Book releases are a big deal from where we stand. We thought 2015 was a memorable year for Book Authors; we saw Harper Lee returning to the limelight with her once hidden novel ‘Go Set a Watchman’ whilst Terry Pratchet’s final novel ‘ The Shepherd Crown’ became front-page news following his death. Erotic Romance may have risen in popularity thanks to E.L. James and self-publishing but 2015 became known as the year of Sci-Fi and Fantasy. Perhaps fiction writers decided to jump on the Star Wars bandwagon? Perhaps it was the death of a prominent fantasy writer that led to others wanting to honour this genre. Whatever the reasoning, many readers struggled to fulfill their ‘To Be Read’ pile.

So what does 2016 hold in store for us?

In true Fairytale Traveler style, we have taken the time to explore the top fantasy and sci-fi book releases in 2016. In keeping with our passion for all things mythical and somewhat quirky I have compiled a list of must-reads for all fantasy and sci-fi lovers out there.

Our Top Picks of Book Releases for 2016

1. Fantasy of Fire (The Tainted Accords #3) by Kelly St. Clare

Publication date: 14th Jan 2016

Synopsis

ORDER The Tainted Accords

Get Book #1 Here – Fantasy of Frost

Get Book #2 Here – Fantasy of Flight

An army is half way to Glacium. And not just any army – it belongs to my mother. Time is running out as I rush to prevent a war which will kill thousands; The Solati people, my brothers, and the many Bruma I’ve come to care for. Yet it appears preventing this interworld war is just one snowball in an avalanche of problems as the situation in Glacium becomes volatile and destructive. My various identities hover on the edge of discovery forcing me to consider drastic actions, and questions I’ve had since the abrupt end of the peace delegation are answered. The two halves of me tug in opposite directions. The Tatuma of Osolis knows what she should do, and the Olina of Nowhere Special finally knows what feels right.

2. Night Study by Maria V. Synder

Publication Date: 26th January 2016

Synopsis

ORDER Night Study

Ever since being kidnapped from the Illiais Jungle as a child, Yelena Zaltana’s has been fraught with peril. But the recent loss of her Soulfinding abilities has endangered her more than ever before. As she desperately searches for a way to reclaim her magic, her enemies are closing in, and neither Ixia nor Sitia are safe for her anymore. Especially since the growing discord between the two countries and the possibility of a war threatens everything Yelena holds dear. Valek is determined to protect Yelena, but he’s quickly running out of options. The Commander suspects that his loyalties are divided, and he’s been keeping secrets from Valek…secrets that put him, Yelena and all their friends in terrible danger. As they uncover the various layers of the Commander’s mysterious plans, they realize it’s far more sinister that they could have ever imagined.

3. Elementals: The Prophecy of Shadows by Michelle Madow

Publication Date: 26th January 2016

Synopsis

ORDER Elementals: The Prophecy of Shadows

Filled with magic, thrilling adventure, and sweet romance, Elementals is the first in a new series that fans of Percy Jackson and The Secret Circle will love! When Nicole Cassidy moves from sunny Georgia to gloomy New England, the last thing she expects is to learn that her home room is a cover for a secret coven of witches. Even more surprisingly … she’s apparently a witch herself. Despite doubts about her newfound abilities, Nicole is welcomed into this ancient circle of witches and is bedazzled by their powers—and, to her dismay, by Blake—the school’s notorious bad-boy. Girls who get close to Blake wind up hurt. His girlfriend Danielle will do anything to keep them away, even if she must resort to using dark magic. But the chemistry between Blake and Nicole is undeniable, and despite wanting to protect Nicole from Danielle’s wrath, he finds it impossible to keep his distance. When the Olympian Comet shoots through the sky for the first time in three thousand years, Nicole, Blake, Danielle, and two others in their home room are gifted with mysterious powers. But the comet has another effect—it opens the portal to the prison world that has contained the Titans for centuries. After an ancient monster escapes and attacks Nicole and Blake, it’s up to them and the others to follow the clues from a cryptic prophecy so that they can save their town … and possibly the world.

