Most Anticipated Fantasy Books Still Coming in Late 2026

Updated October 4, 2026. This guide now focuses on fantasy books still scheduled for publication between October and December 2026. Earlier selections that are already available appear in the short “Already Released” section below.

There are only three months left in the year, but fantasy readers still have major sequels, a new Cosmere adventure and several short-fiction collections to look forward to. The useful question now is which books are still coming—and which earlier picks you can already read.

Our ranking balances the appeal of returning series, inventive premises and options for different reading moods. It is an editorial anticipation list, not a ranking of books we have reviewed. Dates refer to the linked publishers’ U.S. listings, checked for this update; schedules and editions can vary.

Most Anticipated Fantasy Books Still Coming in Late 2026

1. A Court of Splintered Harmony by Sarah J. Maas

Scheduled release: October 27, 2026. The date and publication details are listed on the publisher’s page for A Court of Splintered Harmony.

Maas’s return to Prythian takes the top spot on this shortlist because it gives readers a chance to continue a story they have spent years following. Bloomsbury lists A Court of Splintered Harmony for October 27, with A Court of Forgotten Melody following on January 12, 2027. Only the October book belongs in this late-2026 ranking.

This is a continuation for established ACOTAR readers. Start with A Court of Thorns and Roses if you are new to the series, or use our ACOTAR recap before A Court of Splintered Harmony to refresh your memory. The appeal here is returning to a familiar world; character theories should still be treated as theories.

2. The Fires of December by Brandon Sanderson

Scheduled release: December 8, 2026. The date and publication details are listed on the publisher’s page for The Fires of December.

Sanderson’s December release is the strongest fit here for readers who want an imaginative new setting without starting a long series. A young woman called December learns that a plague is approaching and travels up the River Violet to warn the royal court. The world’s rivers are sustained by demon blood, giving the journey a distinctly strange foundation.

The publisher identifies this as a standalone narrated by Hoid and says the Hoid’s Travails novels can be read in any order. That makes it an accessible option even if your Cosmere reading is incomplete. Its combination of an urgent journey, an unusual magical landscape and court intrigue earns it a high place on our list.

3. Victorious by V. E. Schwab

Scheduled release: October 6, 2026. The date and publication details are listed on the publisher’s page for Victorious.

Schwab closes the Villains series with Victorious, following Vicious and Vengeful. Victor Vale and Eli Ever’s rivalry has made this a particularly compelling series for readers interested in power, ambition and characters whose choices resist easy moral judgments.

This is the pick for anyone seeking a conclusion to an established story. Read the earlier books first: a finale’s emotional payoff depends on knowing the relationships that brought its characters here. With publication scheduled for October 6, it is also the first book in this ranking readers can pick up after this update.

4. The Thrice-Bound Fool by Christopher Buehlman

Scheduled release: October 13, 2026. The date and publication details are listed on the publisher’s page for The Thrice-Bound Fool.

Kinch Na Shannack and Galva return in the next chapter after The Blacktongue Thief. This time, their mission involves a stolen, sentient book that is dangerous even when it is closed. Its secrets could help them confront enemies threatening the queen, while the Taker’s Guild pursues them.

The premise earns this sequel a place near the top for readers who like dangerous quests, uneasy alliances and humor woven into darker fantasy. Start with The Blacktongue Thief before this direct continuation. Buehlman’s related prequel, The Daughters’ War, offers more background for readers who want to spend longer in the world.

5. The Slantwise Histories by Alix E. Harrow

Scheduled release: October 20, 2026. The date and publication details are listed on the publisher’s page for The Slantwise Histories.

Readers who would rather explore several imaginative worlds than commit to another long series should put Harrow’s collection on their list. It gathers previously published short fiction alongside five new stories, including the award-winning A Witch’s Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies.

This is a new collection, rather than a new novel or a volume of entirely unpublished fiction. That distinction matters if you already follow Harrow’s short work. For newcomers, it offers a way to sample her approach to folklore, history and the possibilities just beyond ordinary life, one story at a time.

6. A Conspiracy of Charming Monsters by Holly Black

Scheduled release: November 3, 2026. The date and publication details are listed on the publisher’s page for A Conspiracy of Charming Monsters.

Black returns to the worlds of Elfhame and the Modern Faerie Tales in an illustrated collection featuring art by Solenne Songer, also known as Frostbite Studios. The book contains six stories, including two previously unpublished tales connected to Madoc and Cardan.

This is a companion collection for readers already invested in Black’s faerie characters, rather than the next full-length Folk of the Air novel. The mix of stories and illustrations gives it a different place on a fall reading list: something to savor between longer books, and a natural option for readers who enjoy returning to familiar characters.

Already Released

The earlier version of this guide included the titles below. They are already available as of this October update, so they have been removed from the upcoming ranking. Some were new 2026 editions or U.S. releases of previously published work; they should not all be described as brand-new novels.

• The Poet Empress by Shen Tao
• The Last Contract of Isako by Fonda Lee
• City of Others by Jared Poon
• Platform Decay (The Murderbot Diaries, #8) by Martha Wells
• The Tapestry of Fate (Amina al-Sirafi, #2) by Shannon Chakraborty
• Daughter of Crows (The Academy of Kindness, #1) by Mark Lawrence 
• Nine Goblins by T. Kingfisher
• The Midnight Carousel by Fiza Saeed McLynn
• A Trade of Blood (Shadow of the Leviathan) by Robert Jackson Bennett
• The Girl with a Thousand Faces by Sunyi Dean
• Saltswept by Katalina Watt
• Isles of the Emberdark: A Cosmere Novel by Brandon Sanderson
• Graceless Heart by Isabel Ibañez
• Underlake by Erin L. McCoy
• No Man’s Land by Richard K. Morgan

Platform Decay was published May 5, 2026, and is science fiction. For developments beyond that release, our next Murderbot book status guide is the destination to follow. The Last Contract of Isako is also science fiction, rather than a conventional fantasy release.

The Tapestry of Fate arrived May 12, 2026, while the Tor edition of Isles of the Emberdark arrived February 3. Nine Goblins is previously published fiction with a 2026 deluxe edition. These remain possible reading choices, but their publication dates are no longer reasons to anticipate them later this year.

Which Late-2026 Fantasy Book Should You Choose?

For a continuing romantic-fantasy series, choose A Court of Splintered Harmony. For a standalone with an unusual setting, consider The Fires of December. If you want a darker ongoing adventure, catch up on the Villains or Blacktongue books before their October installments.

For shorter reading sessions, The Slantwise Histories provides a collection you can approach one story at a time. Established Holly Black readers can look forward to A Conspiracy of Charming Monsters in November. That range is what makes the remaining release calendar worth watching: you can plan around the kind of reading you actually want to do.