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When one looks in the box, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the cat.

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Elves and fae, vampires and… Peter Pan? Fantasy hits the fantastical in July (must be the heat). Look for new series titles from Wen Spencer, Gav Thorpe, Paula Brandon, and Yasmine Galenorn, while Alex Bledsoe’s Eddie LaCrosse hits the high seas and Artemis Fowl is back with a vengeance.

Fiction Affliction details releases in science fiction, fantasy, urban fantasy, paranormal romance, and “genre-benders.” Keep track of them all here.

WEEK ONE

Elfhome (Elfhome, Book 3), by Wen Spencer (July 3, Baen)

Elfhome. A world of powerful magic, beautiful elves, man-eating trees, frost-breathing wargs, and god-like dragons. Pittsburgh. A city that has been stranded deep in virgin elfin forest to stave off an invasion by the merciless oni. Its population of sixty thousand humans and a handful of elves are pitted in war that will only end in genocide. Winter is coming. Supplies are running low. All political ties are fraying. Hidden somewhere in Pittsburgh’s crumbling neighborhoods, a vanguard of oni are growing in number and attacking from the shadows. And children are disappearing.

Night Seeker (Indigo Court, Book 3), by Yasmine Galenorn (July 3, Berkley)

Eons ago, vampires tried to turn the dark Fae to harness their magic, only to create a demonic enemy more powerful than they could have imagined. Now, the Vampiric Fae are on the move, hunting anyone in their path. As the war with the vampires ratchets up, Myst, Queen of the Indigo Court, enshrouds New Forest in her chilling grasp. Cicely Waters, owl shifter and Wind Witch, has rescued the Fae Prince Grieve at a great cost. Their reunion has lost them the allegiance of the Summer Queen—and the tolerance of the vampires. In desperation they turn to the Consortium for help.

Tiger Lily, by Jodi Lynn Anderson (July 3, HarperTeen)

Fifteen-year-old Tiger Lily doesn’t believe in love stories or happy endings. Then she meets the alluring teenage Peter Pan in the forbidden woods of Neverland. Peter is unlike anyone she’s ever known. Soon, she is risking everything to be with him. When she is faced with marriage to a terrible man in her own tribe, she must choose between the life she’s always known and running away to an uncertain future with Peter. With enemies threatening to tear them apart, the lovers seem doomed. But it’s the arrival of Wendy Darling, an English girl who’s everything Tiger Lily is not, that leads Tiger Lily to discover that the most dangerous enemies can live inside even the most loyal and loving heart. Young adult.

Wake of the Bloody Angel (Eddie LaCrosse, Book 4), by Alex Bledsoe (July 3, Tor)

Twenty years ago, a barmaid in a harbor town fell for a young sailor who turned pirate to make his fortune. But what truly became of Black Edward Tew remains a mystery. For years, freelance sword jockey Eddie LaCrosse has kept his office above Angelina’s tavern, so when Angelina herself asks him to find out what happened to the dashing pirate two decades ageo, he can hardly say no. Some say Black Edward and his ship, The Bloody Angel, went to bottom of the sea, taking with it a king’s fortune in treasure. Others say he rules a wealthy, secret pirate kingdom. And a few believe he still sails under a ghostly flag with a crew of the damned. To find the truth, and earn his twenty-five gold pieces a day, Eddie must take to sea in the company of a former pirate queen in search of the infamous Black Edward Tew.

War Maid’s Choice (War God, Book 4), by David Weber (July 3, Baen)

Bahzell has become the first hradani wind rider in history. And, even if Bahzell is the War God’s champion, because the wind riders are the elite of the elite among the Sothoii, Bahzell’s ascension is as likely to stir resentment as respect. What’s more, Baron Tellian’s daughter, the heir to the realm, seems to be thinking that he is the only man (or hradani) for her.

 

WEEK TWO

House of Shadows, by Rachel Neumeier (July 10, Orbit)

Orphaned, two sisters are left to find their own fortunes. Sweet and proper, Karah’s future seems secure at a glamorous Flower House. She could be pampered for the rest of her life… if she agrees to play their game. Nemienne, neither sweet nor proper, has fewer choices. Left with no alternative, she accepts a mysterious mage’s offer of an apprenticeship. Agreeing means a home and survival, but can Nemienne trust the mage? 

The Last Guardian (Artemis Fowl, Book 8), by Eoin Colfer (July 10, Hyperion)

Seemingly nothing in this world daunts the young criminal mastermind Artemis Fowl. In the fairy world, however, there is a small thing that has gotten under his skin on more than one occasion: Opal Koboi. The evil pixie is wreaking havoc yet again. This time his arch rival has somehow reanimated dead fairy warriors who were buried in the grounds of Fowl Manor. Their spirits have possessed Artemis’s little brothers, making his siblings even more annoying than usual. The warriors don’t seem to realize that the battle they were fighting against Artemis when they died is long over. Artemis has until sunrise to get the spirits to vacate his brothers and go back into the earth where they belong. Young adult.

