15 new SF/F books to check out in the first half of March 2025
New releases from Katherine Addison, M.R. Carey, Arkady Martine, Amal El-Mohtar, Adrian Tchaikovsky, and many more to add to your TBR pile!
March is turning out to be one of those months where we're just packed with new books coming out: I'm splitting this month's list into two parts, with the next one set to drop in a couple of weeks.
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Here are 15 SF/F books for you to check out in the first half of this month:
The Tomb of Dragons by Katherine Addison (March 11th)
Katherine Addison continues the story that she began back in 2014 with her critically acclaimed novel The Goblin Emperor. Originally a standalone, she returned to the world in 2021 with a new trilogy, starting with The Witness for the Dead and continuing with The Grief of Stones.
She's now finishing up the story with The Tomb of Dragons, in which Thara Celehar can no longer speak to the dead, and without that ability that defined him, he has to figure out how to go about his duties. Fortunately, he's joined by a handful of friends and allies.
Writing in Locus Magazine, Liz Bourke says "This is a measured, meditative novel, as much concerned with introspection as with action. It reminds me – more strongly than any of its predecessors – of The Goblin Emperor, intimately focused on questions of integrity and responsibility, on duty and self-knowledge and the difficulty and reward of human connection."
The Hampdenshire Wonder by J. D. Beresford (March 4th)
MIT Press's Radium Age series continues with a new installment: The Hampdenshire Wonder by J.D. Beresford. This novel was originally published in 1911, and is about a boy named Victor Stott, who was mutated in the womb and who grows to become a super-intelligent child. It's introduced by Ted Chiang.
Andrew Liptak
Cold Iron Task by James J. Butcher (March 4th)
James Butcher brings out another installment of his Unorthodox Chronicles series (preceded by Dead Man's Hand and Long Past Dues), which follows the adventures of Grimshaw Griswald Grimsby, a fresh-out-of-the-academy auditor, working for the Department of Unorthodox Affairs in Boston.
He's made a handful of mistakes in his career thus far, and when he's invited to join in on the heist of an otherworldly vault, he doesn't ask a whole lot of questions. Problems arise when he learns that his partner, Mayflower, has been keeping some secrets about his past from him, and he soon learns that he probably should have been asking some more questions.
Once Was Willem by M.R. Carey (March 4th)
In this Medieval fantasy set in England a little after 1100 AD, two grieving parents, Jon and Margaret Turling, lost their 12-year-old son Willem to a fever, and ask a local sorcerer, Cain Caradoc, to bring him back from the dead. He resurrects their son for a cost: part of his soul, and the newly-risen child isn't exactly welcome in their small farming village – he'd been dead for more than a year.
His body is inhabited by a creature that calls itself Once Was Willem, and begins making friends with some of the strange creatures and monsters that live in the countryside. When his village of Cosham is threatened by the sorcrer and some of his horrific plans, they turn to Once Was Willem to try and save them.
Kirkus Reviews gave the book a starred review, saying "Carey demonstrates again that he contains multitudes, jumping from subgenre to subgenre." and that it's "a dark and hopeful fable with obvious contemporary resonance."
The Radiant King by David Dalglish (March 4th)
David Dalglish kicks off his Astral Kingdoms trilogy with The Radiant King, which follows six immortal (through reincarnations) siblings who wield extraordinary powers, and they've ruled the world for hundreds of years. After a catastrophe that nearly ruined everything, the six pledge to remove themselves from human affairs and won't pass along their gifts.
One of the siblings, Faron, reawakens to discover that his brother Eder has decided to regain power, appointing himself Voice of Father and sets himself up as a ruler to be worshiped by humanity. Faron has to ally himself with his other siblings to try and stop him.
Publishers Weekly says "Readers will need a tolerance for gore to get through some of the reincarnation scenes but will be rewarded with a solid saga full of loneliness and longing."
The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany (March 4th)
The Folio Society launches its annual Spring Collection on March 4th, and this year's batch includes a new edition of Lord Dunsany's The King of Elfland's Daughter, one of the seminal early works of fantasy literature. Originally published in 1924, it's about the Lord of Erl who's told by parliament that they want to be ruled by a magical lord, and he sends his son Alveric to Elfland to bring back Lirazel, the daughter of the King of Elfland.
The Folio Society's edition comes with illustrations from artist Julie Dillon, and an introduction by Erin Morgenstern. This looks like a really nice edition, and it'll run you $95.
Rose of Jericho by Alex Grecian (March 11th)
Alex Grecian follows up his novel Red Rabbit with a sequel, Rose of Jericho. In that novel, a witch named Sadie Grace is hunted by a posse in Kansas when a bounty is put on her head, and a mismatched group of strangers come together to join in on the hunt.
In this follow up, strange things are happening in the village of Ascension: a woman dying of cancer is suddenly better, a boy injured in an accident miraculously survives, and a hanged man is still able to speak, despite a broken neck. When Sadie and Rabbit arrive in the town, they discover that the dead aren't dying, and that their new house, Bethany Hall, is occupied by ghosts. It's up to them to figure out what's going on in the town before the greater forces behind the strange happenings comes for them.
