{"id":7884,"date":"2026-10-21T06:55:07","date_gmt":"2026-10-21T10:55:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/e357.net\/beingernest\/?p=7884"},"modified":"2026-10-21T06:55:07","modified_gmt":"2026-10-21T10:55:07","slug":"science-fiction-to-look-for-november-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/e357.net\/beingernest\/science-fiction-to-look-for-november-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Science Fiction To Look For &#8211; November 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-path-to-node=\"6\">As the days draw short and the darkness closes in, November\u2019s science fiction collection has plenty of existential dread to match the season. Both veteran Scalzi and newcomer Cole bring us tales of small towns facing classic sf horrors, where the ordinary meets the impossible, while Adam Oyebanji (<i data-path-to-node=\"6\" data-index-in-node=\"299\">Braking Day<\/i>) gives us a hard-edged tale about another sort of community in his new generation ship novel, <i data-path-to-node=\"6\" data-index-in-node=\"405\">Line of Descent<\/i>. Plus we\u2019ve got some heads ups on more Science Fiction to Look for this month\u2026<\/p>\n<h1 class=\"\" data-path-to-node=\"7\"><b data-path-to-node=\"7\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/e357.net\/beingernest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Monsters-of-Ohio.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-7885\" src=\"https:\/\/e357.net\/beingernest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Monsters-of-Ohio.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"319\" srcset=\"https:\/\/e357.net\/beingernest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Monsters-of-Ohio.webp 279w, https:\/\/e357.net\/beingernest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Monsters-of-Ohio-188x300.webp 188w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a>Monsters of Ohio\u00a0<\/b><\/h1>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"8\"><b data-path-to-node=\"8\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">By John Scalzi<\/b><\/p>\n<ul data-path-to-node=\"9\">\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"9,0,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"9,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Publisher:<\/b> Tor Books \/ Macmillan<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"9,1,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"9,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Release Date:<\/b> November 3, 2026<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"9,2,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"9,2,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Format:<\/b> Hardcover \/ eBook \/ Audiobook (272 pages)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"9,3,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"9,3,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">ISBN:<\/b> 978-0765389039 \/ 978-0765389046<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"10\">I often say science fiction isn\u2019t about the future; it\u2019s about the present using tomorrow as a metaphor. John Scalzi\u2019s twentieth novel, <i data-path-to-node=\"10\" data-index-in-node=\"136\">Monsters of Ohio<\/i>, abandons all pretense and takes on today with the gloves off.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"11\">Booted from his Alexandria, VA job at the Dept. of Agriculture by the \u201ccurrent administration\u201d, Mike Boyd heads home broke to Richland, Ohio\u2014where his dad and stepmother wait to remind him why he left. What follows is a Hallmark Horror\/Comedy proving you may be able to go home again, but nothing will ever be the same. Mike gets roped into an investigation run by his high school buddy Dave\u2014not just the police chief, but the town\u2019s entire department\u2014alongside Andi, a consultant hired for Richland\u2019s upcoming monster festival. It begins with missing pets and an exploding cow, but the weirdness escalates quickly, and the trio soon finds themselves up to their elbows in stranger things than they could imagine.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"12\">Mike\u2019s economic woes mirror Richland\u2019s: the generational meat-packing plant anchoring the town is being stripped and gutted by private-equity mercenaries. Scalzi digs gleefully into corporate predation, and by the end, it\u2019s crystal clear who the real monsters are.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"13\">Interestingly, <i data-path-to-node=\"13\" data-index-in-node=\"15\">Monsters of Ohio<\/i> and our next title, Kennedy Cole\u2019s <i data-path-to-node=\"13\" data-index-in-node=\"67\">There Used to Be People Here<\/i>, both drop external forces into struggling towns to transform the locals into something uncanny. Each answers whether that transformation is salvation or catastrophe differently, but both make for a wild, head-twisting ride.<\/p>\n<h1 class=\"\" data-path-to-node=\"14\"><b data-path-to-node=\"14\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/e357.net\/beingernest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/There-Used-to-Be-People-Here.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-7886 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/e357.net\/beingernest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/There-Used-to-Be-People-Here-199x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"199\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/e357.net\/beingernest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/There-Used-to-Be-People-Here-199x300.jpg 199w, https:\/\/e357.net\/beingernest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/There-Used-to-Be-People-Here-679x1024.jpg 679w, https:\/\/e357.net\/beingernest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/There-Used-to-Be-People-Here-768x1159.jpg 768w, https:\/\/e357.net\/beingernest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/There-Used-to-Be-People-Here-624x942.jpg 624w, https:\/\/e357.net\/beingernest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/There-Used-to-Be-People-Here.jpg 994w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 199px) 100vw, 199px\" \/><\/a>There Used to Be People Here\u00a0<\/b><\/h1>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"15\"><b data-path-to-node=\"15\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">By Kennedy Cole<\/b><\/p>\n<ul