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38 New Epic Fantasy Books Coming Soon

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38 New Epic Fantasy Books Coming Soon

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Published on August 20, 2018

Just as the prophecy foretold…

Between now and summer 2019, there are a staggering number of new and returning epic fantasy novels in the works. Thieves, mercenaries, royal bastards, princesses’ doubles, armored saints, and many more fill the pages of these tales (some illustrated!) of alliances forged, wars waged, magic lost and rediscovered.

For every end, there is a beginning…

For every epic fantasy trilogy or series wrapping up in the coming months, there are just as many new sagas unfolding. Some return to familiar fantasy lands—Middle-earth, the Forgotten Realms, Osten Ard, Earthsea, Westeros—for new adventures, while others draw upon real-world settings and mythologies, like Morocco or India’s Mughal Empire, to create dazzling new epics.

Adventure awaits…

 

Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett (The Founders Trilogy #1)
August 21, Crown

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Foundryside
Foundryside

Foundryside

In a city that runs on industrialized magic, a secret war will be fought to overwrite reality itself—the first in a dazzling new series from City of Stairs author Robert Jackson Bennett.

Sancia Grado is a thief, and a damn good one. And her latest target, a heavily guarded warehouse on Tevanne’s docks, is nothing her unique abilities can’t handle.

But unbeknownst to her, Sancia’s been sent to steal an artifact of unimaginable power, an object that could revolutionize the magical technology known as scriving. The Merchant Houses who control this magic—the art of using coded commands to imbue everyday objects with sentience—have already used it to transform Tevanne into a vast, remorseless capitalist machine. But if they can unlock the artifact’s secrets, they will rewrite the world itself to suit their aims.

Now someone in those Houses wants Sancia dead, and the artifact for themselves. And in the city of Tevanne, there’s nobody with the power to stop them.

To have a chance at surviving—and at stopping the deadly transformation that’s under way—Sancia will have to marshal unlikely allies, learn to harness the artifact’s power for herself, and undergo her own transformation, one that will turn her into something she could never have imagined.

 

Mirage by Somaiya Daud
August 28, Flatiron Books

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Mirage
Mirage

Mirage

Daud’s debut is inspired by her own Moroccan heritage: In a world dominated by the brutal Vathek empire, eighteen-year-old Amani is a dreamer. She dreams of what life was like before the occupation; she dreams of writing poetry like the old-world poems she adores; she dreams of receiving a sign from Dihya that one day, she, too, will have adventure, and travel beyond her isolated home.

But when adventure comes for Amani, it is not what she expects: she is kidnapped by the regime and taken in secret to the royal palace, where she discovers that she is nearly identical to the cruel half-Vathek Princess Maram. The princess is so hated by her conquered people that she requires a body double, someone to appear in public as Maram, ready to die in her place.

As Amani is forced into her new role, she can’t help but enjoy the palace’s beauty—and her time with the princess’ fiancé, Idris. But the glitter of the royal court belies a world of violence and fear. If Amani ever wishes to see her family again, she must play the princess to perfection…because one wrong move could lead to her death.

 

Bloody Rose by Nicholas Eames (The Band #2)
August 28, Orbit Books

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Bloody Rose
Bloody Rose

Bloody Rose

A band of fabled mercenaries, led by the infamous Bloody Rose, tour a wild fantasy landscape, battling monsters in arenas in front of thousands of adoring fans, but a secret and dangerous gig ushers them to the frozen north, and the band is never one to waste a shot at glory… even if it means almost certain death.

Live fast, die young.

Tam Hashford is tired of working at her local pub, slinging drinks for world-famous mercenaries and listening to the bards sing of adventure and glory in the world beyond her sleepy hometown.

When the biggest mercenary band of all, led by the infamous Bloody Rose, rolls into town, Tam jumps at the chance to sign on as their bard. It’s adventure she wants – and adventure she gets as the crew embark on a quest that will end in one of two ways: glory or death.

It’s time to take a walk on the wyld—that’s Kings of the Wyld—side.

 

The Fall of Gondolin by J.R.R. Tolkien (edited by Christopher Tolkien)
August 30, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

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The Fall of Gondolin
The Fall of Gondolin

The Fall of Gondolin

In the words of J.R.R. Tolkien himself, The Fall of Gondolin has always been “the first real story of this imaginary world”; it, Beren and Lúthien, and The Children of Húrin are regarded as the three “Great Tales” of the Elder Days. Edited by Christopher Tolkien using the same “history in sequence” mode that he did for 2017’s standalone edition of Beren and Lúthien, and illustrated by Alan Lee, this new standalone edition will collect multiple versions of the story together for the first time.

