Release week: The Age of Miracles, Logan's Run, and The Prince of Nothing

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Release week: The Age of Miracles, Logan's Run, and The Prince of Nothing

Posted on 2012-06-27 at 12:56 by Sam

The release week of June 26 brings a genre in the mainstream debut, a long-awaited classic read by one of my favorite narrators, and R. Scott Bakker’s Prince of Nothing series, among several other titles to check out.

That Genre-in-the-Mainstream debut is The Age of Miracles: A Novel By Karen Thompson Walker, Narrated by Emily Janice Card for Random House Audio — Length:9 hrs and 3 mins. A “coming of age set against the backdrop of an utterly altered world” sees the rotation of the Earth slowing down. AudioFile says that “Card’s mild, young voice suits Julia, and it softens some of the horrors she and everyone else on the planet experience—mysteriously dying birds and whales, the sun’s radiation let loose, a wholly uncertain future.”

Audible Frontiers has another busy week, with two very wished-for series. The first is one I did not even know was a “series”, having only been familiar with William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson’s 1967 classic sf novel Logan’s Run. But Nolan did write a decade-later sequel, Logan’s World (1977) and a third novel, Logan’s Search (1980). And now the entire series is available in audio, narrated by Oliver Wyman, whose work on Jeff VanderMeer’s Finch and Frederik Pohl’s Gateway established him as one of my favorite narrators.

 

The second series is more recent, R. Scott Bakker’s The Prince of Nothing, which I read in print and was blown away by its originality and scope. Starting with The Darkness That Comes Before: The Prince of Nothing, Book One (2003) and continuing with The Warrior-Prophet: The Prince of Nothing, Book Two (2004) and The Thousandfold Thought: The Prince of Nothing, Book Three (2006), the dark epic fantasy series follows the rising tides of war between religious schisms, schools of magic, and the machinations of Anasûrimbor Kellhus. Bakker continues this world with a second trilogy, The Aspect-Emperor, with novels The Judging Eye (2008) and The White-Luck Warrior (2011) already published. Here, the first trilogy is narrated by David DeVries.

One last note before the deluge below is that James S.A. Corey’s Caliban’s War, the sequel to Leviathan Wakes, is out today in print and e-book from Orbit, but the Recorded Books audiobook is not due out until September 1.

ALSO OUT TUESDAY:

EARLIER THIS WEEK:

SEEN BUT NOT HEARD:

  • Hush by James Maxey, book 2 in The Dragon Apocalypse which began with January 2012’s Greatshadow (June 26, Solaris Books) — no audio news
  • Caliban’s War (The Expanse) by James S. A. Corey (Orbit, Jun 26, 2012) — sequel to Leviathan Wakes — out today in print and e-book, but the Recorded Books audiobook is not due out until September 1.
  • War & Mir, Volume 1: Ascension by Minister Faust (Jun 26) — released with a quite impressive trailer and accompanied with phrases like “Occupy the Solar System” and “When democracy-smashing trade deals are so vast they no longer threaten only Third world and First world, but the entire solar system…”
  • Lost Things by Melissa Scott and Jo Graham (Crossroad Press, Jun 20, 2012) — A Tie-in novel to the O.C.L.T. — “In 1929 archeologists began draining Lake Nemi in search of the mysterious ships that have been glimpsed beneath its waters since the reign of Claudius. What they awakened had been drowned for two thousand years. For a very good reason.”
  • Bared Blade (A Fallen Blade Novel) by Kelly McCullough (Ace, Jun 26, 2012)
  • YA: Dust Girl by Sarah Zettel (Random House YA, June 26) — fantasy-infused “dust bowl”
  • Rasputin’s Bastards by David Nickle (ChiZine, June 26)
  • Beacon in the Dark by Marjorie M. Liu (June 26th 2012 by Berkley)
  • Anthology: Other Worlds Than These edited by John Joseph Adams (Night Shade Books)
  • Suited by Jo Anderton (Angry Robot) — sequel to last year’s Debris
  • Besieged by Rowena Cory Daneills (Solaris) — #1 in a new series, The Outcast Chronicles, in which a tribe of mystics is persecuted by people without magical abilities
  • YA: False Covenant by Ari Marmell (Pyr) — book #2 of the Widdershins series after last year’s The Thief’s Covenant
  • Bared Blade by Kelly McCullough (Ace) — book #2 of Fallen Blade
  • Spin the Sky by Katy Stauber (Night Shade) — per the Locus Online Monitor, “SF novel, a retelling of the Odyssey, about a man returning to an orbital colony after 15 years of wandering in space.”
  • The Emperor’s Knife by Mazarkis Williams (Night Shade) — “There is a cancer at the heart of the mighty Cerani Empire: a plague that attacks young and old, rich and poor alike. Geometric patterns spread across the skin, until you die in agony, or become a Carrier, doing the bidding of an evil intelligence, the Pattern Master. Anyone showing the tell-tale marks is put to death; that is Emperor Beyon’s law…but now the pattern is running over the Emperor’s own arms.”