data-path-to-node=\"16\">\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"16,0,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"16,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Publisher:<\/b> Berkley \/ Penguin Random House<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"16,1,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"16,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Release Date:<\/b> November 3, 2026<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"16,2,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"16,2,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Format:<\/b> Hardcover \/ eBook (368 pages)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"16,3,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"16,3,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">ISBN:<\/b> 979-8217187119 \/ 979-8217187133<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"17\">Kennedy Cole\u2019s debut novel has a lot going on. It\u2019s full-on rural southern noir, a police procedural with multiple murders, men in black, and lots of racial tensions, especially for the protagonist, Samuel Barkley, Wenton, Mississippi\u2019s only black detective in the 1970s. Not to mention the <i data-path-to-node=\"17\" data-index-in-node=\"291\">Invasion of the Body Snatchers<\/i> drama that fuels the story. Yeah, that\u2019s a mouthful, but it\u2019s delivered with terrific writing and a personal knowledge of the <i data-path-to-node=\"17\" data-index-in-node=\"448\">terrnoir<\/i>.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"18\">Samuel and his white partner Harvey, temporary because his partners never last, aren\u2019t the most senior detectives on the small town\u2019s force, and there aren\u2019t a lot of murders in Wenton to investigate\u2014well, not <i data-path-to-node=\"18\" data-index-in-node=\"210\">white<\/i> murders, because the others really don\u2019t count. Literally, as in they don\u2019t keep a tally. So it\u2019s something of a surprise when they\u2019re assigned to the bizarre death of Bill Bethany in a \u201cboy bar,\u201d the last place he\u2019d ever be caught dead in. Except, of course.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"19\">What follows is a deep dive into all the elements promised at the outset. Barkley\u2019s buried rage has forced him to turn stone-faced to the racist world around him and made him an alien in two cultures. His temporary partner, Harvey, slowly peels back the hard layers to find the man inside, as the two dig into the horror about to consume Wenton.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"20\">You see, there was a plane crash nearby\u2026but dear reader, you know that wasn\u2019t really a plane, and all those guys in suits showing up at the site know it too. The real question isn\u2019t whether the detectives can solve the murder, but whether Wenton can survive the answer. On the other hand, Wenton could really use some urban renewal, being a hive of the worst of us. Just when you think you know what\u2019s going on, Kennedy Cole pulls the rug out from under you. Have a nice trip. Highly recommended.<\/p>\n<h1 class=\"\" data-path-to-node=\"21\"><b data-path-to-node=\"21\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/e357.net\/beingernest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Line-of-Descent.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-7887 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/e357.net\/beingernest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Line-of-Descent-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/e357.net\/beingernest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Line-of-Descent-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/e357.net\/beingernest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Line-of-Descent-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/e357.net\/beingernest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Line-of-Descent-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/e357.net\/beingernest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Line-of-Descent-624x936.jpg 624w, https:\/\/e357.net\/beingernest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Line-of-Descent.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a>Line of Descent<\/b><\/h1>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"22\"><b data-path-to-node=\"22\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">By Adam Oyebanji<\/b><\/p>\n<ul data-path-to-node=\"23\">\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"23,0,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"23,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Publisher:<\/b> DAW Books \/ Astra Publishing House<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"23,1,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"23,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Release Date:<\/b> November 17, 2026<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"23,2,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"23,2,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Format:<\/b> Hardcover \/ eBook \/ Audiobook (368 pages)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"23,3,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"23,3,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">ISBN:<\/b> 978-0756420222<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"24\">Adam Oyebanji returns us to generation ship drama following his excellent debut novel, <i data-path-to-node=\"24\" data-index-in-node=\"87\">Braking Day<\/i> (DAW, 2022), with its blend of hard sf and complex social issues. Oyebanji\u2019s new book <i data-path-to-node=\"24\" data-index-in-node=\"185\">Line of Descent<\/i> brings all that, plus his talent as a mystery writer (<i data-path-to-node=\"24\" data-index-in-node=\"255\">A Quiet Teacher<\/i> \/ Severn House), as ShipSec Officer Faisal Vasconcelos uncovers the conspiracy behind the kidnapping of a botanist who went missing and woke up back in his own quarters, banged up and bruised. At first, Faisal thinks this is the stupidest story ever invented to cover a missed work shift, but the more he looks into it, the deeper and deadlier the mystery gets.