New Fantasy and Sci-Fi Books Releasing February 2021

Credit: Tordotcom
By Madalena DaleziouWriter

Credit: Tordotcom

This month looks good for speculative fiction fans. Covers you have definitely seen somewhere the past few months will finally hit our shelves, along with new releases you might have not heard of but should be equally excited about. Here are some of the best SFF releases to look out for this February.

The Planetbreaker's Son by Nick Mamatas

Release: 1 February

Table of Contents

The author of the Lovercraftian Beat Road Move Under Ground -known for successfully blending genres- is back with a new exciting genre patchwork. The book contains the titular novella along with other short stories and an interview with the author.

Beneath the Keep by Erika Johansen

Release: 2 February

In the tenth book of the Tearling series an assassin, a farmer, and a princess must rise beyond their personal conflicts and fight for a better world on the eve of a rebellion.

What Big Teeth by Rose Szabo

Release: 2 February

From the horrifying but cool cover to the title, an echo of Little Red Riding Hood, What Big Teeth look like a chilling YA horror tale.

Eleanor must return to her estranged monstrous family with whom she wanted nothing to do, and learn to co-exist with them – and face her own darkness.

All the Tides of Fate by Adalyn Grace

Release: 2 February

A sequel to the NY Times bestseller All the Stars and Teeth, which was praised by well-known fantasy writers such as Hafzah Faizal and Tomi Adeyemi, it follows Amora Montara, now a queen. Yet, she's far from safe, having lost her magic, which she had been secret. Will her desperate quest for a mythical artifact help her prevail victoriously?

A History of What Comes Next by Sylvain Neuvel

Release: 2 February

A sci-fi thriller set during WWII, A History of What Comes Next is a feminist tale about a woman who tries to protect an American rocket operation from a Nazi.

This Is Not the Jess Show by Anna Carey

Release: 2 February

In this sci-fi thriller, with its late 90s setting and aesthetic, strange things happen: the ordinary teenage protagonist starts off having ordinary problems… until an iPhone falls from her friend's backpack at a time that those were not yet invented. From there, things get weird. The premise reminds us of Black Mirror and Truman Show and it will definitely be interesting to read.

This Golden Flame by Emily Victoria

Release: 2 February

Marketed as An Ember in the Ashes meets Masks of Shadow, The Golden Flame is an own voice LGBTQ+ book about an orphan girl who awakens an automaton in her desperate quest to find her brother. This intriguing premise, and the fact that Victoria's universe is ruled by scribes, promises an intriguing debut novel we're excited to read.

A Summoning of Demons by Cate Glass

Release: 2 February

In the third installment of the Chimera trilogy, Romy – whose dreams are becoming increasingly disturbing - and other misfit magicians must band together against an ancient monster that has shaken their world to its core.

And Then She Vanished by Nick Jones

Release: 2 February

A Story about a time-traveller who goes back in time to uncover the mystery of his missing sister… only to find that for each trip he has less time than he had for the previous one – will he find her on time?

Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell

Release: 2 February

This sci-fi book follows a prince who must travel to another planet for a rushed arranged marriage with a widower, following the death of the latter's husband which may or may have not been accidental.

On Fragile Waves by E. Lily Yu

Release: 2 February

This tale of magical realism tells a story about immigration, belonging, and the concept of escaping into fantasy worlds by introducing us to a character whose family immigrates from Afghanistan to Australia, which they see as a magical land, full of opportunities.

Star Wars the High Republic: Into the Dark by Claudia Gray

Release: 2 February

This Disney Canon Star Wars novel tells the story of Padawan Reath Silas, a Jedi who is transferred in an underdeveloped base and uncovers its sinister secrets.

Fireheart Tiger by Aliette de Bodard

Release: 9 February

In Alliette de Bodard's LGBTQ+ romantic work of fantasy, a princess who has been used as a pawn for two long is reunited with her old beloved and is determined to find a way to achieve security for her country without compromising her happiness.

Amid the Crowd of Stars by Stephen Leigh

Release: 9 February

In speculative fiction themes of colonisation aren't specific to this earth or humans. In it, traveling to space has moral cost readers are invited to consider. Interestingly, this multiple viewpoint work includes the voices not only of the humans who inhabit the newly discovered planets but also their native alien life.

The Absolute Book by Elizabeth Knox

Release: 9 February

Who said that adult fantasy books can't be filled with wonder. In The Absolute Book is a "book of journeys and returns, set in London, Norfolk, and the Wye Valley; in Auckland, New Zealand; in the Island of Apples and Summer Road of the Sidhe; at Hell's Gate; in the Tacit with its tombs; and in the hospitals and train stations of Purgatory." It is described as a book in which "dead sisters are a living force" and "treasures are recovered."

