50 New Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror Books Releasing in April

This month, we’ve got tense thrillers set aboard claustrophobic spaceships, a magical sword-maker who gets caught up in a fantastical conflict in Shakespearean London, a sci-fi twist on Pinocchio, and more—including the latest in io9 co-founder Charlie Jane Anders’ hit YA fantasy series. Read on!

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House of Gold by C.T. Rwizi

On a planetary colony ruled by “a corporate aristocracy descended from Africa,” a separatist cult works to create genetically engineered soldiers to help unseat their wealthy overlords—and things end up not going according to plan. (April 1)

Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton-Walker

Three decades after a magical massacre wrenched their family from their New Orleans throne, teen twins set out to save their mother from a dangerous curse. To succeed, they’ll need to mend their own fractured relationship while regaining trust in their powers. (April 4)

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

“When two young rival journalists find love through a magical connection, they must face the depths of hell, in a war among gods, to seal their fate forever.”(April 4)

House of Cotton by Monica Brashears

In this “contemporary Black southern gothic novel,” a young woman dodging debt collectors and her grandmother’s ghost lands a well-paying job “modeling” at a funeral home—but is financial security worth all the weirdness that comes with the gig? (April 4)

Ink Stains and Ill-Fated Lies by Kellie Doherty

Captured in a land populated by people who worship an evil sun goddess, a wandering scribe with healing powers is pressed into service—while secretly plotting her escape with another prisoner who has ties to her past. (April 4)

Once There Was by Kiyash Monsef

This fantasy tale follows an Iranian American girl who’s shocked to learn a secret about her late father: his veterinary practice included caring for magical creatures, and it’s a family legacy she must now immerse herself in. (April 4)

One For My Enemy by Olivie Blake

In contemporary New York City, competing crime syndicates run by powerful witches come to the brink of war with each other—while struggling to maintain peace and loyalty within their respective families. (April 4)

Paradise-1 by David Wellington

This sci-fi horror tale follows two agents who awaken from cryogenic sleep, then must immediately investigate what happened to Earth’s first deep space mission after they encounter its oddly deserted colony ship. (April 4)

The Scourge Between Stars by Ness Brown

As the last residents of a failed deep-space colony head back to Earth, the rough journey is made much worse when a murderous stowaway sets about reducing the population. Read an excerpt here. (April 4)

Spell Bound by F.T. Lukens

“Two rival apprentice sorcerers must team up to save their teachers and protect their own magic in this lively young adult romantic adventure.” (April 4)

Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson

This standalone tale about a woman who stows away on a deadly sea voyage is set in the author’s Cosmere universe, also home to the Stormlight Archive and Mistborn series. (April 4)

The Way Home: Two Novellas From the World of The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle

The author returns to the world of his beloved fantasy classic with the previously released Two Hearts (a Hugo and Nebula winner) and the new Sooz. (April 4)

What the Hex by Jessica Clare

An aspiring witch’s familiar is having trouble getting hired, so she agrees to some unsanctioned training from an outcast warlock. Though they initially don’t get along, sparks begin to fly when they’re targeted by a magical foe. (April 4)

The Winter Knight by Jes Battis

Inspired by Arthurian legends, this is “a propulsive urban fairy tale and detective story with queer and trans heroes that asks what it means to be a myth, who gets to star in these tales, and ultimately, how we make our stories our own.” (April 4)

The Cleaving by Juliet E. McKenna

“The Cleaving is an Arthurian retelling that follows the tangled stories of four women: Nimue, Ygraine, Morgana, and Guinevere, as they fight to control their own destinies amid the wars and rivalries that will determine the destiny of Britain.” (April 11)

Descendant Machine by Gareth L. Powell

When a group of opportunistic aliens and humans decide it’s time to activate a mysterious space machine called “the Grand Mechanism,” a woman who’s certain this is a terrible idea seeks out an alien holy man to help prevent disaster. (April 11)

First Comes Summer by Maria Hesselager, translated by Martin Aitken

A young Viking woman training to be a shaman weathers the death of her parents, then must deal with the fact that the brother she adores (to an unhealthy extent) has fallen in love with someone else. Will the gods step up to help her, or will she do something extreme she will come to regret? (April 11)

