Askaripour, Mateo. This Great Hemisphere. Dutton. Jul. 2024. 432p. ISBN 9780593472347. $29. SF

Askaripour’s debut, Black Buck, was a best seller and a Read with Jenna pick. Here, he writes a speculative, future-set novel in which some are born invisible, relegated to second-class citizenship. When Candace, an invisible woman, finds out that her missing brother is alive—and a murder suspect—she sets out to find him before it’s too late.

Bacigalupi, Paolo. Navola. Knopf. Jul. 2024. 576p. ISBN 9780593535059. $30. FANTASY

Best-selling and multi-award-winning Bacigalupi (The Water Knife) pens an epic fantasy. The de Regulai family are merchant bankers with wealth and influence over a vast empire. Davico is expected to take over the family business, but a fossilized dragon eye that his family possesses may change his fate.

Durst, Sarah Beth. The Spellshop. Bramble. Jul. 2024. 384p. ISBN 9781250333971. $29.99. FANTASY

Popular MG and YA author Durst (The Lake House) writes her first adult romantasy, featuring librarian Kiela and her assistant, a sentient spider plant named Caz. When the library goes up in flames, they flee to Kiela’s homeland, where she realizes that the empire’s magic spellbooks have been draining the island’s power, and she hopes to fix it by opening a spell shop.

Gordon, Marianne. The Gilded Crown. Harper Voyager. (The Raven’s Trade, Bk. 1). Jul. 2024. 384p. ISBN 9780063248779. pap. $18.99. FANTASY

Gordon debuts with the start to a fantasy duology. Hellevir has the ability to bring people back from the dead—for a price. When the queen’s granddaughter is assassinated, Hellevir resurrects and protects her. However, Hellevir must trade more and more of herself to keep the princess—whom she’s falling in love with—alive. With a 100K-copy first printing.

Grossman, Lev. The Bright Sword: A Novel of King Arthur. Viking. Jul. 2024. 688p. ISBN 9780735224049. $35. FANTASY

The best-selling author of the “Magicians” trilogy reimagines the legend of King Arthur. Collum travels to Camelot to compete for a spot on the Round Table but arrives after Arthur has been killed in battle, leaving no heir. With only a few peripheral oddball knights and Merlin’s apprentice, Nimue, remaining, they set out to rebuild Camelot, but Morgan le Fay might stand in their way.

Landers, Melissa. The Half King (Standard Edition). Entangled: Red Tower. Jul. 2024. 512p. ISBN 9781649377135. $29.99. FANTASY

YA author Landers (Make Me a Liar) turns to adult fiction with a romantasy about a world in which birth order determines one’s fate. Second-born Cerise is supposed to be an oracle, but she’s unable to foretell. When she’s offered the opportunity to serve the Half King instead, she discovers unexpected gifts. With a 500K-copy first printing.

Lee, Miye. The Dallergut Dream Department Store. Hanover Square: Harlequin. Jul. 2024. 300p. tr. from Korean by Sandy Joosun Lee. ISBN 9781335081179. $21.99. FANTASY

Lee’s debut, already a best seller in Korea, depicts a world in which there is a department store that sells dreams. Readers learn about this magical place through the eyes of new employee Penny as she meets the quirky employees and helps dreaming customers to heal and grow. With a 75K-copy first printing.

Lyons, Jenn. The Sky on Fire. Tor. Jul. 2024. 448p. ISBN 9781250342003. $29.99. FANTASY

Lyons (author of the LJ Best Book The Ruin of Kings) pens a fantasy heist adventure with dragons. A group of misfits, including their dragonrider ringleader, rescue Anahrod from capture, hoping to enlist her help to steal from a dragon’s hoard in the sky cities. With a 125K-copy first printing.

Pechacek, Jared. The West Passage. Tor.com. Jul. 2024. 384p. ISBN 9781250884831. $28.99. FANTASY

Artist Pechacek debuts with an illustrated medieval fantasy. In a palace the size of a city, the Guardian of the West Passage dies without a successor. Now it snows in summer and crops fail, so two of the palace residents set out on a quest to fix the situation. With a 75K-copy first printing.

Sagas, L.M. Gravity Lost. Tor. (Ambit’s Run, Bk. 2). Jul. 2024. 400p. ISBN 9781250871282. pap. $18.99. SF

Sagas’s sci-fi sequel to Cascade Failure gets a 100K-copy first printing. After their previous adventure, the Ambit crew thought they were done with Isaiah Drestyn, but they’ll have to break him out of jail and expose some of his secrets in order to protect one of their own—and learn some ugly truths along the way.

Song, K.X. The Night Ends with Fire. Ace: Berkley. Jul. 2024. 432p. ISBN 9780593815724. $30. FANTASY

Song’s (An Echo in the City) romantasy, inspired by the legend of Mulan, was won in a heated auction. Meilin disguises herself as a boy and enlists in the army to escape her father and intended husband. As her training partner, an enemy prince, and a sea dragon spirit pull her in different directions, she’ll have to decide whom to trust. Expect a specially designed first edition.

Srivatsa, Prashanth. The Spice Gate. Harper Voyager. Jul. 2024. 464p. ISBN 9780063266834. $30. FANTASY

In Srivatsa’s debut, the Spice Gates connect eight kingdoms. The gates can only be accessed by those born with a special mark, relegating them to a life of servitude as Spice Carriers. One of the carriers, Amir, dreams of escaping this fate and finds himself drawn into a conspiracy that could change everything.

Vee, Julia & Ken Bebelle. Blood Jade. Tor. (The Phoenix Hoard, Bk. 2). Jul. 2024. 448p. ISBN 9781250837929. $28.99. FANTASY

The second “Phoenix Hoard” book, after Ebony Gate, finds Emiko Soong as the new Sentinel of the sentient San Francisco. She’s investigating a murder that will reveal family secrets while also fighting the hidden armies of the General’s army. With a 100K-copy first printing.

Forthcoming Series Titles

Dawson, Juno. Queen B: The Story of Anne Boleyn, Witch Queen. Penguin Bks. (The HMRC Trilogy, Bk. 3). Jul. 2024. 224p. ISBN 9780143138341. pap. $18. FANTASY

Harkness, Deborah. The Black Bird Oracle. Ballantine. (All Souls, Bk. 5). Jul. 2024. 496p. ISBN 9780593724774. $32. FANTASY

Lemberg, R.B. Yoke of Stars. Tachyon. (Birdverse, Bk. 4). Jul. 2024. 208p. ISBN 9781616964184. pap. $15.95. FANTASY

Zahn, Timothy. The Icarus Changeling. Baen. (The Icarus Saga, Bk. 4). Jul. 2024. 336p. ISBN 9781982193485. $28. SF