It’s that time again, where I list all the things I wish I could be more certain I would have time and energy to read over the coming months. July, August and September are full of exciting new releases, a little light on sci-fi and heavier on fantasy than my recent tastes have been, but exciting nonetheless. Here’s what’s on my radar for the rest of the summer.

Tor.com Publishing

As always, I plan to read most of what Tor.com will be publishing. I always enjoy their novellas, though I will be skipping a couple of novels that are sequels in series I haven’t read yet (unless I somehow manage to read the rest of their respective series). Probably the titles I’m most looking forward to from Tor.com right now are that pair of JY Yang novellas at the end of September, but I’m also really hoping to finally get around to reading Infomocracy so I can read Null States when it comes out. I am bummed that there’s not another Sin du Jour book until November, though.

• The Ghost Line by Andrew Neil Gray and J.S. Herbison – 7/11
  The concept on this one is a little ho hum, but I’m always down for another short space opera.
• The Delirium Brief by Charles Stross – 7/11
  I won’t be reading this one because it’s about eight books deep into a series I haven’t read and am not interested in reading back that many books to get into.
• The Five Daughters of the Moon by Leena Likitalo – 7/25
• The Lamb Will Slaughter the Lion by Margaret Killjoy – 8/15
  “…pits utopian anarchists against rogue demon deer” is relevant to all of my interests.
• Starfire: A Red Peace by Spencer Ellsworth – 8/22
• A Song for Quiet by Cassandra Khaw – 8/29
• The Ruin of Angels by Max Gladstone – 9/5 
  I keep trying, anytime I have downtime, to get into the Craft Sequence, but I’ve been unsuccessful so far. I’m not sure if I want to just skip this one or give up on reading the earlier ones and just start here since my understanding is that The Ruin of Angels stands alone just fine.
• Acadie by Dave Hutchinson – 9/5
• Taste of Marrow by Sarah Gailey – 9/12
  We seem to be living in an age of sequels surpassing their predecessors, so I have high hopes for this title.
• The Twilight Pariah by Jeffrey Ford – 9/12
• Null States by Malka Older – 9/19
  I will finish Infomocracy in time to read this before release.
• The Red Threads of Fortune by JY Yang – 9/26
• The Black Tides of Heaven by JY Yang – 9/26

Magazines

• FIYAH Literary Magazine, Issue 3, SUNDOWN TOWNS – 7/1
  Every issue of FIYAH is more beautiful than the one before. Just look at this gorgeous cover. I’m not familiar with any of the names on the table of contents for this one, but that only makes it more exciting.
• Uncanny Magazine #17, July/August 2017
  I’ve already got my hands on Uncanny #17 because I’m a Kickstarter backer, and even though I haven’t dug into it yet, I can already tell it’s going to be a-MAZING. You can see the cover and table of contents at the Uncanny blog.
• Uncanny Magazine #18, September/October 2017
• POC Take Over Fantastic Stories
  This is, as far as I know, the final issue ever of Fantastic Stories of the Imagination, guest edited by Nisi Shawl and overflowing with stuff I am looking forward to reading.

Anthologies

2017 has been a year of trying to read more short fiction, and with that in mind I backed several anthologies on Kickstarter in the last year or so that should be coming out in the next couple of months.

• Evil is a Matter of Perspective: An Anthology of Antagonists edited by Adrian Collins – Currently available.
  I backed this on Kickstarter because it sounded fun. The final product is a little white-dude-heavy, but I’m thinking it will work well for some light-ish reading at some point
• Hath No Fury edited by Melanie R. Meadors and J.M. Martin – August?
  There’s not a firm release date for this Kickstarted anthology but I’m thinking mid-to-late summer.
• Strange California edited by Jaym Gates and J. Daniel Blatt – August?
  Another kickstarted anthology with an interesting theme. I’m not from California, but my partner lived in the Bay Area for years and he was pretty interested in this book for that reason. I was excited because I’ve enjoyed stuff Jaym Gates has edited before and Strange California has a promising table of contents.
• 2084: A Science Fiction Anthology from Unsung Stories – July?
  Another Kickstarted title with a great table of contents, although reading about dystopias gets less appealing all the time these days.
• Sunvault: Stories of Solarpunk and Eco-Speculation edited by Phoebe Wagner and Brontë Christopher Wieland – 8/29
  I cannot wait to find out what solarpunk and eco-speculation are all about. And look at that gorgeous cover art by Likhain!

Comics and Graphic Novels

• Victor LaValle’s Destroyer
  I’ll be buying and reading issues more or less as they are released.
• Monstress, Volume 2: The Blood by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda – 7/11
  Hands down the trade I’m most excited for this year.
• Angel Catbird, Volume 3: The Catbird Roars by Margaret Atwood, Johnny Christmas and Tamra Bonvillain – 7/4
  I believe this will wrap up the series.

Books

• An Oath of Dogs by Wendy Wagner – 7/4
• At the Table of Wolves by Kay Kenyon – 7/11
• Bearly a Lady by Cassandra Khaw – 7/18
  I will likely be reading all the novellas and short fiction the Book Smugglers publish this year.
• The Library of Fates by Aditi Khorana – 7/18
  I’m not reading much YA these days, but this one sounds good.
• Sovereign by April Daniels – 7/25
  I really enjoyed Dreadnought earlier this year, but I may have to be in the right mood for this one. I’ve gone off super heroes a bit lately.
• Strange Practice by Vivian Shaw – 7/25
• Noumenon by Marina J. Lostetter – 8/1
• The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin – 8/15
  The final book in Jemisin’s Broken Earth trilogy. Much anticipated.
• The Glass Town Game by Catherynne M. Valente – 9/5
  This is a middle grade novel, which chills my interest in it a tiny bit, but I think I will always read literally everything Catherynne Valente publishes.
• Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust – 9/5
  I’m always down for retold fairy tales, and this one is getting some excellent early reviews from people I trust.
• An Excess Male by Maggie Shen King – 9/12
• Shadowhouse Fall by Daniel José Older 9/12
• Autonomous by Annalee Newitz – 9/19
• Jane, Unlimited by Kristin Cashore – 9/19
  I’ve loved Kristin Cashore since I first read Graceling years ago, and it’s been far too long since I’ve gotten to read anything new by her. I’m still holding out hope for more Graceling Realm books, but this will definitely do in the meantime.
• Provenance by Ann Leckie – 9/26
  New Ann Leckie. In the same universe as her Imperial Radch trilogy. I am stoked.
• An Unkindness of Magicians by Kat Howard – 9/26
  This might be my favorite book cover of the season.
• An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson – 9/26