The books coming out in 2015

[SkynJay]

Most of these have been mentioned but here is a list that only has standalones or series starts. This time of year every blog around will put out a list like them.

[Puntificator]

Here's what John Marco has to say about The Bloody Chorus:

"THE BLOODY CHORUS tells the story of Haru, the young leader of a once powerful nation, and his plot to kill the ruler of the rising empire that’s threatening his country. Haru’s 'Chorus,' a group of magically endowed bodyguards, helps him on his mission, and together they have to battle their way through enemy territory to get back home. The story is filled with religious overtones, as well as gods and goddesses who complicate the lives of the characters. It’s also one of the most ambiguous stories I’ve ever done, because the 'heroes' have their own dark history and viewpoint. The clash of the two main cultures is a big part of the story."

[Darth Richard II]

I believe the KJ Parker book for 2015 is Savages with the big series to follow in 2016.

[Puntificator]

I probably should have posted a synopsis for When the Heavens Fall, so here it is (from Amazon) belatedly:

A book giving its wielder power over the dead has been stolen from a fellowship of mages that has kept the powerful relic dormant for centuries. The thief, a crafty, power-hungry necromancer, intends to use the Book of Lost Souls to resurrect an ancient race and challenge Shroud for dominion of the underworld. Shroud counters by sending his most formidable servants to seize the artifact at all cost.

However, the god is not the only one interested in the Book, and a host of other forces converge, drawn by the powerful magic that has been unleashed. Among them is a reluctant Guardian who is commissioned by the Emperor to find the stolen Book, a troubled prince who battles enemies both personal and political, and a young girl of great power, whose past uniquely prepares her for an encounter with Shroud. The greatest threat to each of their quests lies not in the horror of an undead army but in the risk of betrayal from those closest to them. Each of their decisions comes at a personal cost and will not only affect them, but also determine the fate of their entire empire.

The first of an epic swords & sorcery fantasy trilogy for fans of Patrick Rothfuss, Marc Turner's When the Heavens Fall features gritty characters, deadly magic, and meddlesome gods.

[Darth Richard II]

Huh, I didn't know Marco was still writing. Didn't he have one book of a "series" come out from DAW and then they dropped him? Skylords? Starlords? I could google it but I am lazy.

[Garlan the Gallant]

Thanks guys. These posts have been very informative and useful. I appreciate your quick replies and help!

[AncalagonTheBlack]

Huh, I didn't know Marco was still writing. Didn't he have one book of a "series" come out from DAW and then they dropped him? Skylords? Starlords? I could google it but I am lazy.

No they didn't drop him,in fact he had a book out in 2013 from DAW - http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13542445-the-forever-knight

[Darth Richard II]

Ah, hmmm. Ok, must be other things going on behind the scenes. I just remember it being part of an advertised trilogy and then the rest never materialized and no mention of it was ever made again.

[Brendan Moody]

They didn't drop Marco entirely, but they did abandon the projected series you're remembering (Skylords), and there are reader comments here and there reporting that Marco himself said it was due to lower-than-expected sales.

[Marshall Ryan Maresca]

I figured this is probably the best place to ask the following question:

Are there any speculative fiction novels coming out in 2015 that are either debuts, stand-alone novels, or the first books in a series (read: not a sequel) that is highly anticipated or generating a lot of buzz that I should be aware of that is not one of the following books on the list below?

My opinion is extremely biased, but I would argue that Thorn of Dentonhill is a debut that I've been highly anticipating.

So this post isn't entirely self-serving, I'll chime in with my anticipation of Elizabeth Bear's Karen Memory, Stina Leicht's Cold Iron and Amanda Downum's Dreams of Shreds and Tatters.

[Puntificator]

Snorri Kristjannson's Blood Will Follow was released in 2014 everywhere except in the United States. It is finally being released in the US on January 6, 2015. The Kindle version is astonishingly over-priced at this time: $17.89.

The book's blurb has spoilers, but here is a spoiler-free excerpt from it:

Starburst magazine called Snorri Kristjansson's Swords of Good Men—the first volume in the Valhalla Saga—"A cracking yarn (one that would make a great movie), filled with enough to satisfy any fan of Vikings and their mythology." Now this raucous and gripping fantasy adventure set in Viking Norway continues with Blood Will Follow, where plundering and pillaging are a way of life and creature comforts rarely exceed a mug of sour mead.

[Maester Llama]

M. L. Brennan's fourth novel in the very fun and endearing Generation V urban fantasy series, Dark Ascension, will be published by Roc in August 2015. This is, worryingly, the last book Brennan has under contract right now I believe, but it sounds like she has plans for more if the series can up its sales a little and prompt Roc to make another offer. The blurb for Dark Ascension [which is spoilery so I won't post it] on Amazon does, however, make it sound like this book will address some of the series' most pressing conflicts and questions.

Brandon Sanderson's next Mistborn novel, Shadows of Self, is tentatively scheduled for October 2015. In the course of getting back into the Mistborn groove Sanderson, madly productive word sorcerer that he is, also wrote the following Mistborn novel as "warm up" for the completion of Shadows of Self, and Tor, who are doubtless overjoyed, have it scheduled for January 2016. In the blog entry discussing this Sanderson also runs through where he is at right now with his various major projects, including a confirmation that he still plans to write the third Stormlight Archive novel starting in the spring of 2015, once he's finished with Calamity, the last book in his young adult series The Wreckoners:

http://brandonsanderson.com/state-of-the-sanderson-december-2014/

Saladin Ahmed has posted an update on the sequel to Throne of the Crescent Moon, The Thousand and One. Apparently the target for publication is now early 2016. The update does not sugar coat the significant difficulties Ahmed's had with the book up to this point, but it's also a fairly up-beat post and -- while so far as I can tell Ahmed doesn't specifically mention where the writing of book 2 is at at this point and whether a manuscript has been turned in -- he does seem to feel fairly good about early 2016. As someone who thought the first one great fun I'm very stoked to read the second:

http://saladinahmed.tumblr.com/post/105529581770/an-update-and-an-ask

[Roose is Azor Ahai]

You forgot The Winds of Winter! :P

[Calibandar]

Don't mock, as unlikely as it seems now, if he finishes by mid-year it will be in stores before Christmas.

