The first release week of August packs a pretty big whallop, though it doesn’t bring a couple of the titles I was most looking forward to (Jim C. Hines’s Libriomancer and T. Aaron Payton’sThe Constantine Affliction— Payton is a new pseudonym for Steampunk from the brilliant Tim Pratt) it does bring an anticipated sequel, one of my “most missing audiobooks” from earlier in 2012, and two more interesting “genre in the mainstream” picks, along with a few new audiobooks of older Stephen King books, 6 books in CJ Cherryh’s Foreigner series, and a half-dozen more titles of interest out today and earlier this week.
That anticipated sequel is King of Thorns By Mark Lawrence, Narrated by James Clamp for Recorded Books. At 13 hrs and 30 mins, “The follow-up to Mark Lawrence’ s thrilling debut novel Prince of Thorns, King of Thorns continues the tale of antihero Jorg Ancrath. After wresting back control of his kingdom from those who murdered his family, Jorg sees the land erupt with hundreds of battles fought by lords and petty kings. More daunting still, he faces an enemy many times his own strength. Jorg may not be able to win this battle in a fair fight, but he wields a rage and cunning that just might even the odds.”
The Croning By Laird Barron was originally published earlier this year in print/ebook by Night Shade Books. Barron is a familiar name to those who follow the Shirley Jackson Award, where his short fiction (and collections of the same, and anthologies featuring the same) has often been nominated and selected as the award’s winner. (He’s also been nominated for the Bram Stoker, International Horror Guild, World Fantasy, and other awards.) The Croning is his debut novel, here narrated by Emily Zeller for Audible Frontiers. “Strange things exist on the periphery of our existence, haunting us from the darkness looming beyond our firelight. Black magic, weird cults, and worse things loom in the shadows. The Children of Old Leech have been with us from time immemorial. And they love us…. Donald Miller, geologist and academic, has walked along the edge of a chasm for most of his nearly 80 years, leading a charmed life between endearing absent-mindedness and sanity-shattering realization. Now, all things must converge. Donald will discover the dark secrets along the edges, unearthing savage truths about his wife Michelle, their adult twins, and all he knows and trusts. For Donald is about to stumble on the secret… of The Croning. From Laird Barron, Shirley Jackson Award-winning author of The Imago Sequence and Occultation, comes The Croning, a debut novel of cosmic horror.”
Some Remarks By , Narrated by for Harper Audio. “One of the most talented and creative authors working today, Neal Stephenson is renowned for his exceptional novels – works colossal in vision and mind-boggling in complexity. Exploring and blending a diversity of topics, including technology, economics, history, science, pop culture, and philosophy, his books are the products of a keen and adventurous intellect. Not surprisingly, Stephenson is regularly asked to contribute articles, lectures, and essays to numerous outlets, from major newspapers and cutting-edge magazines to college symposia. This remarkable collection brings together previously published short writings, both fiction and nonfiction, as well as a new essay (and an extremely short story) created specifically for this volume.”
Lastly, two genre-leaning titles from mainstream imprints, the first and more interesting to me being The Dog Stars By Peter Heller, Narrated by Mark Deakins for Random House Audio. “Hig survived the flu that killed everyone he knows. His wife is gone, his friends are dead, he lives in the hangar of a small abandoned airport with his dog, his only neighbor a gun-toting misanthrope. In his 1956 Cessna, Hig flies the perimeter of the airfield or sneaks off to the mountains to fish and to pretend that things are the way they used to be. But when a random transmission somehow beams through his radio, the voice ignites a hope deep inside him that a better life – something like his old life – exists beyond the airport.”
