New & Notable Books, May 2018
Tomi Adeyemi, Children of Blood and Bone (Holt 3/18) West African lore infuses this young-adult fantasy novel, the first book in the Legacy of Orisha trilogy and a first novel gathering considerable acclaim. Zélie fights to reclaim her people’s magic and stop the monarchy’s ruthless efforts to eradicate it.
Elizabeth Bear, Stone Mad (Tor.com Publishing 3/18) The steampunk Old West fantasy adventures of Karen Memory continue in this rollicking novella, which finds Karen dealing with spiritualists, stage magic, con artists, and a kidnapped tommy-knocker.
Aliette de Bodard, The Tea Master and the Detective (Subterranean 3/18) The far-future of the Xuya universe mixes with mystery in Sherlockian style in this banter-filled novella. An ex-military mindship finds a corpse in space for human scholar Long Chau to study, but the body turns out to have been murdered, and the ship and scholar investigate clues that reveal as much about this intriguing future as about the crime.
Samuel R. Delany, The Atheist in the Attic (PM Press 3/18) One of SF’s outspoken masters, Delany appears here with the title novella (appearing for the first time in book form) about a meeting between the mathematician Leibnitz and the Philosopher Spinoza, along with his classic essay, “Racism and Science Fiction” and a wide ranging, refreshingly plain-spoken interview conducted by Terry Bisson.
Alma Katsu, The Hunger (Putnam 3/18) The already grim story of the Donner Party, a wagon train of settlers in 1846, trapped by snow in the mountains by snow until members turned to cannibalism to survive, gets a horrifying supernatural twist in this powerful novel. “It’s a testament to Katsu’s skill as a writer that she creates characters so compelling that we can’t help hoping they will escape the fate we knw was hurtling toward them the moment we opened the book…. It’s a fine novel.” [John Langan]
Rowenna Miller, Torn (Orbit 3/18) This intrigue and fashion-filled fantasy debut, the first book in the Unraveled Kindom series, adds a magical twist to the problems of inequity in an alternate land inspired by the French Revolution. A budding young businesswoman, the dressmaker Sophie sews charms into the garments she designs and begins to attract aristocratic customers, but she’s torn as rebellion builds – and her brother’s one of the agitators.
Kelly Robson, Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach (Tor.com Publishing 3/18) This twisty, mind-bending SF novella of bioengineering and time travel follows an environmental engineer, working to restore the devastated Earth in the far future, who jumps at a chance to study the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in 2024 BCE Mesopotamia. “If there had been any doubt that Robson is one of the most accomplished and versatile new writers… Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach should dispel it.” [Gary K. Wolfe]
David J. Schow, DJStories: The Best of David J. Schow (Subterranean Press 3/18) Veteran horror writer Schow himself picked 29 of his best stories from almost 40 years of writing, and adds notes revealing interesting tidbits about the horror field and his career writing fiction and screenplays.
Priya Sharma, All the Fabulous Beasts (Undertow 3/18) The first collection from a UK author noted for her powerful short fiction with touches of the supernatural, ranging from horror to weird fiction and fantasy, with characters that engage the reader. This presents 16 stories, two original, including the British Fantasy Award winning novelette, “Fabulous Beasts”.
Jonathan Strahan, ed., The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year Volume Twelve (Solaris 3/18) The latest year’s best anthology edited by Locus‘s own Jonathan Strahan presents 29 stories from 2017, by authors including Charlie Jane Anders, Kelly Barnhill, Tobias S. Buckell, Samuel R. Delany, Greg Egan, Caitlín R. Kiernan, and Alastair Reynolds.
Kim Wilkins, Daughters of the Storm (Del Rey 3/18) Five very different sisters must work to save their father, the mysteriously ailing king – and keep their stepbrother from taking the throne – in this fantasy novel of adventure and family conflict, the first book in an award-winning series. Originally published by Mira Australia in 2014.
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