August Books I am looking forward to!
So instead doing a single Waiting on Wednesday meme, I decided to tackle the whole of August month and do a sweep on all the great books lined up for this month. In no particular order, here they are :
1. In the Watchful City by S. Quioyi Lu
In the Watchful City explores borders, power, diaspora,
and transformation in an Asian-inspired mosaic novella that melds the futurism
of Lavie Tidhar’s Central Station with the magical wonder of Catherynne M.
Valente’s Palimpsest.
The city of Ora uses a complex living network called the Gleaming to surveil its inhabitants and maintain harmony. Anima is one of the cloistered extrasensory humans tasked with watching over Ora's citizens. Although ær world is restricted to what æ can see and experience through the Gleaming, Anima takes pride and comfort in keeping Ora safe from all harm.
All that changes when a mysterious visitor enters the city carrying a cabinet of curiosities from around the world, with a story attached to each item. As Anima’s world expands beyond the borders of Ora to places—and possibilities—æ never before imagined to exist, æ finds ærself asking a question that throws into doubt ær entire purpose: What good is a city if it can’t protect its people?
This is an intriguing blurb and Tor.com has had an excellent track-record with the novellas, so yeah, its right up there!
2. The Pariah by Anthony Ryan
Born into 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 freedom of the woods and the comradeship of his fellow
thieves. But an act of betrayal sets him on a new path - one of blood and
vengeance, which eventually 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 dark forces, both human and arcane, gather to oppose Evadine's rise, Alwyn faces a choice: can he be a warrior, or will he always be an outlaw?
Anthony comes back to 'heroic' epic fantasy with the lone, badass warrior at the center of conflicts. After the middling Draconis Memoria trilogy, I have high hopes about this one. Been hearing great things!
3. The Second Rebel by Linden Lewis ( First Sister Trilogy # 2)
Linden A. Lewis returns with this next installment of The
First Sister Trilogy, perfect for fans of Red Rising, The Handmaid’s Tale, and
The Expanse.
Astrid has reclaimed her name and her voice, and now seeks to bring down the Sisterhood from within. Throwing herself into the lioness’ den, Astrid must confront and challenge the Aunts who run the Gean religious institution, but she quickly discovers that the business of politics is far deadlier than she ever expected.
Meanwhile, on an outlaw colony station deep in space, Hiro val Akira seeks to bring a dangerous ally into the rebellion. Whispers of a digital woman fuel Hiro’s search, but they are not the only person looking for this link to the mysterious race of Synthetics.
Lito sol Lucious continues to grow into his role as a lead revolutionary and is tasked with rescuing an Aster operative from deep within an Icarii prison. With danger around every corner, Lito, his partner Ofiera, and the newly freed operative must flee in order to keep dangerous secrets out of enemy hands.
Back on Venus, Lito’s sister Lucinia must carry on after her brother’s disappearance and accusation of treason by Icarii authorities. Despite being under the thumb of Souji val Akira, Lucinia manages to keep her nose clean…that is until an Aster revolutionary shows up with news about her brother’s fate, and an opportunity to join the fight.
This captivating, spellbinding second installment to The First Sister series picks up right where The First Sister left off and is a must-read for science fiction fans everywhere.
I admit, I haven't completed the first book in the trilogy but they had me sold at Handmaid's Tale and Expanse. And the first couple of chapters of the First Sister was really fun to read.
4. The Exiled Fleet by J.S Dewes
J. S. Dewes continues her fast paced, science fiction
action adventure with The Exiled Fleet, where The Expanse meets The Black
Company--the survivors of The Last Watch refuse to die.
The Sentinels narrowly escaped the collapsing edge of the
Divide.
They have mustered a few other surviving Sentinels, but with
no engines they have no way to leave the edge of the universe before they
starve.
Adequin Rake has gathered a team to find the materials
they'll need to get everyone out.
To do that they're going to need new allies and evade a
ruthless enemy. Some of them will not survive.
Again, another space-opera that draws comparison to the Expanse, and having heard brilliant stuff about the first book, a debut, I am going to jump right onto this bandwagon at the edge of space!
5. Maleficent Seven by Cameron Johnston
When you are all out of heroes, all that's left are the
villains.
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.
I am almost through with this book and it is so much fun! irreverent, shocking and absolutely rocking hellfiend villains saving the day. No parallel yet, to this kind of a story.
6. Gauntlet and the Fist Beneath by Ian Green
An action-packed and unique fantasy adventure, featuring
General Floré 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. Floré 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.
Floré’s peace is shattered when blazing orbs of light cut
through the night sky and descend on her village. Her daughter is abducted and
Floré 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, Floré 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.
Having read the prologue, I know when a novel has something unique about the voice and the writing. I cannot wait to dig back into this story that promises to be amazing!
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