Renowned authors are launching exciting ventures, including a near-future thriller from Richard K. Morgan, a fantasy spy novel from Hannu Rajaniemi, and epic fantasies from genre legends Nancy Springer and Raymond E. Feist.

Top 10

Ambiguity Machines and Other Stories

Vandana Singh. Small Beer, Feb. 1

Physicist and SF author Singh’s first collection for U.S. readers is a spectacular assembly of work and not to be missed by fans of cutting-edge SF with a deeply human sensibility.

Blackfish City

Sam J. Miller. Ecco, Apr. 17

Miller made waves with his YA debut, The Art of Starving, and will make more with this rich and intense dystopian ensemble story set in a harsh near future.

King of Ashes: The Firemane Saga, Book 1

Raymond E. Feist. Harper Voyager, May 8

Fans of Feist’s Midkemia epic fantasy series, which helped to shape the genre in the 1980s and concluded in 2013, will be very excited to see him launching a new venture with this classic heroic tale.

The Merry Spinster

Mallory Ortberg. Holt, Mar. 13

Ortberg’s twisted variations on popular fairy tales and children’s books are daring and skillful, and this outstanding collection of them brims with satirical horror.

The Oddling Prince

Nancy Springer. Tachyon, May 15

After decades of writing young adult books and delicately magical contemporary fantasies, Springer makes a surprise shift into epic fantasy with a tale of royal dynasties and supernatural entities.

Olympus Bound

Jordanna Max Brodsky. Orbit, Feb. 13

This meticulously crafted story wraps up Brodsky’s nuanced urban fantasy series, in which the Greek gods grapple with the present-day world.

Space Opera

Catherynne M. Valente. S&S/Saga, Apr. 3

Celebrating pop culture and upending genre expectations, notorious envelope-pusher Valente brings Eurovision to where it’s always belonged: outer space.

Summerland

Hannu Rajaniemi. Tor, June 26

Known for mixing caper stories with the hardest of hard SF, Rajaniemi switches it up with this espionage tale set in an afterlife that both the British Empire and the U.S.S.R. are bent on exploiting.

Thin Air

Richard K. Morgan. Del Rey, Mar. 20

Following a dalliance with epic fantasy, Morgan returns to the near-future thrillers for which he’s best known (Altered Carbon, etc.) with this exciting tale of corruption and abduction on Mars.

Witchmark

C.L. Polk. Tor.com, June 19

This stellar debut, set in an alternate early 20th century, is an innovative mix of class struggle, magic, and war that marks Polk as a writer to watch.

SF, Fantasy & Horror

Abaddon

Unclean Spirits by Chuck Wendig (Feb. 14, trade paper, $15.99, ISBN 978-1-78108-615-5). For five years, Cason Cole has been a chew toy for a god. Now, as the man he loves and hates lies dying at his feet, the explosion still ringing in his ears, Cason is finally free. The gods visit terrible retribution on those who defy them, but that won’t stop Cason from getting back what’s his.

Ace

Before Mars by Emma Newman (Apr. 17, trade paper, $16, ISBN 978-0-399-58732-0) expands the Planetfall universe with a standalone tale of a woman stationed on Mars who slowly starts to doubt her own memories and sanity after she finds a mysterious note written in her own handwriting.

Burn Bright by Patricia Briggs (Mar. 6, hardcover, $27, ISBN 978-0-425-28131-4). In the latest Alpha and Omega urban fantasy novel, two members of a werewolf pack must track down attackers who are targeting wild werewolves. 150,000-copy announced first printing.

Lake Silence by Anne Bishop (Mar. 6, hardcover, $27, ISBN 978-0-399-58724-5). An inn owner and her shape-shifting lodger become enmeshed in danger and dark secrets in Bishop’s newest Others paranormal novel.

Algonquin

Dreadful Young Ladies and Other Stories by Kelly Barnhill (Feb. 20, hardcover, $24.95, ISBN 978-1-61620-797-7) collects short stories from the World Fantasy Award– and Newbery Medal–winning author of The Girl Who Drank the Moon. The collection teems with uncanny characters whose lives unfold in very human and very strange ways.

