The holiday season is in full swing, and with snow coming down and the temperature dropping, it's the perfect time to hibernate with a stack of books. As always, we're rounding up a bunch of the hottest new releases in the fantasy and science fiction genres hitting shelves this month, so you can spend less time trying to figure out what's coming and more time reading your next favorite book.
December is traditionally a bit of an odd month for book releases, and that's certainly true this year. Most major book releases come out right at the top of the month, leaving the last few weeks of December for the holidays as publishing hits pause until the new year. In 2025, we're getting a bunch of unusual books in December, from short fiction collections to a new Stranger Things tie-in novel. Of course, there are also some highly-anticipated novels coming, including the end of an exceptional sci-fi trilogy.
You know the drill: pull up your Goodreads or other preferred method of tracking your books, and let's check out what's ahead this month!
STRANGER THINGS: ONE WAY OR ANOTHER by Caitlin Schneiderhan— December 2
If you're like us here at Winter Is Coming, you probably can't get enough of Netflix's sci-fi horror series Stranger Things. The first volume of the show's final season dropped at the end of November, and the rest is due out in a few weeks. But you don't have to wait that long to get back to Hawkins! On December 2, author Caitlin Schneiderhan is releasing Stranger Things: One Way or Another, a tie-in novel centered around Nancy Wheeler and Robin Buckley. It's being tagged as "A Nancy Wheeler Mystery," which is a fun nod to the girl detective Nancy Drew.
One Way or Another is set after season 4 but before season 5. Hawkins has been rocked by Vecna's earthquake, and Nancy and Robin are graduating high school. But with military quarantine closing in and more mysteries cropping up around the town, it seems unlikely the teens will actually get to leave for greener pastures. Instead, they follow an eerie mystery which may link back to the Upside Down.
Hawkins, Indiana, is in recovery. It’s been two months since Vecna’s earthquake tore through the town, and its residents are still reeling from the devastation. Nancy Wheeler has spent every waking minute on the hunt for Vecna, but he’s continued to elude her. How can she head to Emerson for college in the fall if Hawkins is still under the influence of the Upside Down?
When fellow classmate Joey Taft starts acting shifty at graduation, Nancy is convinced Vecna’s found his newest victim. Joined by fellow amateur sleuth Robin Buckley, Nancy doesn’t waste any time questioning Joey. What the girls discover leads them down the path of a bigger story than The Hawkins Post could ever have assigned Nancy. Why are people around town suddenly getting sick? Why is there a strange man tailing Nancy as she investigates? And, most important, does this even have anything to do with the Upside Down?
Together with Robin, Nancy embarks on a dangerous quest for the truth. The deeper the two dig, the further Nancy finds herself drawn into a web of intrigue that threatens to trap her in Hawkins . . . forever.
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THIS BRUTAL MOON by Bethany Jacobs (The Kindom Trilogy #3) — December 2
This Brutal Moon is the third and final installment in Bethany Jacobs' The Kindom Trilogy, and if you're in the market for a sci-fi epic with the sweeping ambition of something like Dune, strong queer characters, and revenge plots that would make the most seasoned assassin blanche, this is a series you need on your radar. The first book, These Burning Stars, was one of my favorite sci-fi books of 2023. It delved into an interstellar conspiracy, where the morally dubious cleric Esek Nightfoot and her former protégé Chono had to team up to hunt down another former student of Esek's, named Six, who leaving a trail of bodies in her wake.
The twists and turns of These Burning Stars were mind-blowing, and by the end, everything the reader thought they knew about Esek and the Kindom is turned on its head. The story only grew more intricate and delicious from there in the second book, On Vicious Worlds. Now with the trilogy complete, Jacobs' stellar debut sci-fi series can be read in one go for maximum emotional damage.
Violence has erupted across the Treble. The colony that Jun Ironway and Masar Hawks have fought to protect is now woefully compromised, and its people, unwilling to submit to tyranny once more, face a brutal fight for their lives and freedom.
In the midst of upheaval and rebellion, new enemies arise at every corner, including a familiar player who won't let power slip through his fingers again. Not when he has every Kindom Hand under his heel. And whether he will be as bloody-minded as his predecessors remains to be seen.
As the quiet ones launch their attack and all hope seems lost, Cleric Chono looks to unlikely allies to fight a final battle for peace. But one crucial question remains: where is Six?
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DRAGONS GONE WILD by Dan Koboldt (The Build-a-Dragon Sequence #3) — December 2
The Build-a-Dragon Sequence from Dan Koboldt brings dragons into the modern world, along with all the problems you might expect from giant fire-breathing lizards suddenly roaming the Earth. This series follows Noah Parker, a genetic engineer who has been at the forefront of coordinating a peaceful co-existence for humans and dragons. So far that's consisted of figuring out how to train them for the military, and domesticate them as pets. But in the third book of the series, Dragons Gone Wild, Koboldt turns the focus to using dragons as a deterrent for ecological threats.
