Even more science fiction and fantasy novels to read July 2026

14 new adventures to add to your TBR

Image: Andrew Liptak

At the beginning of the summer, I went to start my lawn mower, only to find that it's overdue for a carburetor cleanout. I took it down to the local hardware store in May, and as of now, they still haven't gotten to it.

I have a backup: a Husqvarna Reel mower – you know, the type with a spinning set of blades? I had picked it up years ago from another town over, and didn't have much luck with it, so it sat moldering away in the shed. With the regular mower out, I went back to it and figured out that I hadn't quite calibrated it enough. After sharpening the blades and figuring out what I had done wrong, I've been putting it to use every week, and I'm actually finding that it's a great little tool: a good way to get some exercise in, and I haven't had to spend any money on gas to keep it running.

The real attraction for me here is that it's also a good 30-40 minutes where I can throw on an audiobook as I go back and forth across the lawn, and I've found that it's a good way to really focus on whatever it is I'm reading. I spent some time the other day listening to Annie Jacobsen's Biological War: A Scenario, and burned through some good chunks of various Dungeon Crawler Carl and Ana and Din installments.

It feels like I'm spending more time listening to audiobooks these days, in part because I'm finding that it's those moments in the day – mowing the lawn, driving to and from work, riding my bike, and other things – where I can push aside the other things needing my attention and get some dedicated story time in.

Here's my usual plug for your support: this newsletter is free to read, but it does cost time and resources to put together.

I often hear from readers that they often find something of interest on these lists, and I'm always glad to hear that: I write these because I like sharing cool-looking books to my fellow readers.

Here's the process that goes into these lists:

I start off the year with 12 shell posts, which I steadily add to as I get press releases, ARCs, see book announcements, cover reveals, articles, reviews, and recommendations.
Each month, I take stock of those lists, and I see what books speak to me. I'm not interested in the lists that that go for dozens and dozens of entries, because that's overwhelming for everyone. I whittle it down to a manageable number, generally around 15-18. If it gets longer, I'll split it into two lists.
From there, I'll read over a chapter or two of the books that I've got in hand, and start writing up each entry. I don't use the publisher blurbs and I don't use AI. I've found this to be a useful process because that helps me figure out if it's really something I'm interested in. I'll add in any reviews and whatever additional context is useful, and add in links from Bookshop.org.
The last step is then the header photograph: I'll gather up whatever finished and advance copies I've been sent, then photograph them. I think this looks a lot better than slapping the covers into Canva, because these are actual, tangible objects that might go on your shelf. It's more real that way.
I'll give it a proof-read, add in the appropriate SEO, and send it! Then I go about notifying authors, publicists and social media about it.
And then it's time to start the next one.

That's a lot of work, snatched from lunch breaks and later evening hours. If you want to help support that whole process, please consider signing up as a supporting member, by purchasing a copy through one of the links, or by leaving a one-time tip!

Thanks for your consideration: every little bit helps.

In case you missed it, here's the first list for July. You can also always find prior lists on the Book List tag.

Okay, here are 14 new books that you should check out for the rest of the month:

Magic & Mystery edited by John Joseph Adams (July 28th)

John Joseph Adams is one of the better anthologists out there, and he's edited a bunch of neat, original fiction projects for Amazon's Original Stories initiative. He's got a new one, Magic & Mysteries, a series of fantastical mysteries from the likes of Travis Baldree, Robert Jackson Bennett (a new Ana and Din story!), Tananarive Due, Sarah Beth Durst, Heather Fawcett, Scott Lynch, and J.M. Miro.

The Demon Star by Jesse Aragon (July 28th)

Mercenary named Ysira Naktis was designated for a sacrifice, one of thousands taken each year, but something went wrong: she survived. When her son is chosen to be the vessel for a demon, she's given a choice: she can let him take on this incredible power, or sacrifice millions to try and save him.

