* Allan, Nina : The Rift
(Titan 978-1-78565-037-6, $14.95, 432pp, trade paperback, July 2017)
Nominal Publication Date: Tue 11 Jul 2017
Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-1-78565-039-0

SF novel about about a woman whose sister disappeared for 20 years and then returned claiming she spent the time on another planet.
• Titan’s site has this description
• The Publishers Weekly review comments, “Allan crafts mirrored portraits of two women at odds with their own lives coming into a more stable orbit around each other.”
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews it in the July issue of Locus Magazine: “…The Rift (the title could refer either to Julie and Serena’s alienation or to that magical portal between worlds) still leaves us with the unsettled but pleasant sensation of narratives, and indeed genres, in uneasy dialogue with one another, seeking some common ground.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
• (Directory Entry)

|

* Brooks, Mike : Dark Sky
(Saga 978-1-4814-5956-3, $16.99, 352pp, trade paperback, July 2017)
Nominal Publication Date: Tue 11 Jul 2017
Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781481459587
Keiko #2

SF novel, second in a series following Dark Run, about a ship full of con artists and soldiers of fortune traveling among Earth’s interstellar colonies.
• Simon & Schuster’s site has this description.
Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “Brooks writes action that is nearly nonstop and pleasingly varied while still allowing time for character description and development. This is a great space-rogue adventure in a setting with vast potential for further stories.”
• There’s also a hardcover edition (978-1481459570).

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
• (Directory Entry)

|

* Brown, Christopher : Tropic of Kansas
(Harper Voyager 978-0-06-256381-1, $15.99, 480pp, trade paperback, July 2017)
Nominal Publication Date: Tue 11 Jul 2017
Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780062563828

Alternate history SF novel, the author’s first novel, in which the US has broken into warring territorites.
• HarperCollins’ site has this description with a sample and blurbs from William Gibson and Cory Doctorow.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Debut novelist Brown (editor of Three Messages and a Warning) brings a mordant sensibility to his depiction of a “flyover country” that is no longer willing to have its patriotism exploited and its land degraded for other people’s profits. His characters do not easily triumph, because he respects them too much to cheapen the costs that they must bear to succeed.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
• (Directory Entry)

|

* Caine, Rachel : Ash and Quill
(Berkley 978-0451472410, $17.99, 352pp, hardcover, July 2017)
Nominal Publication Date: Tue 11 Jul 2017
Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780698180833
The Great Library #3

Fantasy novel, third in a series following Ink and Bone (2015) and Paper and Fire (2016), in which the Great Library of Alexandria has survived, the knowledge from its books distributed to the masses via alchemy.
• Penguin Random House’s site has this description with a preview function.
Publishers Weekly gave the first book a starred review: “Caine’s elegantly detailed descriptions bring Jess’s world to vivid life in a fast-paced, action-oriented plot that will leave readers breathlessly anticipating not just the next page but the next book in the Great Library series.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
• (Directory Entry)

|

* Datlow, Ellen, ed. : The Best Horror of the Year, Volume Nine
(Night Shade Books 978-1-5107-1666-7, $15.99, 440pp, trade paperback, July 2017)
Nominal Publication Date: Tue 11 Jul 2017

Anthology of 21 horror stories first published in 2016.
• Authors include Peter Straub, Gemma Files, Brian Evenson, Siobhan Carroll, and Brian Hodge.
• Night Shade’s site has this description with the table of contents.

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
• (Directory Entry)

|

* Dozois, Gardner, ed. : The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Thirty-fourth Annual Collection
(St. Martin’s Griffin 978-1-250-11924-7, $22.99, 704pp, trade paperback, July 2017)
Nominal Publication Date: Tue 11 Jul 2017
Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-1-250-11925-4

Anthology of 39 stories first published in 2016, with a long “Summation: 2016”, and several pages of ‘honorable mentions’ at the end.
• Authors include Lavie Tidhar, Rich Larson, Gregory Benford, Paul McAuley, Geoff Ryman, Sam J. Miller, Alastair Reynolds, Stephen Baxter, and Ian R. MacLeod.
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides previews, including the table of contents.
• A hardcover edition (9781250119230, $40) is also available.

