* Baker, Stephen : The Boost
(Tor 978-0-7653-3437-4, $24.99, 336pp, hardcover, May 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 20 May 2014
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-1466810686
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 978-1491507988

SF novel, the author’s first novel (after two nonfiction books), about a future in which most of the world’s population have “boosts”, networked supercomputer chips, implanted in their brains.
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “This is a strong first effort with broad appeal to readers of thrillers and SF.”
• Locus Online will post a review by Paul Di Filippo shortly.

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* Campbell, Hayley : The Art of Neil Gaiman
(Harper Design 978-0062248565, $39.99, 320pp, hardcover, May 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 20 May 2014

Nonfiction study of Neil Gaiman and his work, with insight from Gaiman’s personal notebooks, early work, and abandoned projects. Gaiman provides commentary, interview text, and annotations. There’s an introduction by Audrey Niffenegger.
• Harper’s site has this description.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides previews.

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* Canavan, Trudi : Thief’s Magic
(Orbit 978-0-316-20927-4, $20, 560pp, hardcover, May 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 20 May 2014
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780316324984
• UK edition: 978-0356501109 (Thu 15 May 2014)
• Millennium’s Rule #1

Fantasy novel, first in a new series, about a sentient book in a world where magic powers an industrial revolution.
• Orbit’s site has this post about the book.
• Hachette’s site has this description with a preview function.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, ” This trilogy launch does not so much conclude as stop, leaving readers eager for the next two volumes.”

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* Cornell, Paul : The Severed Streets
(Tor 978-0-7653-3028-4, $26.99, 416pp, hardcover, May 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 20 May 2014
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781429943857
• UK edition: Macmillan/Tor UK 978-1447262060 (Thu 22 May 2014)
• James Quill #2


Urban fantasy police procedural, second in a series following London Falling (2013), about a a team of sight-gifted investigators in an occult London. This case involves a Jack the Ripper-like killer.
• Macmillan’s site has this description.
• Cornell discusses the series in excerpts from his March issue interview in Locus Magazine.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “This book is a strong follow-up, a good standalone story, and an excellent read for fans of dark urban fantasy.”

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* Dalglish, David : A Dance of Shadows
(Orbit 978-0316242448, $16, 480pp, trade paperback, May 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 20 May 2014
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780316242424
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781478953401
• UK edition: 978-0356502816 (Tue 20 May 2014)
• Shadowdance #4

Fantasy novel, fourth volume of a series following A Dance of Cloaks (October 2013), A Dance of Blades (November 2013), and A Dance of Mirrors (Dec. 2013).
• Hachette’s site has this description with a preview function.

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* Evans Garriott, Deidre Anne, Whitney Elaine Jones & Julie Elizabeth Tyler, eds. : Space and Place in the Hunger Games: New Readings of the Novels
(Mcfarland 978-0786476336, $40, 253pp, hardcover, May 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Thu 15 May 2014

Nonfiction collection of essays about the Hunger Games novels by Suzanne Collins.
• The book includes notes, bibliographies, and an index.
• McFarland’s site has this description with the tables of contents.

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Hirshberg, Glen : Motherless Child
(Tor 978-0-7653-3745-0, $24.99, 269pp, hardcover, May 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 13 May 2014
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781466834415

(First edition: Earthling, December 2012)

Vampire novel about two North Carolina single mothers who are turned into vampires.
• This edition is technically a reprint; the novel was first published by Earthling Books in 2012, but the edition sold out before publication date.
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Publishers Weekly gave it a starred review, calling it a ””blockbuster narrative”‘, and concluding, “”The clash of human and vampire worlds in the tumultuous final showdown presents a satisfying, startling, conclusion and infuses this work with both literary and genre merit.”‘

(Wed 14 May 2014)
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* Johnson, Kij, ed. : Nebula Awards Showcase 2014
(Pyr 978-1-61614-901-7, $18, 301pp, trade paperback, May 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 20 May 2014
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-1-61614-902-4

Anthology of stories and novel excerpts from winners and nominees of the Nebula Awards given in 2013 for works published in 2012.
• Authors include winners Kim Stanley Robinson, Nancy Kress, Andy Duncan, and Aliette de Bodard, and Andre Norton winner E.C. Myers.
• Pyr’s site has this description.
• The Publishers Weekly review notes other works by Gene Wolfe and poetry winners of that year’s Rhysling Awards.
• Tor.com has this review by Niall Alexander.

