17 new sci-fi and fantasy books coming this December

One final round of new books to close the year out

Graphic: Andrew Liptak

December is usually a pretty dead month for new books: publishers want to get their new releases out ahead of the start of the holiday shopping season, and as we've seen this year, September, October, and November were packed with new releases. This year finds a December that also has a hefty pile of books hitting store shelves, and some of the year's more interesting-looking books, too, such as collections of optimistic visions for the future, collections from notable authors, art books, and some outstanding-looking novels.

The holiday shopping season is in full swing now, and if you're looking for some good gift ideas, I published my annual Gift Guide last week, with a whole bunch of higher-end books, gadgets, and writing things that you might find to be a good gift for someone in your life.

If you're looking for books, you can read through the book lists for the entire year over on the Book List tag. There are lots of excellent ones to choose from! If you're looking for some specific recommendations, you can check out the Reviews tag as well.

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Okay, here are 17 new SF/F books to close out the year with:

Hello Earth, Are You There?: The Best Science Fiction Stories of Brian Aldiss by Brian Aldiss (December 4th)

The late Brian Aldiss is one of the genre's most influential science fiction authors, best known for his Hellionica trilogy (Helliconia Spring, Helliconia Summer and Helliconia Winter) and for Super Toys Last All Summer Long, the basis for the film A.I.: Artificial Intelligence.

To celebrate the centennial of his birth in 1925, Harper Voyager UK has pulled together 27 of his shorter stories in a new collection. It should be a good introduction for anyone looking to pick up his work.

The Tower and the Ruin by Michael D.C. Drout (December 2nd)

There's no shortage of books about J.R.R. Tolkien's life out there, but this one looks particularly interesting: it's deep dive into how Tolkien created his Middle-earth legendarium, looking at the legends that inspired him from medieval literature, and how he utilized his knowledge of language, history, and storytelling to build the world in which The Silmarillion, The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings, are just a very small part.

Kirkus Reviews calls it "an ardent plea for Tolkien as a writer with a moral vision about friendship in the face of love and loss.

Stranger Things: The Complete Scripts Season 3 and Season 4 by The Duffer Brothers (December 9th)

The fifth and final season of Stranger Things kicked off last week on Netflix, and as part of the leadup, the studio has begun releasing the scripts for each season in book form. The volumes for Season 1 and Season 2 came out back in September, and now we've got the scripts for seasons 3 and 4 hitting shelves: something to pour over while we wait for the final two batches of episodes later this month.

Climate Imagination: Dispatches from Hopeful Futures edited by Joey Eschrich and Ed Finn (December 2nd)

Climate change has become a huge focus in certain segments of the science fiction world, and it often comes with an apocalyptic tinge. This new anthology takes a different path: edited by Joey Eschrich and Ed Finn, both of the Center for Science and the Imagination at Arizona State University, it's full of stories that take a more optimistic view, and how people might adapt and build in the face of huge challenges.

This anthology boasts an impressive group of contributors from around the world, including Ken Liu, Kim Stanley Robinson, Vandana Singh, Yudhanjaya Wijeratne, and many others.

Halo: Edge of Dawn by Kelly Gay (December 16th)

The Halo franchise has always been something of a mess: a main lineup of games, with a whole bunch of tie-in novels and comics that accompany it, but with some weird detours in canon. It's always seemed as though the series hasn't had quite the same level of purpose and direction as Star Wars (although that's debatable in and of itself), but I do appreciate that the books can bring in some additional stories and build on the world that the games have brought together.

One of the biggest missed opportunities was the latest game, Halo: Infinite, which ends with something of a promise that there was quite a bit more to explore on the Zeta Halo, potentially through DLCs. But that hasn't happened: there's been plenty of shakeups at Microsoft and the game franchise feels a bit aimless, leaving that potential unfulfilled... until now. Kelly Gay's latest is set after the events of Halo: Infinite, picking up the story of Master Chief after he killed War Chief Escharum.

The fight continues on Zeta Halo, and now accompanied by a new AI and pilot Fernando Esparza, the chief is seeking out the rest of the scattered UNSC forces, and has to rescue a medic who's been captured and tortured by the Banished for months, potentially leading to unlocking some new secrets to the mysterious ring, all while being hunter by Sangheili blademaster Jega ‘Rdomnai, who's hellbent on exacting revenge.

The Library of Fates by Margot Harrison (December 2nd)

Margot Harrison was a guest at this year's Green Mountain Book Festival, and while there, she spoke a bit about her upcoming novel, The Library of Fates. The titular library contains a rare book called The Book of Dark Nights, which has a secret: when you write a confession in it, it'll send you a prediction for your future.

Eleanor, an apprentice to the librarian, finds that the library helps her make sense of the world after a tragic childhood, but when her mentor is killed in an accident and the book goes missing, she has to leave the library to try and find it and the secrets that it holds. She teams up with the librarian's estranged son Daniel – with whom she once had a relationship, and they have to figure out how to trust one another as they travel the world looking for the book.

Kirkus Reviews notes that "while it contains an entertaining mystery, at heart this is a novel about the power of a good book and how that book can change a person’s life if it’s read at the right moment."

Secrets of the First School by T.L. Huchu (December 2nd)

I really enjoyed T.L. Huchu's urban fantasy world when I picked up the first novel in the series, The Library of the Dead a couple of years ago. He's since followed it up with three additional installments (Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments, The Mystery at Dunvegan Castle, and The Legacy of Arniston House), which follow failed magician Ropa Moyo as she makes her way through a climate-wrecked Scotland and the underground magical scene there.