She's aided in her mission by a former exorcist from the Church of the Black Sun named Brother Jacen Kheris, who's fallen to addiction and is trying to figure out a new purpose for his life. To save her son, the pair have to fight their way through satellites and rough terrain, all against aliens, cultists, and gods.

Publishers Weekly says that "the rip-roaring pace is almost too fast, but fans of genre-bending suspense will wholeheartedly enjoy the gruesome detail, satisfying twists, and unflinching look at the price of revolution. Aragon is off to a promising start."

Lunacy: Ten False Promises of the New Space Age by Ben Bramble (July 14th)

This looks like an interesting examination of the state of the space industry in 2026: while tech billionaires have projected lofty goals for humanity's future in space (ahem), philosopher Ben Bramble takes a hard look at some of those initiatives, like settling Mars as a backup planet to first contact with extraterrestrials, digging into the ideas behind them and what would actually benefit the future of humanity.

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War (Deluxe Edition) by Max Brooks (July 21st)

Max Brooks jumps on the special edition bandwagon just in time for the 20th anniversary of his debut novel World War Z. This is a trade paperback edition with a snazzy slipcase, and it comes with hundreds of annotations and a new introduction, as well as some full color illustrations inside.

The Felicity Complex by august clarke (July 28)

During the Cold War, a group of billionaires constructed the Felicity Complex, a shielded and self-sustaining resort bunker that provided the wealthy with plenty of amenities in the event of an apocalypse. It's staffed by six women who were designed and created in a lab to cater to the complex's guests. When the guests start to arrive, Hallelujah and her sisters are waiting, and they have to put aside the secrets that those new arrivals might be hiding, and hide their own violent intentions from scrutiny.

Publishers Weekly says "Hallelujah’s innocent perspective provides both humor and a sense of unease, and the other specimens, all with their own distinct roles to play, are just as well drawn. Together, they carry the novel’s sharp-toothed commentary about autonomy, gender, power, and ownership."

Unpredictable Magic by Faith Hunter (July 14th)

In this urban fantasy, Angelina Everhart-Trueblood and her brother Evan are private investigators for Everhart Investigations, with a specialty in investigating paranormal crimes committed by supernatural beings.

They pick up a new client who's looking for a missing friend, and things go downhill from their. This new client isn't who she says she is, and at the same time, Chattanooga comes under attack by demons, and it seems as though Angie's ex husband – a vampire – might be involved. As Angie and Evan continue their investigation, they have to team up with the city's police department and draw from their own magical reservoirs to save their city.

Biological War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen (July 28th)

A couple of years ago, Annie Jacobsen's novel (ish?) Nuclear War: A Scenario scared the pants off of me. It was a minute-by-minute thriller about how a nuclear war might play out after a nuclear bomb is detonated over Washington D.C. Jacobsen is back with another thriller in the same vein: what would the start of a biological war in 2026 look like?

The answer? Pretty scary. An explosion at a secret biological weapons lab in Russia unleashes an altered strain of the plague – a disease that's been genetically engineered for a quick and deadly spread from person to person. Jacobsen interviewed dozens of experts from throughout the government and military, and traces this outbreak as it spreads around the world and looks at what would happen on global scale.

I've been listening to the audiobook of this, and it's gripping and very, very scary at how this scenario plays out.

The Side Questers by J.J. Kochmanski (July 21st)

An NPC named Anya Dazel is a bartender in the world's largest online RPG, Eternity: The Endless Realm, and is completely burned out. Her life follows the same, preprogramed routine, serving drinks and helping player characters, and she wishes for some sort of disruption.

That comes in the form of a new update, and another NPC is added to Anya's pub, Cyrus Black. He's her direct opposite – a dour warrior and mysterious, tragic past. Everyone's fascinated by him and he slowly begins taking the attention away from Anya. When she's had enough and strikes him, they're accidentally booted from the pub and find themselves in the larger world of Eternity.

Now, they have to figure out how to survive in the digital open world, overcoming their dislike for one another and learning what their roles in the game really are.

