17 of our most anticipated fantasy and sci-fi books of 2024

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As is vaunted tradition passed down through the ages, whenever a new year begins we must look forward to the books yet to come. While I'm still reeling from the incredible slate of books that came out in 2023, time is already speeding ahead. And there can be little doubt that this is going to be another banger year for bookshelves, with major titles from authors like Brandon Sanderson, Mark Lawrence, Andrea Stewart and more, as well as plenty of exciting debuts and indie releases.

If you're looking to get your reading list in order for 2024, look no further. We've rounded up 17 of the most exciting and notable fantasy and sci-fi book releases of the year all in one place, so you can spend less time scouring the internet and more time reading. A couple of these titles were released in January; the rest will follow throughout the year. As such, any vendor links listed for books that aren't out yet are for pre-orders. So pull up your Goodreads account and let's get to bookmarking!

THE SLAIN DIVINE by David Dalglish (Vagrant Gods #3) — January 9

The Slain Divine is the third and final book in David Dalglish's Vagrant Gods trilogy, an epic fantasy where a young prince and his allies fight to liberate his people's island home from an invading empire. This is a world where gods once held sway, walking among the populace as living deities, before the new god emperor came along and started killing them all off.

With vibes akin to a Final Fantasy game, including a lovable party of characters who have been through hell and back together, Vagrant Gods has been a great fantasy series to follow these past few years. Obviously, we're more than a little curious to see how it all ends in The Slain Divine.

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WOMB CITY by Tlotlo Tsamaase — January 23

Womb City is the debut novel from acclaimed Motswana short fiction author Tlotlo Tsamaase, and a twisty, thought-provoking book that deals with ideas of bodily autonomy, surveillance and power in a dystopian future where even people's bodies are a "government-issued resource."

Nelah is trapped in a loveless marriage, under constant surveillance by her police officer husband. After a horrible accident leads to Nelah accidentally killing someone, she tries to cover it up...except it doesn't take, and the ghost of her victim then starts hunting down everyone close to her. It sounds like an absolute mindf*ck. From the back-of-book description:

This genre-bending Africanfuturist horror novel blends The Handmaid’s Tale with Get Out in an adrenaline-packed, cyberpunk body-hopping ghost story exploring motherhood, memory, and a woman’s right to her own body.

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THE TRIALS OF EMPIRE by Richard Swan (Empire of the Wolf #3) — February 6

The third and final book in Richard Swan's acclaimed Empire of the Wolf trilogy, The Trials of Empire will be coming out right at the top of February. The series follows Justice Sir Konrad Vonvault and his protégé Helena. In the world of Empire of the Wolf, Justices serve as investigator, judge, and executioner (with a side of necromancer). They are responsible for upholding the laws of the Sovan Empire...but what happens when that empire falls prey to corruption and apathy?

The first two books in Swan's series combined elements of mystery novels with dark fantasy. Now, with the fate of Sova on the line, Helena and Vonvault have to confront a dangerous enemy with the backing of a demonic patron who wants to bring it all down. But is Sova even worth saving?

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REDSIGHT by Meredith Mooring — February 27

Another debut novel, Redsight by Meredith Mooring is a space opera that follows a blind priestess named Korinna who has the ability to control the power of space-time. After an attack on the ship where she was stationed brings Korinna into contact with a notorious pirate who has a vendetta against the Imperium, she is forced to confront the reality of the system which has raised her to become a living weapon. She becomes a fugitive who must harness her power to survive and ensure a better future for the galaxy.

An imaginative new space opera for fans of Gideon the Ninth filled with sapphic romance, space pirates, a blind witch and powerful priestesses

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There are many more exciting books coming this year. Click the button below to continue:

MUSHROOM BLUES by Adrian M. Gibson (The Hofmann Report #1) — March 19

If you're keyed into the fantasy and sci-fi podcast space, you probably know Adrian M. Gibson from the fantastic SFF Addicts podcast where he and fellow co-host/Among Thieves author M.J. Kuhn interview authors about the craft of creating genre novels. This year marks a big turn for Gibson, as he'll not only be continuing the podcast but also releasing his own debut novel, Mushroom Blues.

Dubbed "fungalpunk noir," Mushroom Blues channels the sort of energy you might expect from a story like Blade Runner or True Detective, set in an occupied fungal city where a detective and her mushroom-headed partner have to get to the bottom of a string of mysterious disappearances.

Goodreads

SOMEONE YOU CAN BUILD A NEST IN by John Wiswell — April 2

Someone You Can Build A Nest In is the debut novel by award-winning short fiction author John Wiswell. Just like Wiswell's shorter works, Someone You Can Build A Nest In sounds imaginative, thought-provoking, and full of heart. It's about a shapeshifting monster named Shesheshen who is driven from their home in a ruined manor and ends up grievously wounded. They're discovered by a human, Homily, who nurses them back to health.

It's then that Shesheshen does something that is horribly dangerous for monsters: she falls in love. And Homily just happens to be searching for — wait for it — a shapeshifting monster who she believes has cursed her family. Is that monster Shesheshen? I don't know, but the situation sounds juicy and complicated, and with Wiswell at the helm it's probably going to be a hard book to put down.

