This week brings new releases from Victoria Aveyard, Alice Hoffman, Hannah Kaner, Garth Nix, and Ken Liu, alongside the return of Cemetery Boys, another Hell Divers prequel, and the ninth installment of Reborn as a Demonic Tree.
From pirate romantasy and dangerous royal courts to living spaceships and cultivation wars, here are 12 of the biggest fantasy, sci-fi and LitRPG books releasing this week, September 6–12, 2026.
Tempest by Victoria Aveyard
Victoria Aveyard, author of Red Queen and Realm Breaker, makes her adult fantasy debut with the first book in The Lyrian Sea, a pirate adventure built around romance, betrayal, and a war for control of the seas.
Official book description:
Cat Rose knows what it is to live in two worlds, in two times. Before—as Lady Catrine Rose of the Meridian Empire, chained to a loathsome lord with a dwindling fortune. And after—as the Widow Rose, queen of a pirate tavern in the Lyrian Sea, determined to be the master of her own fate.
But tides turn and winds change. The Meridian Empire looms on the horizon, the full weight of her navy falling on the Lyrian, bent on reclaiming the wealthy colonies and crushing the pirate republic once and for all. Ship after ship is captured, save for one, captained by a pirate who continually evades both noose and blade: the legendary Valerian Kane.
With his fearsome ship and uncanny connection to the song of the sea, Valerian is the only man who might rally the pirates who remain. The only man who threatens the Empire. And the only man Cat has ever loved, blazing in and out of her life like a star.
Desperate for victory, the Empire offers Cat a devastating choice: bring them Valerian or hang. In truth, no choice at all.
But Cat Rose is nothing if not a survivor.
A storm is rising on the Lyrian. What will it leave in its wake?
The Witches of Cambridge by Alice Hoffman
Alice Hoffman begins a new witchcraft series following two young women at Radcliffe College in the 1950s, combining historical fantasy, friendship, and a secret society threatened by disappearances.
From the official book description:
By the 1950s, Cambridge, Massachusetts feels far removed from the legendary witch trials that marked its early days as a colony. Ava, a bright young woman from a small town in Maine, arrives for her first year at Radcliffe College. There, she meets Lauren, her opposite in every way—the wild and brazen daughter of a wealthy and well-established Cambridge family. But the two have more in common than they think. Both are recruited by the Lilith Society, a secret organization of witches at Radcliffe dating back to colonial times. As they learn more about their legacy, Ava and Lauren form a close bond that is put to the test as they learn to navigate their new power, friendship, and love.
While Radcliffe seems like a safe haven, the shadow of McCarthyism looms large, an ever-present threat to the flourishing creative and intellectual life in Cambridge. And as girls from the Lilith Society begin to go missing, Ava and Lauren realize the witch trials of the past may not be as deeply buried as they once believed.
A Snake Among Swans by Hannah Kaner
The author of Godkiller launches a new fantasy trilogy about a conquered kingdom’s surviving heir, an unwanted royal marriage, and the forbidden magic that might help her reclaim her homeland.
From the official book description:
Tilde has always heard the whispers of the kithwood, the voices of her ancestors speaking through the mysterious forest of her homeland. But now both the kithwood and her kingdom are in danger, for Tilde is the only surviving heir of a conquered land. To stop the bloodshed, she must marry the aging Swan King, Liran, and bear him a son.
But the king’s court is dangerous. Liran’s older sons will do whatever it takes to remove Tilde. And her presence stirs conflict in the heart of Liran’s daughter, the princess Elise, who has only ever known loyalty to her family.
Yet none of them know that Tilde is a snake in their midst, with allies on her side and dark, forbidden power of her own. She wants her kingdom back, and she will sacrifice everything to claim it.
For the queen to rise, the swans must fall.
Cemetery Boys: Espíritu by Aiden Thomas
Aiden Thomas returns to Cemetery Boys with a sequel that shifts the focus toward Julian, his relationship with Yadriel, and the unsettling consequences of his return to life.
