I try to keep up with science fiction and fantasy as it comes out, but often I find that I miss something and only catch up with it after everybody else is talking about it (Or, in the case of one book from 2019, after it got nominated for a major award in 2020).

So to help with that, here are some SFF debuts coming in 2021.

Up first, on March 23rd, we have THE UNBROKEN, by C.L. Clark. I think it would be hard to miss this one, as it seems like everyone in my timeline is talking about it, and everybody but me seems to have an ARC. Rude.

From the blurb: In an epic political fantasy unlike any other, two women clash in a world full of rebellion, espionage, and military might on the far outreaches of a crumbling desert empire.

I’m sold on this one from the cover alone, and I’ve followed Clark from her work on short fiction. Add to that the fact that it’s edited by one of my favorite editors of the last couple years, and I’ve got this one on pre-order.

Up next, on April 20th, we have THE LAST WATCH by J. S. Dewes. I got a chance to read this one several months ago. I’ll just go ahead and quote my own blurb of the book:

THE LAST WATCH is an amazing debut. The smart world-building and explode-off-the page action scenes make it perfect for fans of The Expanse and other fast-paced Sci Fi.

Picture the night watch from GAME OF THRONES, but instead of watching on the wall they’re watching at the far reaches of space. And the bad thing that’s out there is coming. Now. This book is action packed, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

And that’s another cool thing about it. The second book in the series is also releasing in 2021, so there’s not long to wait.

June 1st features the release of BACCHANAL, by Veronica Henry. I hadn’t heard of this one, coming from 47 North, but C.L. Clark (novel shown above) clued me into it, and it looks great. I love the cover.

From the author’s website: Evil lives in a traveling carnival roaming the Depression-era South. But the carnival’s newest act, a peculiar young woman with latent magical powers, may hold the key to defeating it. Her time has come.

I’m not sure if this one is for me, as the blurb on Amazon mentions a demon, and I tend to stay away from that kind of thing because it scares the crap out of me. But just looking at it, I think a lot of people are going to be talking about this one this summer.

July will be a busy month, as both of the next two books come out on July 20th. I’ll randomly choose one to list first.

ASSASSIN’S ORBIT by John Appel is pitched at The Golden Girls meets The Expanse with a side of Babylon Five. I don’t know about you, but I’m in from that sentence alone. The author also told me that his agent compared the book to PLANETSIDE when she was pitching it to publishers, and they still decided to buy it, which is pretty cool.

Seriously though, I can see the comparison, as this looks to be a murder mystery that turns out to have a lot more behind it than just a routine investigation.

I’ve asked for an early copy, so hopefully Rebellion (the publisher) will come through for me. They’ve been picking up a lot of really cool looking stuff lately, and I’m excited to check this one out.

As mentioned above, also on July 20th, we’ve got SHE WHO BECAME THE SUN, by Shelley Parker-Chan.

I hadn’t heard much about this one, which may be because it seems to fall on the more literary side of the genre, where I don’t hang out as often. But recently there has been a ton of buzz. I think there’s a chance that this one might be the breakout hit of the year in SFF. I need to get on Edelweiss and see if they’ll send me an early copy.

From the blurb:

MULAN meets THE SONG OF ACHILLES in Shelley Parker-Chan’s SHE WHO BECAME THE SUN, a bold, queer, and lyrical reimagining of the rise of the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty from an amazing new voice in literary fantasy.

The book is set in 14th century China, and features a girl posing as her brother in order to enter a monastery as a novice.

Some other notable SFF debuts coming in 2021

THE HAND OF THE SUN KING, by J.T. Greathouse. This one is coming from Gollancz on August 5th–that’s the British release. I’m not sure when the US release date is, or if there is one yet, but I’m sure it will be sometime after that. It’s about someone whose father is tied very firmly to the empire, but whose mother’s family has always opposed it, and how those divided loyalties pull at him. I tend to like divided loyalties in a story. It makes things messy–in a good way. Kind of like the Daevabad trilogy.

AMONG THIEVES by M.J. Kuhn. There’s not too much out there about this book yet other than what you can find on goodreads, here. But I’m told that it’s a heist book with snarky characters, so I’m in. I do love me a good fantasy heist. I just learned from the author that the release date is tentatively set for September 7th, so I’d expect to see more information about this book in the near future.

THE BLACKTONGUE THIEF by Christopher Buehlman, May 25th. This one is set in a world of goblin wars, stag-sized battle ravens, and assassins who kill with deadly tattoos. This one is new to me, but how can I say no to that?

HALL OF SMOKE BY H.M. Long. This one is coming soon — January 19th. It wasn’t on my radar, but it is now. Featuring an Eangi: a warrior priestess of the Goddess of War, with the power to turn an enemy’s bones to dust with a scream. I obviously haven’t read it, but I’m seeing from others that it is Viking inspired, and since I just binge-watched 6 seasons of Vikings, I’m going to have to check it out.

This certainly isn’t an all inclusive list. If you know of more SF or Fantasy authors who are debuting in 2021, feel free to leave them in the comments and I will check them out.

Tags: Debut Authors, Debut Fantasy, Debut Science Fiction, Debuts