From January 2016 we will be running a monthly feature called ‘On Our Radar‘. The aim of this post will be to show you the Fantasy titles that we are looking out for and remind you what’s hitting shelves over the course of the coming month (a couple of Sci-Fi titles may slip on there too…).

We should say that we do realise that we are now half way through January, but our Best of lists and Most Anticipated lists kept us pretty busy (sorry!), so we’re running a little late. We’ll try our very best to make sure future editions are out a few days before the start of the month the ‘On Our Radar’ post covers, so that you have time to pre-order your favourites 🙂

Books due for release in January 2016

Daughter of Blood (Wall of Night 3)

Helen Lowe

January 28th 2016

A failing wall, a broken shield…and an enemy that will exploit every weakness Malian and Kalan are coming home, but already it may be too late. The Wall of Night, dangerously weakened by civil war among the Derai families that garrison it, is on the verge of failing. Everywhere their ancient enemy, the Darksworn, is on the move as the threads of an old pattern begin to tighten about Kalan, and Malian searches for answers in the fabled Shield of Heaven, which every account agrees was broken beyond repair. In Grayharbor and in the Red Keep, a child and a young woman are caught in conflict’s maw, as whispers gather around Dread Pass and a Darksworn prophecy points to Malian herself being the stake the ancient enemy will drive into the heart of the Derai Alliance.

Amazon Link

—

The Bands of Mourning (A Mistborn Novel)

Brandon Sanderson

January 28th 2016

The Mistborn trilogy has become a firm favourite with fantasy fans the world over. The imagination that Sanderson brought to the series and his skill at marshalling epic storylines and dramatic action, his ability to create vivid characters made him a natural choice to complete Robert Jordan’s epic wheel of time sequence. But with Mistborn, Sanderson has shown his bountiful talents in his own fiction. Now he returns to the series that made his name with a new story, building on the incredible success of THE ALLOY OF LAW. The new Mistborn books move the series into a richly imagined 19th century analogue world with elements of the wild west mixed with magic and science. It’s a wonderful concoction from a master storyteller. Sanderson has the knack of giving the epic fantasy reader exactly what they want. This ability has thrown him to the forefront of the genre and this novel will take him to the next level.

Amazon Link

—

All the Birds in the Sky

Charlie Jane Anders

January 26th 2016

Patricia is a witch who can communicate with animals. Laurence is a mad scientist and inventor of the two-second time machine. As teenagers they gravitate towards one another, sharing in the horrors of growing up weird, but their lives take different paths…When they meet again as adults, Laurence is an engineering genius trying to save the world-and live up to his reputation-in near-future San Francisco. Meanwhile, Patricia is a graduate of Eltisley Maze, the hidden academy for the magically gifted, working hard to prove herself to her fellow magicians and secretly repair the earth’s ever growing ailments.As they attempt to save our future, Laurence and Patricia’s shared past pulls them back together. And though they come from different worlds, when they collide, the witch and the scientist will discover that maybe they understand each other better than anyone.

Amazon Link

—

Staked (Iron Druid Chronicles 8)

Kevin Hearne

January 26th 2016

Iron Druid Atticus O’Sullivan, hero of Kevin Hearne’s epic New York Times bestselling urban fantasy series, has a point to make – and then drive into a vampire’s heart. When a druid has lived for two thousand years like Atticus, he’s bound to run afoul of a few vampires. Make that legions of them. Even his former friend and legal counsel turned out to be a bloodsucking backstabber. Now the toothy troublemakers – led by power-mad Theophilus – have become a huge problem requiring a solution. It’s time to make a stand. As always, Atticus wouldn’t mind a little backup. But his allies have problems of their own. Ill-tempered archdruid Owen Kennedy is having a wee bit of troll trouble: turns out when you stiff a troll, it’s not water under the bridge. Meanwhile, Granuaile is desperate to free herself of the Norse god Loki’s mark and elude his powers of divination – a quest that will bring her face to face with several Slavic nightmares. As Atticus globetrots to stop his nemesis Theophilus, the journey leads to Rome. What better place to end an immortal than the Eternal City? But poetic justice won’t come without a price: In order to defeat Theophilus, Atticus may have to lose an old friend.

