Brandon Sanderson’s Secret Project 2, Engines of Chaos and Tower of Silence – these are the most exciting new fantasy books in April 2023
Steampunk uprisings, forging empires and out-of-depth elementals. From epic high fantasy to sprawling time travel mysteries, comical encounters to do-or-die endeavours. These are some of the most anticipated new fantasy books of April 2023.
Complete with titles, release dates, authors, synopsis and links to pre-order and buy your favourite new fantasy book releases right now…
16 Awesome New Fantasy Books In April
(Plus 8 new LitRPG Fantasy Books a little lower down)
The Rascor Plains
Phil Tucker, 1 April 2023
The sequel to Bastion and book 2 in Phil tucker’s The Immortal Great Souls series, The Rascor Plains sees Scorio continue his search for the truth about his past, why he was first welcomed to the academy of defenders and then outcast. The quest continues through the perilous Rascor Plains, a place of intrigue, powerful enemies and perhaps some of the darkest secrets of this world. Will Scorio finally uncover the truth and regain his reputation? We find out in Phil Tucker’s new The Rascor Plains.
Genres Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Action
Author Phil Tucker Home Asheville, North Carolina, US
Publisher Self | Buy it
Engines of Chaos
RS Ford, 4 April 2023
Finally some more new steampunk! The 2nd book in RS Ford’s The Age of Uprising series, Engines of Chaos sees the Guilds in disarray as the now-victorious usurper Sanctan Egelrath tightens his grip and exerts his power. Alone and all but beaten, Rosomon Hawkspur might yet find an alley in Torwyn’s greatest warrior, Lancelin Jagdor. But with her family gone, very few friends and being so vastly outnumbered, Rosomon will have to choose her battles very carefully in RS Ford’s Engines of Chaos.
Genres Fantasy, Steampunk, Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy
Author RS Ford (Richard Ford) Home born Leeds; lives Cambridgeshire, UK
Publisher Orbit | Buy it
The Captain
Will Wight, 4 April 2023
Book 1 in Will Wight’s all-new sci-fi-and-fantasy-blending The Last Horizon series, The Captain sees space-faring Archmage Varic Vallenar so troubled by terrible memories of his previous lives (especially the way his former selves died) that he casts a spell to unite himself with the preceding 6 – giving him all their power and complete memories. Problem is, now that he knows the terrible overpowering forces they faced, he knows he’s nowhere near strong enough to defeat it. Will he die like the others? Or is there hope in the stories of a mythical starship inhabited by near-invincible heroes? Is The Last Horizon real? We find out in Will Wight’s The Captain.
Genres Science Fiction, Fantasy
Author Will Wight | Home Orlando, Florida, US
Publisher Hidden Gnome Publishing | Buy it
Tower of Silence
Larry Correia, 4 April 2023
Book 4 in Larry Correia’s lauded Saga of the Forgotten Warrior (aka Son of the Black Sword) series, Tower of Silence sees The Great Extermination of the casteless now spread throughout the realm of Lok. And the people’s Protector, Vadal, must escape his prison and fight his way through an army of demons to rejoin Thera and the Sons of the Black Sword, while treacherous politics in the capital conspire to grant his opponents godly powers should he ever return in Larry Correia’s new Tower of Silence.
Genres Fantasy, Epic Fantasy
Author Larry Correia | Home Utah, US
Publisher Baen | Buy it
Potentia: Bonds Forged
Michael Anderle & Auburn Tempest, 4 April 2023
The third book in co-authors Michael Anderle & Auburn Tempest’s Chronicles of an Urban Elemental, Potentia: Bonds Forged sees Jules and her four sisters, aka the Quebec Quint, set off for Montreal. The Orphans of the lost Fae Realm, complete with friends and police backup have their work cut out for them in cleaning up another big city with troubles in all-new Potentia: Bonds Forged.
