* Barron, Laird, ed. : The Year’s Best Weird Fiction
(ChiZine Publications/Undertow 978-0-9813177-5-5, $17.99, 350pp, trade paperback, October 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Oct 2014
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780981317762

First volume in a new annual series, reprinting 22 stories first published in 2013.
• The series editor, Michael Kelly, will select a different guest-editor each year.
• Authors include Michael Blumlein, Jeffrey Ford, Sofia Samatar, Jeff VanderMeer, and Chen Quifan.
• ChiZine’s site has this description with the table of contents.
• Stefan Dziemianowicz reviewed the book in the September issue of Locus Magazine, commenting about Barron: ” One hopes this is not the last time that he helms an anthology, or even chooses the contents of another Best Weird Fiction annual. He has certainly raised the bar for future guest editors.”

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* Brett, Peter V. : Messenger’s Legacy
(Subterranean Press 978-1-59606-698-4, $25, 136pp, hardcover, November 2014, jacket illustration Lauren K. Cannon)
• Nominal Publication Date: Sun 30 Nov 2014

Short fantasy novel about demons who threaten humanity’s existence.
• Subterranean’s site has this description and order page.
• The Publishers Weekly review calls it a “slight novella” that introduces a character slated to appear in the fourth book of the author’s Demon Cycle.

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* Brissett, Jennifer Marie : Elysium
(Aqueduct Press 978-1619760530, $18, 208pp, trade paperback, December 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Mon 1 Dec 2014

SF novel, the author’s first novel, about two characters whose identities interchange experiencing a mysterious future apocalypose.
• Aqueduct’s site has this description and order page with quotes from reviews and blubs from Elizabeth Hand, James Patrick Kelly, and Jeffrey Ford.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Brissett deftly handles the challenge of a multitude of characters all being the same people in a multitude of places that are the same place, while exploring complicated questions about identity.”
• Paul Di Filippo reviewed it for Locus Online: “If Carol Emshwiller—oblique and delicate—had collaborated with Samuel Delany—straightforward and blunt—then the result might resemble Jennifer Brissett’s impressive debut novel, Elysium, a kind of fantasia on identity and character, what is superficial and what is central to both.”

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* Bullington, Jesse, ed. : Letters to Lovecraft: Eighteen Whispers to the Darkness
(UK: Stone Skin 978-1-908983-10-7, £8.99, 224pp, trade paperback, December 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Mon 1 Dec 2014
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: B00OX75FWE

Anthology of 18 original stories inspired by H.P. Lovecraft’s famous essay “Supernatural Horror in Literature”.
• Authors include Brian Evenson, Tim Lebbon, Jeffrey Ford, Gemma Files, Robin D. Laws, and Nick Mamatas.
• Stone Skin Press’s site has this description.
• Publishers Weekly gave it a starred review: “The stories in this essential compilation are as diverse as the contributors, and together they form a wonderful confluence of criticism and creativity.”
• Amazon indicates, apparently incorrectly, the paperback edition published in June, with a Kindle edition on December 1st, which matches the date on the publisher’s site.

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* Datlow, Ellen, ed. : Nightmare Carnival
(Dark Horse 978-1616554279, $19.99, 381pp, trade paperback, October 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Oct 2014

Anthology of 14 original stories, with an introduction by Katherine Dunn.
• Authors include Laird Barron, Robert Shearman, Genevieve Valentine, Jeffrey Ford, and Nick Mamatas.
• The publisher’s site has this description with a preview function.

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* Farr, Richard : The Fire Seekers
(Amazon/Skyscape 978-1477847732, $16.99, 325pp, hardcover, November 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Sat 1 Nov 2014
• Babel Trilogy #1

Young-adult fantasy novel, first book in a trilogy, about a 17-year-old boy’s involvement with a new cult that claims human history is about to end.
• The Amazon page has the book’s description, and the “Look Inside” feature provides previews.

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+ Littlewood, Alison : Path of Needles
(Quercus/Jo Fletcher 978-1-62365-855-7, $26.99, 384pp, hardcover, November 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 4 Nov 2014

First US edition (UK: Quercus/Jo Fletcher, June 2013)

Fantasy novel about a crime spree linked the classic fairy tales.
• The publisher’s site has this description.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides a preview.
• Publishers Weekly gives this a starred review: “Crisp pacing and assured prose lend authenticity to a self-referential thriller that questions our values and the stories that define us.”