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THE BOOK THAT BROKE THE WORLD by Mark Lawrence (The Library Trilogy #2) — April 9

The Book That Broke The World is the second book in Mark Lawrence's Library Trilogy, which began last year with The Book That Wouldn't Burn. Lawrence is a fixture of the fantasy genre who's been putting out books for years; you might know him from The Broken Empire (which began with Prince of Thorns), The Book of the Ancestor or The Book of the Ice. With his latest series, Lawrence has moved away from his well-established fantasy world to do something totally new.

The Library Trilogy takes place in a new fantasy setting not connected to Lawrence's other works, where a mysterious library links worlds and holds unmeasurable secrets. The Book That Broke The World continues the tale of Evar Eventari and Livira Page. Separated and trapped in different worlds, Livira must recover the book she wrote in order to escape a ghostly plane, while Evar's flight from a dangerous power leads him to the wide world beyond the Library.

If you enjoy Mark Lawrence's books, you don't need me to tell you how exciting it is that there's another on the way this year. He's been a staple of the fantasy genre for so long for a reason.

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ROAD TO RUIN by Hana Lee (Magebike Courier #1) — May 14

Another debut we're excited to read in 2024 is Road to Ruin, the first book in the Magebike Courier series by Hannah Lee. Road to Ruin is about a woman named Jin-Lu, who works as one of the titular magebike couriers in a barren post-apocalyptic fantasy world. With marauders, monsters and terrible storms battering the wastes, only magebike couriers are brave enough to deliver important objects from one domed city to another.

However, when Jin-Lu is tasked with delivering letters between a prince and his betrothed, a woman who wants nothing more than to escape her family and future, she's sucked into a plan to help her escape her fate. Cue a chase across the ravaged landscape, a complicated tangle of polyamorous feelings and emergent secrets about the nature of magic.

The Mad Max vibes are strong with this one, which is pretty cool; I can't recall too many books that make me think of that sort of post-apocalyptic adrenaline fest, which makes Road to Ruin more than a little intriguing for the TBR.

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MIRRORED HEAVENS by Rebecca Roanhorse (Between Earth and Sky #3) — June 4

2024 is going to be a year with some serious series enders. Mirrored Heavens is the third and final book in Between Earth and Sky, the highly-acclaimed fantasy series by Rebecca Roanhorse. Between Earth and Sky is set in a fantasy world inspired by the Pre-Columbian and indigenous cultures of Central America.

Beginning with Black Sun, we followed the blind priest Serapio and the Teek sailor Xiala on a perilous voyage which fulfilled a prophecy of vengeance and renewal. Roanhorse's series is as notable for its vivid magic and heart-wrenching character turns as it is for its unique world. If you've wished for more fantasy books that captured the magic, myth and spirit of cultures like the Maya and Aztec, this is the series you've been looking for. As with Richard Swan's Empire of the Wolf, it's another fantastic trilogy that we're simultaneously dying to read and dreading being over.

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THE SPICE GATE by Prashanth Srivatsa — July 16

The Spice Gate by Prashanth Srivatsa is a Southeast Asian-inspired fantasy novel which takes place in a world where eight mysterious gates connect far-flung kingdoms, each of which has access to their own distinct spice. These spices are highly sought after trading commodities, but only those born with a special mark are able to use the Spice Gates, which are believed to be relics of an ancient god.

Amir is one such spice carrier, subjugated by the rich to be a pack mule for their interests. He makes plans to escape and take his family with him, but is drawn into a vast web of conspiracies, assassins and more. Something is brewing in the vast and uninhabited world between the gates, and Amir soon finds himself at the center of a "grand, Spice Gate–hopping adventure." Sign me up.

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THE MERCY OF GODS by James S.A. Corey (The Captive's War #1) — August 6

The Mercy of Gods is the first installment in a brand new series from The Expanse scribes Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, otherwise known as James S.A. Corey. Their skill at weaving a compelling tale needs no exaggeration; we're all big fans of The Expanse here.

The Mercy of Gods sounds like it will have that same epic magic, but bring in a far more alien and strange element. The alien Carryx, who are part empire and part hive, enslave other species to help bolster their own power in a war against a deathless enemy. A scientist named Dafyd Alkhor is swept into this conflict. He and the other human survivors of the planet Anjiin are brought to the Carryx homeworld where they have to compete in order to be the most helpful servants to their new alien masters.

Like The Expanse, this new series sounds like it loves to play in the gray area between good and bad, as Dafyd becomes "the champion of humanity and its betrayer, the most hated man in history and the guardian of his people."

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THE DOORS OF MIDNIGHT by R.R. Virdi (Tales of Tremaine #2) — August 13

The Doors of Midnight is the highly-anticipated sequel to R.R. Virdi's The First Binding, which was one of the more notable fantasy books of 2021. The First Binding is a lyrical, dense fantasy book that draws inspiration from Southeast Asian culture and Silk Road history. It's about a young man named Ari who becomes a legend in his own time thanks to his ability to spin tales about his exploits like no one else. It's also a story about stories that draws on oral storytelling traditions in some beautiful ways.

