MOST ANTICIPATED SFF BOOKS 2024
Welcome to our annual Most Anticipated post!
That’s right, if our 2023 Awards didn’t destroy your TBR, this list will be sure to finish it…
(Note: The list was curated by our contributors, and is ordered by expected publication date. All blurbs and publication information have been gathered from Goodreads, Amazon, and publishers’ websites. We’ve included links to Goodreads and to sites where you can pre-order the books where available
adding not-yet released books to your “want to read” list massively helps authors, especially debuts, and pre-ordering them even more so – please go make someone’s new year extra happy!)
JANUARY
The Sunlit Man
Brandon Sanderson
Years ago he had comrades in arms and a cause to believe in, but now the man who calls himself Nomad knows only a life on the run. Forced to hop from world to world in the Cosmere whenever the relentless Night Brigade gets too close, Nomad lands on a new planet and is instantly caught up in the struggle between a tyrant and the rebels who want only to escape being turned into mindless slaves-all under the constant threat of a sunrise whose heat will melt the very stones. Unable to understand the language, can he navigate the conflict and gain enough power to leap offworld before his mind or body pay the ultimate price?
From his record-breaking Kickstarter, The Sunlit Man is one of four incredible new novels by one of the world’s biggest fantasy writers.
Expected release: 2nd January (Gollancz)
The Atlas Complex
Olivie Blake
The Atlas Complex marks the much-anticipated, heart-shattering conclusion in Olivie Blake’s trilogy that began with the internationally bestselling dark academic phenomenon, The Atlas Six.
Only the extraordinary are chosen. Only the cunning survive.
An explosive return to the library leaves the six Alexandrians vulnerable to the lethal terms of their recruitment.
Old alliances quickly fracture as the initiates take opposing strategies as to how to deal with the deadly bargain they have so far failed to uphold. Those who remain with the archives wrestle with the ethics of their astronomical abilities; elsewhere, an unlikely pair partner to influence politics on a global stage.
And still the outside world mobilizes to destroy them — while the Caretaker himself, Atlas Blakely, may yet succeed with a plan foreseen to have world-ending stakes. It’s a race to survive as the six Society recruits are faced with the question of what they’re willing to betray for limitless power — and who will be destroyed along the way.
Expected release: 9th January (Pan Macmillan)
Thirteen Ways to Kill Lulabelle Rock
Maud Woolf
A washed up star creates a clone tasked with eliminating other clones of herself; a whip-smart and thrilling sci-fi read that’s perfect for fans of Orphan Black, Killing Eve and Keeping it Real by Justina Robson.
Set in a world of the near future, the celebrity elite have access to a technology that allows them to make perfect copies of themselves, known as Portraits. These Portraits exist to fulfil all the various duties that come as the price of fame.
Our protagonist is the thirteenth copy made of the actress known as Lulabelle Rock. Her purpose is very to track down and eliminate her predecessors.
While initially easy, her task is made difficult by the labyrinthine confusion of Bubble City and the unfortunate stirrings of a developing conscience. When she makes the mistake of falling in love with one of her targets, the would-be assassin faces the ultimate question; when you don’t want to kill yourself, what’s the alternative?
Expected release: 9th January (Angry Robot)
Goodreads | Bookshop.org | Nils’ Review
Faebound
Saara El-Arifi
From the Sunday Times bestselling author of THE FINAL STRIFE, comes an enchanting new trilogy.
DIVIDED BY BLOOD.
IMPRISONED BY FATE.
BOUND BY DESIRE.
WELCOME TO THE INTOXICATING WORLD OF THE FAE.
Yeeran is a warrior in the elven army and has known nothing but violence her whole life. Her sister, Lettle, is trying to make a living as a diviner, seeking prophecies of a better future.
When a fatal mistake leads to Yeeran’s exile from the Elven lands, they are both forced into the terrifying wilderness beyond their borders. There they encounter the impossible: the fae court.
The fae haven’t been seen for a millennium. But now Yeeran and Lettle are thrust into their seductive world – torn between their loyalty to each other, their elven homeland, and their hearts. . .
Expected release: 18th January (HarperVoyager)
Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands
Heather Fawcett
An intrepid professor must uncover faerie secrets in the delightful and heart-warming second instalment of the Sunday Times bestselling Emily Wilde series.
Emily Wilde is a genius scholar of faerie folklore, and has catalogued many secrets of the Hidden Folk in her encyclopaedia with her infuriatingly charming fellow scholar, Wendell Bambleby, by her side.
But Bambleby is more than just a brilliant and unbearably handsome scholar. He’s an exiled faerie king on the run from his murderous mother, in search of a door back to his realm.
By lucky happenstance, Emily’s new project, a map of the realms of faerie, will take them on an adventure to the picturesque Austrian Alps, where Emily believes they may find the door to Bambleby’s realm, and the key to freeing him from his family’s dark plans.
But with new friendships for the prickly Emily to navigate and dangerous Folk lurking in every forest and hollow, Emily must unravel the mysterious workings of faerie doors, and of her own heart.
Expected release: 18th January (Orbit)
Goodreads | Bookshop.org | Nils’ review
Voyage of the Damned
Frances White
The mind-blowing murder mystery debut with magical passengers, epic adventure, and a twist you can’t guess.
If Agatha Christie wrote fantasy, this would be it!
For a thousand years, Concordia has maintained peace between its provinces. To mark this honorary feat, the emperor’s ship embarks upon a twelve-day voyage to the sacred Goddess’s Mountain.
Aboard are the twelve heirs to the provinces of Concordia, each graced with a unique and secret magical ability known as a blessing.
All except one: Ganymedes Piscero – class clown, slacker, and all-round disappointment.
When a beloved heir is murdered, everyone is a suspect. Stuck at sea and surrounded by powerful people, odds of survival are slim.
But as the bodies pile higher, Ganymedes must become the hero he was not born to be. Can he unmask the killer and their secret blessing before this bloody crusade reaches the shores of Concordia?
Or will the empire as he knows it fall forever?
Expected release: 18th January (Penguin)
Three Eight One
Aliya Whiteley
An astonishing literary crossover novel about the pressures of growing up and the nature of authorship.
In January 2314, Rowena Savalas – a curator of the vast archive of the twenty-first century’s primitive internet – stumbles upon a story posted in the summer of 2024. She’s quickly drawn into the mystery of the Is it autobiography, fantasy or fraud? What’s the significance of the recurring number 381?
In the story, the protagonist Fairly walks the Horned Road – a quest undertaken by youngsters in her village when they come of age. She is followed by the ‘Breathing Man’, a looming presence, dogging her heels every step of the way. Everything she was taught about her world is overturned.
Following Fairly’s quest, Rowena comes to question her own choices, and a predictable life of curation becomes one of exploration, adventure and love. As both women’s stories draw to a close, she realises it doesn’t matter whether the story is true or as with the quest itself, it’s the journey that matters.
Expected release: 18th January (Rebellion)
Black Sheep
Rachel Harrison
A cynical twenty something must confront her unconventional family’s dark secrets in this fiery, irreverent horror novel from the acclaimed author of Cackle and Such Sharp Teeth.
Nobody has a “normal” family; but Vesper Wright’s is truly… something else. Vesper left home at eighteen and never looked back-mostly because she was told that leaving the staunchly religious community she grew up in meant she couldn’t return. But then an envelope arrives on her doorstep.
Inside is an invitation to the wedding of Vesper’s beloved cousin Rosie. It’s to be hosted at the family farm. Have they made an exception to the rule? It wouldn’t be the first time Vesper’s been given special treatment. Is the invite a sweet gesture? An olive branch? A trap? Doesn’t matter. Something inside her insists she go to the wedding. Even if it means returning to the toxic environment she escaped. Even if it means reuniting with her mother; Constance; a former horror film star and forever ice queen.
When Vesper’s homecoming exhumes a terrifying secret; she’s forced to reckon with her family’s beliefs and her own crisis of faith in this deliciously sinister novel that explores the way family ties can bind us as we struggle to find our place in the world.
Expected release: 23rd January (Titan)
Kinning
Nisi Shawl
Kinning, the sequel to Nisi Shawl’s acclaimed debut novel Everfair, continues the stunning alternate history where barkcloth airships soar through the sky, varied peoples build a new society together, and colonies claim their freedom from imperialist tyrants.
The Great War is over. Everfair has found peace within its borders. But our heroes’ stories are far from done.Tink and his sister Bee-Lung are traveling the world via aircanoe, spreading the spores of a mysterious empathy-generating fungus. Through these spores, they seek to build bonds between people and help spread revolutionary sentiments of socialism and equality—the very ideals that led to Everfair’s founding.
Meanwhile, Everfair’s Princess Mwadi and Prince Ilunga return home from a sojourn in Egypt to vie for their country’s rule following the abdication of their father King Mwenda. But their mother, Queen Josina, manipulates them both from behind the scenes, while also pitting Europe’s influenza-weakened political powers against one another as these countries fight to regain control of their rebellious colonies.
Will Everfair continue to serve as a symbol of hope, freedom, and equality to anticolonial movements around the world, or will it fall to forces inside and out?
At the Publisher’s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Expected release: 23rd January (Tor)
City of Stardust
Georgia Summers
Filled with magic, stardust, and a shockingly dark heart, this is a stunning standalone fantasy perfect for fans of The Ten Thousand Doors of January, The Starless Sea and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.
For centuries, Everlys have seen their brightest and best disappear, taken as punishment for a crime no one remembers, for a purpose no one understands. Their tormentor is a woman named Penelope, who never ages, never grows sick – and never forgives a debt.
Ten years ago, Violet Everly’s mother left to break the curse, and never returned. Now Violet must find her mother, or she will be taken in her place.
Her hunt leads her into a seductive magical underworld of power-hungry scholars, fickle gods, and monsters bent on revenge. And into the path of Penelope’s quiet assistant, Aleksander, who she knows cannot be trusted – and yet to whom she finds herself undeniably drawn.
Tied to a very literal deadline, Violet will travel to the edges of the world to find her mother and the key to the city of stardust, where the Everly story began . . .
Expected release: 25th January (Hodderscape)
February
Breaks: Volume 1
Emma Vieceli and Malin Ryden
Before Heartstopper, there was Breaks . . . the enemies-to-lovers queer webcomic sensation
Cortland Hunt has made some dangerous mistakes. Now he’s waiting quietly for those mistakes to catch up with him. Ian Tanner coasts through life denying the spark of anger beneath his laid back exterior. When school politics and personal lives become a battleground, the pair find that what they share may just be their only safe haven.
Breaks is the story of two young men discovering who they were, who they are, and who they will become. It’s a love story . . . but a bit broken.
With millions of views and thousands of subscribers on webcomic platforms, Breaks is perfect for fans of popular LGBTQ+ graphic novels, such as Alice Osman’s Heartstopper, who might be looking for something darker and more mature.
Expected release: 1st February (Orbit)
Red Side Story
Jasper Fforde
Jasper Fforde, the acclaimed SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER, invites you to imagine a world where your position in society depended on what bit of the colour spectrum you could see…
It’s the UK, but not as we know it: civilisation has rebuilt after an unspoken ‘Something that Happened’ five hundred years before. Society is now colour-based, the strict levels of hierarchy dictated by the colours you can see, and the economy, health service and citizen’s aspirations all dominated by visual colour, run by the shadowy National Colour in far-off Emerald City.
Out on the fringes of Red Sector West, Eddie Russett and Jane Grey have discovered that all is neither fair nor truthful within their cosy environment, and currently face trumped up charges that will see them die of the fatally soporific tones within the Green Room.
Negotiating the narrow boundaries of the Rules within their society, Jane and Edward must find out the truth of their world: What is it, where is it and even when it is. As they unpeel the lies that cloak their existence they come to the worrying conclusion that they may not be alone: That there might be a Somewhere Else beyond the sea, and more, Someone Else living there – and observing them all, purposefully unseen.
Red Side Story delves into the strictures of a society imposed on itself by itself, immovable dogma and the spirit of humans trying to love and survive and make sense of a world that makes no sense at all. Only it does, of course – you just have to look harder, look further, and forget everything you’ve ever been told.
Expected release: 6th February (Hodder & Stoughton)
The Book of Love
Kelly Link
FROM PULITZER-PRIZE FINALIST KELLY LINK
Laura, Daniel and Mo disappeared without trace a year ago. They have long been presumed dead.
Which they were.
But now they are not.
And it is up to the resurrected teenagers to discover what happened to them.
