CHENNAI: Who knows what 2017 has in store for us but we definitely know what sci-fi and fantasy books to look forward to. The Winds of Winter, the sixth novel of the epic fantasy series, by George RR Martin, A Song of Ice and Fire should be out this March. Expect the book to begin with the two massive battles — the battle in the ice and battle at Meereen. The author of the book said that the previous installment, A Dance with Dragons, did not end as intended. So he has decided to resolve the cliffhanging story lines in the first part of The Winds of Winter. The first chapter of the new book will pick-up five minutes after the end of the last book published in 2011.
Oathbringer, the third in the ten-part series, by American writer Brandon Sanderson, will be out middle of this year. The story is of a world divided by colour of its inhabitants’ eyes. As expected, people with lighter eyes are the rulers and darker eyes can be enslaved. In the third, the warring aristocratic families are heading for a big showdown.
Assassin’s Fate: The illegitimate son of a prince, FitzChivalryu Farseer, has lost his daughter to an abduction. He sets out to find and avenge her, along with trusted lieutanants — son and protege of an assassin, and stableboy who is also the friend of the abductee. The summary promises discoveries, reunions and shocks. The series by Robin Hobb, which is the pseudonym used by the American writer Margaret Astrid Lindholm. George RR Martin described her as a diamond among a “sea of zircons”, if that is not recommendation enough.
Peace Talks: This is the 16th in the supernatural mystery series by Jim Butcher. In this series, Hary Dresden is a “consulting wizard” who works for both human and other clients in a world that has different courts/rules for different beings. In the end, will all the mysteries dovetail into one big one? Read and find out.
Etched in Bone: A best-seller series, this tells the story of humans trapped in a world of beings with supernatural powers — for example, the shapeshifters and vampires. The people are huddled into their last bastion and the protagonists, wolf shifter leader Simon Wolfgard and blood prophet Meg Corbyn, must try to maintain peace when an opportunistic human enters their commune. This is part of Anne Bishop’s The Others series, which has been described as dark fantasy.
The Fortress at the End of Time,: What if your only escape from the terrible bleakness that surrounds you was creating another you and sending it into a sunnier place? Would you do it? Captain Ronaldo Aldo has that choice while being posted at a station far, far away waiting to hold off any strike by a never-seen enemy. He has young cadets who see their posting at his station as a punishment. This is by Joe M McDermott.
Home: Nnedi Okorafor writes African-based science fiction and this is the second in her series Binti. In this, the heroine Binti is to return home on Earth with her friend Okwu. Binti has just won over a gazillion hearts by bringing together warring peoples, yet she is worried about facing her family and her elders.