May has a little bit of everything for genre fans spread across its dozens of new sci-fi, fantasy, and horror book releases: space operas, doomsday cults, apocalyptic mysteries, fantastical romances, haunted mansions, dimensionally displaced vampires, badass wasteland motorcycle couriers, and more!
Phiction: Tales From the World of Phantasm
Filmmaker Don Coscarelli (Phantasm, Bubba Ho-Tep) writes short stories inspired by characters in the Phantasm films. Read io9’s interview with the author here. (May 1)
Archangels of Funk by Andrea Hairston
A woman scrambles to survive in a world devastated by Water Wars, the nostalgia militia, and sinister internet trolls: “Cinnamon, her three Circus-Bots, and two dogs work with a community of farmers, Motor Fairies, and Wheel-Wizards to provide housing, health care, and education for flood refugees,” all while trying to envision a future worth fighting for. (May 7)
Black Shield Maiden by Willow Smith and Jess Hendel
“A powerful and groundbreaking historical saga about an African warrior in the world of the Vikings.” Learn more about this title here. (May 7)
Blood at the Root by LaDarrion Williams
“A teenager on the run from his past finds the family he never knew existed and the community he never knew he needed at an HBCU for the young, Black, and magical.” (May 7)
The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo
“Nghi Vo’s Hugo Award-winning Singing Hills Cycle returns with a standalone gothic mystery that unfolds in the empire of Ahn.” (May 7)
Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne
This “cozy fantasy steeped in sapphic romance” is about “one of the Queen’s private guards and a powerful mage who want to open a bookshop and live happily ever after… if only the world would let them.” (May 7)
The Dark Side of the Sky by Francesco Dimitri
Is the Bastion a doomsday cult… or humanity’s last hope? On the Italian coast, a mysterious group welcomes followers to help with their goal of creating a better world, all while hiding a magical secret involving some very dark forces. (May 7)
The Deer and the Dragon by Piper CJ
A woman able to see angels and demons gets unwittingly caught up in an ancient war being fought between mythical beings across different legendary pantheons. (May 7)
The Downloaded by Robert J. Sawyer
“In 2059 two very different groups have their minds uploaded into a quantum computer: astronauts preparing for Earth’s first interstellar voyage, [and] convicted murderers serving their sentences in a virtual-reality prison. But when disaster strikes, the astronauts and the prisoners must download back into physical reality and find a way to work together to save Earth from destruction.” (May 7)
Five Broken Blades by Mai Corland
“The five most dangerous liars in the land have been mysteriously summoned to work together for a single objective: to kill the god king Joon.” But can they trust each other enough to make the team-up a success? (May 7)
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
In this near-future spy thriller that’s also a time-travel romance, a civil servant joins a top secret project: “a recently established government ministry gathering ‘expats’ from across history to establish whether time travel is feasible—for the body, but also for the fabric of space-time.” (May 7)
Queens of Themiscyra by Hannah Lynn
“This mythic retelling is a rich, thrilling story of war and peace, love and betrayal, and, most of all, sisterhood.” (May 7)
Red Side Story by Jasper Fforde
The follow-up to Shades of Grey takes place in “Chromatacia, where life is strictly regulated by one’s limited color perception,” and follows a Red and a Green in a secret relationship who are about to go on trial for a murder they didn’t commit. (May 7)
The Silverblood Promise by James Logan
“Lukan Gardova is a cardsharp, academy dropout, and―thanks to a duel that ended badly―the disgraced heir to an ancient noble house. When Lukan discovers that his estranged father has been murdered in strange circumstances, he finds fresh purpose. Deprived of his chance to make amends for his mistakes, he vows to unravel the mystery behind his father’s death.” (May 7)
The Sins on Their Bones by Laura Samotin
“Set in a Jewish folklore-inspired reimagining of 19th century Eastern Europe, this queer dark fantasy debut pits two estranged husbands and a daring spymaster on opposite sides of a civil war.” Read the author’s io9 guest essay, “What Fanfic Can Teach Us About Writing Fantasy,” here. (May 7)
The Sword Unbound by Gareth Hanrahan
The Lands of the Firstborn epic fantasy series continues as—2o years after heroically helping defeat the Dark Lord—Alf is branded a traitor and must figure out how to forge the right path forward. (May 7)
The Traitor’s Son by Dave Duncan
In this “science fiction novel about a colony world where everything that could go wrong already has,” a teen whose dissident father dies in a suspicious accident begins to suspect he may be the next target. (May 7)
When the Moon Hatched by Sarah A. Parker
This romantic fantasy follows an assassin who’s captured by a powerful group of fae—and then meets a heartbroken royal while she’s biding her time in a high-security prison. (May 7)
The Z Word by Lindsay King-Miller
“A propulsive, funny, emotional horror debut about a found family coming together to fight corporate greed, political corruption, gay drama, and zombies.” (May 7)
As the Sparrow Flies by Chad Corrie
In a world where doomsday is closing in, two characters—a searcher and a purger—head to the same ancient city, where they’ll both face startling consequences. (May 14)
Blood on the Tide by Katee Robert
A vampire trying to portal home teams up with selkie who’s trying to get her skin back—an uneasy alliance that leads them into danger while fighting their mutual attraction. (May 14)
High Priestess and Empress by Susan Wands