Revived by Mr Anabin – the man they knew as their high school music teacher – they are offered a chance to return to the mortal realm if they can solve the mystery of their deaths, learn how to use the magic they now possess, and identify the mysterious fourth soul that crossed back over with them.
Expected release: 8th February (Head of Zeus)
The Trials of Empire
Richard Swan
The Trials of Empire is the epic conclusion to the bestselling Empire of the Wolf series, where Sir Konrad Vonvalt – the most powerful and feared of the Emperor’s Justices – must finally face the dark powers that seek to destroy the Empire.
THE TIME OF JUDGEMENT IS AT HAND
The Empire of the Wolf is on its knees, but there’s life in the great beast yet.
To save it, Sir Konrad Vonvalt and Helena must look beyond its borders for allies – to the wolfmen of the southern plains, and the pagan clans in the north. But old grievances run deep, and both factions would benefit from the fall of Sova.
Even these allies might not be enough. Their enemy, the zealot Bartholomew Claver, wields infernal powers bestowed on him by a mysterious demonic patron. If Vonvalt and Helena are to stand against him, they will need friends on both sides of the mortal plane – but such allegiances carry a heavy price.
As the battlelines are drawn in both Sova and the afterlife, the final reckoning draws close. Here, at the beating heart of the Empire, the two-headed wolf will be reborn in a blaze of justice . . . or crushed beneath the shadow of tyranny.
Expected release: 8th February (Orbit)
Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon
Wole Talabi
Yoruba gods liberating a Nigerian artefact from London’s British Museum, this is a heist novel filled to the brim with magic.
Shigidi is a disgruntled nightmare god in the Orisha spirit company, reluctantly answering the prayers of his few remaining believers to satisfy the demands of the company board. When he meets Nneoma, a sort-of succubus with a long and secretive past, everything changes.
Together, they attempt to break free of their constraints and live on their owns terms. But the elder gods have other plans for Shigidi, and the Orisha Spirit Company is not so easy to leave. The chairman has a final job for Shigidi and Nneoma, one that will take them to the very heart of the British Museum.
From the boisterous streets of Lagos to the rooftop bars of Singapore and the secret spaces of London, Shigidi and Nneoma will encounter strange creatures, rival gods and manipulative magicians as they are drawn into a spectacular heist that spans two realms . . . and which could turn their own worlds upside down . . .
A magical heist novel that will take you deep into the heart of the British Museum. This is a contemporary fantasy that’s perfect for fans of P. Djeli Clark, Nnedi Okorafor and Neil Gaiman.
Expected release: 8th February (Gollancz)
What Feasts at Night
T. Kingfisher
A hair-raising standalone sequel to the bestselling and award-winning novella What Moves the Dead. Alex Easton returns to their home country of Gallacia, only to be confronted by a strange new horror.
When Alex Easton travels to Gallacia as a favour to their friend, the excellent Miss Potter, they find their home empty, the caretaker dead, and the grounds blanketed by an uncanny silence. The locals won’t talk about what happened to the caretaker. None of them will set foot on the grounds.
Whispers of an unearthly breath-stealing creature from Gallacian folklore don’t trouble practical Easton. But as strange visions disturb their sleep and odd happenings increase, they are forced to confront the dark shadow that hangs over the house…
Expected release: 13th February (Titan)
Gogmagog
Jeff Noon and Steve Beard
Gogmagog tells the story of an epic journey through the sixty-mile long ghost of a dragon. We travel by boat, a rickety steam launch captained by Cady Meade, a veteran taxi pilot on the river Nysis. In her heyday she carried people and goods from the thriving seaports of the estuary into Ludwich, the capital city. But that was years ago. Now she’s drunk, holed up in a rundown seaside resort, telling her bawdy tales for shots of rum. All that’s about to change, when two strangers seek her out, asking for transport, one of whom – a young girl – is very ill, and in great danger. The other, an artificial being of singular character, has secrets hidden inside his crystal skull. And so begins the voyage of the Juniper. The Nysis is unlike any other river. Mysteries unfold with each port of call. Not many can navigate these channels, not many know of its whirlpools and sandbanks, and of the ravenous creatures that lurk beneath the surface. Cady used to have the necessary knowledge, and the powers of spectral navigation. But her glory days are well behind her now.
This might well be her final journey.
Expected release: 13th February (Angry Robot)
Book of Doors
Gareth Brown
If you could open a door to anywhere, where would you go?
In New York bookseller Cassie Andrews is living an unassuming life when she is given a gift by a favourite customer. It’s a book – an unusual book, full of strange writing and mysterious drawings. And at the very front there is a handwritten message to Cassie, telling her that this is the Book of Doors, and that any door is every door.
What Cassie is about to discover is that the Book of Doors is a special book that bestows an extraordinary powers on whoever possesses it, and soon she and her best friend Izzy are exploring all that the Book of Doors can do, swept away from their quiet lives by the possibilities of travelling to anywhere they want.
But the Book of Doors is not the only magical book in the world. There are other books that can do wondrous and dreadful things when wielded by dangerous and ruthless individuals – individuals who crave what Cassie now possesses.
Suddenly Cassie and Izzy are confronted by violence and danger, and the only person who can help them is, it seems, Drummond Fox. He is a man fleeing his own demons – a man with his own secret library of magical books that he has hidden away in the shadows for safekeeping. Because there is a nameless evil out there that is hunting them all . . .
Because some doors should never be opened.
Expected release: 15th February (Transworld Publishers)
An Education in Malice
S. T. Gibson
Love is sacrifice. One of us was always going to bleed for the other.
Deep in the forgotten hills of Massachusetts stands Saint Perpetua’s College. Isolated and ancient, it is not a place for timid girls. Here, secrets are currency, ambition is lifeblood, and strange ceremonies welcome students into the fold.
On her first day of class, Laura Sheridan is thrust into an intense academic rivalry with the beautiful and enigmatic Carmilla. Together, they are drawn into the confidence of their demanding poetry professor, De Lafontaine, who holds her own dark obsession with Carmilla.
But as their rivalry blossoms into something far more delicious, Laura must confront her own strange hungers. Tangled in a sinister game of politics, bloodthirsty professors and dark magic, Laura and Carmilla must decide how much they are willing to sacrifice in their ruthless pursuit of knowledge.
Sumptuous and addictive, An Education in Malice is a dark academia tale of blood, secrets and insatiable hungers from Sunday Times bestselling author S.T. Gibson, author of the cult hit A Dowry of Blood.
Expected release: 15th February (Orbit)
Sunbringer
Hannah Kaner
The thrilling epic fantasy sequel to No. 1 Sunday Times bestseller, GODKILLER.
War is coming, godkiller.
Gods are forbidden in the kingdom of Middren. Now they are stirring, whispering of war. Godkiller Kissen sacrificed herself to vanquish the fire god Hseth and save her friends, but gods cannot be destroyed so easily – and neither can godkillers.
Reeling from the loss of Kissen, young noble Inara and her little god of white lies, Skedi, seek answers to the true nature of their bond. The secrets they uncover could determine the outcome of the war.
Meanwhile, Elogast, no longer a loyal knight of King Arren, has been charged with destroying the man he once called friend. The king vowed to eradicate all gods, but has now entered into an unholy pact with the most dangerous of them all.
The kingdom is on the brink of destruction. What will they each sacrifice to save it?
Expected release: 15th February (HarperVoyage)
My Throat an Open Grave
Tori Bovalino
Labyrinth meets folk horror in this dark and romantic tale of a lost girl and the shadows that lurk in the forest.
Fall under the spell of the Lord of the Wood and uncover the dark past of a village that will go to any lengths to ensure its maidens stay good.
In the small town of Winston, Pennsylvania, they fear the Lord of the Wood almost as much as they fear God. According to legend, ghosts of the nearby forest steal unattended babies, leaving enigmatic tokens of wood and bone in their place. Leah Jones didn’t believe the legend, thinking it just a way to scare the local kids—until her baby brother disappears.
Filled with shame and the weight of the town’s judgment, Leah crosses the river into the Lord of the Wood’s domain to bring her brother back. But the devilish figure who has haunted Winston for generations isn’t what she expects. He tells her she can have her brother back… for a price.
It’s a bargain that will uncover secrets her hometown has tried to keep buried for decades. And what she unearths will have her questioning everything she’s been taught to fear.
Expected release: 20th February (Titan)
A Tempest of Tea
Hafsah Faizal
From Hafsah Faizal, New York Times–bestselling author of We Hunt the Flame, comes the first book in a hotly-anticipated new fantasy duology about an orphan girl and her crew who get tangled in a heist with vampires, perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows.
On the streets of White Roaring, Arthie Casimir is a criminal mastermind and collector of secrets. Her prestigious tearoom transforms into an illegal bloodhouse by dark, catering to the vampires feared by society. But when her establishment is threatened, Arthie is forced to strike an unlikely deal with an alluring adversary to save it—and she can’t do the job alone.
Calling upon a band of misfits, Arthie formulates a plan to infiltrate the dark and glittering vampire society known as the Athereum. But not every member of her crew is on her side, and as the truth behind the heist unfolds, Arthie finds herself in the midst of a conspiracy that will threaten the world as she knows it. Dark, action-packed, and swoonworthy, this is Hafsah Faizal better than ever.
Expected release: 22nd February (Pan Macmillan)
Calypso
Oliver K. Langmead
A ground-breaking, mind-bending and wildly imaginative epic verse revolution in SF. A saga of colony ships, shattering moons and cataclysmic war in a new Eden.
Truly unforgettable and richly lyrical eco-fiction, for fans of Kim Stanley Robinson, Adrian Tchaikovsky, and Jeff VanderMeer.
Rochelle wakes from cryostasis to take up her role as engineer on the colony ark, Calypso. But she finds the ship has transformed into a forest, populated by the original crew’s descendants, who revere her like a saint.
She travels the ship with the Calypso’s creator, the enigmatic Sigmund, and Catherine, a bioengineered marvel who can commune with the plants, uncovering a new history of humanity forged while she slept.
She discovers a legacy of war between botanists and engineers. A war fought for the right to build a new Earth – a technological paradise, or a new Eden in bloom, untouched by mankind’s past.
And Rochelle, the last to wake, holds the balance of power in her hands.
Expected release: 24th February (Titan)
Butcher of the Forest
Premee Mohamed
A merciless tyrant forces an ordinary woman to rescue his children from a malevolent magical wood in this eerie, twisted fable. A world of uncanny creatures, deadly beauty, and unthinkable violence beckons…
At the northern edge of a valley conquered by a ruthless foreign tyrant lies a wild forest ruled by dangerous magic. The local people know never to enter-for no one who strays into the north woods is ever seen again. No one, that is, except Veris Thorn.
When the children of the Tyrant vanish into the woods, Veris is summoned to rescue them. Veris knows she has only one day before the creatures in the wood claim the children for their own. If she fails, the Tyrant will destroy everything she loves.
If she is to succeed, Veris must evade traps and trickery, ancient monsters and false friends, and the haunting memory of her last journey into the woods.
Time is running short. One misstep will cost everything.
Expected release: 27th February (Titan)
Tomorrow’s Children
Daniel Polansky
Years ago, Tomorrow – a noxious cloud of funky gas – descended on Manhattan, cutting the island off from the rest of the world and mutating the remaining population.
Now, survivors exist amid the rubble of modernity, wearing cast-off clothing from generations past, worshipping celebrities from the past as ambivalent gods and communicating through roughly drawn emojis. Manhattan exists in a state of delicate balance between neighbourhoods, with each group protecting themselves with Molotov cocktails and scrap metal spears.
But when the first tourist in centuries arrives on the island under mysterious circumstances, the uneasy web tangled between factions is about to unravel…
Frantic and full of anarchy, Tomorrow’s Children is a high-octane dystopian tale from Hugo Award nominated author Daniel Polansky.
Expected release: 27th February (Angry Robot)
Fathomfolk
Eliza Chan
Revolution is brewing in the semi-submerged city of Tiankawi, between humans and the fathomfolk – sirens, sea witches, kelpies, and kappas – who live in its waters. This debut fantasy inspired by East Asian mythology and watery folk tales is perfect for fans of Jade City, The Bone Shard Daughter and House of Earth and Blood.
Welcome to Tiankawi – shining pearl of human civilization and a safe haven for those fleeing civil unrest. Or at least, that’s how it first appears. But in the semi-flooded city, humans are, quite literally, on top: peering down from shining towers and aerial walkways on the fathomfolk – sirens, seawitches, kelpies and kappas – who live in the polluted waters below.
