Release Week: The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Lexicon, Wisp of a Thing, Before the Fall, The Indigo Pheasant, Dark Eden, and Ken Scholes' Requiem

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Release Week: The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Lexicon, Wisp of a Thing, Before the Fall, The Indigo Pheasant, Dark Eden, and Ken Scholes' Requiem

Posted on 2013-06-19 at 15:45 by Sam

JUNE 12-18, 2013: Well, there's no question on the most-anticipated title this week, Neil Gaiman's first novel for adults since 2005: The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A Novel. But there's also a cerebral thriller from Max Barry, one of last year's most missing audiobooks in Chris Beckett's Dark Eden, a trio of second books in a series, and a full-cast narrated book 4 in Ken Scholes' "Psalms of Isaak" series, Requiem. Enjoy! And, not to worry, if (as it is for me) Gaiman's book is the one to most catch your eye, it's under 6 hours long -- and if (as I did) you already listened to the opening of the new book when it was available as part of Shoggoth's Old Peculiar: A Free Short Story by Neil Gaiman, Plus a Preview of The Ocean at the End of the Lane, you'll have even more time available to maybe sneak in a second book this week... In "Seen But Not Heard" headlines this week, that's easily led by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter's The Long War ( sequel to The Long Earth) -- though fear not, it is set for a mid-July audiobook release -- followed by another anticipated debut, Sea Change by S.M. Wheeler.

PICKS OF THE WEEK:

The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A Novel by Neil Gaiman, narrated by the author for Harper Audio.  Do I need to say too much more? Probably not. Gaiman's wife, Amanda Palmer, writes about the personal journey of the book. Joe Hill talked to Gaiman, ostensibly about the book, but it ended up talking about how to make the perfect lemon pancakes. Gaiman has talked about the new book, he's been interviewed about the book on NPR, there's a video of him reading from the book at the HarperCollins site; it's available as a DRM-free download at Downpour, as a CD set through your local bookstore, and of course other places where audiobooks and books are sold. (It also happens to be, in that "CD set through my local bookstore" format, my Father's Day gift, which makes me so very happy on several axis.) What's it about? Officially: "Sussex, England. A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home to attend a funeral. He is drawn to the farm at the end of the road, where, when he was seven, he encountered a most remarkable girl named Lettie Hempstock. He hasn’t thought of Lettie in decades, and yet sitting by the pond (a pond that she’d claimed was an ocean), the unremembered past comes flooding back. Forty years earlier, a man committed suicide in a stolen car at this farm at the end of the road. Like a fuse on a firework, his death lit a touch paper and resonated in unimaginable ways. The darkness was unleashed, something scary and thoroughly incomprehensible to a little boy. And Lettie—magical, comforting, wise beyond her years—promised to protect him, no matter what." Some choice review quotes hint at the layers here: (Publishers Weekly) “Gaiman has crafted a fresh story of magic, humanity, loyalty, and memories ‘waiting at the edges of things,’ where lost innocence can still be restored as long as someone is willing to bear the cost.” and (Kirkus Reviews) “Poignant and heartbreaking, eloquent and frightening, impeccably rendered, it’s a fable that reminds us how our lives are shaped by childhood experiences, what we gain from them and the price we pay.” I can't wait to see where this goes; and check back soon for Dave's review as well.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A Novel | [Neil Gaiman] Lexicon | [Max Barry]

Lexicon by Max Barry, narrated By Heather Corrigan and Zach Appelman for Dreamscape Media (CD release) and Penguin Audio (digital release). The latest from Barry (Machine Man, Jennifer Government) reviewed as (Kirkus) “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.” and coming with glowing 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.”)

Wisp of a Thing: A Novel of the Tufa, Book 2 By Alex Bledsoe, narrated by Stefan Rudnicki for Blackstone Audio -- book two after 2011's The Hum and the Shiver, which was well-narrated by Rudnicki and Emily Janice Card. Bledsoe's contemporary fantasy world of the Appalachian "Tufa" music/magic was quite an enjoyable listen in 2011, and pretty much anything voiced by Rudnicki is well worth checking out. The first of three "book 2" of note for me this week.

Wisp of a Thing: A Novel of the Tufa, Book 2 | [Alex Bledsoe] Before the Fall | [Francis Knight]

The second "book 2" is Before the Fall by Francis Knight, with narrator Paul Thornley reprising his role from Fade to Black for Hachette Audio. This is Knight's epic fantasy Rojan Dizon series, continuing from the dirty, stratified, magically polluted (and well-narrated) world-building and mystery chasing of book 1, which came out earlier this year. "Rojan Dizon just wants to keep his head down. But his worst nightmare is around the corner. With the destruction of their power source, his city is in crisis: riots are breaking out, mages are being murdered, and the city is divided. But Rojan’s hunt for the killers will make him responsible for all-out anarchy. Either that, or an all-out war. And there’s nothing Rojan hates more than being responsible."

