This is my list. It’s a mix of sci fi and fantasy. Some are the next book in a series, and some are stand alone novels from authors I like.
January
The Outcast Mage, by Annabel Campbell
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
ISBN: 9780356524184
Number of pages: 432
Published: 28/01/2025
The Outcast Mage is an unmissable epic fantasy debut, packed with adventure, mystery and dragonfire, where a young mage’s struggle to master her magical powers could spell disaster for an entire continent
In the glass city of Amoria, magic is everything. And Naila, student at the city’s academy, is running out of time to prove she can control hers. If she fails, she’ll be forced into exile . . . or consumed by her own power.
When a tragic incident threatens her place at the Academy, Naila is saved by Haelius Akana, the most powerful living mage. Haelius risks his reputation to help her to harness her abilities, but he has many enemies who desire him – and Naila – to fail. Trapped in the deadly schemes of Amoria’s elite, Naila must discover the truth of her powers, or watch Amoria descend into civil war.
For there is danger brewing on the wind, and greater forces at work across the wider world. Forces who could use her powers for good . . . or destroy everything she’s ever known.
February
Grave Empire, by Richard Swan
4th February 2025
Blood once turned the wheels of empire. Now it is money.
A new age of exploration and innovation has dawned, and the Empire of the Wolf stands to take its place as the foremost power in the known world. Glory and riches await.
But dark days are coming. A mysterious plague has broken out in the pagan kingdoms to the north, while in the south, the Empire’s proxy war in the lands of the wolfmen is weeks away from total collapse.
Worse still is the message brought to the Empress by two heretic monks, who claim to have lost contact with the spirits of the afterlife. The monks believe this is the start of an ancient prophecy heralding the end of days-the Great Silence.
It falls to Renata Rainer, a low-ranking ambassador to an enigmatic and vicious race of mermen, to seek answers from those who still practice the arcane arts. But with the road south beset by war and the Empire on the brink of supernatural catastrophe, soon there may not be a world left to save . . .
I hear there is a special edition coming out, I need to order it, since I have special editions of The Empire of the Wolf series.
Cursebound, by Saara El-Arifi
Hardback 496 Pages
Published: 13/02/2025
Yeeran was born for war but is unprepared for love. She has left her new lover, the Queen of the fae, to return to her homeland, only to find that her former lover now threatens war against the fae.
Left behind, her sister Lettle is determined to break the curse that binds the fae to their realm. When a stranger appears in the city, Lettle is convinced he’s the key. But the Fates that once spoke to her have fallen silent.
Can Lettle and Yeeran discover the secret behind the curse – and unite these two worlds before they destroy each other?
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
ISBN: 9780008748432
Number of pages: 496
Weight: 270 g
Dimensions: 240 x 159 x 34 mm
I pre-ordered in October! I need to know what happens next!
Hardback448 Pages
Published: 27/02/2025
An utterly gripping story of survival on a hostile planet from Adrian Tchaikovsky, author of the Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning Children of Time.
They looked into the darkness. The darkness looked back . . .
A commercial expedition to a distant star system discovers a pitch-black moon alive with radio activity. Its high-gravity, high-pressure, zero-oxygen environment is deadly to human life, but ripe for exploitation. They named it Shroud.
Under no circumstances can a human survive Shroud’s inhospitable surface – but a catastrophic accident forces Juna Ceelander and Mai Ste Etienne to make an emergency landing in a barely adequate escape vehicle. Alone, and fighting for survival, the two women embark on a gruelling journey across land, sea and air in search of salvation.
But as they travel, Juna and Mai begin to understand Shroud’s unnerving alien species. It also begins to understand them. If they escape Shroud, they’ll somehow have to explain the impossible and translate the incredible. That is, if they make it back at all . . .
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
ISBN: 9781035013791
Number of pages: 448
Dimensions: 234 x 153 mm
I seem to be collecting Adrian’s space operas at this point!
