16 new SF/F books to check out this February

Books about interstellar invasions, conspiracies, monsters, and quite a bit more to add to your TBR

Image: Andrew Liptak

I feel like I've been in something of a book rut for the last couple of weeks. It's not a numbers game, but usually, I've worked my way through a handful of copies by this point in the year, but I've only managed to get through two. Maybe it's the length – The American Revolution: An Intimate History has a lot to go through, or maybe it's the fact that I've been working on catching up with some TV: I've finished Apple's Mythic Quest and Murderbot in recent weeks, and have been working my way through the second season of Foundation. But lately, the only thing that I've been able to process has been lighter and fluffier things, like Amazon's The Grand Tour or BBC's Top Gear.

There's also a lot going on in the country. I try and and compartmentalize as much as I can, focusing on the little bits and pieces of good that I can meaningfully accomplish, rather than spin my tires in outrage and frustration at the state of the place. But some of that despair bleeds over, and I can't help but feel so very hopeless at times.

But I try to remember that history is long, and that as storytellers, we're often playing the very, very long game, planting seeds of stories and small acts that will hopefully grow with the proper nurturing. I hope it's enough.

So, I look for stories of people getting through big, insurmountable problems. Fiction doesn't always mesh onto the real world 1:1, but certainly, those authors and creators find their inspiration from somewhere, and try and convey that hope in their words. And even if that isn't the goal, stories can be a powerful thing in and of themselves, conveying worlds different from our own, and serving as a way to recharge our emotional batteries for whatever horrors the next day brings.

Okay, here are 16 SF/F books that caught my eye this month:

Columbus Day by Craig Alanson (February 3rd)

Fellow Vermont author Craig Alanson has made a name for himself with his Expeditionary Force series, which turns ten this year. To celebrate, he's got a new edition of the novel coming out, which follows a group of humans who have to contend with an alien invasion and subsequent expedition into the depths of space. This edition features a new afterword from Craig.

Also now out? The 19th installment of the series, Ground State, in which the Merry Band of Pirates arrived too late to contain their enemies, and they're going to have to turn to some wacky ideas for out how to fight them off.

The Art of Star Wars: The Acolyte by Kristin Baver (February 3rd)

I enjoyed Star Wars: Acolyte when it debuted on Disney+, and I was a bummed that the reception that it got, and that it isn't continuing beyond its first season. It was an interesting take on the Star Wars franchise, and while it didn't work all the time for me, I hope that Lucasfilm and Disney will take some cues from it moving forward.

There's a new art book about the series that's now on its way into stores, which should make for an interesting perusal: given that this series takes place a century before the Skywalker Saga, I'm eager to see how they went about designing the world and making it familiar-but-different, and what types of design choices went into it.

Maria the Wanted by V. Castro (February 10th)

Maria had been enjoying a quiet life: she was married, saving up to immigrate to America from Mexico, when everything changed: the factory where she works is attacked by a vampire, and she's turned in the process. Now, she has a new purpose: to serve as a protector for the innocent, and there are now a ton of people after her: an Aztec trafficker, a cartel boss, her employer, and others. She soon discovers that there's a much larger supernatural community in the world, and a simmering conspiracy that threatens all of humanity.

Publishers Weekly says "Maria herself is a force to be reckoned with, and readers will gladly cheer her on her bloody way."

Star Wars: Outlaws: Low Red Moon by Mike Chen (February 10th)

Back in 2024, Ubisoft released a new Star Wars game called Outlaws, following a guy named Kay Vess shortly after the events of the Battle of Hoth, who puts together a team for a heist in order to escape from a crime syndicate.

In his latest book, Mike Chen sets up the events of that game: he follows an heir named Jaylen Barsha, who saw his family and riches stripped away from by the Empire. When the family is attacked by a battle droid, Jaylen is the only survivor, and manages to disable and reprogram the droid, ND-5. Now going under the name of Jaylen Vrax, he and his new companion set out integrate themselves into the galaxy's criminal underworld and find out who destroyed his family .

A Day of Breath by Darby Cox (February 10th)

Oly is a Champion: a warrior who protects Niawa by guarding the Edge, a rift between worlds from which demons come to try and destroy her home. Her powers are now failing, and she's worried that when the demons return, she won't be able to turn them back.

