{"id":231247,"date":"2024-01-02T04:55:47","date_gmt":"2024-01-02T09:55:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lithub.com\/?p=231247"},"modified":"2024-01-16T10:40:16","modified_gmt":"2024-01-16T15:40:16","slug":"24-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-look-forward-to-in-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lithub.com\/24-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-look-forward-to-in-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"24 Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books to Look Forward to in 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It seems impossible that 2024 could outdo what was truly a spectacular year of SFF and speculative offerings. But considering how difficult it was to narrow down this preview, you and I are in for a treat this year. We\u2019ve got alternate-history utopian nations and near-future dystopian surveillance states, sexy wedding duels and interstellar artifact heists, daring works in translation and new takes on familiar archetypes. And the characters\u2014get ready to meet vengeful ghosts and body-hopping mothers-to-be, pirates and aliens and time traveler \u201cbridges,\u201d river goddesses and accidental generation ship saints. Let\u2019s scale that TBR together.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">*<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"231248\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/24-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-look-forward-to-in-2024\/attachment\/9781250212696\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781250212696.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"323,500\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"kinning\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781250212696-194x300.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781250212696.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-231248\" src=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781250212696-194x300.jpg\" alt=\"kinning\" width=\"194\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781250212696-194x300.jpg 194w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781250212696-39x60.jpg 39w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781250212696-32x50.jpg 32w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781250212696.jpg 323w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 194px) 100vw, 194px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>Nisi Shawl, <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/132\/9781250212696\"><b><i>Kinning<\/i><\/b><\/a><b><br \/>\n<\/b><b>(Tor Books, January 23)<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I can\u2019t think of a better way to kick off 2024 than with Nisi Shawl\u2019s steampunk alternate history epic about the formation of Everfair, a utopian nation within the borders of the Congo Free State. Following the eponymous first novel in 2016, Everfair has reached a tentative peace among its clashing factions, from England\u2019s Fabian Society to Black missionaries to the royals whose land was annexed as a European colony, however well-meaning. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But while Princess Mwadi and Prince Ilunga attempt to seize the throne their father abdicated, influenza beyond Everfair\u2019s borders has weakened rival powers in Europe. Could the solution lie in empathy spores\u2014one of Everfair\u2019s many magical inventions\u2014that Chinese scientist Tink is distributing around the world via aircanoe? The <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Everfair<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> sequel looks to replicate the first book\u2019s success (both within and without the central story) in creating bonds between small groups that have global effects.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"231249\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/24-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-look-forward-to-in-2024\/womb-city\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/womb-city.png\" data-orig-size=\"331,500\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"womb city\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/womb-city-199x300.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/womb-city.png\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-231249\" src=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/womb-city-199x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"199\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/womb-city-199x300.png 199w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/womb-city-40x60.png 40w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/womb-city-33x50.png 33w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/womb-city.png 331w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 199px) 100vw, 199px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>Tlotlo Tsamaase, <\/b><b><i><a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/132\/9781645660569\">Womb City<\/a><br \/>\n<\/i><\/b><b>(Erewhon Books, January 23)<\/b><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Womb City<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is one of those books I\u2019ve been waiting nearly a year for, so I\u2019m thrilled for Motswana writer Tlotlo Tsamaase\u2019s Africanfuturist debut to finally be here. Obviously the title concerns a world in which babies are grown in artificial wombs, but this science fiction horror tale is about so much more than the future of fertility; it\u2019s set in a surveillance state in which consciousnesses can body-hop, but only if they agree to be monitored at all times. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Such is the case for Nelah, who is on her third lifetime but in a loveless marriage, with a gestating daughter held as collateral for her not stepping out of line. But when a night of indiscretions culminates in a car accident cover-up, Nelah finds herself responsible for another life of sorts: the ghost of her victim, which demands revenge on everyone close to Nelah.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"231250\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/24-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-look-forward-to-in-2024\/attachment\/9781250233011\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781250233011.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"326,500\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"exordia\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781250233011-196x300.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781250233011.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-231250\" src=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781250233011-196x300.jpg\" alt=\"exordia\" width=\"196\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781250233011-196x300.jpg 196w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781250233011-39x60.jpg 39w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781250233011-33x50.jpg 33w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781250233011.jpg 326w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 196px) 100vw, 196px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>Seth Dickinson, <\/b><b><i><a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/132\/9781250233011\">Exordia<\/a><br \/>\n<\/i><\/b><b>(Tordotcom Publishing, January 23)<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While I breathlessly await the next installment of Seth Dickinson&#8217;s heartrending geopolitical fantasy series about <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Baru Cormorant<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, I&#8217;m delighted to see that he&#8217;s playing in the sci-fi sphere in the meantime. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Exordia<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is an expletive-laden first-contact story between Kurdish genocide survivor Anna Rekani and Ssrin, an eight-headed viper alien that only she can see. With vibes of <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Independence Day<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (except where the extraterrestrials are at least our frenemies) and Michael Crichton, this bonkers-sounding adventure is high-concept, horrific, and perfect to fill the Baru-sized hole in my TBR.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"231251\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/24-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-look-forward-to-in-2024\/your-utopia\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/your-utopia.png\" data-orig-size=\"313,500\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"your utopia\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/your-utopia-188x300.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/your-utopia.png\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-231251\" src=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/your-utopia-188x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"188\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/your-utopia-188x300.png 188w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/your-utopia-38x60.png 38w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/your-utopia-31x50.png 31w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/your-utopia.png 313w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 188px) 100vw, 188px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>Bora Chung (trans Anton Hur), <\/b><b><i><a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/132\/9781643756219\">Your Utopia: Stories<\/a><br \/>\n<\/i><\/b><b>(Algonquin Books, January 30)<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Korean author Bora Chung\u2019s second collection (after the Booker Prize-shortlisted <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cursed Bunny<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) contains eight new speculative tales, perhaps a bit more tender but no less haunting. There are stories of one-sided love, from a husband tracing his wife\u2019s late-night phone calls in \u201cA Very Ordinary Marriage\u201d to an AI elevator falling for its riders in \u201cOne More Kiss, Dear.\u201d We follow along with a bottom-rung employee at \u201cThe Center for Immortality Research\u201d who still has better job security than most of us (if the same boss forever is your sort of thing). And it should come as no surprise that the title story\u2019s utopia is one in which AI has replaced humanity, though there is still a humanoid robot asking existential questions into the void.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"231252\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/24-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-look-forward-to-in-2024\/book-of-love\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/book-of-love-.png\" data-orig-size=\"332,500\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"book of love kelly link\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/book-of-love--199x300.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/book-of-love-.png\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-231252\" src=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/book-of-love--199x300.png\" alt=\"book of love kelly link\" width=\"199\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/book-of-love--199x300.png 199w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/book-of-love--40x60.png 40w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/book-of-love--33x50.png 33w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/book-of-love-.png 332w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 199px) 100vw, 199px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>Kelly Link, <\/b><b><i><a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/132\/9780812996586\">The Book of Love<\/a><br \/>\n<\/i><\/b><b>(Random House, February 13)<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kelly Link is a Pulitzer Prize finalist and MacArthur Genius Grant recipient for her fantastical short fiction, with her debut novel long anticipated. In the New England town of Lovesend, three teenagers who have been missing for months find themselves resurrected from the dead by their music teacher, Mr. Anabin, who has also brought back a mysterious traveler. But there\u2019s a catch: two get to remain, and two will have to return to wherever they came from. Perform the magical tasks Mr. Anabin assigns, and they\u2019ll have their second chance. But as the teens undertake this bargain of unfinished business, Lovesend itself begins transforming into something more extraordinary.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"231253\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/24-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-look-forward-to-in-2024\/fathomfolk\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/fathomfolk.png\" data-orig-size=\"324,500\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"fathomfolk\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/fathomfolk-194x300.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/fathomfolk.png\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-231253\" src=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/fathomfolk-194x300.png\" alt=\"fathomfolk\" width=\"194\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/fathomfolk-194x300.png 194w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/fathomfolk-39x60.png 39w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/fathomfolk-32x50.png 32w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/fathomfolk.png 324w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 194px) 100vw, 194px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>Eliza Chan, <\/b><b><i><a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/132\/9780316564922\">Fathomfolk<\/a><br \/>\n<\/i><\/b><b>(Orbit Books, February 27)<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Water-based worlds has become its own SFF subgenre, but often it\u2019s humanity adapting to inhabit the waves; Eliza Chan instead submerges us into a world populated by fathomfolk, or all of the sirens, sea witches, and water dragons you would expect but don\u2019t always get to hear about. But humanity is polluting the waters, forcing fathomfolk like Nami (daughter of the water dragon matriarch) onto land and into the dry sphere of two-leggers who regard them with the usual human amount of prejudice for someone not like them. In the half-flooded city of Tiankawi, reunited with her ambassador brother and his half-siren partner, Nami begins to better understand how fathomfolk live on the fringes\u2014and why rebellion calls to them like an irresistible song.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"231254\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/24-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-look-forward-to-in-2024\/jumpnauts\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/jumpnauts.png\" data-orig-size=\"333,500\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"jumpnauts\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/jumpnauts-200x300.