Set for release on January 26, 2021 and featuring a foreword by 2018 Bram Stoker Nominated Author Monique Snyman and edited by award-winning editor Lindy Ryan, Dead of Winter includes six new stories of Yuletide fantasy and terror from Black Spot Book’s bestselling authors, as well as additions from two promising new debut voices in the genre.

Despite the twinkling lights and steaming cocoa, the end of the year is the darkest time of the year—a season of short days, long nights, and cold skies. In this special holiday anthology, the authors of Black Spot Books mix Ye Olde Yuletide hauntings with modern-day holiday horrors to weave a chilling new collection of dark winter tales. From frozen forests stalked by eerie Christmas ghosts to rotting gifts of winter malice, the spirits of Christmas come home for the holidays in the Dead of Winter.

Dead of Winter is Black Spot Books’ second anthology. The first, A Midnight Clear [2019] won the anthology category of the 2020 International Book Awards and was named a finalist in the 2020 Silver Falchion Awards.

PRAISE FOR DEAD OF WINTER

“Readers looking for a wintry fright will appreciate a few gems [among] eight winter-themed tales of terror.”—Publishers Weekly

“Diverse, unexpected, and solid in characterization, plots, and evolution…horror fans will relish the creative results in [Dead of Winter] that delights with its original, thought-provoking creations and twists on holiday themes.” —Midwest Book Review

Will you be picking up Dead of Winter? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Exclusive Book Trailer For The ‘Dead of Winter’ Anthology appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

As we all know, 2020 has brought a lot of hardships, struggles, and unprecedented times to people around the world. For Space Mantis Podcast creator and author Laura Morrison, she knew it was time to bring something different into the literary world. Before the publication of her new book “HOW TO BREAK AN EVIL CURSE”, set to be released by Black Spot Books in 2021, Morrison recently released the first episode of a new literary podcast SPACE MANTIS on September 5th 2020. Recently, I had the opportunity to “meet” Laura virtually and ask her all of the important questions about this new endeavour.

It seems like there aren’t many podcasts available to listeners that focus on telling a story in a way that seems reflective of a play (different character voices, sound effects, etc) without the luxury of watching the narrative unfold in front of your eyes. What inspired you to do this with Space Mantis?

When I started Space Mantis, I had listened to a lot of nonfiction podcasts, but I hadn’t listened to many fiction podcasts (besides Night Vale). So, I didn’t realize I was doing a thing that was outside the norm, I guess. Once I’d thought of the concept, though, this style of conveying the story was really the only way to do it, as I think people will agree if they listen to it.

Can you tell us about what Space Mantis is about?

Sort of. There’s a big twist that happens a few episodes in that makes it hard for me to say too much without getting into spoiler territory, but I’ll give this a try. The general concept is that there was a sci fi show called Space Mantis, and it was a huge hit, but out of the blue it got cancelled. There was a big uproar among the fans; petitions were signed, studio execs were emailed, all that jazz. But to no avail. Space Mantis was over.

That’s the background that the narrator gets you up to speed with in the first few minutes of Episode 1, which opens with the narrator finding a mysterious box of unreleased Space Mantis DVDs on her porch. Along with the DVDs is a note telling her that she cannot share the video with anyone else. But she’s really excited and can’t keep it to herself, so she decides that though she can’t show the video, she can probably legally get away with sharing the audio, so she starts the Space Mantis podcast. For a few episodes, things go according to the narrator’s plans—she plays the shows and narrates along the way. But then, things start to get weird. And that’s where my explanation has to stop.

Are there any aspects to Space Mantis that separate it from other podcasts with similar themes?

While the podcast is definitely part space opera, there’s a whole other side to it that’s more mystery than sci fi. It is equally (and maybe even more so) about the narrator, the Space Mantis fanbase, and how they deal with all the mysterious stuff that starts to happen when the narrator starts to share the DVDs on her podcast.

You mentioned that as the podcast is streamed, both the narrator and the listener discover strange voices might be at play behind the episodes and the series itself. Can you tell us more about this?

The only thing I can really say about this is that though at first it might seem to be a pretty straightforward story about a narrator sharing the audio of a TV show, once listeners get a few episodes in, they’ll see that things start to get weird. If I explain the weirdness, that’ll ruin the surprise, though, unfortunately.