4. Cruel Crown and Glass Sword (Red Queen, #2 & #3) by Victoria Aveyard

Publication Date: January 6, 2016

Synopsis

ORDER Cruel Crown (Book #2)

ORDER Red Queen (Book #1)

Two women on either side of the Silver-Red divide tell the stories no one else knows. Discover the truth of Norta’s bloody past in these two revealing prequels to #1 New York Times bestseller Red Queen. Also includes an exclusive excerpt of the hotly anticipated second book in the Red Queen series! Glass Sword transports readers to the world of Silver tyranny, a Red dawn rising, and one girl’s resolve to break down the system that will hold her back no longer.

Publication Date: 9th February 2016

Synopsis

ORDER Glass Sword (Book #3)

Mare Barrow’s blood is red—the color of common folk—but her Silver ability, the power to control lightning, has turned her into a weapon that the royal court tries to control. The crown calls her an impossibility, a fake, but as she makes her escape from Maven, the prince—the friend—who betrayed her, Mare uncovers something startling: she is not the only one of her kind. Pursued by Maven, now a vindictive king, Mare sets out to find and recruit other Red-and-Silver fighters to join in the struggle against her oppressors. But Mare finds herself on a deadly path, at risk of becoming exactly the kind of monster she is trying to defeat. Will she shatter under the weight of the lives that are the cost of rebellion? Or have treachery and betrayal hardened her forever?

5. The Last Immortal by Alex Marlowe

Publication Date: 11th February 2016

Synopsis

Gothic action-adventure transported to twenty-first-century London The first installment of a brand new adventure series, The Last Immortal combines the action of Percy Jackson with the mystery-solving of Sherlock, and a superhero cast reminiscent of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. In Victorian London, 13-year-old Luke dreams of joining the Immortals, a supernatural crime-fighting squad, founded by his father, the infamous Victor Frankenstein. But when Luke secretly follows the Immortals on a mission against the resurrected Dark Pharaoh Sanakhte, he is killed. Luke is preserved for 160 years before he is reanimated in the modern day by his childhood friend Evelyn and her father, Jonathan Harker—both vampires. His reconstructed body is fitted with cybernetic upgrades that make him an incredible athlete and fighter. And he’ll need them, because Sanakhte and his followers have returned. Now Luke and his friends must reunite the scattered Immortals: Raziel, a living gargoyle; Aurora Cage, a werewolf bounty hunter; and Dodger, a Victorian pickpocket cursed with eternal life. But to destroy the Dark Pharaoh, Luke must first uncover a terrible secret hidden in his past . . .

6. A Gathering of Shadows by V. E. Schwab

Publication Date: 23rd February 2016

Synopsis

ORDER A Gathering of Shadows: A Novel

Four months have passed since the shadow stone fell into Kell’s possession. Four months since his path crossed with Delilah Bard. Four months since Rhy was wounded and the Dane twins fell, and the stone was cast with Holland’s dying body through the rift, and into Black London. In many ways, things have almost returned to normal, though Rhy is more sober, and Kell is now plagued by his guilt. Restless, and having given up smuggling, Kell is visited by dreams of ominous magical events, waking only to think of Lila, who disappeared from the docks like she always meant to do. As Red London finalizes preparations for the Element Games—an extravagant international competition of magic, meant to entertain and keep healthy the ties between neighboring countries—a certain pirate ship draws closer, carrying old friends back into port. But while Red London is caught up in the pageantry and thrills of the Games, another London is coming back to life, and those who were thought to be forever gone have returned. After all, a shadow that was gone in the night reappears in the morning, and so it seems Black London has risen again—meaning that another London must fall.

