87 New Debut Novels to Check Out This Season

Here at Goodreads World Headquarters, we like to think January is a great time to discover debut novels. New year, new authors, you see. Finding a new favorite writer lends an air of adventure to the year.
 
We’ve gathered below 87(!) debut novels coming in the first part of the new year. Each of the books below is scheduled to hit shelves between January and May, from across all types, genres, and styles. Some interesting leads, in no particular order:
 
Fans of cerebral science fiction may want to check out Womb City, from author Tlotlo Tsamaase, in which a desperate woman faces off against an oppressive patriarchy (and a vengeful ghost) in a terrifying future Botswana. Down the fantasy aisle, Gareth Brown’s The Book of Doors is about just that—a magical tome that sends a curious New York City librarian through various time-space portals.
 
Historical fiction readers looking for a new perspective on a familiar setting will want to consider Vanessa Chan’s The Storm We Made, a World War II saga of survival and espionage in Japanese-occupied Malaya, circa 1945. For a lighter adventure, Ferdia Lennon’s Glorious Exploits documents a madcap theatrical production, staged smack in the middle of the Peloponnesian War.
 
Click around through the collection and you’ll find a wide range of options: coming-of-age stories, cautionary robot tales, queer romance, harrowing refugee thrillers, and innovative folklore updates (Paul Bunyan meets John Henry). There’s even a new addition to a microgenre particularly beloved by a section of Goodreads members: hot men in kilts.
 
Click on the book cover images below for more details about each title, add any good new leads to your Want to Read shelf, and feel free to swap further recommendations in the comments section.

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