Hey there, sci-fi aficionados! It's Alex once again, your devoted editor at Discover Sci-Fi, ready to beam you up into a universe of exciting new reads. The summer of 2024 promises a stellar array of science fiction books, each one guaranteed to transport you to new worlds, bend your mind with futuristic concepts, and stir your soul with epic storytelling. So, grab your reading glasses, set your phasers to stun, and let's dive into this year's most anticipated sci-fi book releases.

Stardust Grail by Yume Kitasei

Release Date: 11th June

Save one world. Doom her own.

Maya Hoshimoto was once the best art thief in the galaxy. For ten years, she returned stolen artifacts to alien civilizations—until a disastrous job forced her into hiding. Now she just wants to enjoy a quiet life as a graduate student of anthropology, but she’s haunted by persistent and disturbing visions of the future.

Then an old friend comes to her with a job she can’t refuse: find a powerful object that could save an alien species from extinction. Except no one has seen it in living memory, and they aren’t the only ones hunting for it.

Maya sets out on a breakneck quest through a universe teeming with strange life and ancient ruins. But the farther she goes, the more her visions cast a dark shadow over her team of friends new and old. Someone will betray her along the way. Worse yet, in choosing to save one species, she may condemn humanity and Earth itself.

Read The Stardust Grail here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook

The Survivors Box Set (Books 1-12) by Nathan Hystad

Release Date: 17th June

Read The Survivors  here on Amazon. 

Rakesfall by Vajra Chandrasekera

Release Date: 18th June

Rakesfall is a groundbreaking, standalone science fiction epic about two souls bound together from here until the ends of time, from the author of The Saint of Bright Doors.

Some stories take more than one lifetime to tell. There are wrongs that echo through the ages, friendships that outpace the claws of death, loves that leave their mark on civilization, and promises that nothing can break. This is one such story.

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.

Read Rakesfall here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

Echo of Worlds by M.R. Carey

Read Echo of Worlds here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

A Clean Kill by Steven Konkoly

Release Date: 1st July

An FBI agent hunting a serial killer has to up his game when a trail of murders is not what it seems in a riveting thriller by Wall Street Journal bestselling author Steven Konkoly.

Five dismembered bodies are found along the roadside, dumped in the middle of nowhere. This isn’t new to Special Agent Garrett Mann. Head of ARTEMIS, a specialized FBI task force hell-bent on hunting down cartel-related killings in the Southwest, Mann has seen this before.

He and his team have been tracking similar kills along thousands of miles of rural roads running north, south, and back again. When the latest slaughter yields a key piece of evidence, Mann thinks he’s found the killer and solved the case. That’s when the nightmare begins.

From a lakeside Minnesota mansion to an abandoned CIA black site in New Mexico, the hunt is on. But the closer Mann gets to his prey, the deadlier the stakes become. This is no ordinary serial killer. He’s not working alone—and the stakes go far beyond just preventing the serial killer’s next massacre. What Mann unravels is a powerful and far-reaching conspiracy beyond his wildest imagination.

 Grab A Clean Kill here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

After the Tide: Inferno by Anthony J. Melchiorri

Release Date: 2nd July

The real monsters lurk among us…

The Florida coastline has been ravaged by hurricanes. Food supplies and electricity are dwindling. Oni-Agent infested creatures prowl the flooded streets in search of prey. But they aren’t the only evil that plagues people struggling to survive the brutal conditions.

Dom and the Hunters travel to post-apocalyptic Miami to investigate rumors of human trafficking. Opportunistic cartels and other nefarious organizations seek to carve out a piece of the region for themselves. The Hunters navigate the criminal underworld to put a stop to these horrific groups.

They soon discover that someone is hunting them.

The rumors of human trafficking are only a tiny piece of a much larger, more treacherous puzzle involving some of the Hunters’ worst enemies. Enemies that threaten to destroy what remains of the United States.

Dom and his team stand as America's last defense against a rising tide of chaos. Failure is not an option, but success may demand a price too heavy to bear.

Get your copy of After the Tide: Inferno here on Amazon.

Made for You by Jenna Satterthwaite

Release Date: 2nd July 2024

Hi. My name is Julia. I’m a Synth. And I’m here to find love…

Synthetic woman Julia Walden was designed for one reason: to compete on The Proposal and claim the heart of bachelor Josh LaSala. Her casting is controversial, but Julia seems to get her fairy-tale ending when Josh gets down on one knee.

Fast-forward fifteen months, and Julia and Josh are married and raising their baby in small-town Indiana. But with haters around every corner, Julia’s life is a far cry from the domestic bliss she imagined. Then her splintering world shatters: Josh goes missing, and she becomes the prime suspect in his murder.

With no one left she can trust, Julia takes the investigation into her own hands. But the explosive truths she uncovers will drive her to her breaking point—and isn’t that where a person’s true nature is revealed? That is…if Julia truly is a person.

Told via dual timelines, Jenna Satterthwaite’s twist-filled debut deftly explores the exhilarating point where artificial intelligence, reality TV, and bone-chilling murder mystery meet.

Grab Made for You here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

The Icarus Changeling by Timothy Zahn

Release Date: 2nd July

Gregory Roarke — agent for the ultra-secret Icarus Group — has received a new assignment: locate a teleportation portal on a backwater colony world. But what should be a an easy assignment leads to a string of murders, and a race against an alien enemy.

