Release Week: Hannu Rajaniemi's The Fractal Prince, Django Wexler's The Thousand Names, Anthony Ryan's Blood Song, Melissa Marr's The Arrivals, Matt Haig's The Humans, and Stephen Graham Jones' Zombie Bake-Off

JUNE 26-JULY 2, 2013: July is off and running with a first release week to jump-start your summer listening plans. From hard-to-the-point-of-being-nearly-incomprehensible sf (Hannu Rajaniemi’s The Fractal Prince) to a more The Hunger Games esque (with aliens!) book (Melissa Marr’s The Arrivals) to first books in new epic fantasy series (Django Wexler’s The Thousand Names and Anthony Ryan’s Blood Song) to the latest in quite a string of literary authorial takes on sf (Matt Haig’s The Humans), to… well, a Zombie Bake-Off. And beyond the “picks” there are plenty more to pick from, from Richard Kadrey’s Metrophage to the second book in D.B. Jackson’s historical fantasy series “Thieftaker”, post-apocalyptic Steampunk worlds of endless snow (Romulus Buckle), on and on. (It’s also a pretty big week for the “Seen but not Heard” listings, led by Neptune’s Brood by Charles Stross, so don’t forget your reading glasses alongside your earphones this month.) Happy listening, and sorry this one is coming so very late this week. It’s practically time for another post…

PICKS OF THE WEEK:

Out in print last year and now in audio is a science fiction title which leads my picks this week: The Fractal Prince by Hannu Rajaniemi, with narrator Scott Brick reprising his role as narrator on The Quantum Thief, though the publisher has changed from Macmillan Audio to Recorded Books for the sequel. The first book was a marvelous debut, a deep future of encrypted data exchange that bordered on the nearly incomprehensible even to this security software jockey, displaying Rajaniemi’s breathtaking grasp of higher maths as well as compelling writing. Here: “A physicist receives a mysterious paper. The ideas in it are far, far ahead of current thinking and quite, quite terrifying. In a city of “fast ones,” shadow players, and jinni, two sisters contemplate a revolution. And on the edges of reality a thief, helped by a sardonic ship, is trying to break into a Schrödinger box for his patron. In the box is his freedom. Or not. Jean de Flambeur is back. And he’s running out of time. In Hannu Rajaniemi’s sparkling follow-up to the critically acclaimed international sensation The Quantum Thief, he returns to his awe-inspiring vision of the universe…and we discover what the future held for Earth.”

The Thousand Names: Book One of The Shadow Campaigns by Django Wexler is also out from Recorded Books, though instead of months-delayed as Rajaniemi’s it is concurrent with the print/ebook release from Roc Hardcover, and instead of hundreds-of-titles-and-counting Brick as narrator it is Richard Poe, best known perhaps as the narrator on Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons but also a narrator of works by Don DeLillo (Underworld) and Cormac McCarthy (Blood Meridian). Here: “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.” There’s an excerpt up at Tor.com as well.

More epic fantasy, you say? How about Blood Song: Raven’s Shadow, Book 1 By Anthony Ryan, Narrated By Steven Brand for Penguin Audio, out concurrent with the new US hardcover release and ebook re-releace by Ace. Originally self-published, the (e) book gained a considerable following and now gets the “big publisher” treatment complete with hardcover and audiobook. “Vaelin Al Sorna was only a child of ten when his father left him at the iron gate of the Sixth Order. The Brothers of the Sixth Order are devoted to battle, and Vaelin will be trained and hardened to the austere, celibate, and dangerous life of a Warrior of the Faith. He has no family now save the Order.”

The Arrivals: A Novel By Melissa Marr, Narrated By Matt Burns for Harper Audio, concurrent with the print/ebook release. “Chloe walks into a bar and blows five years of sobriety. When she wakes, she finds herself in an unfamiliar world, The Wasteland. She discovers people from all times and places have also arrived there: Kitty and Jack, a brother and sister from the Wild West; Edgar, a prohibition bootlegger; Francis, a one-time hippie; Melody, a mentally unbalanced 1950s housewife; and Hector, a former carnival artist. None know why they arrived there or if there is way out of the The Wasteland, a world populated by monsters and filled with corruption.”

