Release Week: Will McIntosh's Love Minus Eighty, Jon Steele's Angel City, Elizabeth Moon's Limits of Power, and Jason Sheehan's A Private Little War

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Release Week: Will McIntosh's Love Minus Eighty, Jon Steele's Angel City, Elizabeth Moon's Limits of Power, and Jason Sheehan's A Private Little War

Posted on 2013-06-12 at 15:38 by Sam

JUNE 5-11, 2013: After an absolutely over-packed release week last week, there’s a bit of a calm before more big releases next week — Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane and Max Barry’s Lexicon for starters). Still, several audiobooks really catch my eye and ear this week, ranging from the latest standalone novel from Will McIntosh, to a follow-on to war journalist Jon Steele’s The Watchers, to the latest novel in Elizabeth Moon’s Paksennarion series, to a debut sf novel from food editor Jason Sheehan.

PICKS OF THE WEEK:

Love Minus Eighty by Will McIntosh, narrated by Kevin T. Collins, Eileen Stevens, and Ali Ahn for Hachette Audio concurrent with the print/ebook release from Orbit. “In the future, love is complicated and death is not necessarily the end. Love Minus Eighty follows several interconnected people in a disquieting vision of romantic life in the century to come.There’s Rob, who accidentally kills a jogger, then sacrifices all to visit her in a cryogenic dating facility, seeking forgiveness but instead falling in love. Veronika, a shy dating coach, finds herself coaching the very woman who is stealing the man she loves. And Mira, a gay woman accidentally placed in a heterosexual dating center near its inception, desperately seeks a way to reunite with her frozen partner as the years pass. In this daring and big-hearted novel based on the Hugo-winning short story, the lovelorn navigate a word in which technology has reached the outer limits of morality and romance.”

Love Minus Eighty | [Will McIntosh] Angel City: The Angelus Trilogy | [Jon Steele]

Angel City: The Angelus Trilogy by Jon Steele, narrated by Jonathan Davis for Penguin Audio. “Jon Steele’s electrifying new novel brings together his unforgettable characters from The Watchers in an action-packed romp that easily stands alone, even as it reveals more of the earthly - and cosmic - mysteries of the Angelus trilogy.”

Limits of Power: Paladin’s Legacy, Book 4 by Elizabeth Moon, narrated by Angela Dawe for Brilliance Audio. This is a new book in Moon’s Paksennarion: Paladin’s Legacy series: “The unthinkable has occurred in the kingdom of Lyonya. The queen of the Elves - known as the Lady - is dead, murdered by former elves twisted by dark powers. Now the Lady’s half-elven grandson must heal the mistrust between elf and human before their enemies strike again. Yet as he struggles to make ready for an attack, an even greater threat looms across the Eight Kingdoms.”

Limits of Power: Paladin's Legacy, Book 4 | [Elizabeth Moon] A Private Little War | [Jason Sheehan]

A Private Little War by Jason Sheehan, barrated by Luke Daniels for Brilliance Audio. “The pilots of Flyboy, Inc., landed on the alien planet of Iaxo with a mission: In one year, quash an insurrection; exploit the ancient enmities of an indigenous, tribal society; and kill the hell out of one group of natives to facilitate negotiations with the surviving group — all over 110 million acres of mixed terrain. At first, the double-hush, back-burner project went well. With a ten-century technological lead on the locals, the logistical support of a powerful private military company, and aid from other outfits on the ground, it was supposed to be an easy-in, easy-out mission that would make the pilots of Flyboy, Inc., very, very rich. But the natives of Iaxo had another plan — and what was once a strategic slam-dunk has become a quagmire, leaving the pilots of Flyboy, Inc., on an embattled distant planet, waiting for support and a ride home that may never come… This dark debut novel tells the tale of a secret war — and the struggle to stay sane in a world that makes no sense. A Catch-22 for a new generation, A Private Little War is sure to become a science fiction classic.”

ALSO OUT THIS WEEK:

AUDIOGO: Shadow People (Dark Magic, Book 2) by James Swain, narrated by Stephen R. Thorne; Evil and the Mask by Fuminori Nakamura, narrated by Kirby Heyborne; and (Teen) The Pirate’s Wish By Cassandra Rose Clarke, Narrated By Tania Rodrigues

HARPER AUDIO: The Tower: A Novel: The Ruin Trilogy, Book 3 By Simon Toyne, Narrated By Simon Vance; (Teen) Rush: The Game, Book 1 By Eve Silver, Narrated By Amy Rubinate

RANDOM HOUSE AUDIO: Allegiance: Star Wars By Timothy Zahn, Narrated By Marc Thompson

