Science fiction—with its fantastical tales of futuristic worlds, advanced technology, and otherworldly beings—has captured the human imagination for centuries. But where did this genre originate? And what were the first science fiction stories ever written? Today, we delve into the early roots of science fiction and explore some of the pioneering works that laid the foundation for this genre's enduring popularity.

1. "The Epic of Gilgamesh" (circa 2100 BC)

One of the earliest known works of speculative fiction can be found in The Epic of Gilgamesh, an ancient Mesopotamian poem dating back to the 21st century BC. While not a conventional sci-fi story, it contains elements of the genre. The tale follows the adventures of Gilgamesh, a Sumerian king, and his companion Enkidu, as they encounter gods, monsters, and a quest for immortality. The presence of gods and fantastical creatures in a historical setting can be seen as early examples of speculative fiction.

2. True History (circa 2nd century AD)

Lucian of Samosata, a Greek satirist and author, wrote True History in the 2nd century AD. This work is often considered one of the earliest examples of science fiction, even integrating space travel. Lucian's narrative involves a journey to the moon, where the protagonist encounters bizarre alien creatures, including giant insects and moon-men. True History is characterized by its playful satire and imaginative storytelling, making it a precursor to modern science fiction.

3. "Somnium" (1634)

Written by Johannes Kepler, the renowned German mathematician and astronomer, Somnium is a groundbreaking work in early science fiction. This fictional tale describes a voyage to the moon and explores the lunar environment, complete with lunar inhabitants. Kepler's story is notable for its scientific accuracy and pioneering vision of space travel. Some scientists and science fiction writers—including Carl Sagan and Isaac Asimov—consider Somnium to be the first true science fiction novel.

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4. "The Blazing World" (1666)

Margaret Cavendish, the Duchess of Newcastle, authored The Blazing World in 1666, making her one of the first female science fiction writers. The novel is set in a parallel universe accessible through the North Pole and features a world inhabited by sentient creatures and advanced technology. Cavendish's work challenges societal norms and showcases her imaginative prowess.

5. Frankenstein" (1818)

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, is often regarded as one of the earliest and most influential science fiction novels. Published in 1818, the story explores themes of ethics, creation, and the consequences of scientific experimentation. Shelley's portrayal of Victor Frankenstein's creation of a humanoid creature remains a seminal work in the genre.

The origins of science fiction can be traced back to ancient myths, satirical writings, and early scientific speculations. These pioneering authors, from Lucian to Mary Shelley, paved the way for the rich and diverse world of science fiction we know today. Their imaginative stories continue to inspire generations of writers, scientists, and dreamers, reminding us that the boundaries of human creativity and exploration are limitless.

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Does the sci-fi lover in your life have you stumped this holiday season? We've got you! 

Maybe you're on the hunt for the perfect gift for someone else, or maybe your here looking for ideas for your own wish list. Whatever the case, the 2024 Discover Sci-Fi Holiday Gift Guide is packed with gift ideas that are out of this world! 

Star Trek: Cats of the U.S.S Enterprise 2025 Wall Calendar 

• Moon phases
• Bonus spread for September–December 2024
• Generous grids for adding appointments and reminders
• Includes major official world holidays
• Humor that's great for home and safe for work
• Opens to 12 inches x 24 inches

Pick up the Star Trek: Cats of the U.S.S. Enterprise 2025 Wall Calendar here on Amazon.

A Lot Like Christmas by Connie Willis

This new, expanded edition of Miracle and Other Christmas Stories features twelve brilliantly reimagined holiday tales, five of which are collected here for the first time.

Christmas comes but once a year, yet the stories in this dazzling collection are fun to read anytime. They put a speculative spin on the holiday, giving fans of acclaimed author Connie Willis a welcome gift and a dozen reasons to be of good cheer.

Brimming with Willis’s trademark insights and imagination, these heartwarming tales are full of humor, absurdity, human foibles, tragedy, joy, and hope. They both embrace and send up many of the best Christmas traditions, including the holiday newsletter, Secret Santas, office parties, holiday pageants, and Christmas dinners (both elaborate and spare). There are Rockettes, the best and worst Christmas movies, modern-day Magi, Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present, and Yet to Come—and the triumph of generosity over greed. Like all the timeless classics we return to year after year, these stories affirm our faith in love, magic, and the wonder of the season.

Read A Lot Like Christmas in paperback. Also available on Kindle and audiobook

Hallmark Marvel Studios Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Rocket Christmas Ornament

Relive the epic adventures of "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" with this Rocket Hallmark Christmas ornament featuring the cybernetically-enhanced raccoon.

Grab this for the Guardians of the Galaxy fan in your life here on Amazon. 

2001 A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke

Written when landing on the moon was still a dream, 2001: A Space Odyssey is a science-fiction classic that has changed the way we look at the stars—and ourselves. On the moon, an enigma is uncovered. So great are the implications that, for the first time, men are sent deep into our solar system. But before they can reach their destination, things begin to go very wrong. From the savannas of Africa at the dawn of mankind to the rings of Saturn at the turn of the 21st century, Arthur C. Clarke takes us on a journey unlike any other. Brilliant, compulsive, and prophetic, and the basis for the immensely influential Stanley Kubrick film, 2001: A Space Odyssey tackles the enduring theme of man’s—and technology’s—place in the universe and lives on as a landmark achievement in storytelling.

