Fantasy flares brightly in August, with seventeen new releases, including series additions from Trudi Canavan (Traitor Spy Trilogy), Rowena Cory Daniells (Outcast Chronicles), Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie (Crusade), James A. Owens (Chronicles of Imaginarium Geographica), and Phillippa Ballantine (Book of the Order), plus a new YA fantasy series beginning by Sarah J. Maas.

Fiction Affliction details releases in science fiction, fantasy, urban fantasy, paranormal romance, and “genre-benders.” Keep track of them all here.

WEEK ONE

King of Thorns (The Broken Empire #2), by Mark Lawrence (August 7, Ace)

The Broken Empire burns with the fires of a hundred battles as lords and petty kings battle for the all-throne. The long road to avenge the slaughter of his mother and brother has shown Prince Honorous Jorg Ancrath the hidden hands behind this endless war. He saw the game and vowed to sweep the board. First, though, he must gather his own pieces, learn the rules of play, and discover how to break them.

Rift (Nightshade Prequel), by Andrea Cremer (August 7, Philomel)

Sixteen-year-old Ember Morrow is promised to a group called Conatus after one of their healers saves her mother’s life. Once she arrives, Ember finds joy in wielding swords, learning magic, and fighting the encroaching darkness loose in the world. She also finds herself falling in love with her mentor, the dashing, brooding, and powerful Barrow Hess. Young Adult.

Shadowlands, by Violette Malan (August 7, DAW)

The war in the Land of the Faerie has finally ended. Prince Cassandra dispatches Stormwolf, formerly a Hound but cured by his prince’s magic and restored to the Rider he once was, to the Shadowlands to call home the People who remain refugees there. But Stormwolf finds the Hounds of the Wild now prey upon the souls of humans. Together with Valory Martin, a mortal psychic, Stormwolf must find the magic needed to defeat the Hunt.

The Fate of Dwarves, by Markus Heitz (August 7, Orbit)

There has been no word from the courageous warrior Tungdil since the bitter struggle that took place at the Black Abyss. Dragons, magicians, and the cruel älfar have advanced far into the kingdom Girdlegard, ruthlessly seizing vast areas of land. It seems that the dwarves are facing their next battle with very little hope of survival.

The Grass King’s Concubine, by Kari Sperring (August 7, DAW)

When a wealthy young woman, obsessed with a childhood vision of a magical Shining Palace, sets out with her true love to search for a legendary land, she discovers the devastated WorldBelow—the realm of the Grass King—and the terrifying Cadre, who take her prisoner, and demand she either restore the king’s concubine, or replace her.

Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass #1), by Sarah J. Maas (August 7, Bloomsbury)

After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. Young Adult.

WEEK TWO

The Traitor Queen (Traitor Spy Trilogy #3), by Trudi Canavan (August 14, Orbit)

Events are building to a climax in Sachaka as Lorkin returns from his exile with the Traitor rebels. The Traitor Queen has given Lorkin the huge task of brokering an alliance between his people and the Traitors. Lorkin has also had to become a feared black magician in order to harness the power of an entirely new kind of gemstone magic. This knowledge could transform the Guild of Magicians—or make Lorkin an outcast forever.

WEEK THREE

Black Bottle, by Anthony Huso (August 21, Tor)

Tabloids sold in the Duchy of Stonehold claim that the High King, Caliph Howl, has been raised from the dead. His consort, Sena Iilool, both blamed and celebrated for this act, finds that a macabre cult has sprung up around her. As this news spreads, Stonehold—long considered unimportant—comes to the attention of the emperors in the southern countries. They have learned that the seed of Sena’s immense power lies in an occult book, and they are eager to claim it for their own.

Palace of Stone (Princess Academy #2), by Shannon Hale (August 21, Bloomsbury USA)

Coming down from the mountain to a new life in the city seems a thrill beyond imagining. When Miri and her friends from Mount Eskel set off to help the future princess Britta prepare for her royal wedding, she is happy about her chance to attend school in the capital city. There, Miri befriends students who seem so sophisticated and exciting until she learns that they have some frightening plans. Young Adult.

A Guile of Dragons, by James Enge (August 24, Pyr)

Before history began, the dwarves of Thrymhaiam fought against the dragons as the Longest War raged in the deep roads beneath the Northhold. Now the dragons have returned, allied with the dead kings of Cor and backed by the masked gods of Fate and Chaos. The dwarves are cut off from the Graith of Guardians in the south. Their defenders are taken prisoner or corrupted by dragonspells. The weight of guarding the Northhold now rests on the crooked shoulders of a traitor’s son, Morlock syr Theorn.

Reaper (Lightbringer #2), by K.D. McEntire (August 24, Pyr)

After the death of her mother, Wendy learns that she is part of a powerful and ancient family of Reapers. She has only a matter of days to unravel the mysteries her mother left behind and to convince her wary family to accept her as one of their own. Young Adult.

WEEK FOUR

Sanctuary (The Outcast Chronicles #3), by Rowena Cory Daniells (August 28, Solaris)

For over three hundred years, the mystics lived alongside the true-men, until King Charald laid siege to the mystic’s island city and exiled them. Imoshen, most powerful of the female mystics, was elected to lead her people into exile. She faces threats from within, from male mystics who think they would make a better leader. And her people face threats from True-men, who have confiscated their ships. They must set sail by the first day of winter. Those who are left behind will be executed.

Seven Wonders, by Adam Christopher (August 28, Angry Robot)

Tony Prosdocimi lives in the bustling Metropolis of San Ventura, a city gripped in fear, a city under siege by the hooded supervillain, The Cowl. When Tony develops super-powers and acts to take down The Cowl, however, he finds that the local superhero team, Seven Wonders, aren’t as grateful as he assumed they’d be.

The Dragons of Winter (The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica #6), by James A. Owens (August 28, Simon & Schuster)

The Archipelago of Dreams is no more, but the battle to save it has just begun. The Caretakers are at war. The Archipelago of Dreams has fallen to the Echthroi, and the link to the Summer Country has been lost. The Keep of Time must be rebuilt, and the secret lies somewhere in Deep Time at the beginnings of the World, when the Summer Country and the Archipelago were one and the same.

Vanquished (Crusade #3), by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie (August 28, Simon Pulse)

Hope is in short supply, but courage runs deep as the Salamancan hunters recover from a devastating loss. Jenn knows she must rally her team against the Cursed Ones, but her focus is shattered. She’s torn between passion for Antonio, who once fought by her side, and hate for the bloodthirsty vampire he’s become. His volatility is tearing apart their team and Jenn’s trust. Young Adult.

Wrayth (Book of the Order #3), by Phillippa Ballantine (August 28, Ace)

No description available.

Legion, by Brandon Sanderson (August 31, Subterranean)

Stephen Leeds, AKA Legion, is a man whose unique mental condition allows him to generate a multitude of personae: hallucinatory entities with a wide variety of personal characteristics and a vast array of highly specialized skills. Leeds is drawing into the search for the missing Balubal Razon, inventor of a camera whose astonishing properties could alter our understanding of human history and change the very structure of society.

Author Suzanne Johnson is a book geek with a fondness for a good dystopia. Royal Street, the first in her Sentinels of New Orleans series, is set in New Orleans during and after Hurricane Katrina. Find Suzanne on Twitter.