From the official book description:
Ever since Julian was sacrificed as part of a forbidden ritual, he has been able to see and talk with spirits. And that’s really cool, since it allows him to be part of his new boyfriend’s community. But Julian’s seeing other things, too: flickers at the edge of his vision, eyes burning in the night, and “dark spots” on people―gaping wounds that thrum and bleed shadow. Yadriel has never heard of anything like it, either, and he’s so busy with his new brujx responsibilities that Julian hates for his problems to ruin what little time they have together.
Then a strange new brujx shows up. Angel, as a nonbinary bruje, can heal the living and release the dead, but more than that, they can also see the same dark spots as Julian. Despite Yadriel’s reservations, Julian eagerly accepts their help. But, Angel’s ruthless methods feel wrong to Julian.
With the shadows growing darker and the discovery of a gaping dark spot on his friend Luca, Julian has to decide who he wants to put his trust in, and just how far he’s willing to go to save what is his.
Pictures of You by Josh Malerman
The author of Bird Box and Incidents Around the House returns with a horror novel about a woman who wakes in an unfamiliar room and discovers she has become the subject of an artist’s dangerous work.
From the official book description:
After a magical night out on the town with her boyfriend Jack, Emily wakes alone in a huge bed in a beautiful, well-lit room. But the pink ceiling, the mauve walls, and the deep, dark corners are nothing like the hotel she and Jack rented.
More worrisome yet: Emily has no memory of this place from the night before.
Where is she?
Massif by Garth Nix
Garth Nix moves into adult science fiction with a standalone space adventure about a crew investigating the enormous, living mountain ranges that carry humanity between the stars.
From the official book description:
It’s business as usual for Ship Leader Parnell Shi-Sawahla and the crew of the corvette Sassafras. Ride a Massif to a new system, fight the enemy, repeat. For more than two hundred years humans have been hitching rides on these sentient, starfaring mountain ranges, colonizing planets and exporting an on and off again war between Earth and Mars.
But the big questions are always there, behind every battle, every new colony, every new star system discovery.
Disenchanted by Lucy Jane Wood
Lucy Jane Wood follows Rewitched and Uncharmed with another cozy fantasy, this time about a witch determined to give up magic who accidentally unleashes a curse that brings fairy tales to life.
From the official book description:
Sage Hemlock has no interest in embracing her witchy side. Magic has betrayed her before, bringing nothing but heartache, and she will not let something so foolish happen again.
Instead, Sage has thrown herself into her work and studies, running the local museum and largely preferring the company of her library and her cat to other humans. Her one goal is to fly under the coven’s radar so that she can finally shed her blasted powers forever.
But when a strange historical book accidentally sets off a curse, Sage’s quiet small-town life is suddenly overrun and magic is running rife. A beanstalk grows in her garden, and her friend and coworker Casimir starts to look an awful lot like a handsome prince. Fairy tales are coming true. . . .
Now, with the threat of the coven on her tail, Sage must confront the magic she’s always denied to solve the mysteries of the book and save everyone she’s come to love from being lost to a fairy tale forever. The question is, can she finally learn to be her own happily ever after?
The Passing of the Dragon and Other Stories by Ken Liu
Ken Liu returns to short fiction with a new collection following The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories and The Hidden Girl and Other Stories, exploring creativity, identity, memory, and human connection through science fiction and fantasy.
From the official book description:
In these tales, dragons soar over small towns, mech-animals dream of freedom, and techno-witches weave spells against a world ruled by machines. A painter wrestles with transcendence, an aging scorpion helps his daughter escape tradition, and a consciousness aboard a starship witnesses the death and rebirth of the cosmos.
September 8 is the US release date; the UK edition arrived September 3.
Traitors’ Nest by Frances Hardinge
Frances Hardinge, author of The Lie Tree and Unraveller, returns with a YA fantasy about a teenage rebel trying to protect his family in a kingdom where powerful Players move entire castles across the landscape.
From the official book description:
Far above the valleys and villages of the Kingdom of Thaletal, a Great Game is played. Players move castles around the realm like chess pieces―and the ordinary villagers are mere pawns at the whim of their tactics.
