Another year, another failed attempt to start doing reviews again. I did have a great new experience this year and that has been being a judge/reader for several genre fiction book awards! A decent number of entries in this list were read for the “Small Spec Book Awards” (SSBA) and ongoing into next year, the “Self-Published Science-Fiction Competition” (SPSFB). It’s been a really interesting look at a lot of fiction I might otherwise not have read, and it’s also pushed me a little more into horror than I usually go. Slowly expanding my genres! Hooray!
Keen-eyed readers will also notice a lot of works near the top of the list that are part of the Hades Calculus Extended Universe and Associated Authors Which are Sort of All in the Broad Maria Ying Orbit, you know, the HCEUAAWASOAITBMYO. Friends, if you haven’t read any of these you are missing out on some of the best genre fiction going. It’s all queer, most of it’s very smutty, and they collectively demonstrate why traditional publishing is a giant dumpster fire of mostly garbage. All of this stuff is “too much” for Big 5 types to even consider publishing, yet here we are, almost 140 books on the year, and they’re MOST of the top 10, just truly excellent work showing why self-published is worth the effort to sort the wheat from the chaff.
So there’s my list for the year. 136 books, 55,000 pages, no promise to try reviewing in 2026 in the hopes that not saying it might make it happen somehow anyway. Cheers, and Happy New Year!
Bioshifter, Natalie Maher
—(2023) Bioshifter 1
—(2023) Bioshifter 2
—(2024) Bioshifter 3
(2025) The River Has Roots, Amal El-Mohtar
(2024) The Hades Calculus, Maria Ying
(2023) Ringmaster: Vince McMahon and the Unmaking of America, Josephine Riesman
(2024) Sundered Moon, Fae Rynn
(2024) Trans / Rad / Fem, Talia Bhatt
(2025) Nexus Alpha Unleashed, Ela Bambust
(2025) Nexus Alpha, Ela Bambust
(2024) Magica Riot, Kara Buchanan
(2025) The Zeus Constant, Callisto Khan
(2025) Teeth, Ela Bamburst
(2024) Tree Gods R. Lee Fryar
(2024) Empress of Dust, Alex Kingsley
(2024) Cargo Hold 4, Lonnie Busch
(2024) Grave of the Waiting, Joshua Scott Edwards
(2024) The Harlequin – The Draper’s Reel, J.A. Mortimore & Penelope Hill
(2024) Talio’s Codex J. Alexander Cohen
(2024) The Sea of Clouds, Sheila Jenné
(2024) Moon Dust in My Hairnet, J.R. Creaden
The Path of Ascension, C. Mantis
—(2022) The Path of Ascension Book 1
—(2023) The Path of Ascension Book 2
—(2023) The Path of Ascension Book 3
—(2023) The Path of Ascension Book 4
—(2023) The Path of Ascension Book 5
—(2024) The Path of Ascension Book 6
—(2024) The Path of Ascension Book 7
—(2025) The Path of Ascension Book 8
—(2025) The Path of Ascension Book 9
—(2025) The Path of Ascension Book 10
He Who Fights With Monsters, Shirtaloon
—(2021) He Who Fights with Monsters Book 1
—(2021) He Who Fights with Monsters Book 2
—(2021) He Who Fights with Monsters Book 3
—(2021) He Who Fights with Monsters Book 4
—(2022) He Who Fights with Monsters Book 5
—(2022) He Who Fights with Monsters Book 6
—(2022) He Who Fights with Monsters Book 7
—(2022) He Who Fights with Monsters Book 8
—(2023) He Who Fights with Monsters Book 9
—(2023) He Who Fights with Monsters Book 10
—(2024) He Who Fights with Monsters Book 11
—(2025) He Who Fights with Monsters Book 12
(2024) The Years Shall Run Like Rabbits, Ben Berman Ghan
(202X) Among Brighter Stars, Ela Bambust
(2025) Flower of the Underworld, Cirice Grey
