> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.andrewliptak.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # 14 more SF/F books to check out this August - URL: https://www.andrewliptak.com/august-2026-new-scifi-fantasy-books-stapledon-maya-pulley-brooks-shannara/ - Published: 2026-08-18T19:35:49.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-18T19:35:49.000Z - Description: Murders, vampires, monsters, collections, and more! - Author: Andrew Liptak - Tags: Book List, Books, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror As a reminder: I'll bet at LAcon V next week on August 27th and 28th! I'll be moderating a panel about MAYA (more on that book in a moment). Let me know if you'll be at the convention, come say hi! I'm very excited: I've never been to WorldCon before, and I'm looking forward to moderating this panel. August has brought a good pile of books to bookshelves this month, and the second batch is just as intriguing as the [first](https://www.andrewliptak.com/july-2026-new-scifi-fantasy-books-asimov-bennett-luceno-tchaikovsky/). We've got stories of vampires, murders, ancient evils reawakened, missions to distant planets, and quite a bit more! As always, you can see prior installments of this monthly book list [here](https://www.andrewliptak.com/tag/book-list/), and if you find this and other lists useful, consider signing up as a supporting subscriber. ## Sign up for Transfer Orbit A newsletter about science fiction, reading, and the future Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. Okay, here are 14 new science fiction and fantasy books to check out in the second half of August: ### [*Murder at the End of the World*](https://bookshop.org/a/6134/9781805336532?ref=andrewliptak.com)by Akane Araki, translated by Jesse Kirkwood (August 4th) A young woman named Haru is working toward getting her driver's license, even if she won't have a whole lot of time to use it: a meteor is headed to Earth, threatening catastrophic destruction. When she shows up to her driving lesson with her ex-cop instructor, Isagawa, they discover a body in the trunk of their car. Even though the world is coming to a swift end, they decide to investigate the killing, and set off across Japan to search for the killer. As more bodies emerge, they have to figure out why someone would do this in the first place, and what justice means at such a time. *Kirkus Reviews* [says](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/akane-araki/murder-at-the-end-of-the-world/?ref=andrewliptak.com) "simmering beneath the surface is a slyer exploration of human behavior in the face of imminent disaster." ### [*Brona: The First Druids of Shannara*](https://bookshop.org/a/6134/9780593129838?ref=andrewliptak.com) by Terry Brooks and Delilah S. Dawson (August 25th) Terry Brooks follows up last year's [*Galaphile*](https://bookshop.org/a/6134/9780593129791?ref=andrewliptak.com), the start to a new series in his long-running Shannara universe. In March of that year, he [revealed](https://terrybrooks.online/news/f/brooksblog-easy-come-easy-go?ref=andrewliptak.com) that it was time to retire, and that he was bringing on Delilah S. Dawson to write the next installment, *Brona.* In this installment, Galaphile Joss and his partner Nirianne established Paranor to bring peace to the Four Lands, and now, their sons have grown up, only to find that this world is pretty boring, and yearn for adventure. When adventure does find them, it's a familiar foe from their family's past: a sorcerer who their father had once defeated and who has now returned, stronger than before. ### [*Fortune’s Wake*](https://bookshop.org/a/6134/9781923459083?ref=andrewliptak.com) by C.L. Clark (August 24th) *Grimdark Magazine* is publishing a short novella from C.L. Clarke that sounds very exciting: Kova of Stormwatch has a simple plan: kill the giant beasts that are hiding away in a deep forest, earn a bounty, and win over the heart of a girl. To do that, she needs to become an apprentice for a legendary monster hunter, Sayre Boarbane. The problem is that Sayre doesn't like to work with people, and ends up dragging Kova home, where they discover that Kova's mother is missing, the girl she lusted after has found someone else, and the monsters she was hoping to slay have arrived in Stormwatch. ### [*MAYA: Seed Takes Root*](https://bookshop.org/a/6134/9798893311891?ref=andrewliptak.com) by Anand Gandhi and Zain Memon (August 25th) This is the book that's part of the project that I'll be talking about at World Con next week: it's part of a transmedia project that encompasses not only a book, but a game, feature film, and quite a bit more. Filmmaker Anand Gandhi and gamer designer Zain Memon have build a huge world around the following concept: “Whoever controls the stories, controls our dreams and nightmares, our very desires and fears. Their whispers become our will.” It's an intriguing idea, and we're introduced to the Divyas control the world, through a planetwide network of trees known as Maya to make keen predictions into the future, while the rest of the world taps into it through