One can never have too many fantasy and sci-fi books to read, and fortunately, this month there are so many coming out that readers are utterly spoiled for choice. From epic sci-fi sagas and fantasy cycles to cozy stories, romantasies, fantasy horror and more, March is the first month of 2026 where it truly feels like publishers decided to assault our bookshelves with so many options that they threaten to buckle under the weight of all that SFF goodness.
We've rounded up 16 titles releasing this month that you'll want on your radar, so pull up your Goodreads, Storygraph, or other book-tracking medium of choice, and let's find you your next favorite read.
River of Bones and Other Stories by Rebecca Roanhorse — March 3
River of Bones and Other Stories is a short fiction collection from Rebecca Roanhorse, the author of the Hugo Award-winning Between Earth and Sky trilogy. This book features a number of stories Roanhorse has published over the years, as well some brand new works like "River of Bones," which is set in the universe of Roanhorse's Sixth World Navajo urban fantasy series. Whether you're a long-time fan of Roanhorse's work or just deciding to try out her books, River of Bones and Other Stories is a solid collection to add to your shelf.
Rebecca Roanhorse’s first publication, “Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience™”, was awarded both the Nebula and Hugo award for best short story, and on its strength, Roanhorse was awarded the Astounding Award for Best New Writer. Although Roanhorse began to publish novels including Trail of Lightning and Black Sun, she has continued to write piercing stories that examine the American experience through marginalized perspectives.
“River of Bones” returns to the Sixth World series with a novella, this time from Kai’s perspective, as he and Maggie travel back to where he grew up to save his ex from the people who almost beat him to death—his ex’s family.
Based on the Tewa fable of Deer Hunter and White Corn Maiden, “A Brief Lesson in Native American Astronomy”—winner of the 2019 Ignyte award—explores the tradition of celestial-based storytelling, set in a future where virtual reality is nearly indistinguishable from the real world and celebrities can project their images into space as literal stars.
“Falling Bodies” follows a young student at a space station university caught between two disparate worlds—the one he currently inhabits and the one he has desperately tried to escape—as he searches for his place in the universe.
First published in Jordan Peele’s Out There Screaming, “Eye and Tooth” is a story of black horror about the hunters who hunt the monsters and the monstrous among us.
Through a range of contemporary to outright fantasy and science fiction, these stories will immediately capture your attention from one of our premiere writers of speculative fiction whose work is always at the vanguard of American fiction.
Green & Deadly Things by Jenn Lyons — March 3
Jenn Lyons wrapped up her epic fantasy saga The Chorus of Dragons in 2022, and since then she's been pumping out standalone fantasy stories that can serve as a great entry point into her work if you're looking for a lighter (but no less satisfying) commitment. The latest is Green & Deadly Things, a standalone fantasy where a knight is forced to rely on his sworn enemy, a necromancer, in order to stave off the threat of ancient wild magic run amok.
Centuries ago, necromancy almost destroyed the world. That’s how history remembers it.
History remembers it wrong.
Mathaiik has trained all his life to join the sacred order of the Idallik Knights, charged with defending their world from the forces of necromancy. Only vestiges of that cursed magic remain, nothing like the fabled days of the Grim Lords, the undead wizards who once nearly destroyed the world.
But when an even stranger kind of monster begins to wake, the Knights quickly prove powerless to stop them. Whole forests are coming alive and devouring anyone so foolish as to trespass, as if the land itself has turned upon humanity.
It’s a good thing, then, that the Grim Lords were never truly destroyed. One of their number sleeps below the Knights' very fortress. And when an army of twisted tree monsters attacks the young initiates in his charge, Math decides to do the unthinkable: he wakes her up.
This is only the beginning of his problems. Because said necromancer, Kaiataris, knows something history has forgotten. The threat of this wild magic is part of a cycle that has repeated countless times–life after death, chaos after order. And if she and Math can’t find a new way to balance the scales, this won't just be the end of the world as they know it, but the end of all life, everywhere.
