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.  In this week’s Waiting on Wednesday I check out some awesome upcoming novels from two of my favourite all-time fantasy authors.

Out of all the fantasy authors currently writing, there are two in particularly who I will always make time for in my reading schedule no matter how busy I am.  This is because I am a major old-school fan of these authors, as I have been reading them for decades and they were responsible for some of my first major obsession with fantasy fiction.  These two authors are Raymond E. Feist and R. A. Salvatore, both of whom are insanely talented masters of the fantasy genre who have substantial number of books under their belts.  I have so much love both authors and I have honestly read most of their respective works over the years and enjoyed every word of them.

Feist is best known for his epic Riftwar Cycle, a massive connected series that saw a classic fantasy world invaded by various beings from across a connected series of universes.  Starting off with Magician and incorporating, amongst others The Empire trilogy (cowritten by Jenny Wurst), this is an exceptional series, and one that all true fantasy fans need to check out.  Salvatore on the other hand has a bit more of a diverse writing portfolio having produced a couple of intriguing and connected series throughout his career.  While he has done some substantial work on his Corona universe, such as his recent The Coven trilogy (featuring the outstanding Child of a Mad God, Reckoning of Fallen Gods and Song of the Risen Gods), Salvatore will always be best known for his Drizzt Do’Urden novels.  Set in the Forgotten Realms shared universe, the Drizzt Do’Urden novels encompasses multiple connected trilogies and series, all focused on Salvatore’s iconic Drow protagonist and his friends, as they go on various fantasy adventures through a dangerous landscape.  Both authors have created some great works over the years and luckily for me they are both going strong and creating some intriguing new works, including two great books for later this year.

Amazon     Book Depository

The first of these books is Master of the Furies by Raymond E. Feist which is currently set for release in July.  Master of the Furies is the third and final book in the Firemane Saga, an excellent series in Feist’s new fantasy universe that features some classic elements as various compelling characters find themselves thrust into a vast and mysterious conflict.  I have had a brilliant time with the first two entries in the series, King of Ashes and Queen of Storms, with both novels containing a fantastic narrative, clever world building and interesting characters.  After the fantastic and game changing events of Queen of Storms, the series will wrap up with Master of Furies, but it sounds like there is still plenty of epic adventure to come.

Synopsis:

From King of Ashes to Queen of Storms, it’s all built up to this–the thrilling conclusion to legendary New York Times bestselling author Raymond E. Feist’s epic Firemane saga.

War has swept across Marquensas. Ruthless raiders have massacred the inhabitants of Beran’s Hill, including Gwen, the beloved wife of Declan Smith. Hollow of heart, his hopes burned to ashes, Declan swears to track down and destroy the raiders, an ambition shared by Baron Daylon Dumarch, whose family was massacred as they fled the capital.

Meanwhile Hava, whose gift for piracy has seen her acquire the treasure ship Borzon’s Black Wake and the swift Azhante sailing vessel, Queen of Storms, and won her the name of “the Sea Demon,” is closing in on the whereabouts of those who unleashed the murderous hordes.

Her husband, Hatushaly, the last remaining member of the ruling family of Ithrace, the legendary Firemanes, seeks to control the magical powers he has inherited. He is able now to visualize and even travel among the filaments of energies that power all existence: the furies. But will he be able to channel his magic in time to combat the deepest, darkest threat the world of Garn has ever faced?

This final book sounds really cool and I am highly interesting in seeing how the various storylines that Feist has set up will come together here.  The main story will probably focus on the character of Hatushaly, who has been set up as a fiery saviour for most of the trilogy, and it will be great to finally see some magic out of him.  The pirate-based adventures around Hava will also be extremely awesome, especially as Feist has some real talent with nautical combat sequences and adventures.  However, I mostly looking forward to the part of the book following Declan Smith, who has probably been my favourite character of the series so far.  A talented blacksmith who keeps finding himself in battle, Declan’s dream of a simple life was burned up very suddenly in the last book and he now looks set for a massive revenge arc against the mysterious raiders who have been targeting the various characters throughout the series.  I am really looking forward to seeing what happens to Declan, as well as the other characters, and I am very hopeful that Master of Furies will all come together into a brilliant and fun final novel.

Amazon     Book Depository

The other book I am very excited for is Glacier’s Edge by R. A. Salvatore.  Part of Salvatore’s massive Drizzt Do’Urden connected series, Glacier’s Edge will be the second book in the current The Way of the Drow series, following on from last years release, Starlight Enclave, while also continuing some other storylines from the previous Generations trilogy (Timeless, Boundless and Relentless).  The Way of the Drow novels takes the series back to its adventuring and exploration roots as some of the key characters set out to explore a hidden Drow settlement, which ended rather badly for them.  Set for release in August, Glacier’s Edge will continue this intriguing storyline and see the rest of the series’ recurring heroes take up the fight.

Synopsis:

There’s a lot that Jarlaxle doesn’t know: is he the lone survivor of the raid on the slaad fortress, can he even find a way to get out, and beyond his immediate predicament, could he possibly escape the ice caverns and get help for his friends?

However, what Jarlaxle does know is that if he plans to come back—if Catti-brie, Entreri, and Zaknafein are to have any hope of surviving—he’s going to have to bring back far more firepower. An army of aevendrow seems unlikely, so he must go home and pull together a team with great skill and unimaginable power.

But how will he get home? Will such a collection of warriors and mages come to his aid? And even if he manages all that, will it be enough? For Jarlaxle has seen the slaadi’s power and their god in a most personal and terrifying way.

Trapped in the ice while the world is on fire, Jarlaxle is in a race against time—and burdened with a magical secret—to save a peaceful city and his companions.

And he’s running out of tricks in his bag of holding… 

Glacier’s Edge sounds like another pretty impressive novel and I am very excited to check it out.  I love the idea of a novel mostly dedicated to the tricky Jarlaxle, one of Salvatore’s more entertaining characters.  Watching him trying to escape a frozen wasteland without any of his magic to bring back some of the other protagonists is going to be fun, and I can’t wait to see what interesting new elements are brought into the plot as a result.  I imagine that Salvatore will try and continue some of the fascinating character work that was featured in the previous novel, and I am intrigued to see how some of the series more complex protagonists further develop.  Overall, Glacier’s Edge looks set to be another epic novel and I cannot wait to get my hands on it.

Honestly, just based on who is writing these upcoming books, there was no way I wasn’t going to get copies of Master of Furies and Glacier’s Edge when they come out.  I already know that I will have a great time with Feist and Salvatore’s latest novels, and I really want to see how their respective series continue.  2022 is turning out to be a pretty awesome year for fantasy fiction, and these additional novels are going to keep making it even better.