Double or Nothing by Kim Sherwood

In this new continuation of the James Bond series, MI6 agents 003, 004, and 009 step up to fight a shady tech billionaire when 007 goes missing. (April 11)

Going Zero by Anthony McCarten

Written by a four-time Academy Award-nominated screenwriter, this techno-thriller follows a group of people selected for a competition-slash-test of spyware designed to track them anywhere they go on Earth—including a librarian who’s determined to be the last one standing. (April 11)

Promises Stronger Than Darkness by Charlie Jane Anders

The io9 co-founder’s Unstoppable trilogy concludes as Elza, Rachel, and their ragtag group of friends (and one frenemy) embark on a desperate race to save the galaxy from an ancient curse. (April 11)

Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh

This debut novel is described as “a thrillingly told queer space opera about the wreckage of war, the family you find, and who you must become when every choice is stripped from you.” Read an excerpt here. (April 11)

Untethered Sky by Fonda Lee

In this epic fantasy fable, a woman sets out to hunt the manticores that killed her mother and brother. She joins the King’s Royal Mews, where she must bond with an unlikely partner—a giant roc—if she wants to survive her dangerous revenge quest. (April 11)

Wings Once Cursed and Bound by Piper J. Drake

After she’s rescued by a vampire from a magical attack, a Seattle woman learns she’s really a Thai bird princess… and that she’s under the spell of a deadly curse she’ll need to embrace her non-human side to overcome. (April 11)

The Blood Gift by N.E. Davenport

The author’s Blood Gift Duology concludes as “elite warrior Ikenna and her rogue cohort must outrun bounty hunters, their former comrades, and a megalomaniacal demi-god, all in the hopes of saving their friends and enemies from the racist and misogynistic oppression that threatens the continents from all sides.” (April 18)

Damsel by Evelyn Skye

This “twist on classic fantasy where a damsel in distress takes on the dragon herself” draws from Dan Mazeau’s screeplay for an upcoming Netflix film starring Millie Bobby Brown. (April 18)

Five First Chances by Sarah Jost

An unhappy woman suddenly leaps back in time two years, giving her a chance at a do-over. But what seems like a simple choice to right a single wrong decision ends up guiding her down a completely different life path. (April 18)

For the First Time, Again by Sylvain Neuvel

The author’s Take Them to the Stars trilogy concludes as Aster’s blood work identifies her alien origins—sending her on the run from both the American government and the dreaded Trackers. (April 18)

Furious Heaven by Kate Elliott

In this sequel to space adventure Unconquerable Sun, Chaonia has suffered a defeat at the hands of the Empire, despite the best-laid plans of Princess Sun and her royal mother. Will Sun end up keeping to her mother’s plan, or will she adopt a new strategy to protect the future of her people? (April 18)

The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro

A woman tormented by an apparition she comes to realize is Mexican folk legend La Llorona digs into her past to find out why—and must draw on the strength of her female ancestors to battle the vengeful ghost. (April 18)

The Marigold by Andrew F. Sullivan

“In a near-future Toronto buffeted by environmental chaos and unfettered development, an unsettling new lifeform begins to grow beneath the surface, feeding off the past.” (April 18)

The Possibility of Life: Science, Imagination, and Our Quest for Kinship in the Cosmos by Jaime Green

This non-fiction book written by a science journalist peers into “how the possibility of life on other planets shapes our understanding of humanity,” and includes interviews with sci-fi authors as well as examples from A Wrinkle in Time, Star Trek, and other pop-culture touchstones. (April 18)

The Secret Service of Tea and Treason by India Holton

“Two rival spies must brave pirates, witches, and fake matrimony to save the Queen.” (April 18)

Sisters of the Lost Nation by Nick Medina

A young Indigenous woman investigates the mysterious going-on around the casino on her reservation—while slowly realizing she herself is being haunted by something highly sinister. (April 18)

The Thick and the Lean by Chana Porter

In a community where starvation is a strict part of the religion, an aspiring chef dreams of creating forbidden foods. Meanwhile, in a big city, a tech whiz turns to crime to solve her financial problems. Both women find the guidance they seek in an centuries-old cookbook. (April 18)

