17 fantasy and science fiction books to read in September 2023
By Daniel Roman
THE FRACTURED DARK by Megan E. O’Keefe (The Devoured Worlds #2) — September 26
This month we’ll be getting the follow-up to Megan E. O’Keefe’s The Blighted Stars, which was a fantastic sci-fi horror book that came out in May. The first novel had an enemies-to-lovers romance involving a space marine and a geologist member of the aristocracy, a planet filled with mysteries alien organisms, and some very cool sci-fi technology.
We can’t talk too much about what happened in The Blighted Stars because there’s a special place in hell for people who spoil good books, but suffice it to say that ever since reading the first book I’ve been dying to see what happens next to Naira and Tarquin. Fortunately, Megan E. O’Keefe is a writing machine and The Fractured Dark is already on the way!
Naira and Tarquin have escaped vicious counterrevolutionaries, misprinted monsters, and the pull of a dying planet. Now, bound together to find the truth behind the blight that has been killing habitable planets, they need to hunt out the Mercator family secrets. But, when the head of Mercator disappears, taking the universe’s remaining supply of starship fuel with him, chaos breaks loose between the ruling families. Naira’s revolution must be put aside for the sake of humanity’s immediate survival.
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THE NAVIGATING FOX by Christopher Rowe — September 26
The next book on our list might be one of the most unique. The Navigating Fox is a novella from author Christopher Rowe. It’s about a literal fox who works as a navigator on expeditions.
Rowe is an acclaimed author of short fiction, and with this story drawing comparisons to works like Brian Jacques’ beloved Redwall series, I’m more than a little curious to read it when it releases later this month.
Quintus Shu’al, the world’s only navigating fox, is in disgrace after guiding an expedition to its doom, leaving no survivors. One year later, Quintus is offered the chance to redeem himself: he will need to lead a motley, fractious team—both human and animal—all the way to the gates of Hell.
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads
THE FRAGILE THREADS OF POWER by V.E. Schwab (Threads of Power #1) — September 26
One of the most notable book releases in September is The Fragile Threads of Power by V.E. Schwab. This is the start of a brand new series set in Schwab’s highly-acclaimed Shades of Magic universe, which features alternate-universe versions of London, world-bending magic and heists gone awry. But even more exciting than that is that this is a direct sequel which even brings back many of the main cast members from those books. Kell and the crew return!
Once, there were four worlds, nestled like pages in a book, each pulsing with fantastical power and connected by a single city: London. Until the magic grew too fast and forced the worlds to seal the doors between them in a desperate gamble to protect their own. The few magicians who could still open the doors grew more rare as time passed and now, only three Antari are known in recent memory—Kell Maresh of Red London, Delilah Bard of Grey London, and Holland Vosijk, of White London.
But barely a glimpse of them have been seen in the last seven years—and a new Antari named Kosika has appeared in White London, taking the throne in Holland’s absence. The young queen is willing to feed her city with blood, including her own—but her growing religious fervor has the potential to drown it instead.
And back in Red London, King Rhy Maresh is threatened by a rising rebellion, one determined to correct the balance of power by razing the throne entirely.
These two royals from very different empires now face very similar struggles: how to keep their crowns—and their own heads.
Amidst this tapestry of old friends and new enemies, a girl with an unusual magical ability comes into possession of a device that could change the fate of all four worlds.
Her name is Tes, and she’s the only one who can bring them together—or unravel it all.