Somehow, it’s May — and that means not only are we one step closer to summer, we’ve also got several dozen new sci-fi and fantasy books to tempt you with. This month, we’ve got apocalyptic survivors, royals desperate to realise their destinies, supernatural private eyes, ambitious mutants, and so much more.
The Sword Falls by A.J. Smith
The Form and Void series continues in this sequel to The Glass Breaks, which finds the heir to the Kingdom of the Four Claws scrambling to lead as new threats emerge on all sides, including the dangerously rising sea. (May 1)
Ariadne by Jennifer Saint
In this tale inspired by Greek mythology, the princess of Crete falls for Theseus, the prince of Athens, when he arrives to slay the Minotaur. But is happily ever after possible once you’ve betrayed your family and disobeyed the gods? (May 4)
Firebreak by Nicole Kornher-Stace
In 2134, when feuding corporations have completely overtaken what used to be the U.S., a young woman prefers to spend her time playing virtual reality war games — until she discovers a dangerous truth about the game’s developer. (May 4)
Immunity Index by Sue Burke
This tale, described as a blend of Orphan Black and Contagion, is set in a not-so-unfamiliar dystopian version of the U.S. and follows a geneticist and the three women he created as they face a deadly viral outbreak. (May 4)
The Ones We’re Meant to Find by Joan He
Stranded on an island formed by climate change, a young woman plots her escape with one goal in mind: reuniting with her long-lost sister. Meanwhile, her sister — who’s confined to an “eco-city” that protects its residents from the nearly uninhabitable world outside — is also doing her best to track her down. (May 4)
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
The latest from the author of The Martian focuses on another solo character in peril: the only survivor remaining on a deep-space mission who’s desperately trying to solve a mystery that could save the human race. (May 4)
Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard
A new fantasy series begins as a young woman learns her heritage has marked her as a struggling world’s last hope — but she won’t have to fight alone after an unusual array of companions (a sorceress, a bounty hunter, a forger, an immortal, and more) rally to help. (May 4)
The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne
The Bloodsworn trilogy — named for mercenaries who are preparing for an imminent war — begins in a magic, monster-filled land where fortune hunters search for the powerful bones of ancient gods. (May 4)
The Shadow in the Glass by JJA Harwood
Cinderella gets a Victorian gothic adjustment in this story about a maid who’s offered an escape from her grim life after she meets a fairy godmother. Trouble is, this fairy godmother’s wish-granting comes at a price. (May 4)
Walk Among Us by Cassandra Khaw, Genevieve Gornichec, and Caitlin Starling
This collection gathers three feminist horror novellas all set within the “World of Darkness” that appears in role-playing game Vampire: The Masquerade. (May 4)
Angel of the Overpass by Seanan McGuire
The Ghost Roads series continues as a hitchhiking ghost chases after the immortal man who killed her. (May 11)
Black Water Sister by Zen Cho
When a young woman starts receiving psychic messages from the ghost of her grandmother — a former spirit medium — she’s drawn into the dead woman’s quest to avenge a deity who’s suffered a great insult in the land of the living. (May 11)
The House of Always by Jenn Lyons
The fourth Chorus of Dragons book picks up after the Ritual of the Night, as enemy forces plot to free the King of Demons. Reluctant hero Kihrin must determine how much he’ll sacrifice of himself in order to make sure that doesn’t happen. (May 11)
Illusionary by Zoraida Córdova
The Hollow Crown series continues as Renata reluctantly teams up with the frustratingly alluring Prince Castian, knowing he’s a necessary ally if she has any hope of restoring peace to the nation. But will she be able to control her powerful magic enough to use it to her advantage? (May 11)
A Master of Djinn by P. Djeli Clark
In 1912 Cairo, the youngest woman working for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments, and Supernatural Entities chases after a murderer whose magical abilities as dangerous as they are unusual. Read an excerpt here. (May 11)
The Rock Eaters by Brenda Peynado
This short story collection taps into sci-fi, fantasy, magical realism, and speculative fiction to explore “issues ranging from class differences to immigration to first-generation experiences to xenophobia.” (May 11)
Son of the Storm by Suyi Davies Okungbowa
In this epic fantasy inspired by pre-colonial West Africa, a scholar stumbles upon a dark secret from his city’s ancient past — a discovery that brings forth chaos as he sets out to investigate it further. Read an excerpt here. (May 11)
We Are Satellites by Sarah Pinsker
A couple struggles with their opposing points of view in a world where brain implants are becoming not just commonplace, but required for advancement. (May 11)
Within Without by Jeff Noon
Private eye John Nyquist is back, this time pursuing the stolen, sentient image of a has-been rock n’ roll star through the very strange city of Delirium. (May 11)
Exiles of Tabat by Cat Rambo
