SFF Books to Look-Forward to in 2011

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The year 2011 has already started off with a bang, bringing with it a whole slew of fantastic new science fiction and fantasy releases. And this is only the start because this year we have some really exciting books to look forward to, including new books from many of my favorite authors, such as Patrick Rothfuss, Scott Lynch, Brandon Sanderson, Jasper Fforde, Patricia Briggs- just to name a few. And so I thought it would be interesting to ask a few different SFF book publicists which of the books coming out in 2011 they are particularly excited about...

From Justin at Tor

Thank you for this opportunity, Simcha! It’s always tough to come back in after the holidays, but Tor has a really exciting list this year and I’d love to share a few of the titles we’re psyched for in 2011.

For epic fantasy fans, the big news is that Terry Goodkind is returning to his Sword of Truth world with a new Richard and Kahlan novel: The Omen Machine, out this summer, will start an entirely new story arc for those two beloved characters (and make a great jumping off point for new readers). But a newcomer to watch out for is Peter Orullian, whose debut novel The Unremembered (April) will begin a fresh, exciting new series in a stunning original fantasy world. Fans of Robert Jordan, George R.R. Martin, and Terry Brooks won’t want to miss it. And fans of Robert Jordan’s beloved Wheel of Time who can’t wait for A Memory of Light, the concluding volume in series, should check out the first two Wheel of Time graphic novel adaptations, News Spring (January) and The Eye of the World (September), from the talented writer/artist combo of Chuck Dixon and Mike Miller, who worked closely with Robert Jordan in adapting the comics run.

On the science fiction side, we have a number of exciting new titles coming out, including the series debut Hellhole by Brain Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson (March), Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi (May), and Children of the Sky by Vernor Vinge (October), the long-awaited sequel to his Hugo-Award winner A Fire Upon the Deep. Another new name to watch out for is Hannu Rajaniemi, whose debut SF caper novel The Quantum Thief has drawn rave reviews in the UK and will be out stateside in May. He has a Ph.D. in string theory so you know he’s really, really smart! J

We have many, many more books that I’d love to mention, but hopefully that gives your readers an idea of just how excited we are for 2011!!



From Jill at Pyr

In the Spring-Summer of 2011...

In March, Mark Hodder’s second Burton & Swinburne steampunk adventure, The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man, follows the acclaimed The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack.

We continue our success in the steampunk arena with a new series by Andrew Mayer, The Society of Steam, which already has over 1000 fans on Facebook. Book One is called The Falling Machine and it arrives in May.

We also welcome two exciting new authors to the Pyr fold - Erin Hoffman and Ari Marmell. In March, Marmell's The Goblin Corps introduces the few, the proud, the obscene. In June, Hoffman's Sword of Fire and Sea (The Chaos Knight Book One) is a fast-paced adventure fantasy on an epic stage - with gryphons!

In May, we revisit Boss and her crew in City of Ruins, the second novel set in the Diving universe of Asimov's reader favorite Kristine Kathryn Rusch. (Diving Into the Wreck was the first.)

5. Justina Robson's Quantum Gravity finally closes in August 2011 with Book Five, Down to the Bone. We discovered at DragonCon that many readers are still unaware of this awesome sci-fantasy series so we hope to use the final book as a means to bring additional awareness to the entire Quantum Gravity quintet.

There are some very exciting surprises in store for Pyr's Fall-Winter 2011 that I don't want to divulge just yet, so I'm stopping my sneak peak at August!


From Jack at Orbit

These are the books I would definitely suggest, at least for the first half of 2011 (if that could be specified) – we have just too much goodness forthcoming!


The Heroes, Joe Abercrombie(Feb)

2009’s Best Served Cold introduced Joe Abercrombie to a far wider audience, bringing his one of a kind, humorous yet deadly fantasy to readers too long used to too-familiar tropes. The Heroes is funny, compelling, exciting, and when it comes to the cutting edge of fantasy – The Heroes cuts bone-deep.



The Dragon's Path, Daniel Abraham (Apr)

Critically-acclaimed Daniel Abraham is poised to make his breakthrough with this riveting adventure with a difference – these are characters who have more on their minds than swords, armies, and magic (though none of those are ignored – far from it!) – they know philosophy; they know history; they know the world of banking, and economics and the secret life of commerce. No other epic fantasy this year will cover so much ground, so well.



Deadline, Mira Grant (June)

The followup novel to last year’s spectacular debut, FEED, the all too believable tale of a worldwide zombie outbreak: scientifically based, politically aware, and employing blogging as a narrative technique like no other author has done, so well.



Leviathan Wakes, James Corey (June)

Four words: kick-ass space opera. Additional words: extremely fine, mind-expanding, politically hip and utterly compelling space opera, the way it should be written and the kind that reminds SF readers exactly why they fell in love with the genre in the first place.