This week’s new books include the simultaneous US/UK release of The Book of Dust, Volume One: La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman, first volume in a highly-anticipated follow-up trilogy to the author’s His Dark Materials trilogy; a climate change novel by Paul McAuley; first volume of a new fantasy trilogy by K.J. Parker; an anthology of classic and new space opera by Bryan Thomas Schmidt; and other titles by Charlie Jane Anders, Elizabeth Bonesteel, Steven Brust, D. Nolan Clarke, David L. Golemon, Frances Hardinge, Kevin Hearne, Gregg Hurwitz, Carrie Jones, Mercedes Lackey, and Emma Newman.

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* Anders, Charlie Jane : Six Months, Three Days, Five Others
(Tor.com 978-0765394897, $12.99, 192pp, hardcover, October 2017)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 17 Oct 2017
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781250191762

Collection of six stories, one of them, a coda to the author’s novel All the Birds in the Sky, original to this book.
• Contents include Hugo Award winner “Six Months, Three Days.”
• Macmillan’s site has this description.
• Rachel Swirsky reviews it in the October issue of Locus Magazine: “Charlie Jane Anders is ridiculously brilliant.”

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• (Directory Entry)

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* Bonesteel, Elizabeth : Breach of Containment
(Harper Voyager 978-0062413680, $16.99, 576pp, trade paperback, October 2017)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 17 Oct 2017
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780062413703
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9780062836243
• Central Corps #3

Military SF novel, third in a series following The Cold Between (March 2016) and Remnants of Trust (Nov. 2016), about a patrol ship that responds to an attack on its sister ship.
• HarperCollins’ site has this description with a sample.
• Publishers Weekly gave the previous book a starred review: “Surprising, convincing character development makes this series worth following and leaves the reader confident that Bonesteel will successfully untangle the plot threads down the line.”

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• (Directory Entry)

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* Brust, Steven : Vallista
(Tor 978-0-7653-2445-0, $25.99, 336pp, hardcover, October 2017)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 17 Oct 2017
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781429946995
• Vlad Taltos #15

Fantasy novel, 15th in the series about Vlad Taltos, following Jhegaala (2007), Iorich (2010), Tiassa (2011), and Hawk (2014).
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “…longtime readers will have a lot to get excited about: many of the mysteries plaguing Vlad are solved here, and the Paths of the Dead, long one of the more complicated elements of this universe, are a major plot element. Brust’s signature wit and narrative voice keep the action flowing and entertaining.”
• Adrienne Martini reviews it in the October issue of Locus Magazine: “…any trip back to Brust’s world is a fun one.”

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• (Directory Entry)

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* Clark, D. Nolan : Forbidden Suns
(Orbit 978-0316355810, $16.99, 624pp, trade paperback, October 2017)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 17 Oct 2017
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780316355803
• UK edition: 978-0356507552 (Thu 19 Oct 2017)
• The Silence #3

Military SF novel, third in a series following Forsaken Skies and Forgotten Worlds (both 2016), about a Navy war hero who confronts an invading alien armada.
• Hachette’s site has this description.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides previews.

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* Golemon, David L. : In the Still of the Night
(St. Martin’s/Dunne 978-1-250-10310-9, $27.99, 368pp, hardcover, October 2017)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 17 Oct 2017
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781250103116
• The Supernaturals #2

Supernatural thriller, second in a series following The Supernaturals (2016), about a team of scientists and paranormal experts.
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.

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+ Hardinge, Frances : A Skinful of Shadows
(Abrams/Amulet 978-1419725722, $19.99, 432pp, hardcover, October 2017)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 17 Oct 2017

Young adult fantasy novel, set during the English Civil War, about the illegitimate daughter of an aristocratic family who is able to be possessed by ghosts.
• Abrams’ site has this description.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: Hardinge “crafts a delicious combination of historical adventure, coming-of-age tale, and supernatural intrigue, set amid power struggles that reshaped 17th-century England.”

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* Hearne, Kevin : A Plague of Giants
(Del Rey 978-0-345-54860-3, $28.99, 640pp, hardcover, October 2017)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 17 Oct 2017
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780345548610
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9780804128803
• Seven Kennings #1

Fantasy novel, first in a series, set in a world of shape-shifting bards, fire-wielding giants, and children who speak to beasts.
• Penguin Random House’s site has this description with a preview function.

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* Hurwitz, Gregg : Last Chance
(Tor Teen 978-0-7653-8269-6, $17.99, 384pp, hardcover, October 2017)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 17 Oct 2017
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781466888524
• The Rains Brothers #2

Young adult SF novel, second in a series following The Rains (2016), about two brothers fighting an alien threat.
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Publihsers Weekly said of the first book: “In his first book for teens, Hurwitz crafts a tense, disturbing tale that’s simultaneously a story driven by brotherly love and the determination to survive against impossible odds.”