Taking place millennia before the events of The Lord of the Rings, The Fall of Gondolin marks the beginning of the end of the First Age, or Elder Days, of Middle-earth. The tale contains two of the greatest powers in the world: Morgoth of the uttermost evil, unseen in this story but ruling over a vast military power from his fortress of Angband. Deeply opposed to Morgoth is Ulmo, second in might only to Manwë, chief of the Valar: he is called the Lord of Waters, of all seas, lakes, and rivers under the sky. But he works in secret in Middle-earth to support the Noldor, the kindred of the Elves among whom were numbered Húrin and Túrin Turambar.

Central to this enmity of the gods is the city of Gondolin, beautiful but undiscoverable. It was built and peopled by Noldorin Elves who, when they dwelt in Valinor, the land of the gods, rebelled against their rule and fled to Middle-earth. Turgon King of Gondolin is hated and feared above all his enemies by Morgoth, who seeks in vain to discover the marvelously hidden city, while the gods in Valinor in heated debate largely refuse to intervene in support of Ulmo’s desires and designs.

 

Timeless by R.A. Salvatore (Legend of Drizzt #34)
September 4, Harper Voyager

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Timeless
Timeless

Timeless

Salvatore returns to the Forgotten Realms with one of fantasy’s most beloved and enduring icons, the dark elf Drizzt Do’Urden, in an all-new trilogy full of swordplay, danger, and imaginative thrills.

Centuries ago, in the city of Menzoberranzan—the City of Spiders, the city of drow—nestled deep in the unmerciful Underdark of Toril, a young weapon master earned a reputation far above his station or that of his poor house.

Zaknafein.

The greater nobles watched him, and one powerful Matron—Malice—decided to take him as her own. She connived with rival houses to secure her prize, but it was ultimately the roguish Jarlaxle who caught him.

Thus sparked the birth of two key moments in Menzoberranzan: the coupling of a noble and weapon master that would produce Drizzt Do’Urden…and the friendship between Zaknafein and Jarlaxle.

R. A. Salvatore reveals the Underdark anew through the eyes of this unlikely pair—offering a fresh take on the intrigue and opportunities to be found in the shadows, and providing a fascinating prelude to the journeys that have shaped the modern-day Forgotten Realms. There, Zaknafein and Drizzt are joined together in a series of trials that parallel those of centuries long past, even though their paths no longer seem to be aligned. How will a father, so long constrained by the vicious and conservative world of the drow, be able to reconcile his ingrained prejudices with the world and companions of his enlightened son?

The answer lies in their desire for peace over chaos. And as long as the scourge of the goddess Lolth’s ambitions still remain, both are determined to keep her dark will at bay. But the Spider Queen is powerful, and now demons have been unleashed on the unwitting denizens of the surface world. United in purpose—and through their mutual friendship with Jarlaxle—Zaknafein and Drizzt will need to put aside their differences in order to keep the ones they love safe.

 

Port of Shadows by Glen Cook (Chronicles of the Black Company #1.5)
September 11, Tor Books

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Port of Shadows
Port of Shadows

Port of Shadows

With Port of Shadows, Cook returns to the Black Company after nearly two decades. However, while this is the 11th novel in the series, chronologically the story takes place between the first two novels, The Black Company and Shadows Linger. After emerging from The Lady’s Tower unchanged, physician Croaker finds that he—and by extension, the Black Company—has gained unwanted attention by dint of being “The Lady’s favored.” When the soldiers cross paths with the court of sorcerers known as The Ten Who Were Taken, they receive their next job: seek the aid of their newest member, Mischievous Rain, to break a rebel army. However, Croaker doesn’t trust any of the Taken, especially not ones that look so much like The Lady and her sister…

Check out the full cover and a brief excerpt from the book.

 

Barren by Peter V. Brett (Demon Cycle #5.5)
September 25, Harper Voyager

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Barren
Barren

Barren

Brett returns to the Demon Cycle with a new novella: Each night, the world is overrun by bloodthirsty demons. For centuries, humanity survived only by hiding behind defensive wards—magical symbols with the power to repel the demons. Now, the rediscovery of long-forgotten combat wards has given them the magic they need to fight back.

In Tibbet’s Brook, the fighting wards have brought change, but the factions and grudges of a troubled past remain. Selia Square, the woman they call Barren, has long been the force that holds the Brook together. As a terrifying new threat emerges, she rallies her people once again.

But Selia has a past of her own. And in a small community the personal and the political can never be divided. If Tibbet’s Brook is to survive, Selia must uncover memories she has buried deep—the woman she once was, the woman she once loved—and retell their story.

