July-August Fantasy and Science Fiction
New and exciting novels coming soon!
So many stories, so little time… I was looking forward to upcoming novel releases, and found a number that I’d like to share. As I have an afinity for worldbuilding, deep, rich, and original fantasy that follows the likes of Jacqueline Carey, Patrick Rothfuss, and Neil Gaiman, I searched and searched for this genre. I find so many paranormal and urban fantasy, then a bunch of space and time fantasy, but only a few that pull on the worldbuilding string. Don’t get me wrong, those are wonderful stories too. I just have a deep love for discovering new worlds.
I’m providing a mix of authors everyone knows and authors (many Indi authors) that you might like based on the bigger names. Be sure to give some of the indi authors a try! There’s a wealth of talent out there that so often goes under the radar because of the advertising power-houses and name recognition.
Serpentine by Laurel K. Hamilton
Naturally, Ms. Hamilton makes the list with the latest in her Anita Blake series.
Release date August 7, 2018
Vampire hunter Anita Blake has managed to overcome everything she faces. But this time there’s a monster that even she doesn’t know how to fight…
A remote Florida island is the perfect wedding destination for the upcoming nuptials of Anita’s fellow U.S. Marshal and best friend Edward. For Anita, the vacation is a welcome break, as it’s the first trip she gets to take with just wereleopards Micah and Nathaniel. But it’s not all fun and games and bachelor parties…
In this tropical paradise Micah discovers a horrific new form of lycanthropy, one that has afflicted a single family for generations. Believed to be the result of an ancient Greek curse, it turns human bodies into a mass of snakes.
When long-simmering resentment leads to a big blowout within the wedding party, the last thing Anita needs is more drama. But it finds her anyway when women start disappearing from the hotel, and worse–her own friends and lovers are considered the prime suspects. There’s a strange power afoot that Anita has never confronted before, a force that’s rendering those around her helpless in its thrall. Unable to face it on her own, Anita is willing to accept help from even the deadliest places. Help that she will most certainly regret–if she survives at all, that is…
Open Season by Susan Stradiotto
It may be shameless to include my own work, but it’s everything I look for when I go to pick up a fantasy novel or series. It’s a story that’s just left of normal, and brings you into an entirely new world.
Elle Jones coveted an executive position.
Running from her past, Elle developed a strong drive. Her mantra: Executive by thirty! She landed the job and celebrated her long-awaited success. That was…until she left the office late one night. When she stepped from the elevator, her life changed. Three cloaked figures waited…Andreas Javine had Elle in his sights.
Terrináe’s Congress only allotted thirty-six slots for new entrants. When Javine missed his opportunity to nominate Elle, he resorted to alternate methods.
And there is so much more to follow…
Counterclockwise: A Fiction-Atlas Time Travel Anthology
by authors:
C.L. Cannon, Bob James, Bree Moore, Matthew Stevens, Rebekah Dodson, Damian Connolly, Melody Ash, Sarah Buhrman, and Nanea Knott
Release date: August 7, 2018
Travel through space and time with this multi-author anthology from Fiction-Atlas Press!
This one is exciting, because it exposes a number of independently published authors, some who haven’t been published before.
The Shikari by Dora Blume
Release Date July 17, 2018
Length: 241 pages
When Minneapolis, MN is overrun with demons, Erik is forced to go to his sister, Sloane for help. Sloane wants to live a normal life in Dinkytown and forget she was born a Shikari warrior. Erik would defy his father before he’d ever admit to needing help. Five years ago, their mother was murdered due to a vicious betrayal by one of their own. Sloane swore she’d never hunt demons again. Erik is more determined than ever to kill them. Secrets known only to the Shikari have been revealed. Sloane and Erik are forced to work together to hunt those who’ve betrayed them. Will they learn the truth behind their mother’s death in the process? Will they be able to put their past aside to save the city and everyone they love?
This one tickles me, because I am from the area. I’m excited to dive into this novel as I expect there will be a fun sense of familiarity blended with the fantasy.