There's one day that might offer some reprieve: the Day of Breath, a sacred day when the rift if fully sealed, allowing her to leave and beg for her powers to be renewed. But when the day comes, there are new horrors arriving in Niawa, and she has to figure out how to stop the onslaught before the day ends, and when there won't be anyone to protect the kingdom.

Operation Bounce House by Matt Dinniman (February 10th)

Matt Dinniman is best known for his Dungeon Crawler Carl series (I've heard good things, and it's on my t0-read list), and while that series is still ongoing, he's got a new book coming. It follows a New Sonora colonist named Oliver Lewis who's enjoying a simple life: he's got a band, helps his sister mind a fleet of robots on their family ranch, and enjoys the shows and films that come from Earth when the transfer gate opens up.

Things soon get complicated. While Earth promised the colonists on New Sonora that they'd be left alone, the government struck a deal with a major corporation, and now they're trying to evict the colonists, using AI soldiers piloted by gamers who're piloting war machines from home. Now Oliver and his friends have to figure out how to fight back.

Kirkus Reviews calls it "a disarmingly heartfelt space adventure that dares to suggest genocide might be a bad business."

The Last Kings of Hollywood: Coppola, Lucas, Spielberg―and the Battle for the Soul of American by Paul Fischer (February 10th)

There are no shortages of books about the impact that George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and Francis Ford Coppola have had on cinema, but this new book takes a look a the three of them in context: Paul Fischer looks at their entry into the film industry and how they came to know one another and become friends, and how their respective journeys reinvented American cinema.

Chris Vognar of the Boston Globe describes it as a "serious-minded film book that also happens to be a great deal of fun, carefully structured and well-reported."

Green Mountain Quartet: Essays on Antiquarian Vermontiana by J. Kevin Graffagnino (February 10th)

This is the latest book that we're publishing through the Vermont Historical Society by our former director and prolific Vermont History scholar Kevin Graffagnino. This is a passion project that brings together the writings of four notable history scholars, and is something of a companion to his 2024 book Vermontiana. It's also a very pretty book: if you have anyone in your life that's a fan of Vermont's history, this would make for good gift for them.

The Hospital at the End of the World by Justin C. Key (February 3rd)

Set in the near future, the world is run by a massive AI system that's controlled by a megacorporation, and the world's medical schools are overseen by the Shepherd Organization, save for one, a hospital in New Orleans, Hippocrates, which prioritizes human-led medical care. It's the school of choice for one ambitious New Yorker named Pok.

When his father mysteriously dies, Pok believes that it's connected to "the shepherds" and their CEO, and ends up following clues that lead to Hippocrates, where he finds that there's an epidemic underway that seems to be afflicting newcomers who grew up under the Shepherd's care.

Kirkus Reviews says that it's "an enjoyable tale about AI’s dark underbelly."

The Forest on the Edge of Time by Jasmin Kirkbride (February 3rd)

Echo and Hazel are two time travelers recruited by a mysterious Project Kairos to help keep the timeline that we're on safe: the project's goal is to prevent ecological disaster, and the pair are sent off to opposite ends of the timeline: Echo is tasked with becoming a healer's assistant in ancient Greece, while Hazel finds herself the last human alive, working in a laboratory with only robots and an AI for company.

Each can't remember their past lives, but when they dream, they meet one another, and begin to discover the bonds that connected them, and what elements of the past have threatened humanity's future.

Library Journal says "As harmonious as it is mysterious, Kirkbride’s time-traveling climate-fiction novel is recommended for fans of Annalee Newitz and will leave readers with hope and a call to action."

She Made Herself a Monster by Anna Kovatcheva (February 10th)

A woman named Yana travels from village to village, taking care of problematic monsters that might be plaguing them, and telling stories of fantastical creatures and vampires, leaving behind a sense of hope when she leaves. When she arrives at the village of Koprivci, she finds that it's got some real problems: illness runs rampant, and most children don't survive infancy. While there, she meets an orphan whom the villagers blame for the curse, Anka.