Check out the deluxe hardcover edition of Arthur C. Clarke's classic here on Amazon. Also available on Kindle and audiobook.

Amazon Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition

Find Amazon's Kindle Colorsoft Signature edition
 here on Amazon.

Perdido Street Station by China Miéville

The metropolis of New Crobuzon sprawls at the center of the world. Humans and mutants and arcane races brood in the gloom beneath its chimneys, where the river is sluggish with unnatural effluent and foundries pound into the night. For a thousand years, the Parliament and its brutal militias have ruled over a vast economy of workers and artists, spies and soldiers, magicians, crooks, and junkies.

Now a stranger has arrived, with a pocketful of gold and an impossible demand. And something unthinkable is released.

The city is gripped by an alien terror. The fate of millions lies with a clutch of renegades. A reckoning is due at the city’s heart, in the vast edifice of brick and wood and steel under the vaults of Perdido Street Station.

It is too late to escape.

Grab Perdido Street Station in paperback here on Amazon. Also available on Kindle and audiobook.

Terraforming Mars Board Game

Venture into the cosmos with the Terraforming Mars board game. This space adventure captivates players with strategic gameplay that's perfect for game nights, adults, and teens ages 14 and up. Experience the thrill of competition as you reshape the Red Planet's destiny. With awards and recognition under its belt, Terraforming Mars offers a unique blend of strategic brilliance that keeps players engaged. Engage in thrilling competition, where every move counts. The game's high replay value guarantees a fresh and exciting adventure with each playthrough. Prepare for an unforgettable journey across the stars, where strategy meets excitement in a game that's ideal for intergenerational enjoyment.

Get Terraforming Mars here on Amazon.

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers 

The acclaimed modern science fiction masterpiece, Hugo Award winner for Best Series!

Follow a motley crew on an exciting journey through space—and one adventurous young explorer who discovers the meaning of family in the far reaches of the universe—in this light-hearted debut space opera from a rising sci-fi star.

Rosemary Harper doesn’t expect much when she joins the crew of the aging Wayfarer. While the patched-up ship has seen better days, it offers her a bed, a chance to explore the far-off corners of the galaxy, and most importantly, some distance from her past. An introspective young woman who learned early to keep to herself, she’s never met anyone remotely like the ship’s diverse crew, including Sissix, the exotic reptilian pilot, chatty engineers Kizzy and Jenks who keep the ship running, and Ashby, their noble captain.

Grab The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet on paperback here on Amazon. Also available on Kindle and on audiobook.

42 IS THE ANSWER Don't Panic Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Mug

Whether you are treating yourself or giving as a gift to your mom, dad, girlfriend, boyfriend, friend, or work colleague, know that few things can make people happier than holding a cup of hot coffee or tea. They will remember you each time they take a sip from their favorite mug!

This 11-ounce white ceramic coffee mug has a large, easy to grip C-handle and is both microwave and dishwasher safe. The premium full-color sublimation imprint appears on both sides of this 11 ounce white ceramic mug. They’re crafted from the highest grade ceramic, and our designs are printed and sublimated in the United States.

Get this Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Mug here on Amazon.

Amazon.com eGift Card

Amazon.com Gift Cards never expire and carry no fees.

Multiple gift card designs and denominations to choose from.

Redeemable towards millions of items store-wide at Amazon.com or certain affiliated websites.

Available for immediate delivery. Gift cards sent by email can be scheduled up to a year in advance.

Purchase your Amazon Gift Cards here.

A Very Scalzi Christmas by John Scalzi

Deck the halls with boughs of holly! ’Tis the season…for Santa’s lawyer to talk about the legal status of the workshop elves, for Christmas to arrive in an unexpected month, and for the innkeeper at the nativity to spill the beans about what really went down on that one night in Bethlehem.

It’s not just Christmas. It’s A Very Scalzi Christmas.

New York Times bestselling and Hugo Award-winning author John Scalzi gift-wraps fifteen short takes on the holiday season—interviews with holiday notables, “informational” articles about TV specials and Christmas carols, short stories and poems, and even a couple of nods to Thanksgiving and New Year’s—and puts them all into a stocking stuffer-sized package that makes the perfect gift for friends, family, or yourself.

With stories both funny and touching, A Very Scalzi Christmas also features three new stories exclusive to this collection: “Christmas in July,” “Jangle the Elf Grants Wishes” and “Resolutions For the New Year.” 

A wonderful collection for the most wonderful time of the year.

Pick up A Very Scalzi Christmas  here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

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Watchmen by Alan Moore, illustrated by Dave Gibbons and John Higgins

Watchmen, the groundbreaking series from award-winning author Alan Moore, presents a world where the mere presence of American superheroes changed history--the U.S. won the Vietnam War, Nixon is still president, and the Cold War is in full effect.