ALSO OUT TUESDAY:
- Time Untime: The Dark Hunter, Book 21 By Sherrilyn Kenyon, Narrated by Holter Graham — Length:10 hrs and 23 mins
- The Dwarves By Markus Heitz, Narrated by Matthew Wolf — Length:22 hrs and 32 mins
- Foreigner: Foreigner Sequence 1, Book 1, Invader: Foreigner Sequence 1, Book 2, and Inheritor: Foreigner Sequence 1, Book 3 By C. J. Cherryh, Narrated by Precursor: Foreigner Sequence 2, Book 1, Defender: Foreigner Sequence 2, Book 2, and Explorer: Foreigner Sequence 2, Book 3
- When Diplomacy Fails By Michael Z. Williamson, Narrated by David Doersch — Length:11 hrs and 8 mins
- Queen of Wands: Special Circumstances, Book 2 By John Ringo, Narrated by Liv Anderson — Length:14 hrs and 12 mins
- The Iron Wyrm Affair: Bannon and Clare, Book 1 By Lilith Saintcrow, Narrated by Moira Quirk — Length:10 hrs and 55 mins
- Star Wars: X-Wing: Mercy Kill By Aaron Allston, Narrated by Marc Thompson — Length:12 hrs and 41 mins
- Teen: Wake By Amanda Hocking, Narrated by Nicola Barber — Length:7 hrs and 49 mins
- Teen: Girl of Nightmares: Anna Dressed in Blood, Book 2 By Kendare Blake, Narrated by August Ross — Length:10 hrs and 3 mins
- Teen/Short: The Magician’s Apprentice By Kate Banks, Narrated by Charlie Thurston — Length:3 hrs and 33 mins
- Fiction/Collection: Oblivion: Stories By David Foster Wallace, Narrated by Robert Petkoff — Length:14 hrs and 16 mins
- Short: That Undiscovered Country By Nancy Fulda, Narrated by Fiona Dwyer — Length:1 hr — “This novelette was a 2011 Jim Baen Memorial Award Winner. Norma Jean Goodwyn is 120 years old and the founder of a most unusual space station.”
- And three novels by Stephen King — Carrie (Narrated by Sissy Spacek), Salem’s Lot (Narrated by Ron McLarty), and The Shining (Narrated by Campbell Scott)
EARLIER THIS WEEK:
- Stealing Light: Shoal 1 By Gary Gibson, Narrated by — Length:14 hrs and 53 mins
- The Immorality Engine By George Mann, Narrated by Philip Bird for Audible Ltd — Length:9 hrs and 8 mins
- The Wyrmling Horde: Runelords, Book 7 By David Farland, Narrated by — Length:11 hrs and 38 mins — Blackstone continues its production of Farland’s Runelords series, here with book 7, oringially published in print in 2008
- Scourge of the Betrayer: Bloodsounder’s Arc, Book 1 By Jeff Salyards, Narrated by Chris Chung for Audible Frontiers — Length:11 hrs and 12 mins
- John Carter in The Warlord of Mars: Barsoom Series #3 By Edgar Rice Burroughs, Narrated by Scott Brick for Tantor Audio — Length:5 hrs and 57 mins — third in Tantor’s new editions of Burroughs novels, read by the multiple award-winning narrator Brick
- Jim and the Flims: A Novel By Rudy Rucker, Narrated by Mario Bueno for Audible Frontiers — Length:10 hrs and 11 mins
- Osiris: The Osiris Project, Book 1 By E. J. Swift, Narrated by Khristine Hvam — Length:16 hrs and 53 mins
- Teen: Nevermore: The Final Maximum Ride Adventure (Book 8) By James Patterson, Narrated by Rebecca Soler — Length:7 hrs and 48 mins
- Anthology: H. P. Lovecraft’s Book of the Supernatural: 20 Classic Tales of the Macabre, Chosen by the Master of Horror Himself By Stephen Jones (editor), Henry James, Washington Irving, Edgar Allan Poe, Rudyard Kipling, Bram Stoker, Robert Louis Stevenson, Guy de Maupassant, Ambrose Bierce, and Arthur Conan Doyle, Narrated by Davina Porter, Steven Crossley, and Bronson Pinchot — Length:16 hrs and 49 mins
SEEN BUT NOT HEARD:
- Anthology: Digital Rapture: The Singularity Anthology by James Patrick Kelly and John Kessel (Tachyon, Aug 1, 2012)
- The First Last Unicorn and Other Beginnings by Peter S. Beagle (Tachyon Publications)
- The Far West (Frontier Magic Book 3) by Patricia C. Wrede (Scholastic Press, Aug 1)
- Lauriat: A Filipino-Chinese Speculative Fiction Anthology by Charles Tan (Lethe Press)
- Paradox Resolution: A Spider Webb Novel by K.A. Bedford (EDGE, Aug 1)
- Dark Eden by Chris Beckett (Corvus) — UK only?