Symbiote by Michael Nayak
Paperback ISBN 11th February 2025 | 9781915998422
Publisher: Angry Robot
A group of scientists stationed at the South Pole stumble upon an extremophilic symbiotic creature that creates a deadly evolving hive mind with murderous intent…
As World War III rages, the scientists in Antarctica are thankful for the isolation – until a group of Chinese scientists arrive at the American research base in search of help. In their truck is a horrifying sight, the first ever murder victim in Antarctica. The potential for a geopolitical firestorm is great, and, with no clear jurisdiction, the Americans don’t know what to do. But they soon realize the Chinese scientists have brought far more with them than the body…
Within seventy-two hours, thirteen more lie dead in the snow, murdered in acts of madness and superhuman strength.
An extremophile parasite from the truck, triggered by severe cold, is spreading by touch. It is learning from them. Evolving. It triggers violent tendencies in the winter crew, and, more insidiously, the beginnings of a strange symbiotic telepathy.
A small group of survivors try to resist the siren call of the growing hive mind and stay alive long enough to solve the mystery of the symbiotic microbe’s origins. But the symbiote is more than a disease – it could be the key to shifting the balance of power in a time of war.
The survivors cannot let anyone infected make it to the summer season, when planes will arrive to take them – and potentially the symbiote – back to civilization.
Read 11th and 13th December. I love it! A tense thriller in the far south. Full review late January/early February blog tour.
March
Idolfire, by Grace Curtis
Publisher: Hodderscape
Publication Date: 13th March 2025
Idolfire is an epic sapphic fantasy inspired by the fall of Rome from the author of the Frontier and Floating Hotel.
ON ONE SIDE OF THE WORLD, Aleya Ana-Ulai is desperate for a chance. Her family have written her off as a mistake, but she’s determined to prove every last one of them wrong.
ON THE OTHER, Kirby of Wall’s End is searching for redemption. An ancient curse tore her life apart, but to fix it, she’ll have to leave everything behind.
Fate sets them both on the path to Nivela, a city once poised to conquer the world with the power of a thousand stolen gods. Now the gates are closed and the old magic slumbers. Dead – or waiting for a spark to light it anew . . .
Space Brooms!, by A.G. Rodriguez
25/03/2025
Paperback ISBN: 9781915998507
Publisher: Angry Robot
Everyone aboard Kilgore Station is living their best life. Everyone except for Johnny Gomez.
While humans, the augmented, and aliens of all shapes and sizes enjoy exotic cuisine on the dining deck, or gamble away their credits on the entertainment deck, Johnny is elbow-deep in oily, black, alien excrement. A ‘space broom’ custodian for the entire station.
This was obviously not the life Johnny dreamt of. Ten years ago, he travelled to Kilgore, the farthest space station in our solar system, in search of fortune like everyone else. Some people are just luckier than others.
Yet his meaningless, uneventful existence is immediately turned upside down when he happens upon a tiny glass data-chit, hidden amongst the alien poop he must clean up. Unbeknownst to him, every nefarious creature in the solar system will soon be after him to claim it for their own.
With the help of his augmented roommate, a pair of smugglers and a mysterious and beautiful stranger, Johnny fights off thugs and sails as fast as possible to earth’s moon, Luna, in effort to sell the chit to the Obinna Crime Syndicate. But with assassins and mobsters on their tail, the trip is anything but a cakewalk. And Luna itself proves to be nothing like a safe haven, when Johnny’s painful past finally catches up to him…
This just sound like a fun read.
April
10th April 2025
A Song of Legends Lost, by M.H. Ayinde
The first book in the series, A SONG OF LEGENDS LOST, will be published in spring 2025 and launches a gripping tale of revenge and rebellion in a vividly drawn world inspired by multiple pre-colonial cultures.
In the Nine Lands, only those of noble blood can summon the spirits of their ancestors to fight in battle. But when Temi, a commoner from the slums, accidentally invokes a powerful spirit, she finds it could hold the key to ending a centuries-long war. But not everything that can be invoked is an ancestor. And some of the spirits that can be drawn from the ancestral realm are more dangerous than anyone can imagine.
