The new sci-fi and fantasy reads out this month align with these plans because so many wonderful reads are being released. From the first week of October to the last, you can find plenty of book releases to celebrate and check out at your local library or bookstore. What’s in store for October in the sci-fi/fantasy genres? In middle grade, you’ll find action-packed stories about young alchemists, superheroes and supervillains, and sentient robots facing seemingly insurmountable odds. YA releases include reflective near-future reads, beautifully written Jewish historical fantasy, and a heart-pounding sci-fi about an alien hunter. And finally in adult fiction, you’ll find queer fairy tale retellings, whodunnits set on a sentient space station, and dark academia. Read on to discover 10 of the best science fiction and fantasy books out this month! Each section is organized by age group to help you better find the books that you’re looking for. To keep tabs on new releases and recommended reads in speculative fiction, check out Book Riot’s biweekly SFF Yeah podcast Soon after, Shad is invited to attend the Alexandria Academy — a magical school where equal amounts of wonder and danger await him. When a sinister app turns his classmates into mindless zombies, Leon is the only one who can save his school from a supervillain. Mars, Res discovers, is so much more than the scientists on Earth prepared him for. It’s beautiful but also dangerous, and it pushes Res to his limits as he fights to fulfill his mission. To escape whatever strange force seems to get people killed whenever she’s nearby, Mallory escapes onto a sentient space station where she is the only person around. But when others are allowed to board the station against her will and people start dying again, Mallory must use her knack for solving murders to clear her name and to stop yet another killing spree.