Science Fiction & Fantasy | Prepub Alert, May 2025 Titles

Emily Tesh writes a sapphic dark academia fantasy while Tochi Onyebuchi and Adam Oyebanji offer mystery-infused SFF.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Abercrombie, Joe. The Devils. Tor. May 2025. ISBN 9781250880055. 560p. $29.99. FANTASY

Bestselling Abercrombie (The Wisdom of Crowds) offers a new epic fantasy. Brother Diaz is sent to Sacred City, where he finds a congregation made up of murderers, monsters, and magic practitioners. He will need their help to achieve his mission, as hungry elves lurk and greedy princes rule. With a 225K-copy first printing.

Cathrall, Sylvie. A Letter from the Lonesome Shore. (The Sunken Archive, bk. 2). Orbit. May 2025. ISBN 9780316565554. pbk. 400p. $19.99. FANTASY

In A Letter to the Luminous Deep, a mysterious sea creature spurred E. Cidnosin to correspond with scholar Henerey Clel, leading to an epistolary love story—and their disappearance. In this conclusion to “The Sunken Archive” duology, E. and Henerey explore a hidden world, while their siblings continue to look for them, and a new threat emerges.

Kay, Guy Gavriel. Written on the Dark. Ace. May 2025. ISBN 9780593953983. 400p. $29. FANTASY

Award-winning and bestselling Kay (All the Seas of the World) returns with another historical fantasy. Few plot details are known, except that it’s a sweeping story of love and war, following a roguish poet in a setting evocative of medieval France.

Onyebuchi, Tochi. Harmattan Season. Tor. May 2025. ISBN 9781250782977. 240p. $27.99. FANTASY

Award-winning Onyebuchi (Goliath) pens a hard-boiled fantasy noir set in West Africa. Private investigator Boubacar is down on his luck, with bills to pay and no work. When a bleeding woman appears in his doorway and then vanishes, he finds himself pulled into a mystery that uncovers horrifying truths. With a 100K-copy first printing.

Oyebanji, Adam. Esperance. DAW. May 2025. ISBN 9780756419912. 432p. $29. SCIENCE FICTION

Oyebanji (author of the LJ Best Book Braking Day) offers a new sci-fi crime thriller. In Chicago, detective Ethan Krol investigates two unusual deaths, while in Bristol, England, Abidemi Eniola is on a quest to return heirlooms to their owners, taking her friend Hollie along for the ride. But Abidemi isn’t quite who she seems, and when their lives intersect, the consequences could be deadly.

Tesh, Emily. The Incandescent. Tor. May 2025. ISBN 9781250835017. 432p. $28.99. FANTASY

Tesh (author of the Hugo Award–winning Some Desperate Glory, an LJ Best Book) writes a sapphic dark academia fantasy. Doctor Walden, one of the most powerful magicians in England, is director of magic at the centuries-old Chetwood Academy, where she teaches and protects the school from demons. But she must also keep the school safe from herself. With a 75K-copy first printing.

Yang, Neon. Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame. Tor.com. May 2025. ISBN 9781250357342. 176p. $21.99. FANTASY

Yang (The Genesis of Misery) pens a queer novella featuring a dragon hunter. Yeva is a devoted and legendary guildknight who slays dragons. When she’s ordered to hunt the dragon that a reclusive kingdom is harboring, she unexpectedly meets a beautiful and mysterious queen and must decide where her loyalty lies. With a 75K-copy first printing.

Forthcoming Series Titles

Lackey, Mercedes & James Mallory. Deliverance of Dragons. (Dragon Prophecy Trilogy, bk. 3). Tor. May 2025. ISBN 9781250375735. 688p. $34.99. FANTASY

Macallister, G. R. Sestia. (Five Queendoms, bk. 3). Saga. May 2025. ISBN 9781982167950. 480p. $29.99. FANTASY

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