LATER THIS WEEK:

COMING SOON:

  • The Drowning Girl by Caitlin R. Kiernan, coming to audio from Neil Gaiman Presents

NEXT WEEK (July 3):

  • The First Confessor: The Legend of Magda Searus by Terry Goodkind (to be self-published, Jul 2, 2012) — audiobook is coming, but not concurrent with e-book release
  • Thieftaker (Thieftaker Chronicles, #1) by D. B. Jackson (Tor, July 3, 2012) — an historical fantasy from David B. Coe — “Boston, 1767: In D.B. Jackson’s Thieftaker, revolution is brewing as the British Crown imposes increasingly onerous taxes on the colonies, and intrigue swirls around firebrands like Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty. But for Ethan Kaille, a thieftaker who makes his living by conjuring spells that help him solve crimes, politics is for others…until he is asked to recover a necklace worn by the murdered daughter of a prominent family. Suddenly, he faces another conjurer of enormous power, someone unknown, who is part of a conspiracy that reaches to the highest levels of power in the turbulent colony.”
  • The Apocalypse Codex (A Laundry Files Novel) by Charles Stross (Jul 3, 2012)
  • Heaven’s War (Heaven’s Shadow) by David S. Goyer and Michael Cassutt (Jul 3, 2012)
  • The Bones of the Old Ones by Howard Andrew Jones (Thomas Dunne, Jul 3, 2012) — sequel to Desert of Souls
  • Wake of the Bloody Angel by Alex Bledsoe (Tor, Jul 3, 2012) — concurrent release in audio from Blackstone Audio, read by Stefan Rudnicki
  • The Hollow City by Dan Wells (Tor, Jul 3, 2012)
  • The Gilded Rune by Lisa Smedman (Wizards of the Coast, Jul 3, 2012)
  • Advent: A Novel by James Treadwell (Atria, Jul 3, 2012) — the first in a trilogy, the story of how magic was lost to the world
  • Even White Trash Zombies Get the Blues by Diana Rowland (DAW, July 3, 2012) — sequel to White Trash Zombies
  • Tin Swift by Devon Monk (Roc, July 3) — “In steam age America, men, monsters, machines and magic battle to claim the same scrap of earth and sky. In this chaos, one man fights to hold on to his humanity–and his honor…” (via Ranting Dragon)
  • God Save the Queen by Kate Locke (Orbit, Jul 3, 2012) — an undead Queen Victoria rules a Britain of werewolves, vampires, …
  • War Maid’s Choice by David Weber (Baen, July 3, 2012)
  • Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson — published June 19 by Grove Press, coming to audio July 3 from Brilliance Audio
  • Anthology: The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Ninth Annual Collection edited by Gardner Dozois (St. Martin’s Griffin, Jul 3, 2012)
  • Anthology: The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy 2012 Edition edited by Rich Horton, stories by Jonathan Carroll, Neil Gaiman, Kelly Link and Paul McAuley (Prime, Jul 4, 2012)
  • Last Man Standing by Davide Longo (MacLehose Press, July 5, 2012) — an English translation of an Italian novel set in a collapsing near future (via Ranting Dragon)

