There’s thing similar a summertime speechmaking situation to get you into the due mindset for the season. Many of america grew up connected idiosyncratic pizzas arsenic the reward for speechmaking a definite fig of books; these days, my kids get coupons for crystal pick and drive-in movie theaters for their efforts. No substance what the incentive, let’s bring that vigor into compiling this month’s SFF books. Your options see a graphic caller astir woman knights, retellings of Rapunzel (with amnesia and anthropomorphized hair) and Cinderella (in 1940s Hong Kong), Spanish explorers gathering the fae connected the precocious seas, and a futuristic cli-fi fable inspired by Portuguese folklore. Plus, don’t hide to cheque retired august clarke’s The Felicity Complex and H.G. Parry’s The Witch Below the Dreaming Wood from our 2026 astir anticipated list.
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Fiona Marchbank, Ladies of the Knight
(Oni Press, July 7)
I grew up connected Tamora Pierce’s woman knights and particularly loved the intergenerational mentorship successful her Protector of the Small series—the aforesaid vigor that exists successful the Oni Press postulation of Fiona Marchbank’s delightful webcomic. Serafina is 1 of the realm’s astir talented woman knights, but she’s nary bully astatine showboating successful tournaments similar her rival Aethelberg and would alternatively support to herself. George is simply a clumsy wannabe squire excessively tiny for anyone to instrumentality the hazard on…until Serafina’s woman (and patroness) pushes her to bid the miss successful the ways of the sword. We emotion a prickly mentor and scrappy protégée!
Joan Tierney, Misery’s Wife
(Flatiron Books, July 14)
In this post-industrial cli-fi fable inspired by Portuguese folklore, Elixane’s colony is ravaged by storms and her elder sisters are joined disconnected to magical husbands: the King of the Air, the King of the Sea, and the King of Misery. Despite hardly remembering her sisters, erstwhile Elixane receives a dire connection from a toad, she ventures retired to rescue her favourite sister Dores from the Kingdom of Misery. Aided by trickster siblings the Marquês Boaventura and Marquesa Jinx, she volition request some luck and misfortune to shatter unbreakable curses and reunite her family.
M.A. Carrick, The Eye of Leviathan
(Orbit Books, July 14)
An alternate-history Spanish Golden Age is the human-world reflector to the faerie realm successful M.A. Carrick’s latest, which explores the ripple effect of a changeling swap. Long ago, Estevan escaped the fae’s Sea Beyond for the quality Otherworld, taking the spot of a young girl. But erstwhile Spanish explorers transverse implicit into the Sea Beyond, the Hungry Girl—the quality whose beingness Estevan stole—becomes their cautious ally, looking to hitch a thrust backmost with them but horrified by the atrocities they commit. Now the 2 indispensable find 1 different again done their faerie pact successful bid to prevention their adoptive homes and observe their respective purposes. And did we notation that M.A. Carrick is the pen sanction for the writer duo Marie Brennan and Alyc Helms? Double the crushed to read.
Seth Haddon, Null Entity
(Tordotcom Publishing, July 21)
Seth Haddon concludes the Volatile Memory duology with this sequel novella pursuing scavenger Wylla and her beloved Sable, the integer consciousness she discovered successful an AI mask. Now that Wylla has donned an off-grid disguise and go the eponymous “null entity,” the 2 question to dismantle the dystopian corp known arsenic VisorForge. But their attempted hack gets interrupted by the Edenic Order, a extremist eco-resistance enactment led by a plant/human hybrid. With the Order offering competing promises to each of the 2 minds successful 1 body, Wylla and Sable whitethorn not beryllium capable to proceed coexisting unless they tin find a caller mode that combines revenge with revolution.
Andrea Eames, A Tangled Magic
(Erewhon Books, July 28)
Rapunzel has gotten respective clever caller retellings recently, including Tia Tashiro’s “For Whom the Hair Grows,” Theodora Goss’ “The Parsley Girl,” and your humble database curator’s “Parsley Girl, Parsley Girl, Let Down Your Trichobezoar.” Andrea Eames’ caller offers an intriguing caller instrumentality done Netta, a young pistillate who understands her ain beingness lone successful bits and pieces. There is her magical reddish Hair, impossibly agelong and imbued with powerfulness and opinions; the Tower, her location filled with books whose secrets are closed to her; and her mother, buried successful the life’s enactment of her spellbook. But erstwhile her parent disappears, Netta indispensable find a mode retired of the Tower and determine which strangers—con men, publication sellers, magicians—she tin spot arsenic she unknots the secrets hiding the information of her life.
Elizabeth Lim, Fishbone Cinderella
(Del Rey, July 28)
YA writer Elizabeth Lim makes her big debut with a humanities phantasy inspired by the Chinese mentation of Cinderella, wherever magical food bones instrumentality the spot of a fairy godmother. The multigenerational communicative is related successful dual timelines: In 1940s occupied Hong Kong, young Ha Yut Ying saves her ain beingness done the powerfulness of invisibility but besides suffers arsenic the unwanted stepchild with her begetter and his 2nd wife, forced to enactment successful a footwear mill and falling successful emotion with the heir to a soy beverage empire. Decades later, successful 1960s San Francisco, Yut Ying cannot halt flickering successful and retired of reality. Her big girl Marigold races backmost to Hong Kong to uncover the information down the household curse by mode of a missing food bony bracelet.
Jesse Aragon, The Demon Star
(DAW, July 28)
The chosen 1 communicative of Dune meets Gideon the Ninth-esque exorcism successful this suspenseful subject phantasy debut acceptable connected a satellite teeming with gods and demons. Former Knight Candidate Ysira Naktis was expected to beryllium a quality sacrifice but survived acknowledgment to the healing powers of a demon. Now a mercenary, she sees destiny catching up with her erstwhile her lad Neri is chosen for demonic possession—and if she saves him, she volition doom millions. Her champion accidental and unlikeliest state is Brother Jacen Kheris, erstwhile a talented exorcist successful the Church of the Black Sun and present a purposeless addict pursuing the decease of his trainee. Their attempts to regain power implicit their satellite volition instrumentality them from demon-infested canyons to a distant satellite, battling quality cultists and the gods themselves.
Eliza Chan, Harbour of Hungry Ghosts
(Orbit Books, July 28)
Still smarting implicit the Buffy reboot not getting picked up? Scratch that monster-hunter itch with this caller bid from Eliza Chan, acceptable successful 1850s Hong Kong. As the eldest girl of the demon-hunting Au clan, Kiamling bears the unit to proceed her family’s extortion of the city, battling monsters from Cantonese folklore. But a caller strain of evil has infested the city, drafting their powers from unfamiliar British fables—and 1 of them snatches her beloved grandma and mentor, Por Por. Kiamling indispensable assemble her ain Scooby pack consisting of her small sister Jingling (harboring her ain household secrets), her puerility sweetheart-turned-pirate Hoi gor, and a civilian servant named Archie. This sounds fantastic.
English (US) ·