Best Debut Fiction of 2014

by Jessie Burton

With its oblique storytelling, crescendo of female empowerment and wrenching ending, this novel establishes Burton as a... Full review >

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by Will Chancellor

Some readers may stumble over the Latin, argot and allusions, but these are minor challenges in Chancellor’s polymorphous... Full review >

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by John Darnielle

A pop culture–infused novel that thoughtfully and nonjudgmentally considers the dark side of nerddom. Full review >

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by Julia Elliott

This book will take you to places you never dreamed of going and aren't quite sure you want to stay, but you won't regret... Full review >

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by Roxane Gay

A cutting and resonant debut. Full review >

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by Alena Graedon

A wildly ambitious, darkly intellectual and inventive thriller about the intersection of language, technology and meaning. Full review >

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by Mira Jacob

Comparisons of Jacob to Jhumpa Lahiri are inevitable; Lahiri may be more overtly profound, Jacob more willing to go for... Full review >

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by Phil Klay

A no-nonsense and informed reckoning with combat. Full review >

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by Josh Malerman

An unsettling thriller, this earns comparisons to Hitchcock's The Birds, as well as the finer efforts of Stephen King and... Full review >

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by Vanessa Manko

A top-notch debut, at once sober and lively and provocative. Full review >

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by Eimear McBride

McBride’s debut garnered the inaugural Goldsmiths Prize in 2013 and the Baileys Women’s Prize for fiction in 2014—and... Full review >

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by Christina Nichol

Indeed, he’s one of the most fully realized characters in recent memory, and readers will take much pleasure in going along... Full review >

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by Zia Haider Rahman

Beautifully written evidence that some of the most interesting writing in English is coming from the edges of old empires. Full review >

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by David Shafer

An edgy, darkly comedic debut novel whose characters and premise are as up-to-the-minute as an online news feed but as... Full review >

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by Andy Weir

Sharp, funny and thrilling, with just the right amount of geekery. Full review >

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