Atria

Zero Day by Ezekiel Boone (Feb. 27, hardcover, $26, ISBN 978-1-5011-2510-2). The fate of the world hangs in the balance in Boone’s explosive conclusion to his Hatching trilogy (The Hatching, Skitter), which features some of the scariest spiders in recent horror. Tactical nuclear strikes have killed many of the hell spiders, and roads and bridges have been destroyed to halt their spread, but the terror is far from over.

Baen

Though Hell Should Bar the Way by David Drake (Apr. 3, hardcover, $25, ISBN 978-1-4814-8313-1) continues the RCN military SF series. Roy Olfetrie planned to be an officer in the Republic of Cinnabar Navy, but with his father unmasked as a white-collar criminal, he has to take whatever he’s offered, which turns out to be a chance to help start a war. 12,000-copy announced first printing.

Berkley

The Mermaid by Christina Henry (June 19, trade paper, $16, ISBN 978-0-399-58404-6). From the author of Lost Boy comes a historical fairy tale about a mermaid who leaves the sea for love and later finds herself in P.T. Barnum’s American Museum as the real Fiji mermaid. Leaving the museum may be harder than leaving the sea ever was.

Bloomsbury UK

The Rending and the Nest by Kaethe Schwehn (Feb. 20, hardcover, $26, ISBN 978-1-63286-972-2) is a postapocalyptic debut that examines community, motherhood, and faith. After 95% of humankind disappears for no apparent reason, the survivors cobble together haphazard communities. Then women begin giving birth to inanimate objects. One pregnant woman must try to save both herself and a friend who’s followed a charismatic but dangerous leader. 40,000-copy announced first printing.

Bold Strokes

Of Echoes Born by ‘Nathan Burgoine (June 12, trade paper, $18.95, ISBN 978-1-63555-096-2). Outside a hospital in Ottawa, a heartbeat returns long enough for a good-bye. Downtown, a man steps into shadows of the past to help those who have died find their way free from their memories. The past echoes through these queer tales—sometimes soft enough to grant a second chance at love, and other times loud enough to damn a killer.

ChiZine

Armed in Her Fashion by Kate Heartfield (May 17, trade paper, $17.99, ISBN 978-1-77148-452-7). In 1328, Bruges is under siege by the Chatelaine of Hell and her army of chimeras—humans mixed with animals or armour, forged in the deep fires of the Hellbeast. When a widow’s undead husband steals the coins and weapons that could buy her daughter’s safety, she gathers an unlikely raiding party and braves Hell to get them back.

Crown

The Grey Bastards by Jonathan French (June 19, hardcover, $27, ISBN 978-0-525-57244-2) is a bawdy, blood-soaked adventure fantasy debut. Jackal is proud to be a Grey Bastard, member of a sworn brotherhood of half-orcs. Unloved and unwanted in civilized society, the Bastards eke out a hard life, protecting frail humans from invading bands of vicious orcs. But as Jackal is soon to learn, his pride may be misplaced.

Del Rey

Into the Fire by Elizabeth Moon (Feb. 6, hardcover, $28, ISBN 978-1-101-88734-9) continues the Kylara Vatta military SF series. Ky beats sabotage, betrayal, and the unforgiving elements to lead a ragtag group of crash survivors to safety, and she cheats death after uncovering dangerous secrets. But the worst is far from over when Ky discovers the headquarters of a vast conspiracy against her family and the heart of the planet’s government.

Scourged by Kevin Hearne (Apr. 3, hardcover, $27, ISBN 978-0-345-54854-2) concludes the Iron Druid action-adventure series. Atticus O’Sullivan, a 2,000-year-old druid, travels to Asgard and faces off against the Norse gods to try to prevent Ragnarok in the final battle for the fate of humankind.

The Tales of Pell: Vol. One by Kevin Hearne and Delilah S. Dawson (July 24, hardcover, $27, ISBN 978-1-5247-9774-4) launches a humorous fantasy series. Gustave the Talking Goat, Fia the Unusually Tall, Argabella the Ensorcelled Bard, and Grinda the Sand Witch are on a mission to stop a coup. Along the way, they are joined by Toby the Hedge Wizard and Poltro the Clumsy Rogue, and try to figure out the conundrum of the Chosen One.

Thin Air by Richard K. Morgan (Mar. 20, hardcover, $28, ISBN 978-0-345-49312-5) is a tale of corruption and abduction on near-future Mars. An ex-corporate enforcer, Hakan Veil, is forced to guard Madison Jegede, part of a colonial audit team investigating a disappeared lottery winner. When Jegede is kidnapped and Hakan is nearly killed, the investigation takes several unexpected turns.

