The Gnome's Favorite 2024 Books

We started Kaiju & Gnome this past year mostly to share our love for science fiction and fantasy books. It’s been a fantastic year, and we’re so excited for what’s to come in 2025. As the year wraps up, I decided it was time for the first annual Gnome Listicle of my favorite books that came out this past year. Some will be obvious (SWORD UNBOUND!!!!), and others probably won’t be. Here’s to 2024—and I can’t wait to see what 2025 has to offer!

The Sword Unbound by Gareth Hanrahan

We at Kaiju & Gnome absolutely loved Gareth Hanrahan’s The Sword Unbound. We even dedicated an entire week to it! (If you want to read my review from Sword Unbound Week, it’s here). This book was the one I couldn’t stop thinking about all year. The Sword Defiant was my most recommended book for the second year in a row, and I can’t imagine that changing next year.

The characters are what I love most about this book. Alf remains the hero I’ve grown to adore over the course of the series. His determination to care for his friends and find a middle ground that protects everyone is his most admirable trait. Even though the world has shifted dramatically since he and his friends set off years ago, Alf’s unwavering care and loyalty to them is truly heartwarming—especially reading it in 2024.

With the trilogy wrapping up next year in The Sword Triumphant, I know I’m going to miss Alf, Laerlyn, Berys, and all the others so much. I’ll miss exploring the strange corners of their world alongside them, sharing in their adventures. Most of all, I’ll miss Alf just trying to be a good friend in a world gone crazy.

The Instruments of Darkness by John Connolly

I’m almost always reading—or rereading—one of John Connolly’s Charlie Parker books. They’re my comfort reads, and this series will always be my favorite of all time. The Instruments of Darkness, this year’s installment, was a fantastic addition to the series. I’ve already reread it two or three times. (I reviewed it back in May—here.) Charlie is at his best in this book. While the overall series arc doesn’t move forward much, there’s still plenty of character development. We see the downfall of a minor villain from a few books back and get a glimpse of Charlie’s ghost daughter weighing in on his romantic life. (For the record, Jennifer is wrong. I will always stan Charlie and Sharon Macy.)

What stood out most to me about this book was how great it felt to be back inside Charlie’s head. The series switched from first-person to third-person narration after The Wolf in Winter, and I’m so glad it’s returned to first-person. Connolly writes Charlie so vividly, and I can’t wait for my next chance to immerse myself in his world. Until then, I’ll just keep rereading this one.

Memorials by Richard Chizmar

I’m starting to realize that one of the things that elevates a book for me is meticulous research. I loved Chuck Wendig’s Black River Orchard in 2023 for that reason, and Chizmar’s Memorials scratched that same itch in 2024. The depth of Chizmar’s research is evident on every page, and it made this story—about a group of college students investigating roadside memorials—utterly compelling. I loved every minute of it. The characters were fantastic, too, and I can’t wait to see what Chizmar delivers next.

Batman: Resurrection by John Jackson Miller

The last few months have been crazy here at Kaiju & Gnome, and the biggest casualty of that chaos has been our lack of week-long events like Sword Unbound Week. Personally, I wish we’d had a Batman: Resurrection Week, because this book absolutely deserved it. It’s amazing—a prose sequel to a movie that came out in 1989. Yes, you read that right.

Even wilder than its very existence as a sequel to Tim Burton’s Batman is the fact that it’s so good. And somehow, it makes Clayface work in a way that the movies haven’t even attempted yet. Clayface earns my pick for Tragic Villain of the Year.

The Doors of Midnight by R.R. Verdi

R.R. Verdi is my nemesis. I will never forgive him for making me lug around two copies of The First Binding at GenCon, only for him to not show up. That said, The Doors of Midnight is fantastic, and I loved every minute of it. I could happily spend years reading about Ari’s adventures.