 

A Winter’s Promise by Christelle Dabos (The Mirror Visitor Quartet #1)
September 25, Europa Editions

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A Winter's Promise
A Winter's Promise

A Winter's Promise

Plain-spoken, headstrong Ophelia cares little about appearances. Her ability to read the past of objects is unmatched in all of Anima and, what’s more, she possesses the ability to travel through mirrors, a skill passed down to her from previous generations. Her idyllic life is disrupted, however, when she is promised in marriage to Thorn, a taciturn and influential member of a distant clan.

Ophelia must leave all she knows behind and follow her fiancé to Citaceleste, the capital of a cold, icy ark known as the Pole, where danger lurks around every corner and nobody can be trusted. There, in the presence of her inscrutable future husband, Ophelia slowly realizes that she is a pawn in a political game that will have far-reaching ramifications not only for her but for her entire world. The French bestseller and start of an epic fantasy quartet has been translated into English.

 

Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor (Strange the Dreamer #2)
October 2, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

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Muse of Nightmares
Muse of Nightmares

Muse of Nightmares

Taylor, author of the Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy, presents the sequel to Strange the Dreamer.

Sarai has lived and breathed nightmares since she was six years old.
She believed she knew every horror, and was beyond surprise.
She was wrong.

In the wake of tragedy, neither Lazlo nor Sarai are who they were before. One a god, the other a ghost, they struggle to grasp the new boundaries of their selves as dark-minded Minya holds them hostage, intent on vengeance against Weep.

Lazlo faces an unthinkable choice—save the woman he loves, or everyone else?—while Sarai feels more helpless than ever. But is she? Sometimes, only the direst need can teach us our own depths, and Sarai, the muse of nightmares, has not yet discovered what she’s capable of.

As humans and godspawn reel in the aftermath of the citadel’s near fall, a new foe shatters their fragile hopes, and the mysteries of the Mesarthim are resurrected: Where did the gods come from, and why? What was done with thousands of children born in the citadel nursery? And most important of all, as forgotten doors are opened and new worlds revealed: Must heroes always slay monsters, or is it possible to save them instead?

 

The Phoenix Empress by K. Arsenault Rivera (Their Bright Ascendency #2)
October 9, Tor Books

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The Phoenix Empress
The Phoenix Empress

The Phoenix Empress

Reunited after the epistolary events of The Tiger’s Daughter, Shefali and Shizuka—brought together by fate, bound by love—must fulfill the prophecy that names them as saviors of an empire. Except that Shefali, with demon’s blood running through her veins (the only person to survive such an attack with her self intact), is dying. She can’t tell her wife, as the Empress is consumed by the need to unite her fractured empire and right the wrongs of her ancestors. Shefali must figure out how to save the empire, and herself, as demonic forces congregate at the borders and civil unrest boils from within…

Or, as Rivera describes it on Twitter: “If you read Tiger and thought to yourself, ‘Man, this was gay, but what it really needs is a Seven Samurai meets Blair Witch suicide mission,’ then I’ve got you covered!”

The Phoenix Empress is part of Tor Books’ #FearlessWomen coverage.

 

The Black Khan by Ausma Zehanat Khan (Khorasan Archives #2)
October 16, Harper Voyager

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The Black Khan
The Black Khan

The Black Khan

To fight against the cruel and superstitious patriarchy known as the Talisman, members of the resistance group known as the Companions of Hira have risked their lives in a failed attempt to procure The Bloodprint—a dangerous text that may hold the secret to overthrowing the terrifying regime. Now, with their plans in ashes, the Companions of Hira have scattered, and the lives of two brave women at the center of the plot—Arian and Sinnia—face unprecedented danger.

Yet a spark of hope flickers in the darkness—the Bloodprint has survived. It is hidden in Ashfall, the seat of Rukh, the Black Khan, whose court is ruled by intrigue and conspiracy. Treacherous enemies ruthlessly maneuver for power behind the throne, including the autocratic Grand Vizier; the deadly and secretive Assassin; the Khan’s deposed half-brother; and the commander of Ashfall’s army, who is also Rukh’s oldest friend.

The Companions of Hira must somehow reunite, break through Talisman lines, and infiltrate Ashfall. A master of treachery himself, the Black Khan joins forces with these powerful women to manipulate them for his own ends. But as Ashfall comes under siege, he is forced to make a deadly calculation… one that could cause irrevocable damage to the Companions and their fight for freedom.

