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As always, this is not a comprehensive list, but only includes all the books I have heard about so far.
If you have a fantasy novel you are self publishing in January or beyond, let me know by filling out THIS FORM, and I shall add it to the page. There are but 3 requirements:
1) It must be a self published fantasy novel.
2) It must have a Goodreads page.
3) It must have a cover.
1st January – God Ascended (An Archives of Evelium tale #3) by Jeff Speight
Epic Fantasy
Even gods can die.
God Ascended is the stunning and powerful conclusion to Jeffrey Speight’s acclaimed Archives of Evelium trilogy.
Umhra the Peacebreaker has ascended to the heavens of Kalmindon. He follows the wake of destruction Spara leaves as she pursues the annihilation of Vaila’s pantheon in her bid to become the One God. To thwart Spara’s ambitions, Umhra must travel the planes of existence to consolidate untold celestial powers.
In Evelium, there are whispered hopes of the Peacebreaker’s inevitable return as future queen Turin Forene struggles to lead the remnants of mankind against the Grey Queen, whose army of blights has wreaked havoc across the continent for the last two decades. Turin hatches a daring plan to bring her enemies to their knees with the support of the Barrow’s Pact. But they face impossible odds.
With nothing left to lose, an epic final battle rages, with the futures of both Kalmindon and Evelium at stake.
1st January – Supplicant (Resonance Crystal Legacy #2) by Delilah Waan
Epic Fantasy
In the depths of the Endless Gate, anyone can become a god—if they are willing to pay the price.
Common-born Rahelu can’t afford principles: she had to sell her loyalty to the highest bidder in the Dominion to save her destitute family. Now she must work with her scheming House-born peers and her most detested rival to carry out her secretive Elder’s dubious orders: steal an artifact that can supposedly turn any desire into reality before the Dominion’s enemies can do the same.
But when control of the future itself is the prize, temptation beckons. Even Rahelu, who has never dreamed of anything more than a debt-free life of simple comforts, is swayed. No blood feud is too old to set aside; no alliance is too unsavory and no method too ruthless to contemplate.
House politics and hidden motives soon set Rahelu and her teammates at each others’ throats, as foreign operatives and treasure-seeking pirates pursue them across deadly seas, past the edge of the known world. All are oblivious to the dying cult manipulating fate from the shadows…and the ancient power stirring inside the Endless Gate.
Torn between her own desires and new loyalties, guilt-wracked by the blood accumulating on her hands, Rahelu’s oaths force her to a devastating choice: who else is she willing to sacrifice in the name of success?
7th January – Greater Than All (Torth #5) by Abby Goldsmith
Grimdark, Sci-Fantasy, Progression/Cultivation
With freedom fleeting and human extinction a distinct possibility, the heroes of prophecy must work together to safeguard the future of the galaxy.
The balance of power is shifting in the vicious galactic war against the Torth Majority. The heroes are led by Ariock, a superhuman titan who wins every battle. The secret behind his victories is Thomas, the telepathic renegade supergenius.
But resting on their laurels isn’t an option. Overconfidence could be fatal, thanks to the enemy supergenius known as the Death Architect. And there may be an intrinsic threat among their ranks as well. While Ariock is conquering alien cities and protecting Freedomland, Thomas is transforming the captured Torth into zombified slaves. What better way for Thomas—part human, part Torth—to prove he’s on the side of the good guys than to neutralize their adversary’s minions?
He knows it’ll take more than lumbering prisoners with space dust for brains to win the ultimate war, however, so he’s devising something else. With his superluminal communications technology, all the planets of the galaxy could soon be knitted together in new and frightening ways. One giant hivemind. But are his powers being wielded on behalf of liberty and humanism? Or is Thomas a betrayer helping to galvanize the Torth?
Ally or foe? Ariock is having his doubts. Relying on Thomas could be a grave mistake, but a lapse in trust would be just as bad. Either way, if Ariock makes the wrong decision, freedom will be just a blip in the history of the galaxy . . .
7th January – Thunder Kraken (Kraken Rider Z #2) by Dyrk Ashton & David Estes
Epic Fantasy, Progression/Cultivation
Zee Tarrow’s dreams are finally coming true.
While the road to acceptance into Triumf’s Citadel Academy has been filled with pain, suffering, and more joy and surprises than Zee could’ve possibly imagined, now is his time to shine. After all, he’s the first kraken rider in more than a thousand years! Who could possibly defeat him? Except now he must be separated from his best and most loyal friend, the kraken, Jessup, as they both must complete basic training individually in order to pass and become full-fledged cadets.
Easy, right?