 

WEEK THREE

Queen’s Hunt (River of Souls, Book 2), by Beth Bernobich (July 17, Tor)

Ilse Zhalina has left to start a new life in a garrisoned fort, leagues from her estranged lover, Raul Kosenmark. By faking a violent quarrel the couple hope to mislead Kosenmark’s enemies so that he can continue to influence the politics of the kingdom, while keeping Ilse safe from royal assassins. Ilse is set on her own quest to find one of the three fabled jewels of Lir. One of the jewels is held by King Dzavek, sworn enemy of Veraene, who has used the jewel’s power to live for centuries. Ilse seeks one of the other stones to counterbalance Dzavek’s efforts to destroy her country. In her search, she encounters a shipwrecked prisoner from another land, a woman who has a secret of her own and the second jewel in her keeping. The two women become allies in their quest for the third jewel, because finding and controlling these stones could mean salvation for both of their nations.

Sharps, by K.J. Parker (July 17, Orbit)

For the first time in nearly forty years, an uneasy truce has been called between two neighboring kingdoms. The war has been long and brutal, fought over the usual things: resources, land, money. Now, there is a chance for peace. Diplomatic talks have begun and with them, the games. Two teams of fencers represent their nations at this pivotal moment. When the future of the world lies balanced on the point of a rapier, one misstep could mean ruin for all.

The Girl with Borrowed Wings, by Rinsai Rossetti (July 19, Dial)

Controlled by her father and bound by desert, Frenenqer Paje’s life is tediously the same, until a small act of rebellion explodes her world and she meets a boy, but not just a boy—a Free person, a winged person, a shape-shifter. He has everything Frenenqer doesn’t. No family, no attachments, no rules. At night, he flies them to the far-flung places of their childhoods to retrace their pasts. But when the delicate balance of their friendship threatens to rupture into something more, Frenenqer must confront her isolation, her father, and her very sense of identity, breaking all the rules of her life to become free. Young adult.

 

WEEK FOUR

The Woman Who Married a Cloud: The Collected Short Stories, by Jonathan Carroll (July 28, Subterranean)

The most complete collection of Jonathan Carroll’s fiction ever published. It collects 37 stories written across a thirty-year career, a number appearing in print for the first time, in a single volume.

Blood of the Emperor (The Annals of Drakis, Book 3), by Tracy Hickman (July 31)

It appears that an ancient prophecy is about to be fulfilled as the human named Drakis—formerly one of countless warrior-slaves to the elves of the Rhonas Empire—returns from his quest in the North. Flying into the rebel camp with his surviving companions on the backs of the legendary dragons that were once humankind’s most powerful allies, Drakis is hailed as the champion of all the slave races. But it is not a prophecy that drives Drakis in his war against the elves and their emperor. Rather it is his burning desire for revenge against the cruel ruler whom Drakis believes has stolen any chance he has for finding peace.

Exile (The Outcast Chronicles, Book 2), by Rowena Cory Daniells (July 31, Solaris)

King Chald has banished the mystics. Their leader, Imoshen, hopes to find a new home for her people but first they must reach port. Fearing they will be waylaid, robbed and murdered, Imoshen offers a reward for living mystics. When he arrives in port, Tobazim discovers the mystics’ ships have been stolen and merchants are charging exorbitant prices for supplies. Meanwhile, Ronnyn and his family are kidnapped by fishermen eager for the reward. Whether the ships are ready or not, on the first day of winter all the mystics must leave. Those who remain behind will be hunted down and executed. Time is running out for Imoshen, Tobazim and the children.

The Crown of the Usurper (Crown of the Blood, Book 3), by Gav Thorpe (July 31, Angry Robot)

Ullsaard rules the known world. All are subject to his will. Yet even as another king bows before him, there are those who would wrench his empire from beneath him. He must risk losing the lands he has conquered to confront a foe far more powerful than any he has faced before. As alliances shift and old enemies return, will he save the empire he has given his life to, or let it fall to ruin?

The Wanderers (Veiled Isles, Book 3), by Paula Brandon (July 31, Spectra)

Falaste Rione is imprisoned, sentenced to death. And even though the magical balance of the Source is slipping and the fabric of reality itself has begun to tear, Jianna Belandor can think only of freeing the man she loves. But to do so, she must join a revolution she once despised and risk reunion with a husband she has ample reason to fear. Meanwhile, undead creatures terrorize the land, slaves of the Overmind, a relentless consciousness determined to bring everything that lives under its sway. All that stands in the way is a motley group of arcanists whose combined powers will barely suffice to restore balance to the Source.

 


Author Suzanne Johnson is a book geek with a fondness for a good dystopia. Royal Street, the first in her Sentinels of New Orleans series, is set in New Orleans during and after Hurricane Katrina. Find Suzanne on Twitter and Facebook.

About the Author

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Suzanne Johnson

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Urban fantasy author with a new series, set in immediate post-Katrina New Orleans, starting with ROYAL STREET on April 10, 2012, from Tor Books. Urban fantasy author with a new series, set in immediate post-Katrina New Orleans, starting with ROYAL STREET on April 10, 2012, from Tor Books.
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