13 new fantasy and science fiction books to read in May 2023
By Daniel Roman
TO SHAPE A DRAGON’S BREATH by Moniquill Blackgoose (Nampeshiweisit #1) — May 9
Dragons are never out of style, but To Shape a Dragon’s Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose is set to explore them in a way that feels incredibly fresh and intriguing in this indigenous-inspired fantasy novel. After young Anequs bonds with a dragon, she must enter into an academy run by those who colonized her people’s lands. She’s faced with challenges at every turn on her path to help foster her new draconic companion; and the stakes are its life.
The remote island of Masquapaug has not seen a dragon in many generations—until fifteen-year-old Anequs finds a dragon’s egg and bonds with its hatchling. Her people are delighted, for all remember the tales of the days when dragons lived among them and danced away the storms of autumn, enabling the people to thrive. To them, Anequs is revered as Nampeshiweisit—a person in a unique relationship with a dragon.
Unfortunately for Anequs, the Anglish conquerors of her land have different opinions. They have a very specific idea of how a dragon should be raised, and who should be doing the raising—and Anequs does not meet any of their requirements. Only with great reluctance do they allow Anequs to enroll in a proper Anglish dragon school on the mainland. If she cannot succeed there, her dragon will be killed.
For a girl with no formal schooling, a non-Anglish upbringing, and a very different understanding of the history of her land, challenges abound—both socially and academically. But Anequs is smart, determined, and resolved to learn what she needs to help her dragon, even if it means teaching herself. The one thing she refuses to do, however, is become the meek Anglish miss that everyone expects.
Anequs and her dragon may be coming of age, but they’re also coming to power, and that brings an important realization: the world needs changing—and they might just be the ones to do it.
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THE MALEVOLENT SEVEN by Sebastien de Castell — May 11/May 16
The Malevolent Seven by Sebastien de Castell takes a group of morally unscrupulous characters and sends them on a suicidal mission to wipe out seven powerful mages. The catch? Those mages sound like they just want to improve the world. That’s right, we’re hanging out with a troupe of villains this time around. And based on the back-of-book description, it sounds like a raucous tale that’ll fit right in with stories like Nicholas Eames’ Kings of the Wyld or Joe Abercrombie’s The First Law.
‘Seven powerful mages want to make the world a better place. We’re going to kill them first.’
Picture a wizard. Go ahead, close your eyes. There he is, see? Skinny old guy with a long straggly beard. No doubt he’s wearing iridescent silk robes that couldn’t protect his frail body from a light breeze. The hat’s a must, too, right? Big, floppy thing, covered in esoteric symbols that would instantly show every other mage where this one gets his magic? Wouldn’t want a simple steel helmet or something that might, you know, protect the part of him most needed for conjuring magical forces from being bashed in with a mace (or pretty much any household object).
Now open your eyes and let me show you what a real war mage looks like . . . but be warned: you’re probably not going to like it, because we’re violent, angry, dangerously broken people who sell our skills to the highest bidder and be damned to any moral or ethical considerations.
At least, until such irritating concepts as friendship and the end of the world get in the way.
My name is Cade Ombra, and though I currently make my living as a mercenary wonderist, I used to have a far more noble-sounding job title – until I discovered the people I worked for weren’t quite as noble as I’d believed. Now I’m on the run and my only friend, a homicidal thunder mage, has invited me to join him on a suicide mission against the seven deadliest mages on the continent.
Time to recruit some very bad people to help us on this job . . .
You may have noticed that The Malevolent Seven has two release dates listed here; that’s because the ebook is listed to release on May 11, while the hardcover won’t hit shelves until May 16. (Unless some excited bookseller puts it out early; street dates are an illusion.)