15 new fantasy and science fiction books to read in January 2024
By Daniel Roman
THE ATLAS COMPLEX by Olivie Blake (The Atlas #3)—January 9
The gods of books looked down and decreed, "January shall be a month for trilogy endings." On January 9th we'll be getting The Atlas Complex, the highly-anticipated third book in The Atlas series by Olivie Blake. Six talented magicians vied to join the ranks of the Alexandrian Society in the viral sensation first novel of the series, The Atlas Six. Their dark and twisty journey continued into The Atlas Paradox, where readers found out even more about the true nature of the Alexandrian Society.
From the sounds of things, The Atlas Complex will bring things full circle, showing just how dangerous the agreement to join the Alexandrian Society really was.
Only the extraordinary are chosen.
Only the cunning survive.
An explosive return to the library leaves the six Alexandrians vulnerable to the lethal terms of their recruitment.
Old alliances quickly fracture as the initiates take opposing strategies as to how to deal with the deadly bargain they have so far failed to uphold. Those who remain with the archives wrestle with the ethics of their astronomical abilities, while elsewhere, an unlikely pair from the Society cohort partner to influence politics on a global stage.
And still the outside world mobilizes to destroy them, while the Caretaker himself, Atlas Blakely, may yet succeed with a plan foreseen to have world-ending stakes. It’s a race to survive as the six Society recruits are faced with the question of what they're willing to betray for limitless power—and who will be destroyed along the way.
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MISLAID IN PARTS HALF-KNOWN by Seanen McGuire (Wayward Children #9)—January 9
This month will also see the release of the ninth book in Seanen McGuire's multi award-winning Wayward Children series. Wayward Children is a portal fantasy series with a unique twist. We're all familiar with the idea of stories where kids go through doorways into magical worlds. Wayward Children deals with what these misplaced kids go through upon their return, as they struggle to reintegrate into the real world after finding belonging elsewhere.
The format of the series is fascinating. The odd-numbered Wayward Children books typically show how various children return to the real world, where they inevitably end up at a school called Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children, which is designed to help them get reacclimated. The even numbered books are often designed as standalone stories that show what their lives were like in those fantastical worlds.
Mislaid in Parts Half-Known looks to shake up that format a bit; it's a direct continuation of the preceding book, Lost in the Moment and Found, and follows a group of students who leave the Home for Wayward Children. Who knows what worlds they'll end up in?
Antsy is the latest student to pass through the doors at Eleanor West's School for Wayward Children.
When the school’s (literally irresistible) mean girl realizes that Antsy's talent for finding absolutely anything may extend to doors, Antsy is forced to flee in the company of a small group of friends, looking for a way back to the Shop Where the Lost Things Go to be sure that Vineta and Hudson are keeping their promise.
Along the way, they will travel from a world which hides painful memories that cut as sharply as its beauty, to a land that time wasn’t yet old enough to forget—and more than one student's life will change forever.
Mislaid in Parts Half-Known is a story that reminds us that getting what you want doesn't always mean finding what you need.
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SONS OF DARKNESS by Gourav Mohanty (The Raag of Rta #1)—January 9
Sons of Darkness by Gourav Mohanty is a fantasy reimagining of the Indian epic The Mahabarata, with a dark and gritty tone in the vein of A Song of Ice and Fire or Joe Abercrombie's The First Law. We talked about this book back in July 2023 when it was released in the UK (and digitally in the US), but now at long last you can finally add a proper hardcover copy of the book to your shelves.
SOME BALLADS ARE INKED IN BLOOD
Bled dry by violent confrontations with the Magadhan Empire, the Mathuran Republic simmers on the brink of oblivion. Senator Krishna and his third wife Satyabhama have put their plans in motion, both within and beyond the Republic's blood-soaked borders, to protect it from total annihilation.
But they are soon to discover that neither gold nor alliances last forever – and that they are not the only players on the board.
Mati, Pirate-Princess of Kalinga, has decided to mend her ways and become a good wife. But old habits die hard, especially when one habitually uses murder to settle old scores.
Brooding and beautiful Karna hopes to bury his brutal past, but finds that destiny is a miser when it comes to granting second chances.
Hero-turned-torturer Shakuni limps through a path of daggers. Meanwhile, his foes and woes multiply, leaving little time for vengeance.
Their lives are about to become yet more difficult, as a cast of sinister queens, naive kings, pious assassins and ravenous priests are converging where the Son of Darkness is prophesied to rise... even as forgotten Gods prepare to play their hand.