May
The Sorrow of the Sea, by Stephen Aryan
Publisher: Angry Robot
Publication Date: 13th May 2025
The Mongol Empire is fractured but the unstoppable warlord, Timur, has the potential to repair the damage and conquer everything in his path.
After being manipulated, Temujin has severed all ties with the Kozan and embraced his heritage. As the new ruler of the Ilkhanate he is determined not to repeat mistakes made his father. But few believe Temujin is up to the task, least of all his father, as a Khan must be utterly ruthless.
The new Persian army needs time before it’s ready, forcing Kaivon and Esme to support Temujin and the Ilkhanate. Conducting dangerous missions across enemy lines they hope to slow Timur’s conquest.
Kokochin seeks to make amends by helping others fight back against the Mongols. After attracting the attention of a killer, she struggles with her darker instincts to protect herself and those around her.
The world is on the verge of a war, unlike any that have come before, but who will emerge triumphant in a world of magi, spies and conquerors?
The final instalment from bestselling author Stephen Aryan’s sees an epic conclusion to The Nightingale and the Falcon trilogy.
Comment when have read and reviewed first two
Brighter than Scale, Swifter Then Flame, by Neon Yang
Publisher: Tordotcom
ISBN: 9781250357342
Publication Date: 15th May 2025
With an armoured, oath-bound hero reminiscent of The Mandalorian and the Asian-inspired epic fantasy of She Who Became the Sun, Neon Yang’s Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame is a stunning Queer novella about a dragon hunter finding home with a dragon queen
Yeva was thirteen when she killed her first dragon.
With her gift revealed, she was shipped away to the imperial capital to train in the rare art of dragon slaying. Now a legendary guildknight, she has never truly felt at home ever since that fateful day all those years ago. But she doesn’t need a home when she has her sacred duty. She has devoted herself wholly to the cause—she never even removes her armor in public. Few remember the girl she once was. She rarely remembers herself.
Yeva must now go to Quanbao, a fiercely independent and reclusive kingdom. It is rumored that there, dragons are not feared as is right and proper—but instead loved and worshipped. It is rumored that there, they harbor a dragon behind their borders.
While Yeva searches for the dreaded beast, she is welcomed into the palace by Quanbao’s monarch, Lady Sookhee. Though wary of each other, Yeva is shocked to find herself slowly opening up to the beautiful, mysterious queen.
Will Yeva forsake her sacred duty and let Lady Sookhee see the person behind the armor, or will she cling to the ideals that she has called home for so long?
June
Terms of Service – NEW CIEL PIERLOT! | When her cousin gets kidnapped by a dastardly trickster, Luzia is forced to sell herself in servitude to the Eoi in exchange for his life. But the terms of the deal turn out to be much more complicated than she ever imagined… great read for fans of Battlestar Galactica, The Expanse and Dune Science-Fiction
I loved the two Ciel Pierlot books I’ve read in 2024, so I’m really looking forward to reading the new novel.
July
Ascension (The Summoner’s Circle Book II) – S.T. Gibson | From the international bestselling author of Evocation comes its hotly anticipated and spellbinding sequel, where Rhys steps into his new role as High Priest. A magical read for lovers of traditional urban fantasy.
Ooh, this’ll be fun. And hot.
August
Automatic Noodle, by Annalee Newitz
Publisher: Tor
Publication Date: 5th August
From sci-fi visionary and acclaimed author Annalee Newitz comes Automatic Noodle, a cozy near-future novella about a crew of abandoned food service bots opening their very own restaurant.
While San Francisco rebuilds from the chaos of war, a group of food service bots in an abandoned ghost kitchen take over their own delivery app account. They rebrand as a neighborhood lunch spot and start producing some of the tastiest hand-pulled noodles in the city. But there’s just one problem. Someone—or something—is review bombing the restaurant’s feedback page with fake “bad service” reports. Can the bots find the culprit before their ratings plummet and destroy everything they created?