Ecco

Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller (Apr. 17, hardcover, $22.99, ISBN 978-0-06-268482-0). YA author Miller makes the jump to adult SF with an ambitious, imaginative, and big-hearted dystopian ensemble story that’s by turns elegiac and angry. In the floating city of Qaanaaq, a woman with two unusual companions—an orca and a polar bear—draws a disparate group together to uncover a dramatic series of secrets, connections, and political plots.

Gollancz

The Real-Town Murders by Adam Roberts (Apr. 17, hardcover, $28.99, ISBN 978-1-4732-2145-1). Alma, a private detective in a near-future England, has an ill partner who has to be treated every four hours, a task that only Alma can do. If she misses the five-minute window, her lover will die. Then the investigation of an impossible death leaves her trapped far from home.

Hanover Square

The Trial and Execution of the Traitor George Washington by Charles Rosenberg (June 26, hardcover, $26.99, ISBN 978-1-335-20032-7). Drawing inspiration from an actual kidnapping plot hatched in 1776 by a member of Washington’s own guards, Rosenberg envisions what would have taken place if the leader of America’s fledgling rebellion were removed at the height of the war.

Harper

What Should Be Wild by Julia Fine (May 8, hardcover, $26.99, ISBN 978-0-06-268413-4). Maisie Cothay has never known the feel of human flesh: born with the power to kill or resurrect by her slightest touch, she has spent her childhood sequestered in the family’s manor at the edge of a mysterious forest. One day Maisie’s father disappears, and Maisie must venture beyond the walls of her carefully constructed life to find him. 40,000-copy announced first printing.

Harper Voyager

Awakened by James S. Murray and Darren Wearmouth (June 26, hardcover, $24.99, ISBN 978-0-06-268788-3). TV comedian Murray and longtime author Wearmouth deliver a supernatural novel in which a beautiful new subway line connecting New York City to New Jersey unearths an ancient dark horror that threatens the city and all of human civilization.

Blood of the Four by Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon (Mar. 6, hardcover, $24.99, ISBN 978-0-06-264138-0). In this hefty sword-and-sorcery adventure from frequent collaborators Golden and Lebbon (The Shadow Men), a large, entangled cast of characters contends with the shifting balance of magical power in a stratified fantasy culture. There’s something for everyone, including some subtly feminist themes and several spectacular displays of magical conflict.

Gunpowder Moon by David Pedreira (Feb. 13, trade paper, $14.99, ISBN 978-0-06-267608-5). Former journalist Pedreira’s debut novel is an excellent sci-fi thriller with unexpected depth. Caden Dechert, chief of a U.S. mining station on the moon, just cares about doing his job and keeping his crew alive in Luna’s unforgiving environment; the commander of a rival Chinese base feels the same way. Governments back on Earth, however, are edging toward war.

King of Ashes: The Firemane Saga, Book 1 by Raymond E. Feist (May 8, hardcover, $29.99, ISBN 978-0-06-146845-2). For centuries, the greatest kingdoms of the world of Garn have coexisted in peace. But the balance of power is destroyed when four of the kingdoms violate an ancient covenant and betray the fifth. Soon, two young men—an unknowing heir to a throne and a brilliantly talented young swordsmith—will discover that their fates, and that of Garn, are entwined.

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang (May 1, hardcover, $26.99, ISBN 978-0-06-266256-9). For war orphan Rin, the only way out of her village—and an arranged marriage—is to test into the prestigious military academy at Sinegard. But a furious rivalry with a classmate leads to a confrontation that draws out a lethal, unearthly power within her. As Rin learns of the existence of gods thought long dead, her country, Nikan, prepares for war.

Holt

The Merry Spinster by Mallory Ortberg (Mar. 13, trade paper, $17, ISBN 978-1-250-11342-9). Unlike most modern versions of fairy tales, Ortberg’s sly, scathing renditions avoid clichés and self-referential edginess, and instead strike directly at the heart.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt/Adams

The City of Lost Fortunes by Bryan Camp (Apr. 17, hardcover, $24, ISBN 978-1-328-81079-3). The slaying of the god of fortune forces street magician and demigod Jude into a maelstrom as he learns that he is inextricably bound with the murder, other murders that follow, and the lives of everyone in New Orleans. Camp’s debut reads like jazz, with multiple chaotic-seeming threads of deities, mortals, and destiny playing in harmony.

