Be warned my fellow avid readers, your wallets and TBR’s are about to be in serious trouble because there are some fantastic fantasy and science fiction books hitting the shelves between July and December!
To kick off the second half of 2019, July sees the release of new novels from Chuck Wendig, Pierce Brown, and David Wellington, along with Margaret Owen’s debut novel, Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Mexican folklore inspired novel, and Duncan M. Hamilton’s Dragonslayer.
Moving on to August, we’ll read tales of gods from Micah Yongo, a cursed kingdom from Amy Harmon, and a future princess from Mara Rutherford. Meanwhile, John Birmingham will whisk you away on a sci-fi adventure, Brian Naslund will give you a dragon slayer, and Keren Landsman will bring the sorcerers.
September holds some exciting debuts from Jillian Boehme, Jennifer Giesbrecht, and Rena Barron, alongside new books from authors such as Annalee Newitz, Joe Abercombie, and Juliet Marillier.
What’s instore for us in October? Well Kelley Armstrong, Rachel Caine, and more team up for an anthology about witches, Tochi Onyebuchi takes us to a futuristic, Black Panther–inspired Nigeria, and A.M. Strickland treats us to a dark fantasy. Divergent author Veronica Roth returns with a series of short stories, A.J. Hackwith introduces us to a librarian of the afterlife’s library, and Nicky Drayden takes us to deep space.
In November, Erin Morgenstern’s The Starless Sea is set in a secret underground world, Nina MacLaughlin retells Ovid’s Metamorphoses so the women can claim their stories, and Shea Ernshaw’s Winterwood is set in a magical snow-covered forest. The authors from Black Spot Books plan to “chill your bones and warm your heart for the Yuletide season” with short stories, E.E. Knight’s novel follows dragonriders, and Kacen Callender brings us a Caribbean-inspired fantasy world.
To end the year, James Islington’s Licanius Trilogy and Sebastien de Castell’s Spellslinger series conclude, while Milla Vane, Jeff VanderMeer, Rachel Atwood, and Charles Soule bring us new books.
Read on to discover our picks and tell us in the comments below which books you’re most excited for!
July
The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen
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Debut author Margaret Owen crafts a powerful saga of vengeance, survival, and sacrifice–perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo and Kendare Blake–in The Merciful Crow. Read our review here!
Wanderers by Chuck Wendig
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A decadent rock star. A deeply religious radio host. A disgraced scientist. And a teenage girl who may be the world’s last hope. In the tradition of The Stand and Station Eleven comes a gripping saga that weaves an epic tapestry of humanity into an astonishing tale of survival.
Dark Age (Red Rising Saga #5) by Pierce Brown
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The #1 New York Times bestselling author of Morning Star returns to the Red Rising universe with the thrilling sequel to Iron Gold.
Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
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The Mayan god of death sends a young woman on a harrowing, life-changing journey in this dark, one-of-a-kind fairy tale inspired by Mexican folklore.
Dragonslayer by Duncan M. Hamilton
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In his magnificent, heroic, adventure fantasy, Dragonslayer, Duncan M. Hamilton debuts the first book in a fast-moving trilogy: a dangerous tale of lost magics, unlikely heroes, and reawakened dragons.
The Last Astronaut by David Wellington
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August
Pale Kings by Micah Yongo
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When the gods return to claim their world, the Five Realms will fall, in this earth-shaking epic fantasy thriller from the author of Lost Gods
The First Girl Child by Amy Harmon
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From the New York Times bestselling author comes a breathtaking fantasy of a cursed kingdom, warring clans, and unexpected salvation.
Crown of Coral and Pearl by Mara Rutherford
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For generations, the princes of Ilara have married the most beautiful maidens from the ocean village of Varenia. But though every girl longs to be chosen as the next princess, the cost of becoming royalty is higher than any of them could ever imagine…
The Cruel Stars by John Birmingham
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With a ruthless sect of humanity intent on wiping out their species, five intrepid heroes must think like their enemies in this epic sci-fi adventure for fans of The Expanse and Battlestar Galactica.
Blood of an Exile by Brian Naslund
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After trying to assassinate a fellow noble, Flawless Bershad was given a death sentence. He’s never lost a fight, the most successful dragon slayer in history. But that is about to change. The man who sentenced Bershad to his fate has just given him an out. Kill a king and walk free forever. He doesn’t care about the fates of kings and kingdoms, until, that is, he discovers he is the only person able to save an innocent child and, possibly, the life of every creature in Terra.
The Heart of the Circle by Keren Landsman
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Sorcerers fight for the right to exist and fall in love, in this extraordinary alternate world fantasy thriller by award-winning Israeli author Keren Landsman.
September
The Monster of Elendhaven by Jennifer Giesbrecht
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Debut author Jennifer Giesbrecht paints a darkly compelling fantasy of revenge in The Monster of Elendhaven, a dark fantasy about murder, a monster, and the magician who loves both.
Stormrise by Jillian Boehme
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A combat warrior will risk everything to awaken the dragons and save her kingdom in Jillian Boehme’s epic YA Fantasy debut, Stormrise, inspired by Twelfth Night and perfect for fans of Tamora Pierce.
