The Most Anticipated Books of 2026

A grieving scientist encounters a glowing dome in Antarctica whose particle physics may prove a universe where time runs backward — and offer her a way to undo her own past.

There is so much packed into this novel. It approaches time travel in a way I have never read before, operating at a level of complexity that makes an intrinsically tricky subject even more mind-bending. Chloe Benjamin puts immense thought (and plenty of layman-accessible science) behind the mechanics and execution, while sprinkling in dozens of tongue-in-cheek moments to remind us not to get bogged down in the details and simply go along for the ride.

And it's so good. It is confusing at times, as a story that moves in two directions naturally could be, but it's smart and heartfelt and as buttoned-up as I needed something this speculative to be. It will make you think on several levels, and it will likely have you pondering portions of the book for weeks or months to come.

In a year full of strong releases, Under Story sets a new standard. Its creativity is off the charts, the plotting is meticulous, and the emotional weight of the story is brilliantly handled. Quite simply, it's the best book I've read all year (or at least it was before I read The Pirate Queen!)

Jean's 2024 novel The Return of Ellie Black was one of the better thrillers I read that year, and Before You Were Anne reunites readers with detective Chelsey Calhoun who debuted in Ellie Black. In this latest offering, a woman is found dead and her sixteen-year-old daughter is missing. Once again, Calhoun must unravel a mystery in order to find a missing person before it's too late.

It's not another installment in his Hierarchy series (The Will of the Many, The Strength of the Few), but I will happily read some cyberpunk from James Islington while I wait. In this short installment, Islington imagines a world in which the wealthy elite have developed a way to live forever, and society reacted by making it legal to take out hits on them, giving rise to an entire assassin economy.

Islington uses this hook to build an intriguing cyberpunk world and a multi-layered mystery focused around a single assassin contracted to protect, rather than kill, his client. The story blends high-octane action with a gradual reveal of secrets, grounded in dystopian world-building and lightly explained technology. At a brisk 240 pages (from an author whose books are usually three times that length), the narrative skips heavy exposition to focus on the immediate plot.

And it works, for the most part. Readers are whisked along at a fast pace; just as you catch your breath, another attack jolts you back into the action. While Scion reads somewhat like a side project (because it was), it has enough strong foundational elements that make it better than that description suggests. The novel sets up a clear path for future installments. My hope is that the sequel gets the full-length treatment—with no corners cut or loose ends left dangling—allowing this side project to evolve into another fully realized series.

Like an Irish version of Braveheart, at sea, with a badass woman at the helm, it reimagines the life of Ireland's legendary pirate queen Grace O'Malley.

The Pirate Queen has bits of everything: heroes and villains, romance and tragedy, humor and despair. It is more action-packed than I initially expected, and it's really good. While the tall tales of Grace's legendary life provided a great framework, this shows Lawhon operating on another level from what I saw in The Frozen River (which was in my Top 20 of 2024, by the way); I can't overstate how well she builds a complete story around that unique life.

Just a week after Under Story claimed the #1 spot in my 2026 rankings, The Pirate Queen might have already eclipsed it. This is one I will be universally recommending for years to come.

Another novel, another genre for prolific author R.F. Kuang (Yellowface, Katabasis). This time Kuang focuses on a Chinese-American student who enrolls in an intensive language program in Taipei for the summer. While there, she's forced to deal with unexpected culture shock, self-discovery, and a family history she thought she knew but didn't.

In a fractured near-future world, a set of bizarre events at a party suggest that there may be a parallel universe, and potentially a path to reach it.

Having recently read Under Story, Chloe Benjamin's brilliant take on an alternate universe narrative, it was inevitable that I would measure Exit Party against it. Unfortunately, that comparison found Exit Party lacking. Mandel achieved broad success with her previous novels Station Eleven and Sea of Tranquility, and readers who enjoyed those titles will likely appreciate this latest descent into near-future speculative science fiction. Looking back at my ratings, however, I didn't love either of those earlier books. Despite that, I strangely held a positive association with Mandel's work. I think Exit Party likely confirms that her writing is simply not for me. There is something about how Mandel shapes a story that leaves me unsatisfied. While she manages the ending here better than in her previous books, I was still underwhelmed. If you're in the mood for speculative science and exploration of alternate universes, I suggest you try Under Story instead.

In his first novel for adults, acclaimed author John Green (The Fault in Our Stars, Everything is Tuberculosis) blends a behind-the-scenes Hollywood love story with the pressure and cost of living life in the public eye.

Nadeeka is certain that her partner, Jamie is having an affair. But when she arrives home to confront him, she finds the house strewn with caution tape and Jamie dead. Secrets start to emerge, and it quickly becomes clear that Nadeeka didn't know Jamie as well as she thought. Who would want him dead? She decides to find out.

A picture-perfect French honeymoon ends in a double abduction, followed by a CIA rescue scheme so implausible the plot holes swallow every ounce of suspense.

I wanted to like this one a lot, but for a book penned as an homage to John le Carré's great spy novels, it has major plot holes that le Carré would never have tolerated. Furthermore, the pacing is off, to the point that I was legitimately convinced this was all setup for a cliffhanger that would only be resolved in a sequel. Thankfully, this is a standalone novel that concludes the story. I do not predict there will be a sequel.

Malcolm Gladwell applies his signature approach to analyzing complex problems to America's unique problem with gun violence. No other country has more gun deaths than America—why?

Gladwell's thesis doesn't spare anyone embroiled in the debate over gun control, castigating all involved for the path they've taken. The pedantic (and in some cases willfully ignorant) approach taken by all parties (including the Supreme Court) to analyzing the issue has obliterated any clear path to a solution. Gladwell lays out clear data to support his position, and as in his other books, he is hard to argue with. The result is a step-by-step undoing of several beliefs likely held by many Americans.

My only knock is that the book is essentially compiled transcripts from Gladwell's podcast Revisionist History, and so if you've already listened there, there's no real reason to pick this up. Otherwise, I think this is an essential read for any American.

While we're not getting a new full-length novel in Yarros's Empyrean series this year, we do still get to spend some time with our favorite characters in this collection of thirteen short stories focused on the world of Basgiath War College. It will be interesting to see if Yarros includes any of the signature spice in these stories that lack (ahem) a considerable length.