Atwood, Margaret : In Other Worlds: SF and the Human Imagination
(Random House/Anchor 978-0307741769, $15.95, 272pp, trade paperback, October 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 21 Aug 2012

(First edition: Doubleday/Talese, October 2011)

Nonfiction collection of 20 or so essays, reviews, and occasional pieces, all previously published or delivered as speeches, revolving around Atwood’s own relationship with SF over the course of her career.
• The Random House site has this description with Atwood’s introduction as an excerpt.
• Gary K. Wolfe reviewed the book in the September 2011 issue of Locus Magazine: “In the end, one comes away with the feeling that, while on the one hand In Other Worlds is an elegantly written, sharply observant, and witty misprision, on the other it’s an honest work in progress by a distinguished author whose sympathy for the field – as she understands it – is quite a bit more thoughtful than we suspected it was.”

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Brennan, Marie : A Star Shall Fall
(Tor 978-0-7653-6450-0, $7.99, 448pp, mass market paperback, October 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Sep 2012
• The Onyx Court #3

(First edition: Tor, September 2010)

Historical fantasy novel, sequel to Midnight Never Come (2008) and In Ashes Lie (2009), set in an alternate London inhabited by humans and faerie.
• This book concerns Edmond Halley’s prediction that a comet — a banished dragon — will return.
• Tor’s site has this description.
• Faren Miller’s review last year in Locus Magazine said: “A Star Shall Fall has room enough for intellect and emotion, great issues as well as an array of individuals and personalities: self-mocking wit, bluntness, and ardor among others. As fear of the Dragon mounts, humans and fae come together in powerful scenes that both reflect and find ways to transcend the gap between beings with such very different experience of Life and Time.”

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Crichton, Michael, & Richard Preston : Micro
(Harper 978-0-06-087317-2, $9.99, 560pp, mass market paperback, October 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Sep 2012

(First edition: Harper, November 2011)

SF thriller about a team of scientists recruited to Hawaii to work in a mysterious microbiology lab.
• The novel, unfinished by Critchton, was completed by Richard Preston.
• Harper’s site has this description with a preview function.

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Datlow, Ellen, ed. : Blood and Other Cravings
(Tor 978-0-7653-2829-8, $16.99, 320pp, trade paperback, October 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 16 Oct 2012

(First edition: Tor, September 2011)

Anthology of 17 original horror stories.
• Authors include Kaaron Warren, Elizabeth Bear, Laird Barron, Bill Prozini & Barry N. Malzberg, Lisa Tuttle, Richard Bowes, and Carol Emshwiller.
• Tor’s site has this description with a link to a PDF excerpt.

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Drake, David, & John Lambshead : Into the Hinterlands
(Baen 978-1-4516-3842-4, $7.99, 544pp, mass market paperback, October 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Sep 2012
• Hinterlands #1

(First edition: Baen, September 2011)

Military SF novel, first in a new series, about conflict between colonials and power-hungry Terrans.
• Baen’s site has this description with links to several chapter excerpts.

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Lackey, Mercedes : Changes
(DAW 978-0-7564-0746-9, $7.99, 400pp, mass market paperback, October 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Oct 2012
• Collegium Chronicles #3

(First edition: DAW, October 2011)

SF novel, third volume in the “Collegium Chronicles” following Foundation (2008) and Intrigues (2010), set early in the history of Valdemar.
• The publisher’s site has this description and an excerpt.

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McDevitt, Jack : Firebird
(Ace 978-1937007805, $7.99, 368pp, mass market paperback, October 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Sep 2012
• Alex Benedict #6

(First edition: Ace, November 2011)

SF novel concerning interstellar antiquities dealer Alex Benedict and his assistant Chase Kolpath, fifth in the series following A Talent for War (1989), Polaris (2004), Nebula Award winner Seeker (2005), The Devil’s Eye (2008), and Echo (2010).
• This book concerns the disappearance of a renegade physicist with controversial theories about alternate universes.
• Penguin’s site has this description and an excerpt.
• The book was a finalist for this year’s Nebula Awards.