Black as Diamond by U.M. Agoawike — March 3
Black as Diamond is the debut novel from Nigerian Canadian author U. M. Agoawike. It digs deep into themes of queer identity, history, power, and how that power can be abused to create a society that crushes those at the bottom. The story follows a winged warrior named Asaru, who is struck by a fatal curse and finds his destiny tied to a human healer named Wren. Together they search for a way to undue the magic afflicting Asaru, and uncover dark secrets about the history of their realms.
A cursed warrior. A reckless healer. A chance to save the world—or condemn it.
Like the rest of the winged eresh keyel, warrior Asaru has spent his life fighting the remnants of a long-dead enemy. When his brother’s squadron disappears from a border keep, Asaru travels into the human realm to investigate, only to become ensnared by a fatal—and unbreakable—curse that could wipe out his people.
When he inadvertently commits a terrible crime, Asaru is thrown into the path of Wren, an emotionally tortured former healer playing with dangerous magic. Bound to one another by a spell gone wrong, and on the run from freelance killers, they set out to find the Chronicler, keeper of the eresh keyel’s history who could bring them answers, redemption, and the cure to Asaru’s curse. But the truths they uncover about the past have the power to break the world into pieces, ending human civilization and settling its remnants into something entirely new.
Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman — March 3
Between Two Fires is one of those books you've probably heard hype about at some point, and if you haven't yet read it, now is the time. This novel from Christopher Buehlman is a brooding medieval horror about a knight who finds an orphan who survived the Black Death, and is fanatically convinced that a war against heaven is imminent. But given the terrors that cross their paths, that fear may have more than a seed of truth.
Between Two Fires was originally published in 2012 but went out of print in the intervening years. It has recently gotten a second life thanks to BookTok buzz, and now it's getting a new hardcover release from Tor Nightfire so you can finally pick it up at your local bookstore again. And since it's about a knight and his companion, it's also a good read to check out if you're missing A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Just don't expect it to be anywhere near as lighthearted!
And Lucifer said: “Let us rise against Him now in all our numbers, and pull the walls of heaven down…”
The year is 1348.
Thomas, a disgraced knight, has found a young girl alone in a dead Norman village. An orphan of the Black Death, and an almost unnerving picture of innocence, she tells Thomas that plague is only part of a larger cataclysm—that the fallen angels under Lucifer are rising in a second war on heaven, and that the world of men has fallen behind the lines of conflict. Is it delirium or is it faith?
She believes she has seen the angels of God. She believes the righteous dead speak to her in dreams. And now she has convinced the faithless Thomas to shepherd her across a depraved landscape to Avignon.
There, she tells Thomas, she will fulfill her mission: to confront the evil that has devastated the earth, and to restore to this betrayed, murderous knight the nobility and hope of salvation he long abandoned.
As hell unleashes its wrath, and as the true nature of the girl is revealed, Thomas will find himself on a macabre battleground of angels and demons, saints, and the risen dead, and in the midst of a desperate struggle for nothing less than the soul of man.
The First Step by Tao Wong — March 10
A self-publishing phenomenon that's getting a traditional release this month is The First Step, which is the first novel in author Tao Wong's A Thousand Li series. This martial arts fantasy falls into the cultivation and progression fantasy subgenres, where readers follow along as the protagonist goes on an ever-deepening journey to attain ever higher ideals of power and fulfillment. If you enjoyed Will Wight's Cradle and haven't been sure what to read next, The First Step is the book you've been looking for.
It is said that a journey of a thousand li begins with a single step. . . .
Long Wu Ying never expected to become a real cultivator, never dreamed of having the chance to train and develop wondrous martial arts skills and magic of his own. As a farmer’s son in a rural village, his days were spent studying, planting rice, and spending time with his friends. Fate, however, has different plans for him.