CROSSROAD PRESS: The Case of the Claw: SCPD, Book 1 By Keith R.A. DeCandido, Narrated By Tee Morris

BOOKS IN MOTION: Things to Do in Denver When You’re Un-Dead: From the Files of the BSI, Book 1 By Mark Everett Stone, Narrated By Damon Abdallah

OPEN BOOK AUDIO: The Short Death of Phineas Bean By Daniel A. Miller, Narrated By Jeff Tucker

LISTENING LIBRARY: (Teen) Far Far Away By Tom McNeal, Narrated By W. Morgan Sheppard

CANDLEWICK on BRILLIANCE AUDIO: (Teen) Plague in the Mirror By Deborah Noyes, Narrated By Amy Rubinate

BRILLIANCE AUDIO: Crisscross: A Repairman Jack Novel, Book 8 By F. Paul Wilson, Narrated By Christopher Price; (Teen) Ghost Time By Courtney Eldridge, Narrated By Jorjeana Marie

AUDIBLE INC: Kamikaze L’Amour: A Novel of the Future By Richard Kadrey, Narrated By Kevin T. Collins; Riddle in Stone: The Riddle in Stone, Book 1 By Robert Evert, Narrated By Fleet Cooper

AUDIBLE FRONTIERS: Butcher Bird: A Novel of the Dominion By Richard Kadrey, Narrated By Jonathan Davis; Mark of the Demon: Kara Gillian, Book 1 By Diana Rowland, Narrated By Liv Anderson; Malice in Wonderland: Dulcie O’Neil, Book 5 By H. P. Mallory, Narrated By Therese Plummer

INDIE: The Machine Stops By E. M. Forster, Narrated By Mike Vendetti; The Cantor Dimension: An Astrophysical Murder Mystery By Sharon Delarose, Narrated By Al Kessel; The Galactic Mage (Volume 1) By John Daulton, Narrated By David Bodtcher

SEEN BUT NOT HEARD:

  • The Flames of Shadam Khoreh by Bradley P. Beaulieu (Quillings Literary, June 5) — “The Lays of Anuskaya is a special series with one of the best concluding volumes in the history of epic fantasy.” Justin Landon, Staffer’s Book Review
  • Finches of Mars by Brian Aldiss (HarperCollis UK, June 6)
  • Crash Wagon (Family Ties, Book 1) by Jason Eric Pryor (Deltarat Publishing, June 8)
  • Exodus by Paul Antony Jones (Amazon/47North, June 11) -- book 2 in the Extinction Point series
  • Ecko Rising by Danie Ware (Titan, June 11) -- US release of a 2012 UK release -- "SF/fantasy novel, the author’s first novel, about a man transported from a futuristic world to another world that lives in fear of magic." (via Locus Online)
COMING SOON:

Dark Eden | [Chris Beckett] The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A Novel | [Neil Gaiman]