Amazon Link

—

Broken Hero (No Hero 3)

Jonathan Wood

January 26th 2016

Arthur Wallace and the MI37 team confront their complex personal relationships as well as robots originally created to aid the Nazi’s invasion of Russia, leading to a trip for the team to the Himalayas, which takes them to a Nepalese death cult, then back to London for the final assault – amidst assorted relationship break-ups, hangovers and pregnancy scares.

Amazon Link

—

The Girl On The Liar’s Throne

Den Patrick

January 21st 2016

Mixing Machiavellian intrigue and the high fantasy of authors like Scott Lynch, Den Patrick’s fantasy novels, with their Renaissance Italy like setting have brought an enticing new flavour to the fantasy genre. In a castle that is, itself, reminiscent of Gormenghast in its size and brooding presence a collection of young, flawed but resilient outsiders find their way in a dangerous society teetering on the brink of dramatic change, even as it learns the fantastical secrets of its past. Anea is the Silent Queen and she is struggling to bring change to the ancient society of Landfall. Vested interests and dark magics alike are determined to hold onto power and in a society where the loyalties of many are fluid and the true nature of the players is hidden the game of politics can be a lethal one even for those close to the throne. Den Patrick has won an enthusiastic audience for this series and has rapidly become a key figure amongst a new generation of fantasy writers bringing a fresh engagement to the genre world both on the page and within the fan community.

Amazon Link

—



Occupy Me

Tricia Sullivan

January 21st 2016

A woman with wings that exist in another dimension. A man trapped in his own body by a killer. A briefcase that is a door to hell. A conspiracy that reaches beyond our world. Breathtaking SF from a Clarke Award-winning author. Tricia Sullivan has written an extraordinary, genre defining novel that begins with the mystery of a woman who barely knows herself and ends with a discovery that transcends space and time. On the way we follow our heroine as she attempts to track down a killer in the body of another man, and the man who has been taken over, his will trapped inside the mind of the being that has taken him over. And at the centre of it all a briefcase that contains countless possible realities. Tricia Sullivan returns to the genre with a book that will define the conversation within the genre and will show what it is capable of for years to come. This is the best book yet from a writer of exceedingly rare talent who is much loved in the genre world.

Amazon Link

—

The Pagan Night (Hallowed War 1)

Tim Akers

January 19th 2016

The Celestial Church has all but eliminated the old pagan ways, ruling the people with an iron hand. Demonic gheists terrorize the land, hunted by the warriors of the Inquisition, yet it’s the battling factions within the Church and age-old hatreds between north and south that tear the land apart. Malcolm Blakley, hero of the Reaver War, seeks to end the conflict between men, yet it will fall to his son, Ian, and the huntress Gwen Adair to stop the killing before it tears the land apart. The Pagan Night is an epic of mad gods, inquisitor priests, holy knights bound to hunt and kill, and noble houses fighting battles of politics, prejudice, and power.

Amazon Link

—

Vendetta (Deadly Curiosities 2)

Gail Z. Martin

January 14th 2016

Someone very powerful is trying to destroy Sorren and everyone he cares about. That puts Cassidy, Teag and Trifles and Folly in the cross-hairs, against an unknown enemy with strong magic and significant resources.Sorren has spent centuries shutting down the plans of powerful immortals, dark warlocks and supernatural creatures, and now he’s got to figure out which of those many enemies is out to get him before they pick off his friends one by one and come after him to finish an immortal vendetta.’Great characters, awesome magic, huge thrill ride!’John Hartness (author of The Black Knight Chronicles) on Deadly Curiosities’One of the best starts to an urban fantasy series that I’ve read in the last year.’ – The Book Bundle on Deadly Curiosities

Amazon Link

—

Judged (Blackhart Legacy 3)

