New Books : 5 June 2018
New titles by David Afsharirad, Renee Ahdieh, Callie Bates, Rob Boffard, Jim Butcher, Eric Flint & Walt Voyes, Christopher Husberg, Cameron Johnston, Mercedes Lackey, Joyce Carol Oates, Melissa F. Olson, Amber Royer, Peng Shepherd, and Raymond Villareal.
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* Afsharirad, David, ed. : The Year’s Best Military & Adventure SF, Volume 4
(Baen 978-1-4814-8332-2, $16, 352pp, trade paperback, June 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 5 Jun 2018
Anthology of 15 stories first published in 2017.
• Authors include Suzanne Palmer, Larry Niven, Rich Larson, and David Weber.
• Baen’s site has this description with links to several chapters.
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Ahdieh, Renée : Smoke in the Sun
(Putnam 978-1524738143, $18.99, 432pp, hardcover, June 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 5 Jun 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781524738150
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9780525625650
Young adult fantasy novel, sequel to Flame in the Mist (2017), set in Feudal Japan.
• Penguin Random House’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Publishers Weekly gave the first book a starred review: “Ahdieh is immensely skilled at crafting vibrant settings inhabited by sympathetic characters with rich pasts…”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Bates, Callie : The Memory of Fire
(Del Rey 978-0-399-17741-5, $27, 448pp, hardcover, June 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 5 Jun 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780399177422
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9780525593720
• The Waking Land #2
Fantasy novel, second in a trilogy following The Waking Land (2017), set in an empire where magic is a crime.
• Penguin Random House’s site has this description with a preview function.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “This is a remarkably mature, balanced addition to the story that avoids the most common flaws of middle books and will leave readers hungry for the conclusion.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Boffard, Rob : Adrift
(Orbit 978-0-316-51911-3, $15.99, 416pp, June 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 5 Jun 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780316519120
SF novel about a tourist shuttle that becomes stranded when a luxury hotel near the Horsehead Nebula is destroyed.
• Hachette’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Although [Boffard’s] passengers are amateurs up against a superior adversary, he gives them an appealing scrappiness that makes their survival seem less unlikely than it should. This action-packed adventure is made for summer vacation reading.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Butcher, Jim : Brief Cases
(Ace 978-0-451-49210-4, $28, 448pp, hardcover, June 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 5 Jun 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780451492128
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9780525635291
• Dresden Files #-
Collection of 12 stories set in the author’s Dresden Files series, about Chicago professional wizard Harry Dresden.
• One story, “Zoo City,” is original to this book.
• Penguin Random House’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review comments, “The standout is the tender original novella, ‘Zoo Day,’ in which Harry takes his 10-year-old daughter, Maggie, to the zoo. First they encounter a young warlock in need of Harry’s help, and then Maggie is attacked by a group of haunts.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Flint, Eric, & Walt Boyes, eds. : Grantville Gazette VIII
(Baen 978-1-4814-8329-2, $25, 496pp, hardcover, June 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 5 Jun 2018
• The Ring of Fire #8
Anthology of alternate history stories set in the universe of Flint’s 1632 and sequels, concerning a 20th century American town sent back in time to 17th century Europe.
• Baen’s site has this description with links to several stories, and an introduction explaining that this book, like the previous volumes, is a collection of the best stories from several issues of the online magazine.
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Husberg, Christopher : Blood Requiem
(Titan 978-1783299195, $14.95, 400pp, trade paperback, June 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 5 Jun 2018
• Chaos Queen Quintet #3
Fantasy novel, third in a series following Duskfall (2016) and Dark Immolation (2017), about Daemons reinvading the world.
• Titan’s site has this description.
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Johnston, Cameron : The Traitor God
(Angry Robot 978-0857667793, $12.99, 432pp, trade paperback, June 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 5 Jun 2018
Fantasy novel, the author’s first novel, about an exiled magician who returns home to avenge the murder of a friend.
• Angry Robot’s site has this description.
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Lackey, Mercedes : The Hills Have Spies
(DAW 978-0756413170, $27, 368pp, hardcover, June 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 5 Jun 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780756413194
• Valdemar: Family Spies #1
Fantasy novel, first in a new series set in the world of Valdemar.
• Penguin Random House’s site has this description with a preview function.
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Oates, Joyce Carol : Night-Gaunts and Other Tales of Suspense
(Mysterious Press 978-0-8021-2810-2, $26, 320pp, hardcover, June 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 5 Jun 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-0-8021-4628-1
Collection of stories.
• Grove Atlantic’s site has this description.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Oates pushes the boundary between the disturbing and the offensive with mixed results.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Olson, Melissa F. : Outbreak
(Tor.com 978-1-250-17630-1, $16.99, 240pp, trade paperback, June 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 5 Jun 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-1-250-17629-5
• Nightshades #3
Short fantasy novel, third in a trilogy following Nightshades (2016) and Switchback (2017), about an agent for the Chicago office of the Bureau of Paranormal Investigations, tasked with investigating vampires.
• Macmillan’s site has this description.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides previews.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Though at times the plot strays toward the familiar, there is no doubt that Olson has created memorable characters and an immersive world. Olson’s fans will be delighted with this final book in the trilogy.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Royer, Amber : Free Chocolate
(Angry Robot 978-0-85766-750-2, $12.99, 448pp, trade paperback, June 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 5 Jun 2018
• Chocoverse #1
SF novel, the author’s first novel, set in a far future in which chocolate is Earth’s most valuable export.
• Angry Robot’s site has this description.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Trade-related science fiction is a small but solid niche, and Royer’s work fills it nicely.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Shepherd, Peng : The Book of M
(William Morrow 978-0062669605, $26.99, 496pp, hardcover, June 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 5 Jun 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-0062669629
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 978-0062803153
Near-future SF novel, the author’s first novel, about a phenomenon that causes people to lose first their shadows and then their memories.
• HarperCollins’ site has this description with a sample.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Though its characters sometimes slide into tropes, Shepherd’s debut is graceful and riveting, slowly peeling back layers of an intricately constructed and unsettling alternate future.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Villareal, Raymond : A People’s History of the Vampire Uprising
(Mulholland Books 978-0-316-56168-6, $27, 432pp, hardcover, June 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 5 Jun 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780316561655
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781478992837
Fantasy novel, the author’s first novel, about an epidemic of vampirism that begins as bodies disappear from the morgue of an Arizona border town.
• Hachette’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review calls it “enjoyable if derivative” and notes that film rights have been secured.
• 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.