Considered the greatest graphic novel in the history of the medium, the Hugo Award-winning story chronicles the fall from grace of a group of superheroes plagued by all-too-human failings. Along the way, the concept of the superhero is dissected as an unknown assassin stalks the erstwhile heroes.

This edition of Watchmen, the groundbreaking series from Alan Moore, the award-winning author of V For Vendetta and Batman: The Killing Joke, features art from industry legend Dave Gibbons, with high-quality, recolored pages found in Watchmen: Absolute Edition.

Grab Watchmen in paperback here on Amazon. Also available on Kindle.

Goodnight Lab by Chris Ferrie

In the vein of Goodnight Moon, say "goodnight" to your lab in this board book parody of a beloved classic. Perfect for scientists of all ages!

It's been a long day at the lab for this scientist. Now it's time to say goodnight!

Goodnight laser

Goodnight notebook

Goodnight picture of Einstein with a stern look

While poking fun at the clutter and chaos of lab life, scientists of all ages will appreciate ending their day with this sweet parody. They'll be rested and ready to return to the world of research in the morning! This scientific parody book in the style of Goodnight Moon is a delight for little lab girls and guys.

Goodnight Lab is written by Chris Ferrie, author of Quantum Physics for Babies and other books in the Baby University series. Parents and kids both will love the accurate descriptions of all the quirks of grownup laboratories. Readers who love the humor of Feminist Baby will love Goodnight Lab.

Grab the Good Night Lab board book here on Amazon.

LEGO Ideas Tales of The Space Age 

Tell Tales of the Space Age in LEGO style with these buildable postcard models, inspired by 1980s sci-fi myths, movies, books and posters. Build colorful images of an observatory for viewing comets and shooting stars, a moon base and lunar eclipse, a space shuttle and a black hole.The pink/purple postcard features stars that can be arranged to mirror the Ursa Major, Cepheus, Ursa Minor or Cassiopeia constellations. Treat yourself or give this 688-piece LEGO Ideas build-and-display model as a birthday, holiday or surprise gift for lovers of space, astronomy and art.

Pick up LEGO Tales of the Space Age here on Amazon. 

Orbital by Samantha Harvey

A slender novel of epic power and the winner of the Booker Prize 2024, Orbital deftly snapshots one day in the lives of six women and men traveling through space. Selected for one of the last space station missions of its kind before the program is dismantled, these astronauts and cosmonauts—from America, Russia, Italy, Britain, and Japan—have left their lives behind to travel at a speed of over seventeen thousand miles an hour as the earth reels below. We glimpse moments of their earthly lives through brief communications with family, their photos and talismans; we watch them whip up dehydrated meals, float in gravity-free sleep, and exercise in regimented routines to prevent atrophying muscles; we witness them form bonds that will stand between them and utter solitude. Most of all, we are with them as they behold and record their silent blue planet. Their experiences of sixteen sunrises and sunsets and the bright, blinking constellations of the galaxy are at once breathtakingly awesome and surprisingly intimate.

Profound and contemplative, Orbital is a moving elegy to our environment and planet.

Grab Orbital in hardcover here on Amazon. Also available on Kindle and audiobook.

Cards Against Humanity: The Nerd Bundle

The Nerd Bundle comes with six different nerdy themed packs — the Fantasy Pack, Geek Pack, Sci-Fi Pack, World Wide Web Pack, A.I. Pack, and Human Pack— plus ten all-new cards extra nerdy cards. Note that this is an expansion pack and requires that you have the Cards Against Humanity main game.  

Get the Cards Against Humanity Nerd Bundle here on Amazon. 

1984 by George Orwell

Written 75 years ago, 1984 was George Orwell’s chilling prophecy about the future. And while 1984 has come and gone, his dystopian vision of a government that will do anything to control the narrative is timelier than ever...

This 75th Anniversary Edition includes:
• A New Introduction by Dolen Perkins-Valdez, author of Take My Hand, winner of the 2023 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work—Fiction
• A Foreword by Thomas Pynchon
• A New Afterword by Sandra Newman, author of Julia: A Retelling of George Orwell’s 1984

“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”

Winston Smith toes the Party line, rewriting history to satisfy the demands of the Ministry of Truth. With each lie he writes, Winston grows to hate the Party that seeks power for its own sake and persecutes those who dare to commit thoughtcrimes. But as he starts to think for himself, Winston can’t escape the fact that Big Brother is always watching...

A startling and haunting vision of the world, 1984 is so powerful that it is completely convincing from start to finish. No one can deny the influence of this novel, its hold on the imaginations of multiple generations of readers, or the resiliency of its admonitions—a legacy that seems only to grow with the passage of time.

Grab1984 in paperback here on Amazon. Also available on Kindle and audiobook. 

Doctor Who Tardis Crew Socks

Grab Doctor Who Tardis Socks here on Amazon.

Run by Blake Crouch 

A gripping apocalyptic thriller about a man and his family running for their lives in an America gone mad—from the New York Times bestselling author of Dark Matter and Recursion.

