New Books : 30 April 2019
The last of April’s new books include two poetry collections and four short story collections.
New titles published April 30th, and several from earlier in the month, are by Kelley Armstrong, Peter S. Beagle & Jacob Weisman, Tara Campbell, Melissa Caruso, Terry Goodkind, Troy Harkin, John Langan, Jennifer McMahon, Pola Oloixarac, Chen Qiufan, David Quantick, and David Silverberg.
* Armstrong, Kelley : Cruel Fate
(Subterranean Press 978-1-59606-906-0, $28, 200pp, hardcover, April 2019)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 30 Apr 2019
Fantasy novella, sequel to Rough Justice (2018), set in a magical midwestern town.
• Subterranean’s site has this description and order page.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “The town of Cainsville, which is populated almost entirely by fae, is a fascinating place, and Armstrong has an easy familiarity with her characters. Olivia’s evolving romance with the slightly uptight Gabriel adds a sweet element to this fast-paced mystery.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Beagle, Peter S., & Jacob Weisman, eds. : The Unicorn Anthology
(Tachyon Publications 978-1-61696-315-6, $15.95, 288pp, trade paperback, April 2019)
• Nominal Publication Date: Fri 19 Apr 2019
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781616962838
Anthology of 16 stories about unicorns.
• Authors include Margo Lanagan, Carrie Vaughn, Jane Yolen, Karen Joy Fowler, Garth Nix, and Nancy Springer.
• Tachyon’s site has this description with the table of contents.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Themes of innocence lost, first love, and yearning for transcendence pervade all of the stories in this collection, giving it a haunting and melancholy feel. Readers who love the mystery and elegance of unicorns will find this a lovely homage.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Campbell, Tara : Midnight at the Organporium
(Aqueduct 978-1-61976-163-6, $12, 112pp, trade paperback, April 2019)
• Nominal Publication Date: Mon 1 Apr 2019
Collection of 12 stories, volume 67 in the publisher’s “Conversation Pieces” series.
• Aquduct’s site has this description.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides previews.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “Each tale is dryly funny, poetic, poignant, dark, and trippy. Readers who are hungry for a quick visit to somewhere left of reality will gladly immerse themselves in this profoundly avant-garde book.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Caruso, Melissa : The Unbound Empire
(Orbit 978-0-316-46693-6, $15.99, 560pp, trade paperback, May 2019)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 30 Apr 2019
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780316466943
• UK edition: 978-0356510644 (Thu 25 Apr 2019)
• Swords and Fire #3
Fantasy novel, third in a trilogy following The Tethered Mage (2017) and The Defiant Heir (2018), set in an empire where magic is scarce and controlled by the army.
• Hachette’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “The suspenseful elements mingle with the horrors of unleashing magical fire on enemy conscripts. Amalia’s readiness to accept the responsibility for her decisions brings a welcome sense of growing into authority rather than merely inheriting it, and fans of the first two books will find this a fitting capstone to the trilogy.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Goodkind, Terry : The Scribbly Man
(Heud of Zeus 978-1789541182, $13.95, 192pp, hardcover, April 2019)
• Nominal Publication Date: Thu 4 Apr 2019
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: B07Q8663VP
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: B07R25WL9Z
• The Children of D’Hara #1
Short fantasy novel, first in a new series about Richard and Kahlan.
• The author’s website introduces the series.
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Harkin, Troy : Casting Shadows
(ChiZine Publications 9781771484824, $17.99, 96pp, trade paperback, April 2019)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 16 Apr 2019
Collection of poetry.
• ChiZine’s site has this description.
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Langan, John : Sefira and Other Betrayals
(Hippocampus Press 978-1-61498-192-3, $20, 352pp, trade paperback, April 2019)
• Nominal Publication Date: Sat 20 Apr 2019
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-1-61498-265-4
Collection of eight stories, with an introduction by Paul Tremblay.
• The publisher’s site has this description and order page.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “The horrors elaborated in the eight stories in Langan’s exceptional third collection all arise from intensely intimate instances of personal betrayal and the emotional unmooring it causes, their vast cosmic scope notwithstanding.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* McMahon, Jennifer : The Invited
(Doubleday 978-0-385-54138-1, $25.95, 368pp, hardcover, April 2019)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 30 Apr 2019
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780385541398
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781524781644
Fantasy novel about a couple who moves from suburbia to rural Vermont, where they build a house on a property haunted by the spirit of a woman hanged as a witch.
• Penguin Random House’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “Whether one believes in ghosts, McMahon’s consummately crafted chiller is guaranteed to haunt.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Oloixarac, Pola : Dark Constellations
(Soho Press 978-1-61695-923-4, $26, 216pp, hardcover, April 2019)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 16 Apr 2019
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: B07FRZR6H8
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 978-1684418558
SF novel by an Argentinian author, tracing scientific development and control from 1882 to 1983 to 2024.
• The publisher’s site has this description with numerous blurbs and quotes from reviews.
• The Publishers Weekly review begins, “This wild anthropological ride blends political satire, psychedelic sexuality, and cyberpunk themes through three intertwining stories.”
• Ian Mond reviewed it in the April issue of Locus Magazine: “While I may not have appreciated everything Oloixarac intended with Dark Constellations, as a history of a future that has yet to come to pass I found it equal parts intriguing and terrifying.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Qiufan, Chen : Waste Tide
(Tor 978-0-7653-8931-2, $26.99, 352pp, hardcover, April 2019)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 30 Apr 2019
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780765389329
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781250319203
SF novel about a waste worker at an electronics recycling facitily off the coast of China.
• The book is translated by Ken Liu.
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “Chen’s story is extremely relevant to the current moment of throwaway culture, increasing income disparity, and technological advances progressing at such a rate that morality and ethics have trouble keeping up. Readers who crave gorgeous imagery and a thrilling narrative that also explicitly wrestles with big questions will be overjoyed.”
• Gary K. Wolfe reviewed it in the April issue of Locus Magazine: “For a novel that begins with the unlikely prospect of waste-disposal as an engine for high-concept SF, Waste Tide turns out to be a complex and provocative exploration of the interactions among social class, corporate ambition, cultural identity, environmentalism, and human potential, with enough buzzy ideas to power a couple of novels, and enough violent melodrama to keep the reader plummeting along.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Quantick, David : All My Colors
(Titan 978-1785658570, $14.95, 288pp, trade paperback, April 2019)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 16 Apr 2019
Comic SF novel about a man with an eidetic memory who realizes that one of the books he’s memorized apparently doesn’t exist.
• Titan’s site has this description.
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Silverberg, David : As Close to the Edge Without Going Over
(ChiZine Publications 978-1771484848, $17.99, 72pp, trade paperback, April 2019)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 16 Apr 2019
Collection of poetry.
• ChiZine’s site has this description.
• 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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