Sci Fi Friday

SFF TBR, Part 2

Last week I listed my high priority backlist SFF titles that I want to read. This week, it’s all the stuff that’s about to be published that I just can’t wait to get my hands on (or already have a copy of in ARC form).

More or less these will be listed in publication order.

Without further ado, here’s my Forthcoming TBR list for 2019-2020:

Fray by Rowenna Miller

I was completely enchanted with Torn, from the parallels to pre-revolutionary France to the sewing charms to the political intrigue, and I cannot wait for Fray, where I hope to see more of my favorite magical seamstress in this world that weaves domestic politics with international relations and national incidents. 4 June 2019

Sweep of the Blade by Ilona Andrews

The Innkeeper Chronicles are one of my favorite series, due to the uniqueness of the setting and the various aliens and political factions Dina must put up with. And seeing that Maud is getting her own book in the series makes me super, super happy. I want to know exactly how a semi-ordinary human survived for years in a militaristic vampire household—as a key player instead of a pawn. True, I could have read it for free in serial form, but I like getting sucked into the story and devouring it swiftly, all at once. June 2019

The Affair of the Mysterious Letter by Alexis Hall

Color me intrigued with this queer gender-bent Sherlock Holmes retelling that mixes a magical alternate universe with vampires, criminals, pirates and shark punching?! I’ll be honest, this thing said it was filled with wit, charm and weirdness, but it was the alleged shark punching that really inspired me to request an ARC. 18 June 2019

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

An #ownvoices Mayan-inspired historical fantasy set in the Jazz Age that reads a bit like a fairy tale? Say no more, I’m sold. Okay, so early reviews look really good, that summary is intriguing as hell (a girl who makes a bargain with a Mayan god and embarks on a quest to change the world? Fuck yeah), and that cover is probably the most beautiful thing I’ve seen in a long while. This is another ARC I’m excited to get to. 6 August 2019

The Dragon Republic by R. F. Kuang

Last year’s The Poppy War completely blew me away with its world-building loosely based on 20th century Chinese history, multi-part tone-changes (from Harry Potter to war crimes in zero seconds flat) and fantastically complex characters. I can’t wait to see where Kuang takes this sequel and what will happen to Rin who (SPOILER ALERT) ended The Poppy War in…not so great shape. I’ve been impatiently plowing through the other ARCs in my queue to get to this one. 6 August 2019

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

The teaser summary says, “Gideon the Ninth, the most fun you’ll ever have with a skeleton.” Plus apparently there’s necromancy, swordplay, cut-throat politics and lots of queer folks—I’m in! And I was super surprised that Tor granted my request for an ARC so yes, this is another book that I have to impatiently wait until closer to the publication date to read, because I’m worse than Mark Ruffalo when it comes to keeping secrets. 10 September 2019

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

This is Leigh Bardugo’s first adult contemporary (with magic of course) novel, although from the summary I think it could probably be counted more as new adult than adult (which is also what I consider the Six of Crows duology and King of Scars to be instead of regular YA). There’s a scruffy dropout criminal attending Yale University (for free, but with a catch)—and tasked with spying on the occult activities of Yale’s secret societies (there’s the catch). Cue my heavy breathing. 1 October 2019

2020 Releases:

Since most of these haven’t had a cover release (or summaries)—and I’m probably going to do a future I’m-really-fucking-excited-for-these post—here’s the list as of now (not in publication order):

• Network Effect by Martha Wells
• The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin
• A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine
• Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey
• The Relentless Moon by Mary Robinette Kowal
• Smoke Bitten by Patricia Briggs

Well, what do you think? What other forthcoming SFF books should I add to my TBR?

Next Week: Favorite Fantasy