Fantasy! Science fiction! Horror! Well, enough about the news headlines in 2026, let’s talk about books…
 
As part of our ongoing summer reading celebration, we’re traveling down the various genre aisles to spotlight new books that readers can’t wait to get their hands on this summer, according to their Want to Read shelves. Today’s collection is dedicated to the fun stuff—speculative fiction and its adjacent genres, published from May through August. We’ve sorted the list into the usual categories: science fiction, fantasy, and horror. But bear in mind that there are always a lot of blurred lines and crossovers with these genres.
 
Some highlights and starting points, in no particular order: In June, acclaimed YA author Melissa Albert makes her adult fantasy debut with The Children, a haunting family drama that ponders the mysteries of magic, memory, and fantasy literature itself. On the sci-fi shelf, author Matt Dinniman expands his popular intergalactic game show series with A Parade of Horribles. And historical fantasy readers will want to flag Katherine Arden’s The Unicorn Hunters, which explores elements of Breton folklore circa 1490.
 
But the summer’s busiest readers may be Team Horror. The month of May begins a crazy parade of scary stories coming this year. Imani Thompson’s Honey profiles a graduate student’s descent into righteous but murder-y madness. Genre veteran Paul Tremblay gets his Philip K. Dick on with Dead but Dreaming of Electric Sheep. And whether you want the sea to hide or give up its dead, well, the genre’s got a novel for you.
 
Click on the cover art images below to get more information on each title, and use the Want to Read button to add items of interest to your own virtual bookshelf.

 

Want to Read saving… Want to Read Currently Reading Read Did Not Finish

Want to Read saving…

Want to Read saving…