Release Week: 20 January 2026

Release Week: 20 January 2026

Posted on 2026-01-20 at 12:00 by Samuel Montgomery-Blinn

Another week without pre-orders for me, but here's my PICKS for the week:

* To Leave a Warrior Behind: The Life and Stories of Charles R. Saunders, the Man Who Rewrote Fantasy by Jon Tattrie, read by the author for McClelland and Stewart -- "Discover the untold story of the little known figure who wrote groundbreaking fantasy worlds and redefined an entire genre. Blending biography with a tribute to Saunders’ forgotten literary legacy, To Leave a Warrior Behind uncovers the life of an enigmatic recluse, and the worlds he left behind."

* Lost Girl by Adam Nevill (2015), read by James Parsons for Tor Nightfire -- "It's 2053 and climate change has left billions homeless and starving - easy prey for the pandemics that sweep across the globe, scything through the refugee populations. Easy prey, too, for the violent gangs and people-smugglers who thrive in the crumbling world where 'King Death' reigns supreme. The father's world went to hell two years ago. His four-year-old daughter was snatched from his garden when he should have been watching. The moments before her disappearance play in a perpetual loop in his mind. But the police aren't interested; amidst floods, hurricanes and global chaos, who cares about one more missing child? Now it's all down to him to find her."

* Attensity! A Manifesto of the Attention Liberation Movement, read by Peter Schmidt, Alyssa Loh, and D. Graham Burnett for Random House -- "A rallying cry to fight the commodification of human attention, with the tools we need to reclaim our humanity, by a group of writers, artists, and activists in the vanguard of the movement."

* Cowboys and East Indians: Stories by Nina McConigley, read by Soneela Nankani for Random House -- "Richly textured, compassionate, and at times hilarious, Cowboys and East Indians traces a journey from India to Wyoming and back again, introducing us along the way to characters who seem not quite to fit the circumstances in which they find themselves, but who nevertheless search for belonging—through unexpected common ground with their human neighbors or the abiding, if isolating, openness of the vast landscape of the West."

* New Cemetery: Poems by Simon Armitage, read by the author for Random House -- "From the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, a poem sequence that considers our use of the land that surrounds him, and recounts the personal tales of beauty and loss that play out on it."

And here's some more FICTION titles on my watchlist or that caught my eye:

* Departure(s): A Novel by Julian Barnes, read by the author for Random House -- "On the occasion of his eightieth birthday, one of our great novelists delivers a playful and profound work about memory, love, and the writer's endgame."

* The Lodge by Paul Finch, read by Maxim Reston for Brilliance -- "You have been dreaming of an unforgettable weekend escape, and Black Tarn Lodge seems to offer everything—a magnificent Gothic mansion with towering turrets nestled in the misty Lancashire hills. Expecting elegant dinners, vintage wines and a screening of a legendary lost film in the private cinema, all seems perfect. Until night falls and a thick fog isolates you from the world. Your phones go missing. Guests start vanishing. And then you find the body."

* Hemlock: A Novel by Melissa Faliveno, read by Kira Fixx for Little, Brown and Company -- "A woman haunted by a dark inheritance returns to the woods where her mother vanished, in this queer Gothic novel."

* How to Lose a Goblin in Ten Days by Jessie Sylva, read by Maggie Bain for Orbit -- "The cozy tale of a halfling and a goblin who must learn to love each other despite their differences."

* I Call Upon Thee: A Novella by Ania Ahlborn, read by Madeleine Lambert for Simon and Schuster -- "Maggie Olsen had a pretty ordinary childhood—swimming and sleepovers, movie nights and dad jokes. And then there were the other things…the darker things…the shadow that followed her home from the cemetery and settled into the corners of her home, refusing to let her grow up in peace. Now, after three years away from the place she's convinced she inadvertently haunted, and after yet another family tragedy strikes, Maggie is forced to return to the sweltering heat of a Savannah summer to come to terms with her past."

* Better the Devil by Erik J. Brown, read by Daniel Henning -- "A harrowing, edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller about a queer homeless teen who, in a bid for safety, assumes the identity of a boy who went missing ten years ago...only to find that his new home is anything but a safe haven."

And some more NON-FICTION titles:

* Native America: The Story of the First Peoples by Kenneth L. Feder, read by Adam Barr for Highbridge -- "An infinitely surprising and fascinating deep history of the continent's Indigenous peoples. Kenneth Feder, a leading expert on Native American history and archaeology, draws on archaeological, historical, and cultural evidence to tell the ongoing story, more than 20,000 years in the making, of an incredibly resilient and diverse mixture of peoples, revealing how they have ingeniously adapted to the many changing environments of the continent, from the Arctic to the desert Southwest."

* When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, and America’s Black Botanical Legacy by Beronda L. Montgomery, read by Melinda Sewak for Macmillan -- "This stunning cultural and personal reclamation of Black history and Black botanical mastery offers up lessons from the natural world shared through the stories of long-lived trees."

* Your Anxiety is Giving Me Anxiety: A Survival Guide for Thriving in a High-Stress World by Elizabeth April, read by the author for Brilliance -- "Ready to stop being at war with your own mind? Get the guidance you need to break free from stress and start thriving, from a spiritual thought leader who can help you see beyond the chaos."

(in progress)

George Falls Through Time Ryan Collett HarperAudio

The Elsewhere Express Samantha Sotto Yambao Random House Audio

The Sea Child Linda Wilgus Random House Audio

Excession Iain M. Banks Orbit

A Heart So Green Lyra Selene Orbit

The Poet Empress Shen Tao Macmillan Audio

The Friend of the Family Dean Koontz Brilliance Audio

Future Saints Ashley Winstead Simon & Schuster Audio

Everybody Loses Danny Funt Simon & Schuster Audio

One Aladdin Two Lamps Jeanette Winterson Simon & Schuster Audio

The Book of Alice Diamond Forde Simon & Schuster Audio

Anne of a Different Island Virginia Kantra Penguin Audio

The Society Karen Winn Penguin Audio

The Elements of Power Nicolas Niarchos Penguin Audio

The Warhead Jeffrey E. Stern Penguin Audio

Football Chuck Klosterman Penguin Audio

Crux Gabriel Tallent Penguin Audio

Posted in Release Week