They will be writing the scripts for season 6 starting January/February, I wonder how this is going to turn out.

Anyway, I was checking updated listing from Orbit (Amazon UK) and Tor on Amazon.com and noted a few things:

No listing for JV Jones or Bakker on either Amazon site, Orbit being the UK publisher of both of these. The Orbit listing goes all the way through November 2015, but the one caveat is that more books are usually slotted in later.

Tor is showing the 3rd book in Sarah Monette's and Elizabeth Bear's twisted Norse world, An Apprentice to Elves (Iskryne series). Steven Erikson's Fall of Light now scheduled for Mid October, I also see Stars Askew by Rjurik Davidson and Tor is also publishing the new Ian McDonald, Luna, very curious about what that might be.
Curious about Dragon Heart by Cecilia Holland, I guess another book in her ongoing Norse Fantasy/historical series.
Crooked by Austin Grossman sounds like it could be nice, his first book got quite a bit of acclaim. Who knows with these sort of premises.

Also a new Dan Simmons book in March, called Fifth Heart, about Sherlock Holmes and Henry James in America.

Still intrigued by SevenEves, Aurora, Dinosaur Lords and Chasing the Phoenix which we've mentioned before.

[Puntificator]

Den Patrick's The Boy Who Wept Blood, the second book in The Erebus Sequence trilogy, will be released on January 21. The first book in the trilogy, The Boy with the Porcelain Blade, was recently selected by BestFantasyBooks.com as one of the top 25 best fantasy books of 2014.

If, like me, you dislike paranormal romance, but appreciate good, gritty Urban Fantasy, then you should be reading Jaye Wells' Prospero's War series. Its third book, Deadly Spells, will be on sale February 10. There will also be a novella from the series, Fire Water, that will be available prior to this, in eBook format, on January 6.

[AncalagonTheBlack]

WHAT’S EXCITING TEAM TOR UK IN 2015: PART ONE - http://torbooks.co.uk/2014/12/24/whats-exciting-us-2015-bookstore-near-soon-part-one/

City of Blades by Robert Jackson Bennett (Jo Fletcher Books) : 6th August 2015
http://www.quercusbooks.co.uk/book/City-of-Blades-by-Robert-Jackson-Bennett-ISBN_9781848669581#.VJs0o_cAAA

[Maester Llama]

Several very interesting-looking things on that Tor UK list for next year; I must look into which of those have North American publishers. And wow, Tchaikovsky has three books, not connected to one another, out next year, and they all look varying degrees of very interesting. I've never tried his stuff before but I think I might have to now.

Someone did this very recently and posted in this thread, but I brought Tor UK's listings for next year up on Amazon UK just now and they've added some new shit to the end of the year, some of it fairly major if it's accurate. Of particular note:

-- The Wheel of Time Companion, by Robert Jordan and Harriet McDougal, the long-awaited encyclopedia and extensive reference guide for WoT, is currently listed for November 3rd, 2015 on Amazon UK.

-- Tor is listing what appears to be a new Gene Wolfe novel for October 20th. It is entitled A Borrowed Man.

-- Noted hard sf author Ben Bova has a new novel called Death Wave -- that is what it is called -- coming out in November. Somewhere someone cares.

-- A. M. Dellamonica's second Stormwrack novel, A Daughter of No Nation, is currently scheduled for November 17th, 2015, for the values of "scheduled" we can safely associate with Amazon. Child of a Hidden Sea was one of the most unreservedly fun reading experiences I had this year and my joy at this news is not expressable in words.

-- And lastly, when the Yeard claimed that whatever the most recent SoT novel was, Severed Souls or whatever, would be the last novel featuring Dick Rahl ever until the end of time, did you believe him? Was your heart filled with woe and doubt? Did you question whether you had the moral celery to carry on in the aftermath of this grievous news? If so take heart, for there is a new Terry Goodkind novel subtitled "a Richard and Kahlan novel" penciled in on Amazon for November 24th of next year, a mere fifteen months after the last one ever. How time does go. It is called Warheart. I have no further comments.

[Puntificator]

Maester Llama: I've been vacillating back and forth about buying Child of a Hidden Sea, and your unabashed, ineffable enthusiasm has settled the issue. I am getting the book.

[Calibandar]

-- The Wheel of Time Companion, by Robert Jordan and Harriet McDougal, the long-awaited encyclopedia and extensive reference guide for WoT, is currently listed for November 3rd, 2015 on Amazon UK.

Interesting. I am curious to see if this will be similar World of Ice and Fire, illustrated and all.

They've seen how successful that is. It looks like this will be different, longer and probably not so copiously illustrated.

I was also looking into some SF novels and currently have 4 on my to buy list for next year.

Seven Eves-Stephenson

Aurora-Robinson ( look promising)

Luna 1: Ian McDonald. Set on a moonbase with various powerful families a la Song of Ice and Fire.

The Roboteer-Alex Lamb. A Gollancz debt due in July next year, UK only so far, sounds very interesting.

[Puntificator]

Book 2 of Sam Sykes' Bring Down Heaven series is titled The Mortal Tally and is on the US Amazon webpage with a July 7, 2015, release date; it's available for pre-order. Amazon-UK shows it also, but with a September 8, 2016, release date. The first book in the series is The City Stained Red.