pEditor’s summary: the hunt is over. After fifteen years of lies and sacrifice, Baru Cormorant has the power to destroy the Imperial Republic of Falcrest that he claims to serve. the secret society called cancrioth is real, and baru is among them.
But the cancrioth’s weapon cannot tell the guilty from the innocent. if he escapes quarantine, the ancient hemorrhagic plague called kettling will kill hundreds of millions… not just in falcrest, but all over the world. the story will end in a stain of black blood.
You are reading: Best fantasy books of 2020
Is that justice? Is this really what tain hu expected when she sacrificed herself?
Baru’s enemies are approaching from all sides. Baru’s own mind teeters on the brink of madness or a devastating revelation. now he must choose between genocidal revenge and a much more difficult path: a conspiracy of judges, kings, spies and immortals, puppet masters of the world’s riches and two great wars in a bid for the ultimate prize.
if baru had absolute power over the imperial republic, he could force falcrest to abandon his colonies and correct his crimes.
buy seth dickinson’s baru tyrant cormorant on amazon.
Beowulf: A New Translation by Maria Dahvana Headley
type: epic poem publisher: mcd x fsg originalspublication date: aug. 25
den of geek says: headley got an intimate look at beowulf in the modern interpretation of the mere wife. he turns the intellect behind that inventive and biting novel about complex and angry women into a translation of the poem that presents new research.
Editor’s summary: Nearly twenty years after the translation of Seamus Heaney’s beowulf, and fifty years after the translation that continues to haunt high school students in Around the world, there is a radical new verse translation of Maria Dahvana Headley’s epic poem, bringing to light elements never before translated into English, recontextualizing the binary narrative of monsters and heroes in a tale in which the two categories often intertwine, justice is seldom served, and dragons live among us.
A man seeks to prove his worth as a hero. a monster seeks silence in his territory. a warrior seeks to avenge her murdered son. a dragon destroys everything. the familiar elements of the epic poem are seen with a novelist’s eye towards genre, genre and history: beowulf has always been a story of entitlement and invasion, powerful men seeking to become more powerful and a woman seeking justice for her son, but this version brings a new context to an old story. While crafting his contemporary adaptation of Beowulf, Headley discovered significant changes lost over centuries of translation.
buy beowulf: a new translation by maria dahvana headley on amazon.
The Wizard Knight by Gene Wolfe
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type: novel (reprint) publisher: tor bookspublication date: aug. 11
den of geek says: gene wolfe is a modern master of fantasy. this reprint of a 2004 duology provides both original stories in one paperback package.
Editor’s summary: A young teenager is transported from our world to a magical realm consisting of seven levels of reality. Magically transformed into a grown man of heroic proportions, he takes on the name of Lord of the Great Heart and sets out on a quest to find the sword that has been promised to him, the blade that will help him fulfill his ambition to become a true hero. , A true gentleman.
However, inside, Mr. Capable is still a child, and must grow in every way to survive what lies ahead…
buy gene wolfe’s wizard knight on amazon.
The best new fantasy books of July 2020
the book of dragons: an anthology by jonathan strahan
type: anthology publisher: harper voyager release date: july 7th
den of geek says: I’m always looking for a good book about dragons, and this incredible list of authors promises adventurous and unique stories. Anne Leckie, Zen Cho, Sean Maguire, J.Y. yang, patricia a mckillip, brooke bolander… it’s an amazing literary-flavoured list of people qualified to write cool creatures.
Editor’s summary: There are dragons here. . .
From China to Europe, from Africa to North America, dragons have long captured our imaginations in myth and legend. Whether they are wild beasts waiting for a brave hero to slay or benevolent sages who have much to teach mankind, dragons are inextricably connected to stories of creation, adventure, and struggle loved by generations.
Bringing together nearly thirty stories and poems from some of the best science fiction and fantasy writers working today: Garth Nix, Scott Lynch, R.F. Kuang, Ann Leckie & Rachel Swirsky, Daniel Abraham, Peter S. beagle, beth cato, zen cho, c. yes e cooney, aliette de bodard, amal el-mohtar, kate elliott, theodora goss, ellen klages, ken liu, seanan maguire, patricia a mckillip, k. J. Parker, Kelly Robson, Michael Swanwick, Jo Walton, Elle Katharine White, Jane Yolen, Kelly Barnhill, Brooke Bolander, Sarah Gailey and J. Y. Yang, and illustrated by award-nominated artist Rovina Cai with entry-specific black and white line drawings, this extraordinary collection vividly breathes fire and life into one of our most captivating and feared magical creatures like never before and surely will. become a treasured keepsake for fans of fantasy, science fiction, and fairy tales.
buy jonathan strahan’s book of dragons on amazon.
or whatever you want by joe walton
type: novel publisher: or bookspublication date: July 7th
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den of geek says: jo walton is a writer’s writer, highly praised but still largely under the radar. i found 2014’s my real children doesn’t live up to the high regard of her, but she’s one of those technically savvy authors who’s at least worth a look for the context of women’s science fiction the metafictional plot sounds fun.
Editor’s summary: It’s been too much to tell. It was a dragon with a child on its back. he has been a scholar, a warrior, a lover, and a thief. he has been a dream and a dreamer. he has been a god.
but “he” is just a spark of an idea, a character in the mind of 73-year-old sylvia harrison, award-winning author of thirty novels over forty years. She has played a role in most of those novels, and in the recesses of her mind, Sylvia has conversed with him for years.
but sylvia won’t live forever, just like any human being. and he’s trapped inside her bone cave, her skull hollow. when she dies, so does he.
Now, Sylvia is starting a new novel, a fantasy for adult readers, set in Thalia, the imaginary Florence-like city that was the setting for a successful trilogy she published decades earlier. of course you have a part in it. but it also has a notion. he thinks he knows how he and sylvia can get off the wheel of mortality altogether. all he has to do is convince her.
buy or whatever you want from jo walton on amazon.
The Adventure Zone: Petals to the Metal
type: graphic novel publisher: first second release date: July 14
den of geek says: adventure zone is a very popular humorous fantasy podcast. is part of the 2010 big wave of dungeons & dragons returning to geek space. Especially for someone who doesn’t want to listen to hundreds of episodes of a podcast, the illustrated version does a good job of turning the story into a graphic novel format without removing the ridiculous chaos of the original podcast.
Editor’s summary: Start your engines, folks, clint mcelroy and sons griffin, justin and travis are back on the road with taako, magnus and merle, the beloved agents of chaos from the new #1 las york times bestselling graphic novels illustrated by carey pietsch, the adventure zone: here be gerblins and the adventure zone: murder at rockport limited.
Our boys worked full-time at the Balance Office and their next task is a thorny one indeed: stop the Raven, a master thief who has harnessed the power of a great relic to plunder the city of Goldcliff. Local lifeguard Lieutenant Hurley leads them out of the woods, only to throw them headlong into the world of tank racing, Goldcliff’s favorite high-stakes, low-legal sport and the Raven’s chosen battlefield. Will the boys and Hurley be able to retrieve the relic and pull the raven back from the edge of the abyss, or will they get lost in the brush?
Based on the beloved hit podcast in which three brothers and their father play a real-time tabletop RPG, Adventure Zone: Petals to Metal has it all: blossoming new friendships, longing for outlaw lovers, and a fun run you can cheer on!
shop adventure zone: petals to metal on amazon.
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