2026 Locus Reviewers’ Summer Picks
Article excerpt
Locus Magazine's reviewers share their most anticipated summer releases, including John Wiswell's upcoming novel The Dragon Has Some Complaints, set for July publication from DAW. Reviewer A.C. Wise expresses enthusiasm for Wiswell's third book, citing the author's track record of deconstructing genre conventions, his previous works reimagined monstrousness and heroism. The roundup showcases what the science fiction and fantasy community is reading as temperatures rise.
“I’m really looking forward to The Dragon Has Some Complaints (DAW) by John Wiswell, coming out in July! I’m excited because I loved Wiswell’s first two novels and the way they respectively deconstructed and reimagined the idea of monstrousness and heroism respectively. I can’t wait to see what he does with the fantasy staple of dragons!”
, A.C. Wise
“Sea of Charms (Bramble 7/26) by Sarah Beth Durst! The latest entry in Durst’s cozy series following The Spellshop and The Enchanted Greenhouse, showcases yet again her outstanding world building. While the romance definitely charms, it is her characters’ acts of steadfast rebellion in the midst of political upheaval that elevates this romantasy above the rest. Great poolside reading!”
, Colleen Mondor
“Summer means fat beach reads, but sometimes something else appeals. Hugo and Nebula Award-winner James Patrick Kelly looks at the nuances of the AI revolution and more in his fascinating new collection, The Book of Bots (Fairwood 8/26). One of the collections of the year, and perfect for when you’re sipping a cocktail on the porch on a hot summer’s evening when you’re pondering the end times.”
, Jonathan Strahan
“I’m looking forward to James Patrick Kelly’s forthcoming collection The Book of Bots. I love short story collections, Kelly is a master of the form, robots is one of my favorite subgenres, and these days small press releases often provide me with my favorite genre reading experiences!”
, Alvaro Zinos-Amaro
“The Sourdough Compendium (Titan 6/26) by A.G. (Angela) Slatter: A whopping 688 pages of short stories compiled from three previous mosaic collections, Sourdough and Other Stories, The Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings, and The Tallow- Wife and Other Tales, all based in Slatter’s Sourdough universe. For those of us lucky enough to have been immersed in this darkly fantastic world for fifteen years or so, there will be no surprises; for newcomers oriented only since the recent novels, it will be a thrill to discover more of the mythology. Both will be delighted.”
, Paula Guran
“I am looking forward to Robert Jackson Bennett’s A Trade of Blood (Del Rey 8/26) because I have enjoyed the first two books immensely, and I really want to know both how Bennett develops the relationship between Ana and Din and what he shows of how the empire works (and might unravel).”
, Alexandra Pierce
“Jo Walton’s Everybody’s Perfect (Tor 6/26) caught my eye, partly because I’ve been meaning to catch up on her work (a bunch of her titles are sitting in the TBR pile) and partly because the promo material has me wondering whether this might be something along the lines of John M. Ford’s wonderful Aspects.”
, Russell Letson
“I’m excited about Temi Oh’s new science fiction novel Not With A Bang (Saga), out in the US in July. The book centers around reactions to an incoming celestial object, which is one of my favorite setups in science fiction. It’s even a key plot point in my own forthcoming novel The Fist Of Memory, but while I use it in that novel as a geopolitical driver, Temi Oh seems to be using it in a more intimate way to examine a family at breaking point. I loved Do You Dream Of Terra-Two and More Perfect and I am excited to see what she does with this.”
, Wole Talabi
“Daggerbound (Bramble 8/26) by T. Kingfisher is the title I’m most looking forward to this summer, if only to return to a world where the Order of the White Rat and their devotion to order and bureaucracy is a respite from what we are enduring right now. But Kingfisher offers so much more, like a little romance, a lot of humor, and just enough peril to keep it engaging.”
, Adrienne Martini
“There are two books I’m particularly excited for: I’m excited for Naomi Kritzer’s Obstetrix (Tordotcom 6/26), because Kritzer is never less than interesting, and this sounds like a sharp and timely near-future thriller. I’m very eager to read T. Kingfisher’s Daggerbound. Her fantasy is always vivid, entertaining, and filled with relatable characters, and I’ve been waiting for a sequel to Swordheart for the last eight years. Now it’s nearly here.”
, Liz Bourke
The post 2026 Locus Reviewers’ Summer Picks appeared first on Locus.