Gregory Roarke—former bounty hunter, former Trailblazer, current agent for the ultra-secret Icarus Group—has received a new assignment: locate a suspected but as-yet undiscovered teleportation portal on the backwater colony world of Alainn.

The rival Patth are also searching for the device, and have considerably more resources at their disposal. Fortunately, Roarke has Selene and her incredibly sensitive Kadolian sense of smell. On paper, it should be a straightforward enough job.

But that was before there was a murder in the small town of Bilswift . . . and another one . . . and the discovery that the Patth are already on the scene and have narrowed the search to a heavily forested area in the hills and mountains east of town.

Most disturbing of all is the discovery that one of Selene’s people, a Kadolian teenaged boy named Tirano, is working at one of Bilswift’s fish markets. A boy who may have lost his parents before his proper socialization was completed. A boy who may be connected to both the murders and the Patth.

A boy who may be the potentially dangerous wild card that the Kadolians call changelings.

Dive into The Icarus Changeling here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

The Failures by Benjamin Liar

Release Date: 2nd July 

From a debut voice comes a genre-breaking blend of apocalyptic sci-fi and epic fantasy about a scattered group of unlikely heroes traveling across their broken mechanical planet to stave off eternal darkness. A tightly-coiled puzzle of a thrill ride, The Failures launches The Wanderlands trilogy

Welcome to the Wanderlands.
A vast machine made for reasons unknown, the Wanderlands was broken long ago. First went the sky, splintering and cracking, and then very slowly, the whole machine—the whole world—began to go dark.

Meet the Failures.
Following the summons of a strange dream, a scattering of adventurers, degenerates, and children find themselves drawn toward the same place: the vast underground Keep. They will discover there that they have been called for a purpose—and that purpose could be the destruction of everything they love.

The end is nigh.
For below the Keep, imprisoned in the greatest cage ever built by magicians and gods, lies the buried Giant. It is the most powerful of its kind, and its purpose is the annihilation of all civilization. But any kind of power, no matter how terrible, is precious in the dimming Wanderlands, and those that crave it are making their moves.

All machines can be broken, and the final cracks are spreading. It will take only the careless actions of two cheerful monsters to tip the Wanderlands towards an endless dark...or help it find its way back to the light.

Get your copy of The Failures here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

Old History (Survivors Book 22) by Nathan Hystad

Release Date: 2nd July

Look at your history to figure out the future.

Jules is back in one piece, but something’s gnawing at Dean, and he can’t shake the sensation that all isn’t as it seems.

Their encounter with Jonathan Reeve has left Dean shaken, but Jules assures him the criminal isn’t a danger any longer.

When Slate hears of a possible world-shattering weapon being constructed under the Alliance’s nose, Jules rushes to the site, determined to stop it from being created.

While Jules fights to keep her people safe, Dean digs into the history books, and stumbles on a secret big enough to alter reality.

Join Dean Parker and his daughter Jules, as they struggle to maintain peace in a dangerous universe, in… Old History (The Survivors Book Twenty-Two)

Start reading Old History here on Amazon. 

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Galaxy in Flames II: The Last Ship by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

Release Date: 9th July

A chilling revelation about a forgotten Earth threatens the entire galaxy...

Held captive by Dark Horse Company, Captain Axel Finn is faced with a mission to humanity’s ancestral home after all contact with the planet is lost. Learning his mother might be hiding there, Axel agrees to help his adversaries, and deploy on Vengeance, the last Steward ship. But his decision might lead to his downfall if the Wrath have already arrived on Earth.

On the treacherous Wooly planet of Dari, bounty hunter Rangnar Soki becomes the prey, finding himself the target in a deadly game of survival. His path to rejoin the Axel’s crew hinges on passing a test of Dari’s most revered guardian. Meanwhile, the surviving crew of the Trash Squid faces their own struggles to repair their damaged ship and leave Dari to find Captain Finn.

Grab Galaxy in Flames II: The Last Ship here on Amazon
. Also available on audiobook.

All This & More by Peng Shepherd 

Release Date: 9th July 

From the critically acclaimed, bestselling author of The Cartographers and The Book of M comes an inventive new novel about a woman who wins the chance to rewrite every mistake she’s ever made… and how far she’ll go to find her elusive “happily ever after.” But there’s a twist: the reader gets to decide what she does next to change her fate.

One woman. Endless options. Every choice has consequences.

Meek, play-it-safe Marsh has just turned forty-five, and her life is in shambles. Her career is stagnant, her marriage has imploded, and her teenage daughter grows more distant by the day. Marsh is convinced she’s missed her chance at everything—romance, professional fulfillment, and adventure—and is desperate for a do-over.

She can’t believe her luck when she’s selected to be the star of the global sensation All This and More, a show that uses quantum technology to allow contestants the chance to revise their pasts and change their present lives. It’s Marsh’s only shot to seize her dreams, and she’s determined to get it right this time.

But even as she rises to become a famous lawyer, gets back together with her high school sweetheart, and travels the world, she begins to worry that All This and More’s promises might be too good to be true. Because while the technology is amazing, something seems a bit off.…

Can Marsh really make her life everything she wants it to be? And is it worth it?

