Welcome to Future Fiction, my reimagining of the Waiting on Wednesday meme! There are so many amazing new books coming out, that I can no longer pick just one. My goal with Future Fiction is to share at least three new books each week, a combination of recent cover reveals and books that I’ve recently added to my TBR pile. I’m still going to be linking up with Wishful Endings/Can’t Wait Wednesday, and I also want to give a shout out to Jill at Breaking the Spine for starting the original Waiting on Wednesday meme. I hope you’ll find some new books to add to your TBR piles, and as always, I look forward to hearing what YOU’RE looking forward to:-D
Today I’m highlighting new books in the horror, fantasy and science fiction genres, take a look:
An Icelandic night may hide secrets and affairs—or even bodies—in this gruesomely cathartic horror thriller from the author of The Night Guest.
Unnur was living a normal, if lonely, life until a black cat showed up at her door.Trying to do the right thing, Unnur reunites the lost pet with its owner—a young woman named Ásta who is in desperate need of some help. Unnur reluctantly agrees to take in the cat until Ásta is able to care for it again herself.
Soon, Ásta becomes a fixture in Unnur’s life and the two form an unlikely friendship. But like a black cat, trouble is tailing Ásta, and Unnur is the only one there when things take a violent turn.
Nothing tests a friendship like blood on your hands.
Dead Weight by Hildur Knútsdóttir. Releases in May 2026 from Tor Nightfire. I really loved Knútsdóttir’s last book, The Night Guest, so I’m very excited to read this.
A man must fight for his planet against impossible odds when gamers from Earth attempt to remotely annihilate it in this epic, fast-paced novel from the New York Times bestselling author of the smash-hit Dungeon Crawler Carl.
All colonist Oliver Lewis ever wanted to do is run the family ranch with his sister, maybe play a gig or two with his band, and keep his family’s aging fleet of intelligent agriculture bots ticking as long as possible. As a fan of Earth television and culture, he figures it will be a good thing when the transfer gate finally opens all the way and restores instant travel and full communication between Earth and his planet, New Sonora. But there’s a complication.
Even though the settlers were promised they’d be left in peace, Earth’s government now has other plans. The colossal Apex Corporation is hired to commence an “eviction action.” But maximizing profits will always be Apex’s number one priority. Why spend money printing and deploying their own AI soldiers when they can turn it into a game? Why not charge bored Earthers for the opportunity to design their own war machines and remotely pilot them from the comfort of their own homes?
The game is called Operation Bounce House.
Oliver and his friends soon find themselves fighting for their lives against machines piloted by gamers who’ve paid a premium for the privilege. With the help of an old book from his grandfather and a bucket of rusty parts, Oliver is determined to defend the only home he’s ever known.
Operation Bounce House by Matt Dinniman. Releases in February 2026 from Ace Books. I hesitated to feature this book, although I know that Dinniman’s Dungeon Crawler Carl series is super popular. But I didn’t like it, and his new book sounds like it’s much more of the same. But hey, I’m curious, and I do love the cover!
In the sunny city of Singapore, the government takes care of everything – even the weird stuff. Benjamin Toh is a middle manager in the Department for Engagement of Unusual Stakeholders (DEUS), tasked with taking care of the supernatural occurrences and people no one else wants to deal with, from restless ghosts to immortal gods to conniving jinn. Overworked and under-resourced, he has to juggle the demands of senior management, an elderly father, and a new boyfriend, all while trying to keep his team out of trouble.
When an entire block of flats goes missing in the town of Clementi, drowned in an otherworldly wave, the information he needs to prevent another catastrophe lies in the pasar bayang – the shadow markets. But the demigod protector of the markets has neither forgotten nor forgiven their humiliation by the Singapore authorities decades ago. Ben will need to wrestle with the legacy of his government and the whispers of his own insecurities, navigating landscapes both urban and fantastical, both inside the soul and outside the real world, all so he can just do his goddamn job.
City of Others by Jared Poon. Releases in January 2026 from Orbit Books. This sounds like such a fun fantasy with lots of cool elements. The fact that there are tentacles and a cat on the cover lead me to believe there will be lots of humor in this as well.
All of these look great! I’m excited for City of Others and curious about Operation Bounce House. I wonder if it will feel like Dungeon Crawler Carl or not.
It seems very similar to DCC, even the cover, lol. I guess we’ll see!
I see tentacles! And you know I’m a sucker (pun intended) for tentacles. I also love the sound of Dead Weight. I hope to start the Dungeon Crawler Carl series before the end of the year. I’m convinced I will love it and afraid I’m wrong I did get an arc of this new one though. Great picks this week!
I’m curious to see what you think of DCC. I feel like I’m the only person who didn’t like it, lol.
I think I really need to try Dinniman soon!
I’ll be curious to see what you think
I’m also curious about CITY OF OTHERS! The synopsis looks interesting for Diniman’s new book. I haven’t read Dungeon Crawler Carl and honestly I probably won’t ever…doesn’t sound very interesting to me, but the synopsis of this upcoming one does sound more interesting.
I’m not a Dungeon Crawler Carl fan, but I feel like I need to give him another try.
Oooh, Dead Weight! I loved her first book, and didn’t know there was a new one coming! Definitely going to be a must-read for me!
I’m so glad she has another book!
Tentacles on covers are all the rage lately LOL. Cats…well, there’s no shortage of them either. I’ll keep an eye on that book…
Tentacles and cats are EVERWHERE, lol.
When I saw the cover of City of Others I was like oooooooh tentacles now I’m intrigued! And the synopsis makes it sound like a good story as well.
Anything with tentacles grabs my attention too
I’m excited about all of these! I am cautiously optimistic about Operation Bounce House (although I love the DCC series!) because I feel like it could be hit or miss lol.
It sounds a lot like DCC, but I may try it!
City of Others has a cool cover.
I love the cover too!
I also really enjoyed The Night Guest so I’d be very up for trying Dead Weight.
Agreed, I’m hoping for more of the same creepy vibes.
I can say with certainty that I haven’t read an Icelandic horror book before. Very interesting!
I need to find more Icelandic horror authors, because she is really good!
Im sure loads of people will be excited to see another book by Matt Dinniman although I have to admit that I’m never sure that DCC will be for me. I’ll probably try it eventually, as the hype makes me curious, but I have a lot of other books I want to read first. The last title sounds interesting. I may wait to see some reviews before adding it to my TBR because it could be too strange for me but at the same time I’m intrigued.
Too be honest, the Matt Dinniman book looks and sounds a lot like DCC. I would like to give the author another try!
I like the cover son all of these, Dead Weight caught my eye.
I love the simplicity of the cover of Dead Weight!
I am curious about all three of them! It’s true that the one I am the more curious about is Operation Bounce House because I am really enjoying DCC (I think it’s a tad overhyped, but that’s another story) but the other two sound interesting too!!
Ohhh very excited for Dead Weight! I hadn’t seen that the cover was released, pretty color! The other two look very interesting too, I love how quirky they seem, I will be needing them too, I think!
Wishing for the next Dungeon Crawler Carl book, but I did snag a review copy of Operation Bounce House in the meantime to sate my Matt Dinniman addiction!
Oooh, City of Others sounds great! I’m going to have to keep an eye out for that one.
I’m not sold yet on Dungeon Crawler Carl. I haven’t read the books, but I did check book one out of my library intending to read it, and disliked the opening so much that I turned it back in without reading more than the first couple of pages. I am a fan of LitRPG in general, but I think Matt Dinniman’s sense of humor might not be for me.