ALSO OUT

As ever, there were loads of books that we couldn’t fit in. Let’s begin with ongoing series, shall we? We handed to Anna Smith Spark’s The Court Of Broken Knives, a gritty epic fantasy with “veins of vice and brutality running through it”. Book two of the Empires Of Dust trilogy, THE TOWER OF LIVING AND DYING (out now, Harper-Voyager) continues the story of drug fiend/child killer anti-hero Marith. Our reviewer awarded

to Nicholas Eames’s Kings Of The Wyld, in which a party of adventurers reunite, like an ageing rock band, for a last skirmish. Follow-up BLOODY ROSE (30 August, Orbit) sees a bored barmaid signing up as bard to a band of mercenaries. Also continuing: RJ Barker’s The Wounded Kingdom series, with third entry KING OF ASSASSINS (out now, Orbit). Like predecessors Children Of Húrin and Beren And Lúthien, THE FALL OF GONDOLIN (30 August, HarperCollins) is a book-length version of a Tolkien tale originally included in his book The Silmarillion; turn to page 17 for more info. Heading to FrightFest? Then you’ll be able to pick up an exclusive hardback of Axelle Carolyn’s FRIGHTFEST GUIDE: GHOST MOVIES (23 August, FAB Press). Not attending? Don’t fret: a paperback edition’s on the way, street date 26 October. Finally, if the news of a Buffy reboot sent your blood pressure through the roof, calm yourself by flicking through the cute illustrations in BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: A PICTURE BOOK (4 September, Quirk). There there, it’ll be okay, we promise.