 

The Queen of Crows by Myke Cole (The Sacred Throne #2)
October 16, Tor.com Publishing

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The Queen of Crows (The Sacred Throne)
The Queen of Crows (The Sacred Throne)

The Queen of Crows (The Sacred Throne)

After becoming The Armored Saint, Heloise stands tall against overwhelming odds—crippling injuries, religious tyrants—and continues her journey from obscurity to greatness with the help of alchemically-empowered armor and an unbreakable spirit.

No longer just a shell-shocked girl, she is now a figure of revolution whose cause grows ever stronger. But the time for hiding underground is over. Heloise must face the tyrannical Order and win freedom for her people.

 

 

Crown of Thunder by Tochi Onyebuchi (Beasts Made of Night #2)
October 16, Razorbill

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Crown of Thunder
Crown of Thunder

Crown of Thunder

In the sequel to the acclaimed Beasts Made of Night, Taj has escaped Kos, but Queen Karima will go to any means necessary—including using the most deadly magic—to track him down.

Taj is headed west, but the consequences of leaving Kos behind confront him at every turn. Innocent civilians flee to refugee camps as Karima’s dark magic continues to descend on the city. Taj must return, but first he needs a plan.

With Arzu’s help, Taj and Aliya make it to the village of her ancestors, home of the tastahlik—sin-eaters with Taj’s same ability to both battle and call forth sins. As Taj comes to terms with his new magic, he realizes there are two very different groups of tastahlik—one using their powers for good, the other for more selfish ends.

Aliya is struggling with her own unique capabilities. She’s immersed in her work to uncover the secret to Karima’s magic, but her health begins to mysteriously deteriorate. With the help of a local western mage, Aliya uncovers her true destiny—a future she’s not sure she wants.

As Taj and Aliya explore their feelings for each other and Arzu connects with her homeland, the local westerners begin to question Taj’s true identity. Karima is on his heels, sending dark warnings to the little village where he’s hiding. Taj will have to go back and face her before she sends her mostly deadly weapon—Taj’s former best friend, Bo.

 

The Books of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition by Ursula K. Le Guin (illustrated by Charles Vess)
October 23, Saga Press

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The Books of Earthsea
The Books of Earthsea

The Books of Earthsea

Commemorating the 50th anniversary of A Wizard of Earthsea is this omnibus edition, which collects a number of Le Guin’s stories, her “Earthsea Revisioned” Oxford lecture, and a never-before-printed Earthsea story.

Fifty (!) illustrations from Charles Vess, commissioned and selected by Le Guin, bring to life stories including “A Wizard of Earthsea,” “The Tombs of Atuan,” “The Farthest Shore,” “Tehanu,” “Tales from Earthsea,” “The Other Wind,” “The Rule of Names,” “The Word of Unbinding,” and “The Daughter of Odren.” And, to top it all off, a new introduction from the late author.

 

Cold Iron by Miles Cameron (Masters and Mages #1)
October 23, Orbit Books

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Cold Iron
Cold Iron

Cold Iron

Cameron, author of The Traitor Son Cycle, presents a new epic fantasy trilogy: Aranthur is a promising young mage. His talents compel him to attend University to develop his abilities further. But the world is not safe for a mage, and after a confrontation leaves him no choice but to display his skill with a blade, Aranthur is instructed to train under a renowned Master of Swords.

During his intensive training he begins to question the bloody life he’s chosen. And while studying under the Master, Aranthur is conscripted to the City Militia. Soon after, he finds himself thrown into the middle of a political revolt that will impact everyone he’s come to know.

To protect his friends, Arnathur will be forced to decide if he can truly follow the Master of Swords into a life of violence and cold-hearted commitment to the blade.

 

Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas (Throne of Glass #7)
October 23, Bloomsbury USA

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Kingdom of Ash
Kingdom of Ash

Kingdom of Ash

In the final book in the epic Throne of Glass series, Aelin Galathynius’s journey from slave to king’s assassin to the queen of a once-great kingdom reaches its heart-rending finale as war erupts across her world.

Aelin has risked everything to save her people—but at a tremendous cost. Locked within an iron coffin by the Queen of the Fae, Aelin must draw upon her fiery will as she endures months of torture. Aware that yielding to Maeve will doom those she loves keeps her from breaking, though her resolve begins to unravel with each passing day…

With Aelin captured, Aedion and Lysandra remain the last line of defense to protect Terrasen from utter destruction. Yet they soon realize that the many allies they’ve gathered to battle Erawan’s hordes might not be enough to save them. Scattered across the continent and racing against time, Chaol, Manon, and Dorian are forced to forge their own paths to meet their fates. Hanging in the balance is any hope of salvation—and a better world.

And across the sea, his companions unwavering beside him, Rowan hunts to find his captured wife and queen—before she is lost to him forever.

