Fall Reading 2021 Science Fiction & Fantasy Recommendations

Shards of Earth has the politics, usurping madness, power grabs, cultists—all the things you want in a space opera. You follow Idris, a war hero, make a discovery that sets the anticipation and fear for the rest of the book. It’s intellectually challenging, but the payoff is fulfilling and philosophical. I crossed into dark places reading this. I wondered if people deserve the chance to save their world from destruction! —Morgan

Stephen Graham Jones never misses. My Heart is a Chainsaw is for those of us who have a life-long love for horror, putting us behind the wheel with protagonist Jade and her knowledge of all things chainsaw and jumpscare when blood splatter metaphorically (and physically) hits the fan. If you loved Mongrels or The Only Good Indians, please do yourself a favor and read this book! —MJ

Grievers depicts an unyielding virus, H-8, which attacks only the Black citizens of Detroit, and sends its hosts into a catatonic state of mourning. Dune is our sharp-witted and brooding protagonist, who is determined to find answers after her mother becomes patient zero. It’s no surprise that adrienne maree brown is a dedicated student of Octavia Butler—this novel reads with the same level of intensity, grief, and hope found in Parable of the Sower. —Holly