Release Week(s): World of Trouble, Land of Love and Drowning, Tomorrow and Tomorrow, Half a King, The Outsorcerer's Apprentice, Blightborn, and Kaiju Rising

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Release Week(s): World of Trouble, Land of Love and Drowning, Tomorrow and Tomorrow, Half a King, The Outsorcerer's Apprentice, Blightborn, and Kaiju Rising

Posted on 2014-08-01 at 14:55 by Sam

JULY 9-29, 2014: Covering three weeks worth of releases in mid-to-late July, with picks including a terrific ending to Ben H. Winters’ The Last Policeman trilogy, new standalone epic fantasy, magical realism, near-future sf, comedic high fantasy, CornPunk, and a Kickstarter-funded anthology of megamonster invasion. Beyond the picks, there are more trilogies concluded (Hannu Rajaniemi’s Jean le Flambeur, Deborah Harkness’ All Souls Trilogy), more next books in a series (Melissa Scott and Jo Graham’s Order of the Air series, Mark Hodder’s Return of the Discontinued Man), and a fantasy classic come to audio in advance of the author’s return to the series (Robin Hobb’s Fool’s Errand), along with Rebecca Makkai’s The Hundred-Year House, a pile of Robert McCammon, William Dufris reading Isaac Asimov’s Robot trilogy, new collections (Ben Bova read by Stefan Rudnicki and company, David Drake read by Christopher Grove), Tim Pratt’s The Nex, and The Golden Compass director Chris Weitz’s fiction debut, The Young World. And! Just in time for the movie adaptation, Joe R. Lansdale’s Cold in July. But! I’m frustrated to note that the “seen but not heard” listings include Max Gladstone’s Full Fathom Five and are headlined by Nick Harkaway’s Tigerman — there’s a fantastic UK audiobook edition of Tigerman out since May, but it looks like we’ll have to wait until November to get a US audiobook.

One bit of good news, however, is the appearance of new library CD and MP3-CD editions of Glimpses by Lewis Shiner, read by Stefan Rudnicki. Out since 2011 in digital audio — and my pick that year for best new audiobook of the year — the book of time travel (of a sort) and rock-and-roll won the 1994 World Fantasy Award, and really is a wonderful book and audiobook. In other news and such, I have a fantastic narrator interview to pass along: Jeff VanderMeer interviews Bronson Pinchot for Vulture — it is a fantastic, fantastic, in-depth interview. Speaking of interviews, I hadn’t yet seen Cory Doctorow’s interview at Downpour.com by narrator Malcolm Hillgartner, so while it may not be new, it’s new to me. See you in August for the next roundup, including reviews of Lev Grossman’s The Magician’s Land and Lou Anders’ Frostborn. Enjoy! [And if you’re new to audiobooks, among the many ways to get started are: you can try Audible with a free audiobook or get your first 3 months at Audible for $7.49/month; try a free 30-day trial at audiobook streaming service Audiobooks.com; or sign up for a $12.99 monthly membership at DRM-free Downpour.com.]

PICKS OF THE WEEK:

World of Trouble: The Last Policeman, Book 3 | [Ben H. Winters] 

The Last Policeman trilogy by Ben H. Winters concludes with World of Trouble, and I had the surreal experience of listening to it while criss-crossing the small towns of Ohio on a road trip to the midwest, which included stops at the old family farmstead, teaching my son to shoot an air rifle at another rural family home while cousins shot their first .22 or .410, and the sampling of an old friend’s home-brewed beer. Why was this a bit surreal? World of Trouble: The Last Policeman, Book 3 by Ben H. Winters (Quirk Books and Brilliance Audio) — the third and concluding book in Winters’ Edgar Award winning and Philip K. Dick Award nominated Last Policeman trilogy — sees Detective Hank Palace bicycling through Ohio, looking for his sister, hoping to reunite before everything ends. The scope of this series has grown ever more epic. In The Last Policeman, Palace is investigating one crime in one town, his home town of Concord, New Hampshire. (Of course there is more going on: his sister is already up to her ears in anti-conspiracy conspiracies to save the world from an asteroid which will kill everyone.) In Countdown City, Palace ventures further afield, seeing regional responses to the imminent catastrophe first hand from universities gone Utopian to remote state park wilderness survivalists. Here in World of Trouble, Winters brings the scope both back to pinpoint — much of the main action occurs in a small Ohio town’s police headquarters and its immediate surrounds — but with a pullback zoom in hand for both time and place as we see Palace following the clues which led him to, in the final days of the countdown, embark on a thousand-mile bicycle trip across towns graded variously red (avoid: psychopaths) to places largely unchanged, to scenes of mass suicide. And all the while, Palace struggles with doubts: what if his sister was right, what if there is a chance that this rogue scientist can alter the path of the asteroid? Here at the end of Ben H. Winters’ beautiful The Last Policeman series, if you’re one of those readers/listeners who wait for a series to be concluded before beginning, hop in now; these are fantastic books and audiobooks, and this is a fantastic conclusion to a really, really damn good series. If “an asteroid is coming to end human life on Earth, lots of people are quitting their jobs, going looting, whatever, but a few people, like Detective Henry/Hank Palace, just want to do their job and solve one last MFing case” appeals, dude. Really well narrated, too, by Peter Berkrot, who simply is Detective Palace. More: In an interview for USA Today he plays ukulele and talks about the end of the world. Buy: [Downpour | Audible | Kobo | Kindle]

Land of Love and Drowning: A Novel by Tiphanie Yanique (Riverhead, July 10, and Recorded Books, July 17) — “In the early 1900s, the Virgin Islands are transferred from Danish to American rule, and an important ship sinks into the Caribbean Sea. Orphaned by the shipwreck are two sisters and their half brother, now faced with an uncertain identity and future. Each of them is unusually beautiful, and each is in possession of a particular magic that will either sink or save them.” A pleasant surprise this month, as I hadn’t expected to hear this in audio until November from Recorded Books, but here it is in a 4-voice narration by Cherise Boothe, Korey Jackson, Rachel Leslie, and Myra Lucretia Taylor. Yanique’s 2012 debut collection How to Escape from a Leper Colony: A Novella and Stories is also available in audio (and currently a Whispersync deal at $1.99+$3.99); this is her debut novel. (Hat tip to Yanique’s fellow Caribbean author Karen Lord for putting Yanique’s books on my radar.) Buy: [Audible | Kobo | Kindle]

Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Thomas Sweterlitsch Half a King by Joe Abercrombie

Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Thomas Sweterlitsch (Putnam Adult and Penguin Audio, Jul 10, 2014) — “A decade has passed since the city of Pittsburgh was reduced to ash. While the rest of the world has moved on, losing itself in the noise of a media-glutted future, survivor John Dominic Blaxton remains obsessed with the past. Grieving for his wife and unborn child who perished in the blast, Dominic relives his lost life by immersing in the Archive—a fully interactive digital reconstruction of Pittsburgh, accessible to anyone who wants to visit the places they remember and the people they loved. Dominic investigates deaths recorded in the Archive to help close cases long since grown cold, but when he discovers glitches in the code surrounding a crime scene—the body of a beautiful woman abandoned in a muddy park that he’s convinced someone tried to delete from the Archive—his cycle of grief is shattered.” Another debut novel, bearing starred reviews and accolades for its “genre-mixing sci-fi, noir mystery”. Narrated by Adam Paul in a fairly understated fashion, perhaps a bit lackluster even for the emotionally destroyed Blaxton, his narration nonetheless conveys a permeating sense of loss, bridging the divide between noir and melancholy quite well. Buy: [Downpour | Audible | Kobo | Kindle]

Half a King by Joe Abercrombie (Del Rey and Recorded Books, July 15, 2014) — Abercrombie is back with a new epic fantasy, beginning a new Shattered Sea series after six novels in his The First Law series. Here: “A classic coming-of-age tale, set in a brilliantly imagined alternative historical world reminiscent of the Dark Ages with Viking overtones, the book tells the story of Yarvi, youngest son of a warlike king. Born with a crippled hand, he can never live up to his father’s expectations of what a real man should be and his destiny is not the throne but the Ministry, not the sword and shield but the book and the soft word spoken.” Ably narrated by John Keating, Abercrombie’s a bit undone (but only a bit) by the standards he himself helped set: we don’t see quite enough new here to raise our eyebrows ever higher, as Abercrombie managed to do time and time again in his previous books. Still, this book is not meant as those books. Here, as billed, it’s a “coming-of-age” tale, shorter and more direct than his First Law books, with a tenderness of spirit that would not survive first contact with Logen Ninefingers, and while the high praise from GRRM and Rothfuss and other epic fantasy luminaries feels a bit overdone for those looking for Abercrombie’s trademark “gritty” epic fantasy, it’s he, in the end, who’ll have to fulfill the promise of this book’s change of tone in future volumes. Buy: [Downpour | Audible | Kobo | Kindle]

The Outsorcerer's Apprentice | [Tom Holt] Blightborn: The Heartland Trilogy, Book 2 | [Chuck Wendig]

Speaking of a change in tone, let’s turn our sights to comedic fantasy, shall we? This requires not much of a shift for British author Tom Holt (Doughnut and When It’s a Jar) or narrator Ray Sawyer on Holt’s latest novel, The Outsorcerer’s Apprentice (Orbit and Hachette Audio).  “A happy workforce is a productive workforce. At the moment, the Wizard’s employees are neither. The goblins are upset with their working conditions, the dragonslayer has thrown a hissy fit over his medical insurance (or lack thereof) and everyone is upset about the terrible canteen coffee. Yet the Wizard hasn’t got time to worry about revolution in the workplace - he’s about to see his brilliant business plan (based on entrepreneurial flair and involving one or two parallel worlds) disrupted by a clueless young man. Side effects may include a huge hole in the fabric of reality. This is almost certainly going to be a bad day at the office.” Buy: [Audible | Kobo | Kindle]

CornPunk is back! Chuck Wendig’s Under the Empyrean Sky introduced young readers to Cael McAvoy and a dystopian “CornPunk” future. Wendig (and narrator Nick Podehl, also brilliantly of Patrick Rothfuss’ KingKiller Chronicles in the US) are back with Blightborn, book 2 of The Heartland Trilogy (Amazon/Skyscape and Brilliance Audio). “Cael McAvoy is on the run. He’s heading toward the Empyrean to rescue his sister, Merelda, and to find Gwennie before she’s lost to Cael forever. With his pals, Lane and Rigo, Cael journeys across the Heartland to catch a ride into the sky. But with Boyland and others after them, Cael and his friends won’t make it through unchanged. Gwennie’s living the life of a Lottery winner, but it’s not what she expected. Separated from her family, Gwennie makes a bold move - one that catches the attention of the Empyrean and changes the course of an Empyrean man’s life. The crew from Boxelder aren’t the only folks willing to sacrifice everything to see the Empyrean fall. The question is: Can the others be trusted?” Buy: [Audible | Kindle]

Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters | [Larry Correia, Peter Clines, Timothy W. Long, Howard Andrew Jones, Peter Rawlik, James Swallow, C. L. Werner, James Maxey]

Lastly, a monstrous mega-monster anthology: Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters edited by Tim Marquitz and Nick Sharps, with stories by Larry Correia, Peter Clines, Timothy W Long, Howard Andrew Jones, Peter Rawlik, James Swallow, C. L. Werner, James Maxey, Erin Hoffman, Natania Barron, and more. A Kickstarter anthology out in ebook since February, now in audio from Audible. “Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters is a collection of 23 stories focused around the theme of strange creatures in the vein of Pacific Rim, Godzilla, Cloverfield, and more. The anthology opens with a foreword by Jeremy Robinson, author of Project Nemesis, the highest-selling Kaiju novel in the United States since the old Godzilla books - and perhaps even more than those. Then, from New York Times best sellers to indie darlings Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters features authors that are perfectly suited for writing larger-than-life stories, including: Peter Clines, Larry Correia, James Lovegrove, Gini Koch (as J. C. Koch), James Maxey, Jonathan Wood, C. L. Werner, Joshua Reynolds, David Annandale, Jaym Gates, Peter Rawlik, Shane Berryhill, Natania Barron, Paul Genesse & Patrick Tracy, Nathan Black, Mike MacLean, Timothy W. Long, Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam, Kane Gilmour, Peter Stenson, Erin Hoffman, Sean Sherman, Howard Andrew Jones (The Chronicles of Sword and Sand tie-in), Edward M. Erdelac (Dead West tie-in), and James Swallow (Colossal Kaiju Combat tie-in).” A physical MP3-CD edition is due in December from Brilliance Audio. I don’t have a full narrator listing, but it is a multi-narrator audiobook with (at least) the recognizable voice of Peter Ganim (Arthur C. Clarke’s Rendezvous with Rama, Gail Z. Martin’s Chronicles of the Necromancer, H. Beam Piper’s Little Fuzzy). Available at Audible as well as through iTunes, though it’s a much better deal to go Kindle plus Whispersync upgrade, at $5.99+$1.99. Update: Thanks to the fine folks at Audible, I do have a full narrator listing, and it’s a fantastic one also including (among others) Bronson Pinchot, Simon Vance, Jay Snyder, Victor Bevine, Jonathan Davis, Marc Vietor, Jennifer Van Dyck, Scott Aiello, Mark Boyett, Allison Hirohito, Katherine Kellgren, Christian Rummel, Therese Plummer, Ray Porter, Sean Runnette, Jeff Woodman, Dina Pearlman, Suzy Jackson, R.C. Bray, and Susan Duerden. Wow!