You also mentioned that you have a diverse group of people from many nations around the world contributing to Space Mantis. What pushed you to include so many people from different cultures and locations?

That’s a bit of a roundabout story. So, a few years back I wrote my novella, Come Back to the Swamp, for a novella contest (Come Back to the Swamp was only a runner up and not a winner in the contest, but has since been published with Black Spot Books, and is also available as an audiobook which you can find on Audible). A few writer pals I had met online were also participating in the writing contest, and we all acted as beta readers for each other. In Come Back to the Swamp, the main character is obsessed with a space opera called Space Mantis. The people who were beta reading Come Back to the Swamp kept coming back to me with comments about how Space Mantis sounded cool and would be a good story. We started to brainstorm a bit, and I stared to write scripts, and my beta readers volunteered for roles. A lot of the people who volunteered just happened to be from countries all around the world. So, it’s not so much that I sought out an international cast but that the international people were the ones who were willing to donate their time to the project. Even for those of us within the US, we’re scattered from coast to coast. It would be an awful headache if we were all trying to record together from across time zones, but since we all record our lines separately on our own time, it works great.

Is there anything else you would like readers and potential listeners to know about Space Mantis?

I’d just like to say that you should definitely go to the website and check out the Meet the Cast section. Nearly all the people who have helped to make this podcast a reality are writers, artists, podcasters, or musicians with their own personal projects. Give their work a look. They’re all amazing.

Will you be checking out Space Mantis? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Q&A: Laura Morrison on her ‘Space Mantis’ Podcast appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Fantasy readers may expect Laura Morrison’s How To Break An Evil Curse [Black Spot Books, July 6, 2021] to follow the lines of other fantasy epics popular in the genre. However, this humorous take on a fractured fairytale is not just a “cookie cutter” young adult read, but one that will entertain younger readers while still appealing to older audiences with a good sense of humour.

The first in the Chronicles of Fritillary series, How To Break An Evil Curse follows the story of princess Julianna, who was cursed before she was born by an evil wizard looking to fulfil his revenge plot against his old friend who is now the King of Fritillary—and Julianna’s father. With the threat of sunlight taking her life, Julianna has been kept deep in the castle dungeons-turned-princess-suite where no light can reach her, kept company only by the ghosts of former prisoners that inhabit the dungeons. There is only one way Julianna’s curse can be broken and this fate lies in the hands of a young man on a pirate ship with an impossible list of curse-breaking-qualifications.

There is a distinct humorous aspect to the novel, reminiscent of stories told in the style of Monty Python and The Princess Bride; our omniscient narrator appears inside the story to offer sarcastic comments or share additional insight, and footnotes asides that add further context to the story’s fantastical world. A particularly enjoyable comedic aspect is a magical vial of raven’s blood that can talk telepathically to some of the characters. Rather than be a pinpoint of evil magic in the story—it is a talking vial of blood, after all—the snarky dialogue and tongue-in-cheek references to modern slang from the vial earned belly laughs from this reader, making it a star in each of its scenes.

Not just a quirky, humorous modern take on the fractured fairytale, it’s filled with nods to important themes from cover to cover. The ever-important women’s rights movement plays a central role for one of the characters, rebel groups begin to form and plan an attack against the royal family as social unrest bubbles to the surface, and the different predicaments we find our main characters in throughout the novel ring eerily familiar with many of today’s most pressing issues.

While many of the characters are witty, well-rounded, and mysterious enough to want to learn more about them, some are less than fully developed in this first instalment in the series. There are several lingering questions one might ask of our cursed princes—how has the past nineteen years stuck in the dungeons affected her? Did not having any “real” friends affect her? What about her mental health? Has Julianna ever told her parents she wanted to venture outside even if it was an excursion at night? Answering these questions would help support Julianna’s character development in the following instalments in the Chronicles of Fritillary series and really make Julianna a princess to root for.

Overall, How To Break An Evil Curse is a great read for younger fantasy readers who enjoy their fairytales with a good dose of humour and to anyone who may be nervous to tackle some of the more daunting reads already published within the genre.

