The Heir of Caladan - Tor/Forge Blog

Summer of Sci-fi: 6 Tales to Beat the Heat

June 15, 2024June 14, 2024Tiana Tolbert

by Merlin Hoye

🎵 It’s getting hot in here, so read a sci-fi book 🎵

Summer is BACK and so is this list of Sci-Fi books we recommend you dive into this season! Check em’ out!

opens in a new window opens in a new windowFractal Noise by Christopher Paolini

The perfect page turner to take to the beach as long as you like your beach reads existentially terrifying, which we do. Fractal Noise is about a space crew that travels to a harsh planet to investigate a mysterious dark hole, known only as the Anomaly. Set in the same universe as Paolini’s bestselling sci-fi epic To Sleep in a Sea of Stars, this fever-dream of a novel is a perfectly bone-chilling entry point to the series. Out now in paperback!

opens in a new window opens in a new windowThe Terraformers by Annalee Newitz

Talking animals, a lost city, and a pissed off cyborg cow. Intrigued? The Terraformers is a smart, interplanetary adventure about a scientist, her moose, and an ecosystem collapse in the face of corporate greed. Despite the heavy subject matter, it’s so much fun and somehow… cozy? Don’t ask us how, but it is.

opens in a new window opens in a new windowThe Genesis of Misery by Neon Yang

Joan of Arc but make it space opera. Need I say more? No, no—I will. This is an epic space fantasy adventure with a gender-queer protagonist who starts a civil war after an angel appears to them with an important message. Locked Tomb fans need to hop aboard the Misery Nomaki train ASAP. They’ll be just your cup of tea. Iced tea of course.

opens in a new window opens in a new windowExadelic by Jon Evans

Exadelic is essential reading to prepare you for the day artificial intelligence hacks our reality and decides we are the biggest threat to its existence. This is a gloriously insane story of black magic, mayhem, AI, and adventure and it is SO. MUCH. FUN. Also, uncannily relevant. But we won’t think about that now. It’s summer time, baby!

opens in a new window opens in a new windowDune: The Heir of Caladan by Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson

If you’re looking for an escape from the hot summer sun, Dune: The Heir of Caladan isn’t going to give you that longed for reprieve. The third installment in the Dune prequel series, The Caladan Trilogy, follows Paul and his parents before they arrive on Arakis and in typical Dune fashion, this is a story full of heat, sand, and adventure. Soak up that vitamin D while you still can!

opens in a new window opens in a new windowSandymancer by David Edison

If you finish Dune and crave some more hot, desert-y sci-fi vibes, we offer you Sandymancer. This is a genre-defying tale about a girl, her sand magic, and the god-king she summons with said magic. When the god-king steals her best friend’s body, things go south fast. This adventure has the feeling of a classic sci-fi novel and is the perfect end of summer treat.

Lists

6 Stories You Can Enjoy on Page and Screen

March 21, 2024March 13, 2024a cat

Don’t you just love it when books leap off the page? And onto the screen? Here’s a list of exciting titles with series and movie accompaniments!

opens in a new windowThe Three-Body Problem opens in a new window by Cixin Liu

Set against the backdrop of China’s Cultural Revolution, a secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens. An alien civilization on the brink of destruction captures the signal and plans to invade Earth.

Meanwhile, on Earth, different camps start forming, planning to either welcome the superior beings and help them take over a world seen as corrupt, or to fight against the invasion. The result is a science fiction masterpiece of enormous scope and vision.

And meanwhile, on Netflix, you’ll soon be able to watch opens in a new windowtheir adaption of Liu’s work!

opens in a new windowI Am Legend opens in a new window by Richard Matheson

This New York Times bestselling classic tale of Earth’s last survivor of a vampire plague inspired the hit film opens in a new windowI Am Legend (2007), and if you haven’t gotten around to reading the book yet, now is seriously the time, because opens in a new windowI Am Legend 2 is set to release in 2025.

opens in a new windowThe Caladan Trilogy opens in a new window by Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson

opens in a new windowDune and opens in a new windowDune: Part Two have been all the rage in the box offices of recent years, and decades before that, David Lynch’s opens in a new windowDune (1984) captivated fans of epic science fiction. And all these movies beg a new question: What if there were more Dune books? Answer: There are. The Caladan Trilogy adds more detail to the lives of Duke Leto, Lady Jessica, and Paul. And if you want even more Dune, we’re thrilled to share even more with opens in a new windowPrincess of Dune and opens in a new windowSands of Dune.