ALSO OUT THIS WEEK(S):

The Causal Angel Cold in July | [Joe R. Lansdale]

  • Collection/Anthology: Eastlick and Other Stories By Shannon Page, Chaz Brenchley, Mark J. Ferrari, Jay Lake, Janna Silverstein, Narrated By Paula Hoffman, Jane Dodds, Aaron Abano, Eric Pollins, Michelle Ferguson for Audible (July 9)
  • The Hundred-Year House by Rebecca Makkai (July 10) –”The second novel from Rebecca Makkai (after 2011’s The Borrower) moves back and forth in the 20th century to tell a story of love, ghosts, and intrigue. The house for which The Hundred-Year House is named is Laurelfield, a rambling estate and former artists’ colony in Chicago’s wealthy North Shore. Owned by the Devohr family for generations, it now finds Zee (née Devohr) and her husband returning to live in the carriage house while she teaches at a local college and he supposedly writes a poet’s biography. What he does instead is ghostwrite teen novels and uncover family secrets.” (via The Millions) — Narrated by Jen Tullock for Penguin Audio [Audible | Kobo | Kindle]
  • The Causal Angel by Hannu Rajaniemi (Tor, Jul 15, 2014) — Follow-on to The Quantum Thief and The Fractal Prince, both of which push the envelope of being compelling novels while hitting you with walls of advanced technology, and which were both narrated by Scott Brick. Here, it's new-to-me narrator Roger Wayne for Tantor Audio, as the series gets its third audiobook publisher after Macmillan Audio and Recorded Books. What's next for high-tech thief Jean de Flambeur? “With his infectious love of storytelling in all its forms, his rich characterization and his unrivaled grasp of thrillingly bizarre cutting-edge science, Hannu Rajaniemi swiftly set a new benchmark for SF in the 21st century. Now, with his third novel, he completes the tale of the many lives, and minds, of gentleman rogue Jean de Flambeur.” [Audible | Kobo | Kindle]
  • The Book of Life (All Souls Trilogy, #3) by Deborah Harkness (July 15, 2014) – Narrated By Jennifer Ikeda -- historian and author Harkness concludes her best-selling series which began with A Discovery of Witches [Audible | Kobo | Kindle]
  • The Return of the Discontinued Man: Burton & Swinburne, Book 5 By Mark Hodder, Narrated By Gerard Doyle (Jul 15) -- Burton & Swinburne are back!
  • Mystery: Cold in July By Joe R. Lansdale, Narrated By Brian Hutchison for Recorded Books (Jul 16) -- Lansdale's 1992 novel, now a feature film: "Richard Dane has killed a man. He cannot unhear the firing of the gun or unsee the blood on his living room wall. But everybody in the small town of LaBorde, Texas, knows Dane acted in self-defense. Everybody except Ben Russel, the ex-con father of the small-time criminal who invaded Dane's home. When Russel comes looking for revenge against Dane's family, the two are unexpectedly drawn into a conspiracy that conceals the vilest of crimes."
  • Silver Bullet: The Order of the Air, Book 3 By Melissa Scott, Jo Graham, Narrated By Matt Patterson for Crossroad Press (Jul 22) -- John Lee had narrated the first two books, but Patterson looks to be a confident voice for the latest adventure in this series of early airplanes and the paranormal.
  • Anthology: Tides of Possibility by Mandy Broughton, Erin Kennemer, Haralambi Markov and David Conyers (Jul 22, 2014)
  • Collection: New Frontiers: A Collection of Tales About the Past, the Present, and the Future by Ben Bova (Tor, Jul 22, 2014) read by Stefan Rudnicki, J. Paul Boehmer, Gabrielle de Cuir, and Alex Hyde-White for Blackstone Audio
  • Teen: The Young World by Chris Weitz (Jul 29, 2014) -- Narrated By Spencer Locke, Jose Julian for Hachette Audio -- "The debut novel from Chris Weitz, director of About a Boy, The Golden Compass, and The Twilight Saga: New Moon.  Imagine Lord of the Flies meets Maze Runnermeets Hunger Games meets Logan's Run, and you're getting close. Set in New York City after a plague has killed everybody younger than 12 and older than 18, teens are left to fend for themselves.  This audiobook has everything, including a stellar narration from José Julián and Spencer Locke." [Kobo]
ALSO ALSO OUT THIS WEEK(S):

The Nex | [Tim Pratt] Night & Demons | [David Drake]

SEEN BUT NOT HEARD:

  Jani and the Greater Game

  • Collection: Last Stories and Other Stories by William T. Vollmann (July 10) – “Vollmann has over 30 years and damn near as many books earned a reputation as a wildly prolific novelist. Still, almost a decade has passed since his last full-length work of fiction, the National Book Award-winning Europe Central. Here, he offers what may have started as a suite of ghost stories… but is now another sprawling atlas of Vollmann’s obsessions. Stories of violence, romance, and cultural collision are held together by supernatural elements and by Vollmann’s psychedelically sui generis prose.” (via The Millions)
  • Full Fathom Five by Max Gladstone (Tor, Jul 15, 2014) — the third in Gladstone’s fantastic secondary world fantasy The Craft Sequence series after Three Parts Dead and Two Serpents Rise; a sample is available at Tor.com as well as a very positive review from Liz Bourke. I loved the first book in this series: a fantasy legal thriller? Well, it was something like that, with a badass heroine to boot. Gladstone continues to dot around his deeply fascinating and original world of gods and magical contracts. [Kobo]
  • Invisible Beasts by Sharona Muir (Bellevue Literary, Jul 15, 2014) -- "Fantasy novel, the author’s first novel, subtitled “Tales of the Animals that Go Unseen Among Us”, about an amateur naturalist who compiles a bestiary of the invisible, sentient creatures she can perceive." (via Locus Online) [Kobo]
  • Seeders: A Novel by A. J. Colucci (Thomas Dunne, Jul 15, 2014) -- "George Brookes is a brilliant but reclusive plant biologist living on a remote Canadian island.  After his mysterious death, the heirs to his estate arrive on the island, including his daughter Isabelle, her teenage children, and Jules Beecher, a friend and pioneer in plant neurobiology. They will be isolated on the frigid island for two weeks, until the next supply boat arrives."
  • The House of Small Shadows by Adam Nevill (St. Martin's, Jul 15, 2014) -- first US edition, published last year in the UK
  • Trial by Fire (Caine Riordan Book 2) by Charles E. Gannon (Baen, Jul 15, 2014) -- paperback is coming August 5 for this follow-on to Nebula-nominated Fire with Fire
  • Circle of Reign by Jacob Cooper (July 15) — book one of the Dying Lands Chronicle
  • Anthology: The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Thirty-first Annual Collection edited by Gardner Dozois (St. Martin's Griffin, Jul 15)
  • Anthology: The Children of Old Leech edited by Ross E. Lockhart and Justin Steele (Word Horde, Jul 15) -- "A Tribute to the Carnivorous Cosmos of Laird Barron. There are Things – terrifying Things – whispered of in darkened forests beyond the safe comfort of firelight: The Black Guide, the Broken Ouroboros, the Pageant, Belphegor, Old Leech… These Things have always been here. They predate you. They will outlast you. This book pays tribute to those Things. For We are the Children of Old Leech… and we love you." With stories from: Gemma Files, Jesse Bullington, Michael Cisco, Molly Tanzer, Paul Tremblay, Stephen Graham Jones, John Langan, and others
  • Ardent Ascension (Rise Of The Ardent Book 2) by Bridget Ladd (Jul 18) -- second book after The Lotus Effect which is available in audio read wonderfully by Elizabeth Klett; here: "Enter into a world of hidden cities, airships, monstrous creatures, and love. Can Lily save a world of people whom she’s never known to exist?"
  • Graphic Novel: The Shadow Hero by Gene Luen Yang and Sonny Liew (Jul 15, 2014)
  • Binary Cycle by WJ Davies (Jul 20, 2014) -- sf novel originally published in three installments, the first of which, Disruption, is available in audio from Podium Publishing 
  • Extraction by Stephanie Diaz (St. Martin's Griffin, Jul 22, 2014) -- "Clementine has spent her whole life preparing for her 16th birthday when she'll be tested for Extraction, in the hopes of being sent from Kiel's toxic Surface to the much safer Core, where people live without fear or starvation."
  • One-Eyed Jack by Elizabeth Bear (Prime Books, Jul 22, 2014) -- "Fantasy novel, a new volume in the author’s “Promethean Age” series, about a battle between archetypical spirits of Las Vegas and Los Angeles." (via Locus Online)
  • Valor (The Faithful and the Fallen) by John Gwynne (Orbit, Jul 22, 2014) -- book one, Malice, was read by John Keating for Recorded Books
  • Doghouse by L.A. Kornetsky (Pocket Books, Jul 22) — latest “Gin and Tonic” mystery series with elements of light fantasy (a dog and cat help with investigations)
  • Rings of Anubis by E. Catherine Tobler (Masque Books, Jul 22) -- a Folley and Mallory Adventure
  • The Stolen: An American Faerie Tale by Bishop O'Connell (Harper Voyager Impulse, Jul 22, 2014) -- via Scalzi's Big Idea
  • Anthology: The Robot Chronicles by Hugh Howey, Matthew Mather, Samuel Peralta and David Adams (Jul 23, 2014) -- "Robots. Androids. Artificial Intelligence. Scientists predict that the "singularity" -- the moment when mankind designs the first greater-than-human intelligence -- is nearly within our grasp. Believe it or not, truly sentient machines may be a reality within as little as 20 years. Will these "post-human" intelligences be our friends? Our servants? Our rivals? What will we learn from them? What will they learn from us? Will we allow them to lead their own lives? Will they have basic human rights? Will we?"
  • Anthology: Irregularity edited by Jared Shurin (Jurassic London, Jul 24) -- "Using the Longitude Act as the jumping off point, Irregularity is inspired by the great thinkers of the Age of Reason - those courageous men and women who set out to map, chart, name and classify the world around them. The great minds who brought order and discipline to the universe. Except where they didn't." [Kobo]
  • Liminal: A Novella by Natasha Alvarez (Black and Green Press, Jul 25) -- "a story about an environmental activist turned mother and lover. Having seen what civilization has done to our world, she has committed to drastic action. Told through letters, journal entries and photos, liminal is a walk through one year of her life. The joys, the sorrows, and the ultimate, and heart breaking decision that will change everything." -- reviewed very positively by Margaret Killjoy
  • Anthology: The Girl at the End of the World, Volume 2 edited by Adele Wearing (Fox Spirit Books, July 25) -- via Cheryl Morgan who has a story in the anthology: "[P]aperback copies of The Girl at the End of the World, Vol 2, containing my story, “The Dragon’s Maw”, are now available from Amazon UK. They should spread to the US soon, and ebook editions will follow shortly. With any luck they’ll also be available at Nine Worlds, Worldcon and Eurocon."
  • Collection: Soft Apocalypses by Lucy A. Snyder (Raw Dog Screaming Press, Jul 25, 2014)
  • Stroad's Cross by Allen Wold (Ogden House, Jul 27, 2014) -- "When Michelle Sexton had inherited her grandfather’s property, she thought it was a just farmhouse and a few acres. But when she and her sister went to see it, they discovered an entire village, abandoned since 1939. The houses were fully furnished, as if everybody had just run off one day. The only things to show the passage of time were the overgrown trees, and the decades of dust which showed no footprints, even Michelle's."
  • Summoned Chaos by Joshua Roots (Carina Press, Jul 28, 2014) -- follow-on to Undead Chaos
  • Tigerman by Nick Harkaway (July 29) — US release, published in the UK on May 22 by William Heinemann and (read by Matt Bates for) Whole Story Audio — “Lester Ferris, sergeant of the British Army, is a good man in need of a rest. He’s spent a lot of his life being shot at, and Afghanistan was the last stop on his road to exhaustion. He has no family, he’s nearly forty and burned out and about to be retired. The island of Mancreu is the ideal place for Lester to serve out his time. It’s a former British colony in legal limbo, soon to be destroyed because of its very special version of toxic pollution – a down-at-heel, mildly larcenous backwater. Of course, that also makes Mancreu perfect for shady business, hence the Black Fleet of illicit ships lurking in the bay: listening stations, offshore hospitals, money laundering operations, drug factories and deniable torture centres. None of which should be a problem, because Lester’s brief is to sit tight and turn a blind eye.” — an extract is available at Pornokitsch and Harkaway's Big Idea for the novel was just up at Scalzi's Whatever blog; this will be coming to US audio from Recorded Books with a scheduled release date of Nov 15 (though the digital audio may show up any time, really) [Kobo]
  • The Buried Life by Patel, Carrie (Angry Robot, Jul 29, 2014)
  • Jani and the Greater Game by Eric Brown (Solaris, Jul 29, 2014) — “It’s 1910 and the British rule the subcontinent with an iron fist – and with strange technology fueled by a power source known as Annapurnite – discovered in the foothills of Mount Annapurna. But they rule at the constant cost of their enemies, mainly the Russian and the Chinese, attempting to learn the secret of this technology… This political confrontation is known as The Greater Game. Into this conflict is pitched eighteen year old Janisha Chaterjee who discovers a strange device which leads her into the foothills of the Himalayas. When Russians spies and the evil priest Durja Das find out about the device, the chase is on to apprehend Janisha before she can reach the Himalayas. There she will learn the secret behind Annapurnite, and what she learns will change the destiny of the world for ever. Jani and The Greater Game is the first book in a rip-roaring, spice-laden, steampunk action adventure series set in an exotic India and featuring a feisty heroine who subverts all the norms.” [Kobo]
  • One Night in Sixes (Children of the Drought) by Arianne ‘Tex’ Thompson (Solaris, Jul 29, 2014)
  • Path of Smoke (A Novel of the Parallel Parks) by Bailey Cunningham (Ace, Jul 29, 2014) -- "Fantasy novel, second in a series following Pile of Bones, about a park in Regina that turns into a magical native hunting ground after midnight." (via Locus Online)
  • Hardship (Theirs Not to Reason Why) by Jean Johnson (Ace, Jul 29, 2014) -- "Military SF novel, fourth of a series following A Soldier’s Duty (2011), An Officer’s Duty (2012), and Hellfire (2013), about a precog who enlists in the Terran United Planets military." (via Locus Online)
  • Cast in Flame by Michelle Sagara (Harlequin MIRA, July 29) -- coming from Tantor on August 12
  • Graphic novel: The Graveyard Book Graphic Novel: Volume 1 by Neil Gaiman and P. Craig Russell (HarperCollins, Jul 29, 2014)
COMING SOON:

