September is bringing a particularly strong crop of fantasy, with everything from magical spy thrillers and cozy fairy-tale adventures to underwater kingdoms and sprawling historical fantasy. Whether you’re looking for an inventive new world to disappear into or the long-awaited conclusion to a beloved trilogy, these six September releases have plenty to offer. There are cursed books, floating empires, secret agents, sea monsters, witches, and mysterious islands waiting to be explored. With so many imaginative stories arriving this month, these are the fantasy titles worth making room for on your TBR.
Wickhills by Premee Mohamed, Tor Books, $ 29.99, 320 pages
What happens when you combine espionage, dark fantasy, secret agents, and a city full of dangerous magic? You get Wickhills. Premee Mohamed drops readers into an elaborate world where Vycol Ferec’s mission to protect a defecting scientist quickly spirals into something much bigger and more dangerous. The novel’s imaginative setting is a major draw, but it’s the constant uncertainty over who Ferec can trust that keeps the story moving. Recent reviews have praised the book’s unusual blend of fantasy and spy thriller elements, along with its immersive worldbuilding. Wickhills is strange, ambitious, and wonderfully unpredictable.
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The Palace Beneath the Sea by Lauren Wiesebron, Harper Voyager, $ 18.99, 384 pages
Underwater kingdoms, forbidden romance, deadly creatures, and a city facing destruction make The Palace Beneath the Sea an especially enchanting fantasy for September. Lauren Wiesebron takes inspiration from the mermaid folktale surrounding the legendary city of Ys and gives the story an adventurous new life. Nolwenn’s journey from devoted lighthouse keeper to reluctant visitor of the mysterious Below-Ys creates plenty of opportunities for wonder, danger, and romance. The underwater world is the real star, filled with strange beauty and creatures unlike anything Nolwenn has known. For readers who enjoy lyrical fantasy with a romantic heart, The Palace Beneath the Sea is an irresistible escape.
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An Empire in the Clouds by Ai Jiang, Titan Books, $ 26.99, 384 pages
Imagine a floating lotus empire, a drowning continent, cyberpunk technology, political conspiracies, and a princess desperate to save her family. That is only the beginning of Ai Jiang’s An Empire in the Clouds. Princess Xīlián’s journey takes her from the isolated empire of Piāo to the environmentally devastated continent of Opera, where she joins forces with her exiled brother and the mysterious No Face. The result is a richly imagined science-fantasy that blends Chinese-inspired aesthetics with futuristic technology and questions of identity, freedom, and revolution. Ai Jiang’s inventive worldbuilding makes An Empire in the Clouds one of September’s most distinctive fantasy debuts.
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Disenchanted by Lucy Jane Wood, Ace, $ 20.00, 400 pages
For anyone who believes fantasy should come with a cozy library, a cat, a little romance, and perhaps an accidentally cursed historical book, Disenchanted has your name on it. Lucy Jane Wood returns to the world of Rewitched and Uncharmed with Sage Hemlock, a reluctant witch who would much rather ignore her powers than use them. Unfortunately, a mysterious book has other plans. Suddenly, fairy-tale magic is taking over her small town, a beanstalk is growing in her garden, and her coworker Casimir is looking suspiciously prince-like. Warm, whimsical, and charmingly chaotic, Disenchanted is a delightful fantasy about accepting the parts of yourself you cannot simply wish away.
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The Gates of Midnight by Helene Wecker, Harper, $ 32.00, 464 pages
Some fantasy releases are exciting because they introduce a new world. Others are exciting because they finally bring a beloved one home. The Gates of Midnight does the latter. Helene Wecker’s long-awaited conclusion to The Golem and the Jinni trilogy returns to Chava and Ahmad in 1930, as the Great Depression reshapes their lives and the wizard Yehudah Schaalman once again threatens everything they have built. With New York, Chicago, and the desert all playing roles in the story, the finale expands the trilogy while bringing its central characters toward a dramatic confrontation. For longtime fans, The Gates of Midnight promises an emotional, richly detailed farewell.
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Beyond the Grave Waits Mist and Sea by Kathleen Kaufman, Kensington, $ 18.95, 336 pages
Fogbound islands and mysterious creatures are usually enough to grab my attention, but Beyond the Graves Waits Mist and Sea adds a particularly intriguing twist: its heroine is a marine biologist searching for a potentially undiscovered species of octopus. Kathleen Kaufman sends Harper Hafdóttir to isolated Bell Island, where strange phenomena, unsettling dreams, a centuries-old journal, and a mysterious matriarchal family begin pulling her toward answers about her own past. The Gothic atmosphere sounds wonderfully thick with secrets, while the scientific elements give the supernatural story an unexpected foundation. With a looming tsunami and a haunted island in the mix, this is a captivating choice for atmospheric fantasy fans.
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