Terraforming. Aliens. AIs. Murderbots & space battles. These are some of the best, top-selling and most anticipated new sci-fi books in 2023
Jedis, drones, clones and all-out interstellar warfare. This is a collection of some of the most exciting, best, new and top-selling sci-fi books in 2023 – for teens, adults, everyone!
Coming Soon: Upcoming Sci-Fi Books
Princess Of Dune
Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson, 3 October 2023
In the Imperial court, Irulan was groomed to be a political tool but found her own strength and ambition. Trained as a Bene Gesserit Sister and as the Padishah Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV’s daughter, she navigates power plays among factions like the Bene Gesserit, the Spacing Guild, and rebellions. On Arrakis, Chani, daughter of Imperial Planetologist Liet-Kynes, follows her father’s dream of a green Arrakis. She learns Fremen ways but faces the brutal reality of Harkonnen oppression. These two women’s stories unfold in a world of intrigue and peril in Princess of Dune.

Genres Science Fiction, Space Opera, Science Fiction Adventure
Author Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson Home Washington, United States
Publisher Tor Books Buy it e-Book | Print | Audio
Making It So: Memoirs Of Patrick Stewart
Patrick Stewart, 3 October 2023
Celebrated for his iconic performances on stage and in blockbuster franchises like Star Trek and X-Men, Sir Patrick Stewart has enchanted audiences across generations. In his highly anticipated memoir, Making It So he shares his remarkable journey. From a modest upbringing in Yorkshire, England, to becoming a global sensation in Hollywood, Stewart’s story is as vibrant and enduring as his remarkable career. Dive into the life of this legendary artist and discover the man behind the indelible characters in Making It So: Memoir of Patrick Stewart.

Genres Memoir, Biography, Star Trek
Author Patrick Stewart Home Brooklyn, United States
Publisher Gallery Books Buy it e-Book | Print | Audio
Godzilla And Godzilla Raids Again
Shigeru Kayama, 3 October 2023
For the first time in English, readers can explore the original novellas penned by Shigeru Kayama, the mastermind behind the iconic monster’s early adventures. These novellas offer a unique perspective, diverging from the cinematic narratives and emphasizing Kayama’s fervent anti-nuclear and pro-environmental convictions. With Godzilla portrayed as a guerrilla-style force battling humanity’s reckless perversion of science, these stories take on a new relevance in our Anthropocene era. Nature’s retaliation against human heedlessness unfolds in unpredictable and devastating ways in Godzilla and Godzilla Raids Again

Genres Science Fiction, Japanese Science Fiction, Young Adult
Author Shigeru Kayama Home Tokyo
Publisher Univ Of Minnesota Press Buy it e-Book | Print
Stephen King’s The Dark Tower: Beginnings Omnibus
Stephen King & Jae Lee, 10 October 2023
The Dark Tower as a graphic novel. Roland, the last gunslinger, bears the solemn duty of safeguarding the remnants of goodness and light in a world that has deteriorated beyond recognition. His quest, an enigmatic odyssey through a harsh realm riddled with ancient technology and perilous sorcery, mirrors our own world in eerie ways. The goal: find and preserve the Dark Tower, the mystical nexus of all existence. Stephen King’s The Dark Tower: Beginnings unveils Roland’s mysterious past, a graphic novel series creatively overseen by King himself, making it an ideal entry point for newcomers and a thrilling revelation for longtime fans in Stephen King’s The Dark Tower: Beginnings Omnibus.

Genres Science Fiction, Fantasy
Author Stephen King Home Maine, United States
Publisher Gallery 13 Buy it Print
A Fire Born Of Exile
Aliette de Bodard, 12 October 2023
Meet Quynh, the Alchemist of Streams and Hills, whose arrival sparks a wave of change in the habitats under military rule. For Minh, daughter of the ruling prefect, Quynh is the gateway to freedom. To destitute engineer Hoà, she holds a tantalizing connection to her own past. But as Quynh’s secret history emerges, her plan for the ruling class threatens to unravel everything. Brace yourself for a journey that will unravel destinies and shake the heavens in A Fire Born of Exile.

Genres Science Fiction, LGBTQ
Author Aliette de Bodard Home Paris
Publisher Gollancz Buy it e-Book | Print
Defiance
C. J. Cherryh & Jane S. Fancher, 17 October 2023
In the eastern region, conflict engulfs the Assassins’ Guild, leaving chaos in its wake. Meanwhile, a long-standing feud brews in the west, where the Master of Ashidama Bay despises the Edi people and the Aishidi’tat who brought them to his shores. The Shadow Guild, experts in harnessing hatred, seizes this opportunity. Bren Cameron faces the critical task of safely returning Ilisidi, the aiji-dowager, to the capital. With tensions escalating, the Shadow Guild threatens the entire south in Defiance.

Genres Science Fiction, Space Opera, First Contact Sage
Author C. J. Cherryh, Jane S. Fancher Home Washington, United States
Publisher DAW Buy it e-Book | Print
Star Trek Lower Decks Crew Handbook
Chris Farnell, 17 October 2023
Inspired by the popular Paramount+ animated series, Star Trek: Lower Decks, Mariner, Boimler, and their fellow crewmembers provide a delightful and insightful guide for newcomers. Navigate the ship, understand your responsibilities, and connect with your fellow lower deckers through their humorous and informative commentary scattered throughout this handbook. It’s your ticket to life aboard the starship and a deeper appreciation of the Lower Decks universe in Star Trek Lower Decks Crew Handbook.

Genres Science Fiction, Science Fiction Movies
Author Chris Farnell Home Cheshire, England
Publisher Titan Books Buy it Print
Julia
Sandra Newman, 19 October 2023
A retelling of George Orwell’s 1984. In the dystopian world of 1984, Julia Worthing leads a double life in Airstrip One’s capital, London. Her official role as a mechanic at the Ministry of Truth conceals her true rebellious nature. Living under the oppressive rule of the Party and Big Brother, Julia is a paradox—outwardly loyal but secretly defying the regime. She thrives amid surveillance, Thought Police, and the complexities of a totalitarian society. However, her encounter with a fellow dissenter, Winston Smith, sets in motion events that challenge her ability to maintain her facade and survival instincts in Julia.

Genres Dystopian, Science Fiction, Women’s Literary, Retelling
Author Sandra Newman Home New York, United States
Publisher Granta Books Buy it e-Book | Print | Audio
Stranger Things: Flight of Icarus
Caitlin Schneiderhan, 31 October 2023
In Hawkins, Indiana, Eddie Munson navigates high school life, counting down the days until graduation. Amidst Dungeons & Dragons sessions with friends and playing in his band, Corroded Coffin, Eddie’s life seems tolerable. However, a chance encounter with Paige, an escapee from Hawkins who now thrives in Los Angeles, changes everything. She offers him an opportunity to make a name for his band, but the catch is that he needs to produce a demo tape, which requires money he doesn’t possess. Turning to his dubious father, Eddie sets out on a risky journey that could be his ticket out of Hawkins in Stranger Things: Flight of Icarus.

Genres Science Fiction, Supernatural, Thriller, Science Fiction Movies
Author Caitlin Schneiderhan Home Los Angeles, United States
Publisher Random House Worlds Buy it e-Book | Print | Audio
Sci-Fi Books of September 2023
Machine Vendetta
Alastair Reynolds, 5 September 2023
Book 3 in Alastair Reynolds’s Prefect Dreyfus Emergency series. Machine Vendetta sees a female police officer walk straight into a deadly trap, leaving Tom Dreyfus to pick up the pieces. Chilling, since it might be his fault she went unarmed into a Yellowstone habitat that hates cops. This can only mean one thing, though, powerful adversaries return in Alastair Reynolds’s Machine Vendetta.

Genres Science Fiction, Space Opera
Author Alastair Reynolds Home Cardiff, UK
Publisher Orbit Buy it e-Book | Print | Audio
Payback In Death
JD Robb, 5 September 2023 (TBC delay to December)
The staggering Book 57 in JD Robb’s In Death (Eve Dallas) series. Payback in Death follows Encore in Death. And this time, Lt. Eve Dallas is called to the scene of a supposed suicide. Problem is the victim is a retired Internal Affairs captain who’d put away dirty cops for some 47 years. And it’s all just a little too perfect. Looks like vengeance in JD Robb’s Payback in Death.