As the threads of fate weave together at last, all must fight, if they are to have a chance at a future. Some bonds will grow even deeper, while others will be severed forever.

 

The Monster Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson (The Masquerade #2)
October 30, Tor Books

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The Monster Baru Cormorant
The Monster Baru Cormorant

The Monster Baru Cormorant

Her world was shattered by the Empire of Masks.
For the power to shatter the Masquerade,
She betrayed everyone she loved.

The Traitor Baru Cormorant is now the cryptarch Agonist—a secret lord of the empire she’s vowed to destroy.

Hunted by a mutinous admiral, haunted by the wound which has split her mind in two, Baru leads her dearest foes on an expedition for the secret of immortality. It’s her chance to trigger a war that will consume the Masquerade.

But Baru’s heart is broken, and she fears she can no longer tell justice from revenge… or her own desires from the will of the man who remade her. While the first installment of Seth Dickinson’s epic fantasy series took place entirely from Baru’s perspective—though even she hid some information from readers—the sequel expands the world, tracing the aftershocks of Baru’s various betrayals through the eyes of Apparitor, Xate Yawa, and more.

 

The Long Price Quartet by Daniel Abraham
November 13, Tor Books

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The Long Price Quartet
The Long Price Quartet

The Long Price Quartet

For the first time, this volume collects the entire Long Price Quartet: A Shadow in Summer, A Betrayal in Winter, An Autumn War, and The Price of Spring. Abraham, co-author of the Expanse series, presents a world of ancient empires and immortal magics, in which one man stands at the crossroads of history.

The aggressively expansionist Galt empire has already conquered lands across a huge continent. But the cities of the Khaiem resist Galt’s power with the andat creatures of magic with godlike powers. But magic and treacherous politics have brought a bitter harvest of violence and sorrow.

Otah Machi, caught between ancient wonders and a modern empire, has survived more than most men endure in two lifetimes. He is the culmination of a complex inheritance, and his own existence is the fulcrum around which the wheels of epic history rotate through achingly poignant cycles of life and death, love and betrayal.

Now, when the world seems utterly lost, all depends on Otah, and the lost loves and found family he has desperately hoped to protect from the tragedy that beckons. If they can summon the courage and power to forgive and resist darkness, all their hopes could be salvaged—along with their world.

 

The Winter Road by Adrian Selby
November 13, Orbit Books

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The Winter Road
The Winter Road

The Winter Road

The greatest empire of them all began with a road.

The Circle—a thousand miles of perilous forests and warring clans. No one has ever tamed such treacherous territory before, but ex-soldier Teyr Amondsen, veteran of a hundred battles, is determined to try.

With a merchant caravan protected by a crew of skilled mercenaries, Amondsen embarks on a dangerous mission to forge a road across the untamed wilderness that was once her home. But a warlord rises in the wilds of the Circle, uniting its clans and terrorising its people. Teyr’s battles may not be over yet…

All roads lead back to war.

 

Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri
November 13, Orbit Books

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Empire of Sand
Empire of Sand

Empire of Sand

The Amrithi are outcasts; nomads descended of desert spirits, they are coveted and persecuted throughout the Empire for the power in their blood. Mehr is the illegitimate daughter of an imperial governor and an exiled Amrithi mother she can barely remember, but whose face and magic she has inherited.

When Mehr’s power comes to the attention of the Emperor’s most feared mystics, she must use every ounce of will, subtlety, and power she possesses to resist their cruel agenda.

Should she fail, the gods themselves may awaken seeking vengeance…

 

Fire & Blood: 300 Years Before A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
November 20, Bantam

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Fire & Blood
Fire & Blood

Fire & Blood

It’s about time that Westeros got its own The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, don’t you think? With all the fire and fury fans have come to expect from A Song of Ice and Fire author Martin, this is the first volume of the definitive two-part history of the Targaryens in Westeros.

Centuries before the events of A Game of Thrones, House Targaryen—the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria—took up residence on Dragonstone. Fire & Blood begins their tale with the legendary Aegon the Conqueror, creator of the Iron Throne, and goes on to recount the generations of Targaryens who fought to hold that iconic seat, all the way up to the civil war that nearly tore their dynasty apart.

What really happened during the Dance of the Dragons? Why was it so deadly to visit Valyria after the Doom? What were Maegor the Cruel’s worst crimes? What was it like in Westeros when dragons ruled the skies? These are but a few of the questions answered in this essential chronicle, as related by a learned maester of the Citadel and featuring more than eighty all-new black-and-white illustrations by artist Doug Wheatley.

