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Liberty Hardy is an unrepentant velocireader, writer, bitey mad lady, and tattoo canvas. Turn-ons include books, books and books. Her favorite exclamation is “Holy cats!” Liberty reads more than should be legal, sleeps very little, frequently writes on her belly with Sharpie markers, and when she dies, she’s leaving her body to library science. Until then, she lives with her three cats, Millay, Farrokh, and Zevon, in Maine. She is also right behind you. Just kidding! She’s too busy reading.
Twitter: @MissLiberty
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Happy summer, all you cool cats and space kittens! It’s time for another round-up of deliciously nerdy sci-fi and fantasy to feed your big brain for another month. Exciting summer movie blockbusters are often full of sci-fi and fantasy stories, and books are the same way. There’s something about the hot weather that makes us crave magic and off-world stories. It’s a good thing that there are so many to choose from this month. So many, in fact, that we are helping you narrow it down by sharing this list of ten exciting new SFF books out in August 2024!
In this post, you’ll find a man stuck in a reality show dungeon with his ex’s cat, fighting all manner of weird things, including llamas; a novella about pocket universes found on Earth; a magical coffee shop where the baristas offer you sustenance and life advice (and oh yeah, they’re cats); a student looking to advance his knowledge who instead winds up stuck in dangerous times; a dying woman who magics herself into her favorite fantasy series only to get a really big surprise; a deadly assassin on the run from the members of her guild after she refuses to carry out orders; a fantastic retelling of “The Goose Girl”; and more!
So hold on to your butts and get ready to blast off into these great reading adventures!
The Best New Science Fiction and Fantasy Books Out August 2024
The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djèlí Clark (Tordotcom, August 6)
This dark fantasy adventure’s release was moved from April to August, and it is worth the wait! It’s a rip-roaring story about a guild of assassins who swear to three unbreakable vows: The contract must be just, only the target may be killed, and you must complete a job once you agree to do it. At the start, we meet Eveen the Eviscerator, one of the highly talented assassins, who has agreed to a new contract. But when the job turns out to be way more complicated, she refuses to complete it. Now she herself is in danger from the very people she worked with, running for her life while she searches for answers. P.S.: Don’t worry, there are not any dead cats.
The Mercy of Gods by James S. A. Corey (Orbit, August 6)
This month from the author* of the wildly popular Expanse series comes the first in an exciting new space opera series. It’s about the Carryx, a brutal alien race that has existed for centuries, ruining other species in the galaxy. When their existence comes under threat, they need humans for their survival. After the capture and kidnapping of some of the brightest humans, the people must figure out a way to survive and what they are going to do for the Carryx. This is the start of the story of one man, Dafyd Alkhor, a scientist who will emerge a champion — and the most hated man in history.
*It’s the pen name of two authors, Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck.
Mistress of Lies by K. M. Enright (Orbit, August 13)
This is a dark romantasy debut all about revenge, vampires, and justice! Shan LeClaire has spent her life building the power of her blood magic in order to protect her brother and get the revenge she desperately wants. Samuel Hutchinson has a secret, terrible gift, and when he finds the victim of a magical serial killer, he becomes swept up in the intrigue of vampire king’s court. When Shan and Samuel cross paths, their powers and destinies clash and combine, leaving Samuel to wonder if he can follow Shan down her dark road of vengeance.
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A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher (Tor Books, August 6)
The prolific T. Kingfisher is a Book Riot fave! This fantastic new novel is her take on the “Goose Girl” fairy tale. Cordelia lives an unusual, unhappy, and sometimes punishing existence as the daughter of an evil sorcerer. She’s never challenged her mother before, only lived her days subservient and silent. But when her mother brings home a kindly man and his sister, Cordelia grows fond of them, and she realizes she must act if she wants to save them from her mother’s nefarious plans.