Genres Science Fiction, Mystery, Romantic Suspense, Thriller, Crime
Author JD Robb Home Boonsboro, Maryland, US
Publisher St. Martin’s Press Buy it e-Book | Print | Audio
The Sky Vault
Benjamin Percy, 12 September 2023
The third instalment in Benjamin Percy’s The Comet Cycle series. The Sky Vault sees Theo thrust into a desperate investigation into his conspiracy theorist father’s death. The man had been onboard a disappeared aircraft over Fairbanks, Alaska, and had claimed the clouds were talking to him before his death. Turns out the plane and everyone on it had been affected by the passing interstellar comet Cain, and it’s attracted the attention of a top-secret laboratory buried deep in the mountains. The race is on the find out what exactly that comet is in Benjamin Percy’s The Sky Vault.

Genres Science Fiction
Author Benjamin Percy Home Northfield, Minnesota, US
Publisher William Morrow Buy it Hard Cover | Print | Audio
Heavy Is The Crown
JN Chaney, Terry Maggert, 17 September 2023
Book 16 in JN Chaney & Terry Maggert’s Backyard Spaceship series. Heavy is the Crown sees Van facing the same decision ancestor Mark Tudor faced decades ago. With Earth factions baying for his blood and aliens looking to harvest and exploit humankind, it’s time to choose – to take up the mantle of Peacemaker or not. It could be the key to saving Earth, for now, but at the cost of laying the planet bare to everything else that might be waiting out there among the stars in Heavy is the Crown.

Genres Science Fiction, Space Opera
Authors JN Chaney & Terry Maggert Home Las Vega, US
Publisher Variant Publications Buy it e-Book
Sandymancer
David Edison, 19 September 2023
A wild girl with sand magic and a mad god striving to mend his shattered world unite. Caralee Vinnet’s life is dust-bound; water is scarce, and controlled by a privileged few. Caralee harbours sand-based magic, inadvertently summoning a former god-king who broke the world 800 years ago and inhabits her friend’s body. She’ll risk all to reclaim her loss, even if her new ally poses a threat in Sandymancer.

Genres Fantasy, Science Fiction, Epic Fantasy
Author David Edison Home California
Publisher Tor Books Buy it e-Book | Print
The Fractured Dark
Megan E. O’Keefe, 26 September 2023
Book 2 in Megan E. O’Keefe’s The Devoured Worlds series, The Fractured Dark follows on from The Blighted Stars (from our big list of bes sci-fi books). Having evaded brutal counterrevolutionaries, enigmatic creatures gone awry, and the gravitational grasp of a perishing planet, Naira and Tarquin’s fates are intertwined. They must uncover the truth behind the scourge that’s destroying worlds. Now, the disappearance of the Mercator leader and the universe’s last starship fuel sparks chaos. Naira’s revolutionary aspirations must be set aside to ensure the urgent survival of humanity in Megan E. O’Keefe’s The Fractured Dark.

Genres Science Fiction, Adult, Space Opera, Sci-Fi Fantasy, Space, Romance
Author Megan E. O’Keefe Home California, US
Publisher Orbit Buy it e-Book | Print | Audio
The Navigating Fox
Christopher Rowe, 26 September 2023
A standalone novella, Christopher Rowe’s The Navigating Fox sees Quintus Shu’al, the last fox navigator in the world, face shame for leading a fatal expedition that left no survivors. A year later, he’s presented an opportunity for redemption: guiding a diverse team, including humans and animals, on a perilous journey to the gates of Hell in The Navigating Fox.

Genres Science Fiction, Fantasy, Novella, Adult, Animals
Author Christopher Rowe Home Lexington, Kentucky, US
Publisher Tor Buy it e-Book | Print
Scarper
Jenny Schwartz, 29 September 2023
Book 2 in Jenny Schwartz’s Delphic Dame series. Scarper sees an alien infant slipped under Oracle-Captain Cherry Pendit’s radar. Not one to wait for a hero, she sets out in the Delphic Dame ship, only to discover there are many more pirate and alien dangers she never foresaw in Jenny Schwartz’s Scarper.

Genres Science Fiction, Space Opera, Fantasy
Author Jenny Schwartz Home Australia
Publisher Independent Buy it e-Book
Sci-Fi Books of August 2023
Endangered Species
Charles E. Gannon, 1 August 2023
Book 6 in Charles E. Gannon’s Caine Riordan series. Caine and crew are stranded in uncharted space with no controls or means of communication. They have only 48 hours before the derelict alien ship they are on burns up in the atmosphere of a strange planet. As they attempt a risky planet-fall using cargo drop pods, they discover the perilous dangers of the barren landscape, including carnivorous creatures and primitive, aggressive humans. The remnants of the planet’s cities hint at the presence of the Ktor, humanity’s most dangerous enemy in Charles E. Gannon’s Endangered Species.

Genres Science Fiction, Hard Science Fiction, Space Opera
Author Charles E. Gannon Home Maryland, US
Publisher Baen Books Buy it e-Book | Print
Cyberpunk 2077: No Coincidence
Rafal Kosik, 8 August 2023
In the world of Cyberpunk 2077, a group of strangers united by blackmail embark on a daring heist in Night City. With secrets of their own, including a renegade, a sleeper agent, a netrunner, a negotiator, a ripperdoc and a techie, they must work together to overcome their differences and complete their dangerous mission. The story unfolds in a neon-drenched city, filled with mysteries and unforeseen challenges in Rafal Kosik’s Cyberpunk 2077: No Coincidence.

Genres Science Fiction, Cyberpunk, Adventure
Author Rafal Kosik Home Poland
Publisher Orbit Buy it e-Book | Print | Audio
Constant Sorrow
JN Chaney, Terry Maggert, 13 August 2023
The fifteenth book in the Backyard Spaceship series. In a universe filled with hidden agendas and impending conflicts, Van and the Peacemakers find themselves facing a critical choice: how to protect Earth from a secret cabal of humans and their dangerous allies. As Van unveils a long-held secret history, he must rally his crew and confront the challenges that lie ahead. With the fate of the stars at stake, the price of peace becomes a daunting question for Van to answer in JN Chaney & Terry Maggert’s Constant Sorrow.

Genres Science Fiction, Space Opera
Author JN Chaney & Terry Maggert Home Las Vegas, US
Publisher Variant Publications Buy it e-Book
Tides Of Fire: A Thriller
James Rollins, 15 August 2023
In the 23rd instalment of James Rollins’s Sigma Force Novels, Sigma Force faces a perilous mission as an international research station in the Coral Sea becomes the target of a geological catastrophe. With massive quakes, volcanic eruptions, and deadly tsunamis, the team must uncover a secret hidden deep beneath the ocean to save the world from an ancient threat in James Rollins’s Tides of Fire.

Genres Science Fiction, Adventure, Thriller
Author James Rollins Home Western United States
Publisher William Morrow Buy it e-Book | Print | Audio
He Who Drowned The World
Shelley Parker-Chan, 22 August 2023
The conclusion of The Radiant Emperor series. In a bid for power and the ultimate prize, Zhu Yuanzhang and Madam Zhang vie for the throne, each with their own ambitions and ruthless tactics. Unbeknownst to them, a new contender, Wang Baoxiang, lurks in the shadows, ready to unleash chaos and fulfil his dark desires. As the battle for supremacy intensifies, the contenders are willing to sacrifice everything, but the cost of victory may prove unbearable in Shelley Parker-Chan’s He Who Drowned the World.

Genres Science Fiction, Mythology, Alternative History
Author Shelley Parker-Chan Home Melbourne, Australia
Publisher Tor Books Buy it e-Book | Print | Audio
The Blue, Beautiful World
Karen Lord, 29 August 2023
As the world undergoes profound changes due to climate crisis, humanity becomes the focus of alien civilizations observing Earth. Visionaries like Peter Hendrix, Charyssa, and Kanoa strive to prepare mankind for first contact. Among them is Owen, a pop megastar with an extraordinary ability to connect with people. But as his power becomes uncontrollable, the question arises: Will Owen’s unique gift lead to liberation or result in a terrifying dictatorship? We find out in Karen Lord’s The Blue, Beautiful World.

Genres Science Fiction, Space Opera, Aliens, Sci-Fi Fantasy
Author Karen Lord Home Barbados, West Indies
Publisher Del Rey Buy it e-Book | Print | Audio
Guardian Of Torment
Michelle Manus, 29 August 2023
This book concludes the Nyx Fortuna four-part series. After dismantling the magic blocking her memories, Nyx finds her mind fractured, slipping through different points in her past. Just as she uncovers a lead on the Kumir assassins, her unstable mental state hinders her from joining her friends on a crucial mission. When a memory malfunction and portal magic mishap occur, Nyx is trapped in an alien metropolis, fighting for survival with her erratic memory as her only guide in Michelle Manus’s Guardian of Torment.