Grab All This & More here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

This Great Hemisphere by Mateo Askaripour

Release Date: 9th July

From the award-winning and bestselling author of Black Buck: A speculative novel about a young woman—invisible by birth and relegated to second-class citizenship—who sets off on a mission to find her older brother, whom she had presumed dead but who is now the primary suspect in a high-profile political murder.

Despite the odds, Sweetmint, a young invisible woman, has done everything right her entire life—school, university, and now a highly sought-after apprenticeship with the Northwestern Hemisphere’s premier inventor, a non-invisible man belonging to the Dominant Population who is as eccentric as he is enigmatic. But the world she has fought so hard to build after the disappearance of her older brother comes crashing down when authorities claim that not only is he well and alive, he’s also the main suspect in the murder of the Chief Executive of the Northwestern Hemisphere. 

A manhunt ensues, and Sweetmint, armed with courage, intellect, and unwavering love for her brother, sets off on a mission to find him before it’s too late. With five days until the hemisphere’s big election, Sweetmint must dodge a relentless law officer who’s determined to maintain order and an ambitious politician with sights set on becoming the next Chief Executive by any means necessary.

With the captivating worldbuilding of N. K. Jemisin’s novels and blazing defiance of Naomi Alderman’s work, This Great Hemisphere is a novel that brilliantly illustrates the degree to which reality can be shaped by non-truths and vicious manipulations, while shining a light on our ability to surprise ourselves when we stop giving in to the narratives others have written for us.

Grab The Great Hemisphere here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

Gravity Lost by L.M. Sagas

Release Date: 23th July

L. M. Sagas follows her fast-paced sci-fi adventure Cascade Failure with an equally explosive sequel, Gravity Lost. Everyone's favorite fierce, messy, chaotic space fam is back with more vibrant worlds, and the wildest crew since Guardians of the Galaxy.

After thwarting a space station disaster and planetary destruction, the Ambit crew thought turning Isaiah Drestyn over to the Union would be the end of their troubles. Turns out, it’s only the start.

Drestyn is a walking encyclopedia of dirty secrets, and everyone wants a piece of him—the Trust, the Union, even the Guild. Someone wants him bad enough to kill, and with the life of one of their own on the line, the Ambit crew must jail-break the very man they helped capture and expose some of the secrets he’s been keeping before it’s too late.

In the Spiral, everything has a price. In their fight to protect what they love, Eoan, Nash, Saint, and Jal will confront some ugly truths about their enemies, and even uglier truths about their friends. But nothing will come close to the truths they’ll learn about themselves.

You can’t always fix what’s broken … and sometimes, it’s better that way.

Grab Gravity Lost here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

Grand Theft AI by James Cox

Release Date: 23th July

San Francisco, 2051. Rising like neo-Shanghai over the Bay, a labyrinth of quantum accelerators, hologram dreams, and fiercely regulated androids. Forget powder, pills, or bud—kids get high slotting wafers of data under the ear, and they’ll pay fat ¢rypto for the best. At the hottest nightclub in the city … the Fang.

Baz Covane is a battle-scarred thief who sticks to small-time bots. Ria Rose is the underworld “fixer” with a big-time score that could easily get ’em both killed. ’Cuz the Fang’s psychotic kingpin Otto Rex has a vault with more security than a fusion reactor. And the glass inside is priceless—enough to set up Baz, Ria, and their crack team of cyber-misfits on the white sands of Tahiti forever.

But this crime doesn’t just carry infinite VR-Prison time—it’s Baz and Ria’s last shot at redemption. Forced to confess every last secret on their neurals, they’ll have to trust each other completely if they stand any chance of infiltrating Otto’s lair, raiding its spiraling rings of physical and virtual firewalls, to finally hack into his mind and crack his deepest layer of security, before the Blackhawks touch down with federal warrants—for Grand Theft AI.

Grab Grand Theft AI here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

Saturation Point by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Doctor Jasmine Marks is going back into hell.

The Hygrometric Dehabitation Region, or the “Zone,” is a growing band of rainforest on the equator, where the heat and humidity make it impossible for warm-blooded animals to survive. A human being without protection in the Zone is dead in minutes.

Twenty years ago, Marks went into the rainforest with a group of researchers led by Doctor Elaine Fell, to study the extraordinary climate and see if it could be used in agriculture. The only thing she learned was that the Zone was no place for people. There were deaths, and the programme was cut short.

Now, they’re sending her back in. A plane crash, a rescue mission, a race against time and the environment to bring out the survivors. But there are things Marks’s corporate masters aren’t telling her. The Zone keeps its secrets, and so does Doctor Fell…

Grab Saturation Point here on Amazon.

If I Forget Thee, Earth (A Prayer for Earthrise Book 5) by Daniel Arenson

Release Date: 5th August

The enemy is everywhere.

The nefarious hydrians, squid-like aliens from another galaxy, swarm across our world. We must beat them back!

If I Forget Thee, Earth -- the fifth volume in A Prayer for Earthrise. Pre-order your copy now.

Grab If I Forget Thee, Earth here on Amazon.

Hell Divers XII: Heroes by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

Release Date: 6th August

Two final dives. One mission that will determine the fate of humanity—forever.

