Emily Croy Barker, The Thinking Woman’s Guide to Real Magic
(Viking/Pamela Dorman Aug 2013)

In this enchanting debut novel, disenchanted PhD student Nora gets lost in the woods and finds herself in a strange new world of elegant balls and weird magic, where she becomes a magician’s apprentice. Barker ‘‘brings an unconventional outlook to elements of the fantastic.’’ [Faren Miller]

 




Ben Bova, Mars, Inc.: The Billionaire’s Club
(Baen Dec 2013)

In this rousing tale of can-do spirit, billionaire businessman Art Thrasher gathers a group of like-minded wealthy people to fund a private, manned mission to Mars… if he can overcome infighting, technical difficulties, and outright sabotage long enough to get a rocket into space.

 




Richard Chizmar, ed., Turn Down the Lights
(Cemetery Dance Dec 2013)

This slim anthology celebrates the 25th anniversary of Chizmar’s groundbreaking horror magazine Cemetery Dance with ten original stories by some of its most distinguished contributors, including Clive Barker, Jack Ketchum, Stephen King, and Peter Straub, plus an introduction by the editor about how the magazine got started and an afterword by Thomas F. Monteleone.

 




Richard A. Lupoff, ed., What If? Volume 3
(Ramble House Dec 2013)

The first two volumes of this series collecting outstanding stories ‘‘That Didn’t Win a Hugo, But Should Have’’ appeared in 1980-81. Volume three was prepared around the same time, but never published – until now. This collects eight Hugo Award-losing stories from 1966-73 by Samuel R. Delany, Ursula K. Le Guin, Joanna Russ, Gene Wolfe, and others, with an introduction and a note on publishing history by the editor.

 




Juliet Marillier, Raven Flight
(Knopf Jul 2013)

The middle book of the acclaimed YA fantasy Shadowfell trilogy follows Neryn’s magical development as she works with the rebels to overthrow their evil king, along with the adventures of her beloved Flint, a double agent working with the rebels in secret.

 




Shawn Speakman, ed., Unfettered
(Grim Oak Press Jun 2013)

This hefty anthology features 23 original ‘‘Tales by Masters of Fantasy’’ including Daniel Abraham, Terry Brooks, Lev Grossman, Naomi Novik, Patrick Rothfuss, and more. It includes a foreword by Rothfuss, and an introduction by the editor. The stories were donated to Speakman after he was diagnosed with Hodkin’s lymphoma in 2011, to help raise money to pay his medical debts.

 




Maggie Stiefvater, The Dream Thieves
(Scholastic Sep 2013)

This follow-up to YA fantasy romance The Raven Boys, first in the Raven Cycle, focuses on ‘‘raven boy’’ Ronan, who can bring things from his dreams into reality, as he and his friends search for the dead king Glendower in the hills near their private school.

 




Catherynne M. Valente, The Bread We Eat in Dreams
(Subterranean Press Jan 2014)

The latest collection by one of fantasy’s most distinctive voices gathers 20 stories (including Locus Award winner ‘‘White Lines on a Green Field’’), one of them original, plus six poems, with charming illustrations throughout by Kathleen Jennings. ‘‘These pieces… resonate both intellectually and emotionally – like the interplay of themes and movements in a symphony – for a final impact greater than the sum of its parts.’’ [Faren Miller]

 




Carrie Vaughn, Dreams of the Golden Age
(Tor Jan 2014)

The second in the fun and inventive superhero series that began with After the Golden Age continues to follow the tribulations of Celia, the teenaged daughter of the city’s most famous superheroes, who’s thinking about forming a next-generation super-team of her own.