7. The Girl Who Raced Fairyland All the Way Home by C. M. Valente

Publication Date: 1st March 2016

Synopsis

ORDER The Girl Who Raced Fairyland All the Way Home

Quite by accident, September has been crowned as Queen of Fairyland – but she inherits a Kingdom in chaos. The magic of a Dodo’s egg has brought every King, Queen, or Marquess of Fairyland back to life, each with a fair and good claim on the throne, each with their own schemes and plots and horrible, hilarious, hungry histories. In order to make sense of it all, and to save their friend from a job she doesn’t want, A-Through-L and Saturday devise a Royal Race, a Monarckical Marathon, in which every outlandish would-be ruler of Fairyland will chase the Stoat of Arms across the whole of the nation – and the first to seize the poor beast will seize the crown. Caught up in the madness are the changelings Hawthorn and Tamburlaine, the combat wombat Blunderbuss, the gramophone Scratch, the Green Wind, and September’s parents, who have crossed the universe to find their daughter…

8. Lady Midnight (The Dark Artifices #1) by Cassandra Clare

Publication Date: 8th March 2016

Synopsis

ORDER Lady Midnight (The Dark Artifices)

Los Angeles. It’s been five years since the events of the Mortal Instruments when Nephilim stood poised on the brink of oblivion and Shadowhunter Emma Carstairs lost her parents. After the blood and violence she witnessed as a child, Emma has dedicated her life to to discovering exactly what it was that killed her parents and getting her revenge. Raised in the Los Angeles Institute with the Blackthorn family, Emma is paired as a parabatai with her best friend, Julian Blackthorn. A series of murders in the city catch her attention — they seem to have the same characteristics as the deaths of her parents. Could the murderer be the same person? And her attention isn’t the only one caught: someone has been murdering Downworlders as well. The Fair Folk make a deal with the Institute: if the Blackthorns and Emma will investigate the killings, they’ll return Mark Blackthorn to his home. The catch: they have only two weeks to find the killers. Otherwise it’s open war between faeries and Nephilim. The Shadowhunters of the Institute must race against time to catch the killers, even as they begin to suspect the involvement of those closest to them. At the same time, Emma is falling in love with the one person in the world she’s absolutely forbidden by Shadowhunter Law to love. Set against the glittering backdrop of present-day Los Angeles, Emma must learn to trust her head and her heart as she investigates a demonic plot that stretches from the warlock-run nightclubs of the Sunset Strip to the enchanted sea that pounds the beaches of Santa Monica.

9. The Edge of Worlds (The Books of the Raksura, #4) by Martha Wells

Publication Date: 5th April 2016

Synopsis

ORDER The Books of the Raksura

An expedition of groundlings from the Empire of Kish have traveled through the Three Worlds to the Indigo Cloud court of the Raksura, shape-shifting creatures of flight that live in large family groups. The groundlings have found a sealed ancient city at the edge of the shallow seas, near the deeps of the impassable Ocean. They believe it to be the last home of their ancestors and ask for help getting inside. But the Raksura fear it was built by their own distant ancestors, the Forerunners, and the last sealed Forerunner city they encountered was a prison for an unstoppable evil. Prior to the groundlings’ arrival, the Indigo Cloud court had been plagued by visions of a disaster that could destroy all the courts in the Reaches. Now, the court’s mentors believe the ancient city is connected to the foretold danger. A small group of warriors, including consort Moon, an orphan new to the colony and the Raksura’s idea of family, and sister queen Jade, agree to go with the groundling expedition to investigate. But the predatory Fell have found the city too, and in the race to keep the danger contained, the Raksura may be the ones who inadvertently release it.

10. The Mirror King (The Orphan Queen, #2) by Jodi Meadows

Publication Date: 5th April 2016

Synopsis

ORDER The Mirror King (Orphan Queen)

ORDER The Hidden Prince (Orphan Queen Book 1)

Wilhelmina has a hundred enemies. HER FRIENDS HAVE TURNED. After her identity is revealed during the Inundation, Princess Wilhelmina is kept prisoner by the Indigo Kingdom, with the Ospreys lost somewhere in the devastated city. When the Ospreys’ leader emerges at the worst possible moment, leaving Wil’s biggest ally on his deathbed, she must become Black Knife to set things right. HER MAGIC IS UNCONTROLLABLE. Wil’s power is to animate, not to give true life, but in the wraithland she commanded a cloud of wraith mist to save herself, and later ordered it solid. Now there is a living boy made of wraith—destructive and deadly, and willing to do anything for her. HER HEART IS TORN. Though she’s ready for her crown, declaring herself queen means war. Caught between what she wants and what is right, Wilhelmina realizes the throne might not even matter. Everyone thought the wraith was years off, but already it’s destroying Indigo Kingdom villages. If she can’t protect both kingdoms, soon there won’t be a land to rule. In this stunning conclusion to THE ORPHAN QUEEN, Jodi Meadows follows Wilhelmina’s breathtaking and brave journey from orphaned criminal on the streets to magic-wielding queen.