The Forerunner has decimated the Vanguard Islands in a surprise attack from the Trident warship. King Kade Long—seeing no alternative—accepts a peace deal, committing to a perilous mission with X, the “Immortal,” to activate weather-modification reactors at the poles. But as Kade and X set off, the fragile peace is threatened by Gran Jefe’s one-man guerrilla war against the psychopathic knight, General Jack. Meanwhile, halfway across the world, Michael and his family begin to settle into their new life in the Canary Islands, only to discover that it’s not the sanctuary they believed it was.

Diving into the most inhospitable territory yet, the Hell Divers face horrific monsters bred for a single purpose: to keep them out at any cost. Their only hope of defeating the monsters and restoring the planet is for enemies to unite behind the Immortal and finally work together. But with blood being shed back home, these heroes may have nothing left to save.

In Hell Divers XII: Heroes, beloved characters will confront their fates in a desperate bid to resurrect the world, though not all will live to see the dawn of a new era.

Grab Hell Divers XII: Heroes here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

The Mercy of Gods by James S.A. Corey

Release Date: 6th August 

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Expanse comes a spectacular new space opera that sees humanity fighting for its survival in a war as old as the universe itself.

Grab The Mercy of Gods here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook. 

Key Lime Sky by Al Hess

Release Date: 13th August

An alien invasion hits the town of Muddy Gap, but a disgruntled pie aficionado is the only one who seems to remember it…

Denver Bryant’s passion for pie has sent him across Wyoming in search of the best slices. Though he dutifully posts reviews on his blog, he’s never been able to recreate his brief moment of viral popularity, and its trickling income isn’t enough to pay his rent next month.

Driving home from a roadside diner, Denver witnesses a UFO explode directly over his tiny town of Muddy Gap. When he questions his neighbors, it appears that Denver is the only person to have seen anything – or to care that the residents’ strange behavior, as well as a shower of seashell hail, might be evidence of something extraterrestrial. Being both non-binary and autistic, he’s convinced his reputation as the town eccentric is impeding his quest for answers. Frustrated, he documents the bizarre incidents on his failing pie blog, and his online popularity skyrockets. His readers want the truth, spurring him to get to the bottom of things.

The only person in town who takes him seriously is handsome bartender, Ezra. As the two investigate over pie and the possibility of romance, the alien presence does more than change the weather. People start disappearing. When Denver and Ezra make a run for it, the town refuses to let them leave. Reality is folding in on itself. It’s suddenly a race against time to find the extraterrestrial source and destroy it before it consumes not only Muddy Gap but everything beyond. Denver’s always been more outsider than hero, but he’s determined to ensure that a world with Ezra – and with pie – still exists tomorrow.

Grab Key Lime Sky  here on Amazon.

Glass Houses by Madeline Ashby 

Release Date: 13th August

A group of employees and their CEO, celebrating the sale of their remarkable emotion-mapping-AI-algorithm, crash onto a not-quite-deserted tropical island.

Luckily, those who survived have found a beautiful, fully-stocked private palace, with all the latest technological updates (though one without connection to the outside world). The house, however, has more secrets than anyone might have guessed, and a much darker reason for having been built and left behind.

Kristen, the hyper-competent "chief emotional manager" (a position created by her eccentric, boyish billionaire boss, Sumter) is trying to keep her colleagues stable throughout this new challenge, but staying sane seems to be as much of a challenge as staying alive.

Being a woman in tech has always meant having to be smarter than anyone expects--and Kristen's knack for out-of-the-box problem-solving and quick thinking has gotten her to the top of her field. But will a killer instinct be enough to survive the island?

A gleefully decadent near future whodunit from Madeline Ashby, the acclaimed futurist and author of Company Town--perfect for fans of Severance, The White Lotus, and Black Mirror.

Grab Glass Houses here on Amazon.

Persephone by Kevin J. Anderson and Jeffrey Morris

Release Date: 20th August

The immense ark-ship Odyssey and its ten thousand hibernating settlers have left behind a dying Earth—journeying for fifty years to the nearest star and its lone habitable planet, Proxima-b.

This new home for humanity is perpetually bombarded by deadly solar flares on its dayside, while the icy wasteland on its opposite hemisphere freezes in endless darkness. When the battered Odyssey arrives, its crew discovers the automated radiation shield has failed. Something appears to have damaged or perhaps even sabotaged their technology on a world where humans have yet to set foot.

Astronaut Darcy Clarke, a young pilot born aboard the Odyssey, teams up with recently awakened engineer Tanya Baxter to repair the failing shield in hopes of allowing the colonists to land before their vessel falls apart. Waiting for the two explorers on the surface of Proxima-b is the geoglyph—a continent-sized landform that resembles a giant metallic work of art.

Is it a massive ore deposit, an alien message, or something far stranger and vastly more dangerous? Or perhaps even sabotage for their technology on a world where humans have yet to set foot?

Grab Persephone here on Amazon.

She Who Knows by Nnedi Okorafor

Release Date: 20th August

Part science fiction, part fantasy, and entirely infused with West African culture and spirituality, this novella offers an intimate glimpse into the life of a teenager whose coming of age will herald a new age for her world. Set in the universe Africanfuturist luminary Nnedi Okorafor first introduced in the World Fantasy Award-winning Who Fears Death, this is the first in the She Who Knows trilogy.

