A new fantasy series about dragons which reminds me of a darker Eragon, a fantasy-thriller that combines social media and journalism, a futuristic retelling of Noah’s Ark (what?), something post-apocalyptic with wizard spies, and finally a collection of modern retellings of fairy tales. This is the top 5 of new fantasy releases this month.
- The Waking Fire by Anthony Ryan (The Draconis Memoria #1)
Publication date: July 7th 2016
The Waking Fire is set in a vibrant new world where the blood of drakes—creatures similar to dragons—is valued beyond reckoning, and can be distilled into elixirs that grant fearsome powers to those who are “blood-blessed.” The Draconis Memoria is a remarkable new epic fantasy series with steam punk flavour, full of the phenomenal world-building and non-stop action that have gained Anthony Ryan a global fan base. - The Last Days of Jack Sparks by Jason Arnopp
Publication date: July 8th 2016
Jack Sparks died while writing this book. This is the account of his final days. In 2014, Jack Sparks – the controversial pop culture journalist – died in mysterious circumstances. Nobody knew what happened to Jack in the days that followed – until now. This book, compiled from the files found after his death, reveals the chilling details of Jack’s final hours. - Night of the Animals by Bill Broun
Publication date: July 5th 2016
In this imaginative debut, the tale of Noah’s Ark is brilliantly recast as a story of fate and family, set in a near-future London. Night of the Animals is an enchanting and inventive tale that explores the boundaries of reality, the ghosts of love and trauma, and the power of redemption. - The Interminables by Paige Orwin
Publication date: July 5th 2016
It’s 2020, and a magical cataclysm has shattered reality as we know it. Now a wizard’s cabal is running the East Coast of the US, keeping a semblance of peace. Their most powerful agents, Edmund and Istvan — the former a nearly immortal 1940s-era mystery man, the latter, well, a ghost — have been assigned to hunt down an arms smuggling ring that could blow up Massachusetts. - Beyond the Woods: Fairy Tales Retold by Paula Guran
Publication date: July 5th 2016
Originally, fairy tales were cultivated to entertain adults more than children. In truth, they have continued to prick the imaginations of all ages. This new anthology compiles some of the best modern fairy tale retellings and reinventions into an enchanting collection.- Introduction: Throwing In – Paula Guran
- Tanith Lee – “Red as Blood”
- Gene Wolfe – “In the House of Gingerbread”
- Angela Slatter – “The Bone Mother”
- Elizabeth Bear – “Follow Me Light”
- Yoon Ha Lee – “Coin of Hearts Desire”
- Nalo Hopkinson – “The Glass Bottle Trick”
- Catherynne M. Valente – “The Maiden Tree”
- Holly Black – “Coat of Stars”
- Caitlín R. Kiernan – “Road of Needles”
- Kelly Link – “Travels with the Snow Queen”
- Karen Joy Fowler – “Halfway People”
- Margo Lanagan – “Catastrophic Disruption of the Head”
- Shveta Thakrar – “Lavanya and Deepika”
- Theodora Goss – “Princess Lucinda and the Hound of the Moon”
- Gardner R. Dozois – “Fairy Tale”
- Peter S. Beagle – “The Queen Who Could Not Walk”
- Priya Sharma – “Lebkuchen”
- Neil Gaiman – “Diamonds and Pearls: A Fairy Tale”
- Richard Bowes – “The Queen and the Cambion”
- Octavia Cade – “The Mussel Eater”
- Jane Yolen – “Memoirs of a Bottle Djinn”
- Steve Duffy – “Bears: A Fairy Tale of 1958”
- Charles de Lint –“The Moon Is Drowning While I Sleep”
- Veronica Schanoes – “Rats”
- Rachel Swirsky – “Beyond the Naked Eye”
- Ken Liu – “Good Hunting”
- Kirstyn McDermott – “The Moon’s Good Grace”
- Peter Straub – “The Juniper Tree”
- Jeff VanderMeer – “Greensleeves”
- Tanith Lee – “Beauty”
This last fairy tale tome is already on my to-read list. Sounds interesting, and on top of that: what a list of authors! So excited! How about you? Which new releases are you excited about?
Other new releases of July 2016 can be found by genre right here on Goodreads.
Happy reading,
Loes M.