  • The Indigo Pheasant: Longing for Yount, Book 2 By Daniel A. Rabuzzi, Narrated By Kieron Elliot for Audible Inc. -- Release Date: 06-12-13
  • Blade of Fortriu: Bridei Chronicles, Book 2 By Juliet Marillier, Narrated By Michael Page for Audible Frontiers -- Scheduled Release Date: 06-13-13
  • Dark Eden By Chris Beckett, Narrated By Oliver Hembrough and Jessica Martin for Audible Ltd -- Scheduled Release Date: 06-14-13
  • The Winds of Altair By Ben Bova, Narrated By Stefan Rudnicki for Blackstone Audio -- Scheduled Release Date: 06-15-13
  • ATTICA by Garry Kilworth, read by Simon Vance for Blackstone Audio (Available 15 June 13)
  • The Battle of Verril: Book of Deacon #3 By Joseph R. Lallo, Narrated By Karyn O'Bryant for Tantor Audio -- Scheduled Release Date: 06-17-13
  • The Legend of Corinair: Frontiers Saga, Book 3 By Ryk Brown, Narrated By Jeffrey Kafer for Tantor Audio -- Scheduled Release Date: 06-17-13
  • CLOAK & SILENCE by Sherrilyn Kenyon (Blackstone Audio, June 17)
  • The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A Novel By Neil Gaiman, Narrated By Neil Gaiman for Harper Audio -- Scheduled Release Date: 06-18-13
  • In the House upon the Dirt Between the Lake and the Woods By Matt Bell, Narrated By Charlie Thurston for AudioGO -- Scheduled Release Date: 06-18-13
  • Sovereign: The Book of Mortals, Book 3 By Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee, Narrated By Henry Leyva for Hachette Audio -- Scheduled Release Date: 06-18-13
  • Lexicon by Max Barry, read by Heather Corrigan and Zach Appelman for Dreamscape Media (concurrent with hardcover/ebook release from Penguin, June 18) — “An up-all-night thriller for freaks and geeks who want to see their wizards all grown up in the real world and armed to the teeth in a bloody story.” – Kirkus Reviews; as well as blurbs from both Lev (“About as close you can get to the perfect cerebral thriller: searingly smart, ridiculously funny, and fast as hell. Lexicon reads like Elmore Leonard high out of his mind on Snow Crash.”) and Austin Grossman (“I don’t know how you could craft a better weekend read than this novel of international intrigue and weaponized Chomskian linguistics. It’s the perfect mix of philosophical play and shotgun-inflected chase scenes. Like someone let Grant Morrison loose on the Bourne identity franchise.”)
  • Sea Change by S.M. Wheeler (Tor, Jun 18) — “Wheeler’s stunning debut is a sophisticated fantasy whose lush descriptions, lurical dialogue, and engaging structure are reminiscent of the very best fairy tales… This profoundly beautifuly evolution of fairy tale elements will have readers eagerly awaiting Wheeler’s next book.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review
  • Requiem by Ken Scholes (Tor, Jun 18) — “the latest in The Psalms of Isaak series”
  • Before the Fall by Francis Knight (Orbit, Jun 18) — book two in a trilogy to be published in its entirety in 2013, starting with (already out) Fade to Black
  • The Long War by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter (Harper, Jun 18, 2013) — sequel to The Long Earth -- audio release scheduled in mid-July
  • Wisp of a Thing by Alex Bledsoe (Tor, Jun 18) — coming to Blackstone Audio read by Stefan Rudnicki, this is book 2 after 2011′s The Hum and the Shiver
  • The Shuddering by Ania Ahlborn (47North and Brilliance Audio, Jun 18, 2013)
  • Beyond Dinocalypse By Chuck Wendig, Narrated By Oliver Wyman -- Scheduled Release Date: 06-18-13
  • The Quarry by Iain M. Banks (Little, Brown and Co., June 20, 2013)
  • The Adjacent by Christopher Priest (Orion UK, Jun 20, 2013) — US audio coming concurrently via Audible Ltd
  • Divinity and the Python by Bonnie Randall (Panverse, June 21)
  • Invisible Cities By Italo Calvino, Narrated By John Lee for Tantor Audio — Length: 5 hrs — Scheduled Release Date: 06-24-13
  • Fusion: Patrick Chronicles, Book 2 By Nicole Williams, Narrated By Paul Boehmer for Tantor Audio -- Scheduled Release Date: 06-24-13
  • Cold Steel (The Spiritwalker Trilogy) by Kate Elliott (Orbit, Jun 25, 2013)
  • Blade Reforged (A Fallen Blade Novel) by Kelly McCullough (Ace, Jun 25, 2013)
  • The Goliath Stone by Larry Niven and Matthew Joseph Harrington (Tor Books, Jun 25) — “Twenty-five years ago, the Briareus mission took nanomachinery out to divert an Earth-crossing asteroid and bring it back to be mined, only to drop out of contact as soon as it reached its target. The project was shut down and the technology was forcibly suppressed. Now, a much, much larger asteroid is on a collision course with Earth—and the Briareus nanites may be responsible.”
  • Hunted: The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book 6 by Kevin Hearne, narrated by Luke Daniels for Brilliance Audio — Scheduled Release Date: 06/25/13
  • iD: Machine Dynasty, Book 2 By Madeline Ashby, Narrated By Luke Daniels for Angry Robot on Brilliance Audio -- Scheduled Release Date: 06-25-13
  • A Discourse in Steel by Paul S. Kemp (Angry Robot: 25 June 2013) -- read by Nick Podehl for Angry Robot on Brilliance Audio
  • The World of the End by Ofir Touché Gafla (Tor, Jun 25) — “As an epilogist, Ben Mendelssohn appreciates an unexpected ending. But when that denouement is the untimely demise of his beloved wife, Ben is incapable of coping. Marian was more than his life partner; she was the fiber that held together all that he is. And Ben is willing to do anything, even enter the unknown beyond, if it means a chance to be with her again. One bullet to the brain later, Ben is in the Other World, where he discovers a vast and curiously secular existence utterly unlike anything he could have imagined: a realm of sprawling cities where the deceased of every age live an eternal second life, and where forests of family trees are tended by mysterious humans who never lived in the previous world. But Ben cannot find Marian. Desperate for a reunion, he enlists an unconventional afterlife investigator to track her down, little knowing that his search is entangled in events that continue to unfold in the world of the living. It is a search that confronts Ben with one heart-rending shock after another; with the best and worst of human nature; with the resilience and fragility of love; and with truths that will haunt him through eternity.”