The last "book 2" on my list this week is The Indigo Pheasant: Longing for Yount, Book 2 by Daniel A. Rabuzzi, narrated by Kieron Elliot for Audible Inc. "London 1817. Maggie Collins, born into slavery in Maryland, whose mathematical genius and strength of mind can match those of a goddess, must build the world's most powerful and sophisticated machine - to free the lost land of Yount from the fallen angel Strix Tender Wurm. Sally, of the merchant house McDoon, who displayed her own powers in challenging the Wurm and finding Yount in The Choir Boats, must choose either to help Maggie or to hinder her. Together - or not - Maggie and Sally drive to conclusion the story started in The Choir Boats - a story of blood - soaked song, family secrets, sins new and old in search of expiation, forbidden love, high policy and acts of state, financial ruin, betrayals intimate and grand, sorcery from the origins of time, and battle in the streets of London and on the arcane seas of Yount."

The Indigo Pheasant: Longing for Yount, Book 2 | [Daniel A. Rabuzzi] Dark Eden | [Chris Beckett]

Lastly, a book highly-recommended to me last year, winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award and nominated for the British Science Fiction Award, and now in audio: Dark Eden by Chris Beckett, narrated by Oliver Hembrough and Jessica Martin for Audible Ltd. "A marooned outpost of humanity struggles to survive on a startlingly alien world. John Redlantern, one of the 532 degenerating descendants of two marooned space explorers, will break the laws of Eden, shatter the Family, and change history. He will be the first to abandon hope, the first to abandon the old ways, the first to kill another, the first to venture into the Dark, and the first to discover the truth about Eden...."

ALSO OUT THIS WEEK:

The Winds of Altair | [Ben Bova] In the House upon the Dirt Between the Lake and the Woods | [Matt Bell] The Shuddering | [Ania Ahlborn] Requiem: The Psalms of Isaak, Book 4 | [Ken Scholes]

HACHETTE AUDIO: (Teen) The Watcher in the Shadows By Carlos Ruiz Zafon, Narrated By Jonathan Davis; Sovereign: The Book of Mortals, Book 3 By Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee, Narrated By Henry Leyva

BLACKSTONE AUDIO: The Winds of Altair By Ben Bova, Narrated By Stefan Rudnicki; (Teen) Attica By Garry Kilworth, Narrated By Simon Vance

PENGUIN AUDIO: Proxy By Alex London, Narrated By Andrew Sweeney

AUDIOGO: In the House upon the Dirt Between the Lake and the Woods By Matt Bell, Narrated By Charlie Thurston; Stoker’s Manuscript By Royce Prouty, Narrated By Stephen R. Thorne

MACMILLAN AUDIO: Reviver: A Novel By Seth Patrick, Narrated By Ari Fliakos

TANTOR: The Legend of Corinair: Frontiers Saga, Book 3 By Ryk Brown, Narrated By Jeffrey Kafer; The Battle of Verril: Book of Deacon #3 By Joseph R. Lallo, Narrated By Karyn O’Bryant

RECORDED BOOKS: Dragonhaven By Robin McKinley, Narrated By Noah Galvin; (Fiction) Fludd: A Novel By Hilary Mantel, Narrated By Gordon Griffin

DREAMSCAPE: (Thriller) Aftershock By Andrew Vachss, Narrated By Phil Gigante, and Natalie Ross; Goslings by J.D. Beresford ["Beresford's forgotten classic is an apocalyptic tale rife with social commentary on equality."]

CROSSROAD PRESS: The Hellbound Heart: Abridged Edition Read by the Author By Clive Barker

CHERRY HILL: Chaos: A New World, Book 1 By John O'Brien, Narrated By Christopher John Fetherolf

SALAND PUBLISHING: More Ghost Stories By M. R. James, Narrated By Bart Wolffe

BRILLIANCE AUDIO: The Shuddering By Ania Ahlborn, Narrated By Luke Daniels

AUDIBLE INC: Shylock’s Daughter: A Novel of Love in Venice By Erica Jong, Narrated By Susan Varon

AUDIBLE FRONTIERS: Requiem: The Psalms of Isaak, Book 4 By Ken Scholes, Narrated By Emily Rankin, Stefan Rudnicki, John Rubinstein, Kristoffer Tabori, Gabrielle De Cuir, and Scott Brick; Beyond Dinocalypse By Chuck Wendig, Narrated By Oliver Wyman; Blade of Fortriu: Bridei Chronicles, Book 2 By Juliet Marillier, Narrated By Michael Page; The Seal of Karga Kul: A Dungeons & Dragons Novel By Alex Irvine, Narrated By Dolph Amick; Touch of the Demon By Diana Rowland, Narrated By Liv Anderson

INDIE: Antarktos Rising By Jeremy Robinson, Narrated By R.C. Bray

SEEN BUT NOT HEARD:

