer and Burning White by Brent Weeks are 2019 releases


message 6: by Rachel Adiyah (new)

Rachel Adiyah The Never Tilting World has already been published in 2019.


message 7: by Abendstern (new)

Abendstern why even bother to list the next GOT books, or the gentleman bastards next book, for that matter.


message 8: by [deleted user] (last edited Dec 27, 2019 03:51AM) (new)

Please, please take Doors of stone off the list, why do people do this to themselves when there's so many great books coming out and i can't find anything to suggest it's out in 2020?
I haven't added as they are cross genre but shouldn't A Longer Fall and Alpha Night and maybe even Wicked Bite be in here too, they all have release dates


myfortressofbooks Please take off The Never Tilting World as it has already been released in October of 2019


message 10: by Taiwo (new)

Taiwo Madison The Burning White came out in 2019


message 11: by WillowRaven (new)

WillowRaven "To Sleep in a Sea of Stars" by Christopher Paolini is listed twice ( #105 and #281 ).


message 12: by Kistopher (new)

Kistopher Langdon Missing out on The Black Shade of White - Justice by the polish author Renata Cattleya Levy


message 13: by Janet (new)

Janet Martin While you're removing things, Fire & Blood II, #49, isn't even scheduled yet. Since Martin has at least 6 other things coming out in some edition or another in 2020, I think it's a way off. And most of the "untitled" entries don't belong here either--nearly always these end up with duplicate entries when someone else enters them when a title is announced.


message 14: by Janet (new)

Janet Martin I wonder why #112, "A Murderous Relation," is on this list. None of the previous books in this series of "historical" mysteries had any supernatural or scifi elements. I like this series a lot, but it's not fantasy other than in the sense that all fiction is.


message 15: by Janet (last edited May 16, 2020 08:39AM) (new)

Janet Martin #382, The Nobleman's Guide to Scandal and Shipwrecks, isn't fantasy, nor is#231, Carrie Vaughn's The Ghosts of Sherwood--no ghosts at all in that one, just a lurking outlaw. #31, A Desolation Called Peace has a scheduled date of March 2, 2021


message 16: by Mari (last edited Jun 20, 2020 07:52AM) (new)

Mari There are literally NO good fantasy/sci fi books being written today. The writing quality is on a par with Wattpad. The storytelling is just gone. No, I don't care about some modern thinking chick in a Medieval/Renaissance or something world which has magic tarot cards, and can sword fight, and because of the recent news, the must have physical description so we know she isn't fair skinned. Just NO. Oh, yeah. Forgot the evil father in my description.


message 17: by Janet (last edited Jun 22, 2020 07:26AM) (new)

Janet Martin Mari wrote: "There are literally NO good fantasy/sci fi books being written today. The writing quality is on a par with Wattpad. The storytelling is just gone. No, I don't care about some modern thinking chick ..."

I very much disagree--there actually are writers producing genre novels that are all about terrific characters and strong stories. I will agree that most of the stuff that publishers are pushing are exactly as you describe, and I find myself slogging through all too many of them, particularly in "epic" fantasy. Some of the very bestnew stuff is published as "horror," although I would have to say horror light--there're dark elements in Lord of the Rings, etc, and these books aren't any more horror than those. Try Christine Henry, T Kingfisher, Stephen Hopstaken. In scifi, Lois McMasters Bujold (also fantasy) keeps on producing great stories as do Martha Wells, Peter Clines, Jack Campbell, and Elizabeth Moon. These are just a few of the many examples of both new and older writers who continue to put out great stories year after year.


message 18: by Janet (last edited Jun 23, 2020 01:57PM) (new)

Janet Martin The Witness for the Dead, #48 on this list, by Katherine Addison, is probably not a real book. There is no sequel to The Goblin Empire that anyone knows about, but Addison does have a book scheduled this year titled "The Angel of the Crows." I am very excited to read it!


message 19: by Ezgi (new)

Ezgi Tülü Empire of the Vampire says Fall 2021 on its cover.


message 20: by Lukas K (last edited Jul 08, 2020 11:51PM) (new)

Lukas K Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline
Expected publication: November 24th 2020

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...


message 21: by Janet (new)

Janet Martin Someone is doing it again--The Unkindness of Ghosts, #398, was published in 2017! Please delete.


message 22: by Janet (last edited Aug 26, 2020 06:36AM) (new)

Janet Martin #88, A History of What Comes Next, won't be out until Feb 2021


message 23: by AliciaJ (new)

AliciaJ I accidentally added An Illusion of Thieves to this list instead of the 2019 list. Can you remove it?


message 24: by Elaine (new)

Elaine I feel like it would be helpful if the list description clarified that "can't wait 2020" means can't-wait-for-these-books-to-be-published in 2020. You can be in a state of anticipation for 2020 for books coming out at much later dates (if ever), which would mean the ASOIaF or KC titles or anything 2021+ would suit. So, which is it intended to be? "Published 2020" or "still excited in 2020"?


message 25: by A.M. (new)

A.M. Hi, could someone move these 5 books since they are not 2020 releases? Thanks!
Doing Time (The Time Police #1) - 2019
The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry - 2021
A Desolation Called Peace (Teixcalaan, #2) - 2021
The Nobleman's Guide to Scandal and Shipwrecks (Montague Siblings, #3) - 2021
The Seven Sisters (London Below, #2) - no publication date yet


message 26: by Viscious (new)

Viscious Shouldn't "The Thorn of Emberlain" be removed from the list too? Now that it is moved to 2021)


message 27: by Dua (last edited Jan 31, 2021 04:05AM) (new)

Dua Removed The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey which comes out in 2021.
Removed The Thorn of Emberlain by Scott Lynch which comes out in 2021.


back to top



Related News

One of the infamous hazards of the fantasy genre is that it can be a giant time sink. Fantasy stories tend to come in big multi-book series, so...

Anyone can add books to this list.