Welcome to the first edition of New Small Press Fantasy Books!
Shamelessly inspired by my friend, Rob J. Hayes, (who posts monthly about upcoming self-published fantasy releases), this post will highlight soon-to-be published fantasy books from various small press publishers.
Small presses rarely get the same publicity enjoyed by bigger publishing companies. I hope this post will help give more attention to their authors. Plus, it will help you discover some stories that you might otherwise miss. Who knows? Your new favourite author might be lurking somewhere in this post.
I plan to post about upcoming small press releases every month. So if you’re a small press, or an author who’s about to be published through a small press, please submit your book by filling out this online form. (You can also use that form if you’re a reader who wants me to add a book that’s missing from this list).
If you would like to be notified via email when I publish future ‘new small-press fantasy book’ posts, please click here.
The Second Bell by Gabriela Houston
(March 9th – Angry Robot Books)
In a world which believes her to be a monster, a young striga fights to harness the power of her second heart, while her mother sacrifices everything to stop her…
In an isolated mountain community, sometimes a child is born with two hearts. This child is called a striga and is considered a demon who must be abandoned on the edge of the forest. The child’s mother must then decide to leave with her infant, or stay and try to forget.
Nineteen year-old striga, Salka, and her mother, Miriat, made the choice to leave and live a life of deprivation and squalor in an isolated village. The striga tribe share the human belief that to follow the impulses of their other hearts is dangerous, inviting unspoken horrors and bringing ruin onto them all.
Salka, a headstrong and independent young woman, finds herself in a life threatening situation that forces her to explore the depths of her true nature and test the bonds between mother and child…
All the Murmuring Bones by A. G. Slatter
(March 9th – Titan Books)
‘My mother was a witch and she left me behind…’
Miren O’Malley was orphaned as a young child and brought up by her grandparents on their isolated, rambling estate, Hob’s Hallow. Long ago her family prospered due to a deal struck with the mer: safety for their merchant ships in return for a child of each generation. But for many years the family have been unable to keep their side of the bargain and their fortunes have suffered as a result. When Miren’s grandfather dies, her grandmother plans to restore their glory – but at the price of Miren’s freedom. Finding evidence that her parents may still be alive, Miren embarks on a treacherous journey to Blackwater, the estate her parents built when they fled Hob’s Hallow. But on arrival Miren finds the estate in decline and her ‘Uncle Edward’ in charge: where are her parents, and who is this Edward Elliott really?
All the Murmuring Bones is an irresistible tale of family secrets, dark mysteries, magic and witches, and creatures of myth and the sea. A spellbinding story about strong women and the men who seek to control them.
The Black Coast (The God-King Chronicles # 1) by Mike Brooks
(March 16th – Solaris)
War Dragons. Fearsome Raiders. A Daemonic Warlord on the Rise.
When the citizens of Black Keep see ships on the horizon, terror takes them because they know who is coming: for generations, the keep has been raided by the fearsome clanspeople of Tjakorsha. Saddling their war dragons, Black Keep’s warriors rush to defend their home only to discover that the clanspeople have not come to pillage at all. Driven from their own land by a daemonic despot who prophesises the end of the world, the raiders come in search of a new home . . .
Meanwhile the wider continent of Narida is lurching toward war. Black Keep is about to be caught in the crossfire – if only its new mismatched society can survive.
Birds of Paradise by Oliver K. Langmead
(March 30th – Titan Books)
American Gods meets The Chronicles of Narnia in this adult fantasy about the Biblical Adam recovering the lost pieces of the Garden of Eden.
Many millennia after the fall of Eden, Adam, the first man in creation, still walks the Earth – exhausted by the endless death and destruction, he is a shadow of his former hope and glory. And he is not the only one. The Garden was deconstructed, its pieces scattered across the world and its inhabitants condemned to live out immortal lives, hiding in plain sight from generations of mankind.
But now pieces of the Garden are turning up on the Earth. After centuries of loneliness, Adam, haunted by the golden time at the beginning of Creation, is determined to save the pieces of his long lost home. With the help of Eden’s undying exiles, he must stop Eden becoming the plaything of mankind.
Adam journeys across America and the British Isles with Magpie, Owl, and other animals, gathering the scattered pieces of Paradise. As the country floods once more, Adam must risk it all to rescue his friends and his home – because rebuilding the Garden might be the key to rebuilding his life.
Robot Artists and Black Swans : The Italian Fantascienza Stories by Bruce Sterling
(March 30th – Tachyon)
The Godfather of Cyberpunk has emerged in this new collection of Italian-themed fantasy and science-fiction stories. Bruce Sterling now introduces us to his alter ego: Bruno Argento, the preeminent author of fantascienza. Sterling, writing as Argento, skillfully combines cutting-edge technology with art, mythology, and history.
