New Books : 13 February 2018
John Kessel’s Pride and Prometheus, Ned Beauman’s Madness Is Better Than Defeat, David Pedreira’s Gunpowder Moon, and titles by RJ Barker, Jordanna Max Brodsky, Rachel Caine & Ann Aguiree, Susan Dennard, Thoraiya Dyer, Tom Miller, Gavin Smith, Jo Walton, and Scott Westerfeld/Margo Lanagan/Deborah Biancotti.
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* Barker, RJ : Blood of Assassins
(Orbit 978-0316466547, $15.99, 480pp, trade paperback, February 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 13 Feb 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780316466561
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781478923848
• The Wounded Kingdom #2
Fantasy novel, second in a series following Age of Assassins (2017), about three kings battling for supremacy in a magical land.
• Hachette’s site has this description.
• Publishers Weekly said of the first book, “…readers will appreciate Barker’s complex mythology and smoothly flowing plot.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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+ Beauman, Ned : Madness Is Better Than Defeat
(Knopf 978-0-385-35299-4, $27.95, 416pp, hardcover, February 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 13 Feb 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780385353007
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9780525588726
Historical fantasy novel about rival expeditions to an ancient temple in Honduras in 1938.
• The UK edition appeared in August 2017.
• Penguin Random House’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “Exquisitely comic and absurd, Beauman’s imaginative novel brims with the snappy dialogue, vivid scenery, and converging story lines of an old Hollywood classic; it also says something essential about the nature of film and memory.”
• Paul Di Filippo’s review for Locus Online will appear later this month.
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Brodsky, Jordanna Max : Olympus Bound
(Orbit 978-0-316-38594-7, $26, 512pp, hardcover, February 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 13 Feb 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780316385923
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781549141232
• Olympus Bound #3
Fantasy novel, third in a trilogy following The Immortals (2016) and Winter of the Gods (2017), about the Greek gods living in contemporary New York City.
• Hachette’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “As in the previous volumes, Brodsky expertly weaves together ancient mystery cults, mythology, and science, producing a syncretic masterpiece that challenges the reader’s assumptions and expectations at every turn.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Caine, Rachel, & Ann Aguirre : Honor Among Thieves
(Katherine Tegen Books 978-0-06-257099-4, $17.99, 480pp, hardcover, February 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 13 Feb 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780062571014
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9780062822444
• Honors #1
Young adult SF novel, first in a series, about a petty criminal recruited into an elite team of passengers for a race of sentient alien ships.
• HarperCollins’ site has this description with a sample.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “Keenly wrought characters, imaginative worldbuilding, and an inventive plot engage and gratify while urging readers to stay curious, question authority, and fight injustice.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Dennard, Susan : Sightwitch
(Tor Teen 978-1250183521, $16.99, 240pp, hardcover, February 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 13 Feb 2018
• Witchlands #3
Illustrated fantasy novella set in the Witchlands of novels Truthwitch (2016) and Windwitch (2017).
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Dyer, Thoraiya : Echoes of Understorey
(Tor 978-0-7653-8595-6, $16.99, 352pp, trade paperback, February 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 13 Feb 2018
• Titan’s Forest Trilogy #2
Fantasy novel, second in a trilogy following Crossroads of Canopy (2017), about thirteen cities in a forest canopy rules by gods and goddesses.
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “Dyer skillfully weaves elements of mythology, family loyalty, and divine destiny into a distinctive, enchanting, and complete world.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Kessel, John : Pride and Prometheus
(Saga Press 978-1-4814-8147-2, $27.99, 384pp, hardcover, February 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 13 Feb 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781481481496
Historical fantasy novel that brings together characters from Pride and Prejudice and Frankenstein.
• Simon & Schuster’s site has this description with a preview.
• Russell Letson reviews it in the February 2018 issue of Locus Magazine: “It’s a nicely elaborated dance of viewpoints, of sensibilities, of ironies, and of genre conventions and tropes. At the end, Victor and the Creature exit in the direction of their appointed final confrontation, and Mary eventually finds a landing-place of her own, enlarged but not utterly transformed by her experiences. And nary a zombie or sea monster in sight.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Miller, Tom : The Philosopher’s Flight
(Simon & Schuster 978-1-4767-7815-0, $26, 432pp, hardcover, February 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 13 Feb 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781476778174
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781508253457
Historical fantasy novel, the author’s first novel, about a young man entering the female-dominated branch of magical science called empirical philosophy, with dreams of fighting in the Great War.
• Simon & Schuster’s site has this description with a preview.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “…the history of this alternate world and its magic tech are inventively executed.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Pedreira, David : Gunpowder Moon
(Harper Voyager 978-0-06-267608-5, $14.99, 304pp, trade paperback, February 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 13 Feb 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780062676092
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9780062800411
SF novel, the author’s first novel, about a murder at a lunar helium-3 mining colony in 2072.
• HarperCollins’ site has this description with a sample.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “Pedreira is very good at drawing characters and showing the terrible limits within which they must function. The tension is especially strong in the novel’s last pages, leading to a conclusion that manages to be simultaneously cynical and hopeful. This is an exciting story with an unexpected depth—a solid winner.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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+ Smith, Gavin : The Bastard Legion
(Gollancz 978-1-4732-1725-6, $13.99, 336pp, trade paperback, February 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 6 Feb 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781473217263
• The Bastard Legion #1
Military SF novel, first in a series, about a prison ship full of dangerous criminals in suspended animation that’s stolen to become mercenaries.
• Orion’s site has this description.
• The UK edition appeared in October 2017.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “The complex plot twists and double-crosses are as exciting as the detailed descriptions of violent combat. Layers of complex tensions and loyalties all interact in intriguing ways. This series launch will keep readers turning pages, eager to see what bloody adventure awaits and how the legion develops into a force to be reckoned with.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Walton, Jo : Starlings
(Tachyon Publications 978-1-61696-056-8, $15.95, 272pp, trade paperback, February 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 13 Feb 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-1-61696-057-5
Collection of 21 stories and 15 poems.
• Tachyon’s site has this description with numerous blurbs and quotes from reviews and the table of contents.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “The collection will appeal most strongly to Walton’s dedicated fans and those with academic interest in her work.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Westerfeld, Scott, Margo Lanagan & Deborah Biancotti : Nexus
(Simon Pulse 978-1481443425, $19.99, 496pp, hardcover, February 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 13 Feb 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781481443449
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781508245391
• Zeroes #3
Young adult fantasy novel, third in a trilogy following Zeroes (2015) and Swarm (2016), about six California teens with supernatural powers.
• Simon & Schuster’s site has this description with a Google preview.
• 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.
