Release Week: Never Knew Another, Burning Paradise, Fortune's Pawn, Sea Hearts, and Once Upon a Time

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Release Week: Never Knew Another, Burning Paradise, Fortune's Pawn, Sea Hearts, and Once Upon a Time

Posted on 2013-11-06 at 17:39 by Sam

OCTOBER 30-NOVEMBER 5, 2013: I’ve been excited about this week since I first learned that J.M. McDermott’s “Dogsland” books Never Knew Another and When We Were Executioners were coming to audio, and! here they are, along with: a new novel by Robert Charles Wilson, Rachel Bach’s new military sf novel Fortune’s Pawn, Margo Lanagan’s glimmering 2012 selkie fantasy, and the Paula Guran-edited Once Upon a Time anthology, and! plenty more besides in the “also out this week” listings including: Terry Pratchett’s The Carpet People, David Dalglish’s A Dance of Blades performed superbly by Elijah Alexander, the latest in the Infinivox series of “The Year’s Top Short SF Novels”, John Gardner’s mythological epic poem Jason and Medeia, and Guy Endore’s classic 1933 horror novel The Werewolf of Paris, read by Jean Brassard. I also want to highlight Annie Bellet’s collection Till Human Voices Wake Us, which I delve into a bit below in a special “indie spotlight” section. Enjoy!

Georgia author J.M. McDermott is a passionate, creative, inspiring, fantastical genius. I’ve seen him read, breathless, sweating, his lushly layered “Dedalus and the Labyrinth” (the basis of his forthcoming novel Maze); I’ve been blown away by a read (and further still by a re-read) of his debut novel Last Dragon — which until now has been the only of his novels to be available in audio. But! This week brings both of his extant Dogsland novels (book 3 is yet to be published) to audio. Originally published by Night Shade Books, Never Knew Another: Dogsland, Book 1 and When We Were Executioners: Dogsland, Book 2 are this week released by Audible Frontiers, narrated by Eileen Stevens (Lisa Shearin’s Raine Benares, Amanda Hocking’s Hollowland, and most recently for me Will McIntosh’s Love Minus Eighty). Rich in language and layered in context, McDermott’s Dogsland books have been noticed well by some of my favorite critics, including John H. Stevens (SF Signal’s “Erudite Ogre”) whom I tasked with reviewing the books for Bull Spec early last year. OK, I’ll stop gushing. Here’s the description of book one: “Fugitive Rachel Nolander is a newcomer to the city of Dogsland, where the rich throw parties and the poor just do whatever they can to scrape by. Supported by her brother Djoss, she hides out in their squalid apartment, living in fear that someday, someone will find out that she is the child of a demon. Corporal Jona Lord Joni is a demon’s child too, but instead of living in fear, he keeps his secret and goes about his life as a cocky, self-assured man of the law. The first story in the Dogsland Trilogy, Never Knew Another is the story of how these two outcasts meet.” Also! For those with the Kindle editions, both books offer a $3.99 Whispersync for Voice special at Audible.

Never Knew Another: Dogsland, Book 1 | [J. M. McDermott] Burning Paradise | [Robert Charles Wilson]

Burning Paradise by Robert Charles Wilson is Wilson’s latest novel, out this week from Tor, read by Scott Brick (Frank Herbert’s Dune, Hannu Rajaniemi’s The Quantum Thief, Justin Cronin’s The Passage) for Macmillan Audio. “From Robert Charles Wilson, the author of the Hugo Award–winner Spin, comes Burning Paradise, a new tale of humans coming to grips with a universe of implacable strangeness. Cassie Klyne, nineteen-years-old, lives in the United States in the year 2015—but it’s not our United States, and it’s not our 2015. Cassie’s world has been at peace since the Great Armistice of 1918. There was no World War II, no Great Depression. Poverty is declining, prosperity is increasing everywhere; social instability is rare. But Cassie knows the world isn’t what it seems. Her parents were part of a group who gradually discovered the awful truth: that for decades—back to the dawn of radio communications—human progress has been interfered with, made more peaceful and benign, by an extraterrestrial entity. And by interfering with our communications, this entity has tweaked history in massive and subtle ways. That humanity is, for purposes unknown, being farmed.”

Next up is a well-regarded military sf debut, Fortune’s Pawn: Paradox Series, Book 1 by Rachel Bach, narrated By Emily Durante for Tantor Media concurrent with the print/ebook release from Orbit (Nov 5) — “Devi Morris isn’t your average mercenary. She has plans. Big ones. And a ton of ambition. It’s a combination that’s going to get her killed one day - but not just yet.”