OCTOBER 2025:
14 October:
First Mage on the Moon –NEW CAMERON JOHNSTON Grimdark master Cameron Johnston returns in this innovative space fantasy where wizards race to be the first to touch the moon, also known as the land of the gods… a fast paced read, perfect for fans of Adrian Tchaikovsky. Fantasy
NOVEMBER 2025
11th November: Project Hanuman – Stewart Hotston
Paperback ISBN
11th November 2025 | 9781915998941
The ship needed to hear voices, to know he was not alone. The pilot thought they were going to fight an enemy, to find someone responsible and mete out justice. The Interlocutor thought they were going to help. The ship only wanted to hear the chaos of life and know he wasn’t alone among the stars.
The Arcology is a pan galactic utopia whose people live entirely online. Tired of paradise, Praveenthi ‘Prab’ Saal had herself printed into the physical world of Sirajah’s Reach, working as an Interlocutor – a go between for the Arcology and the cultures it meets in flesh and blood.
One evening after a call with her family – who are pressuring her to abandon her body and rejoin the Arcology, the city stops. Stops completely – nothing electronic works anymore. Terrified that the Arcology has just up and disappeared, she receives a call for help from a ship in dock whose pilot, Kercher, is a prisoner printed into a body to serve out his sentence in the physical world. Between them they discover it’s not just her planet, but the entire Arcology that’s gone missing. If they don’t find out what’s going on it could be the end of everyone and everything that calls the Arcology home.
Their only resource is their living ship, into which all the knowledge and culture of the Arcology has been downloaded. Asked to be a life raft for the Arcology, the ship, a frigate without a name, is dying – slowly being swallowed whole by the literal universe of information it’s been asked to carry.
Featuring worlds made entirely from gold, an enemy who has no consciousness, allies made of lichen and the grand Ring World of Akhanda – the physical heart of the Arcology. Prab and Kercher will need to put aside their dislike of each other and the Arcology if they’re to help their ship and save anything at all. Can they restore the possibility of hope to their lives?
This sounds interesting, and Stew is well known in the BFS.
Queen of the Dead, by Sarah Broadway
25th November
A fun and fast-paced paranormal urban fantasy with a touch of romance and supernatural hijinks galore, perfect for fans of The Whispering Dead by Darcy Coates.
Speaking with the dead is nothing new for Lou. It’s a curse she’s learned to hide from everyone – sometimes even herself. After running away from a past that took advantage of those abilities, Lou finally carves out a normal life for herself. That is, until she receives a mysterious message from a ghost – the Veil is thinning – and a cult of necromancers infiltrates her small town.
In a race to discover and defeat her foe, Lou learns she’s not alone in the fight. She grudgingly leans on her allies but wonders who to trust. What’s more impossible is suddenly finding herself the romantic interest of a man who somehow isn’t afraid of all the dark, creepy things about her… but even he has secrets for her to discover.
Time is running out, and reality seems to be slipping away. To save her new life and the people she loves, Lou must learn to accept who she is and embrace her true abilities, no matter where they might take her.
I haven’t really read much paranormal/urban fantasy in a few years, although I read a lot of it in my late twenties and early thirties. This one sounds like a lot of fun though.
DECEMBER 2025
2nd December: The Village at the Edge of Noon – Darya Bobyleva | Everything you were afraid to find out about the heat of noon and grandma’s old tales comes together in this English language debut of an award-winning and bestselling young writer. Fantasy/Horror
The full description sounded amazing, so I applied for the blog tour. I hope it lives up to the promise.
2nd December: Pollen – Jeff Noon | The 30th anniversary reissue of the acclaimed sequel to Jeff Noon’s Vurt. A second key piece of the SF canon from an author who has found new readers with Gogmagog and Ludluda. This celebratory edition contains a new, exclusive, foreword from Aliya Whiteley and an afterword from Jeff Noon, and returns this ground-breaking book to print for not only a different generation of readers to enjoy but also those who read it the first time around!
I’ve been reading Vurt, I definitely need to read Pollen!
There will no doubt be more as I hear about books and decide I need them. Have a fabulous 2025. Read all the books!
Everything Is Better With Dragons 