Atkinson, Kate : Life After Life
(Back Bay Books 978-0316176491, $18, 560pp, trade paperback, January 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Jan 2014

(First edition: Little Brown/Reagan Arthur Books, April 2013)

Literary fantasy novel about a girl born in 1910 who repeatedly dies and is born again.
• The publisher’s site has this description with a preview function.
• The book has been on many Best-of-2013 lists, and this past week was included on Amazon.com’s list of 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime. It was included on the the New York Times‘ 10 Best Books of 2013.

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Beukes, Lauren : The Shining Girls
(Little, Brown/Mulholland Books 978-0316216869, $16, 400pp, trade paperback, January 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 14 Jan 2014

(First edition: UK: HarperCollins, April 2013)

SF thriller about a time-traveling serial killer in Chicago.
• Hachette’s site has this description with a video and audiobook excerpt.
• Gary K. Wolfe reviewed the book in the August 2013 issue of Locus Magazine, concluding, “There are indeed some musings about fate, destiny, and free will implied by all these shenanigans, but what makes the novel provocative is Beukes’s often haunting evocation of places and characters, and of a strange house outside of time – a descendant of houses from Poe and Bulwer-Lytton to Lovecraft and Straub – rather than from any particular neatness in plotting.”

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Brennan, Marie : A Natural History of Dragons
(Tor 978-0-7653-7507-0, $15.99, 352pp, trade paperback, February 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 4 Feb 2014
• A Natural History of Dragons #1

(First edition: Tor, February 2013)

Fantasy novel, subtitled “A Memoir by Lady Trent” and first in a five volume series, about a dragon naturalist.
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The next book, The Tropic of Serpents, is due in March.

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Briggs, Patricia : Frost Burned
(Ace 978-0441020027, $7.99, 320pp, mass market paperback, February 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 28 Jan 2014
• Mercy Thompson #7

(First edition: Ace, March 2013)

Fantasy novel, seventh in a series about Mercy Thompson, a coyote shapeshifter who’s also a VW mechanic, following Moon Called (2006), Blood Bound (2007), Iron Kissed (2008), Bone Crossed (2009), Silver Borne (2010), and River Marked (2011).
• Penguin’s site has this description.

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Chadwick, Frank : How Dark the World Becomes
(Baen 978-1476736266, $7.99, 448pp, mass market paperback, February 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 28 Jan 2014

(First edition: Baen, February 2013)

SF novel about a gangster on colony planet run by alien overlords.
• Baen’s site has this description with links to several chapters.

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Cooper, Elspeth : Trinity Rising
(Tor 978-0-7653-6851-5, $8.99, 512pp, mass market paperback, February 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 28 Jan 2014
• The Wild Hunt #2

Fantasy novel, second of a series after the author’s first novel Songs of the Earth (2011), about a novice knight with the ability to hear magical music in a society where Church Knights execute as witches anyone who hears the ‘song of the Earth’.
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The author’s site has this page with links to extracts and descriptions of the next two books.
• Faren Miller reviewed the book in the February 2013 issue of Locus Magazine: “If you don’t mind a slew of viewpoint characters, whose plot lines don’t even start to come together till very late in the day, you can settle down and enjoy Cooper’s eloquent prose, unique versions of the occult, and fine emotional range.”

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Herbert, Brian, & Kevin J. Anderson : Hellhole: Awakening
(Tor 978-0-7653-6259-9, $8.99, 672pp, mass market paperback, February 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 28 Jan 2014

(First edition: UK: Simon & Schuster UK, February 2013)

Military SF novel, second book in a series, following Hellhole (2011), about desperate colonists on a ravaged planet.
• Macmillan’s site has this description with a trailer and audio excerpt.

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Hoyt, Sarah A. : A Few Good Men
(Baen 978-1-4767-3625-9, $7.99, 528pp, mass market paperback, February 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 28 Jan 2014
• Earth’s Revolution #1

(First edition: Baen, March 2013)

Space opera romance novel, first of a series and sequel to Darkship Thieves (2010) and Darkship Renegades (2012), set on a future Earth where “Good Man” refers to a member of the ruling class.
• Baen’s site has this description with links to several chapter excerpts.

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Lord, Karen : The Best of All Possible Worlds
(Ballantine Del Rey 978-0-345-54934-1, $15, 320pp, trade paperback, February 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 4 Feb 2014

(First edition: Ballantine Del Rey, February 2013)

SF novel about survivors of an alien genocide who seek out members of indigenous races in order to preserve their culture.
• The author’s first novel, Redemption in Indigo, won the Mythopoeic, Card Brandon, and Crawford awards.
• The publisher’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Gary K. Wolfe reviewed the book in the February issue of Locus Magazine, concluding, “The Best of All Possible Worlds may at times be trying to do too many things at once, some of which are pretty familiar, but Lord’s own graceful prose, ingratiating characters, and palpable love of SF knit it all together in a satisfying – and adventurous – departure from expectations.”

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Pratchett, Terry, & Stephen Baxter : The Long War
(Harper 978-0-06-206869-9, $9.99, 528pp, mass market paperback, February 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 28 Jan 2014
• Long Earth #2

(First edition: Harper, June 2013)

SF novel, second of a series following The Long Earth (2012), in which a process called Stepping gives humanity access to a series of parallel Earths.
• HarperCollins’ site has this description with a preview function.

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Saunders, George : Tenth of December: Stories
(Random House 978-0812984255, $15, 288pp, trade paperback, January 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Jan 2014

(First edition: Random House, January 2013)

Collection of 10 literary stories, some with fantasy elements, six of which were first published in The New Yorker.
• The publisher’s site has this description with an excerpt and quotes from reviews.
• Widely reviewed and acclaimed, the book was included on the the New York Times‘ 10 Best Books of 2013.

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Stirling, S. M. : Shadows of Falling Night
(Penguin/Roc 978-0-451-24057-6, $9.99, 448pp, mass market paperback, February 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 4 Feb 2014
• Shadowspawn #3

(First edition: Roc, May 2013)

Urban fantasy novel, third in a series following A Taint in the Blood (2010) and The Council of Shadows (2011), about a race of blood-drinking shape-shifters who live among humans.
• Penguin’s site has this description.
• Stirling’s official website has this page for the book with links to several chapters.

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Wecker, Helene : The Golem and the Jinni
(Harper Perennial 978-0062110848, $15.99, 512pp, trade paperback, January 2014)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 31 Dec 2013

(First edition: HarperCollins, May 2013)

Fantasy novel, the author’s first novel, about two mythical creatures who immigrate to New York in the 19th century.
• Harper’s site has this description with a preview function.
• Faren Miller reviewed it in the April 2013 issue of Locus Magazine: “The other characters turn out to be fascinating in their own right, some with back stories that extend to more openly occult times, but all of them anchored in one of the many classes and cultures of this highly complicated, turn-of-the-century city, with its ice cream vendors, heiresses, half-way houses and busy docks. There’s magic here, if you know where to look. But wonder can have many guises. The nonhuman newcomers find it in what the locals take for granted: our own world, on the verge of modern times.”
• The book was a finalist for this year’s Crawford Award for best first fantasy book.

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