There’s so much to look forward to in our speculative fiction future. Here are some of the science fiction books we’re most excited about and/or are currently consuming…
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Best New Science Fiction Books in September 2019
To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers
Type: NovellaPublisher: Harper VoyagerRelease date: 9/3/19
Read To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers
The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
Type: Sequel to The Handmaid’s TalePublisher: Nan A. TaleseRelease date: 9/10/19
Read The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
A Song For a New Day by Sarah Pinsker
Type: NovelPublisher: BerkleyRelease date: 9/10/19
Read A Song For a New Day by Sarah Pinsker
The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz
Type: NovelPublisher: Tor BooksRelease date: 9/24/19
Read The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz
Best New Science Fiction Books in August 2019
The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday by Saad Z. Hossain
Type: NovellaPublisher: Tor BooksRelease date: 8/13/19
Read The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday by Saad Z. Hossain
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Do You Dream of Terra-Two? by Temi Oh
Type: NovelPublisher: Saga PressRelease date: 8/13/19
Read Do You Dream of Terra-Two? by Temi Oh
Meet Me in the Future by Kameron Hurley
Type: Short story collectionPublisher: Tachyon Release date: 8/20/19
Read Meet Me in the Future by Kameron Hurley
Best New Science Fiction Books in July 2019
Wanderers by Chuck Wendig
Type: NovelPublisher: Del ReyRelease date: 7/2/19
Read Wanderers by Chuck Wendig
The Redemption of Time by Baoshu, translater by Ken Liu
Type: Novel set in the Three-Body Problem universePublisher: Tor BooksRelease date: 7/16/19
Read The Redemption of Time by Baoshu
The Hound of Justice by Claire O’Dell
Type: Second book in the Janet Watson ChroniclesPublisher: Harper VoyagerRelease date: 7/30/19
A Dystopia For Our Dystopia: Janet Watson Returns in The Hound of Justice
Read The Hound of Justice by Claire O’Dell
Best New Science Fiction Books in June 2019
Fall; or, Dodge in Hell by Neal Stephenson
Type: NovelPublisher: William MorrowRelease date: 6/4/19
Read Fall by Neal Stephenson
Alphabet Squadron by Alexander Freed
Type: Novel set in Star Wars universePublisher: Del ReyRelease date: 6/11/19
Read Alphabet Squadron by Alexander Freed
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Read more about Alphabet Squadron here.
Velocity Weapon by Megan E. O’Keefe
Type: Book one in the Protectorate seriesPublisher: OrbitRelease date: 6/11/19
Read Velocity Weapon by Megan E. O’Keefe
Empress of Forever by Max Gladstone
Type: NovelPublisher: Tor BooksRelease date: 6/18/19
Read Empress of Forever by Max Gladstone
FKA USA by Reed King
Type: NovelPublisher: Flatiron BooksRelease date: 6/18/19
Read FKA USA by Reed King
Read more about FKA USA here.
The Girl in Red by Christina Henry
Type: NovelPublisher: BerkleyRelease date: 6/18/19
Read The Girl in Red by Christina Henry
Read about Christina Henry’s previous book, Lost Boy, here.
The Record Keeper by Agnes Gomillion
Type: NovelPublisher: Titan BooksRelease date: 6/18/19
Read The Record Keeper by Agnes Gomillion
The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t with Her Mind by Jackson Ford
Type: NovelPublisher: OrbitRelease date: 6/18/19
Hexarchate Stories by Yoon Ha Lee
Type: Short story collection set in the Machineries of Empire seriesPublisher: SolarisRelease date: 6/25/19
Read Hexarchate Stories by Yoon Ha Lee
Best New Science Fiction Books in May 2019
Exhalation: Stories by Ted Chiang
Type: Short story collectionPublisher: KnopfRelease date: 5/7/19
Read Exhalation: Stories by Ted Chiang
Light From Other Stars by Erika Swyler
Type: StandalonePublisher: Bloomsbury PublishingRelease date: 5/7/19
Read Light From Other Stars by Erika Swyler
Westside: A Novel by W.M. Akers
Type: StandalonePublisher: Harper VoyagerRelease date: 5/7/19
Read Westwide by W.M. Akers
A Chain Across the Dawn by Drew Williams
Type: Second book in The Universe After seriesPublisher: Tor BooksRelease date: 5/7/19
Read A Chain Across the Dawn by Drew Williams
Read our review of the first book in the series here.
Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Type: Second book in Children of Time seriesPublisher: OrbitRelease date: 5/14/19
Read Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Her Silhouette, Drawn in Water by Vylar Kaftan
Type: NovellaPublisher: Tor.comRelease date: 5/21/19
Read Her Silhouette, Drawn in Water by Vylar Kaftan
The Gameshouse by Claire North
Type: Trilogy of novellasPublisher: OrbitRelease date: 5/28/19
Five Unicorn Flush by TJ Berry
Type: Second book in The Reason seriesPublisher: Angry RobotRelease date: 5/28/19
Read Five Unicorn Flush by TJ Berry
Best New Science Fiction Books in April 2019
Finder by Suzanne Palmer
Type: NovelPublisher: DAWRelease date: 4/2/19
Read Finder by Suzanne Palmer
Atlas Alone by Emma Newman
Type: Book four in Planetfall seriesPublisher: AceRelease date: 4/16/19
Read Atlas Alone by Emma Newman
Read our review of Before Mars, the third book in the Planetfall series.