Fortune's Pawn: Paradox Series, Book 1 | [Rachel Bach] Sea Hearts | [Margo Lanagan]

My last pick amongst the novels new to audio this week is Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan, narrated By Eloise Oxer and Paul English for Bolinda Audio. An expansion of the 2009 novella “Sea-Hearts” which won the 2010 World Fantasy Award and published in the US (Knopf, September 2012) and UK (David Fickling, February 2012) as The Brides of Rollrock Island, here the book takes its original title from the Australian release (Allen & Unwin, February 2012). “On remote Rollrock Island, the sea-witch Misskaella discovers she can draw a girl from the heart of a seal. So, for a price, any man might buy himself a bride; an irresistibly enchanting sea-wife. But what cost will be borne by the people of Rollrock? The men, the women, the children? Once Misskaella sets her heart on doing such a thing? Margo Lanagan weaves an extraordinary tale of desire and revenge, of loyalty, heartache and human weakness, and of the unforeseen consequences of all-consuming love.”

Finally, Once Upon a Time: New Fairy Tales edited by Paula Guran, with stories by Theodora Goss, Caitlin R. Kiernan, Tanith Lee, Genevieve Valentine, Nathan Ballingrud, and Richard Bowes among others, narrated by Kate Baker for Prime Books. Wow! I did not see this coming. Baker is the marvelous voice of the Clarkesworld Magazine podcast, and this anthology has original stories from a fantastic lineup:

Once Upon a Time: New Fairy Tales | [Paula Guran, Theodora Goss, Caitlin R. Kiernan, Tanith Lee, Genevieve Valentine]

“Eighteen extraordinary authors devise all-new fairy tales: imaginative reinterpretations of the familiar, evocative new myths, speculations beyond the traditional realm of ‘once upon a time.’ Often dark, occasionally humorous, always enthralling, these stories find a certain Puss in a near-future New York, an empress bargaining with a dragon, a princess turned into a raven, a king’s dancing daughters with powerful secrets, great heroism, terrible villainy, sparks of mischief, and a great deal more. Brilliant dreams and dazzling nightmares with meaning for today and tomorrow…”

ALSO OUT THIS WEEK:

A Hundred Words for Hate: A Remy Chandler Novel, Book 4 | [Thomas E. Sniegoski] The Year's Top Short SF Novels 3 | [Elizabeth Bear, Jay Lake, Steven Popkes, Robert Reed, Walter Jon Williams] The Werewolf of Paris: A Novel | [Guy Endore]

INDIE SPOTLIGHT:

Till Human Voices Wake Us By Annie Bellet, Narrated By Dan Boice for Bellet’s own Doomed Muse Press. Boice’s narration is a tiny bit rushed, but that’s actually much closer to the listening speed I like. Bellet’s short fiction is collected well here, including of course the titular “‘Til Human Voices Wake Us”. Bellet is pretty much a fixture at Daily Science Fiction and has been at the forefront of author self-publishing in audio.

Till Human Voices Wake Us | [Annie Bellet] Quest of the Keys | [Scotty Sanders]

Quest of the Keys By Scotty Sanders, Narrated By B.J. Harrison — a very high-quality indie released audiobook as well, under the great voice of Harrison (who narrates quite a few of the nearly free Whispersync for Voice classics, such as Alice in Wonderland, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and plenty of Poe and Melville shorts along with other classics such as The Mark of Zorro) and very cleanly produced.

SEEN BUT NOT HEARD:

