Gnome's BookWatch: September and October 2025

Welcome back to Gnome’s BookWatch, where I tell you the books I’m excited for in the upcoming months. This time we’ll be looking at releases between now and the end of October.

September

This Inevitable Ruin by Matt Dinniman - September 23

I’ve been loving the Ace Hardcovers of the Dungeon Crawler Carl books and I’m so excited to complete my collection for now. This series is one of the most pleasant surprises of the past couple years for me and I’ve already read and reread them all. I look forward to doing the same for this one.

What Stalks the Deep by T. Kingfisher - September 30

If you aren’t reading the Sworn Soldier series by T. Kingfisher what are you even doing? Ed and I have ranted and raved about these books literally for years and we think you will love them. This one brings our hero to that unruly land of America and a weird problem with people going missing and a mysterious mine. It has all the makings of a great adventure full of mystery and probably some cozy monsters. Read these books!

The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman - September 30

Hey Jordan, this isn’t a science fiction/fantasy/horror book. So? I make the rules here! I’ve loved the Thursday Murder Club books ever since I read the first one and after a two year wait, we finally have a new installment. After the climatic events of the previous book, our lovable heroes are reeling and what’s a better place to help them bounce back: A MYSTERY AT A WEDDING!?! Page Angela Lansbury’s ghost, I think we have a great mystery coming up soon.

October

Lives of Bitter Rain by Adrian Tchaikovsky - October 14

I love the Tyrant Philosopher books. They are some of my favorite books since Robert Jackson Bennett’s Divine Cities series and I will forever hold a grudge that they didn’t win the Best Series Award at the Hugos this year. We have a prequel novella coming out in October and I’m excited to learn more about Angilly and get a glimpse of more of this wild world that Tchaikovsky is crafting.

King Sorrow by Joe Hill - October 21

A new doorstop horror novel by Joe Hill? Count me in. It’s been way too long since the Fireman came out (I was reading it at my brother’s wedding to give you a sense of how long it’s been) and I’m so excited to dive back into another. And this one has dragons? Count me in 100000x!

Darker Days by Thomas Olde Heuvelt - October 28

What? A new Thomas Olde Heuvelt book? Well, here’s my money. I’ve loved all of Heuvelt’s horror books so far and I was so sad for that brief moment in time when I thought there might not be a new Heuvelt this year. I’m so glad I was wrong because this one sounds creepy. A strange town that offers a mysterious sacrifice every year until one year when it all goes awry? It’s a familiar arc but I trust that Heuvelt will knock it out of the park and add his own weird flare on it.