Thescience fictiongenre and its encouraged ability to extend beyond the confines of reality, fact, and the universe makes it one of the most potent and expansive tools in storytelling. From humorous tones to profound expositions, the newscience fiction booksbeing released in October 2024 are no exception.Among works by debut authors, celebrated editors, and established writersare topics that range from the threat of artificial intelligence, love, grief, environmental conservation, and sentient flora.
Detectives work futuristic cases, resources rain from the sky, and beautiful cat girls lead treasure hunts. From the retelling of classics to the creation (and destruction) of new worlds and civilizations, October2024’s science fiction releasesstrive to imagine exciting versions of our future.Many projects promise to do what science fiction does bestby encouraging readers to question what they value, what they hold to be true, and how to prepare for an unknown future. While many are part of existing series, others represent the start of exciting new science fiction stories.
9The Brightness Between Us
Release Date: July 04, 2025
The Brightness Between Usis the second book in the Stonewall Honor series by Eliot Schrefer. The first book in the series,The Darkness Outside Us, followsthe collaborative survival of Ambrose and Kodiakon the rescue ship Coordinated Endeavor (whose operating system is voiced by Ambrose’s mother) sent to Titan to rescue Ambrose’s sister, who set off a distress signal.
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InThe Brightness Between Us,17 years have passed since Ambrose and Kodiak’s adventures on the Coordinated Endeavor.They are the parents of two girls and are working to establish a living for themselves. Amid a life of survival, Ambrose finds that he has awoken 30,000 years in the past to discover that his mother had betrayed him on his rescue mission to Titan. Amid all his discoveries, Ambrose also discovers a mysterious spacefarer is facing a similar fate.The Brightness Between Usis an intriguing read for anyone interested in space and time travel.
8Freelancers Of Neptune
Freelancers Of Neptuneis for those who identify withStar Wars' Han Solo. In Jacob Holo’sFreelancers Of Neptune,the entire solar system has been reorganized by A.I.s, which creates the backdrop for Captain Nathaniel Kade, who only wants to keep his wreck-of-a-ship together and take simple jobs to ensure his needs are met.
Nathaniel’s desires are thwarted, however, when he encounters Vessani S’Karri, a beautiful cat girl who can potentially lead him to a trove of lost technology. Nathaniel, Vessani, and several competing forces attempt to be the first to reach the futuristic treasure.
With a bounty hunter, cat girl, and subtitle like “The Solar System ain’t what it used to be!”,Freelancers of Neptunepromises to be an entertaining tongue-in-cheek treasure hunt.With this being the first book in the series, there’s no better time to start.
7The Last Dangerous Visions
The Last Dangerous Visionsis the final installment in Harlan Ellison’s celebrated science fiction anthology series, preceded byDangerous VisionsandAgain, Dangerous Visions. AlthoughHarlan Ellison passed six years ago, his final installment in theDangerous Visionscollection (initially announced in 1973) will be released in October.This anthology will feature short stories, poems, and essaysby Max Brooks, Howard Fast, Dan Simmons, and many more.
Harlan Ellison was a leader in New Wave speculative fiction and releasedDangerous Visionsas an alternative to traditional science fiction publications, which he thought too controlled to be creative.Many of the authors featured in Ellison’s collection went on to win major awards. This new addition to theDangerous Visionsanthology is a must-have for readers looking to expand and diversify their science fiction collection.
6The Last Gifts Of The Universe
The Last Gifts Of The Universeby Riley August follows twospace archaeologists (and their cat) as they scour the universe to uncover the data of civilizations long destroyed.Siblings and space archaeologists Scout and Kieran travel through an expanse of dead societies and ruins to hopefully uncover the records of the Stelhari, which holds the key to their own civilization’s survival. Scout and Kieran also grapple with grief as they periodically read through the journals of a dead alien.
The Last Gifts Of The Universeis a lighthearted read with somber themes and a cat in a space suit.
