Seanan McGuire’s excellent October Daye series is one of my absolute favorites, and I’ve been pining for more in that world for over a year now!
To recap, books 17 and 18, Sleep No More and The Innocent Sleep, were released one month apart in fall 2023, and tell essentially the same story, but from two different characters’ perspectives. They were awesome… and they’ve left us all hanging ever since!
Today, I got access to the ARC for the next book in the series, and I am beyond delighted! Here’s a quick peek:
Book #19, Silver and Lead, will be released September 30th:
Seanan McGuire’s New York Times bestselling and Hugo Award-nominated October Daye series continues as Toby Daye is thrust once again into danger… and this time she has more than ever to protect.
Something is rotten in Faerie. In the aftermath of Titania’s reality-warping enchantment, things are returning to what passes for normal in the Kingdom in the Mists—until it’s discovered that the royal vaults have been looted, and several powerful magical artifacts are missing. None are things that can be safely left unsecured, and some have the potential to do almost as much damage as Titania did, and having them in the wrong hands could prove just as disastrous.
At least the theft means that Sir October “Toby” Daye, Knight errant and Hero of the Realm, finally has an excuse to get out of the house. Sure, she’s eight and a half months pregnant, but that doesn’t mean she can’t take care of herself. But with the sea witch offering to stand godmother to Toby’s child, maybe there are greater dangers ahead for Toby and her family than it appears….
Old enemies will resurface, new enemies will disguise themselves as friends, and Queen Windermere must try to keep her Hero on the case without getting herself gutted by the increasingly irritated local King of Cats. Sometimes, what’s been lost can be the most dangerous threat of all.
I can’t wait! But I will… I’m going to try to hold off until closer to the release date, and meanwhile, plan to do a reread of the previous two books. I’m thrilled to be re-entering Toby’s world!
Preorder links: Amazon – Bookshop.org – Libro.fm
Add to: Goodreads – Storygraph
As I was finishing up this post, two exciting pieces of book news crossed my radar, and they’re too good not to share! So while not related to October Daye, they’re both about new books in long-term series… and both are huge!
First:
The next (and final) book in the world of His Dark Materials has been announced!
The Rose Field, book #3 in The Book of Dust series (following La Belle Sauvage, published 2017, and The Secret Commonwealth, published 2019) will be release in fall 2025.
According to this BBC article:
Author Philip Pullman has revealed details of the sixth and final book in his series about Lyra Silvertongue, the character at the heart of His Dark Materials and The Book of Dust trilogies.
The Rose Field will be published on 23 October, and will follow his heroine’s story up to her early 20s.
She was 11 when she was introduced in the best-selling and award-winning first His Dark Materials book, Northern Lights, in 1995.
Pullman, 78, said he was “relieved” to have “come out of the end alive and able to see it being made into a book and published”.
The Rose Field has a scheduled publication date of October 23, 2025. While a cover has not yet been revealed, the publisher’s site has this blurb:
The breathtaking conclusion to Philip Pullman’s Book of Dust! This landmark trilogy, set in the world readers first glimpsed in The Golden Compass, continues the story of Lyra: “one of fantasy’s most indelible heroines” (The New York Times Magazine).
“It’s a stunning achievement, this universe Pullman has created and continues to build on.” —The New York Times
Picking up right where The Secret Commonwealth left off, this story finds Lyra alone in a city haunted by daemons, searching for her beloved Pan. Malcolm Polstead isn’t far behind, searching for Lyra. And they are both racing toward the desert of Karamakan, following the trail of roses said to hold the secret of Dust.
Their allies and enemies are converging on the mysterious red building at the heart of the desert: Marcel Delamare and the military might of the Magisterium; the radical Men from the Mountains; scientists, scholars and spies; troops of witches and other people of the air. And awaiting them all is a previously unseen and chilling new threat that will change everything.
The intertwining odysseys of Malcolm and Lyra, their journeys both internal and external, will test their limits and challenge even their most dearly held beliefs.
As ever, Philip Pullman is using the language of fantasy to illuminate our world and to explore the deepest questions of what it means to be alive and awake to all the splendors and horrors around us. The extraordinary novels of The Book of Dust speak powerfully to today’s readers and will take their place alongside the forever-favorites of His Dark Materials.
Of course, this means that I’ll need to reread (at least) The Secret Commonwealth before October. My reading life has suddenly gotten a whole lot busier!
The Rose Field is available for preorder: Amazon – Bookshop.org
Add to: Goodreads – Storygraph
Last, but certainly not least:
Outlander book 10 has a title!
Diana Gabaldon shared this exciting news on social media:
There you have it — book #10 will be called:
A Blessing for a Warrior Going Out
As Diana makes clear… there’s no release date, so no preorder links, and the book isn’t done yet — but hey, at least we have a name!!
Hope you’re all as happy about these three upcoming new releases as I am!
Bookshelf Fantasies 