I’m not really one for New Years resolutions, but according to my Goodreads challenge, I only read 50 books last year — three short of my intended goal. I’ve been working to balance work, life, and reading time over the last couple of years, and I’ve found that reading time is a time that I really need to carve out if I want to make sure it happens.

So, I’ve started doing that. I’m setting aside an hour in the morning, usually starting around 8AM, to read. I’ll boil up a pot of tea, grab something to eat, and I’ll settle on the couch until I’ve burned through at least 50 pages.

The results are immediate: I’ve read 10 books already this year: JY Yang’s fabulous silkpunk The Red Threads of Fortune, Zoe Quinn’s Crash Override, Maurice Broaddus’ steampunk adventure Buffalo Soldier, Mike Brooks’ latest Keiko novel Dark Run, Michael Moreci’s Black Star Renegades, the latest pair of Frontlines novels, and a couple of others. I’ve amassed a pretty impressive backlog of books in the last couple of years, and I think with this new practice, I’ll be able to pare it down pretty quickly, and revisit some classics that I’ve been wanting to pick up again.

Of course, I’ll be looking at what’s coming up this month, too. Here’s what’s coming out that we’re excited for.

February 6th

Semiosis by Sue Burke

In the 2060s, colonists leave Earth for a new world called Pax. Upon landing, they discover that the planet is already home to a potentially sentient form of plant life, which sees the newcomers as a threat. The book spans a century, with each chapter following a different character as the two species learn to live alongside each other. Kirkus Reviews says that the worldbuilding in the novel is “astonishing: the human society is richly detailed, and it’s riveting to watch the colonists learn to communicate with a life-form so different from us,” and that it’s reminiscent of classics such as Larry Niven’s Ringworld.

How to Stop Time by Matt Haig

Tom Hazard has a secret: he’s one of a small group of people who has a rare condition that’s allowed him to remain alive for centuries. He’s traveled the world and seen extraordinary things, but he wants to live an ordinary life. Returning to London, he falls in love with a fellow teacher. That’s forbidden by the Albatross Society, a group of similarly-long-lived individuals, so they threaten to derail his new life and alienate the one person he might truly need. The book has earned a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly, and a film adaptation starring Benedict Cumberbatch is in the works.

Tarnished City by Vic James

Vic James began her career last year with The Gilded Cage, in which the world belongs to a class of gifted magical aristocrats. In the next installment of her Dark Gifts trilogy, an uprising has been crushed, and protagonist Abi Hadley’s brother Luke has been framed for the murder of Parliament’s Chancellor Zelston. She goes into hiding, and after her brother is condemned to a remote estate, she hatches a plan to save him. Publisher’s Weekly says that readers will “appreciate the multifaceted complexity of James’s world and its lively, determined characters.”

Into the Fire by Elizabeth Moon

Elizabeth Moon added the first entry to her Vatta’s Peace series last year with Cold Welcome, following commander Kylara Vatta as she returns home and finds herself caught up in a conspiracy, aided only by a group of unfamiliar soldiers in an inhospitable environment. In Into the Fire, she discovers that the conspiracy against her family’s business empire comes from the heart of her home planet’s government. When her soldiers are kidnapped and her report on the conspiracy goes missing, she realizes that her enemies are even more cunning than she first thought.

Tempests and Slaughter by Tamora Pierce

Tamora Pierce is back with a new prequel series set in her Tortall Universe. In this book, Arram Draper is a promising student at the Imperial University of Carthak. He’s friends with two fellow students, the often-overlooked Varice and ambitious prince Ozorne. As they grow up and assume power, Arram’s loyalties will be tested. Publisher’s Weekly says that Pierce’s fans will be thrilled to “discover the backstory behind one of their favorite characters.”

Child of a Mad God by R.A. Salvatore

R.A. Salvatore’s name is synonymous with the Forgotten Realms franchise. But his latest book, Child of a Mad God, is the first in a new series set in Corona — the same world as his The DemonWars Saga and The Highwayman novels. It follows a girl named Aoleyn who is forced to fend for herself in a tribe of barbarians after her parents are killed. She dreams of escaping its traditions, and learns how to wield a mysterious power known as the Song of Usgar. As her powers grow, she attracts the attention of the tribe’s leader, as well as a demon who hunts those who wield the power.

The Gone World by Tom Sweterlitsch

In 1997, a family is murdered. The suspect, an ex-Navy SEAL, vanishes without a trace — along with one surviving daughter. NCIS Special Agent Shannon Moss is determined to track him down and return the girl. Moss isn’t your typical agent, though. She’s an undercover time traveller who can investigate multiverse strands: potential futures branching off from the present. She discovers that the killers are a team of missing astronauts who were part of a black ops time travel mission, and she has to figure out how the nature of their mission figures into the horrific murders. District 9 director Neill Blomkamp is working on adapting the book for a film, and Kirkus Reviews gave the book a starred review, saying that it’s a “darkly poetic and profoundly disturbing glimpse into the potential last days of humankind [that] will surely haunt readers’ dreams long after the book is finished.”

