Sister Svangerd and the Not Quite Dead

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. For this week’s Top Ten Tuesday participants have a Thanksgiving freebie which I am going to use to look at some upcoming books. This is because today is the last Tuesday before Summer 2025/26, and I thought this would be a good opportunity to do my quarterly post about the best upcoming books I am looking forward to reading in Summer (Winter for folks in the Northern Hemisphere). This is a regular post I do at the start of each season, and I always love to highlight some of the most impressive sounding novels coming out in the next three months.

For this list, I have come up with ten books coming out between 1 December 2025 and 28 February 2026 that I am most excited for. There are quite a few amazing novels set for release in the next few months, so it took me a while to finalise my final top ten list, including my usual honourable mentions section. I have primarily used the Australian publication dates to reflect when I will be able to get these awesome novels, and these might be somewhat different to the rest of the world. I have previously discussed a number of these books before in prior Waiting on Wednesday articles, and I think all of them will turn out to be incredible reads. I am extremely excited for these next three months and I feel that quite a few of these upcoming reads have the potential to be some of my favourite books of both 2025 and 2026.

Honourable Mentions:

The Right to Remain by James Grippando – 6 January 2026

An awesome upcoming legal thriller from the very impressive James Grippando (Goodbye Girl and Grave Danger), with the lawyer protagonist forced to defend a client who literally won’t utter a word in his own defence.

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Dark Desert Road by Tim Ayliffe – 6 January 2026

An intriguing and topical Australian thriller from a very talented author.

City of Others by Jared Poon – 13 January 2026

An exciting fantasy debut that I think has a lot of potential.

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The Devil’s Bible by Steve Berry – 17 February 2026

The next intriguing entry in the long-running Cotton Malone spy thriller series. I am a big fan of this series, although I still need to read the 2025 entry first.

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Top Ten List:

Warhammer 40,000: Demolisher by Andy Clark – 12 December 2025

The first summer release I want to highlight is the soon-to-be released Warhammer 40,000 novel Demolisher by Andy Clark. The sequel to Clark’s previous novel Steel Tread, Demolisher will once again follow a misfit tank crew as they attempt to survive in the grimdark future. Steel Tread was an impressive and exciting read, and I am excited to see how this sequel turns out.

Usagi Yojimbo: Ten Thousand Plums by Stan Sakai – 23 December 2025

The next Usagi Yojimbo volume looks set to be an outstanding Christmas present for me in a few weeks’ time. Featuring a deadly conspiracy in a cool seasonal location, Ten Thousand Plums sounds like another outstanding entry in one of my favourite comic series. Sakai has already had one amazing volume of this series out this year with The Crow, and I’m sure this next volume is going to be even better.

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Twelve Months by Jim Butcher – 20 January 2026

One of the books I’m most excited to read in the next three months is the long-awaited new Dresden Files novel by the legendary Jim Butcher, Twelve Months. Following on from the chaotic events of Battle Ground, Twelve Months looks set to continue the series in epic fashion with dark new enemies, a compelling mystery, shocking revelations and some moving character moments. I have been desperately waiting for this novel since 2020, having read the entire Dresden Files series in the intervening time, and I cannot wait to see how this new book turns out. Sure to be one of the very best books of 2026!

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30Seven by Jeremy Robinson – 20 January 2026

Next, we have the intriguing and unique new science fiction novel, 30Seven by the always entertaining Jeremy Robinson. Featuring a gripping and no-doubt terrifying alien abduction narrative with some cool twists, including the protagonist being trapped onboard the alien ship with the serial killer that murdered his wife, 30Seven has so much potential, and I’m planning to power through this book the second I get it.

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Sister Svangerd and the Not Quite Dead by K. J. Parker – 27 January 2026

I already know that one of the more hilarious releases of the next three months is going to be the awesome fantasy novel Sister Svangerd and the Not Quite Dead from K. J. Parker. The start of a fantastic new series following a murderous nun who serves as the fixer for her corrupt church, Sister Svangerd and the Not Quite Dead looks set to be an amazing read. I love the sound of this upcoming novel, and I already know I’m going to laugh myself silly while reading it.

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Jigsaw by Jonathan Kellerman – 3 February 2026

The always reliable Jonathan Kellerman will continue his long-running Alex Delaware series in early 2026 with the intriguing new novel Jigsaw. Featuring two seemingly unrelated murder cases with a unique and clever twists behind it, Jigsaw is sure to be a real highlight of the next few months, and I cannot wait to check it out.