How To Break An Evil Curse is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of July 6th 2021.

Will you be picking up How To Break An Evil Curse? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis | Goodreads

Princess Julianna may be cursed to dwell in darkness, but she’s no damsel in distress.

How to Break an Evil Curse is the first book in a fantasy series about a princess who may be cursed to live in darkness, but refuses to let her curse define her life.

The King of the Land of Fritillary has incurred the wrath of his ex-bestie, the evil wizard Farland Phelps. Farland curses the King’s firstborn to die if touched by sunlight, and just like that, Julianna must spend her life in the depths of a castle dungeon (emptied of prisoners and redecorated in the latest fashion, of course). A young woman of infinite resourcefulness, all she needs is a serving spoon, a loose rock in the wall, and eight years of digging, and Julianna is free to explore the city—just not while the sun is out!

Warren Kensington is a member of a seafaring traveling theater troupe and the unwitting magical cure to the curse. When the pirate ship he’s sailing on is damaged in stormy seas, he goes ashore and bumps into Julianna on the streets of the capitol. The pair accidentally set in motion a chain of events that uncovers Farland’s plans to take over the throne. Julianna, Warren, and some friends they meet along the way are the only ones who can save the monarchy.

But the farther they go along their increasingly ludicrous journey, and the more citizens they meet, the more Julianna wonders whether her dad’s throne is worth saving. From an evil and greedy wizard? Well, sure. But from the people of Fritillary who are trying to spark a revolution? The people suffering in poverty, malnutrition, and other forms of medieval-esque peasant hardship? It doesn’t take Julianna long to find that the real world is far more complicated than a black-and-white fairytale.

The post Review: How To Break An Evil Curse by Laura Morrison appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Half space-opera, half ecological manifesto, Morrison weaves fantasy, science fiction, and a chilling atmosphere into a punch-packing novella that keeps you on the edge of your seat. The story follows ecology-grad student Bernice as she discovers a strange old woman orbiting the swamps of Cleary Swamp, a local research site where Bernice is studying invasive species. Convinced the woman is a former civil rights activist named Rebecca who disappeared in the swamp decades earlier, Bernice believes the woman is as in need of salvation as the swamp itself, which has become riddled with things like Asiatic ivy that don’t belong­. Bernice takes it upon herself to relocate the woman into safer territory. What she doesn’t realise, however, is that Asiatic ivy isn’t the only invasive species in Cleary Swamp—and the Swamp has had enough.

Suffice it to say, Bernice’s extraction of Rebecca…doesn’t go as planned. After a stint into a spore and pollen drug-induced state during which she enjoys a warp speed odyssey on the set of her favourite operatic sci-fi tv show, Space Mantis, Bernice awakens with a new clarity and understanding of the swamp’s needs. Though certainly jarring for Bernice, it’s hard not to miss Morrison’s deeper message, a fitting allegory to the sort-of “awakening” many environmentally-conscience folks might have: sometimes—despite our best intentions to the contrary—we are the invasive species. When it comes to preserving the order of the natural world, sometimes it’s humans that simply don’t belong.

Swamps and spooks aside, what makes Come Back to the Swamp such an engaging and resonant story is Morrison’s interpretation of main protagonist. A bit of an idealist, Bernice is snarky, headstrong, and courageous, and her inner monologue is so on point it’s hard not to feel instantly connected. Although we only get a few pages of Bernice, she’s an easy character to champion, empathise with, and—eventually—commiserate for. Likewise, narrator Chelsea Stephens is the perfect voice to bring Morrison’s words to life. She is just as able to capture Bernice’s snark and the Swamp’s ominous warnings as she is to convincingly voice the inner musings of the bobcats Bernice worries might roam the swamplands. Together, this audiobook is three hours of pure listening pleasure, and a story readers will want to return to time and time again.

Gripping, evocative, and as ripe with messaging on the consequences of ecological devastation as it is loaded with sci-fi references, subtle calls to environmental activism, and enough chilly moments to have you looking over your shoulder on your next hike out into the woods, Come Back to the Swamp will have readers (and listeners!) looking over their shoulders the next time they go walking alone out into the wild.