For half-siren Mira, promotion to captain of the border guard means an opportunity to help her downtrodden people. But if earning the trust and respect of her human colleagues wasn’t hard enough, everything Mira has worked towards is put in jeopardy when Nami, a know-it-all water dragon – fathomfolk royalty – is exiled to the city. When extremists sabotage the annual boat race, violence erupts, as does the clampdown on fathomfolk rights. Both Nami and Mira must decide if the cost of change is worth paying, or if Tiankawi should be left to drown.
Expected release: 29th February (Orbit)
March
The Warm Hands of Ghosts
Katherine Arden
World War One, and as shells fall in Flanders, a Canadian nurse searches for her brother believed dead in the trenches despite eerie signs that suggest otherwise in this gripping and powerful historical novel from the bestselling author of The Bear and the Nightingale.
January 1918. Laura Iven has been discharged from her duties as a nurse and sent back to Halifax, Canada, leaving behind a brother still fighting in the trenches of the First World War. Now home, she receives word of Freddie’s death in action along with his uniform -but something doesn’t quite make sense. Determined to find out more, Laura returns to Belgium as a volunteer at a private hospital. Soon after arriving, she hears whispers about ghosts moving among those still living and a strange inn-keeper whose wine gives soldiers the gift of oblivion. Could this have happened to Freddie – but if so, where is he?
November 1917. Freddie Iven awakens after an explosion to find himself trapped under an overturned pillbox with an enemy soldier, a German, each of them badly wounded. Against all odds, the two men form a bond and succeed in clawing their way out. But once in No Man’s Land, where can either of them turn where they won’t be shot as enemy soldiers or deserters? As the killing continues, they meet a man – a fiddler – who seems to have the power to make the hellscape that surrounds them disappear. But at what price?
A novel of breath-taking scope and drama, of compulsive readability, of stunning historical research lightly worn, and of brilliantly drawn characters who will make you laugh and break your heart in a single line, The Warm Hands of Ghosts is a book that will speak to readers directly about the trauma of war and the power of those involved to love, endure and transcend it.
Expected release: 7th March (Cornerstone)
Toxxic
Jane Hennigan
Forty-four years ago, as any schoolgirl can tell you, the moth’s eggs hatched and an army of caterpillars spread their tiny toxic threads on every breath of wind.
Since then, men have been cloistered, protected from birth against the deadly poison.
But now there’s a vaccine – a way that men can leave the facility without dying or suffering from psychosis.
Emerging, into their new world, eyes wide with wonder at every new experience, the truth soon becomes clear.
This world was not made for men. And they are not safe.
Expected release: 12th March (Angry Robot)
A Feather so Black
Lyra Selene
The Cruel Prince meets For the Wolf in a sizzling fantasy romance set in a world of perilous magic and moonlit forests, spinning a seductive tale of a changeling princess, her cursed sister, and the dangerous fae lord she must defeat to save her family.
In a kingdom where magic has been lost, Fia is a rare changeling, left behind by the wicked Fair Folk when they stole the High Queen’s daughter Eala and locked the gates to the Otherworld.
When a hidden gate to the Otherworld is discovered, Fia is tasked by the High Queen to retrieve Eala and break her curse. But she doesn’t go alone: with her is prince Rogan, Eala’s betrothed and Fia’s childhood best friend.
As the two journey into a world where magic winds through the roots of the trees and beauty can be a deadly illusion, Fia’s mission is complicated by her feelings for the prince. . . and her unexpected attraction to the dark-hearted fae lord holding Eala captive. Irian might be more monster than man, but he seems to understand Fia in a way no one ever has.
Expected release: 14th March (Orbit)
A Botanical Daughter
Noah Medlock
Mexican Gothic meets The Lie Tree by way of Oscar Wilde and Mary Shelley in this delightfully witty horror debut. A captivating tale of two Victorian gentlemen hiding their relationship away in a botanical garden who embark on a Frankenstein-style experiment with unexpected consequences.
It is an unusual thing, to live in a botanical garden. But Simon and Gregor are an unusual pair of gentlemen. Hidden away in their glass sanctuary from the disapproving tattle of Victorian London, they are free to follow their own interests without interference. For Simon, this means long hours in the dark basement workshop, working his taxidermical art. Gregor’s business is exotic plants – lucrative, but harmless enough. Until his latest acquisition, a strange fungus which shows signs of intellect beyond any plant he’s seen, inspires him to attempt a masterwork: true intelligent life from plant matter.
Driven by the glory he’ll earn from the Royal Horticultural Society for such an achievement, Gregor ignores the flaws in his plan: that intelligence cannot be controlled; that plants cannot be reasoned with; and that the only way his plant-beast will flourish is if he uses a recently deceased corpse for the substrate.
The experiment – or Chloe, as she is named – outstrips even Gregor’s expectations, entangling their strange household. But as Gregor’s experiment flourishes, he wilts under the cost of keeping it hidden from jealous eyes. The mycelium grows apace in this sultry greenhouse. But who is cultivating whom?
Told with wit and warmth, this is an extraordinary tale of family, fungus and more than a dash of bloody revenge from an exciting new voice in queer horror.
Expected release: 19th March (Titan)
The Mars House
Natasha Pulley
From the #1 bestselling author of The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, a queer sci-fi novel about a refugee from Earth and a xenophobic Mars politician who agree to a fake marriage after a media encounter damages both their reputations.
In the wake of environmental catastrophe, January, once a principal in London’s Royal Ballet, has become a refugee on Tharsis, the terraformed colony on Mars. In Tharsis, January’s life is dictated by his status as an Earthstronger-a person whose body is not adjusted to Mars’s lower gravity and so poses a danger to those born on, or naturalized to, Mars. January’s job choices, housing, and even transportation options are dictated by this second-class status, and now a xenophobic politician named Aubrey Gale is running on a platform that would make it all worse: Gale wants all Earthstrongers to be surgically naturalized, a process that is always disabling and can be deadly.
When Gale chooses January for an on-the-spot press junket interview that goes horribly awry, January’s life is thrown into chaos, but Gale’s political fortunes are damaged, too. Gale proposes a solution to both their problems: a five year made-for-the-press marriage that would secure January’s future without immediate naturalization and ensure Gale’s political future. But when January accepts the offer, he discovers that Gale is not at all like they appear in the press. They’re kind, compassionate, and much more difficult to hate than January would wish. But as their romantic relationship develops, the political situation worsens, and January discovers Gale has an enemy, someone willing to destroy all of Tharsis to make them pay – and January may be the only person standing in the way.
Expected release: 19th March (Gollancz)
Song of the Huntress
Lucy Holland
Britain, 60 AD. Hoping to save her lover and her land from the Romans, Herla makes a desperate pact with the Otherworld King. She becomes Lord of the Hunt and for centuries she rides, reaping wanderers’ souls. Until the night she meets a woman on a bloody battlefield – a Saxon queen with ice-blue eyes.
Queen Æthelburg of Wessex is a proven fighter, but after a battlefield defeat she finds her husband’s court turning against her. Yet King Ine needs Æthel more than ever: the dead kings of Wessex are waking, and Ine must master his bloodline’s ancient magic if they are to survive.
When their paths cross, Herla knows it’s no coincidence. Something dark and dangerous is at work in the Wessex court. As she and Æthel grow closer, Herla must find her humanity – and a way to break the curse – before it’s too late.
Expected release: 21st March (Pan Macmillan)
Ghost of the Neon God
T. R. Napper
A thrilling, propulsive story of escape as a small-time crook goes on the run across Australia with a stolen secret that will change the world, perfect for fans of William Gibson’s All Tomorrow’s Parties, Richard Morgan and Ghost in the Shell.
Jackson Nguyen is a petty crook living slim on the mean streets of Melbourne. When he crosses paths with a desperate, but wealthy, Chinese dissident, begging for his help, Jack responds in the only natural way: he steals her shoes.
And yet, despite every effort to mind his own damn business, a wild spiral into the worst kind of trouble begins – Murder, mayhem, fast cars, fast-talking, bent cops, and long straight highways into the terrible beauty of the vast Australian Outback.
In Jack’s world, taking a stand against the ruling class is the shortest path to a shallow grave. But when an Earth-shattering technology falls into his hands, he must do everything he can to stop the wrong people taking it. In a world of pervasive government surveillance and oppressive corporate control, it’s up to a small-time criminal to keep the spark of human rebellion alive.
Expected release: 24th March (Titan)
The Weavers of Alamaxa
Hadeer Elsbai
Following up on one of the most exciting fantasy debuts, The Daughters of Izdihar, Hadeer Elsbai concludes her Alamaxa duology, inspired by Egyptian history, with a tale of magic, betrayal and love.
Magic is no longer banned in Alamaxa, but across the border the Zirani are readying their cannons. They will stop at nothing to end what they perceive is a threat not only to their way of life, but to the world.
But the last time a Weaver fought back, the whole world was shattered.
Two incredible women are all that stands before an entire army. But they’ve stood up to power before, and they won then. This time, though, it’s no longer about rhetoric.
This time it’s about magic and blood.
Expected release: 28th March (Orbit)
The Dark Feather
Anna Stephens
Ixachipan is in flames.
Rebellion rages in every land and across every hill as the Empire of Songs battles to maintain control, but nowhere more fiercely than in the Singing City itself. In the great pyramid at its heart, Shadow Tayan faces the awful consequences of his actions, and their seductive possibilities.
In the city streets, Xessa and Lilla lead their warriors in increasingly desperate battles, their unity riven by betrayal and deception, while far to the north, Whisper Ilandeh discovers the freedom – and obligation – in making her own choices.
But war is fickle, and so are people. Sometimes, the only peace possible is that bought with blood and lies.
And when vengeance sings, the choices made will determine whether the flames of war are fanned – or drowned.
Expected release: 28th March (HarperVoyager)
The Last Murder at the End of the World
Stuart Turton
Solve the murder to save what’s left of the world.
Outside the island there is the world destroyed by a fog that swept the planet, killing anyone it touched. On the island it is idyllic. 122 villagers and 3 scientists, living in peaceful harmony. The villagers are content to fish, farm and feast, to obey their nightly curfew, to do what they’re told by the scientists.
Until, to the horror of the islanders, one of their beloved scientists is found brutally stabbed to death. And they learn the murder has triggered a lowering of the security system around the island, the only thing that was keeping the fog at bay.
If the murder isn’t solved within 92 hours, the fog will smother the island – and everyone on it.
But the security system has also wiped everyone’s memories of exactly what happened the night before, which means that someone on the island is a murderer – and they don’t even know it…
The outstanding new high concept murder mystery from the Sunday Times bestselling and Costa Book Award winning author of The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle . An ingenious puzzle, an extraordinary backdrop, an audacious solution.
Expected release: 28th March (Bloomsbury)
April
A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping
Sangu Mandanna
An enchanting novel about a witch who has a second chance to get her magic – and her life – back on track, from the author of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches.
Sera Swan was once one of the most powerful witches in Britain. Then she resurrected her great-aunt, lost most of her magic, befriended a semi-villainous talking fox, and was exiled from her magical Guild.
Now she runs an inn in Lancashire, where she deals with her quirky guests’ shenanigans, tries to keep the fox in check, and longs for the magical future she lost.
Until she discovers an old spellbook that could hold the secret to restoring her power – and turns to Luke Larsen, brilliant historian and human glacier. Luke has his own reasons for staying at the inn, and none of them involve letting certain grumpy innkeepers past his icy walls. So one is more surprised than he when he not only agrees to help, but also finds himself thawing.
And as Luke and Sera work together to decipher the book, Sera starts to realise that love – and the family she’s made – could be the best magic of all . . .
Expected release: 2nd April (Hodder & Stoughton)
Lake of Souls: Leckie Anthology
Ann Leckie
Hugo, Nebula, and Arthur C. Clarke award-winner Ann Leckie is a modern master of the SFF genre, forever changing its landscape with her groundbreaking ideas and powerful voice. Now, available for the first time comes the complete collection of Leckie’s short fiction, including a brand new novelette, Lake of Souls.
Journey across the stars of the Imperial Radch universe.
Listen to the words of the Old Gods that ruled The Raven Tower.
Learn the secrets of the mysterious Lake of Souls.
And so much more, in this masterfully wide-ranging and immersive short fiction collection from award-winning author Ann Leckie.