Though it shows up in the “fiction” listings, The Humans: A Novel by Matt Haig, narrated By Mark Meadows for Simon & Schuster Audio certainly takes a familiar science fictional approach to examining what it means to be human: “The narrator of this tale is no ordinary human, in fact, he’s not human at all. Before he was sent away from the distant planet he calls home, precision and perfection governed his life. He lived in a utopian society where mathematics transformed a people, creating limitless knowledge and immortality. But all of this is suddenly threatened when an earthly being opens the doorway to the same technology that the alien planet possesses. Cambridge University professor Andrew Martin cracks the Reimann Hypothesis and unknowingly puts himself and his family in grave danger when the narrator is sent to Earth to erase all evidence of the solution and kill anyone who has seen the proof. The only catch: the alien has no idea what he’s up against. Disgusted by the excess of disease, violence, and family strife he encounters, the narrator struggles to pass undetected long enough to gain access to Andrew’s research. But in picking up the pieces of the professor’s shattered personal life, the narrator sees hope and redemption in the humans’ imperfections and begins to question the very mission that brought him there.”

Zombie Bake-Off By Stephen Graham Jones, Narrated By Scott Sowers for Recorded Books. “It’s time for the annual Recipe Days bake-off in Lubbock, Texas. Soccer moms and grandmothers gather to show off their family recipes, learn new secrets for the perfect shortcake, and perhaps earn a chance to be on the famous cooking show, How Would You Cook It, Then? When the bake-off is crashed by a federation of pro wrestlers - including American Badass, Jersey Devil Jill, Tiny Giant, The Village Person, Jonah the Whale, the Hellbillies, and the fan favorite Xombie - all hell is set to break loose.”

ALSO OUT THIS WEEK:

BLACKSTONE AUDIO: THE INTEGRAL TREES by Larry Niven, read by Tom Weiner; The Demon Lover: The Fairwick Trilogy, Book 1 By Juliet Dark, Narrated By Justine Eyre

MACMILLAN AUDIO: (Teen) A Midsummer Night’s Scream By R.L. Stine, Narrated By Brittany Pressley

PENGUIN AUDIO: Affliction: Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 22 By Laurell K. Hamilton, Narrated By Kimberly Alexis; (Teen) SYLO: SYLO, Book 1 By D. J. MacHale, Narrated By Andrew Bates

HARPER AUDIO: (Teen) Vortex: Insignia, Book 2 By S. J. Kincaid, Narrated By Lincoln Hoppe

RECORDED BOOKS: Battle of Kings By M. K. Hume, Narrated By Steven Crossley; (Teen) Awaken: Abandon, 3 By Meg Cabot, Narrated By Natalia Payne

TANTOR AUDIO: Chaosbound: The Eighth Book of the Runelords By David Farland, Narrated By Ray Porter; The Magic of Recluce: Saga of Recluce, Book 1 By L. E. Modesitt, Narrated By Kirby Heyborne; Storm Surge: Destroyermen, Book 8 By Taylor Anderson, Narrated By William Dufris

OASIS: King: Books of the Infinite, Book 3 By R.J. Larson, Narrated By Brooke Sanford Heldman

BOLINDA: (Kids) Von Gobstopper’s Arcade: Strangest Adventures, Book 3 By Alexandra Adornetto, narrated By Matilda Reed; (Teen) The Cloud Road: Kingdom of the Lost, Book 2 By Isobelle Carmody

INDIE: These Old Tales By Kenneth W. Cain, Narrated By Alfred Clermont; The Calling: A Supernatural Thriller By Robert Swartwood, Narrated By Tristan Morris; Assault on the Gods: The Society Universe By Stephen Goldin, Narrated By Laura Jennings; Earthfall By Stephen Knight, Narrated By Guy Williams; and The Frozen Sky: The Novel By Jeff Carlson, Narrated By Darrin Revitz