Publishers Weekly says: "brimming with humor, opposites-attract banter, and cozy fantasy elements, this compact adventure offers plenty of fun. It will be a pleasure for video game aficionados."

Star Wars: Legacy by Madeleine Roux (July 28th)

This latest Star Wars novel is set between the events of The Last Jedi and Rise of Skywalker and follows Rey as she works with Leia to complete her training as a Jedi and repair her lightsaber, while Leia is trying to figure out the way forward in an uncertain time.

I’ve heard good things about this, and I’m interested in seeing what it brings to the larger sequel era story.

The Best of All Possible Planets by Alex Shvartsman (July 28th)

Alex Shvartsman just Kickstarted his latest book, and bucking the trend, it's being delivered on time! In this science fiction comedy (he described it as "The book is a space opera 𝘊𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘦 written as a series of 𝘍𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘢 episodes), the last inhabitants of Earth are facing a problem: the protective shield surrounding the planet is breaking down, and a small group of heroes have to go find a new one. They travel from planet to planet and run into a whole host of problems as they not only try to procure a new shield, but also survive to make it home.

Lemuria 7 by Allen M. Steele (July 14th)

I'm a big fan of Allen M. Steele's science fiction novels. Coyote remains one of my favorites, and he's published a number of novels and shorter stories in the years since that I've really enjoyed. His latest is a fix-up of three of the novellas he published in Asimovs: "Lemuria 7 is Missing", "The Hunt for Lemuria 7", and "The Recovery of Lemuria 7."

The Lemuria 7 lunar mission was funded by billionaire inventor Edison Smith – it was a tourist trip to the Moon, and there was a lot of speculation about it: wealthy excess, private research? When Smith, his wife, daughter, their future son-in-law, and the crew of the mission go missing, it's assumed that there was some sort of technical failure. The truth is a little more complicated.

Erebus-13 by David Wellington (July 14th)

David Wellington follows up is novels Paradise-1 and Revenant-X with a third, Erebus-13. In the first, we're introduced to Firewatch Inspector Alexandra Petrova as she's sent off to a distant colony, Paradise-1, is attacked while enroute, and discovers that the colony's inhabitants have been transformed into something ... not human.

Now, she and her crew have managed to escape, but she's missing her companions, her past has been haunting her, and Erebus, an entity that had taken over the colony, has escaped and is headed for Earth. It's now up to the survivors to get back and find away to alert their home planet and all of its squabbling factions to head off this threat.

The Dragon Has Some Complaints by John Wiswell (July 14th)

In this cozy-ish fantasy, Garrodigh is a dragon that once had four heads: he's now down three, and they're constantly bickering: Centerhead wants to burn everything to the ground, Bottomhead is something like a feral cat, and Upperhead thinks that he's human.

After taking part in a battle that went badly, Garrodigh finds its way into a dragon rider academy as a way to get some free food and shelter, teaming up with a rider named Rania Charvátová, who is so desperate she's willing to overlook his stranger tendencies.

With Rania's help, Garrodigh and its heads are finally aligned and have some sort of purpose, and they want to protect her from the invaders that took their fourth head. When the academy is attacked, it's up to the team to come together and save themselves and their new home.

The First Stop by Tao Wong (July 14th)

Tao Wong continues his A Thousand Li in its new trad-publishing edition with The First Stop. He originally self-published this series back in 2019 (it now stretches 12 installments), and Ace Books has picked up the trade rights to it, starting with the first installment, The First Step, back in March.

The series follows Long Wu Ying, a farmer's son who jumped at the chance to become a cultivator, a person who can cultivate his magical abilities, was conscripted into the military and joined a magical academy. In this installment, his studies have been going well, and he has to make a choice about what his secondary occupation should be: alchemist or blacksmith, physician or martial specialist. As he works to figure it out, war is brewing elsewhere, and it's threatening to pull Wu Ying and his friends into it, testing everything they've learned so far.

Thanks for reading. As always, let me know in the comments what caught your eye and what you've got on your TBR.