11. The Sleeping Prince (The Sin Eater’s Daughter, #2) by M. Salisbury

Publication Date: 26th April 2016

Synopsis

ORDER The Sleeping Prince: A Sin Eater’s Daughter Novel

ORDER The Sin Eater’s Daughte (BOOK #1)

Return to the darkly beautiful world of The Sin Eater’s Daughter with a sequel that will leave you awed, terrified . . . and desperate for more. Ever since her brother Lief disappeared, Errin’s life has gone from bad to worse. Not only must she care for her sick mother, she has to scrape together rent money by selling illegal herbal cures. But none of that compares to the threat of the vengeful Sleeping Prince whom the Queen just awoke from his enchanted sleep. When her village is evacuated as part of the war against the Sleeping Prince, Errin is left desperate and homeless. The only person she can turn to is the mysterious Silas, a young man who buys deadly poisons from Errin, but won’t reveal why he needs them. Silas promises to help her, but when he vanishes, Errin must journey across a kingdom on the brink of war to seek another way to save her mother and herself. But what she finds shatters everything she believed about her world, and with the Sleeping Prince drawing nearer, Errin must make a heartbreaking choice that could affect the whole kingdom.

12. The Raven King (The Raven Cycle, #4) by Maggie Stiefvater

Publication Date: 26th April 2016

Synopsis

ORDER The Raven King (The Raven Cycle, Book 4)

ORDER BOOK #1 The Raven Boys

ORDER BOOK #2 The Dream Thieves

ORDER BOOK #3 Blue Lily, Lily Blue

The fourth and final installment in the spellbinding series from the irrepressible, #1 New York Times bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater. There’s no doubt this book will be on many ‘Good Reads’ must read lists for 2016. All her life, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love’s death. She doesn’t believe in true love and never thought this would be a problem, but as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

13. Age of Myth (The First Empire #1) by Michael J. Sullivan

Publication Date: 28th June 2016

Synopsis

ORDER Age of Myth: Book #1 -The Legends of the First Empire

Michael J. Sullivan’s trailblazing career began with the breakout success of his Riyria series: full-bodied, spellbinding fantasy adventures whose imaginative scope and sympathetic characters won a devoted readership and comparisons to fantasy masters Brandon Sanderson, Scott Lynch, and Tolkien himself. Now, Sullivan’s stunning hardcover debut, Age of Myth, inaugurates an original five-book series—and one of fantasy’s finest next-generation storytellers continues to break new ground. Since time immemorial, humans have worshipped the gods they call Fhrey, truly a race apart: invincible in battle, masters of magic, and seemingly immortal. But when a god falls to a human blade, the balance of power between men and those they thought were gods changes forever. Now, only a few stand between humankind and annihilation: Raithe, reluctant to embrace his destiny as the God Killer. Suri, a young seer burdened by signs of impending doom. And Persephone, who must overcome personal tragedy to lead her people. The Age of Myth is over; the time of rebellion has begun.

14. The Dragon Round by Stephen S. Power

Publication Date: 5th July 2016

Synopsis

ORDER The Dragon Round

For fans of Scott Lynch and Naomi Novik comes a high fantasy epic that blends swashbuckling adventure with a dark tale of vengeance–when a ship captain is stranded on a deserted island by his mutinous crew, he finds a rare dragon egg that just might be the key to his salvation and his revenge. He only wanted justice. Instead he got revenge. Jeryon has been the captain of the Comber for over a decade. He knows the rules. He follows the rules. He likes the rules. But not everyone on his ship agrees. When a monstrous dragon attacks the Comber, his surviving crew, vengeful and battle-worn, decide to take the ship for themselves and give Jeryon and his self-righteous apothecary “the captain’s chance:” a small boat with no rudder, no sails, and nothing but the shirts on their backs to survive. Marooned and fighting for their lives against the elements, Jeryon and his companion discover that the island they’ve landed on isn’t quite as deserted as they originally thought. They find a rare baby dragon that, if trained, just might be their ticket off the island. But as Jeryon and the dragon grow closer, he begins to realize that even if he makes it off the island, his life will never be the same again. In order for justice to be served, he’ll have to take it for himself.