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* Millet, Lydia : Mermaids in Paradise
(W.W. Norton 978-0-393-24562-2, $25.95, 304pp, hardcover, October 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Mon 3 Nov 2014

Contemporary fantasy novel about a Caribbean resort where mermaids are discovered.
• Norton’s site has this description and order page, with blurbs from Karen Russell and others.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides previews.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “Millet comically deflates clear-cut distinctions between truth, fiction, and moral high ground. With equal parts calculated wryness and pleading earnestness, she delivers a thrilling piece of fabulist fiction.”

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* Murakami, Haruki : The Strange Library
(Knopf 978-0-385-35430-1, $18, 92pp, hardcover, December 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Dec 2014
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-0-385-35431-8

Short fantasy novel about a boy imprisoned in a nightmarish library. With illustrations by Chip Kidd.
• Random House’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “This dryly funny, concise fable features all the hallmarks of Murakami’s deadpan magic, along with splashes of Lewis Carroll and the brothers Grimm.”

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+ Pratchett, Terry : The Compleat Ankh-Morpork: City Guide
(Random House/Doubleday 978-0385538237, $39.95, 128pp, hardcover, October 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 28 Oct 2014

Associational nonfiction guide to the central setting of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels. It includes a large folding map tucked in the back cover flap.
• The UK edition was published in 2012.
• Random House’s site has this description.
• Amazon’s page for the UK edition previews via its “Look Inside” function.

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* Scott, Melissa, & Amy Griswold : A Death at the Dionysus Club
(Lethe Press 978-1-59021-530-2, $18, 268pp, trade paperback, October 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Sat 18 Oct 2014
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: B00OM34RZA

Fantasy detective novel set in a Victorian London where magic works, sequel to Death by Silver (2013).
• Lethe Press’ site has this description.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides previews.

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+ Sedia, Ekaterina, ed. : The Mammoth Book of Gaslit Romance
(Running Press 978-0762454679, $14.95, 512pp, trade paperback, November 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 11 Nov 2014

Anthology of 21 original stories “of love in the Victorian era”.
• Authors include Richard Bowes, N.K. Jemisin, Barbara Roden, Nisi Shawl, Delia Sherman, and Genevieve Valentine.
• The publisher’s site has this short description.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides previews, including the table of contents.

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+ Sinisalo, Johanna : The Blood of Angels
(Peter Owen 978-0-7206-1004-8, $16.95, 240pp, trade paperback, October 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Wed 1 Oct 2014

Near-future SF novel about an ecological disaster hitting Finland, translated from the Finnish by Lola Rogers.
• The publisher’s site has this description.
• The UK edition, from the same publisher, was released on July 30.
• The Publishers Weekly review calls it a “dour but impressive novel” and concludes, “The novel’s flat tone and didacticism can make it hard to warm to at first, but as Orvo’s life story emerges—particularly his complex relationships with his son, father, and grandfather—the reader will be moved to contemplate the unforeseen ways that each generation influences the next.”
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews it in the December issue of Locus Magazine, who says “The Blood of Angels [is] both poignant and angry. It sounds like a backhanded compliment to say this is the finest novel we’re likely to see about Colony Collapse Disorder, but we’re fortunate to have one this good at all.”

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* Sweet, Caitlin : The Door in the Mountain
(ChiZine Publications/ChiTeen 978-1771481915, $12.99, 300pp, trade paperback, October 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Nov 2014
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781771481922

Young adult fantasy novel, first book in a two-part series, about Ariadne, Icarus, and others in ancient Crete.
• ChiZine’s site has this description, with quotes from reviews and links to samples.

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* Tripp, Ben : The Accidental Highwayman
(Tor Teen 978-0765335494, $17.99, 304pp, hardcover, September 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 14 Oct 2014
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781466822634
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781427258717

Young-adult fantasy novel, first of a trilogy, about an 18th-century highwayman’s boy servant who falls into magical adventures.
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Tripp infuses his story with whimsy, humor, and derring-do, and his miniature spot illustrations and handful of lovely full-page pieces add to the overall charm.”

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