IF ANGELS FIGHT by Richard Bowes goldencity_100dpi

  • Collection: If Angels Fight: Stories by Richard Bowes (Fairwood Press/Patrick Swensen, October 2013) — collection of 14 stories – 3 new – all newly collected
  • Allegiance by Beth Bernobich (Tor, Oct 29) -- "Having characters with complicated pasts is, well, complicated, and writing about them in a successful manner can be even more so. In Allegiance, the newest from Beth Bernobich, the past weighs heavily on every character, and offered a unique set of challenges for the author as well." (via Scalzi's Whatever blog)
  • S by J.J. Abrams, Doug Dorst, (Mulholland Books, Oct 29) -- coming eventually as a special audiobook project via Hachette Audio, but I don't have the full details yet: "One book. Two readers. A world of mystery, menace, and desire. A young woman picks up a book left behind by a stranger. Inside it are his margin notes, which reveal a reader entranced by the story and by its mysterious author. She responds with notes of her own, leaving the book for the stranger, and so begins an unlikely conversation that plunges them both into the unknown." There's a fascinating interview of the authors by Mulholland editor Joshua Kendall on the Slate Book Review this week as well. UPDATE: From Hachette Audio: "I'm sure you've heard what a novel experience S. is meant to be; much richer and more layered in several different directions at once than a traditional book. We experimented with audio for quite a while, trying to find solutions to translate this same feeling to an aural experience. We debated various adaptation methods, but in the end it was decided that, with all its ephemera and marginalia, that S. is best experienced in its printed or digital forms. However, Ship of Theseus, the mysterious novel at the heart of S., stands firmly on its own, and will be released by Hachette Audio as a stand-alone audiobook, companion to S.  Ship of Thesus is narrated by acclaimed actor Graeme Malcolm, and runs about 9.5 hours. It will be available for purchase in approximately a week."
  • Anthology: The Book of the Dead edited by Jared Shurin, stories by Paul Cornell, Jesse Bullington, Lou Morgan, Molly Tanzer, Adam Roberts, Gail Carriger, Maurice Broaddus, Will Hill, and others (Pandemonium, October 2013) -- "This anthology includes nineteen original stories of revenge, romance, monsters and mayhem, ranging freely across time periods, genres and styles."
  • The Golden City by J. Kathleen Cheney (Roc, Nov 5, 2013) -- Cheney wrote about killing your darlings in this debut fantasy novel set in early 1900s Portugal for Lucinne Diver's Drivel
  • Twenty-First Century Science Fiction by David G. Hartwell and Patrick Nielsen Hayden (Tor, Nov 5, 2013)
  • Spheres of Influence by Ryk E. Spoor (Baen, Nov 5) -- a follow-on to Grand Central Arena and subject of Spoor's Big Idea piece on Scalzi's Whatever
  • Hell Bent: A Broken Magic Novel by Devon Monk (Roc, Nov 5, 2013)
  • Engines of the Broken World by Jason Vanhee (Henry Holt and Co, Nov 5) — excerpt up at Tor.com
  • Iron Winter: The Northland Trilogy (Northland series) by Stephen Baxter (Nov 5, 2013) -- first US edition for novel published last year in the UK
  • Magic and Loss: A Novel of Golgotham by Nancy A. Collins (Nov 5, 2013)
  • The Misfortune Cookie: An Esther Diamond Novel by Laura Resnick (Nov 5, 2013)
  • Come and Take Them by Tom Kratman (Baen, Nov 5, 2013)
  • Anthology: Some of the Best From Tor.com, 2013 Edition: A Tor.Com Original (Tor, Nov 5) -- currently a free e-book: "A collection of some of the best original short fiction published on Tor.com in 2012. Includes stories by Dale Bailey, Leigh Bardugo, Cory Doctorow, Charles Stross, and Genevieve Valentine." And, glad to see: "At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied."
  • Anthology: A Cosmic Christmas 2 You edited by Hank Davis (Baen, Nov 5, 2013) — “Twelve new stories of Christmas in very unusual circumstances, ranging from vampires to robots, from the hills of Appalachia to a high orbit space station, all celebrating the holiday in their own, off-beat ways.” Includes stories by (among others) Joe Haldeman, Connie Willis, and Tony Daniel, and the subject of a recent Baen Podcast
  • Teen: Katya's War (Russalka Chronicles) by Jonathan L. Howard (Nov 5, 2013)
  • Teen: Cracked (Soul Eaters) by Eliza Crewe (Angry Robot/Strange Chemistry, Nov 5, 2013)
  • Three from Lazy Fascist Press, which I present without comment, because really, what can I offer? Motherfucking Sharks by Brian Allen Carr, Basal Ganglia by Matthew Revert, and The Laughter of Strangers by Michael J. Seidlinger
  • Fiction Collection: The Isle of Youth: Stories by van den Berg, Laura (FSG Originals, Nov 5, 2013)
COMING SOON:

  • Anthology: Space Opera edited by Rich Horton, Kage Baker, Elizabeth Bear and Jay Lake (Nov 6, 2013)
  • Anthology: Coins of Chaos edited by Jennifer Brozek, with stories by Jay Lake, Richard Dansky, Nathaniel Lee, Seanan McGuire, and more (Hades Publications, Nov 6) -- "17 short stories based on the The Hobo Nickel…. During and after the great depression Hobo Nickels were traded for food, sex, shelter, and power. In Coins of Chaos, twenty seemingly ordinary nickles are carved with dark representations of world evils and imbued with magical powers that transform the deliciously macabre bits of lost art into carriers of death, destruction, and ill luck."
  • Short: Circus of Blood: A Deacon Chalk: Occult Bounty Hunter Novella By James R. Tuck, Narrated By Jim Beaver (Nov 6)
  • Teen: Fair Coin By E.C. Myers, Narrated By Macleod Andrews for Audible Inc.
  • Miserere: An Autumn Tale By Teresa Frohock, Narrated By Eileen Stevens for Audible Frontiers (Nov 7)
  • Step Back in Time By Ali McNamara, Narrated By Katie Scarfe for Hachette Audio UK (Nov 7)
  • Kids: Dragonbait By David McLain, Narrated By Jeff Hays (Nov 7)
  • Seven Days: The Chronicles of Lumineia, Book 3 by Ben Hale, Narrated By Derek Perkins for Podium Publishing — Scheduled Release Date: 11-08-13
  • Touchy and Feely: Sissy Sawyer Series, Book 1, Petrified, and The Ninth Nightmare: Night Warriors Series, Book 5 by Graham Masterson, under various narrators for Audible Ltd (Nov 8)
  • Ambassador by Patty Jansen (Nov 9, 2013) -- "You remember Cory Wilson from The Far Horizon? Well, he’s all grown up for this space opera/crime adventure."
  • Fiddlehead by Cherie Priest (Tor, Nov 12, 2013) — latest novel in Priest’s Boneshaker series The Clockwork Century
  • 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)
  • Dragon’s Child: The King Arthur Trilogy, Book 1 By M. K. Hume, Narrated By Steven Crossley for Recorded Books — Scheduled Release Date: 11-12-13
  • LONG LIVE THE QUEEN by Kate Locke, read by TBD for Blackstone Audio (Nov 12)
  • Fiction: Slam by Lewis Shiner, read by Stefan Rudnicki (Blackstone Audio, November 15, 2013) — Shiner’s 1990 novel of a paroled tax evader, anarchist skateboarders, and, well, 23 cats. Somehow it was available at Audible in mid-October (and, via a $2.99 Kindle plus $2.99 Whispersync for Voice special, an instant grab once I saw it live there) but I wanted to go ahead and feature it on its official release date this week.
  • CARLUCCI’S EDGE by Richard Paul Russo, read by Kristoffer Tabori for Blackstone Audio (Nov 15)
  • THE PUPPET MASTERS by Robert A. Heinlein, read by Tom Weiner for Blackstone Audio (Nov 15)
  • Collection: Beyond the Rift by Peter Watts (Tachyon, Nov 18, 2013)
  • The Orphans’ Promise (Secret of Ji, Book Two) by Pierre Grimbert, translated by Matt Ross and Eric Lamb (Nov 19, 2013)
  • HIDE ME AMONG THE GRAVES by Tim Powers, read by Fiona Hardingham for Blackstone Audio (Nov 19) — published last year, a stand-alone follow-up to the fantastic The Stress of Her Regard
