New Books : 2 October 2018

Titles by Charlie Jane Anders, Terry Brooks, Catherine Cerveny, Julie E. Czerneda, N.S. Dolkart, Brendan DuBois, Dave Duncan, Jennifer Estep, Charlaine Harris, D.B. Jackson, David Levithan, Marshall Ryan Maresca, Gigi McCaffrey, Peter McLean, Weston Ochse, Anne Rice, Neal Shusterman & Jarrod Shusterman, Laina Taylor, Cynthia Ward, David Weber, and Martha Wells.

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* Anders, Charlie Jane : Rock Manning Goes for Broke
(Subterranean Press 978-1-59606-878-0, $40, 128pp, hardcover, September 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Sun 30 Sep 2018

Short SF novel about a maker of slapstick movies in a near-future America mired in violence and destruction.
• Subterranean’s site has this description with quotes from reviews.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “At times hilarious, at times brutal, this is an extremely personal look at how one person tries to survive constant tragedy.”
• Gary K. Wolfe reviewed it in the September issue of Locus Magazine: “[Kingsley] Amis’s idea of the comic inferno referred to the exaggerated satire of social trends in the work of authors like Frederik Pohl; in Anders’s manically entertaining version of it, satire gives way to slapstick, and the exaggerations, hilarious as they are, seem unnervingly unlike exaggerations at all.”

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* Brooks, Terry : Street Freaks
(Grim Oak Press 978-1944145200, $28, 384pp, hardcover, October 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Oct 2018

Near-future SF thriller set in the dangerous heart of Los Angeles.
• The publisher’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review comments, “Brooks efficiently mixes teen angst with fast, cinematic action…”

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* Cerveny, Catherine : The Game of Luck
(Orbit 978-0-316-44166-7, $15.99, 480pp, trade paperback, October 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Sep 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780316441643
• Felicia Sevigny #3

SF romance novel, third in a series following The Rule of Luck and The Chaos of Luck (both 2017), about a Brazilian tarot card reader and a Russian crime lord in the solar system of 2950.
• Hachette’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review comments, “Cerveny serves up a comfort stew of SF and romance elements (genetically engineered superman leads humankind to the stars, biologically evolved superwoman yearns for motherhood), mixing in some spicy sequences to add some heat, though the sex scenes flirt with (and in one instance involve) coercion.”

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* Czerneda, Julie E. : Search Image
(DAW 978-0756408756, $26, 448pp, hardcover, October 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Oct 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780698190061
• Web Shifter’s Library #1

SF novel, first book in a new series, about the shapeshifting alien Esen, subject of the earlier Web Shifters series that ended with Hidden in Sight (2003).
• Penguin Random House’s site has this description with a preview function.

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Datlow, Ellen, ed. : The Best of the Best Horror of the Year: 10 Years of Essential Short Horror Fiction
(Night Shade Books 978-1-59780-983-2, $17.99, 432pp, trade paperback, October 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Oct 2018

Anthology of 28 stories from the first 10 volumes of Datlow’s Best Horror of the Year anthologies.
• Authors include Suzy McKee Charnas, Tanith Lee, Neil Gaiman, John Langan, Peter Straub, Mira Grant, and Brian Evenson.
• Night Shade’s site has this description with the table of contents.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “Exciting, literary, and utterly scary, this anthology is nothing short of exceptional.”

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* Dolkart, N. S. : A Breach in the Heavens
(Angry Robot 978-0857667403, $9.99, 432pp, mass market paperback, October 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Oct 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780857667410
• UK edition: 9780857667403 (Thu 4 Oct 2018)
• Godserfs #3

Theological fantasy novel, third in a series following Silent Hall (2016) and Among the Fallen (2017), about five refugees and a wizard whose fortress is invisible to the gods.
• Angry Robot’s site has this description.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides previews.

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* DuBois, Brendan : Black Triumph
(Baen 978-1-4814-8343-8, $16, 288pp, trade paperback, October 2018, cover art David Seeley)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Oct 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-1-62579-669-1
• Dark Victory #3

Military SF novel, third in a trilogy following Dark Victory (2016) and Red Vengeance (2017), about the invasion of Earth by alien Creepers.
• Baen’s site has this description with links to several chapters.

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* Duncan, Dave : Trial by Treason
(Night Shade Books 978-1-59780-953-5, $15.99, 296pp, trade paperback, October 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Oct 2018
• The Enchanter General #2

Historical fantasy novel, second in a series following Ironfoot (2017), about a young Saxon man, in Norman-ruled England, who is allowed to attend a school for magicians.
• Night Shade’s site has this description. A hardcover edition is indicated (9781597809542) but is currently listed by Amazon as out of stock.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Readers who enjoy a medieval setting and intricate descriptions of deciphering magical spells will be immersed in Duncan’s enchanted world.”

