2016 was a very exciting year for all those readers who are emotionally invested in the fantasy based lives of a multitude of characters,
- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was released on July 31. It was a thrilling night for all Harry Potter fans, who haven’t gotten new Harry Potter books since the Deathly Hallows. Despite being the script for the two-part play in London, England, sales still skyrocketed.
- The Fever Code by James Dashner is the prequel to the world famous book The Maze Runner. A continuation of the first prequel, the Kill Order, Maze Runner fans will be satisfied to learn more about the main characters, Thomas, backstory.
- Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare branches off her other series’ The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices, this time focusing on a young Shadowhunter trying to overcome the overtly traditional customs of the Shadowhunter community.
- The Crown by Kiera Cass is the fifth book in her series The Selection that began in 2012. This is a sequel, focusing on the Selection’s main character America’s daughter.
- The Raven King by Maggie Stievfater is the fourth in the critically acclaimed and incredibly popular fantasy series, the Raven Cycle.
- Morning Star by Pierce Brown is the third in the series Red Rising, focusing on a dystopian world and a bottom-class citizen posing as one of the elite, aiming to avenge his former love and disassemble a brutal and deadly societal hierarchy.
- The Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan is the second in the Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard series, a spin-off of the famous Percy Jackson and the Olympians novels. Fans of other Rick Riordan books will understand the significance of the surname Chase, however, this series is nothing like our beloved Greek gods.
- The Hidden Oracle is another book by Rick Riordan, focusing on the banishment of eccentric god Apollo from Mount Olympus. It’s the first in a new series, The Trials of Apollo, and with a new perspective on the demigod world and cameos from well-known characters, fans of the Percy Jackson books will be satisfied with this quick-paced and hilarious novel.
- A Court of Mist and Fury by Sara. J Maas is the second book in the A Court of Thorns and Roses series. Feyre must navigate an entirely new world while still remaining true to her past.
- Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard is the sequel to Red Queen, the first book in the Red Queen series. The main character, Mare, now fearing for her life after her surprising combination of Red blood and Silver powers is discovered, must now try to disassemble a horrifically unjust system of power, while trying to avoid giving in to her internal darkness and becoming the monster she hates.
2016 seemed to be the year that authors chose to continue with past series, writing spin-offs, sequels, trilogies and so on.
Feature picture courtesy of Now Toronto-Books
