New Books : 2 January 2018
New titles by Holly Black, C.J. Cherryh, Olivia A. Cole, Rod Duncan, Tyrell Johnson, Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, Dave McKean & William Schafer, James A. Moore, Damien Lincoln Ober, Sidney Perkowitz & Eddy von Mueller, John Scalzi, Alex Shvartsman, F. Paul Wilson, and Timothy Zahn.
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* Black, Holly : The Cruel Prince
(Little, Brown 978-0-316-31027-7, $18.99, 384pp, hardcover, January 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Jan 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780316310284
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781549140068
• The Folk of the Air #1
Young adult fantasy novel, first in a series, about a mortal girl trying to find her place in the faerie court.
• Hachette’s site has this description.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “Breathtaking set pieces, fully developed supporting characters, and a beguiling, tough-as-nails heroine enhance an intricate, intelligent plot that crescendos to a jaw-dropping third-act twist.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Cherryh, C. J. : Emergence
(DAW 978-0756414146, $26, 336pp, hardcover, January 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Jan 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780756414153
• Foreigner #19
SF novel, 19th volume in Cherryh’s long-running Foreigner series about humans and the alien atevi, following Deceiver (2010), Betrayer (2011), Intruder (2012), Protector (2013), Peacemaker (2014), Tracker (2015), Visitor (2016), and Convergence (2017)
• Penguin Random House’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Cole, Olivia A. : A Conspiracy of Stars
(HarperCollins/Tegen Books 978-0-06-264421-3, $17.99, 432pp, hardcover, January 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Jan 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780062644237
• Conspiracy of Stars #1
Young adult SF novel, first in a series, about a student who joins a group of scientists studying the indigenous people on the planet Faloiv.
• HarperCollins’ site has this description with a sample.
• The Publishes Weekly review comments, “Though Cole offers evocative descriptions of the natural landscape of Faloiv, the underlying critique of colonialism, while valuable, overshadows Octavia’s personal journey, and it takes quite some time for the story to gain momentum.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Duncan, Rod : The Queen of All Crows
(Angry Robot 978-0857667007, $9.99, 352pp, mass market paperback, January 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Jan 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780857667014
• UK edition: 9780857666994 (Thu 4 Jan 2018)
• The Map of Unknown Things #1
Alternate history fantasy novel, first in a new series set in the world of the author’s The Fall of the Gas-Lit Empire trilogy.
• Angry Robot’s site has this description.
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Johnson, Tyrell : The Wolves of Winter
(Scribner 978-1-5011-5567-3, $26, 320pp, hardcover, January 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Jan 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781501155697
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781508235378
Post-apocalyptic SF novel, the author’s first novel, about a young woman in the Canadian Yukon following a nuclear war.
• Simon & Schuster’s site has this description with a preview.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Johnson is an excellent storyteller; the novel is full of action, suspense, and plot twists as the resilient characters fight for survival in a harsh winter wilderness.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Lee, Sharon, & Steve Miller : Neogenesis
(Baen 978-1-4814-8278-3, $25, 448pp, hardcover, January 2018, cover art David Mattingly)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Jan 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-1-62579-622-6
• Liaden #21
SF novel in the authors’ long-running Liaden Universe series, a sequel to the previous novel The Gathering Edge (2017).
• Baen’s site has a description with links to several chapters.
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* McKean, Dave, & William Schafer, eds. : The Weight of Words
(Subterranean Press 978-1-59606-825-4, $40, 248pp, hardcover, December 2017)
• Nominal Publication Date: Sun 31 Dec 2017
Anthology of 12 original stories inspired by the paintings of Dave McKean.
• Authors include Alastair Reynolds, M. John Harrison, Neil Gaiman, and Catherynne M. Valente.
• Subterranean’s site has this description with the table of contents and several short excerpts.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “…even the least satisfying parts of this astonishing book are entirely readable, and the text plays beautifully against McKean’s gorgeously reproduced illustrations.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Moore, James A. : Fallen Gods
(Angry Robot 978-0857667113, $7.99, 400pp, mass market paperback, January 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Jan 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780857667120
• UK edition: 9780857665461 (Thu 4 Jan 2018)
• The Tides of War #2
Fantasy novel, second in a series following The Last Sacrifice (2017), about a warrior who challenges his family’s selection as human sacrifices for servants of the gods.
• Angry Robot’s site has this description.
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Ober, Damien Lincoln : Doctor Benjamin Franklin’s Dream America
(Night Shade Books 978-1-59780-919-1, $14.99, 336pp, trade paperback, January 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Jan 2018
Alternate history novel in which the internet and social media exist in colonial America.
• The book is copyright 2014 by the author.
• Night Shade’s site has this description with numerous blurbs, by T.C. Boyle, Brian Evenson, and others.
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Perkowitz, Sidney, & Eddy von Mueller, eds. : Frankenstein: How a Monster Became an Icon: The Science and Enduring Allure of Mary Shelley’s Creation
(Pegasus 978-1-68177-629-3, $28.95, 384pp, hardcover, January 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Jan 2018
Anthology of 13 essays about Mary Shelley’s iconic novel, on the novel’s 200th anniversary.
• The publisher’s site has this description.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “The selections range in tone from pop-culture journalism to scholarly appraisals, and though they come across as a scattered mix, they cumulatively make a fine case for the enduring value of Shelley’s timeless tale.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Scalzi, John : Don’t Live for Your Obituary: Advice, Commentary and Personal Observations on Writing, 2008-2017
(Subterranean Press 978-1-59606-858-2, $40, 472pp, hardcover, December 2017, jacket illustration Nate Taylor)
• Nominal Publication Date: Sun 31 Dec 2017
Collection of several dozen short essays on the writing life, derived from the author’s blog.
• Subterranean’s site has this description.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Above all he writes accessibly and so commonsensically that this book should appeal to writers in all disciplines, and even to SF readers who have no ambitions to write themselves.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Shvartsman, Alex, ed. : The Cackle of Cthulhu
(Baen 978-1-4814-8300-1, $16, 272pp, trade paperback, January 2018, cover art Dave Seeley)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Jan 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-1-62579-624-0
Anthology of 22 humorous stories based on H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos.
• Original stories are by Mike Resnick, Yvonne Navarro, Nick Mamatas, and others; reprints are by Neil Gaiman, Ken Liu, Esther Friesner, and others.
• Baen’s site has this description with links to several chapters.
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Wilson, F. Paul : The God Gene
(Forge 978-0-7653-8519-2, $25.99, 368pp, hardcover, January 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Jan 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780765385604
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781427294319
• The ICE Sequence #2
SF novel, second in a series following Panacea (2016), about two medical researchers in pursuit of a species of primates whose DNA contains key evidence of human evolution.
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Tight writing keeps this science adventure tale churning with the pace of James Rollins toward a conclusion worthy of Michael Crichton.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Zahn, Timothy : Cobra Traitor
(Baen 978-1-4814-8280-6, $16, 416pp, trade paperback, January 2018, cover art Dave Seeley)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Jan 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-1-62579-623-3
• Cobra Rebellion #3
SF novel, third in a series following Cobra Slave (2013) and Cobra Outlaw (2015), about the Cobra, nano-tech enhanced warriors built to defend humanity against aliens.
• Baen’s site has this description with links to several chapters.
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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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.