No time to think. No time to ask why. Only time to run.

Five days ago, the epidemic of rage began.

Four days ago, the rash of senseless murders swept the nation.

Three days ago, the president addressed the country and begged for peace—even as the murders increased tenfold.

Two days ago, the killers began to mobilize.

One day ago, the power went out.

And tonight, the killers are reading the names of those to be killed over the Emergency Broadcast System.

Jack Colclough is listening over the battery-powered radio on his kitchen table in Albuquerque, and he just heard his name. People are coming to his house to kill him, his wife, his daughter, and his son.

He has no idea what’s happening, or why, but the time for questions is long past.

His only chance is to run.

Following an ordinary family on a desperate race through an America that’s destroying itself, Run is a terrifying, brutally stripped-down thriller from master storyteller Blake Crouch.

Grab Run in hardcover
here on Amazon. Also available in paperback and on Kindle and audiobook.

Light Up Swords

Who among us didn't wish for a lightsaber at some point in our lives? Who among us doesn't still? 

The light up saber metal handle is designed with a built-in sound generator, which can produce a clear and realistic imitation sound when struck. It also offers 15 color changes and blinking modes. The lightsaber combines special sound effects and lighting modes to bring a vivid and realistic combat experience, and is the perfect prop for parent-child role-playing.

Grab a Light Up Sword for you and one for a friend here on Amazon.

Downbelow Station by C.J. Cherryh

The Beyond started with the Stations orbiting the stars nearest Earth. The Great Circle the interstellar freighters traveled was long, but not unmanageable, and the early Stations were emotionally and politically dependent on Mother Earth. The Earth Company which ran this immense operation reaped incalculable profits and influenced the affairs of nations.

Then came Pell, the first station centered around a newly discovered living planet. The discovery of Pell's World forever altered the power balance of the Beyond. Earth was no longer the anchor which kept this vast empire from coming adrift, the one living mote in a sterile universe.

But Pell was just the first living planet. Then came Cyteen, and later others, and a new and frighteningly different society grew in the farther reaches of space. The importance of Earth faded and the Company reaped ever smaller profits as the economic focus of space turned outward. But the powerful Earth Fleet was sitll a presence in the Beyond, and Pell Station was to become the last stronghold in a titanic struggle between the vast, dynamic forces of the rebel Union and those who defended Earth's last, desperate grasp for the stars.

Grab Downbelow Station in paperback here on Amazon. Also available on Kindle and on audiobook. 

The Gift of Kindle Unlimited

What voracious reader wouldn't want the gift of unlimited books? 

Access unlimited reading on any device. Kindle Unlimited offers a seamless digital reading experience with unlimited access to popular series, best sellers, classics, and more.

Give the Gift of Kindle Unlimited here on Amazon.

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Trilogy Collection 5 Books Set by Douglas Adams

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Trilogy Collection 5 Books Set by Douglas Adams:

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:
One Thursday lunchtime the Earth gets unexpectedly demolished to make way for a new hyperspace bypass. For Arthur Dent, who has only just had his house demolished that morning, this seems already to be more than he can cope with. Sadly, however, the weekend has only just begun, and the Galaxy is a very strange and startling place.

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe:
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe provides the ultimate gastronomic experience, and for once there is no morning after to worry about.

Life, the Universe and Everything:
In consequence of a number of stunning catastrophes, Arthur Dent is surprised to find himself living in a hideously miserable cave on prehistoric Earth. However, just as he thinks that things cannot get possibly worse, they suddenly do. He discovers that the Galaxy is not only mind-boggingly big and bewildering but also that most of the things that happen in it are staggeringly unfair.

So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish:
Just when Arthur Dent's sense of reality is at its most clouded, he suddenly finds the girl of his dreams. He finds her in the last place in the Universe in which he would expect to find anything at all, but which 3,976,000,000 people will find oddly familiar. They go in search of God's Final Message to His Creation and, in a dramatic break with tradition, actually find it.

Mostly Harmless:
Mostly Harmless: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Part Five The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has, in what we laughingly call the past, a great deal to say on the subject of parallel universes.

Grab Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Trilogy Collection in paperback here on Amazon.

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

In the near future, a civil servant is offered the salary of her dreams and is, shortly afterward, told what project she’ll be working on. A recently established government ministry is gathering “expats” from across history to establish whether time travel is feasible—for the body, but also for the fabric of space-time.

She is tasked with working as a “bridge”: living with, assisting, and monitoring the expat known as “1847” or Commander Graham Gore. As far as history is concerned, Commander Gore died on Sir John Franklin’s doomed 1845 expedition to the Arctic, so he’s a little disoriented to be living with an unmarried woman who regularly shows her calves, surrounded by outlandish concepts such as “washing machines,” “Spotify,” and “the collapse of the British Empire.” But with an appetite for discovery, a seven-a-day cigarette habit, and the support of a charming and chaotic cast of fellow expats, he soon adjusts.

