Here’s the full list of fantasy titles heading your way in December!
Keep track of all the new SFF releases here. All title summaries are taken and/or summarized from copy provided by the publisher. Release dates are subject to change.
December 2
Tarou: The Fall — Dana Fredsti and David Fitzgerald (Blackstone Publishing)
Swords, Wands, Cups, and Coins. Emperor and Empress, High Priestess and Hierophant. Light and Dark. Life and Death. The evocative symbolism and arcana bound up within the cards of the tarot have fascinated seekers for centuries. Now Tarou: The Fall imagines the reality that inspired the mystical—the real fantasy world of which all our rich tarot imagery is but a shadow. The magnificent empire of Tarou is a panoply of dreams and wonder, the envy of the world. Its ships rule the seas and air, its magics and science bring forth new learning, and its tutelary gods smile upon all the many peoples and cultures of its shining lands. But even now, at the peak of its glory, the highest religious leaders of Tarou secretly dream of even greater power—enough to wrest the empire from its rightful rulers. Alia is a warrior without equal, but even a captain as great as she must bow to the demands of duty. With her arranged marriage only weeks away, she, her betrothed, and their escort undertake the journey to the empire’s capital—but unexpected hazards lie in wait. Magpie is a petty thief and con artist, hoping to score big during the Imperial Festival—though his timing could not be worse. However, none of them are prepared when a forbidden magical experiment goes wrong, unleashing an apocalypse that engulfs the city. Before their paths converge, they all must face a cataclysm unlike any the world has ever seen…
The Happiness Collector — Crystal King (MIRA)
After losing her book deal and her academic position, historian Aida Reale needs a new career, and fast. After all, she and her fiancé, Graham, have a wedding to pay for. So when a friend recommends her for an extremely high-paying position at a company called MODA, it feels like the perfect stroke of luck. And with a move to Italy and a breathtaking palazzo included, how could she say no? Aside from a snooty assistant, a daunting NDA and some very stringent rules about the use of personal technology, working for MODA is a dream come true—at least at first. But the more research Aida conducts for this elusive company, the more things feel off. Not only does her relationship with Graham suffer, but it seems like every site she visits either vanishes or is struck by tragedy soon after she’s been there. It’s only after a mysterious woman approaches Aida and Luciano, her devastatingly handsome and equally concerned MODA colleague, that they learn the truth—they are just mortal pawns in a game between gods. Now Aida must find answers to the question she’s been avoiding: What’s really happening to all the happiness she’s been collecting… and can she stop the gods’ plans before it’s too late?
The Mills of the Gods — Tim Powers (Baen Books)
Paris, 1925. HARRY NOLAN is an expatriate American, making a meager living as an illustrator for a low-paying magazine, but his life is upended when he is assigned to illustrate an anonymous article about the death of a god—because a centuries-old French brotherhood, the Sauteurs, are determined to suppress the story the article tells. The Sauteurs have burned the magazine’s office and killed the editor, and Nolan has the only surviving copy of the article. The author turns out to be a local writer named ERNEST HEMINGWAY, who—at first—tries to distance himself from the article and its lethal consequences. VIVI CHASTAIN is a rootless 19-year-old orphan who sustains herself by betting on horse races—aided by the spirit of the man she was in a previous life. But now that old identity is crowding her consciousness, threatening to push her own precarious identity into oblivion. It was her alcoholic occasional “stepfather” who told Hemingway the story about killing a god, and the Sauteurs are now aware of the story—and of her. The SAUTEURS maintain their identities past death through controlled reincarnation—when members die and are reborn, the brotherhood finds their newborn incarnations, kidnaps them, and raises them in special nurseries, where they can fully resume their previous lives. Vivi escaped from one of these nurseries when she was six years old, and so her previous identity has not yet consummated his possession of her. The Sauteurs want that consummation to happen—soon. GERTRUDE STEIN is the hub of literary and artistic Paris, and knows many of the city’s supernatural secrets. She has written a book that appears to be nonsense but which can be used to deflect the kind of psychic assault that threatens Vivi, and she becomes a Merlin-like mentor to Vivi and Nolan—who find themselves reluctantly thrown together as hunted fugitives. Their struggles to evade the murderous Sauteurs and free Vivi from her increasingly intrusive previous self lead the pair to a mysterious hermit who lives in the towers of Notre Dame cathedral, and the haunted catacombs under Paris, and a confrontation with the Roman goddess Cybele in an other-worldly temple on an island in the Seine. In pursuit of a secret painting by PABLO PICASSO, they learn that the god whose death the Hemingway manuscript describes is Moloch, the child-devouring Phoenician god mentioned in the Bible—and that the Sauteurs make sacrifices to Moloch to maintain their reincarnations. From the narrow streets and rooftops of post-war Paris to, finally, a supernatural battle between gods in a remote village in Spain, Nolan and Vivi contend with forces natural and supernatural, enemies living and dead, and ultimately find themselves pitted against the god Moloch himself—at peril of their eternal souls.
Dawn of the Firebird — Sarah Mughal Rana (Hanover Square Press)
Khamilla Zahr-zad’s life has been built on a foundation of violence and vengeance. Every home she’s known has been destroyed by war. As the daughter of an emperor’s clan, she spent her childhood training to maintain his throne. But when her clansmen are assassinated by another rival empire, plans change. With her heavenly magic of nur, Khamilla is a weapon even enemies would wield—especially those in the magical, scholarly city of Za’skar. Hiding her identity, Khamilla joins the enemy’s army school full of jinn, magic and martial arts, risking it all to topple her adversaries, avenge her clan and reclaim their throne. To survive, she studies under cutthroat mystic monks and battles in a series of contests to outmaneuver her fellow soldiers. She must win at all costs, even if it means embracing the darkness lurking inside her. But the more she excels, the more she is faced with history that contradicts her father’s teachings. With a war brewing among the kingdoms and a new twisted magic overtaking the land, Khamilla is torn between two impossible choices: vengeance or salvation.