  • Non-Fiction: The Man from Mars: Ray Palmer’s Amazing Pulp Journey by Fred Nadis (Penguin/Tarcher, June 13) -- "Nonfiction account of influential editor Palmer, who founded the first fanzine, was for a time editor of Amazing Stories, and who later published numerous magazines about UFOs and the paranormal." (via Locus Online)
  • Wilde Stories 2013: The Year's Best Gay Speculative Fiction edited by Steve Berman (Lethe Press, June 15) -- "Authors include Hal Duncan, Alex Jeffers, Richard Bowes, John Langan, and Laird Barron." (via Locus Online)
  • Sunbolt (The Sunbolt Chronicles) (Volume 1) by Intisar Khanani (Purple Monkey Press, Jun 17, 2013) -- "The winding streets and narrow alleys of Karolene hide many secrets, and Hitomi is one of them."
  • 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
  • The Long War by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter (Harper, Jun 18, 2013) — sequel to The Long Earth — audio release scheduled in mid-July
  • Rogue Touch by Christine Woodward (Hyperion, Jun 18, 2013) -- in the Marvel X-Men universe, a novel about Rogue: "Eighteen-year-old Anna Marie was just fired for the third time--this time from a bakery. Why can't she hold a job? Well, for starters, she dresses . . . differently. She looks like a Goth girl to the extreme, her shock of white hair contrasting with her head-to-toe black garb, her face the only skin she chooses to reveal. But Anna Marie doesn't have a choice. Her skin, her touch, is a deadly weapon that must be concealed. She accidentally put her first boyfriend, Cody, in a coma when they kissed. Horrified, she ran away to Jackson, Mississippi, where she's been living alone in a cramped apartment and scraping by on food stamps."
  • The Hostage Prince by Jane Yolen and Adam Stemple (Viking Juvenile, Jun 18) -- "Young adult fantasy novel, first in a series, about a midwife’s apprentice and a prince who inadvertantly start a war." (via Locus Online)
  • Solstice by P.J. Hoover (Tor Teen, Jun 18) -- "Young adult fantasy novel about an 18-year-old girl, in a future dominated by a Global Heating Crisis, who discovers her connection to a parallel world of gods and monsters." (via Locus Online)
  • Cryonic: A Zombie Novel by Travis Bradberry (Bruyere, Jun 18, 2013) -- "When Royce Bruyere chose to be cryogenically frozen upon death, he figured coming back to life would be exciting. Neat. Bonus time. The world he awakes to is nothing of the sort."
  • The Fist of Demetrius (Macharian Crusade) by William King (Games Workshop, Jun 18, 2013) -- "As the crusade reaches its apex, Lord Solar Macharius is drawn by a prophecy to the world of Demetrius in search of an ancient artefact - the Fist of Demetrius."
  • Order of the Seers: The Red Order by Cerece Rennie Murphy (LionSky, Jun 18, 2013) -- "The Quest to Control the Power of the Seers Continues..."
  • Non-Fiction: Mo' Meta Blues: The World According to Questlove by Thompson, Ahmir "Questlove" and Greenman, Ben (Jun 18, 2013)

COMING SOON:

The Adjacent | [Christopher Priest] Invisible Cities | [Italo Calvino]

  • 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
  • Heron Fleet by Paul Beatty (Matador, Jun 20, 2013) -- "Not far in the future, Francesca is an apprentice in the idyllic, agrarian community of Heron Fleet. She loves her impetuous partner Anya and the community acts as mother and father to her, as its founders intended. But outside Heron Fleet, the world is violent."
  • Terminus by Adam Baker (Hodder, Jun 20, 2013) -- "A rescue squad enters the subway tunnels beneath New York. The squad are searching for Dr Conrad Ekks, head of a research team charged with synthesising an antidote to the lethal virus."
  • Ectopia by Martin Goodman (Jun 20, 2013)
  • Anthology: Tomorrow: Apocalyptic Short Stories edited by Karen Henderson (Kayelle Press, Jun 22, 2013) -- "You've read the predictions of people like Nostradamus and Mother Shipton. And some believed the Mayan Calendar predicted the end of the world in 2012. Yet here we still are... But what if, tomorrow, we woke up to a world with no electricity, no gas, no telephone?"
  • Writers of the Future Volume 29 (L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future) by Brian Trent, Stephen Sottong, Tina Gower and Christopher Reynaga (Jun 22, 2013)
  • 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
  • CLOAK & SILENCE by Sherrilyn Kenyon (Blackstone Audio, July 30)
  • 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)
  • Divinity and the Python by Bonnie Randall (Panverse, August)
  • Channel Zilch by Doug Sharp (Panverse, August 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.”

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)
  • 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 alex bledsoe, chris beckett, daniel rabuzzi, dark eden, francis knight, ken scholes, lexicon, max barry, neil gaiman, the ocean at the end of the lane