HARLEQUIN: Beautiful Danger By Michele Hauf, Narrated By Amanda Cobb

BRILLIANCE AUDIO: Elisha Barber: (Book One of the Dark Apostle) by E.C. Ambrose; Romulus Buckle & the City of the Founders By Richard Ellis Preston, Narrated By Luke Daniels

AUDIBLE INC: The Harp of Imach Thyssel By Patricia Wrede, Narrated By Nicole Greevy; (Teen) The Siren Song By Anne Ursu, Narrated By Cassandra Morris

AUDIBLE FRONTIERS: Thieves’ Quarry: Thieftaker Chronicles, Book 2 By D. B. Jackson, Narrated By Jonathan Davis; White Trash Zombie Apocalypse By Diana Rowland, Narrated By Allison McLemore; On the Razor’s Edge: Tales of the Spiral Arm, Book 4 By Michael Flynn, Narrated By Tessa Auberjonois; Metrophage By Richard Kadrey, Narrated By Peter Ganim; Blood of the Demon (Kara Gillian, Book 2) By Diana Rowland, Narrated By Suzy Jackson

• Crown Thief: Tales of Easie Damasco, Book 2 By David Tallerman, Narrated By James Langton -- Release Date: 07-03-13
• Infernal: Repairman Jack, Book 9 By F. Paul Wilson, Narrated By Christopher Price -- Release Date: 07-03-13
• Caught in Crystal By Patricia Wrede, Narrated By Nicole Greevy -- Series: Lyra, Book 4 -- Release Date: 07-03-13
• 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 Detainee by Peter Liney (Jo Fletcher UK, 4 Jul 2013)
• Collection: Cold Hand in Mine By Robert Aickman, Narrated By Reece Shearsmith -- Scheduled Release Date: 07-05-13
• Freedom’s Dawn: Frontiers Saga, Book 4 By Ryk Brown, Narrated By Jeffrey Kafer — Scheduled Release Date: 07-08-13
• The Flames of Shadam Khoreh: The Lays of Anuskaya, Book 3 By Bradley P. Beaulieu, Narrated By Ray Chase for Audible Frontiers — Length: 21 hrs and 42 mins — Scheduled Release Date: 07-09-13
• The Curiosity: A Novel by Stephen Kiernan (William Morrow and Harper Audio, Jul 9, 2013)
• The Executioner’s Heart (Newbury & Hobbes, Book 4) by George Mann (Tor, Jul 9, 2013)
• Ex-Communication By Peter Clines — Audible Frontiers — Scheduled Release Date: 07-09-13
• The Secret of Abdu El Yezdi by Mark Hodder (Pyr, July 9, 2013) — “Burton & Swinburne return in a new series! The Beast is coming. History will be remade. Since the assassination of Queen Victoria in 1840, a cabal of prominent men-including King George V, HRH Prince Albert, Benjamin Disraeli, and Isambard Kingdom Brunel-has received guidance from the Afterlife. The spirit of a dead mystic, Abdu El Yezdi, has helped them to steer the empire into a period of unprecedented peace and creativity.” -- coming to audio, narrated by Gerard Doyle
• Fiend: A Novel By Peter Stenson, Narrated By Todd Haberkorn– 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
• Crucible: Star Wars By Troy Denning, Narrated By Marc Thompson  — Scheduled Release Date: 07-09-13
• The Kinsman Saga By Ben Bova, Narrated By Stefan Rudnicki -- Scheduled Release Date: 07-15-13
• Snipers By Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Narrated By Katie Hale-- Scheduled Release Date: 07-15-13
• 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: The Grand Tour, Book 18 By Ben Bova, Narrated By Stefan Rudnicki for Blackstone Audio — Scheduled Release Date: 07-16-13
• Countdown City: The Last Policeman, Book 2 By Ben H. Winters, Narrated By Peter Berkrot — Scheduled Release Date: 07-16-13
• The Poisoned Pilgrim: The Hangman's Daughter, Book 4 By Oliver Pötzsch, translated by Lee Chadeayne,  and narrated by Grover Gardner — Scheduled Release Date: 07-16-13
• Reanimators By Pete Rawlik, Narrated By Oliver Wyman for Audible Frontiers — Scheduled Release Date: 07-16-13
• Brilliance By Marcus Sakey, Narrated By Luke Daniels — Scheduled Release Date: 07-16-13
• Blackwater Lights by Michael M. Hughes (Hydra, Jul 16, 2013)
• 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)
• Helen and Troy’s Epic Road Quest by A. Lee Martinez (Jul 16, 2013)
• Big Iron: Iron Kingdoms Chronicles (The Fall of Llael) by C.A. Suleiman (Jul 16, 2013)
• Replica by Jenna Black (Tor, Jul 16, 2013)
• Rocket Science By Jay Lake, Narrated By Scott Aiello -- Scheduled Release Date: 07-16-13
• Death of a Starship By Jay Lake, Narrated By Marc Vietor — Length: 5 hrs and 50 mins — Scheduled Release Date: 07-16-13
• Collection: The Melancholy of Mechagirl by Catherynne M. Valente (VIZ Media/Haikasoru, Jul 16, 2013)
• Reanimators By Pete Rawlik, Narrated By Oliver Wyman — Scheduled Release Date: 07-16-13
• The Year’s Top-Ten Tales of Science Fiction 5 By Andy Duncan, Gwyneth Jones, Paul McAuley, Linda Nagata, Hannu Rajaniemi, Robert Reed, and Bud Sparhawk, Narrated By Tom Dheere, Nancy Linari, and Dara Rosenberg — Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins — Scheduled Release Date: 07-17-13
• A Hidden Fire: Elemental Mysteries, Book 1, This Same Earth: Elemental Mysteries, Book 2, The Force of Wind: Elemental Mysteries, Book 3, and