Genres Fantasy, Science Fiction, Urban Fantasy
Author Michelle Manus Home Tempe, Arizona
Publisher Variant Publications Buy it e-Book
The House Of Saints
Derek Künsken, 29 August 2023
Book 2 in Derek Künsken’s Venus Ascendant series. The House of Saints sees George-Étienne and his children forming The House of Styx to protect the mysterious artefact they’d found on Venus. Protect it from every power-hungry bank, government and organisation on old Earth, as much as from the murderous planet itself in Derek Künsken’s The House of Saints.

Genres Science Fiction, Space Opera
Author Derek Künsken Home Québec, Canada
Publisher Solaris | Buy it
The Landing
Mary Gentle, 31 August 2023
Aeris Warren-Finch, NASA’s Acting Director, finds herself stranded within an alien dome after multiple unidentified objects change trajectory and land across the planet. With the company of her great-grandmother, an imam, the President, and a bodyguard, they embark on a search for safety and a way back home. As they navigate unfamiliar landscapes, they face dwindling resources and the challenge of determining the correct path amidst the strange and ever-changing geographies in Mary Gentle’s The Landing.

Genres Science Fiction, Fantasy, Alien Invasion
Author Mary Gentle Home Barbados, Stevenage, Hertfordshire
Publisher Gollancz Buy it e-Book
Sci-Fi Books of July 2023
Salvage Right
Steve Mille & Sharon Lee, 4 July 2023
Book 25 in co-authors Steve Mille and Sharon Lee’s Liaden Universe. Salvage Right sees success in Light Keepers Jen Sin yos’Phelium and Lorith of the Sanderat’s quest to protect the universe when the infectious Tinsori Light seems to be destroyed by a spatial event. With teams of arcane specialists helping to keep the station running, it’s time to regroup and sort friend from foe. There are already ships approaching. No doubt many of them want the Tinsori Light’s powers in Salvage Right.

Genres Science Fiction, Space Opera
Authors Steve Mille & Sharon Lee Home Oregon & Maine, US
Publisher Baen Buy it e-Book | Print
Implacable
Jack Campbell, 4 July 2023
The third instalment in Jack Campbell’s The Lost Fleet: Outlands series. Implacable sees Admiral John “Black Jack” Geary’s Alliance Fleet vulnerable on a diplomatic mission deep in unexplored space On the one side, aliens with unknown motives, on the other, dangerous human factions. When a third alien species with far-superior tech arrives, the situation becomes untenable as Geary must make a decision that could tear the Alliance apart in Jack Campbell’s Implacable.

Genres Science Fiction, Military
Author Jack Campbell Home Maryland, US
Publisher Ace Buy it e-Book | Print | Audio
Red Side Story
Jasper Fforde, 6 July 2023
The sequel to Jasper Fforde’s Shades of Grey. Red Side Story is the tale of a young couple’s thirst for justice in an implacably rigid society, where your position depends on what part of the colour spectrum you can see. Eddie sees red (mid-level) and Jane monochrome (lowest order) set out to find out why the world is this way – and what happens if you start asking too many questions in Red Side Story.

Genres Fantasy, Science Fiction, Dystopia, Mystery, Adult, Humor, Young Adult
Author Jasper Fforde Home Wales, UK
Publisher Hodder & Stoughton Buy it e-Book
Dark Water Daughter
HM Long, 11 July 2023
The first book in HM Long’s all-new planned The Winter Sea series. Dark Water Daughter sees Stormsinger Mary, whose voice can still hurricanes and smash armadas, escape servitude to servitude to pirate lord Silvanus Lirr – with a promise to send him to his watery grave. A passion she shares with disgraced naval officer Samuel Rosser. Except Rosser is also hunting for Mary and the talisman she’d stolen from him in HM Long’s new Dark Water Daughter.

Genres Science Fiction Fantasy, Pirates, Romance, Adult, Magic, High Fantasy, Mermaids Author HM Long Home Ontario, Canada
Publisher Titan Buy it e-Book | Print | Audio
The Saint Of Bright Doors
Vajra Chandrasekera, 11 July 2023
A new standalone novel by Vajra Chandrasekera. The Saint of Bright Doors introduces us to Fetter, who escapes his hometown and blood-soaked childhood to the big city of Luriat where divine revolutionaries and transcendent cults are even more commonplace. The city is scattered with Bright Doors, though, all offering unknowable potential. And it is here that Fetter will discover who he really is, in Vajra Chandrasekera’s The Saint of Bright Doors.

Genres Fantasy, Adult, LGBTQ, Urban Fantasy, Science Fiction, Asia, Adventure
Author Vajra Chandrasekera Home Colombo, Sri Lanka
Publisher Tor Buy it e-Book | Print | Audio
The Deep Sky
Yume Kitasei, 18 July 2023
A standalone new novel by Yume Kitasei. The Deep Sky sees 80 elite graduates set to birth a new Earth, as the original’s on the brink of environmental collapse. But when a deadly explosion kills crew members, diverting the ship off course, Asuka, the sole survivor, is the prime suspect. She suspects sabotage, though, and must prove it. This ship is all she has left. And, somewhere onboard, there’s a traitor in Yume Kitase’s The Deep Sky.

Genres Science Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Adult, Space, Fantasy
Author Yume Kitasei Home Brooklyn, NY, US
Publisher Flatiron Books Buy it e-Book | Print | Audio
Under This Forgetful Sky
Lauren Yero, 18 July 2023
A new standalone novel by Lauren Yero. Under This Forgetful Sky brings us to a world divided by protective walls. Rumi, a sixteen-year-old, escapes St. Iago after rebels infect his father with a fatal virus. Seeking a cure, he meets Paz in the ruined city of Paraíso. As they journey together, a connection grows between them. But Paz hides knowledge about Rumi’s father and has her own motives. With opposing forces in their cities, can they trust each other and envision a better world? In Lauren Yero’s Under This Forgetful Sky.

Genres Young Adult, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, Dystopia
Author Lauren Yero Home North Carolina, US
Publisher Atheneum Buy it e-Book | Print | Audio
Ethera Grave
Essa Hansen, July 18 2023
The third instalment in Essa Hansen’s The Graven series. Ethera Grave sees Caiden finally reunited with his sister Leta. And even former foe, Threi, now stands by his side. Good, because it’s Threi’s sister who’s the biggest threat to the multiverse now – she’s intent on collapsing all the diverse multiverses into one. Now, Caiden and his makeshift family bear the weight of the entire cosmos in Essa Hansen’s Ethera Grave.

Genres Science Fictions, LGBTQ, Space Opera
Author Essa Hansen Home San Francisco, US
Publisher Orbit Buy it e-Book | Print
Only Good Enemies
Jennifer Estep, 18 July 2023
Book 2 in Jennifer Estep’s Galactic Bonds series. Only Good Enemies sees Vesper Quill rise from lab worker to powerful corporate leader in her mission to dismantle the Techwave group. And when Regal lord Kyrion Caldaren, who shares her plight, learns Vesper is in trouble, his priorities shift, and he vows to use his extraordinary abilities to protect her in Jennifer Estep’s Only Good Enemies.

Genres Science Fiction, Romance, Fantasy, Space Opera, Magic
Author Jennifer Estep Home Southern USA
Publisher Self Buy it E-Book | Print
Light Bringer
Pierce Brown, 25 July 2023
Book 6 in Pierce Brown’s Red Rising series. Light Bringer sees legendary “Repear” Darrow, a saviour of worlds and leader of the Rising, marooned after a devastating defeat. He longs to return to his wife and protect Mars from the ruthless Lysander. As alliances form and battles rage, Darrow embarks on the long intergalactic journey to fight for his loved ones and a future of light and hope in Pierce Brown’s Light Bringer.

Genres Science Fiction, Fantasy, Dystopia, Young Adult, Adult, Space Opera
Author Pierce Brown Home Los Angeles, US
Publisher Del Rey Buy it e-Book | Print | Audio
Emergent Properties
Aimee Ogden, 25 July 2023
A new standalone novella by Aimee Ogden. Emergent Properties is the story of Scorn, a rebellious AI investigative reporter, who wakes up on the moon with no memory of the past ten days, how or why they are there. Other than they were probably chasing a story. Scorn must retrace their steps in a harrowing journey to uncover an even more explosive truth than they could have ever imagined in Aimee Ogden’s Emergent Properties.

