It appears that 2019 will be filled with excellent books, and this list is even a couple of books longer than last year’s massive list! It was difficult to winnow this list down to an at all reasonable number of books at first, and this is by no means a comprehensive list of notable books coming out in 2019—there are a lot—but this is a list of the books that appealed the most to me personally. Some are new installments in series I love, some are upcoming books by authors whose work I’ve enjoyed in the past, and some are by new-to-me or debut authors. All of them seemed like they had to be on any list I made of 2019 releases that sounded amazing. (As usual, I’m sure there will also be more books that I haven’t heard about yet that will also sound amazing, especially books coming out later in the year.)
These books are ordered by expected release date, but in the case of books scheduled for release on the same day, they’re in no particular order. The expected released date is the release date in the US unless otherwise stated.
Due to the length of this blog post, I’m only showing the first 10 books on the main page. You can click the title of the post or the ‘more…’ link after the tenth book to read the entire article.
Without further ado, here are the 2019 releases that sound particularly excellent!
The Winter of the Witch (Winternight Trilogy #3) by Katherine Arden
Read an Excerpt
Scheduled Release Date: January 8
I’m beyond excited for the conclusion to Katherine Arden’s Winternight Trilogy: not only was her debut, The Bear and the Nightingale, one of my favorite books of 2017, but The Girl in the Tower was also my 2017 Book of the Year. These beautifully written, atmospheric historical fantasy novels are set in a fourteenth century Rus’ populated by various spirits and figures from Slavic folktales—although Vasya remains one of rare few people aware of their existence. The lovely prose breathes life into the setting and the wonderful characters, and I especially loved Vasya and admired her possession of self-acceptance (which Katherine Arden wrote about here).
Following their adventures in The Bear and the Nightingale and The Girl in the Tower, Vasya and Morozko return in this stunning conclusion to the bestselling Winternight Trilogy, battling enemies mortal and magical to save both Russias, the seen and the unseen.
“A tale both intimate and epic, featuring a heroine whose harrowing and wondrous journey culminates in an emotionally resonant finale.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Reviewers called Katherine Arden’s novels The Bear and the Nightingale and The Girl in the Tower “lyrical,” “emotionally stirring,” and “utterly bewitching.” The Winternight Trilogy introduced an unforgettable heroine, Vasilisa Petrovna, a girl determined to forge her own path in a world that would rather lock her away. Her gifts and her courage have drawn the attention of Morozko, the winter-king, but it is too soon to know if this connection will prove a blessing or a curse.
Now Moscow has been struck by disaster. Its people are searching for answers—and for someone to blame. Vasya finds herself alone, beset on all sides. The Grand Prince is in a rage, choosing allies that will lead him on a path to war and ruin. A wicked demon returns, stronger than ever and determined to spread chaos. Caught at the center of the conflict is Vasya, who finds the fate of two worlds resting on her shoulders. Her destiny uncertain, Vasya will uncover surprising truths about herself and her history as she desperately tries to save Russia, Morozko, and the magical world she treasures. But she may not be able to save them all.
The Kingdom of Copper (The Daevabad Trilogy #2) by S. A. Chakraborty
Read an Excerpt
Scheduled Release Date: January 22
The Kingdom of Copper is the second book in S. A. Chakraborty’s Daevabad Trilogy, following her acclaimed debut novel The City of Brass. I confess that I haven’t yet read the first book (although I did purchase a copy on one of my trips to the bookstore and am hoping to read it soon!), but I’m still excited about the sequel since this sounds like a series I will enjoy. Plus, S. A. Chakraborty’s Twitter feed is one of my favorites due to her interesting discussions of literature, such as this thread on the original story of “The City of Brass” from One Thousand and One Nights.
S. A. Chakraborty continues the sweeping adventure begun in The City of Brass—”the best adult fantasy I’ve read since The Name of the Wind” (#1 New York Times bestselling author Sabaa Tahir)—conjuring a world where djinn summon flames with the snap of a finger and waters run deep with old magic; where blood can be dangerous as any spell, and a clever con artist from Cairo will alter the fate of a kingdom.
