Cover Reveal: Children of Fire by Drew Karpyshyn

The cover to Drew Karpyshyn's new book, Children of Fire has been revealed! Read an excerpt from the former BioWare writer's original fantasy epic before its August 27th release date: 

CHILDREN OF FIRE by Drew Karpyshyn, Excerpt 

by Random House Publishing Group.

New Dragon Age novel in the works for 2014

Tor books just announced the fourth book in the series based on Bioware's RPG, Dragon Age. My excitement over this announcement surprises me because, since Dragon Age 2, I've been skeptical about Bioware's focus in the series. However, the movie Dawn of the Seeker, wasn't as bad as I feared, solidifying the series' move away from Darkspawn and Blights, and firmly settling down with its mage/templar conflict.

I truly fell in love with gaming after playing Bioware's RPGs, Mass Effect, Knights of the Old Republic and Dragon Age. From there, I've branched into reading their tie-in books and comics. Why? Because Bioware does such a fantastic job on their characters that I hunger to learn more about them. This book promises more of that fantastic characterization, focusing on Empress Celene as she struggles to maintain her throne - a common theme in the series. The mage/templar war continues with the added drama of an elf uprising, all taking place within Orlais, the land we've heard much about, but have only had glimpses of. The book will be released in April 2014 after the 2013 fall release of Dragon Age III: Inquisition.

Release Date Confirmed for The Republic of Thieves

Hooray! At long last, we have a confirmed date. Mark your calendars, fellow fantasy fans, because the third book of Scott Lynch's Gentleman Bastard series The Republic of Thieves will be released this year on October 8 in the United States, and October 10 in the UK.

I must say I've had the pleasure of discovering a ton of great new titles and authors in the fantasy genre in recent years, but this series has always stood out for me because of its characters and their adventures. Highly recommended. I was enthralled from the moment I first picked up the book The Lies of Locke Lamora and things only got better with the sequel Red Seas Under Red Skies. So why, yes, I have been waiting on news for this third book for a while!

Summer Reads

A few upcoming releases I'm looking forward to reading in the next coming months. Summer 2011 is shaping up to be a great season for fans of the fantasy genre.

A Dance with Dragons by George R. R. Martin
Release Date: July 12

The battle of the Seven Kingdoms continues in this fifth installment of A Song of Ice and Fire. I wouldn't be surprised if this turns out to be the most anticipated fantasy book this year. Longtime followers of this series have been waiting for this book for a long time, and I daresay the success of HBO's Game of Thrones has garnered Martin a significant number of new fans.

I only finished catching up with the series last year, but I'm no less itching to revisit the rest of the characters not featured in the last book and find out how the story continues.

Ghost Story by Jim Butcher
Release Date: July 26

I went on a Dresden Files marathon last month hoping to catch up with the series in time for book 13, and it looks like I succeeded with weeks to spare. I'm not averse to urban fantasy, though I haven't been actively seeking out new titles. But Storm Front, the first Dresden book, came highly recommended and after my first taste, I was hooked.

The last book aptly titled Changes held a major turning point, not to mention a bombshell of a cliffhanger. I suspect a new direction for this series, one I'm not sure how I feel about yet, but I guess I'll find out when I read Ghost Story.

Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence
Release Date: August 2
I'm always on the lookout for new authors and books to read, and the buzz around Prince of Thorns has caught my attention since winter.

It has been described with words like "dark", "beautiful", "haunting", "poetic", "disturbing", "exciting"...sounds right up my alley. Certainly the praise this book has gotten thus far has intrigued me, and I gladly added it to my list of summer reads.