Of course, you could probably imagine how using domesticated dragons to eradicate invasive species might run the risk of introducing an altogether different invasive species into the mix, of the draconic variety. This book sounds like a great fit for readers who enjoyed John Scalzi's The Kaiju Preservation Society, or the heady scientific quandaries of Jurassic Park.
B.A.D. COMPANY IS AT IT AGAIN, THEIR CUSTOM-ENGINEERED DRAGONS CURBING ECOLOGICAL THREATS—BUT ARE THEY AT RISK OF BECOMING A THREAT THEMSELVES?
Genetic engineer Noah Parker helped domesticate dragons for use as pets and deployed them for the U.S. military. Now his team is tasked with designing dragons to tackle invasive species and other ecological problems. It's no easy job, especially because government approval requires the dragons have built-in failsafes to prevent them from reproducing in the wild. To Noah's surprise, the approval also requires the presence of an onsite observer—who happens to be his former rival from graduate school.
Still, there are big problems to solve where dragons can help: from a plague of locusts threatening a precious desert oasis to a rat infestation in penguin nesting habitats in Antarctica. Every environment brings unique challenges, ones that Noah can only understand by going there in person. All that remains is watching to make sure dragons get the job done.
Although the environmental control dragons are successful, the Build-A-Dragon Company starts to receive worrisome reports of wild dragons in places they should not be. Many of those point to a small Midwestern town where dragons have attacked livestock and even people. When Noah travels there to investigate, he finds the problem is far worse than they could have imagined . . .
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WE WILL RISE AGAIN: Speculative Stories and Essays on Protest, Resistance, and Hope edited by Karen Lord, Annalee Newitz, and Malka Older — December 2
We Will Rise Again is a collection of short fiction and essays that digs into themes of protest, resistance and hope, which is edited by a trio of celebrated speculative fiction authors: Karen Lord, Analee Newitz, and Malka Older. This is a fairly unique collection in that the stories are given real-world context through the addition of various essays and interviews. The list of collaborators is also excellent, including authors like N. K. Jemisin, Sam J. Miller, and Charlie Jane Anders, among others.
In the tumultuous times we're currently living through, it feels safe to say that we can all use more stories of protest and resilience. We Will Rise Again caps off the year with just that, and is a great choice if you're looking for a read that will be both satisfying as well as thought provoking.
From genre luminaries, esteemed organizers, and exciting new voices in fiction, an anthology of stories, essays, and interviews that offer transformative visions of the future, fantastical alternate worlds, and inspiration for the social justice movements of tomorrow.
In this collection, editors Karen Lord, Annalee Newitz, and Malka Older champion realistic, progressive social change using the speculative stories of writers across the world. Exploring topics ranging from disability justice and environmental activism to community care and collective worldbuilding, these imaginative pieces from writers such as NK Jemisin, Charlie Jane Anders, Alejandro Heredia, Sam J. Miller, Nisi Shawl, and Sabrina Vourvoulias center solidarity, empathy, hope, joy, and creativity.
Each story is grounded within a broader sociopolitical framework using essays and interviews from movement leaders, including adrienne maree brown and Walidah Imarisha, charting the future history of protest, revolutions, and resistance with the same zeal for accuracy that speculative writers normally bring to science and technology. Using the vehicle of ambitious storytelling, We Will Rise Again offers effective tools for organizing, an unflinching interrogation of the status quo, and a blueprint for prefiguring a different world.
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A GRIM REAPER'S GUIDE TO CHEATING DEATH by Maxie Dara (A S.C.Y.T.H.E. Mystery #2) — December 2
If you're in the market for a cozy read this holiday season, A Grim Reaper's Guide to Cheating Death by Maxie Dara may be right in your wheelhouse. This is the second book in Dara's S.C.Y.T.H.E. Mysteries, which follow a corporate grim reaper named Nora Bird who is obsessed with evading death. While that may be working out just fine for her, this time around she's got a new case file that indicates her twin brother's ticket is about to be punched.
What ensues sounds like a raucous road trip, as Nora, her brother Charlie, and a sassy talking parrot named Jessica try time and again to evade the demise fate has earmarked for Charlie. But each time they avert one death, another aligns in its place. Can they find out who wants him dead before it's too late?
When a determined killer targets her brother, a grim reaper risks everything to save him in this delightful cozy mystery.
Nora Bird works for S.C.Y.T.H.E., which might seem odd for someone as terrified of death as she is. But ever since her parents died in an accident when she was six, she's been obsessed with avoiding risk, and what better place to learn how to cheat death than the company that employs the nation's grim reapers?
The work enables Nora to learn all about the myriad ways you can kick the bucket, which is comforting...until one day, a file crosses her desk with a name she recognizes. Her twin brother’s.