Genres Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
Authors Michael Anderle & Auburn Tempest Home Texas US & Ontario, Canada
Publisher LMBPN Publishing | Buy it
The Tyrant Riot
YB Striker, 6 April 2023
The second instalment in YB Striker’s Virtuous Sons series, The Tyrant Riot, sees Lio and Sol fresh from battle at the unending storm and thrust into a new challenge as the Tyrants vie for the throne surge towards uprising. The duo will once again have to stand against Tyrants, the Heavens and all who seek to bring disorder to the realms in YB Striker’s The Tyrant Riot.
Genres Fantasy, Mystery
Author YB Striker Home likely US
Publisher Timeless Wind Publishing | Buy it
Forge of the High Mage
Ian C Esslemont, 6 April 2023
The fourth book in Ian C Esslemont’s Path to Ascendancy series, Forge of the High Mage sees new, untested and quite freshly injured high mage Tayschrenn accompany a tired rag-tag army sent fresh from the fight at Quon Talian on a new expedition to invade the lands of Falar. As if the odds weren’t stacked enough, they run into an ancient elemental horror along the way. Tayschrenn knows what it is… and that he is desperately inadequate to face it. But everything rides on this, and this is his chance to prove he is worthy of the title in Ian C Esslemont’s new epic fantasy Forge of the High Mage.
Genres Fantasy, Epic Fantasy
Author Ian C Esslemont Home Alaska, US
Publisher Transworld Digital | Buy it
Untethered Sky
Fonda Lee, 11 April 2023
A new novella from World Fantasy Award-winning author Fonda Lee, Untethered Sky is a fantasy epic with science fiction undertones. It’s the story of the battle-forged relationship between warrior, Ester, and her mount, an immature roc (giant eagle) called Zahra. Raised by an embittered father obsessed with avenging the murder of Ester’s mother and baby brother by a vicious manticore, Ester gets the chance to exact her revenge. But success will hinge on her ability to cooperate and trust in the seemingly loveless and willful bird, Zahra, in Untethered Sky.
Genres Fantasy, Novella, Adult, Science Fiction, High Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Asian Literature
Author Fonda Lee | Home born Canada; lives Portland Oregon, US
Publisher Tor Publishing Group | Buy it
The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England (Secret Project 2)
Brandon Sanderson, 11 April 2023
The second of Brandon Sanderson’s Secret Projects is here! The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England is a Jason Bourne-style setup in an epic fantasy style. Seriously, check it out: A man wakes up with no memories in medieval England. He’s chased by time travelling agents, and his only clue to what is going on was meant to be a guidebook that accidentally got incinerated. The few fragments that remain can provide some cryptic clues if he can figure them out in time in Brandon Sanderson’s new The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England.
Genres Fantasy, Adult, Epic Fantasy, Science Fiction, Time Travel, High Fantasy, Adult
Author Brandon Sanderson Home born Lincoln, Nebraska; lives American Fork, Utah
Publisher Tor Books | Buy it
Master of the Fallen
Justin Call, 13 April 2023
The third instalment in Justin Call’s The Silent Gods epic fantasy series, Master of the Fallen sees magically cursed-blessed Annev and friends set out on another adventure. As always, Annev is all too acutely aware of (and desperately trying to control) his nascent “evil” nature. And other survivors of the attack on the Academy in Book 2 might have made decisions that could have ripple effects well into the future in Justin Call’s Master of the Fallen.
Genres Fantasy, High Fantasy, Adult, Young Adult, Epic Fantasy
Author Justin Call Home Park City, Utah, US
Publisher Gollancz | Buy it
The Bone Shard War
Andrea Stewart, 20 April 2023
The third and final book in Andrea Stewart’s The Drowning Empire epic high fantasy series, The Bone Shard War sees new empress Lin Sukai’s Phoenix Empire hang in the balance as her own governours plot treason while old enemies including Nisong and the dangerous Ragan set their sights on ending her dynasty once and for all. But legend tells of 7 mythical swords, and Lin’s salvation might yet lie in discovering these ancient magical weapons in The Bone Shard War.