15. The Story of Kullervo by J.R.R. Tolkien

Publication Date: 27th August 2016

Synopsis

TORDER The Story of Kullervo

The world first publication of a previously unknown work of fantasy by J.R.R. Tolkien, which tells the powerful story of a doomed young man who is sold into slavery and who swears revenge on the magician who killed his father. Kullervo son of Kalervo is perhaps the darkest and most tragic of all J.R.R. Tolkien’s characters. ‘Hapless Kullervo’, as Tolkien called him, is a luckless orphan boy with supernatural powers and a tragic destiny. Brought up in the homestead of the dark magician Untamo, who killed his father, kidnapped his mother, and who tries three times to kill him when still a boy, Kullervo is alone save for the love of his twin sister, Wanona, and guarded by the magical powers of the black dog, Musti. When Kullervo is sold into slavery he swears revenge on the magician, but he will learn that even at the point of vengeance there is no escape from the cruellest of fates. Tolkien himself said that The Story of Kullervo was ‘the germ of my attempt to write legends of my own’, and was ‘a major matter in the legends of the First Age’. Tolkien’s Kullervo is the clear ancestor of Túrin Turambar, tragic incestuous hero of The Silmarillion. In addition to it being a powerful story in its own right, The Story of Kullervo – published here for the first time with the author’s drafts, notes and lecture-essays on its source-work, The Kalevala – is a foundation stone in the structure of Tolkien’s invented world.

16. Dead Man’s Steel (The Grim Company, #3) by Luke Scull

Expected Publication Date: 6th Dec 2016

Synopsis

ORDER Dead Man’s Steel: The Grim Company (Book #3)

ORDER The Grim Company (BOOK #1)

ORDER Sword of the North: The Grim Company (BOOK #2)

In the City of Towers, former rebel Sasha and her comrade Davarus Cole struggle to keep the peace between the warring mages who vie for dominion. But when the White Lady sends Davarus south to the Shattered Realms to seek allies among the fallen kingdoms, he finds that his hardest battle may be one fought within. The godly essence now residing within him offers power that could be used against the Fade—but with every death that feeds It, Cole risks losing a part of himself. An association with a Fade officer grants the Halfmage Eremul a position of privilege among Dorminia’s new masters. He witnesses firsthand the fate that awaits humanity. But with his magic pitiful in the face of the Fade’s advanced technology, the Halfmage must rely on his wits alone to save whom he can… And in the frozen north, the legendary warrior Brodar Kayne fights a desperate battle for his people. He is running out of time: an ancient evil sealed beneath the mountains is about to break free, an evil that is older than humanity, older than the Fade, older even than the gods—and it will not stop until the entire world is drowned in blood…

17. The Winds of Winter (A Song of Ice and Fire, #6) by G. R. R. Martin

Publication Date: UNKNOWN

Synopsis

The Winds of Winter is the forthcoming sixth novel in the epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin.

The previous installment, A Dance with Dragons, covered less story than Martin intended, omitting at least one planned large battle sequence and leaving several character threads ending in cliffhangers. Martin intends to resolve these cliffhangers “very early” in The Winds of Winter, saying “I’m going to open with the two big battles that I was building up to, the battle in the ice and the battle at Meereen—the battle of Slaver’s Bay. And then take it from there.”

Get the complete set

George R. R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones 5-Book Boxed Set (Song of Ice and Fire series): A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast for Crows, and A Dance with Dragons

So there you have it, our favorite 2016 book releases, and there are quite a few of them. Personally, I cannot wait to get my hands on that J.R.R. Tolkien or the new Game of Thrones installment as soon as they hit the bookshops but until then I have plenty to keep me occupied.

Here’s to a year of good reads!