If Indiana Jones were hunting down artifacts at much greater distances with an entire civilization relying on his discoveries, then the stakes might be set as high as they are for the two siblings in this story.The Last Gifts Of The Universeis a lighthearted read with somber themes and a cat in a space suit.
5Neo Chongqing Glitch
Release Date: July 26, 2025
Neo Chongquing Glitch is W. J. Sam’sprequel novella to their little-known bookMetaverse Detectives.Metaverse Detectivestakes place in 2044 in a future where major cities have evolved to function in metaverses and where two detectives solve future crimes with nontraditional methods.
Neo Chongquing Glitchfollows Special Tech-crimes Action Team police officer Lei Yijun (who appeared inMetaverse Detectives) in the 2042 cyberpunk city of Chongquing as he investigates a six-year-old case, by following the lead of a journalist who seems to know too much.
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Those interested inspeculative futures, witty dialogue, detective novels, and cyberpunk settingswill be interested in this mash-up of genres. Although W. J. Sam’s speculative science fiction work is somewhat obscure, it will be worth the read.
4And The Sky Bled
Release Date: July 29, 2025
And The Sky Bledby S. Hati is a work of cli-fi (climate fiction) that centers around a magical fossil fuel falling from the sky in blood rain around the city of Tejomaya. This narrative includesthree protagonists, each with their own motivations for obtaining the powerful magic found in the coveted fossil fuel.The concepts of power and control are the primary influences behindAnd The Sky Bledas it explores a world leaning toward destruction and ruled by greed.
S. Hati applies her degrees in microbiology and biotechnology to thematically place her novel alongside other great cli-fi works such asThe Fifth Seasonby N. K. Jemisin,Duneby Frank Herbert, andDo Androids Dream Of Electric Sheepby Philip K. Dick. This eye-opening novel and its complex characters will both entertain and enlighten.
3Pride And Prejudice In Space
Pride and Prejudice in Spaceis the latest addition to the universe of Jane Austin Fan Fiction (JAFF) written by Alexis Lampley.Pride and Prejudice In Spacetargets both romance and science fiction readers.LikePride and Prejudice and Zombiesbefore it,Pride and Prejudice in Spacetakesthe familiar love story of Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy and places them in a new setting, this time in the cosmos with spaceships and asteroid fields.
2Absolution
Release Date: July 15, 2025
The biggest and most anticipated science fiction book to be released in October isthe surprise fourth volume in The Southern Reach series.The series begins withAnnihilation(made into a film of the same name, starring Natalie Portman),Authority, andAcceptance.
The series centers around the organization Southern Reach and the people leading its operations in Area X, a zone taken over by some unknown force in a sci-fi ecological tragedy narrative filled with grotesque transmutations and haunting mystery.
Jeff Vandermeer revisits Area X to tell and expand on the stories he thought had been untold in the previous books.
InAbsolution,Jeff Vandermeer revisits Area X to tell and expand on the storieshe thought had been untold in the previous books. Vandermeer explores the creation of Area X and the world afterAcceptance. For those who felt The Southern Reach series had more to tell, Absolution will more than fill the void.
1Usurpation
Release Date: June 30, 2025
Sue Burke is back with herfinal book in the Semiosis trilogy,Usurpation. The other books in the series,SemiosisandInterference, take place on the planet Pax, where the dominant form of life is its sentient Indigenous plants.Semiosiscatalogs human colonists and their interactions with Pax’s life forms.
Interferenceis about a new expedition to Pax that unveils a collaboration between the previous expedition’s descendants and arthropod-like life forms as they battle sentient coral. InUsurpation, the dominant life form on Pax, sentient rainbow bamboo, sends its descendants to Earth, where they witness uprisings and pandemics.
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ThroughoutUsurpation, the descendants of the sentient bamboo work to control and fix Earth. Sue Burke admits she wrote the Semiosis series with the hopes of having its readers view their gardens through a new lens, and this excitingscience fictionseries will do just that.
