45 New Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror Books Coming Your Way in June

June is here, and it’s bringing tons of new sci-fi, fantasy, and horror books for summer reading. They’re full of star-crossed couples, deep-space bounty hunters, intergalactic art thieves, and passengers on a magical train—plus two different tales of cursed movies, as well as two different tales of utopias gone wrong.

Apostles of Mercy by Lindsay Ellis

The Noumena alt-history series continues as Earth frantically ramps up its military power after making first contact with an alien civilization—while another, even more hostile alien presence begins to make itself known. (June 4)

The Ashes & the Star-Cursed King by Carissa Broadbent

The Crowns of Nyaxia fantasy romance series continues in a tale described as being “full of heartbreak, redemption, blood intrigue, and heart-pounding action.” (June 4)

Daughter of the Merciful Deep by Leslye Penelope

“A woman journeys into a submerged world of gods and myth to save her home in this powerful historical fantasy that shines a light on the drowned Black towns of the American South.” (June 4)

Fate of the Sun King by Nisha J. Tuli

“The highly anticipated third installment of the steamy Artefacts of Ouranos series journeys deeper into the glittering fae world as Lor puts both her life and her heart on the line in this enemies-to-lovers fantasy romance.” (June 4)

Fiasco by Constance Fay

A bounty hunter gets offered the proverbial job she can’t refuse, tracking down her cousin’s murderer. Things get complicated when she picks up an additional target—and starts falling for them while she’s on the trail of the killer. (June 4)

The God and the Gumiho by Sophie Kim

“In this sly and dazzling contemporary fantasy, the most notorious nine-tailed fox in Korea pairs up with a trickster god-turned-detective to track down a wrathful demon… before it can destroy the mortal world.” (June 4)

In the Hour of Crows by Dana Elmendorf

In a small Appalachian town, a woman with a unique gift—she can talk to death and prevent people from dying—investigates the mysterious death of her cousin, who had the ability to see the future. (June 4)

The Last Song of Penelope by Claire North

The Songs of Penelope trilogy, a riff on the myth of Odysseus, concludes with this “reimagining that breathes life into ancient myth and gives voice to the women who stand defiant in a world ruled by ruthless men.” (June 4)

Mirrored Heavens by Rebecca Roanhorse

The Between Earth and Sky modern fantasy trilogy concludes as “the interwoven destinies fo the people of Meridian will finally be determined.” (June 4)

The Pecan Children by Quinn Connor

This tale of magical realism blended with horror follows “two sisters, deeply tied to their small Southern town, fighting to break free of the darkness swallowing the land—and its endless cycle of pecan harvests—whole.” (June 4)

Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky

“Murderbot meets Redshirts in a delightfully humorous tale of robotic murder.” (June 4)

Tidal Creatures by Seanan McGuire

The Alchemical Journeys series continues in this tale set in the Impossible City; it follows moon gods trying to unravel a string of murders targeting their kind who’ve taken human form. (June 4)

The Wren in the Holly Library by K.A. Linde

In a version of New York City where humans have struck a tentative truce with monsters, a thief must agree to a dangerous bargain to keep the peace. (June 4)

Beautiful Days: Stories by Zach Williams

“These 10 stories show the fallibility of time and how reality reveals itself behind the gauze of a dream—or a nightmare.” (June 11)

The Fall of Waterstone by Lilith Saintcrow

The Black Land’s Bane epic fantasy series continues as elemental witch Solveig and her shieldmaiden “have finally reached the fabled Elder sanctuary of Waterstone—a city of healing, restful beauty hidden from the Enemy’s gaze. Yet whispers race through the palace halls, and those they have come to tentatively trust have hidden intentions.” (June 11)

Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay

A horror film shot in 1993 under strange circumstances develops a rabid cult following, leading Hollywood to plan a high-profile reboot. When the only surviving original cast member returns, troubling secrets about the original film begin to leak out. (June 11)

Moonbound by Robin Sloan

“Like many adventurers before him, Ariel is called to explore a world full of unimaginable glories and challenges … but none of this happens before Ariel comes across an artifact from an earlier civilization, a sentient, record-keeping artificial intelligence that carries with it the perspective of the whole of human history.” (June 11)

One of Our Kind by Nicola Yoon

When a family moves to “the planned Black utopia of Liberty, California hoping to find a community of like-minded people,” the husband fits right in—but the wife soon becomes suspicious of what’s really going on beneath the town’s seemingly perfect surface. (June 11)

Rogue Sequence by Zac Topping

“It’s 2091 and independent contract companies around the world are producing genetically modified soldiers… to be sold to the highest bidders.” (June 11)

Running Close to the Wind by Alexandra Rowland

This fantasy novel is described as “a queer pirate standalone adventure”—and you can read an excerpt here. (June 11)

The Stars Too Fondly by Emily Hamilton

This debut novel is described as “part space odyssey, part sapphic rom-com,” as well as “a suspenseful, charming, and irresistibly joyous tale of fierce friendship, improbable love, and wonder as vast as the universe itself.” (June 11)

The Stardust Grail by Yume Kitasei

A grad student trying to move past her former life—she was once the best art thief in the galaxy—is lured back into the game when she’s hired to track down a powerful artifact that could potentially save an entire alien species from extinction. (June 11)

Stories I Told My Dead Lover by Jo Paquette

“Eight searing tales of psychological horror that probe the darkest and most deeply buried parts of the human psyche.” (June 11)