Over the next year, what the bridge initially thought would be, at best, a horrifically uncomfortable roommate dynamic, evolves into something much deeper. By the time the true shape of the Ministry’s project comes to light, the bridge has fallen haphazardly, fervently in love, with consequences she never could have imagined. Forced to confront the choices that brought them together, the bridge must finally reckon with how—and whether she believes—what she does next can change the future.

An exquisitely original and feverishly fun fusion of genres and ideas, The Ministry of Time asks: What does it mean to defy history, when history is living in your house? Kaliane Bradley’s answer is a blazing, unforgettable testament to what we owe each other in a changing world.

Grab The Ministry of Time in hardcover here on Amazon. Also available on paperback, Kindle and audiobook.

Spot something on our list that is perfect for the sci-fi lover in your life? And how about you? Which of these gifts would you love to unwrap this holiday season? And finally, what must-have item did we miss? Let us know here in the comments, 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! 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. 

Like what you're reading?

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.

Can you feel it? The suggestion of fall in the air? Chiller mornings and earlier sunsets are now upon us as we relish in the leaves transition from green to a spectrum of reds and golds. We may not be entirely ready to kiss the beach and the lazier days of summer goodbye, but we are ready to welcome all the delectable new sci-fi reads that are publishing over the next few months. 

Fall never disappoints when it comes to books, and 2024 is no exception.  This season brings a bounty of incredible sci-fi titles and no matter your specific taste, we are confident there will be several titles on this list that you will want to add to your personal bookshelf — or put on hold at your local library— immediately. 

Ready to peruse the titles we're eager to curl up with this over the next few months. Scroll on to check them out! 

This 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.

Read This World Is Not Yours  here on Amazon.

Spectral Prey (Sunken Spaceship Book 4) by Anthony J. Melchiorri

Release Date: 10th September

Extinction was just the beginning.

Adrift in the dangerous expanse of Outlaw Space, a ghost ship harbors a sinister secret. Its decks, once teeming with life, now lie eerily silent. All have perished, save for a few supposedly extinct alien creatures known as Zephyrs.

Fin and the intrepid crew of the Black Sheep take on a perilous mission to retrieve these rare creatures. But they soon discover they are not alone in their pursuit of the ghost ship's treasures. As they navigate the derelict vessel's darkened corridors, they encounter terrifying abominations far deadlier than any endangered beast.

The shocking revelation that follows threatens not only the lives of the Black Sheep's valiant crew but the fate of the entire galaxy. Fin must forge an uneasy alliance with an unlikely ally if they’re to survive.

From the verdant jungles of a reclusive billionaire's heavily guarded game reserve to a remote mining facility on a planet ravaged by war, Fin and his companions embark on a wild search for answers. Fin's very humanity hangs in the balance against an implacable foe that cannot be reasoned with, only fought.

Read Spectral Prey here on Amazon.

Exodus: The Archimedes Engine by Peter F. Hamilton 

Release Date: 17th September

Explore EXODUS, a new sci-fi action-adventure RPG coming soon from Archetype Entertainment featured in this epic novel from legendary author Peter F. Hamilton.

Forty thousand years ago, humanity fled a dying Earth. Traveling in massive arkships, these brave pioneers spread out across the galaxy to find a new home. After traveling thousands of light-years, one fleet of arkships arrived at Centauri, a dense cluster of stars with a vast array of potentially habitable planets. The survivors of Earth signaled to the remaining arkships that humanity had finally found its new home among the stars.

Thousands of years later, the Centauri Cluster has flourished. The original settlers have evolved into advanced beings known as Celestials and divided themselves into powerful Dominions. One of the most influential is that of the Crown Celestials, an alliance of five great houses that controls vast areas of Centauri. As arkships continue to arrive, the remaining humans and their descendants must fight for survival against overwhelming odds or be forced into serving the Crown Dominion.

Among those yearning for a better life is Finn, for whom Earth is not a memory but merely a footnote from humanity’s ancient history. Born on one of the Crown Dominion worlds, Finn has known nothing but the repressive rule of the Celestials, though he dreams of the possibility of boundless space beyond his home.

When another arkship from Earth, previously thought lost, unexpectedly arrives, Finn sees his chance to embrace a greater destiny and become a Traveler—one of a group of brave heroes dedicated to ensuring humanity’s future by journeying into the vast unknown of distant space.

Read Exodus  here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Read Alien Clay here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

Pilgram Machines by Yudhanjaya Wijeratne

Release Date: 17th September

Humanity has spread to the stars...

For the first time in thousands of years, we have also discovered the Other. The alien. A being so unimaginably complex that it makes us all look like children.

The PCS Blue Cherry Blossom, a long range interstellar freighter, is tasked with the ultimate voyage. What lies at the heart of the galaxy? Who and what is out there? Is it even possible to survive?

Against a backdrop of relentless political and corporate maneuvering, a new crew sets out, prepared to risk their lives and their deaths to set forth into the void and look for answers. To go where no human has ever gone before.

And thus begins a new space odyssey.

Set in the world of the Salvage Crew by award winning writer Yudhanjaya Wijeratne, Pilgrim Machines is perfect for fans of We Are Legion, Battlestar Galactica, Murderbot, Blindsight and Star Maker.