The Robots of Gotham by Todd McAulty (June 19, hardcover, $26, ISBN 978-1-328-71101-4). After long years of war, the United States has sued for peace, yielding to a brutal coalition of nations ruled by fascist machines. A Canadian businessman, a Russian medic, and a badly damaged robot stumble on a machine conspiracy to unleash a horrific plague—and learn that the fabled American resistance is not as extinct as everyone believes.

Inkshares

Blood Capital by Robert Batten (Apr. 10, trade paper, $14.99, ISBN 978-1-942645-78-8). During the 21st century, a zombie pandemic explodes out of the Siberian mountains. Vampires act to preserve their human food supply, promising refuge to millions. Generations later, humans and vampires alike struggle under the weight of corporate rule—and one woman’s cure for the zombie plague could change everything.

Morrow

The Feed by Nick Clark Windo (Mar. 13, hardcover, $26.99, ISBN 978-0-06-265185-3). Every interaction, every emotion, every image can be shared through the Feed; everyone relies on it to know and understand the thoughts and feelings of others. Tom’s father created the Feed, but Tom has resisted its addiction, which serves him well when the Feed collapses, taking modern society with it.

Night Shade

Bash Bash Revolution by Douglas Lain (Mar. 6, trade paper, $14.99, ISBN 978-1-59780-916-0). Told as a series of conversations between a teenage gamer and the artificial intelligence program created by his father, this is a novel of apocalypse, revolution, and a broken family.

The Song of All by Tina Lecount Myers (Feb. 20, trade paper, $14.99, ISBN 978-1-59780-923-8). On the forbidding fringes of the tundra, humans war with immortals in the name of their shared gods. Irjan, a human warrior, is ruthless and lethal, but also scarred and weary of bloodshed. He tries to live a peaceful life as a farmer, husband, and father, but his past is not so easily left behind.

North Star

Viridian Convict by Sam York (Apr. 10, trade paper, $14.99, ISBN 978-1-63583-904-3). Bestselling romance author Sabrina York, writing as Sam York, mixes a love story with space opera. Tig, the only human on the prison planet Viridian, is instructed by a mob boss to pick up and deliver a package that the government also wants. To make matters worse, the “package” is a sassy, curvy woman with her own agenda.

Orbit

84k by Claire North (May 22, trade paper, $15.99, ISBN 978-0-316-31680-4). Theo works in the Criminal Audit Office. He assesses each crime that crosses his desk and makes sure the correct debt to society is paid in full. Anyone rich enough can get away with murder. But when Theo finds Dani’s lifeless body, and a hired killer standing over her and calmly calling the police to confess, he can’t let her death become just an entry on a balance sheet.

Olympus Bound by Jordanna Max Brodsky (Feb. 13, hardcover, $26, ISBN 978-0-316-38594-7) is the rich, clever, and thoughtful concluding installment of the Olympus Bound trilogy. As in the previous volumes, Brodsky expertly weaves together ancient mystery cults, mythology, and science, producing a masterpiece that challenges the reader’s assumptions and expectations at every turn.

PM

Thoreau’s Microscope by Michael Blumlein (June 1, trade paper, $14, ISBN 978-1-62963-516-3). The politics and terrors of biotech, human engineering, and brain science are given startling fictional form in a selection of short stories with physician Blumlein’s signature mix of fantasy, science fiction, horror, and humor.

Putnam

The Gone World by Tom Sweterlitsch (Feb. 6, hardcover, $27, ISBN 978-0-399-16750-8). In 1997 Pennsylvania, investigator Shannon Moss discovers that a murdered SEAL was an astronaut aboard a ship assumed lost to the darkest currents of deep time. Determined to find the victim’s missing daughter, Moss travels ahead in time to explore possible versions of the future, seeking evidence or insight that will crack the present-day case.

Pyr

The Last Sun by K.D. Edwards (June 12, trade paper, $17, ISBN 978-1-63388-423-6). In this debut novel and series starter, Rune Saint John is the last member of a murdered group on New Atlantis, the island city where the Atlanteans moved after ordinary humans destroyed their original home. As Rune searches for a missing nobleman, he uncovers clues about his own tortured past.