- Collection: NONE SO BLIND (1996) by Joe Haldeman, read by Robertson Dean — Available 1 August 12 from Blackstone Audio
- ICE PROPHET (1983) by William R. Forstchen — author of One Second After — Available 1 August 12 from Blackstone Audio
- City’s Son by Tom Pollock (Quercus Export Editions, Aug 2)
- Libriomancer (Magic Ex Libris Book 1) by Jim C. Hines (August 7, DAW Hardcover) — “Isaac Vainio is a Libriomancer, a member of the secret organization founded five centuries ago by Johannes Gutenberg. Libriomancers are gifted with the ability to magically reach into books and draw forth objects.” — also a recent Big Idea feature
- Charon’s Claw (Forgotten Realms: Neverwinter, #3; Legend of Drizzt, #22) by R.A. Salvatore (Wizards of the Coast, August 7, 2012)
- Rift (Nightshade Prequel), by Andrea Cremer (August 7, Philomel)
- Shadowlands, by Violette Malan (August 7, DAW)
- The Fate of the Dwarves, by Markus Heitz (August 7, Orbit)
- The Grass King’s Concubine, by Kari Sperring (August 7, DAW)
- Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass #1), by Sarah J. Maas (August 7, Bloomsbury)
- A Wolf at the Door: A Jesse James Dawson Novel by K. A. Stewart (Roc, Aug 7)
- Blood and Silver (Deacon Chalk) by James R. Tuck (Kensington, Aug 7)
- In the House of the Wicked: A Remy Chandler Novel by Thomas E. Sniegoski (Roc, Aug 7)
- The Constantine Affliction by T. Aaron Payton (Night Shade Books, Aug 7) — a new pseudonym for Steampunk by the brilliant Tim Pratt, to go along with T.A. Pratt (Marla Mason urban fantasy)
LATER THIS WEEK:
- The Outlanders by Gordon Andrews (August 8, Pen Press) — a short novel set in 2085 after an alien virus has wiped out most of humanity
- The Blood Poetry by Leland Pitts-Gonzalez (Raw Dog Screaming Press, Aug 8)
- Anthology: When the Villain Comes Home edited by Gabrielle Harbowy and Ed Greenwood (August 10, Dragon Moon Press) — a follow-on anthology to their 2011 anthology When the Hero Comes Home with stories from Ari Marmell, Eugie Foster, Jim C. Hines, Karin Lowachee, Todd McCaffrey, Rachel Swirsky, Jay Lake, J.M. Frey, and more.
- Collection:Cracklescapeby Margo Lanagan (Twelfth Planet Press, August 2012) — “A presence haunts an old dresser in an inner-city share house. Shining sun-people lure children from their carefree beachside lives. Sheela-na-gigs colonise a middle-aged man’s outer and inner worlds. And a girl with a heavy conscience seeks relief in exile on the Treeless Plain. These stories from four-time World Fantasy Award winner Margo Lanagan are all set in Australia, a myth-soaked landscape both stubbornly inscrutable and crisscrossed by interlopers’ dreamings. Explore four littoral and liminal worlds, a-crackle with fears and possibilities.”
NEXT WEEK (Aug 14):
- Bullettime by Nick Mamatas (ChiZine, August 14)
- Swallowing a Donkey’s Eye by Paul Tremblay (ChiZine, August 14)
- Collection: At the Mouth of the River of Bees: Stories by Kij Johnson (Small Beer, August 14)
- Collection: Crackpot Palace: Stories by Jeffrey Ford (William Morrow, August 14)
- Yesterday’s Hero (No Hero #2) by Jonathan Wood (Night Shade Books, Aug 14)
- The Traitor Queen (The Traitor Spy Trilogy) by Trudi Canavan (Aug 14, 2012)
- YA: The Kill Order (Maze Runner, #0.5) by James Dashner (Delacorte, August 14)
- The Legacy of Lord Regret: Strange Threads: Book 1 by Sam Bowring (Orbit, August 14)
- Romeo Spikes by Joanne Reay (Gallery Books, Aug 14)
- Tentacles of Destruction by Allen H. Walcott, Jr. (Tate Publishing, Aug 14)
- The Unnaturalists by Tiffany Trent (Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers)
- Kingmaker, Kingbreaker: The Omnibus Edition by Karen Miller (Orbit)
- The Rising: A Department 19 Novel (Department Nineteen) by Will Hill (Razorbill, Aug 16)
- Anthology: The Ghost IS the Machine edited by Patrick Scalisi (Penumbra Press, Aug 14) — with fiction from Joe Hill and Kenneth W. Cain
TWO WEEKS (Aug 21):
- The Devil in Silver: A Novel by Victor LaValle (Aug 21, 2012) — LaValle takes on “the haunted house” story
- Ghost Key by Trish J. MacGregor (Tor, Aug 21, 2012)
- Black Bottle by Anthony Huso (Tor, Aug 21, 2012)
- Hidden Things: A Novel by Doyce Testerman (Harper Voyager, Aug 21)
- Genocidal Organ by Project Itoh (VIZ Media LLC/Haikasoru, Aug 21)
- The Unincorporated Future by Dani Kollin & Eytan Kollin (Tor Books)