Read Pilgram Machines here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

Space Raiders: The Complete Series Box Set by Ken Lozito 

Release Date 17th September 

Nathan Briggs led a life that was anything but ordinary, but when the aliens abducted him, the stakes have never been higher.

They told him he should’ve run away.

Maybe they were right.

Embark on an adventure that begins on present day Earth, where four people are abruptly taken away from a life they’ve known, and travel to other worlds, encounter exotic species, and struggle to stay alive.

Space Raiders - The Complete Series contains all three books in the series. There is a galaxy full of secrets waiting to be explored. If you’re a fan of old school heroes and villains where grit and determination are offset by a little bit of humor, then this might be the series for you.

DISCOUNTED FOR A LIMITED TIME!

Get your copy of Space Raiders here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

Darkside 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.

Last Dangerous Visions by Harlan Ellison

Release Date: 1st October

An anthology more than half a century in the making, The Last Dangerous Visions is the third and final installment of the legendary science fiction anthology series.

In 1973 celebrated writer and editor Harlan Ellison announced the third and final volume of his unprecedented anthology series, which began with Dangerous Visions and continued with Again, Dangerous Visions. But for reasons undisclosed, The Last Dangerous Visions was never completed.

Now, six years after Ellison’s passing, science fiction’s most famous unpublished book is here. And with it, the heartbreaking true story of the troubled genius behind it.

Provocative and controversial, socially conscious and politically charged, wildly imaginative yet deeply grounded, the thirty-two never-before-published stories, essays, and poems in The Last Dangerous Visions stand as a testament to Ellison’s lifelong pursuit of art, uniting a diverse range of sci-fi writers both famous and newly minted, including: Max Brooks, Edward Bryant, Cecil Castellucci, James S. A. Corey, Howard Fast, Patricia Hodgell, Dan Simmons, Robert Sheckley, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Mildred Downey Broxon, and Cory Doctorow, among others.

The historic publication of The Last Dangerous Visions completes the long-awaited final chapter in an incredible literary legacy.

Dive into Last Dangerous Visions here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

1635: The Weavers Code (Ring of Fire Book 37) by Eric Flint and Jody Lynn Nye

Release Date: 1st October

NEW RING OF FIRE SERIES ENTRY FROM THE LATE ERIC FLINT AND BEST-SELLING AUTHOR JODY LYNN NYE

A young gentlewoman, Margaret de Beauchamp, finds her fate twisted into the lives of the up-timers when she meets the Americans imprisoned in the Tower of London. In exchange for her help, Rita Simpson and Harry Lefferts give her a huge sum of money to keep her family’s manor and its woolen trade from falling into the hands of the crown and its unscrupulous minister, Lord Cork. But Margaret’s troubles are not at an end. Her family’s fortunes are in a downward spiral. Her trip to Grantville brings unexpected dangers and a possible up-time solution.

Inspired by books in the Grantville library, Margaret has an idea to restore her family’s fortunes with an innovation never before seen in fabric design. With the help of Aaron Craig, an up-timer programmer using aqualators, water-powered computers, they teach her father’s craftsmen to create a combination machine loom that can produce a new type of woolen cloth. The ornate and perfect patterns quickly trend among the nobility. However, the Master Weavers of the county’s Weaver’s Guild aren’t happy about being overshadowed by the changes to the status quo, and take their grievance to Lord Cork, who is still looking for the people who helped the Americans escape from the Tower.

Cork isn’t interested in squabbles between mere tradesmen, but he is very interested in taking over the new calculating machine that is fueling the upsurge in the de Beauchamp fortunes. He sends agents ordered to stop at nothing to secure it for his own ends. Margaret has to protect her new business, and prevent anyone from discovering that up-timers are in the country to assist her, but she still has to deal with an uprising at home.

Get your copy of 1635: The Weavers Code here on Amazon. 

Dark Space by Rob Hart & Alex Seggura

Release Date: 8th October

Bestselling and acclaimed authors Rob Hart and Alex Segura join forces on Dark Space, a sweeping sci-fi spy thriller that blends the epic scope and character-driven spark of Star Trek with the intrigue of John le Carré’s Smiley novels.

If life were fair, ace pilot Jose Carriles should have ended up a desk jockey like his former friend Corin Timony, back on the lunar colony of New Destiny. Instead, he’s the pilot of the Mosaic—a massive ship taking the Interstellar Union’s first-ever mission to outside our solar system.

Timony should have been the best spy at the Bazaar, the lunar colony’s international intelligence arm. Instead, she’s been demoted to admin duties like monitoring long-range communications. She has no one to blame but herself—and maybe Carriles.

But when the Mosaic experiences a series of strange malfunctions and Carriles is forced to take a wild gamble to save the ship, he begins to suspect the reasons behind the exploratory mission weren’t exactly on the up and up.

At the same time, Timony’s old instincts kick in as she realizes the distress call she received from the Mosaic has been wiped without a trace.

