At the Intersection of Magic and Destiny: June’s Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books

Summer kicks off with some fun kismet, meaning shared vibes among the new sci-fi and fantasy releases. Wander the Witch Roads or step through a portal into an unknown realm. Vampires travel through the centuries from the 1500s all the way into the 24th century. Couriers, architects, and legionnaires try to envision themselves in new destinations, whether physical (a kingdom) or figurative (war transitioning into peacetime). Time speeds up and slows down, which feels like an apt metaphor for the start of this too-quick season. Try to stretch the time with these exciting new romantasies, adventures, and horror homages.

Megan Giddings, Meet Me at the Crossroads
(Amistad Press, June 3)

In Megan Giddings’ latest ethereal novel, seven doors open across the world, leading to unknown realms. One portal is in Michigan, where twin sisters Olivia and Ayanna debate whether to cross over. When the time comes, instead of stepping through together, Olivia disappears, with Ayanna continuing on in her normal life with the aching absence of her other half. As intriguing as it is to wonder if those doors hide pocket universes or nihilistic voids, the most compelling aspect of this book sounds like the examination of how a twin continues on after such a loss.

Barbara Truelove, Of Monsters and Mainframes
(Bindery Books, June 3)

Game developer Barbara Truelove mashes up B-movie monsters with 24th-century sci-fi in her latest space adventure, which sees a sentient ship AI go toe-to-toe with Dracula. Yes, the OG Transylvanian bloodsucker, secret stowaway aboard Demeter’s ship, who is slowly picking off the poor human passengers. As Demeter and medical AI Steward put their supercomputers together, Dracula is joined by his contemporaries the Wolfman, Mummy, and Frankenstein’s monster as nostalgia meets far-future.

Caroline O’Donoghue, Skipshock
(Walker Books US, June 3)

Caroline O’Donoghue’s delightful podcast Sentimental Garbage interrogates and upholds all of the pop culture artifacts that often get dismissed or outright derided, so I’m excited to see her take on romantasy. This new duology takes readers along an unusual railroad, with trains that stop in worlds where time stretches or condenses. When schoolgirl Margo stumbles onto the wrong train, she is taken under the wing of traveling salesman Moon, who teaches her his trade: how to move between fast and slow worlds, forever evading the deadly skipshock. Struggling to pass as a salesman, Margo trades her youth for growing ever closer to Moon—but can she ever truly know him?

Kate Elliott, The Witch Roads
(Tor Books, June 10)

The first installment of Kate Elliott’s new epic fantasy duology (the sequel, The Nameless Land, will publish in November) follows deputy courier Elen, who delivers messages on the fringes of an empire living in the constant shadow of the foggy Pall carrying the mind-altering Spore. When an arrogant prince demands an escort along the eponymous Witch Roads, Elen and her ward Kem must deliver him safely along the Witch Roads… even after he enters the spectral Spires and emerges possessed by a Haunt.

V.E. Schwab, Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil
(Tor Books, June 10)

I saw this multiple-timeline triptych of a novel described as “sapphic Interview with the Vampire,” which is quite intriguing. In what seems to be the dark mirror image to The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, V.E. Schwab intertwines stories of three different women separated by seas and centuries: María in Santo Domingo de la Calzada (1532), Charlotte in London (1827), and Alice in Boston (2019). Each is looking to escape her old life, but instead each gets more than she bargained for with the sharp bite of immortality. I’m already dying to know how their paths eventually cross…

Jayson Greene, UnWorld
(Knopf, June 17)

I read Jayson Greene’s memoir Once More We Saw Stars while pregnant with my first child because I knew I wouldn’t be able to stomach the subject matter postpartum. With his debut novel, he has transmitted the unimaginable grief of losing a child and being forced to rebuild your life through a speculative lens. In a near-future in which artificial intelligence has replaced human workers in every field from construction to medicine, Anna and Rick lose their teenage son Alex to what they’re uncertain is an accident or suicide. Greene explores how this loss splinters the lives of Anna, who feels she is not grieving the “right” way; Aviva, her internal AI alter ego, who requests the two be split because the grief is too much for her to bear; and Alex’s best friend Samantha, who isn’t sure what she saw. And UnWorld, Alex’s favorite virtual haunt, might hold the key to this mystery…

Tessa Gratton, The Mercy Makers
(Orbit Books, June 17)

I’m a sucker for a fantasy that hinges on the protagonist’s specific trade. In the start of Tessa Gratton’s new romantasy trilogy, it’s magical architecture, as Iriset mé Isidor (a.k.a. Silk) creates enchanted disguises for her father Little Cat’s crime organization. But when his intrigues catch the eye of the royal family, Little Cat is sentenced to death and Iriset is arrested as his daughter. But she has a wild card to play; no one knows that she and her alter ego are the same person. This tension between Iriset and Silk grows even more taut when she catches the attention of Amaranth mé Esmail, the emperor’s sister, who could help Iriset achieve her heretical dreams of altering human architecture itself.

Emily Skrutskie, A Legionnaire’s Guide to Love and Peace
(Del Rey, June 24)

This Roman-inspired space romantasy puts a speculative twist on the friends-to-lovers trope by having legionnaires Katrien and Emory hook up the night before their final showdown with the Demon Lord. Except… the world doesn’t end, because a surprise prince appears to take the throne. Now, spear Kat and her shield Emory must pledge their allegiance to the naïve Adrien Augustine, who promises to release them from their conscription after they build his road home. Oh, and Telrus has a harsh anti-fraternization rule. As Adrien grapples with lesser demon would-be usurpers and marriage prospects, Kat wonders if she and Emory, who have each other’s backs on the battlefield, could actually create a future together during peacetime.