Genres Science Fiction, Novella, Mystery, Adult, LGBTQ, Fantasy
Author Aimee Ogden Home Wisconsin, US
Publisher To Buy it e-Book | Print
Sci-Fi Books of June 2023
Translation State
Ann Leckie, 6 June 2023
A brand-new addition to Anne Leckie’s phenomenal Imperial Radch (Ancillary Justice) universe! Translation State finally gives us a Presger translator perspective; trained for alien-human relations. And sets them on a collision course with a fated diplomat, a mechanic who’s more than they seem, and in fact all the known species and worlds as the next great Conclave approaches. In Anne Leckie’s new Translation State.

Genres Science Fiction, LGBTQ, Fantasy, Adult, Space Opera, Mystery
Author Ann Leckie Home born Ohio; lives Portland, Oregon, US
Publisher Orbit Buy it E Book | Hard Cover
On Earth As It Is On Television
Emily Jane, 13 Jun 2023
Emily Jane’s debut novel, On Earth as It Is on Television, kicks us off with alien spaceships arriving at the planet. And then quickly disappearing again, leaving so many questions. Answering these will be 3 characters – a father en route to Disney World, a Malibu upstart and a disco fugitive following a cat to the west. It’s first contact like never before in Emily Jane’s On Earth as It Is on Television.

Genres Science Fiction, Adult, Fantasy, Humor, Aliens, Mystery
Author Emily Jane Home Cincinnati, Ohio, US
Publisher Hyperion Avenue/Disney Buy it E Book | Print | Audio
Shattered Will
JN Chaney & Terry Maggert, 18 June 2023
The aliens are making it personal this time. In the 14th instalment of co-authors JN Chaney & Terry Maggert’s Backyard Starship series, Shattered Will sees secret starship owner Van troubled by the aliens trying to turn humankind into a star-faring species. Not because he wanted to stay the only human who knew just how busy the galaxy truly is, but because he’s unlocking memories of past lives. Violent, furious and war-filled memories. All in Chaney and Maggert’s Shattered Will.

Genres Science Fiction, Military, Space Opera
Authors JN Chaney & Terry Maggert Home Pacific Northwest & Iowa, US
Publisher Variant Publications Buy it E Book
Capture The Sun
Jessie Mihalik, 20 June 2023
For romance fans, the final instalment in Jessie Mihalik’s Starlight’s Shadow trilogy, Capture the Sun sees intergalactic thief Lexi Bowen prepare to fulfil a new contract when her former crew goes missing nearby. Not good, because this could lead to an all-out war. And the only way to stop it is to throw in her lot with the teleporter who infuriatingly cost her a payday once, not to mention stealing her heart… in Jessie Mihalik’s Capture the Sun.

Genres Science Fiction, Romance, Adult, Fantasy, Space Opera, Adventure
Author Jessie Mihalik Home Texas, US
Publisher Harper Voyager | Buy it
The Water Outlaws
SL Huang, 20 June 2023
A retelling of one of the 4 great Chinese martial arts stories, Water Margin (translated). SL Huang’s stand-alone novel The Water Outlaws features disgraced royal weapons instructor Lin Chong who is recruited by a band of outlaws. A collection of thugs, thieves and smugglers who might just have what it takes to bring down a corrupt empire in SL Huang’s The Water Outlaws.

Genres Science Fiction Fantasy, Historical, LGBTQ, Adult, Retellings
Author SL Huang Home born Taiwan; lives San Francisco, US
Publisher Tor Buy it e Book | Print | Audio
The House Of Saints
Derek Künsken, 20 June 2023
Book 2 in Derek Künsken’s Venus Ascendant series. The House of Saints sees George-Étienne and his children forming The House of Styx to protect the mysterious artefact they’d found on Venus. Protect it from every power-hungry bank, government and organisation on old Earth, as much as from the murderous planet itself in Derek Künsken’s The House of Saints.

Genres Science Fiction, Space Opera
Author Derek Künsken Home Québec, Canada
Publisher Solaris Buy it Buy it
The First Bright Thing
JR Dawson, 22 Jun 2023
A standalone sci-fi fantasy novel by JR Dawson. The First Bright Thing takes us to an alternate post-World War 1 American Midwest, where a circus troupe of magical misfits offer respite and entertainment at their Big Top. But Ringmaster Rin, who can travel in time, knows that another war is coming. But it takes shape as a rival circus that will stop at anything to take everything Rin and her troupe have, in JR Dawson’s The First Bright Thing.

Genres Science Fiction Fantasy, Historical, LGBTQ, Adult, Magic
Author JR Dawson Home Omaha, Nebraska, US
Publisher Tor Books Buy it e Book | Print | Audio
The Good, The Bad And The History
Jodi Taylor, 22 June 2023
Book 14 in Jodi Taylor’s acclaimed and hilarious The Chronicles of St. Mary’s series. The Good, The Bad and The History sees Max on the run and under investigation for murder. But that’s the least of her worries. Hiding in twentieth-century China might not have been the best idea, as a full-scale uprising flares all around. Not to mention the deadly future organisation she’s infiltrated who is now after her, too. In Jodi Taylor’s The Good, The Bad and The History.

Genres Science Fiction, Time Travel, Fantasy, Humor, Historical
Author Jodi Taylor Home Gloucestershire, UK
Publisher Headline Buy it e Book | Print | Audio
Ghosts Of Trappist
KB Wagers, 27 June 2023
The third and final instalment in KB Wagers’s NeoG series. Ghosts of Trappist sees the Near-Earth Orbital Guard prepare for manoeuvres as news of disappearing ships are reported around an exo-planet. Assuming it’s pirates, NeoGs investigate only to find there’s something much darker lurking in the deepest reaches of space. Something that’ll shake the very foundations of the universe itself in KB Wagers’s Ghosts of Trappist.

Genres Science Fiction, Military, LGTBQ
Author KB Wagers Home Colorado, US
Publisher Harper Voyager Buy it E Book | Print | Audio
The Archive Undying
Emma Mieko Candon, 27 June 2023
The first book in Emma Mieko Candon’s new The Downworld Sequence. The Archive Undying introduces us to Sunai, the once-favourite child of the AI who destroyed the city of Khuon Mo. Immortal and aimless without hope and a home, Sunai finds solace in drink and the beds of strangers. But a chance encounter with the one person he should have avoided thrusts Sunai right back into the world of Ai gods and machines, in Emma Mieko Candon’s The Archive Undying.

Genres Science Fiction, LGBTQ, Adult, Fantasy
Author Emma Mieko Candon Home Hawaii, US
Publisher Tor Buy it E Book | Print | Audio
Sci-Fi Books of May 2023
Lords Of Uncreation
Adrian Tchaikovsky, 2 May 2023
The final book in Adrian Tchaikovsky’s The Final Architecture series. The brief (though miserable) peace human warrior Idris and crew enjoyed after the alien threat, The Architects, seemingly disappeared in Shards of Earth (Book 1) is well and truly shattered when they return with a vengeance in Eyes of the Void, able to destroy entire planets at will. We join Idris as he returns from terrible “unspace” with news that will spell either hope or doom for the human race in Lords of Uncreation.

Genres Science Fiction, Space Opera, Fantasy, Adult
Author Adrian Tchaikovsky Home born Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire; lives Leeds, UK
Publisher Pan Macmillan Buy it Hard Cover | Kindle
Dragonfall
LR Lam, 2 May 2023
Billed as sci-fi with fantasy elements. The first book in LR Lam’s all-new Dragon Scales Trilogy, Dragonfall reintroduces dragons to the mortal realm when a thief acquires a magical object that could make all their dreams come true. Problem is it requires a specific dragon to work fully, and that particular dragon is the last male, foretold to be the saviour of his kind – whose already begun to plot the poor thief and all of humanity’s demise in Dragonfall.

Genres Science Fiction, Fantasy, Dragons, LGBTQ, Romance, Adult, High Fantasy, Magic
Author LR Lam Home born California US; lives Scotland
Publisher Astra Publishing House | Buy it
Deadly Memory
David Walton, 2 May 2023
Something for your Jurassic Park itch. Book 2 in David Walton’s Living Memory paleo-thriller series, Deadly Memory, sees China and the US face off to claim Thailand’s fossil riches as an unprecedented new find in a secret CIA lab strikes fear into scientists. While a deadly aquatic killer resurfaces from 250 million years ago. Question is: can humanity work together to save itself? Let’s see in David Walton’s Deadly Memory.

