2026: Fantasy / Horror Outlook

[Hobbit]

We are now starting to get notice of books that will appear next year.
(The 2025 Fantasy / Horror thread is HERE, by the way.)

So: a quick reminder - here you can post any news about Fantasy and Horror books due in 2026. Photos would also be nice if you have them. The books can be new, or new reprints of old favourites.

As ever, this is not the place for authors to bring attention to their own work - you are politely pointed towards the Promotion Zone for such matters.


Mark

 

[Hobbit]

Think a few people have mentioned this one already. New Dresden Files from Jim Butcher, due January.

 

[Hobbit]

One for the Stephen King fans:

 

[Hobbit]

One for August 2026 in the US:

 

[Hobbit]

For February 2026. I know some readers who are very, very, VERY keen for this one...

 

[Prairie_Dog]

The seventh novella in the Hugo Award winning Singing Hills Cycle by Nghi Vo A Long and Speaking Silence is due to be released on May 5, 2026. It’s a prequel of sorts, as it is set when Chih is just a novice. I’ve preordered it…

 

[Rob B]

Think a few people have mentioned this one already. New Dresden Files from Jim Butcher, due January.

View attachment 930

SoMEbody may have an ARC of that.

 

[mac biggs]

Tad Williams' next Osten Ard novel, THE SPLINTERED SUN will be out October of 2026

 

[Westy]

The next China Mieville book The Rouse is scheduled for Sep 26, and is listed as 1,264 pages long!

No cover yet and not much detail except the blurb "From the bestselling and award-winning master of speculative fiction comes a deeply moving, decade- and continent-spanning epic: forced to investigate a devastating personal tragedy, an ordinary woman stumbles on dark conspiracies, and provokes the attention of uncanny forces."

He's hit and miss for me but has written a few of my absolute favourite genre novels, so looking forward to this. And it's been over 10 years since his last fiction release (not counting The Book of Elsewhere).

 

[Hobbit]

And it's been over 10 years since his last fiction release (not counting The Book of Elsewhere).

The Book of Elsewhere was bonkers. And hard work. But I'll be interested in this one.

 

[Hobbit]

Nice to have a Manga announcement: and in the form of a trailer, too! Due June 2026.

 

[Raf]

Dinniman hit on a winner with Dungeon Crawler Carl. Even if this last one was the weakest. But all his other fiction has been a DNF for me.

I read somewhere that they are planning to make DCC a mini-series or cable series. I can't really see how they will do that other than a great deal of AI/CGI. You know snarky talking cat and all. Not to mention al the secondary non-human NPC's. I dunno, might be better as an animated series.

 

[Prairie_Dog]

We have a cozy short story collection from the world of Legends and Lattes coming this fall (2026). Tales from the Territory will be the fourth book by Travis Baldree, and I will pre-order it as soon as I can.

 

[Hobbit]

Here in the UK, we're getting this cover:



At least one of these stories has been published before. In fact, one of them is available to read for free over at the Subterranean Press website: https://subterraneanpress.com/newsannouncing-a-free-ebook-by-travis-baldree-goblins-greatcoats/

 

[Raf]

I don't know much about it, but John Gwynne has new book releasing 11-3-26 according to Amazon.

"The Wolves of War" Book 1 of "The Wolfheart Chronicles"

No cover art available yet.

 

[Prairie_Dog]

While this is actually expected January 12, 2027, I wanted to let folks know about the next release in the Wayward Children Series by Seanan McGuire. It seems this will be a prequel of sorts in that it is Sumi‘s origin story. It tells the tale of how she first found a Door, and it led her to Confection.

A Song of Sugar Sparrows

Nonsense and candy and the families we choose in the origin story of a beloved character in the latest installment of the Hugo Award-winning Wayward Children...

us.macmillan.com

 

[Raf]

4th book of the "The Assembly" series by Steve McHugh. I'm reading the 3rd one right now. This one is due out on October 27th, 2026.

I reviewed #'s 1 & 2 here some time back. Last year, maybe? Or maybe earlier in this year. Can't remember actually. But it is a fun read complete with Vampires , Werewolves and other supernatural baddies living with humans in the modern times. Miles Watson, an Arbiter of the Assembly, and his mutated, intelligent Doberman (Church) are supernatural troubleshooters. Good story.

I tried to download the books 1 & 2 again from KU to re-read. But KU was being a PITA about it. Maybe because I had already read it? I don't know...it kept trying to send me to an out of the system website. I shut it down and just went ahead and started the 3rd.

 

[Hobbit]

So Broken Binding are republishing the Dresden Files in hardback. Great, one of my favourite Urban Fantasy series, up to about Book 9 anyway.

The bad news? I think that the cover art is awful. Some of the interior art is great, in my opinion, but the covers make it look like a bad/cheap anime series.

Not the first time this has happened: it is a trend for these type of covers, I think.

But disappointed.

 

[Westy]

I think that the cover art is awful. Some of the interior art is great, in my opinion, but the covers make it look like a bad/cheap anime series.

Not the first time this has happened: it is a trend for these type of covers, I think.

View attachment 1067

Yeah agree

 

[Hobbit]

For comparison, a picture (not mine) of some of the original UK covers. Classy, understated, clever.