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* Jones, Carrie : Enhanced
(Tor Teen 978-0765336583, $17.99, 224pp, hardcover, October 2017)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 17 Oct 2017
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781466828506
• Flying #2

Young adult SF novel, second in a series following Flying (2016), about an alien-hunting cheerleader.
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Publishers Weekly said of the first book, “Frequent twists and plentiful action keep the story moving briskly with only a few instances where disbelief needs to be suspended.”

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• (Directory Entry)

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* Lackey, Mercedes : A Scandal in Battersea
(DAW 978-0756408732, $27, 320pp, hardcover, October 2017)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 17 Oct 2017
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780756411626
• Elemental Masters #12

Fantasy novel, twelfth book in the Elemental Masters series, following Fire Rose, Gates of Sleep, Serpent’s Shadow, Phoenix and Ashes, The Wizard of London, Reserved for the Cat, Unnatural Issue (2011), Elemental Magic (2012), Steadfast (2013), Blood Red (2014), From a High Tower (2015), and A Study in Sable (2016), about Sherlock Holmes in an alternate 20th-century England.
• Penguin Random House’s site this description with a preview function.

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* McAuley, Paul : Austral
(UK: Gollancz 978-1473217317, £11.98, 288pp, trade paperback, October 2017)
• Nominal Publication Date: Thu 19 Oct 2017
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781473217331

SF novel about an edited person who’s committed a kidnapping in a future where climate change has brought about a new nation on the Antarctic Penninsula.
• Orion’s site has this description.
• Jonathan Cowie has this review at Concatenation: “Austral combines a solid science scenario with a taught thriller in an all too plausible future. For an SF reader, or indeed any reader that considers matters beyond the day after tomorrow, what is there not to like?”

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* Newman, Emma : Weaver’s Lament
(Tor.com 978-0-7653-9411-8, $14.99, 176pp, trade paperback, October 2017)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 17 Oct 2017
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780765394101
• Industrial Magic #2

Alternate history fantasy novel, second in a series following Brother’s Ruin (March 2017), set in 1850 London where talented young mages are recruited by the Royal Society of Esoteric Arts.
• Macmillan’s site has this description.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “The story hints at a wider world and plenty of backstory without losing the reader or stopping for long explanations, making it quick and pleasant to read.”

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* Parker, K. J. : The Two of Swords: Volume One
(Orbit 978-0-316-17772-6, $15.99, 512pp, trade paperback, October 2017)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 17 Oct 2017
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780316215381
• UK edition: 978-0356506760 (Thu 19 Oct 2017)
• The Two of Swords #1

Fantasy novel, first of a trilogy (with subsequent volumes scheduled for November and December), about two brothers fighting on opposite sides of an endless war between East and West.
• Hachette’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “Parker’s plot is a delight, full of successive revelations; his characters earn sympathy even at their most pragmatically ruthless, and his sparkling prose and sardonic humor help build the dazzling shape of a game larger than two empires.”

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* Pullman, Philip : The Book of Dust, Volume One: La Belle Sauvage
(Knopf 978-0375815300, 464pp, hardcover, October 2017)
• Nominal Publication Date: Thu 19 Oct 2017
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780553510737
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9780525522980
• UK edition: Penguin Random House/David Fickling Books 978-0385604413 (Thu 19 Oct 2017)
• The Book of Dust #1


Fantasy novel, first book a trilogy set in the world of the author’s His Dark Materials trilogy, set ten years before that trilogy and concerning Lyra and her daemon Pantalaimon.
• Penguin Random House’s site has this description.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides previews.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “The new characters are as lively and memorable as their predecessors; despite a few heavy-handed moments regarding the oppressiveness of religion, this tense, adventure-packed book will satisfy and delight Pullman’s fans and leave them eager to see what’s yet to come.”

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• (Directory Entry)

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* Schmidt, Bryan Thomas, ed. : Infinite Stars
(Titan 9781785655937, $24.95, 496pp, hardcover, October 2017)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 17 Oct 2017

Anthology of 24 space opera stories, 14 of them original.
• Authors include Orson Scott Card, Cordwainer Smith, Lois McMaster Bujold, Elizabeth Moon, Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle, Poul Anderson, and David Weber.
• Robert Silverberg provides an introduction, and a story.
• Titan’s site has this description.
• Rich Horton reviews it in the October issue of Locus Magazine, and especially recommends Alastair Reynolds’ story “Night Passage.”

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• (Directory Entry)

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