Sands

Headhunter by Peter Parkin and Alison Darby (Mar. 30, trade paper, $19.99, ISBN 978-1-988281-18-6). Business executive Jeff Kavanaugh doesn’t understand the signs, but something is ominously different. His world seems off. Weird symbols are dancing in front of his eyes. Jeff has a magical gift that he can’t control, and he’s been conditioned to avoid it rather than embrace it. The courage and power he is forced to summon will change his life forever.

Simon & Schuster

School for Psychics, Book 1 by K.C. Archer (Apr. 3, trade paper, $16, ISBN 978-1-5011-5933-6). When a series of bad decisions leads Teddy Cannon to a run-in with the police, a mysterious stranger intervenes and invites her to apply to the School for Psychics. If students survive their training, they go on to serve at the highest levels of government. But just as Teddy feels like she’s found where she might belong, strange things begin to happen.

S&S/Saga

Pride and Prometheus by John Kessel (Feb. 13, hardcover, $27.99, ISBN 978-1-4814-8147-2). Mary Bennet falls for the enigmatic Victor Frankenstein and befriends his monstrous Creature in this clever fusion of two popular classics. As Mary and Victor become increasingly attracted to each other, the Creature looks on impatiently, waiting for his bride. But where will Victor find a female body from which to create the monster’s mate?

Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente (Apr. 3, hardcover, $19.99, ISBN 978-1-4814-9749-7). A century ago, the Sentience Wars tore the galaxy apart. In the aftermath, a curious tradition was invented: instead of competing in orbital combat, the powerful species that survived face off in a performance competition. Now humans have discovered the enormous universe, and it’s full of glitter, lipstick, and electric guitars.

The Tangled Lands by Paolo Bacigalupi and Tobias S. Buckell (Feb. 27, hardcover, $26.99, ISBN 978-1-4814-9729-9) is a fantasy novel told in four parts about a land ravaged by the use of magic, and a tyrant who is trying to rebuild an empire—unless the people find a way to resist.

Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse (June 26, hardcover, $27.99, ISBN 978-1-5344-1349-8). While most of the world has drowned beneath the sudden rising waters of a climate apocalypse, Dinétah (formerly the Navajo reservation) has been reborn. The gods, heroes, and monsters of legend walk the land. Maggie Hoskie is a Dinétah monster hunter, and when a small town needs help finding a missing girl, Maggie is their last—and best—hope.

Small Beer

Ambiguity Machines and Other Stories by Vandana Singh (Feb. 1, trade paper, $16, ISBN 978-1-61873-142-5). A delicate touch and passionately humanist sensibilities sweep through this magnificent collection, which ranges from the near future of our world to eras far away in space and time. This is a perfect introduction to the work of physicist and SF author Singh. 5,000-copy announced first printing.

Solaris

Paris Adrift by E.J. Swift (Feb. 6, trade paper, $15.99, ISBN 978-1-78108-593-6). Misfit and student geologist Hallie packs up her life in England and heads to Paris. She falls in with the eclectic expat community as a bartender at the notorious Millie’s. Then a bird warns Hallie to get her feathers in order, a mysterious woman shows up claiming to be a chronometrist, and Hallie discovers a time portal in the keg room.

St. Martin’s

For the Killing of Kings by Howard Andrew Jones (July 17, hardcover, $26.99, ISBN 978-1-250-00681-3). Unruly Naor clans might raid across the border of Darassus, but the king himself would never lead them as long as Darassus held the sword of his doom. When squire Elenai’s aging mentor uncovers evidence that the sword in their hall is a forgery, she’s framed for murder and treason and forced to flee Darassus, pursued by the greatest heroes of the realm.

Song of Blood and Stone by L. Penelope (May 1, hardcover, $25.99, ISBN 978-1-250-14807-0) is an engrossing story with delightful characters, opening a promising series. As Earthsinger Jasminda and spy Jack work together to protect their home, attraction turns their pragmatic alliance into a romantic union that won’t be denied, despite the obligations of Jack’s social and political position and the persistent prejudice against Jasminda’s mixed heritage.

