12 Fantasy/SciFi Books I'm Looking Forward to in 2017

Since I forgot to write a Best Of list for 2016, I decided to put together a list of all the books I'm super excited about this year. Most of them are sequels to books I've read previously (I'm sure I will find some lovely new authors and books to sweep me off my feet at some point), but these are the books currently at the shut-up-and-take-my-money level of excitement.

Without further ado, here they are.

With Blood Upon the Sand by Bradley Beaulieu (Feb. 7)

Cutting it fine with this post, because TUESDAY PEOPLE. I read Twelve Kings in Sharakhai in December and absolutely adored both the setting and the main character. I haven't yet had time to post a review (I'm so far behind, it's not funny), but suffice to say that Beaulieu has successfully created a uniquely non-European fantasy world and combined it with deathless kings and tribal warfare. Already planning my trip to the bookstore on Tuesday to get my copy!

A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab (Feb. 21)

I picked up A Darker Shade of Magic on a whim shortly after it came out and got swept in the story of Kell and Lila. Its sequel, A Gathering of Shadows, made me fall in love with Rhy and the magic system she's created. So if you forced me to name the one book I'm the most excited about...it's probably this one. I'm currently re-reading so everything will be fresh in my mind in two weeks.

The Wrong Dead Guy by Richard Kadrey (Feb. 28)

Kadrey writes with such wonderful humor (reminiscent of Christopher Moore). I had no idea a sequel was in the works for The Everything Box and was pleasantly surprised to discover this one in a list of books coming out this year. Quite honestly, I think I'm more excited for this one than its predecessor because I LOVE Egypt and everything related to ancient Egypt and the blurb promises mummies with magic. Sold.

Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel (April 4)

Neuvel's Sleeping Giants was one of my favorite books of 2017. Grimly gut-wrenching and written entirely in the "found footage" style, it absolutely blew me away - and left me with a ton of questions about the alien civilization. I can't wait to get my hands on this one and find out some of the answers (hopefully).

Skullsworn by Brian Staveley (April 25)

I wasn't super sold on Staveley's first book in this world, but by the time I reached The Last Mortal Bond, I was 100% hooked - it's now one of my favorite series from recent years. Imagine my excitement, then, when Staveley announced a standalone about one of my favorite characters: Pyrre, the Skullsworn assassin-priestess of the god of death. There wasn't enough of her in the series, in my opinion, so I'm looking forward to seeing her take the spotlight for an entire book.

City of Miracles by Robert Jackson Bennett (May 2)

I'm just downright gleeful about this one. I never expected a sequel to City of Stairs, even though it blew me away unexpectedly, and then City of Blades came in and set the bar even higher. Bennett's world, with its remnants of dead gods and checkered past that won't seem to die, feels so rich and real, and I always want to take another trip. And SIGRUD IS FINALLY THE LEAD YESSSSSSSSSS. He can stop stealing scenes and just be amazing on his own.

The Unholy Consult by R. Scott Bakker (July 4)

Bakker won my allegiance long ago, because nobody does worldbuilding like he does. I truly think he has reached the level of Tolkien, and his story certain has the same epic scope. Last year's The Great Ordeal wasn't his best (though still very good), so I have high hopes for The Unholy Consult. This is the conclusion to the Aspect-Emperor series, so I'm expecting the Ordeal's arrival in Golgotterath and general epicness.

Terminal Alliance by Jim Hines (Aug 1)

Here it is - the only non-sequel on the list! (Well, maybe not if you count Skullsworn, but...still). I love humor in my fantasy and scifi, and this certainly fits the bill. The blurb made me laugh out loud, and the series is called 'Janitors of the Apocalpyse' - I mean, come on. That's comedy gold.

The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin (Aug 15)

OK, so if I had to pick one AFTER A Conjuring of Light that I'm most excited for, it's definitely The Stone Sky. The first two books in Jemisin's The Broken Earth series blew me away with their power and prose. The world of the Stillness feels incredibly real and close, and I'm on the edge of my seat wondering what will happen to Essun and whether the moon will get caught or be pulled into the planet...ugh. I need August to be here already.

Iron Gold by Pierce Brown (Aug 22)

Here it comes - the promised sequel series to Brown's blockbuster Red Rising trilogy. I read through all three of them last year and found myself left breathless by Brown's unparalleled ability to write a good action setpiece. Though his world has its cliches (I mean, the Society? Really?), I'm more than willing to forgive them and can't wait to see what's happened since Darrow, Mustang and company overthrew the government on Luna. 

Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff (Sept 5)

Kristoff created a beautifully-realized world in Nevernight, complete with a very well-thought-out religion, and capped that off with a phenomenal main character. Mia's training as an assassin was quite the trip to read, and I'm looking forward to seeing what she does next on her quest for vengeance.

Communication Failure by Joe Zieja (Sept 19)

Last on my list, but certainly NOT least is Communication Failure. Zieja's first book in the series was a hysterical scifi romp featuring self-censoring robots, a murderous barber droid, cats in zero g and so much more. Needless to say, my expectation for hilarity are high - yet I don't doubt Zieja will deliver.

Let's do it, 2017.