Nolyn (The Rise and Fall, #1) by Michael J. Sullivan
After two hundred years of service, the heir to the empire is suspicious about his reassignment to active duty on the front lines of the Goblin War. His first assignment to rescue an outpost leads to a dead-end canyon deep inside enemy territory. Suspicion turns to dread and then sinks to despair when it’s discovered no such outpost exists. But whoever went to the trouble of making his death look like an accident didn’t know anything about the Seventh Sikaria Auxiliary Squadron he was assigned to. In the depths of an unforgiving jungle, a legend is about to be born, and the world of Elan will never be the same.
From Michael J. Sullivan, the New York Times, USA Today, and Washington Post bestselling author, a new adventure begins with the first book of the Rise and Fall trilogy. While set in the same world as Riyria and Legends of the First Empire, this is a standalone series, so no prior knowledge of the other books is required to enjoy it to its fullest.
Did you back the Nolyn Kickstarter? I did! I cannot wait to see what the special edition hardcover looks like in person. Fingers crossed they start shipping in August!
Also I haven’t actually read the Riyria books yet but I ordered them as a Kickstarter add-on and they should be arriving around the same time for me.
The Hand of the Sun King (Pact and Pattern, #1) by J.T. Greathouse
My name is Wen Alder. My name is Foolish Cur.
All my life, I have been torn between two legacies: that of my father, whose roots trace back to the right hand of the Emperor. That of my mother’s family, who reject the oppressive Empire and embrace the resistance.
I can choose between them – between protecting my family, or protecting my people – or I can search out a better path . . . a magical path, filled with secrets, unbound by empire or resistance, which could shake my world to its very foundation.
But my search for freedom will entangle me in a war between the gods themselves . . .
Pictured to the left is the Goldsboro GSFF edition, and I can’t wait for it! I’m so thrilled they chose The Hand of the Sun King as their August pick. It was already going to be on my preorder list anyway.
The Gauntlet and the Fist Beneath (The Gauntlet and the Fist Beneath, #1) by Ian Green
An action-packed and unique fantasy adventure, featuring General Flore and a quest to save her abducted daughter, by debut Scottish author, Ian Green.Fight the Storm.
Protect your people.
The endless rotstorm rages over the ruins of the Ferron Empire. Flore would never let the slavers of the Empire rise again. As a warrior of the Stormguard Commandos, she wrought horrors in the rotstorm to protect her people. She did her duty and left the bloodshed behind.Fight for your family.
Flore’s peace is shattered when blazing orbs of light cut through the night sky and descend on her village. Her daughter is abducted and Flore is forced into a chase across a land of twisted monsters and ancient gods. She must pursue the mysterious orbs, whose presence could herald the return of the Empire she spent her entire life fighting.Destroy your enemies.
Now, Flore must take up the role she had sworn to put aside and become the weapon the Stormguard trained her to be, to save not only her daughter, but her people…Read this action-packed and unique fantasy adventure from debut Scottish author, Ian Green. Perfect for fans of Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive series or Sam Sykes’ Seven Blades In Black.
This was the Goldsboro GSFF July pick, so I already have a copy waiting to be read. I’m very excited about it though. Goldsboro put this on my radar, and I’m pretty psyched that it’s recommended for Stormlight Archive fans.
The Maleficent Seven by Cameron Johnston
Black Herran was a dread demonologist, and the most ruthless general in all Essoran. She assembled the six most fearsome warriors to captain her armies: a necromancer, a vampire lord, a demigod, an orcish warleader, a pirate queen, and a twisted alchemist. Together they brought the whole continent to its knees… Until the day she abandoned her army, on the eve of total victory.
40 years later, she must bring her former captains back together for one final stand, in the small town of Tarnbrooke – the last bastion against a fanatical new enemy tearing through the land, intent on finishing the job Black Herran started years before.
Seven bloodthirsty monsters. One town. Their last hope.
I had a lot of fun reading The Traitor God last year, so The Maleficent Seven went on my radar straight away.
Great news, too: The Broken Binding still has some signed and numbered copies available!
The Pariah (Covenant of Steel, #1) by Anthony Ryan
When the task is a killing, be quick and make sure of it.
Torment is an indulgence.
Save it for only the most deserving.Born in the troubled kingdom of Albermaine, Alwyn Scribe is raised as an outlaw. Quick of wit and deft with a blade, Alwyn is content with the comradeship of his fellow thieves. Yet an act of betrayal sets him on a new path of blood and vengeance, which leads him to a soldier’s life in the king’s army.
Fighting under the command of Lady Evadine Courlain, a noblewoman beset by visions of a demonic apocalypse, Alwyn must survive war and the deadly intrigues of the nobility if he hopes to claim his vengeance. But as human and arcane forces gather to oppose Evadine’s rise, Alwyn faces a choice: can he be a warrior, or will he always be an outlaw?
I’m so excited for this! I’m thrilled that I managed to snag one of Goldsboro Books’s signed copies. I waited for them to show up for months. I think they’re still exclusive to GSFF subscribers right now.
Fury of a Demon (Dragons of Terra, #3) by Brian Naslund
I won’t share the synopsis of this book, as it’s third in a series. If you want to read it, you can do so on Bookhype.
I’m really excited for the conclusion of this series. I read and loved the first book, Blood of an Exile, in 2019 and have been waiting for the end of the series before continuing with it. I’m really looking forward to a reread of book one, then continuing with the rest of the series all at once.
One thing I found really interesting about Blood of an Exile was the combination of dragons and ecology. It digs into the impact of dragons on the environment and other creatures. What happens when you kill off all the dragons? The creatures that dragons normally eat grow on population, and that in turn affects the environment. Really interesting stuff in a fantasy book! I highly recommend Blood of an Exile if you haven’t read it already.
Are there any books I’ve missed? What are you looking forward to?
September is also going to be an amazing month, so I’ll be back in a couple weeks with some September highlights!