JULY and AUGUST:

  • THE INTEGRAL TREES by Larry Niven, read by Tom Weiner for Blackstone Audio (Available 1 July 13) -- appears to be replacing a previous Blackstone production
  • Chaosbound: The Eighth Book of the Runelords By David Farland, Narrated By Ray Porter for Tantor Audio -- Scheduled Release Date: 07-01-13
  • The Magic of Recluce: Saga of Recluce, Book 1 By L. E. Modesitt, Narrated By Kirby Heyborne for Tantor Audio -- Scheduled Release Date: 07-01-13
  • Thieves’ Quarry by D.B. Jackson (Tor, July 2) — sequel to Thieftaker
  • Neptune’s Brood by Charles Stross (Ace, Jul 2, 2013) — “The year is AD 7000. The human species is extinct—for the fourth time—due to its fragile nature. Krina Alizond-114 is metahuman, descended from the robots that once served humanity. She’s on a journey to the water-world of Shin-Tethys to find her sister Ana. But her trip is interrupted when pirates capture her ship. Their leader, the enigmatic Count Rudi, suspects that there’s more to Krina’s search than meets the eye.”
  • Woken Gods by Gwenda Bond (Jul 2, 2013)
  • The Thousand Names: Book One of The Shadow Campaigns by Django Wexler (Roc Hardcover, Jul 2, 2013) — “Enter an epic fantasy world that echoes with the thunder of muskets and the clang of steel—but where the real battle is against a subtle and sinister magic.”
  • Playing Tyler by T L Costa (Strange Chemistry, Jul 2, 2013)
  • Storm Surge: Destroyermen, Book 8 By Taylor Anderson, Narrated By William Dufris -- Scheduled Release Date: 07-02-13
  • The Arrivals: A Novel By Melissa Marr, Narrated By Matt Burns -- Scheduled Release Date: 07-02-13
  • White Trash Zombie Apocalypse By Diana Rowland, Narrated By Allison McLemore for Audible Frontiers -- Series: White Trash Zombies, Book 3 -- Scheduled Release Date: 07-02-13
  • Anthology: Wastelands II: More Stories of the Apocalypse by John Joseph Adams (Night Shade Books, Jul 2, 2013)
  • Anthology: The Lowest Heaven (Jurassic London, July 3) — “17 original science fiction stories inspired by our closest celestial neighbours and published in partnership with the Royal Observatory Greenwich. Features new work from Alastair Reynolds, Sophia McDougall, Kameron Hurley, S. L. Grey, E. J. Swift, Maria Dahvana Headley, James Smythe, Matt Jones and many others.” (limited hardcover release in mid-June)
  • The Curiosity: A Novel by Stephen Kiernan (William Morrow, Jul 9, 2013)
  • Ex-Communication By Peter Clines -- Audible Frontiers -- Scheduled Release Date: 07-09-13
  • Fiction: This Is How You Fall by Keith Dixon (Thomas and Mercer, Jul 9, 2013) — coming to audio read by Nick Podehl for Brilliance Audio
  • North American Lake Monsters: Stories by Nathan Ballingrud (Small Beer Press, July 16)
  • The Long War: The Long Earth, Book 2 By Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter -- Scheduled Release Date: 07-16-13
  • New Earth By Ben Bova, Narrated By Stefan Rudnicki for Blackstone Audio -- Scheduled Release Date: 07-16-13
  • Reanimators By Pete Rawlik, Narrated By Oliver Wyman for Audible Frontiers -- Scheduled Release Date: 07-16-13
  • Beacons edited by Gregory Norminton (Oneworld Publications, Jul 16, 2013) — “Beacons throws down the gauntlet, challenging best-selling and award-winning authors to imagine where we, and out planet, might be headed and, in imagining, help us transform the way we look at our world and change things for the better. From Joanne Harris’ powerful vision of a near future where ‘outside’ has become a thing of history to Nick Hayes’ beautifully illustrated tale of the bond between man and nature, Beacons sees the coming together of dystopian satire, speculative and historical fiction, metaphorical flights of fancy, quiet tragedy, and farcical comedy in stories that are as various as our possible futures. Provocative, encouraging, and deeply moving, Beacons represents the best of short story writing — and collectively illuminates the immediacy of the ecological problems at hand. All author royalties will go to the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition, one of the largest groups of people dedicated to action on climate change and limiting its impact on the world’s poorest people.”
  • Witch Wraith: The Dark Legacy of Shannara, Book 3 By Terry Brooks — Scheduled Release Date: 07-16-13
  • This Is How You Die: Stories of the Inscrutable, Infallible, Inescapable Machine of Death by Matthew Bennardo, David Malki ! and Ryan North (Grand Central, Jul 16, 2013)
  • Big Iron: Iron Kingdoms Chronicles (The Fall of Llael) by C.A. Suleiman (Jul 16, 2013)