- Fate of Worlds: Return from the Ringworld by Larry Niven and Edward M. Lerner (Aug 21, 2012)
- Wards of Faerie: The Dark Legacy of Shannara by Terry Brooks (August 21, Random House)
- Such Wicked Intent: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein, Book Two by Kenneth Oppel (Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers, Aug 21)
- Fiction: Lionel Asbo: State of England by Martin Amis (Knopf, AudioGo, Aug 21) — One which is only on my radar via Lev Grossman’s TIME column on books: “A savage, funny, and mysteriously poignant saga by a renowned author at the height of his powers. Lionel Asbo, a terrifying yet weirdly loyal thug (self-named after England’s notorious Anti-Social Behaviour Order), has always looked out for his ward and nephew, the orphaned Desmond Pepperdine. He provides him with fatherly career advice (always carry a knife, for example) and is determined they should share the joys of pit bulls (fed with lots of Tabasco sauce), Internet porn, and all manner of more serious criminality. Des, on the other hand, desires nothing more than books to read and a girl to love (and to protect a family secret that could be the death of him). But just as he begins to lead a gentler, healthier life, his uncle—once again in a London prison—wins £140 million in the lottery and upon his release hires a public relations firm and begins dating a cannily ambitious topless model and “poet.” Strangely, however, Lionel’s true nature remains uncompromised while his problems, and therefore also Desmond’s, seem only to multiply.”
- A Guile of Dragons by James Enge (Pyr, August 24) — “It’s dwarves versus dragons in this origin story for Enge’s signature character, Morlock Ambrosius! Before history began, the dwarves of Thrymhaiam fought against the dragons as the Longest War raged in the deep roads beneath the Northhold. Now the dragons have returned, allied with the dead kings of Cor and backed by the masked gods of Fate and Chaos.”
- The Manual of Aeronautics: An Illustrated Guide to the Leviathan Series by Scott Westerfeld (Simon Pulse, Aug 21)
- Reaper (Lightbringer #2), by K.D. McEntire (August 24, Pyr)
- Dusk Watchman (The Twilight Reign, Book Five) by Tom Lloyd (Pyr, Aug 24, 2012) — no audio news
THREE WEEKS (Aug 28):
- The Twelve: A Novel by Justin Cronin (Random House Audio, Aug 28, 2012) — sequel to 2010’s The Passage — update: apparently moved to Oct 16
- The Spark by Susan Jane Bigelow (Candlemark & Gleam, August 28) — book three after 2011’s well-received Unbroken and January’s Fly Info Fire from this high quality small press
- Anthology: Under My Hat: Tales from the Cauldron edited by Jonathan Strahan (Aug 28, 2012)
- Mockingbird by Chuck Wendig (Angry Robot)
- Death of Light by Peter Crowther (Angry Robot, Aug 28, 2012)
- Devil Said Bang: A Sandman Slim Novel by Richard Kadrey (Harper Voyager)
- Breakdown by Katherine Amt Hanna (47North)
- Seven Wonders by Adam Christopher (Angry Robot, Aug 28, 2012)
- Sanctuary (The Outcast Chronicles #3), by Rowena Cory Daniells (August 28, Solaris)
- Cold Fire (Spiritwalker #2) by Kate Elliott (Orbit, Aug 28)
- Ghost of a Dream by Simon R. Green (Ace, Aug 28)
- Ghost Spin by Chris Moriarty (Spectra, Aug 28, 2012)
- Death Warmed Over (Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I.) by Kevin J. Anderson (Kensington, Brilliance Audio, Aug 28)
- Endgame (A Sirantha Jax novel) by Ann Aguirre (Ace, Aug 28)
- Soul Trade by Caitlin Kittredge (St. Martin’s, Aug 28)
- The Shattered Vine: Book Three of The Vineart War by Laura Anne Gilman (Pocket Books, Aug 28)
- The Dragons of Winter (The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica #6), by James A. Owens (August 28, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)
- Vanquished (Crusade #3), by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie (August 28, Simon Pulse)
- Wrayth (Book of the Order #3), by Phillippa Ballantine (August 28, Ace)
- Bloodstar (Star Corpsman: Book One) by Ian Douglas (Harper Voyager, August 28)
- The Corpse-Rat King by Lee Battersby (Angry Robot, Angry Robot on Brilliance Audio, Aug 28)
- Taken (An Alex Verus Novel) by Benedict Jacka (Ace, Aug 28)
- Every Day by David Levithan (Knopf Books for Young Readers, Listening Library, Aug 28) — “Every morning, A wakes in a different person’s body, a different person’s life. There’s never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere.”