As people start to end up dead and loyalties are tested, Timony and Carriles find themselves entangled in a star-spanning conspiracy that drags them through the darkest corners of their government—and their own personal failures—and face-to-face with a reckoning that could destroy humanity as we know it.

Start reading Dark Space here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

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Pride and Prejudice in Space by Alexis Lampley

Release Date: 15th October 

"A dazzling addition to the Austen-verse." – Julia Quinn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Bridgerton series

Embark on a journey through the stars with Pride and Prejudice in Space, a vibrant and exquisitely illustrated reimagining of a classic of literary fiction.  This fresh take on a beloved story intertwines the elegance of the Jane Austen novel with the adventurous spirit of sci-fi books, creating a unique reading experience for fans of both genres—and perfect for readers of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Elizabeth Bennet lives on a small moon in the Londinium lunar system with her parents and four sisters. While she dreams of piloting a starship rather than settling down with an eligible man, her world turns upside down when the handsome Mr. Bingley docks the Netherfield StarCruiser on the neighboring estate. The arrival thrusts the Bennet sisters into the bustling asteroid field of the system’s wider society, and Elizabeth’s aspirations are suddenly in flux. Drawn into the orbit of Mr. Bingley’s friend, the proud Fitzwilliam Darcy, Elizabeth is determined to dislike him despite his ten thousand aurum per year.
Can the Bennet sisters navigate the perils of love and space? Will Elizabeth avoid the collision course she’s on with the formidable Mr. Darcy? This tale of scifi romance for women explores timeless themes of love, pride, and prejudice, set against the backdrop of the infinite cosmos.Pride and Prejudice in Space features stunning, colorful chapter headers and an array of interior art. With over 60 full-color illustrations and designs, readers will be captivated by this new world—from maps and brochures to digital message logs and pages pulled from the Bennet sisters’ journals and sketchbooks.

Join the ranks of the best genre fiction with this exquisite blend of sci-fi fantasy and classic literature timed for the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth (Dec. 16, 1775), the perfect occasion for re-examining the beloved classic through a new, and hyper-futuristic, lens. Jane Austen Fan Fiction (JAFF) has been around since the 19th century, and Pride and Prejudice in Space continues the tradition of reinvention, heralding a new era with its fresh and feminist vision of the great novel. Whether you're a fan of sci-fi, , Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, or scifi romance for women, this hardcover adaptation will make a treasured addition to your collection!

Grab Pride and Prejudice in Space here on Amazon.

On the Milky Way Rivers by Daniel Arenson

Release Date: 15th October

The final battle is here. The final showdown between man and monster.

Years ago, the aliens hit us hard. Tentacled aliens. Bloodthirsty aliens. They burned our cities. Devoured our children. Conquered our world.

It ends now.

We lost in space. We lost on land. We lost our world. But a few rebels still fight. A few brave souls still stand tall.

Einav Ben-Ari. Marco Emery. Addy Linden. Names that will echo through the generations. Heroes of Earth. Rebels. They lead a last, desperate assault.

This is our final stand. We must liberate our world.

Or Earth will be lost forever.

A Prayer for Earthrise, the six-book space opera, concludes with On the Milky Way Rivers.

Grab On the Milky Way Rivers here on Amazon.

Run by Blake Crouch

Release Date: 22nd October

A gripping apocalyptic thriller about a man and his family running for their lives in an America gone mad—from the New York Times bestselling author of Dark Matter and Recursion.

No time to think. No time to ask why. Only time to run.

Five days ago, the epidemic of rage began.

Four days ago, the rash of senseless murders swept the nation.

Three days ago, the president addressed the country and begged for peace—even as the murders increased tenfold.

Two days ago, the killers began to mobilize.

One day ago, the power went out.

And tonight, the killers are reading the names of those to be killed over the Emergency Broadcast System.

Jack Colclough is listening over the battery-powered radio on his kitchen table in Albuquerque, and he just heard his name. People are coming to his house to kill him, his wife, his daughter, and his son.

He has no idea what’s happening, or why, but the time for questions is long past.

His only chance is to run.

Following an ordinary family on a desperate race through an America that’s destroying itself, Run is a terrifying, brutally stripped-down thriller from master storyteller Blake Crouch.

Grab Run here on Amazon. Also Available on audiobook.

Taken (Lost Town Book One) by Nathan Hystad

Release Date: 22nd October 

A small town with a big problem.

Caesar, an undercover operative, enters Carmichael with the briefest of orders from his boss, and a countdown on his phone. What will happen when the clock strikes zero?

Deputy Amelia Miller’s dispatched from a nearby city, and a series of events keeps her around much longer than she’d expected.

In the middle of the night, something shifts, and the whole town disappears off the face of the Earth. Who caused the Shift, and what lies beyond the veil of their settlement? As the citizens grow braver, they begin to explore the mysterious borders while resisting the chaos within.

TAKEN, the thrilling entry into the epic LOST TOWN series is full of suspense, science fiction, and adventure. From the best-selling author of The Other Place, Lost Contact, and First Life comes a genre-bending saga.

