Top Exciting New SFF Books Out August 2024

The latest and greatest in SFF Literature

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Happy summer, all you cool cats and space adventurers! It’s that time again to dive into a fresh batch of nerdy sci-fi and fantasy picks to fuel your imagination this month. Just like summer blockbusters, the season brings a wave of thrilling sci-fi and fantasy tales in book form. Maybe it’s the heat that has us all yearning for magical worlds and epic off-world adventures. Luckily, there’s no shortage of great reads this August. To help you out, we’ve put together a list of 8 must-read SFF books hitting the shelves this month!

In this post, you’ll discover a guy trapped in a reality show dungeon with his ex’s cat, battling all sorts of bizarre creatures, including llamas; a novella about pocket universes hidden on Earth; a magical coffee shop where feline baristas offer both sustenance and life advice; a student seeking knowledge who ends up in perilous times; a woman on the brink of death who magically enters her favorite fantasy series and gets a huge shock; an assassin on the run from her guild after defying orders; a captivating retelling of “The Goose Girl”; and much more!

So buckle up and get ready to dive into these fantastic reading adventures:

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins

by P. Djèlí Clark (August 6)

This dark fantasy adventure’s release was moved from April to August, and it is worth the wait! It’s a rip-roaring story about a guild of assassins who swear to three unbreakable vows: The contract must be just, only the target may be killed, and you must complete a job once you agree to do it. At the start, we meet Eveen the Eviscerator, one of the highly talented assassins, who has agreed to a new contract. But when the job turns out to be way more complicated, she refuses to complete it. Now she herself is in danger from the very people she worked with, running for her life while she searches for answers. P.S.: Don’t worry, there are not any dead cats.

The Mercy of Gods

by James S. A. Corey (August 6)

This month from the author* of the wildly popular Expanse series comes the first in an exciting new space opera series. It’s about the Carryx, a brutal alien race that has existed for centuries, ruining other species in the galaxy. When their existence comes under threat, they need humans for their survival. After the capture and kidnapping of some of the brightest humans, the people must figure out a way to survive and what they are going to do for the Carryx. This is the start of the story of one man, Dafyd Alkhor, a scientist who will emerge a champion — and the most hated man in history.
*It’s the pen name of two authors, Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck.

Mistress of Lies

by K. M. Enright (August 13)

This is a dark romantasy debut all about revenge, vampires, and justice! Shan LeClaire has spent her life building the power of her blood magic in order to protect her brother and get the revenge she desperately wants. Samuel Hutchinson has a secret, terrible gift, and when he finds the victim of a magical serial killer, he becomes swept up in the intrigue of vampire king’s court. When Shan and Samuel cross paths, their powers and destinies clash and combine, leaving Samuel to wonder if he can follow Shan down her dark road of vengeance.

A Sorceress Comes to Call

by T. Kingfisher (August 6)

The prolific T. Kingfisher is a Book Riot fave! This fantastic new novel is her take on the “Goose Girl” fairy tale. Cordelia lives an unusual, unhappy, and sometimes punishing existence as the daughter of an evil sorcerer. She’s never challenged her mother before, only lived her days subservient and silent. But when her mother brings home a kindly man and his sister, Cordelia grows fond of them, and she realizes she must act if she wants to save them from her mother’s nefarious plans.

Time’s Agent

by Brenda Peynado (August 13)

If you love stories about time travel, this is a great pick for you! In the future, humans have discovered pocket worlds, defined as “a geographically small, hidden offshoot of our own reality, sped up or slowed down by time.” Exploration of these pockets is an exciting new way to hopefully find new solutions for Earth’s problems. But forty years later, like all things, corporations have taken over pocket exploration, and a disgraced scientist (who wears the pocket universe where her estranged wife lives around her neck) has one chance to right these wrongs and save humanity from itself.

Blackheart Man

by Nalo Hopkinson (August 20)

A new novel from award-winning author Nalo Hopkinson is always reason to celebrate! In this new fantasy, Veycosi, a student of music and history, sets out to learn from the rare Alamat Book of Light to become a scholar in Chynchin. But instead, he finds himself stuck in a complicated battle of danger and dark forces, where an ancient invading army approaches, children are disappearing, and the statues of island witches are coming to life.

The Full Moon Coffee Shop

by Mai Mochizuki (Author), Jesse Kirkwood (Translator) (August 20)

This charming novel was a runaway hit in Japan! How can you go wrong with cats? In this magical fantasy, being kind to cats really pays off. Because the legend goes, if you’re kind to the right cat, it will take you to a magical coffee shop that you can’t find on your own. This special shop is staffed by talking cats (purristas?), who will impart wisdom, read your star chart, and supply you with delicious food and drink.

Voyage of the Damned

by Frances White (August 20)

This magical mystery is a huge hit in the UK, thanks in part to TikTok. Now being released in the US, it tells the tale of a special voyage that ends in murder. To celebrate one thousand years of peace in Concordia, the emperor’s ship sets out on a voyage with the twelve magical province heirs. When the heirs start being murdered, it will be up to Ganymedes Piscero, the only un-magical heir and the disappointment of his family, to find the killer.

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