Conscripted into the army and taken from everything he knows, Wu Ying’s chance observation of an incoming ambush prevents a bloody rout—and brings him to the attention of the powerful Verdant Green Waters sect, an elite school of cultivation. Invited to join the sect as a novice, Wu Ying is thrown into a world he is utterly unprepared for, one filled with demonic beasts, haughty nobles, and, most of all, the very real possibility of reaching immortality—if he’s brave enough to seize it.
Intergalactic Feast by Lavanya Lakshminarayan (Flavour Hacker #2) — March 10
Need a break from the horrors? How about some cozy sci-fi to curl up with and enjoy a healthy dose of escapism!
Intergalactic Feast is the sequel to Lavanya Lakshminarayan's cozy sci-fi novel Interstellar Megachef, which was about a chef from Earth named Saraswati Kaveri who entered into the galaxy's most famed cooking competition. With the help of a corporate prodigy named Serenity Ko who's on the lookout for a new project, Saraswati managed to win Interstellar Megachef. But that was only the beginning, and the food simulation that Saraswati and Serenity created together may hold broader implications than they'd imagined.
It has been three months since Saraswati Kaveri and Serenity Ko won Interstellar MegaChef with their groundbreaking new food simulation, Feast.
But victory is only the beginning. Saras is busy promoting their invention as the public face of Feast, while Ko keeps fighting battles to steer its development at XP Inc. And then there’s the kiss. They’ve decided to just be friends for now, at least until the sim’s impending launch, but the memory of that heady night hangs over them.
And sometimes it seems the whole galaxy is lined up against them. Saraswati’s secret past is coming under scrutiny, while old rivals are running smear campaigns against her. The cookery world is divided over Feast, proclaiming it a bold new invention and a betrayal of the chef’s art by turns.
And others see Feast’s darker potential—not as an experience, but as a weapon...
Sing the Night by Megan Jauregui Eccles (Opera Magique #1) — March 10
Sing the NIght is Megan Jauregui Eccles' dark fantasy debut inspired by The Phantom of the Opera, where a magician named Selene vies to win the favor of the king through an operatic competition. This story combines music and magic in a unique way, as Selene literally must "sing magic into existence." Music nerds, this is obviously the book for you.
Of course, if your'e familiar with The Phantom of the Opera, you know there must be a mysterious man somewhere in the mix with a tragic backstory, who can help Selene realize her dream. Here's hoping she can recognize a dangerous deal when it comes knocking.
For as long as Selene remembers, she's only wanted one thing: to sing the boldest, brightest magic into existence and win L′Opéra du Magician. To the winner goes the spoils of being declared King′s Mage, a position her father held years ago, before he lost control of his magic and spiraled into madness, leaving Selene an orphan. But when the competition turns cutthroat and a competitor steals Selene′s song, the chance to redeem her father's legacy begins to slip through her fingers.
Until, in the depths of the opera house, she discovers a mysterious and beautiful man trapped within a mirror. He offers not only the magic of music, but a darker sorcery of shadow, blood, and want. He can help Selene if she helps him in return--but his forbidden magic may not be worth the cost.
As the competition continues and mages are driven to ruin competing for the king′s favor, Selene must navigate betrayal, the return of childhood love, and the price of ambition.
Cabaret in Flames by Hache Pueyo — March 10
Are you having a hard time containing your hunger for dark, juicy vampiric tales while you wait for The Vampire Lestat? This is the novella you want to read this month. Cabaret in Flames is the latest book from But Not Too Bold author Hache Pueyo. Set in an alternate Brazil, it follows a woman who runs a clinic that treats those who were ravaged by "Guls," bloodthirsty beings who stalk the night and manipulate the government to feed their brutal cabaret.
Guls can be brutal. Few know this better than Ariadne, who lost half her body to their appetites, but their brutality is a predictable constant amid Brazil’s political chaos. Now, she treats them in the specialized clinic she inherited from Erik Yurkov—the mentor who rescued her as a child, trained her in medicine, built her prostheses, and disappeared without a trace.
