“Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.”
As the days begin to grow shorter and the nights longer, there’s no better time to dive into new reads that whisk you away to otherworldly realms, bone-chilling terrors and epic adventures. This fall promises to deliver an exciting array of science-fiction, horror and fantasy books that are sure to keep you warm even as the temperature outside starts to drop. There’s something so cosy about curling up with a book in the autumn, and these upcoming tales of supernatural thrills, fantastical journeys and terrifying tales are some of the best companions that you don’t want to miss out on this year. So, grab a brew, pull over a blanket and join us today at What We Reading for the best sci-fi, horror and fantasy books to read this fall!
Somewhere Beyond The Sea (Cerulean Chronicles #2) – T.J. Klune
First up on our list of books to read this fall is T.J. Klune’s Somewhere Beyond the Sea, the sequel to the beloved The House on the Cerulean Sea. Arthus Parnassus lives a good life that has been founded on the ashes of a bad one. He is the master of a strange orphanage on a peculiar island and hopes to be the adoptive father to the six magical children who live there.
Along with Linus Baker, the love of his life, and the island’s sprites Zoe Chapelwhite and her girlfriend Mayor Helen Webb, Arthur works hard to ensure that the children never feel the same neglect he once experienced. But, when he is summoned to issue a public statement about his dark past, he is soon at the forefront of a fight for the future that his family, and all magical individuals, deserve. And when a new child joins them all on their island home, Arthur knows they’re all at a breaking point where they will all either grow stronger than ever or fall apart entirely.
Check Out The Best Books Like The House On The Cerulean Sea
Sky Full Of Elephants – Cebo Campbell
One of the best speculative fiction books to read this fall comes from Cebo Campbell in Sky Full of Elephants. One day, a cataclysmic event occurs: all of the white people in the US walk out to the nearest body of water. A year on, Charles Brunton is a Black man living in an entirely new world. Having been wrongfully convicted, he now works as a professor of electric and solar power. Then he receives an unexpected call from his daughter Sidney, a nineteen-year-old who watched her mother and step-family drown themselves.
Traumatised by what she has seen, Sidney has been living in isolation for a year. With no one else left, she turns to the father she never met for help. Together, Charles and Sidney embark on a trip to Alabama. However, they are unprepared for what this new world has to offer, or for how they will eventually view themselves in it. Fused with heart and humour, Campbell’s stunning debut is a testament to the power of community, and a reckoning with what it means to be Black in America.
So Thirsty – Rachel Harrison
Our first horror book to read this fall comes from Rachel Harrison in her juicy 2024 novel, So Thirsty. Sloane Parker is dreading her birthday. She doesn’t need any reminders about how old she is getting, or how indifferent she is feeling about her life. Nevertheless, her husband surprises her with a weekend away. But, not with him, but with her longtime best friend and troublemaker, Naomi.
Sloane is braced for a weekend of wine tastings, cosy robes and avoiding awkward subjects, namely her husband’s repeated infidelity. Instead, what Sloane finds when they arrive at their rental cottage is Noami orchestrating a wild night with a group of mysterious strangers designed to help her truly start living. But, when the night takes a horrifying turn, the friends are forced to come to terms with a number of eternal consequences in this seductive tale about how it is never too late to find satisfaction.
The Crimson Crown (The Crimson Crown Duology) – Heather Walter
Heather Walter offers an alluring retelling of Snow White from the perspective of the dark queen in another one of the best fantasy books to read this fall, The Crimson Crown. Ayleth was once a young witch living in secret in the forest with her coven, hiding from the White King and his brutal war against witchcraft. But, Ayleth’s magical abilities are still yet to reveal themselves. Coupled with the growing threat from the Royal Huntsmen, Ayleth fears she will never become the witch her coven needs.
To prove herself, Ayleth embarks on a perilous quest that leads her to the White Palace and into the crosshairs of Jacquetta, a witch who once held her heart, and who betrayed her. As she is immersed in drama and deceit, Ayleth must uncover the secrets of the White Court – and those of her own heart – to transform into someone she never imagined she could be: a powerful witch, the wickedest of them all.