 

City of Broken Magic by Mirah Bolender
November 20, Tor Books

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City of Broken Magic
City of Broken Magic

City of Broken Magic

Five hundred years ago, magi created a weapon they couldn’t control. An infestation that ate magic—and anything else it came into contact with. Enemies and allies were equally filling.

Only an elite team of non-magical humans, known as sweepers, can defuse and dispose of infestations before they spread. (Yes, it’s a magical bomb squad.) Most die before they finish training. Laura, a new team member, has stayed alive longer than most. Now, she’s the last—and only—sweeper standing between the city and a massive infestation in Bolender’s debut fantasy.

City of Broken Magic is also part of #FearlessWomen! Read an excerpt here.

 

Blood of Ten Kings by Edward Lazellari (Guardians of Aandor #3)
December 4, Tor Books

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Blood of Ten Kings
Blood of Ten Kings

Blood of Ten Kings

The Guardians return to their reality, ill-equipped to fend off Farrenheil’s invading soldiers, which have saturated the kingdom. Daniel and Seth must vanquish ancient ghosts to claim the powers of their birthrights even as Cat MacDonnell fights to retain her husband against a kingdom that would rather see Callum wed to Chryslantha Godwynn.

Their fellowship broken, Seth, Catherine, Callum, and Daniel must deftly navigate the dangers of Aandor or face oblivion at the hands of their enemies, as the Aandor trilogy comes to an end.

 

A King in Cobwebs by David Keck (The Tales of Durand #3)
December 4, Tor Books

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A King in Cobwebs
A King in Cobwebs

A King in Cobwebs

Once a landless second son, Durand has sold his sword to both vicious and noble men and been party to appalling acts of murder as well as self-sacrificing heroism. Now the champion of the Duke of Gireth, Durand’s past has caught up with him.

The land is at the mercy of a paranoid king who has become unfit to rule. As rebellion sparks in a conquered duchy, the final bond holding back the Banished break, unleashing their nightmarish evil on the innocents of the kingdom.

In his final battle against the Banished—and the final installment of the Tales of Durand—Durand comes face to face with the whispering darkness responsible for it all—the king in cobwebs.

 

In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire (Wayward Children #4)
January 8, Tor.com Publishing

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In An Absent Dream
In An Absent Dream

In An Absent Dream

“When I wrote Every Heart a Doorway,” Seanan McGuire says, “I knew I needed to populate the school with people whose experience paralleled Nancy’s without duplicating it, people who had found their own doors and then lost them.” This prequel—fourth in the Wayward Children series but able to be read in any order—reveals how Lundy became the bitter, broken woman trapped in a body that, which each passing day, came to resemble her true self less and less. Because before she met Nancy, Lundy was a very serious young girl, who walked through a door when she was eight, and walked back when her quest was finished. Though it wasn’t to be the only time she walked through and experienced the Goblin Market, where Fair Value determines not only how much you give for something, but also how much is taken from you…

And if Lundy ended up paying more than she expected? Well, that’s Fair Value, too.

 

Reckoning of Fallen Gods by R.A. Salvatore (The Coven #2)
January 29, Tor Books

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Reckoning of Fallen Gods
Reckoning of Fallen Gods

Reckoning of Fallen Gods

While Salvatore’s Tales of the Coven take place during the DemonWars Saga, this new series’ narrative takes place in an entirely different region, occurring parallel to the rest of the saga. Child of a Mad God introduced readers to two orphans: Aoleyn, a girl living among the vicious Usgar barbarians, who utilizes the tribe’s Song of Usgar to work magic; and Talmadge, a trader working with the seven tribes upon which the Usgar prey. But though they start the series working toward opposite ends in the shadow of the mountain of Fierach Speur, their fates become bound after Aoleyn makes a life-altering choice.

After the events of the first book, the winds of change are blowing upon Fireach Speur. Aoelyn risked her life to save the trader Talmadge and it cost her everything that is dear to her, but Talmadge survived and can’t forget the amazing woman that killed a god. Little do they realize, war is coming to the mountain. Far to the west, a fallen empire stirs. One that sees a solar eclipse as a call to war. Their empire once dominated the known world and they want it back.

 

The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons (The Godslayer Cycle #1)
February 5, Tor Books

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The Ruin of Kings
The Ruin of Kings

The Ruin of Kings

As Leigh Butler points out, Lyons’ debut epic fantasy series has two beginnings: a bookend in the form of a letter that lays out exactly what happened, which then jumps to the in media res beginning. But we would argue that there’s a third beginning to the origin story of bastard orphan-turned-heir-turned-destroyer Kihrin: Lyons’ own childhood, built on incredible secrets.

