Science Fiction/Fantasy

If you are looking for a book that scores high for originality, this is your book. Sunyi Dean’s debut novel, The Book Eaters, is a morally complex contemporary gothic fantasy novel that feels like a fresh twist on the vampire story. The chapters alternate between Devon’s past and present life highlighting generational trauma and the driving forces that push people to do the unimaginable. Dean’s storytelling will leave you questioning—what truly defines a monster? —Kristina

Beloved Reading Rainbow host and Star Trek alum Levar Burton makes his novel debut with a prescient speculative gander at a near future United States that is embroiled in a civil war set off by the racially motivated assassination of the POTUS. Burton deftly twists three character arcs into a razor sharp examination of American life in these dark modern times. Part The Road, part Lucifer's Hammer. —Ed

Jian, child of Prophecy, is destined to save the realm from the evil Khan. I loved this book. I appreciated that it’s concerned with the disillusionment of blind faith. It asks one fundamental question: what instead happens if the prophecy is wrong? Imagine believing you are effectively life’s main character, humbled, then forced to decide what kind of person you have to be. —Morgan

Former Admiral Nicolette Larson has worked tirelessly to make her restaurant a success. Failure means returning to military service with her former squadron turned restaurant employees and sets back a rescue mission decades in the making. When everything explodes in her face (quite literally), survival is tantamount while also contending with a living ship that believes they’re thieves. Oh and space pirates! For fans of Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet and The Great British Baking Show, I savored every minute of this incredible series opener. —Ivy

Janelle Monáe, the incredibly talented musician behind the album Dirty Computer, has released a book of stories set in the dystopian world of that album. Monáe tells of the disenfranchised who rebel and revolt against a force whose very power is the core of its own demise. I enjoyed how every story had a different tone, though I now hunger for each to be expanded into its own novel. Perfect to spice up your summer and inspire you to set the establishment on fire.  —Jax

Women can turn into dragons, but everyone refused to acknowledge it until 1955, when 642,987 women dragoned at the same moment. Alex’s aunt dragoned, setting off a chain of heartbreaking events for her family. While trying to keep her loved ones together, Alex fights against a hot and terrifying rage in her chest. Barnhill, who usually writes children’s books, deftly makes the jump to adult fiction. For the first time in a while, I stayed up way past my bedtime (4 am! I have an infant!) to read “just one more chapter.”  —Ivy

Is woman-disguised-as-a-boy-to-learn-to-fight in your wheelhouse? Set during a fantastical Ming dynasty, Zhu must hide who she is and accept a fate that wasn’t hers to fulfill. If you were a fan of Mulan or Alanna growing up, She Who Became the Sun is for you, with Zhu confronting everything from Mongol warlords to gender dysphoria in this epic fantasy.  —MJ

Fans of Rebecca Roanhorse and Tamsyn Muir have their next read! The Dawnhounds is a queer, Māori-inspired fantasy tale that follows an ex-street-urchin-turned–police officer who gets killed on the job and is brought back to life on a mission to save the world. Sasha Stronach manages to intertwine technologically modified pirates, chaotic gods, and plant-manipulating magical powers into one mystical adventure that is guaranteed to keep you turning pages.  —Magnolia

In the titular story, a man writes letters to his fiancé from a spaceship while he travels back in time. Their plan was to be married on Earth, before it was destroyed. The second novella-length story has awesome world building and a fear-mongering alien prophet. These are inventive speculative ideas told in straightforward prose. Fans of Ted Chiang and Ken Liu will love this book.  —Jason

If Orwell’s 1984 and VanderMeer’s Annihilation had a baby during the Cold War, it would be this book. In an era where three AIs control most global decisions and most humans have digitized their consciousness, the totalitarian Caspian Republic is the last stronghold of “classical” humanity. When complacent bureaucrat Agent Nikolai South is tasked with a high-risk mission, his morals and regrets collide with the interests of the state, in a compelling blend of mystery, politics, ethics, and technology.  —Brooks