Immunity Index by Sue Burke
Release Date: Late July
The new one from Sue Burke set in a near-future US It’s under a fascist government, facing widespread shortages and growing civil unrest. Three young women discover that there is something special about them, something the brilliant geneticist Peng is responsible for and which is now illegal. Peng has his own issues, as a once harmless virus starts to turn deadly and sweeps across a country that is being kept unaware of the real danger. Honestly, I’m a bit over the pandemic fiction thing, regardless of how apt it is to the current situation. If it was anyone other than Sue Burke, I’d probably have skipped to the next thing in the catalogue. But her books Semiosis and Interference were really clever and great reads, so maybe this idea is no as played out as I thought. Time will tell, and I’ll be interested in hearing what others think about it.

The Tyrant by Seth Dickinson
Release Date: Late July
This is the third in the Baru Cormorant series, a fascinating fantasy political intrigue series where the protagonist, Baru, has chosen to join the evil empire that destroyed her home as a minor functionary with the plan of rising in power and influence and then using the empire’s own forces against it. Now that she has power, wealth and influence however, Baru is tempted to allow the status quo to continue, since enacting her long plotted revenge will necessarily end all of that. This is a very political series which means you really have to have read the first two to get into this one. Nevertheless, they are tremendously good fun. The bad news is that it is not the end of the series. This is a quartet with an unannounced date for the fourth book, although based on Seth Dickinson’s track record, I’m thinking probably late 2023.

Another Time, Another Place by Jodi Taylor
Release Date: Mid Jul
This is the 12th book in the Chronicles of St Mary’s series, which is about an eccentric English university that happens to be in possession of a time machine. As you can imagine, the adventures and escapades that these somewhat dotty academics on are the source of much amusement and some danger. In this latest book, our eponymous heroine, Max, finds herself out of work and looking for a job. When one presents itself, it is very different from what she expected. While the time travel aspect of these could class them as science fiction, or maybe historical fiction for the various settings, in terms of style they hit the same sweet-spot as some of the UK urban fantasy like Ben Aaronovitch or Benedict Jacka. If you like them, I’d highly recommend giving the St Mary’s  books a try.

The Gauntlet and the Fist Beneath by Ian Green
Release Date: Late Jul
This is a debut novel and the first in what appears to be a high-magic fantasy series. We start with retired general Flore, her husband and daughter and the quiet village where they live. Light rakes the sky and magical orbs descent, snatching people before disappearing. Among the taken is Flore’s daughter. Her quest to track the orbs will take her across war ravaged and monster infested territory and along the way we’ll learn about her, and her past and the part she’s had to play in the dangerous world she is forced to travel through. Big gods, little gods, demons, a badass mother going John Wick and loads of magic, Sounds like fun. Should be a nice change to the realism focused grimdark stuff that I’ve been reading lately.

Defekt by Nino Cipri
Release Date: Late July
This new novella returns readers to the very bizarre LitenVarld megastore we were introduced to in Finna. This time, our guide is Derek – the perfect employee. He works 18 hour days and lives in a shipping container at the edge of the parking lot. However even that is to enough to impress his bosses who insist he does a special shift hunting for defective inventory – you know, the kind with pincers and eyes or the sort that walks away all by itself. However he is not alone in this work. He has four companions – his co-workers in this project who all look and sound suspiciously like him. That’s normal, isn’t it? Great fun and very, very odd.

The Album of Dr Moreau by Daryl Gregory
Release Date: Late July
Everybody knows that boy bands are cooked up in recording studios, but the WyldBoyZ were cooked up in a lab first. Genetically engineered human hybrids, each of them with some animal DNA in their genetic cocktail to give them that extra bit of pizazz – what each character in a bod band stereotype needs. An ocelot for cuteness, an elephant for memory, a bonobo for romance and maybe a little pangolin, for the shy sweet one. They are the biggest band in the world and well on their way to super-stardom, except their producer’s just turned up dead and the boys are looking very, very suspicious.

The Inner Darkness by Jorn Lier Horst
Release Date: Early Jul
In this new Norwegian crime thriller, a serial killer is temporarily released from prison to guide police to the body of his final victim, however during this process, he escapes. To further complicate matters, there appears to be a copycat killer using his MO. Are the two things related? Are they working together, or are there two separate maniacs now at large in Norway. The latest in the Detective Wisting series and highly recommended for fans of Nordic noir.

The Splinter King by Mike Brooks
Release Date: Mid July
This is the second in the god-king chronicles and is a rollicking fantasy adventure full of all of the things we love in fantasy. Dragons, knights, warriors, magic, deities, palace coups, heroes, villains and high adventure. It has also got some very good LGBT representation so definitely one for people who are collecting those. Good fun and highly recommended.