Kihrin is a bastard orphan who grew up on storybook tales of long-lost princes and grand quests. When he is claimed against his will as the long-lost son of a treasonous prince, Kihrin finds that being a long-lost prince isn’t what the storybooks promised. Far from living the dream, Kihrin finds himself practically a prisoner, at the mercy of his new family’s power plays and ambitions. He also discovers that the storybooks have lied about a lot of other things too: dragons, demons, gods, prophecies, true love, and how the hero always wins.

Then again, maybe he’s not the hero, for Kihrin is not destined to save the empire. He’s destined to destroy it.

Read an excerpt from The Ruin of Kings!

 

Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James (The Dark Star Trilogy #1)
February 5, Penguin Publishing Group

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Black Leopard, Red Wolf
Black Leopard, Red Wolf

Black Leopard, Red Wolf

Tracker is known far and wide for his skills as a hunter: “He has a nose,” people say. Engaged to track down a mysterious boy who disappeared three years earlier, Tracker breaks his own rule of always working alone when he finds himself part of a group that comes together to search for the boy. The band is a hodgepodge, full of unusual characters with secrets of their own, including a shape-shifting man-animal known as Leopard.

As Tracker follows the boy’s scent—from one ancient city to another; into dense forests and across deep rivers—he and the band are set upon by creatures intent on destroying them. As he struggles to survive, Tracker starts to wonder: Who, really, is this boy? Why has he been missing for so long? Why do so many people want to keep Tracker from finding him? And perhaps the most important questions of all: Who is telling the truth, and who is lying?

 

Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi (Legacy of Orïsha #2)
March 5, Henry Holt and Co. Books for Young Readers

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Children of Virtue and Vengeance
Children of Virtue and Vengeance

Children of Virtue and Vengeance

After battling the impossible in Children of Blood and Bone, Zélie and Amari have finally succeeded in bringing magic back to the land of Orïsha. But the ritual was more powerful than they could’ve imagined, reigniting the powers of not only the maji, but of nobles with magic ancestry, too.

Now, Zélie struggles to unite the maji in an Orïsha where the enemy is just as powerful as they are. But when the monarchy and military unite to keep control of Orïsha, Zélie must fight to secure Amari’s right to the throne and protect the new maji from the monarchy’s wrath.

With civil war looming on the horizon, Zélie finds herself at a breaking point: she must discover a way to bring the kingdom together or watch as Orïsha tears itself apart.

 

The Perfect Assassin by K.A. Doore (Chronicles of Gadid #1)
March 19, Tor Books

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The Perfect Assassin
The Perfect Assassin

The Perfect Assassin

The assassins of Ghadid serve a higher power, dispensing justice in the shadows. Or so Amastan has been taught.

Until, unexpectedly, Amastan finds the body of a very important drum chief. Until, impossibly, fellow assassins are being killed off. Until, inevitably, Amastan is ordered to solve these murders. Even worse, the jaan of the murdered start roaming the dusty streets of Ghadid, restless spirits seeking any body to possess.

Time is running short, and Amastan must find this perfect assassin or become their next target.

 

Lady Hotspur by Tessa Gratton
April 30, Tor Books

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Lady Hotspur
Lady Hotspur

Lady Hotspur

Inspired by Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Lady Hotspur continues the saga of Innis Lear, centuries later, as revolution, love, and a betrayal corrupt the descendants of two warring kingdoms.

Aremoria has too long existed without magic. Ancient curses have found their voices again in hauntings and mysterious murders, nameless wizards are returning home, and the stars have only a single prophecy to give: the dragon, the lion, the wolf together will make Aremoria whole, or sunder it forever.

Hal was once a knight sworn to protect her future queen Banna. Yet, after a rebellion led by her own mother, she now holds the position as queen of Aremoria. Guilt and bloody memories plague her.

Isarna, known as Lady Hotspur for her temper and warcraft, has never been more lost. Unlike her former lover Hal, Hotspur never expected their love to have a happy ending as female heirs to powerful families. But she was blindsided by Hal’s betrayal.

Banna has fled to Innis Lear to lick her wounds, heal her heart, and plot revenge against those who would usurp her crown.

War is hell—and so are other people.

 

Empire of Grass by Tad Williams (The Last King of Osten Ard #2)
May 7, DAW

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Empire of Grass
Empire of Grass

Empire of Grass

Nearly 25 years after the conclusion of the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series, Williams returned to Osten Ard with a new trilogy, The Last King of Osten Ard. The Witchwood Crown took place 30 years after the events of the prior series, as the realm faced both internal threats of strife and external threats as the Norns began to stir once more.