When there is a call, there is often a response.

Najeeba knows.

She has had The Call. But how can a 13-year-old girl have the Call? Only men and boys experience the annual call to the Salt Roads. What’s just happened to Najeeba has never happened in the history of her village. But it’s not a terrible thing, just strange. So when she leaves with her father and brothers to mine salt at the Dead Lake, there’s neither fanfare nor protest. For Najeeba, it’s a dream come true: travel by camel, open skies, and a chance to see a spectacular place she’s only heard about. However, there must have been something to the rule, because Najeeba’s presence on the road changes everything and her family will never be the same.

Small, intimate, up close, and deceptively quiet, this is the beginning of the Kponyungo Sorceress.

Grab She Who Knows here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

The Fallen Fruit by Shawntelle Madison

Release Date: 3rd September

Combining history and fantasy, a sweeping multi-generational epic in the vein of Kindred and The Time Traveler's Wife about a woman who travels through time to end a family curse that has plagued her ancestors for generations.

On a rainy day in May 1964, history professor Cecily Bridge-Davis begins to search for the sixty-five acres of land she inherited from her father’s family. The quest leads her to uncover a dark secret: In every generation, one offspring from each Bridge family unit vanishes—and is mysteriously whisked back in time. Rules have been established that must be followed to prevent dire consequences:

Never interfere with past events.

Always carry your free Negro papers.

Search for the survival family packs in the orchard and surrounding forest. The ribbon on the pack designates the decade the pack was made to orient you in time.

Do not speak to strangers unless absolutely necessary.

With only a family Bible and a map marked with the locations of mysterious containers to aid her, Cecily heads to the library, hoping to discover the truth of how this curse began, and how it might be ended. As she moves through time, she encounters a circle of ancestors, including Sabrina Humbles, a free Black woman who must find the courage to seize an opportunity—or lose her heart; Luke Bridge, who traverses battlefields, slavery, and time itself to reunite with his family; Rebecca Bridge, a mother tested by an ominous threat; and Amelia Bridge, a young woman burdened with survivor's guilt who will face the challenge of a lifetime—and change Cecily's life forever. It is a race through time and against the clock to find the answers that will free her family forever.

Shawntelle Madison’s historical fiction debut is an enthralling, page-turning family saga about the inevitability of fate, the invincibility of love, and the indelible bonds of family.

Pick up The Fallen Fruit here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook. 

The World is not Yours by Kemi Ashing-Giwa

Release Date: 10th September

This World is Not Yours by USA Today bestseller Kemi Ashing-Giwa is the perfect blend of S.A. Barnes' space horror and Cassandra Khaw's beautiful but macabre worlds. An action-packed, inventive novella about a toxic polycule consumed by jealousy and their attempts to survive on a hostile planet.

After fleeing her controlling and murderous family with her fiancée Vinh, Amara embarks on a colonization project, New Belaforme, along with her childhood friend, Jesse.

The planet, beautiful and lethal, produces the Gray, a “self-cleaning” mechanism that New Belaforme’s scientists are certain only attacks invasive organisms, consuming them. Humans have been careful to do nothing to call attention to themselves until a rival colony wakes the Gray.

As Amara, Vinh, and Jesse work to carve out a new life together, each is haunted by past betrayals that surface, expounded by the need to survive the rival colony and the planet itself.

There’s more than one way to be eaten alive.

Grab This World is not Yours here on Amazon.

Sky Full of Elephants by Cebo Campbell 

Release Date: 10th September

In a world without white people, what does it mean to be black?

One day, a cataclysmic event occurs: all of the white people in America walk into the nearest body of water. A year later, Charlie Brunton is a Black man living in an entirely new world. Having served time in prison for a wrongful conviction, he’s now a professor of electric and solar power systems at Howard University when he receives a call from someone he wasn’t even sure existed: his daughter Sidney, a nineteen-year-old left behind by her white mother and step-family.

Traumatized by the event, and terrified of the outside world, Sidney has spent a year in isolation in Wisconsin. Desperate for help, she turns to the father she never met, a man she has always resented. Sidney and Charlie meet for the first time as they embark on a journey across a truly “post-racial” America in search for answers. But neither of them are prepared for this new world and how they see themselves in it.

Heading south toward what is now called the Kingdom of Alabama, everything Charlie and Sidney thought they knew about themselves, and the world, will be turned upside down. Brimming with heart and humor, Cebo Campbell’s astonishing debut novel is about the power of community and connection, about healing and self-actualization, and a reckoning with what it means to be Black in America, in both their world and ours.

Pick up Sky Full of Elephants here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook. 

Darkside (Planetside Book 4) by Michael Mammay

Release Date: 24th September

In this thrilling, action-packed fourth installment in the Planetside series from acclaimed science fiction author Michael Mammay, retired Colonel Carl Butler gears up for another military investigation, full of danger, corporate intrigue, and tech people would kill for—perfect for fans of John Scalzi and Craig Alanson. 

Colonel Butler has paid his dues and just wants to enjoy his retirement on a remote planet. But the galaxy has had other plans.  He has been roped into searching for a politician’s missing son and an industry magnate’s missing daughter. He has been kidnapped, violated numerous laws, and caused the destruction of colonial facilities. He’s famous—or infamous, depending on who you ask—praised and reviled in equal measure across the galaxy for his exploits.