The Cellist by Daniel Silva
Release Date: Late Jul
The Cellist by Daniel Silva
Release Date: Late Jul
This is the latest in a long series of spy and thriller novels featuring super-spook Gabriel Allon, who has retired from that life and works as an art restorer – except of course when he gets dragged in against his will. In this case, a fabulously wealthy Russian oligarch living in exile in London is killed in a deeply suspicious way. MI6 think they have the person responsible but Gabriel thinks differently and will have to draw on a bunch of his old resources from his days as a spy to solve the mystery before his friends in MI6 charge the wrong person. Terrific fun and definitely one for people who like a thriller with a brain.

The Dragon Queen of Jin Sayeng by K S Villoso
Release Date: Late July
The third and final book in the Chronicles of the Bitch Queen series, which I think will sell some folks on that alone. It’s got the seriously tough protagonist you’s want with a title like that in the form of Queen Talyien, but her journey has been tough and she’s facing enemies at home and abroad and her son’s been kidnapped. The choice that Taylien faces is the one she has always faced. Capitulate or stand and fight. This time the stakes are higher than they’ve even been and even Taylien’s famous iron resolve may falter. Terrific political and action fantasy inspired in part by the culture and folklore of the Philippines.

Deepwater King by Claire McKenna
Release Date: Late July
The sequel to Monstrous Heart and set in the same steam-punk, Gothic, world where humanity has to share the ocean with monsters and also what are kind of like underwater fae in the form of the Deepwater King and his people. In addition to romance, adventure, magic and a journey of becoming for the characters, the first book was also about discovering the world, where this one is about navigating it. I don’t really want to talk about the story elements, since they’re serious spoilers for book one, but I will say that these are books for folks who like language for its own sake. This book is trying to pull you into a different world, so the language is part of that and not just a delivery system for the story. Since I think that’s part of what makes Gothic fiction so cool, I rather liked it. You definitely need to read book one with this one.

Last Watch by J S Dewes
Release Date: Late July
I’ve been reading a lot of action space opera recently so this one caught my eye. There’s a phenomenon at the edge of known space called The Divide, and apparently it’s swallowing up everything. Who’s going to stop it and save everyone? The Sentinels! Who are the Sentinels? Exiles, court martialed dregs of the military and various other reprobates and losers. These are, for want of a better word Adequin Rake’s troops. The unwanted and untrusted guarding a point as far from anywhere as possible. She’s also got a ship, but that’s about it. No help, no resources and no comms. She does have an exiled prince who likes to blow thing up, but whether he’s an asset or a liability remains to be seen. They’re the worst of the worst, but right now they’re all that stands between humanity and The Divide. GOT Nightwatch in space with a touch of The Expanse and hint of The Dirty Dozen. Sounds fun.

The Drowned Land by John Theobold
Release Date: Early Jul
This is a fascinating work of historical fiction set at the bottom of the North Sea, or at least that’s where it is now. When the book takes place, some 8000 years ago it was above the waters and the home of stone-age peoples. This is the story not only of the end of their home, swallowed slowly by the sea, but also of a way of life as the hunting and gathering give way to farming, herding and metal tools. It’s been a while since I’ve seen something like this and I’m quite excited about it. This is definitely one for those who fondly remember the People of… series by William & Kathleen O’Neal Gear and the books of Jean M Auel.

The Soul Breaker by Sebastian Fitzek
Release Date: Late Jul
The police called him the Soul Breaker, a serial killer, or perhaps serial abductor is more accurate, who would kidnap victims and then leave them somewhere, catatonic and with a note in their hands. After a few years of rampage, he disappeared. Move forward to the present, and Berlin’s most exclusive psychiatric hospital is locked down due to a terrible snowstorm. Then one of the doctors turns up, catatonic and with a note in his hands. Is Soul breaker in the institution? Now the doctors and staff members have to find out if he is and who he is before the snow storm traps them all with a killer. Stunning thriller form one of the best new voices in the genre.

Box 88 by Charles Cumming
Release Date: Late Jul
Lachlan Kite is a spy. In 1989 he was sent to France to investigate circumstances surrounding the Lockerbie bombing. In 2020 he is taken prisoner and tortured in order to extract the information he learned on that mission. It is information he doesn’t want to share. What follows is a spy thriller full of all the action, escapes, drama and intrigue one expects from someone who is very good at writing spy thrillers, which is exactly what Charles Cummings is. Highly recommended, particularly if you like the modern spook thriller.

The Witches Heart by Genevieve Gornichec
Release Date: Early Jul
In Norse mythology Angrboda is a lover of Loki and the mother of the Fenris Wolf and in some tales also of the Midguard serpent Jormungand and the ruler of the dead, Hel. Beyond that, and the fact that she’s a Jotunn (a magical race separate from Aesir and Vanir) there’s not much about her in the sagas. This book re-imagines her, and her life leading up to meeting Loki as well as their relationship. Much like Madeline Miller’s Circe, this book explores an overlooked woman from folklore and in the process offers and entirely new way to look at Ragnarok and the gods of Asgard.