  • Daughter of the Forest: Sevenwaters, Book 1 By Juliet Marillier, Narrated By Terry Donnelly for Audible Frontiers -- Scheduled Release Date: 07-25-13
  • Anthology: Carniepunk (Pocket Books, July 30)
  • The Dark Man: An Illustrated Poem by Stephen King and Glenn Chadbourne (Cemetery Dance, Jul 30, 2013)
  • Dead Tide Rising: Dead Tide, Book 2 By Stephen A. North, Narrated By Brad Lawrence -- Scheduled Release Date: 07-30-13
  • Anthology: The Mammoth Book of Angels and Demons edited by Paula Guran (Running Press, July 30) — UK edition was published May 16
  • Three (Duskwalker Cycle #1) by Jay Posey (Angry Robot, July 31, 2013) — cover reveal and excerpt up at io9
  • Anthology: Impossible Monsters edited by Kasey Lansdale (Subterranean Press, July 2013) — “The Lansdale name is legendary in the horror field. Now acclaimed musician and actress Kasey Lansdale follows in her father’s footsteps, making her editing debut with this anthology of monstrously innovative stories. The twelve creatures that stalk the pages of Impossible Monsters spring from the twisted imaginations of a dozen of today’s most noted authors.” This anthology includes Neil Gaiman’s “Click-Clack the Rattlebag” among other tales.
  • Hollow World by Michael J. Sullivan (Kickstarter, July 2013) — “Ellis Rogers is an ordinary guy who has always done the right things and played by the rules. But like many, his life didn’t turn out as he had planned. Facing a terminal disease, he’s willing to gamble that a cure could exist in the future, and although it is insanely dangerous to try, he really has nothing to lose. There are many books that explore what life might be like many years from now, and they cover the spectrum from the idealized world of the original Star Trek, with its progressive stance on equality and civil rights, to Huxley’s dystopian Brave New World. For years I’ve been fascinated by the observation that perception can make people see the same thing in very different ways. So I created a future, which if I’ve done my job properly, will be seen by some as a utopia and by others as exactly the opposite.”
  • Engn by Simon Kewin (December House, July 2013) — “Finn’s childhood in the valley is idyllic, but across the plains lies a threat. Engn is an ever-growing steam-powered fortress, that needs a never ending supply of workers. Generation after generation have been taken away, escorted into its depths by the mysterious and terrifying Ironclads, never to return. The Masters of Engn first take Finn’s sister, then his best friend, Connor. He thinks he, at least, is safe – until the day the ironclads come to haul him away too.”
  • Darwen Arkwright and the School of Shadows (Darwen Arkwright #3) by AJ Hartley (Razorbill, August 1)
  • The Crown Tower (The Riyria Chronicles #1) by Michael J. Sullivan (Orbit, August 3)
  • The Emergence of the Digital Humanities by Steven E. Jones (Routledge, Aug 3, 2013)
  • Wrath-bearing Tree (A Tournament of Shadows Book Two) by James Enge (Pyr, Aug 6, 2013)
  • Emperor of Thorns (The Broken Empire) by Mark Lawrence (Ace, Aug 6, 2013)
  • The Companions: The Sundering, Book I by R. A. Salvatore (Aug 6, 2013)
  • Kindred and Wings (A Shifted World Novel) by Philippa Ballantine (Pyr, Aug 6, 2013)
  • The Third Kingdom by Terry Goodkind (Tor, Aug 6) — direct sequel to The Omen Machine
  • The Blood of the Lamb: A Novel of Secrets By Sam Cabot -- Simon & Schuster Audio -- Scheduled Release Date: 08-06-13
  • Blood of Tyrants by Naomi Novik (Del Rey, Aug 13, 2013)
  • The People in the Trees by Hanya Yanagihara (Doubleday, Dreamscape Media, August 13) — “In 1950, a young doctor, Norton Perina, signs on with the anthropologist Paul Tallent for an expedition to the remote island of Ivu’ivu in search of a rumored lost tribe. They succeed, finding not only that tribe but also a group of forest dwellers they dub “The Dreamers,” who turn out to be fantastically long-lived but progressively more senile. Perina suspects the source of their longevity is a hard-to-find turtle; unable to resist the possibility of eternal life, he kills one and smuggles some meat back to the States. He proves his thesis, earning worldwide fame, but he soon discovers that its miraculous property comes at a terrible price. As things quickly spiral out of his control, his own demons take hold, with devastating consequences.”
  • Collection: Celestial Inventories by Steve Rasnic Tem (ChiZine, Aug 15)
  • Dust (Silo Saga) by Hugh Howey (Aug 17, 2013) — “WOOL introduced the silo and its inhabitants. SHIFT told the story of their making. DUST will chronicle their undoing. Welcome to the underground.”