Tachyon

The Oddling Prince by Nancy Springer (May 15, trade paper, $15.95, ISBN 978-1-61696-289-0). Springer’s first fantasy novel for adults in over a decade is a high fantasy of kings and battles in a Scotland-inspired land of Fae magic and families split by greed and power.

Talos

Master Assassins: The Fire Sacraments, Book One by Robert V.S. Redick (Mar. 6, hardcover, $25.99, ISBN 978-1-945863-19-6). Two village boys mistaken for assassins become the decisive figures in the battle for a continent in this epic fantasy. When the brothers’ simmering feud explodes into violence and holy blood is spilled, Kandri and Mektu must flee into the sprawling desert known as the Land that Eats Men.

Tomorrow Factory: Collected Speculative Fiction by Rich Larson (May 1, hardcover, $25.99, ISBN 978-1-945863-30-1) contains 24 stories from Pushcart Prize–nominated author Larson. Post-human hedonists on a distant space station bring diseases back into fashion, two scavengers find a superpowered parasite under the waves of Sunk Seattle, and a terminally ill chemist orchestrates an asteroid prison break.

Tin House

The Seas by Samantha Hunt (July 10, hardcover, $19.95, ISBN 978-1-941040-95-9). Moored in a coastal fishing town set so far north that the highways only run south, the unnamed narrator is a misfit. Surrounded by water and beckoned by the sea, she clings to what her father once told her: that she is a mermaid.

Titan

The Book of Hidden Things by Francesco Dimitri (May 22, trade paper, $14.95, ISBN 978-1-78565-707-8) is Dimitri’s first novel written in English. Four school friends have a pact to meet up every year in the small town in Puglia where they grew up. When Art, the charismatic leader of the group and creator of the pact, fails to show up, the others seek him and encounter bizarre and unbelievable rumors—and his book of secrets and wonders.

The Dragon’s Legacy: The Dragon’s Legacy, Book 1 by Deborah A. Wolf (Mar. 13, trade paper, $14.95, ISBN 978-1-78565-108-3). In the heart of the singing desert, a king is dying, and with him the magic that sings the Earth Dragon to sleep. There are those who wish to keep the dragon trapped in endless slumber; others who would tap her power; and some who would have her wake, so they might laugh as the world burns.

Embers of War by Gareth L. Powell (Feb. 20, trade paper, $14.95, ISBN 978-1-78565-518-0). As a space war ends, the sentient warship Trouble Dog feels disgusted by conflict and her role in a possible war crime. With a new crew of misfits, she struggles to adjust to pacifism. Then Trouble Dog is assigned to a straightforward rescue mission that rapidly becomes far more dangerous, and she must remember how to fight.

Tor

Armistice: The Amberlough Dossier, Book 2 by Lara Elena Donnelly (May 15, trade paper, $15.99, ISBN 978-1-250-17356-0) returns to Donnelly’s Art Deco fantasy setting of Amberlough. Three people maneuver inside a high-stakes game of statecraft and espionage: Lillian, a reluctant diplomat serving a fascist nation; Aristide, an expatriate film director running from lost love and a criminal past; and Cordelia, a former cabaret stripper turned legendary revolutionary. When their fates collide, events barrel toward international war.

The Calculating Stars: A Lady Astronaut Novel by Mary Robinette Kowal (July 3, trade paper, $15.99, ISBN 978-0-7653-7838-5). In the mid–20th century, a meteor crashes into Earth and paves the way for a climate cataclysm that will eventually render the planet inhospitable to humans. This looming threat calls for radically accelerated efforts to colonize space. Elma York’s experience as a WASP pilot and mathematician earns her a place in the International Aerospace Coalition—and drives her determination to become the first Lady Astronaut.

City of Lies by Sam Hawke (July 3, trade paper, $14.99, ISBN 978-0-7653-9689-1). Outwardly, Jovan is the lifelong friend of the Chancellor’s charming, irresponsible heir. In secret, he’s a master of poisons and chemicals, trained to protect the Chancellor’s family from treachery. When the Chancellor succumbs to an unknown poison and an army lays siege to the city, Jovan and his sister, Kalina, must protect the heir and save their city-state.

Death Doesn’t Bargain: A Deadman’s Cross Novel by Sherrilyn Kenyon (May 8, hardcover, $27.99, ISBN 978-0-7653-8571-0). Demons have broken free of their eternal prison and are bent on humankind’s destruction. The worst of them is Vine. Merman Kalder Dupree sacrificed himself for his crew and is now in Vine’s hands. And Cameron Jack, once saved from damnation by his kindness, is determined to set Kalder free.

