Release Week: 10 February 2026
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Release Week: 10 February 2026
Posted on 2026-02-10 at 12:00 by Samuel Montgomery-Blinn
PICKS:
Operation Bounce House by Matt Dinniman, read by Travis Baldree and Jeff Hays for Penguin -- "A man must fight for his planet against impossible odds when gamers from Earth attempt to remotely annihilate it."
A Forest, Darkly by A.G. Slatter, read by Zigi Ellison for WF Howes -- "A thrilling dark fantasy of persecuted witches, snatched children, twisted magic, changelings, and the sins that bind, set in the multi-award-winning author's acclaimed Sourdough universe."
World's Edge: A Mosaic Novel by James Sallis, read by Dan John Miller for Recorded Books -- "In a not-so-distant future the United States has fragmented, balkanizing into unstable provinces often at war with one another, and Americans, their great promise not so much lost as forfeited, are encountering the terrors and devastation so much of the world daily lives with. Throughout a land littered with refugees, ruins, orphaned children, soldiers, militia, and fugitives, people go on about their daily lives as best they can."
NEW EDITION WATCH:
- Virtual Light: Bridge Trilogy, Book 1 by William Gibson (1993), read by Jason Keller for Random House -- Finally a new unabridged edition: "The millennium has come and gone, leaving in its wake only stunned survivors. In Los Angeles, Berry Rydell is a former armed-response rentacop now working for a bounty hunter. Chevette Washington is a bicycle messenger turned pickpocket who impulsively snatches a pair of innocent-looking sunglasses. But these are no ordinary shades. What you can see through these high-tech specs can make you rich—or get you killed. Now Berry and Chevette are on the run, zeroing in on the digitalized heart of DatAmerica, where pure information is the greatest high. And a mind can be a terrible thing to crash."
BACKLIST WATCH:
- The Birthgrave: Birthgrave Trilogy, Book 1 by Tanith Lee (1975, 2015), read by Charlie Albers for Tantor -- "A mysterious woman awakens in the heart of a dormant volcano. She comes forth into a brutal ancient world transformed by genocidal pestilence, fierce beauty, and cultural devastation. She has no memory of herself, and she could be anyone—mortal woman, demoness lover, last living heir to a long-gone race, or a goddess of destruction. Compelled by the terrifying Karrakaz to search for the mysterious Jade that is the answer to her secret self, she embarks on a journey of timeless wonder."
NON-FICTION WATCH:
W.E.B. Du Bois: The Fight for Equality and the American Century, 1919-1963 by David Levering Lewis, read by Courtney B. Vance for Simon & Schuster -- "In this final magisterial volume, fifteen years in the research and writing, David Levering Lewis stunningly recreates the second half of W.E.B. Du Bois’s charged and brilliant career. Beginning with the return of World War I African American veterans to the riots and lynchings of the “Red Summer” of 1919 and ending with Du Bois’s self-imposed exile and death in Ghana forty-four years later, Lewis charts the dramatic evolution of the premiere architect of the civil rights movement and of the movement itself."
The War Within a War: The Black Struggle in Vietnam and at Home by Wil Haygood, read by Cary Hite for Random House -- "Explores how the Vietnam War became a mirror for the struggle of Black Americans—fighting for freedom abroad while demanding equality at home—and a powerful lens through which to understand the racial and political divides that continue to shape American life."
SERIES WATCH:
- Secondhand Luck: The Shadow Age, Book 2 by Kim Harrison, read by Marguerite Gavin -- "Against an ancient shadow with a deadly agenda, Petra Grady’s luck may be about to run out."
INDIE WATCH:
The Regressor King by A J Sherwood, read by Zachary Zaba for Podium -- "Death, paradise, and the gods themselves—all rejected for the sake of love."
A Raven in the Storm: Gods of Tellus, Book 1 by Alida Miranda-Wolff, read by Esther Wane -- "How far will one woman go to save a dying goddess?"
MOST MISSING:
- Usurper: Essays on the Death of Reality by D Harlan Wilson (Guide Dog Books) -- "Set in an irreal dystopia, Usurper focuses on Donovan's prodigal son, Caliban Ogg, who cannot crawl out from under the shadow of his father's massive legacy as he struggles to adapt the so-called "Doomsday Edition" of Ulysses for the big screen."
ALSO ON MY WATCH LIST:
* Strange Animals by Jarod K. Anderson, read by Jay Myers for Random House -- "An ordinary man discovers a hidden world of supernatural creatures—and an unexpected home—in this enchanting contemporary fantasy debut."
* Dead First by Johnny Compton, read by Selena Mikes for Penguin -- "A bone-chilling new novel about a private investigator hired by a mysterious billionaire to discover why he can’t die."
* The Thirteenth Floor edited by Guy Adams for Tantor
* The Wandering Queen: A Novel of Dido by Claire Heywood, read by Meg Hateley for Penguin
* The Boundless Deep Richard Holmes Random House
* The Catacombs William Demby Random House Audio
* Eradication Jonathan Miles Random House Audio
* Motor City Love Song Lisa Peers Random House Audio
* Beetlecreek William Demby Random House Audio
* The Bronze Arms Richie Hofmann Random House Audio
* Yestermorrow Ray Bradbury Simon & Schuster Audio
* Keeper of Lost Children Sadeqa Johnson Simon & Schuster Audio
* Hannibal Lecter Brian Raftery Simon & Schuster Audio
* Slow and Secret Poison Carmella Lowkis Simon & Schuster Audio
* Murder Bimbo Rebecca Novack Simon & Schuster Audio
* Warning Signs Tracy Sierra Penguin Audio
* Fireflies in Winter Eleanor Shearer Penguin Audio
* The Real Ones Maya Rupert Penguin Audio
* The Writings of Thomas Smallwood Thomas Smallwood Penguin Audio
* Politics Without Politicians Hélène Landemore Penguin Audio
* The Midnight Taxi Yosha Gunasekera Penguin Audio
* Everyday Movement Gigi L. Leung Penguin Audio
* The Obake Code: A Sci-Fi Heist by Makana Yamamoto, read by Jolene Kim for Harper Voyager
* Hard Reset by Jonathan Yanez, read by Neil Hellegers for Blackstone
* Heir of Illusion: The Verran Isles Series, Book 1 by Madeline Taylor, read by Zara Hampton-Brown and Will Watt for Zando Penguin -- "An alliance between enemies. A weapon of untold power. And a bond that could rewrite fate."
* The Found Object Society: A Novel by Michelle Maryk, read by Saskia Maarleveld and Michelle Maryk for Audible -- "An atmospheric speculative suspense novel following a mysterious society offering its members the chance to relive the death of another person—and the self-destructive woman determined to uncover its secrets."