  • Fiction: Lookaway, Lookaway: A Novel By Wilton Barnhardt, Narrated By Scott Shepherd for Macmillan Audio (concurrent with print/ebook release from St. Martin’s) — Scheduled Release Date: 08-20-13
  • The Skystone: Camulod Chronicles, Book 1 By Jack Whyte, Narrated By Kevin Pariseau for Audible Inc. — Scheduled Release Date: 08-20-13
  • RED HORSE by Alex Adams (Blackstone Audio, 20 August) — sequel to White Horse
  • The Time of Contempt (The Witcher) by Andrzej Sapkowski (Orbit, Aug 27, 2013)
  • Billy Moon: A transcendent Novel Reimagining the Life of Christopher Robin Milne by Douglas Lain (Tor, Aug 27, 2013)
  • The Swords of Good Men by Snorri Kristjansson (Jo Fletcher Books, August 2013) — a “Viking fantasy novel” by a new Icelandic author
  • Super Stories of Heroes and Villains edited by Claude Lalumiere (Tachyon, August 2013) — Christopher Golden and Mike Mignola, Jonathan Lethem, Cory Doctorow, Kelly Link’s “Origin Story”, Carol Emshwiller, Gene Wolfe, GRRM, …
  • The Daylight War: The Demon Cycle, Book 3 by Peter V. Brett (GraphicAudio, August 2013)
SEPTEMBER and LATER:
  • Anthology: Glitter and Mayhem edited by John Klima, Lynne M. Thomas, and Michael Damian Thomas (Apex Books, Sep 1) — “Welcome to Glitter & Mayhem, the most glamorous party in the multiverse. Step behind the velvet rope of these fabulous Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror tales of roller rinks, nightclubs, glam aliens, party monsters, drugs, sex, glitter, and debauchery.”
  • Shaman: A novel of the Ice Age by Kim Stanley Robinson (Orbit, 3 Sep 2013) — UK release date, US date not confirmed for this historical fiction “novel set in the ice age, about the people who made the paintings in the Chauvet-Pont-d’Arc Cave in southern France, about 32,000 years ago”
  • Constellations: A Play by Nick Payne (Faber and Faber Plays, Sep 3, 2013) — already available in Kindle and in the UK — via an interesting review on Tor.com
  • The Scroll of Years: A Gaunt and Bone Novel by Chris Willrich (Pyr, September 10) — fantasy debut novel from the well-published in short f/sf Willrich, in his “Gaunt and Bone” sword and sorcery milieu
  • Monsters of the Earth (Books of the Elements #3) by David Drake (Tor, September 2013)
  • Channel Zilch by Doug Sharp (Panverse, September 2013) — “Mick Oolfson trashed his astronaut career by stunt-flying a shuttle during re-entry. He’s miserable as a groundling, so when testosterone-surfing geek goddess Heloise Chin offers him an astronaut gig on Channel Zilch, a pirate orbiting reality show, Mick jumps at the chance to return to space, though it means denting his Boy Scout scruples by stealing space shuttle Enterprise from the Smithsonian. CHANNEL ZILCH is a near-future hard science fiction caper with heart and purpose, the first book of The Geek Rapture Project. Book 2, HEL’S BET, will be published by Panverse later in 2013.”
  • The Thicket by Joe R. Lansdale (Mulholland Books, September 10) — ‘In the throes of being civilized, East Texas is still a wild, feral place. Oil wells spurt liquid money from the ground. But as Jack’s about to find out, blood and redemption rule supreme. In The Thicket, award-winning novelist Joe R. Lansdale lets loose like never before, in a rip-roaring adventure equal parts True Gritand Stand by Me–the perfect introduction to an acclaimed writer whose work has been called “as funny and frightening as anything that could have been dreamed up by the Brothers Grimm–or Mark Twain” (New York Times Book Review).’
  • Anthology: Once Upon a Time: New Fairy Tales edited by Paula Guran (Prime Books, September 11)
  • Fiddlehead by Cherie Priest (Tor, Autumn 2013)
  • American Elsewhere by Robert Jackson Bennett (Recorded Books, Sep 13) — published earlier this year in print/ebook, and perhaps to show up in digital audio a bit earlier (Sep 1)
  • The Rose and the Thorn by Michael J. Sullivan (Orbit, Sep 17) — Riyria Chronicles #2
  • The Falconer by Elizabeth May (Gollanz UK, Sep 19) — I don’t see a US release until 2014 for this much-balyhooed debut fantasy
  • Doctor Sleep by Stephen King (Scribner and Simon & Schuster Audio, September 24) — King returns to The Shining
  • Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson (Delacorte Books for Young Readers, Sep 24, 2013)
  • The Incrementalists by Steven Brust and Skyler White (Tor, Sep 24)
  • Dead Run, The by Adam Mansbach (HarperCollins, Sep 24, 2013)
  • Love is the Law by Nick Mamatas (Dark Horse, September 24, 2013)