Come Back to the Swamp is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers.

Will you be picking up or listening to Come Back to the Swamp? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis | Goodreads

Working on completing her ecology graduate degree, Bernice is doing invasive species research in Cleary Swamp when she is confronted by a mysterious hag who says she is the swamp’s caretaker. When Bernice discovers that the hag is actually a woman named Rebecca Hallett who disappeared in the swamp decades before she attempts to remove the strange old woman from Cleary Swamp, but little does Bernice know that Rebecca has a mystical bond to the area – one that possesses a human host and bonds them to it.

One magical hallucinogenic powder cocktail and a space opera spirit journey later, Bernice’s life has changed forever. The swamp wants her for its new caretaker, and it won’t take no for an answer.

The post Audiobook Review: Come Back To The Swamp by Laura Morrison appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

If you’re after a fantasy, then you’re in luck because there are some fantastic new fantasy novels to enjoy! Kacen Callender creates a Caribbean-inspired world, Kiersten White takes us to Camelot with a reimagining, E. E. Knight brings us dragonriders, Amélie Wen Zhao’s Blood Heir follows a princess and a conman, and Sarah Harian’s novel is set in a world that outlaws magic…

If you’re in the mood for romance, pick up Andie J. Christopher’s Not The Girl You Marry or Lyssa Kay Adam’s The Bromance Book Club.

Also, if you want a little Christmas, but dark stories, then be sure to check out A Midnight Clear!

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

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.

Not the Girl You Marry by Andie J. Christopher
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days gets a millennial makeover in this romantic comedy by USA Today bestselling author Andie J. Christopher.

Queen of the Conquered by Kacen Callender
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

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.

Kiss the Girls and Make Them Cry by Mary Higgins Clark
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When talented journalist Penelope “Casey” Harrison starts to research a piece about the #MeToo movement that includes an incident in her own life which she has been trying to put out of her mind for years, she does not realize that the young man who drugged and assaulted her at a fraternity house party in college is now a wealthy, powerful industrialist on the eve of a merger which will make him a billionaire—and who will do anything, even murder, to cover his tracks.

Call Down the Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater
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Ronan Lynch is a dreamer. He can pull both curiosities and catastrophes out of his dreams and into his compromised reality. Jordan Hennessy is a thief. The closer she comes to the dream object she is after, the more inextricably she becomes tied to it. Carmen Farooq-Lane is a hunter. Her brother was a dreamer . . . and a killer. She has seen what dreaming can do to a person. And she has seen the damage that dreamers can do. But that is nothing compared to the destruction that is about to be unleashed. . . .

The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Distraught and desperate, Gavin finds help from an unlikely source: a secret romance book club made up of Nashville’s top alpha men. With the help of their current read, a steamy Regency titled Courting the Countess, the guys coach Gavin on saving his marriage. But it’ll take a lot more than flowery words and grand gestures for this hapless Romeo to find his inner hero and win back the trust of his wife.

The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

From New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White comes a new fantasy series reimagining the Arthurian legend, set in the magical world of Camelot.

Nine Elms by Robert Bryndza
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

From the breakthrough international bestselling author of The Girl in the Ice, a breathtaking, page-turning novel about a disgraced female detective’s fight for redemption. And survival…

Blood Heir by Amélie Wen Zhao
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

This hot debut is the first book in an epic new series about a princess hiding a dark secret and the con man she must trust to clear her name for her father’s murder.

A Midnight Clear by Sam Hooker, Seven Jane, Alcy Leyva, Laura Morrison, Dalena Storm, and Cassondra Windwalker
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

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.

Eight Will Fall by Sarah Harian
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Lovers of dark, high-octane adventure will be enthralled by Sarah Harian’s Eight Will Fall, a genre-bending YA fantasy standalone, perfect for fans of Kendare Blake and Leigh Bardugo.

Novice Dragoneer by E E Knight
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

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.

What November release are you most excited for? Tell us in the comments below!

The post November 2019 Book Releases appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

With stories from the authors of Black Spot Books – Sam Hooker, Alcy Leyva, Laura Morrison, Dalena Storm, Cassondra Windwalker, and Seven Jane.