The Arcana Oracle series continues as Pamela faces down with her nemesis, Aleister Crowley—who’s determined to end not just Pamela and her magical cohorts, but Queen Victoria and all women with power. (May 14)
The Honey Witch by Sydney J. Shields
A witch in training risks losing her newfound powers when she breaks the rules and falls in love with a woman who doesn’t believe in magic. (May 14)
The House That Horror Built by Christina Henry
A single mom who loves scary movies lands a gig cleaning the Chicago mansion of a reclusive horror director. The house is full of memorabilia—and, she soon learns, some terrifying secrets too. (May 14)
I’m Afraid You’ve Got Dragons by Peter S. Beagle
The latest from the author of The Last Unicorn is about “a lovable characters trapped within their roles of dragon hunter, princess, and more [who] must come together to take their fates into their own hands.” (May 14)
Road to Ruin by Hana Lee
“Jin-Lu has the most dangerous job in the wasteland. She’s a magebike courier, one of the few who venture outside the domed cities on motorcycles powered by magic. Every day, she braves the wasteland’s dangers—deadly storms, roving marauders, and territorial beasts—to deliver her wares.” Her job gets even more perilous when she helps a princess escape her abusive family. (May 14)
When Among Crows by Veronica Roth
This tale about a monster slayer tracking down the Baba Yaga is inspired by Slavic folklore, and explores “if redemption and atonement can be found in embracing what we most fear.” (May 14)
Escape Velocity by Victor Manibo
“A decades-old murder looms over the glamorous clientele of a high-end space hotel… while an unforeseen threat percolates in the service corridors. The guests are about to experience the hospitality they deserve.” Read an excerpt here. (May 21)
Freeset by Sarina Dahlan
This sequel to Reset is described as “an intricate sci-fi story about found family, building hope, and learning to trust your inner voice.” (May 21)
Goddess of the River by Vaishnavi Patel
This mythological reimagining follows Ganga, goddess of the river, who’s cursed to become mortal—then marries a king and has a son. But just when she regains her much-wanted freedom, she’s forced to leave her child behind. (May 21)
Heavenbreaker by Sara Wolf
In this futuristic space opera, a bastard daughter takes revenge on the duke who murdered her mother, with the help of a giant mech suit that gives her a terrifying power. (May 21)
A House Like an Accordion by Audrey Burges
“A woman searches for her missing father in order to reconcile the many strange and fantastical secrets of her past before she loses herself completely.” (May 21)
How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler
“Groundhog Day meets Guardians of the Galaxy in Django Wexler’s laugh-out-loud fantasy tale about a young woman who, tired of defending humanity from the Dark Lord, decides to become the Dark Lord herself.” (May 21)
In Our Stars by Jack Campbell
In 2180, a soldier—ostracized from her peers because of the genetic engineering that’s given her partially alien DNA—is in orbit when she witnesses Earth’s annihilation. When she’s suddenly sent 40 years into the past, she must decide whether to change Earth’s fate even if it means erasing her own existence. (May 21)
The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton
On an island populated by Earth’s few remaining survivors, peace gives way to horror when one of the residents is stabbed to death. Complicating matters: everyone’s had their recent memories wiped, and the shield that’s protecting them from the toxic atmosphere will open if they can’t figure out who the killer is. (May 21)
Lost Ark Dreaming by Suyi Davies Okungbowa
In this novella described as a “high-octane post-climate disaster” tale, the last survivors of the Atlantic Ocean’s deadly rise cling to life in once-towering skyscrapers—the most powerful at the very top, and the less-so below the waterline. This tenuous existence gets even more complicated when the ocean’s many vengeful victims start reviving thanks to an ancient power. (May 21)
The North Wind by Alexandria Warwick
This romantasy takes inspiration from fairy tales (Beauty and the Beast) and mythology (Hades and Persephone) to tell its story of a mortal woman who must fight to save the world from being taken over by magical creatures, while also protecting her sister from the clutches of the North Wind. (May 21)
You Like It Darker: Stories by Stephen King
The best-selling author’s latest collects 12 stories, including a sequel to Cujo called “Rattlesnakes.” (May 21)
Bespelled by Laura Thalassa
The Bewitched series continues as the witch Selene grapples with the realization that her soul mate is “a vengeful, ancient sorcerer who would frame her for murder, force her to remember a past life he swears she lived, and then coerce her into an unbreakable marriage pact.” (May 28)
The Fireborne Blade by Charlotte Bond
This story about a rare female knight “contains a rich history of dragons, ill-fated knights, scheming squires, and sapphic love, with deceptions and double-crosses that will keep you guessing right up to its dramatic conclusion.” (May 28)
Ghostdrift by Suzanne Palmer
The Finder Chronicles sci-fi caper series wraps up as professional finder Fergus Ferguson is pressed into tracking down a space pirate’s long-lost twin sister—not realizing the gig will also entangle him with powerful military forces and hostile aliens. (May 28)
NekroTek by Jonathan Maberry
“A gripping sci fi thriller full of ghosts, Gods, and a battle for the soul of humanity.” (May 28)
Ninetails: Nine Tales by Sally Wen Mao
“In the nine tales of Ninetails, acclaimed poet Sally Wen Mao reimagines the fox spirit from Asian folklore—a shapeshifter, shaman, and seductress—as an icon of vengeance, solidarity and liberation.” (May 28)
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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