- Anthology: Foretold: 14 Tales of Prophecy and Prediction edited by Carrie Ryan (Delacorte Books for Young Readers, Aug 28)
- Heir of Novron by Michael J. Sullivan (Orbit, January 2012) — the third volume (collecting books 5 and 6) of Sullivan’s Riyria Revelations is due in audio from Recorded Books on September 1
- Legion, by Brandon Sanderson (August 31, Subterranean)
- Collection: No Sharks in the Med and Other Stories by Brian Lumley (Subterranean, Aug 31)
- Teen:Zeuglodonby James Blaylock (Subterranean Press, Aug 31) — “set in the world envisioned in James Blaylock’s The Digging Leviathan”
- Seawitch by Kat Richardson (Greywalker Series book 7, Recorded Books, September 1)
- Caliban’s War by James S.A. Corey (The Expanse, book 2, Recorded Books, September 1) — recently published follow up to Leviathan Wakes
- Clockwork Angels by Kevin J. Anderson, read by Neal Peart for Brilliance Audio (Sep 1) — Peart reading the novelization by Anderson for Peart’s concurrently releasing Rush album
FOUR WEEKS (Sep 4):
- Monstrous Beauty by Elizabeth Fama (FS&G, September 4) — “Fierce, seductive mermaid Syrenka falls in love with Ezra, a young naturalist. When she abandons her life underwater for a chance at happiness on land, she is unaware that this decision comes with horrific and deadly consequences.”
- The Kingmakers by Clay and Susan Griffith (Pyr, September 4) — the conclusion of their Vampire Empire series which began with 2010’s The Greyfriar and 2011’s The Rift Walker — book one came to audio earlier this year from Buzzy Multimedia, read by James Marsters, and the remaining books will be coming along eventually
- The Fractal Prince by Hannu Rajaniemi (Tor UK, Sep 4, 2012) — Tor US release in October
- Punk: An Aesthetic by Jon Savage, William Gibson, Linder Sterling and Johan Kugelberg (Rizzoli, Sep 4, 2012) — this “heavily illustrated” book is not a good match for audio, but it’s on my list anyway, well, because Gibson. So there.
- Teen: Origin by Jessica Khoury (Razorbill, Sep 4)
- Ashes of Honor (October Daye, #6) by Seanan McGuire (Brilliance Audio, September 6, 2012)
FIVE WEEKS (Sep 11):
- The Blinding Knife (Lightbringer, #2) by Brent Weeks (Orbit, September 11)
- YA/YR: The Brides of Rollrock Island by Margo Lanagan (Knopf, Sep 11, 2012)
SIX WEEKS (Sep 18):
- The Forge of Darkness by Steven Erikson (Tor, Sep 18) — begins a new trilogy “that takes place millennia before the events of the Malazan Book of the Fallen and introduces readers to Kurald Galain, the warren of Darkness.”
- Midst Toil and Tribulation (Safehold) by David Weber (Tor, Sep 18)
SEVEN WEEKS (Sep 25):
- Alchemystic by Anton Strout (Ace, Sep 25) — Book One of The Spellmason Chronicles — “Alexandra Belarus is a struggling artist living in New York City, even though her family is rich in real estate, including a towering Gothic Gramercy Park building built by her great-great-grandfather. But the truth of her bloodline is revealed when she is attacked on the street and saved by an inhumanly powerful winged figure.”
- Bad Glass by Richard E. Gropp (Del Rey, Sep 25) — winner of the Del Rey/Suvudu Writing Contest from the author of the powerful 2011 short story “Filling up the Void”