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/jumpnauts.png\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-231254\" src=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/jumpnauts-200x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/jumpnauts-200x300.png 200w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/jumpnauts-40x60.png 40w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/jumpnauts-33x50.png 33w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/jumpnauts.png 333w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>Hao Jingfang (trans Ken Liu), <\/b><b><i><a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/132\/9781534422117\">Jumpnauts<\/a><br \/>\n<\/i><\/b><b>(Saga Press, March 12)<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2016, Hao Jingfang won the Hugo Award for her novelette <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Folding Beijing<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (translated by Ken Liu), in which Beijing literally folded itself into different permutations in order for three social classes to share the same surface at different times. Now, her debut novel looks to examine similar class and cultural factions, with the Pacific League of Nations competing with the Atlantic Division of Nations over who will make first contact with an alien civilization that has already been hiding on Earth for thousands of years. The fact that <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jumpnauts<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is listed as part of the Folding Universe makes you wonder if she will employ the same imaginative physics to how humans and aliens finally interact.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"231255\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/24-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-look-forward-to-in-2024\/someone-you-can-build-a-nest-in\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/someone-you-can-build-a-nest-in.png\" data-orig-size=\"331,500\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"someone you can build a nest in\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/someone-you-can-build-a-nest-in-199x300.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/someone-you-can-build-a-nest-in.png\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-231255\" src=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/someone-you-can-build-a-nest-in-199x300.png\" alt=\"someone you can build a nest in\" width=\"199\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/someone-you-can-build-a-nest-in-199x300.png 199w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/someone-you-can-build-a-nest-in-40x60.png 40w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/someone-you-can-build-a-nest-in-33x50.png 33w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/someone-you-can-build-a-nest-in.png 331w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 199px) 100vw, 199px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>John Wiswell, <\/b><b><i><a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/132\/9780756418854\">Someone You Can Build a Nest In<\/a><br \/>\n<\/i><\/b><b>(DAW, April 2)<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">John Wiswell is a writer new to me as I\u2019ve been reading more deeply into SFF short fiction in the past year, but it\u2019s no surprise he has an extensive body of work, with standouts like \u201cD.I.Y.\u201d and \u201cSo You Want to Kiss Your Nemesis.\u201d That sense of initial irreverence belying deeply-considered pathos is reflected in his debut novel, an unflinchingly dark and unflinchingly heartfelt romance between a monster-hunter and her prey\u2014but from the perspective of the monster, who\u2019s seeking a mate in which to lay her eggs. For Shesheshen, having her young devour her partner from the inside out is the ultimate expression of love; but Homily, who doesn\u2019t know the true identity of the mysterious woman she nursed back to health, might not appreciate things. I\u2019m ready for Wiswell to convince us why they\u2019re meant to be.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"231256\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/24-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-look-forward-to-in-2024\/attachment\/9781803365336\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781803365336.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"379,500\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"9781803365336\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781803365336-227x300.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781803365336.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-231256\" src=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781803365336-227x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"227\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781803365336-227x300.jpg 227w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781803365336-45x60.jpg 45w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781803365336-38x50.jpg 38w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781803365336.jpg 379w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 227px) 100vw, 227px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>Oliver K. Langmead, <\/b><b><i><a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/132\/9781803365336\">Calypso<\/a><br \/>\n<\/i><\/b><b>(Titan Books, April 2)<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019m a sucker for a generation ship story where the protagonist awakens far enough into the ship\u2019s future that entire eras have passed\u2014that the descendants hardly resemble the people who first boarded on Earth, and they have created their own culture and beliefs in a figurative and literal vacuum. Oliver K. Langmead\u2019s latest really commits to that idea, with Rochelle waking from cryostasis into a lush forest. It\u2019s fitting for an ark named after the mythical nymph Calypso, who kept Odysseus on her island for seven years during <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Odyssey<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. And while Rochelle\u2019s initial assignment was to be <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Calypso<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2019s engineer, instead the forest\u2019s inhabitants revere her as some sort of saint. Combine this with Langmead\u2019s use of epic verse, and a blurb from <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fingersmith<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> author Sarah Waters, and how can anyone resist?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"231257\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/24-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-look-forward-to-in-2024\/attachment\/9781250881809\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781250881809.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"312,500\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781250881809-187x300.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781250881809.