  • Ship of Theseus by V.M. Straka (Hachette Audio, Nov 19) -- "Please note: In S., J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst conceived of a multi-layered novel-within-a-novel that involves handwritten notes in the margins and physical objects slipped between the pages. Because an audio edition is unable to recreate those innately visual pieces of the story and the intended experience of S., the text of Ship of Theseus has been recorded here.  Award-winning actor Graeme Malcolm reads the work of an incendiary novelist who may never have existed at all. What is Ship of Theseus, and who is its mysterious author V.M. Straka? Conceived by filmmaker J.J. Abrams and written by acclaimed novelist Doug Dorst, Ship of Theseus is the central novel within the experience that is S., a multi-faceted narrative of love and mystery. Ship of Theseus is at its core and is the final book written by a man shrouded in deception and violence. It tells the mystical adventure of an equally mysterious figure, who is struggling to discover his own identity. Abducted onto the eponymous ship, the main character is swept into a story that spans oceans and ports, mountains and caves, capitals and citadels. Two things sustain him: his lifelong search for his love, Sola; and the infernal purpose of the ship and its crew. Equal parts Kafka and Lovecraft, Ship of Theseus is both a frightening adventure and a philosophical treasure hunt."
  • Watcher of the Dark by Joseph Nassise (Tor, November 19) — read by Anthony Bowden for Audible Frontiers
  • 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.”
  • Wild Fell by Michael Rowe (ChiZine, Nov 19, 2013)
  • Apparitions: Ghosts of Old Edo by Miyuki Miyabe and translated from Japanese by Daniel Huddleston (Haikasoru, Nov 19, 2013)
  • The Phoenix in Flight: Exordium, Book 1 By Sherwood Smith, Dave Trowbridge, Narrated By James Patrick for Audible Inc. — Scheduled Release Date: 11-19-13
  • Non-Fiction: Report from Nuremberg: The International War Crimes Trial By Harold Burson, Narrated By Christian Rummel, Richard McGonagle, Gabrielle De Cuir, Stefan Rudnicki, Kristoffer Tabori, John Rubinstein, Harold Burson, Jim Meskimen, Arthur Morey, Joe Nocera, Robert Forster, and Scott Brick for Sky Boat (Dec 20)
  • The Rabbit Back Literature Society by Pasi Ilmari Jaaskelainen and translated from the Finnish by Lola Rogers (Pushkin Press, Nov 21, 2013) — “A highly contagious book virus, a literary society, and a Snow Queen-like disappearing author.”
  • Nothing O'Clock (Dr. Who) by Neil Gaiman (Nov 21, 2013) -- According to Bleeding Cool, here’s what Gaiman has to say about the book: “Nothing O’Clock stars the Eleventh Doctor, the Matt Smith Doctor, with Amy Pond as his companion. I set it somewhere during the first season of Matt Smith, mostly on Earth, in our time now and in 1984, but also somewhere else, a very, very long time ago. I had never created an original monster for Doctor Who and really enjoyed getting to create a creepy Doctor Who monster of the kind that we haven’t quite seen before… I hope that the Kin will get out there and occasionally give people nightmares. And that you will be worried if a man in a rabbit mask comes to your door and tries to buy your house.”
  • The Arrows of Time (Orthogonal)  by Greg Egan (Gollancz UK, November 21, 2013) — book 3 after The Clockwork Rocket and The Eternal Flame — the Night Shade Books US release has moved to 2014
  • The Land Across by Gene Wolfe (Tor, Nov 26) — audiobook coming January 4, 2014 from Brilliance Audio
  • 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
  • Wild Justice (Nadia Stafford #3) by Kelley Armstrong (Nov 26, Plume Paperback)
  • 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)
DECEMBER: NEXT YEAR:

Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer Southern Reach trilogy the-girl-in-the-road-monica-byrne

  • SOUL CATCHER by Frank Herbert, read by To Be Announced for Blackstone Audio (Jan 1, 2014)
  • The Queen of Dreams by Peter Hamilton (Doubleday UK, 2 Jan 2014) — first children’s book by the epic sf author Peter F. Hamilton: “Taggie and Jemima are summer holidaying on their dad’s farm. They know just what to expect – a tumbledown cottage, sunshine and strawberry-picking. But then Jemima sees a white squirrel wearing glasses . . . And things become even more extraordinary when their dad is captured and whisked away to a faerie world. Magical adventures await, as the two sisters discover powers they never knew they had and a series of worlds to explore. But can Taggie and Jemima rescue their dad and defeat the evil King of Night?”
  • The Land Across by Gene Wolfe (Tor, Nov 26) — audiobook coming January 4, 2014 from Brilliance Audio
  • 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)
  • Fury of the Demon by Diana Rowland (Jan 7, 2014)
  • Dreams of the Golden Age by Vaughn, Carrie (Jan 7, 2014) — sequel to After the Golden Age
  • Work Done for Hire  by Joe Haldeman (Ace Hardcover, January 7, 2014) — novel about an ex-sniper turned sf screenwriter turned reluctant hitman; I’ve hear Haldeman read from this novel in draft and am very much looking forward to its release
  • Love in the Time of Metal and Flesh by Jay Lake (Prime Books, January 7, 2014) — “Markus Selvage has been bent by life, ground up and spit out again. In San Francisco’s darkest sexual underground, he is a perpetual innocent, looking within bodies – his own and others’ – for the lost secrets of satisfaction. But extreme body modification is only the beginning of where he will go before he’s finished…”
  • Rex Regis (Imager Portfolio)  by L.E. Modesitt, Jr. (Jan 7, 2014)
  • 1636: Seas of Fortune  by Iver Cooper (January 7, 2014)
  • Black Arts: A Jane Yellowrock Novel  by Faith Hunter (Jan 7, 2014)
  • Darkest Fear (Birthright) by Cate Tiernan (Jan 7, 2014)
  • Once In a Blue Moon by Green, Simon R. (Jan 7, 2014)
  • Graphic novel: Cemetery Girl, Book One: The Pretenders (The Cemetery Girl Trilogy) by Harris, Charlaine and Golden, Christopher (Jan 7, 2014)
  • Anthology: Dark Duets by Golden, Christopher (Jan 7, 2014)
  • The Emperor’s Blades (Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne) by Brian Staveley (Jan 14, 2014)
  • Watchers in the Night (Guardians of the Night) by Jenna Black (Jan 14, 2014)
  • The Man Who Made Models: The Collected Short Fiction  by R.A. Lafferty (Centipede Press, January 14, 2014)
  • Dawn of Swords (The Breaking World)  by David Dalglish (Jan 14, 2014)
  • Dirty Magic (Prospero’s War) by Jaye Wells (Jan 21, 2014)
  • Pandemic by Scott Sigler (Crown, Jan 21, 2014)
  • The Secret of Magic by Johnson, Deborah (Putnam Adult, Jan 21, 2014) -- "Regina Robichard works for Thurgood Marshall, who receives an unusual letter asking the NAACP to investigate the murder of a returning black war hero. It is signed by M. P. Calhoun, the most reclusive author in the country. As a child, Regina was captivated by Calhoun’s The Secret of Magic, a novel in which white and black children played together in a magical forest. Once down in Mississippi, Regina finds that nothing in the South is as it seems. She must navigate the muddy waters of racism, relationships, and her own tragic past. The Secret of Magic brilliantly explores the power of stories and those who tell them."
  • The Vanishing by Wendy Webb (Hyperion, Jan 21, 2014) -- "
    Recently widowed and rendered penniless by her Ponzi-scheming husband, Julia Bishop is eager to start anew. So when a stranger appears on her doorstep with a job offer, she finds herself accepting the mysterious yet unique position: caretaker to his mother, Amaris Sinclair, the famous and rather eccentric horror novelist whom Julia has always admired . . . and who the world believes is dead."
  • Non-Fiction: What Makes This Book So Great by Walton, Jo (Jan 21, 2014)
  •  Red Rising by Brown, Pierce (Jan 28, 2014) — “Brown’s debut novel . . . is reminiscent of both Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games and William Goldman’s The Lord of the Flies but has a dark and twisted power of its own that will captivate readers and leave them wanting more.”— Library Journal
  • The Book of the Crowman by Joseph D’ Lacey (Jan 28, 2014)
  • A Darkling Sea by James Cambias (Tor, Jan 28, 2014)
  • Shadow Ops: Breach Zone by Myke Cole (Jan 28, 2014)
  • The Echo by James Smythe (Jan 28, 2014) — sequel to The Explorer
  • 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.”
  • Annihilation (Southern Reach, Volume 1) by Jeff VanderMeer (Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, Feb 4, 2014) — the first of a trilogy of “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?” Of the book, Kim Stanley Robinson says: “This swift surreal suspense novel reads as if Verne or Wellsian adventurers exploring a mysterious island had warped through into a Kafkaesque nightmare world. The reader will want to stay trapped with the biologist to find the answers to Area X’s mysteries.”