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Antihero by Gregg Hurwitz – 10 February 2026

Few thriller series have been as consistently impressive and emotionally charged in recent years as Gregg Hurwitz’s Orphan X series, which follows a former assassin turned vigilante as he attempts to make the world a better place, one desperate person at a time. This series has been extremely incredible, and it reached its height earlier this year with the highly moving and powerful 10^th entry Nemesis. While I may never forgive Hurwitz for breaking my heart at the end of Nemesis, there is no way I will not be continuing the series in 2026 with Antihero. Featuring a great new narrative that will be loaded with grief from the events of the previous book, Antihero looks set to be a particularly intense and memorable entry in the series and I cannot wait to read it.

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Operation Bounce House by Matt Dinniman – 10 February 2026

Readers of this blog will be well aware that I became a little obsessed with author Matt Dinniman this year, especially as I rapidly absorbed his entire Dungeon Crawler Carl series, with books like Dungeon Crawler Carl, The Butcher’s Masquerade and The Eye of the Bedlam Bride, and more, all proving to be outstanding reads. As such, I will be eagerly reading anything that Dinniman release in the future going forward, and that includes his February 2026 release, Operation Bounce House. A fun and no doubt bloody science fiction novel, Operation Bounce House will see desperate human settlers defend their planet from a greedy corporation using weaponised farming drones. I have no doubt this is going to be a particularly hilarious and over-the-top read and I cannot wait to get more of Dinniman’s insane creativity in the new year.

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Pretenders to the Throne of God by Adrian Tchaikovsky – 12 February 2026

The always imaginative Adrian Tchaikovsky will continue his epic Tyrant Philosophers series in early 2026 with Pretenders to the Throne of God. Following on from his previous three exceptional novels, City of Last Chances, House of Open Wounds and Days of Shattered Faith, Pretenders to the Throne of God will continue to follow the expansion of the perfection seeking Palleseen as they find themselves besieging a magical city. Sure to feature a great story based around complex characters, all wrapped up with Thaikovsky’s wry humour, Pretenders to the Throne of God is going to be something special, and I will try to read it is as soon as possible.

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The Hard Line by Mark Greaney – 24 February 2026

The final book I want to highlight in this post is the awesome upcoming spy thriller The Hard Line by Mark Greaney. The next book in Greaney’s iconic Gray Man series, The Hard Line will continue the intense action and clever spy craft this series is known for when the protagonist, feared assassin and covert agent Court Gentry faces off against another legendary killer, determined to get revenge on everyone Gentry loves. I have no doubt The Hard Line is going to be one of the more clever and exciting novels of the next few months, and I look forward to getting my hands on it.

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Well, that is the end of my Top Ten list. I think it turned out pretty well and it does a good job of capturing all my most anticipated books for the next three months. There are some really impressive books coming out in this part of 2025 and 2026, and I cannot wait to read each of them soon. Let me know which of the above you are most excited for and stay tuned for reviews of them in the next few months. In the meantime, it looks like I have quite a bit of reading to do in the near future.

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. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them. For this latest Waiting on Wednesday, I highlight what is sure to be one of the more hilarious novels of early 2026 with Sister Svangerd and the Not Quite Dead by K. J. Parker.

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Fans of this blog will know that I love a fantasy novel that utilises humour and comedy to enhance its story, and to my mind few authors do that better than K. J. Parker. A pseudonym of author Tom Holt, Paker has been delighting readers for decades with his intriguing reads that blend his unique sense of humour with elaborate and well-thought-out fantasy or historical fiction-inspired scenarios.

I fell in love with Parker a few years ago when I was lucky enough to receive copies of his captivating and brilliant The Siege trilogy, which includes some of the funniest books that I have ever read. Set around a lengthy siege of a powerful city, all three books told unique stories of the besiegement from a different, unreliable narrator, in a great, loosely connected trilogy which perfectly showcased Parker’s outrageous humour and impressive inventiveness.

The first book in the series was the very impressive Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City (one of my favourite books of 2019), which saw an amoral engineer take command of the city’s defences and use a mixture of mechanisms and bluffing to keep out the enemy. This outstanding read was followed up by the extremely funny How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It (one of my favourite books of 2020). Set years after the events of the first book, this sequel followed an actor in the still besieged city tasked with impersonating a dead war hero, and who then uses his position to take over everything. Parker masterfully finished the trilogy off with A Practical Guide to Conquering the World (one of my favourite books of 2022). This outstanding finale saw a scribe and scholar from the city out on embassy duty manage to use his unique array of obscure knowledge, as well as a strong understanding of basic human nature, to overthrow a nation and then the entire world in a brilliant sequence of manipulation and cleverness.