TWO WEEKS (July 10):

  • The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln by Stephen L. Carter (Knopf, Random House Audio, July 10) — alternate history exploring politics and law in a post-Civil War era where Lincoln survives assassination only to face impeachment.
  • Year Zero by Rob Reid (Del Rey, July 10) — “a headlong journey through the outer reaches of the universe—and the inner workings of our absurdly dysfunctional music industry.”
  • Non-genre: The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (Harper, July 10)
  • Shadow of Night: A Novel by Deborah Harkness (Jul 10, 2012) — sequel to A Discovery of Witches
  • A Million Heavens by John Brandon (McSweeney’s, Jul 10, 2012)
  • Year Zero: A Novel by Rob Reid (Del Rey, Jul 10, 2012)
  • Some Kind of Fairy Tale: A Novel by Graham Joyce (Doubleday, Jul 10, 2012)
  • The No Variations by Luis Chitarroni and translated by Rhett McNeil (Dalkey Archive Press, Jul 10, 2012)
  • Dark Reading Matter (Thursday Next, #7) by Jasper Fforde (July 12th 2012 by Hodder & Stoughton)
  • Anthology: Shadow Show: All-New Stories in Celebration of Ray Bradbury edited by Sam Weller & Mort Castle (William Morrow, July 10, 2012) — “The recent passing of literary legend Ray Bradbury was a blow to field of fiction. This tribute collection, started before his passing, features the talents of just a small portion of writers whose lives he affected: Neil Gaiman, Joe Hill, Robert McCammon, Ramsey Campbell, Alice Hoffman, Audrey Niffenegger, Kelly Link, Harlan Ellison and 18 more. This must-have anthology also features an essay, “Second Homecoming,” written by Bradbury specifically for this publication.” (via Kirkus Reviews)

THREE WEEKS (July 17):

  • Sharps by K.J. Parker (Orbit, 17 July 2012) — a fantasy in which neighboring kingdoms long at war might finally forge a truce; two fencers come together to represent their nations
  • Earth Unaware by Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnson (Macmillan Audio, simultaneous with the Tor/Forge hardcover, 17 July 2012) read by a full cast — “Before Ender Wiggin was born, before the Battle School was built, the aliens brought war to Earth”
  • Energized by Edward M. Lerner (Tor, Jul 17, 2012)
  • The Coldest War by Ian Tregillis (Jul 17, 2012)
  • Empty Space by M. John Harrison (Gollanz, Jul 19, 2012) — “Harrison’s literary space opera, The Kefahuchi Tract (which began with Light and Nova Swing), was met with wide acclaim. Now, the third book in the trilogy is finally here. Empty Space, structured in three alternating stories that merge to its grand conclusion, promises to mess with your head, but in a good way.” (via Kirkus Reviews)

FOUR WEEKS (July 24):

  • Collection: Sorry Please Thank You: Stories by Charles Yu (Pantheon, Jul 24, 2012) — no audio news
  • Blood of Dragons: Volume Four of the Rain Wilds Chronicles by Robin Hobb (Harper Voyager, Jul 24, 2012) — update: apparently scheduled for April 9, 2012
  • The Siege in the Room: Three Novellas by Miquel Bauca and translated by Martha Tennent (Dalkey Archive Press, Jul 24, 2012)
  • Jack Glass by Adam Roberts (Gollanz, Jul 26, 2012 — UK only?)
  • Trinity Rising by Elspeth Cooper (Gollanz, Jul 26, 2012 — UK only?) — The Wild Hunt #2 after Songs of the Earth
  • Vlad by Carlos Fuentes (Dalkey Archive Press, Jul 24, 2012) — Spanish-language novel from Mexico now in translation, re-imagines Dracula in Mexico City — audio coming from Dreamscape