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* Modesitt, L. E., Jr. : Cyador’s Heirs
(Tor 978-0-7653-7477-6, $27.99, 512pp, hardcover, May 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 20 May 2014
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-1466843103
• Recluce #17

Fantasy novel, 17th book in the Saga of Recluce following Arms-Commander (2010), set a generation after the fall of Cyador.
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.

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* Scott, Melissa : Fairs’ Point
(Lethe Press 978-1-59021-188-5, $18, 239pp, trade paperback, May 2014, cover art Alex Jeffers)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 20 May 2014
• Astreiant #4

Fantasy novel , subtitled “A Novel of Astreiant”, following Point of Hopes (1995), Point of Dreams (2001), both written with Lisa A. Barnett, and Point of Knives (2012).
• In this book Pointsman Nicolas Rathe and his lover, former mercenary Philip Eslingen, are caught up in a scandalous bankruptcy during the city’s baxket-terrier races.
• Lethe’s site has this description.
• Locus Online will have a review by Cynthia Ward shortly.

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* Strahan, Jonathan, ed. : The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year Volume Eight
(Solaris 978-1-78108-216-4, $19.99, 624pp, trade paperback, May 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 13 May 2014
• UK edition: 978-1781082157 (Thu 5 Jun 2014)

Anthology of 28 science fiction and fantasy stories first published in 2013.
• Authors include Greg Egan, Neil Gaiman, Ted Chiang, Lavie Tidhar, Charlie Jane Anders, Ian R. MacLeod, and Robert Reed.
• Solaris’ site has this description.
• Jonathan Strahan has this post listing the complete table of contents.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Strahan’s work doesn’t quite achieve [Judith] Merril’s literary range, but it compares favorably with Hartwell’s steadfast traditionalism and Dozois’s weighty tomes.”

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* Walton, Jo : My Real Children
(Tor 978-0-7653-3265-3, $25.99, 320pp, hardcover, May 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 20 May 2014
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-1466800793

SF novel about an olderly Englishwoman in 2015 who remember two different, parallel pasts.
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Publishers Weekly has a long review signed by Lev Grossman: “My Real Children has as much in common with an Alice Munro story as it does with, say, Philip K. Dick’s The Man in the High Castle. It explores issues of choice and chance and destiny and responsibility with the narrative tools that only science fiction affords, but it’s also a deeply poignant, richly imagined book about women’s lives in 20th- and 21st-century England, and, in a broader sense, about the lives of all those who are pushed to the margins of history: the disabled, the disenfranchised, the queer, the lower middle class.”
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews it in the May issue of Locus Magazine: “It’s rare for me to think that any novel might have been a bit longer, but Walton’s two worlds are so tantalizingly familiar yet estranged that I sometimes felt I needed a little more context for the various radical historical changes that occur mostly in the background or crammed into chapter-opening paragraphs. Nevertheless, Walton’s undeniable skills in both character development and social extrapolation result in a novel which at its best is an epic of regret and redemption, and a wise meditation on what our lives mean, and what they might have meant.”

(Wed 14 May 2014)
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* Wu, Ming-Yi : The Man with the Compound Eyes
(Random House/Pantheon 978-0-307-90796-7, $25.95, 304pp, hardcover, May 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 20 May 2014
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-0-307-90797-4

Contemporary fantasy novel about a 15-year-old boy, sent adrift in the Pacific as a rite of passage, who takes refuge on a huge island of trash that subsequently crashes into the coast of Taiwan.
• This is the first US-published novel by the Taiwanese author.
• Random House’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Ming-Yi attempts to unify these convergent narrative threads with the overarching theme of mounting ecological disaster, as an overdeveloped Taiwan is eaten by the ocean and a massive trash vortex threatens island communities, but this idea does not extend beyond the simple notion that humans are not living in harmony with nature.”

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