tan
Cicada by Shaun Tan
Release Date: Late June
Shaun Tan’s picture books are flights of fancy every bit as cool as any novel and I am continuously thrilled by his genius. The cicada of the title has worked in a tall office building doing drudge work for seventeen years. Then one day he goes to the roof and something wonderful happens. As with all of Shaun Tan’s work, when you read it something wonderful will happen to you too.
haohui
Death Notice by Zhou Haohui
Release Date:  Mid June
A cat-and-mouse crime novel set in the Chinese city of Chengdu where the police are hunting a serial killer vigilante who hosts a web page that invites the public to nominate those deserving of death. The first in a trilogy and translated from Chinese, it has some issues with idiom but is still a very intense and different style of thriller.

 

kristian
Lancelot by Giles Kristian
Release Date:  Mid June
A re-imagining of Arthurian legend as told by Lancelot and set in 5th century Britain. The post-roman British Isles are awash with warring factions, Picts, Saxons, Franks and more. Superstition and conflict are everywhere. Into this chaos walks Lancelot, and his tale is one that mixes history and legend and presents an old story in a new and much more realistic light. 
mclellan
Wrath of Empire by Brian McClellan
Release Date:  Early June
Since this is the second book in a second trilogy, there’s not much to say about it if you’re not read the earlier four. If you have, then you probably already want this one. Short version is that it’s magic, muskets and war from one of the best writers of what has been nicknamed ‘flintlock fantasy’. 

 

machen
The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen
Release Date:  Mid June
This book is just shy of 125 years old, so ‘new’ is kind of relative. It’s regarded by many horror writers and readers as one of the best horror-genre stories ever written. This month Penguin are releasing quite nice new imprint of the 176 page work for $14.99. A tale of disappearances, suicides and sinister woodland rituals, this is a must for any serious horror fan 

lewis
Bitter Sun by Beth Lewis
Release Date:  Early June
Beth Lewis’ first book Wolf Road was a post-apocalyptic wild-west style thriller that was quite popular. Her new one is an equally dark thriller set in a small mid-western town in 1971. In the middle of a heatwave summer, four children find a body by the lake. It’s an event that uncovers dark secrets and ignites the spark of deep tensions in the community with violent results.

 

serenity
The Serenity Handbook
Release Date:  Early June
Despite only ever having one season and one film, Firefly has a massive cult following. This book tells you everything you need to know about the Firefly-class ship Serenity. Complied by the crew, it’s got floor plans, tech specs, crew profiles as well as a guide to unique areas and modifications. It’ll also answer the question that plagues all science fiction spaceships. Where do they go the bathroom? 

peng
The Book of M by Shepherd Peng
Release Date:  Mid June
Unusual book that probably sits between lit and spec-fic. It begins with a man losing his shadow, and then later his memory. The phenomenon spreads. A couple in hiding think they have avoided being infected, but they’re wrong. As they struggle to cope with memory loss and what that means to be who you are as a person, they venture into the world to find that others have found something beyond the loss. Something magic. One for fans of Claire North

 

must see
Must-See Sci-Fi – 50 Movies That Are Out of This World
Release Date:  Late June
Not my usual thing, but this is too interesting not to mention. A fascinating showcase of the contribution science fiction has made to film featuring moves from 1902-2016. Commentary and images for moves like From A Trip to the Moon, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Planet of the Apes, Solaris, Arrival and more.

boffard
Adrift by Rob Boffard
Release Date:  Mid June
Science fiction survival thriller where a group of inter-planetary tourists get caught in a game of cat and mouse when mysterious aliens destroy the space station they were heading for and begin hunting the unarmed and poorly equipped shuttle. 

 

dulley
Shattermoon by Domenic Dulley
Release Date:  Mid June
Big universe space opera about a group of thieves who risk destabilising the balance of human and alien relations when they steal an ancient alien artefact. One for fans of Peter F Hamilton and Michael Cobley.
daltonBoy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton
Release Date:  Mid June
A part-true part-fiction coming of age tale about a boy growing up in a working class family in Brisbane in the eighties. A family heavily involved in crime and steeped in the problems that come with that. Sad, clever, scary and at times funny, an honest look at a world that most of us never see.