Ariadne’s routine is disturbed when Quaint knocks on her door: a charming, tattooed gul claiming to be Erik’s oldest friend. Quaint suspects foul play in Erik’s disappearance, and they soon discover Erik sought asylum at Cabaré, an infamous club in Rio de Janeiro frequented by the gul elite.
Children of Strife by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Children of Time #4) — March 17
The highly-anticipated next entry in Adrian Tchaikovsky's Children of Time series releases this month, continuing the ongoing saga of humanity's struggle to survive on a terraformed planet hiding terrifying alien secrets. Children of Strife sounds like it moves the story away from the world we've seen in previous volumes, with a new crew of humans and their spider allies.
Fans of The Expanse should definitely check this series out if you haven't already. Just be prepared to find your new favorite author and have plenty of reading material, because Tchaikovsky churns out books like few others.
After Earth fell, ark ships hunted for a new home. They sought lost worlds terraformed in Earth's forgotten past. A ship crewed by maverick humans, spiders and a spectacularly punchy mantis shrimp captain is about to rediscover one such world, and an ark.
Then human crewmate Alis wakes to discover that she, her captain and the ship's intelligence are the only ones left on their ship.
But what happened to those who left to explore the ark ... and the world below?
Children of Strife is the extraordinary next volume set in the Children of Time universe, featuring epic adventure, first contact and the nature of intelligence among the stars.
Where Dreams Fall by R.L. Caulder (Defying Fate #1) — March 17
Where Dreams Fall is the first installment in a sweeping, elven romantasy from author R.L. Caulder, where a woman's dreams are invaded by a mysterious figure that hints at the crumbling of their world. Multiple factions of elves, a deadly selection process for the next queen, and a forbidden romance set up Defying Fate as a series with plenty to keep romantasy addicts turning the pages.
In a world in which dreams are guarded and nightmares are unsanctioned, one woman’s unraveling mind may hold the key to everything the empire fears.
Elysia has spent her life thus far beneath the white clouds of the Dromin elves, protected from nightmares and the Nithrin elves that feed on them—until now. Her dreams have begun to twist into haunting scenes of ancient creatures, death . . . and a mysterious figure cloaked in light and shadow. Elysia suspects he’s a Dromin elf breaking multiple laws to appear to her, and his whispered words and lingering touch ignite a spark between them that the gods themselves will soon fear.
When the queen dies and a brutal selection process to replace her begins, Elysia quickly realizes the waking world is fracturing alongside her sleeping one. Women across the empire are offered to the elven high priestess, put forward as potential heads for a crown drenched in blood and lies. Elysia finds herself at the center of the trials, and if she’s to survive them, she’ll have to decide what she’s willing to fight for—and if she can live with the choices she’s forced to make. Because only one will be chosen as queen, but all will be broken in the process.
Elysia eventually ascends into the elven world to find the one who stirred her heart is waiting there, but his true identity is far more dangerous than she ever imagined. Choosing each other will mean forsaking the world they’re trying to save . . .
Daughter of Crows by Mark Lawrence (The Academy of Kindness #1) — March 24
Like Adrian Tchaikovsky, fantasy author Mark Lawrence is wildly prolific. He's perhaps best known for The Broken Empire trilogy, but he's penned plenty of others over the years, including the recent Great Library trilogy. Now he's back with the start of yet another new series, The Academy of Kindness. But don't let that name fool you; there's nothing kind about the sort of agents created by the Academy in this fantasy world.
Daughter of Crows is a witchy fantasy novel that will no doubt have all of Lawrence's signature twists, excellent worldbuilding, and memorable characters. There's never a bad time to check out a new Mark Lawrence series!
Set a thief to catch a thief. Set a monster to punish monsters.
The Academy of Kindness exists to create agents of retribution, cast in the image of the Furies—known as the kindly ones—against whom even the gods hesitate to stand. Each year a hundred girls are sold to the Academy. Ten years later only three will emerge.
