Even more SF/F books to check out this June
14 more SF/F books to add to your TBR
June has been a packed month for new books, and now that we've reached the second half of the month, it's a good moment to take a look at some of the rest that caught my eye that are coming out in the next couple of weeks.
In case you missed the first list for June, you can see it here:
(You can find other recommendations from past months via the Book List tag.)
As always, this newsletter is free to read, but it isn't free to produce: it costs money to host this newsletter on Ghost, as well as the other things associated with writing and producing it. If you've found it to be a useful thing to read, please consider supporting the newsletter, either by signing up as a supporting subscriber, or by purchasing a book via the links to Bookshop.org). Those links are affiliates, and any purchases you make through them might yield a small commission to Transfer Orbit.
Another thing that I'll note: Audible is holding a massive, site-wide sale this week (it ends tomorrow, June 16th), with deals up to 85% off. I ended up snagging a whole bunch of books that have been lingering on my to-read list (including Cadwell Turnbull's We Are the Crisis, Malka Older's Mimicking of Known Successes, Arthur C. Clarke's The Fountains of Paradise, and a couple more.) My own book, Cosplay: A History, is marked down to $7.92, which is the best price that I've seen for it yet! If it's something you've been thinking about picking up, it's a good opportunity to do so.
I also just got a big stack of copies delivered this week, so if it's something you'd also like to read, get in touch! I'd be happy to sign and personalize one for you.
Okay: here are 15 more books hitting stores this month to check out:
Children of Anguish and Anarchy by Tomi Adeyemi (June 25th)
Tomi Adeyemi's debut novel Children of Blood and Bone and followup Children of Virtue and Vengeance were enormous hits when they first came out back in 2018 and 2019, and fans have been waiting for the next, final installment.
The books follow Zélie Adebola as she works to restore magic to her homeland, and in this final adventure, she and her allies thought that the battles would be over when they seized the royal palace and overthrew the monarchy, restoring the maji to their rightful place. But things take a turn when she and her people are captured and trafficked across the ocean. She eventually meets King Baldyr, the leader of her kidnappers, and he's intent on harnessing their powers to his own ends, setting up one final fight before her people are annihilated.
The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wastelands by Sarah Brooks (June 18th)
The Trans-Siberian Express is an infamous train that crosses the wastelands, giving passengers an awe-inspiring journey to see the fantastical creatures that live there. But something went wrong on its last trip, and none of the passengers can exactly remember what happened, including Zhang Weiwei, who's spent his life on the vehicle.
As it embarks on a new journey, a new set of passengers with mysterious pasts and intentions come onboard, and as Weiwei forms his own bonds with some of them, he can't ignore the warning signs that there's danger ahead: they'll have to figure out how to trust one another in order to survive the next trip.
Library Journal gave the book a starred review, saying "Brooks skillfully doles out clues at a steady, satisfying pace—but always alongside new questions, ensuring that tension remains high."
The Runes of Engagement by Tobias S. Buckell and Dave Klecha (June 18th)
Military fantasy is always a fun genre to play with, and I absolutely love the title for this new book from Tobias S. Buckell and Dave Klecha. One day, various fantastical creatures like dragons, orcs, and trolls arrived on Earth through portals, and a platoon of US Marines find themselves trapped on the other side, and end up embarking on a fantasy quest of their own: escorting a princess who might be able to make peace for both worlds.
Library Journal awarded the book a starred review, noting that it's "tons of fun and full of geeky references and in-jokes. Will be catnip to readers who love this combination of military SF, alternate history, and fantasy."
The Daughter's War by Christopher Buehlman (June 25th)
I've heard nothing but good things about Christopher Buehlman's novel The Blacktongue Thief, and it's been sitting on my to-read list since it came out in 2022. It looks like it's time to finally get to it, because his next novel is a prequel, The Daughter's War.
It follows a younger Galva who's gone against her family's desires to join a new military unit, the Raven Knights, which is now marching on the goblin horde, accompanied by giant war crows. These war birds were created with dark magic and might be the only way they can turn the tide of the war. But they're dangerous creations, and the members of the Raven Knights will have to rely on one another to make it through the war alive.
Publishers Weekly says "The result is an introspective look into how Galva came to be a fierce warrior. Series fans looking for insight into Buehlman’s badass heroine’s psyche will want to check this out."
Echo of Worlds by M.R. Carey (June 25th)
M.R. Carey follows up his novel Infinity Gate with a concluding volume to the Pandominion duology, Echo of Worlds. In that first book, Pandominion is the nexus of millions of alternate Earths, and it's now threatened by an artificial intelligence known as Rupshe that could destroy the alliance.
Now, the two empires are at war, with extinction the likely outcome. There's one thing that can stop the war, known as the Mother Mass, which exists somewhere in the multiverse, and Rupshe has been working to find it, bringing together a grieving soldier, a cat woman, a killer, the digital mind of a physicist, a child, and a robotic spy to try and find it and avoid annihilation before it's too late.
Rakesfall by Vajra Chandrasekera (June 18th)
During the Sri Lankan civil war, Annelid and Leveret meet against all odds, and after a violent meeting in a demon-haunted forest, they're entwined in a journey that will take their souls from life to life into the distant future, meeting over and over again.
Publishers Weekly notes that the book is in a somewhat unconventional format, but that patient readers "will sink into Chandrasekera’s lyrical and evocative style: “I chew the leaf and spit out my red days. They splatter. You chew the leaf and spit out your hours of mad redder.” Readers who put in the effort will be rewarded by this rich and sweeping epic."
