5 Exciting Sci-Fi and Fantasy Debut Novels Coming in 2026

This one sounds bananapants, in the best way! In order to save humanity from an ecological disaster, the enigmatic Project Kairos sends two people through time. Echo ends up in Ancient Athens, while Hazel ends up in the future, the last person left on Earth. Both women have no memory of who they were, except when they sleep, they meet in their dreams, and start to work out the dangers of their operation.

In this urban fantasy, after a disastrous flood two centuries ago destroyed the Hawaiian islands, the five clans were forced to relocate to outer Los Angeles. The flooding also released magic upon the world. The five clans have since existed in their new homeland through a treaty with the city, which is set to expire. But when a prominent activist is killed with illegal magic that could have only come from one of the clans, it puts the possibility of a new treaty and a peaceful existence into jeopardy.

I picked this one up because it also sounded bananapants, and I was correct! It’s a wildly inventive, queer sci-fi about two rival underground gardeners competing in the annual flower pageant. Fighting, backstabbing, and cheating are not off the table, but Purcell and Cyprin will have to put their animosity towards one another aside when they uncover a plot to destroy God, who hangs out at the gardens.

Alix E. Harrow pitched this novel at an event as “Venom in 18th-century France.” How can we say no to that??! Incorporating the myth of the Beast of Gévaudan, it’s about Professor Sebastian Grave, a monster hunter whose attempt to stop the Beast years earlier almost cost him his life. But Sebastian isn’t alone in his fights—there’s a demon named Sarmodel living inside him. And with news that the Beast has returned, maybe this time around, he will succeed…if Sarmodel doesn’t get him into trouble first.

And to end, a dark academia romantasy! Viola has the ability to speak to the dead, but she doesn’t fully understand her magic, and it results in the death of her sister, Olivia. Determined to control her ability before it kills her too, Viola attends the Gorhail Institute of Magic, where she runs afoul of Sylas, a poison mage who hates death mages. But when their fellow students start to die, they must team up to find the killer. (Plus, you know, kissing parts.)