Wednesday! Habitual readers of this blog will know by now that every Wednesday I look at the new releases of the month. The third Wednesday of the month is always fantasy-day. So I went over to Goodreads, to look at their list of the top 5 new fantasy releases for September 2017. Are you ready? Other new releases of September 2017 can be found by genre right here on Goodreads.
- Sleeping Beauties by Stephen King & Owen King
Publication date: September 26th 2017
In this spectacular father-son collaboration, Stephen King and Owen King tell the highest of high-stakes stories: what might happen if women disappeared from the world of men? In a future so real and near it might be now, something happens when women go to sleep; they become shrouded in a cocoon-like gauze. If they are awakened, if the gauze wrapping their bodies is disturbed or violated, the women become feral and spectacularly violent; and while they sleep they go to another place. The men of our world are abandoned, left to their increasingly primal devices. One woman, however, the mysterious Evie, is immune to the blessing or curse of the sleeping disease. Is Evie a medical anomaly to be studied, or is she a demon who must be slain? Set in a small Appalachian town whose primary employer is a women’s prison, “Sleeping Beauties” is wildly provocative and gloriously absorbing. - An Unkindness of Magicians by Kat Howard
Publication date: September 26th 2017
There is a dark secret that is hiding at the heart of New York City and diminishing the city’s magicians’ power in this fantasy thriller by acclaimed author Kat Howard. In New York City, magic controls everything. But the power of magic is fading. No one knows what is happening, except for Sydney—a new, rare magician with incredible power that has been unmatched in decades, and she may be the only person who is able to stop the darkness that is weakening the magic. But Sydney doesn’t want to help the system, she wants to destroy it. Sydney comes from the House of Shadows, which controls the magic with the help of sacrifices from magicians. - The Black Tides of Heaven by J.Y. Yang (Tensorate #1)
Publication date: September 26th 2017
Mokoya and Akeha, the twin children of the Protector, were sold to the Grand Monastery as children. While Mokoya developed her strange prophetic gift, Akeha was always the one who’d see the strings that moved adults to action. While his sister received visions of what would be, Akeha realized what could be. What’s more, he saw the sickness at the heart of his mother’s Protectorate. Now, a rebellion is growing. The Machinists discover new levers to move the world every day, while the Tensors fight to put them down and preserve the power of the state. Unwilling to continue to be a pawn in his mother’s twisted schemes, Akeha leaves the Tensorate behind and falls in with the rebels. But every step Akeha takes towards the Machinists is a step away from his sister Mokoya. Can Akeha find peace without shattering the bond he shares with his twin sister? - Magicians Impossible by Brad Abraham
Publication date: September 12th 2017
Bartender Jason Bishop’s world is shattered when his estranged father Daniel seemingly commits suicide, but the greater shock comes when he learns his father was a secret agent in the employ of the Invisible Hand; an ancient society of spies wielding magic in a centuries-spanning war. Now the Golden Dawn; the shadowy cabal of witches and warlocks responsible for Daniel Bishop’s murder and the death of Jason’s mother years before, have Jason in their sights. His survival will depend on mastering his own dormant magic abilities; provided he makes it through the training. From New York, to Paris, to worlds between worlds, Jason’s journey through the realm of magic will be fraught with peril. But with enemies and allies on both sides of this war, whom can he trust? The Invisible Hand, who’ve been more of a family than his own family ever was? The Golden Dawn, who may know the secrets behind his mysterious lineage? For Jason Bishop, only one thing is for certain; the magic he has slowly been mastering is telling him not to trust anybody. - A Secret History of Witches by Louisa Morgan
Publication date: September 5th 2017
An ancient and dangerous power is being handed down from mother to daughter through some of the most consequential historic events of the last two centuries. After Grandmére Ursule gives her life to save her tribe, her magic seems to die with her. Even so, her family keeps the Old Faith, practising the spells and rites that have been handed from mother to daughter for generations. Until one day, Ursule’s young granddaughter steps into the circle, and magic flows anew. From early 19th-century Brittany to London during the Second World War, five generations of witches fight the battles of their time, deciding how far they are willing to go to protect their family, their heritage, and ultimately, all of our futures.
Hmm, Stephen King doing fantasy? Are we sure that this book shouldn’t belong in the thriller genre? I’m not a big fan of thrillers or horrors, so I’m going to wait to see what others say about this book. The second book by Kat Howard puzzles me a little, the description is very unclear and I don’t really understand what the book is about. I can guess the gist of it, but I don’t know at all whether I will like the book or not. And seeing the huge piles of unread books and my enormous to-read list, … I’ll let this book pass me by. Never underestimate the importance of your description, authors! Same thing goes for book 3 by the way. The first paragraph sounds intriguing, the set-up of an interesting new fantasy series. But then there’s talk of a rebellion, for some reason the boy leaves but not the girl and then the boy needs to find peace? Hmm, no idea what will actually be happening to the boy, but it doesn’t entice me to read further. I’ll wait to see if and when the entire series comes out to decide if I want to read it or not. I like the fourth book very much. The blurb is a little weird and jumps to weird places, but I like the story behind it. To-read list it is! And the fifth book sounds interesting but also a little weird. I generally like fantasy stories that intersperse with reality and involve real-life events in the story. But I’m not 100% convinced, so I’m off to read some reviews before I decide to keep it on the to-read list or chuck it.
Happy reading,
Loes M.