  • The Fall of the Governor: The Walking Dead, Book 3 By Robert Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga, Narrated By Fred Berman -- Scheduled Release Date: 09-24-13
  • Hero by Alethea Kontis (Harcourt Children’s Books, October 1)
  • Pandemic by Scott Sigler (Crown, Oct 1, 2013)
  • Ghosts Know by Ramsey Campbell (Tor, Oct 1)
  • The Republic of Thieves (Gentleman Bastard, #3) by Scott Lynch (Spectra, October 8)
  • A Dance of Cloaks by David Dalglish (Orbit, Oct 8) — originally self-published, now being re-published by Orbit
  • Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction by Jeff VanderMeer and Jeremy Zerfoss (Abrams Image, Oct 15, 2013) — an audiobook for this doesn’t make sense and so there isn’t one and won’t be one, but definitely a project I’m looking forward to
  • Copperhead by Tina Connolly (Tor, October 15, 2013) — follow-on to Ironskin cover revealed
  • Fiendish Schemes by K. W. Jeter (Tor, October 15) — “The long-awaited stand-alone sequel to the seminal novel Infernal Devices by one of the founding fathers of steampunk”
  • The Abominable: A Novel by Dan Simmons (Little, Brown and Company, Oct 22, 2013)
  • Two Serpents Rise by Max Gladstone (Tor Books, October 29) — book one is in audio from Blackstone
  • The n-Body Problem by Tony Burgess (ChiZine, October 2013) — “Tony Burgess returns to the realm of the zombie”
  • The Violent Century by Lavie Tidhar (Hodder UK, October 2013) — just announced — “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy meets Watchmen in Tidhar’s The Violent Century, the thoughtful and intensely atmospheric novel about the mystery, and the love story, that determined the course of history itself. The Violent Century is the sweeping drama of a time we know too well; a century of fear and war and hatred and death.  In a world where everyday heroes may become übermenschen, men and women with extraordinary powers, what does it mean to be a hero? To be a human? Would the last hundred years have been that much better if Superman were real? Would they even have been all that different?”
  • Collection: Kabu Kabu by Nnedi Okorafor (Prime, October 2013)
  • Parasite by Mira Grant (Orbit, November 1) — I know nothing about his other than the quite interesting cover…
  • Twenty-First Century Science Fiction by David G. Hartwell and Patrick Nielsen Hayden (Tor, Nov 5, 2013)
  • Starhawk by Jack McDevitt (Ace Hardcover, Nov 5)
  • Fortune’s Pawn by Rachel Bach (Orbit, Nov 5)
  • Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson (Tor, November 12) — book 2 in The Stormlight Archive after The Way of Kings
  • Hild: A Novel by Nicola Griffith (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Nov 12, 2013) — “Since Griffith has won the Tiptree, Nebula, and World Fantasy awards, the Premio Italia, and the Lambda Literary Award six times, you’re well advised to grab this fictionalized portrait of a girl name Hild who grew up in seventh-century Britain and became St. Hilda’s of Whitby. Griffith gives us a determined and uncannily perceptive Hild who seems capable of predicting the future (or at least of human behavior), a trait that puts her in the life-and-death position of being made the king’s seer. The writing itself is uncannily perceptive, with none of the flowery excess of some historical fiction writing, though the detailed narrative runs close to 600 pages. I thought of Hillary Mantel’s Wolf Hall even before I noted the comparison in the promotion.” — LibraryJournal
  • Apparition by Trish J. MacGregor (Tor, Nov 12)
  • Watcher of the Dark by Joseph Nassise (Tor, November 19)
  • Bloodstone by Gillian Philip (Tor, Nov 19)
  • Arcanum by Simon Morden (Orbit, Nov 19) — “A historical fantasy novel of medieval Europe in which the magic that has run the world for centuries is disappearing– and now the gifts of the gods must be replaced with the ingenuity of humanity.”
  • The Land Across by Gene Wolfe (Tor, Nov 26)
  • Last to Rise by Francis Knight (Orbit, Nov 26) — concluding volume in a new trilogy which started with Knight’s debut Fade to Black in early 2013
  • The Irreal Reader: Fiction & Essays from The Cafe Irreal edited by G.S. Evans and Alice Whittenburg (Guide Dog, November 2013)
  • Collection: Bleeding Shadows by Joe R. Lansdale (Subterranean, November 2013)
  • Anthology: Dangerous Women edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois (Tor, Dec 3) — table of contents includes Joe Abercrombie, Lev Grossman, and Pat Cadigan, among others
NEXT YEAR:
  • Maze by J.M. McDermott (Apex, January 2014)