Graveyard Shift – M.L. Rio
Graveyard Shift is a 2024 horror book by M.L. Rio, bestselling author of If We Were Villains. Every night, in the college’s ancient cemetery, five people cross paths as they work the late shift: a bartender, a hotel receptionist, a rideshare driver, the editor-in-chief of the college newspaper, and the steward of the derelict church that towers over them all. One dark evening, they discover a fresh open grave. But, who dug it, and for whom?
Before they turn to go their separate ways, the gravedigger returns. As the group tail him through the night, they realise that the stranger may hold the key to a string of strange goings-on around the town. And that they may all be closer to the mystery than they first thought. Featuring a cast of quirky characters and a familiar dark academia backdrop, Graveyard Shift is one of the best gothic horror books to read this fall.
Check Out The Best Books Like If We Were Villains
Polostan (Bomb Light #1) – Neal Stephenson
Polostan is the first installment in Neal Stephenson’s three-part Bomb Light cycle, and centres around the early life of the enigmatic Dawn Rae Bjornberg. Born in the American West to a clan of cowboy anarchists, Dawn is brought up in Leningrad following the Russian Revolution. Her father, a devout party loyalist, re-christens her Aurora.
After spending her early years in Russia, she grows up as a teenager in Montana before being pulled into gunrunning and revolution in the streets of Washington during the heyday of the Great Depression. However, when a surprising revelation about her past is brought to light, Dawn returns to mother Russia where she is groomed as a spy by an organisation that would soon become the KGB.
Memorials – Richard Chizmar
1983: Three students from a small college embark on a week-long road trip to film a documentary on roadside memorials for their American Studies class. Their project begins as a fun adventure filled with long stretches of open roads and fireside chats where they start to open up with one another.
But, as they venture further into the Appalachian backwoods, the atmosphere begins to darken. They notice more and more of the memorials feature a mysterious and unsettling symbol hinting at a sinister secret. Paranoia sets in when it looks like they are being followed. Their vehicle is meddled with and a number of locals appear less than welcoming to them. Before too long, the students are forced to grapple with the prospect that these roadside deaths weren’t random accidents, but rather something far more terrifying in Richard Chizmar’s 2024 horror story, Memorials.
Check Out Our Review Of Richard Chizmar’s Chasing The Boogeyman
The Dragon In Winter (Kagen the Damned #3) – Jonathan Maberry
Jonathan Maberry concludes his epic high fantasy Kagen the Damned Trilogy with an exhilarating conclusion in one of the best books to read this fall, The Dragon in Winter. The story opens with the Witch-king of Hakkia, assisted by his terrifying dark forces, sitting uneasily on the throne he stole. Kagen the Damned and the Bloody Bastards have found secrets of ancient magic they hope will be able to defeat him. Mysterious forces gather on both sides; trickster sprites, strange gods, warrior ghosts, undead vampires, immortal faeries and Earth’s last remaining dragon.
Kagen knows that he faces an impossible task attempting to bring the Witch-king’s rule to an end. Every day his power grows stronger, and he has no qualms about spilling the blood of innocents to keep control of the throne he usurped. Yet these are not the only forces at work in Maberry’s world. As the last dragon in the frozen North lies dying, the magic of all kinds is awoken. However which side of the war it picks, if any at all, is anyone’s guess.
The Shutouts – Gabrielle Korn
The year is 2041 and it’s a dangerous time to be a woman travelling across the United States alone. Destructive wildfires and ravenous storms sweep across the country, while political tensions continue to threaten to boil over. Nevertheless, Kelly is on the road. Seven years ago, she left her daughter, pursuing a cause that she isn’t sure she believes in anymore.
Forty years on, another mother, Ava, and her daughter, Brook, are also on the run. They’ve spent the last twenty-two years as lab rats for the climate change relief program known as The Inside Project. They encounter a woman from Ava’s past and set out on a journey that soon leads them to the depths of what remains of humanity in the wilderness. Set in the world of Gabrielle Korn’s Yours for the Taking, The Shutouts is one of the best queer speculative fiction books to read this fall that explores survival and living life on the margins.
A Sunny Place For Shady People – Mariana Enriquez
One of the best collections of horror stories to read this fall, Mariana Enriquez pulls together twelve spellbinding tales in A Sunny Place for Shady People. Set in her native Argentina homeland, Enriquez’s tales focus on ordinary people whose lives are turned inside out when they encounter terror, the surreal and the supernatural.