The Academy’s halls run with blood. The few that survive its decade-long nightmare have been forged on the sands of the Wound Garden. They have learned ancient secrets amid the necrotic fumes of the Bone Garden. They leave its gates as avatars of vengeance, bound to uphold the oldest of laws.
Only the most desperate would sell their child to the Kindnesses. But Rue … she sold herself. And now, a lifetime later, a long and bloody lifetime later, just as she has discovered peace, war has been brought to an old woman’s doorstep.
That was a mistake.
Aicha by Soraya Bouazzaoui — March 24
Soraya Bouazzaoi's Aicha is a historical fantasy that draws on Moroccan myth and history, leaning into female rage and devastating romance to create a vivid tale of the Moroccan warrior goddess' rise. During the Protuguese colonization of Morocco, the daughter of a freedom fighter finds strength in anger and uses it to fight back...but that demonic power holds the promise of changing her into something far darker and more dangerous than any simple rebel.
The Portuguese empire has planted its flag across Morocco, ruling with an iron fist. But eventually, all empires must fall.
Aicha, the daughter of a Moroccan freedom-fighter, was born for battle. She has witnessed the death of her people, their starvation and torture at the hands of the occupiers, and it has awakened an anger within her. An anger that burns hot and bright and that speaks to Aicha's soul.
Only Aicha's secret lover, Rachid, a rebellion leader, knows how to soothe her. But as the fight for Morocco's freedom reaches its violent climax, the creature that simmers beneath Aicha's skin begs to be unleashed. It hungers for the screams of those who have caused her pain, and it will not be ignored.
Heir of Twisted Lies by LJ Andrews (The Broken Souls and Bones #2) — March 24
Heir of Twisted Lies is the sequel to LJ Andres' breakout novel The Broken Souls and Bones, and one of the biggest romantasy releases of the month. It picks up directly after the end of the previous book, with Lyra Bien stepping into a power that could reshape the kingdom around her. But to survive long enough to see it through, she'll need the help of the man who betrayed her: Roark Ashwood.
This series combines Norse-inspired worldbuilding with a slowburn romance and political intrigue, making it a perfect choice for readers looking to lose themselves in a romantasy saga that still feels epic in scope and scale.
Lyra Bien never expected to leave the royal house at Stonegate in one piece after her rare melder magic was revealed. Once she discovered the truth behind the need for her magic and the brutality of her kingdom, Lyra vowed to put an end to the corruption of the crown. But is the enemy of her enemy her friend? Lyra must put her trust in the man who stole her heart . . . then deceived her.
Roark Ashwood rose through the ranks to become Sentry of Stonegate and personal guard to the prince, despite being born of the enemy clan, the Dravens. But in a single heartbeat he destroyed his ruthless reputation all to save Lyra. With his true identity unveiled, Roark revealed years of plotting and betrayal to everyone he loves.
As Roark’s two lives collide, he must fight to protect the woman he loves and outsmart those throughout the kingdoms who want his power for themselves. Lyra must wade through long-kept secrets, rising battles, and vicious court intrigue—all while keeping her feelings for Roark at bay.
Wolf Worm by T. Kingfisher — March 24
T. Kingfisher is the multi-award winning author of dozens of books, and her latest work, Wolf Worm, leans into Southern gothic vibes to deliver a fantasy horror story about a scientific illustrator who uncovers eerie things afoot in the North Carolina woods. Given Kingfisher's penchant for sharing weird and intriguing nature facts as part of her award speeches, I have a feeling this book is going to be a singular experience.
"I saw the devil in these woods.”
Sonia Wilson is a talented scientific illustrator—but she is only able to follow her dream because of her father’s reputation as a renowned scientist. Such is the lot in life for a woman in science in 1899. And after his death, she is left without work, prospects, or hope.
So when the reclusive Dr. Halder offers her a position illustrating his vast collection of insects, Sonia jumps at the chance to move to his North Carolina manor house and put her talents to use.