opens in a new windowThe Wheel of Time Series opens in a new window by Robert Jordan

How epic do you like your fantasy? If you said “Very!” then The Wheel of Time is for you. All 14 books in the series (plus a prequel!). And if once you’re done with those stacks and stacks of epic writing, or honestly at whatever point you prefer, check out opens in a new windowThe Wheel of Time on Amazon Prime, starring Rosamund Pike. The first two seasons cover Jordan’s first two books, opens in a new windowThe Eye of the World and opens in a new windowThe Great Hunt.

opens in a new windowDark Harvest opens in a new window by Norman Partridge

Halloween, 1963. They call him the October Boy, or Ol’ Hacksaw Face, or Sawtooth Jack. Whatever the name, everybody in this small Midwestern town knows who he is. How he rises from the cornfields every Halloween, a butcher knife in his hand, and makes his way toward town, where gangs of teenage boys eagerly await their chance to confront the legendary nightmare. Both the hunter and the hunted, the October Boy is the prize in an annual rite of life and death.

Pete McCormick knows that killing the October Boy is his one chance to escape a dead-end future in this one-horse town. He’s willing to risk everything, including his life, to be a winner for once. But before the night is over, Pete will look into the saw-toothed face of horror—and discover the terrifying true secret of the October Boy.

You too can discover this secret, in the pages and now on screen with David Slade’s opens in a new windowDark Harvest (2023)!

opens in a new windowPinocchio opens in a new window with Introduction by Guillermo del Toro; Illustrated by Gris Grimly; written by Carlo Collodi

This edition of the timeless classic Pinocchio has the full text with a mixture of full-page and spot illustrations in black and white integrated in the text, in pen-and-ink style. The ink is sepia brown, and the introduction is from Guillermo del Toro, the director of Netflix’s adaptation of opens in a new windowPinocchio.

You’ll love it, no lie!

Lists / What's New

Summer of Sci-fi: 6 Tales to Beat the Heat

August 28, 2023December 19, 2023a cat

by Merlin Hoye

We’re coming up on the fall season, but even though we’re breaking out our sweaters and planning our spooky reading lists, it feels like the weather missed the memo. While we stare longingly at our pumpkin carving kits and feel a trickle of sweat drip down our backs, we’re yearning for the cold, dead emptiness of space. Sure, that yawning chasm could (and does, nay MUST) contain horrors beyond our comprehension, but hey, at least it’s nice and cool up there, right?

Spot this rundown of great titles to chill with as we blaze toward the end of summer!

opens in a new window opens in a new windowThe Terraformers by Annalee Newitz

opens in a new window opens in a new windowFractal Noise by Christopher Paolini

The perfect page turner to take to the beach as long as you like your beach reads existentially terrifying, which we do. Fractal Noise is about a space crew that travels to a harsh planet to investigate a mysterious dark hole, known only as the Anomaly. Set in the same universe as Paolini’s bestselling sci-fi epic opens in a new windowTo Sleep in a Sea of Stars, this fever-dream of a novel is a perfectly bone-chilling entry point to the series.

opens in a new window opens in a new windowThe Genesis of Misery by Neon Yang

opens in a new window opens in a new windowExadelic by Jon Evans

On Sale 9/9/23

opens in a new window opens in a new windowDune: The Heir of Caladan by Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson

On Sale in Paperback 9/19/23

opens in a new window opens in a new windowSandymancer by David Edison

On Sale 9/19/23

Lists / What's New

Series That Ended This Year You Can Binge Read Now!

December 20, 2022March 27, 2024a cat4 Comments

Here’s one for the marathon readers. The book-jockeys who devour quadruple digit pages in single digit days. Here’s a list of fantasy series that ended this year to satiate even the most voracious word-eater. Enjoy your book binge 😈

opens in a new windowWake the Dragon series opens in a new window by Kevin J. Anderson

Co-author of the Dune sequels, Kevin J. Anderson’s Gods and Dragons marks his triumphant return to epic fantasy and magnanimous finish to his epic fantasy Wake the Dragons series. Two continents at war: the Three Kingdoms and Ishara have been in conflict for a thousand years. But when an outside threat arises—the reawakening of a powerful ancient race that wants to remake the world—the two warring nations must somehow set aside generations of hatred to form an alliance against a far more deadly enemy.

opens in a new windowThe Sorceror’s Song trilogy opens in a new window by Brian D. Anderson