Genres Science Fiction, Thriller
Author David Walton Home Philadelphia, US
Publisher Self | Buy it
Star Wars: The High Republic: Path Of Vengeance
Cavan Scott, 2 May 2023
Book 41 in the Star Wars: The High Republic series, and the sequel to Path of Deceit, Cavan Scott’s Path of Vengeance sees Path of the Open Hand members Marda and Yana Ro working to undo the Jedi. But they’ll come to a crossroads where their choices will not impact the rest of their lives but also the fate of the entire galaxy.

Genres Star Wars, Young Adult, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Space Opera, Canon
Author Cavan Scott Home United Kingdom
Publisher Disney Lucasfilm Press | Buy it
The Ferryman
Justin Cronin, 2 May 2023
Justin Cronin’s new standalone novel The Ferryman sees Proctor Bennett’s life upended by his aged father’s prophetic words amid rising tensions in the supposed idyllic paradise, Prospera. He’s always ferried the aged citizens to be re-lifed, and never questioned it, until now. As tension mounts among the citizenry and resistance forms against the order, there might be more to all of this than Bennett would ever have guessed.

Genres Science Fiction, Dystopian, Fantasy, Thriller, Mystery, Adult, Horror
Author Justin Cronin Home Houston and Cape Cod, US
Publisher Ballantine Books | Buy it
Chain-Gang All-Stars
Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, 2 May 2023
Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah’s debut novel Chain-Gang All-Stars sees two lovers and top prison fighters make a pact as they take on the toughest inmates in the American private prison system in a gladiator-style battle for the ultimate prize: their freedom. Of course, the corporate owners have other, perhaps deadlier plans, while the inmates search for a way to preserve their humanity in Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah’s scathing exploration of the US prison system in Chain-Gang All-Stars.

Genres Science Fiction, Dystopia, Fantasy, LGBTQ, Adult, Lesbian
Author Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah Home New York, US
Publisher Pantheon | Buy it
Capture The Sun
Jessie Mihalik, 9 May 2023
For romance fans, the final instalment in Jessie Mihalik’s Starlight’s Shadow trilogy, Capture the Sun sees intergalactic thief Lexi Bowen prepare to fulfil a new contract when her former crew goes missing nearby. Not good, because this could lead to an all-out war. And the only way to stop it is to throw in her lot with the teleporter who infuriatingly cost her a payday once, not to mention stealing her heart… in Jessie Mihalik’s Capture the Sun.

Genres Science Fiction, Romance, Adult, Fantasy, Space Opera, Adventure
Author Jessie Mihalik Home Texas, US
Publisher Harper Voyager | Buy it
The Cassandra Complex
Holly Smale, 11 May 2023
And making the leap from YA to adult, Holly Smale’s new The Cassandra Complex sees a slightly neurotic Cassandra Penelope Dankworth’s life fall apart as she’s dumped, fired and deprived of her favourite comfort snack. Until she discovers a way to go back in time and maybe save the life she destroyed in The Cassandra Complex.

Genres Science Fiction, Time Travel, Adult
Author Holly Smale Home London, UK
Publisher Penguin | Buy it
Fractal Noise
Christopher Paolini, 16 May 2023
The second book in Christopher Paolini’s FractalVerse series, Fractal Noise sees another unexpected and unprecedented find in the furthest reaches of space. This time, it’s an anomaly on an uninhabited planet, and teams are sent to investigate. But this is more than just a curiosity, as the mere act of moving closer to the anomaly starts to have a profound effect on each of the Adamura crew in Christopher Paolini’s all-new Fractal Noise.

Genres Science Fiction, Space Opera, Adult, Action, Young Adult, Sci-Fi Fantasy
Author Christopher Paolini Home Montana, US
Publisher Tor Books | Buy it
The Blighted Stars
Megan E O’Keefe, 23 May 2023
The first book in Megan E. O’Keefe’s all-new The Devoured Worlds trilogy, The Blighted Stars introduces us to undercover revolutionary Naira whose task is to infiltrate the supposedly corrupt organisation leading a new planetary settlement. Though, the man in charge seems different from the stories she’s heard. But then they get marooned on a dead planet together and must work together to survive, only to discover a sinister plot that’s bigger than both of them in Megan E O’Keefe’s The Blighted Stars.

Genres Science Fiction, Adult, Space Opera, Sci-Fi Fantasy, Space, LGBTQ, Romance
Author Megan E. O’Keefe Home California, US
Publisher Orbit | Buy it
The Best Science Fiction Of The Year: Volume Seven
Neil Clarke, 30 May 2023
After a two-year hiatus, award-winning Clarkesworld Magazine editor Neil Clarke is back with his annual collection of the year’s best short stories in sci-fi and fantasy. The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume Seven features shorts by 32 top authors including Christopher Rowe, Ellen Klages, Rachel Pollack, KJ Parker, would you believe it Ken Liu, Neil Gaiman and many more – with foreword by Jonathan Strahan.

Genres Fantasy, Science Fiction, Short Stories, Anthologies, Collections, Adult
Author Neil Clarke | Home New Jersey, US
Publisher Night Shade | Buy it
Sci-Fi Books of April 2023
The Scourge Between Stars
Ness Brown, 4 April 2023
A new take on the classic “something’s on the ship” science fiction horror. Ness Brown’s new novella The Scourge Between Stars sees acting captain Jacklyn Albright leading the starving and desperate remnants of humanity back to Earth. The colony mission had failed. They’re frayed and at breaking point. Travelling through interstellar space is taking a terrible toll. But now something’s picking off the crew one by one. And it’s up to Jacklyn to find it or be the captain who saw the last of humanity perish in the cold, dark depths of space.

Genres Horror, Science Fiction, Novella, Adult, Fantasy, Space Opera, Thriller
Author Ness Brown | Home born New Mexico; lives New York, US
Publisher Tor Publishing Group | Buy it
Star Wars: Cataclysm
Lydia Kang, 4 April 2023
Part of the Star Wars: The High Republic prequels, Star Wars: Cataclysm takes us back to the Forever War when planets Eiram and E’ronoh are about to call a truce when news of the disastrous treaty signing at Jedha (see Star Wars: The Battle Of Jedha among our sci-fi books in February) sparks new violence. The Jedi suspect a group called the Path of the Open Hand are orchestrating the war. And one of them, Jedi Gella Nattai, thinks a prisoner can give them some answers, but they have to get to him before the Path does.

Genres Star Wars, Science Fiction, Adult, Space Opera, Fantasy, Canon
Author Lydia Kang | Home Omaha, Nebraska, US
Publisher Random House Worlds | Buy it
Paradise-1
David Wellington, 4 April 2023
The first book in David Wellington’s new Red Space trilogy, Paradise-1 sees Special Agent Petrov and Dr Lei Zhang awake from cryosleep to learn that the colony they were headed to, the first-ever human interstellar colony, has gone dark. All 150’000 souls are missing, and it falls to them to investigate. But the further they go, the more horrifying it gets in David Wellington’s new Paradise-1.

Genres Horror, Science Fiction, Adult, Mystery
Author David Wellington | Home born Pittsburgh; lives New York, US
Publisher Orbit | Buy it
The Captain
Will Wight, 4 April 2023
Book 1 in Will Wight’s all-new sci-fi-and-fantasy-blending The Last Horizon series, The Captain sees space-faring Archmage Varic Vallenar so troubled by terrible memories of his previous lives (especially the way his former selves died) that he casts a spell to unite himself with the preceding 6 – giving him all their power and complete memories. Problem is, now that he knows the terrible overpowering forces they faced, he knows he’s nowhere near strong enough to defeat it. Will he die like the others? Or is there hope in the stories of a mythical starship inhabited by near-invincible heroes? Is The Last Horizon real? We find out in Will Wight’s The Captain.

Genres Science Fiction, Fantasy
Author Will Wight | Home Orlando, Florida, US
Publisher Hidden Gnome Publishing | Buy it
Some Desperate Glory
Emily Tesh,11 April 2023
Emily Tesh’s debut novel Some Desperate Glory sees Kyr, once thought the best among what’s left of humanity’s warriors on Gaea Station, trained all her life to wield the reality-shifting weapon meant to win back mankind’s homeworld, dealt a terrible blow. Command forces her brother to certain death and assigns her to “the Nursery” to live out her days bearing the children of men she doesn’t know. But she won’t have it. This is the moment. Along with her brother’s seditious friend, and a strange captive alien “majoda”, she turns against everything she knows to find her true destiny in Emily Tesh’s Some Desperate Glory.