the-magicians-land-cover Frostborn

  • Reaper's Gale: Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 7 By Steven Erikson, Narrated By Michael Page for Brilliance Audio (Jul 30)
  • Masks: The Masks of Aygrima, Book 1 By E. C. Blake, Narrated By Elizabeth Morton for Recorded Books (Jul 30)
  • Indie: Poe: The Darkness Within: The Man Who Was Edgar Allan Poe, Book 1 By Nathaniel Burns, Narrated By Charles Kahlenberg (Jul 30)
  • Skin of the Wolf by Sam Cabot (Blue Rider Press, Jul 31, 2014) — “Months after Father Thomas Kelly, art historian Livia Pietro, and scholar Spencer George found themselves racing through Rome in a desperate effort to locate and preserve an incalculably valuable docu-ment, the three are about to be reunited in New York City. Thomas, still trying to assimilate what he learned—that vam¬pires exist, and that Livia and Spencer are among them—is looking forward to seeing Livia again. Livia is excited to be allowed into the back room of Sotheby’s for an exclusive viewing of an ancient Iroquois mask. And Spencer’s in love. But before the three can meet, Spencer is badly injured when he’s inexplicably attacked in Central Park—by a wolf.”
  • The Seventh Miss Hatfield by Anna Caltabiano (Gollancz, July 31) — debut novel from 17-year-old author Caltabiano which ”follows Rebecca, a young American unhappy with her life.  When her mysterious neighbour Miss Hatfield invites her in, Rebecca isn’t entirely sure why she says yes. A short while later, Rebecca becomes immersed in her neighbour’s peculiar world – not only does she discover that Miss Hatfield is immortal, but that she has century-spanning plans, which will soon involve Rebecca.”
  • Smiler's Fair by Rebecca Levene (July 31) -- Book 1 of The Hollow Gods -- "Yron the moon god died, but now he’s reborn in the false king’s son. His human father wanted to kill him, but his mother sacrificed her life to save him. He’ll return one day to claim his birthright. He’ll change your life. He’ll change everything." (via BuzzFeed)
  • Bound (Alex Caine, Book 1) by Alan Baxter (HarperVoyager Australia, July 2014) — first in a trilogy of “modern grim dark fantasy thrillers”
  • Anthology: Upgraded edited by Neil Clarke (Wyrm Publishing, July 2014) — “An anthology of original cyborg stories edited by a cyborg. Stronger. Better. Faster. We will rebuild you.”
  • Collection: The Court of Lies by Mark Teppo (Fairwood Press, July 2014)
  • Thriller: Dear Daughter By Elizabeth Little, Narrated By Bonnie Dennison (Jul 31)
  • Inamorata By Megan Chance, Narrated By David deVries for Brilliance Audio (Aug 1)
  • Clan and Crown: Janissaries, Book 2 By Jerry Pournelle, Roland Green, Narrated By Keith Szarabajka (Aug 1)
  • Induced Coma by Harold Jaffe (Anti-Oediupus Press, Aug 1) — a “docufiction” novel
  • Thriller: The Empty Quarter By David L. Robbins, Narrated By Luke Daniels for Brilliance Audio (Aug 1)
  • Thriller: Rain Girl By Gabi Kreslehner, Lee Chadeayne (translator), Narrated By Laural Merlington for Brilliance Audio (Aug 1)
  • Atlantis: Jack Howard Series, Book 1 By David Gibbins, Narrated By James Langton (Aug 4)
  • The Magician’s Land by Lev Grossman (Viking Adult, August 5, 2014) — book three after The Magicians and The Magician King – “The stunning conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Magicians trilogy. Quentin Coldwater has been cast out of Fillory, the secret magical land of his childhood dreams. With nothing left to lose he returns to where his story began, the Brakebills Preparatory College of Magic. But he can’t hide from his past, and it’s not long before it comes looking for him. Along with Plum, a brilliant young undergraduate with a dark secret of her own, Quentin sets out on a crooked path through a magical demimonde of gray magic and desperate characters. But all roads lead back to Fillory, and his new life takes him to old haunts, like Antarctica, and to buried secrets and old friends he thought were lost forever. He uncovers the key to a sorcery masterwork, a spell that could create magical utopia, a new Fillory—but casting it will set in motion a chain of events that will bring Earth and Fillory crashing together. To save them he will have to risk sacrificing everything. The Magician’s Land is an intricate thriller, a fantastical epic, and an epic of love and redemption that brings the Magicians trilogy to a magnificent conclusion, confirming it as one of the great achievements in modern fantasy. It’s the story of a boy becoming a man, an apprentice becoming a master, and a broken land finally becoming whole.” -- recently reviewed quite positively in the NY Times
  • The Ghost in the Electric Blue Suit by Joyce, Graham (Doubleday and Dreamscape Media, Aug 5, 2014) — “David, a college student, takes a summer job at a run-down family resort in a dying English resort town. This is against the wishes of his family…because it was at this resort where David’s biological father disappeared fifteen years earlier. But something undeniable has called David there.”
  • Broken Souls by Stephen Blackmoore (DAW, Aug 5)
  • Assail: A Novel of the Malazan Empire by Ian C. Esslemont (Aug 5, 2014)
  • Whiskey Tango Foxtrot by David Shafer (Mulholland Books and Hachette Audio, August 5) — “William Gibson meets Chuck Palahniuk in an ambitious novel of international techno conspiracy and dark comedy. The Committee, an international cabal of techno-industrialists and media barons, is on the verge of privatizing all information. Dear Diary, an idealistic online Underground, stands in the way of that takeover, using radical politics, classic spycraft, and technology that makes Big Data look like dial-up. Into this pitched and secret battle tumbles an unlikely trio: Leila Majnoun, a disenchanted non-profiteer; Leo Crane, a bipolar trustafarian; and Mark Devreaux, a wracked and fraudulent self-betterment guru.” Says Lev Grossman: "And there’s a book coming out called Whiskey Tango Foxtrot by David Shafer. It’s his first book and comes out the same day as my book (The Magician’s Land). Don’t buy his, buy mine. But you might catch his paperback because it’s unbelievably brilliant."
  • Revenant by Kat Richardson (August 5) — “The ninth installment of Richardson’s Greywalker saga, featuring private investigator Harper Blaine, should be a blockbuster of a novel. I absolutely loved this series, which blends hardboiled mystery with supernatural fiction and is comparable to the work of classic writers including Raymond Chandler and Algernon Blackwood. With the conclusion of this series looming, I’m curious to see where Richardson takes her iconic protagonist.” (via Paul Goat Allen’s “The Most Anticipated Sci-fi and Fantasy Releases of 2014″ for Barnes & Noble)
  • The Widow’s House (The Dagger and the Coin) by Abraham, Daniel (Aug 5, 2014)
  • The House of the Four Winds (Dragon Prophecy) by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory (Aug 5, 2014) -- Narrated By Emily Sutton-Smith for Brilliance Audio
  • ADDED: Dust and Light: Sanctuary, Book 1 By Carol Berg, Narrated By Macleod Andrews (Aug 5)
  • The Great Abraham Lincoln Pocket Watch Conspiracy: A Novel by Jacopo della Quercia (St. Martin’s Griffin, Aug 5, 2014)
  • Dark Lightning by John Varley (Ace, Aug 5) — “On a voyage to New Earth, the starship Rolling Thunder is powered by an energy no one understands, except for its eccentric inventor Jubal Broussard. Like many of the ship’s inhabitants, Jubal rests in a state of suspended animation for years at a time, asleep yet never aging.”
  • Fish Tails: A Novel by Sheri S. Tepper (Harper Voyager, Aug 5, 2014)
  • Lair of Dreams: A Diviners Novel by Bray, Libba (Aug 5, 2014)
  • Ordermaster: Saga of Recluce, Book 13 By L.E. Modesitt Jr., Narrated By Kirby Heyborne (Aug 5)
  • Islands of Rage and Hope (Black Tide Rising) by John Ringo (Baen, Aug 5, 2014) -- Narrated By Tristan Morris
  • Kids: Frostborn (Thrones & Bones #1) by Lou Anders (Random House Children’s Books, August 5, 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.” — narrated by Fabio Tassone for Listening Library — a prologue plus two chapter sampler are online, as is a positive review from Kirkus in which we learn of an important message: “always stand downwind from a troll”
  • ADDED: Severed Souls: Sword of Truth, Book 14 By Terry Goodkind, Narrated By Sam Tsoutsouvas for Brilliance Audio (Aug 5)
  • Alien Hunter: Underworld: Flynn Carroll, Book 2 By Whitley Strieber, Narrated By Christian Rummel (Aug 5)
  • The Guild of Assassins by Anna Kashina (Angry Robot, Aug 5) — sequel to Blades of the Old Empire
  • The Spirit and the Skull by J.M. Hayes (Aug 5) -- "Murder is unthinkable to The People—a Paleolithic tribe migrating across Alaska and becoming some of the first undocumented immigrants to enter the Americas. For them, murder isn’t merely tragic, it’s forbidden. Murder poisons the entire tribe and puts it at odds with nature, the Spirits, and the mighty Earth Mother. A murderer must be found and removed in order to put the world back in balance." (via BuzzFeed)
  • The Wandering Dragon by Irene Bradford (Aug 5)
  • Teen: Opposition (A Lux Novel) by Jennifer L. Armentrout (Aug 5, 2014)
  • The Crystal World By J. G. Ballard (1966), Narrated By Sean Barrett for Audible (Aug 7)
  • Head Full of Mountains by Brent Hayward (ChiZine, August 8, 2014) — “When Crospinal’s ailing father dies, he is left utterly alone in the pen, surrounded by encroaching darkness. The machines that tended to him as a child have long ago vanished, and the apparitions that kept Crospinal company are now silenced. Struggling with his congenital issues, outfitted in a threadbare uniform, he has little choice but to leave what was once his home, soon discovering that nothing in the outside world is how he had been told it would be. In his quest for meaning and understanding, and the contact of another, Crospinal learns truths about himself, about his father, and about the last bastion of humanity, trapped with him at the end of time.”
  • Inhuman: Post-Human Series, Book 5 By David Simpson, Narrated By Ray Chase (Aug 8)
  • Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and his Years of Pilgrimage: A novel by Haruki Murakami and translated by Philip Gabriel (Knopf, Aug 12, 2014) — Published in Japan last year: “Tsukuru Tazaki’s life was irreparably changed when his relationships with his high school best friends became severed during Tsukuru’s college days. Now at 35, Tsukuru’s girlfriend Sara suggested to Tsukuru to go and talk to these high school friends in person to mend the relationships, and to discover the real reason behind the friends’ decision to reject Tsukuru. Tsukuru visited his friends in Nagoya and Finland one by one, and uncovers the real reason as to why their relations were broken off.”
  • Radiance by Catherynne M. Valente (Tor, Aug 12, 2014)
  • Cursed Moon (Prospero’s War) by Jaye Wells (Orbit, Aug 12, 2014)
  • Soda Pop Soldier: A Novel by Nick Cole (Harper Voyager, Aug 12, 2014) — “Call of Duty meets Diablo in this fast-paced, action-packed novel from the author of The Wasteland Saga.”
  • The Atlantis World: The Origin Mystery, Book 3 By A.G. Riddle, Narrated By Stephen Bel Davies (Aug 12)
  • Fortune’s Favors (Nyx Fortuna) by Marlene Perez (Orbit, Aug 12, 2014)
  • The Ultra Thin Man by Patrick Swenson (Tor, Aug 12) — “In the twenty-second century, a future in which mortaline wire controls the weather on the settled planets and entire refugee camps drowse in drug-induced slumber, no one—alive or dead, human or alien—is quite what they seem. When terrorists manage to crash Coral, the moon, into its home planet of Ribon, forcing evacuation, it’s up to Dave Crowell and Alan Brindos, contract detectives for the Network Intelligence Organization, to solve a case of interplanetary consequences. Crowell’ and Brindos’s investigation plunges them neck-deep into a conspiracy much more dangerous than anything they could have imagined.”
