New Books : 11 December 2018
Yan Lianke’s The Day the Sun Died and titles by James Bennett, Robin Cook, Jonathan Maberry, Lilith Saintcrow, and Alex White
* Bennett, James : Burning Ashes (Orbit 978-0316390750, $15.99, 416pp, trade paperback, December 2018) • Nominal Publication Date: Tue 11 Dec 2018 • Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780316390767 • Ben Garston #3
Fantasy novel, third in a series following Chasing Embers (2016) and Raising Fire (2017), about an ordinary man who is really a figure out of myth and legends. • Hachette’s site has this description with an excerpt. • Publishers Weekly gave the previous book a starred review: “Readers will be swept along by the vivid writing and frequent explosions of extreme violence. This is smart action storytelling, and Bennett is assembling the materials for a terrific conclusion.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
* Cook, Robin : Pandemic (Putnam 978-0525535331, $27, 400pp, hardcover, December 2018) • Nominal Publication Date: Tue 11 Dec 2018 • Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780525535348 • Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9780525632535
SF novel, a medical thriller about the consequences of the gene-editing CRISPR technology.
• Penguin Random House’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
* Lianke, Yan : The Day the Sun Died (Grove 978-0-8021-2853-9, $26, 320pp, hardcover, December 2018) • Nominal Publication Date: Tue 11 Dec 2018
Fantasy novel about a village where one night the inhabitants carry on with their daily lives as if the sun has not set. • Grove Atlantic’s site has this description, noting the author as China’s “most essential and daring novelist” and the book as having won “the Dream of the Red Chamber Award, one of the most prestigious honors for Chinese-language novels.” • The translation is by Carlos Rojas. • Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review, noting the book’s theme keys off “China’s policy of forced cremation” — “The interweaving of politics and delusion creates a powerful resonance that is amplified by Tianbao’s borderline mythical plan for how to ‘drive away the darkness,’ leading to an unforgettable ending. This is a riveting, powerful reading experience.” • PW also includes it among its Best Books of 2018.
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
* Maberry, Jonathan : Broken Lands (Simon & Schuster 978-1534406377, $19.99, 544pp, hardcover, December 2018) • Nominal Publication Date: Tue 11 Dec 2018 • Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781534406391 • Broken Lands #1
Young adult zombie novel, first in a new series set in the world of the author’s five-book Rot & Ruin series that ended with Bits & Pieces (2015). • Simon & Schuster’s site has this description. • Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides previews.
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
* Saintcrow, Lilith : Rattlesnake Wind (Fireside Books 978-0998778389, $14.99, 244pp, trade paperback, December 2018) • Nominal Publication Date: Tue 11 Dec 2018
Young adult fantasy novel about a girl and her family settling on the Wyoming plains. • Fireside’s site has this description. • The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “The magic provides a satisfying backdrop for the family drama that unfolds. Longtime fantasy readers will enjoy Saintcrow’s take on the magic-tinged bildungsroman.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
* White, Alex : A Bad Deal for the Whole Galaxy (Orbit 978-0316412100, $15.99, 544pp, trade paperback, December 2018) • Nominal Publication Date: Tue 11 Dec 2018 • Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780316412094 • Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781549149115 • The Salvagers #2
SF novel, second in a series following A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe (Jun. 2018), about a starship crew investigating a mysterious cult. • Hachette’s site has this description with an excerpt. • Publishers Weekly said of the first book, “As the adventure continues, plenty of White’s action doesn’t hold up to serious scrutiny, and some expository dialogue is painful …. But this space adventure is calling back to an era when such flaws were woven into the genre, and readers looking for a modern take on it, complete with many female and nonwhite characters, will be pleased.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
These listings are based on publisher schedules and availability on Amazon (rather than on confirmation of physical publication via purchase, review copies, or sightings in bookstores). Titles are listed only once they are published (with rare exception). We do not list galleys or advance reading copies. Page counts are based on publisher or Amazon listings, and typically only approximate the bibliographic page counts of finished books. * = first edition + = first US edition Date with publisher info is official publication month. ‘Nominal Publication Date’ is the day of publication, typically as indicated by Amazon.com.
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