Most-Anticipated Sci-Fi/Fantasy Books, Movies and TV of 2020
With four kids, three adults and two dogs living in my house, I have to pick and choose my entertainment carefully because there is always someone vying for TV time or my attention. To get in the entertainment I actually want to watch, takes a little planning.
I’m not exclusively a book nerd or Netflix binger. I just like specific kinds of stories and I look for them in all mediums.
So, here’s my list of the science fiction and fantasy I am most looking forward to this year!
Books
A Beginning at the End by Mike Chen
Last year I excitedly gobbled up Mike’s debut time travel book because a) I was reading anything and everything time travel I could get my hands on as I wrote draft one of my time travel novel and b) it just sounded too good to pass up. Not only did I love the story, but his editor for Here and Now and Then became the editor for my book. Now his sophomore novel is out in January and I’m so excited to dive into another of his worlds.
The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez
I have a real thing for books that sound a little confusing based on their description. That may not sound like a compliment, but I assure you, it is. I like weird stories told in unusual ways with plot points that take a long time to unfurl. And The Vanished Birds feels like that. “A solitary ship captain, drifting through time.” “A mute child burdened with unimaginable power.” “A millennia-old woman, poised to burn down the future.” Yeah… I’m here for all of that.
Wicked As You Wish (A Hundred Names for Magic) by Rin Chupeco
This book is set in Arizona for starters, which you never find. I’m a born and raised AZ girl and plan to set A LOT of my stories in this beautiful, unusual state of mine so I’m excited to read a story about magic set in the desert I love. I’m not usually one for fairytales, but all the other elements are too tempting.
The Down Days by Ilze Hugo
First off, this cover is straight up bananas and I love it.” Lisa Frank on acid” is what I think the SFF Yeah podcast girls referred to it as and my little 90s kid heart is all about it. I love odd epidemic books like The Book of M (a comp title to this one) and The Dreamers (one of my faves from last year), so I see this one striking a lot of similar chords.
Docile by K.M. Szpara
This one sounds like a tough, challenging read, but I need those mixed in with my “just for fun” books. One of my personal favorite authors, Charlie Jane Anders, blurbed it which basically sells it for me. Add the intrigue of a world where you offer your body and mind up to pay off debt under the fog of a mysterious drug and I think it will be an incredible read.
The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
I don’t believe there is anything sci-fi or fantasy about this one, which is interesting considering her debut’s dystopian roots, but I am still interested in checking out her second novel. She has such an unbelievable storytelling ability that I don’t really care what genre she is writing in, I just want to be inside another of her worlds. Also, it’s worth noting that Station Eleven is being made into a television series which is very exciting.
There is also a new Veronica Roth book out that looks interesting, I read the Divergent series just like everyone else, so I’m considering this for my TBR pile. Suzanne Collins is also coming out with a Hunger Games prequel. (Please let it be about Mags.) I feel like it’s 2011 again.
I also feel embarrassed to admit that I’ve never read N.K. Jemisin or V.E. Schwab (I know, I know, I said I was embarrassed) and both of them have books coming out in 2020 that I might need to pick up.
Share your book picks for 2020 in the comments below.
Television
I can’t say honestly that there are any series premieres that I have heard about in the sci-fi/fantasy space that I’m super excited about. Most of what I am looking forward to revolves around the season two/three releases of a few shows I really liked.
Altered Carbon – Season 2
I loved season one of this show. It was very Blade Runner-y and trippy as hell so that about fits my criteria for a good time. There isn’t a ton of information out there yet about what can be expected and I will definitely have to rewatch season 1 because it’s been a while, but I’m excited about an unexpected follow up to the show.
Dark – Season 3
Okay, if you haven’t watched this German time travel show you have to. But get ready to take notes because its overlapping timelines and interconnected families throughout history can be tough to follow. But it has some of my favorite things: rag tag group of kids, clueless adults running amuck, time travel/time portals, a concept I’ve never seen explored before in the genre which is: What if you traveled through time, got stuck in the past, and lived to the date in which your former self disappeared. It’s pretty mind blowing and I couldn’t stop watching it.
The Boys – Season 2
Love it or hate it, this Amazon show was different. The concept that if superheroes were real they would probably be real douchebags is maybe my favorite superhero experience of 2019. And that’s saying a lot because End Game was last year. Nonetheless, I will be there to hear Karl Urban drop the c-bomb if for no other reason than it makes me giggle.
The Haunting of Bly Manor
I will acknowledge that this follow up to The Haunting on Hill House probably falls more into the horror category, but there is a fine line between time-bending supernatural spirits and fantasy if you ask me. I am not one who enjoys being scared, so if Hill House was horror I would say it’s horror light with a slant towards fantasy. That’s just me though. So, I am eagerly awaiting the next story to come and just hope that they keep the eek factor to a minimum.
There’s a lot of other shows that should be coming in 2020 that I’ll be continuing to watch: The Mandolorian, The Handmaid’s Tale, Future Man. With Disney Plus in full force, I’m sure the Marvel explosion will take up more time than I ever cared to give, but I’ll share reviews as I watch.
What television shows are you planning to binge?
Movies
Tenet
There is one movie and one movie only I am insisting on seeing in 2020 and that is Tenet. And I know nothing about it except the only thing that matters: it’s by Christopher Nolan. Inception and Interstellar are two of my favorite movies ever. I have nothing but love for his version of Batman. And as if I wasn’t already in line for the movie, it’s about time travel. Which as we have established is 1000% my jam. I have no doubt this will be as stunning as his other movies and am simply counting the days.
A Quiet Place 2
Again, depending on who you ask, might be more in the horror genre, but in my opinion aliens = sci-fi. There. I said it. A Quiet Place was one of those movies I never saw coming. Not only was it just an incredibly visceral experience, but the fact that the featured family had the same exact kid order as I do (the daughter being the oldest with three younger brothers) my heart cracked in half during some of those intense scenes. Emily Blunt (who I love) giving birth in a bath tub while trying to remain quiet, the peril of a baby in a world that has to be soundless, kids being kids in ways that puts them in immediate jeopardy, if this wasn’t an alien movie written for moms I don’t know what is. I will say that I’m not sure this movie needed a sequel, I was satisfied by the ending, but I’m still excited to see what they do in part two.
The Tomorrow War
Okay, this one is just a shameless choice for me. Chris Pratt is one of my top A-list favorites. Love him as Starlord, was totally there for Jurassic World, so why wouldn’t I be there for this too?
I’m going to be honest, the movies for 2020 seem just meh. Maybe it’s because Avengers and Star Wars wrapped. Maybe it’s just an off year. I’m hoping to be caught by surprise by something this year! I will likely check out Dune because it seems like the right thing to do and BIOS is a possibility because Tom Hanks can do no wrong.
Share the movies you’re excited to see. I will do my best to review and discuss all my favorite reads and watches of the year!