Most Anticipated SFF Releases: April 2021

We’re starting to get into some incredibly busy release months, with some of my most highly anticipated releases for the whole year up ahead! This month is notable for me in that almost all my picks are sci-fi! I don’t read as much of the genre as I do fantasy, but I still love a good space opera or a cast of alien characters. So let’s get to it, shall we?

   

THE HELM OF MIDNIGHT by Marina J. Lostetter
Release Date: April 13th, 2021
Before we get to all the sci-fi goodies, we have a DARK fantasy mystery. When the magical death mask of a famed serial killer is stolen, Krona Hirvath and her fellow Regulators must track down the thieves. The stakes aren’t merely recovering stolen property. The death mask contained the spirit of the serial killer, and a new wave of deaths is now sweeping through the city. I’ve seen some good early reviews for THE HELM OF MIDNIGHT, and I’ve definitely flagged it to check out later this year!

THE GALAXY, AND THE GROUND WITHIN by Becky Chambers
Release Date: April 20th, 2021
The bittersweet approach of the final WAYFARERS book! These are such warm, cozy sci-fi adventures and I’ve loved them all. I have to admit, it wasn’t until I wrote this post that I actually looked up a synopsis for this book, I’m that sold on this series and Becky Chambers as a whole. THE GALAXY, AND THE GROUND WITHIN is set at essentially a galactic truck stop for long haul ships, where the Five-Hop One-Stop provides a place to rest, refuel, and resupply. But a breakdown of technology leaves the owner of the Five-Hop One Stop stranded on the planet with her child and three other strangers, they’re left with nothing to do but wait until help arrives. Wait, and figure out what exactly it is they’re doing with their lives.

   

THE LAST WATCH by J.S. Dewes
Release Date: April 20th, 2021
Quiet melodramas in space not your cup of tea? How about a military vessel full of court-martialed soldiers and rejects that’s the only thing standing between the galaxy and its own destruction? THE LAST WATCH is the start of a new sci-fi series and is full of the “ship full of misfits” trope that I love. I hope to get to my ARC in the next few weeks, so stand by for a review!

FUGITIVE TELEMETRY by Martha Wells
Release Date: April 27th, 2021
I was so excited to read the new Murderbot Diary that I finally cracked and let it jump the line in my TBR pile. And it was SO worth the wait! FUGITIVE TELEMETRY features Murderbot solving a murder, and I will never tire of saying that. Honestly, it might be my favorite of the series, and if it isn’t, it’s a close second. If you’re looking for a mystery in space with an introverted, sarcastic security unit, FUGITIVE TELEMETRY is for you!

And those are my picks! What releases are you excited for this month?