April is here, and it’s full of brand-new sci-fi, fantasy, and horror book releases—whether you’re looking for pirates, magical mysteries, shapeshifters, space adventures, seemingly abandoned planets, cold-weather vampires, cursed movies, and so much more.
The Lies Among Us by Sarah Beth Durst
After her mother dies, a woman starts to see strange things that shouldn’t exist. She also realizes that nobody seems to notice her, including her own sister—and a dangerous journey of self-discovery follows. (April 1)
The Monstrous Misses Mai by Van Hoang
In 1950s Los Angeles, the first-generation daughter of Vietnamese immigrants befriends three other women in her apartment building; the group soon becomes caught up in a dangerous scheme using magic spells to make their dreams come true. (April 1)
The Proper Thing and Other Stories by Seanan McGuire
“From dangerous holidays to the beauty of the library, from the power of cheese to the power of love, this volume will take you from the past to the future, sometimes on the same page.” (April 1)
The Unlikely Affair of the Crawling Razor by Joe R. Lansdale
In this novella, “Edgar Allan Poe’s great private investigator, Auguste Dupin, gets a makeover in this unusual adventure involving a bloody mystery dipped deep in the strange.” (April 1)
The Black Girl Survives in This One: Horror Stories edited by Saraciea J. Fennell and Desiree S. Evans
“Fifteen chilling and thought-provoking stories place Black girls front and center as heroes and survivors who slay monsters, battle spirits, and face down death.” Contributors include Monica Brashears, Desiree S. Evans, Justina Ireland, Brittney Morris, and more, with a foreword by Tananarive Due. (April 2)
Court of Wanderers by Rin Chupeco
In this “queer, bloody Gothic epic fantasy” sequel to Silver Under Nightfall, “Remy Pendergast and his royal vampire companions return to face an enemy that is terrifyingly close to home.” (April 2)
Disquiet Gods by Christopher Ruocchio
“The sixth novel of the galaxy-spanning Sun Eater series merges the best of space opera and epic fantasy, as Hadrian Marlowe continues down a path that can only end in fire.” (April 2)
The Jinn Daughter by Rania Hanna
This debut novel “pulls together mythology, magic, and ancient legend in the gripping story of a mother’s struggle to save her only daughter.” (April 2)
Lake of Souls: The Collected Short Fiction by Ann Leckie
This collection gathers all of the Hugo, Nebula, and Arthur C. Clarke award-winning author’s short fiction, as well as a brand-new novelette. (April 2)
Play of Shadows by Sebastien De Castell
“Swordplay, magic, intrigue and friendships stronger than iron: the first book in a new swashbuckling fantasy series by the bestselling author of the Greatcoats [series].” (April 2)
Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell
When a shapeshifter is rescued from certain death by a kindly human, the unlikely duo begin to fall for each other. The situation becomes increasingly complicated when the human reveals her mission: to hunt down and kill the shapeshifter said to be lurking in the area. (April 2)
A View From the Stars by Liu Cixin
This collection from the author of The Three-Body Problem features “essays and interviews that shed light on Liu’s experiences as a reader, writer, and lover of science fiction throughout his life, as well as short fiction that gives glimpses into the evolution of his imaginative voice over the years.” (April 2)
The Assassins of Consequence by Marshall Ryan Maresca
The second phase of the author’s Maradaine Saga begins as Veranix Calbert enters his fourth year as a magic student—while maintaining a secret identity as street vigilante the Thorn. (April 9)
A Better World by Sarah Langan
A tempting job offer makes a family relocate to an exclusive company town, but all is not what it seems in the idyllic community, where everyone follows a rigid set of customs and seems to be greatly, mysteriously fearful all the time. (April 9)
The Book That Broke the World by Mark Lawrence
The Library Trilogy that began with The Book That Wouldn’t Burn continues as “two people living in a world connected by an immense and mysterious library must fight for those they love.” (April 9)
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
A Madrid noblewoman forces her kitchen servant to use her magical powers for her own personal gain—a sticky situation that begins to spiral out of control when the king’s disgraced secretary also learns the servant’s secret. (April 9)
The Forge of the High Mage by Ian C. Esslemont
The author’s Path to Ascendancy series continues as the war within the Malazan Empire rages on. The High Mage must grapple with how to confront an ancient evil that has suddenly complicated the fight. (April 9)
The Garden by Clare Beams
“The discovery of a secret garden with unknown powers fuels this page-turning and psychologically thrilling tale of women yearning to become mothers and the ways the female body has always been policed and manipulated.” (April 9)
The Gathering by C.J. Tudor
After a brutal murder in a small Alaska town, a detective who specializes in vampire crimes must decide if a nearby settlement of ostracized vampires is to blame—or if an even more sinister killer has surfaced. (April 9)
Ghost Station by S.A. Barnes
In this new sci-fi horror novel from the author of Dead Silence, “a crew must try to survive on an ancient, abandoned planet.”(April 9)
Mal Goes to War by Edward Ashton
A free AI is the main character in the latest from the author of Mickey7, described as “a dark comedy wrapped in a techno thriller’s skin” with a “satirical take on war, artificial intelligence, and what it really means to be human.” (April 9)
A Promise of Peridot by Kate Golden
The Sacred Stones trilogy continues as Arwen heads to the Kingdom of Citrine, intent on getting revenge against the ruler who betrayed her—but soon realizes he might become a crucial ally instead. (April 9)