Liz De Jager

January 14th 2016

Kit’s job description includes solving crimes – the supernatural kind …Glow, a fae-created drug, is rapidly going viral and the suppliers have to be shut down. Teaming up with Aiden and Dante, Kit follows leads across London, tracking down dealers. They stir up trouble, making themselves a target for the gang they’re trying to stop. In the Otherwhere, Thorn stumbles across a secret that could destroy both the human and Fae worlds. The Veil that separates our human world from the fae realms is weakening and the goddess is dying. And if she dies and the Veil fails, madness and chaos will wreak unstoppable havoc upon both lands. Thorn turns to the only person he knows who’ll be able to help him: Kit. Torn between working the Glow case and her loyalty for the young prince, Kit is propelled headlong into a world of danger. She faces enemies from both the Otherwhere and our world. And as the stakes are raised, the consequence of failure for both Kit and Thorn, and two realms, could be devastating.

Amazon Link

—

The Philosopher Kings (Thessaly 2)

Jo Walton

January 14th 2016

Twenty years have passed since the goddess Athene founded the Just City. The god Apollo is still living there, albeit in human form. Now married and the father of several children, the man/god struggles to cope when tragedy befalls his family. On the surface he handles his feelings in his stride; but it’s evident that deep down he is unhinged with raw, human grief. Fuelled by a bloodthirsty desire for revenge, Pythias sets sail for the mysterious Eastern Mediterranean to find the man he believes may have caused him such great pain. What his expedition actually discovers, however, will change everything.

Amazon Link

—

The Drowning Eyes

Emily Foster

January 12th 2016

When the Dragon Ships began to tear through the trade lanes and ravage coastal towns, the hopes of the arichipelago turned to the Windspeakers on Tash. The solemn weather-shapers with their eyes of stone can steal the breeze from raiders’ sails and save the islands from their wrath. But the Windspeakers’ magic has been stolen, and only their young apprentice Shina can bring their power back and save her people.

Tazir has seen more than her share of storms and pirates in her many years as captain, and she’s not much interested in getting involved in the affairs of Windspeakers and Dragon Ships. Shina’s caught her eye, but that might not be enough to convince the grizzled sailor to risk her ship, her crew, and her neck.

Amazon Link

—

Spook’s: The Dark Army (The Starblade Chronicles 2)

Joseph Delaney

January 7th 2016

The second terrifying tale in the Spook’s spin-off series from bestselling author Joseph Delaney.

Thomas Ward was working as the new County Spook, fighting the Dark with his own apprentice. But a new enemy stirred in the north, and Tom’s calling required him to leave his home and lead an uprising against a legion of beasts: creatures of the dark intent on locking the whole earth in a never-ending winter.

Then something went horribly wrong, and now Tom lies cold in a grave, while those who remain are in despair.

Who can now take up the battle? And how much time remains before the dark army brings the fight back to the County, and the world is changed for ever?

Amazon Link

—

City of Blades (City 2)

Robert Jackson Bennett

January 7th 2016

The city of Voortyashtan was once the home of the goddess of death, war and destruction, but now it’s little more than a ruin.

General Turyin Mulaghesh is called out of retirement and sent to this hellish place to find a Saypuri secret agent who’s gone AWOL in the middle of a mission.

But the ghosts of past wars have followed her there, and soon she begins to wonder what happened to the souls in the afterlife when the gods were defeated by her people, the Polis. Do the dead sleep soundly in the land of death? Or do they have plans of their own?

Amazon Link

—

City of Light (Outcast 1)

Keri Arthur

January 5th 2016

When the bombs that stopped the species war tore holes in the veil between this world and the next, they allowed entry to the Others – demons, wraiths, and death spirits who turned the shadows into their hunting grounds. Now, a hundred years later, humans and shifters alike live in artificially lit cities designed to keep the darkness at bay….

As a déchet – a breed of humanoid super-soldiers almost eradicated by the war – Tiger has spent her life in hiding. But when she risks her life to save a little girl on the outskirts of Central City, she discovers that the child is one of many abducted in broad daylight by a wraith-like being – an impossibility with dangerous implications for everyone on earth.

Because if the light is no longer enough to protect them, nowhere is safe…

Amazon Link

—

Truthwitch (Witchlands 1)

Susan Dennard

January 5th 2016

On a continent ruled by three empires, some are born with a “witchery,” a magical skill that sets them apart from others.

