February and March tend to be fun months for fantasy readers.
January is often a dead month when it comes to new releases. People are still recovering from the holidays and publishers seem to not publish big titles in the month. It makes sense; we are all trying to pay off what we couldn’t afford in December! At any rate, things begin to pick up in February, March, and into spring. What makes these two months fun though is publishers and authors, who are releasing books in the busy summer, begin showcasing excerpts!
These teasing chapters help the publicity of the book and author as well as give the readers a gift of sorts for having waited a year—or longer in some cases—for their favorite authors’ newest books.
Here are some of the excerpts I’ve seen pop up around the internet(s) in the last few weeks for authors that I read and love:
- Bearers of the Black Staff by Terry Brooks – Chapter 2 (video)
- Naamah’s Curse by Jacqueline Carey – Chapter X (video)
- Spellwright by Blake Charlton – Prologue-Chapter 4
- Against All Things Ending by Stephen R. Donaldson – Chapter 1
- Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb – Prologue-Chapter 4
- The Mystery Knight by George R. R. Martin – Novella Excerpt
- Shadowrise by Tad Williams – Chapter X, Chapter 3, Chapter 8
- Shadowheart by Tad Williams – Prologue (video)
I’m sure we will see more soon. The season is still early and there are some great books coming out this year. If you have seen something I’ve missed, definitely post it in the Comments field for the other Suvudu readers. The more cool reading we can get in, the better we all will be!
And so will the authors too!
Stay tuned!
By the way, Dragon Keeper is newly out in US bookstores, so that book is not forthcoming. I wanted to feature it as it is a large excerpt and I love Robin!