30 Most Anticipated Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books of 2024

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FANTASY, SCI-FI, AND horror are among the most popular book genre every year, and for good reason: there's a vast amount of creativity and variety within each of them. They're the perfect books to turn to when you need an escape from the world, but also exactly where to go when you want commentary on the real world through the lens of aliens, fairies, and all kinds of monsters.

2023 featured a number of great murder mysteries, short story collections, and workplace sci-fi dramas that ultimately gave us at least 55 books to add to our TBR list. Whether you're still working on all the books that came out in 2023, or are waiting patiently for the newest releases to drop, it's an exciting time to be a sci-fi/fantasy/horror fan. 2024 looks like it'll be a year for space operas, more murder mystery (who doesn't love a good crime novel), and mythological retellings. Some of the writers we highlighted in 2023, like Kelly Link and TJ Klune, are back with new novels that we're pumped to read. Plus, just as Netflix's 3-Body Problem prepares for its premiere in March, we get a new release from the book's author Cixin Liu(translated by the equally talented Ken Liu). There's a lot to look forward to, and that means there's a lot of reading to do.

In case you didn't already have a pile of books stacked up to your ceiling to read, here are all the books in 2024 that we can't wait to crack open.

Faebound: A Novel

The first in an exciting new trilogy, Faebound follows a warrior in an elven army alongside her sister, a diviner. When the two are ousted from the Elven Lands, they have to fend for themselves in the wilderness, only to come up against the Fae Court.

Release Date: January 23

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The Tainted Cup

If you love Sherlock Holmes but want a bit of a fantasy twist, check out The Tainted Cup. The book follows Ana Dolabra, who's known as the Empire's greatest detective. She's joined by her assistant, who at first finds her grating, but soon learns to appreciate her skill. The two investigate the death of an imperial officer, whose body sprouts a tree upon his demise. It's a strange and seemingly impossible case.

Release Date: February 6

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The Book of Doors: A Novel

Fans of The Midnight Library and The Night Circus will enjoy The Book of Doors. When a bookseller's favorite customer dies, she only has a strange book to remember him by: The Book of Doors. She soon learns the book is actually a powerful tome, and there's a number of collectors who are willing to do anything to get it...

Release Date: February 13

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The Book of Love: A Novel

With a release date (the day before Valentine's Day) that feels particularly fitting for the title, Kelly Link's highly-anticipated The Book of Love follows three high school students who disappeared years ago. They suddenly return and find their music teacher waiting for them with a series of tasks he claims will help them to reclaim their lives. While they work to complete the magical tasks, they find themselves in opposition to other supernatural beings, and the teens must also grapple with how to stop the paranormal activity from threatening their town.

Release Date: February 13

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Medea: A Novel

For fans of Madeline Miller, Medea is an expanded tale of the much aligned Medea, a famous character from an Ancient Greek play. She's known for killing her children in defiance of her husband, Jason of the Argonauts. But what if that wasn't the whole story? What if there was more to the character? That's what Eilish Quin's book provides.

Release Date: February 13

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Exit Black

Exit Black, a spaceship thriller from author Joe PItkin, follows the resident biologist of a space hotel, who has to protect the lives of wealthy tourists who are suddenly held hostage by a global terrorist group.

Release Date: February 20

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Redsight

Redsight is a space opera following Korina, a blind priestess with the power to manipulate space-time. She learns she's been raised to be a weapon for the ship she inhabits, but her fate changes when a space pirate attacks the ship, and Korina finds herself inexplicably drawn to her.

Release Date: February 27

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The Other Valley: A Novel

The Other Valley has a fascinating premise that's sure to make you teary-eyed. The book centers on two sides of the same town: one is 20 years in the past, and the other is 20 years in the future. When 16-year-old Odile learns her closest friend is dead in the future side of the village, she decides to do everything she can to change what the future holds.

Release Date: February 27

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Baby X: A Thriller

In a world where anyone can create an egg or sperm from anyone's cells, black market groups look to steal celebrity's DNA. That means people like Ember—security personnel who ensure no one gets unauthorized DNA from the rich and famous—are needed. But when she's tasked with protecting a famed singer's DNA, not only does she end up falling for him, but her entire job is in jeopardy when a woman claims she's pregnant by him.

Release Date: March 5

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The Haunting of Velkwood

Fans of Yellowjackets (or at least stories of young people grappling with survivor's guilt) may enjoy The Haunting of Velkwood, which follows three teens who managed to live through the night the rest of the town turned into ghosts. Twenty years later, the three have to grapple with their pasts and return to the place that brought them nothing but pain.

Release Date: March 5

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Jumpnauts: A Novel (Folding Universe)

Translated by Ken Liu (who is a celebrated writer in his own right and known for translating books in the The Three-Body Problem trilogy), Jumpnauts follows two major factions of Earth as they simultaneously discover extraterrestrial life. To solve their stalemate (and see if they can potentially overtake the other faction), both groups race to make contact before the other.

Release Date: March 12

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The Day Tripper: A Novel

This time-traveling mystery follows a college kid from 1995 who goes to Cambridge University and is with the love of his life. But one night, after a fight, he wakes up and it's 2010. The next day? It's 2019. To get back to his rightful time, he has to unravel his past, present, and future.

Release Date: March 19

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The Woods All Black

This queer historical horror is set in 1920s Appalachia, where Leslie Bruin is assigned to the small religious town of Spar Creek. The congregation is focused on a young person they believe to be an unruly tomboy, but Leslie must act fast if he wants to stop the violence of the townspeople and their mysterious lands.