  • Leaving the Sea: Stories by Ben Marcus (Knopf, January 2014)
  • The Emperor’s Blades (The Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne, #1) by Brian Stavely (Tor, January 2014) — “follows siblings Valyn, Kaden, and Adare, who are in different parts of the world when they learn about the assassination of their father, the Emperor. All of them are in danger of being the next targets, and all of them are caught in the maelstrom of conspiracy, intrigue, treachery, and magic that sweeps through Staveley’s auspicious debut novel.”
  • The Crimson Campaign (The Powder Mage Trilogy, Book 2) by Brian McClellan (Orbit, February 2014)
  • The Magician’s Land by Lev Grossman (Viking, Early 2014) — book three after The Magicians and The Magician King
  • Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer (Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, 2014) — the first of three “Southern Reach” novels being published in 2014 — “For thirty years, Area X has remained mysterious, remote, and concealed by the government as an environmental disaster zone even though it is to all appearances pristine wilderness. For thirty years, too, the secret agency known as the Southern Reach has monitored Area X and sent in expeditions to try to discover the truth. Some expeditions have suffered terrible consequences. Others have reported nothing out of the ordinary. Now, as Area X seems to be changing and perhaps expanding, the next expedition will attempt to succeed where all others have failed. What is happening in Area X? What is the true nature of the invisible border that surrounds it?”
  • City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett (Crown/Broadway and Recorded Books, April 1, 2014) — “a second-world story of spies, subterfuge, and statesmanship set in a nation of dead gods.”
  • Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor (Hodder & Stoughton, April 2014) — “The Nigerian megacity of Lagos is invaded by aliens, and it nearly consumes itself because of it.”
  • The Moon King by Neil Williamson (Newcon, April 2014) — Debut novel: “The story of The Moon King grew out of its setting, the sea-locked city of Glassholm, which is a thinly veneered version of Glasgow, Scotland where I live. Glasgow is a city of mood swings, brilliant with sun and warm sandstone one minute and dour with overcast and rain soaked tarmac the next. Summer days are long and filled with light. The winter months pass mostly in darkness. Living here, your spirit is tied to the city’s mood. As soon as I hooked that almost bipolar sense to the idea of natural cycles, the story blossomed. In Glassholm, the moon never sets and everything, from entropy to the moods of the populace, is affected by its phasing from Full to Dark and back to Full again. I wanted to know what would life be like there, what quirks nature might throw into the mix. And what would happen if it was discovered that the cyclic euphorias and depressions were not natural after all.”
  • Immolation (Children, #1) by Ben Peek (Tor UK, Spring 2014) is “set fifteen thousand years after the War of the Gods. The bodies of the gods now lie across the world, slowly dying as men and women awake with strange powers that are derived from their bodies. Ayae, a young cartographer’s apprentice, is attacked and discovers she cannot be harmed by fire. Her new power makes her a target for an army that is marching on her home. With the help of the immortal Zaifyr, she is taught the awful history of ‘cursed’ men and women, coming to grips with her new powers and the enemies they make. The saboteur Bueralan infiltrates the army that is approaching her home to learn its terrible secret. Split between the three points of view, Immolation‘s narrative reaches its conclusion during an epic siege, where Ayae, Zaifyr and Bueralan are forced not just into conflict with those invading, but with those inside the city who wish to do them harm.”
  • The Girl in the Road by Monica Byrne (Random House/Crown, 2014) — “traces the harrowing twin journeys of two women forced to flee their homes in different times in the near future. The first, Meena, is a Brahmin-caste student whose odyssey takes her from the coastal city of Mumbai toward Djibouti across a futuristic but treacherous bridge that spans the Arabian Sea. The second, Mariama, escapes from slavery as a small child in Mauritania, joining a caravan heading across Saharan Africa toward Ethiopia.”
  • Blood and Iron by Jon Sprunk (Pyr, 2014)
Posted in Release Week | Tagged elizabeth-moon, jason sheehan, jon steele, will mcintosh