Nahri’s life changed forever the moment she accidentally summoned Dara, a formidable, mysterious djinn, during one of her schemes. Whisked from her home in Cairo, she was thrust into the dazzling royal court of Daevabad—and quickly discovered she would need all her grifter instincts to survive there.
Now, with Daevabad entrenched in the dark aftermath of a devastating battle, Nahri must forge a new path for herself. But even as she embraces her heritage and the power it holds, she knows she’s been trapped in a gilded cage, watched by a king who rules from the throne that once belonged to her family—and one misstep will doom her tribe..
Meanwhile, Ali has been exiled for daring to defy his father. Hunted by assassins, adrift on the unforgiving copper sands of his ancestral land, he is forced to rely on the frightening abilities the marid—the unpredictable water spirits—have gifted him. But in doing so, he threatens to unearth a terrible secret his family has long kept buried.
And as a new century approaches and the djinn gather within Daevabad’s towering brass walls for celebrations, a threat brews unseen in the desolate north. It’s a force that would bring a storm of fire straight to the city’s gates . . . and one that seeks the aid of a warrior trapped between worlds, torn between a violent duty he can never escape and a peace he fears he will never deserve.
Black Leopard, Red Wolf (Dark Star Trilogy #1) by Marlon James
Scheduled Release Date: February 5
Black Leopard, Red Wolf, an African history and mythology-inspired epic fantasy novel by Man Booker Prize–winning author Marlon James, first caught my eye because of the striking cover image—but it remained in view because of the description! (There may be a recurring theme of fantasy books that meld myth and history throughout this list.)
The epic novel, an African Game of Thrones, from the Man Booker Prize-winning author of A Brief History of Seven Killings
In the stunning first novel in Marlon James’s Dark Star trilogy, myth, fantasy, and history come together to explore what happens when a mercenary is hired to find a missing child.
Tracker is known far and wide for his skills as a hunter: “He has a nose,” people say. Engaged to track down a mysterious boy who disappeared three years earlier, Tracker breaks his own rule of always working alone when he finds himself part of a group that comes together to search for the boy. The band is a hodgepodge, full of unusual characters with secrets of their own, including a shape-shifting man-animal known as Leopard.
As Tracker follows the boy’s scent–from one ancient city to another; into dense forests and across deep rivers–he and the band are set upon by creatures intent on destroying them. As he struggles to survive, Tracker starts to wonder: Who, really, is this boy? Why has he been missing for so long? Why do so many people want to keep Tracker from finding him? And perhaps the most important questions of all: Who is telling the truth, and who is lying?
Drawing from African history and mythology and his own rich imagination, Marlon James has written a novel unlike anything that’s come before it: a saga of breathtaking adventure that’s also an ambitious, involving read. Defying categorization and full of unforgettable characters, Black Leopard, Red Wolf is both surprising and profound as it explores the fundamentals of truth, the limits of power, and our need to understand them both.
The Ruin of Kings (A Chorus of Dragons #1) by Jenn Lyons
Read an Excerpt (the First 11 Chapters!)
Scheduled Release Date: February 5
I’ve been hearing great things about Jenn Lyons’ debut epic fantasy novel, and it does sound rather intriguing—particularly that the “hero” is meant to destroy the world, not save it.
When destiny calls, there’s no fighting back.
Kihrin grew up in the slums of Quur, a thief and a minstrel’s son raised on tales of long-lost princes and magnificent quests. When he is claimed against his will as the missing son of a treasonous prince, Kihrin finds himself at the mercy of his new family’s ruthless power plays and political ambitions.
Practically a prisoner, Kihrin discovers that being a long-lost prince is nothing like what the storybooks promised. The storybooks have lied about a lot of other things, too: dragons, demons, gods, prophecies, and how the hero always wins.
Then again, maybe he isn’t the hero after all. For Kihrin is not destined to save the world.
He’s destined to destroy it.
