* Banerjee, Anindita : We Modern People: Science Fiction and the Making of Modern Russia
(Wesleyan University Press 978-0819573346, $24.95, 230pp, trade paperback, January 2013)
• Nominal Publication Date: Thu 3 Jan 2013

Nonfiction about early Russian science fiction and how it was adopted into the concept of Russian modernity.
• The publisher’s site has this description with a link to the table of contents, and a blurb from Istvan Csicsery-Ronay Jr.
• There’s also a $75 hardcover edition.
• The author is an associate professor of comparative literature at Cornell University.

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* Gaiman, Neil, illustrated by Adam Rex : Chu’s Day
(HarperCollins 978-0-06-201781-9, 32pp, hardcover, January 2013)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 8 Jan 2013

Children’s picture book about a panda whose sneezes cause bad things to happen.
• The publisher’s site has this page with a preview function.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “Gaiman’s comic timing gets a boost from strategic book design and from Rex’s hyperreal paintings, which emphasize Chu’s round, fuzzy form and apparent harmlessness.”

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* Gould, Steven : Impulse
(Tor 978-0-7653-2757-4, $25.99, 368pp, hardcover, January 2013)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 8 Jan 2013
• Jumper #4

SF novel, third or fourth in a series that began with Jumper (1992), continued with Reflex (2004), and included prequel Jumper: Griffin’s Story (2007). This book is about a girl and her parents hiding from those who would control their ability to teleport.
• The publisher’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review advises familiarity with the earlier books, and concludes, “Fans of the series will enjoy meeting the next generation, but other readers may just feel lost.”

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+ Hager, Mandy : The Crossing
(Pyr 978-1-61614-698-6, $16.95, 280pp, hardcover, January 2013, cover illustration Larry Rostant)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 8 Jan 2013
• Blood of the Lamb #1

Dystopian YA novel, first of a series, about a girl who grows up on a small island in the Pacific that has survived the Tribulation, and where Apostles control the population to serve their own needs.
• Pyr’s site has this description.
• The book was first published in New Zealand in 2009, and won a New Zealand Post Children’s Book Award.
• The author’s site has this page about the trilogy.

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* Jordan, Robert, & Brandon Sanderson : A Memory of Light
(Tor 978-0-7653-2595-2, $34.99, 909pp, hardcover, January 2013, jacket art Michael Whelan)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 8 Jan 2013
• Wheel of Time #14

Fantasy novel, 14th volume in Jordan’s “Wheel of Time” series, completed by Sanderson after Jordan’s death. It’s the third of three books by Sanderson following The Gathering Storm (2009) and Towers of Midnight (2010)
• The publisher’s site has this description.
• Tor.com has this spoiler review by Leigh Butler.
• Tor has released a couple YouTube videos promoting the series and book: The Wheel of Time: The Last Chapter and The Wheel of Time: Legacy.
• The A.V. Club has a review by Zack Handlen, who gives it a B+.

(Wed 2 Jan 2013)
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* Martin, Gail Z. : Ice Forged
(Orbit 978-0-316-09358-3, $15.99, 592pp, mass market paperback, January 2013)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 8 Jan 2013
• Ascendant Kingdoms Saga #1

Fantasy novel, first in a series, about colonists in a northern wasteland who return to the kingdom that exiled them.
• The author’s site has this description with an excerpt.

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* Mayer, Andrew P. : Power Under Pressure
(Pyr 978-1-61614-696-2, $17.95, 390pp, trade paperback, January 2013, cover illustration Justin Gerard)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 8 Jan 2013
• The Society of Steam #3

Steampunk novel, third of a trilogy following the author’s The Falling Machine (May 2011) and Hearts of Smoke and Steam (Nov. 2011), set in 1880 New York.
• Pyr’s site has this description.

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* Planck, M. C. : The Kassa Gambit
(Tor 978-0-7653-3092-5, $24.99, 288pp, hardcover, January 2013)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 8 Jan 2013

SF novel, set in a human-colonized galaxy, about a freighter captain who responds to a distress call from a planet where the first evidence of alien contact is found.
• The publisher’s site has this description with an excerpt. The author’s site also has a description and excerpt, and a link to his blog.
• The Publishers Weekly review calls it “a star-spanning conspiracy crosses genres repeatedly, beginning as a space-operatic mystery with noir aspirations and winding up with a romance.”

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* Rought, A. E. : Broken
(Angry Robot/Strange Chemistry Us 978-1908844316, 320pp, trade paperback, January 2013, cover art Steven Wood)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 8 Jan 2013

Young adult Gothic romance about a teenage girl, bereft over the death of her boyfriend, who meets a strangely familiar newcomer.
• The publisher’s description calls it “a modern spin on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein“, with an extract.

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* Teppo, Mark : Earth Thirst
(Night Shade Books 978-1-59780-445-5, $14.99, 320pp, trade paperback, January 2013, cover art Cody Tilson)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 8 Jan 2013
• The Arcadian Conflict #-

SF/vampire novel about a race of eco-vampires called Arcadians who battle multi-national corporations despoiling Earth’s environment.
• Night Shade’s site has this description.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides a preview.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “…if there are ecowarriors eager for an Earth-friendly vampire novel, this action-packed conspiracy thriller proclaiming the evils of genetic engineering will suit them just fine.”

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