Covering fantasy, alternate history, and historical fiction, here are six new releases from July 2017’s feast for the imagination.

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Brutal (Brutal Trilogy #1) – James Alderdice

A man of violence. A duchess with dangerous desires. Two warring wizards. Things in Aldreth are going to get Brutal.

A man known only as the Sellsword has come to the border city of Aldreth, where rival wizards struggle for control of a weak-willed duke. Amidst murderous conspiracies and a scandal plagued dynasty, the Sellsword plays all sides to his advantage, bringing about a full-scale gang war between the two ambitious and unscrupulous men, while wooing the reckless and willful duchess.

Though corrupt paladins, demonic adepts, and a surprisingly formidable assassin stand between the Sellsword and the unwholesome truth, spells and blades might not be what take the Sellsword down. It could be plain old bad luck…

Brutal is an powerful sword and sorcery tale with colorful characters and wit straight out of a 80’s flick. If you like humor in your pulp, gritty heroes, despicable villains and grimdark fantasy then you’ll love this riveting debut by James Alderdice.

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The Graf Zeppelin: Germany’s Aircraft Carrier – Paul Cozens

Most people are unaware that during WWII, Nazi Germany had an operational aircraft carrier, the Graf Zeppelin. Had the Graf Zeppelin sortied with Bismarck, Tirpitz, and Prinz Eugen into the Atlantic in 1939, the entire outcome of the war could have been changed. However, due to an ongoing feud between Hermann Göring and Admiral Erich Raeder, the carrier was not allowed aircraft and she sat out the war as an ineffective white elephant.

But what if the German Navy defied Göring and continued to develop their carrier aircraft and doctrine? How might the Spanish Civil War and World War Two have changed if one ship–and the tremendous combat multiplier of its aircrew–sailed the seas instead of remaining at anchor?

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Ikiryo: Vengeance and Justice (Akitada Mysteries #17) – I.J. Parker

Deeply distressed by his wife’s adultery, Akitada returns to the capital to patch up his marriage and to help Superintendent Kobe with a case of poisoning. But before he can deal with either, the prime minister orders Akitada to save his dying brother who is plagued by a vengeful spirit from his past. Unable to refuse, Akitada plays a dangerous game to bring justice to the dying man’s victims. Soon he is in even more deadly trouble when he tumbles into an affair with a dangerous woman and becomes the target of a cold-blooded assassin.

“[This] series compares favorably with the Judge Dee stories, and in fact, since it is not deliberately done in an ancient style (as Judge Dee is), it is probably better appreciated by modern readers.”–Amazon Review

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Requiem 4 – Mike Duran

Graviton Cemetery—the biggest, oldest, most haunted graveyard in the world.

And Requiem 4 is here to clean things up.

In a dystopian, war-torn future where a godless global network reprograms the masses for compliance, the Requiem units are a dying breed. Manned by sciocists—scientific exorcists—and armed with state-of-the-art technology, the units sweep cemeteries of ‘latent soul energy.’

However, there’s a lot more than just ghosts in Graviton.

Father Aguste Lax, military chaplain to Requiem 4, has his own doubts. The cross around his neck is a feeble reminder of his waning faith. Yet when they encounter a Type Six entity, no amount of quantum firepower can save them. Lax becomes their only hope for escaping Graviton alive. But can his faith prevail against an evil this ancient? Or will Graviton Cemetery become the final resting place for Requiem 4?

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Shades Of Dark (Kurtherian Gambit: The Hidden Magic Chronicles #2) – Justin Sloan and Michael Anderle

The Truth will set you free, but what happens when the Truth is a Lie?

Rhona and her paladin brother Alastar have left the protection of the Paladin’s, and are now hunted by the same group.

Feeling like he can still make a difference for the people, Alastar is looking for his version of the Holy Grail.

The search for the magical Sword of Light takes Rhona and Alastar to an island rumored to be haunted and overrun by remnant.

What they discover there will change the fate of Roneland, but in ways they never would have imagined.

Along the way, Alastar is surrounded by the people he needs, as his belief’s start falling to the reality of truth.

When you know the truth about magic… anything is possible.

Set on the foundation laid by the Kurtherian Gambit Series, Shades of Light tells an entirely new story in the Age of Magic–and of the heroes and villains who battle for control of its destiny.

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Timewreck Titanic – Rhys B. Davies

April 14th 2012:

A fleet of ships have gathered in the North Atlantic to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the most famous maritime disaster of all history. Suddenly, a pulse of light engulfs several of the ships, who find themselves on an open ocean dotted with icebergs. Desperately trying to make contact with the outside world, they detect no satellite or radio signals, except for a single vessel just off to the north, who is sending out messages of distress in archaic Morse code.

Her name is the RMS Titanic. She has struck an iceberg and is sinking.

Displaced a century into the past, the ships of the Titanic Memorial Fleet find themselves suddenly intervening in the very disaster that they had gathered to remember. Can they change the outcome of this night? Should they even try? What will be the consequences of introducing modern ideas and technologies into a world ill-prepared to handle them, on the brink of a century of catastrophic war and change?

And can they ever go home?