15 new Fantasy and Science Fiction books to read in 2021

The Wisdom of Crowds by Joe Abercrombie (September 21)

There’s nothing like taking in a new tale of blood and butchery courtesy of grimdark fantasy’s current master, Joe Abercrombie. Abercrombie’s current series is The Age of Madness, a long-awaited sequel trilogy to his hit First Law books. This series takes place 28 years after the end of The Last Argument of Kings, when the Union is moving into an industrial revolution. Some of the characters are descendants of the original First Law crew, so there’s a lot for diehard fans of the series to fall in love with here. Just don’t get too invested, because Abercrombie is merciless and life expectancies are short in his brutally dark fantasy world.

The first two books in the new trilogy, A Little Hatred and The Trouble with Peace, were released in September 2019 and 2020 respectively. Since Abercrombie writes like a well-oiled machine, we’re now getting the third and final volume of The Age of Madness this fall. Here’s the official synopsis for The Wisdom of Crowds:

"Chaos. Fury. Destruction. The Great Change is upon us . . . Some say that to change the world you must first burn it down. Now that belief will be tested in the crucible of revolution: the Breakers and Burners have seized the levers of power, the smoke of riots has replaced the smog of industry, and all must submit to the wisdom of crowds. With nothing left to lose, Citizen Brock is determined to become a new hero for the new age, while Citizeness Savine must turn her talents from profit to survival before she can claw her way to redemption. Orso will find that when the world is turned upside down, no one is lower than a monarch. And in the bloody North, Rikke and her fragile Protectorate are running out of allies . . . while Black Calder gathers his forces and plots his vengeance. The banks have fallen, the sun of the Union has been torn down, and in the darkness behind the scenes, the threads of the Weaver’s ruthless plan are slowly being drawn together . . ."

The Wisdom of Crowds releases on September 21 from Orbit Books.