The First Binding had some striking similarities to Patrick Rothfuss' The Name of the Wind, so if you're one of those people who's been waiting over a decade for The Doors of Stone, this is probably a series you want on your radar. The second book, The Doors of Midnight, hits bookstores this August and will unfold the next chapter in Ari's story.

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THE LAST SHIELD by Cameron Johnston

Cameron Johnston is the author of The Maleficent Seven, a rollicking fantasy book where the villains are the heroes and no one is safe. This year, Johnston will be releasing another standalone fantasy book called The Last Shield, which is being described as "a gender-flipped Die Hard set in a mysterious castle."

Let's be honest, do you really need to know much more than that? A gender-flipped Die Hard in a castle sounds like an absolute blast — especially when said castle houses a bunch of druidic artifacts, and all that stands between the bad guys and retrieving them is Briar, the commander of a group of soldiers called the Shields. "The odds may be against her, but she'll see every enemy head adorning a spike or she'll die trying," reads the back-of-book copy, and man do I need to see how it plays out.

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SHE WHO KNOWS: FIRESPITTER by Nnedi Okorafor — August 20

Fans of the multi-award-winning author Nnedi Okorafor are in for a treat this year: Okorafor is returning to the world of her novel Who Fears Death with a trilogy of prequel novellas, titled She Who Knows. Who Fears Death is currently in development at HBO as a TV series with A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin attached to produce.

Who Fears Death is an Africanfuturist novel that follows a woman named Onyesonwu, a woman born of a horrific act who learns she has access to powerful magic. She Who Knows is the story of Onyesonwu's mother Najeeba. The first volume, Firespitter, begins with Najeeba at the young age of 13. Over the course of the series, we'll learn more about her life, and the events that led to the birth of Onye.

“I’ve wanted to write this story for over a decade,” Okorafor told io9. “It’s been dwelling in my head like a living storm. If you thought Onyesonwu from Who Fears Death was intense, wait until you truly meet her mother. Phew!”

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THE LAND OF THE LIVING AND THE DEAD by Shauna Lawless (Gael Song #3) — September 17

Kicking off the fall is The Land of the Living and the Dead, the third and final volume in the Gael Song series by Shauna Lawless. Gael Song melds Irish folklore and history with a story of two women engaged in a secret, centuries-long conflict between the mythic Tuatha De Danann and the Fomorians. It takes place right around the same time in history as The Last Kingdom, and features the sort of political struggles you might expect, except with a stronger dose of magic.

The Land of the Living and the Dead wraps up the story for Fodla, a healer and agent of the Tuatha De Danann; and Gormflaith, a long-lived and capricious Fomorian with designs on the human kingdoms of Ireland. The two have circled each other for some time, each working in their own secretive ways to bring about their goals. With only one book left, it's likely that things are about to come to a head between them and the forces they represent.

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THE LOTUS EMPIRE by Tasha Suri (The Burning Kingdoms #3) — November 12

The Lotus Empire is the third and final book in Tasha Suri's The Burning Kingdom, an epic fantasy series that draws on Southeast Asian influences and sapphic romance. Priestess Priya and Empress Malini steered their respective nations into an alliance that gave them a chance at freedom from the oppressive patriarchal society which held them in a death grip. Set against that backdrop is the mysterious return of powerful nature magic with horrific consequences for those it touches.

The first two books in Suri's series, The Jasmine Throne and The Oleander Sword, were excellent reads with beautiful magic and heart-rending relationships. The second novel ended on a massive cliffhanger that left Priya and Malini's future in question. The stakes are extremely high heading into The Lotus Empire, and given Suri's track record, there's every reason to expect a moving finale.

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WIND AND TRUTH by Brandon Sanderson (The Stormlight Archive #5) — December 6

The big old searing finale to the year in fantasy and sci-fi books is, without a doubt, Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson. Any new Sanderson book is notable, but Wind and Truth is a particularly important book in Sanderson's massive catalog. It's the fifth book in Sanderson's opus, The Stormlight Archive, as well as the ending of the first arc of the series. After this, Stormlight will go on hiatus for a few years while Sanderson turns his attention to other books. When the series returns, it will be after an in-world time jump. All this means we're expecting some seismic events in Wind and Truth.

The Stormlight Archive is epic fantasy at its finest, with dense worldbuilding, deeply realized characters, magic, wonder and action galore. If you enjoy series like The Wheel of Time or Malazan: Book of the Fallen and haven't checked out The Stormlight Archive yet...all I can ask is why? It's right in that wheelhouse, and Sanderson's skills as a writer shine especially bright in these massive, door-stopping tomes.

The Knights Radiant and their spren companions are gearing up for the biggest showdown yet on Roshar. It's going to be a memorable read to end 2024.

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That concludes our round-up of our most anticipated fantasy and sci-fi books of 2024. But it should be noted that there are plenty of other exciting titles, especially in the back half of the year, which haven't had their release dates and covers revealed yet. We'll be keeping an eye out for updates about those books as the months pass.

Which books from this list will you be reading? Did we forget any that your'e especially excited about? Hit us up in the comments or on Twitter @WiCnet and let us know!

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