15 highly anticipated fantasy and science fiction books coming this fall

13. Cytonic by Brandon Sanderson (11/23)

In true Sanderson fashion, we have not one but two new releases coming out from fantasy’s most prolific author this fall. Unlike Dawnshard, however, Cytonic is not set in the Cosmere (the interconnected universe that encompasses most of Sanderson’s adult fantasy stories). Cytonic is the third volume of the Skyward series, which are young adult sci-fi books. But don’t let the age classification fool you; Skyward is still a classic Sanderson story sure to please most fans of his more adult works as well.

Skyward (2019), Starsight (2020), and Cytonic (2021) follow Spensa, an underdog turned starfighter pilot, as she attempts to uncover the secrets of humanity’s existence and defend her planet from an alien species known as the Krell. But of course, there’s much more to the situation than it first seems. Here’s the back-of-book:

"Spensa’s life as a Defiant Defense Force pilot has been far from ordinary. She proved herself one of the best starfighters in the human enclave of Detritus and she saved her people from extermination at the hands of the Krell—the enigmatic alien species that has been holding them captive for decades. What’s more, she traveled light-years from home as an undercover spy to infiltrate the Superiority, where she learned of the galaxy beyond her small, desolate planet home. Now, the Superiority—the governing galactic alliance bent on dominating all human life—has started a galaxy-wide war. And Spensa’s seen the weapons they plan to use to end it: the Delvers. Ancient, mysterious alien forces that can wipe out entire planetary systems in an instant. Spensa knows that no matter how many pilots the DDF has, there is no defeating this predator. Except that Spensa is Cytonic. She faced down a Delver and saw something eerily familiar about it. And maybe, if she’s able to figure out what she is, she could be more than just another pilot in this unfolding war. She could save the galaxy. The only way she can discover what she really is, though, is to leave behind all she knows and enter the Nowhere. A place from which few ever return. To have courage means facing fear. And this mission is terrifying."

Consider us terrified…of the wait until this book comes out. Cytonic is due out on November 23.