The Tabat Quartet continues as exiled hero Bella Kanto heads to the frontier, while the city she’s just left erupts when magical creatures rebel in the name of freedom. (May 12)
The Album of Dr. Moreau by Daryl Gregory
“It’s 2001, and the WyldBoyZ are the world’s hottest boy band, and definitely the world’s only genetically engineered human-animal hybrid vocal group.” If that doesn’t already have you hooked, add to that the fact that this book is also a race-against-time murder mystery set in Las Vegas. (May 18)
Day Zero by C. Robert Cargill
As a robot revolution looms, a “nannybot” must decide whether to join his rebellious kind or continue to protect the eight-year-old boy he’s been entrusted with caring for. (May 18)
Goblin: A Novel in Six Novellas by Josh Malerman
The latest from the author of Bird Box gathers six spooky stories set in the same sinister small town. (May 18)
Master Artificer by Justin T. Call
The second Silent Gods book finds Annev — who now has a cursed artefact melded to him — and his friends trying to negotiate power struggles, revenge quests, and unpredictable magic. (May 18)
Aetherbound by E.K. Johnston
A girl carrying a genetic mutation that marks her as an outcast escapes her family’s interstellar freighter after befriending a young pair who feel similarly trapped in their lives: twin teens whose well-connected family runs a space station. Can the trio work together to turn their lives around? (May 25)
The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman
This fantasy adventure about a thief who tries to rob a knight but ends up going on an adventure with her instead is set in a world of “goblin wars, stag-sized battle ravens, and assassins who kill with deadly tattoos.” (May 25)
Hard Reboot by Django Wexler
A researcher on a visit to “old Earth” becomes entangled in the planet’s gritty underworld — specifically the portion of the underworld obsessed with betting on giant robot arena battles. (May 25)
Honeycomb by Joanne M. Harris
This collection of original fairy tales also features illustrations by Charles Vess. (May 25)
The Kingdoms by Natasha Pulley
This alt-history tale follows a man with amnesia who turns up in 19th century England — a French colony — and must figure out who he is with only a mysterious postcard for assistance. (May 25)
The Lights of Prague by Nicole Jarvis
In a time when lamplighters (who are actually monster hunters) form Prague’s only line of defence against the creatures that stalk its streets at night, one among their numbers — armed with a sentient will o’ the wisp — uncovers a conspiracy poised to turn the tide against humankind. (May 25)
On the Origin of Species and Other Stories by Kim Bo-Young
The acclaimed South Korean science fiction author releases her debut English-language collection, bringing together some of her best-loved stories as well as an essay on sci-fi. (May 25)
The Promised Queen by Jeffe Kennedy
The Forgotten Empress epic fantasy trilogy concludes as Conrí takes on a corrupt emperor and his army of wizards, while Queen Euthalia draws on her magical link to her island nation to try and save her people. (May 25)
Qwyrk by Tim Rayborn
The title character, a member of the Shadow folk, is trying to take some time off from her regular gig keeping an eye on humankind — but there’s an urgent and ancient supernatural mystery that will need solving before she can take her vacation. (May 25)
Reset by Sarina Dahlan
Post-apocalypse America has been rebuilt into utopian cities where everything is carefully controlled — including the citizens, who must undergo a full memory wipe every four years. A scientist is fully in favour of this process until she starts to realise her recurring dreams signify a love she’s been forced to forget. (May 25)
Richards & Klein by Guy Haley
“The Holmes and Watson of the 22nd century” (one’s an A.I., one’s a cyborg) enter a renegade digital realm to find a missing A.I. rights activist, but end up discovering a plan aimed at taking over their own reality. (May 25)
Scorpion by Christian Cantrell
In this near-future thriller, a CIA agent takes on a new assignment to help her recover from a family tragedy — but soon finds the case, involving a series of bizarre murders around the globe that are tied to a secret message discovered in the Large Hardon Collider’s archives, is far more personal than she realised. (May 25)
Spells Trouble by P.C. and Kristin Cast
Twin witches Hunter and Mercy set out to avenge their mother’s death, but find their combined powers might not be enough to combat the ancient monsters who’ve found a way to portal into their small town. (May 25)
Version Zero by David Yoon
Fired from his job in big tech after asking too many pointed questions about his company, a blackballed data whiz reaches out to a reclusive tech guru for help with his revenge scheme — and soon realises the consequences of his actions. (May 25)
Anna by Sammy H.K. Smith
In a dystopian world where men are allowed to treat women as possessions, a women named Anna begins to understand what’s very wrong about her forced place in the world. (May 27)
The Cretaceous Past by Cixin Liu
The latest from the acclaimed Chinese author behind The Three Body Problem is a short novel built around a metaphor that begins with a T-rex, a toothache, and a colony of ants who’re eager to take full advantage of the situation. (May 31)