The science fiction genre 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 new science fiction books being released in October 2024 are no exception. Among works by debut authors, celebrated editors, and established writers are 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, October 2024’s science fiction releases strive to imagine exciting versions of our future. Many projects promise to do what science fiction does best by 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.
9 The Brightness Between Us, Release Date: October 1, 2024
The Brightness Between Us is the second book in the Stonewall Honor series by Eliot Schrefer. The first book in the series, The Darkness Outside Us, follows the collaborative survival of Ambrose and Kodiak on 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.
In The 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 Us is an intriguing read for anyone interested in space and time travel.
8 Freelancers Of Neptune, Release Date: October 1, 2024
Freelancers Of Neptune is for those who identify with Star Wars‘ Han Solo. In Jacob Holo’s Freelancers 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 Neptune promises 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.
7 The Last Dangerous Visions, Release Date: October 1, 2024
The Last Dangerous Visions is the final installment in Harlan Ellison’s celebrated science fiction anthology series, preceded by Dangerous Visions and Again, Dangerous Visions. Although Harlan Ellison passed six years ago, his final installment in the Dangerous Visions collection (initially announced in 1973) will be released in October. This anthology will feature short stories, poems, and essays by Max Brooks, Howard Fast, Dan Simmons, and many more.
Harlan Ellison was a leader in New Wave speculative fiction and released Dangerous Visions as 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 the Dangerous Visions anthology is a must-have for readers looking to expand and diversify their science fiction collection.
6 The Last Gifts Of The Universe, Release Date: October 1, 2024
The Last Gifts Of The Universe by Riley August follows two space 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.
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 Universe is a lighthearted read with somber themes and a cat in a space suit.
5 Neo Chongqing Glitch, Release Date: October 10, 2024
Neo Chongquing Glitch is W. J. Sam’s prequel novella to their little-known book Metaverse Detectives. Metaverse Detectives takes 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 Glitch follows Special Tech-crimes Action Team police officer Lei Yijun (who appeared in Metaverse 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.
Those interested in speculative futures, witty dialogue, detective novels, and cyberpunk settings will 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.
4 And The Sky Bled, Release Date: October 15, 2024
And The Sky Bled by 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 includes three 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 behind And The Sky Bled as 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 as The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin, Dune by Frank Herbert, and Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick. This eye-opening novel and its complex characters will both entertain and enlighten.
3 Pride And Prejudice In Space, Release Date: October 15, 2024
Pride and Prejudice in Space is the latest addition to the universe of Jane Austin Fan Fiction (JAFF) written by Alexis Lampley. Pride and Prejudice In Space targets both romance and science fiction readers. Like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies before it, Pride and Prejudice in Space takes the 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. Along with this new setting, Alexis Lampley included a feminist interpretation, with Elizabeth struggling to choose between her desire to pilot a starship and her love for Mr. Darcy.
Pride and Prejudice in Space also boasts a beautiful futuristic cover reminiscent of a vintage science fiction paperback and will include several pieces of full-color interior art ranging from maps to advertisements, hinting at the new setting being created. Alex Lampley is expanding Pride and Prejudice beyond the limits of our planet, reframing its themes to engage a new audience.
2 Absolution, Release Date: October 22, 2024
The biggest and most anticipated science fiction book to be released in October is the surprise fourth volume in The Southern Reach series. The series begins with Annihilation (made into a film of the same name, starring Natalie Portman), Authority, and Acceptance. 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.
In Absolution, Jeff Vandermeer revisits Area X to tell and expand on the stories he thought had been untold in the previous books. Vandermeer explores the creation of Area X and the world after Acceptance. For those who felt The Southern Reach series had more to tell, Absolution will more than fill the void.
1 Usurpation, Release Date: October 29, 2024
Sue Burke is back with her final book in the Semiosis trilogy, Usurpation. The other books in the series, Semiosis and Interference, take place on the planet Pax, where the dominant form of life is its sentient Indigenous plants. Semiosis catalogs human colonists and their interactions with Pax’s life forms. Interference is 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.
In Usurpation, the dominant life form on Pax, sentient rainbow bamboo, sends its descendants to Earth, where they witness uprisings and pandemics. Throughout Usurpation, 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 exciting science fiction series will do just that.
