Evie is a an orphan who grew up in the palace as a poor relation of Queen Cordelia. It might have been different if she could boast of powerful magic but all she has is one of the mutt magics, in her case a magically keen sense of smell. She wanted to boast of her secret immunity to magic but as she grew up she realized her parents were right and that it would be dangerous to say anything about it. So she spent her time performing whatever tasks none of the other royals want to do until the day Crown Princess Vasilia decided to take the throne for herself leaving alive no one to challenge her claim. Saved by her immunity, and assumed dead by her cousin, Evie finds herself in the gladiator troupe owned by Queen Cordelia's former bodyguard, Serilda. Uncertain if she can trust Serilda, Evie is determined to gain the skills that would allow her to get vengeance on her cousin who is a master with the sword. But the Black Swan gladiator troupe has just as many rivalries and secrets as the palace did.

Terry Brooks, best known as the author of the Shannara series, offers up a dystopian sci-fi tale set in the United Territories, which is the country that was formed after the fall of the United States. Ash Collins is a typical teenager working on his homework when he gets a message from his Dad. "Ash! Get out now! Go into the Red Zone. Go to Street Freaks. Don't wait!" his out of breath Dad urgently says before the call gets abruptly cut off. Ash is pretty surprised by that call since the Red Zone is the forbidden area of Los Angeles that is way too dangerous for him to have ever been there; however, when his apartment is suddenly assaulted he flees out a window without a real plan. Ash has lived a sheltered life and is ill prepared to be hunted by professionals, so when his Dad shows up on the news for supposedly committing suicide, Ash has little choice but to follow his Dad's cryptic final instructions and head into the Red Zone to find Street Freaks, whatever that is.

Before Briggs became known for the Mercy Thompson series of urban fantasy she was one of the first to adopt the lighter style that replaced the heavy epic fantasy of the 90's. When Demons Walk is one of four books she wrote that only qualify as a series because they all take place in the same world. Shamera, "Sham", is a wizard, thief, and occasional rebel in Southwood which was conquered ten years ago by the Cymbellian empire. She can't forgive the conquerors for killing her parents and blinding her Master, the former Royal Magician. Kerim, the Reeve (governor) of Southwood, was once a great warrior and favored by the god Altis but his body is weakening for no obvious reason and he spends most of his days in a wheeled chair. The Cymbellian's regard magic as local superstition but when Kerim's half-brother dies under mysterious circumstances he needs the help of Southwood's remaining wizard.

I have never had a desire to delve into the plethora of books related to existing sci-fi franchises, like Star Trek or Star Wars, but Firefly's cancellation remains such a sore spot for me that I couldn't resist a chance to experience more of the characters I fell in love with and didn't get enough of. Big Damn Hero is the first novel set in the world of the short-lived TV series created by Joss Whedon and it reads like it could easily have been an episode of the series. Set in a time before the movie Serenity, as evidenced by all of the characters being present, Big Damn Hero offers up a chance for you to return to the Verse and spend more time with Mal and the crew as they try to make a living under the watchful eye of the Alliance.

The storylines in Maresca's four Maradaine series come together with plenty of mayhem in City of the People. It isn't all that unique for an author to pull together various threads, but in this case Maresca pulls together threads from four different series, spanning twelve novels, in an absolutely masterful way. The main characters from each of the series are thrown together as they battle necromancy, cultists, magical constructs, complicated contraptions, and a dragon in their efforts to save the missing children. Can vigilante college students, honest constables, criminal masterminds, and brave knights survive the betrayals and plotting of the Brotherhood of the Nine?

Tony Valdez is a Dispatcher, but times are tough in Chicago and he is struggling to make ends meet. His job is bound by strict rules, after all murdering people in order to save their lives is a complicated business, but when the bills start to stack up some of those "grey area" gigs become more attractive. As we experienced in the first novella, The Dispatcher, for an unknown reason it has become almost impossible to murder anyone as 99.9% of the time when someone is murdered their body disappears and they find themselves back at home alive and well with full knowledge of their death. Society has had 12 years to come to grips with this new reality and people are starting to get creative in how they take advantage of this phenomenon. This makes life complicated for Tony and his potential side gigs because he really could use the money.

The previous book was a total cliffhanger so it is up to this series finale to wrap up all the open storylines. The war in Europe went FUBAR when the dirty bombs did not wipe out the Variants as intended so Team Ghost is now up against a whole new level of enemy. The radiation from the bombs has caused the monsters to accelerate their rate of mutation and it has resulted in the evolution of a Queen mutant capable of controlling the others. Back in the US there is a full blown civil war underway and President Ringgold is on the run since many believe she ordered attacks on the very safe zones that she created. Horne is doing his best to keep Dr. Novato alive while Beckham is lost and presumed dead. Is it finally time for the human race to go extinct or will the remaining humans give all they have to prevail?

Peace time means innovation is taking hold in the Union and a brighter future lies just around the corner for all the main characters. Lol, not exactly, after all this is a Joe Abercrombie book. The trouble with peace is that it is provides a fertile ground for unrest to take hold in and after the events of the first book all of the main characters are quite dissatisfied with the status quo. King Orso is new to his role as head of the Union, which means the members of his open council are actively jockeying for personal power instead of supporting him, and he is still brooding over his unexpected break-up with Savine, who is struggling with her investments. To nobody's surprise Savine's one night stand with the Union's newest hero, Leo dan Brock, doesn't make her any happier. In fact it sets in motion unintended consequences that make the political situation within the Union a powder keg ready to explode. Things aren't much better up north where Stour Nightfall has new ambitions for revenge after losing his duel to Leo, and the Dogman's daughter, Rikke, is barely staying sane as her ability to see the future has taken over her life and is preventing her from dealing with the present. This means that all of these main characters have political and personal motivations to see the others come to misery, so come along for the ride and find out how it all happens.

The comparison to Hogwarts is inevitable but The Scholomance is on an entirely different level that is darker and more complex. Sorcerers built The Scholomance to protect their children from the malefactions that are always hungry for the magic that sorcerers contain. The idea was to build it in a void pocket with a single portal that would only open once a year for graduates to exit and freshmen to enter. Its creator knew that malefactions would still find their way in, but powerful wards were built into the structure to make it difficult for them to get past the portal hall. Then just before the seniors exit the portal hall it is swept with mortal fire to kill the mals and give the students a clear path to the portal. It works, except for the mortal fire part, and at most sixty percent of the kids manage to survive "graduation". To increase their chances of survival the kids form alliances and work together, but El is the least popular kid in her year. For three years she has been looking for a chance to impress the better connected students but time is running out. Everything begins to change when her year's golden boy and self-appointed hero, Orion, busts into her room to save her from a mal.

The fight for Earth has been lost. With the failure of Operation Redemption in the last book the human race now finds itself on the brink of extinction. The few humans still alive on Earth can barely recognize their own planet. All the freshwater gone and the oceans down to 21% of their former volume, and still the aliens continue to drain away the remaining water. Earth is now a barren planet and this is the world that the former crew of the grounded submarine, Ghost of Atlantis, is trying to survive in. Of course, things are not much better for their former commander, Captain Noble, who finds himself caged in some kind of alien zoo spaceship and headed to an unknown destination. Perhaps humanity's best hope of survival is Dr Winston's team who are on their way to Mars aboard the NTC Sunspot in a desperate attempt to find a new home - too bad for them the aliens are already there too.