June is upon us, which means it’s time to fill your summer reading list with all the brand-new sci-fi and fantasy books you can stuff into a beach bag. Good thing we’ve got 54 titles to choose from, with time travelers, reluctant heroes, people who can talk to the dead, and carnival stories among the highlights.
Adrift by W. Michael Gear
The fifth entry in the Donovan series finds the colonists from the Maritime Unit about to embark on their first exploration of Donovan’s offshore reef. It’s a dazzling adventure... until the children among the group begin to exhibit signs of being possessed by a violent alien intelligence. (June 1)
Alien Day by Rick Wilbur
Set on both a near-future Earth and an alien planet, this sci-fi adventure follows unlikely heroes as they get pulled into “murderous sibling rivalries and old-school mercantile colonialism,” as well as puzzles about ancient technology mysteriously left behind. (June 1)
Bacchnal by Veronica G. Henry
In the Depression-era South, a traveling carnival adds a popular new act in the form of a woman with magical gifts. But she might be the key to defeating one of the troupe’s much older performers: a demon in the business of consuming human souls. (June 1)
The Best of World SF: Volume 1 edited by Lavie Tidhar
Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Tade Thompson, and Zen Cho are among the authors included in this collection, which gathers 26 stories from authors hailing from 21 countries. You can read an excerpt—the story “Virtual Snapshots” by Tlotlo Tsamaasehere—here. (June 1)
A Chorus Rises by Bethany C. Morrow
When a popular influencer has a sudden fall from grace, she plots a comeback aided by her special magic and with the help of a new online community that’s suddenly embraced her. But will she be able to direct her powers to help others, not just herself? (June 1)
The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo
This Jazz Age tale puts a queer, Asian American spin on The Great Gatsby, with a dose of elemental magic for good measure. (June 1)
The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer
A sci-fi mystery becomes a love story when two young men—one of whom who has no memory of the launch, or any idea why the ship he’s aboard has his mother’s voice as its operating system—find themselves thrown together on a mysterious deep-space rescue mission. (June 1)
Divine Heretic by Jaime Lee Moyer
This retelling of the Joan of Arc story incorporates supernatural fantasy elements into the historical figure’s real life and destiny. (June 1)
Fantastic Creatures of the Mountains and Seas: A Chinese Classic by Jiankun Sun
The ancient Chinese fantasy text exploring the world of mythical creatures gets a new edition, complete with two-color illustrations by Siyu Chen and a new translation by Howard Goldblatt. (June 1)
For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten
A young woman marked from birth as a sacrifice to the Wolf in the Wood soon realizes she has a different destiny—involving her growing magic powers, the fate of the world, and the fact that the “wolf” is not what he seems. (June 1)
A Girl Made of Air by Nydia Hetherington
This magical tale follows a tightrope walker as she looks back on her life growing up in the circus, with a particular fixation on finding a child whose disappearance has haunted her for decades. (June 1)
Hollow by B. Catling
Mercenaries hired to deliver a new oracle to a sacred monastery undertake a dangerous mission across a landscape that’s being ravaged by an ongoing war between the living and the dead. (June 1)
The In Between by Marc Klein
After her first love tragically dies in a car accident, a teen girl tries everything she can to make contact with him in the afterlife. But if she succeeds—what then? (June 1)
The Library of the Dead by T.L. Huchu
In this fantasy set in contemporary Edinburgh, a teenager who can communicate with ghosts turns her gift into a business—then becomes drawn into a mystery involving enchanted children that becomes spookier than she ever imagined. (June 1)
The Ninth Metal by Ben Percy
The Comet Cycle series begins as a comet rains debris on Earth as it passes by. One particularly hard-hit small town becomes ground zero in the fight over a strange new metal the comet left behind—some want to use it as an energy source, while others believe it should be weaponized. (June 1)
The Shadows of London by Nick Jones
The second book in the Joseph Bridgeman series picks back up with the antiques dealer and occasional time traveler, as he’s drawn into a high-stakes new mission that sends him back to the scene of a murder in 1960s London. (June 1)
The Coward by Stephen Aryan
Ten years after his heroism made him a celebrated legend, Kell Kressia is content living life as a simple farmer. But when the evil he defeated a decade ago rises back up, he’s called upon to raise his sword again. Trouble is, well... the legend’s not entirely true (see: the book’s title). (June 8)
Daughter of Sparta by Claire M. Andrews
The myth of Daphne and Apollo inspired this tale of a teenaged girl who dreams of becoming a Spartan warrior—until she must detour on a rescue mission to save her brother, a task that involves recovering nine objects stolen from Mount Olympus. (June 8)