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McIntosh, Will : Hitchers
(Night Shade Books 978-1597803373, $14.99, 283pp, trade paperback, October 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Sep 2012

(First edition: Night Shade Books, February 2012)

SF novel set in a plague-ridden Atlanta in which a comic strip artist senses a ghostlike presence – his late grandfather, who founded the strip – and discovers similar sufferers throughout the city.
• Night Shade’s site has this description.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides an excerpt.
• Gary K. Wolfe reviewed it in the January issue of Locus Magazine: “Hitchers may not be as original in its treatment of apocalypse as [the author’s first novel] Soft Apocalypse, but it’s a satisfying and, in the end, ingeniously worked out tale of restitution and resolution on its own terms.”

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Modesitt, L. E., Jr. : Scholar
(Tor 978-0-7653-6771-6, $8.99, 672pp, mass market paperback, October 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Sep 2012
• Imager Portfolio #4

(First edition: Tor, November 2011)

Fantasy novel, new book in the universe of the Imager Portfolio trilogy — Imager (March 2009), Imager’s Challenge (Oct. 2009), and Imager’s Intrigue (2010) — where some have the magical skill to visualize things and make them real.
• Tor’s website has this description with a link to a preview.
• Carolyn Cushman commented last year in Locus Magazine: “Modesitt, as usual, has numerous philosophical/political points to make, and isn’t shy about doing so…”

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Moore, Christopher : Sacre Bleu
(Harpercollins/Morrow 978-0-06-177975-6, $16.99, 403pp, trade paperback, October 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 9 Oct 2012

(First edition: Morrow, April 2012)

Historical fantasy novel about the death of Vincent van Gogh, and about the color blue.
• Harper’s site has this description with a preview function.

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Morgan, Richard K. : The Cold Commands
(Ballantine Del Rey 978-0-345-49307-1, $16, 512pp, trade paperback, October 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Sep 2012
• A Land Fit for Heroes #2

(First edition: Ballantine Del Rey, October 2011)

Fantasy novel, sequel to The Steel Remains (2008), about three veterans who take different paths in an ongoing war.
• Parent pubisher Random House’s site has this synopsis with a preview.
• Russell Letson’s review in the October 2011 issue of Locus Magazine said: “Morgan understands what he is doing here, having characterized this series as ‘a grubby, bloodspattered trawl through exactly how unpleasant it might be to actually have to live in the average fantasy universe,’ and there are repeated references to the functions of various kinds of stories. … [D]espite the bloodstains and cruelty, I finished both books, pulled through by narrative energy, vivid writing, and the sense that they are not summed up by their least cuddly traits.”

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Mullen, Thomas : The Revisionists
(Little, Brown/Mulholland Books 978-0316176736, $15.99, 464pp, trade paperback, October 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 23 Oct 2012

(First edition: Mulholland Books, September 2011)

SF time travel novel about agents from the future — when all problems have been solved — who work to prevent interference with various historic cataclysms that would prevent that future.
• Mulholland’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Publishers Weekly gave it a starred review: “Mullen explores the ethical implications of time travel in this excellent thriller set in the near future. … The complex concatenation of events that follows make this book a one-sitting read despite its length.”

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Niven, Larry, & Steven Barnes : The Moon Maze Game
(Tor 978-0-7653-6544-6, $7.99, 368pp, mass market paperback, October 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Sep 2012
• Dream Park #4

(First edition: Tor, August 2011)

SF novel in the authors’ Dream Park series that began with Dream Park (1981), followed by The Barsoom Project (1989) and The California Voodoo Game (1992).
• Tor’s site has this description.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides an excerpt.

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White, Steve : Wolf Among the Stars
(Baen 978-1451638431, $7.99, 384pp, mass market paperback, October 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Sep 2012
• Eagle Against the Stars #2

(First edition: Baen, November 2011)

SF novel set in the same universe as Eagle Against the Stars (2000) set five decades after alien Lokaron invaded the Earth.
• Baen’s site has this description with links to several chapters.

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Wright, John C. : Count to a Trillion
(Tor 978-0765367457, $7.99, 416pp, mass market paperback, October 2012)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Sep 2012

(First edition: Tor, December 2011)

SF novel about a future Texan whose contact with an alien relic leaves him comatose for two centuries, after which he awakes to a transformed Earth.
• The publisher’s site has this description and a link to an excerpt.
• Paul Di Filippo reviewed the book last year for Barnes & Noble: “Count to a Trillion is both a love letter and a call to arms. If you really believe the future is a voyage without end, consider this book the start to the countdown.”

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