  • ADDED: Season of the Dragonflies: A Novel By Sarah Creech, Narrated By Kate Turnbull for Harper (Aug 12) -- "For generations, the Lenore women have manufactured a fragrance unlike any other. Hidden in the quiet rolling hills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, their perfumery guards unique and mysterious ingredients. A secret known only to a select clientele of movie stars, politicians, artists, and CEOs, the Lenores' signature elixir is the key to success for the world's most powerful women. Capturing the essence of sisterhood with the sweetness of flowers, Season of the Dragonflies is a beguiling tale of practical magic, old secrets, and new love."
  • Fool’s Assassin by Robin Hobb (Aug 12, 2014)
  • The Dystopia Chronicles: Atopia Chronicles, Book 2 By Matthew Mather, Narrated By Nick Podehl for Brilliance Audio (Aug 12)
  • Hellhole Inferno By Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, Narrated by Scott Brick (Aug 12)
  • ADDED: The Magic Half by Annie Barrows, read by Cris Dukeheart for Dreamscape Audio (Aug 12) -- "Miri is the non-twin child in a family with two sets of them - older brothers and younger sisters. The family has just moved to an old farmhouse in a new town, where the only good thing seems to be Miri's ten-sided attic bedroom. But when Miri gets sent to her room after accidentally bashing her big brother on the head with a shovel, she finds herself in the same room...only not quite. Without meaning to, she has found a way to travel back in time to 1935 where she discovers Molly, a girl her own age very much in need of a loving family."
  • ADDED: The Incorruptibles by John Hornor Jacobs (Gollancz, Aug 14, 2014) -- latest novel from the author of Southern Gods, This Dark Earth, and The Twelve-Fingered Boy -- "In the contested and unexplored territories at the edge of the Empire, a boat is making its laborious way up stream. Riding along the banks are the mercenaries hired to protect it - from raiders, bandits and, most of all, the stretchers, elf-like natives who kill any intruders into their territory. The mercenaries know this is dangerous, deadly work. But it is what they do. In the boat the drunk governor of the territories and his sons and daughters make merry. They believe that their status makes them untouchable. They are wrong. And with them is a mysterious, beautiful young woman, who is the key to peace between warring nations and survival for the Empire. When a callow mercenary saves the life of the Governor on an ill-fated hunting party, the two groups are thrown together. For Fisk and Shoe - two tough, honourable mercenaries surrounded by corruption, who know they can always and only rely on each other - their young companion appears to be playing with fire."
  • Fiction: Your Face in Mine: A Novel by Jess Row (Riverhead, Aug 14) — “An award-winning writer delivers a poignant and provocative novel of identity, race and the search for belonging in the age of globalization.”
  • We Are All Completely Fine by Daryl Gregory (Tachyon, Aug 15) — “Harrison is the Monster Detective, a storybook hero. Now he’s in his mid-thirties and spends most of his time not sleeping. Stan became a minor celebrity after being partially eaten by cannibals. Barbara is haunted by the messages carved upon her bones. Greta may or may not be a mass-murdering arsonist. And for some reason, Martin never takes off his sunglasses.  Unsurprisingly, no one believes their horrific tales until they are sought out by psychotherapist Dr. Jan Sayer. What happens when these likely-insane outcasts join a support group? Together they must discover which monsters they face are within and which are lurking in plain sight.”
  • We Will All Go Down Together by Gemma Files (ChiZine, Aug 15) — “A mosaic novel whose characters are gifted and semi-monstrous people linked by shared blood and a violent common history, a Five-Family Coven whose 500-year-long vendetta with each other is finally coming to a head. It’s Alice Munro meets Clive Barker, with a cast that includes body-stealing witches, time-travelling changelings, monster-killing nuns and evil angels.”
  • ADDED: Mindbender: Sovereign of the Seven Isles, Book 3 By David A. Wells, Narrated By Derek Perkins for Podium (Aug 15)
  • Fire Logic by Laurie J. Marks (Small Beer Press, Aug 18) -- "The martial Sainnites have occupied Shaftal for fifteen years. Every year the cost of resistance rises. Emil, an officer and scholar; Zanja, a diplomat and last survivor of her people; and Karis, a metalsmith, half-blood giant, and an addict, can only watch as their country falls into lawlessness and famine. Together, perhaps they can change the course of history." (via BuzzFeed)
  • The Godless by Ben Peek (Thomas Dunne, August 19, 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.”
  • Year’s Best Weird Fiction Volume 1 edited by Laird Barron (ChiZine, Aug 19, 2014) — inaugural edition of a new, rotating-editor year’s best anthology for Weird fiction, with authors (among others) including Jeff VanderMeer, Jeffrey Ford, Sofia Samatar, Joseph S. Pulver Sr, John Langan, Richard Gavin, and W. H. Pugmir.
  • The Ripper Affair by Lilith Saintcrow (Orbit, Aug 19) -- Narrated By Moira Quirk
  • Visions: A Cainsville Novel by Armstrong, Kelley (Aug 19, 2014) -- Narrated By Carine Montbertrand, Mozhan Marno for Penguin Audio
  • The Scorched Earth by Drew Karpyshyn (Del Rey, Aug 19, 2014) — sequel to 2013 novel Children of Fire
  • Brief Space Between Color and Shade By Cristovão Tezza, Alan R. Clarke (translator), Narrated By Nick Podehl, Laural Merlington for Brilliance Audio (Aug 19)
  • Once Dead: A Ripper/Rho Agenda Novel, Book 1 By Richard Phillips, Narrated By MacLeod Andrews for Brilliance Audio (Aug 19)
  • ADDED: Thriller: One Kick: Kick Lannigan, Book 1 By Chelsea Cain (Simon & Schuster, Aug 19) -- “Kick Lannigan survived being kidnapped as a child. Now, at twenty-one, determined never to be a victim again, she has reinvented herself. Martial arts and weapons handling are just a few of the skills she has learned over the years. Kick catches the attention of John Bishop, a mystery man with access to unlimited funds, and together they go after a cabal of child pornographers. A read-in-one-sitting, edge-of-your-seat thriller.” (via the August 2014 LibraryReads List)
  • Short: The Witch of Duva and The Too-Clever Fox By Leigh Bardugo, Narrated By Lauren Fortgang (Aug 19)
  • Echopraxia by Peter Watts (Tor Books and Dreamscape Media, August 26, 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 Broken Eye (Lightbringer #3) by Brent Weeks (Orbit, August 26, 2014)
  • Lock In by John Scalzi (Tor, Aug 26, 2014) — “Fifteen years from now, a new virus sweeps the globe. 95% of those afflicted experience nothing worse than fever and headaches. Four percent suffer acute meningitis, creating the largest medical crisis in history. And one percent find themselves “locked in”—fully awake and aware, but unable to move or respond to stimulus. One per cent doesn’t seem like a lot. But in the United States, that’s 1.7 million people “locked in”…including the President’s wife and daughter.” — via Scalzi’s Whatever blog, Tor.com will be excerpting the first five chapters starting with Chapter 1 here; a starred review from Publishers Weekly says: “Hugo-winner Scalzi (Redshirts) successfully shifts away from space opera with this smart, thoughtful near-future thriller resonant with the themes of freedom, ethics, and corporate greed… This powerful novel will intrigue and entertain both fans and newcomers.” -- coming in two audio editions, one read by Wil Wheaton and the other by Amber Benson; there's a special pre-order deal for pre-ordering either edition which gives you the other edition (through Aug 22)
  • The Mirror Empire (Worldbreaker Saga, Book 1) by Kameron Hurley (Angry Robot and Audible, Aug 26, 2014) — “On the eve of a recurring catastrophic event known to extinguish nations and reshape continents, a troubled orphan evades death and slavery to uncover her own bloody past… while a world goes to war with itself.” Per Hurley's recent FAQ there is an Audible edition forthcoming!
  • The Bullet-Catcher’s Daughter by Rod Duncan (Angry Robot, Aug 26) — book one of a new duology — “Elizabeth Barnabus lives a double life – as herself and as her brother, the private detective. She is trying to solve the mystery of a disappearing aristocrat and a hoard of arcane machines. In her way stand the rogues, freaks and self-proclaimed alchemists of a travelling circus.”
  • The Getaway God (Sandman Slim) by Richard Kadrey (Aug 26, 2014) – Narrated By MacLeod Andrews
  • The Hot Zone: A Rainshadow Novel, Book 3 By Jayne Castle, Narrated By Barbara Rosenblat for Recorded Books (Aug 26)
  • Voices from Beyond (A Ghost Finders Novel) by Simon R. Green (Ace, August 26) — “In a quiet London suburb, four university students participating in an experiment inside a reputed haunted house hold a séance that goes terribly wrong. What—or who—ever they summoned has taken their minds away, leaving them empty shells. Enter the Ghost Finders, ready to confront an enraged poltergeist for the students’ very souls.”
  • Greenglass House by Milford, Kate and Zollars, Jaime (Aug 26, 2014)
  • World of Fire by James Lovegrove (Solaris, Aug 26, 2014)
  • Short: I Will Hold My Death Close: The Zombie Bible By Stant Litore, Narrated By Amy McFadden for Brilliance Audio (Aug 26)
  • Anthology: Solaris Rising 3: The New Solaris Book of Science Fiction by Aliette de Bodard, Adam Roberts, Ken Liu and Ian Whates (Solaris, Aug 26, 2014)
  • Teen: The Rule of Thoughts (Mortality Doctrine, Book Two) (The Mortality Doctrine) by James Dashner (Aug 26, 2014)
  • Kids: Frank Einstein and the Antimatter Motor: 1 by Jon Scieszka and Brian Biggs (Aug 26, 2014
  • Kids: Gabriel Finley and the Raven’s Riddle by George Hagen and Scott Bakal (Aug 26, 2014)
  • The Fire Prince (The Cursed Kingdoms Trilogy) by Emily Gee (Solaris, Aug 27) — “The long awaited and much anticipated sequel to 2011′s The Sentinel Mage. The Fire Prince continues the saga of Prince Harkeld, Innis the shapeshifter and the imperiled Seven Kingdoms.”
  • All That Outer Space Allows (The Apollo Quartet, Book 4) by Ian Sales (Whippleshield, August 2014) — “I plan to have copies available for Loncon 3 in August, but we’ll see how the research and writing goes. I suspect it may be the hardest of the four to write – and Then Will The Great Ocean Wash Deep Above was no picnic… Meanwhile, I have a bunch of other projects on the go.”
  • Anthology: Burnt Tongues edited by Chuck Palahniuk, Richard Thomas, and Dennis Widmyer (Medallion Press, August 2014) — “This collection of transgressive short stories will be out in August. Cover art by Jay Shaw. With an introduction by Chuck Palaniuk. Stories by Neil Krolicki, Chris Lewis Carter, Gayle Towell, Tony Liebhard, Michael De Vito, Jr., Tyler Jones, Phil Jourdan, Richard Lemmer, Amanda Gowin, Matt Egan, Fred Venturini, Brandon Tietz, Adam Skorupskas, Bryan Howie, Brien Piechos, Jason M. Fylan, Terence James Eeles, Keith Buie, Gus Moreno, and Daniel W. Broallt.”
  • Anthology: A Mountain Walked edited by S.T. Joshi (Centipede Press, August 2014) — “an oversize anthology with almost 700 pages. S.T. Joshi has selected the best of the reprinted Cthulhu Mythos stories and combined them with over a dozen new works written just for this anthology. This book has over 25 stories, including new stories by Joseph S. Pulver, Sr., Donald Tyson, Cody Goodfellow, Caitlín R. Kiernan, Jonathan Thomas, Laird Barron, Michael Shea, Patrick McGrath, Mark Samuels, Gemma Files, and others. The book also has new artwork by David Ho, John Kenn Mortensen, Drazen Kozjan, Denis Tiani, and Thomas Ott.”
  • Collection: Blood Spatters Quicky by Edward D. Wood, Jr. (OR Books, August 2014) — “Wood died in 1978, but the legacy of the director of “Plan 9 from Outer Space,” “Glen or Glenda,” “Jail Bait” and so many other beloved screen classics has only grown in importance. Wood speaks—not least for himself—as one of America’s “outsiders” caught up in the struggle to find acceptance inside—and never more directly than in the material in this book.”
  • Say Anything But Your Prayers by Alan M. Clark (Lazy Fascist Press, August 2014)
SEPTEMBER 2014:

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  • Acceptance: A Novel (The Southern Reach Trilogy) by Jeff VanderMeer (Sep 1, 2014)
  • City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett (Crown/Broadway and Recorded Books, September 9, 2014) — “a second-world story of spies, subterfuge, and statesmanship set in a nation of dead gods.” — latest IndieBound and Amazon listings -- Narrated By Alma Cuervo
  • Consumed: A Novel by David Cronenberg (Sep 2, 2014) — debut novel from the acclaimed filmmaker: “the story of two journalists whose entanglement in a French philosopher’s death becomes a surreal journey into global conspiracy.”
  • Sleeping Late On Judgement Day: A Bobby Dollar Novel by Tad Williams (DAW Hardcover, September 2) — “Where does an angel go when he’s been to Hell and back? Renegade angel Bobby Dollar does not have an easy afterlife. After surviving the myriad gruesome dangers Hell oh-so-kindly offered him, Bobby has returned empty-handed – his demon girlfriend Casmira, the Countess of Cold Hands, is still in the clutches of Eligor, Grand Duke of Hell. Some hell of a rescue. Forced to admit his failure, Bobby ends up back at his job as an angel advocate. That is, until Walter, an old angel friend whom Bobby never thought he’d see again, shows up at the local bar. The last time he saw Walter was in Hell, when Walter had tried to warn him about one of Bobby’s angel superiors. But now Walter can’t remember anything, and Bobby doesn’t know whom to trust.” I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the first two Bobby Dollar books (The Dirty Streets of Heaven and Happy Hour in Hell) and am looking forward to finally finding out what the hell is going on among the big powers.
  • Grudgebearer (THE GRUDGEBEARER TRILOGY) by J.F. Lewis (Pyr, Sep 2, 2014) — “Kholster is the first born of the practically immortal Aern, a race created by the Eldrennai as warrior-slaves to defend them from the magic-resistant reptilian Zaur.  Unable to break an oath without breaking their connection with each other, the Aern served the Eldrennai faithfully for thousands of years until the Sundering. Now, the Aern, Vael, and Eldrennai meet every hundred years for a Grand Conjunction to renew their tenuous peace.”
  • Shifting Shadows: Stories from the World of Mercy Thompson by Briggs, Patricia (Sep 2, 2014) (via Suvudu)
  • The Midnight Queen by Sylvia Izzo Hunter (Ace Trade and Audible Studios, September 2) — “Gray’s deep talent for magick has won him a place at Merlin College. But when he accompanies four fellow students on a mysterious midnight errand that ends in disaster and death, he is sent away in disgrace—and without a trace of his power. He must spend the summer under the watchful eye of his domineering professor, Appius Callender, working in the gardens of Callender’s country estate and hoping to recover his abilities. And it is there, toiling away on a summer afternoon, that he meets the professor’s daughter.” -- Narrated By Julian Elfer
  • Spells at the Crossroads by Barbara Ashford (DAW, September 2)
  • A New Dawn: Star Wars By John Jackson Miller, Narrated By Marc Thompson (Sep 2)
  • Non-Fiction: What If? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions by Randall Monroe, read by Wil Wheaton (Blackstone Audio, Sep 2) — “From the creator of the wildly popular webcomic xkcd comes this hilarious and informative book of answers to important questions you probably never thought to ask.”
  • The Golden Princess: A Novel of the Change (Change Series) by S.M. Stirling (Roc Hardcover, September 2) — “A new generation faces its own challenges in the world the Change has made. Princess Orlaith, heir to Rudi Mackenzie, Artos the First, High King of Montival, now wields the Sword of the Lady—and faces a new enemy. Fortunately, she also has a new ally in Reiko, Empress of Japan, who has been pursued to America by a conquering army from Asia.”
  • Maplecroft: The Borden Dispatches by Cherie Priest (Roc Trade, Sep 2) — “Lizzie Borden took an axe and gave her mother forty whacks; and when she saw what she had done, she gave her father forty-one…. The people of Fall River, Massachusetts, fear me. Perhaps rightfully so. I remain a suspect in the brutal deaths of my father and his second wife despite the verdict of innocence at my trial. With our inheritance, my sister, Emma, and I have taken up residence in Maplecroft, a mansion near the sea and far from gossip and scrutiny. But it is not far enough from the affliction that possessed my parents. Their characters, their very souls, were consumed from within by something that left malevolent entities in their place. It originates from the ocean’s depths, plaguing the populace with tides of nightmares and madness.” -- narrated by Johanna Parker and Roger Wayne for Tantor Audio
  • Twelve Kings in Sharakhai (The Song of the Shattered Sands) by Bradley Beaulieu (Sep 2, 2014)
  • The Savior (The General) by Tony Daniel and David Drake (Baen, Sep 2) — “Sequel to The Heretic, Book 10 in the nationally best-selling General series.”
  • Outrider: A Novel by Steven John (Night Shade, Sep 2) — “The only people that can stop the high-tech terrorists who are stealing power are on horseback.”
  • Age of Iron (Iron Age) by Angus Watson (Orbit, Sep 2)
  • Collection: Stories of the Raksura, Book 1 By Martha Wells, Narrated By Christopher Kipiniak (Sep 2)
  • Teen: Heir of Fire: Throne of Glass, Book 3 By Sarah J. Maas, Narrated By Elizabeth Evans (Sep 2)
  • Fiction: The Mathematician’s Shiva: A Novel by Stuart Rojstaczer (Penguin, Sep 2, 2014) — “Alexander “Sasha” Karnokovitch and his family would like to mourn the passing of his mother, Rachela, with modesty and dignity. But Rachela, a famous Polish émigré mathematician and professor at the University of Wisconsin, is rumored to have solved the million-dollar, Navier-Stokes Millennium Prize problem. Rumor also has it that she spitefully took the solution to her grave. To Sasha’s chagrin, a ragtag group of socially challenged mathematicians arrives in Madison and crashes the shiva, vowing to do whatever it takes to find the solution–even if it means prying up the floorboards for Rachela’s notes.”
  • Thriller: Seven Wonders by Ben Mezrich (Running Press, Sep 2, 2014) — via Scalzi’s Books and ARCs roundup
  • Anthology: Zombies: More Recent Dead by Mike Carey, Paula Guran, Jay Wilburn and Neil Gaiman (Prime Books, Sep 3, 2014)
  • ADDED: Reapers: Breakers, Book 4 By Edward W. Robertson, Narrated By Ray Chase (Sep 5)
  • The Bone Clocks: A Novel by Mitchell, David (Random House, Sep 9, 2014) — the author of Cloud Atlas sets his sights on the near, post-oil future with a “metaphysical thriller” unveiled as an interactive graphic in The Guardian
  • Fiction: The Family Hightower: A Novel by Brian Francis Slattery (Seven Stories Press, Sep 9, 2014) — “a Ukrainian-American Godfather” from the author of Spaceman Blues, Liberation, and the Philip K. Dick Award winning Lost Everything
  • Collection: After the People Lights Have Gone Off by Stephen Graham Jones (Dark House Press, Sep 9, 2014)
  • Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (Knopf and Random House Audio, Sep 9) — “Station Eleven is Millionsstaff writer Emily St. John Mandel’s fourth novel, and if pre-publication buzz is any indication, it’s her best, most ambitious work yet. Post-apocalyptic tales are all the rage this season, but Mandel’s intricate plotting and deftness with drawing character makes this novel of interlinked tales stand out as a beguiling read. Beginning with the onslaught of the deadly Georgian flu and the death of a famous actor onstage, and advancing twenty years into the future to a traveling troupe of Shakespearean actors who perform for the few remaining survivors, the novel sits with darkness while searching for the beauty in art and human connection.” (via The Millions) -- Narrated By Kirsten Potter
  • YA anthology: Monstrous Affections: An Anthology of Beastly Tales by Various, Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant (Candlewick, Sep 9, 2014) — reviewed positively by Kirkus
  • Collection: Lovely, Dark, Deep by Joyce Carol Oates (Sep 9, 2014)
  • Sword of the Bright Lady (WORLD OF PRIME) by M.C. Planck (Pyr, Sep 9, 2014) — “Christopher Sinclair goes out for a walk on a mild Arizona evening and never comes back. He stumbles into a freezing winter under an impossible night sky, where magic is real — but bought at a terrible price.”
  • The Witch with No Name (Hollows) by Kim Harrison (Sep 9, 2014) -- Narrated By Marguerite Gavin
  • Teen: The Caller (Shadowfell) by Juliet Mariller (Knopf Books for Young Readers, Sep 9) — “In the final book in this gripping, romantic fantasy trilogy perfect for fans of Robin McKinley, Kristin Cashore, and Shannon Hale, Neryn’s band of rebels reach their climactic confrontation with the king. The stunning conclusion to the story that began with Shadowfell and Raven Flight is full of romance, intrigue, magic, and adventure.”
  • Exo (Jumper) by Steven Gould (Tor, Sep 9) -- Narrated By Emily Rankin
  • Hieroglyph: Stories and Blueprints for a Better Future by Neal Stephenson (William Morrow, September 9) — in reference to Stephenson’s “Hieroglyph” challenge/project, to inspire tech and science research with grand sf stories -- Narrated By Danny Campbell, Cassandra Campbell
  • Yesterday’s Kin by Nancy Kress (Tachyon, Sep 15) — “Aliens have landed in New York. A deadly cloud of spores has already infected and killed the inhabitants of two worlds. Now that plague is heading for Earth, and threatens humans and aliens alike. Can either species be trusted to find the cure?”
  • Broken Monsters by Beukes, Lauren (Mulholland, Sep 16, 2014) — “A criminal mastermind creates violent tableaus in abandoned Detroit warehouses in Lauren Beukes’s new genre-bending novel of suspense. Detective Gabriella Versado has seen a lot of bodies. But this one is unique even by Detroit’s standards: half boy, half deer, somehow fused together. As stranger and more disturbing bodies are discovered, how can the city hold on to a reality that is already tearing at its seams?”
  • Wolf in White Van: A Novel by John Darnielle (FSG, Sep 16, 2014) — “Welcome to Trace Italian, a game of strategy and survival! You may now make your first move. Isolated by a disfiguring injury since the age of seventeen, Sean Phillips crafts imaginary worlds for strangers to play in. From his small apartment in southern California, he orchestrates fantastic adventures where possibilities, both dark and bright, open in the boundaries between the real and the imagined. As the creator of “Trace Italian”—a text-based, role-playing game played through the mail—Sean guides players from around the world through his intricately imagined terrain, which they navigate and explore, turn by turn, seeking sanctuary in a ravaged, savage future America.”
  • Ancestral Machines: A Humanity’s Fire novel by Michael Cobley (Sep 16, 2014)
  • Anthology: Phantasm Japan: Fantasies Light and Dark, From and About Japan edited by Nick Mamatas (Haikasoru, Sep 16, 2014) — another original trade paperback anthology edited by Mamatas for VIZ Media’s Haikasoru sf/f prose imprint after 2012′s well-received The Future is Japanese
  • The Clockwork Dagger: A Novel by Beth Cato (Harper Voyager, Sep 16, 2014) — “Orphaned as a child, Octavia Leander was doomed to grow up on the streets until Miss Percival saved her and taught her to become a medician. Gifted with incredible powers, the young healer is about to embark on her first mission, visiting suffering cities in the far reaches of the war-scarred realm. But the airship on which she is traveling is plagued by a series of strange and disturbing occurrences, including murder, and Octavia herself is threatened.”
  • Gideon Smith and the Brass Dragon by David Barnett (Tor, Sep 16)
  • The Infinite Sea: The Second Book of the 5th Wave by Rick Yancey (Sep 16, 2014)
  • Collection: Stone Mattress: Nine Tales by Margaret Atwood (Nan. A. Talese, Sep 16) — “Some fans will remember well the titular story in Atwood’s forthcoming collection, which was published in the New Yorker in December of 2011, and which begins, in Atwood’s typical-wonderful droll fashion: “At the outset, Verna had not intended to kill anyone.” With this collection, according to the jacket copy, “Margaret Atwood ventures into the shadowland earlier explored by fabulists and concoctors of dark yarns such as Robert Louis Stevenson, Daphne du Maurier and Arthur Conan Doyle…” If you aren’t planning to read this book, it means you like boring stuff.” (via The Millions)
  • Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld (Sep 23, 2014) — “Scott Westerfeld, the author of the extremely popular Uglies and Leviathan series, has a new novel novel coming out on Sept. 23. Afterworlds is a suspenseful thriller about a young writer, Darcy Patel, who arrives in New York City with a contract to write a YA novel. There’s a meta element: Darcy’s novel-within-the-novel, also called Afterworlds— about a girl who delves into a realm between the living and the dead to hide out during a terrorist attack — is woven into Darcy’s narrative as she learns to navigate life in the city.”
  • Rooms by Lauren Oliver (Ecco, Sep 23) — adult debut from best-selling YA author, in the vein of The Ocean at the End of the Lane
  • The Bodies We Wear by Jeyn Roberts (Knopf Books for Young Readers, Sep 23) — “People say when you take Heam, your body momentarily dies and you catch a glimpse of heaven. Faye was only eleven when dealers forced Heam on her and her best friend, Christian. But Faye didn’t glimpse heaven—she saw hell. And Christian died. ”
  • The Seventh Sigil by Margaret Weis and Robert Krammes (Tor and Dreamscape Media, Sep 23)
  • ADDED: Gordon R. Dickson's Dragon Knight series, narrated by Paul Boehmer: The Dragon and the George, The Dragon Knight, The Dragon on the Border, The Dragon, the Earl, and the Troll, The Dragon and the Djinn, The Dragon and the Gnarly King, and The Dragon in Lyonesse as well as The Dragon and the Fair Maid of Kent (Sep 23)
  • ADDED: Cut Off: Breakers, Book 5 By Edward W. Robertson, Narrated By Ray Chase (Sep 26)
  • The Wonder of All Things by Mott, Jason (Harlequin MIRA, Sep 30, 2014) — the author of The Returned returns with a new novel about the cost and power of living with miracles: “On an ordinary day, at an air show like that in any small town across the country, a plane crashes into a crowd of spectators, killing and injuring dozens. But when the dust clears, a thirteen-year-old girl named Ava is found huddled beneath a pocket of rubble with her best friend, Wash. He is injured and bleeding, and when Ava places her hands over him, his wounds miraculously disappear.”
  • A Sudden Light: A Novel By Garth Stein (Simon & Schuster Audio, Sep 30) -- "When a boy tries to save his parents’ marriage, he uncovers a legacy of family secrets in a coming-of-age ghost story by the author of the internationally best-selling phenomenon The Art of Racing in the Rain."
  • Company Town by Madeline Ashby (Angry Robot, Sep 30)
  • The Waterborne Blade by Susan Murray (Angry Robot, Sep 30)
  • The Brothers Cabal (Johannes Cabal Novels) by Jonathan L. Howard (Sep 30, 2014)
  • Fiction collection: The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher: Stories by Hilary Mantel (Henry Holt, Sep 30) — “Just this month, Mantel was made a dame; the reigning queen of British fiction, she’s won two of the last five Man Booker Prizes. But Mantel’s ascension to superstardom was long in the making: she is at work on her twelfth novel in a career that’s spanned four decades. This fall sees the publication of her second collection of short stories, set several centuries on from the novels that earned her those Bookers. Her British publisher, Nicholas Pearson, said, ‘Where her last two novels explore how modern England was forged,The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher shows us the country we have become. These stories are Mantel at her observant best.’” (via The Millions)
  • The Winter Long (October Daye, #8) by Seanan McGuire (September 2014)
  • Mortal Beauty (Immortal Game, #1) by Ann Aguirre (September 2014)
  • Kids: The Eighth Continent by Matt London (Razorbill, September 2014) — via PW Book Deals: “Debut novelist Matt London sold his middle-grade series, the 8th Continent, to Gillian Levinson at Razorbill. Agent Sara Crowe at Harvey Klinger handled the three-book, world-rights deal for the author. Razorbill said the humorous series was pitched as “Despicable Me meets Where in the World Is Carmen San Diego?”; it follows a brother and sister trying to turn the Great Pacific Garbage Patch into “a utopic eighth continent.””
  • Elysium by Jennifer Marie Brissett (Aqueduct Press, September 2014) — “A computer program etched into the atmosphere has a story to tell. It’s the story of two people … of a city lost to chaos … of survival and love … but the data has been corrupted.”
  • Collection: Bitter Waters by Chaz Brenchley (Lethe Press, Autumn 2014) — with an introduction by Geoff Ryman
  • Anthology: War Stories edited by Jaym Gates and Andrew Liptak (Apex Books, September/October 2014) — initially funded by Kickstarter, an original anthology of military sf with stories from (among others) Joe Haldeman, Ken Liu, Linda Nagata, Maurice Broaddus, Jay Posey, Yoon Ha Lee, T.C. McCarthy, and Karin Lowachee [full table of contents]
OCTOBER 2014:

Armada 

  • Fiction: A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James (Riverhead, Oct 2) — “Marlon James follows his stunning and brutal The Book of Night Women with A Brief History of Seven Killings, which depicts the 1976 assassination attempt on Bob Marley, “spanning decades and continents and peopled with a wide range of characters — assassins, journalists, drug dealers, and even ghosts.” Irvine Welsh calls it ‘an amazing novel of power, corruption and lies. I can’t think of a better one I’ve read this century.’” (via The Millions)
  • Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie (Orbit, October 7) — sequel and book two in the planned trilogy which started with Ancillary Justice
  • Armada by Ernest Cline (October 7) — “Cline wowed the world with Ready Player One in 2011, a brilliant debut that was pure geek gold: a glorious fusion of near future science fiction, epic fantasy quest, and unlikely love story, that above all else is an homage to the 1980s. Millions of readers worldwide have been anxiously awaiting his second novel, which evidently chronicles the adventures of a video game geek named Zack, who is conscripted into a top-secret government program and must save the world from an alien invasion.” (via Paul Goat Allen’s “The Most Anticipated Sci-fi and Fantasy Releases of 2014″ for Barnes & Noble)
  • Falling Sky by Rajan Khanna (Pyr, Oct 7) — “Ben Gold lives in dangerous times. Two generations ago, a virulent disease turned the population of most of North America into little more than beasts called Ferals. Some of those who survived took to the air, scratching out a living on airships and dirigibles soaring over the dangerous ground. Ben has his own airship, a family heirloom, and has signed up to help a group of scientists looking for a cure. But that’s not as easy as it sounds, especially with a power-hungry air city looking to raid any nearby settlements. To make matters worse, his airship, the only home he’s ever known, is stolen. Ben must try to survive on the ground while trying to get his ship back. This brings him to Gastown, a city in the air recently conquered by belligerent and expansionist pirates. When events turn deadly, Ben must decide what really matters–whether to risk it all on a desperate chance for a better future or to truly remain on his own.”
  • An English Ghost Story by Kim Newman (Titan, Oct 7, 2014) — “A dysfunctional British nuclear family seek a new life away from the big city in the sleepy Somerset countryside. At first their new home, The Hollow, seems to embrace them, creating a rare peace and harmony within the family. But when the house turns on them, it seems to know just how to hurt them the most—threatening to destroy them from the inside out.”
  • Nightmare Carnival edited by Ellen Datlow (Dark Horse Books, Oct 7, 2014) — new anthology includes (among others) Nick Mamatas, Nathan Ballingrud, Jeffrey Ford, Genevieve Valentine, Stephen Graham Jones, Robert Shearman, and Laird Barron
  • Scarlet Tides by David Hair (Jo Fletcher, Oct 7, 2014) — US release for this middle book of a trilogy published late last year in the UK — “The Moontide has come, and a scarlet tide of Rondian legions is flooding into the East, slaughtering and pillaging in the name of Emperor Constant. But the Scytale of Corineus, the source of ultimate magical power, has slipped through the emperor’s fingers.”
  • The Shotgun Arcana by R.S. Belcher (Tor, Oct 7)
  • The Chaplain’s War by Brad Torgersen (Baen, October 7, 2014) — debut novel — “A chaplain serving in Earth’s space fleet is trapped behind enemy lines where he struggles for both personal survival and humanity’s future. The mantis cyborgs: insectlike, cruel, and determined to wipe humanity from the face of the galaxy. The Fleet is humanity’s last chance: a multi-world, multi-national task force assembled to hold the line against the aliens’ overwhelming technology and firepower. Enter Harrison Barlow, who like so many young men of wars past, simply wants to serve his people and partake of the grand adventure of military life. Only, Harrison is not a hot pilot, nor a crack shot with a rifle. What good is a Chaplain’s Assistant in the interstellar battles which will decide the fate of all?”
  • The Sword of Michael (Depossessionist) by Marcus Wynne (Baen, Oct 7, 2014)
  • Spark: A Novel by John Twelve Hawks (Doubleday, Oct 7)
  • Broken Soul by Faith Hunter (Oct 7, 2014) — presumably the next Jane Yellowrock book
  • Poison Fruit: Agent of Hel by Jacqueline Carey (Roc Hardcover, Oct 7)
  • Silverblind (Ironskin) by Tina Connolly (Tor, October 7) — the third book in Connolly’s Ironskin series
  • The Dark Defiles by Richard Morgan (Del Rey, Oct 7) — “The final part of Richard Morgan’s fast-moving and brutal fantasy brings Ringil to his final reckoning and sees the world tipping into another war with the dragon folk. And, most terrifying of all, the prophecy of a dark lord come to rule may be coming true very close to home …”
  • Hawk (Vlad) by Steven Brust (Tor, October 7) -- Narrated By Bernard Setaro Clark
  • Closer to Home: Book One of Herald Spy by Mercedes Lackey (October 7)
  • The Young Elites by Marie Lu (Oct 7, 2014)
  • Anthology: Fearsome Magics by K.J. Parker, Scott Lynch, Christopher Priest and Jonathan Strahan (Oct 7, 2014)
  • Collection: Unseaming by Mike Allen (Antimatter Press, Oct. 7, 2014) – with an introduction by Laird Barron: “Mike Allen has put together a first class collection of horror and dark fantasy. Unseaming burns bright as hell among its peers.”
  • Those Above by Daniel Polansky (Hodder & Stoughton, Oct 9, 2014) — “You’ve seen him do crime – low fantasy by way of HBO’s The Wire. You knew it as Low Town, the crime-ridden city where only death is certain. But you’ve never seen him do epic fantasy. Until now. From the acclaimed author of THE STRAIGHT RAZOR CURE comes this spectacular new series – epic fantasy, as only Daniel Polansky can imagine it.”
  • The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin, translated by Ken Liu (Tor Books, October 14, 2014) — the first of an announced trilogy of translated editions of this 400,000-copy-selling Chinese sf series; a Tor.com article in early May provides yet more information
  • Clariel: The Lost Abhorsen by Garth Nix (Oct 14, 2014)
  • Glory O’Brien’s History of the Future by A.S. King (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, Oct 14) — “In this masterpiece about freedom, feminism, and destiny, Printz Honor author A.S. King tells the epic story of a girl coping with devastating loss at long last–a girl who has no idea that the future needs her, and that the present needs her even more.”
  • Collection: The Wilds by Julia Elliott (Tin House, Oct 14, 2014) — “At an obscure South Carolina nursing home, a lost world reemerges as a disabled elderly woman undergoes newfangled brain-restoration procedures and begins to explore her environment with the assistance of strap-on robot legs. At a deluxe medical spa on a nameless Caribbean island, a middle-aged woman hopes to revitalize her fading youth with grotesque rejuvenating therapies that combine cutting-edge medical technologies with holistic approaches and the pseudo-religious dogma of Zen-infused self-help. And in a rinky-dink mill town, an adolescent girl is unexpectedly inspired by the ravings and miraculous levitation of her fundamentalist friend’s weird grandmother. These are only a few of the scenarios readers encounter in Julia Elliott’s debut collection, The Wilds. In these genre-bending stories, teetering between the ridiculous and the sublime, Elliott’s language-driven fiction uses outlandish tropes to capture poignant moments in her humble characters’ lives. Without abandoning the tenets of classic storytelling, Elliott revels in lush lyricism, dark humor, and experimental play.”
  • 300,000,000 by Blake Butler (Harper, Oct 14) — “Blake Butler deploys words like chemicals that merge into phrases, coalescing in alternate existences, with familiar worlds distorted. In Butler’s third novel, There is No Year, a family survives a disease but is still subject to a scourge of infestations and other horrors and mysteries, including a house with secret passageways and the existence of a duplicate “copy family.” Butler began his latest novel, 300,000,000, as a retaliation against the hype surrounding Roberto Bolaño’s 2666. The result? A portrait of American violence, told through the minds of a Manson-like cult figure and the policeman responsible for figuring him out, while tracking a trail of violence and descent into psychosis.” (via The Millions)
  • Fire in the Blood by Erin M. Evans (Wizards of the Coast, Oct 14) — “SCRIBE-award-winning author, Erin M. Evans, continues the riveting tale of her Sundering character, Farideh, as she becomes embroiled in a Forgotten Realms-flavored game of thrones.”
  • Teen: The Doubt Factory by Paolo Bacigalupi (Little Brown Books for Young Readers and Listening Library, Oct 14) — “In this page-turning contemporary thriller, National Book Award Finalist and New York Times bestselling author Paolo Bacigalupi explores the timely issue of how public information is distorted for monetary gain, and how those who exploit it must be stopped.”
  • Teen: Girl on a Wire by Gwenda Bond (Skyscape, Oct 14) — “A ballerina, twirling on a wire high above the crowd. Horses, prancing like salsa dancers. Trapeze artists, flying like somersaulting falcons. And magic crackling through the air. Welcome to the Cirque American!”
  • Teen: Girl at the Bottom of the Sea by Michelle Tea (McSweeney’s McMullen’s, October 14) — “the follow-up to Michelle Tea’s beloved Mermaid in Chelsea Creek, “a refreshing breath of air in the world of YA, equal parts eerie, heartbreaking, and fantastical.””
  • Fiction: McGlue (The Fence Modern Prize in Prose) by Ottessa Moshfegh (Oct 14, 2014) -- "Salem, Massachusetts, 1851: McGlue is in the hold, still too drunk to be sure of name or situation or orientation—he may have killed a man. That man may have been his best friend. Intolerable memory accompanies sobriety. A-sail on the high seas of literary tradition, Ottessa Moshfegh gives us a nasty heartless blackguard on a knife-sharp voyage through the fogs of recollection."
  • The Free by Brian Ruckley (Orbit, Oct 14)
  • Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch (Balzer + Bray, Oct 14, 2014)
  • Graphic Novel: In Real Life by Cory Doctorow and Jen Wang (First Second, Oct 14, 2014) — from the announcement: “a graphic novel about gaming and gold farming for young adults based on Doctorow’s award-winning story Anda’s Game, adapted by Jen Wang, creator of the amazing graphic novel Koko Be Good.”
  • Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography by Neil Patrick Harris (October 14, 2014) — no, an audiobook doesn’t seem to make sense here (though an app maybe…)
  • Red Tide by Larry Niven, Brad Torgersen, and Matthew J. Harrington (Phoenix Pick, Oct 15)
  • Anthology: The Cutting Room: Dark Reflections of the Silver Screen edited by Ellen Datlow (Tachyon, Oct 15)
  • The Death House by Sarah Pinborough (Gollancz, Oct 16, 2014) — “The Death House is a home where, in a world where people are safe against illness, children and teenagers who are susceptible to terminal conditions are sent to die. Their fates are certain. Their lives are in their hands. The question is: what will they choose to do with them?”
  • The Mime Order: The Bone Season (The Remnant Chronicles) by Samantha Shannon (Oct 21, 2014) — sequel to The Bone Season – “Paige Mahoney has escaped the brutal penal colony of Sheol I, but her problems have only just begun: many of the fugitives are still missing and she is the most wanted person in London.”
  • Floating Boy and the Girl Who Couldn’t Fly by Stephen Graham Jones and Paul Tremblay (ChiZine, Oct 21, 2014) — US release, out in Canada in May — “Mary’s life is going fine. Except for being a freshman in high school. And having anxiety attacks. And her dad having no job. So, introduce one boy who can fly, kidnap the little brother she’s supposed to be babysitting, and drop a military quarantine on her town and that should make her anxiety completely disappear, right? Wrong!”
  • The Door in the Mountain by Caitlin Sweet (Oct 21, ChiTeen) — US release, out in Canada in May — “The Greece of The Door in the Mountain (Book 1 of a two-part series) is a place where children are marked by gods and goddesses; a place where a manipulative, bitter princess named Ariadne devises a mountain prison for her hated half-brother, where a boy named Icarus tries, and fails, to fly, and a slave girl changes the paths of all their lives forever.”
  • Bathing the Lion by Jonathan Carroll (St. Martin’s Press, Oct 21, 2014) — “In Jonathan Carroll’s surreal masterpiece, Bathing the Lion, five people who live in the same New England town go to sleep one night and all share the same hyper-realistic dream. Some of these people know each other; some don’t. “