And he is determined to never let the government drag him into another investigation.

But when a runaway twelve-year-old girl whose father has gone missing asks him for help, well…it’s a lot harder to say no.

The girl’s father, Jorge Ramiro, was supposed to have been on Taug, a moon orbiting the gas giant Ridia 5, working on a dig with a famous archaeologist. But now there’s no sign of him and no record of him being there. Mining operations on the moon are run by two different consortiums, Caliber and Omicron—both of which have tried to kill Butler in the past. Butler doesn’t believe in coincidence.

Landing on Taug with his right-hand man Mac, computer genius Ganos, and an elite security squad, Butler soon finds that they’ve charged back into the crosshairs—because Ramiro is not the only who has disappeared, and the perpetual darkside of this moon is hiding more than the truth about a missing archeologist…

Grab Darkside here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook. 

How many of these 2024 summer sci-fi releases are on your must read list? Any books coming out in the next few months that you're excited for but that didn't appear here on our list? Give it a shout out in the comments here, or over in the Discover Sci-Fi Facebook group! 

*All book-related copy in this post was pulled from Amazon, Goodreads & Wikipedia, unless otherwise credited.

Hey there, sci-fi aficionados! Alex here, your trusty editor at DSF, bringing you an exclusive Q&A with the brilliant mind behind the Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes series, Skyler Ramirez.

As we celebrate the launch of the sixth book in this action-packed, humor-laden saga, we're diving deep into the creative process, character evolution, and future plans of our favorite space-faring heroes. Buckle up and get ready for a thrilling ride through the mind of an author who has captured the hearts and imaginations of readers everywhere. Let's jump right in!

Alex: Congratulations on the launch of book six in the Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes series! How does it feel to reach this milestone?

SR: It’s an amazing feeling. When I wrote book one, The Worst Ship in the Fleet, I never expected it to take off like it did. Now, I have awesome readers who are constantly asking me when the next book in the series will come out because they’ve fallen in love with the characters just as I have.

Alex: What can readers expect from this latest installment? Are there any major plot twists or new characters introduced?

SR: The end of book five, The Worst Detectives in the Federation, revealed a pretty big twist for one of our characters. She’ll be integral to The Worst Traitors in the Confederacy and is one of the titular ‘worst traitors’ in the story. We also introduce a few new bad guys and a little more of Brad Mendoza’s backstory. All in all, it’s a thrilling ride with space battles, gun fights, and even a car chase in a 1964 ½ Ford Mustang Convertible!

Alex: How has the series evolved from book one to book six? What significant changes or developments have occurred in the storyline or characters?

SR: When I first started writing this series, I began with a cast of very broken characters—all the main characters have either done terrible things or had terrible things done to them. Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes is a redemption story, and as the series evolves, we see all the characters really starting to come into their own. This is especially true of Brad Mendoza and Jessica Lin, but now they have an ensemble cast supporting them, each with their own backstories and trials to overcome.

Most of all, however, the story has evolved from a small naval battle in a single star system to a galaxy-spanning thrill ride that sees our ‘dead heroes’ get in way over their heads. The best part is that even we, the readers, don’t know just how far this entire thing goes, so we get to put together pieces of the mystery along with Brad and Jessica.

Alex: Can you describe any challenges you faced while writing this series, especially with keeping the plot fresh and engaging over multiple books?

SR: I think the biggest challenge is writing fast enough. I have a ton of faithful and enthusiastic readers who are always hungry for more. And I have a number of storylines in my head that really just need to get out and onto the page. So, it’s a continuous challenge to write fast enough to satisfy both the readers and my own need to tell this story. But overall, it’s just a lot of fun, and I feel that there’s so much that these characters can do that keeping the story fresh isn’t an issue yet.

Alex: How have the main characters grown since the first book? Are there any particular character arcs that you are especially proud of?

SR: When we first meet Brad Mendoza in book one, he’s a drunk and a loser who is haunted by past mistakes and lets his guilt spoil his entire personality. You’re supposed to dislike him at the beginning, and a lot of readers definitely do. But over the course of that book and the series, he evolves and changes in unexpected ways. I think the best part of it is that we all have a little Brad Mendoza in us. We’ve all done things that make us feel guilty or made mistakes that we have trouble reconciling with the person we want to be. So, seeing Brad overcome his imperfections and demons really gives us all hope. And that’s the main message of the series: we can always hope to be better. Nothing we do disqualifies us from becoming a good human being; we just have to be willing to put in the work to change.

Alex: Are there any characters who surprised you by taking on a larger role or evolving in unexpected ways as the series progressed?

SR: Jessica Lin, for sure. She started as both a foil and a potential love interest for Brad in The Worst Ship in the Fleet but has very quickly evolved beyond that to be just as much a main character as Brad is. The great thing is that I didn’t originally plan for the stories to be told from her POV along with Brad’s. However, as I continued to write, I found that it was impossible to tell the story any other way, and Jessica needed her own voice. She is awesome and quite possibly my favorite character that I’ve ever written.

Alex: The world-building in the Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes series is quite detailed. How do you keep track of all the intricate details and maintain consistency across the books?

