New Books : 5 December 2017

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* Arden, Katherine : The Girl in the Tower
(Del Rey 978-1-101-88596-3, $27, 384pp, hardcover, December 2017)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 5 Dec 2017
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781101885970
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9780525496540
• Winternight #2

Fantasy novel, second in a trilogy following The Bear and the Nightingale (Jan. 2017), about a Russian girl whose ability to see her childhood spirits drives her from her home.
• Penguin Random House’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “””Vasya is a remarkable heroine, strong of will and sharp of mind, and her stark realization that her desire for freedom may have consequences for those she loves adds a layer to this sensual, beautifully written, and emotionally stirring fantasy. Fairy tales don’t get better than this.””

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
• (Directory Entry)

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* Cerveny, Catherine : The Chaos of Luck
(Orbit 978-0-316-51055-4, $15.99, 432pp, trade paperback, December 2017)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 5 Dec 2017
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780316355520
• Felicia Sevigny #2

SF romance novel, second in a series following The Rule of Luck (Nov. 2017), about a Brazilian tarot card reader and a Russian crime lord in the solar system of 2950.
• Hachette’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Publishers Weekly said of the first book, “Cerveny includes a variety of typical futuristic elements, such as remote-control bodies, life extension, space elevators, clones, teleportation, and flying cars, that will entirely satisfy fans of pulpy SF.”

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• (Directory Entry)

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* Corey, James S. A. : Persepolis Rising
(Orbit 978-0-316-33283-5, $28, 560pp, hardcover, December 2017)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 5 Dec 2017
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780316332828
• The Expanse #7

Space opera novel, seventh book of “The Expanse” following Leviathan’s Deep (2011), Caliban’s War (2012), Abaddon’s Gate (2013), Cibola Burn (2014), Nemesis Games (2015), and Babylon’s Ashes (2016).
• James S.A. Corey is a pseudonym for authors Ty Franck and Daniel Abraham.
• Hachette’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “Corey’s tense, tightly plotted story is stuffed to the brim with intrigue, action, awesome alien tech, multidimensional characters, and provocative ideas.”

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• (Directory Entry)

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* Flint, Eric, & Charles E. Gannon : 1636: The Vatican Sanction
(Baen 978-1-4814-8277-6, $25, 480pp, hardcover, December 2017, cover art Tom Kidd)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 5 Dec 2017
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-1-62579-619-6
• Ring of Fire #24

Alternate history novel in the “Ring of Fire” series that began with Flint’s 1632 (2000), concerning 17th century European history as affected by West Virginians from the 20th century.
• Baen’s site has this description with links to several chapters.

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• (Directory Entry)

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+ Fowler, Christopher : Bryant & May: Wild Chamber
(Bantam 978-1-101887-06-6, $27, 448pp, hardcover, December 2017)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 5 Dec 2017
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781101887073
• Bryant & May #14

First US edition (UK: Transworld/Doubleday UK, March 2017)

Supernatural crime novel, fourteenth in a series about detectives Bryant and May that began with Full Dark House (2004) and most recently included Strange Tide (2016).
• Penguin Random House’s site has this description with a preview.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “Fowler brilliantly mixes humor into a fair-play whodunit with an unexpected solution.”

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• (Directory Entry)

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* Haig, Francesca : The Forever Ship
(Simon & Schuster/Gallery 978-1-4767-6720-8, $26, 400pp, hardcover, December 2017)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 5 Dec 2017
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781476767253
• The Fire Sermon #3

SF novel, third in a trilogy following The Fire Sermon (2015) and The Map of Bones (2016), set in the aftermath of a nuclear war when all humans are both as twins, one a perfect Alpha, the other a mutated Omega.
• Simon & Schuster’s site has this description.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Still, as she wraps up the trilogy, she subverts expectations even as she draws to a logical, bittersweet conclusion.”

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• (Directory Entry)

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* Hunter, Faith : Flame in the Dark
(Ace 978-0-451-47333-2, $7.99, 368pp, mass market paperback, December 2017)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 5 Dec 2017
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780698184510
• Soulwood #3

Urban fantasy novel, third in a series following Blood of the Earth and Curse on the Land (both 2016), set in the same world as the author’s 10 Jane Yellowrock novels.
• Penguin Random House’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “””Hunter’s many fans will be delighted with her strong new heroine.””

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• (Directory Entry)

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* Lackey, Mercedes, ed. : Pathways: All-New Tales of Valdemar
(DAW 978-0756409043, $7.99, 400pp, mass market paperback, December 2017)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 5 Dec 2017
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780698188471

Anthology of 21 original fantasy stories.
• Authors include Jennifer Brozek, Diana L. Paxson, Janny Wurt, and Mercedes Lackey.
• Penguin Random House’s site has this description with a preview function.