Girls at the Edge of the World by Laura Brooke Robson
With an apocalyptic flood about to engulf the world, two aerial silk performers who serve the royal family pursue their own secret agendas as they struggle to be among the chosen few who’re taken to a safe place to survive. (June 8)
The Hidden Palace by Helene Wecker
This sequel to The Golem and the Jinni picks back up with Chava and Ahmad, magical creatures who’ve been thrown together and are now passing as humans—or, at least doing their very best to pass as humans—in 1900s Manhattan. (June 8)
Rabbits by Terry Miles
This new adventure set in the world of the popular Rabbits podcast dives into an alt-reality game with the ability to... alter reality. Read an excerpt here. (June 8)
Ten Low by Stark Holborn
Described as “Firefly meets Dune,” this sci-fi adventure is set on the fringes of the universe and follows an ex-con who rescues what looks like an ordinary teen from a spaceship crash—before realizing the girl is actually a super-soldier running for her life. (June 8)
The Wayward Mage by Sara Hanover
The author’s contemporary fantasy series continues, as Tessa begins to realize the cost of engaging with the magical world—and hopes that her sorcery skills are strong enough to protect her and her mother when they’re both targeted by assassins. (June 8)
When You and I Collide by Kate Norris
In this tale set during World War II, a teen in touch with the multiverse is able to visualize two possible outcomes from a single action. While her physicist father would like her to use her gift to change the future, she’s reluctant until a tragedy makes her accidentally leap into the wrong timeline. (June 8)
The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid
Hungarian history and Jewish mythology help shape this story. It’s about a young outcast with hidden powers who’s marked for blood sacrifice by her fellow villagers—until she, along with a disgraced prince, survive a monster attack and must join together to fight for their country. (June 8)
The Ship by Doug Brode
The creator of Forbidden Science releases his first novel; it’s about an alien abductee who returns to her Oregon hometown 35 years after her sudden disappearance—and soon realizes her ordeal is far from over. (June 11)
Beyond by Mercedes Lackey
The author returns to Valdemar for the new Founding of Valdemar series, about the country’s earliest days. This first installment focuses on Duke Kordas Valdemar, who turns to mages for magical help in protecting his rural Duchy from the tyrannical Empire. (June 15)
Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury
In order to save her family, a young witch must sacrifice her first love. That would already be unpleasant, but she hasn’t fallen in love yet, so she’s gotta woo someone quick. The situation only gets more complicated from there. (June 15)
Boundless by Jack Campbell
The Lost Fleet military sci-fi series continues. A disillusioned Geary realizes Alliance members are trying to get him out of their hair by sending him on a dangerous mission to the very edges of space. (June 15)
The Cruelest Mercy by Natalie Mae
The sequel to The Kinder Poison finds war brewing in Orkena, where Zahru is forced to make some tricky choices in order to prevent the villainous Kasta from assuming the throne. (June 15)
The Hollywood Spiral by Paul Neilan
After the internet collapses, a mysterious company replaces it with an augmented-reality update dubbed “the Grid.” Trouble arises when a dangerous program that can merge the Grid with actual reality goes missing, and it’s up to a technophobic private eye to track it down. (June 15)
The Ice Lion by Kathleen O’Neal Gear
Expect more “cli-fi” stories as climate change becomes a more and more urgent topic—like this novel set 1,000 years in the future, when Earth’s variously evolved species are trying to survive a new Ice Age. (June 15)
Inside Man by K.J. Parker
The author revisits the world of his Prosper’s Demon with this novella that imagines one of the Devil’s lazier representatives being yanked from his deliberately boring life into a scheme that threatens to upend the concepts of good and evil. (June 15)
The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri
A princess imprisoned in exile plots her revenge, finding an unexpected ally in a priestess posing as a servant in the cliffside temple where she’s being held captive. (June 8)
Power Challenges by Ben Bova
The late author’s final book finds government troubleshooter Jake Ross tasked with spearheading the space-colonization program—starting with a moon base he’s determined to complete despite all the obstacles that suddenly appear in his path. (June 15)
The World Gives Way by Marissa Levien
In a dystopian, near-future world, a woman is unexpectedly freed from a 50-year work contract—brokered when she was just five years old—when the secretive family that “owns” her turns up dead. Unfortunately, freedom comes in the form of a ticking clock and life on the run. (June 15)
Catalyst Gate by Megan E. O’Keefe
The Philip K. Dick Award-nominated space opera concludes as humanity takes a final stand against a destructive alien intelligence and its many clones. (June 22)
