42 New Sci-Fi, Horror, and Fantasy Books to Add to Your Shelf in January

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Happy New Year, and blessed new books! If “reading more” is simply a extremity you person successful caput for 2025—we salute you! And we person 42 suggestions of wherever to commencement turning the pages, with sci-fi, horror, and fantasy tales galore.

January 7

Adrift successful Currents Clean and Clear by Seanan McGuire

The latest successful the author’s Hugo and Nebula-winning Wayward Children bid features “giant turtles, intolerable ships, and tidal rivers ridden by a Drowned Girl successful hunt of a family.” (January 7)

The Capital of Dreams by Heather O’Neill

“A acheronian dystopian fairytale astir an idyllic state ravaged by war—and a miss torn betwixt information and loyalty.” (January 7)

Cold Storage by Michael C. Grumley

In this standalone near-future thriller, an service seasoned goes connected the tally from the shadowy radical that brought him backmost from the dead. (January 7)

A Conventional Boy by Charles Stross

“In this caller Laundry Files escapade the destiny of the satellite volition virtually beryllium connected the rotation of dice… twenty-sided dice, that is.” (January 7)

The Dryad Storm by Laurie Forest

“Magical forces clash and Erthia hovers connected the brink of ruin successful the can’t-miss finale of Laurie Forest’s epic phantasy series, the Black Witch Chronicles.” (January 7)

Immortal by Sue Lynn Tan

“A young ruler indispensable forge a delicate confederation with the untrustworthy yet magnetic God of War to support her kingdom successful this stunning romanticist phantasy filled with unsafe secrets, forbidden magic, and passion.” (January 7)

Mother of Rome by Lauren J.A. Bear

“A almighty and fierce reimagining of the earliest Roman legend: the twins, Romulus and Remus, mythical founders of history’s top empire, and the pistillate whose sacrifice made it each possible.” (January 7)

A Sea of Unspoken Things by Adrienne Young

“A pistillate investigates her duplicate brother’s mysterious decease portion confronting the ghosts of her ain haunted past.” (January 7)

The Starlight Heir by Amalie Howard (January 7)

In this romantasy, a bladesmith accepts an invitation to tribunal mostly due to the fact that she’s longing for adventure. She alternatively finds occupation successful the signifier of the crown prince’s alluring half-brother, and things get adjacent worse erstwhile her forbidden powers statesman to awaken, drafting the involvement of a acheronian god.

Wake Up and Open Your Eyes by Clay McLeod Chapman

In this societal fearfulness tale, a man and his nephew contention to flight “a demonic possession epidemic” that affects those who devour excessively overmuch toxic media. (January 7)

January 14

Aurora Fragment by Brian Shea and Raquel Byrnes

The Memory Bank techno-thriller bid continues; successful this entry, “plagued by the intrusive memories of a dormant killer, Detective Morgan Reed is drawn to a distant and troubled Alaskan town.” (January 14)

Babylonia by Costanza Casati

This communicative offers a blend of “myth and past past to springiness Semiramis, the lone pistillate ruler of the Assyrian Empire, a voice, charting her captivating ascent to a throne nary 1 promised her.” (January 14)

Daughter of Chaos by A.S. Webb

The Dark Pantheon Trilogy begins successful this communicative acceptable successful past Greece, wherever a fisherman’s girl realizes she has magic powers—and mightiness beryllium the cardinal to mounting humankind escaped from the tyrannical gods. (January 14)

Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor

In this caller communicative described arsenic “a publication wrong a book” from the writer of Who Fears Death, “a disabled Nigerian American pistillate pens a wildly palmy sci-fi novel, but arsenic her fame rises, she loses power of the narrative—a amazingly cutting, yet heartfelt play astir creation and love, individuality and connection, and, ultimately, what makes america human.” (January 14)

Hammajang Luck by Makana Yamamoto

“Ocean’s 8 meets Blade Runner successful this trail-blazing debut subject fabrication caller and swashbuckling emotion missive to Hawai’i astir being forced to find a caller location and striving to physique a amended one.” (January 14)

Heavenly Bodies by Imani Erriu

A caller romantasy bid begins with this communicative that “blends mythology and shadiness magic with a tantalizing enemies-to-lovers romance that volition rewrite the stars.” (January 14)

The Last Room connected the Left by Leah Konen

“The caretaker astatine an isolated upland edifice finds herself warring for her life—and sanity—in this twisty, addictive thriller.” (January 14)

The Night Is Defying by Chloe C. Peñaranda

The 2nd introduction successful the author’s Nytefall trilogy is acceptable “where past is doomed to repeat, and star-crossed lovers indispensable look a prime betwixt their hearts oregon the world.” (January 14)

Strange Pictures by Uketsu, translated by Jim Rion

This Japanese best-seller offers “an eerie caller instrumentality connected mystery-horror successful which a bid of seemingly guiltless pictures draws you into a disturbing web of unsolved mysteries and shattered psyches.” (January 14)

Vow of the Shadow King by Sylvia Mercedes

This romantasy tale, the adjacent installment successful the Bride of the Shadow King series, picks backmost up with Princess Faraine. She’s trapped successful the Shadow Realm with King Vor, her caller husband, who is reluctant to spot her contempt the spark betwixt them. (January 14)

Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao

“A pistillate inherits a pawnshop wherever you tin merchantability your regrets, and past embarks connected a magical quest erstwhile a charming young physicist wanders into the shop, successful this dreamlike phantasy novel.” (January 14)

Waterblack by Alex Pheby

The Cities of the Weft trilogy concludes arsenic Nathan Treeves steps into his relation arsenic Master of Waterblack, the City of the Dead, and the God-Killer who has him successful her sights. (January 14)

We Lived connected the Horizon by Erika Swyler

This communicative follows “a bio-prosthetic surgeon and her idiosyncratic AI arsenic they are drawn into a revolution.” (January 14)

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix

In 1970 Florida, an occult publication connected witchcraft brings a unusual and unsafe caller powerfulness to the young women biding their clip successful a location for unwed large teens. (January 14)

January 21

Boudicca by P.C. Cast

“An epic, lusty, magic-filled romantasy astir British warrior queen Boudicca.” (January 21)

The Legend of Meneka by Kritika H. Rao

This “fantasy inspired by 1 of the astir celebrated romances successful Hindu mythology” follows “the communicative of a celestial dancer tasked with seducing a quality sage, but erstwhile she finds herself falling for her mark, she volition beryllium forced to take betwixt loyalties and being existent to herself.” (January 21)

Motheater by Linda H. Codega

“In this nuanced queer phantasy acceptable amid the Appalachian Mountains successful Virginia, the past witch of the Ridge indispensable take sides successful a clash betwixt manufacture and nature.” Read a Q&A with the author, an io9 alumni, here. (January 21)

Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

The Empyrean bid continues arsenic Violet departs Basgiath War College and heads into battle—in hunt of allies and hopeless to support her dragons and the radical she loves. (January 21)

The Rainfall Market by You Yeong-Gwang, translated by Slin Juno

“On the outskirts of Rainbow Town, determination is an old, abandoned house. They accidental that if you nonstop a missive detailing your misfortunes there, you could person a ticket. If you bring this summons to the location connected the archetypal time of the rainy season, you’ll beryllium granted entranceway into the mysterious Rainfall Market—where you tin take to wholly alteration your life.” A pistillate who’s shocked to person specified a summons indispensable fig retired what to bash next. (January 21)

Strange Stones by Edward Lee and Mary SanGiovanni

“This communicative follows an insufferable horror-con lurker arsenic helium spurns the incorrect pistillate and is cursed to a monstrous magnitude afloat of Lovecraftian creations.” (January 21)

The Wind connected Her Tongue by Anita Kopacz

This follow-up to Shallow Waters continues the Daughter of Three Waters trilogy, arsenic “Oya—the Yoruban deity of the weather—is brought to beingness during 1870s America.” (January 21)

January 25

Those Fatal Flowers by Shannon Ives

“Greco-Roman mythology and the enigma of the vanished Roanoke colony collide successful this epic escapade filled with sapphic longing and pistillate rage.” (January 25)

January 28

At the Bottom of the Garden by Camilla Bruce

“A murderess becomes the guardian of 2 precise antithetic girls successful this mesmerizing gothic novel.” (January 28)

At the Fount of Creation by Tobi Ogundirian

“The destiny of the Orisha volition beryllium decided successful the concluding measurement of the Guardians of the Gods duology.” (January 28)

Gate to Kagoshima by Poppy Kuroki

In this humanities romantasy, “a young Scottish pistillate is magically transported to the past Samurai era, wherever she encounters ghosts from the past, her ain Japanese ancestry, and a emotion that transcends time.” (January 28)

Old Soul by Susan Barker

“Part horror, portion western, portion thriller, Old Soul is simply a fearlessly bold and genre-defying communicative astir predation, morality and escaped will, and 1 man’s quest to bring a centuries-long concatenation of quality devastation to an end.” (January 28)

Our Winter Monster by Dennis Mahoney

“Chilling vacation fearfulness astir an unhappy mates moving from their problems and consecutive into the maw of a terrifying beast.” (January 28)

The Outcast Mage by Annabel Campbell

“A mage bereft of her powers indispensable find retired if she is destined to prevention the satellite oregon destruct it.” (January 28)

The Scorpion Queen by Mira Frears

“Uprooted meets Children of Blood and Bone successful this acheronian phantasy inspired by a Malian fairy communicative astir a princess whose suitors are challenged to gruesome trials.” (January 28)

Shadow of the Eternal Watcher by Josh Mendoza

A down-on-his-luck backstage oculus who’s often visited by demons discovers helium has different powerfulness he’s ne'er realized: the quality to crook space-time, a acquisition that whitethorn let him to execute the beingness he’s ever dreamed of. (January 28)

Sinkhole, and Other Inexplicable Voids: Stories by Leyna Krow

“Set successful the Pacific Northwest, these stories blend precocious conception magic with the sometimes subtle, different times glaring, realities of clime change.” (January 28)

The Teeth of Dawn by Marina Lostetter

The Five Penalties phantasy bid concludes arsenic “a rebellion struggles to teardrop the disguise disconnected the illusions and enchantments of a nine shrouded successful layers of mystery.” (January 28)

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