SR: This is one of the hardest parts of writing, and I’m definitely not perfect at it. I have spreadsheets, summary pages, character pages, and a whole host of both successful and unsuccessful tools for keeping track of the details. I’ve also got color-coded annotated copies of each book in the series sitting on my desk while I write, and I’m constantly opening one or more to recall some story point or character attribute.

Alex: Did you have the entire world and its rules planned out from the beginning, or did it develop more organically as you wrote each book?

SR: A little of both. I like my stories to be character-driven, and very often, I find myself having to abandon the plan I had for a story because I come to an inflection point and think, ‘There’s no way Brad would make that decision.’ So, I have to revise my plot to accommodate how my characters would actually act in various situations. Even though I always have the next 2-3 books planned out in my head and an outline of major ‘galactic-level’ story points, the narrative is constantly evolving and changing. Same with the rules of the world. This isn’t hard sci-fi, but I do try and keep things as consistent as I can without belaboring the scientific details but sometimes I fudge things a bit to fit the narrative.

Alex: What does a typical writing day look like for you when working on the Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes series?

SR: I just started writing in earnest in the last couple of years, so I’m still not at the point of doing it full-time, and I do have a day job. I may spend one-to-two hours in the early morning hours writing, then go do my day job, have dinner with my family, help get the kids to bed, and then go back and write for another two-to-three hours in the evening. I’m lucky to have an extremely supportive wife and great kids who are on this journey with me and encourage me to take the time to write.

Alex: Are there any overarching themes or messages you hope readers take away from the Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes series?

SR: Absolutely. It’s a redemption story. But it’s more than that, too. All of my books are about seemingly ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Because I firmly believe that we can all be extraordinary. Sometimes, it’s a matter of being put into the right circumstances, but just as often, it’s about us making deceptively small decisions that add up to great things. I like to think there’s a little of Brad and Jessica in all of us.

Alex: How do you balance humor with the darker elements of the story, especially given the series' unique blend of comedic and heroic elements?

SR: It hasn’t been easy, and I spend a lot of time agonizing over this. My goal isn’t to write ‘fluff’ fiction but to deal with very real-world problems and some intense situations. But I also want people to recognize that humor is one of the most important tools we, as humans, have to help us deal with dark issues. Being able to laugh at ourselves and at tough situations is one of the things that makes humans so powerful as a species.
I also try not to delve too deeply into some of the darker elements of the story. My readers’ own imaginations can do that if needed, but I don’t want to drag them down with the details unless they are directly germane to the story. Reading should make us think, but it should also be an escape that we enjoy.

Alex: How have readers responded to the series so far? Are there any memorable interactions or feedback from fans that stand out to you?

SR: The reader reaction has been outstanding and surprising. So many have reached out to me on social media or via reviews to share how much they love the series. The most common thing I hear is, ‘I read all the books in one weekend!’ Which is very humbling because we all have a limited amount of free time, and to think that there are readers who are willing to spend up to 12 hours in a single weekend to read my books is just awesome.

I also have a lot of readers tell me how much they love and/or relate to Brad and Jessica, which is great. Seeing those characters, who are extremely alive to me, come alive for and even inspire others is what makes me want to keep writing.

Finally, a lot of readers tell me they appreciate that I tell my stories without swearing or sex. That means a lot to me because it’s an important part of my writing and my brand, so it’s great to see readers respond so positively to it.

Alex: Now that book six is out, what’s next for the series? Do you have plans for more books, spin-offs, or other projects set in the same universe?

SR: I’ve already started writing book seven. I’m also about to release another short story, Siege of Jalisco, which is part of The Brad Mendoza Chronicles and ties in directly to the plot of book six.

I have two spinoff series already in the same universe. The first is The Brad Mendoza Chronicles, which is a collection of short stories that give Brad’s backstory. The second is A Star Nation in Peril, which is the story of Heather Kilgore, a very influential side character, that ties in directly with the events of Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes. Both are a lot of fun and showcase different storytelling patterns.

I’m also planning at least one other spin-off series about two characters in book six, Sam and Tina DeJong, which will be aimed at a YA audience. Sam and Tina are teenagers that Brad and Jessica save from pirates; they become part of the crew and play critical roles in the plot of book six. My plan is for a series that focuses on the two of them and their future exploits as they set off on their own. They’re really fun characters!

Alex: Are there any new projects or genres you're excited to explore in the future, outside of the Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes series?

SR: Yes! I have my first series I wrote, The Four Worlds, which is more of an epic space opera with genetic engineering. I’m working on book three of that series now and will release that later this year. It’s a very different flavor of sci-fi from Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes, but it’s also character-driven, and I’m excited to show readers where that series goes.

I also have a mostly finished near-future sci-fi thriller that I’m looking to release in the next year. I won’t share too many details on that yet, but it should be a run ride.

Finally, I’m working with a few other great sci-fi authors on a short story anthology we plan to release later this year. More details on that to come.

Alex: What inspired you to start writing the  Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes  series in the first place?

SR: I was taking a break from writing The Four Worlds series. Those books are long and have POVs of a lot of different characters in them. I decided I wanted to try something different, so I wrote The Worst Ship in the Fleet as a short comedic military sci-fi with a single character’s POV. To my surprise and delight, the book gained a fast following of readers, and I’ve devoted most of the last year to that series.