  A Fall of Water: Elemental Mysteries, Book 4 By Elizabeth Hunter, Narrated By Dina Pearlman -- Release Date: 07-18-13
• The Daedalus Incident By Michael J. Martinez, Narrated By Kristin Kalbli and Bernard Clark — Scheduled Release Date: 07-19-13
• The Towers of the Sunset: Saga of Recluce, Book 2 By L.E. Modesitt, Narrated By Kirby Heyborne — Scheduled Release Date: 07-22-13
• Anthology: Carniepunk By Rachel Caine, Rob Thurman, Kevin Hearne, Seanan McGuire, Jennifer Estep, Allison Pang, Kelly Gay, Delilah S. Dawson, and Kelly Meding, Narrated By Candace Thaxton and Kirby Heyborne — Length: 15 hrs — Scheduled Release Date: 07-23-13
• All That I See: The King of Clayfield, Book 2 By Shane Gregory, Narrated By Scott Aiello — Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins — Scheduled Release Date: 07-23-13
• The Tilian Effect: The Pandemic Sequence, Book 2 By Tom Calen, Narrated By Scott Aiello — Scheduled Release Date: 07-23-13
• Teen: Starglass by Phoebe North (Simon & Schuster, Jul 23, 2013)
• Daughter of the Forest: Sevenwaters, Book 1 By Juliet Marillier, Narrated By Terry Donnelly for Audible Frontiers — Scheduled Release Date: 07-25-13
• Broken Homes (Rivers of London 4) by Ben Aaronovitch and Stephen Walter (Gollanz UK, 25 Jul 2013) — no US release yet in sight
• Rise of the Corinari: Frontiers Saga Series, Book 5 By Ryk Brown, Narrated By Jeffrey Kafer — Scheduled Release Date: 07-29-13
• Pile of Bones (A Novel of the Parallel Parks) by Bailey Cunningham (Jul 30, 2013)
• 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
• The Sorcerer’s Widow by Lawrence Watt-Evans (Wildside Press, Jul 30, 2013) — “The great wizard Nabal’s death offers many opportunities, both for those who knew him and those who did not. For young conmen Ezak and Kel, it means a chance to loot the wizard’s estate… if they can win the confidence of Nabal’s widow, Dorna. But Dorna has plans of her own. She means to leave the tiny village for a better life in the city. And all of Nabal’s wizardly artifacts and talismans will pay for that new life – if she can only get them there intact!”
• Kill City Blues: A Sandman Slim Novel by Richard Kadrey (Jul 30, 2013)
• Trial of Flowers and Madness of Flowers By Jay Lake, Narrated By Christian Rummel — Scheduled Release Date: 07-30-13
• The Darwin Elevator by Jason M. Hough (Del Rey, Jul 30, 2013) — first of three books coming in rapid succession in this new series — “In the mid-23rd century, Darwin, Australia, stands as the last human city on Earth. The world has succumbed to an alien plague, with most of the population transformed into mindless, savage creatures. The planet’s refugees flock to Darwin, where a space elevator—created by the architects of this apocalypse, the Builders—emits a plague-suppressing aura.”
• Anthology: The Mammoth Book of Angels and Demons edited by Paula Guran (Running Press, July 30) — UK edition was published May 16
• Magic Rises (Kate Daniels) by Ilona Andrews (Jul 30, 2013)
• 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 Thinking Woman’s Guide to Real Magic by Emily Croy Barker (Pamela Dorman Books, Aug 1, 2013) — “Nora Fischer’s dissertation is stalled and her boyfriend is about to marry another woman.  During a miserable weekend at a friend’s wedding, Nora wanders off and walks through a portal into a different world where she’s transformed from a drab grad student into a stunning beauty.  Before long, she has a set of glamorous new friends and her romance with gorgeous, masterful Raclin is heating up. It’s almost too good to be true. Then the elegant veneer shatters. Nora’s new fantasy world turns darker, a fairy tale gone incredibly wrong.”
• 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)
• Codex Born: (Magic Ex Libris: Book Two) by Jim C. Hines (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
• Walking In the Midst of Fire: A Remy Chandler Novel by Thomas E. Sniegoski (Aug 6, 2013)
• 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.”
• Omens: A Cainsville Novel (Omens and Shadows) by Kelley Armstrong (Dutton, Aug 20, 2013)
• 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
• Non-Fiction: Of Dice and Men: The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and The People Who Play It by David M. Ewalt (Scribner and Brilliance Audio, Aug 20, 2013)
• 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)
• Spirits From Beyond (A Ghost Finders Novel) by Simon R. Green (Aug 27, 2013)
• Billy Moon: A transcendent Novel Reimagining the Life of Christopher Robin Milne by Douglas Lain (Tor, Aug 27, 2013)
• Chosen (Alex Verus) by Benedict Jacka (Aug 27, 2013)
• The Exodus Towers: The Dire Earth Cycle: Two by Jason M. Hough (Aug 27, 2013)
• Anthology: Tales of Jack the Ripper edited by Ross E. Lockhart (Word Horde, August 31)
• 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.”

