There’s nothing in the world like San Diego Comic-Con. I mean, sure, you’re shoved into a building with eighty billion of your closest friends in southern California in the middle of July encased in foam and leather, but it’s eighty billion of your people who are just as excited as you are to partake in geeky goodness of every possible flavor.

Watching panels from my couch didn’t quite capture the magic.

ComicCon@Home was, however, a pretty amazing event, and it solved the eternal con dilemma: Halp, there are six panels I want to go to in this one hour time slot! How do I choose?

The prose publishing presence at SDCC has grown every year from the days when it was just gaming manuals to video game and geek property tie-ins to the past few years when all of the major, and many of the smaller, publishers have used the show as an opportunity to make book announcements, show off upcoming titles, and promote new releases for all age ranges and genres.

Let me tell you, there’s a lot of excellent stuff newly arrived or coming soon.

These are the titles that made me ball my fists, stamp my feet, and yell, “But I want it now!”

Tor

Unconquerable Sun by Kate Elliott: If you describe a book to me as “a gender spun Alexander the Great plus American Idol in space,” I’m going to want to read it. Politics, murder ambassadors, secret lovers, dangerous prisoners… hello and welcome to my wheelhouse. Gimme.

Trouble the Saints by Alaya Dawn Johnson: A juju assassin makes the mistake of falling in love in gritty, dangerous New York and tries to change her fate. Fate isn’t real happy about it. And it has no intention of letting her forget.

Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir: More lesbian necromancers in space? Yes, please. If you didn’t read Gideon the Ninth, what the hell is wrong with you? Go. Read it. Now. Why are you still here?

At great cost, Harrow is where she wanted to be: serving the emperor. But the puzzle box has only gotten more difficult, the murder more foul, the magic more dangerous, and the mayhem more chaotic. In finding the prize, Harrow is losing herself and left with more questions than answers. (8/4)

Each of Us a Desert by Mark Oshiro: Xochitl is cursed to wander the desert alone telling her cursed-village stories to the wind and sand. Her only company are the dunes and the mysterious lines of poetry that seem to follower her. Her only desire is love. (9/15)

Winter’s Orbit by Everina Maxwell: Described as Ancillary Justice (one of my favorite books of… well, ever) and Red, White, and Royal Blue, Winter’s Orbit follows Prince Kiem, the emperor’s least favorite grandchild, as he’s sent to cement an alliance by marrying Count Janinan, whose first husband has recently died. Jainan suspects his husband was murdered. Kiem believes Jainan may be a suspect. Neither of them can risk harming the alliance between their worlds, lest they start a war. And they might actually be falling in love. Tricky. Very tricky. (2/2/21)

Orbit

The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart: I have an in-depth review of this one kicking around on the site so rather than repeat myself, I’ll repeat: Read. This. Book. (9/8)

The Wolf of Oren-Yaro by K.S. Villoso: I’ve had this one sitting on my Kindle since it was released last year and shame on me for letting it get buried under other acquisitions. I’ve bumped it back to the top after hearing Villoso talk about using her own experiences growing up in back alleys and urban slums (her word choices) to craft her fantasy novels and also how affected it is by her recollections of food and family. The second book in the Bitch Queen duology, The Ikessar Falcon, is scheduled for release 9/22.

Random House

Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim: Pitched as “Project Runway meets Mulan,” Spin the Dawn is the tale of Maia Tamarin who dreams of becoming the imperial tailor. Only men can hold the position, however, so Maia dresses as a boy and prepares herself to face the three impossible challenges: sewing dresses from the sun, the moon, and the stars.

There are 11 other tailors who are also determined to win the job, however, and they’ll backstab, lie, and cheat to do so. And the court magician is keeping a close eye on Maia, almost as though he can see through her disguise. The second book in the duology, Unravel the Dusk, is also available now.

The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna: This West African inspired feminist fantasy begins in Deka’s village just before the blood ceremony that will determine whether she is allowed to remain with her people. She is devastated when she bleeds gold instead of red until a mysterious woman offers her the opportunity to join an army of women like her, the only army that can stop the greatest threat to the empire. (2/9/21)

Simon and Schuster

The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed: Ashley Bennett is enjoying 1992, her senior year of high school. Mostly at the beach. And then, one afternoon in April, four white police officers are acquitted of beating Rodney King. Suddenly, Ashley isn’t one of the girls anymore; she’s one of the Black kids, and even her wealthy, prominent parents can’t protect her from the new weight of that label and from having to answer the questions: Who am I? Who are we? Who are they? (8/4)

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn: After the death of her mother, Bree tries to start over at a UNC Chapel Hill residential high school program. Her first night on campus, she witnesses a magical attack, after which a group of students who call themselves “Legendborn” track her down and their leader who calls himself “Merlin” tries, and fails, to erase her memory. He does, however, unlock recollections of the night her mother died that Bree didn’t realize were missing, including the fact Merlin was at the hospital when it all went down. Bree’s not about to let that go by without uncovering the why.

Do you see your paycheck up there in the sky? Lovely wings it has there to fly right past your account and into the loving arms of your favorite online bookshop. Do you want the link to the bookshelf I found that reconfigures into a coffin? That way no one has to move you when the stack the size of Everest inevitably tips over and buries you alive. Alas. At least you’ll have something to read.