It's one of our favorite times of the year: A list of the best books since January, as selected by Reactor reviewers!! Our critics reflected on their favorite reads from 2025 - how many have you read? Which are you still looking forward to?
It doesn't take a lot for people to start reading. But year after year, what keeps them coming back? In this week's Mark As Read, Molly Templeton discusses reading as a lifelong habit.
Clerical detectives may be a highly specific field, but it's one explored by Umberto Eco, Agatha Christie, and most recently Rian Johnson. Leah Schnelbach presents an ironclad ranking of the holiest sleuths across genre.
Sometimes books disappear from shelves before you've had a chance to find them; reprints and new editions offer a second chance! James Davis Nicoll recommends five freshly reprinted SFF books and series!
Ursula Le Guin's short story "Solitude" presents a fascinating counterpoint to the concept of the Happily Ever After, imagining alternative ways of thinking about the world, relationships, and the self.
"My identification with the characters of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series hit me like a lightning strike–intense, immediate, and singingly powerful."
Alongside the season two premiere, AM Gelberg reflects on growing up with–and beyond–Percy Jackson and the greater Riordanverse.
Let's talk about Krull: it's an often baffling movie that makes a lot of very weird choices...but somehow that doesn't stop it from being incredibly entertaining. Does it win you over, or leave you cold?
It's been another great year for short fiction at Reactor! Between the 37 short stories and novelettes we featured in 2025, there's a lot to enjoy. You can find all of Reactor's 2025 short fiction collected here–let us know your favorites!
