by Merlin Hoye

We’re coming up on the fall season, but even though we’re breaking out our sweaters and planning our spooky reading lists, it feels like the weather missed the memo. While we stare longingly at our pumpkin carving kits and feel a trickle of sweat drip down our backs, we’re yearning for the cold, dead emptiness of space. Sure, that yawning chasm could (and does, nay MUST) contain horrors beyond our comprehension, but hey, at least it’s nice and cool up there, right?

Spot this rundown of great titles to chill with as we blaze toward the end of summer!

opens in a new window opens in a new windowThe Terraformers by Annalee Newitz

Talking animals, a lost city, and a pissed off cyborg cow. Intrigued? The Terraformers is a smart, interplanetary adventure about a scientist, her moose, and an ecosystem collapse in the face of corporate greed. Despite the heavy subject matter, it’s so much fun and somehow… cozy? Don’t ask us how, but it is.

opens in a new window opens in a new windowFractal Noise by Christopher Paolini

The perfect page turner to take to the beach as long as you like your beach reads existentially terrifying, which we do. Fractal Noise is about a space crew that travels to a harsh planet to investigate a mysterious dark hole, known only as the Anomaly.  Set in the same universe as Paolini’s bestselling sci-fi epic opens in a new windowTo Sleep in a Sea of Stars, this fever-dream of a novel is a perfectly bone-chilling entry point to the series.

opens in a new window opens in a new windowThe Genesis of Misery by Neon Yang

Joan of Arc but make it space opera. Need I say more? No, no—I will. This is an epic space fantasy adventure with a gender-queer protagonist who starts a civil war after an angel appears to them with an important message. Locked Tomb fans need to hop aboard the Misery Nomaki train ASAP. They’ll be just your cup of tea. Iced tea of course.

opens in a new window opens in a new windowExadelic by Jon Evans

Exadelic is essential reading to prepare you for the day artificial intelligence hacks our reality and decides we are the biggest threat to its existence. This is a gloriously insane story of black magic, mayhem, AI, and adventure and it is SO. MUCH. FUN. Also, uncannily relevant. But we won’t think about that now. It’s summer time, baby!

On Sale 9/9/23

opens in a new window opens in a new windowDune: The Heir of Caladan by Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson

If you’re looking for an escape from the hot summer sun, Dune: The Heir of Caladan isn’t going to give you that longed for reprieve. The third installment in the Dune prequel series, The Caladan Trilogy, follows Paul and his parents before they arrive on Arakis and in typical Dune fashion, this is a story full of heat, sand, and adventure. Soak up that vitamin D while you still can!

On Sale in Paperback 9/19/23

opens in a new window opens in a new windowSandymancer by David Edison

If you finish Dune and crave some more hot, desert-y sci-fi vibes, we offer you Sandymancer. This is a genre-defying tale about a girl, her sand magic, and the god-king she summons with said magic. When the god-king steals her best friend’s body, things go south fast. This adventure has the feeling of a classic sci-fi novel and is the perfect end of summer treat. 

On Sale 9/19/23