In the run up to Christmas, it may be advisable to start buying gifts early this year… for yourself or others. There’s Always Room For One More around here, but these are some November releases that deserve your consideration

November is a month of releases that hit me right between the eyes as some favourite authors release the next – or worse, the final – books in beloved series. I’m pretty sure I am not ready for some of these…

I was devastated by The Poppy War by RF Kuang, so the release of The Burning God on November 17th is my spur to finally read The Dragon Republic and finish the trilogy. I have no doubt that Kuang will utterly destroy me. I have no idea what terrible decisions there are left for Rin to make, but I have faith she’ll find some.

Also out on November 17th is Last Stand in Lychford, the final novella in Paul Cornell’s brilliant rural fantasy of Cotswold witches struggling to safeguard the boundaries of reality. I am frankly terrified of this finale. At best, I’ll be sobbing in the bath (looking at you Lost Child of Lychford); at worst, I’ll be howling at the sky. What d’you mean, I’ve got unreasonable expectations?

November 17th is a busy day: it also sees the paperback release of Ben Aaronovitch’s Tales From The Folly (released as an ebook over the summer). I’ve never read any of the short stories or novellas that sit in the wider Rivers of London timeline, so this sounds like a reassuringly comforting way to recover from the previous two titles.

I hold out more hope for surviving Call of the Bone Ships intact on November 24th. I loved the world-building and character work of The Bone Ships, and I can’t wait to get back to the wind in the rigging and the swearing on deck. I’m here for the bird mages and sea dragons.

Rounding out the month, November 26th sees the start of a new series from an author who previously cut my heart out and unexpectedly gave it back to me. Here’s hoping she’ll do that again? Anna Stephens is back with The Stone Knife and she had at me “music is magic” and “monstrous, scaled predators lurk” YAS BRING ME YOUR SONG MAGIC AND REPTILES.

November also sees the release of a heap of books by authors I dearly want to get to know.

I’ve seen a lot of advance chatter about Nophek Gloss, Essa Hansen’s space opera debut out on November 17th (for SciFiMonth!). I’m wary of pitches that promise me my favourite things (Firefly meets Becky Chambers) and I’m not convinced it’s accurate in this case as Nophek Gloss is also – apparently – a single-minded quest for revenge. But I’m intrigued to want to find out.

I steered clear of Bridget Collins’s debut novel (The Binding) when I realised its fantasy premise was a cover for a romance. I don’t think I’ll be able to resist her follow-up novel, The Betrayals on November 12th. This makes no secret of being a romance, but stirs in the catnip of simmering secrets, a mysterious contest and an exclusive school and ugh I’m (inconsistent) trash for these tropes after all.

Speaking of things I won’t even try to resist, let’s talk about The Factory Witches of Lowell, CS Malerich’s debut novella out from Tor.com on November 10th. Malerich is serving up the spicy stew of labour unions and witchcraft (which as Alex Wells can tell you is a kickass combination) as the young women of Lowell adopt unorthodox methods to ensure their strike succeeds.

I’ll close with Aurora, a new novella from Jo Thomas out November 5th. Set in an alternate 2017, Aurora looks set to interrogate questions of identity, privacy and what we’re willing to surrender for perceived security. I may be over-interpreting as information is relatively thin on the ground on this one, but so far so very much my jam.

What releases are you looking forward to in November?

All release dates quoted are for the UK.