After The Siege trilogy, Parker was fully on my radar as an author to grab as much as possible for, and I made sure to follow through with that in the following years. While I haven’t always been able to get his intriguing novellas, I did make sure to get his next three novels, all of which were part of the hilarious and gripping Corax trilogy. Set in the same universe as The Siege trilogy after a substantial time skip, the Corax series follows the titular Saevus Corax, a professional battlefield scavenger, whose secret past makes him one of the most dangerous and wanted figures on the continent.

All three of the Corax books were extremely impressive, with the first novel, Saevus Corax Deals with the Dead, introducing the titular protagonist and saw him engage in a series of brazen plots to stay alive after he is kidnapped and forced to become the ultimate pawn in a sprawling game of kings, religions and money. I had so much fun with this epic book, and Saevus Corax Deals with the Dead ended up being one of my favourite books of 2023. Naturally I had to keep going with this cool trilogy, especially as the next two novels, Saveus Corax Captures the Castle and Saevus Corax Gets Away With Murder, were released in quick succession in late 2023 (although I didn’t get a chance to read them until 2024). Both these impressive novels, which took Corax on even more deadly adventures, were simply incredible, and I loved the intense humour, elaborate schemes, constant betrayals, as well as the clever world building, as each of Corax’s adventures results in additional conflicts and wars down the road. All these books were instant five-star classics, and I have been eager to see what elaborate, comedic novels Parker will write next.

Well, it looks like I won’t have that much longer to wait, as Parker has an awesome new novel coming out in January 2026. This book, Sister Svangerd and the Not Quite Dead, will serve as the first book in the author’s Loyal Opposition trilogy, and will follow an unlikely religious figure, as they engage in murder, intrigue and deadly theology, in what sounds like a brilliantly insane and hilarious read.

Plot Synopsis:

Not even the Church of the Invincible Sun is invincible – and somebody has to do its dirty work. Enter Sister Svangerd and her accompanying priest, both accomplished practitioners. Their mission is simple: to make a meddlesome princess disappear (permanently).

To get to her, they must attend the legendary Ecumenical Council, the once-in-a-century convening of the greatest spiritual minds the world has to offer. But when they arrive, they find instead a den of villainy that would make the most hardened criminal blush.

To complicate matters further, it appears that some people long considered dead might not be after all. What began as a simple murder is about to escalate into a theological debate of terrifying complexity.

From World Fantasy Award-winning author K. J. Parker comes a devilishly clever tale of murder, intrigue, and existential crisis.

Now this is another awesome and hilarious sounding book from Parker. Following a murderous nun who serves as a church’s troubleshooter and assassin is a very fun idea, especially as her next mission is in the middle of a cutthroat and corrupt religious conference to kill a meddlesome princess. I’m expecting that Sister Svangerd and the Not Quite Dead is going to feature Parker’s trademark blend of clever storytelling, self-aware characters, and a massive array of betrayals and schemes. I’m honestly expecting so many secrets, lies and double-crosses to come out, and I cannot wait to see the protagonist navigate her way through the religious fanatics and corrupt clergy to achieve her goal. I’m also curious to see what world-building Parker does with this new novel and whether the Loyal Opposition novels sit within the same world as some of his previous series. Even if there is a different setting, I’m expecting a lot of the same energy as The Siege and Corax trilogies, which can only mean that Sister Svangerd and the Not Quite Dead is going to be exceptional.

Look, there is honestly no chance I won’t be reading Sister Svangerd and the Not Quite Dead in the new year, especially as K. J. Parker’s last two trilogies were just too damn good. I am so extremely excited to read another twisty and hilarious novel from Parker, especially one filled with killer intrigue and over-the-top religion. Sure to be one the funniest and most intelligent fantasy novels of 2026, Sister Svangerd and the Not Quite Dead is so very high up on my reading list, and I will be devouring this the second I get it. Special mention also needs to go to the second book in the upcoming Loyal Opposition trilogy, Sister Svangerd and the Devil You Know, which is currently coming out in March 2026 and will likely be a top sequel of the new year.