15 fantasy and science fiction books to read in October 2023
By Daniel Roman
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It’s time for our monthly round-up of new science fiction and fantasy book releases! Every month, we run through the books that are expected to hit shelves in the coming weeks and highlight some we’re especially looking forward to reading. And with Halloween approaching, there are some especially spooky books to feast on, from horror anthologies to deep space sci-fi, epic fantasy and more.
Here are 16 books to add to your never-ending TBR, starting with a treat from none other than A Song of Ice and Fire scribe George R.R. Martin:
VOYAGING, VOLUME ONE: THE PLAGUE STAR by George R.R. Martin, art and adaptation by Raya Golden — October 3
Voyaging is a graphic novel by Raya Golden which adapts the classic George R.R. Martin story The Plague Star, from his Tuf Voyaging collection, which was originally published in the 1980s. That book contained seven pieces of short fiction which follow the trader Haviland Tuf, who resides on a rickety spaceship called the Cornucopia of Excellent Goods at Low Prices with his cats Havoc and Mushroom. It’s a lot of fun, and an essential part of Martin’s career from before he wrote A Song of Ice and Fire.
Voyaging, Volume One: The Plague Star adapts the first of those stories about Tuf, where he’s hired by a group of shady characters to ferry them out to a mysterious celestial object that’s raining plagues down on a nearby planet. This is one I’ve already had a chance to read. Golden’s adaptation of Martin tale features tons of great artwork and smart choices that bring the story to life in a visual medium. If you enjoy Martin’s work, this is one you’ll definitely want to check out.
On the distant planet Hro B’rana, the last words of a dying man echo through the halls of a run-down trading station.
Nearly three hundred years later, a group of fortune seekers embark on a mission to unravel the mystery of the fabled Plague Star aboard a rickety trade ship called The Cornucopia of Excellent Goods at Low Prices. But their journey will be far more perilous than any of them could have imagined—who will survive this deadly quest and battle it out for the final prize?
A darkly comic meditation on our future as a species, Voyaging, Volume 1: The Plague Star is a sci-fi adventure story of intrigue, greed, deception, and of course… cats. Adapted and vividly illustrated by Hugo Award–nominated artist Raya Golden, this thrilling and action-packed graphic novel brings the first story from #1 New York Times bestselling author George R. R. Martin’s classic collection Tuf Voyaging to life.
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads
PRINCESS OF DUNE by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson — October 3
The movie Dune: Part Two may have been pushed back to 2024, but you don’t have to wait that long to go back to Arrakis. Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson have a new Dune book coming out this month, and it’s one that ties together nicely with what we’re expecting to see in Dune: Part Two.
Princess of Dune is the story of Chani and Princess Irulan, two of the most important women around unwilling messiah Paul Atriedes. Each plays an important role in Frank Herbert’s Dune books, but they’ve never had their full story told from their own perspectives…until now.
Set two years before Dune: Princess of Dune is the never-before-told story of two key women in the life of Paul Muad’Dib—Princess Irulan, his wife in name only, and Paul’s true love, the Fremen Chani. Both women become central to Paul’s galaxy-spanning Imperial reign.
Raised in the Imperial court and born to be a political bargaining chip, Irulan was sent at an early age to be trained as a Bene Gesserit Sister. As Princess Royal, she also learned important lessons from her father—the Padishah Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV. Now of marriageable age, Princess Irulan sees the machinations of the many factions vying for power—the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood, the Spacing Guild, the Imperial throne, and a ruthless rebellion in the Imperial military. The young woman has a wise and independent streak and is determined to become much more than a pawn to be moved about on anyone’s gameboard.
Meanwhile, on Arrakis, Chani—the daughter of Liet-Kynes, the Imperial Planetologist who serves under the harsh rule of House Harkonnen—is trained in the Fremen mystical ways by an ancient Reverend Mother. Brought up to believe in her father’s ecological dream of a green Arrakis, she follows Liet around to Imperial testing stations, surviving the many hazards of desert life. Chani soon learns the harsh cost of Fremen dreams and obligations under the oppressive boot heel of the long Harkonnen occupation.