2026: Outlook in Science Fiction

[Hobbit]

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

So: a quick reminder - here you can post any news about SF 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]

Very pleased to have this one arrive today. Thank you, Caroline at Angry Robot Books! For January 2026. It has been available as an audiobook since 2021, but this is the first time in print. Feels very Heinlein-esque from the reading of the first few pages, which I guess is deliberate.

 

[Westy]

Very pleased to have this one arrive today. Thank you, Caroline at Angry Robot Books! For January 2026. It has been available as an audiobook since 2021, but this is the first time in print. Feels very Heinlein-esque from the reading of the first few pages, which I guess is deliberate.


View attachment 928

Nice!

 

[Westy]

Looking forward to The Faith of Beasts due to be published April 2026, the second book in the Captive's War series by James S.A. Corey. Loved the first book!

 

[krisbslick]

For 2026, I'm just putting down books that have firm release dates. (been burned too many times with rumors of release dates!) I will add books to this list once there's more concrete info:

Halcyon Years by Alastair Reynolds - 1/27/2026
Children of Strife (Children of Time, #4) by Adrian Tchaikovsky - 3/17/2026
The Faith of Beasts (The Captive's War, #2) by James S.A Corey - 4/14/2026
Platform Decay (Murderbot Diaries, #8) by Martha Wells - 5/5/2026
Helium Sea (Exodus: The Archimedes Engine, #2) by Peter F Hamilton - 6/16/2026
Blindside (Planetside, #5) by Michael Mammay - 6/30/2026

*all dates are for for US releases

 

[krisbslick]

Oh, and here's some cover art for Children of Strife:

 

[Prairie_Dog]

We have the eighth installment in the Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells coming on May 5, 2026. It’s called Platform Decay, and will probably be a best seller. I’ve read it will be a novel, rather than a novella, which will be nice.

 

[cpegg]

I'm looking forward to Radiant Star by Ann Leckie (a Radch novel) on May 12th.

There's also Halcyon Years by Alastair Reynolds on January 27th. There's no cover that I could find for the US release, though there's a UK cover.

 

[Hobbit]

I'm looking forward to Radiant Star by Ann Leckie (a Radch novel) on May 12th.

There's also Halcyon Years by Alastair Reynolds on January 27th. There's no cover that I could find for the US release, though there's a UK cover.

Thanks for that, cpegg! One I kept meaning to put up. I really like this cover, but it reminds of the scene at the end of his Century Rain (I think), which in turn was an homage to the film Casablanca. Film noir reimagined, I guess.

 

[cpegg]

it reminds of the scene at the end of his Century Rain

I had the same thought!

 

[Hobbit]

According to Amazon, Peter F Hamilton's Helium Sea is due to be published on 16th June 2026:

 

[suciul]

According to Amazon, Peter F Hamilton's Helium Sea is due to be published on 16th June 2026: View attachment 938

This is so cool! Added it to my wanted list on Goodreads just to keep track;

 

[dannymcg]

Very pleased to have this one arrive today. Thank you, Caroline at Angry Robot Books! For January 2026. It has been available as an audiobook since 2021, but this is the first time in print. Feels very Heinlein-esque from the reading of the first few pages, which I guess is deliberate.


View attachment 928

I had it confused with this one that's being released this week!

Hole in the Sky by Daniel H Wilson

Hole in the Sky by Daniel H Wilson - book cover, description.

www.fantasticfiction.com

 

[Hobbit]

ICE by Jacek Dukaj



First publication in English, due January 2026.

14th July 1924: In a Warsaw buried under feet of snow and Russian rule, Benedykt Gieroslawski, a dissolute young Polish mathematician, is roused from his bed by two officials from the Ministry of Winter and dispatched to Siberia, on the Trans-Siberian Express, to track down his long-exiled father.

The catalyst for this frosty metamorphosis of 20th century history is the impact of the Tunguska asteroid, deep in Siberia, in 1908. From this Ground Zero, emerge the Gleissen, silent harbingers of an eternal winter that follows in their ponderous wake. As they spread across the continent, agriculture collapses and people flock to cities as they seek protection from the deadly cold. As the land freezes, so does history: the Tsar still rules Russia; the Belle Époque endures; and the First World War never happened.

But out there, on the ice, a new world is being forged. The extreme, alien cold has transmuted elements into strange new forms, a 'black physics' that is the catalyst for a new industrial and scientific revolution. At the heart of it lies Siberia – a 'Wild East', a magnet for all the political, religious and scientific fevers shaking the world at the dawn of the 20th century, the crucible where black physics, shamanic lore and the cold logic of winter combine. And Benedykt's final destination.

 

[Westy]

Fonda Lee's next book is "a standalone science fiction cyberpunk thriller about aging corporate samurai", called The Last Contract of Isako. Expected May 26.

 

[Prairie_Dog]

Fonda Lee's next book is "a standalone science fiction cyberpunk thriller about aging corporate samurai", called The Last Contract of Isako. Expected May 26.

You had me at “aging corporate samurai” and the “standalone” is pretty interesting too…

 

[Prairie_Dog]

As You Wake, Break the Shell is the new novel by Becky Chambers! It is the first part of a pair of novels in an entirely new setting. She says, “…it’s maybe the most personal thing I’ve written yet.” It’s said to be equal parts space story and love story. It will be released in October 2026, and I instantly preordered it.

Introducing my next book — Becky Chambers

Hello, astronaut candidates. I’m very excited to be posting here today. I’ve got a novel coming out this year, the first of a pair in a brand new setting. It’s called As You Wake, Break the Shell , and it’s maybe the most personal thing I’ve written yet. As personal as you can get with giant sp

www.otherscribbles.com

 

[Westy]

As You Wake, Break the Shell is the new novel by Becky Chambers! It is the first part of a pair of novels in an entirely new setting. She says, “…it’s maybe the most personal thing I’ve written yet.” It’s said to be equal parts space story and love story. It will be released in October 2026, and I instantly preordered it.

Introducing my next book — Becky Chambers

Hello, astronaut candidates. I’m very excited to be posting here today. I’ve got a novel coming out this year, the first of a pair in a brand new setting. It’s called As You Wake, Break the Shell , and it’s maybe the most personal thing I’ve written yet. As personal as you can get with giant sp

www.otherscribbles.com

Thanks didn't know about that. Will be giving it a read even though I thought a couple of her recent books weren't as good.

 

[Hobbit]

Haven't done this for a while, but here's the current TBR pile. Not all SF:

 

[Westy]

Haven't done this for a while, but here's the current TBR pile. Not all SF: View attachment 1000

A decent pile!