Dungeon Crawler Carl, Matt Dinman
—(2020) Dungeon Crawler Carl
—(2021) Carl’s Doomsday Scenario
—(2021) The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook
—(2021) The Gate of the Feral Gods
—(2022) The Butcher’s Masquerade
—(2023) The Eye of the Bedlam Bride
—(2024) This Inevitable Ruin
(2025) Beta-Testing the Apocalypse, JG Spaulding
(2025) Team-Building the Apocalypse, JG Spaulding
(2024) More Bugs, Em Reed
(2019) The Twisted Ones, T. Kingfisher
(2020) The Hollow Places, T. Kingfisher
(2022) Any Other Name, Ela Bambust
(2022) Babel, R.F. Kuang
(2024) Her Gilded Voice, K.C. Aegis
(2024) The Jaguar Mask, Michael J. DeLuca
Heretical Fishing: A Cozy Guide to Annoying the Cults, Outsmarting the Fish and Alienating Oneself, Haylock Jobson
—(2024) Heretical Fishing Book 1
—(2024) Heretical Fishing Book 2
—(2024) Heretical Fishing Book 3
—(2025) Heretical Fishing Book 4
The Last Horizon, Will Wight
—(2023) The Captain
—(2023) The Engineer
—(2024) The Knight
—(2025) The Pilot
(2024) The Mosquito Fleet, Andrew Penn Romine
(2024) Cursed Under London, Gabby Hutchinson Crouch
(1951) The Master of Go, Yasunari Kawabata
(2025) A Drone’s Domain, Luna Selvin
(2024) Thrum, Meg Smitherman
(2024) Failure to Comply, Cavar
(2024) The Book of Elsewhere, Keanu Reeves and China Miéville
The Reanimator Mysteries, Kara Jorgenson
—(2022) The Reanimator’s Heart
—(2023) The Reanimator’s Soul
—(2024) The Reanimator’s Remains
(2025) Lucy and the World Egg, T.J. Porter
(2022) We Unmake Ourselves, Ela Bambust
(2024) Further Principles: On The Dynamics of Interdimensional Emotional Support, Ela Bambust
(2025) The Game Continues After Your Death, Jean-Daniel Magnin
(2022) Callus and Crow, D.B. Rook
(2024) Ghost Apparent, Jelena Dunato
(2024) The Extravaganza Eternia, Kristin Osani
(2024) The Book Lovers, Steve Aylett
How I Became The World’s Strongest Warrior By Using Basic Attacks, Kenny King
—(2025) Book 1
—(2025) Book 2
Resistance Above Magic, B.T. Narro and Beatrix Grinn
—(2023) Resistance Above Magic Book 1
—(2023) Resistance Above Magic Book 2
—(2024) Resistance Above Magic Book 3
—(2025) Resistance Above Magic Book 4
(2025) Settlement Stone: A LitRPG Fantasy, Rhea Zulu
(2024) The Witch and the Ostrich, Jordan A. Werner
(2025) Glass Kanin, Kia Leep
(2025) Loose Kanin, Kia Leep
(2024) Better Living Through Alchemy, Evan J. Peterson
All The Skills, Honour Rae
—(2022) All The Skills
—(2023) All The Skills 2
—(2024) All The Skills 3
—(2024) All The Skills 4
—(2025) All The Skills 5
Splintered Magic, Jilleen Dolbeare
—(2023) Splintered Magic
—(2023) Splintered Veil
—(2023) Splintered Fate
—(2023) Splintered Haven
—(2023) Splintered Secret
—(2024) Splintered Destiny
(2025) Last Mom Standing, Mary Jane Owen
Lucky’s Marines, Joshua James
—(2018) Lucky Shot
—(2018) Lucky Universe
—(2018) Lucky Legacy
—(2018) Lucky Empire
—(2018) Lucky Forever
—(2018) Lucky Invasion
—(2018) Lucky Revenge
—(2019) Lucky Justice
—(2019) Lucky Bastard
—(2019) Lucky At Last
Lucky’s Mercs, Joshua James
—(2019) Retribution
—(2019) Rebellion
—(2020) Resurgence
—(2020) Reloaded
The Forgotten, M.R. Forbes
—(2017) Forgotten
—(2017) Forsaken
—(2018) Unforgiven
Forgotten Earth, M.R. Forbes
—(2018) Earth Unknown
—(2018) Earth Unrelenting
—(2018) Earth Unending
—(2018) Earth Undefeated
(2024) Mystery of the Pale King, Sam Flynn
(2024) King Street Run, V.R. Ling
(2024) Dawn of Time, Judy Klass
(2024) The Princess and the Thief, Mary Lynne Gibbs