Contents:
The Lake of Souls
Stories from the world of the Imperial Radch
Night’s Slow Poison
She Commands Me and I Obey
The Creation and Destruction of the World
Stories from the world of The Raven Tower
The God of Au
The Nalendar
The Snake’s Wife
Marsh Gods
The Unknown God
Beloved of the Sun
Saving Bacon
Sci-Fi
Footprints
Hesperia and Glory
The Endangered Camp
Another Word for World
The Justified
Fantasy
Bury the Dead
The Sad History of the Tearless Onion
Expected release: 4th April (Orbit)
The Last Phi Hunter
Salinee Goldenberg
Ambitious Phi Hunter and perpetual lone wolf, Ex, finds his road to glory interrupted when a heavily pregnant runaway enlists his help to escape through the ghost-infected forest…
Ex, the youngest member of the Phi Hunters Order, has spent his life slaying the ghosts and demons of Suyoram Kingdom. While he takes great pride in his mystical trade, collecting dwindling bounties and peddling butchered spirit organs lacks the glory he craves. He’s determined to hunt down Shar-Ala, a demon of nightmares, of madness – who has eluded even Ex’s masters.
In a provincial village along the way, Arinya, a charming muay-boran champion, saves him from an ass-kicking, despite being nine months pregnant. In return, she asks him to escort her through the dangerous, spirit-filled forest, where ghosts salivate over the scent of the unborn.
But as more of Arinya’s secrets emerge, and the elusive demon nears, Ex must face dangers from both men and monsters, or lose not only the respect of the Phi Hunters, but the Hunters themselves, along with the woman he’s trying not to fall in love with.
Expected release: 9th April (Angry Robot)
The Wind That Sweeps the Stars
Greg Keyes
A taut high fantasy as an assassin must destroy an empire from within, eliminating wizards, their demons, and even the emperor. For the lives-for the very souls-of her people, she must succeed within a single day, or her homeland will be destroyed.
ALONE AGAINST AN EMPIRE.
When Yash of Zeltah arrives in the fortress city of Honaq she is greeted as a barbarian, a simple pawn. Her marriage to prince Chej has been arranged, they say, to avert war. Yet she knows the truth, for the armies already ravage the land. A skilled and deadly assassin, there is more to Yash than any might suspect. Before another day can pass, she must defeat the masters of the nine towers-the plagues, magics, and monsters they control, the soldiers they command. Without raising an alarm, she must kill all who oppose her-even the immortal emperor. The lives and souls of Zeltah, the people and the land upon which they live, all depend on it.
Expected release: 9th April (Titan)
The Book that Broke the World
Mark Lawrence
The second volume in the bestselling, ground-breaking Library Trilogy, following THE BOOK THAT WOULDN’T BURN.
We fight for the people we love. We fight for the ideas we want to be true.
Evar and Livira stand side by side and yet far beyond each other’s reach. Evar is forced to flee the library, driven before an implacable foe. Livira, trapped in a ghost world, has to recover her book if she’s to return to her life. While Evar’s journey leads him outside into the vastness of a world he’s never seen, Livira’s destination lies deep inside her own writing, where she must wrestle with her stories in order to reclaim the volume in which they were written.
And all the while, the library quietly weaves thread to thread, bringing the scattered elements of Livira’s old life – friends and foe alike – back together beneath new skies.
Long ago, a lie was told, and with the passing years it has grown and spread, a small push leading to a chain of desperate consequences. Now, as one edifice topples into the next with ever-growing violence, it threatens to break the world. The secret war that defines the library has chosen its champions and set them on the board. The time has come when they must fight for what they believe, or lose everything.
The Library Trilogy is about many things: adventure, discovery, and romance, but it’s also a love letter to books and the places where they live. The focus is on one vast and timeless library, but the love expands to encompass smaller more personal collections, and bookshops of all shades too.
Expected release: 11th April (HarperVoyager)
The Shadow Key
Susan Stokes-Chapman
There’s something mysterious about the village of Penhelyg. Will unlocking its truth bring light or darkness?
Meirionydd, 1783. Henry Talbot has been dismissed from his post at a prestigious London hospital. The only job he can find is as a physician in the backwaters of Wales where he can’t speak the language, belief in myth and magic is rife, and the villagers treat him with bewildering suspicion. When Henry discovers his predecessor died under mysterious circumstances, he is determined to find answers.
Linette Tresilian, the unconventional mistress of Plas Helyg, lives a lonely life. Her father is long dead, her mother haunted by demons which keep her locked away in her room, and her cousin treats her with cool disdain – she has had no choice but to become fiercely self-reliant.
Linette has always suspected something is not quite right in the village, but it is only through Henry’s investigations that the truth about those closest to her will come to light…a truth that will bind hers and Henry’s destinies together in ways neither thought possible.
Expected release: 11th April (Vintage Publishing)
The Hemlock Queen
Hannah Whitten
In the second installment of New York Times bestselling author Hannah Whitten’s lush, romantic epic fantasy series, a young woman who can raise the dead must navigate the dangerous and glamorous world of the Sainted King’s royal court.
The corrupt king August is dead. Prince Bastian has seized the throne and raised Lore—a necromancer and former smuggler—to his right hand side. Together they plan to cut out the rot from the heart of the sainted court and help the people of Dellaire. But not everyone is happy with the changes. The nobles are sowing dissent, the Kyrithean Empire is beating down their door, and Lore’s old allies are pulling away. Even Prince Bastian’s changed. No longer the hopeful, rakish, charismatic man Lore knows and loves, instead he’s reckless, domineering and cold.
And something’s been whispering in her ear. A voice, dark and haunting, that’s telling her there’s more to the story than she knows and more to her power than she can even imagine. A truth buried deep that could change everything.
With Bastian’s coronation fast approaching and enemies whispering on all sides, Lore must figure out how to protect herself, her prince, and her country before they all come crumbling down and whatever dark power has been creeping through the catacombs is unleashed.
Expected release: 11th April (Orbit)
The Hungry Dark
Jen Williams
Macabre murders plague a rural town as a scam-artist psychic races to find the answers in this haunting thriller from award-winning author Jen Williams, perfect for fans of Camilla Sten and Alex North.
As a child, Ashley Whitelam could often see odd things nobody else quiet, watchful figures she called the Heedful Ones kept a strange vigil wherever she went. As an adult, she keeps these visions to herself, but she’s turned her taste of the beyond into a career as a “psychic” – parting people from their money with a combination of psychology and internet research. When the Lake District is gripped by a series of grisly child murders, Ashley offers her services to the police for the free publicity. But as Ashley leads the police on a fruitless search around the small town of Green Beck, she catches a glimpse of those old ghosts of her childhood and, following them into the woods, she finds something she never the corpse of the latest missing child.
The press fly into a frenzy and the police grow either Ashley’s psychic abilities are real, or she is guilty of murder. Hounded by interviews and interrogations, Ashley teams up with Freddie Miller, a podcaster covering the crimes. As they investigate, Ashley realises that there’s no way to distance herself from these whoever or whatever it is that’s haunting the Lakes is haunting her, too.
Master of unsettling suspense Jen Williams is back with another chilling, dark read that will draw readers into a gruesome and atmospheric nightmare.
Expected release: 11th April (HarperCollins)
The Practice, The Horizon, and The Chain
Sofia Samatar
Celebrated author Sofia Samatar presents a mystical, revolutionary space adventure for the exhausted dreamer in this brilliant science fiction novella tackling the carceral state and violence embedded in the ivory tower while embodying the legacy of Ursula K. Le Guin.
“Can the University be a place of both training and transformation?”
The boy was raised as one of the Chained, condemned to toil in the bowels of a mining ship out amongst the stars.
His whole world changes―literally―when he is yanked “upstairs” to meet the woman he will come to call “professor.” The boy is no longer one of the Chained, she tells him, and he has been gifted an opportunity to be educated at the ship’s university alongside the elite.
The woman has spent her career striving for acceptance and validation from her colleagues in the hopes of reaching a brighter future, only to fall short at every turn.
Together, the boy and the woman will learn from each other to grasp the design of the chains designed to fetter them both, and are the key to breaking free. They will embark on a transformation―and redesign the entire world.
Expected release: 16th April (Tor dot com)
To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods
Molly X. Chang
In this magical epic fantasy, a young woman cursed with the power of death must decide if saving her family is worth betraying her country—the first installation of a gripping new series.
Heroes die, cowards live. Daughter of a conquered world, Ruying hates the invaders who descended from the heavens long before she was born and defeated the magic of her people with technologies unlike anything her world had ever seen.
Blessed by Death, born with the ability to pull the life right out of mortal bodies, Ruying shouldn’t have to fear these foreign invaders, but she does. Especially because she wants to keep herself and her family safe.
When Ruying’s Gift is discovered by an enemy prince, he offers her an impossible deal: If she becomes his private assassin and eliminates his political rivals—whose deaths he swears would be for the good of both their worlds and would protect her people from further brutalization—her family will never starve or suffer harm again. But to accept this bargain, she must use the powers she has always feared, powers that will shave years off her own existence.
Can Ruying trust this prince, whose promises of a better world make her heart ache and whose smiles make her pulse beat faster? Are the evils of this agreement really in the service of a much greater good? Or will she betray her entire nation by protecting those she loves the most?
Expected release: 18th April (Penguin Random House)
Song of the Six Realms
Judy I. Lin
Uncover the dark past of the celestials in this melodic tale inspired by Chinese mythology and Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca.
Filled with rich imagery and delicate poetry, the Song of the Six Realms will echo long after the tune has ended.
Xue, a talented young musician, has no past and probably no future. Orphaned at a young age, her kindly poet uncle took her in and arranged for an apprenticeship at one of the most esteemed entertainment houses in the kingdom. She doesn’t remember much from before entering the House of Flowing Water, and when her uncle is suddenly killed in a bandit attack, she is devastated to lose her last connection to a life outside of her indenture contract.
With no family and no patron, Xue is facing the possibility of a lifetime of servitude playing the qin for nobles that praise her talent with one breath and sneer at her lowly social status with the next. Then one night she is unexpectedly called to the garden to put on a private performance for the enigmatic Duke Meng. The young man is strangely kind and awkward for nobility, and surprises Xue further with an irresistible offer: serve as a musician in residence at his manor for one year, and he’ll set her free of her indenture.
But the Duke’s motives become increasingly more suspect when he and Xue barely survive an attack by a nightmarish monster, and when he whisks her away to his estate, she discovers he’s not just some country noble: He’s the Duke of Dreams, one of the divine rulers of the Celestial Realm. There she learns the Six Realms are on the brink of disaster, and incursions by demonic beasts are growing more frequent.
The Duke needs Xue’s help to unlock memories from her past that could hold the answers to how to stop the impending war… but first Xue will need to survive being the target of every monster and deity in the Six Realms.
Expected release: 23rd April (Titan)
The Redemption of Morgan Bright
Chris Panatier
From the subversive voice behind The Phlebotomist comes a story that combines the uncanny atmosphere of Don’t Worry Darling with the narrative twists of The Last House on Needless Street
What would guilt make you do?
Hadleigh Keene died on the road leading away from Hollyhock Asylum. The reasons are unknown. Her sister Morgan blames herself. A year later with the case still unsolved, Morgan creates a false identity, that of a troubled housewife named Charlotte Turner, and goes inside.
Morgan quickly discovers that Hollyhock is… not right. She is shaken by the hospital’s peculiar routines and is soon beset by strange episodes. All the while, the persona of Charlotte takes on a life of its own, becoming stronger with each passing day. As her identity begins unravelling, Morgan finds herself tracing Hadleigh’s footsteps and peering into the places they lead.
The terrifying reality of The Redemption of Morgan Bright unfolds over the course of chapters told from the points of view of both Charlotte and Morgan, police interviews, and text messages.
Expected release: 23rd April (Angry Robot)
A Letter to the Luminous Deep
Sylvie Cathrall
A charming fantasy set in an underwater world with magical academia and a heart-warming penpal romance, perfect for fans of A Marvellous Light and Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries.
A beautiful discovery outside the window of her underwater home prompts the reclusive E. to begin a correspondence with renowned scholar Henerey Clel. The letters they share are filled with passion, at first for their mutual interests, and then, inevitably, for each other.
Together, they uncover a mystery from the unknown depths, destined to transform the underwater world they both equally fear and love. But by no mere coincidence, a seaquake destroys E.’s home, and she and Henerey vanish.
A year later, E.’s sister Sophy, and Henerey’s brother Vyerin, are left to solve the mystery of their siblings’ disappearances with the letters, sketches and field notes left behind. As they uncover the wondrous love their siblings shared, Sophy and Vyerin learn the key to their disappearance – and what it could mean for life as they know it.