Winds of Marque: Blackwood & Virtue by Bennett R. Coles
Type: First book in seriesPublisher: HarperVoyagerRelease date: 4/16/19
Read Winds of Marque: Blackwood & Virtue by Bennett R. Coles
Master & Apprentice by Claudia Gray
Type: Tie-in novelPublisher: Del ReyRelease date: 4/16/19
Read Master & Apprentice by Claudia Gray
A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by C.A. Fletcher
Type: NovelPublisher: OrbitRelease date: 4/23/19
Read A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by C.A. Fletcher
Delta-V by Daniel Suarez
Type: NovelPublisher: DuttonRelease date: 4/23/19
Read Delta-V by Daniel Suarez
Waste Tide by Chen Quifan, translated by Ken Liu
Type: NovelPublisher: Tor BooksRelease date: 4/30/19
Read Waste Tide by Chen Quifan, translated by Ken Liu
Best New Science Fiction Books in March 2019
Radicalized by Cory Doctorow
Type: Novella anthologyPublisher: Tor BooksRelease date: 3/19/19
Read Radicalized by Cory Doctorow
The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley
Type: NovelPublisher: Gallery/Saga PressRelease date: 3/19/19
Read The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley
Luna: New Moon Rising by Ian McDonald
Type: Third book in Luna seriesPublisher: Tor BooksRelease date: 3/19/19
Read Luna: New Moon Rising by Ian McDonald
A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine
Type: First in a seriesPublisher: Tor BooksRelease date: 3/26/19
Read A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine
Read our review of A Memory Called Empire
Tiamat’s Wrath by James S.A. Corey
Type: Eighth book in The Expanse seriesPublisher: OrbitRelease date: 3/26/19
Read Tiamat’s Wrath by James S.A. Corey
Read our full review of Tiamat’s Wrath here.
Best New Science Fiction Books in February 2019
The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders
Type: Standalone novelPublisher: Tor BooksRelease date: 2/12/19
Um, please drop what you are doing and go read this novel from io9 co-founder Charlie Jane Anders. The second speculative fiction novel for the author, following 2016’s wonderful All the Birds in the Sky, The City in the Middle of the Night is set on a tidally-locked planet (one side always faces the sun, the other… doesn’t) where humanity has settled, living mostly in cities on the light side of the planet.
The novel follows two point-of-view characters: Sophie, a working class student living in the strict city of Xiosphant, and Mouth, a smuggler whose native nomadic culture has been completely wiped out. When Sophie is exiled from Xiosphant and left to die in the cold, darkness outside of the city, she is saved by the psychic, crocodile-like creatures native to the planet and viewed by the human population as dangerous beasts.
There’s so much more to this tale of survival and revolution, and the messy, interpersonal relationships that complicate both. It’s sure to be one of the best books of the year.
Read The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders
Doctor Who Meets Scratchman by Tom Baker
Type: Set in Doctor Who universePublisher: Penguin Group UKRelease date: 2/12/19
One of the best things about the Doctor Who universe is that it is endlessly expansive. It’s been decades since Tom Baker played the iconic role, as the Fourth Doctor. Now, he’s back in more ways than one, with Baker having penned a novel featuring his Doctor.
Originally imagined as a Doctor Who feature film in the 1970s, Baker’s idea (which he co-wrote with James Goss) has been turned into a novel. The book follows the Doctor, as well as Companions Harry and Sarah Jane, as they arrive on a remote Scottish island. They’re looking for a vacation, but what they find is much creepier: an isolated village under attack by scarecrows, a trap set for the Doctor by a devil known as the Scratchman.
Grab some jelly babies and sit down for another Who adventure!
Read Doctor Who Meets Scratchman by Tom Baker
Broken Stars: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in Translation
Type: AnthologyPublisher: Tor BooksRelease date: 2/19/19
Explore the world of contemporary Chinese science fiction with this anthology from Ken Liu, the English language translator of Cixin Liu’s Three-Body Problem, as well as author of books like The Paper Menagerie. The collection brings together 16 stories written by Chinese authors such as Xia Jia, Han Song, Baoshu, Hao Jingfang, Chen Quifan. The anthology gets some greater context with a collection of three essays about the current state of Chinese science fiction.
Read Broken Stars Edited by Ken Liu
Best New Science Fiction Books in January 2019
The Lost Puzzler by Eyal Kless
Type: Book one in a seriesPublisher: Harper VoyagerRelease date: 1/8/19
Set in a post-apocalyptic world, 100 years after a devastating event known as “The Catastrophe,” The Lost Puzzler sees a lowly scribe from the Guild of Historians searching the puzzle-filled, post-apocalyptic world for a missing Puzzler who may be the key to restoring the fallen empire. This book was written by an internationally-acclaimed classical violinist, so that’s pretty neat.
Read The Lost Puzzler by Eyal Kless
Alliance Rising by C.J. Cherryh & Jane S. Francher
Type: Set in Alliance-Union UniversePublisher: DAWRelease date: 1/8/19
Political intrigue! Backwater space stations! Meet the latest installment in the Hugo-winning Company Wars series, the first new story set in the Alliance-Union universe in a very long time. Alliance Rising is set before the Company Wars, when the Merchanter Alliance is still forming, giving us a new perspective on this acclaimed fictional universe.
Read Alliance Rising by C.J. Cherryh and Jane S. Francher
What new speculative fiction books are on your radar? Let us know in the comments below or over at the Den of Geek Book Club!
Kayti Burt is a staff editor covering books, TV, movies, and fan culture at Den of Geek. Read more of her work here or follow her on Twitter @kaytiburt.
