New Books : 9 April 2019

New titles this week are by Nathan Ballingrud, Cassandra Clare & Wesley Chu, Ian Creasey, David Farland, Hanna Jameson, Mark Lawrence, Michael Moreci, K.J. Parker, Craig Schaefer, Sam Sykes, and Fran Wilde.

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* Ballingrud, Nathan : Wounds: Six Stories from the Border of Hell
(Saga 978-1-5344-4993-0, $26.99, 288pp, hardcover, April 2019)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 9 Apr 2019
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781534449947
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781508286073

Collection of six stories, the author’s first collection, with one story, “The Butcher’s Table,” original to this book.
• Simon & Schuster’s site has this description.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “Ballingrud occasionally includes horrific actions simply for their own sake, which may frustrate readers looking for deeper meanings, but his evocative and strangely beautiful descriptions of the grotesque and terrible are sure to linger long after they are read.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Clare, Cassandra, & Wesley Chu : The Red Scrolls of Magic
(Simon & Schuster/McElderry 978-1-4814-9508-0, $24.99, 368pp, hardcover, April 2019)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 9 Apr 2019
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781481495103
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781508232230
• The Eldest Curses #1

Fantasy novel, first in a series and set in Clare’s Shadowhunter universe, about High Warlock Magnus Bane and his boyfriend Alec Lightwood as they tour the world after the Mortal War.
• Simon & Schuster’s site has this description.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Magnus and Alec’s swoon-worthy romance explores the transformative power of love, while abundant action drives the tale to a harrowing finish.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Creasey, Ian : The Shapes of Strangers
(UK: NewCon Press 978-1912950140, $14.99, 246pp, trade paperback, April 2019)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 9 Apr 2019

Collection of 15 stories, first published from 2007 to 2018.
• The publisher’s site has this description with the table of contents.
• Though a UK book, it’s also available directly from Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/Shapes-Strangers-Ian-Creasey/dp/1912950146/.

• Purchase this book from Amazon

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* Farland, David, ed. : L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 35
(Galaxy 978-1619866041, $15.95, 428pp, trade paperback, April 2019)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 9 Apr 2019

Anthology of winners and finalists in the Writers and Illustrators of the Year contests.
• Included are essays by L. Ron Hubbard, Mike Resnick, and Rob Prior.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides previews, including the table of contents.

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Jameson, Hanna : The Last
(Simon & Schuster/Atria 978-1501198823, $27, 352pp, hardcover, April 2019)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 9 Apr 2019
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781501198847
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781508286288

SF/horror novel about members of an academic conference holed up in a Swiss hotel as nuclear war breaks out across the world.
• Simon & Schuster’s site has this description.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides previews.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Jameson asks powerful questions about fear, community, and self-interest while exploring human interactions that range wildly from the tender to the brutal to the purely mercenary. She succeeds in evoking a palpable, immanent sense of tension in a story that’s equal parts drama and locked-room murder mystery.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Lawrence, Mark : Holy Sister
(Ace 978-1-101-98891-6, $27, 368pp, hardcover, April 2019)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 9 Apr 2019
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781101988923
• Book of the Ancestor #3

Fantasy novel, third book in a series following Red Sister (2017) and Grey Sister (2018), about a secretive order of holy warriors.
• Penguin Random House’s site has this description with an excerpt.

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Moreci, Michael : We Are Mayhem
(St. Martin’s 978-1250117854, $29.99, 368pp, hardcover, April 2019)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 9 Apr 2019
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781250117861
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781250210456
• Black Star Renegades #2

SF novel, second in a series following Black Star Renegades (2018), about a young misfit battling a galactic kingdom.
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “The novel is an even blend of high-energy battle scenes and trenchant moments of character interaction as heroes dive into “fighting for what [they] believe is right.” Returning readers and fans of intrigues and battles will enjoy this brisk space adventure series.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Parker, K. J. : Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City
(Orbit 978-0316270793, $15.99, 384pp, trade paperback, April 2019)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 9 Apr 2019
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780316270809

Historical novel about a bridge-building engineer faced with defending his walled city from a siege.
• Hachette’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Adrienne Martini reviews it in the April issue of Locus Magazine: “As with most of Parker’s work, there is a melancholy
undercurrent that gives the humor weight.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Schaefer, Craig : Ghosts of Gotham
(Amazon/47north 978-1542043991, $14.95, 445pp, trade paperback, April 2019)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 9 Apr 2019
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: B07GZGXP13
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 978-1721358151

Supernatural fantasy novel about a debunking reporter tasked with verifying the authenticity of an Edgar Allan Poe manuscript.
• Amazon’s page has a description and “Look Inside” excerpts.

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Sykes, Sam : Seven Blades in Black
(Orbit 978-0-316-36343-3, $17.99, 704pp, trade paperback, April 2019)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 9 Apr 2019
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780316363457
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781549195020
• The Grave of Empires #1

Fantasy novel, first in a series, about an outcast mage caught between two warring empires.
• Hachette’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “With skillful worldbuilding, unexpected humor, and characters real enough to touch, this is easily Sykes’s best book to date.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Wilde, Fran : Riverland
(Abrams/Amulet 978-1-4197-3372-7, $17.99, 352pp, hardcover, April 2019)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 9 Apr 2019
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-1-68335-482-6

Middle grade fantasy novel about two sisters who discover the entrance to a secret world beneath the bed.
• Abrams’ site has this description with quotes from reviews.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides previews.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Beneath the surface of Wilde’s fantastical, if at times muddied, metaphors lies the far more chilling and profound portrayal of domestic abuse and the lengths to which people can go to deny the most painful of truths.”

• 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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