their everyday lives. Now, the Divya have announced the Trials, in which billions around the world will take part, but only one will become a god, and the Divya know the outcome: the son of a god will be the winner. Kshar, doesn't believe in that outcome, and he's rehearsed hundreds of times within Maya's simulations, and sees that everything is plotted and understood. There shouldn't be any surprises. But there is one: another named Yachay, a nineteen year old who's never connected to Maya before, thanks to his grandfather, and he thinks that he has a chance to win the entire thing. ### [*Testament of Leaves*](https://bookshop.org/a/6134/9781958880302?ref=andrewliptak.com) by Carolyn Ives Gilman (August 18th) A linguist has been killed on a distant planet, and Inscrutinator Shameesh Kulkarni is tasked with investigating why. Their investigation isn't easy: nobody wants to talk about them, from the prospectors, archeologists, or natives, save for two: a digital version of the victim, and an octopod who befriended her. They uncover a long-buried secret that everyone on the planet is trying to keep under wraps. *Publishers Weekly* [says](https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781958880302?ref=andrewliptak.com) "with an earnest sleuth and a darling tentacled sidekick leading the way, there’s much to enjoy here." ### [*The Book of Bots*](https://bookshop.org/a/6134/9781958880418?ref=andrewliptak.com) by James Patrick Kelly (August 18th) James Patrick Kelly brings together 12 of his stories about robotics, ranging from ones here on Earth and in deep space, in cyberspace, that exist as cars and smartphones, all serving in roles such as explorers, advisors, caretakers, lovers, and more. ### [*Season of the Serpent*](https://bookshop.org/a/6134/9780316428996?ref=andrewliptak.com) by Suyi Davies Okungbowa (August 18th) Suyi Davies Okungbowa caps off his *Nameless Republic* trilogy (which includes [*Son of the Storm*](https://bookshop.org/a/6134/9780316428941?ref=andrewliptak.com)and [*Warrior of the Wind*](https://bookshop.org/a/6134/9780316428972?ref=andrewliptak.com)) in which the world has changed: the continent has split, the Empire of Bassa has crumbled, and the Nameless Republic and Kangalaland are about to come to blows in a final, terrible battle. The family of Danso, a Bassa scholar, are fighting to reach him before the war arrives, Lilong has survived the destruction of the islands only to lose her powers, and is working to get them back, and the dead queen Esheme is about to rise once more. *Kirkus Reviews* gave the book a [starred review](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/suyi-davies-okungbowa/season-of-the-serpent-the-nameless-republic-3/?ref=andrewliptak.com), saying "Okungbowa has crafted an epic with heart and an unflinching portrayal of the best and worst of humanity and the mixtures in-between. Inseparable from its West African influences, this is a complex tale with both deep characterization and a grand scope, leading through many twists and turns to the inevitable, wrenching finale." ### [*The Jewel and the Comet*](https://bookshop.org/a/6134/9781836730224?ref=andrewliptak.com) by Tim Pratt (August 18th) In this space opera, Glenn is a regular-ish graduate student who's been living with Vivy, who happens to be part of an interdimensional spy agency. When she's called out on a mission to stop a rogue comet, Glenn is brought along on his own adventure through the multiverse, where he faces off against an evil cult that can draw on an unlimited amount of power, while Vivy finds herself tracking down a stolen jewel that could destroy entire universes. And as it turns out, there's a link between their two journeys. *Publishers Weekly* [says](https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781836730224?ref=andrewliptak.com) "with laugh-out-loud moments and characters worth rooting for, this hits just the right balance between earnest and kooky." ### [*The Salt King*](https://bookshop.org/a/6134/9781639737291?ref=andrewliptak.com) by Natasha Pulley (August 18th) A Jesuit priest named Avelyn Brocken came from a small mining town in England, and at the age of 16, fled, leaving behind the local god – the Salt King – after his family was killed. When a fellow priest was turned to salt, he's dispatched back to his home village by the Vatican to investigate, finding that there are other issues coming from the salt mines – while other issues are cropping up all over the world, an event that could upend the world. Kirkus Reviews gave it a [starred review](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/natasha-pulley/the-salt-king/?ref=andrewliptak.com), saying "drawing on some of her favorite narrative elements—time jumps, perspective shifts, mammoths—Pulley cleverly reckons with thorny questions of truth versus belief, faith versus institutions, and whether it’s better to navigate the unimaginable alone or with a companion whose very presence you doubt. ### [*Blood Rising*](https://bookshop.org/a/6134/9781496753199?ref=andrewliptak.com) by Markus Redmond (August 25th) Last year, Markus Redmond published [*Blood Slaves*](https://bookshop.org/a/6134/9781496753168?ref=andrewliptak.com), the story of a slave named Willie who was held on a Carolina plantation. He was approached by Rafazi, the member of a vampiric tribe from Africa that had been almost entirely wiped out by illness, and is now looking to foment a revolt. In the aftermath, Kwadzo Okoro been made the leader of the Tribe, and now faces threats from all sides. On one hand, he's got to contend with the area's two big slaveholding holders, Bartholomew and Constance Crabtree, who are planning to strike back at the Tribe. But the violence they threaten is nothing compared to what Penelope Knudsen could bring, a hatred fueled by Ramanga Tribe and an ability to survive in the sunlight. And then there's Rafazi, who refuses to take orders from those he created. When he strikes a deal with the Crabtrees, Kwadzo has to go to war with his maker, while the fate of his fellow former slaves hangs in the balance. ### [*The Book of the Jaguar*](https://bookshop.org/a/6134/9781958880425?ref=andrewliptak.com) by Victor Ladis Schultz (August 25th) When a legionnaire is killed in battle, the armies of the New Serraña will bring the body home to the soldier's family. After a brutal attack by a monster at a garrison considered safe, Álbaro Ceynos is the only survivor, and has to bring his fellow soldiers home through a broken landscape, armed only with a horse, wagon, and his sword. *The Chicago Review of Books* [says](https://chireviewofbooks.com/2026/08/03/12-must-read-books-of-august-2026/?ref=andrewliptak.com) "it’s a book you’ll want to pore over again and again, both for the inventiveness of the world and the questions with which it leaves you. This is an absolute feat of imagination and love." ### [*The Elements of Dark Academia*](https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/470844/the-elements-of-dark-academia-by-various/9781529966619?ref=andrewliptak.com) edited by Jared Shurin (August 27th) I'm a big fan of Jared Shurn's editorial chops: he was the editor of *Pornokitsch* years ago and edited a handful of really excellent anthologies over the years. He's got a new one coming (in the UK) about the Dark Academia genre, which contains more than two dozen stories that look back at its roots in gothic literature all the way up to the modern day, and includes such authors as Edgar Allan Poe, Carmen Maria Machado, Lev Grossman, and many others. ### [*Last and First Men: A Story of the Near and Far Future*](https://bookshop.org/a/6134/9780262054621?ref=andrewliptak.com) by Olaf Stapledon (August 25th) One of the genre's most influential authors was Olaf Stapledon, who lived from 1886 to 1950\. After earning his doctorate in philosophy, he wrote one of the books he was best known for: *Last and First Men*, which he published in 1930\. The story is epic in every sense of the word: it spans billions of years, following the evolution of humanity from Earth far, far into the future, with plenty of highs and lows as they progress. MIT Press and Joshua Glenn have added this abridged version of the book to their ongoing *Radium Age* series. It comes with an introduction by British author Matthew De Abaitua. [Irradiating SFMIT Press is reissuing Joshua Glenn’s The Radium Age series![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2c/d7/2cd7d323-e6ed-4666-8092-07e380dbdf2a/content/images/icon/54948818650_d4d892e6db_w-a2c615b3-e8bb-45e8-9230-40d9def0b3d1.jpg)Transfer OrbitAndrew Liptak![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2c/d7/2cd7d323-e6ed-4666-8092-07e380dbdf2a/content/images/thumbnail/Blank-8-Grids-Collage-327219bf-69d2-4260-8b98-701e1416392e.png)](https://www.andrewliptak.com/radium-age/) ### [*The Calamities*](https://bookshop.org/a/6134/9798217091812?ref=andrewliptak.com) by Chuck Wendig (August 18th) [](https://bookshop.org/a/6134/9780756420802?ref=andrewliptak.com)[](https://bookshop.org/a/6134/9781250400086?ref=andrewliptak.com) In Chuck Wendig's latest horror novel, Mourning Mayne knows that he'll be in charge of his family's vast empire, something that he's approaching with more than a little trepidation, given their history of cruelty and exploitation. This also isn't your usual family: they're one of the oldest and most influential families of fiends – half-human, half demons who draw their power from buying human souls. When Mourning's estranged father orders him to return, he has to figure out where he stands and how to approach his destiny and role in the family moving forward. A he does, he meets Key and Quinn – a black market dealer in human souls and an artist, respectively – who might hold some answers for the truth behind their grim nature. Writing for *Bloody Disgusting*, Matthew Jackson [says that it's](https://bloody-disgusting.com/books/3963941/the-calamities-book-review-horror-meets-succession-in-chuck-wendigs-demonic-epic/?ref=andrewliptak.com) "a sharp, witty, absorbing novel from one of our finest genre writers, and it moves like a bat out of Hell." --- Thanks again for reading: let me know what caught your eye this time, and what you have on your own TBR.