Time’s Agent by Brenda Peynado (Tor.com, August 13)
If you love stories about time travel, this is a great pick for you! In the future, humans have discovered pocket worlds, defined as “a geographically small, hidden offshoot of our own reality, sped up or slowed down by time.” Exploration of these pockets is an exciting new way to hopefully find new solutions for Earth’s problems. But forty years later, like all things, corporations have taken over pocket exploration, and a disgraced scientist (who wears the pocket universe where her estranged wife lives around her neck) has one chance to right these wrongs and save humanity from itself.
Blackheart Man by Nalo Hopkinson (S&S/Saga Press, August 20)
A new novel from award-winning author Nalo Hopkinson is always reason to celebrate! In this new fantasy, Veycosi, a student of music and history, sets out to learn from the rare Alamat Book of Light to become a scholar in Chynchin. But instead, he finds himself stuck in a complicated battle of danger and dark forces, where an ancient invading army approaches, children are disappearing, and the statues of island witches are coming to life.
The Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki, translated by Jesse Kirkwood (Ballantine Books, August 20)
This charming novel was a runaway hit in Japan! How can you go wrong with cats? In this magical fantasy, being kind to cats really pays off. Because the legend goes, if you’re kind to the right cat, it will take you to a magical coffee shop that you can’t find on your own. This special shop is staffed by talking cats (purristas?), who will impart wisdom, read your star chart, and supply you with delicious food and drink.
Voyage of the Damned by Frances White (MIRA, August 20)
This magical mystery is a huge hit in the UK, thanks in part to TikTok. Now being released in the US, it tells the tale of a special voyage that ends in murder. To celebrate one thousand years of peace in Concordia, the emperor’s ship sets out on a voyage with the twelve magical province heirs. When the heirs start being murdered, it will be up to Ganymedes Piscero, the only un-magical heir and the disappointment of his family, to find the killer.
Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan (Orbit, August 27)
Rae has spent much of her life seeking comfort in books as a way to avoid the fact that she’s dying. When she discovers a way at a second chance at life, she takes it. It’s a magical arrangement that allows her to become a character in her favorite fantasy series. She wakes up in the world of the Once and Forever Emperor. But to her shock, Rae quickly learns, she’s not a hero in this story — she’s the villain. And villains are usually defeated in books. Can Rae figure out a way to change her tale to a happy ending?
Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman (Ace, August 27)
We wrap up today with another self-published success story! Like The Martian and Legends & Lattes, this series found a big audience and has now been picked up for redistribution by a large publisher. It’s about Coast Guard vet Carl and his ex-girlfriend’s cat, Princess Donut, who end up stuck on a reality show, trying to survive a dungeon filled with all kinds of wild, dangerous things — like traps, magic, goblins, and very, very bad llamas. If you enjoy this, there are five more in the series, with the second and third also being re-released this year (and supposedly an adaptation on the way.)
Bonus Mentions
Because I can’t just stop at ten books, in August, be sure to watch for In the Shadow of the Fall by Tobi Ogundiran, Asunder by Kerstin Hall, and Strange Folk by Alli Dyer. For kids, watch for Key Lime Sky by Al Hess and Otto Normal’s Monsterton: The Disappearance of White Pine Beach by Danielle McKechnie and Simón Estrada. And for sequels, we get Amari and the Despicable Wonders by B. B. Alston, Apprentice to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer, The Sunforge by Sascha Stronach, Confounding Oaths by Alexis Hall, and The Doors of Midnight by R.R. Virdi.
There are also a TON of amazing SFF titles out in paperback this month, including The Splinter in the Sky by Kemi Ashing-Giwa, The Black Locomotive by Rian Hughes, Faebound by Saara El-Arifi, The Fall of Númenor: and Other Tales from the Second Age of Middle-earth by J. R. R. Tolkien, and We Are the Crisis by Cadwell Turnbull.
If you want to learn about more sci-fi and fantasy books, check out 12 Fantasy Books Inspired by Mythologies From Around the World and Middle Grade Graphic Novels for Dungeons & Dragons Players. And be sure to sign up for our SFF newsletter, Swords and Spaceships, and listen to our SFF podcast, SFF Yeah!
Finally, you can also find a full list of new releases in the magical New Release Index, carefully curated by your favorite Book Riot editors, organized by genre and release date.
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