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* Estep, Jennifer : Kill the Queen
(Harper Voyager 978-0-06-279761-2, $16.99, 480pp, trade paperback, October 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Oct 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780062797629
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9780062867162
• Crown of Shards #1

Epic fantasy novel, first in a new series, about a royal woman who becomes a warrior to avenge her family and save her kingdome.
• HarperCollins’ site has this description with a sample.
• The Publishers Weekly review comments, “The worldbuilding feels scant, but Estep knows her way around a fight scene (and a dance scene). There are hints of romance and a refreshing focus on female friendship.”

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* Harris, Charlaine : An Easy Death
(Saga Press 978-1-4814-9492-2, $26.99, 320pp, hardcover, October 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Oct 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781481494946
• Gunnie Rose #1

Alternate history fantasy novel, first in a series, concerning Lizbeth Rose, a gunslinging mercenary in a fractured America following the assassination of FDR.
• Simon & Schuster’s site has this description with a preview.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “In this fast-paced thriller fueled by magic and gunslinging, no one can be trusted. Harris’s vividly detailed story will leave readers enthralled with the fascinating setting and a heroine who’s sure to be a new fan favorite.”

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* Jackson, D. B. : Time’s Children
(Angry Robot 978-0857667915, $12.99, 528pp, trade paperback, October 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Oct 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780857667922
• UK edition: 9780857667915 (Thu 4 Oct 2018)
• Islevale #1

Epic fantasy novel, first in a series, about a time traveler trapped in the past.
• Angry Robot’s site has this description.

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* Jemisin, N. K., & John Joseph Adams, eds. : The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2018
(John Joseph Adams 978-1-328-83456-0, $15.99, 384pp, trade paperback, October 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Oct 2018

Anthology of 20 stories first published in 2017; the fourth volume in the series led by John Joseph Adams with a different guest editor each year.
• Authors include Samuel R. Delany, Charlie Jane Anders, Peter Watts, Maureen McHugh, and E. Lily Yu.
• Houghton Mifflin’s site has this description.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “An almost unheard-of diversity of tales absolutely sing in this superlative anthology of short speculative stories.”

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* Künsken, Derek : The Quantum Magician
(Solaris 978-1781085707, $11.99, 480pp, trade paperback, October 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Oct 2018

SF novel, the author’s first novel and first in a series, about an engineering Homo quantus with an overwhelming desire to know and understand.
• The novel was serialized earlier this year in Analog magazine.
• Simon & Schuster’s site has this description.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides previews.
• Adam Roberts reviewed it in the June issue of Locus Magazine: “Tweaked as he is, Belisarius can truly see the cat as both [alive and dead] at once, which is what makes him such a talented con-artist. This is, I think, a very cool idea and it’s one of a great many cool ideas in this novel. I particularly liked the idea of harnessing the whatever-it-was that caused such rapid expansion in the first seconds after the Big Bang in order to power spaceships and spaceweapons, and there’s some thought-provoking and well-handled material on a reviled human species, the Numen, who have genetically engineered a race of miniature humans literally to worship them.”

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* Larson, Rich : Tomorrow Factory: Collected Fiction
(Talos Press 978-1-945863-30-1, $15.99, 320pp, trade paperback, October 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Oct 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781945863318

Collection of 23 original and reprinted stories by a prolific writer of short fiction since 2012 (Isfdb).
• Sky Horse’s site has this description with blurbs from Gardner Dozois, Jonathan Strahan, Rich Horton, and numerous othesr.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “His colorful settings create strong backdrops for characters striving for goals small and large. This vibrant collection will give thoughtful readers plenty of entertainment.”

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* Levithan, David : Someday
(Knopf 978-0399553059, $18.99, 400pp, hardcover, October 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Oct 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780399553073
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9780525636588

Young adult fantasy novel, sequel to Every Day (2012), about a person named A who discovers that there are others who wake up in a new body every day.
• Penguin Random House’s site has this description with a preview function.

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Maresca, Marshall Ryan : The Way of the Shield
(DAW 978-0-7564-1479-5, $7.99, 368pp, mass market paperback, October 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Oct 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780756414801
• Maradaine Elite #-

Fantasy novel, first in a new series that overlaps a couple of the author’s previous series, set in the port city of Maradaine.
• Penguin Random House’s site has this description with a preview function.
• Carolyn Cushman reviews it in the October issue of Locus Magazine, commenting, “…some last-minute revelations promise plenty of entertaining twists to come for our stalwart reluctant hero.”

