This month brings new releases from renowned authors like Cixin Liu, Stephen Baxter, and John Scalzi. I’m particularly interested in Ian McEwan’s journey into a submerged world of 2119 in Salt Crop. The tale chronicles the downfall of Mason Coil within a fledgling Martian colony, while also capturing my attention is the time-travel noir from the talented Nicholas Binge.

This month, I’m taking a classic route in the New Scientist Book Club with Ursula K. Le Guin’s 1974 masterpiece, The Dispossessed. Join us in reading and see how it stands against today’s best science fiction. But let’s not forget about September 2025…

Literary authors are turning to sci-fi—this isn’t unprecedented (who could forget the 2010s’ Solar?). In his latest, we’re taken back to 2014, reflecting on great poems never to be heard again. Fast-forward to 2119, as lowland Britain finds itself submerged. Scholar Tom Metcalfe delves into early 21st century archives, uncovering the myriad opportunities of the past. He discovers a clue that might lead to “the great lost poem”…

For fans of The Three-Body Problem, Cixin Liu presents a collection of short stories exploring first contact, artificial intelligence, and cosmic dread. With 32 stories included, expect explorations of devoured planets and interstellar crafts.

The hearth serves as the “celestial birthplace” of countless planets, where humanity has flourished for millennia. As an unknown foe covets the wealth of this realm, Commander Ula Breen strategizes to unite diverse forces and retaliate. Will she uncover humanity’s original purpose for coming here?

In a future where coastal cities are submerged and oceans teem with mutated fish, we follow Sailor Skipper, the youngest of three sisters who make a life by collecting and selling ocean plastic. When she receives a mysterious call for help from her oldest sister, Nora, who seeks a remedy for failing crops, she and another sister, Carmen, embark on a perilous journey across the sea. Kitasei, the author of Deep Sky and Stardust Grey, delivers an astonishing tale.

In a time-travel murder investigation, detective Julia Togrimsen (what a name!) returns from retirement to solve the case of a billionaire she once infiltrated. However, she discovers two bodies—both belonging to billionaire Bruno Donaldson. We loved Binge’s previous sci-fi thriller, Dissolution, and anticipate this next offering.

This marks Scalzi’s seventh installment in the Old Man’s War series. After a decade of peace in interstellar space, humanity faces the threat of war from the most advanced alien species yet. Caught in the tumult, bureaucrat Gretchen Trujillo receives a covert mission that could reshape the future for both humans and aliens.

Exile by Mason Coil

I am captivated by the cover and premise of this new novel from the late author of William (which I enjoyed). Set in 2030, this tale reveals a human crew preparing the first Martian colony, only to discover a half-destroyed base. They must question three robots dispatched four years earlier, one of which is still missing…

In a desolate lab in the desert, Kinsey and her team unearth bizarre specimens in the sand. Breaking quarantine to bring one inside, they soon realize it seeks a new host.

This intriguing blend of horror, science fiction, and fantasy captures my attention. Set against a backdrop of ecological dread, Kinsey excavates two ancient bodies found in Somerset Fen, while also exploring “her own wildness,” alongside archaebotanist Nell.