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-231257\" src=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781250881809-187x300.jpg\" alt=\"The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain \" width=\"187\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781250881809-187x300.jpg 187w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781250881809-37x60.jpg 37w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781250881809-31x50.jpg 31w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781250881809.jpg 312w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 187px) 100vw, 187px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>Sofia Samatar, <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/132\/9781250881809\"><b><i>The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain<\/i><\/b><\/a><br \/>\n<b>(Tordotcom Publishing, April 16)<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Recent generation ship stories from authors like River Solomon have delved into the class and racial tensions of this phase of humanity\u2019s migration through the stars. But what most intrigues me about Sofia Samatar\u2019s science fantasy is that it has shades of R.F. Kuang\u2019s <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Babel<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> as well, interrogating the ivory tower of academia and how it can grant freedom via intellectual advancement, or withhold it from those not deemed deserving enough. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This novel\u2019s mining ship left Earth long enough ago that its people are embedded within a centuries-old caste system, with much of the population Chained to the Hold. But when a Chained boy is brought \u201cupstairs\u201d by a \u201cprofessor\u201d who sees potential in him, he enters the insular academic world of the ship, only to discover that it\u2014and his mentor, whose own academic career is rooted in him succeeding\u2014possesses its own damning chains.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"231258\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/24-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-look-forward-to-in-2024\/im-universes\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/im-universes.png\" data-orig-size=\"350,529\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"im universes\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/im-universes-198x300.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/im-universes.png\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-231258\" src=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/im-universes-198x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"198\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/im-universes-198x300.png 198w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/im-universes-40x60.png 40w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/im-universes-33x50.png 33w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/im-universes.png 350w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 198px) 100vw, 198px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>Em North, <\/b><b><i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harpercollins.com\/products\/in-universes-em-north?variant=41092160651298\">In Universes<\/a><br \/>\n<\/i><\/b><b>(Harper, May 7)<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Emet North sounds like the kind of writer who has lived a half-dozen lives before this, not least due to their physics thesis on the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics. Their academic study has clearly influenced their fiction, with their debut novel following Raffi, a queer physicist distracted from their dark matter research by thoughts of Britt, an artist they barely know. But what if they knew her better? <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before Raffi realizes, they\u2019re bouncing through parallel timelines and alternate realities, constantly changing the events of the summer they almost met Britt when they were both thirteen. Instead of strangers, they\u2019re friends; instead of friends, they\u2019re something more; instead of something more, Raffi betrays Britt. But which reality is the real one, and how does the past affect the present?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"231259\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/24-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-look-forward-to-in-2024\/ministry-of-time\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/ministry-of-time.png\" data-orig-size=\"331,500\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"ministry of time\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/ministry-of-time-199x300.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/ministry-of-time.png\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-231259\" src=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/ministry-of-time-199x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"199\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/ministry-of-time-199x300.png 199w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/ministry-of-time-40x60.png 40w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/ministry-of-time-33x50.png 33w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/ministry-of-time.png 331w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 199px) 100vw, 199px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>Kaliane Bradley, <\/b><b><i><a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/132\/9781668045145\">The Ministry of Time<\/a><br \/>\n<\/i><\/b><b>(Avid Reader Press, May 7)<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In Kaliane Bradley\u2019s delightful-sounding novel, time travel is so bureaucratic as to be mundane, with civil servants who act as \u201cbridges\u201d to help the real time travelers (or \u201cexpats\u201d) adjust from their era to ours. But what is supposed to begin and end with our protagonist acting as a host-slash-liaison for expat \u201c1847,\u201d a.k.a. an Arctic explorer, the two become unlikely roommates and even begin to fall in love. The fish-out-of-water time traveler relationship, not to mention the workplace strictures against any personal interactions, is giving vibes of <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Outlander<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> meets <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Severance<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, with other expats including a spy who keeps getting plastic surgery and a 17th-century cinephile who gets addicted to dating apps.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"231260\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/24-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-look-forward-to-in-2024\/attachment\/9781645660842\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781645660842.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"333,500\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Escape Velocity Victor Manibo (\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781645660842-200x300.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781645660842.