Anka is about to be married off against her will, and when Yana arrives, the pair concoct a plan to blame a monster so vile that it'll give Anka cover to escape. But as they plot, their tale gains a life of its own.

Kirkus Reviews says that "Kovatcheva excels when facing unpleasant details head-on, launching into descriptions of 'earth…warm with a cloying, unwashed sweetness,' and a spirit 'peel[ing] itself like a hangnail from the dark.'"

Boy, with Accidental Dinosaur by Ian McDonald (February 2nd)

In a strange, nearish and post-apocalyptic future, introduces us to Tif Tamim, who's grown up wanting nothing more than to be a dinosaur handler. He's moved from circus to circus, hoping to finally get a chance to ride one of the creatures in the spotlight, but he's yet to be given the opportunity.

After freeing a dinosaur from an abusive owner, he heads into the American west, he's presented with the opportunity to shepherd an abused carnotaur back into the Cretaceous, and ends up joining a circus that brings them back and forth in time.

I've been reading this and have been enjoying it quite a bit, and Publishers Weekly gave it a starred review, saying "McDonald makes their trek exciting, thoughtful, immersive, and faintly absurd in the best way. It’s a joy to watch Tif come into his own and the found-family elements delight."

Isles of the Emberdark by Brandon Sanderson (February 3rd)

Brandon Sanderson is back with a new standalone novel set in his larger world, Cosmere, Isles of the Emberdark. It follows Sixth of the Dusk, a trapper on the island of Patji, where he spends his time trapping supernatural birds called Aviar. When interstellar invaders arrive, looking to exploit the Aviar, he pushes his people into a race to modernize, and he soon realizes that he and his people could lose themselves in the effort.

Meanwhile, a dragon trapped in the form of a human, Starling, and her starship crew have found themselves in debt and could soon loose their freedom. When they find an ancient map to a portal that leads them into the world beyond the emberdark, they jump at the chance to clear their balance sheets.

When an opportunity arises to travel beyond his world to the emberdark, Dusk takes it, hoping to find a way to save his people. The two eventually find one another and could solve one another's problems.

The Glowing Hours by Leila Siddiqui (February 3rd)

Leila Siddiqui looks back on the fateful summer of 1816 when Mary and Percy Shelley, Mary's stepsister Claire, John Polidori, and Lord Byron were holed up in Lake Geneva for the summer. The Shelleys are accompanied by Mehrunissa Begum, a newly arrived immigrant from India who arrived in London from India to deliver a letter to her brother, only to find him missing. She ends up taking a job with the Shelleys as a housekeeper.

After arriving at Lake Geneva, Mehr finds that strange things are occurring there: the weather is unsettling, portraits seem to be shifting, and while Shelley works on the story that she'll become most famous for, Mehr begins to worry that she'll be trapped and driven to madness in this strange place.

Publishers Weekly awarded the novel a starred review, and says that "though the life of Mary Shelley has often been mined for material, Siddiqui brings a fresh perspective through the eyes of the witty and sullen Mehr, whose backstory and fraught relationships with the increasingly entangled Geneva party add to the intrigue."

The Universe Box by Michael Swanwick (February 3rd)

Acclaimed author Michael Swanwick brings together a number of his short stories (including a pair of new ones), in a new collection, The Universe Box. They include stories about a thief racing against time to defeat trolls, a scientist dealing with the consequences of AI, heists, strange technologies, and quite a bit more.

Publishers Weekly gave it a starred review, saying "All of Swanwick’s stories awaken insights into the mystery of being human in an increasingly mind-bending technological world. This is an author at the height of his powers."

The Best of Adrian Tchaikovsky by Adrian Tchaikovsky (February)

There's something that happens anytime I post up news about Adrian Tchaikovsky in the TO Slack: someone marvels at the guy's output. It's monumental. Here's the first book of his to come out this year: a collection of his short fiction from Subterranean Press. It's bringing together a ton of stories from all over the genre, from ants bent on taking over the world, to investigations, space operas, robots, and quite a bit more. It's limited to 1000 signed and numbered hardcover copies, and includes a foreword by John Scalzi.

As always, thanks for reading. This is the first of two book lists that you'll get this month: the next will drop in a couple of weeks.

Andrew