Grab Taken here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

Absolution (A Southern Reach Novel) by Jeff Vandermeer 

Release Date: 22nd October

The surprise fourth volume in Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach series—and the final word on one of the most provocative and popular speculative fiction series of our time.

When the Southern Reach trilogy was first published a decade ago, it was an instant sensation, celebrated in a front-page New York Times story before publication, hailed by Stephen King and many others. Each volume climbed the bestseller list; awards were won; the books made the rare transition from paperback original to hardcover; the movie adaptation became a cult classic. All told, the trilogy has sold more than a million copies and has secured its place in the pantheon of twenty-first-century literature.

And yet for all this, for Jeff VanderMeer there was never full closure to the story of Area X. There were a few mysteries that had gone unsolved, some key points of view never aired. There were stories left to tell. There remained questions about who had been complicit in creating the conditions for Area X to take hold; the story of the first mission into the Forgotten Coast—before Area X was called Area X—had never been fully told; and what if someone had foreseen the world after Acceptance? How crazy would they seem?

Structured in three parts, each recounting a new expedition, Absolution is a brilliant, beautiful, and ever-terrifying plunge into unique and fertile literary territory. There are some long-awaited answers here, to be sure, but also more questions, and profound new surprises. It is the final word on one of the most provocative and popular speculative fiction series of our time.

Grab Absolution here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

The Last Lion (Galaxy in Flames III) by Nicholas Sansbury Smith 

Grab The Last Lion here on Amazon.

Usurpation by Sue Burke (Semiosis Book 3) 

Release Date: 29th October 

After her rollicking standalone Dual Memory, Sue Burke returns to her Semiosis series and the world of Pax in Usurpation, which combines the thrill of M. Night Shyamalan’s The Happening with the eco-empowerment of VanderMeer’s Dead Astronauts.

Stevland, the dominant sentient lifeform of Pax, has clandestinely sent some of its progeny to Earth. To explore, to spread, to report back.

Since their germination, Earth has been a powder keg. Human rebellion, robot uprisings, and global pandemics have created chaos, distrust, and deaths.

As more and more conflicts break out across Earth, Stevland's children work in the background, in an attempt to control human behavior and perhaps, bring peace to the planet. Stevland took control of Pax. Earth shouldn’t be too difficult…

Grab Usurpation here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

Nether Station Kevin J. Anderson 

Release Date: 29th October 

From New York Times bestselling author Kevin J. Anderson comes Nether Station, a thrilling mix of epic science fiction and Lovecraftian horror.

Space is vast. Space is full of wonders. Space is terrifying.

In the darkest part of the solar system lies a wormhole. Nether.

Astrophysicist Cammie Skoura has joined the first research team traveling to the Nether anomaly, eager to understand the mechanics of the wormhole and to explore its possibilities as a shortcut to Alpha Centauri.

But another race of ancient beings has already been here—an impossibly long time ago—leaving remnants of their vast complexes and gigantic temples built for horrific beings beyond comprehension.

What dangers did those elder races find in the hidden corners of spacetime?

What did they unleash?

And what remains?

Now, Cammie and the crew of Nether Station must find the answers—before the darkest part of the cosmos swallows them up …

Grab Nether Station here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

Shadow Lab: A Blackstone Publishing Anthology

Release Date: 5th November

In Shadow Lab, a brilliant roster of speculative fiction writers pull readers into a diverse and genre-bending collection of stories, each as irresistible as the last.

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Nicholas Sansbury Smith comes X and Miles, a tale of the lost years, set in the world of the Hell Divers series. In the radioactive wastes of what was once known as Earth, a man and his dog fight nightmarish creatures in order to return to their home in the sky.

In Clouds by Brian Francis Slattery, a happily married couple finds their relationship strained when they end up on opposite sides of a brewing conflict in the aftermath of the arrival of an alien species from outer space.

In Her Eyes by Rebecca Webb tells the story of Addie, a woman who discovers a pair of eyeglasses that offer a portal into the minds of their previous owners. Soon her obsession with a reckless woman named Nima begins to change everything …

These stories and more await the curious reader in Shadow Lab, a brand-new anthology from Blackstone Publishing.

Grab Shadow Lab here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook. 

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Asylum by Una McCormack

Release Date: 5th November

A new Star Trek adventure based on the thrilling Paramount+ TV seriesStar Trek: Strange New Worlds!

When Una Chin-Riley and Christopher Pike meet at Starfleet Academy after one of his lectures, they immediately become friends. A stellar student, Una is the “poster girl” of her class, and Pike is determined to become a Starfleet captain with his own ship, rhetorically assembling his dream crew. As their friendship evolves, Pike also suspects Una is involved with the Euxhana, a Chionian cultural minority, who are seeking asylum in Federation space, leading to more questions than answers.

Twenty-five years later, Una and Pike are working together on the USS Enterprise to settle a Chionian trade agreement when a pro-Euxhana saboteur launches a terrorist attack. When the suspect is taken into custody for interrogation and is discovered to have a history with Una, her past associations resurface, threatening to expose a secret she’s been harboring all these years…

Grab Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Asylum here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.
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How many of these 2024 fall 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.