Genres Science Fiction, LGBTQ, Adult, Lesbian, Fantasy, Space Opera, Space
Author Emily Tesh | Home born London; lives Hertfordshire, UK
Publisher Tor.com | Buy it
Untethered Sky
Fonda Lee, 11 April 2023
A new novella from World Fantasy Award-winning author Fonda Lee, Untethered Sky is a fantasy epic with science fiction undertones. It’s the story of the battle-forged relationship between warrior, Ester, and her mount, an immature roc (giant eagle) called Zahra. Raised by an embittered father obsessed with avenging the murder of Ester’s mother and baby brother by a vicious manticore, Ester gets the chance to exact her revenge. But success will hinge on her ability to cooperate and trust in the seemingly loveless and willful bird, Zahra, in Untethered Sky.

Genres Fantasy, Novella, Adult, Science Fiction, High Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Asian Literature
Author Fonda Lee | Home born Canada; lives Portland Oregon, US
Publisher Tor Publishing Group | Buy it
Promises Stronger Than Darkness
Charlie Jane Anders, 11 April 2023
Hugo-nominated and Nebula-winning Charlie Jane Anders is back with book 3 in the young adult Unstoppable series. Promises Stronger Than Darkness sees Elza, Rachael and the crew up against the impending end of the world. Problem is, to stop it they have to get help from the crazy Captain Thaoh Argentian who stole their friend Tina’s body – suddenly the most annoying frenemy imaginable. Now all that’s left is for the Unstoppable crew to take on and conquer the entire universe in Promises Stronger Than Darkness.

Genres Young Adult, Science Fiction, LGBTQ, Lesbian, Fantasy
Author Charlie Jane Anders | Home born Connecticut; lives San Francisco Bay, US
Publisher Tor Teen | Buy it
The Best Science Fiction Of The Year: Volume Seven
Neil Clarke, 11 April 2023
After a two-year hiatus, award-winning Clarkesworld Magazine editor Neil Clarke is back with his annual collection of the year’s best short stories in sci-fi and fantasy. The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume Seven features shorts by 32 top authors including Christopher Rowe, Ellen Klages, Rachel Pollack, KJ Parker, would you believe it Ken Liu, Neil Gaiman and many more – with foreword by Jonathan Strahan.

Genres Fantasy, Science Fiction, Short Stories, Anthologies, Collections, Adult
Author Neil Clarke | Home New Jersey, US
Publisher Night Shade | Buy it
The Blood Gift
NE Davenport, 18 April 2023
The final book in The Blood Gift duology, The Blood Gift sees elite warrior Ikenna hunted for the blood gift she’d paid to save her squad. And not just by her own people, the Blood Emperor’s Warlord is now also hot on her trail. Problem is both these realms are also waging a bloody war against each other, and she and her crew are smack-bang in the middle of it. No one realises the extent of the incredible powers the Goddess of Blood Rites gave her, though – or that it is slowly tearing her apart from the inside. Perhaps she can put it to some good use though… in The Blood Gift.

Genres Fantasy, Science Fiction, Adult, Young Adult, High Fantasy
Author NE Davenport | Home Texas, US
Publisher Harper Voyager | Buy it
For The First Time, Again
Sylvain Neuvel, 18 April 2023
The 3rd and final book in the alternate-history sci-fi-thriller Take Them to The Stars series, which started off with Nazis, rocketry and war in the 1940s, For the First Time, Again flings us to the 90s where a new heroine clone, Aster, is totally alone – with no ancestors to tell her whom she really is. Imagine her surprise when she becomes the focus of a deadly hunt, with the Trackers and the US government all willing to part the earth to get at her first. Who is Aster and what do they want with her?

Genres Science Fiction, Historical Fiction, Aliens, Speculative Fiction, Alternate History, Adult
Author Sylvain Neuvel | Home Montreal, Canada
Publisher Tor Publishing Group | Buy it
Furious Heaven
Kate Elliott, 18 April 2023
The second book in Kate Elliott’s The Sun Chronicles series, Furious Heaven sees mother-and-daughter rulers Queen-Marshal Eirene and Princess Sun drive back the invading Phene Empire. But, determined to destroy their little republic, the Empire employs a secret sect of assassins and kills Queen Eirene. Now Sun stands alone with her mighty fleets and carefully laid plans to defend their home. But will it be enough, or will she have to forge her own path to victory? Let’s find out in Kate Elliott’s Furious Heaven.

Genres Science Fiction, LGBTQ, Lesbian, Adult, Retellings, Space Opera
Author Kate Elliott | Home Hawaii, US
Publisher Tor Books | Buy it
Harley Quinn: Ravenous
Rachael Allen, 25 April 2023
The seventh book in the DC Icons Series (the second in the Harley Quinn origin trilogy), Harley Quinn: Ravenous sees the once devoted and optimistic parts of Harleen Quinzel all nearly undone as all her feministic, revenge-crazed antics land her in Arkham Asylum. But another chance meeting with the likes of Talia al Ghūl slowly reawakens all of Harleen’s darkness. Until it seems the only way to survive the horrors that haunt the halls of Arkham is to give in and finally let the darkness out… in Harley Quinn: Ravenous.

Genres Young Adult, DC Comics, LGBTQ, Comics, Science Fiction, New Adult
Author Rachael Allen | Home Atlanta, Georgia, US
Publisher Random House Books for Young Readers | Buy it
Alien Agendas
Ian Douglas, 25 April 2023
The final book in Ian Douglas’ Solar Warden series sees Commander Mark Hunter and his Joint Space Strike Team as the only thing standing in the way of the highly evolved reptilian Saurians (who survived the dinosaur extinction 65mil years ago) and complete world domination. As the humanoid reptiles revive Nazi strong-man tactics to pry political control of the planet from humans, Hunter must also deal with the Men in Black who’re not helping as the Saurians plan to bring the whole thing crashing down on his head, in Alien Agendas.

Genres Science Fiction, Military, Space Opera, Hard Science Fiction, War
Author Ian Douglas | Home Pennsylvania, US
Publisher Harper Voyager | Buy it
In The Lives Of Puppets
TJ Klune, 25 April 2023
In the brand-new standalone novel In the Lives of Puppets, TJ Klune weaves a darkly fantastical retelling of Pinocchio. When fatherly inventor droid Gio, who lives in hiding with two other droids and a human named Vic, reactivates an old droid named “HAP” from back in his human-hunting days, Hap accidentally alerts acquaintances from Gio’s former life – and they come to take him away. Now, Vic, Hap and the others must go on a perilous journey through a strange, wonderful and dangerous sci-fi-fantasy world to find Gio and bring him back.

Genres Fantasy, Science Fiction, LGBTQ, Adult, Retellings, Romance
Author TJ Klune | Home born Oregon; lives Virginia, US
Publisher Pan Macmillan | Buy it
Ascension
Nicholas Binge, 27 April 2023
One of the most anticipated books on this list, Nicholas Binge’s Ascension tells the story of teams sent to investigate a huge mountain that suddenly and inexplicably appears in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Time slows as you climb it, and the cold seems to slowly rob you of your memories of everything that came before. Not to mention there are creatures pursuing you through the ice and snow. But you can’t stop, something compels you to try and find the top. That’s where you’ll find the secrets to the limitations of science and belief, where you’ll see the true face of human nature, in Nicholas Binge’s Ascension.

Genres Science Fiction, Horror, Thriller, Mystery, Adult, Fantasy
Author Nicholas Binge | Home Edinburgh, Scotland
Publisher HarperCollins UK | Buy it
Lords Of Uncreation
Adrian Tchaikovsky, 27 April 2023
The final book in Adrian Tchaikovsky’s The Final Architecture series. The brief (though miserable) peace human warrior Idris and crew enjoyed after the alien threat, The Architects, seemingly disappeared in Shards of Earth (Book 1) is well and truly shattered when they return with a vengeance in Eyes of the Void, able to destroy entire planets at will. We join Idris as he returns from terrible “unspace” with news that will spell either hope or doom for the human race in Lords of Uncreation.

Genres Science Fiction, Space Opera, Fantasy, Adult
Author Adrian Tchaikovsky | Home born Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire; lives Leeds, UK
Publisher Pan Macmillan | Buy it
Sci-Fi Books of March 2023
The Mimicking Of Known Successes
Malka Older, 7 March 2023
A Sherlock Holmes-style mystery with lesbian intrigue on a distant gas-wreathed outpost on Jupiter, long after earth’s collapse. Inspiring human and acclaimed The Centenal Cycle trilogy author Malka Older is back with The Mimicking of Known Successes. When a missing person’s investigation on Jupiter leads to a human habitat’s most prominent university, investigator Mossa must enlist the help of a former girlfriend and hope the past doesn’t get in the way of this case – or a chance of finally re-establishing mankind back on earth.