Alex: Can you share a bit about your personal journey as a writer? How did you get started, and what motivates you to keep writing?

SR: I’ve always been a voracious reader and always knew I wanted to write. But it was probably my first reading of Ender’s Game that really made me decide it was time to start. I began writing my first novel, The Four Worlds – The Truth, while flying back and forth to Europe on business trips. I wrote it off and on for about ten years before COVID and a break between jobs finally allowed me to sit down and finish it. And I guess from there, you could say that I caught the bug. I’ve been writing a ton ever since.

What motivates me to keep going is hearing from readers about how much they like the books and the characters. I enjoy doing something that brings joy to others. On top of that, writing is my stress reliever and I think I’d do it even if my books didn’t sell.

Alex: What advice would you give to aspiring authors who are looking to write their own series or break into the sci-fi genre?

SR: Just write. If you enjoy it, then do it. Not all books make money, but if you get a kick out of sharing your stories, then it almost doesn’t matter how many people read them. Don’t be afraid to put your story out there.

For those who really want to turn it into a career, make sure you’re writing to market. Your work shouldn’t be derivative, but there are some tried and true formulas that work for a reason. Put your own unique spin on things, create some unique and interesting characters, but write something that you know readers will enjoy.

Alex: Are there any resources or tips you found particularly helpful in your writing career that you would recommend to others?

SR: There are a lot of Facebook groups for indie authors to gather and share ideas, ask each other for help, etc. I also strongly recommend Bryan Cohen’s ad school for anyone who wants to learn how to market their books on Amazon.

Alex: What other books or series would you recommend to fans of the Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes series who enjoy a blend of humor and heroism?

SR: My friend Andrew Moriarty has some great stories in his Decline and Fall of the Galactic Empire series as well as his Adventures of a Jump Space Accountant series. I also recommend anything by Clive Cussler—not sci-fi, obviously, but a great mix of heroic story and witty banter.

Alex: Can you share a few books that you’ve recently read and loved? What did you enjoy about them?

SR: There are so many of them, but I’ll share a few.

• Forsaken Mercenary by Jonathan Yanez: a great example of imperfect people rising to the challenge of heroism.
• The Adventures of a Xeno-Archaeologist series by Jenny Schwartz: a gripping story of reluctant heroes.
• The Carbon Chronicles series from Chloe Garner: an action-packed misfit crew story.
• I’ve also started reading Sunken Spaceship by Anthony J. Melchiorri and, Night Owls by Stephen Gay and am enjoying both.

Alex: What classic sci-fi novels do you believe every fan of the genre should read at least once?

SR: For sure, Ender’s Game. I’ve reread it several times and enjoy it each and every time I do. Then, Timothy Zahn’s original Thrawn Trilogy. Whether or not you’re a Star Wars fan, those books are masterful as character-driven narratives. I also love the Honor Harrington stories from David Weber and think they represent the pinnacle of military sci-fi. And, of course, anything from Hugh Howey. His books are just refreshingly different and hard to put down.

Alex: Are there any modern sci-fi books that you think are redefining the genre?

SR: Hugh Howey. His books are unique and fun to read. They focus on people first and are very character-driven. His world-building is masterful. Who else could write an entire series taking place in a missile silo and keep us all on the edge of our seats the entire time?

No surprise, but I also think that Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere stories are redefining the genre and really blurring the lines between fantasy and sci-fi.

Alex: Do you listen to audiobooks? If so, are there any narrators or audiobook versions of books that you would recommend?

SR: At any given time I’m reading at least one book on Kindle and listening to at least one on Audible. I will listen to just about anything narrated by Michael Kramer and Kate Reading. They are incredible, especially when narrating Brandon Sanderson’s amazing books. I’m also partial to stories told by the two narrators who have brought Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes to life on audiobook, Michael Murphy and Madeleine Brolly. They’re both really good at what they do. At this point, I hear their voices in my head as I’m writing dialogue for Brad Mendoza and Jessica Lin.

Alex: You write clean sci-fi. Tell us why you chose to omit swearing and sex from your books.

SR: I’ve written whole narratives on why I choose to only write clean fiction. First, I believe it’s more challenging to write something clean that doesn’t lean on explicit sex scenes and a lot of profanity for shock or entertainment. Second, even though I write for adults, I tell my stories with my teenage children in mind. I don’t ever want them to get embarrassed or uncomfortable about something their dad wrote. And third, I’m a very religious guy and choose to let that come out in my writing; even though I don’t explicitly talk about religion much at all in ‘Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes’, I try to write with the same values that I live by.

I’ve had a lot of readers reach out or leave Amazon reviews telling me how much they appreciate the cleanliness of my books, so there’s a market for it and people who prefer it that way. I love giving them something they can read, enjoy, and feel good about.

Check out the latest release in the series: The Worst Traitors in the Confederacy

And there you have it, folks! A fascinating dive into the world of Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes and the mind behind its creation. It's clear that this series is more than just a space opera; it's a journey of redemption, growth, and the human spirit's resilience, all wrapped in thrilling adventures and a good dose of humor. Our author has not only built a compelling universe but also crafted characters who feel real and relatable, facing challenges that resonate with all of us.

Stay tuned for more updates, and if you haven’t already, dive into the Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes series. It’s a ride you won’t want to miss. Until next time, keep reading and keep dreaming!