17 fantasy and science fiction books to read in March 2024

SONG OF THE HUNTRESS by Lucy Holland — March 19

Lucy Holland burst onto the genre fiction scene in 2021 with Sistersong, a reimagining of the Twa Sisters ballad which gained quite a lot of buzz from readers upon its release. Holland is back with a new standalone novel this month: Song of the Huntress. And my fellow Witcher fans, you might want to pay attention to this one.

Song of the Huntress is Holland's take on the tale of Herla and the Wild Hunt, combining elements of historical fiction, sapphic romance and myth into a lush fantasy story.

Britain, 60AD. Hoping to save her lover, her land, and her people from the Romans, Herla makes a desperate pact with the king of the Otherworld. But years pass unheeded in his realm, and she escapes to find everyone she loved long dead. Cursed to wield his blade, she becomes Lord of the Hunt. And for centuries, she rides, leading her immortal warriors and reaping wanderers’ souls. Until the night she meets a woman on a bloody battlefield—a Saxon queen with ice-blue eyes.

Queen Æthelburg of Wessex is a proven fighter. But when she leads her forces to disaster in battle, her husband’s court turns against her. Yet King Ine needs Æthel more than ever. Something dark and dangerous is at work in the Wessex court. His own brother seeks to usurp him. And their only hope is the magic in Ine’s bloodline that’s lain dormant since ancient days.

The moment she and Æthel meet, Herla knows it’s no coincidence. The dead kings are waking. The Otherworld seeks to rise, to bring the people of Britain under its dominion. And as Herla and Æthel grow closer, Herla must find her humanity—and a way to break the curse—before it’s too late.

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CASCADE FAILURE by L.M. Sagas (Ambit's Run #1) — March 19

Next up we have Cascade Failure, the debut novel from L.M. Saga and the first installment in the Ambit's Run series. This is a sci-fi adventure story reminiscent of Firefly, with a "fierce, messy, chaotic space family, vibrant worlds, and an exploration of the many ways to be—and not to be—human."

Yeah, that got me too. Who doesn't love a good sci-fi romp with a highly dysfunctional found family of characters trying to figure out their place in the universe and each other's lives?

There are only three real powers in the Spiral: the corporate power of the Trust versus the Union's labor's leverage. Between them the Guild tries to keep everyone's hands above the table. It ain't easy.

Branded a Guild deserter, Jal "accidentally" lands a ride on a Guild ship. Helmed by an AI, with a ship's engineer/medic who doesn't see much of a difference between the two jobs, and a "don't make me shoot you" XO, the Guild crew of the Ambit is a little . . . different.

They're also in over their heads. Responding to a distress call from an abandoned planet, they find a mass grave, and a live programmer who knows how it happened. The Trust has plans. This isn't the first dead planet, and it's not going to be the last.

Unless the crew of the Ambit can stop it.

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THE POISONS WE DRINK by Bethany Baptiste — March 26

Closing out the month of March is The Poisons We Drink, a dark fantasy and the debut novel from Bethany Baptiste. Set in an alternate Earth where magic users are discriminated against by humans, teenage Witcher Venus Stoneheart supports her family by brewing illegal love potions. After a horrifying act of violence shatters her family, Venus is given a chance for revenge...but what will she have to sacrifice for it?

The Poisons We Drink is being pitched as "a potent YA debut about a world where love potions are weaponized against hate and prejudice, sisterhood is unbreakable, and self-love is life and death." It sounds like a powerful first book from a promising new voice in the fantasy genre.

Love potions is a dangerous business. Brewing has painful, debilitating side effects, and getting caught means death or a prison sentence. But what Venus is most afraid of is the dark, sentient magic within her.

Then an enemy's iron bullet kills her mother, Venus's life implodes. Keeping her reckless little sister Janus safe is now her responsibility. When the powerful Grand Witcher, the ruthless head of her coven, offers Venus the chance to punish her mother's killer, she has to pay a steep price for revenge. The cost? Brew poisonous potions to enslave D.C.'s most influential politicians.

As Venus crawls deeper into the corrupt underbelly of her city, the line between magic and power blurs, and it's hard to tell who to trust…Herself included.

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