From a family whose faces melt away, a neighbourhood plagued by ghosts to a riverbank populated by birds who used to be women, this collection of new horror stories illuminates the shadows of contemporary life, where the lines between good and evil are blurred beyond recognition.
Voyage Of The Damned – Frances White
For a thousand years, Concordia has maintained peace between its provinces. To highlight this incredible feat, the emperor’s ship sets out on a twelve-day-long voyage to the sacred Goddess’ Mountain. On board are the heirs to the twelve provinces of Concordia. All of them have been graced with a unique and hidden magical ability known as a Blessing. Except for Ganymedes Piscero, class clown, underachiever and all-around let-down.
When a much-loved heir is found murdered, everyone becomes a suspect. Now stuck out at sea without a Blessing to protect him, Ganymedes knows that his odds for survival are slim. Despite this, as the bodies begin to pile up around him, he sets out to become the hero he was not meant to be. A charming fantasy whodunnit perfect for a cosy autumn read Frances White’s 2024 fantasy novel Voyage of the Damned follows Ganymedes’ efforts to unmask a killer before they are able to reach the shore and bring the years of peace to an end.
I’m Starting To Worry About This Black Box Of Doom – Jason Pargin
One of the most darkly hilarious sci-thrillers to read this fall, Jason Pargin’s new book opens outside Los Angeles where a driver pulls up to find a young woman sitting on a large black box. She offers him $200,000 in cash to transport her and that box across the country to Washington D.C.
But, with that comes a number of rules. He isn’t allowed to look in the box, he cannot ask questions, or tell anyone about the trip, they have to leave immediately and they have to leave behind all their trackable devices. As these two eccentric misfits hit the road, rumours begin to swirl around on social media that the box is a meticulously planned terror attack designed to plunge the US into civil war. But, the truth promises to be even more bizarre; and may change how you view the world.
The Estate – Sarah Jost
Camille Learray has spent her career as an art historian surrounded by fineries, learning how to appeal to the affluent and selling art pieces for millions. But, she also has a secret that could ruin the life she has so meticulously built for herself. Camille can enter the world of the art around her and can take others in with her. However, tapping into history comes with a number of great risks. And someone has been watching her, someone who knows all about her abilities, and her mistakes.
After Camille ruins her reputation after misusing her powers, eccentric aristocrat Maxime Foucault enlists her services to help authenticate a number of mysterious statues made by an artist many regard as a madwoman. For Camille, it appears to be the perfect opportunity to rebuild her career and bag the man of her dreams. But, inside the splendour of the grand chateau and the Focuault family that inhabits it, she soon risks losing herself and everything she has ever known in Sarah Jost’s new fantasy novel, The Estate.
The Mechanics Of Memory – Audrey Lee
Memory is Copeland-Stark’s business. But, after months of reconsolidation treatments at their sleek new flagship facility, Hope Nakano still has no idea what happened to her lost year, or the life she was beginning to build with her one true love.
Each procedure surfaces fragmented clues that gradually wear down Hope’s trust in her own memories, especially the ones about Luke. As the inconsistencies continue to build, her hunt for answers unveils a much larger secret that Copeland-Stark are determined to protect. Audrey Lee’s 2024 book The Mechanics of Memory is a fascinating work of science fiction and a thrilling mystery that delves into how memories define us.
Sleep Tight – J.H. Markert
Father Silence once terrorised the rural town of Twisted Tree, disguising himself as a priest to hunt the most vulnerable members of society. When the police finally find his ‘House of Horrors’, they uncover nineteen bodies in total, as well as a sole survivor – a boy, now being housed in a hospital for the criminally insane.
Two decades on, Father Silence is put to death. The next morning, the detective who made the original arrest is found dead. A new serial killer is at work and taking credit for the murder, calling himself the Outcast. The detective’s daughter, Tess Claibourne, is horrified by the death of her father and the resurrection of Father Silence’s legacy. When her own daughter is abducted by the Outcast, she is forced to confront her worst fears and long-buried memories by returning to Twisted Tree and visiting the boy who survived to see what secrets he might still be harbouring. One of the most gripping books to read this fall, J.H. Markert’s Sleep Tight is a homage to the old-school horror tropes and a haunting small-town tale.
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