Genres Fantasy, Adult, LGBTQ, High Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Lesbian, Romance, Young Adult
Author Andrea Stewart Home California, UA
Publisher Orbit | Buy it
The Remarkable Retirement of Edna Fisher
EM Anderson, 21 April 2023
The debut novel of beloved short story author EM Anderson, The Remarkable Retirement of Edna Fisher sees geriatric 83-year-old Edna Fisher hailed as the Chosen One destined to defeat the dragon-riding sorcerer set on destroying the world. Funny, since she’s never had any magic, wielded a weapon or done much of anything other than knitting. Prophecy is prophecy, though, and Edna leaps to action with gusto – there might yet be a reason for her choosing, something only a sympathetic mother can solve in EM Anderson’s The Remarkable Retirement of Edna Fisher.
Genres Fantasy, Adult, Dragons, LGBTQ, Science Fiction Fantasy, High Fantasy, Mystery
Author EM Anderson Home Ohio, US
Publisher Hansen House | Buy it
In The Lives Of Puppets
TJ Klune, 25 April 2023
In the brand-new standalone novel In the Lives of Puppets, TJ Klune weaves a darkly fantastical retelling of Pinocchio. When fatherly inventor droid Gio, who lives in hiding with two other droids and a human named Vic, reactivates an old droid named “HAP” from back in his human-hunting days, Hap accidentally alerts acquaintances from Gio’s former life – and they come to take him away. Now, Vic, Hap and the others must go on a perilous journey through a strange, wonderful and dangerous sci-fi-fantasy world to find Gio and bring him back.
Genres Fantasy, Science Fiction, LGBTQ, Adult, Retellings, Romance
Author TJ Klune | Home born Oregon; lives Virginia, US
Publisher Pan Macmillan | Buy it
A Sleight of Shadows
Kat Howard, 25 April 2023
The second book in Kat Howard’s amazing An Unkindness of Magicians urban fantasy, A Sleight of Shadows sees Sydney, once one of the world’s most dangerous magicians, completely drained of magic after spending it all to stop the corruption in the Unseen World. Problem is the House of Shadows in New York is rebuilding itself and the Unseen World, forcing Sydney into a desperate move to regain her spent magic, but at what cost? We find out in Kat Howard’s A Sleight of Shadows.
Genres Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Adult, Magic, Science Fiction Fantasy
Author Kat Howard Home Minnesota, US
Publisher Gallery / Saga Press | Buy it
Night Angel Nemesis
Brent Weeks, 25 April 2023
Brand-new from Brent Weeks, a return to the world of Night Angel in the all-new The Kylar Chronicles series, but with a twist. Night Angel Nemesis sees Kylar Stern fatigued from all the war and bloodshed, ready to hang up his assassin’s robes – except for one last job. To keep the fragile peace, High King Logan Gyre needs a trusted ally to secure a magical item, and who is better suited than his friend Kylar? If all goes well, this will be a heist, not more bloodshed. But Kylar knows better than to expect an easy task; he has enemies who’ll leap at the chance to get hold of such a magical item, after all. It all starts with Brent Weeks’ new Night Angel Nemesis.
Genres Fantasy, High Fantasy, Adult
Author Brent Weeks Home Portland Oregon, US
Publisher Orbit | Buy it
Fused
Lindsay Buroker, 29 April 2023
The sixth book in Lindsay Buroker’s Legacy of Magic urban fantasy series Fused sees Matti Puletasi and elf assassin Sarrlevi finally get the chance to confront her parents’ kidnappers. But it turns out there’s way more going on than just some missing people – dragons, a secret organization, a plot to sever Earth realm from the rest of the Cosmos and, you know, the end of humanity and all that. Looks like finding Matti’s parents might mean having to save the entire world too, in Lindsay Buroker’s Fused.
Genres Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Paranormal, Dragons, Magic, Elves, Paranormal Romance
Author Lindsay Buroker Home Bend, Oregon, US
Publisher Self | Buy it
Plus: 8 Brand-new Progression Fantasy (LitRPG) Books
Arcane knights, eldritch horrors and magic academies. Discover 8 awesome new fantasy LitRPG books in April.
Note: I try my best to get every bit of info I can, and will keep updating this page all the time. If you know of a book, author, show, channel or event that should be on this list, let me know at elvorne@scifixfantasy.com and I’ll make it happen.
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