How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive by Craig DiLouie (June 18th)
Horror director Max Maurey has reached incredible heights in Hollywood: his films are successes and his actors love him, but he feels stuck in the world of cheap slashers. He wants to make something really horrifying, but his producers haven't been willing to get him the budget that he really wants.
When he meets actress Sally Priest at a wrap party, he finds someone as ambitious as him. He casts her in his next film, and when he comes across a camera that once filmed a real horror, he knows that he has to use it for the film, even if there are some cryptic warnings that accompany it. As the production begins, it's clear that there are some real horrors lurking, ready to come out and ready to turn Sally Priest into a real Final Girl.
Publishers Weekly says "readers will be pulled in by the morally twisted characters and serpentine plot. Film buffs will especially enjoy this paean to ’80s slasher films and the people who love them."
Unexploded Remnants by Elaine Gallagher (June 25th)
In Elaine Gallagher's debut novella, we're introduced to a woman named Alice who discovers an AI stored on an old data core, setting her off on a quest to return it to its home, somewhere way out in the stargate network. The AI is part of an ancient weapons system, and she has to find a way to convince it that the war it was once part of is long over, and keep it out of the wrong hands.
Publishers Weekly says " The impressive worldbuilding, replete with myriad references to Alice in Wonderland, could easily sustain a much longer adventure."
Beyond the Light Horizon by Ken MacLeod (June 25th)
Ken MacLeod brings his Lightspeed trilogy to a close with Beyond the Light Horizon (preceded by Beyond the Hallowed Sky and Beyond the Reach of Earth). In the first, a mathematician received a message from the future spelling out the secrets to faster-than-light travel, and discovers a secret plan for interstellar travel has been in the works for decades. In the second, humanity has begun exploring the stars, only to discover that there are some things that are better left untouched.
In this new installment, the alien Fermi have left the rocky worlds but are still hanging around the solar system's gas giants. Shipbuilder John Grant and his AI have been tossed into the past through a time slip and discover a human settlement that shouldn't exist near an ancient alien civilization, while agent Marcus Owen has been waging a fight on the planet Apis against encroaching human settlers, who've been warned to halt their settlement – or else.
Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman (June 25th)
Eight-year-old Bela is surrounded by a loving family: her mother, father and grandmother. But there's also "Other Mommy" an entity that asks daily if it can go in her heart. Other Mommy is also growing tired of asking the same question over and over again, and is beginning to escalate, putting strain on the family and threatening to unravel everything Bela has known.
Publishers Weekly says "Bela’s naive narrative voice is the book’s best feature, freshening up the familiar story beats and enhancing the creeping sense of dread."
We Speak Through the Mountain by Premee Mohamed (June 18th)
Premee Mohamed follows up her intriguing, post-apocalyptic novel The Annual Migration of Clouds with a followup: We Speak Through the Mountain. In it, we follow Reid Graham, who escaped from her settlement and has made her way to reach Howse University, one of the last remnants of civilization after the collapse. Life there isn't what she expected, and finds herself growing more and more uncomfortable living in a place of wealth and resources when those outside the domes are barely scraping by. When horrible news reaches her from home, she's forced to make some difficult choices.
The Bound Worlds by Megan E. O'Keefe (June 25th)
Megan E. O'Keefe closes out her Devoured Worlds trilogy with The Bound Worlds (preceded by The Blighted Stars and The Fractured Dark), in which revolutionary Naira Sharp has been working to undermine the powerful Mercator family, which controls the exploration of the galaxy. When she's stuck on a dead world with a member of the family, Tarquin, they discover some dangerous secrets about the family and their wealth.
In this final installment, the pair have escaped and made a home on Seventh Cradle, only to find their peaceful existence crushed when they're attached. When Naira sees a vision of the future and Tarquin discovers a plot that could spell the end of the universe, they have to race against time to try and save humanity.
The Knife and the Serpent by Tim Pratt (June 11th)
After her grandmother is killed during a home invasion, a tech worker named Tamsin Culver is left to pick up the pieces. When she returns home to the Midwest to start settling her estate she makes a startling discovery: her grandmother isn't from this Earth: she's from another, more technologically-advanced reality where she was a noted oligarch. Tamsin is not only the heir to incredible wealth, but now a target from her grandmother's enemies.
At the same time, a grad student named Glenn discovers that his girlfriend Vivy is also from another dimension, and is part of an interdimensional enforcement body that works to protect lesser-developed worlds. When she finds herself in trouble, Glenn is accidentally along for the ride to save her, and ends up running into Tamsin and discovers that their destinies are intertwined.
Publishers Weekly says "Trust, betrayal, jealousy, and kinky sex all mix into scenes of wounded intimacy and cinematic battles between killbots and clone armies."
Captain Future: Lost Apollo by Allen M. Steele (June 11th)
Over the last couple of years, Allen M. Steele has been writing some new adventures of a classic pulp hero, Captain Future, who had first appeared in 1940 (you can pick up a facsimile edition of his first appearance here). Since 2019, Steele's authored Captain Future in Love, The Guns of Pluto, 1,500 Light Years from Home, and The Horror at Jupiter.
In this latest adventure, an ancient spaceship has appeared from a cosmic rifts between the Earth and the Moon: Apollo 20 and its crew. There's no record of the mission existing, so it's up to Curt Newton to to intercept the spacecraft, figure out how it got here, and how they can get it home.
That's it for now: thanks for reading. Let me know what catches your eye, and what you've got on your TBR.