Tower Lord by Anthony Ryan is the second book in the Ravens Shadow series and the follow up to the massive hit of last year Blood Song. Ryan uses a blend of first and third person narrative styles to tell a story of conquest, betrayal and dark magic.  Tower Lord picks up the story from the end of Blood Song, with Vaelin returning home determined to never kill again. Given command of a remote border post, he is content to be forgotten and ignored. But those who bear the blood-song are born for conflict. New enemies threaten the realm, old enemies seek his life.  Vaelin the ‘Hope Killer’ will be once again be drawn into war, intrigue and the violent magic of the blood song.

Mr Mercedes is the new book from Stephen King. I’ve only read samples from this one, but it seems that this is a book written for the crime fiction market.  A killer, and the cop trying to catch him. There are hundreds of books like that. There is only one Stephen King however, and his skill at taking the reader into the dark places of madness and fear means that this will definitely not be just another crime novel.

Seal of the Worm is the last in the ten-book Shadows of the Apt series by Adrian Tchaikovsky. In this book the Empress Seda, having dealt with her rivals and enemies turns her attention to the real enemy, The Worm. As it moves toward the light for the first time in a thousand years, the Worm consumes all it touches. The most desperate acts are required to stop it and Seda is unsure if the extreme can survive them. Will she destroy the Empire in order to save it?

The Silkworm is the second contemporary crime novel by J K Rowling to be released under the not-very-secret pen name Robert Galbraith. Unlike the fairly ordinary entry of the first book onto shelves, this one has a simultaneous worldwide launch set for June 19^th, so unless a bunch of you are really persuasive about a midnight launch then 10 am on the 19^th is when you can have one.

The Thousand Names by Django Wexler. The two most strongly held opinions about this book seem to be that a) It’s awesome, and that b) It’s not really fantasy at all, but rather a work of very detailed military fiction that just happens to be set in a fantasy world. Book two, The Shadow Throne will be available in hardback in late July.

Righteous Fury is the new book by Markus Heitz. Fans of his Dwarves series will be pleased to know that this book is set in the same world, but this time focussed on the evil Alfar. We were expecting this to come in in the middle of June, but for some reason they came in early so we have them for sale now!

The Rhesus Chart by Charles Stross is the fifth in the Laundry Files series. This popular urban fantasy could be described as a British x-files with a bit more humour and a lot more bureaucracy. The June release is UK hard cover, so stocks may be limited, pre-orders available.

Dark Blood by A J Smith is the second in the Long War series. The first book The Black Guard was described by one reviewer as “like Martin crossed with Lovecraft”. If you like your fantasy with all the nasty bits left in, then this is for you.

Four, by Veronica Roth is a collection of four separate stories set in the world of her best-selling Divergent series, all told from the perspective of Tobias Eaton. Fans of the series will enjoy the retelling of the knife throwing scene from Divergent, this time from Tobias’ perspective.

William Shakespeare’s The Jedi Doth Return by Ian Doescher. As with the two earlier volumes Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope and The Empire Striketh Back this book presents George Lucas’ famous story as an Elizabethan play. Full of in-jokes and references for both Star Wars and Shakespeare fans, this book is surprisingly well written.

Half a King by Joe Abercrombie is the first of a new trilogy, this time for a young-adult audience. Fans of his adult fiction will still find plenty to love about this action adventure fantasy. One of the advantages of a young adult focus is that the release schedule for the sequels is much faster with book two Half a World due in January 2015 and book three Half a War in July. A friend of mine, editor and anthologist Jonathan Strahan described Half a King as being like ‘Robert E Howard’s Belgariad’. Sounds pretty cool to me.

The Long Mars by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter is the final in this science fiction collaboration. An interesting mix of styles, the series has consistently offered readers an experience that draws on the unique voice of each writer, but is different to both. Interdimensional travel and multiverse theory will never be the same.

Kindred by Octavia Butler was originally released in 1981 to immediate critical acclaim. An exploration of race, gender and belonging that is as pertinent now as it was then. Dana, a modern African American woman is spontaneously drawn back through time to the pre war south at a crucial moments in the lives her ancestors. Each time her actions will determine whether she will ever exist and draw her in to a deeper understanding of the events that shaped her forbears.

Assail by Ian C Esslemont. Is the sixth in his ‘alazan Empire series.  Esslemont shares the setting for his books with Steven Erikson, who also has a new book ‘Fall of Light’ due early in 2015.

Vurt by Jeff Noon was first published in 1993 and is, in my opinion, one of the forgotten classics of the cyberpunk wave of the late 80’s and early 90’s.  Post modernism and psychadelia collide in an Orwellian cityscape as a rag-tag band of explorer-junkies search for the ultimate experience, the ultimate high, and the ultimate truth…