Drop by Drop by Morgan Llywelyn (June 26, hardcover, $25.99, ISBN 978-0-7653-8866-7) is historical fiction author Llywelyn’s first near-future SF thriller. Global catastrophe occurs when all plastic mysteriously liquefies and the small components making many technologies possible—navigation systems, communications, medical equipment—fail. In Sycamore River, citizens find their lives disrupted as everything they’ve depended on melts around them, with sometimes fatal results. All they can rely upon is themselves.

Starless by Jacqueline Carey (June 12, hardcover, $25.99, ISBN 978-0-7653-8682-3) introduces an epic world where exiled gods live among humans. Destined from birth to serve as protector of the princess Zariya, Khai is trained in the arts of killing and stealth by a warrior sect in the deep desert. As a dangerous god comes to power, Khai must learn to navigate deadly intrigue and his own conflicted identity.

Summerland by Hannu Rajaniemi (June 26, hardcover, $25.99, ISBN 978-1-250-17892-3). In 1938, death is no longer feared but exploited. Since the discovery of the afterlife, the British Empire has extended its reach into Summerland, a metropolis for the recently deceased. When SIS agent Rachel White gets a lead on one of the Soviet spies in Summerland, she has to figure out how to catch a man who’s already dead.

Tor.com

Artificial Condition: The Murderbot Diaries, Book 2 by Martha Wells (May 8, hardcover, $16.99, ISBN 978-1-250-18692-8) expands the story of the AI Murderbot, introduced in All Systems Red. Murderbot has only vague memories of the massacre that spawned its name, and it wants to know more. Teaming up with a Research Transport vessel, Murderbot heads to the mining facility where it went rogue. What it discovers will change the way it thinks.

Gods, Monsters and the Lucky Peach by Kelly Robson (Mar. 13, trade paper, $14.99, ISBN 978-1-250-16385-1). In 2267, Minh is part of the first generation to move back up to the surface of ecologically ravaged Earth. When she gets the opportunity to take a team to 2000 B.C.E. to survey the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, she jumps at the chance to uncover the secrets of the shadowy think tank that controls time travel technology.

Stone Mad by Elizabeth Bear (Mar. 20, trade paper, $14.99, ISBN 978-1-250-16383-7). Karen Memory returns in a story about spiritualists, magicians, con men, and an angry lost tommy-knocker—a magical creature who usually lives in the deep gold mines of Alaska, but has been kidnapped and brought to Karen’s Victorian-era Pacific Northwest city.

Taste of Wrath: A Sin Du Jour Affair by Matt Wallace (Apr. 10, trade paper, $15.99, ISBN 978-0-7653-9325-8) concludes the Sin du Jour series about caterers who work for supernatural entities. The entity formerly known as Allensworth has been manipulating Chef Bronko and his team from day one, and the gang at Sin du Jour have had enough. Old debts are called in, and an alliance is formed with the unlikeliest of comrades.

Time Was by Ian McDonald (Apr. 24, trade paper, $14.99, ISBN 978-0-7653-9146-9). During WWII, Tom and Ben are brought together by a secret project designed to hide British targets from German radar, and they fall in love. When the project goes wrong, they’re lost in time and must hunt each other across decades, leaving clues in books of poetry and trying to make their time lines overlap.

Witchmark by C.L. Polk (June 19, trade paper, $15.99, ISBN 978-1-250-16268-7). Polk’s debut combines intrigue, magic, betrayal, and romance in an original world reminiscent of Edwardian England in the shadow of a world war. Cabals of noble families use their unique magical gifts to control the fates of nations, while one young man seeks only to live a life of his own.

Univ. of Wisconsin

Cold as Thunder by Jerry Apps (May 29, hardcover, $24.95, ISBN 978-0-299-31590-0). Since the Eagle Party took power in the United States, all schools and public utilities have been privatized, churches and libraries closed, and independent news media shut down. A massive storm sends Lake Michigan surging over the Door County peninsula. In the midst of this apocalypse, a resourceful band of Wisconsin older citizens lays secret plans to fight propaganda and promote independent thought. 1,500-copy announced first printing.

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