In this fifth and final installment, Ropa is now dead, banished to the Other Place by a reanimated spirit. It's not the end of the story for her though, and as the Cult of Dundas – who worship the spirit who killed her – is working to spread their influence to Scotland's magical schools. To stop them Ropa has to figure out how to escape and gather her friends and allies before it's too late.

This Brutal Moon by Bethany Jacobs (December 2nd)

Bethany Jacobs brings her Kindom space opera trilogy to a close with This Brutal Moon, which follows These Burning Stars and On Vicious Worlds, which introduced readers to a thief named Jun Ironway who came across a secret that threatened the Kindom, which ruled the galaxy. Two Kindom clerics, Chono and Esek, were sent to track her down, and they're followed by a mysterious character known only as Six.

In this conclusion, Jun and her companion Maser Hawks have ended up on an isolated colony called Treble, and it's now under threat, with a burgeoning revolution and enemies who're still after them.

Kirkus Reviews calls it a "reasonably rewarding and thought-provoking wrap-up," with an emphasis on exploring how characters deal with trauma and work to break the cycle of violence.

We Will Rise Again: Speculative Stories and Essays on Protest, Resistance, and Hope edited by Annalee Newitz, Karen Lord, and Malka Older (December 2nd)

It seems to be the month for collections of optimistic visions of the future: Annalee Newitz, Karen Lord, and Malka Older have put together a new anthology of essays, interviews, and stories about the state of social justice in the future, exploring how people will advocate on a wide range of topics, from disability to the environment to collective action.

Some of the authors in the TOC include visionsaries such as N.K. Jemisin, Charlie Jane Anders, Alejandro Heredia, Sam J. Miller, Nisi Shawl, and Sabrina Vourvoulias, just to name a few.

The Price of Plenty: A History of Meat in America by Maureen Ogle (November 4th)

Years ago, I came across Maureen Ogle's outstanding history, Ambitious Brew: A History of American Beer and her follow-up, In Meat We Trust: An Unexpected History of Carnivore America (here's my original review for it). Since its publication, she's been reworking and adding to it, resulting in a new book: The Price of Plenty: A History of Meat in America, which looks at how the meat industry came together, from massive cattle drives, to factory farms to chicken nuggets, going all the way back to the earliest days of America.

I can't say enough good things about Ogle's work and how it's personally shaped how I approach history. She's an outstanding researcher and storyteller, and this book should give anyone a better understanding of a huge part of our society and culture.

Doug Chiang: The Cinematic Legacy & the Star Wars Legacy by Gilles Penso and Alexandre Poncet (December 2nd)

I love me a good Star Wars art book, and a massive, two-volume set that's all about Doug Chiang, the artist who helped define the look and feel of the prequel era with his astonishing artwork? Sign me up.

This is a hefty release that runs 800 pages (and $275) that covers the breadth of Chiang's career, starting with his work on films like Alien 3, Back to the Future Part II, Jumanji, The Mask, Spawn, T2: Judgment Day, and many others, before diving into his work on the prequel trilogy and through projects such as the sequel trilogy, the standalone films, Galaxy's Edge, and The Mandalorian.

Antarctica and The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson (December 2nd)

Two of Kim Stanley Robinson's novels are getting a re-release from Del Rey with some neat new covers: Antarctica and The Years of Rice and Salt. The former follows the icy continent as the international treaty that protects it is about to be taken apart, and explores how people might work to protect it. In the latter, set in the 14th century, the Black Death is coming, and unlike in the real world, it kills more than 99 percent of Europe's population, leading to a drastically different timeline.

Tailored Realities by Brandon Sanderson (December 9th)

Brandon Sanderson is an extremely prolific author, and somehow, he's fit in another book for the year: a collection called Tailored Realties, which includes ten short stories that includes everything from detective thrillers, space opera stories, superheroes, fantasy thrill rides and more. All of these stories stand on their own and many are in print for the first time.

The folks at Winter is Coming says that "as a retrospective look back on the non-Cosmere side of Brandon Sanderson's career, Tailored Realities is a wonderful read."

Stranger Things: One Way Or Another by Caitlin Schneiderhan (December 2nd)

The Stranger Thing scripts aren't the only releases for the supernatural franchise this month: Caitlin Schneiderhan has a new book about Nancy Wheeler, set in the aftermath of Season 4.

After the earthquake and Vecna's return to Earth, the people of Hawkins, Indiana are dealing with the aftermath, and Nancy has been obsessed with tracking down Vecna, to no avail. As she works her way through her final year of school, she's suspicious when one of her classmates begins acting strangely, and ends up tracking down a much bigger story that could threaten the town.

Sunset at Zero Point by Simon Stålenhag (December 9th)

I'm a huge fan of Simon Stålenhag's art books, and was thrilled to get his book Swedish Machines earlier this year after backing his Kickstarter. It's now getting a wider release as Sunset at Zero Point, and I found it to be a beautiful, heartbreaking read about strange science and a queer relationship.

The story splits its time between 2024 and the early 2000s, following two kids who explore the grounds of an off-limits weapons lab and come to terms with their childhoods, leaving and returning home, and how they relate to one another. It's a masterful work.

That's it for the year for these monthly book lists: thank you for checking them out over the course of 2025. I genuinely hope that you found some books that you enjoyed: it's why I write this list, and I appreciate everyone who's commented here and elsewhere about them, what they picked up, suggested, and enjoyed. Let me know in the comments what you found.

I'll share my "favorite reads" of the year in a couple of weeks, and this column will continue in 2026: I've already been populating out pages for the first six months and there are some excellent-looking books coming up. I hope that we'll discover some new reads together in the months ahead.