A Sweet Sting of Salt by Rose Sutherland
“Once a young woman uncovers a dark secret about her neighbor and his mysterious new wife, she’ll have to fight to keep herself—and the woman she loves—safe in this stunning queer reimagining of the classic folktale The Selkie Wife.” (April 9)
Wicked Problems by Max Gladstone
“Gods and lawyers battle for the soul of the world in the action-packed second volume of Max Gladstone’s Craft Wars.” (April 9)
Bloodguard by Cecy Robson
To save his dying sister, a man volunteers to be a gladiator—then quickly comes to regret his brutal new life. Though he loathes the elven royals, he’s soon tempted to make a deal with a princess who offers him a chance at freedom. (April 16)
Immortal Pleasures by V. Castro
“An ancient Aztec vampire roams the modern world in search of vengeance and love in this seductive dark fantasy.” (April 16)
Indian Burial Ground by Nick Medina
After her boyfriend’s mysterious death, a woman begins to suspect something supernaturally odd is afoot on the reservation where she’s lived her whole life. Together with her beloved uncle, she sets out to investigate the dark secrets that seem to be coming to light. (April 16)
Pinquickle’s Folly by R.A. Salvatore
The creator of Drizzt Do’Urden “returns to his signature world of Corona, introducing a dynamic new part of the southern coast never written of before as a great starting place for readers in the DemonWars Saga.” Read an excerpt here. (April 16)
The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain by Sofia Samatar
In this sci-fi novella, a boy working on a mining ship suddenly gets an opportunity to study at the ship’s university; there, he meets a teacher who shares a similar background who’s still struggling to overcome prejudice. (April 16)
The Star and the Strange Moon by Constance Sayers
In 2007, a film student becomes obsessed with an actress who vanished in 1968 while working on a horror film—and comes to realize she’s actually living inside the film, alongside on-screen monsters that have somehow come to life. (April 16)
To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods by Molly X. Chang
A woman with the power to magically take lives reluctantly agrees to become an assassin, working for an enemy prince who promises he’ll protect her family in return. (April 16)
Weird Black Girls: Stories by Elwin Cotman
“In each of the seven stories in this collection, characters pursue their obsessions on paths to glory and destruction while around them their worlds twist and warp, oscillating between reality and impossibility.” (April 16)
Dragon Rider by Taran Matharu
The Soulbound Saga begins in “a rich world of magic, warriors, and dragons, in which a fearless orphan and an ambitious handmaiden flee from the empire that would imprison them, with a dream to return to their homelands and a determination that’s unbreakable.” (April 23)
Extinction by Douglas Preston
“Erebus Resort offers guests the experience of viewing woolly mammoths, Irish Elk, and giant ground sloths in their native habitat, brought back from extinction through the magic of genetic manipulation.” Things begin to go off the rails when eco-terrorists—or possibly something more sinister—begin to fight back. (April 23)
First Light by Liz Kerin
In the sequel to Night’s Edge, an on-the-run Mia searches for the man who transformed her mother into a monster, but soon realizes she’s being hunted herself by malevolent forces. (April 23)
A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall
In this epistolary novel, a recluse who lives in an underwater world begins corresponding with a scholar—and they soon fall in love. When they both vanish, their siblings join forces to try and find them, while also investigating the larger forces that might be behind their disappearance. (April 23)
Necrobane by Daniel M. Ford
The Warden Series continues as “Aelis must race the clock to unravel mysteries, slay dread creatures, and stop what she has set in motion before the flames of a bloody war are re-ignited.” (April 23)
Ocean’s Godori by Elaine U. Cho
When a man is murdered, his misfit best friend (and her misfit crewmates) set out across the solar system to try and clear his name, in a story that asks “What do we owe our past? How do we navigate our present while honoring the complicated facets of our identity? What can our future hold?” (April 23)
Saint-Seducing Gold by Brittany N. Williams
The Forge & Fracture Saga continues in this historical fantasy sequel to That Self-Same Metal. Read an excerpt here. (April 23)
The Sky Was Ours by Joe Fassler
This reimagining of the myth of Daedalus and Icarus follows a 24-year-old woman longing to find a better life—a quest that leads her to meet a man building a set of wings designed for human flight. (April 23)
A Whisper in the Walls by Scott Reintgen
This sequel to A Door in the Dark finds Ren Monroe continuing her quest to get revenge by infiltrating one of the greatest Houses in the realm—but she’s not the only one with a secret plan in motion. (April 23)
The Wings Upon Her Back by Samantha Mills
“A loyal warrior in a crisis of faith must fight to regain her place and begin her life again while questioning the events of her past.” (April 23)
A Change of Place by Julie E. Czerneda
The Night’s Edge series continues as “caught up in plots they cannot understand, Jenn and Bannan find themselves separated, and to reunite they will have to outsmart the queen herself. But even if they can foil her plan, will Marrowdell still be there when they return?” (April 30)
In Universes by Emet North
This debut novel “set in numerous universes follows a queer physicist’s search for belonging across time and space.” (April 30)
Oracle by Thomas Olde Heuvelt
In this supernatural thriller, “an omen from our past threatens the return of ancient forces that will change the world forever.” (April 30)
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
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