In the Witchlands, there are almost as many types of magic as there are ways to get in trouble—as two desperate young women know all too well.

Safiya is a Truthwitch, able to discern truth from lie. It’s a powerful magic that many would kill to have on their side, especially amongst the nobility to which Safi was born. So Safi must keep her gift hidden, lest she be used as a pawn in the struggle between empires.

Iseult, a Threadwitch, can see the invisible ties that bind and entangle the lives around her—but she cannot see the bonds that touch her own heart. Her unlikely friendship with Safi has taken her from life as an outcast into one of of reckless adventure, where she is a cool, wary balance to Safi’s hotheaded impulsiveness.

Safi and Iseult just want to be free to live their own lives, but war is coming to the Witchlands. With the help of the cunning Prince Merik (a Windwitch and ship’s captain) and the hindrance of a Bloodwitch bent on revenge, the friends must fight emperors, princes, and mercenaries alike, who will stop at nothing to get their hands on a Truthwitch.

Amazon Link

—

Steal the Sky (Scorched Continent 1)

Megan E. O’Keefe

January 5th 2016

Detan Honding is a conman on the run who thinks he’s got it made when an opportunity arises to steal a gorgeous new airship. Unluckily, the watch-captain whom he thought was in on the plan with him turns out to be an imposter. She’s a wily shape-shifting creature known as a doppel, and she’s wanted for murder.

With the doppel bringing more attention to his schemes than he’d like, Detan considers fleeing the city. But the doppel makes it clear she’ll harm his only friend if he bails on her – and so he’s forced to act. When his attempt to steal the ship backfires, he ends up in the hands of the empire that’s been chasing him, and must use a special power he’s always been afraid of to escape.

Amazon Link

—

Path of Gods (The Valhalla Saga)

Snorri Kristjansson

January 5th 2016

In this raucous fantasy epic set at during the era when the Vikings fearlessly sailed the world’s seas, mead flowed freely, and Gods walked the earth, companions Audun Arngrimsson and Ulfar Thormodsson are reunited after separate journeys of self-discovery.

In Trondheim, King Olav, self-appointed champion of the White Christ, grows restless in the wake of a significant victory and finds his faith tested further as he struggles to maintain the peace. With his garrison decimated and his forces surrounded by deceitful, grasping local chieftains, the King contemplates how best and where to spread the word of his God.

Reunited after their quests to discover the contours of their newfound immortality, Audun and Ulfar have a new sense of purpose: to ensure that the North remains in the hands of those who keep to the old ways of Odin, Thor, and Loki. To do so, they must take on a powerful adversary who will stop at nothing to put an end to age-old traditions in the name of the White Christ. Audun and Ulfar are about to do battle with the most powerful enemy they have ever faced, and if they are to have any chance of victory, they must find equally powerful allies.

Meanwhile in the North, touched by the trickster god, something old, malevolent, and very, very angry stirs . . .

Amazon Link

—

Drake (The Burned Man 1)

Peter McLean

January 5th 2016

“Meet Don Drake. He’s a demon-summoning hit man who’s badly in debt. He doesn’t like his job. He’d rather have a drink and stay away from murder and the supernatural, but he’ll have no peace before he’s cleared his debt.

So Drake takes on one last kill job — and things only get worse for him when the spirit summoned for the job killed a child as well as his target.

Suddenly, Drake’s on everyone’s bad list. His only friends are an archdemon trapped inside an ancient artefact, and Trixie, a mysterious woman of questionable allegiance.

If Drake’s going to find redemption, he’s going to have to fight.”

Amazon Link

—

Here are a list of Paperbacks out in January too:

Skull Throne by Peter V. Brett.

Starborn by Lucy Hounsom

The Red Prince by A.J. Smith

The Hunter’s Kind by Rebecca Levene

Foul Tide’s Turning by Stephen Hunt

The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

The Autumn Republic by Brian McClellan

Darkhaven by A.F.E. Smith

Unbound by Jim C. Hines

A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab