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16 blockbuster September science fiction and fantasy releases to kick off Fall

By Lacy Baugher

Steelstriker by Marie Lu. Image courtesy Macmillan Publishers
Steelstriker by Marie Lu. Image courtesy Macmillan Publishers /
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Bones of Ruin by Sarah Raughley. Image courtesy Simon & Schuster
Bones of Ruin by Sarah Raughley. Image courtesy Simon & Schuster /

September  2021 release: The Bones of Ruin – Sarah Raughley

A period historical setting, a diverse cast of characters, and a premise that feels entirely unique? Sign me up right now for The Bones of Ruin, the latest novel from The Effigies author Sarah Raughley.

Set in 1880s London, the story follows Iris, an African tightrope dancer in London with a dark secret: She cannot die. Obsessed with finding out the details of a past she can no longer remember, she meets a mysterious stranger who triggers a memory of something long forgotten.

Part of a mysterious society convinced the world is ending, he convinces her to become his champion in the Tournament of Freaks, a fight-to-the-death competition that could hold the secret to Iris finding out who she really is. It could also reshape the world.

The official synopsis describes the story in greater detail.

"As an African tightrope dancer in Victorian London, Iris is used to being strange. She is certainly a strange sight for leering British audiences always eager for the spectacle of colonial curiosity. But Iris also has a secret that even “strange” doesn’t capture…​ She cannot die. Haunted by her unnatural power and with no memories of her past, Iris is obsessed with discovering who she is. But that mission gets more complicated when she meets the dark and alluring Adam Temple, a member of a mysterious order called the Enlightenment Committee. Adam seems to know much more about her than he lets on, and he shares with her a terrifying revelation: the world is ending, and the Committee will decide who lives…and who doesn’t. To help them choose a leader for the upcoming apocalypse, the Committee is holding the Tournament of Freaks, a macabre competition made up of vicious fighters with fantastical abilities. Adam wants Iris to be his champion, and in return he promises her the one thing she wants most: the truth about who she really is. If Iris wants to learn about her shadowy past, she has no choice but to fight. But the further she gets in the grisly tournament, the more she begins to remember—and the more she wonders if the truth is something best left forgotten."

The Bones of Ruin is available on September 7. 

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