The Warden by Daniel M. Ford

Despite her connections, skill, and towering ambitions, a necromancer finds herself relegated to a posting in a rural village. It’s an unrewarding life until she realizes there’s an ancient evil lurking around—and she’s uniquely equipped to stop it. (April 18)

Life Beyond Us: An Original Anthology of SF Stories and Science Essays edited by Julie Nováková, Lucas K. Law, and Susan Forest

“Dive in as the European Astrobiology Institute presents 54 original SF stories and science essays on life, from microbial to macro, from automatic to sagacious. Each speculative story is followed by a professional essay illuminating the scientific underpinnings of the story and providing a new window into the cutting-edge knowledge about exploration for life in the universe.” (April 22)

Alien Agendas by Ian Douglas

The author’s Solar Warden military sci-fi series comes to an end with this entry, as Commander Mark Hunter and his Joint Space Strike Team—with the help of time travelers, the U.S. Space Force, and a psychic—battle reptilian aliens who’ve modeled themselves after Nazis in their quest to take over Earth. (April 25)

Ascension by Nicholas Binge

When a mysterious mountain suddenly pops out of the Pacific Ocean, a scientist—whose unsent letters to his family frame the story—joins a team to investigate what turns out to be a frightening, mind-bending phenomenon. (April 25)

The Gifts by Liz Hyder

Five different points of view shape this tale of a literal “fallen angel” who causes a sensation when she appears in 19th century London. (April 25)

In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune

This Pinocchio-inspired fantasy introduces an odd family—an android father, a human man, and several small robots with big personalities—who must draw together when one of them is threatened by dark forces from the past. Read an excerpt here. (April 25)

Night Angel Nemesis by Brent Weeks

The author returns to the world of his Night Angel fantasy series, “where master assassin Kylar embarks on a new adventure as the High King Logan Gyre calls on him to save his kingdom and the hope of peace.” (April 25)

The Other Side of Infinity by Joan F. Smith

“They Both Die at the End meets The Butterfly Effect in this YA novel, where a teen uses her gift of foreknowledge to help a lifeguard save a drowning man―only to discover that her actions have suddenly put his life at risk.” (April 25)

Red Team Blues by Cory Doctorow

In this cryptocurrency thriller, a Silicon Valley veteran finds his comfortable life as a forensic accountant disrupted when he takes on a dangerous new job. (April 25)

Salvage This World by Michael Farris Smith

A woman reluctantly brings her toddler to her childhood home in storm-ravaged Mississippi, where her aging father is battling ghosts and religious extremists are taking advantage of the chaos to accumulate a worrisome amount of power. (April 25)

A Sleight of Shadows by Kat Howard

In this sequel to An Unkindness of Magicians, the now nearly powerless Sydney must figure out how to regain her standing in New York City’s secret society of magic-makers. Will destroying the House of Shadows and its supporters do the trick? (April 25)

Star Splitter by Matthew J. Kirby

In 2199, in a time of widespread deep-space exploration, a teen wakes up after crash-landing 14 lightyears from Earth—and soon realizes that something is very wrong on this alien planet. (April 25)

That Self-Same Metal by Brittany N. Williams

A teen who uses her magical skills to craft swords for William Shakespeare’s acting company becomes drawn into the dangerous clash between London’s human and Fae worlds. Read an excerpt here. (April 25)

This Delicious Death by Kayla Cottingham

“When four best friends with a hunger for human flesh attend a music festival in the desert, they discover a murderous plot to expose and vilify the girls and everyone like them.” (April 25)

A Tidy Armageddon by BH Panhuyzen

Military misfits join together to survive a strange apocalypse, in which “every product of human creation has been organized by an unknown hand into a vast grid of nine-story blocks, each comprised of a single item type: watering cans, lighthouses, fake Christmas trees, helicopters, plastic spoons, and everything else Earth’s culture and technology have ever produced.” (April 25)

Tsalmoth by Steven Brust

The latest in the author’s long-running Vlad Taltos series finds Vlad in an unusual new situation: he’s in love. But before he’s able to wed the assassin of his dreams, he must deal with some serious deals gone wrong, not to mention track down his missing soul. (April 25)

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