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"25\">Six generations into a voyage, the officers and crew of the generation ship <i data-path-to-node=\"25\" data-index-in-node=\"76\">Archimedes<\/i> show wear, tear, and social unrest. They\u2019re not the bold pioneers who set out to colonize a faraway planet; they\u2019re the people born mid-flight, without a vote on whether they wanted to be starfarers. A lot of them would rather not. Of course, you can\u2019t just turn a slower-than-light ship around and head back to the homeworld\u2026 or can you? A nasty rumor is going around that there\u2019s more fuel than the captain lets on, and drive upgrades that would take them back faster than they came out.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"26\">Topping that off, it\u2019s time to elect a new captain, and the odds-on favorite is a eugenics-happy physician who wants to restrict the \u201cline of descent\u201d to those worth breeding\u2014all in the name of resource conservation, of course, with absolutely nothing classist going on.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"27\">What\u2019s terrific about this book is how Oyebanji weaves thoughtful detail about the technology and social structures in a gen-ship arcology, using a police procedural approach to dig into the details. Faisal is a classically dogged investigator, determined to serve and protect the ship and mission, even if his real passion is painting murals on the ship walls.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"28\">This is a refreshing breath of fresh air\u2014actual hard science fiction, grounded in real physics rather than the made-up science of our first two titles\u2014great stories in their own right, but full of hand-waving on the science. In its own way, <i data-path-to-node=\"28\" data-index-in-node=\"241\">Line of Descent<\/i> is just as much of a small-town drama; a generation ship is a closed community if ever there was one. Hard-edged, compelling, and told with an acute understanding of closed-colony social dynamics, this is the kind of story that gives me hope that science fiction hasn\u2019t lost its way, even among the stars.<\/p>\n<h1 class=\"\" data-path-to-node=\"29\"><b data-path-to-node=\"29\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Additional Titles to Look For in November 2026<\/b><\/h1>\n<h2 class=\"\" data-path-to-node=\"30\"><b data-path-to-node=\"30\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Rome to the Stars<\/b><\/h2>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"31\"><b data-path-to-node=\"31\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">By S.M. Stirling &amp; Melissa Olthoff<\/b><\/p>\n<ul data-path-to-node=\"32\">\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"32,0,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"32,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Publisher:<\/b> Baen Books<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"32,1,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"32,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Release Date:<\/b> November 3, 2026<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"32,2,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"32,2,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Format:<\/b> Hardcover \/ eBook (416 pages)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"32,3,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"32,3,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">ISBN:<\/b> 978-1982193744<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"32,4,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"32,4,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Notes:<\/b> Alternate history space expansion. When the Roman Empire industrializes early, the eagles push out into the solar system, bringing legions, steam, and political intrigue to the high frontier.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"\" data-path-to-node=\"33\"><b data-path-to-node=\"33\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">The Architect<\/b><\/h2>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"34\"><b data-path-to-node=\"34\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">By Z.T. Castor<\/b><\/p>\n<ul data-path-to-node=\"35\">\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"35,0,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"35,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Publisher:<\/b> Independent \/ Amazon<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"35,1,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"35,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Release Date:<\/b> November 2026<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"35,2,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"35,2,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Format:<\/b> Paperback \/ eBook<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"35,3,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"35,3,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Notes:<\/b> High-concept planetary megastructures and rogue computational models, providing a strong indie hard-SF counterpart to the month&#8217;s major house releases.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As the days draw short and the darkness closes in, November\u2019s science fiction collection has plenty of existential dread to match the season. Both veteran Scalzi and newcomer Cole bring us tales of small towns facing classic sf horrors, where the ordinary meets the impossible, while Adam Oyebanji (Braking Day) gives us a hard-edged tale [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2629,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","category-science-fiction"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/e357.net\/beingernest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/e357.net\/beingernest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/e357.net\/beingernest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e357.net\/beingernest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2629"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e357.net\/beingernest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7884"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/e357.net\/beingernest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7884\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7889,"href":"https:\/\/e357.net\/beingernest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7884\/revisions\/7889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/e357.net\/beingernest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e357.net\/beingernest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e357.net\/beingernest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}