Best Fantasy Books Blog had a bit of a problem today. Since last night, the website has been down due to some hosting problems. I’ve put a backup of the website on my own host to keep the site running.

The forum will be down today, but everything should be fine and dandy tomorrow.

In addition to fixing the problems, I’ll be adding some new books to the Almost Top 25 section and posting a new fantasy article on the blog…so keep tuned!

Most Anticipated Upcoming Fantasy Books of 2009

It’s the start of a new year again. I thought I’d open this new year with a list of the most anticipated fantasy books of 2009. With several BIG name releases and a host of other anticipated fantasy novels on the horizon, 2009 is shaping up to be a great year for fantasy readers. Credit goes to Mithfanion, resident member of sffworld.com, who compiled the original list.

Note: I’ve put a * by the books that I am anticipating, and a ** by the books I am most anticipating this year.

So, without ado, here’s the projected upcoming “2009 Fantasy Book Releases”:

A Dance with Dragons(George R.R Martin)- April (Tentative- UK, No US date) **
Dragonkeeper by Robin Hobb – July (UK- US date usually 6 months later) *

The Judging Eye (R. Scott Bakker) – January **
Lamentation (Ken Scholes) – February
Canticle (Ken Scholes) – October/November
The Desert Spear (Peter Brett) – August/September
Watcher of the Dead (J.V. Jones) – November (UK) **
Fall of Thanes (Brian Ruckley) – May ( UK) *

The Adamantine Palace (Stephen Deas) – March ( UK)
Avilion (Robert Holdstock) – July ( UK)
The Republic of Thieves (Scott Lynch) – February (Tentative) *
Turn Coat (Jim Butcher) – April

The Wise Man’s Fear (The Kingkiller Chronicle, Day 2) (Patrick Rothfuss) – April **
Best Served Cold (Joe Abercrombie) – June **
Finch – (Jeff Vandermeer) – June
The City & The City (China Mieville) – May

An Autumn War (Daniel Abraham) – Summer
Memory of Light (Robert Jordan and Brian Sanderson) – Fall **
Dragon in Chains (Daniel Fox) – February
Twelve (Jasper Kent) – January (UK)
Heritage – (Maggie Furey) – February (UK)

Bad Things (Michael Marshall) -January
Mortal Coils (Eric Nylund) – February
Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd-Century America (Robert Wilson) – June
Bitter Seeds (Ian Tregillis) – Summer
Angels of Destruction (Keith Donohue) – March

The Cold Commands (Richard Morgan) – September *

Some other books that may come out this year:

Shadowrise (Tad Williams) **
Lord of Silence (Mark Chadbourn)

I thought I’d take a look at all the Science Fiction and fantasy books on the New York Times Best seller list for this week. I’m a big fan of giving books for Christmas presents. It’s ridiculously easy to find someone a great book as a Christmas present.

Here is the list:

Ranking at #6, Just After Sunset, by Stephen King. This is a compilation of short stories blending fantasy and psychological realism.

Sitting in at #8, The Host, by Stephenie Meyer. According to the publisher: “Aliens have taken

control of the minds and bodies of most humans, but one woman won’t
surrender.” Go here for more info. This is a great book by the way. I’m going to do a review on it soon.

#10 is Dean Koontz’s Your Heart Belongs to Me. A man is

stalked by a woman who resembles the donor of the heart he received in a
transplant operation. For more info, check out the book on Amazon .

#21 is Jim Butcher’s Princep’s Fury. This is book 5 in his Codex Alera series. If you like action packed fantasy set in an alternative Roman world where magic works, you should check out this series. Butcher has come a long way with this series and I eagerly look forward to each new release. His Harry Dresden noir/detective fantasy books also a fantastic read.

And finally at #26 we have Orson Scott Card’s Ender in Exile. I haven’t read this one, but Card’s Ender’s Game is one of the pinnacles of Science Fiction. If you are a fan of the ender series (and what true science fiction bluff isn’t?), you should read Ender’s Game.

Well, there you go; all the fantasy and science fiction books on the current New York Times Bestseller list. It’s great to see that Science Fiction and Fantasy books are making a strong presence on the list! Now, back to Christmas shopping…