  • Collection: Knife Fight and Other Struggles by David Nickle (ChiZine, Oct 21, 2014)
  • Kids: Centaur Rising by Jane Yolen (Henry Holt, Oct 21, 2014) — “One night during the Perseid meteor shower, Arianne thinks she sees a shooting star land in the fields surrounding her family’s horse farm. About a year later, one of their horses gives birth to a baby centaur. The family has enough attention already as Arianne’s six-year-old brother was born with birth defects caused by an experimental drug—the last thing they need is more scrutiny. But their clients soon start growing suspicious. Just how long is it possible to keep a secret? And what will happen if the world finds out?”
  • War Dogs by Greg Bear (Orbit, October 21) — “AN EPIC INTERSTELLAR TALE OF WAR FROM A MASTER OF SCIENCE FICTION. The Gurus came in peace, bearing gifts. They were a highly advanced, interstellar species who brought amazingly useful and sophisticated technology to the human race. There was, of course, a catch. The Gurus warned of a far more malevolent life form, beings who have hounded the Gurus from sun to sun, planet to planet, across the cosmos. Pundits have taken to calling them the Antagonists-or Antags-and they have already established a beachhead on Mars. For all they’ve done for us, the Gurus would now like our help.”
  • The Abyss Beyond Dreams: Chronicle of the Fallers by Peter F. Hamilton (Del Rey, Oct 21)
  • Ink Mage (Ink Mage series) by Gischler, Victor (Oct 22, 2013)
  • ADDED: A Man Lies Dreaming by Lavie Tidhar (Hodder & Stoughton, 23 Oct 2014) -- "Deep in the heart of history's most infamous concentration camp, a man lies dreaming. His name is Shomer, and before the war he was a pulp fiction author. Now, to escape the brutal reality of life in Auschwitz, Shomer spends his nights imagining another world - a world where a disgraced former dictator now known only as Wolf ekes out a miserable existence as a low-rent PI in London's grimiest streets. An extraordinary story of revenge and redemption, A Man Lies Dreaming is the unforgettable testament to the power of imagination."
  • A Vision of Fire by Gillian Anderson and Jeff Rovin (Simon451, October 2014) — “first in the EarthEnd trilogy” by the X-Files actress and her co-author Rovin
  • The Peripheral by William Gibson (Putnam Adult, October 28) — “William Gibson returns with his first novel since 2010’s New York Times–bestselling Zero History. Where Flynne and her brother, Burton, live, jobs outside the drug business are rare. Fortunately, Burton has his veteran’s benefits, for neural damage he suffered from implants during his time in the USMC’s elite Haptic Recon force. Then one night Burton has to go out, but there’s a job he’s supposed to do—a job Flynne didn’t know he had. Beta-testing part of a new game, he tells her. The job seems to be simple: work a perimeter around the image of a tower building. Little buglike things turn up. He’s supposed to get in their way, edge them back. That’s all there is to it. He’s offering Flynne a good price to take over for him. What she sees, though, isn’t what Burton told her to expect. It might be a game, but it might also be murder.”
  • The Slow Regard of Silent Things: A KingKiller Chronicle Novella by Patrick Rothfuss (DAW Hardcover and Penguin Audio, October 28, 2014) — “set at The University, where the brightest minds work to unravel the mysteries of enlightened sciences, such as artificing and alchemy. Auri, a former student (and a secondary but influential character from Rothfuss’s earlier novels) now lives alone beneath the sprawling campus in a maze of ancient and abandoned passageways. There in The Underthing, she feels her powers and learns to see the truths that science—and her former classmates—have overlooked.”
  • The City Stained Red (Bring Down Heaven) by Sam Sykes (Orbit, Oct 28, 2014) — begins a new series from the author of Tome of the Undergates
  • Fiction: Falling from Horses by Molly Gloss (Oct 28)
  • The Wolf in Winter: A Charlie Parker Thriller by John Connolly (Oct 28, 2014)
  • The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber (Hogarth and Random House Audio, Oct 28) — “Faber’s latest novel – which David Mitchell called his “second masterpiece” after The Crimson Petal and the White – touches on interstellar space travel, cataclysmic events, romantic love, and religious faith. Such broad territory seems befitting for an author claimed simultaneously by the nations of Scotland, Australia, and the Netherlands.” (via The Millions)
  • Talon: The Talon Saga, Book 1 By Julie Kagawa (Oct 28)
  • The World of Ice & Fire: The Untold History of Westeros and the Game of Thrones By George R. R. Martin, Elio Garcia, Linda Antonsson (Oct 28)
  • Teen: Stone Cold Touch (The Dark Elements) by Jennifer L. Armentrout (Oct 28, 2014)
  • The Undying by Ethan Reid (Simon451, October 2014) — a dystopia
  • Chimpanzee by Darin Bradley (Resurrection House, Fall 2014) — “a delightfully weird existential near-fi conspiracy theory romance”
  • Heraclix and Pomp by Forrest Aguirre (Resurrection House, Fall 2014) — “an alternative history fantasy set in the Eastern Europe. It features a golem, a faery, and a mad scientist (well, more of 17th century alchemist/demonologist, but it’s the same trope)”
  • Bad Wizard by James Maxey (Antimatter Press, October 2014) — “Dorothy Gale is a reporter for the Kansas Ear investigating Oscar Zoaraster Diggs, the man she met as a child who called himself the Wizard of Oz. Diggs returned from Oz with a balloon stuffed full of high quality emeralds and promptly became the richest man in Kansas. With his winning smile, a gift for gab, and willingness to throw his wealth around, he soon got himself appointed US senator from Kansas, where he became friends with a go-getter named Teddy Roosevelt. Now that Roosevelt is president, Diggs has become the US Secretary of War. Dorothy has discovered that Diggs is overseeing a top secret project to build a fleet of rigid hulled, steerable balloons designed by some German named Count Zeppelin, ostensibly so Roosevelt can expand his quest to make the world safe for democracy. Dorothy suspects Diggs has a darker agenda for his armed aircraft. But proving to her editor that Diggs is planning to invade an invisible island floating over Kansas presents a few difficulties…”
  • Collection: The Nickronomicon by Nick Mamatas (Inssmouth Free Press, Fall/Winter 2014) — collects all of Mamatas’ Lovecraft-inspired fiction into a single volume, including a new, never-before-published novella, titled “On the Occasion of My Retirement.”
NOVEMBER and DECEMBER 2014:
  • Mermaids in Paradise by Lydia Millet (WW Norton, Nov 3) — “After the high hilarity of her satirical early work, Lydia Millet reached new emotional depths in her last three novels. This new novel, concerning the discovery of mermaids and the ensuing scramble to cash in, looks to achieve a new kind of synthesis.” (via The Millions)
  • Normal: A Novel by Warren Ellis (FSG Originals, Nov 4, 2014) — “A smart, tight, provocative techno-thriller straight out of the very near future—by an iconic visionary writer. Some people call it “abyss gaze.” Gaze into the abyss all day and the abyss will gaze into you.”
  • Lowball: A Wild Cards Novel edited by George R.R. Martin (Tor, Nov 4) — the 22nd Wild Cards book! with: “The Big Bleed” by Michael Cassutt; “Those About to Die” by David Anthony Durham; “Galahad in Blue” by Melinda M. Snodgrass; “Ties That Bind” by Mary Anne Mohanraj; “Cry Wolf” by David D. Levine; “Road Kill” by Walter Jon Williams; “Once More, for Old Time’s Sake” by Carrie Vaughn; “No Parking…” by Ian Tregillis
  • Willful Child by Steven Erikson (Tor, Nov 4, 2014) — “From the New York Times Bestselling author Steven Erikson comes a new SF novel of devil-may-care, near calamitous and downright chaotic adventures through the infinite vastness of interstellar space. These are the voyages of the starship A.S.F. Willful Child. Its ongoing mission: to seek out strange new worlds on which to plant the Terran flag, to subjugate and if necessary obliterate new life-forms, to boldly blow the… And so we join the not-terribly-bright but exceedingly cock-sure Captain Hadrian Sawback and his motley crew on board the Starship Willful Child for a series of devil-may-care, near-calamitous and downright chaotic adventures through ‘the infinite vastness of interstellar space.’”
  • The Future Falls: Book Three of the Enchantment Emporium by Tanya Huff (Nov 4, 2014)
  • Genesis Code: A Thriller of the Near Future by Jamie Metzl (Arcade Publishing, Nov 4) — “Blue Magic, the latest designer drug linked to a rash of overdoses, might explain the needle mark on the arm of a young woman found dead in her apartment in Kansas City. But when Star reporter Rich Azadian digs deeper, the clues tie her to a much bigger story: MaryLee Stock was a special protégée of evangelical megastar and powerbroker Cobalt Becker, who is poised to deliver his followers and the presidency to a firebrand rightwing senator in the next election. What makes the story hot is she may have been pregnant by Becker. More disturbing, the embryo may have been—illegally—genetically enhanced to produce a superbaby. But in America in 2023—bankrupt, violently divided by the culture wars, and beholden to archrival China—the rules of the game are complicated, and when the Department of National Competitiveness shuts down Azadian’s investigation and he learns that Chinese agents were also interested in the dead woman, he can only do what he does best: go rogue, assemble a team of brilliant misfits like himself, and investigate.”
  • Jala’s Mask by Mike and Rachel Grinti (Pyr, Nov 4)
  • Dreamer’s Pool: A Blackthorn & Grim Novel by Juliet Mariller (Nov 4)
  • Anthology: Shattered Shields edited by Jennifer Brozek and Bryan Thomas Schmidt (Baen, Nov 4) — a military fantasy anthology with headliners Glen Cook (Black Company), Larry Correia, John Marco, Elizabeth Moon (new Paksenarrion), David Farland (new Runelords), Catherine Asaro, Sarah A. Hoyt, Robin Wayne Bailey.
  • Revival: A Novel by King, Stephen (Scribner, Nov 11, 2014) — “A dark and electrifying novel about addiction, fanaticism, and what might exist on the other side of life.”
  • A Dance of Ghosts (Shadowdance) by David Dalglish (Orbit, Nov 11, 2014)
  • Chaos Unleashed by Drew Karpyshyn (Del Rey, Nov 11)
  • The End of Days by Jenny Erpenbeck (New Directions, Nov 11) — “One of the most significant German-language novelists of her generation, Erpenbeck follows up the celebrated novel Visitation with a heady conceit located somewhere between Cloud Atlas and Groundhog Day. The End of Days follows a single character, born early in the 20th Century, to five different deaths: the first as an infant, the second as a teenager, and so on. In each case, her life illuminates the broader history of Europe, which remains ever in the background, dying its own deaths.” (via The Millions)
  • Black Gum Godless Heathen by J David Osborne (Broken River Books, November 15, 2014) — sequel to Low Down Death Right Easy
  • The Mechanical (The Alchemy Wars) by Ian Tregillis (Orbit, Nov 18, 2014)
  • Symbiont (Parasitology) by Mira Grant (Orbit, Nov 25, 2014)
  • The Whispering Swarm: Book One of The Sanctuary of the White Friars by Michael Moorcock (Tor, Nov 25)
  • The Thorn of Emberlain (Gentleman Bastard #4) by Scott Lynch (November 2014)
  • City of Eternal Night (Crescent City) by Kristen Painter (Orbit, Dec 2, 2014)
  • Vacant: A Mindspace Investigations Novel by Alex Hughes (Roc, Dec 2, 2014)
  • The Beating of His Wings by Paul Hoffman (Dec 2, 2014) — US release for the final installment of Hoffman’s The Left Hand of God trilogy
  • Anthology: Carbide Tipped Pens edited by Ben Bova and Eric Choi (Tor, December 2, 2014) — a an original hard sf anthology with stories from Gregory Benford, Nancy Fulda, Aliette de Bodard, Liu Cixin (translated by Ken Liu), Daniel H. Wilson, and more
  • Skylight by José Saramago (HMH, Dec 2) — “This is Saramago’s so-called “lost work,” which was written in the 1950s, but rediscovered after the Nobel laureate’s death in 2010. The novel features the interconnected stories of the residents of an apartment building in Lisbon in the 1940s.” (via The Millions)
  • The Lady (Marakand) by K.V. Johansen (Pyr, Dec 9)
  • The Jupiter Pirates #2: Curse of the Iris by Jason Fry (Dec 16, 2014)
  • The Cendrillon Cycle by Stephanie Ricker (Dec 21, 2014) — “I’m extremely pleased to announce that if you enjoy the world of A Cinder’s Tale, you’ll have the chance to explore that universe further in The Cendrillon Cycle, a series of novellas recounting the past and future adventures of Elsa, Karl, Bruno, and the rest of the cinder crew.”
  • Anthology: The End is Now: The Apocalypse Triptych #2 edited by John Joseph Adams and Hugh Howey (December 2014) — via io9
  • Jazz Age Cthulhu by Jennifer Brozek, A.D. Cahill, and Darin Grey (Innsmouth Free Press, 2014)
UNDATED or 2015:

The Galaxy Game Take An Exclusive Peek At The Most Anticipated Scifi Imprint In Years