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
• (Directory Entry)

|

* Egan, Greg : Dichronauts
(Night Shade Books 978-1-59780-892-7, $26.99, 312pp, hardcover, July 2017)
Nominal Publication Date: Tue 11 Jul 2017
Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-1-59780-605-3

Hard SF novel set in a universe in which there are two dimensions of time and two dimensions of space.
• Night Shade’s site has this description.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides previews.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Egan provides copious and necessary papers on the math and physics of world (there’s less information on the staggeringly weird biology), but even with that help, much of the science will make the plotting borderline impenetrable for anyone not already immersed in the concepts. … Egan may have out-Eganed himself with this one.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
• (Directory Entry)

|

* Gray, Andrew Neil, & J. S. Herbison : The Ghost Line
(Tor.com 978-0-7653-9497-2, $14.99, 144pp, trade paperback, July 2017)
Nominal Publication Date: Tue 11 Jul 2017
Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780765394965

SF novel, the authors’ first novel, about a decommissioned ship known as the “Titanic of the stars” when it ran back and forth from Earth to Mars.
• Macmillan’s site has this description.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “The final explanation could be more robust, but the story is still shiver-inducing, thought-provoking, and decidedly eerie.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
• (Directory Entry)

|

* Hearne, Kevin : Besieged
(Ballantine Del Rey 978-0-399-18173-3, $27, 256pp, hardcover, July 2017)
Nominal Publication Date: Tue 11 Jul 2017
Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780399181740
Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781524779887
Iron Druid Chronicles #9

Collection of nine stories, only two previously published, about the 2000-year-old Druid subject of eight novels to date: Hounded, Hexed, Hammered (all 2011), Tricked (May 2012), Trapped (Dec. 2012), Hunted (2013), and Shattered (2014), and Staked (2016).
• Penguin Random House’s site has this description with a preview function.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Hearne’s lighthearted approach and witty asides are amusing, and he also subtly digs at modern humans’ lack of love for the land and its conservation.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
• (Directory Entry)

|

* Kenyon, Kay : At the Table of Wolves
(Saga 978-1-4814-8778-8, $26.99, 432pp, hardcover, July 2017)
Nominal Publication Date: Tue 11 Jul 2017
Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781481487801
Dark Talents #1

Alternate history fantasy novel, first in a series, about a woman with paranormal powers going undercover to stop the Nazi invasion of England.
• Simon & Schuster’s site has this description with an excerpt.
Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: ” Kenyon’s finely tuned historical atmospherics and her sure-handed development of even minor characters make this novel a superb adventure, worthy to launch a distinguished historical fantasy series.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
• (Directory Entry)

|

* Kress, Nancy : Tomorrow’s Kin
(Tor 978-0-7653-9029-5, $25.99, 352pp, hardcover, July 2017)
Nominal Publication Date: Tue 11 Jul 2017
Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780765390318
Yesterday’s Kin #1

SF novel, first of a trilogy based on the 2014 Nebula and Locus award winning novella “Yesterday’s Kin,” about alien visitors to Earth who will not leave their ship.
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.
Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “Kress mixes contemporary issues of isolationism and refugee status with classic SF first-contact tropes, threaded neatly with solid scientific theory and speculation…”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
• (Directory Entry)

|

* Kritzer, Naomi : Cat Pictures Please and Other Stories
(Fairwood Press 978-1-933846-67-5, $17.99, 315pp, trade paperback, July 2017)
Nominal Publication Date: Tue 11 Jul 2017

Collection of 17 stories, including Hugo and Locus award winning “Cat Pictures Please”. Two of the stories are original to this book; they other were first published from 2000 to 2015.
• Fairwood’s site has this description with blurbs and quotes from reviews.
Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “Kritzer always focuses on ordinary people, whether they’re dipping one toe into weird waters or jumping in. Her work is indisputably speculative, but it’s a perfect entry point to the genre for readers who prefer fantastical and futuristic elements to stay more in the background, with human (and robotic) feelings always at the fore. This splendid treat is not to be missed.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
• (Directory Entry)

|

* Lucas, Dale : First Watch
(Orbit 978-0-316-46907-4, $14.99, 416pp, trade paperback, July 2017)
Nominal Publication Date: Tue 11 Jul 2017
Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780316469043
Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781478974758
The Fifth Ward #1

Fantasy novel, first in a series, about a human in a city of elves and dwarves who joins the city watch to earn his freedom.
• Hachette’s site has this description.
• The Publishers Weekly review notes about the characters that “there are echoes of Fritz Leiber’s classic Fafhrd and Gray Mouser tales in their relationship.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
• (Directory Entry)

|

* MacNaughton, Laurence : A Kiss Before Doomsday
(Pyr 978-1-63388-267-6, $18, 295pp, trade paperback, July 2017)
Nominal Publication Date: Tue 11 Jul 2017
Dru Jasper #2