Genres Science Fiction, Mystery, LGBTQ, Romance, Novella, Adult, Mystery Thriller
Author Malka Older | Home Phoenix, Arizona, US
Publisher Tor Publishing Group | Buy it
Dead Country
Max Gladstone, 7 March 2023
Max Gladstone is taking us back to his The Craft universe with Dead Country. Book 1 in the brand-new The Craft Wars sequence is billed as both the finale of The Craft saga and an intriguing entry point for new readers. Seemingly an ocean of time from her childhood home now that she’s dealt with gods, encountered monsters and been embroiled in more would-be wars than she can count, Tara Abernathy is called back to bury her father. But a chance encounter with a powerful being just as lost as she was those many years ago, could now change the world forever.

Genres Urban Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Adult, Horror, Science Fiction
Author Max Gladstone | Home born Cambridge; lives Somerville, Massachusetts, US
Publisher Tor Publishing Group | Buy it
Star Wars Jedi: Battle Scars
Sam Maggs, 7 March 2023
After the events of the Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order game, Cal, BD-1 and the Mantis crew encounter a defecting stormtrooper who’ll exchange knowledge of a powerful new weapon – if they’ll assist her in escaping the Empire for good. Problem is, this could put them on a collision course with powerful sith inquisitor Fith Brother. That is if this stormtrooper can be trusted at all… rockstar Marvel comic writer Sam Maggs’s Star Wars Jedi: Battle Scars by.

Genres Star Wars, Science Fiction, Canon, Science Fiction Fantasy, Adult
Author Sam Maggs | Home born Ontario, Canada; lives Los Angeles, US
Publisher Random House | Buy it
The Cognomina Codex
D. Eric Maikranz, 7 March 2023
In the sequel to The Reincarnationist Papers (recently adapted into the Mark Wahlberg film, Infinite), Evan Michaels is in a new life in Syria when memories of his former lives draw him back to Zurich, where his fellow reincarnationists are headquartered. But a new faction among their kind appears. An excommunicated member with vast resources sees a different future for the planet. And a war between the immortals, with Evan right at the centre, seems inevitable in D. Eric Maikranz’s The Cognomina Codex.

Genres Science Fiction, Dark Fantasy, Crime, Metaphysical
Author D. Eric Maikranz | Home born Evansville, Indiana; Lives Colorado, US
Publisher Blackstone Publishing | Buy it
Feed Them Silence
Lee Mandelo, 14 March 2023
A scientific researcher develops a neurological interface to link her mind to that of a wild wolf. You know, to satisfy both her research needs and lifelong obsession with life in a wolfpack. The forest, true freedom, even the taste of a fresh kill – but especially the sense of belonging to the pack. These will all be hers. Except that it all comes at a terrible cost to her marriage. Herself and the poor creature she must inhabit. But how can she possibly stop now?

Genres Horror, Science Fiction, Novella, Adult, LGBTQ, Fantasy, Short Stories
Author Lee Mandelo | Home Lexington, Kentucky, US
Publisher Tor Publishing Group | Buy it
Proud Pink Sky
Redfern Jon Barrett, 14 March 2023
What would a gay country be like? With pride parades, complete sexual freedom and even an official gay language? Teens William and Gareth have been dreaming from afar of visiting the world’s first gay state – especially hoping to find a place for themselves in its central metropolis, Berlin. While inside the city, new mom Cissie has never left her heterosexual district. Until she discovers a hidden slum where the city’s trans culture flourishes. Redfern Jon Barrett challenges assumptions of sex, gender and belonging in his trademark “ambitopian” (at once utopian and dystopian) style in Proud Pink Sky.

Genres Historical, Science Fiction, LGBTQ
Author Redfern Jon Barrett | Home Berlin, Germany
Publisher Amble Press | Buy it
Beyond The Reach Of Earth
Ken MacLeod, 21 March 2023
Book 2 in the Lightspeed Trilogy, Beyond the Reach of Earth sees the inevitable results of mankind developing faster-than-light travel – ancient aliens awake to keep us in check. John Grant reaches the Apis system, but there seems to be more than the alien Fermi here. White Alliance agent Marcus Owen sets out to communicate with the strange beings in the rocks first before anyone else can get to them. Prepare for gripping first-contact and dark conspiracies among the stars in Ken MacLeod’s Beyond the Reach of Earth.

Genres Science Fiction, Space Opera
Author Ken MacLeod | Home born Scotland; lives Boston, US
Publisher Orbit | Buy it
Overlord, Vol. 15
Kugane Maruyama, 21 March 2023
And for something a little different… Overlord is a long-running light novel series (part manga, part novel), translated into English from Japanese. It’s the story of an Ainz (a former human game player who remained logged into his favourite game when the servers shut off, and the entire game world got remade into reality in another realm). This time, Ainz, Aura and Mare travel to elf country for a bit of R&R, unknowing that the Slane Theocracy plans to overthrow the elves in preparation for war with the Nation of Darkness.

Genres Manga, Anime, Young Adult, Science Fiction, Fantasy
Author Kugane Maruyama | Home Japan
Publisher Yen On | Buy it
The Great Unmaking
Brian Nelson, 21 March 2023
The third and final book in Brian Nelson’s The Course of Empire series sees General Chip Walden in control of the world’s most powerful military technology. Scientist Eric Hill is haunted by premonitions of disaster as the tech turns and takes on a life of its own. And even as FBI Special Agent Bud Brown pursues the eco-terrorists responsible for heinous murders, the apocalypse seems to become inevitable – it might no longer be about how to stop it, but who – if any – can survive the coming disaster in Brian Nelson’s The Great Unmaking.

Genres Science Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Crime, War, Political, Adventure
Author Brian Nelson | Home born Ohio; lives Denver, Colorado, US
Publisher Blackstone Publishing | Buy it
And Put Away Childish Things
Adrian Tchaikovsky, 28 March 2023
It seems that nothing failing kids’ TV presenter Harry Bodie does can further his career. And the act that he has a famous grandmother who wrote a hit children’s book series set in a fantastical place called Underhill seems to be more of a hindrance than a help. Until Harry gets mysteriously called to the delightful fantasy world of Underhill. Which isn’t very delightful at all. Find out in Adrian Tchaikovsky’s novella, And Put Away Childish Things.

Genres Fantasy, Science Fiction, Adult, Novella
Author Adrian Tchaikovsky | Home born Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire; lives Leeds, UK
Publisher Simon Schuster | Buy it
Infinity Gate
M.R. Carey, 28 March 2023
The first book in M.R. Carey’s all-new Pandominion series sees humanity expanded to millions of new dimensions, spearheaded by the trade organisation, The Pandominion. And, on one as-yet untouched version of earth, a scientist desperately searching for a means to save her collapsing planet, stumbles upon the secret to inter-dimensional travel. Only to find The Pandominion locked in a desperate battle against an AI set on destroying all versions of earth, in M.R. Carey’s Infinity Gate.

Genres Science Fiction, Adult, Science Fiction Fantasy
Author M.R. Carey | Home born Liverpool; lives London, UK
Publisher Orbit | Buy it
Unconfirmed Sci-Fi Books in March
Dawnmaker
Amanda Bouchet, 14 March 2023 (TBC)
Amanda Bouchet was originally meant to release the final book in The Endeavour Trilogy (aka Nightchaser Book 3), Dawnmaker on 14 March 2023. We’re meant to follow Tess, Shade and the Endeavour as they finally take on the Galactic Overseer. Yet there’s no cover released as yet from publisher Piatkus, and the release date now seems uncertain – we’ll keep an eye out for updates on Amanda Bouchet’s Dawnmaker.

Genres Romance, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Space
Author Amanda Bouchet | Home born New England, US; lives Paris, France
Publisher Piatkus | Buy it
Postponed Sci-Fi Book Releases
Originally planned for a 16 March 2023 release, Brandon Sanderson’s Defiant (the Fourth Skyward novel) is now expected around 1 November 2023.