• 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”
• Happy Hour In Hell (Bobby Dollar) by Tad Williams (Sep 3, 2013)
• Chimes at Midnight: An October Daye Novel by Seanan McGuire (Sep 3, 2013)
• 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
• Woken Gods by Gwenda Bond (September 3, 2013)
• 23 Years on Fire: A Cassandra Kresnov Novel by Joel Sheppard (Pyr, September 3, 2013) — “Commander Cassandra Kresnov has her hands full. She must lead an assault against the Federation world of Pyeongwha, where a terrible sociological phenomenon has unleashed hell against the civilian population. Then she faces the threat from a portion of League space known as New Torah, in which a ruthless regime of surviving corporations are building new synthetic soldiers but taking the technology in alarming directions.”
• The Given Sacrifice: A Novel of the Change (Change Series) by S. M. Stirling (Sep 3, 2013)
• 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).’
• Zombie Baseball Beatdown by Paolo Bacigalupi (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers / Listening Library, Sep 10, 2013)
• 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 One-Eyed Man: A Fugue, With Winds and Accompaniment by L. E. Modesitt (Sep 17, 2013)
• 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
• The Ace of Skulls by Chris Wooding (Sep 19, 2013) — final novel in the Ketty Jay series
• 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) — “Secret societies, immortality, murder mysteries and Las Vegas all in one book? Shut up and take my money.” —John Scalzi
• 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
• The Plague Forge: The Dire Earth Cycle: Three by Jason M. Hough (Sep 24, 2013)
• Collection: If Angels Fight: Stories by Richard Bowes (Fairwood Press/Patrick Swensen, September 2013) — collection of 14 stories – 3 new – all newly collected