Fantasy novel, second in a series following It Happened One Doomsday. (2016), about an amateur magicians in a world in which a handful of powerful sorcerers fight the forces of darkness.
• Pyr’s site has this description.
• The Publishers Weekly review comments, “Adventure and humor help to balance the story’s horror elements.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
• (Directory Entry)

|

* Martin, Gail Z. : Scourge
(Solaris 978-1781085585, $15.99, 400pp, trade paperback, July 2017)
Nominal Publication Date: Tue 11 Jul 2017
Darkhurst #1

Epic fantasy novel, first in a series, about three brothers in a city of monsters.
• Simon & Schuster’s site has this description.

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
• (Directory Entry)

|

* Miller, Sam J. : The Art of Starving
(HarperTeen 978-0062456717, $17.99, 384pp, hardcover, July 2017)
Nominal Publication Date: Tue 11 Jul 2017
Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780062456731
Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9780062683465

Young adult fantasy novel, the author’s first novel, about a teenaged boy who discovers that eating less and less increases his paranormal powers.
• HarperCollins’ site has this description with a sample.
Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “Matt is a master at suppressing his urges, but there is nothing romantic about debut novelist Miller’s portrayal of anorexia; his descriptions are often graphic and disturbing, and discussion of Matt’s future is brutally honest.”
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews it in the July issue of Locus Magazine: “For a novel which for most of its length is pretty judicious in deploying the fantastic, The Art of Starving ends with a fairly surreal spectacle involving a lot of feral pigs and a revelation about the true nature of Matt’s powers, but Miller has by now earned the right to go a bit off the rails, and the novel ends up going exactly where he wants it to go, and where we do as well.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
• (Directory Entry)

|

* Rowe, Christopher : Telling the Map: Stories
(Small Beer Press 978-1-61873-132-6, $16, 269pp, trade paperback, July 2017)
Nominal Publication Date: Tue 11 Jul 2017
Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781618731333

Collection of 10 stories, one story original to this book, the others first published from 2003 to 2015.
• The new story is a companion to the author’s Hugo, Nebula, and Sturgeon nominated “The Voluntary State,” also included here.
• Small Beer’s site has this description with links to several stories and excerpts online.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “…the book offers an immersive and original reading experience.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
• (Directory Entry)

|

* Sniegoski, Thomas E. : Dark Exodus
(Ace 978-0-698-18552-4, $5.99, 359pp, ebook, July 2017)
Nominal Publication Date: Tue 11 Jul 2017
Demonists #2

Dark fantasy novel, second in a series following The Demonists (2016), about an exorcist who accidentally unleashes a horde of demons.
• Penguin Random House’s site has this description.

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
• (Directory Entry)

|

* Stross, Charles : The Delirium Brief
(Tor.com 978-0-7653-9466-8, $25.99, 384pp, hardcover, July 2017)
Nominal Publication Date: Tue 11 Jul 2017
Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780765394675
Laundry Files #8

Fantasy novel, eighth in the author’s “Laundry Files” sequence following The Atrocity Archives (2004), The Jennifer Morgue (2006), The Fuller Memorandum (2010), The Apocalypose Codex (2012), The Rhesus Chart (2014), The Annihilation Score (2015), and The Nightmare Stacks (2016), about British secret service agent Bob Howard battling Lovecraftian horrors.
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Russell Letson reviews it in the July issue of Locus Magazine: “This is Stross in one of his darker moods, familiar from the atmosphere of Scratch Monkey, which remains for me a key to understanding his sensibility. I suspect that the political side of the book – the distress at the normal operation of the sausage-factory of government (alluded to in the epigraph) signals some of the real-world anxieties that stand behind this entire series.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
• (Directory Entry)

|

* Vaughn, Carrie : Bannerless
(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt/John Joseph Adams 978-0-544-94730-6, $14.99, 288pp, trade paperback, July 2017)
Nominal Publication Date: Tue 11 Jul 2017
Bannerless #1

SF novel, first in a series, about a population-controlled society that has survived the collapse of most of the United States.
• Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review notes that the book is based on a story from the first issue of John Josephs Adams’s Lightspeed, and comments, “Vaughn skillfully portrays a vastly altered future America that’s almost unrecognizable decades after its total collapse; the reversion to a much less technological setting is a common element for the genre, but her focus on sustainability and responsibility is unusual, thought-provoking, and very welcome.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
• (Directory Entry)

|