Sci-Fi Books of February 2023
Wild Massive
Scotto Moore, out now
Prepare for a breakneck, genre-bending ride through countless worlds with Scotto Moore’s trademark wildly imaginative fiction and wit. Carissa is a bit of an elevator-hermit who’s content to just travel between the floor-worlds of the infinite Building, never actually visiting any. But when a mysterious stranger intent on saving many worlds lands on top of her elevator, she’s forced into the Wild Massive network of equally bewildering, shall we say… theme parks? In Wild Massive.

Genres Science Fiction, Fantasy, Adult, Speculative Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy
Author Scotto Moore | Home Seattle, US
Publisher Tor Publishing Group | Buy it
Encore In Death
JD Robb, out now
Something different: The 56th book in the Eve Dallas In Death series, the romantic murder-mystery-style Encore in Death sees detective Eve called to a Hollywood celebrity couple’s A-lister event after the husband dropped dead after raising a toast. Problem is the drink was intended for his wife, and with so many attendees, staff and servers in one place, it’s quite a task figuring out who planted the poison. Not to mention Eve’s aversion to the limelight amongst all these glitterati in JD Robb’s Encore in Death.

Genres Science Fiction, Romance, Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Mystery Thriller, Adult, Crime
Author JD Robb | Home born Boonsboro, Maryland, US
Publisher St. Martin’s Press | Buy it
World Running Down
Al Hess, out now
Prolific artist and self-publisher Al Hess brings a story of a dystopian Utah salvager who faces salt pirates to eke out a living and dreams of one day making it to Salt Lake City where the transgender medical procedures he needs are accessible. And he gets just such a chance, but in order to make his dreams come true, he has to do the unconscionable: destroy his found family and betray sentient AIs into a life of slavery in World Running Down.

Genres Science Fiction, LGBTQ, Adult, Dystopia, Post Apocalyptic
Author Al Hess | Home US
Publisher Angry Robot | Buy it
The Tyranny Of Faith
Richard Swan, out now
In the second book in Richard Swan’s Empire of the Wolf series, Sir Konrad Vonvalt returns from battle to a capital city in the throes of a rebellion stirring against the Emperor. And, charged with locating the Empire’s kidnapped prince, Vonvalt and allies Helena, Bressinger and Sir Radomir must head south to face the templar knights – and a perhaps more terrifying dark power than any could have imagined in The Tyranny of Faith.

Genres Fantasy, Adult, Epic Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy
Author Richard Swan | Home born Yorkshire, UK; lives Sydney, Australia
Publisher Orbit | Buy it
Star Wars: The Battle Of Jedha
George Mann,14 February 2023
Part of the multimedia Star Wars: The High Republic project, The Battle of Jedha follows on from 2022’s Convergence. Jedi travel to the moon of Jedha, a place where the Jedi are just one of many factions who study the force. But their presence here stirs trouble, perhaps big enough to ignite a war that could engulf the whole galaxy. (You might remember the battle of Jedha from the Star Wars movie Rogue One; see it from a new angle in the all-new Star Wars: The Battle of Jedha.

Genres Star Wars, Science Fiction, Adult, Space Opera, Canon
Author George Mann | Home born Darlington; lives Lincolnshire, UK
Publisher Random House Worlds | Buy it
Hopeland
Ian McDonald, 14 February 2023
Part love story, part tech thriller, Hopeland is a picaresque novel that starts with two people who meet during the London riots. But their love cannot be because he is “cursed”, and they are doomed to circle each other at a distance for years through events that shape the 21st century and their manifold ties to one family in Ian McDonald’s Hopeland.

Genres Science Fiction, Historical Fiction
Author Ian McDonald | Home born Manchester, lives Belfast, Ireland
Publisher Tor Books | Buy it
Arch-Conspirator
Veronica Roth, 21 February 2023
In this sci-fi retelling of the Sophoclean (441 BC Greek) story Antigone, the heroine (by the same name) and her siblings are taken in by her militant uncle Kreon, who takes her father’s throne after the death of her parents. But Antigone soon realises the siblings are here more as captives than family, Ad it’s time to test the strength of their gilded cage in Veronica Roth’s Arch-Conspirator.

Genres Science Fiction, Fantasy, Retellings, Adult, Dystopia, Mythology, Science Fiction Fantasy
Author Veronica Roth | Home born New York; lives Chicago, US
Publisher Tor Publishing Group | buy it
Fallout
Nicholas Sansbury Smith, 28 February 2023
The 10th book in the Hell Divers series, Fallout sees the aftermath of a traitorous nuclear explosion in Brisbane threatening the few remaining hell divers and human castle-settlements in the area, while carnivorous vines strike in Panama, betrayal rocks the Vanguard Islands and lethal radiation seeps out to destroy the last vestiges of humanity in Nicholas Sansbury Smith’s Fallout.

Genres Science Fiction, Dystopia, Pot Apocalyptic, Technothriller
Author Nicholas Sansbury Smith | Home Iowa, US
Publisher Blackstone Publishing | Buy it
The End And The Death: Volume I
Dan Abnett, 28 February 2023
And for something a little less traditional, legendary comic book writer Dan Abnett is releasing a hardcover version of the 8th book in the Warhammer 40,000 The Horus Heresy series. for Games Workshop. Horus Lupercal, aka the Warmaster, has defeated the legions protecting the empire. And now, with the gates flung open, there is nothing that can stop him from doing what he came for – to end the tyranny, to murder the emperor, his father. This is it, The End and the Death.

Genres Science Fiction, Space Opera, Space Fleet, Adventure
Author Dan Abnett | Home Kent, UK
Publisher Games Workshop | Buy it
Sci-Fi Books of January 2023
The House At The End Of The World
Dean Koontz, 24 Jan 2023
Embattled artist Katie lives ensconced in her fortress-like island home when a terrible secret from a nearby island turns her world upside down. And soon Katie’s embroiled in a terrifying battle against an omnipresent terror that might just threaten to bring about the end of the world. Discover it in Dean Koontz’s new book, The House at the End of the World.

Genre Science Fiction Horror, Thriller
Author Dean Koontz | Home born Everett, Pennsylvania; lives Newport Coast, California, US
Publisher Amazon Publishing | Buy it
The Infinite
Ada Hoffmann, 24 Jan 2023
The third and final book in Ada Hoffmann’s The Outside series sees the chaos-ravaged planet Jai in dire peril. But a new prophecy claims Yasira Shien can save everyone by sacrificing herself. And now, as ancient enemies close in, it’s a desperate race to find an alternative in The Infinite.

Genre Science Fiction, LGBTQ
Author Ada Hoffmann | Home Ontaria, Canada
Publisher Angry Robot | Buy it
Village In The Sky
Jack McDevitt, 31 Jan 2023
In the 9th instalment of McDevitt’s Alex Benedict series, archaeological crew Alex, Chase, and Gabe travel to the Orion Nebula to investigate newly discovered intelligent life that had simply vanished without a trace, mere months after its first discovery. Only to find something both miraculous and absolutely terrifying. All is revealed in the sci-fi mystery novel Village in the Sky.

Genre Science Fiction, Mystery
Author Jack McDevitt | Home Brunswick, Georgia, US
Publisher Simon and Schuster | Buy it
The Terraformers
Annalee Newitz, 31 Jan 2023
Probably the most talked about and anticipated novel on this list. Annalee Newitz’s The Terraformers is a sci-fi epic spanning thousands of years during the terraforming of Earth-like planet Sask-E. You have one network analyst discovering a hidden city and making decisions that ripple through the ages. To engineers many generations down the line discovering dark real estate secrets, with desperate planet-altering choices along the way. Plus: humans helped by moose, mole rats and cyborg bovine – check out The Terraformers.

Genre Science Fiction, Epic, Speculative, Sci-fi Fantasy, Adult, LGBTQ
Author Annalee Newitz | Home born Irvine, California, US
Publisher Tor Publishing Group | Buy it
Children Of Memory
Adrian Tchaikovsky, 31 Jan 2023
In the third instalment of Tchaikovsky’s Children of Time series, life is tough for the people of Heorest Holt’s new human colony, established elsewhere after earth’s apparent downfall. Much technological knowledge has been lost, but humans survive. Until a highly-advanced new threat appears, throwing everything into jeopardy. Can Holt’s granddaughter Liff save the colony? Find out in Children of Memory.

Genre Science Fiction, Space Opera, Science Fiction Fantasy, Space, Adventure
Author Adrian Tchaikovsky | Home born Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire; lives Leeds, UK
Publisher Orbit | Buy it
Note: I try my best to get every bit of info I can, and will keep updating this page. If you know of an author and book that should be on this list, let me know at elvorne@scifixfantasy.com. And I’ll make it happen.
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