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* McCaffrey, Gigi : Dragon’s Code
(Del Rey 978-1-101-96474-3, $27, 272pp, hardcover, October 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Oct 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781101964750
• Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern #-

SF novel, first in a new series by Anne McCaffrey’s daughter, about the dragonriders of Pern fighting the Thread.
• Penguin Random House’s site has this description with a preview function.

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* McLean, Peter : Priest of Bones
(Ace 978-0-451-49021-6, $16, 352pp, trade paperback, October 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Oct 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780451490223
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9780525641247
• UK edition: 978-1787473485 (Thu 4 Oct 2018)
• War for the Rose Throne #1

Fantasy novel, first in a series, about the head of a crime empire returning home from war.
• The UK edition, from Quercus, is in hardcover.
• Penguin Random House’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Anyone itching to read a high-stakes story should pick up this delightful combination of medieval fantasy and crime drama.”

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* Ochse, Weston : Burning Sky
(Solaris 978-1781085295, $14.99, 420pp, trade paperback, October 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Sep 2018

Military horror novel about veterans of Afghanistan who have strange experiences and dream of a sky that won’t stop burning.
• Simon & Schuster’s site has this description.

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Rice, Anne : Blood Communion: A Tale of Prince Lestat
(Knopf 978-1524732646, $27.95, 272pp, hardcover, October 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Oct 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781524732653
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9780525643081
• The Vampire Chronicles #-

Vampire novel in the author’s long-running series.
• Penguin Random House’s site has this description with an excerpt.

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Shusterman, Neal, & Jarrod Shusterman : Dry
(Simon & Schuster 978-1481481960, $18.99, 400pp, hardcover, October 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Oct 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781481481984
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781508263081

Young adult SF novel set in a future California drought when the taps run dry.
• Simon & Schuster’s site has this description with a preview.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “It is also thoroughly effective as a study of how extreme circumstances can bring out people’s capacity for both panic and predation, ingenuity and altruism.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Taylor, Laini : Muse of Nightmares
(Little, Brown 978-0316341714, $19.99, 528pp, hardcover, October 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Oct 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780316341707
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781549142659
• Strange #2

Young adult fantasy novel, second of a duology after Strange the Dreamer (2017), about war orphan and junior librarian Lazlo Strange and his obsession with the mythical lost city of Weep.
• Hachette’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Publishers Weekly gave the first book a starred review: “Gorgeously written in language simultaneously dark, lush, and enchanting, the book will leave readers eager for the next.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Ward, Cynthia : The Adventure of the Dux Bellorum
(Aqueduct 978-1-61976-154-4, $12, 156pp, trade paperback, October 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Thu 20 Sep 2018

Fantasy vampire novel, sequel to The Adventure of the Incognita Countess (2017), in which Dracula’s daughter is given the job of protecting Winston Churchill.
• Aqueduct’s site has this description with a link to a PDF excerpt.
• Liz Bourke reviews it in the October issue of Locus Magazine: ” ‘Gonzo’’ is probably the best word for the novella as a whole. It draws on the pulp adventure tradition of the late 19th and early 20th century: the Boys’ Own style of capital-A adventure given more feminist and queerer form. I recognise Ward’s borrowings from H.G. Wells and Arthur Conan Doyle, among the obvious (Carmilla and Dracula, naturally), but I’m sure I’ve missed nearly as many more…”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Weber, David : Uncompromising Honor
(Baen 978-1-4814-8350-6, $28, 784pp, hardcover, October 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Oct 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-1-62579-667-7
• Honor Harrington #-

SF space opera novel, latest novel in the Honor Harrington series following Shadow of Freedom (2013). (Amazon indicates this is book #19, though it’s the 21st title in the series as listed inside the book.)
• Baen’s site has this description with links to several chapters.
• The Publishers Weekly review (which says it’s the 14th novel “not counting spin-offs”) concludes, “Weber is the Tom Clancy of science fiction; his doorstoppers have a similar pacing and feel. His fans will relish this latest installment, but newcomers shouldn’t start here.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Wells, Martha : Exit Strategy
(Tor.com 978-1250191854, $17.99, 176pp, hardcover, October 2018)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Oct 2018
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781250185464
• The Murderbot Diaries #4

SF novella, fourth in a series after All Systems Red (2017, Hugo and Locus award winner), Artificial Condition, and Rogue Protocol (both 2018), about a self-aware humanoid robot.
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Publishers Weekly said of the previous book, “Wells once again knits combat, investigation, and rumination into a thoughtful, irresistible story.”

• 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.

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