• Treecat Wars by David Weber (Oct 1, 2013)
• Hero by Alethea Kontis (Harcourt Children’s Books, October 1)
• Bastion: Book Five of the Collegium Chronicles (A Valdemar Novel) by Mercedes Lackey (Oct 1, 2013)
• Pandemic by Scott Sigler (Crown, Oct 1, 2013)
• Ghosts Know by Ramsey Campbell (Tor, Oct 1)
• Anthology: Once Upon a Time: New Fairy Tales edited by Paula Guran (Prime Books, October 2)
• Pull Down the Night by Nathan Kotecki (Houghton Mifflin, October 6) — second book in his YA urban fantasy series after The Suburban Strange
• The Republic of Thieves (Gentleman Bastard, #3) by Scott Lynch (Spectra, October 8)
• Veil of the Deserters (Bloodsounder’s Arc #2) by Jeff Salyards (Night Shade Books, Oct 8, 2013)
• 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 Last Dark: The climax of the entire Thomas Covenant Chronicles (Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant) by Stephen R. Donaldson (Oct 15, 2013)
• The Blood Flower Throne by T.L. Morganfield (Panverse, October 19) — “the first book in a feminist retelling of the myths and legends surrounding the Toltec priest-king Ce Acatl Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl”
• 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 Faceless One by Mark Onspaugh (Hydra, Oct 28, 2013)
• Teen: Horde (Enclave) by Ann Aguirre (Macmillan Young Listeners, Oct 29, 2013) — “The epic conclusion to the USA Today bestselling trilogy.”
• 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)
• Hell Bent: A Broken Magic Novel by Devon Monk (Nov 5, 2013)
• 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

• The Swords of Good Men by Snorri Kristjansson (Jo Fletcher Books, January 7, 2014) — a “Viking fantasy novel” by a new Icelandic author
• The Girl with All the Gifts by M.J. Carey (Orbit, Jan 7, 2014) — “Melanie is a very special girl. Dr Caldwell calls her ‘our little genius’. Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class. When they come for her, Sergeant keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don’t like her. She jokes that she won’t bite, but they don’t laugh.” — link to cover
• Rex Regis by L. E. Modesitt (Tor, Jan 7, 2014)
• Dirty Magic (Prospero’s War) by Jaye Wells (Jan 21, 2014)
• Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson (Tor, January 21, 2014) — book 2 in The Stormlight Archive after The Way of Kings
• 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.”
• Reign of Ash (Book Two in the Ascendant Kingdoms Saga) by Gail Z. Martin (Orbit, January 2014) — follow-on to Ice Forged
• Like a Mighty Army (Safehold) by David Weber (Feb 4, 2014)
• The Crimson Campaign (The Powder Mage Trilogy, Book 2) by Brian McClellan (Orbit, February 2014)
• The Undead Pool by Kim Harrison (Feb 25, 2014)
• Dreamwalker by C.S. Friedman (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, May 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)
• The Islands of Chaldea by Diana Wynne Jones and Ursula Jones (Greenwillow, Summer 2014) — “Fans of the late writer Diana Wynne Jones – who died in March 2011 – are in for an unexpected treat. In the summer of 2014, Greenwillow will publish a new title from the acclaimed science fiction and fantasy author. Titled The Islands of Chaldea, the book is a standalone novel unconnected to any of the author’s earlier works. It is also the result of an unusual, asynchronous collaboration between the writer and her younger sister, Ursula Jones.”
• The Chaplain's War by Brad Torgerson (Baen, 2014)
• Colossus by Stephen Messer (Random House Children's Books, 2014)