Suvudu Universe

As we head into the final month of the year, I am taking a few Wednesdays to expand upon the usual "Waiting On" Wednesday event (hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine) and focus not just on one title, but look ahead to next year.

We've covered Fantasy and Science Fiction earlier this month, so we're wrapping things up this week with my Most Anticipated Thrills and Chills of 2015. Here you'll find some adventure, some horror, some thrillers, and some action-packed pages that are perfect popcorn reads.

So, grab your fedora and your leather coat, strap on your rifle and your GPS, get our your map and your ancient codex, and let's see what's out there . . .


We kick the new year off with the seventh and final adventure of Odd Thomas, in Saint Odd by Dean Koontz. Seventh adventure? Really? Wow. I've only read the first book so far, back when it was originally released, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Odd not only has the ability to see the dead, but he can also see bondachs, shadowy figures that hover around certain people just before their death. Apparently, after a life on the road, this book brings his journey full circle, back to where it all began, and back to where he lost his true love. [January 13th]

The coldest month of the year brings us a perfect book to curl up with before the fire in Cannonbridge by Jonathan Barnes. "Something has gone wrong with history in this gripping novel about a lie planted among the greatest works of English fiction." How's that for an opening tagline? As the world prepares to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Matthew Cannonbridge's greatest work, one person realizes something has gone wrong with history, and that the man who rubbed shoulders with Byron, Shelley, Godwin, Dickens, Tennyson, Kipling, and Stevenson is a complete fabrication. [February 10th]


Judging by the massive onslaught of titles coming in March, either the long term weather forecast is going to be keeping us indoors, or we're all hitting the beach for a glorious spring vacation. Picking just one title to highlight was tough, but I've decided to go with the historical action and adventure of Dead Wake by Erik Larson. Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the nautical disaster, the novel explores the sinking of the Lusitania from both sides of the tragedy, taking us from the decks of the luxury ocean liner to the bowels of the German U-Boat. This is a story that's even more fascinating than the sinking of the Titanic, and I'm anxious to see what Larson can do with it. [March 10th]

Spring brings us the tenth Nina Wilde and Eddie Chase adventure from Andy McDermott in Kingdom of Darkness. This time around, a ninety-year-old Nazi war criminal with the body of a healthy forty-year-old sparks a chase around the world, to the newly discovered tomb of Alexander the Great. Hidden inside is a guide to the spring waters of eternal life, which a group of Nazi survivors are just as eager to find. Nina's kidnapping draws Eddie to a secret Nazi enclave in Argentina, sparking a final battle to keep history's greatest evil from living on forever.[April 28th]

There's no single bigger title I'm looking forward to next year than the long-awaited new horror novel from Clive Barker, The Scarlet Gospels. How long-awaited? Well, he began teasing it back in 1999, then was dropped by his adult publisher just as he announced the completion of the first draft. In a truly iconic battle of good versus evil, Harry D'Amour (supernatural detective) faces of against Pinhead (Cenobite priest of Hell). Said to be "bloody, terrifying, and brilliantly complex," it's a novel that is promised to make your "worst nightmares seem like bedtime stories." Damn, but I want to read this! [May 19th]

June brings us the first of two new releases from Stephen King with a sort-of sequel to Mr. Mercedes in Finders Keepers. Once again revisiting the theme of the psychotic fan and the reclusive writer, only this time the writer hasn't just disappeared from the shelves, he's sold out and launch a career in advertising. This time it's the trio of heroes from Mr. Mercedes who must step in to save the day, protecting a boy who found the author's lost manuscript from the vengeful murdering fan who has just been released from prison. [June 2nd]

Summer kicks into high gear with the eleventh Sigma Force novel from James Rollins, The Bone Labyrinth. Unfortunately there's no cover and no cover blurb yet, so we don't know much about it, but his Sigma Force novels always make for perfect summer beach reads. Similarly, July brings us a new Daniel Silva novel, currently Untitled, which will continue the blockbuster adventures of Gabriel Allon. [July]

Summer continues with The Eternal World by Christopher Farnsworth. It seems as if 2015 is destined to be the year of the fountain of youth, with this being a second novel to incorporate that particular MacGuffin. This time the source has already been destroyed, and a shadowy empire turns to the darkest, most dangerous fringes of experimental science to achieve a medical breakthrough. When the scientist in question discovers who he's really working for, and uncovers the truth about his exotic new girlfriend, a pawn becomes a predator. [August 4th]

While we don't have a cover or a firm release date yet, we do know that Fall will see the release of The Survivor by Vince Flynn. What makes this such a significant event is the fact that we all assumed we had seen the last of Mitch Rapp with Flynn's passing in 2013. Earlier this year it was announced that Flynn's editor has tapped Kyle Mills to complete The Survivor, which Flynn was writing at the time of his death, as well as two additional Mitch Rapp novels. I've only read one book by Mills (his stunning debut, Rising Phoenix, which involved curing America's drug problem by poisoning the supply), but he seems a fitting choice to provide fans with some closure.


This Autumn also brings us The Secret Lives of Twin Peaks by Mark Frost, which is probably my second most anticipated title of the year. Frost has promised that the novel will reveal what has happened to the people of Twin Peaks since we last saw them twenty-five years ago, while also shedding some additional light on the core mystery of who killed Laura Palmer. When Lynch and Frost announced a cinematic follow to Twin Peaks hitting screens next year, picking up the story in real time, I thought that was awesome, but having a book to fill in those gaps is utterly amazing. In addition to being co-creator of the original series, Frost has proven his literary chops with several novels and a few non-fiction pieces as well, so this isn't just some cheap tie-in.


No cover or listing of titles yet, but we do know that November will bring us a new short story collection from Stephen King, entitled The Bazaar of Bad Dreams. These are all previously published "but hard to find" stories, and King has promised "it should be a pretty fat book" of about 20 stories. Since I think King is at his best in either short fiction or doorstopper epics (his middling novels have never quite resonated with me), this is exciting news indeed. We do know that they'll all be solo stories, no collaborations, and the selections have been made, so it's just a matter of waiting for the big reveal. [November 30th]