The Fire Within Them by Matthew Ward

“The sprawling Kingdom of Khalad stands alone … but hope lies with two: Kat, an accomplished thief, and Vallant, a rebel and folk hero. Together they will light a fire that will burn away the corruption and tyranny of King Diar’s rule.” (June 14)

The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands by Sarah Brooks

This historical fantasy is set aboard the Trans-Siberian Express—albeit one that carries its passengers across a magical landscape known as the Wastelands, a place full of dangerous creatures amid an ever-shifting wilderness. (June 18)

Craft: Stories I Wrote for the Devil by Ananda Lima

This surreal short-story collection spirals from an intriguing premise: “At a Halloween party in 1999, a writer slept with the devil. She sees him again and again throughout her life and she writes stories for him about things that are both impossible and true.” (June 18)

The Family Experiment by John Marrs

This speculative thriller imagines that in a dangerously overpopulated world, some couples opt to have a “virtual child”—and then allow a reality show to follow along as they “raise” it, hoping to win the prize of the right to have a real baby.(June 18)

How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive by Craig DiLouie

This horror novel follows “a famous 80s slasher director [who sets] out to shoot the most terrifying horror movie ever made using an occult camera that might be (and probably is) demonic.” (June 18)

Rakesfall by Vajra Chandrasekera

“Annelid and Leveret met as children in the middle of the Sri Lankan civil war. They found each other in a torn-up nation, peering through propaganda to grasp a deeper truth. And in a demon-haunted wood, another act of violence linked them and propelled their souls on a journey throughout the ages. No world can hold them, no life can bind them, and they’ll never leave each other behind.” (June 18)

The Runes of Engagement by Tobias S. Buckell and Dave Klecha

“The Lord of the Rings meets Call of Duty in this delirious mashup pitting confused soldiers against legendary monsters. This riotous campaign of a novel could only have sprung from the nerdy minds of a science fiction award-winner and an extreme amateur landscaper.” (June 18)

We Speak Through the Mountain by Preemee Mohamed

This follow-up to The Annual Migration of Clouds follows a teen girl’s journey through Canadian mountains ravaged by climate change, seeking a new life in the post-apocalypse in a dome-enclosed community. What she finds, however, is hardly the utopia she’d hoped for. (June 18)

The Witchstone by Henry H. Neff

A teenage Curse Bearer teams up with an 800-year-old demon who’s also “Hell’s least productive Curse Keeper,” hoping to break the spell—a task that sees them undertake a wild, globe-trotting adventure. (June 18)

Beyond the Light Horizon by Ken MacLeod

The Lightspeed sci-fi trilogy concludes as John Grant navigates his way back from the past with the help of his onboard AI, discovering an unknown human settlement along the way. Meanwhile, other human settlements grapple with the lingering influence of the alien Fermi. (June 25)

The Bound Worlds by Megan E. O’Keefe

“Worlds will collide and fates will be rewritten in the thrilling conclusion to the Devoured Worlds space opera trilogy.” (June 25)

Children of Anguish and Anarchy by Tomi Adeyemi

The Legacy of Orisha series comes to an end as Zélie faces her final enemy, desperate to save her people before it’s too late.(June 25)

The Daughters’ War by Christopher Buehlman

“Enter the fray in this luminous new adventure from Christopher Buehlman, set during the war-torn, goblin-infested years just before The Blacktongue Thief.” (June 25)

Echo of Worlds by M.R. Carey

The follow-up to Infinity Gate wraps up the Pandominion series, described as follows: “a thrilling adventure set in the multiverse, it tells of humanity’s expansion across millions of dimensions, and the AI technology that might see it all come to an end.” (June 25)

Filthy Rich Fae by Geneva Lee

“Cate Holloway knows the unspoken rule of New Orleans: avoid the powerful Gage crime family at all costs. Of course, that was before her brother got caught in their chaos. Now Cate has no choice but to confront the dark and forbidding prince of New Orleans himself and beg for her brother’s life. But Lachlan Gage is as lethal as he is beautiful… and the only currency he’s interested in is her soul.” (June 25)

Foul Days by Genoveva Dimova

Inspired by Slavak folklore, this tale follows a witch who can solve almost any problem—except avoiding her troublesome ex, the Tsar of Monsters. When she gives up her magic to make a hasty escape, she becomes dangerously ill, and must team up with a detective to regain her powers. (June 25)

Ghost of the Neon God by T.R. Napper

“ In a world of pervasive government surveillance and oppressive corporate control, it’s up to a small-time criminal to keep the spark of human rebellion alive.” (June 25)

Gryphon’s Valor by Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon

This novel set within the world of Valdemar returns to the world of gryphons to follow the heroic Kelvren, whose most recent act of bravery might have caused more trouble than it was worth. (June 25)

Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman

“A chilling horror novel about a haunting, told from the perspective of a young girl whose troubled family is targeted by an entity she calls ‘Other Mommy.’” (June 25)

One Cursed Rose by Rebecca Zanetti

This tale described as a “steamy romantasy twist on Beauty and the Beast” is “the first in a seductive new dark romance series set in an alternate Silicon Valley where information is power, and those who control the flow of information live like gods.” (June 25)

Saints of Storm and Sorrow by Gabriella Buba

“In this fiercely imaginative Filipino-inspired fantasy debut, a bisexual nun hiding a goddess-given gift is unwillingly transformed into a lightning rod for her people’s struggle against colonization.” (June 25)

Unexploded Remnants by Elaine Gallagher

When the last human alive after an AI takeover discovers an antique sentient computer that controls a deadly weapon, she must convince it to join her cause—while keeping it hidden from even more destructive forces. (June 25)

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

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