December 8
All Things Hidden — Sherrilyn Kenyon (Blackstone Publishing)
When Maria Bertram is summoned to Czechoslovakia for a secret mission against the Allies, she has absolutely no idea what the Germans have planned. Her goal is to avenge her family that was brutally murdered by a Nazi SS officer who used them as an example to scare the rest of her town into submission. The last thing she expects is to meet a mysterious man who is as equally determined to stop the Wehrmacht as she is. Dušek Fara is much, much more than he appears. He knows the truth behind the Höllenlandschaft the Nazis are trying to build and he has one task: stop the Nazis before they unleash an evil that won’t just end the war, but the world. His is a sacred task and he will do whatever it takes—including kill Maria. But war is never simple, and the war Dušek is fighting has been going on for thousands of years. Never has the world been closer to annihilation. He has one chance to finish what he started, or all his sacrifices have been for nothing. The one thing he knows for certain is that Maria—with the cursed powers she never asked for—is the key. She will either end the war or end the world.
December 9
The Cyprian (Elemental Masters #18) — Mercedes Lackey (DAW)
Elena Whitstone and her seven brothers, abandoned by her mother, find themselves with a new stepmother. At first she seems more neglectful than evil, until just after Christmas she proves herself to be worse than evil; she is an actual magician, a Master of Water, who attempts to muder Elena’s seven brothers when they are skating. When they survive that attempt by transforming into swans, she drives them away. But the shock of having all of his heirs perish in a frozen pond is too much for Elena’s father. He dies, and his widow is abruptly confronted with the inconvenient truth that the estate is entailed, and she not only must leave, she is lawfully in charge of Elena. Furious, and possessing “only” what was gifted to her during her marriage, the stepmother retreats to Bath, to take up residence in the luxurious townhouse that was bought for her, and resume her former profession as a “Cyprian,” a very exclusive courtesan, with Elena reluctantly posing as a page-boy and her servant. Nothing lasts forever, of course, and three years later, Elena is rapidly maturing too much to continue that ruse—and the stepmother is facing the ravages of time. The stepmother concocts a plan to establish an exclusive brothel and regain her wealth by selling Elena to the highest bidder. Alone, Elena must not only find a way to save herself, but to reverse the spell that has transformed her brothers.
The Time Hop Coffee Shop — Phaedra Patrick (Park Row)
Welcome to the Time Hop Coffee Shop, where wishes can come true… Greta Perks was once the shining star of the iconic Maple Gold coffee commercials, the quintessential TV wife and mom. Now fame has faded, her marriage is on the rocks, her teenage daughter has become distant and Greta’s once-glittering career feels like a distant memory. When Greta stumbles upon a mysterious coffee shop serving a magical brew, she wishes for the perfect life in those past Maple Gold commercials. Next thing she knows, Greta wakes in the idyllic make-believe town of Mapleville, where the sun always shines and the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and second chances fill the air. Given the opportunity to live the life she dreamed, Greta is determined to rewrite her own script. But can life ever be like a coffee commercial? And what will happen when Greta has to choose between perfection and real life, with no turning back?
December 16
The Once and Future Queen (Lives of Guinevere #1) — Paula Lafferty (Erewhon Books)
22-year-old Vera is at a crossroads: waiting tables, grieving her previous relationship, and jogging aimlessly each morning as if toward an uncertain future. Then an odd man shows up at her workplace, insisting that she was once the legendary Queen Guinevere of Camelot, and that her lost memories hold the key to changing both the past and the present. Somehow, it all feels like the direction she’s been looking for. But when she asks the mysterious man to tell her more about Lancelot, Arthur, and a faithless queen, he can only say that much of what she’s heard about Camelot is wrong. The truth, he claims, is something she must see for herself. After jumping through a portal in Glastonbury’s historic center, Vera is not prepared for what she finds. Magic is everywhere, but a curse on the kingdom means it dwindles every day. She has no idea how to perform a queen’s duties. Her fast friendship with Lancelot sets gossip flowing, and the stranger she must call “husband” often refuses to meet her eye. Arthur is a puzzle: cold, forbidding, and, while angry to her face, keeps leaving secret tokens of tenderness in her chambers. Worst of all, Vera’s memories—and the answers locked within them—show no signs of returning. If Vera is truly destined to save Camelot, she’ll have to trust her instincts. And her king will have to trust her…
December 30
An Arcane Inheritance — Kamilah Cole (Poisoned Pen Press)
Warren University has stood amongst the ivy elite for centuries, built on the bones—and forbidden magic—of its most prized BIPOC students… hiding the rot of a secret society that will do anything to keep their own powers burning bright. No matter who they must sacrifice along the way. Ellory Morgan is determined to prove that she belongs at Warren University, an ivy league school whose history is deeply linked to occult rumors and dark secrets. But as she settles into her Freshman year, something about the ornate buildings and shadowy paths feels strangely… familiar. And, with every passing day, that sense of déjà vu grows increasingly sinister. Despite all logic, despite all reason, despite all the rules of reality, Ellory knows one thing to be true: she has been here before. And if she can’t convince brooding legacy student Hudson Graves to help her remember a past that seems determined to slip through her fingers as if by some insidious magic… this time, she may lose herself for good.