Expected release: 25th April (Orbit)
Goodreads | Bookshop.org | Nils’ review
The Silverblood Promise
James Long
Lukan Gardova is a cardsharp, academy dropout, and – thanks to a duel that ended badly – the disgraced heir to an ancient noble house. His life consists of cheap wine, rigged card games and wondering how he might win back the life he threw away.
When Lukan discovers that his estranged father has been murdered in strange circumstances, he finds fresh purpose. Deprived of his chance to make amends for his mistakes, he vows to unravel the mystery behind his father’s death.
His search for answers leads him to Saphrona, fabled city of merchant princes, where anything can be bought if one has the coin. Lukan only seeks the truth, but instead he finds danger and secrets in every shadow.
For in Saphrona, everything has a price – and the price of truth is the deadliest of all.
Expected release: 25th April (Quercus)
May
The Dark Side of the Sky
Francesco Dimitri
A page-turning literary fantasy filled with terror and wonder, set in a sun-baked Southern Italy, for fans of The Girls by Emma Cline, The Magus by John Fowles and The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai.
It’s been labelled a doomsday cult, but the Bastion might be humanity’s last hope. Amidst all the lies and chaos, come hear their true story, in their own words.
On the rural coast of Puglia, Italy, Becca and Ric run the Bastion, offering solace and a home for lost souls. Each year they welcome new members to join the Open Feast, where they teach them to release their burdens and create a better world, in a journey of self-discovery and spiritual teachings.
But the Bastion has secrets. The Bastion has a destiny. Deep in the Inner Pinewood, a place of real magic and beauty, they are all that stands against the dark forces that would tear the sky wide open
And what of those who call Becca and Ric liars? Cult leaders and con artists? What of those who tried to leave the Bastion? As it becomes increasingly difficult to tell truth from fiction, who can you trust to save us all?
Expected release: 7th May (Titan Books)
The Sword Unbound
Gareth Hanrahan
He thought he was saving the world. That was his first mistake.
Twenty years ago, Alf and his companions defeated the Dark Lord and claimed his city. Now, those few of the Nine that remain find themselves unwilling rebels, defying the authority of both the mortal Lords they once served and the immortal king of the elves – the secret architect of everything they’ve ever known.
Once lauded as a mighty hero, Alf is now labelled a traitor and hunted by the very gods he seeks to bring down. As desperate rebellion blazes across the land, Alf seeks the right path through a maze of conspiracy, wielding a weapon of evil. The black sword Spellbreaker has found its purpose in these dark days. But can Aelfric remain a hero, or is his legend tarnished forever?
This second novel continues Gareth Hanrahan’s acclaimed epic fantasy series of dark myth, daring warriors and bloodthirsty vengeance.
Expected release: 9th May (Orbit)
Shadowstitch
Cari Thomas
Anna survived the attempt to bind her magic, but Anna and her coven aren’t free from danger yet.
Haunted by her aunt’s death, living in fear of her curse, and fated to love the one man she can never have, the last thing Anna needs is a witch hunt. Now she must conceal her magic once more or risk losing everything.
But when deadly hysteria strikes across the capital, and in her own school, the coven are left dangerously exposed. Delving deeper into the magical underworld of London, Anna and her twin sister Effie must find a way to work together to protect the coven.
But as the witch hunt intensifies and the hysteria spirals out of control, can Effie and Anna truly trust each other?
Expected release: 9th May (HarperVoyager)
The Lightborn
Rebecca Zahabi
Freed from his prison cell, the former slave known as Tatters is finally ready to face his past. Now his true nature is known to all, he can use his Lightborn powers freely. But they come at a price, and his loyalties remain conflicted. The renegades about to attack the city used to be his companions, and both sides have treated him badly. He will have to decide which side to choose.
Isha had thought Tatters was dead, and is overjoyed to see him return. But her master, one of the most powerful mages, has a past with them both, one which might make their reunion impossible. The mages remain divided, and in order to survive they will need to come together, and put aside past arguments. They too have a choice.
And outside the city, the renegades continue to advance. Destruction of the mages is their only goal, and nobody knows if they can be stopped…
Expected release: 9th May (Gollancz)
I’m Afraid You’ve Got Dragons
Peter S. Beagle
Dragons are common in the back-water kingdom of Bellemontagne, coming in sizes from mouse-like vermin all the way up to castle-smashing monsters. There are so many of them, the romance is long gone. They’re pests, infestations, nuisances.
Gaius Aurelius Constantine Heliogabalus Thrax (who would much rather people just call him Robert) has recently inherited his deceased father’s job as a dragon catcher/exterminator, a career he detests with all his heart in part because he likes dragons, feeling an odd kinship with them, but mainly because his dream has always been the impossible one of transcending his humble origin to someday become a prince’s valet.
Needless to say, fate has something rather different in mind . . .
Falling in with a beautiful princess who has no desire to be a damsel, and a handsome prince who would rather not engage in heroics, Robert’s attempts to grease the wheels of their courtship in exchange for help improving his employment prospects throw him into the way of a far greater adventure than he could ever have imagined.
Expected release: 16th May (Gollancz)
Kavithri
Aman J. Bedi
An action-packed and empowering South Asian fantasy epic. An underdog story like no other – Kavithri will remind you of fantasy heroes like Arya Stark, Fang Runin or Gideon the Ninth.
Meet Kavithri. Outcast. Underdog. Survivor.
Kavi is a Taemu. Her people, once feared berserkers and the spearhead of a continent-spanning invasion, are the dregs of Raayan society. Their spirits crushed. Their swords broken. Their history erased.
But Kavi has a dream and a plan. She will do whatever it takes to earn a place at the secretive mage academy, face the Jinn within its walls, and gain the power to rise above her station and drag her people out of the darkness.
Except power and knowledge come at a cost, and the world no longer needs a Taemu who can fight. So they will break her. Beat her down to her knees. And make her bleed.
But if blood is what they want, Kavi will give them blood. She will give them violence. She will show them a berserker’s fury.
And she will make them remember her name.
Expected release: 16th May (Gollancz)
The Honey Witch
Sydney J. Shields
The Honey Witch of Innisfree can never find true love. That is her curse to bear. But when a young woman who doesn’t believe in magic arrives on her island, sparks fly in this deliciously sweet debut novel of magic, hope, and love overcoming all.
Twenty-one-year-old Marigold Claude has always preferred the company of the spirits of the meadow to any of the suitors who’ve tried to woo her. So when her grandmother whisks her away to the family cottage on the tiny Isle of Innisfree with an offer to train her as the next Honey Witch, she accepts immediately. But her newfound magic and independence come with a price: No one can fall in love with the Honey Witch.
When Lottie Burke, a notoriously grumpy skeptic who doesn’t believe in magic, shows up on her doorstep, Marigold can’t resist the challenge to prove to her that magic is real. But soon, Marigold begins to care for Lottie in ways she never expected. And when darker magic awakens and threatens to destroy her home, she must fight for much more than her new home-at the risk of losing her magic and her heart..
A delicious debut that combines the swoon-worthy romance of Bridgerton and the whimsical sorcery of Practical Magic, with a dash of The Secret Life of Bees thrown in for good fun.
Expected release: 16th May (Orbit)
Butcher
Joyce Carol Oates
From one of our most accomplished storytellers, an extraordinary and arresting novel about a women’s asylum in the 19th century, and a terrifying doctor who wants to change the world
In this harrowing story based on authentic historical documents, we follow the career of Dr. Silas Weir, “The Father of Gyno-Psychiatry,” as he ascends from professional anonymity to national renown. Humiliated by a disastrous procedure, Weir is forced to take a position at the New Jersey Asylum for Female Lunatics, where he reigns. There, he is allowed to continue his practice, unchecked for decades, making a name for himself by focusing on women who have been neglected by the state—women he subjects to the most grotesque modes of experimentation. As he begins to establish himself as a pioneer of 19th-century surgery, Weir’s ambition is fueled by his obsessive fascination with a young Irish indentured servant named Brigit, who becomes not only Weir’s primary experimental subject, but also the agent of his destruction.
Narrated by Silas Weir’s eldest son, who has repudiated his father’s brutal legacy, Butcher is a unique blend of fiction and fact, a nightmare voyage through the darkest regions of the American psyche conjoined, in its startling conclusion, with unexpected romance. Once again, Joyce Carol Oates has written a spellbinding novel confirming her position as one of our celebrated American visionaries of the imagination.
Expected release: 21st May (4th Estate)
Goddess of the River
Vaishnavi Patel
A powerful reimagining of the story of Ganga, goddess of the river, and her doomed mortal son, from Vaishnavi Patel, author of the instant New York Times bestseller Kaikeyi .
A mother and a son. A goddess and a prince. A curse and an oath. A river whose course will change the fate of the world.
Ganga, joyful goddess of the river, serves as caretaker to the mischievous godlings who roam her banks. But when their antics incur the wrath of a powerful sage, Ganga is cursed to become mortal, bound to her human form until she fulfills the obligations of the curse.
Though she knows nothing of mortal life, Ganga weds King Shantanu and becomes a queen, determined to regain her freedom no matter the cost. But in a cruel turn of fate, just as she is freed of her binding, she is forced to leave her infant son behind.
Her son, prince Devavrata, unwittingly carries the legacy of Ganga’s curse. And when he makes an oath that he will never claim his father’s throne, he sets in motion a chain of events that will end in a terrible and tragic war.
As the years unfold, Ganga and Devavrata are drawn together again and again, each confluence another step on a path that has been written in the stars, in this deeply moving and masterful tale of duty, destiny, and the unwavering bond between mother and son.
Expected release: 23rd May (Orbit)
How to Become the Dark Lord (and Die Trying)
Django Wexler
A hilarious fantasy adventure in which a young woman, who is stuck in a time loop, decides the best way to defend the kingdom from the Dark Lord is to become the Dark Lord herself.
Davi has somehow managed to get herself trapped in a fantasy world – and not one full of rainbows and unicorns, but one packed with all manner of terrifying monsters and deadly magic. Proper Lord of the Rings stuff. And, for reasons unknown, the humans of the Kingdom look to her for protection against the Dark Lord. To make matters worse, Davi’s stuck in a time loop. So every time she fails to defeat the Dark Lord (which is every time) she has to start over.
But Davi has a plan. What if instead of trying to defeat the Dark Lord . . . she becomes the Dark Lord instead?
What could possibly go wrong?
Expected release: 23rd May (Orbit)
Evocation
S.T. Gibson
The Devil knows your name, David Aristarkhov.
As a teen, David Aristarkhov was a psychic prodigy, operating under the shadow of his oppressive occultist father. Now, years after his father’s death and rapidly approaching his thirtieth birthday, he is content with the high-powered life he’s curated as a Boston attorney, moonlighting as a powerful medium for his secret society.
But with power comes a price, and the Devil has come to collect on an ancestral deal. David’s days are numbered, and death looms at his door.
Reluctantly, he reaches out to the only person he’s ever trusted, his ex-boyfriend and secret Society rival Rhys, for help. However, the only way to get to Rhys is through his wife, Moira. Thrust into each other’s care, emotions once buried deep resurface, and the trio race to figure out their feelings for one another before the Devil steals David away for good…
Expected release: 28th May (Angry Robot)
June
Private Rites
Julia Armfield
The bestselling author of Our Wives Under the Sea returns with a stunning, unsettling novel following three sisters navigating queer love and faith at the end of the world.
It’s been raining for a long time now, for so long that the lands have reshaped themselves and the cities have retreated to higher storeys. Old places have been lost. Arcane rituals and religions have crept back into practice.
Sisters Isla, Irene and Agnes have not spoken in some time when their estranged father dies. A famous architect revered for making the new world navigable, he had long cut himself off from public life. They find themselves uncertain of how to grieve his passing when everything around them seems to be ending anyway.
As the sisters come together to clear the grand glass house that is the pinnacle of his legacy, they begin to sense that the magnetic influence of their father lives on through it. Soon it becomes clear that others have also taken an interest in both his estate and in them, and that perhaps their inheritance may not be theirs alone.
Expected release: 6th June (4th Estate)
Daughter of the Merciful Deep
Leslye Penelope
A woman journeys into a submerged world of gods and myth to save her home in this powerful historical fantasy that shines a light on the drowned Black towns of the American South.
“Our home began, as all things do, with a wish.”
Jane Edwards hasn’t spoken since she was eleven years old, when armed riders expelled her family from their hometown along with every other Black resident. Now, twelve years later, she’s found a haven in the all-Black town of Awenasa. But the construction of a dam promises to wash her home under the waters of the new lake.
Jane will do anything to save the community that sheltered her. So, when a man with uncanny abilities arrives in town asking strange questions, she wonders if he’s might be the key. But as the stranger hints at gods and ancestral magic, Jane is captivated by a bigger mystery. She knows this man. Only the last time she saw him, he was dead. His body laid to rest in a rushing river.
Who is the stranger and what is he really doing in Awenasa? To find those answers, Jane will journey into a sunken world, a land of capricious gods and unsung myths, of salvation and dreams made real. But the flood waters are rising. To gain the miracle she desires, Jane will have to find her voice again and finally face the trauma of the past.
Expected release: 6th June (Orbit)
Fate of the Sun King
Nisha J. Tuli
Fate of the Sun King is the third book in Nisha J. Tuli’s spicy romantasy series, Artefacts of Ouranos, perfect for fans of Fourth Wing, A Court of Thorns and Roses and Serpent and the Wings of Night.
With the Heart Crown now in her possession, Lor must navigate the dangers of being an heir on the run, knowing more than one power-hungry ruler is after her blood. When she returns to Aphelion to unlock her magic and recover her family’s legacy, it becomes clearer than ever that all that’s gold doesn’t sparkle. No stranger to battles, she continues to fight her attraction to the Aurora Prince, understanding this might be the one she finally loses.
As the past mixes with the present, Lor uncovers the truth about the Artefacts and their role in shaping her destiny. Now, her future hangs in the balance, leaving her closer than ever to getting everything she’s ever wanted… or losing it all forever.
The highly anticipated third installment of the steamy Artefacts of Ouranos series journeys deeper into the glittering fae world as Lor puts both her life and her heart on the line in this enemies-to-lovers fantasy romance.
Expected release: 6th June (Orbit)
Cuckoo
Gretchen Felker-Martin
Invasion of the Bodysnatchers meets Tell Me I’m Worthless in this relentless and visceral horror about a group of queer kids trying to survive the conversion camp from hell, from the author of the critically-acclaimed Manhunt.
Camp Resolution, surrounded by hundreds of miles of Utah desert. A place to help boys and girls stay on the straight and narrow, where they can learn the value of a hard day’s work, get a decent education and where indiscretions can be beaten out of them on a whim.
For Shelby, a young trans woman struggling to find her place in the world, Camp Resolution represents everything she has spent her life trying to escape.
But Camp Resolution is not all it seems. The lessons they are all taught make no sense, and the counsellors act odd, even for camp counsellors. At night, Shelby can hear a voice speaking to her over the mountains, and soon, the residents of the camp discover its terrible secret.
To stay alive and escape, the residents of the camp must learn to trust one another – but that is a difficult thing when there are cuckoos in the nest, hungry and out for blood.
Expected release: 11th June (Titan)
The Stars Too Fondly
Emily Hamilton
In her breathtaking debut – part space odyssey, part Sapphic rom-com – Emily Hamilton weaves a suspenseful, charmingly irreverent, and ultimately joyous tale of galaxy-spanning friendship, improbable love, and found family.
So, here’s the thing: Cleo and her friends really, truly didn’t mean to steal this spaceship.
They just wanted to know why, twenty years ago, the entire Providence crew vanished without a trace. But then the stupid dark matter engine started all on its own, and now these four twenty-somethings are en route to Proxima Centauri, unable to turn around, and being harangued by a snarky hologram that has the face and attitude of the ship’s missing captain, Billie.
Cleo has dreamt of being an astronaut all her life, and Earth is kind of a lost cause at this point, so this should be one of those blessings in disguise people talk about. But as the ship gets deeper into space, the laws of physics start twisting, old mysteries start crawling back to life, and Cleo’s initially combative relationship with Billie turns into something deeper and more desperate than either woman is prepared for.
Lying somewhere in the subspace between science fantasy and sapphic rom-com, The Stars Too Fondly is a soaring near-future adventure about dark matter and alternate dimensions, leaving home and finding family, and the galaxy-saving power of letting yourself love and be loved.
Expected release: 11th June (Gollancz)
The Knife and the Serpent
Tim Pratt
An epic space opera from bestselling and award winning author Tim Pratt, perfect for fans of Peter F. Hamilton and Adrian Tchaikovsky.
After her grandmother is murdered in a home invasion, Tamsin Culver leaves her cushy programming job in San Francisco and returns to her Midwestern hometown to settle the estate. What she doesn’t expect is to find out her grandmother’s life changing She’s not an earth native, but an exile from the Nigh-Space continuum, an adjacent reality with technology far more advanced than ours. What’s more, her grandmother ruled as an ogliarch, meaning Tamsin is the heir to a vast wealth only accessible by someone from her bloodline… but the enemies who tried to exterminate her family won’t be happy to see her return.
Back in the Bay Area, grad student Glenn makes a startling discovery about his girlfriend Vivy. She’s a secret agent for the an inter dimensional organisation devoted to protecting the inhabitants of Nigh-Space from those trying to take advantage of the wealth of technology. When she lands in trouble, Glenn finds himself on a sapient starship in a distant level of the continuum, hell bent on saving her. But when the ancestor of a previously exiled ruler returns, keeping each other out of harm’s way may be harder than they first anticipated.
The Knife and the Serpent is an all new epic space opera about the clash between opposing universes and worldviews, from award winning and highly acclaimed author Tim Pratt.
Expected release: 11th June (Angry Robot)
The Fire Within Them
Matthew Ward
The sprawling Kingdom of Khalad stands alone. Severed from the rest of the world by an ancient, arcane war, its folk toil behind a wall of living mist, beholden to an undead king and his barons.
But hope lies with two figures: Kat, an accomplished thief, and Vallant, a rebel and folk hero. Together they will light a fire that will burn away the corruption and tyranny of King Diar’s rule.
But only if they succeed . . .
Expected release: 13th June (Orbit)
The Last Song of Penelope
Claire North
Following the critically acclaimed Ithaca and House of Odysseus comes the final novel in Claire North’s Songs of Penelope trilogy – an exquisite, gripping tale that breathes life into ancient myth. This is the story of Penelope of Ithaca, famed wife of Odysseus, as it has never been told before.
Many years ago, Odysseus sailed to war and never returned. For twenty years his wife Penelope and the women of Ithaca have guarded the isle against suitors and rival kings. But peace cannot be kept forever, and the balance of power is about to break . . .
A beggar has arrived at the Palace. Salt-crusted and ocean-battered, he is scorned by the suitors – but Penelope recognises in him something terrible: her husband, Odysseus, returned at last. Yet this Odysseus is no hero. By returning to the island in disguise, he is not merely plotting his revenge against the suitors – vengeance that will spark a civil war – but he’s testing the loyalty of his queen. Has she been faithful to him all these years? And how much blood is Odysseus willing to shed to be sure?
The song of Penelope is ending, and the song of Odysseus must ring through Ithaca’s halls. But first, Penelope must use all her cunning to win a war for the fate of the island and keep her family alive, whatever the cost . . .
Expected release: 20th June (Orbit)
Saints of Storm and Sorrow
Gabriella Buba
In this fiercely imaginative Filipino-inspired fantasy debut, a bisexual nun hiding a goddess-given gift is unwillingly transformed into a lightning rod for her people’s struggle against colonization.
Perfect for fans of lush fantasy full of morally ambiguous characters, including The Poppy War and The Jasmine Throne.
Maria Lunurin has been living a double life for as long as she can remember. To the world, she is Sister Maria, dutiful nun and devoted servant of Aynila’s Codician colonizers. But behind closed doors, she is a stormcaller, chosen daughter of the Aynilan goddess Anitun Tabu. In hiding not only from the Codicians and their witch hunts, but also from the vengeful eye of her slighted goddess, Lunurin does what she can to protect her fellow Aynilans and the small family she has created in the convent: her lover Catalina, and Cat’s younger sister Inez.
Lunurin is determined to keep her head down-until one day she makes a devastating discovery, which threatens to tear her family apart. In desperation, she turns for help to Alon Dakila, heir to Aynila’s most powerful family, who has been ardently in love with her for years. But this choice sets in motion a chain of events beyond her control, awakening Anitun Tabu’s rage and putting everyone Lunurin loves in terrible danger. Torn between the call of Alon’s magic and Catalina’s jealousy, her duty to her family and to her people, Lunurin can no longer keep Anitun Tabu’s fury at bay.
The goddess of storms demands vengeance. And she will sweep aside anyone who stands in her way.
Expected release: 25th June (Titan)
The Daughter’s War
Christopher Buehlman
A standalone novel following young warrior Galva dom Braga on her journey from untested academy swordswoman to feared and bloodied veteran knight, set during the war-torn, goblin-infested years just before The Blacktongue Thief.
The goblins have killed all of our horses and most of our men. They have enslaved our cities, burned our fields, and inflicted a waking nightmare on the known world. Yet humanity persists, fighting back with all we have against the their bottomless hunger for human lands and human flesh.
Now it’s up to the daughters of Manreach to save what’s left of the human kingdoms. They’ll fight every weapon at hand, with fearsome gods at their backs and brutal monsters at their sides.
Galva – Galvicha to her three brothers, also under arms against the foe – has defied her family’s wishes and joined the army’s untested new unit, the Raven Knights, to serve at the side of women who, like her, have chosen the battlefield over the marriage bed. She and her sisters in arms march toward a once-beautiful city now overrun by the goblin horde, accompanied by scores of giant war corvids. Made with the darkest magics, these fearsome black birds may hold the key to stopping the goblins in their war to make cattle of mankind.
The road to victory is bloody and the stakes are high; the goblins are clever and merciless in their prosecution of this third war against us. The Raven Knights can take nothing for granted – not the bonds of family, nor the wisdom of their leaders, nor their own safety against the dangerous war birds at their side.
But some hopes are worth any risk.
Expected release: 27th June (Gollancz)
Echo of Worlds
M. R. Carey
Following the critically acclaimed Infinity Gate comes the second and final novel in the Pandominion by international bestselling M. R. Carey. A thrilling adventure set in the multiverse, it tells of humanity’s expansion across millions of dimensions, and the AI technology that might see it all come to an end . . .
Two mighty empires are at war – and both will lose, with thousands of planets falling to the extinction event called the Scour. At least that’s what the artificial intelligence known as Rupshe believes.
But somewhere in the multiverse there exists a force – the Mother Mass – that could end the war in an instant, and Rupshe has assembled a team to find it. Essien Nkanika, a soldier trying desperately to atone for past sins; the cat-woman Moon, a conscienceless killer; the digitally recorded mind of physicist Hadiz Tambuwal; Paz, an idealistic child and the renegade robot spy Dulcimer Coronal.
Their mission will take them from the hellish prison world of Tsakom to the poisoned remains of a post-apocalyptic Earth, and finally bring them face to face with the Mother Mass itself. But can they persuade it to end eons of neutrality and help them? And is it too late to make a difference?
Because the Pandominion’s doomsday machines are about to be unleashed – and not even their builders know how to control them.
Expected release: 27th June (Orbit)
July
The Undermining of Twyla and Frank
Megan Bannen
From the author of The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy comes a heart-warming fantasy with a best friends-to-lovers rom com twist–When Harry Met Sally, but with dragons!—set in the delightful demigod and donut-filled world of Tanria.
The entire town of Eternity was shocked when widowed, middle-aged Twyla Banneker partnered up with her neighbor and best friend, Frank Ellis, to join the Tanrian Marshals. Eight years later, Twyla and Frank are still patrolling the dangerous land of Tanria, the former prison of the Old Gods.
Twyla might look like a small town mom who brings cheesy potatoes to funerals and whips up a batch of cookies for the school bake sale, but her rewarding career in law enforcement has been a welcome change from the domestic grind of mom life, despite the misgivings of her grown children.
Fortunately (or unfortunately) a recent decrease in on-the-job peril has made Twyla and Frank’s job a lot safer … and a lot less exciting. So when they discover the body of one of their fellow marshals covered in liquid glitter–and Frank finds himself the inadvertent foster dad to a baby dragon–they are more than happy to be back on the beat.
Soon, the friends wind up ensnared in a nefarious plot that goes far deeper than any lucrative Tanrian mineshaft. But as the danger closes in and Twyla and Frank’s investigation becomes more complicated, so does their easy friendship. And Twyla starts to realize that her true soul mate might just be the person who has lived next door all along…
Expected release: 4th July (Orbit)
Black Tide Son
H. M. Long
A swashbuckling adventure on the high-seas, full of magic, betrayal, redemption and fearsome women, for readers of Adrienne Young and Naomi Novik
A captured pirate reveals shocking news to Mary and Samuel that sends them in urgent pursuit of Samuel’s twin brother, Benedict, but their search uncovers much more than they bargained for. While evading a cunning new foe, Mary and Samuel must navigate the complexities of their own growing bond as they launch a rescue mission within one of the most secure fortresses on the Mereish Coast.
Expected release: 9th July (Titan)
These Deathless Shores
P. H. Low
Jordan has gotten good at pretending.
On an Island where boys fly and fight pirates, but girls can only be mothers, Jordan’s shaved head and false swagger are the only things keeping her adopted crew of Lost Boys from forcing her into a role she has never wanted. When she gets her first period, she’s exposed and thrown back Outside—into a world where grown-ups die slowly in offices, flight is a fantasy, and withdrawal from the Island’s magical Dust slowly strips its afflicted of their dignity.
To Jordan, it’s a fate worse than death.
Nine years later, when the drug she has been using to medicate her withdrawal begins to show its fatal final symptoms, Jordan persuades her best friend and fellow ex-Lost Boy to return with her to the Island. With the help of a temperamental pilot and her long-estranged sister, she sets in motion a plan to oust Peter from his throne and seize control of the Island’s Dust supply.
But Peter isn’t the only malevolent force moving against her. As Jordan confronts the nature of Dust, first love, and the violent legacy carved into the land itself, she realises the Island may have plans of its own…
Expected release: 9th July (Angry Robot)
Queen B
Juno Dawson
The next enchanting instalment of the sensational #1 SUNDAY TIMES bestselling HER MAJESTY’S ROYAL COVEN fantasy series takes us back to the reign of Henry VIII and the origins of Her Majesty’s Royal Coven under the beautiful, the bewitching, Anne Boleyn.
BOW DOWN WITCHES
It’s 1536 and the Queen has been beheaded.
Lady Grace Fairfax, witch, knows that something foul is at play – that someone had betrayed Anne Boleyn and her coven. Wild with the loss of their leader – and her lover, a secret that if spilled could spell Grace’s own end – she will do anything in her power to track down the traitor. But there’s more at stake than revenge: it was one of their own, a witch, that betrayed them, and Grace isn’t the only one looking for her. King Henry VIII has sent witchfinders after them, and they’re organized like they’ve never been before under his new advisor, the impassioned Sir Ambrose Fulke, a cold man blinded by his faith. His cruel reign could mean the end of witchkind itself. If Grace wants to find her revenge and live, she will have to do more than disappear.
She will have to be reborn.
Expected release: 18th July (HarperVoyager)
Red Sonja: Consumed
Gail Simone
It’s time to rage, drink and fight like a barbarian! Red Sonja, the iconic She-Devil with a Sword, will meet a new generation of readers in this action-packed epic fantasy by legendary comic book writer Gail Simone, making her novel-writing debut.
Hot-headed, charismatic and always unapologetically herself, Red Sonja, the ferocious She-Devil and barbarian of Hyrkania has never concerned herself with the consequences of her actions. She’s pursued all her desires, from treasure, to drink, to the companionship of bedfellows. She’s fought those who deserve it (and sometimes those who didn’t). And she’s never looked back.
But when rumours start bubbling up from her homeland – rumours of unknown horrors emerging from the ground and pulling their unsuspecting victims to their deaths – she realises she may have to return to the country that abandoned her. Sonja must finally do the only thing that ever scared her: confront her past.
Expected release: 18th July (Orbit)
The Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love
India Holton
Rival ornithologists hunt through England for a rare magical bird in this historical-fantasy rom-com reminiscent of Indiana Jones but with manners, tea, and helicopter parasols.
Beth Pickering is on the verge of finally capturing the rare deathwhistler bird when Professor Devon Lockley swoops in, capturing both her bird and her imagination like a villain. Albeit a handsome and charming villain, but that’s beside the point. As someone highly educated in the ruthless discipline of ornithology, Beth knows trouble when she sees it, and she is determined to keep her distance from Devon.
For his part, Devon has never been more smitten than when he first set eyes on Professor Beth Pickering. She’s so pretty, so polite, so capable of bringing down a fiery, deadly bird using only her wits. In other words, an angel. Devon understands he must not get close to her, however, since they’re professional rivals.
When a competition to become Birder of the Year by capturing an endangered caladrius bird is announced, Beth and Devon are forced to team up to have any chance of winning. Now keeping their distance becomes a question of one bed or two. But they must take the risk, because fowl play is afoot, and they can’t trust anyone else—for all may be fair in love and war, but this is ornithology.
Expected release: 25th July (Penguin Books)
Between Dragons and their Wrath
Devin Madson
Conquest long ago split the old kingdom of Paicha into city states, but there are those who seek to reunite the shattered realm—by force if necessary. Amidst the turmoil, three will find their destinies inextricably tangled.
Tesha, a glassblower’s apprentice, becomes a false tribute bride as part of a desperate political plot. In the enemy’s court, she’s perfectly placed to sabotage them, but her heart has other plans.
Naili is laundress to an eccentric alchemist, a job that has left her with strange new powers and a price on her head. When she joins the city’s underworld, she’ll have to choose between keeping her magic secret and changing the world.
And in the desolate Shield Mountains, sharp-shooting dragon rider Ashadi protects the cities from the monsters of the Iipao Sands beyond, but when an impossible shot pierces his dragon’s glass scales, he becomes the hunted one.
As war sweeps across the land, Tesha, Naili, and Ashadi must survive political enemies, long-buried secrets, and monsters both within and without.
Expected release: 25th July (Orbit)
The Company of the Wolf
David Wragg
Tales of the Plains Book 2, The Company of the Wolf is Wragg’s sequel to his fantasy-Western adventure The Hunters.
Expected release: July (HarperVoyager)
August
Long Live Evil
Sarah Rees Brennan
Her fictional crush is the villain. And he’s about to meet his match…
Rae is a bookworm who prefers fictional men over real life boyfriends.
But her life takes a strange turn when she is trapped by magic inside her favourite fantasy series, and she finds herself pitted against her suddenly living and breathing crush, the ‘Once and Forever Emperor’.
In a palace on the brink of war, she has become the villainess in his tale, and she needs to take control of the narrative before it, and the Emperor, take control of her… fatally.
This adult epic fantasy debut from Sarah Rees Brennan puts the reader in the villainess’s shoes, for an adventure that is both ‘supremely satisfying’ (Leigh Bardugo) and ‘brilliant’ (Holly Black): expect a cast of dilettante aristocrats, knights-in-armour, magic-wielding warriors, sarcastic servants and one particularly murderous, if annoyingly handsome, bodyguard.
Expected release: 1st August (Orbit)
A Rose by Any Other Name
Mary McMyne
From the author of The Book of Gothel comes the lush, magical story behind Shakespeare’s sonnets, as told by one of his most famous subjects—the incendiary and mysterious Dark Lady.
My name has only been whispered, heretofore…
England, 1603. Rose Rushe’s passion for life runs deep—she laughs too loudly, meddles with astrology and music, and pays no heed to her mother’s warnings to guard her reputation. When Rose’s father dies and a noble accuses her and her best friend Cecely of witchcraft, they flee to London and make their way as occultists, secretly selling love charms and astrological advice. Their thriving underground business leads them to young noble Henry and playwright Will Shakespeare, and so begins a brief, tempestuous, and powerful romance—one filled with secret longings and deep betrayals.
Expected release: 8th August (Orbit)
Mistress of Lies
K. M. Enright
FATE IS A CRUEL MISTRESS
The daughter of a powerful but disgraced Blood Worker, Shan LeClaire has spent her entire life perfecting her blood magic, building her network of spies, and gathering every scrap of power she could. Now, to protect her brother, she assassinates their father and takes her place at the head of the family. And that is only the start of her revenge.
Samuel Hutchinson is a bastard with a terrible gift. When he stumbles upon the first victim of a magical serial killer, he’s drawn into the world of magic and intrigue he’s worked so hard to avoid – and is pulled deeply into the ravenous and bloodthirsty court of the vampire king.
Tasked by the Eternal King to discover the identity of the killer cutting a bloody swath through the city, Samuel, Shan and mysterious Royal Bloodworker Isaac find themselves growing ever closer to each other. But Shan’s plans are treacherous, and as she lures Samuel into her complicated web of desire, treason and vengeance, he must decide if the good of their nation is worth the cost of his soul.
Fans of From Blood and Ash and Kingdom of the Wicked will devour this decadent, bloodthirsty debut.
Expected release: 14th August (Orbit)
A Sorceress Comes to Call
T. Kingfisher
From USA Today bestselling author T. Kingfisher comes a dark retelling of the Brothers Grimm’s Goose Girl, rife with secrets, murder, and forbidden magic.
Cordelia knows her mother is unusual. Their house doesn’t have any doors between rooms—there are no secrets in this house!—Cordelia isn’t allowed to have a single friend. Unless you count Falada, her mother’s beautiful white horse. The only time Cordelia feels truly free is on her daily rides with him.
But more than a few quirks set her mother apart. Other parents can’t force their daughters to be silent and motionless—obedient—for hours or days on end. Other mothers aren’t . . . sorcerers.
After a suspicious death in their small town, Cordelia’s mother insists they leave in the middle of the night, riding away together on Falada’s back, leaving behind all Cordelia has ever known. They arrive at the remote country manor of a wealthy older man, the Squire, and his unwed sister, Hester. Cordelia’s mother intends to lure the Squire into marriage. Cordelia knows this can only be bad news for the bumbling gentleman and his kind, intelligent sister.
And indeed Hester sees the way Cordelia shrinks away from her mother. How the young girl sits eerily still at dinner every night. Hester knows that to save her brother from bewitchment and to rescue the terrified Cordelia, she will have to face down a wicked witch of the worst kind.
Expected release: 20th August (Titan Books)
Dakini Atoll
Nikhil Singh
From Luna Press’ website:
Dakini Atoll is a fast paced, tech-driven, metaphysical Cyberpunk third novel from Nikhil Singh, author of Taty Went West, shortlisted for Best African Novel in the inaugural Nommo Awards, and Club Ded, shortlisted for both 2021 Best Novel at British Science Fiction Awards and Best African Novel at the Nommo Awards.
Dakini Atoll is planned to be released in August 2024, just in time for Glasgow Worldcon.
Nikhil Singh continues to maintain his original and ground-breaking style. In Dakini Atoll he returns with a gritty, realistic storytelling, in a speculative setting spanning from Johannesburg, New York, London and Saudi Arabia. His words have never shied away from telling it like it was, which is what we really like here at Luna. His work is simply uncompromising.
Expected release: August (Luna Press)
September
The Gods Below
Andrea Stewart
The series is set in a world ravaged by ancient magic, where precious gemstones bestow magical abilities on the few individuals able to harness their power. Full of clandestine power struggles and the battles between gods, the story follows Hakara, a young woman searching for her missing sister and who will do anything to find her — even lead a rebellion against the gods themselves.
Expected release: 5th September (Orbit)
Glacian Trilogy Book 3
Stacey McEwan
Expected release: 10th September (Angry Robot)
Warlords of Wyrdwood
RJ Barker
‘You fear the forest.. It is not foolish.’ His words rang like bells in the clearing, each face reacting to their din. ‘But the forest does not hate you, it does not hunt you. It simply does not care about you.’
The Forester known as Cahan led the village of Harn in rebellion against the all-powerful, oppressive forces of the Rai. A great victory was won, but to avoid retaliation, he must now lead the people of Harn into the forest.Cahan never wanted this responsibility, but fate and his gods have conspired against him. Without him, the people will be helpless against the great beasts and poisonous traps of the forest – not to mention worse things that dwell there. A corruption grows in the fungi and decay of the Wyrdwood, a magic unlike any Cahan has ever seen – can he resist its deadly pull, while avoiding his pursuers, and trying to turn his charges into true people of the Wyrdwood?
Warlords of Wyrdwood is book two in a new fantasy trilogy set within the bounds of a forest straight out of darkest folklore – with outlaws fighting an evil empire and warring deities.
Expected release: 12th September (Orbit)
The Scarlet Throne
Amy Leow
A dark, heart-thumping political epic fantasy by debut author Amy Leow—full of scheming demons, morally grey heroines, talking cats, and cut-throat priests, this delicious tale of power and corruption will captivate from beginning to end.
Binsa is a “living goddess,” chosen by the gods to dispense both mercy and punishment from her place on the Scarlet Throne. But her reign hides a deadly secret. Rather than channeling the wisdom of an immortal deity, she harbors a demon.
But now her priests are growing suspicious. When a new girl, Medha, is selected to take over her position, Binsa and her demon strike a To magnify his power and help her wrest control from the priests, she will sacrifice human lives. She’ll do anything not to end up back on the streets, forgotten and alone. But how much of her humanity is she willing to trade in her quest for power? Deals with demons are rarely so simple.
Expected release: 12th September (Orbit)
October
Shoestring Theory
Mariana Costa
A queer, madcap, friends-to-lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers time travel romance with the future of the world at stake, this charming fantasy tale is sure to satisfy fans of Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree
The kingdom of Farsala is broken and black clouds hang heavy over the arid lands. Former Grand-Mage of the High Court, Cyril Laverre, has spent the last decade hiding himself away in a ramshackle hut by the sea, trying to catch any remaining fish for his cat familiar, Shoestring, and suppressing his guilt over the kingdom’s ruin. For he played his part – for as the King, Eufrates Margrave, descended further and further into paranoia, violence and madness, his Grand-Mage – and husband – Cyril didn’t do a thing to stop him. When Shoestring wanders away and dies one morning, Cyril knows his days are finally numbered. But are there enough left to have a last go at putting things right? With his remaining lifeblood, he casts a powerful spell that catapults him back in time to a happier period of Farsalan history – a time when it was Eufrates’s older sister Tig destined to ascend to the throne, before she died of a wasting disease, and a time when Cyril and Eufrates’s tentative romance had not yet bloomed. If he can just make sure Eufie never becomes King, then maybe he can prevent the kingdom’s tragic fate. But the magical oath he made to his husband at the altar, transcending both time and space, may prove to be his most enduring – and most dangerous – feat of magic to date… Featuring a formidable Great Aunt, a friends-to-lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers romance, an awkward love quadrangle and a crow familiar called Ganache, this charming story is imminently easy to read and sure to satisfy fans of fanfiction who like their fantasy lite.
Expected release: 1st October (Angry Robot)
The Black Hunger
Nicholas Pullen
John Sackville will soon be dead. Shadows writhe in the corners of his cell as he mourns the death of his secret lover and the gnawing hunger inside him grows impossible to ignore.
He must write his last testament before it is too late.
It is a story steeped in history and myth – a journey from stone circles in Scotland, to the barren wilderness of Ukraine where otherworldly creatures stalk the night, ending in the icy peaks of Tibet and Mongolia, where an ancient evil stirs . .
A spine-tingling, queer gothic horror debut where two men are drawn into an otherworldly spiral, and a journey that will only end when they reach the darkest part of the human soul, perfect for fans of The Historian and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell.
Expected release: 10th October (Orbit)
Out of the Window, Into the Dark
Marian Womack
A collection of short stories
Expected release: 16th October (Calque Press)
Sorcery and Small Magics
Maiga Doocy
Desperate to undo the curse binding them to each other, an impulsive sorcerer and his curmudgeonly rival venture deep into a magical forest in search of a counterspell—only to discover that magic might not be the only thing pulling them together.
Leovander Loveage is a master of small magics.
He can summon butterflies with a song, or turn someone’s hair pink by snapping his fingers. Such minor charms don’t earn him much admiration from other sorcerers (or his father), but anything more elaborate always blows up in his face. Which is why Leo vowed years ago to never again write powerful magic.
That is, until a mix-up involving a forbidden spell binds Leo to obey the commands of his longtime nemesis, Sebastian Grimm. Grimm is Leo’s complete opposite—respected, exceptionally talented, and an absolutely insufferable curmudgeon. The only thing they agree on is that getting caught using forbidden magic would mean the end of their careers. They need a counterspell, and fast. But Grimm casts spells, he doesn’t undo them, and Leo doesn’t mess with powerful magic.
Chasing rumors of a powerful sorcerer with a knack for undoing curses, Leo and Grimm enter the Unquiet Wood, a forest infested with murderous monsters and dangerous outlaws alike. To dissolve the curse, they’ll have to uncover the true depths of Leo’s magic, set aside their long-standing rivalry, and—much to their horror—work together.
Even as an odd spark of attraction flares between them.
Expected release: 17th October (Orbit)
The Last Shield
Cameron Johnston
A gender-flipped Die Hard set in a mysterious castle, Cameron Johnston’s The Last Shield is an engaging fantasy read, perfect for fans of John Gwynne and Mark Lawrence.
The ancient forest realm of Sunweald is bordered on two sides by far mightier nations – a precarious situation. At its centre, the Sunweald Palace is home to the Lord Regent and the heir to the throne, together with numerous precious and powerful artefacts. The Palace is protected by the realm’s elite Shields, dedicated to guarding the royal line against all foes.A group of vicious brigands called the Wildwood Reivers have been stealing arcane artefacts and smuggling them across the borders, out of Sunweald. And the objects they most desire are stored in the mystical Wyrm Vault, hidden away deep in the bones of the earth, within the walls of the Palace itself.As political and religious tensions mount, Sunweald’s druids prepare to enact rituals for the Summer Solstice – but the Wildwood Reivers and their treacherous allies have other plans.
It falls to Briar, the commander of the Shields, to defend the ancient corridors and secret tunnels of the Palace. The odds may be against her, but she’ll see every enemy head adorning a spike or she’ll die trying…
Expected release: 22nd October (Angry Robot)
The Fury of the Gods John Gwynne
The Fury of the Gods is the earth-shattering final book in John Gwynne’s bestselling Norse-inspired epic fantasy series, packed with myth, magic and bloody vengeance
THE FINAL BATTLE FOR THE FATE OF VIGRIÐ APPROACHES
Varg has overcome the trials of his past and become an accepted member of the Bloodsworn, but now he and his newfound comrades face their biggest challenge yet: slaying a dragon.
Elvar is struggling to consolidate her power in Snakavik, where she faces threats from within and without. As she fights to assert her authority in readiness for the coming conflict, she faces a surely insurmountable task: reining in the ferocity of a wolf god.
As Biorr and his warband make their way north, eager for blood, Gudvarr pursues a mission of his own, hoping to win Lik-Rifa’s favour and further his own ambitions.
All paths lead to Snakavik, where the lines are being drawn for the final battle – a titanic clash that will shake the foundations of the world, and bear witness to the true fury of the gods.
November
The Ravening
Daniel Church
From the subversive mind behind The Hollows comes a new, page turning horror thriller, perfect for fans of The Only Good Indian by Stephen Graham Jones.
Two women fight to free themselves of a terrifying thousand year old curse.
Jenna lost her mum when she was a girl – a terrifying incident on a lonely road in the woods which no one, least of all Jenna, has ever been able to explain. She’s been angry, defensive and self-reliant ever since. Until she meets Holly and begins to open up just a little.
But just as life is beginning to offer some promise Jenna is ripped away from Holly; kidnapped by a bizarre cult in thrall, so they say, to an ancient demon who offers the promise of eternal life in return for a particular sacrifice. A sacrifice that links Jenna, her mum, and a bloodline reaching back centuries.
With its antlered demon and a shadowy otherworld behind the veil of our world, The Ravening combines cinematic horrors with a compelling story of one woman’s refusal to give up and another woman’s fight for survival against terrible odds – both of them determined to overturn very different expectations.
Expected release: 12th November (Angry Robot)
The Lotus Empire
Tasha Suri
Malini has claimed her rightful throne as the empress of Parijatdvipa, just as the nameless gods prophesied. Now, in order to gain the support of the priesthood who remain loyal to the fallen emperor, she must consider a terrible bargain: Claim her throne and burn in order to seal her legacy-or find another willing to take her place on the pyre.
Priya has survived the deathless waters and now their magic runs in her veins. But a mysterious yaksa with flowering eyes and a mouth of thorns lies beneath the waters. The yaksa promises protection for Ahiranya. But in exchange, she needs a sacrifice. And she’s chosen Priya as the one to offer it.
Two women once entwined by fate now stand against each other for the sake of their respective homes. But when a new enemy rises, they will once again find themselves fighting together to prevent their kingdoms, and their futures, from burning to ash.
The Lotus Empire brings Tasha Suri’s acclaimed Burning Kingdoms trilogy to a heart-stopping close. As an ancient magic returns to Ahiranya and threatens its very foundations, Empress Malini and priestess Priya will stop at nothing to save their kingdom-even if it means they must destroy each other.
Expected release: 14th November (Orbit)
The Last Hour Between Worlds
Melissa Caruso
Follow a star investigator and her rival as they journey through layers of reality to save the world as they know it in this whip-smart adventure fantasy about rival guilds, reality-bending magic and unexpected mystery.
Kembral Thorne is spending a few hours away from her newborn, and she’s determined to enjoy the party no matter what. But when the guests start dropping dead, Kem has no choice but to get to work. She’s a member of the Guild of Hounds, after all, and she can’t help picking up the scent of trouble.
She’s not the only one. Her professional and personal nemesis, notorious burglar Rika Nonesuch, is on the prowl. They quickly identify what’s causing the a mysterious grandfather clock that sends them down an Echo every time it chimes. In each strange new layer of reality, time resets and a sinister figure appears to perform a blood-soaked ritual.
As Kem and Rika fall into increasingly macabre versions of their city, they’ll need to rely on their wits – and each other – to unravel the secret of the clock and save their city.
Expected release: 21st November (Orbit)
Ludluda
Jeff Noon and Steve Beard
Concluding the epic two-book series from the highly celebrated and award-winning authors Jeff Noon and Steve Beard. Ludluda, the sequel to Gogmagog, takes us on a haunting and delightfully witty adventure in a fantasy world which defies genre.
Luluda tells the story of a journey through a strange modern city whose power is sourced from the ghost of a dragon. Ludwich may no longer be at war with its great political rival overseas, but veteran sailor Cady Meade, survivor of many battles, suspects that the hard-won peace is about to break. She promises to deliver a preternatural ten-year old girl to a coming-of-age festival in the heart of Ludwich. But she has been warned by the prophets that dangers lie ahead.
Cady suspects that the young girl’s fate is entwined with that of the city. When the girl disappears, the old sailor must hunt her down, accompanied by a know-it-all mechanical man whose circuits are slowly grinding to dust. But Cady’s mission has always been to guard Ludwich from enemies both known and occult, and she will never give up.
Following the course of the River Nysis through the city, and beyond, Cady must uncover the final mysteries of the great dragon Haakenur’s life and death and afterlife. Her greatest battle is about to begin.
Expected release: 26th November (Angry Robot)
The Teller of Small Fortunes
Julie Leong
From The Bookseller:
The Teller of Small Fortunes is a cosy fantasy novel about trying to find yourself – and finding a family instead. It follows Tao, an immigrant fortune teller, who travels between villages telling small fortunes, until she teams up with a baker, a reformed thief, an ex-mercenary and (of course) a cat in the hunt for a lost child.
Powell said: “The Teller of Small Fortunes really does feel like reading a hug in a book. It’s a gentle, delightful, and brilliantly cosy story about finding acceptance, love, and family where you least expect it. Low stakes, high feelings, this is pitch-perfect escapism, and every time I read it, I fall just a little bit more in love.”
Leong said: “I’m absolutely thrilled that The Teller of Small Fortunes has found a home in the UK with Hodderscape. It’s a dream to work with Molly and the rest of the team, and I’m so grateful to have such wonderful champions for my debut. Writing this tale of magic, friendship, and belonging brought me joy and comfort when I needed it most – and it means the world to me to be able to share Tao’s story with readers who might need a little bit of the same, too.”
Expected release: November (Hodderscape)
December
The Dead Man’s Empire
W. P. Wiles
An innovative grimdark fantasy, with expansive world-building, powerful female characters and political intrigue, for fans of Brandon Sanderson and Scott Lynch. The follow up to the award winning The Last Blade Priest.
Growing tensions between the Mirolene Empire and the League threaten the stability of the world, spreading fear and mistrust across the land. Their rivalry is tearing apart the larger religious communities and even the elves are getting caught in the fray. Not a great time to be the reluctant bride about to be married off to seal an alliance between ancient rivals.
Enter Syzenne. Princess. Full of Attitude. Oh, and she’s also a Scourge – armed with terrifying, world-changing powers at her fingertips. Unfortunately, another teenage Scourge is flexing her powers and making the already heavy tension
The Dead Man’s Empire revisits the characters and the trials of The Last Blade Priest, adding powerful new characters and plot twists into the growing crisis that is sweeping the world.
Expected release: 3rd December (Angry Robot)