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• (Directory Entry)

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* Le Guin, Ursula K. : No Time to Spare: Thinking About What Matters
(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 978-1-328-66159-3, $22, 240pp, hardcover, December 2017)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 5 Dec 2017
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781328661036

Nonfiction collection of 41 essays, drawn from the author’s blog, with an introduction by Karen Joy Fowler.
• HMH’s site has this description with a Google preview.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Le Guin reveals no startling insights but offers her many fans a chance to share her clear-eyed experience of the everyday.”

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• (Directory Entry)

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* Marshall, Alex : A War in Crimson Embers
(Orbit 978-0316340724, $27, 592pp, hardcover, December 2017)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 5 Dec 2017
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780316340748
• Crimson Empire #3

Fantasy novel, third in a trilogy following A Crown of Cold Silver (2015) and A Blade of Black Steel (2016), about a female warrior facing five villains.
• Hachette’s site has this description.
• Publishers Weekly gave the first book, noting the author is “pseudonymous”, a starred review: “””exceptional writing, a middle-aged warrior heroine, and organically infused gender nonconformity make this fantasy epic a first-rate trailblazer.””

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• (Directory Entry)

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* Martin, George R. R., ed. : Mississippi Roll: A Wild Cards Novel
(Tor 978-0765390523, $27.99, 336pp, hardcover, December 2017)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 5 Dec 2017
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780765390547
• Wild Cards #15

Collaborative novel edited by Martin and written by Stephen Leigh, John Jos. Miller, Kevin Andrew Murphy, Carrie Vaughn, David D. Levine, and Cherie Priest.
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.

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• (Directory Entry)

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* Matthews, Susan R. : Fleet Insurgent
(Baen 978-1-48148-286-8, $16, 576pp, trade paperback, December 2017, cover art Kurt Miller)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 5 Dec 2017
• Under Jurisdiction #8

Collection of novellas and short stories, several of them original to this book, in the series that began with An Exchange of Hostages (1997) and most recently included Blood Enemies (Apr. 2017), about the surgeon/inquisitor Andrej Kosciusko.
• Baen’s site has this description with links to sample chapters.

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• (Directory Entry)

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* Scholes, Ken : Hymn
(Tor 978-0765321312, $29.99, 416pp, hardcover, December 2017)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 5 Dec 2017
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781429949583
• Psalms of Isaak #5

Fantasy novel, fifth and final volume in the “Psalms of Isaak” series following Lamentation, Canticle, Antiphon (2010), and Requiem (2013).
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Publishers Weekly said of the previous book, “Science fiction and fantasy elements overlap seamlessly, bringing Scholes’s far-future post-apocalyptic world to life in captivating detail. While new readers will be lost in the myriad plotlines, characters, and alien concepts, fans will undoubtedly enjoy this continuation of the saga.”

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• (Directory Entry)

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* Spoor, Ryk E. : Princess Holy Aura
(Baen 978-1-4814-8282-0, $16, 464pp, trade paperback, December 2017, cover art Morinekozion)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 5 Dec 2017
• Balanced Sword #4

Fantasy novel, fourth in a series following Phoenix Rising (2012), Phoenix in Shadow (2015), and Phoenix Ascendant (2016), about a highborn woman who battles evil in her land.
• Baen’s site has this description with a link to sample chapters.
• The Publishers Weekly review says, “In Spoor’s affable horror fantasy, a 35-year-old man must transform into a 14-year-old girl to save the world from a Lovecraftian menace.”
• The author has a Big Idea post on John Scalzi’s blog today.

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• (Directory Entry)

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* Sriduangkaew, Benjanun : Winterglass
(Apex Publications 978-1-937009-62-5, $10.95, 130pp, trade paperback, December 2017)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 5 Dec 2017

Fantasy novella about a woman determined to defeat the Winter Queen who has taken over her homeland.
• Apex’s site has this description.
• The Publishers Weekly review comments, “Sriduangkaew employs spare description, drawing together elements of fables, Asian cultures, steampunk, and variations on the theme of strong female characters.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
• (Directory Entry)

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* Sykes, Sam : God’s Last Breath
(Orbit 978-0316374934, $16.99, 704pp, trade paperback, December 2017)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 5 Dec 2017
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780316374941
• Bring Down Heaven #3

Fantasy novel, third in a trilogy following The City Stained Red (2015) and The Mortal Tally (2016), about adventurer Lenk and his companions battling demons trying to break free from Hell.
• Hachette’s site has this description with an excerpt.

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• (Directory Entry)

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These listings are based on publisher schedules and availability on Amazon (rather than on confirmation of physical publication via purchase, review copies, or sightings in bookstores). Titles are listed only once they are published (with rare exception). We do not list galleys or advance reading copies.

Page counts are based on publisher or Amazon listings, and typically only approximate the bibliographic page counts of finished books.

* = first edition
+ = first US edition

Date with publisher info is official publication month.

‘Nominal Publication Date’ is the day of publication, typically as indicated by Amazon.com.

If physical copies have been seen or received, that date is given following the book description.