The snow begins to fall around you, and you pull your cape tight across your body for warmth. The way is long and dangerous, but there’s no turning back now. This month’s fantasy titles are all about spells and monsters: strategize against a powerful enemy in Blood of Empire by Brian McClellan; lead the fight against a city of monsters in This Will Kill That by Danielle K. Roux; and read the next installment of the Spellslinger Chronicles in Crownbreaker by Sebastien de Castell.
Head below for the full list of fantasy titles heading your way in December!
Keep track of all the new releases here. Note: All title summaries are taken and/or summarized from copy provided by the publisher.
WEEK ONE (December 3)
Blood of Empire (Gods of Blood and Powder #3)—Brian McClellan (Orbit)
The Dynize have unlocked the Landfall Godstone, and Michel Bravis is tasked with returning to Greenfire Depths to do whatever he can to prevent them from using its power; from sewing dissension among the enemy ranks to rallying the Palo population. Ben Styke’s invasion of Dynize is curtailed when a storm scatters his fleet. Coming ashore with just twenty lancers, he is forced to rely on brains rather than brawn—gaining new allies in a strange land on the cusp of its own internal violence. Bereft of her sorcery and physically and emotionally broken, Lady Vlora Flint now marches on Landfall at the head of an Adran army seeking vengeance against those who have conspired against her. While allied politicians seek to undo her from within, she faces insurmountable odds and Dynize’s greatest general.
The Case of the Spellbound Child (Elemental Masters #14)—Mercedes Lackey (DAW)
While Sherlock is still officially dead, John and Mary Watson and Nan Killian and Sarah Lyon-White are taking up some of his case-load—and some for Lord Alderscroft, the Wizard of London. Lord Alderscroft asks them to go to Dartmoor to track down a rumor of evil magic brewing there. Not more than four hours later, a poor cottager, also from Dartmoor, arrives seeking their help. His wife, in a fit of rage over the children spilling and spoiling their only food for dinner that night, sent them out on the moors to forage for something to eat. This is not the first time she has done this, and the children are moor-wise and unlikely to get into difficulties. But this time they did not come back, and in fact, their tracks abruptly stopped “as if them Pharisees took’d ’em.” The man begs them to come help. They would have said no, but there’s the assignment for Alderscroft. Why not kill two birds with one stone? But the deadly bogs are not the only mires on Dartmoor.
This Will Kill That—Danielle K Roux (Parliament House Press)
District City is full of monsters. Not the kind that appear particularly vile from the outside. The kind who murder innocent people for no apparent reason. Abandoned houses are haunted by wayward spirits. Leaders of rival Colors clash over the secrets of a brutal past. After the Plague thinned out the population, Rin Morana figured people would have stopped killing each other. No such luck. Her parents disappeared, and now she is set to take over as the new Lady Morana, head of the Green faction. To be a leader, Rin must contend with her relationship to her rival, Lady Amaya, as well as her own history of violence. As they dig deeper, Amaya and Rin must decide whether to fight monsters or become them.
WEEK TWO (December 10)
The Light of All That Falls (Licanius #3)—James Islington (Orbit)
After a savage battle, the Boundary is whole again—but it may be too late. Banes now stalk the lands of Andarra, and the Venerate have gathered their armies for a final, crushing blow. In Ilin Illan, Wirr fights to maintain a precarious alliance between Andarra’s factions of power. With dark forces closing in on the capital, if he cannot succeed, the war is lost. Imprisoned and alone in a strange land, Davian is pitted against the remaining Venerate. As he tries to keep them from undoing Asha’s sacrifice, he struggles to come to terms with his own path and all he has learned about Caeden, the friend he chose to set free. And finally, Caeden is confronted with the reality of a plan laid centuries ago—heartbroken at how it started and devastated by how it must end.
Crownbreaker (Spellslinger #6)—Sebastien de Castell (Orbit)
Kellen and Reichis are settling into their new lives as protectors of the young queen and dealing with the constantly shifting threats to her reign and to her life. For the first time in his life, Kellen feels as if he’s becoming the kind of man that his mentor Ferius had wanted him to be. Even Reichis has come to appreciate having a noble purpose—so long as no one minds him committing the occasional act of theft from the royal treasury. But what seems to be a simple card game between Kellen and an old man is soon revealed to be a deadly game of wits in which a powerful mage has trapped the queen’s spellslinger in order to kill him.
WEEK THREE (December 17)
No new titles.
WEEK FOUR (December 24)
No new titles.
WEEK FIVE (December 31)
No new titles.