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-231260\" src=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781645660842-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"Escape Velocity Victor Manibo (\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781645660842-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781645660842-40x60.jpg 40w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781645660842-33x50.jpg 33w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781645660842.jpg 333w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>Victor Manibo, <\/b><b><i><a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/132\/9781645660842\">Escape Velocity<\/a><br \/>\n<\/i><\/b><b>(Erewhon Books, May 21)<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Victor Manibo\u2019s debut novel <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Sleepless<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> explored a very speculative case of the haves versus the have-nots\u2014that is, those afflicted by a pandemic of insomnia and those who could still sleep at night. His deliciously tense follow-up looks to twist the knife on those class tensions; it\u2019s literally being billed as \u201c<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Knives Out<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in space with a <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Parasite<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> twist.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the twenty-fifth high school reunion held on the luxurious Space Habitat Altaire, a quartet of alums aren\u2019t just looking to impress each other with their enviable lives. One is trying to solve a murder from senior year, another is collecting blackmail secrets (how <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Clue<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">!), a third is angling for a coveted position on the Mars settlement to which Earth\u2019s rich and famous are fleeing\u2026 and, OK, the fourth is trying to win the heart of his high school crush, aww. This looks like one of the year\u2019s most fun SF mysteries.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"231261\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/24-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-look-forward-to-in-2024\/goddess-of-the-river\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/goddess-of-the-river.png\" data-orig-size=\"324,500\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"goddess of the river\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/goddess-of-the-river-194x300.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/goddess-of-the-river.png\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-231261\" src=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/goddess-of-the-river-194x300.png\" alt=\"goddess of the river\" width=\"194\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/goddess-of-the-river-194x300.png 194w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/goddess-of-the-river-39x60.png 39w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/goddess-of-the-river-32x50.png 32w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/goddess-of-the-river.png 324w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 194px) 100vw, 194px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>Vaishnavi Patel, <\/b><b><i><a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/132\/9780759557345\">Goddess of the River<\/a><br \/>\n<\/i><\/b><b>(Redhook, May 21)<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After reinventing the \u201cwicked stepmother\u201d of the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ramayana<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> into a diplomat-queen in <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kaikeyi<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Vaishnavi Patel turns her gaze to another reimagining, this time of the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mahabharata<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: River goddess Ganga is cursed with a mortal body, forced to atone for the antics of the godlings on her shore. But her human life ebbs and flows with triumph and tragedy, as she becomes a powerful queen but also a mother who is forced to abandon her infant son. As he grows up, prince Devavrata carries his mother\u2019s curse, and their fates intertwine and separate over the course of both their lifetimes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"231262\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/24-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-look-forward-to-in-2024\/attachment\/9781915202680\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781915202680.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"279,450\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Evocation\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781915202680-186x300.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781915202680.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-231262\" src=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781915202680-186x300.jpg\" alt=\"Evocation\" width=\"186\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781915202680-186x300.jpg 186w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781915202680-37x60.jpg 37w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781915202680-31x50.jpg 31w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781915202680.jpg 279w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 186px) 100vw, 186px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>S.T. Gibson, <\/b><b><i><a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/132\/9781915202680\">Evocation<\/a><br \/>\n<\/i><\/b><b>(Angry Robot Books, May 28)<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Neither urban fantasy nor millionaire protagonists are usually my thing, but S.T. Gibson\u2019s combination of the two has, shall we say, invoked my interest. Mostly because Boston-based lawyer David Aristarkhov has inherited both his family\u2019s fortune and their rumored magical powers from a thousand-year-old deal with the Devil, yet he\u2019s still an alcoholic former psychic prodigy who can barely manage moonlighting as a medium. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When the Devil comes to collect on the family\u2019s long-ago bargain, David must excavate the other failed portion of his life: turning to his ex Rhys, a rival within their magical Society, for help. But working with Rhys involves grappling with his astronomer wife Moira\u2014and despite himself, David finds himself attracted to them both. A polyamorous love story definitely sweetens the deal\u2026 <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">if<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> David can make it to his thirtieth birthday before the Devil steals him away from potential happiness.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"231264\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/24-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-look-forward-to-in-2024\/alexandra-rowland\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Alexandra-Rowland.png\" data-orig-size=\"350,526\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Alexandra Rowland\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Alexandra-Rowland-200x300.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Alexandra-Rowland.png\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-231264\" src=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Alexandra-Rowland-200x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Alexandra-Rowland-200x300.png 200w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Alexandra-Rowland-40x60.png 40w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Alexandra-Rowland-33x50.png 33w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Alexandra-Rowland.png 350w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>Alexandra Rowland, <\/b><b><i><a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/132\/9781250802538\">Running Close to the Wind<\/a><br \/>\n<\/i><\/b><b>(Tordotcom Publishing, June 11)<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s fun to watch an author play within the bounds of their own world but with such different tones. Last year\u2019s <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Taste of Gold and Iron<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was a swoony fantasy romance set in the realm of Arasht, but this next installment is a swashbuckling queer pirate adventure on the high seas. The requisite newbie to the pirate crew is Avra Helva\u00e7i, formerly of the Ara\u015fti Ministry of Intelligence, who steals the ultimate secret to sell on the black market. But his ex, pirate Captain Teveri az-H\u0323aff\u0101r, has other plans to ferry the secret to the Isle of Lost Souls for an even greater booty. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Well, the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">real<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> booty belongs to Brother Julian, the hot celibate monk who\u2019s part of their ragtag crew. Alexandra Rowland has written the ideal antidote to the past indeterminate number of awful years, as well as a cure for the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our Flag Meets Death<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> hiatus. What\u2019s more, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/_alexrowland\/status\/1628064997795397637\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">they tweeted<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, it\u2019s not just funny in the way that Terry Pratchett\u2019s work was funny, but \u201calso angry in the same way that Terry Pratchett was angry.\u201d All aboard!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"231265\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/24-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-look-forward-to-in-2024\/attachment\/9781250875372\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781250875372.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"331,500\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"The Stardust Grail\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781250875372-199x300.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781250875372.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-231265\" src=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781250875372-199x300.jpg\" alt=\"The Stardust Grail\" width=\"199\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781250875372-199x300.jpg 199w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781250875372-40x60.jpg 40w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781250875372-33x50.jpg 33w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781250875372.jpg 331w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 199px) 100vw, 199px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>Yume Kitasei, <\/b><b><i><a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/132\/9781250875372\">The Stardust Grail<\/a><br \/>\n<\/i><\/b><b>(Flatiron Books, June 11)<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I really enjoyed Yume Kitasei\u2019s generation ship debut <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Deep Sky<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, but I\u2019m even more sold on the premise of her second novel: Maya Hoshimoto is an intergalactic reverse Indiana Jones-meets-Debbie Ocean, which is to say she\u2019s a former art thief renowned for stealing back alien artifacts. At least, until she retired to pursue a graduate degree in anthropology. But when an old friend approaches with one last score, Maya is powerless to resist. Better yet, tracking down an extraterrestrial object that may save an entire species from extinction might also solve the mystery of why Maya is seeing visions of the future\u2014like the fact that someone will betray her on this final heist.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"231266\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/24-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-look-forward-to-in-2024\/navola\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/navola.png\" data-orig-size=\"331,500\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"navola\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/navola-199x300.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/navola.png\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-231266\" src=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/navola-199x300.png\" alt=\"navola\" width=\"199\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/navola-199x300.png 199w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/navola-40x60.png 40w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/navola-33x50.png 33w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/navola.png 331w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 199px) 100vw, 199px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>Paolo Bacigalupi, <\/b><b><i><a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/132\/9780593535059\">Navola<\/a><br \/>\n<\/i><\/b><b>(Knopf, July 9)<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I know Paolo Bacigalupi\u2019s work through more futuristic novels like <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Windup Girl<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Water Knife<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, tackling themes of bioengineering and global warming. Ironically that\u2019s what has me even more intrigued for his latest, a historical epic fantasy that owes equal inspiration to Renaissance Italy and <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Game of Thrones<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Davico di Regulai is the scion of one of the most powerful families in the city-state of Navola, who have clawed their way to prominence through their cunning as merchant bankers\u2026 though the family heirloom of a fossilized dragon eye probably deserves some credit, too. Expected to step up and run the di Regulai family, Davico must show that he knows how to navigate Navolese diplomacy, though even more crucial will be his willingness to delve into the dark history of how his adopted sister Celia di Balcosi was taken from her own decimated bloodline.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"231267\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/24-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-look-forward-to-in-2024\/lev-grossman-the-bright-sword\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/lev-grossman-the-bright-sword.png\" data-orig-size=\"329,500\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"lev grossman the bright sword\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/lev-grossman-the-bright-sword-197x300.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/lev-grossman-the-bright-sword.png\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-231267\" src=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/lev-grossman-the-bright-sword-197x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"197\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/lev-grossman-the-bright-sword-197x300.png 197w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/lev-grossman-the-bright-sword-39x60.png 39w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/lev-grossman-the-bright-sword-33x50.png 33w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/lev-grossman-the-bright-sword.png 329w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 197px) 100vw, 197px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>Lev Grossman, <\/b><b><i><a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/132\/9780735224049\">The Bright Sword<\/a><br \/>\n<\/i><\/b><b>(Viking, July 16)<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The eagerly anticipated next book from <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Magicians<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> author Lev Grossman shifts its classics-riffing focus from Narnia to Camelot\u2026 or rather, post-Camelot\u2019s collapse. Freshly-forged knight Collum seeks to join the Round Table, but it\u2019s (metaphorically) fractured, as King Arthur has fallen in battle two weeks prior and his idyllic kingdom is beset by warring factions. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There\u2019s Morgan le Fay backed by an army of faeries and other supernatural creatures; Lancelot and Guinevere, grieving Arthur yet also regarded as traitors; and outsiders not part of Arthur\u2019s fall, who sense an opportunity without an heir on the throne. Instead of joining the storied Knights of the Round Table, Collum will team up with a ragtag band of survivors including Sir Palomides and Sir Dagonet, as well as Merlin\u2019s former apprentice (and betrayer, but for her own reasons) Nimue.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"231268\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/24-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-look-forward-to-in-2024\/attachment\/9780316525572\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9780316525572.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"324,500\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"the mercy of gods\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9780316525572-194x300.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9780316525572.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-231268\" src=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9780316525572-194x300.jpg\" alt=\"the mercy of gods\" width=\"194\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9780316525572-194x300.jpg 194w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9780316525572-39x60.jpg 39w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9780316525572-32x50.jpg 32w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9780316525572.jpg 324w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 194px) 100vw, 194px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>James S.A. Corey, <\/b><b><i><a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/132\/9780316525572\">The Mercy of Gods<\/a><br \/>\n<\/i><\/b><b>(Orbit Books, August 6)<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Expanse authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck are collaborating once more on a new sci-fi trilogy that explores a different corner of the space opera universe, inspired in part by the Bible\u2019s apocalyptic Book of Daniel. Dafyd Alkhor is a bright-eyed research assistant on the long-ago-settled human planet of Anjiin, but his world broadens beyond romantic and academic intrigue when he and a handful of other human survivors are snatched by the Carryx\u2014an alien hive who kidnap species to their homeworld, only to pit them against one another in a competition for survival. While the idea of humanity justifying its continued existence is intriguing, I\u2019m especially curious as to how humans made it off Earth in the first place; hopefully The Captive\u2019s War trilogy will answer that and more.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"231269\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/24-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-look-forward-to-in-2024\/attachment\/9781250625434\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781250625434.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"326,500\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"asunder\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781250625434-196x300.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781250625434.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-231269\" src=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781250625434-196x300.jpg\" alt=\"asunder\" width=\"196\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781250625434-196x300.jpg 196w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781250625434-39x60.jpg 39w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781250625434-33x50.jpg 33w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781250625434.jpg 326w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 196px) 100vw, 196px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>Kerstin Hall, <\/b><b><i><a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/132\/9781250625434\">Asunder<\/a><br \/>\n<\/i><\/b><b>(Tordotcom Publishing, August 20)<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kerstin Hall\u2019s fiction delves into dark corners and underworlds that I might hesitate to enter as a reader, but I trust her enough to explore realms shaped by cannibalism (<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Star Eater<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) and populated by demons (<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Border Keeper<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">). To wit, I\u2019m not usually a fan of eldritch tales, but I\u2019m fascinated by her latest protagonist Karys Eska, a Deathspeaker whose power comes from one such nightmare being. But when a dying client pays Karys to investigate a suspicious demise and she accidentally binds him to her own shadow\u2026 a descent into the underworld seems all but inevitable.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"231270\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/24-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-look-forward-to-in-2024\/screen-shot-2023-12-18-at-6-11-28-pm\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Screen-Shot-2023-12-18-at-6.11.28-PM.png\" data-orig-size=\"732,984\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"august clarke,\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Screen-Shot-2023-12-18-at-6.11.28-PM-223x300.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Screen-Shot-2023-12-18-at-6.11.28-PM.png\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-231270\" src=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Screen-Shot-2023-12-18-at-6.11.28-PM-223x300.png\" alt=\"august clarke,\" width=\"223\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Screen-Shot-2023-12-18-at-6.11.28-PM-223x300.png 223w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Screen-Shot-2023-12-18-at-6.11.28-PM-45x60.png 45w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Screen-Shot-2023-12-18-at-6.11.28-PM-37x50.png 37w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Screen-Shot-2023-12-18-at-6.11.28-PM.png 732w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 223px) 100vw, 223px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>August Clarke, <\/b><b><i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tor.com\/2023\/08\/08\/book-announcement-three-new-adult-titles-from-august-clarke-from-erewhon-books\/\">Metal From Heaven<\/a><br \/>\n<\/i><\/b><b>(Erewhon Books, fall TBD)<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As excited as I am for H.A. Clarke to conclude their Scapegracers series with <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Feast Makers<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in March, I\u2019m even more psyched for the next phase of August Clarke\u2019s literary career. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tor.com\/2023\/08\/08\/book-announcement-three-new-adult-titles-from-august-clarke-from-erewhon-books\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They\u2019ve signed a new book deal for three standalone novels<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the first of which is an industrial fantasy whose setting was inspired by the steampunk anime <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Arcane: League of Legends<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> but whose revenge plot is all <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Count of Monte Cristo<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. We don\u2019t know much about it beyond the tantalizing pitch of a young woman presumed dead reinventing herself in a glittering world of industrial change in order to avenge her family\u2019s murder by a ruthless mining company, but that\u2019s all we need.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"231271\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/24-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-look-forward-to-in-2024\/screen-shot-2023-12-18-at-6-12-51-pm\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Screen-Shot-2023-12-18-at-6.12.51-PM.png\" data-orig-size=\"714,858\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Freya Marske\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Screen-Shot-2023-12-18-at-6.12.51-PM-250x300.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Screen-Shot-2023-12-18-at-6.12.51-PM.png\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-231271\" src=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Screen-Shot-2023-12-18-at-6.12.51-PM-250x300.png\" alt=\"Freya Marske \" width=\"250\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Screen-Shot-2023-12-18-at-6.12.51-PM-250x300.png 250w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Screen-Shot-2023-12-18-at-6.12.51-PM-50x60.png 50w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Screen-Shot-2023-12-18-at-6.12.51-PM-42x50.png 42w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Screen-Shot-2023-12-18-at-6.12.51-PM.png 714w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>Freya Marske, <\/b><b><i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tor.com\/2023\/10\/24\/tor-acquires-four-new-books-from-freya-marske\/\">Swordcrossed<\/a><br \/>\n<\/i><\/b><b>(Bramble, fall TBD)<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the book launch for <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Power Unbound<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Freya Marske shared that her forthcoming standalone fantasy romance was equally inspired by the tradition of hiring a swordsman at your wedding and by the underrated queer romance <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Imagine Me &amp; You<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, in which Piper Perabo falls for her wedding vendor Lena Headey. Now that Marske\u2019s Edwardian-era magic series The Last Binding is complete, I can\u2019t think of a better followup than this cozy romantasy about a wool merchant who hires a con artist to teach him swordplay for his nuptials, only to be seduced away from family obligations to a life where he can actually be himself, even if it\u2019s with the last person he ever thought he\u2019d love. Cross my heart, can\u2019t wait to swoon over this one.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"231272\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/24-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-look-forward-to-in-2024\/attachment\/9781645660903\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781645660903.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"323,500\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Kalyna the Cutthroat\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781645660903-194x300.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781645660903.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-231272\" src=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781645660903-194x300.jpg\" alt=\"Kalyna the Cutthroat\" width=\"194\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781645660903-194x300.jpg 194w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781645660903-39x60.jpg 39w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781645660903-32x50.jpg 32w, https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/9781645660903.jpg 323w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 194px) 100vw, 194px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>Elijah Kinch Spector, <\/b><b><i><a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/132\/9781645660903\">Kalyna the Cutthroat<\/a><br \/>\n<\/i><\/b><b>(Erewhon Books, November 26)<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My ruthless daughter Kalyna is back surviving <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> thriving in the sequel to <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kalyna the Soothsayer<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. While her fake fortune teller shtick crumbled along with the demise of the Tetrarchic Experiment\u2014four countries trying to coexist, only for the realm of Loasht to revoke peace\u2014Kalyna has found a new application for her special set of skills: here, escorting a scholar-on-sabbatical back to his home country of Loasht amid the Tetrarchic tensions. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Partly narrated by the scholar (Radiant Basket of Rainbow Shells) himself, Elijah Kinch Spector\u2019s latest adventure will see this motley crew joining up with the only people who will take them: a utopian community existing on the borders of Loasht and Tetrarchia. But if the Tetrarchic Experiment couldn\u2019t succeed, we\u2019re already suspicious of this cult and their seeming ability to have figured it all out. I can\u2019t wait to see how Kalyna earns her new title.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It seems impossible that 2024 could outdo what was truly a spectacular year of SFF and speculative offerings. But considering how difficult it was to narrow down this preview, you and I are in for a treat this year. We\u2019ve got alternate-history utopian nations and near-future dystopian surveillance states, sexy wedding duels and interstellar artifact [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10945,"featured_media":231274,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[43069,11,43070,43135],"tags":[92708,51200,73377,92738,92739,77410,68454,92742,92716,92723,92727,92730,92713,92717,83660,92728,56098,92724,92735,92719,92718,92725,92743,2558,10319,92737,92711,2865,92740,77072,92733,12381,92721,16240,92731,92729,77071,92712,2894,92720,92741,92715,92734,92736,92726,92722,92732,92709,77820,81317,92710,92714,88610],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/sci-fi.png","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5rKFr-Y9N","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231247"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10945"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=231247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231247\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/231274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=231247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=231247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lithub.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=231247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}