One of the great pleasures of being human is finding out what things bring us joy, and the pursuit of those things. For instance, perhaps you love to read, but you haven’t picked up anything in the science fiction or fantasy genres yet. If that’s the case—welcome! Come on in, the water’s fine.
For readers looking to get started in SFF, sometimes it’s best to begin with gentle, low-stakes novels. Like books with great characters and stories, but not so many characters and place names, or made-up words, that you need a glossary to keep track. (Those books come later, and they’re also rad.) So here are five great books released in 2026 that are perfect for readers new to the genres, or anyone just looking for an excellent read. Enjoy!
Strange Animals by Jarod K. Anderson
After a near-death experience, Green decides to leave city life and commune with nature for a while. But his journey into the Appalachian Mountains puts him in touch with more nature than he was expecting. As he explores the wilderness, Green will learn secrets about the world and himself, with the help of a curmudgeonly old lady living at the campsite.
Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett
In this historical fantasy set in Montreal, the owner of a cat shelter must find a new location after her existing storefront is destroyed in a magic battle. Agnes Aubert thinks she has found the perfect new location, until she discovers her landlord is a powerful magician, and that he sells black-market magical items out of the back.
Sublimation by Isabel J. Kim
This sci-fi debut is already slated to be an upcoming series, so read it now! It’s about a world where people who immigrate leave behind a literal copy of themselves, known as an instance. These instances go about their lives, while the original creates a new life for themselves in a new country. But what happens when the original wants to rejoin with their instance, and what happens to their separate lives?
Swords and Spaceships
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The Fountain by Casey Scieszka
This excellent speculative debut looks at the cost of immortality. Two centuries ago, Vera Van Valkenburgh accidentally became immortal, and in order to keep her secret, she isn’t able to live in one place for very long. It’s an exhausting life, and Vera has had enough. Determined to find out what caused her condition and find a way to reverse it, she returns to her hometown. But it turns out that someone else knows about Vera’s secret and is looking to exploit it for themselves.
Witch Queen Rising by Savannah Stephens
Last but not least is this fantasy debut about an outcast witch in New Orleans. After many years of exile, misunderstood Seraphine Barreau is brought back to fulfill her destiny and rule over the city’s witchkin. But she’ll need the help of werewolves and vampires, as well as other witches, to gain her community’s trust and discover the source of a poisonous curse afflicting the witchkin.
Okay, star bits, now take the knowledge you have learned here today and use it for good, not evil. If you want to know more about books, I talk about books pretty much nonstop (when I’m not reading them), and you can hear me say lots of adjectives about them on the Book Riot podcast All the Books! and on Instagram.
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