When fifteen-year-old Burr’s peaceful village is disrupted by the arrival of an ominous new castle, he decides he’s had enough. But what starts as a plucky coup soon escalates―and then the castle is wrenched away to a far-flung corner of the kingdom, where whispers mount of a mysterious ancient maiden whose magpies collect her debts at dangerous prices.
Here, the stakes are higher than the tallest turrets, and every move counts. Burr must work with his sisters and friends―and rely on the unexpected help of an intriguing heiress―to unravel the secrets of the Magpie Maiden and the origins of the Great Game before he becomes just another casualty of the Players’ deadly contest.
Burning Skies: A Hell Divers Prequel, Part II by Nicholas Sansbury Smith
Release Date: September 8 — print and ebook
Nicholas Sansbury Smith continues his Hell Divers prequel story, following survivors on the irradiated ground and aboard an endangered airship as humanity takes its first steps toward becoming the Hell Divers.
From the official book description:
On the ground, Cecil Pepper and his wife race against radioactive death, searching frantically for a bunker that might spare them from the inferno raining from above. But even if they can find shelter, an inescapable realization dawns: Walls of concrete and steel may shield them from fallout, but not from the horrors evolving in this new, forsaken world.
High above the radioactive surface, Santiago Rodriguez and his family have secured passage aboard the airship Persephone. Their relief is short-lived, however, as massive, violent storms form across the planet. But even if they escape nature’s fury, the sky offers no permanent refuge. As supplies dwindle, an impossible choice emerges: Slowly starve in the clouds, or risk salvaging in the razed wasteland below. To survive, brave soldiers must descend into the irradiated hell that was once Earth, diving through toxic skies to scavenge the ruins of civilization – becoming the first of a new breed of warriors known as the Hell Divers.
Reborn as a Demonic Tree 9 by XKarnation
XKarnation’s cultivation and LitRPG series reaches its ninth installment as the Ashfallen Sect prepares to confront the Celestial Empire and challenge the established balance of power.
From the official book description:
For as long as anyone can remember, the Celestial Empire has ruled over the Ninth Layer of creation with unmatched authority. Their citizens enjoy a life of peace and prosperity, while their cultivators grow in strength by feasting on the golden sap of the enslaved World Tree.
It’s no wonder the wilderness was considered a monster-infested land, filled with barbaric demonic sects and savages, unworthy of their notice.
But their hubris is about to be tested by a lone force, blooming from the carcass of the Blood Lotus Sect and ruled over by a demonic tree. Unknown to the old monsters in the Celestial Empire, the Ashfallen Sect is about to tip the scales of power and begin a war unlike the Nine Realms have ever seen.
Absolon Creed by R. S. Ford
R. S. Ford, author of the Age of Uprising trilogy, returns with a grimdark fantasy about a brutal knight and an inexperienced initiate investigating murders in a city threatened by monsters, corruption, and betrayal.
From the official book description:
Bastion, a once-shining capital, teeters on the brink of ruin. Its grand spires are crumbling and its nobility fight over scraps, all while eldritch creatures stalk the streets. The only thing standing in the way of its utter destruction is the Order of Draken: a knightly order more brutal than the threats the city faces. And its most brutal champion… Absolon Creed.
When two nobles are found murdered in a manner most grotesque, suspicions arise about a traitor within the Order itself. Creed is tasked with investigating, and for his sins he is saddled with a partner: Guenivar Blackmere, a daughter of nobility and the Order’s newest, and most untested, initiate.
Together, they are plunged into Bastion’s fetid underbelly, where warlocks rub elbows with corrupt nobles and necromancers cavort with the dead. Guenivar must learn fast or perish under Creed’s cold tutelage. Her mentor is quick to anger, and about as friendly as a cornered wolf, but that is the only way to survive these unforgiving streets.But as the investigation deepens, Guenivar discovers a secret about him that could shatter everything she believed about the order and its heroes. While Creed himself must defeat the ghosts he’s spent years trying to bury… before they bury Bastion itself.
Catch up on last week’s picks in our September 1 fantasy and sci-fi book releases roundup.
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