The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna

Release: 9 February

The first book of the Deathless series follows a 16-year-old girl who is considered impure by the people of her village due to her gold blood and unnatural intuition. Following a failed coming-of-age ceremony, she joins an army of girls like her.

The Future Is Yours by Dan Frey

Release: 9 February

Technology is becoming creepier and more invasive each year and our sci-fi can only reflect that. The Future Is Yours by Dan Frey follows two friends who create a computer that allows users to log on to the internet as it will be a year later. This allows them to gain riches beyond their imagination, but at what cost? And what if the future reveals something they would rather not know?

A Song With Teeth by T. Frohock

Release: 9 February

A book taking place in the shadow of WWII… but with demons. The third book of the historical fantasy Los Nefilim will tell an epic story of a parallel war between angels and demons.

Game Changer by Neal Shusterman

Release: 9 February

A football game proves a real game-changer for the protagonist's life. Following a sports injury, he wakes up only to find himself at a different dimension.

Engines of Oblivion by Karen Osborne

Release: 9 February

In the second installment of The Memory War, the main character Natalie Chan gained her much-coveted corporate citizenship. But important, world-changing information is locked in her memory.

City of the Uncommon Thief by Lynne Bertrand

Release: 9 February

Inspired by Ancient Greece, this YA fantasy book presents a teenage boy and a city in chaos, as a guildmaster's uncommon choice open the city's gates to an uncommon threat.

Mythology retellings have been around for a long time, but they will never stop being cool. In The Witch's Heart, we follow Angrboda, persecuted by Odin, in love with Loki and determined to do anything to protect her children and the life she has made for herself.

A lot of Circe vibes here!

Rafael by Laurell K. Hamilton

Release: 9 February

Another part of a huge series, the 28th book in the Anita Blake series follows the famous vampire hunter as she's caught in a conflict between vampires and rat-human shapeshifters.

The Electric Kingdom by David Arnold

Release: 9 February

Undoubtedly the current pandemic has influenced everything including literature, though, of course, pandemics were not an uncommon subject matter in science fiction even before that. The Electric Kindgom takes place post-apocalypse, following the survivors of they fly-borne pandemic in their quest for purpose in a devastated world.

The Moonsteel Crown by Stephen Deas

Release: 9 February

Praised by an Advance Reader as an action pack, dense novel, the first book of The Moonsteel Crown follows a gang as they are caught up in a magical heist that will decide the fate of their country – and there are zombies!

The Velocity of Revolution by Marshall Ryan Maresca

Release: 9 February

"Wenthi Tungét, a talented cycle rider and a loyal officer in the city patrol, is assigned to infiltrate the cycle gangs. For his mission against the insurgents, Wenthi must use their magic, connecting his mind to Nália, a recently captured rebel, using her knowledge to find his way into the heart of the rebellion."

This steampunk novel presents a city recovering from war but already at the eve of a new one, with a conflicted main character, tumbling between duty and conscience.

The Memory Theater by Karin Tidbeck

Release: 16 February

In what looks like Tidbeck's most exciting novel so far, best friends Dora and Thistle escape from their world – where the elite never age and those who server them live in constant precarity – and embark on a journey in space and time determined to change their world.

The Jade Bones by Lani Forbes

Release: 16 February

Picking up from where book 1 of The Age of the Seventh Sun Series, left off, The Jade Bones follows main characters Mayana and Ahkim who struggle to go home after being cast in the underworld.

Fairhaven Rising by L.E. Modesitt, Jr.

Release: 16 February

The 22nd book of the epic, seemingly endless saga, it follows young mage Taelya as she uncovers a conspiracy against her home and loved ones she might not be able to resolve on time.

A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Mass

Release: 16 February

The long-awaited fourth installment of Mass' beloved A Court of Thornes and Roses is finally being released in a couple of weeks! A Court of Silver Flames will focus on Feyre's sister, Nesta, and her love interest as they explore their relationship and navigate their trauma – along with new dangers. Several special editions are available so keep an eye on those.

The Minders by John Marrs

Release: 16 February

With the protection of personal data becoming more and more difficult, a radical solution is attempted: storing the data in the brains of five individuals for safekeeping.

The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey

Release: 16 February

In this intriguing sci-fi tale, Evelyne, a scientist must figure out what to do next after her cheating husband's death. In her journey, she's helped by her demure, sweet polar opposite, Martine… a clone of her own creation and the one her husband was having an affair with.