Once there though, she encounters dark happenings in the Carolina woods, and even darker questions come to light, like what happened to her predecessor? Why are animals acting so strangely, and what is behind the peculiar local whispers about “blood thiefs?”
With the aid of the housekeeper and a local healer, Sonia discovers that Halder’s entomological studies have taken him down a twisted road. His ground-breaking discoveries come with a cost—one that Halder is paying with human flesh.
If Sonia can’t find a way to stop the monstrosity, she may be next under the knife.
Trace Elements: Conversations on the Project of Science Fiction and Fantasy by Jo Walton and Ada Palmer — March 24
Trace Elements is a unique book on the list, because it's not a traditional novel, but rather a collection of essays and conversations that explore the history and current state of the fantasy and sci-fi genres. Written by Jo Walton, author of Tooth and Claw, and Ada Palmer, author of Too Like the Lightning, this collection sounds like a perfect read for the hardcore SFF readers who not only love reading every story they can get their hands on, but are also interested in the long and fascinating story of the genres at large.
Jo Walton and Ada Palmer are two of the most innovative and insightful writers to emerge in the SF and fantasy genres in this century. As writers of fiction they’ve each won multiple awards. As commenters on SF and fantasy in print and in visual media, they’ve both sparked new conversations that expanded our imaginations and understanding of how SF and fantasy work, and what more it could be doing.
Now, in Trace Elements, Walton and Palmer have come together to write a book-length and supremely entertaining look at modern science fiction and fantasy, at how our genre is written and how it is read, that will join nonfiction works like Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Language of the Night, Samuel R. Delany’s The Jewel-Hinged Jaw, and Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud on the short shelf of titles essential to all readers of our genre.
Subjects covered include the nature of genre itself, the history of SF publishing, the implicit contract between author and reader, the ways SF and fantasy disguise themselves as one another, what SF&F can learn from outside influences ranging from Shakespeare to Diderot to anime, the role of complicity in reading, the need to expand our “sphere of empathy”, and finally the need for optimism, the importance of rejecting “purity” culture, and the fact that the human story for centuries to come will be composed of hard work.
Steel Gods by Richard Swan (The Great Silence #2) — March 31
It's been just over a years since Richard Swan kicked off a new era for the Sovan Empire with Grave Empire, and he's already back to continue the story. Steel Gods picks up right where its predecessor left off, with the true nature of the Great Silence revealed and ambassador Renata Rainer crossing paths with Peter Kleist, a soldier who encountered untold horrors in the forests on the edge of the empire. That book was an excellent new addition in Swan's expanding mythos of his dark fantasy world that began with The Empire of the Wolf, which saw the empire undergo industrial revolution just as a terrifying supernatural threat began to surface. Now we can finally find out what's ahead for Renata, Kleist, and the scheming Count Lamprecht von Oldenburg in Steel Gods.
Industrial Revolution Beckons. Spiritual Catastrophe Looms. And the Empire of the Wolf teeters on the brink.
The true horror of the Great Silence has been revealed. As nation after nation succumbs to the mind-plague and Sova scrambles to enlist help from across the globe, Ambassador Renata Rainer has been given a simple task: save the world. While she travels to the Principality of Casimir to enlist the help of the Empire's oldest enemy, Lieutenant Peter Kleist returns to the haunted forests of the New East to search for ancient answers--and finally confront the terrible fate that awaits him.
In their wake, a task force of engineers, soldiers, and arcane experts will try and unpick the final secrets of the Great Silence--on both sides of the mortal plane. But time is running out. Count Lamprecht von Oldenburg has returned to the capital, armed with a terrible vision and enough madness to see it through. Those who stand in his way face a simple choice: join the revolution, or die.
As the world tips towards chaos, all paths converge on the Eye of the Sea, where the fabric of reality wears thin--and where the Empire of the Wolf must confront the most terrible enemy it has ever known.