  • 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)
  • Like a Mighty Army (Safehold)  by David Weber (Feb 4, 2014)
  • V-S Day: A Novel of Alternate History  by Allen Steele (Feb 4, 2014) — narrated by Ray Chase
  • Empire of Men by David Weber and John Ringo (Feb 4, 2014)
  • The Waking Engine by David Edison (Feb 11, 2014)
  • The Martian: A Novel by Weir, Andy (Random House, Feb 11, 2014) — picked up by Random House after self-publishing success; 2013 audiobook by Podium Publishing
  • With Silent Screams (The Hellequin Chronicles) by Steve McHugh (Feb 18, 2014)
  • The Judge of Ages (Count to a Trillion) by John C. Wright (Feb 25, 2014)
  • The Undead Pool by Kim Harrison (Feb 25, 2014)
  • Dreamwalker by C.S. Friedman (February 2014)
  • Kids: Half Bad (The Half Bad Trilogy) by Green, Sally (Mar 3, 2014) -- via Kate Atkinson (the author of Life after Life) a new middle grade series about witches in modern-day England
  • Night Broken (A Mercy Thompson Novel)  by Patricia Briggs (Mar 4, 2014)
  • Ghost Train to New Orleans (The Shambling Guides) by Mur Lafferty (Orbit, Mar 4, 2014) — sequel to The Shambling Guide to New York City
  • The Tropic of Serpents: A Memoir by Lady Trent (A Natural History of Dragons) by Marie Brennan (Mar 4, 2014)
  • Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson (Tor, March 4, 2014) — book 2 in The Stormlight Archive after The Way of Kings
  • Hope Rearmed by S.M. Stirling and David Drake (March 4, 2014)
  • Half-Off Ragnarok: An Incryptid Novel by Seanan McGuire (Mar 4, 2014)
  • Murder of Crows: A Novel of the Others by Bishop, Anne (Mar 4, 2014)
  • Blood and Iron (The Book of the Black Earth) by Jon Sprunk (Pyr, March 11, 2014)
  • Resistance by Jenna Black (Mar 11, 2014)
  • Working God’s Mischief (Instrumentalities of the Night)  by Glen Cook (Mar 11, 2014)
  • The High Druid’s Blade: The Defenders of Shannara by Brooks, Terry (Mar 11, 2014)
  • Mentats of Dune  by Brian Herbert (March 11, 2014)
  • Anthology: The Time Traveler’s Almanac by Ann VanderMeer and Jeff VanderMeer (Tor, Mar 18, 2014)
  • Raising Steam (Discworld) by Terry Pratchett (Mar 25, 2014)
  • Lockstep  by Karl Schroeder (Mar 25, 2014)
  • The Burning Dark by Adam Christopher (Mar 25, 2014)
  • Written in My Own Heart’s Blood: A Novel (Outlander) by Gabaldon, Diana (Mar 25, 2014)
  • Anthology: KAIJU RISING (Kickstarter, March 2014)
  • 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.”
  • Reign of Ash (Book Two in the Ascendant Kingdoms Saga) by Gail Z. Martin (Orbit, April 1, 2014) — follow-on to Ice Forged
  • The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison (April 1, 2014)
  • Cauldron of Ghosts (Crown of Slaves) by David Weber (April 1, 2014)
  • Baltic Gambit: A Novel of the Vampire Earth by E.E. Knight (April 1, 2014)
  • Covenant: The Books of Raziel by Benulis, Sabrina (Apr 1, 2014)
  • Shipstar  by Larry Niven and Gregory Benford (Tor, April 8, 2014)
  • Transhuman  by Ben Bova (April 15, 2014)
  • Hollow World by Michael J. Sullivan (Tachyon and Recorded Books, April 15, 2014)
  • The Serpent of Venice: A Novel by Moore, Christopher (Apr 22, 2014)
  • The City Stained Red by Sam Sykes (Gollanz UK, 17 Apr 2014) — from the author of Tome of the Undergates
  • 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.”
  • Unwrapped Sky by Rjurik Davidson (Tor, April 15, 2014) — “Caeli-Amur: a city torn by contradiction. A city of languorous philosopher-assassins and magnificent creatures from ancient myth: minotaurs and sirens. Three Houses rule over an oppressed citizenry stirring into revolt. The ruins of Caeli-Amur’s sister city lie submerged beneath the sea nearby, while the remains of strange advanced technology lie hidden in the tunnels beneath the city itself.”
  • The Furies: A Thriller  by Mark Alpert (April 22, 2014)
  • Authority: A Novel (The Southern Reach Trilogy) by Jeff VanderMeer (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, May 6, 2014) — “The bone-chilling, hair-raising second installment of the Southern Reach Trilogy. For thirty years, a secret agency called the Southern Reach has monitored expeditions into Area X—a remote and lush terrain mysteriously sequestered from civilization. After the twelfth expedition, the Southern Reach is in disarray, and John Rodriguez (aka “Control”) is the team’s newly appointed head. From a series of interrogations, a cache of hidden notes, and more than two hundred hours of profoundly troubling video footage, the secrets of Area X begin to reveal themselves—and what they expose pushes Control to confront disturbing truths about both himself and the agency he’s promised to serve.”
  • The Sea Without a Shore by David Drake (May 6, 2014) — Lt. Leary series
  • Graphic novel: All You Need Is Kill: The Graphic Novel by Nick Mamatas, Lee Ferguson, Fajar Buana, and Zack Turner, based on the novel by Hiroshi Sakurazaka (VIZ Media/Haikasoru, May 6, 2014)
  • Queen of the Dark Things: A Novel by C. Robert Cargill (Harper Voyager, May 13, 2014) — follow-on to Dreams and Shadows