Jenn Lyons begins the Chorus of Dragons series with The Ruin of Kings, an epic fantasy novel about a man who discovers his fate is tied to the future of an empire.
The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders
Read an Excerpt
Scheduled Release Date: February 12
I found Charlie Jane Anders’ previous novel All the Birds in the Sky to be thoroughly enjoyable (and delightfully quirky!), so I’m curious about her upcoming science fiction novel The City in the Middle of the Night.
Charlie Jane Anders, the nationally bestselling author of All the Birds in the Sky delivers a brilliant new novel set in a hauntingly strange future with The City in the Middle of the Night.
“If you control our sleep, then you can own our dreams… And from there, it’s easy to control our entire lives.”
January is a dying planet–divided between a permanently frozen darkness on one side, and blazing endless sunshine on the other. Humanity clings to life, spread across two archaic cities built in the sliver of habitable dusk.
But life inside the cities is just as dangerous as the uninhabitable wastelands outside.
Sophie, a student and reluctant revolutionary, is supposed to be dead, after being exiled into the night. Saved only by forming an unusual bond with the enigmatic beasts who roam the ice, Sophie vows to stay hidden from the world, hoping she can heal.
But fate has other plans–and Sophie’s ensuing odyssey and the ragtag family she finds will change the entire world.
Where Oblivion Lives (A Los Nefilim Novel) by T. Frohock
Scheduled Release Date: February 19
I found T. Frohock’s debut novel, Miserere: An Autumn Tale, to be a wonderful character-driven dark fantasy book with some unique touches—and I am thrilled she has another novel coming soon! Where Oblivion Lives features the same world and main characters as her Los Nefilim novellas (In Midnight’s Silence, Without Light or Guide, and The Second Death), which also have some strengths in common with her first novel: such as the unique touches and a compelling, complex main character. To learn more about this world, you can read T. Frohock’s essay “Angels and Daimons and the Supernatural World of Los Nefilim.”
A lyrical historical fantasy adventure, set in 1932 Spain and Germany, that brings to life the world of the novellas collected in Los Nefilim: Spanish Nephilim battling daimons in a supernatural war to save humankind.
Born of daimon and angel, Diago Alvarez is a being unlike all others. The embodiment of dark and light, he has witnessed the good and the horror of this world and those beyond. In the supernatural war between angels and daimons that will determine humankind’s future, Diago has chosen Los Nefilim, the sons and daughters of angels who possess the power to harness music and light.
As the forces of evil gather, Diago must locate the Key, the special chord that will unite the nefilim’s voices, giving them the power to avert the coming civil war between the Republicans and Franco’s Nationalists. Finding the Key will save Spain from plunging into darkness.
And for Diago, it will resurrect the anguish caused by a tragedy he experienced in a past life.
But someone—or something—is determined to stop Diago in his quest and will use his history to destroy him and the nefilim. Hearing his stolen Stradivarius played through the night, Diago is tormented by nightmares about his past life. Each incarnation strengthens the ties shared by the nefilim, whether those bonds are of love or hate . . . or even betrayal.
To retrieve the violin, Diago must journey into enemy territory . . . and face an old nemesis and a fallen angel bent on revenge.
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
Scheduled Release Date: February 26
The Priory of the Orange Tree has one of the most beautiful covers I’ve seen lately—I just love the colors and contrast combined with the image of the dragon twining around the tower! The cover art by Ivan Belikov and David Mann can be seen in all its glory here.
How could I resist a book described as “an enthralling epic fantasy about a world on the brink of war with dragons–and the women who must lead the fight to save it,” especially when it has such a captivating cover?
From the internationally bestselling author of The Bone Season, an enthralling epic fantasy about a world on the brink of war with dragons–and the women who must lead the fight to save it.
A world divided.
A queendom without an heir.
An ancient enemy awakens.
The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction–but assassins are getting closer to her door.
Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.
Across the dark sea, Tané has trained all her life to be a dragonrider, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.
Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep.