Dune: House Atreides Limited Edition by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (March 5th)
In 1999, Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson released Dune: House Atreides, the first new Dune novel since Frank Herbert published Chapterhouse: Dune in 1985. The book is set in the years before the novel Dune, following the stories of Leto Atreides, Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, Imperial Crown Prince Shaddam IV.
The book has gone through a handful of different covers and treatments over the years, but this month, Grim Oak Press has announced a new, limited edition of the novel, with art by Marc Simonetti. It's limited t0 750 copies, and is bit pricy at $195, while the 52 copy lettered edition will run for $500. But for those dedicated Dune fans out there, this seems like a nice edition to snag. The book will be shipped later this year.
Burn to Shine by Jonathan Maberry (March 4th)
Jonathan Maberry adds a new installment to his Rogue Team International series (Preceded by Rage, Relentless, and Cave 13) which follows Joe Ledger and his team as they confront some of the world's strangest and most troubling problems.
In this new installment, a secretive group has begun infiltrating bioweapons research programs, and have been infecting people by turning them into walking disease bombs. Ledger and his team are called back into action, even as they're still dealing with the fallout of their last mission.
Rose/House by Arkady Martine (March 11th)
Arkady Martine originally published this novella a couple of years ago through Subterranean Press, and I picked it up immediately: her novels A Memory Called Empire and A Desolation Called Peace blew me away.
This isn't a big space opera novel, but a small, intimate story about an detective investigating the mysterious death of an eccentric architect named Basit Deniau. His final project was Rose House, a smart home in the middle of the Mojave desert, and after his death, his protégé, Dr. Selene Gisil, is permitted inside, kicking off an intriguing locked room mystery that explores the uncanny nature of AI.
Andrew Liptak
The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar (March 4th)
Amal El-Mohtar's debut novel brings us to the town of Thistleford, which sits on the edge of Faerie. It's the home to a mysterious family who tends to and harvests enchanted trees, and they're bound by an ancient pact to sing to them in thanks for their magic. Two of the family's daughters, Esther and Ysabel, are the most devoted, and when Esther rejects a suiter from Faerie, it'll test the bond between both of their sisters and will put both of their lives at risk.
Luminous by Silvia Park (March 11th)
In the near future, North and South Korea have reunified, and an 11-year-old named Ruijie has been looking for parts that can support her failing body. While searching, she finds a lifelike robot boy.
Meanwhile, siblings Jun and Morgan have been estranged for years following the disappearance of their brother Yoyo – a prototype robot that their father created. Morgan has followed in her father's footsteps as a robot designer, while Jun is a detective with the Robot Crimes Unit, and has begun discovering some secrets that have long been buried. It's Ruijie's discovery that brings them back together.
Kirkus Reviews gave the book a starred review, saying "Stay with this one for the big philosophical questions it asks about the nature of God, souls, humanity, politics, power, purpose, consciousness, memory, death, and, of course, love. Park is nothing if not ambitious, and the sheer scope of the endeavor is the reward. While stylish, the single word title doesn’t do the breadth of the novel justice."
The Sea Eternal by Emery Robin (March 11th)
One of the more anticipated books of the year comes from Emery Robin. I missed their first book when it came out last year, The Stars Undying, which is about a princess, Altagracia, whose twin sister has forced her out of power and taken control of their planet Szayet, and who decides to ally herself with their rivals, the Empire of Ceiao, and has to throw her lot in with a dangerous commander, Matheus Ceirran
In this followup, Matheus has been killed, and his captain, Anita, has been working for the past year to hunt down those responsible. She's infatuated with Szayet's queen, Altagracia Caviro Patramata, and as she crosses interstellar boundaries in search of her targets, she discovers a dangerous secret that could upend the balance of power in the galaxy.
Library Journal says "Robin writes another queer space opera (a sequel to The Stars Undying) that showcases complex characters inspired by ancient history and set in the stars. This science-fiction interpretation of Mark Antony and Cleopatra’s relationship is woven together in a tight plot of false gods, technology, and legacy."
Andrew Liptak
Days of Shattered Faith by Adrian Tchaikovsky (March 4th)
Adrian Tchaikovsky continues his prodigious output with a third installment of his The Tyrant Philosophers series (preceded by City of Lost Chances and House of Open Wounds).
Loret is a new Cohort-Invigilator of Correct Appreciation, Outreach department, and is the aide to the Palleseen Resident, Sage-Invigilator Angilly. Pallesand is a nation run on rationalism and logic and is vehemently anti-religion and Outreach is part of the political machine that deals with the imperfections of the world. As a succession crisis looms in the city, a long-running experiment comes to fruition, bringing pirates, armies, and demons together to threaten the established order.
Russell Letson reviewed the book for Locus Magazine, saying that it's "a complicated, interwoven, multiviewpoint plot dotted with many back-story reveals, rich in intra- and interpersonal conflicts and fraught relationships. The overarching story of succession via usurpation and fratricidal civil war invites comparisons to both A Game of Thrones and the Wars of the Roses, while Pallesand’s geopolitical machinations and ideological rigidity carry a strong whiff of the Cold War."
The Greatest Adventure by John Taine (March 4th)
MIT Press's other installment of its Radium Age series continues with The Greatest Adventure by John Taine, which was originally published back in 1929. It follows an expedition to Antarctica, which discovers an ancient civilization that used advanced technologies, and had been destroyed by their own creations. This one comes with an introduction by S.L. Huang.