Release Date: March 19

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Floating Hotel

If you liked Station Eleven, check out Floating Hotel. It follows a hotel that flies through space, all year moving to different planets and systems and providing guests with a delightful stay. While the hotel itself is intriguing (no one knows who is driving the ship), there's also much to learn about the various guests and staff who stay there. And the hotel's manager specifically has his own personal conflicts, about when to stay at this lovely hotel, or when to leave.

Release Date: March 19

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Cascade Failure: A Novel (Ambit's Run, 1)

This sci-fi adventure follows the crew of a Guild ship called the Ambit and reminds us of Guardians of the Galaxy. When the ship responds to a distress call and finds a mass grave, they learn a corporate power called The Trust is responsible. Who's going to stop them from killing more planets? Looks like the Ambit will have to come to the rescue.

Release Date: March 19

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Sound Effect Infinity: A Novel of Mind Control, Altered States, and Music

This paranormal mystery follows a police sergeant who handles ghosts who haunt people in Columbia, Missouri. Also going on in Missouri at the same time? A paranormal scientist hears a voice telling him to find the disciple of a psychedelic guru, and a defense contractor believes the disciple has the key to mind control.

Sounds like a book that'll make your head spin.

Release Date: March 25

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A View from the Stars

Now known in the states for his epic trilogy The Three-Body Problem, Chinese author Cixin Liu has a short story and non-fiction essay collection out in 2024 that could be the perfect gift for a sci-fi fan.

Release Date: April 2

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Road to Ruin (Magebike Courier)

Jin-Lu braves the wastelands on her magic motorbike to deliver her wares. But Jin-Lu is one day thrust into chaos when she helps the princess escape her abusive family, and must protect her from her father, a determined bounty hunter, and her betrothed.

Release Date: May 14

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How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying

A young woman is trapped in a frustrating (and amusing) time loop where she tries–and always fails–to defeat a villainous figure known as the Dark Lord. After trying everything she can think of, it's time for her to switch sides. Maybe becoming the Dark Lord is the way to stop the loop?

Release Date: May 21

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Goddess of the River

Goddess of the River reimagines the story of Ganga. Ganga takes care of mischievous godlings. When they anger a sage, Ganga is punished with mortality. She marries a king and has a child. But when she is freed from her curse, she must leave her son behind.

Release Date: May 21

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Escape Velocity

A luxury resort in Earth's orbit finds itself the locale for scheming, romance, and a murder mystery as the alumni of an elite school reunite, each with their own personal agendas. It's Knives Out with a space age twist.

Release Date: May 21

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Lost Ark Dreaming

Off the coast of West Africa, the survivors of the Atlantic Ocean's rise live inside partially submerged skyscrapers. The poor live down below, while the rich live at the top. But when those who were left for dead in the sea are reanimated by some ancient power, three people from the different levels of the buildings must come together to forge a new future for the residents.

Release Date: May 21

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A House Like an Accordion

A woman has to save herself from her father in this speculative novel. When Keryth Miller wakes up to find her hand missing, she realizes her father, an artist with the ability to capture life in his art, is still alive. And he's drawing her. She has to find him before it's too late.

Release Date: May 21

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The Last Murder at the End of the World: A Novel

The world is plagued by a fog which kills anyone who touches it. The only safe place in the world is an island, where 122 villagers and three scientists live in harmony. But when one scientist turns up dead, it triggers the security system, which will let the fog in in 92 hours if the murder isn't solved.

Release Date: May 21

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Service Model

Adrian Tchaikovsky's newest novel follows a robot who gets a new idea downloaded into their programming: they can murder their owner and run away. As they explore the world, they come to find out human's long-reign is ending, and robots have a chance to upend the delicate ecosystem.

Release Date: June 4

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Navola: A novel

Best-selling author of The WindUp Girl Paolo Bacigalupi's latest is about a man poised to take the reigns of his father's company–one of the many that rule the city-state of Navola. Fans of Game of Thrones will love the magical scheming, political intrigue, and drama unfolding within Navola.

Release Date: July 9

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The Bright Sword: A Novel of King Arthur

Grossman reimagines the world of King Arthur in this new tale about a knight who yearns to join the round table... only to find out King Arthur is dead, and left behind the lesser known knights to lead Camelot against a group of monsters led by Morgan Le Fay.

Release Date: July 16

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The Deading

Something mysterious emerges from the ocean of a small fishing town in The Deading. It's transforming the wildlife and the people, who collapse and die, then rise again. It's called "deading." The survivors of the mayhem have to escape, or find themselves consumed by the mysterious circumstances.

Release Date: July 23

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The Mercy of Gods (The Captive's War, 1)

From the author of The Expanse comes a new space opera. An empire called the Carryx are known for enslaving and destroying species across the galaxy. When they come for the humans of Anjiin, they take humanity's smartest scientists, who find themselves serving the Carryx in the midst of a competition up against the other species the Carryx have taken. The price of failure is extinction.

Release Date: August 6

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Somewhere Beyond the Sea (Cerulean Chronicles, 2)

If you enjoyed House of the Cerulean Sea, get excited, because there's a sequel. It follows Arthur and Linus again, this time from Arthur's perspective, where he's called to answer questions about his past. At the same time, a new magical child arrives who calls themselves a monster, threatening the peaceful existence Arthur so desperately wants for the orphanage.

Release Date: September 10

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