J.K. Rowling once said, ‘If you don’t like to read, you haven’t found the right book’. Whether you’re a bookworm browsing for something new, or whether you’re working on that New Year’s resolution to do more reading, there’s something for you here, in this list of up and coming books of 2017. Enjoy!
- Into the Water by Paula Hawkins
Unless you’ve been living under a proverbial rock, you may have caught some of the buzz surrounding journalist Paula Hawkins’ novel The Girl on the Train. An intense psychological thriller hailed as the next Gone Girl, the book has now sold around sixteen million copies worldwide and broken the record for the fastest-selling hardcover adult novel. With that in mind, many are expecting big things from her latest novel Into the Water. Much like its renowned predecessor, it takes the form of a psychological thriller, with the chilling premise of a single mother found dead at the bottom of a river, leaving behind her troubled teenage daughter in the care of an aunt haunted by the memories of her sister’s passing. With its undercurrent of horror veiled in suspense and mystery, readers are sure to be swept away by Hawkins’ latest venture.
Release Date: 2nd May 2017
- Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
If you don’t recognise the name Neil Gaiman, you’ll definitely recognise his works. Gaiman is the man behind Stardust, Coraline, American Gods and The Ocean at the End of the Lane, to name only a few of his celebrated novels. Likewise, if you don’t recognise names like Freyja, Tyr, and Baldr, you might recognise Thor, Odin, and Loki. Neil Gaiman’s upcoming book is a collection of retellings of Norse mythology, illuminating tales from an ancient period in Scandinavia and delivering them to a new audience. For those with an interest in Norse gods and society, Gaiman’s work is sure to be a refreshing spin on the familiar stories of the gods, men, and giants. For those new to these legends, Gaiman offers insight into myths that inspired The Lord of the Rings, Marvel Comics, and Game of Thrones, showing us just how timeless a story can become.
Release Date: 7th February 2017
- Men Without Women by Haruki Murakami
In this collection of shorter stories, Murakami allows his readers a glimpse into the lives of men who find themselves without love in their lives. Murakami is known for works such as Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, as well as The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and Kafka on the Shore. Critically acclaimed, with a lengthy list of literary awards to his name, Murakami has often been cited as the next possible recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature thanks to his humorous writing style and surrealist settings. Published in Japan last year, the English translation of Men Without Women is to be made available in United Kingdom in 2017.
Release Date: 9th May 2017
- Monster by Michael Grant
While The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner, and the Divergent series were taking centre stage, another science fiction series was lurking in their shadow. The Gone series never quite seemed to achieve the same attention as these other titles – at least not in UK – yet the only explanation that comes to mind is that the vividness of Michael Grant’s imagination was too much for some readers to bear. The Gone series was gory, petrifying and impossible to put down. It was also over in the minds of most fans, and that of Grant himself. However, according to writer’s Goodreads blog, the new (entirely unprecedented) volume, Monster, begins four years after the end of the last book Light, and features a number of beloved characters moving into adulthood. The Gone series revolved around a world without adult authority, where the impossible became a reality. Who knows where Monster will take its readers next?
Release Date: Nothing official yet, but everything points towards a 2017 release
5) The Winds of Winter (A Song of Ice and Fire #6)
The inclusion of The Winds of Winter on this list can perhaps be called wishful thinking. The reality is that no one really knows for sure when the next instalment of A Song of Ice and Fire (you may know it better as Game of Thrones) will be released. Maybe it will be this year, maybe the next one, maybe a few years down the line. Either way, the story will still be unfinished – George R. R. Martin’s epic fantasy tale has grown to proportions that even he could not have anticipated, and a seventh volume still has yet to be completed. It’s easy to see why some have given up on waiting for another book, yet if the rest of the series is anything to go by, Martin is perfectly justified in taking his time. His work, no matter how long the fans have to wait for it, is invariably of the sort of quality and richness that most writers can only dream of.
Release date: Don’t hold your breath on this one, but don’t look away for a moment.