15 new fantasy and science fiction books to read in January 2024

PILLAR OF ASH by H.M. Long (The Four Pillars #1)—January 16

Another series reaching its epic conclusion in January is H.M. Long's The Four Pillars. This Norse-inspired fantasy series follows siblings Yske and Berin, a pacifist healer and glory-seeking warrior respectively. Pillar of Ash will see them set out on a dangerous quest where they'll be drawn into an ancient conflict which could spell the end of their world. Based on some of the cryptic hints in the back-of-book description, I'm betting there'll be more than a little Ragnarok flavoring to events.

I have to add a special note here that since Pillar of Ash is the final book in the series, and publisher Titan Books did not choose violence, the whole thing is now available with nicely matching covers. They look pretty great together!

Yske, daughter of the legendary warrior priestess Hessa, has dedicated her life to medicine and pacifism in service to Aita, the Great Healer. When her twin brother Berin, hungry for glory, gathers a party to investigate rumours of strange sightings in the Unmade – shadows in the darkness at the end of the world – Yske joins the mission, to keep him safe.

Their journey east takes them through primal forests, walking paths last trod when gods were at war and ancient, powerful beasts were defeated and bound. And the closer they get to the Unmade, the more strange and terrible things haunt them from the shadows, corruptions in nature and monstrous creatures of moss and bone.

Earning the respect of Berin and his warriors, Yske must forge a place for mercy and healing in a world of violence and sacrifice. She must survive murderous ambushes and brutal sieges and take her place at the centre of the oldest war of all.

Thrust into a desperate conflict of survival, Yske and Berin will wage the final war with the gods – in the shadow of a vast and ancient tree, the fate of creation is about to be decided.

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EMILY WILDE'S MAP OF THE OTHERLANDS by Heather Fawcett (Emily Wilde Series #2)—January 16

The second book in Heather Fawcett's Emily Wilde series, Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands, follows the titular scholar of faerie folklore on yet another adventure. The charm of Emily Wilde is in the telling; Fawcett's writing for the "curmdgeonly professor" bleeds personality, and the story is written in journal-style entries. It sounds like a pretty charming read!

Emily Wilde is a genius scholar of faerie folklore who just wrote the world’s first comprehensive encyclopaedia of faeries. She’s learned many of the secrets of the Hidden Ones on her adventures . . . and also from her fellow scholar and former rival Wendell Bambleby. 

Because Bambleby is more than infuriatingly charming. He’s an exiled faerie king on the run from his murderous mother and in search of a door back to his realm. And despite Emily’s feelings for Bambleby, she’s not ready to accept his proposal of marriage: Loving one of the Fair Folk comes with secrets and dangers. 

She also has a new project to focus on: a map of the realms of faerie. While she is preparing her research, Bambleby lands her in trouble yet again, when assassins sent by his mother invade Cambridge. Now Bambleby and Emily are on another adventure, this time to the picturesque Austrian Alps, where Emily believes they may find the door to Bambleby’s realm and the key to freeing him from his family’s dark plans.

But with new relationships for the prickly Emily to navigate and dangerous Folk lurking in every forest and hollow, Emily must unravel the mysterious workings of faerie doors and of her own heart.

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