This book is a delightfully decadent descent into Yuletide madness and horrors that were hilariously imaginative and chilling…in essence, the perfect Christmas tales. Each author in this anthology takes their own twist on a popular Christmas time figure or story and turns it inside out and upside down. You’ll revel in the undeniable moral quandaries that bleed from the pages, and I honestly can’t get enough. My favourite short story was a devilish re-hashing of A Christmas Carol, with added allegorical appeal. These are perfect stocking stuffers for the horror loving eccentrics out there. I felt myself become one with the turn of each page.

A Midnight Clear is composed of six short stories by Black Spot Books authors. Featured within its pages are Sam Hooker, Alcy Leyva, Laura Morrison Cassondra Windwalker, Dalena Storm, and Seven Jane. You’ll start with a story of the North Pole’s Candy Court, venture into the tale of a cursed wolf, wander into the paths of the devil ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future, stumble into a murder with a Rocky Mountain setting, run from the tale of a winter god awoken from his sleep before his time, and crash head-first into the tale of a woman who’s cold spirit turns her very self into ice. Who knows who, or what, will be left alive at the end of these stories, but rest assured, you won’t see any of these endings coming.

Okay, so for 220 pages, this book moved really fast for me. Or maybe that’s just how quickly I was devouring these stories. Each one has its own unique voice and personality, and starting with The Dauntless, with Santa’s Candy Court was genius. I didn’t see any of the twists in this story coming, and man did I laugh, and fight a chill when I found out what was coming. I mentioned it at the beginning, but my favourite story was Movin’ On Up, a creatively re-imagined A Christmas Carol. Of course, I won’t get into it too much because I’d be spoiling the story, but the devil’s in the details. Tidings of the Moon and Sleep, Sweet Khors were gripping tales of the things that we fear, but with a fresh perspective on both.

The Poetry of Snow and Stars was a fun murder mystery with an added romance element that I feel would be accompanied by a hauntingly sad melody if it were projected on a movie screen. I loved the names in this story, I felt that they held a certain symbolism that added a mystical element to an anguished tale. This anthology ends with Snow Angel, where a woman wrapped in her own belief of the Christmas learns the true meaning of Christmas when she freezes solid (think Anna from Frozen). It reminds us of how easily people get trapped into the details of what is intended to be a moment to make memories with family. It was poignant, and an excellent end to this book.

Now, there’s heart-warming bits, and there are scary bits, and there are also little bits of carnage sprinkled throughout like confetti. I would say this may not be for the faint of heart, because these authors are great descriptors, and boy do they know how to describe the tearing of limbs, bodies, and other horrors I hadn’t quite thought of. You’ll be left with more questions than answers in some stories, which in traditional horror fashion, just makes you want to open the next door at your own peril.

There wasn’t anything that I found particularly difficult to get through, although I did get a little lost while reading The Dauntless story. I just had a moment where the flow of the story felt disjointed, but overall, still a wonderful read. The other stories flowed well, and I especially loved how Sleep, Sweet Khors flowed. Not only that, but it was followed by the lyrics to the carol that is sung in the story, and I loved having that.

Overall, I would highly recommend picking up this book. I rate it a 9/10, just for the little bit of disjointedness at the beginning, however, the rest of them more than make up for it. It will definitely be just what Santa didn’t want to deliver on Christmas Day.

A Midnight Clear is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers as of November 5th 2019.

Will you be picking up A Midnight Clear? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis | Goodreads

Six stories of not-so-merry Yuletide whimsy from the authors of Black Spot Books. A woman so cold she hardens to ice on a winter’s eve. Risen from his grave before his time, a winter god alters the balance between seasons. A wolf’s holiday season is interrupted by a strange curse. 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.

The post Review: ‘A Midnight Clear’ Anthology appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

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
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

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
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

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
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

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
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

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
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

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
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

August

Pale Kings by Micah Yongo
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

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
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

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
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

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
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

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
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Kingdom of Souls by Rena Barron
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

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
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

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
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

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
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

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
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

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 July to December 2019 fantasy and sci-fi releases are you most excited for? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Exciting Fantasy & Sci-Fi Books Out In July-December 2019 appeared first on The Nerd Daily.