Jagannath by Karin Tidbeck

Penguin Random House is republishing Karin Tidbeck’s phenomenal collection of weird short stories, Jagannath, which first came out in 2012. Each of these stories is a gem. In “Beatrice,” a physician falls in love with an airship, while in “Who is Arvid Pekon,” a new employee starts working in a weird call center. The stories bridge genres, and they evoke a wonderful, otherworldly feeling that makes each stand out. After its first printing, NPR said that “something wonderful — and weird — is going to happen if you open this book.” That’s totally true.

February 13th

Sightwitch by Susan Dennard

Susan Dennard returns to her Witchlands series with a new book. It’s told through the illustrations and journal entries of Ryber Fortiza, a Sightwitch Sister at a convent, where she waits to receive the gift of foretelling. But that divine call never comes, and as the last of her sisters depart, she teams up with a captain named Kullen Ikray on a quest to rescue her sisters.

Echoes of Understorey by Thoraiya Dyer

The next installment of Thoraiya Dyer’s Titan’s Forest series follows Imeris, a woman who has trained to become a fighter and aims to compete against her divine sister. But when she fails to kill a body-snatching sorceress, she sets off to find redemption. She’s then recruited to hunt down a magical beast in a Hunt for the Ages, a challenge that will put all of her skills to the test.

Pride and Prometheus by John Kessel

Mashup novels aren’t over quite yet, it seems. John Kessel — who wrote last year’s fantastic The Moon and the Other — is shifting gears as he mashes up Pride and Prejudice and Frankenstein. Mary Bennet falls for scientist Victor Frankenstein, who is trying to create a wife for his monstrous progeny. While she hopes that he’ll rescue her from becoming a spinster, he’s trying to figure out how to find the right parts for another of his creations.

Gunpowder Moon by David Pedreira

In 2072, people have set up helium-3 mining operations on the Moon, helping power civilization back on a climate-change stricken Earth. Caden Dechert is a former Marine who heads up one of the US mining operations in the Sea of Serenity. When a bomb kills one of his miners in Mare Serenitatis, he sets off to find those responsible. The murder has bigger ramifications: two global superpowers are looking for a fight, and he has to steer between geopolitical headaches to protect his crew. Publisher’s Weekly gave the book a starred rating, saying that it’s “an exciting story with an unexpected depth.”

February 20th

The Armored Saint by Myke Cole

While I was at New York Comic Con, I ended up grabbing an advance copy of this, and ended up reading the entire thing in one go on the train ride home. Cole is known for his military fantasy novels, but this book is a bit of a different beast altogether: a grim epic fantasy novel with a set of amazing characters.

Related Fantasy author Myke Cole on grounding a medieval world with demons in it

Cole presents a world where the brutal Order exists to stamp out magic wherever it appears, killing magicians who open portals to hell. One young woman, Heloise resists the Order’s brutal soldiers, and risks bringing down consequences not only for herself, but for her village as well.

Outpost by W. Michael Gear

A planet called Donovan is not only habitable, but rich in resources. But when the ship Turalon arrives, Supervisor Kalico Aguila discovers that settlers have overthrown the colony Port Authority. One of the remaining colonial rulers, Talina Perez, is trying to hold things together, taking desperate measures to maintain order while holding back the brutal enforcement officer Captain Max Taggart. Finally, there’s Dan Wirth, a violent psychopath who finds a new home in Port Authority. All of these characters clash as they try to piece together a future for the world.

Embers of War by Gareth L. Powell

In the first of a new series, a sentient warship named Trouble Dog seeks atonement after her role in a genocidal war. She heads to the House of Reclamation, an organization dedicated to helping ships in similar predicaments. But when a ship goes missing in a nearby system, she and a new crew are dispatched to help. Arriving, they discover that a far more dangerous mission awaits, and Trouble Dog will have to face combat once again.

February 22nd

A Hero Born by Jin Yong, translated by Anna Holmwood

English-speaking audiences are well familiar with sprawling, epic fantasy worlds from the likes of J.R.R. Tolkien and George R.R. Martin. Chinese readers have their own: The Legend of the Condor Heroes books by author Jin Yong. First published in 1957, and now translated into English, they’ve become a touchstone for generations of readers, and an influence on authors such as Ken Liu.

This first installment follows a warrior named Guo Jing, who grew up in Genghis Khan’s hordes. He is fated to meet an opponent who is his equal in every respect, and he sets off for China to fulfill his destiny, meeting challenges along the way.

February 27th

The Tangled Lands by Paolo Bacigalupi and Tobias S. Buckell

Paolo Bacigalupi and Tobias S. Buckell teamed up a couple of years ago for The Alchemist and The Executioness, a story told through a pair of novellas. They’re back with a new fantasy novel told in four separate installments. In this broken world, a brutal ruler is working to rebuild an empire. The problem is, magic has become toxic to the land, and his subjects begin an uprising to stop them.

Starfire: Memory’s Blade by Spencer Ellsworth

The final installment of Spencer Ellsworth’s Starfire series is here. In A Red Peace, he introduced readers to Jaqi, a half-breed human star navigator who accidentally acquires an artifact that potentially threatens the galaxy. In Shadow Sun Seven, she was on the run with her companions, with one card left to play: the location of a supply of oxygen cells. Now, Jaqi faces off against the new ruler of the Empire, who is set on destroying humanity.