SPECULATIVE FICTION

Miranda and Caliban by Jacqueline Carey ( Tor, 352, $ 36.99) – Feb. 14

Carey, author of the bestselling Kushiel novels, shifts away from historical fantasy toward something perhaps even more magical: a wildly imaginative re- telling of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, centering on – you guessed it – Miranda and Caliban.

Empire’s End: Aftermath ( Star Wars) by Chuck Wendig ( Del Rey, 448 pp; $ 36) – Feb. 21

Empire’s End is the third book in Wendig’s Star Wars Aftermath tr i l o g y, c hronicli ng events between the destruction of the second Death Star at the end of Return of the Jedi and the opening of The Force Awakens.

The Erstwhile: The Vorhh ( 2) by B. Catling ( Vintage, 480 pp; $ 22.95) – Mar. 7

The Vorrh was the sort of novel that splits your head open and stirs, a visionary historical reimagining that was unlike anything most readers had ever experienced. The Erstwhile, the second novel in the Vorrh trilogy, promises to be even stranger.

Borne by Jeff Vandermeer ( HarperCollins, 352 pp; $ 32.99) – Apr. 25

Jeff Vandermeer follows the spectacular Southern Reach Trilogy (a film adaptation of Annihilation, the Nebula Award- winning first novel, is in the works) with Borne, a novel set in a dystopian, ruined city, resonating with questions about the nature of life and reality ( plus, it’s got a “giant, psychotic bear”).

The Stone Sky by N. K. Jemisin ( Orbit, 300 pp; price TBD) – Aug. 15

With The Stone Sky, Jemisin wraps up one of the most impressive and celebrated trilogies in recent memory. The Fifth Season, the trilogy’s first book, won the Hugo Award for Best novel, making Jemisin the first black writer to win the award. August might seem a long ways away, but waiting time is relative. Ask any George RR Martin fan.