The Sword’s Elegy is the third book in a new epic fantasy trilogy from successful self-published author Brian D. Anderson, perfect for fans of The Wheel of Time and The Sword of Truth. The doom of humankind has at last been realized. Belkar’s prison is broken and his army is on the move. The nations of Lamoria, unaware of the greater danger, look to repel the aggression of Ralmarstad. In the end, it is not great power, terrible armies, or mighty warriors who will influence the course of fate. But two lovers and the unbreakable bond they share. All questions are answered. All mysteries revealed.

opens in a new windowA Chorus of Dragons series by Jenn Lyons

The Discord of Gods marks the epic conclusion to Jenn Lyons’s A Chorus of Dragons series, closing out the saga that began with The Ruin of Kings, for fans of Brandon Sanderson and Patrick Rothfuss. Do you like it when demons run rampant? When political intrigue and ancient rituals intersect? How about becoming the living avatar of a star? This epic fantasy series about a long-lost royal whose fate is tied to the future of an empire will take you on a thrilling ride you won’t forget and might not survive.

opens in a new windowThe Serpent Gates duology by A. K. Larkwood

The gods remember. And if you live long enough, all debts come due. This epic fantasy series about an orcish death priest who starts a new career as an assassin for a wizard to avoid becoming the god of death’s new bride is an amazing, swashbuckling, screaming-in-frustration, heart-racing cascade of emotion and action. Snake goddesses, ancient ruins, sibling rivalry for the favor of a garbage wizard. What more can you ask for?

opens in a new windowThe Lotus Kingdoms trilogy by Elizabeth Bear

Hugo Award-winning author Elizabeth Bear returns with The Origin of Storms, the stunning conclusion to her acclaimed epic fantasy trilogy, The Lotus Kingdoms. The Lotus Kingdoms are at war, with four claimants to the sorcerous throne of the Alchemical Emperor, fielding three armies between them. Alliances are made, and broken, many times over—but in the end, only one can sit on the throne. And that one must have not only the power, but the rightful claim.

opens in a new windowThe Fall of the Gods series opens in a new window by Ryan Van Loan

Ryan Van Loan concludes his pulse-pounding fantasy series with sea battles, hidden libraries, warring deities, old enemies, and one woman’s desire for liberation and revenge all wrapped up in one epic novel—The Memory in the Blood. When her quest to destroy the Gods began, Buc was a child of the streets. Now she is a woman of steel, shaped by gaining and losing power, tempered by love and betrayal, and honed to a fine edge by grief and her desire for vengeance. If Buc has to destroy all Gods, eat the rich, and break the world’s economy to save the people, she will do it. Even if it costs her everything.

opens in a new windowMercenary Librarians series opens in a new window by Kit Rocha

The Mercenary Librarians and the Silver Devils are back in the explosive conclusion to USA Today and New York Times bestselling author Kit Rocha’s post-apocalyptic action/romance in Dance with the Devil. How to describe the Mercenary Librarians series? Post-apocalyptic corporate autocracy with a rebellious streak of sweet and sexy romance. Rogue information brokers on a mission to save a crumbling America collide with a team of disillusioned AWOL supersoliders. It’s intense. It’s dangerous. It’s hot.

opens in a new windowThe Mystic Trilogy by Jason Denzel

In Mystic Skies, the epic conclusion to Jason Denzel’s The Mystic Trilogy, which spans decades and timeless realms and dreams, Pomella must confront her greatest and most personal challenge yet. For the Deep mysteries of the world will reveal themselves only to the most powerful and dedicated of Mystics. This series from the founder of Dragonmount is perfect for all fans of swords and sorcery. Do you love Robert Jordan? Brandon Sanderson? Dungeons & Dragons? You HAVE to check out The Mystic Trilogy.

opens in a new windowThe Caladan Trilogy opens in a new window by Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson

In Dune: The Heir of Caladan, the final book in the Caladan trilogy by New York Times bestselling authors Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, we step into the shoes of Paul Atreides. A boy not yet a man and about to enter a world he could never have imagined. The story that began with Duke Leto Atreides’s rise to power, then continued with the consequences of Lady Jessica’s betrayal, will now conclude with Paul becoming the person that he needs to be to become the Muad’Dib.

opens in a new windowMistborn: Wax and Wayne series opens in a new window by Brandon Sanderson

Return to #1 New York Times bestseller Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn world of Scadrial as its second era, which began with The Alloy of Law, comes to its earth-shattering conclusion in The Lost Metal.

The Mistborn series is a bold saga of epic fantasy that asks the question: What happens if the hero of prophecy fails? And also: What if ingesting various metals gave you special powers?

…

You simply cannot tell us you’re not curious…