The twins haven’t spoken in six months, but Charlie is all Nora has left. Completely against her cautious nature, Nora steals the file and flees, racing to her brother’s house. She begs him to trust her that his death is imminent, and they hit the road (with his parrot, Jessica, who has plenty to say) in an attempt to evade both death and S.C.Y.T.H.E., whose sole mission of collecting souls has been disrupted by Charlie’s continued existence.
Alas, every time Nora saves him, a new cause of death appears in his file. Someone is determined to take Charlie out, and Nora will have to use everything she's ever learned about death to discover the culprit.
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TAILORED REALITIES by Brandon Sanderson — December 9
Returning to the realm of short fiction, our next book is Tailored Realities, the new collection from Brandon Sanderson. Sanderson may be best known for his interconnected fantasy universe, known as the Cosmere, but believe it or not he does write other stuff, too! Tailored Realities collects all the short stories and novellas from Sanderson's career to-date that are not set in the Cosmere, and binds them all in one book for the first time. Some of these stories have never before been printed, including the brand new novella "Moment Zero." It's a must-read for any fan of Sanderson's work.
I've had a chance to read Tailored Realities, and had a thoroughly good time with it. Check out my spoiler-free review here.
Spanning the genres of fantasy and science fiction, Tailored Realities includes ten works of short fiction from the ingenious mind of one of the genre’s most beloved bestselling authors.
From futuristic detective thrillers to inventive space opera, superhero action, high-tech fantasy, and beyond, these gripping standalone reads have never before been gathered into one volume, with many available here in print for the first time.
Along with the thrilling new science fiction novella "Moment Zero," this collection includes:
• “Snapshot”
• “Perfect State”
• “Defending Elysium” (from the world of Skyward)
• “Firstborn”• “Mitosis” (from the world of the Reckoners)
• and four other stories
Also including author’s notes and stunning interior illustrations for each story, this visionary collection is a must-read whether you’re new to Sanderson or a longtime fan.
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SUNSET AT ZERO POINT by Simon Stålenhag — December 9
Another very unique book coming out this month is Sunset at Zero Point, the latest work from The Electric State author Simon Stålenhag. Stålenhag's books contain stories which are bolstered by hyper-realistic artwork; these are not traditional novels, so much as mind-bending artistic experiences.
Sunset at Zero Point is a queer romance which follows two friends who gradually develop feelings for one another, set against the backdrop of an abandoned Swedish island filled with secrets from experiments gone wrong. The story takes place over the course of decades, promising the sort of immersive tale that Stålenhag's readers have come to expect from his transportative stories.
Beginning in 2024, yet set largely during the early 2000s, Sunset at Zero Point unfolds on a secluded Swedish island, home to a secret weapon lab that has been off-limits for years, evoking the bestselling works of Jeff VanderMeer’s Annihilation and Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven.
Stålenhag’s masterful storytelling and hyper-realistic art transports you to an alternate history revealing his most intimate work to date, delving into themes of masculinity, friendship, and sexuality through the lens of a queer science fiction tale. The story spans decades following two young men, stuck in the past and each other’s orbit, as fleeting moments become defining memories as they set out to explore the forbidden zone together.
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SKULL X BONES edited by David B. Coe and Joshua Palmatier — December 15
Our final book for December is another short story anthology, this time from independent publisher Zombies Need Brains. ZNB published short fiction anthologies that are themed around certain ideas, and collects a slew of great writers to explore those ideas from all sorts of different sci-fi and fantasy angles. This time around, the theme is pirates.
Skull X Bones is edited by Joshua Palmatier and David B. Coe, and contains 14 pirate tales that span the high seas and the stars beyond. If previous ZNB anthologies are any indicator, readers can expect some inspired and unexpected twists on the traditional pirate story in the pages of this new anthology.
Avast, intrepid reader! Behold yon inky treasure!
A beautiful airship corsair determined to reveal a government conspiracy. An interstellar outlaw bent on avenging the murders of her fellow crewmates. A pirate captain whose hatred of mer-people endangers his ship and crew. A ghost trapped in the wreckage of a privateering ship.
From the early voyages of a young, ambitious Gaius Julius Caesar, to a sorceress hunting buccaneers along the post-Civil War Mississippi, to the bombastic pronouncements of a cat-hating ship’s AI, pirates have long captured the imagination, whether bound to the sea or preying on vessels in the great void of space.
In Skull X Bones, speculative fiction authors Steven Harper, Alex Bledsoe, Alan Smale, E.J. Delaney, Violette Malan, Adam Stemple, Nemo Herndon, Alena Van Arendonk, Gloria Wickman, R.S. Belcher, Jennifer Brozek, R.M. Olson, Misty Massey, and C.C. Finlay immerse us in the worlds of privateers, buccaneers, corsairs, marauders, and pirates. So strap on a blade or flintlock or laser and keep a keen eye on the horizon. Because dead men DO tell tales, and here there be monsters of the deep.