New Books : 1 May 2018

Greg Egan’s Phoresis, R.F. Kuang’s The Poppy War; collections and novellas by Caitlín R. Kiernan, Priya Sharma, Steven Rasnic Tem, and Connie Willis; an anthology from Bill Campbell, & Francesco Verso; and novels by James Abbott, Joseph Brassey, Emily Devenport, Faith Hunter, Sarah J. Maas, Sylvain Neuvel, Eliot Peper, S.A. Sidor, Jodi Taylor, and Steve White & Charles E. Gannon.

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+ Abbott, James : The Never King
(Pan Macmillan 978-1-5098-0311-8, $14.95, 512pp, trade paperback, May 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 1 May 2018

Fantasy novel about a deposed king plotting to escape from jail.
• James Abbott is a pseudonym for Mark Charan Newton.
• The UK edition appeared in May 2017.
• Pan Macmillan’s site has this description.

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* Brassey, Joseph : Dragon Road
(Angry Robot 978-0857666796, $8.99, 448pp, mass market paperback, May 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 1 May 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780857666802
• UK edition: 9780857666796 (Thu 3 May 2018)
• The Drifting Lands #2

Space fantasy novel, second in a series following Skyfarer (2017), about an apprentice sorceress involved in a plot aboard a city-sized spaceship.
• Angry Robot’s site has this description.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides previews.

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* Campbell, Bill, & Francesco Verso, eds. : Future Fiction: New Dimensions in International Science Fiction
(Rosarium 978-0-9987059-1-0, $23.95, 310pp, trade paperback, May 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 1 May 2018

Anthology of 13 stories. Authors include Xiz Jia, Carlos Hernandez, James Patrick Kelly, and Ekaterina Sedia.
• Rosarium’s site has this description with blurbs from Emmi Itäranta and others.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides previews.
• The Publishers Weekly review cites the stories by Carlos Hernandez and Clelia Farris.

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* Devenport, Emily : Medusa Uploaded
(Tor 978-1-250-16934-1, $16.99, 320pp, trade paperback, May 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 1 May 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781250169327
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781427298744
• The Medusa Cycle #1

SF novel, first in a series, about an insurgent aboard a generation starship.
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “Devenport, a Philip K. Dick Award–winner under her Maggy Thomas pseudonym, cleverly reveals the underworld of the typical shiny starships of fiction. She has an admirable willingness to spread out the action and allow her main character to be fallible, which adds depth to the work and prevents the story from devolving into a ‘chosen one’ narrative.” [Note however the book by Maggie Thomas was a PKD finalist, but did not win: http://www.sfadb.com/Philip_K_Dick_Award_2001.]

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* Egan, Greg : Phoresis
(Subterranean Press 978-1-59606-866-7, $40, 168pp, hardcover, April 2018, jacket illustration Gregory Manchess)
• Nominal Publication Date: Mon 30 Apr 2018

SF novella about two planets, one inhabited, one not, and a plan by the former to colonize the latter.
• Subterranean’s site has this description
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “Though short, this science-driven tale has an epic feel; it’s a perfect starting point for readers who have found Egan’s other work impenetrable.”
• Russell Letson reviewed it in the April issue of Locus Magazine: “This is the Tower of Babel, but without the hubris and confusion: a parable not of division and failure but of the triumph of ingenuity and selflessness – of hope.”

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* Hunter, Faith : Dark Queen
(Ace 978-1101991428, $7.99, 432pp, mass market paperback, May 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 1 May 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781101991435
• Jane Yellowrock #12

Urban fantasy novel, twelfth in the series following Skinwalker (2009), Blood Cross (2010), Mercy Blade (2011), Raven Cursed (Jan. 2012), Death’s Rival (2012), Blood Trade (2013), Black Arts (Jan. 2014), Broken Soul (Oct. 2014), Dark Heir (2015), Shadow Rites (2016), and Cold Reign (2017) about a shapeshifting vampire-hunter of Cherokee descent.
• Penguin Random House’s site has this description with a preview.

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* Kiernan, Caitlín R. : Black Helicopters
(Tor.com 978-1-250-19113-7, $14.99, 208pp, trade paperback, May 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 1 May 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-1-250-19112-0

Fantasy novella, an expansion of the 2013 volume from Subterranean Press, about Lovecraftian horrors on the shores of New England.
• Macmillan’s site has this description.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Kiernan’s novella is well-wrought dark fantasy struck from the template of the black-ops thriller.”