  • Dead but Not Forgotten By Charlaine Harris (editor), Toni L. P. Kelner (editor) with stories by MaryJanice Davidson, Seanan McGuire, and more (Audible Frontiers, May 13, 2014) -- "Charlaine Harris' smash-hit Sookie Stackhouse series may have reached its conclusion, but the world of Bon Temps, Louisiana, lives on in this all-new collection of 15 stories."
  • A Dance of Shadows (Shadowdance) by David Dalglish (May 20, 2014)
  • 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.” A big-name blurb is in from none less than Kim Stanley Robinson: “The Girl in the Road is a brilliant novel–vivid, intense, and fearless with a kind of savage joy. These journeys–Meena’s across the Arabian Sea and Mariama’s across Africa–are utterly unforgettable.”
  • My Real Children by Jo Walton (Tor, May 2014) — “story about one woman and the two lives that she might lead”
  • Veil of the Deserters (Bloodsounder’s Arc #2) by Jeff Salyards (Night Shade Books, June 3, 2014)
  • Shattered: The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne (Jun 17, 2014)
  • The Long Childhood: A Novel (Long Earth) by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter (Jun 17, 2014)
  • The Rhesus Chart (A Laundry Files Novel) by Charles Stross (Jul 1, 2014)
  • Tower Lord (A Raven's Shadow Novel) by Anthony Ryan (Jul 1, 2014)
  • Magic Breaks (Kate Daniels) by Ilona Andrews (Jul 29, 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 Magician’s Land by Lev Grossman (Viking, August 2014) — book three after The Magicians and The Magician King
  • The Chaplain’s War by Brad Torgerson (Baen, 2014)
  • Colossus by Stephen Messer (Random House Children’s Books, 2014)
  • The Broken Eye (Lightbringer #3) by Brent Weeks (Orbit, 2014)
  • The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin, translated by Ken Liu (Tor Books, 2014) — the first of an announced trilogy of translated editions of this 400,000-copy-selling Chinese sf series
  • Lock In by John Scalzi (Tor, Aug 26, 2014)
  • Frostborn (Thrones & Bones #1) by Lou Anders (Random House Children’s Books, August 2014) — longtime Pyr editor Anders’ debut novel, a young reader book which “introduces Karn, who would rather be playing the board game Thrones and Bones, and Thianna, half-frost giant, half-human, who team up when they are chased by wyverns, a dead Viking sea captain, and a 1200-year-old dragon.”
  • Clash of Eagles by Alan Smale (Del Rey, 2014) — “His novella of a Roman invasion of ancient America, “A Clash of Eagles” in the Panverse Two anthology (edited by Dario Ciriello), won the 2010 Sidewise Award for Alternate History, and he has recently sold a trilogy of novels set in the same universe. The first book, CLASH OF EAGLES, will appear from Del Rey in 2014.”
  • Deadly Curiosities by Gail Z. Martin (Solaris, Summer 2014) — “It’s official! I’ll be writing a new urban fantasy novel for Solaris Books called “Deadly Curiosities” (from my short story universe of the same name) that will come out in summer, 2014!”
  • The Scorched Earth by Drew Karpyshyn (Summer 2014) — sequel to 2013 novel Children of Fire
  • Echopraxia by Peter Watts (2014) — “We are going to the Sun, rs and Ks.  Whereas the last time out we froze in the infinite Lovecraftian darkness of the Oort, now we are diving into the very heart of the solar system— and man, there’s gonna be a hot time in the ol’ town tonight.”
  • The Thousand and One: Book II of The Crescent Moon Kingdoms by Saladin Ahmed (2014)
  • The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi (Knopf, 2015) — “Knopf has acquired a new novel by Paolo Bacigalupi, the science fiction writer whose 2009 book “The Windup Girl” sold 200,000 copies and was considered one of the top novels of the year. The new book, “The Water Knife,” is set in a lawless, water-starved American Southwest in the not-too-distant future.”
  • Because You’ll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas (Bloomsbury USA, 2015) — first novel from 2010 Clarion Workshop graduate
  • John Claude Bemis is set to launch a new Steampunk/alchemist series for young readers, to be published by Disney/Hyperion starting in 2015
UNDATED:
  • When Women Were Warriors by Catherine M. Wilson, read by Janis Ian for Dog Ear Audio -- in late October, Dog Ear Audio posted a Kickstarter update with a sample of Janis Ian's narration of When Women Were Warriors and it sounds so very, very good
  • Ancillary Justice by Ann Lecki, read by Celeste Ciulla for Recorded Books -- due out in early December
  • Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh, read by the author for Simon & Schuster Audio -- out in print/ebook in late October
  • A Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar, coming from Audible
  • Quantum Coin by E.C. Myers, coming from Audible (Fair Coin to be released Nov 6)
  • All the Worlds Against Us (Jon and Lobo) by Mark L. Van Name (Baen) — Audible Frontiers has produced the previous books in the series, under fantastic narrations by Tom Stechschulte
Posted in Release Week | Tagged burning paradise, eileen stevens, jm mcdermott, margo lanagan, never knew another, once upon a time, paula guran, rachel bach, robert charles wilson, scott brick