Silence of the Soleri by Michael Johnston

Release: 16 February

Silence of the Soleri is the exciting sequel to the Amber Throne, a fantasy book with a family conflict at its heart, drawing from Egyptian history and mythology as well as Shakespeare's famous King Lear.

The Swimmers by Marian Womack

Release: 16 February

Social inequality, global warming, and a devasted, jungle-like earth in a dystopian Andalusia from the author of The Golden Key.

Sinners by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

Release: 16 February

The third installment of Sons of War - set in a futuristic Los Angeles - promises blood and violence between gangs and those who try to suppress them.

Wild Sun: Unbound by Ehsan Ahmad and Shakil Ahmad

Release: 16 February

In the second book of the Wild Sun series, Cerrin might have escaped forced labor and fleed to the ancient forest of her ancestors but she's far from safe. Each day, survival is a challenge and new allies and enemies await at every corner.

Soulstar by C.L. Polk

Release: 16 February

Soulstar concludes The Kingston Cycle in which the main character Robin must come out of hiding, face her feelings for her long-lost childhood love and navigate in a world of magic, politics and revolution where assassinations and other mishaps abound.

The Unfinished Land by Greg Bear

Release: 16 February

February is looks like a particularly good month for fans of historical fantasy. Reynard, a young apprentice, meets a stranger who seems to recognize him, someone who casts a white shadow. After many violent conflicts, the boy finds himself implicated in a war between humans and gods.

The Russian Cage by Charlaine Harris

Release: 23 February

February brings many historical fantasy novels, including The Russian Cage by No1 NY Times and USA TODAY author Charlaine Harris, In this alternative history – the 3d book in the Gunnie Rose trilogy, Lisbeth Rose must save her partner Prince Eli who is imprisoned in an alternative Russian, presenting in Harris' book as an empire.

Stormbreak by Natalie C. Parker

Release: 23 February

In the exciting conclusion of the Seafire fantasy pirate trilogy Captain Caledonia finds that the war is far from over and she might have to work with her enemy to end it.

The Desolations of Devil's Acre by Ransom Riggs

Release: 23 February

It's been many years since we first fell in love with the adventures of Miss Peregrine's peculiar children and the creepy photographs that accompany Riggs' writing. At 500 pages, the 6th and final instalment will hopefully tie all loose ends in Riggs' signature creepy, mysterious way.

Never Have I Ever by Isabel Yap

Release: 23 February

This intriguing anthology tells stories of spells, magic, lgbtq+ identities and immigration.

Calculated Risks by Seanan McGuire

Release: 23 February

The tenth book of the InCryptid follows Sarah, an adopted Price cousin whose powers have been altered after her birth family forced her to undergo a medical procedure. Now she's trapped in another dimension with people she knows, but who cannot remember her.

Appendix N: The Eldritch Roots of Dungeons & Dragons edited by Peter Bebergal

Release: 23 February

Not fiction, my ideal for D&D fans who want to find out more about the popular tabletop game and its origins.

The Shadow War by Lindsay Smith

Release: 23 February

The Shadow War is yet another February release with speculative elements that takes place at the time of WWII. Added to the real danger of the Nazis is the fantastic dangers of monsters in another dimension.

Sun Daughters, Sea Daughters by Aimee Ogden

Release: 23 February

A loose Little Mermaid retelling with sci-fi elements, the book follows humans who have adapted to survive in environments they otherwise would not. Atuale, the daughter of the sea-clan lord, who defied her father and married for love, finds herself indebted to a witch who happens to be her former lover.

Escaping Exodus: Symbiosis by Nicky Drayden

Release: 23 February

Years after the destruction of the earth, humans live inside space-dwelling creatures. Ruler Doka tries to do the best for the remainder of his people, but when he falls for a woman he should not, the stakes become higher than ever.

Glow by Tim Jordan

Release: 23 February

The titular Glow is a powerful nano-tech drug that can inhabit multiple hosts and alter them beyond recognition. Worse of all, it's addictive. In this gloomy setting, the narrative follows a drug addict, the founder of Corporation supposed to restore humanity, and an assassin as they try to find some purpose.

Other great SFF books releasing later in the years are Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare and Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. The Winds of Winter by George R. R. Martin and TheDoors of Stone by Patrick Rothfuss might not have a release date yet but you might still want to check out what we know so far.

Related: A Court of Silver Flames Special Edition, Dust Jacket, Sample Excerpts, and Where to Pre-order, Kindle Edition, News and More!

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