In the second installment, Simon and Miriamele, royal husband and wife, face danger from every side. Their allies in Hernystir have made a pact with the dreadful Queen of the Norns to allow her armies to cross into mortal lands. The ancient, powerful nation of Nabban is on the verge of bloody civil war, and the fierce nomads of the Thrithings grasslands have begun to mobilize, united by superstitious fervor and their age-old hatred of the city-dwellers. But as the countries and peoples of the High Ward bicker among themselves, battle, bloodshed, and dark magics threaten to pull civilizations to pieces. And over it all looms the mystery of the Witchwood Crown, the deadly puzzle that Simon, Miriamele, and their allies must solve if they wish to survive.

But as the kingdoms of Osten Ard are torn apart by fear and greed, a few individuals will fight for their own lives and destinies—not yet aware that the survival of everything depends on them.

 

Dragonslayer by Duncan Hamilton (The Dragonslayer #1)
May 28, Tor Books

Once a member of the King’s personal guard, Guillot dal Villevauvais spends most days drinking and mourning his wife and child. He’s astonished—and wary—when the Prince Bishop orders him to find and destroy a dragon. He and the Prince Bishop have never exactly been friends and Gill left the capital in disgrace five years ago. So why him? And, more importantly, how is there a dragon to fight when the beasts were hunted to extinction centuries ago by the ancient Chevaliers of the Silver Circle?

On the way to the capitol city, Gill rescues Solène, a young barmaid, who is about to be burned as a witch. He believes her innocent… but she soon proves that she has plenty of raw, untrained power, a problem in this land, where magic is forbidden. Yet the Prince Bishop believes magic will be the key to both destroying the dragon and replacing the young, untried King he pretends to serve with a more pliable figurehead.

Between Gill’s rusty swordsmanship and Solène’s unstable magic, what could go wrong?

 

Stormsong by C.L. Polk (The Kingston Cycle #2)
Summer 2019, Tor.com Publishing

Stormsong is what you get when you mash The Newsroom with the UK Version of House of Cards and make all the primary characters women” is how Polk describes the sequel to Witchmark. As a broken nation tries to patch itself together, one journalist fights to reveal the truth behind the disaster, while keeping her head above the rising tides of revolution.

The second installment follows Avia Jessup, a newswoman whose former lover set Miles on his collision course with truth. As Aeland is invaded by fae visitors and wracked by brutal winter storms, Avia begins to pick at the threads of conspiracy, and finds that every trail leads her to Grace Hensley. The beautiful Chancellor is keeping secrets that could break the country apart, and Avia will have to decide whether exposing the truth is worth the price of blood and fire, and worth risking the budding romance between herself and Grace.

 

The Mage-Fire War by L.E. Modesitt, Jr. (The Saga of Recluce #21)
August 2019, Tor Books

The sequel to Outcasts of Order is also the third book about Beltur—”yes, I know it’s the first time I’ve ever written three books about a character in the Saga of Recluce,” Modesitt wrote on his website when announcing the novel. While Outcasts concluded with Beltur, his new consort Jesslya, and his white mage apprentice settling the town of Haven as a place for white and black mages to exist side by side, the title of the new novel hints at a resurgence in chaos-versus-order tensions.

 

Hollow Empire by Sam Hawke (The Poison Wars #2)
August 2019, Tor Books

When a series is called the Poison Wars, you can’t expect it to all get wrapped up in one book, now can you?

“You can definitely read City of Lies as a standalone—no big cliffhangers and the main plot threads are resolved (for the immediate term anyway),” Hawke said in a recent interview. “But the second book, Hollow Empire, deals with the very messy aftermath of the events in the first book and brings in new but related threats. The story will also pan out to see more of the continent outside Sjona.” Also, there’s at least one Princess Bride homage to look forward to.

 

The God is Not Willing by Steven Erikson (The Karsa Orlong Trilogy #1)
Fall 2019, Tor Books

Erikson’s new Malazan trilogy will take place four to five years after the events of The Crippled God, the final installment of Malazan Book of the Fallen. When Erikson first announced on his Facebook page that he was diving into the new series, he explained the time jump: “[T]here’ll be plenty of room to explore the fall-out, and room for favourite characters to make an appearance beyond Karsa himself.”

 

The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman (The Book of Dust #2)
Fall 2019, Random House Children’s Books

Not too much is known about the second book in Pullman’s return to the His Dark Materials universe, though the title seems to be an homage to Robert Kirk’s 17th-century collection of fairy tale folklore. Readers who might have been surprised to meet baby Lyra Belacqua in La Belle Sauvage will be excited to learn that The Secret Commonwealth takes place 20 years after the first book, and 10 years after the events of HDM; 20-year-old undergraduate Lyra will travel to Central Asia via the Levant.

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