Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them. For my latest Waiting on Wednesday, I am going to check out two intriguing-sounding fantasy debuts that are coming out in the first half of next year. Both of these upcoming debuts sound like they could be a lot of fun, and I have a feeling that both of them are going to be the start of some memorable fantasy series.

The first one of these books that is coming out is The Last Smile in Sunder City by Australian author Luke Arnold. This is the first novel from Arnold, who is famous for his acting roles in shows such as Black Sails, and from what I have seen in the plot synopsis, his debut could be a rather interesting fantasy thriller.

Goodreads Synopsis:

I’m Fetch Phillips, just like it says on the window. There are a few things you should know before you hire me:
1. Sobriety costs extra.
2. My services are confidential – the cops can never make me talk.
3. I don’t work for humans.

It’s nothing personal – I’m human myself. But after what happened, Humans don’t need my help. Not like every other creature who had the magic ripped out of them when the Coda came…
I just want one real case. One chance to do something good.
Because it’s my fault the magic is never coming back.

I have had some good experiences with contemporary fantasy thrillers in the past, and this one does sound pretty cool. The concept of a drunk private eye helping de-powered magical creatures out of guilt has some real potential, and I will be pretty intrigued to see why it was Fetch’s fault that magic no longer exists in the world. There is currently no indication of what sort of case he will be investigating, although one of the other taglines I have seen for the book is “Welcome to Sunder City. The magic is gone but the monsters remain.” I have a feeling that the protagonist will be facing off against other humans intent on exploiting the vulnerable magical creatures, but I guess we will have to see. I am getting a real Rivers of London vibe from both the plot and the cool cover above, and hopefully it will have a similar sort of magic and fun to it. The Last Smile in Sunder City is set for release in early February next year, and I am actually in the process of putting in a request for it now.

The next book that I am going to look at is The Kingdom of Liars by Nick Martell, which is set for release in early May. The Kingdom of Liars is a more classic fantasy tale, set in its own unique universe filled with magic and war. This is another really exciting-sounding novel, and I have to say that I was very impressed with the cool sounding plot below.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Michael is branded a traitor as a child because of the murder of the king’s nine-year-old son, by his father David Kingman. Ten years later on Michael lives a hardscrabble life, with his sister Gwen, performing crimes with his friends against minor royals in a weak attempt at striking back at the world that rejects him and his family.

What the truth holds is a set of shocking revelations that will completely change the Hollows, if Michael and his friends and family can survive long enough to see it.

This sounds like it is going to be a really cool fantasy read, and I am very much looking forward to it. A plot that follows a family of despised traitors and thieves infiltrating the royal court after their banishment sounds really fascinating to me, and I imagine that the politics and intrigue of such a situation are going to be very chaotic and very entertaining. I also like the sound of the book’s unique magical system, where memory powers magic, and I imagine that the author has come up with a number of intriguing features, powers, side effects and misuses for this sort of magic. I am also deeply curious about a world where people are missing a bunch of their memories, and I can see that playing into the book’s mystery elements very well. I also like the idea of magically powered soldiers fighting foes with gunpowder weapons, and I will be intrigued to see what sort of fight that turns out to be.

The Kingdom of Liars currently has two covers that I can see at the moment. The cover above, which I took from the Hachette Australia website (as that is the cover I am most likely to get on my copy of The Kingdom of Liars), has a very cool and sleek white and red design with a simple picture of the protagonist (I assume). The other cover that I have seen (included below) has a rather eye-catching shot of a cityscape with a broken moon rising behind it. While I will be interested to see how the broken moon plays into the plot, I personally like the first cover the most, and it is a very classical fantasy look.

Both of the above upcoming fantasy debut sound pretty awesome and I have very high hopes for them. I am slightly more interested in The Kingdom of Liars than The Last Smile in Sunder City, but that is probably because I know a little more about the plot. That being said, I am sure that I am really going to enjoy both of these books and I look forward to checking out some great books from some talented new authors.