The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz
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Kingdom of Souls by Rena Barron
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The lush world building of Children of Blood and Bone meets the sweeping scale of Strange the Dreamer in this captivating epic YA fantasy debut.
A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie
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The Harp of Kings by Juliet Marillier
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A young woman is both a bard–and a warrior–in this thrilling historical fantasy from the author of the Sevenwaters novels.
October
Hex Life: Wicked New Tales of Witchery by Kelley Armstrong, Rachel Caine, and Sherrilyn Kenyon
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Hex Life: Wicked New Tales of Witchery will take the classic tropes of tales of witchcraft and infuse them with fresh, feminist perspective and present-day concerns–even if they’re set in the past. These witches might be monstrous, or they might be heroes, depending on their own definitions. Even the kind hostess with the candy cottage thought of herself as the hero of her own story. After all, a woman’s gotta eat.
War Girls by Tochi Onyebuchi
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Two sisters are torn apart by war and must fight their way back to each other in a futuristic, Black Panther–inspired Nigeria.
Beyond the Black Door by A.M. Strickland
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Beyond the Black Door is a young adult dark fantasy about unlocking the mysteries around and within us―no matter the cost …
The End and Other Beginnings: Stories from the Future by Veronica Roth
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Bestselling Divergent and Carve the Mark author Veronica Roth delivers a stunning collection of novella-length stories set in the future, illustrated with startling black-and-white artwork.
The Library Of The Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith
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In the first book in a brilliant new fantasy series, books that aren’t finished by their authors reside in the Library of the Unwritten in Hell, and it is up to the Librarian to track down any restless characters who emerge from those unfinished stories.
Escaping Exodus by Nicky Drayden
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The Compton Crook award–winning author of The Prey of Gods and Temper returns with a dazzling stand-alone novel, set in deep space, in which the fate of humanity rests on the slender shoulders of an idealistic and untested young woman—a blend of science fiction, dark humor, and magical realism that will appeal to fans of Charlie Jane Anders, Jeff VanderMeer, and Nnedi Okorafor.
November
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
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From the New York Times bestselling author of The Night Circus, a timeless love story set in a secret underground world–a place of pirates, painters, lovers, liars, and ships that sail upon a starless sea.
Queen of the Conquered by Kacen Callender
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An ambitious young woman with the power to control minds seeks vengeance against the royals who murdered her family, in a Caribbean-inspired fantasy world embattled by colonial oppression.
Novice Dragoneer by E E Knight
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In the first book in an exciting and charming new coming-of-age fantasy series from the author of the Age of Fire series, an impoverished girl enters into a military order of dragonriders, but her path won’t be as easy or as straightforward as she expected.
Wake, Siren: Ovid Resung by Nina MacLaughlin
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In voices both mythic and modern, Wake, Siren revisits each account of love, loss, rape, revenge, and change. It lays bare the violence that undergirds and lurks in the heart of Ovid’s narratives, stories that helped build and perpetuate the distorted portrayal of women across centuries of art and literature.
Winterwood by Shea Ernshaw
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From the New York Times bestselling author of The Wicked Deep comes a haunting romance set deep in the magical snow-covered forest, where the appearance of a mysterious boy unearths secrets that awakens the enchanted, but angry, woods.
A Midnight Clear by Sam Hooker, Seven Jane, Alcy Leyva, Laura Morrison, Dalena Storm, and Cassondra Windwalker
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Six stories of not-so-merry Yuletide whimsy from the authors of Black Spot Books including a woman so cold she hardens to ice on a winter’s eve. From a murder at the Stanley Hotel to demons of Christmas past, present, and future, and a mad elf and Santa’s Candy Court, the authors of Black Spot Books share their love for winter holidays in this collection of dark winter tales, destined to chill your bones and warm your heart for the Yuletide season.
December
The Light of All That Falls (The Licanius Trilogy #3) by James Islington
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Walk the Wild With Me by Rachel Atwood
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In this new historical fantasy, a young man must use the power granted by a goddess to infiltrate the realm of Faery and save a kidnapped victim before the door is sealed once again.
A Heart of Blood and Ashes by Milla Vane
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A generation past, the western realms were embroiled in endless war. Then the Destroyer came. From the blood and ashes he left behind, a tenuous alliance rose between the barbarian riders of Parsathe and the walled kingdoms of the south. That alliance is all that stands against the return of an ancient evil—until the barbarian king and queen are slain in an act of bloody betrayal.
Crownbreaker by Sebastien de Castell
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Anyone: A Novel by Charles Soule
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Charles Soule brings his signature knowledge—and wariness–of technology to his sophomore novel set in a realistic future about a brilliant female scientist who creates a technology that allows for the transfer of human consciousness between bodies, and the transformations this process wreaks upon the world.
Dead Astronauts by Jeff VanderMeer
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Jeff VanderMeer’s Dead Astronauts presents a City with no name of its own where, in the shadow of the all-powerful Company, lives human and otherwise converge in terrifying and miraculous ways. At stake: the fate of the future, the fate of Earth—all the Earths.
What a great list! I can’t wait for Ninth House, There Will Come a Darkness, Gravemaidens, Shadow Frost and The Furies. I am so excited for everyone else to read The Merciful Crow because I LOVED it.