  • The Galaxy Game by Karen Lord (Del Rey, Jan 6, 2015) — a follow-on to 2013′s The Best of All Possible Worlds: “For years, Rafi Delarua saw his family suffer under his father’s unethical use of psionic power. Now the government has Rafi under close watch, but, hating their crude attempts to analyse his brain, he escapes to the planet Punartam, where his abilities are the norm, not the exception. Punartam is also the centre for his favourite sport, wallrunning – and thanks to his best friend, he has found a way to train with the elite. But Rafi soon realises he’s playing quite a different game, for the galaxy is changing; unrest is spreading and the Zhinuvian cartels are plotting, making the stars a far more dangerous place to aim. There may yet be one solution – involving interstellar travel, galactic power and the love of a beautiful game.”
  • Firefight (The Reckoners) by Brandon Sanderson (Tor, Jan 6, 2015) — follow-on to best-selling Steelheart
  • Spell-Blind (Casebooks of Justis Fearsson) by David B. Coe (Baen, Jan 6, 2015)
  • Get in Trouble: Stories by Kelly Link (Random House, Jan 13, 2015)
  • The Dagger’s Path by Glenda Larke (Orbit, Jan 13, 2015) — sequel to The Lascar’s Dagger
  • Golden Son: Book II of the Red Rising Trilogy by Pierce Brown (Jan 13, 2015)
  • Fiction: Binary Star by Sarah Gerard (Two Dollar Radio, Jan 13) — “Sara Gerard’s star is rising. The NYC-based bookseller slash art-mag-employee slash writer drew attention last fall with “Things I Told My Mother,” an essayistic inquiry into women’s representation in society, spawned by a topless walk the author took through Times Square. This kind of intensity and boldness guide all of Gerard’s work — whether concerning other writers, or her own bout with anorexia, addiction, and a stint jumping freight trains, and now in her first novel Binary Star. Binary Star interweaves astronomical research with a story about an unnamed anorexic who burns through her intensely dysfunctional life like a star burns fuel, never to be replenished.” (via The Millions)
  • Glow by Ned Beauman (Knopf, Jan 20) — “Beauman’s previous novels, The Boxer Beetle and The Teleportation Accident — the one a fanciful look at eugenics and fascism, the other a genre-bending wonder about an avant-garde set designer in 1930s Berlin — each displayed a learned, diabolical imagination at work. His latest appears just as unhinged. Enrolled in a “continuous amateur neurochemistry seminar” and suffering from a sleep disorder, its hero experiments with the designer drug, “glow,” which opens up a gateway into a Pynchonian universe: a disappeared friend, pirate radio stations, and a nefarious Burmese mining company.” (via The Millions)
  • Teen: Fairest by Melissa Meyer (Macmillan, Jan 27) — a prequel to Cinderin her The Lunar Chronicles series
  • Teen: A Cold Legacy by Megan Shepherd (Balzer+Bray/HarperCollins, January 27, 2015) – the final book in the Madman’s Daughter series
  • Anthology: Sisters of the Revolution: A Feminist Speculative Fiction Anthology by Ann VanderMeer and Jeff VanderMeer (PM Press, Feb 1, 2015)
  • City of Savages by Lee Kelly (Simon & Schuster/SAGA, Feb 3, 2015)
  • Cities & Thrones by Carrie Patel (Feb 5, 2015) — follow-up to The Buried Life
  • The Thousand and One: Book II of The Crescent Moon Kingdoms by Saladin Ahmed (February 2015)
  • The Autumn Republic by Brian McClellan (Orbit, Feb 10, 2015)
  • Find Me by Laura van den Berg (FSG, Feb 17) — “Laura van den Berg’s fictions often unfurl just beyond the real, with their madcap mix of zany and dreamlike set-ups. Case in point, van den Berg’s recent story collection, The Isle of Youth, was peopled by yacht thieves, a mother-daughter magician team, and newlyweds who survive a plane crash. Her first novel, Find Me, continues this surreal, at times catastrophic streak, as it follows Joy, a grocery clerk, cough-syrup addict who’s immune to an ongoing plague of memory illness. Joy’s resulting hospital stay and cross-country journey plotline sounds like a surreal mash-up of Stephen King’s The Stand and Grace Krilanovich’s The Orange Eats Creeps.”
  • Anthology: Old Venus by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois (Mar 3, 2015)
  • Persona by Genevieve Valentine (Simon & Schuster/SAGA, 3/10/15) — “When Suyana, Face of the United Amazonia Rainforest Confederation, secretly meets Ethan of the United States for a date that can solidify a relationship for the struggling UARC, the last thing she expects is an assassination attempt. Daniel, a teen runaway-turned-paparazzi out for his big break, witnesses the first shot hit Suyana, and before he can think about it, he jumps into the fray, telling himself it’s not altruism, it’s the scoop. Just like that, Suyana and Daniel are now in the game of Faces. And if they lose, they’ll die.”
  • Clash of Eagles by Alan Smale (Del Rey, Mar 17, 2015) — “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.”
  •  The Darkside War by Zachary Brown (Simon & Schuster/SAGA, 3/17/15) — “People used to wonder if we were alone in the universe. Well, we’re not. Not by a long shot. Aliens come in all shapes and sizes, and even the good guys are likely to haunt your nightmares. And oh, you’ll have nightmares, even after you leave the service. If you leave the service.”
  • The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu (Simon & Schuster/SAGA, 4/7/15) — “Wily, charming Kuni Garu, a bandit, and stern, fearless Mata Zyndu, the son of a deposed duke, seem like polar opposites. Yet, in the uprising against the emperor, the two quickly become the best of friends after a series of adventures fighting against vast conscripted armies, silk-draped airships, soaring battle kites, conspiring goddesses, underwater boats, magical books, as a streetfighter-cum-general who takes her place as the greatest tactitian of the age. Once the emperor has been overthrown, however, they each find themselves the leader of separate factions—two sides with very different ideas about how the world should be run and the meaning of justice.”
  • Disciple of the Wind by Steve Bein (April 2015) — concluding book in a trilogy (Daughter of the Sword and Year of the Demon)
  • Anthology: Exigencies edited by Richard Thomas (Dark House Press, 2015) — a 22-story original neo-noir fiction anthology
  • The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth) by Jemisin, N. K. (Orbit, 2015) — “This is the way the world ends. Again.”
  • 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
  • Tsarina by J. Nelle Patrick (2014)
  • Love in the Time of Mechanical Replication by Judd Trichter (St. Martins? Thomas Dunne? 2014?)
  • Ebon (Pegasus, #2) by Robin McKinley (2014?)
  • The Doors of Stone (Kingkiller Chronicle #3) by Patrick Rothfuss (DAW, 2014?)
  • Shadows of Self (Mistborn, #5) by Brandon Sanderson (Tor, 2014?)
  • Edge of Eternity (The Century Trilogy #3) by Ken Follett (2014?)
  • The Winds of Winter (A Song of Ice and Fire, #6) by George R.R. Martin (2015?)
  • 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
  • Anthology: Wastelands 2: More Stories of the Apocalypse edited by John Joseph Adams (Titan Books, February 2015) – “Edited by acclaimed anthologist John Joseph Adams, WASTELANDS 2: MORE STORIES OF THE APOCALYPSE is the star-studded follow-up to the 2008 bestselling anthology Wastelands.”
  • The Philosopher’s Zombie by Robert J. Sawyer (April 2015)
  • Anthology: The End has Come: The Apocalypse Triptych #3 edited by John Joseph Adams and Hugh Howey (June 2015) — via io9
  • John Claude Bemis is set to launch a new Steampunk/alchemist series for young readers, to be published by Disney/Hyperion starting in 2015
  • The Skull Throne (Demon Cycle, #4) by Peter V. Brett (2015?)
  • The Scarlet Gospels by Clive Barker (St. Martin’s Press, 2015) — “Originally planned as a collection of short stories, the project changed to focus on Harry D’Amour going up against Pinhead. The novel has been in works for more than a decade and we’ll be able to read it in 2015, courtesy of St. Martin’s Press: ‘Clive is delighted to announce that St Martin’s Press has acquired world English rights to publish The Scarlet Gospels, his upcoming novel featuring Pinhead and Harry D’Amour. St Martin’s anticipates a winter 2015 publication date.’”
  • The City of Mirrors (The Passage, #3) by Justin Cronin
  • The Uninvited by Cat Winters (William Morrow) — via PW Book Deals: “Lucia Macro at HarperCollins’s William Morrow imprint acquired world English rights to Cat Winters’s novel, The Uninvited. The book, which Morrow compares to The Night Circus and The Thirteenth Tale, is a paranormal work set during the influenza pandemic of 1918. Winters, who was represented by Barbara Poelle at the Irene Goodman Literary Agency, was a finalist for the YALSA’s 2014 Morris Award, for her novel In the Shadow of Blackbirds.”
  • How to Invent a Language by David Peterson (Penguin) — via PW Book Deals: “For Penguin Press, Elda Rotor took world rights to David Peterson’s How to Invent a Language. Peterson has created languages for shows like HBO’s Game of Thrones and Syfy’s Defiance, and the book will be a guide for anyone looking to craft a new tongue. Agent Joanna Volpe at New Leaf Literary & Media represented Peterson.”
  • Teen: The Burning Depths by James P. Smythe (Hodder, February 2015) — “Centuries ago, the Australia left a dying Earth in search of an inhabitable planet its colonists could call home. But no such planet was ever discovered. Law and order gave way to rioting and chaos as gangs began battling for control of the ship and its dwindling resources, and the Australia was left to drift, directionless, through the emptiness of space. Seventeen-year-old Chan, fiercely independent and self-sufficient, keeps her head down and lives quietly, careful not to draw attention to herself amidst the violence and disorder. Until the day she makes an extraordinary discovery – a way to return the Australia to Earth. But doing so would bring her to the attention of the fanatics and the murderers who control life aboard the ship, putting her and everyone she loves in terrible danger. And a safe return to Earth is by no means certain.”
  • Anthology: The Doll Collection edited by Ellen Datlow (Tor, March 2015) — all-original dark tales including: “Heroes and Villains” by Stephen Gallagher; “The Doll-Master” by Joyce Carol Oates; “Gaze” by Gemma Files; “In Case of Zebras” by Pat Cadigan; “Miss Sibyl-Cassandra” by Lucy Sussex; “Skin and Bone” by Tim Lebbon; “There Is No Place for Sorrow in the Kingdom of the Cold” by Seanan McGuire; “Goodness and Kindness” by Carrie Vaughn; “Daniel’s Theory of Dolls” by Stephen Graham Jones; “After and Back Before” by Miranda Siemienowicz; “Doctor Faustus” by Mary Robinette Kowal; “Doll Court” by Richard Bowes; “Visit Lovely Cornwall on the Western Railway Line” by Genevieve Valentine; “Ambitious Boys Like You” by Richard Kadrey; “The Permanent Collection” by Veronica Schanoes; “Homemade Monsters” by John Langan; “Word Doll” by Jeffrey Ford
  • Shower of Stones by Zachary Jernigan (Night Shade Books, Spring 2015) — “Conclusion to the visceral, inventive narrative begun in No Return, ‘the most daring debut novel of 2013,’ Shower of Stones pits men against gods, swords against world-destroying magic, offering readers another glimpse into the fascinatingly harsh world of Jeroun.”
  • King of Ashes: Book One of The War of Five Crowns by Raymond E. Feist (April 7, 2015)
  • Of Noble Family by Mary Robinette Kowal (Tor, Apr 28, 2015) — coming simultaneously in audio from Audible, read by the author
  • The Unnoticeables by Robert Brockway (Tor, July 2015) — “Tor said the books are “hilarious urban fantasy novels” set in a world that pulls from New York’s punk scene in the 1970s as well as the modern-day Los Angeles entertainment industry.” (via PW)
  • Truthwitch by Susan Dennard (Tor, Fall 2015) — “The series is set in a world where three empires rule and every member of the population is born with a magical skill set, known as a “witchery.” Tor elaborated: “Now, as the Twenty Year Truce in a centuries-long war is about to end, the balance of power will fall on the shoulders of two young women, who must accept their fate, and themselves, to survive.”” (via PW)
  • Anthology: Neverland's Shadow edited by Shawn Speakman and Roger Bellini (Grim Oak Press, 2015) -- from the editor/publisher of Unfettered comes an original short fiction anthology focusing on the antagonist, with contributors including Ken Liu, Ann Aguire, R. Scott Bakker, Mark Lawrence, Tanith Lee, Scott Lynch, and Michael J. Sullivan (among others)
  • The Lost Level by Brian Keene (Apex Books, 2015)
  • Fake Fruit Factory by Patrick Wensink (Curbside Splendor, Fall 2015) -- "Thrilled to announce that we'll publish best-selling author Patrick Wensink's next novel FAKE FRUIT FACTORY in Fall 2015. Part screwball comedy, part sociological autopsy of small town America, and part love story FAKE FRUIT FACTORY is like Karen Russell by way of E.L. Doctorow."
  • The War Against Assholes by Sam Munson (Simon & Schuster / Saga Press, 2015?) — “set in a Manhattan “shrouded in mystery” and follows a 17-year-old Catholic high school student who begins to acquire supernatural powers after being introduced to a book called The Calendar of Sleights by a strange classmate. The protagonist is then pulled into a long-running war among rival factions of magicians.” (via PW)
  • Ancestral Night by Elizabeth Bear (Gollanzc, late 2016) — first in a two-book space opera which “imagines the invention of The White Drive: an easy, nonrelativistic means of travel across unimaginable distances. The gripping story follows salvage operators, Haimey Dz and her partner Connla Kurucz, as they pilot their tiny ship into the scars left by unsuccessful White Transitions, searching for the relics of lost human – and alien – vessels.”
Posted in Release Week | Tagged ben h. winters, blightborn, brilliance-audio, chuck wendig, cornpunk, half a king, hannu rajaniemi, joe abercrombie, kaiju rising, land of love and drowning, nick podehl, peter berkrot, ray sawyer, the last policeman, the outsorcerer's apprentice, thomas sweterlitsch, tiphanie yanique, tom holt, tomorrow and tomorrow, world of trouble