FIVE WEEKS (July 31):

  • Chimera by T.C. McCarthy (Orbit in print and e-book, Blackstone Audio, July 31, 2012) — The Subterrene War, Book 3 — “Escaped Germline soldiers need to be cleaned up, and Stan Resnick is the best man for the job—a job that takes him to every dark spot and every rat hole he can find.”
  • Shadows Before the Sun by Kelly Gay (July 31, Pocket Books) — no audio news — the next book in Gay’s Charlie Madigan series
  • vN (Von Neumann Sisters #1) by Madeline Ashby (Angry Robot/Brilliance Audio, Jul 31, 2012) — ““Amy Peterson is a self-replicating humanoid robot known as a VonNeumann. For the past five years, she has been grown slowly as part of a mixed organic/synthetic family. She knows very little about her android mother’s past, so when her grandmother arrives and attacks her mother, Amy wastes no time: she eats her alive. Now she carries her malfunctioning granny as a partition on her memory drive, and she’s learning impossible things about her clade’s history - like the fact that she alone can kill humans without failsafing…”
  • The Crown of the Usurper by Gav Thorpe (Angry Robot, Jul 31, 2012)
  • Devil’s Wake by Steven Barnes and Tananarive Due (Atria, July 31, 2012) — “In this sci-fi thriller, the world is ovecome by a deadly new infection that transforms those infected. A group of teenagers navigates across this apocalyptic landscape seeking safety and community, but must overcome deadly obstacles every step of the way. Devil’s Wake seeks to reinvent the zombie novel by simulating a zombie-like apocalypse without actually using the word “zombie.”” (via Kirkus Reviews)
  • Blood and Feathers by Lou Morgan (Solaris, July 31) — “Morgan’s promising first novel features Alice, a seemingly normal woman with an uneventful life. That is, until she is visited by angels who not only inform her of the war between the angels and the Fallen, but also that she is to play an integral part in helping the angels win. Guided by a disgraced angel named Mallory, Alice comes to learn about her own history—secret even to herself—and why the angels must send her to hell.” (via Kirkus Reviews)
  • An Officer’s Duty (Theirs Not to Reason Why #2) by Jean Johnson (Ace, July 31) — “An Officer’s Duty is the second book in the Theirs Not to Reason Why series, an exciting military science fiction series featuring the tough-as-nails female protagonist named Ia. The first book, A Soldier’s Duty, was a Philip K. Dick award nominee. What sets this series apart from other military sf series is that Ia can foresee all the possible futures of mankind, and in all but one of them, her home galaxy will be destroyed. The series depicts her attempts to steer human history to that one golden future. The catch: she cannot tell anyone about her abilities or all will be lost.” (via Kirkus Reviews)
  • Whispers Under Ground by Ben Aaronovitch (Del Rey, July 31, 2012)
  • Anthology: Digital Rapture: The Singularity Anthology by James Patrick Kelly and John Kessel (Tachyon, Aug 1, 2012)
  • NONE SO BLIND (TKTK) by Joe Haldeman, read by Robertson Dean — Available 1 August 12 from Blackstone Audio
  • THE WYRMLING HORDE (TKTK) by David Farland, read by Ray Porter — Blackstone continues its production of Farland’s Runelords series, here with book 7 — 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
  • Forge of Darkness (Kharkanas Trilogy #1) by Steven Erikson — “set 300,000-odd years before the main Malazan series. It tells the story of Anomander Rake, Silchas Ruin, Mother Dark…” (August 2nd 2012 by Bantam Press)

Just added to the long range radar:

  • The Hydrogen Sonata by Iain M. Banks (Orbit, October 9, 2012) — a new Culture novel
  • Inexplicables (The Clockwork Century #5) by Cherie Priest (Tor, November 13, 2012)

Something missed along the way this year:

Posted in regular, Release Week | Tagged age of miracles, logan's run, oliver wyman, prince of nothing, release week