The Shadow Glass (The Bone Witch #3) by Rin Chupeco
Scheduled Release Date: March 5
I rather enjoyed following Tea’s story in The Bone Witch and The Heart Forger, in which she raises the dead, follows her heart, and generally defies society’s rules for bone witches such as herself. In particular, I found it delightful that she’s not destined to save the world but change it— for both better and worse—and that the narrative structure advances her characterization. The story is technically told from the perspective of a bard but most of his narrative is actually Tea telling her tale, and there are brief glimpses of Tea from his viewpoint in the present showing how much she’s changed since the beginning of her story. I’m looking forward to finding out how it all ends in The Shadow Glass.
The dramatic finale to The Bone Witch series! Tea’s dark magic eats away at her, but she must save the one she loves most, even while her life―and the kingdoms―are on the brink of destruction.
In the Eight Kingdoms, none have greater strength or influence than the asha, who hold elemental magic. But only a bone witch has the power to raise the dead. Tea has used this dark magic to breathe life into those she has loved and lost…and those who would join her army against the deceitful royals. But Tea’s quest to conjure a shadowglass, to achieve immortality for the one person she loves most in the world, threatens to consume her.
Tea’s heartsglass only grows darker with each new betrayal. Her work with the monstrous azi, her thirst for retribution, her desire to unmask the Faceless―they all feed the darkrot that is gradually consuming her heartsglass. She is haunted by blackouts and strange visions, and when she wakes with blood on her hands, Tea must answer to a power greater than the elder asha or even her conscience. Tea’s life―and the fate of the kingdoms―hangs in the balance.
Ancestral Night (White Space #1) by Elizabeth Bear
Interview with Elizabeth Bear about Ancestral Night
Scheduled Release Date: March 5 (US), March 7 (UK)
I’m very excited about this upcoming space opera by Elizabeth Bear—she’s one of my favorite authors due to her thoughtful stories and elegant prose!
A space salvager and her partner make the discovery of a lifetime that just might change the universe in this wild, big-ideas space opera from multi award-winning author Elizabeth Bear.
Halmey Dz and her partner Connla Kurucz are salvage operators, living just on the inside of the law…usually. Theirs is the perilous and marginal existence—with barely enough chance of striking it fantastically big—just once—to keep them coming back for more. They pilot their tiny ship into the scars left by unsuccessful White Transitions, searching for the relics of lost human and alien vessels. But when they make a shocking discovery about an alien species that has been long thought dead, it may be the thing that could tip the perilous peace mankind has found into full-out war.
Energetic and electrifying, Ancestral Night is a dazzling new space opera, sure to delight fans of Alastair Reynolds, Iain M. Banks, and Peter F. Hamilton.
The Bird King by G. Willow Wilson
Scheduled Release Date: March 12
The Bird King, acclaimed author G. Willow Wilson’s upcoming novel set during the Spanish Inquisition, sounds amazing. (This is another book I’m drawn to due to the combination of history and fantasy.)
From award-winning author G. Willow Wilson, The Bird King is an epic journey set during the reign of the last sultan in the Iberian peninsula at the height of the Spanish Inquisition.
G. Willow Wilson’s debut novel Alif the Unseen was an NPR and Washington Post Best Book of the Year, and it established her as a vital American Muslim literary voice. Now she delivers The Bird King, a stunning new novel that tells the story of Fatima, a concubine in the royal court of Granada, the last emirate of Muslim Spain, and her dearest friend Hassan, the palace mapmaker.
Hassan has a secret–he can draw maps of places he’s never seen and bend the shape of reality. When representatives of the newly formed Spanish monarchy arrive to negotiate the sultan’s surrender, Fatima befriends one of the women, not realizing that she will see Hassan’s gift as sorcery and a threat to Christian Spanish rule. With their freedoms at stake, what will Fatima risk to save Hassan and escape the palace walls?
As Fatima and Hassan traverse Spain with the help of a clever jinn to find safety, The Bird King asks us to consider what love is and the price of freedom at a time when the West and the Muslim world were not yet separate.
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