The Fall of Gondolin by J.R.R. Tolkien, Edited by Christopher Tolkien, Illustrations by Alan Lee
What fantasy list would be complete without a little Tolkien?
From the publisher:
In the Tale of The Fall of Gondolin are two of the greatest powers in the world. There is Morgoth of the uttermost evil, unseen in this story but ruling over a vast military power from his fortress of Angband. Deeply opposed to Morgoth is Ulmo, second in might only to Manwë, chief of the Valar: he is called the Lord of Waters, of all seas, lakes, and rivers under the sky. But he works in secret in Middle-earth to support the Noldor, the kindred of the Elves among whom were numbered Húrin and Túrin Turambar.
…
In the words of J.R.R. Tolkien, it was ‘the first real story of this imaginary world’ and, together with Beren and Lúthien and The Children of Húrin, he regarded it as one of the three ‘Great Tales’ of the Elder Days.
My Soul to Keep by Lynette M. Burrows
Miranda Clarke lived a charmed life…until she broke the rules.
It is 1961 and America’s a theocracy controlled by the Fellowship and its tyrannical council of eleven men. Miranda Clarke’s family is part of the ruling elite, wealthy and privileged.
Miranda wants nothing more than to stay out of the public eye, but her power-hungry mother has different plans. She forces Miranda into an engagement to an up-and-coming Fellowship member and schemes to get Miranda’s father elected President of the United States.
To escape the arranged marriage and the repressive Fellowship, Miranda makes a break for freedom. But lurid family secrets and a dead man lands her in prison. She not only must escape prison and outwit her mother’s ruthless ambitions but avoid the deadly Azrael, the Fellowship’s enforcers who Take unbelievers.
Will Miranda survive ‘outing’ the family secrets?
Told from four different perspectives, My Soul to Keep is a spine-tingling science-fiction thriller and will be available in all your favorite online bookstores.
My Soul to Keep is the first in a series about the struggle to survive repression and violence on a personal, regional, and national level.
Available in August. Check the author’s website.
High Voltage by Karen Marie Moning
This one is a bit of a cheat, but the paperback is coming out on July 24, 2018. The hardcover was released in March. However, when I searched for upcoming fantasy books and found this one, I couldn’t resist putting it on my list. I’ve read everything by KMM back to her Highlander series, but I haven’t picked this one up yet. It’s definitely on my list.
Immortal Faerie and ancient feuds, secrets and sacrifices – a thrilling new chapter in the bestselling Fever series begins, featuring Dani, Ryodan, and other beloved characters, as they battle to save Dublin from the rising of a terrifying evil determined to enslave the human race.
Be warned though, you’ll quickly become addicted to this lady’s writing.
Adding one after the fact:
The Mere Wife by Maria Dahvana Headly
This one tickles me as it’s based on the classic – Beowulf. Yet it hits right there in the fantasy genre. It’s high on my list, but so much to read!!!
Release date July 17, 2018
From the blurb:
…a modern retelling of the literary classic Beowulf, set in American suburbia as two mothers―a housewife and a battle-hardened veteran―fight to protect those they love in The Mere Wife.
For Willa, the wife of Roger Herot (heir of Herot Hall), life moves at a charmingly slow pace. She flits between mommy groups, playdates, cocktail hour, and dinner parties, always with her son, Dylan, in tow. Meanwhile, in a cave in the mountains just beyond the limits of Herot Hall lives Gren, short for Grendel, as well as his mother, Dana, a former soldier who gave birth as if by chance. Dana didn’t want Gren, didn’t plan Gren, and doesn’t know how she got Gren, but when she returned from war, there he was. When Gren, unaware of the borders erected to keep him at bay, ventures into Herot Hall and runs off with Dylan, Dana’s and Willa’s worlds collide.
This may be my next book club selection.
All the best, and turn the page…a new adventure awaits! xx
Exposure by Ember Dante