Not so much. Rival flights will stop at nothing to defeat or even destroy them, but Zee and Jessup will face far graver danger from mysterious powers who despise them simply for existing. Assassination attempts, monsters of the deep, and the challenges of rising from the sea to live in a world that prefers dry land will thwart them at every turn.
All the while, an evil deadlier than the most powerful dragonrider to ever exist lurks in the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to come forth and destroy…
If Zee and Jessup are to survive much less thrive, they must forge new friendships, overcome the odds stacked against them, and, above all else, continue to progress their power to levels that haven’t been witnessed in a millennium.
14th Jan – Glass Kanin #1 by Kia Leep
Sword & Sorcery, Progression/Cultivation, LitRPG
As a rising actor, Kanin’s body is his career. His identity. His life. All that is taken from him when he dies and is reborn as a bottle of ink.
Now living as the heart of a magical glass servant, Kanin’s new purpose is to perform a senile wizard’s yard work—a role this world’s magic system seems intent on enforcing. All that might have been manageable if a murderous shadow monster wasn’t hunting his very soul.
But he’s not in it alone. Teaming up with an elf whose soul has likewise been trapped in a toy octopus, they recruit help from a devilishly handsome rogue and set off on a journey to break the spell that’s trapped them in this state.
A wizard owns his body. The magic system has determined his fate. A shadow monster wants to control his mind. But as long as Kanin’s soul remains his own, he’ll fight to win back his autonomy—or die trying.
Again.
15th January – Morvelving (An Erviad Novel) by C.J. Switzer
Epic Fantasy, Grimdark
Morvelving, an exile trapped by the same vices that led to his son’s death, is ready to end it all. Until he meets the orphan, Nippiktua, a mute and deaf child, marked by the Fates and with a knack for mischief. Though guilt ridden, Morvelving will not allow himself to abandon her to her treacherous destiny, and so vows to find her a safe and hidden home.
A wayward and perilous journey begins. Along their path, the two encounter a mystical Stag, escape warmongering centaurs, dispute with an obstinate prince, and flee from a dragon’s zealots.
But when the zealots capture Nippiktua as a sacrifice to the dragon’s whim, Morvelving must allay his fears and race to save the child from the strings of the Fates in the shadow of the tyrannical dragon.
28th January – The Shards of the Moon (The Frostmarked Chronicles #5) by Brendan Noble
Epic Fantasy, Sword & Sorcery, YA
The gods of death and darkness await.
Chosen. Having defeated the Frostmarked Horde, Otylia and her mother turn to ending winter’s lingering grip. But when Dziewanna’s ritual locks her into holding back Marzanna’s power in the living realm, she commands Otylia to follow the dead into the Way of Souls and defeat winter’s corruption at its source.
If only she knew how…
Crowned. Wacław labors beneath the burden of leading those who survived the Horde’s attack. They are his responsibility, but as a Naw born to protect the Way of Souls, he is the key to ensuring Otylia and his friends are to survive the trials ahead.
Except their foes have Nawie of their own…
19th January – Before the Edn (The Lost Race #1) by Niranjan K
Sci-Fantasy
Centuries ago, the human race had arrived at the Swelgarian system in order to escape extinction and were welcomed by a mysterious race called the Derohi, after being attacked by a creature called a Wyrse.
In the present day, the Derohi had been annihilated by humans and Wyrses, and a relentless battle between Wyrses and humans is being waged with the humans holding the upper hand, thanks to the organisation called Hunters.
Steve Carrel, a hunter, and his siblings are plagued by strange dreams about the locked room which is believed to contain the last remnants of the now extinct race of the Derohi. Kevin Bones, his grandfather is murdered, his brother Paul is attacked, and Richard, his father is in a coma after visiting the planet of Kadel where the locked room is.
When truths about their connection to the locked room come to light, the Carrels and their friends find themselves in a race against time to save themselves as well as the entire planetary system from the power within the locked room.
31st January – Blade of Castrial (The Echelon) by Niranjan K
Urban Fantasy, Sword & Sorcery
In a choice between love and duty, what can he choose?
When Lucian is appointed Blade of Castrial, the second highest position in the Echelon of Castrial, next only to the King and equal only to the Shield of Castrial, it’s the culmination of an impossible dream.
The role of the Blade is to protect Castrial from external threats and in the course of his job, Lucian comes across secrets about his dead brother whom he idolised, secrets he can’t share even with Alaric, his best friend and lover who is next in line to become the Shield of Castrial.
When the current Shield of Castrial is killed suddenly and all clues point to Alaric, Lucian has to decide whether he should turn a blind eye or let the law take its course.