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* Kuang, R. F. : The Poppy War
(Harper Voyager 978-0-06-266256-9, $26.99, 544pp, hardcover, May 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 1 May 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780062662590
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9780062848789
• The Poppy War #1

Epic historical military fantasy novel, first in a series and the author’s first novel, inspired by 20th century China.
• HarperCollins’ site has this description with a sample.
• The Publishers Weekly review comments, “Kuang highlights the horrors of war, especially the moral and emotional toll on combatants who employ scorched-earth strategies. … This is a strong and dramatic launch to Kuang’s career.”

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* Maas, Sarah J. : A Court of Frost and Starlight
(Bloomsbury 978-1681196312, $17.99, 272pp, hardcover, May 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 1 May 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781681199061
• Court of Thorns and Roses #4

Young adult fantasy novel, fourth book in a series following A Court of Thorns and Roses (2015), A Court of Mist and Fury (2106), and A Court of Wings and Ruin, about a 19-year-old huntress, Feyre, who is abducted to the world of immortal faeries.
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Bloomsbury’s site has this description with a Google preview.

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* Neuvel, Sylvain : Only Human
(Del Rey 978-0-399-18011-8, $28, 352pp, hardcover, May 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 1 May 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780399180125
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9780525530879
• Themis Files #3

SF novel, third in a a series following Sleeping Giants (2016) and Waking Gods (2017), about giant robots invading Earth.
• Penguin Random House’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “This action-packed tale with apocalyptic stakes is a fitting finale to this wonderfully cinematic series.”

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* Peper, Eliot : Bandwidth
(47North 978-1-5039-5442-7, $24.95, 270pp, hardcover, May 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 1 May 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: B075CLV95J
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 978-1543666007
• Analog #1

SF novel, first in a series, about a political lobbyist who discoves his private digital feed has been hijacked.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides previews.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Peper guides his story with a sure hand, lacing its narrative with issues and references that resonate powerfully in the age of net neutrality, algorithms, and social media hacks.”

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* Sharma, Priya : All the Fabulous Beasts
(Undertow 978-1-9889640-2-7, $17.99, 288pp, trade paperback, May 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 1 May 2018

Collection of 16 stories, with two stories original to this book, the others first published from 2010 to 2017.
• Undertow’s site has this description.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “Sharma leaves tantalizing clues throughout her stories that make the conclusions surprising yet satisfying. Fantasy fans who want their stories deep and intense will consider this a fabulous debut.”

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* Sidor, S. A. : Fury From the Tomb
(Angry Robot 978-0857667618, $8.99, 448pp, mass market paperback, May 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 1 May 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780857667625
• UK edition: 9780857667618 (Thu 3 May 2018)
• Institute for Singular Antiquities #1

Fantasy novel about an archaeologist who makes a dangerous discovery in 1888 Egypt.
• Angry Robot’s site has this description.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides previews.

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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+ Taylor, Jodi : An Argumentation of Historians
(Night Shade 978-1-59780-934-4, $12.95, 440pp, trade paperback, May 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 1 May 2018
• The Chronicles of St. Mary’s #9

SF novel, ninth in a series that began with Just One Damned Thing After Another (June 2016), about time-traveling historians from St. Mary’s Institute of Historical Research.
• The UK edition was published in in April.
• Night Shade’s site has this description.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “The ninth novel in Taylor’s impressively complex and entertaining time travel series is a kaleidoscope of sensation filled with passion, intrigue, humor, and heartbreak.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Tem, Steve Rasnic : Figures Unseen: Selected Stories
(Valancourt Books 978-1948405010, $34.99, 340pp, hardcover, May 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 17 Apr 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: B07B9ZP6T7
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: B07BR7HR8M

Collection of 35 stories, with an introduction by Simon Strantzas.
• Valencourt’s site has this description.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides previews.

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* White, Steve, & Charles E. Gannon : Oblivion
(Baen 978-1-4814-8325-4, $16, 336pp, trade paperback, May 2018, cover art Dave Seeley)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 1 May 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-1-62579-646-2
• Starfire #8

Military SF novel, latest in a series following Extremis (2011), and most recently Imperative (2016), about the fallout of an alien invasion on the Rim Federation.
• Baen’s site has this description with links to sample chapters.

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* Willis, Connie : I Met a Traveller in an Antique Land
(Subterranean Press 978-1596068766, $40, 88pp, hardcover, April 2018, jacket illustration Jon Foster)
• Nominal Publication Date: Mon 30 Apr 2018

SF novella, first published in the November/December issue of Asimov’s, about a Christmastime visitor to New York City who discovers a magical bookshop.
• Subterranean’s site has this description with an excerpt.

• 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.