Genre: Hard Sci-fi

The Last Contract of Isako by Fonda Lee Genres: Adult, Science Fiction, Cyberpunk, Hard Sci-fi, Speculative Fiction, AAPI, Noir Published by Orbit on May 4, 2026 Format: Hardcover, Special Edition Pages: 514 Source: Starbright Get ready to be blown away by this searing standalone space opera where corporate samurai fight beneath merciless stars, and death is always a mere breath away. Isako is a legendary swordswoman, but every legend has to come to an end. When her long-time client unexpectedly retires, she plans to follow–to walk out into the frozen wasteland of their planet with her head held high and her family enriched by her legacy. But when a competitor offers her a final mission, it’s one she can’t refuse. Soon, she’s thrust deep into a world of corporate espionage, duty-bound duels, and shadowy secrets. What she uncovers will change humanity’s existence in the stars forever. The Last Contract of Isako is the space opera you didn’t know you needed: corporate samurai… in space. This is the first adult science fiction novel from the award-winning author of Jade City. Mixing together politically motivated corporate strategizing, samurai code of conduct, rigid society resource management, all set on a frozen and desolate …

Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh Genres: Adult, Dystopian, LGBTQ+, Post-Apocalyptic, Science Fiction, Hard Sci-fi, Space Opera, Time Travel Published by Tordotcom on April 10, 2023 Format: Hardcover, Special Edition Pages: 438 Source: Illumicrate While we live, the enemy shall fear us. All her life Kyr has trained for the day she can avenge the murder of planet Earth. Raised in the bowels of Gaea Station alongside the last scraps of humanity, she readies herself to face the Wisdom, the all-powerful, reality-shaping weapon that gave the Majoda their victory over humanity. They are what’s left. They are what must survive. Kyr is one of the best warriors of her generation, the sword of a dead planet. But when Command assigns her brother to certain death and relegates her to the nursery to bear sons until she dies trying, she knows she must take humanity’s revenge into her own hands. Alongside her brother’s brilliant but seditious friend and a lonely, captive alien, she escapes from everything she’s ever known into a universe far more complicated than she was taught and far more wondrous than she could have imagined. A thrillingly told queer space opera about the wreckage of war, the family …

Operation Bounce House by Matt Dinniman Genres: Adult, Satire, Science Fiction, Hard Sci-fi, Speculative Fiction Published by Penguin on February 9, 2026 Format: Hardcover, Special Edition Pages: 390 Source: The Broken Binding All New Sonoran colonist Oliver Lewis ever wanted to do is run the family ranch and keep their aging fleet of intelligent agriculture bots ticking.  But now the colossal Apex corporation has been hired to commence an ‘eviction action’ – exterminate all life on New Sonora in preparation for a reboot. And they charge bored Earthers for the opportunity to design their own war machines, remotely pilot them and make it a game.  The game is called OPERATION BOUNCE HOUSE…  And New Sonora is its playing field.  Determined to defend the only home he’s ever known, Oliver and his friends find themselves fighting for their lives against these machines.  To Earth it’s a game, but to Oliver, it’s war. This book may be unsuitable for people under 17 years of age due to its use of sexual content, drug and alcohol use, and/or violence. There are many ways one could describe Matt Dinniman’s scifi novel Operation Bounce House, but what I’ve settled on is “refreshingly brilliant”. A self-contained …

Overgrowth by Mira Grant Genres: Adult, Horror, LGBTQ+, Science Fiction, Biopunk, Hard Sci-fi Published by Tor Nightfire on May 5, 2025 Format: Hardcover, Special Edition Pages: 480 Source: Owlcrate Day of the Triffids meets Little Shop of Horrors in this smart, charming, harrowing alien invasion story about being human, by a Hugo-award winning author.  Since she was three years old, Anastasia Miller has been telling anyone who would listen that she’s an alien disguised as a human being, and that the armada that left her on Earth is coming for her. Since she was three years old, no one has believed her.  Now, with an alien signal from the stars being broadcast around the world, humanity is finally starting to realize that it’s already been warned, and it may be too late. The invasion is coming, Stasia’s biological family is on the way to bring her home, and very few family reunions are willing to cross the gulf of space for just one misplaced child.  What happens when you know what’s coming, and just refuse to listen? Most sci-fi alien invasion stories are told from the frontline defenders, innocent bystanders, or the invader themselves, but not many are told from …

Dark Age by Pierce Brown Series: Red Rising Saga #5 Genres: Adult, Fiction, Science Fiction, Thriller Published by Del Ray on July 29, 2024 Format: Hardcover Pages: 704 For a decade Darrow led a revolution against the corrupt color-coded Society. Now, outlawed by the very Republic he founded, he wages a rogue war on Mercury in hopes that he can still salvage the dream of Eo. But as he leaves death and destruction in his wake, is he still the hero who broke the chains? Or will another legend rise to take his place?  Lysander au Lune, the heir in exile, has returned to the Core. Determined to bring peace back to mankind at the edge of his sword, he must overcome or unite the treacherous Gold families of the Core and face down Darrow over the skies of war-torn Mercury.  But theirs are not the only fates hanging in the balance.  On Luna, Mustang, Sovereign of the Republic, campaigns to unite the Republic behind her husband. Beset by political and criminal enemies, can she outwit her opponents in time to save him?  Once a Red refugee, young Lyria now stands accused of treason, and her only hope is a …