15 highly anticipated fantasy and science fiction books coming this fall

3. The Bone Ship’s Wake by R.J. Barker (9/28)

If you enjoy reading about sea voyages, misfit crews, and nautical warfare, then you’ll love R.J. Barker’s Tide Child Trilogy, which began in 2019 with The Bone Ships. The final installment, The Bone Ship’s Wake, is due out in September, and promises to be an epic conclusion to a highly original and exciting series.

The Bone Ships and its sequels follow the crew of the titular Tide Child, a ship made from the bones of sea dragons. Sea dragon bones are an extremely valued resource on the archipelago world of The Hundred Isles; they’re a superior, magical building material used to create extremely powerful ships for the two warring nations of the novel. The Tide Child is captained by Lucky Meas and crewed by a group of misfit criminals who are given a second chance and shipped off on a suicide mission.

The story mainly focuses on Lucky Meas’ first mate Joron Twinner as he undergoes a huge transformation to become a leader worth following. But a huge part of the joy of the Tide Child books is the fascinating and fun world that Barker has created. It has some highly structured societal caste issues…but the way the author deftly handles them with plentiful dashes of wit and humor, keeping things entertaining. Right up until the books punch you in the heart strings.

The Bone Ship’s Wake will see the tale of Joron and the Tide Child crew come to an end on September 28.