Flame Riders by Sean Grigsby
The Smoke Eaters trilogy concludes with this tale that finds the U.S. under military control and engulfed in a fiery dragon apocalypse. Members of the country’s former elite dragon-fighting force have all gone underground to avoid persecution, but they’ll soon have no choice but to emerge and reunite one more time. (June 22)
Questland by Carrie Vaughn
When a disgruntled employee deploys the force shield on an eccentric billionaire’s private island—a Westworld-style resort that immerses guests in a high-tech “fantasy-world experience”—a literary professor (whose ex-boyfriend just might be the disgruntled employee) is hired to help restore order. (June 22)
Rising Like a Storm by Tanaz Bhathena
The Wrath of Ambar duology wraps up as romantic partners Gul and Cavas battle a tyrannical queen with their shared magic. (June 22)
A Season of Sinister Dreams by Tracy Banghart
A royal cousin with magical powers and a peasant girl who can foretell the future become reluctant allies when they realize they’re both doing everything they can to protect their kingdom. (June 22)
Seven Deaths of an Empire by G.R. Matthews
As the late Emperor’s body makes its way back to the chaotic capital, an apprentice magician does his best to protect the funeral procession, while a weary general tries to keep the throne’s rightful heir safe from the schemers that surround him. (June 22)
Star Eater by Kerstin Hall
A woman desperate to escape the Sisterhood of Aytrium—and the expected duties of carrying on its magical bloodline—agrees to become a spy for an opposing group, a move that brings her into contact with the Sisterhood’s most powerful members. (June 22)
Stuck in the Game by Christopher Keene
After a car accident injures teenage couple Noah and Sue, doctors hook them into virtual reality helmets that immerse them in an online fantasy game while their bodies heal. When Noah realizes Sue’s consciousness is trapped in a dangerous part of the game, he risks his life (both in and out of the game) to save hers. (June 22)
To Dust You Shall Return by Fred Venturini
When a Chicago mob enforcer follows a missing woman to a town ruled by dark magic, he discovers an adversary far more dangerous than anything he ever imagined. (June 22)
Witchshadow by Susan Dennard
The Witchlands series continues as war looms, and Iseult goes on the run while trying to decide how to best use her magic powers. (June 22)
The Witness for the Dead by Katherine Addison
This standalone sequel to The Goblin Emperor follows one of that book’s supporting characters, Thara Celehar, who’s now living a quiet life in near-exile but still using his unique ability to speak to the recently dead. (June 22)
Cast in Conflict by Michelle Sagara
After three wars, Dragons and Barrani don’t get along, and they certainly don’t negotiate—even when they’re forced to be roommates. But the two factions will have to work together when the tower protecting their shared realm is left vulnerable, and a common enemy threatens to strike. (June 29)
Double Threat by F. Paul Wilson
When a young woman starts hearing a voice in her head, she fears for her mental health. Then she realizes an actual symbiont has taken up residence inside her—and not only that, but its presence has given her healing powers. This weird new reality gets even weirder when a fringe cult targets her for death. (June 29)
Eat Your Heart Out by Kelly deVos
This “satirical blend of horror, body positivity, and humor” follows a group of teens who start to realize something’s very odd about the weight-loss camp they’re all reluctantly attending—and that’s before they have to fight a pack of zombies. (June 29)
Gearbreakers by Zoe Hana Mikuta
Giant mechs have allowed Godolia to spread its empire across the globe, but as war rages on, two young woman—one a Godolia mech pilot who’s secretly trying to sabotage her country’s side, the other a rebel who specializes in dismantling giant mechs—realize their viewpoints align, and romance sparks as they plot to restore order to the world. (June 29)
This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron
Bri, a girl who can make plants bloom instantly with her touch, moves to a rural estate that’s long been in the family—and soon realizes the home and the community that surrounds it are full of dark secrets involving a curse and some of the deadliest plants on Earth. (June 29)
When the Sparrow Falls by Neil Sharpson
In a world run by artificial intelligence where the few remaining humans are grouped together in sanctuaries, a man is tasked with chaperoning a humanoid “machine” when she arrives to collect her dead husband’s remains—and is startled to see she looks uncannily like his late wife. (June 29)
The Return of the Sorceress by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Anxious to reclaim her throne, the former Supreme Mistress of the Guild of Sorcerers sets about trying to revive her magic, find just the right enchanted weapon, and build alliances with any friends and former enemies willing to help her achieve her goal. (June 30)
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