New Books : 6 August 2019

New titles this week are by Stephen Aryan, Damien Broderick, Lois McMaster Bujold, D.J. Butler, Gail Carriger, Larry Correia & Sarah A. Hoyt, Julie E. Czerneda, Joel Dane, J.P. Delaney, Markus Heitz, Tom Kratman, R.F. Kuang, Brian Naslund, Zach Powers, Bill Schutt & J.R. Finch, Neal Stephenson, and Margaret Weis & Robert Krammes.

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* Aryan, Stephen : Magebane
(Orbit 978-0316554855, $16.99, 528pp, trade paperback, August 2019)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 6 Aug 2019
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780316554862
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781549122606
• The Age of Dread #3

Fantasy novel, third in a series after Mageborn (2017) and Magefall (2018), about a minority population with magical abilities in a society trying to eradicate magic.
•Hachette’s site has this description.
•Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides previews.

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Broderick, Damien : The Time Machine Hypothesis: Extreme Science Meets Science Fiction
(Springer 978-3-030-16177-4, $27.99, 260pp, trade paperback, July 2019)
• Nominal Publication Date: Fri 2 Aug 2019
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-3-030-16178-1

Nonfiction book in the publisher’s “Science and Fiction” series, surveying numerous time travel stories and novels from Wells’ The Time Machine to Benford’s Rewrite: Loops in the Timescape.
•The publisher’s site has this description with previews.

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Bujold, Lois McMaster : The Flowers of Vashnoi
(Subterranean Press 978-1-59606-892-6, $25, 96pp, hardcover, August 2019)
• Nominal Publication Date: Wed 31 Jul 2019

Standalone SF novella in the author’s Vorkosigan series, about an insect-driven radiation abatement project.
•Subterranean’s site has this description and order page.
•The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Ekaterin proves to be as formidable, whip-smart, and compassionate as her husband, series protagonist Miles Vorkosigan. This savory vignette could serve as an introduction to the larger series and will be welcomed by Bujold’s many fans.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Butler, D.J. : Witchy Kingdom
(Baen 978-1-4814-8415-2, $25, 624pp, hardcover, August 2019)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 6 Aug 2019
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-1-62579-715-5
• Witchy Eye #3

Alternate history fantasy novel, third in a series following Witchy Eye (2017) and Witchy Winter (2018), about the 15-year-old daughter of an Appalachian war hero in a world where magic works and the emperor controls dragons, shapeshifters, and the undead.
•Baen’s site has this description with a link to several samples.

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Carriger, Gail : Reticence
(Orbit 978-0-316-43391-4, $26, 352pp, hardcover, August 2019)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 6 Aug 2019
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780316433907
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781549175794
• The Custard Protocol #4

Steampunk fantasy novel set in the Victorian London world of the author’s Parasol Protectorate series (Soulless (2009), etc.), fourth and final book in a series following Prudence (2015), Imprudence (2016), and Competence (2018).
•Hachette’s site has this description with an excerpt.
•The Publishers Weekly review comments, “Carriger’s prose is playful and droll, with frequent laugh-worthy moments, tongue-in-cheek humor, and sparkling repartee. While the characters never truly feel in danger, there’s still an underlying weight to their emotional connections and the unusual family they’ve created.”
•Carolyn Cushman reviews it in the August issue of Locus Magazine, calling it “a delightful finale to the series.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Correia, Larry, & Sarah A. Hoyt : Monster Hunter Guardian
(Baen 978-1-4814-8414-5, $25, 352pp, hardcover, August 2019)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 6 Aug 2019
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-1-62579-714-8
• Monster Hunter #7

Humorous fantasy novel, seventh in a series following Monster Hunter International (2007), Monster Hunter Vendetta (2010), Monster Hunter Alpha (2011), Monster Hunter Legion (2012), and Monster Hunter Nemesis (2014), and Monster Hunter Siege (2017), about a man recruited by a covert organization dedicated to eradicating monsters.
•Baen’s site has this description with a link to several samples.

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Czerneda, Julie E. : The Gossamer Mage
(DAW 978-0-7564-0890-9, $27, 416pp, hardcover, August 2019)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 6 Aug 2019
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780756412357

Epic fantasy novel about a lone mage challenging the Deathless Goddess who controls all magic.
•Penguin Random House’s site has this description with a preview function.
•The Publishsers Weekly review calls it a “highly stylized fantasy novel [that] condenses a doorstopper epic’s worth of detail into a relatively small space…”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Dane, Joel : Cry Pilot
(Ace 978-1-984802-52-1, $17, 416pp, trade paperback, August 2019)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 6 Aug 2019
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781984802538
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781984890719
• Cry Pilot #1

Military SF novel, first in a series, about a man with secrets who joins the military and soon faces a new kind of rogue bio-weapon.
•Penguin Random House’s site has this description with an excerpt.
•The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Frequent adrenaline-rush action scenes make up most of the novel, interspersed with Kaytu’s internal narrative and experiences. This is an intriguing, thoughtful exploration of what a corporatized future might look like, liberally peppered with scenes of military life.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Delaney, JP : The Perfect Wife
(Ballantine 978-1-5247-9674-7, $27, 432pp, hardcover, August 2019)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 6 Aug 2019
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781524796754
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9780525522904

Psychological thriller about an amnesiac woman who’s told by the man who claims to be her husband that she’s a talented artist who’s recovered from an accident through a miracle of science.
•Penguin Random House’s site has this description with an excerpt.
•The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Delaney keeps the suspense high throughout. The highly unusual setup sets this one above the thriller pack.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Heitz, Markus : Raging Storm
(Orbit 9780316489348, $17.99, 544pp, trade paperback, August 2019)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 6 Aug 2019
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780316489386
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781549148958
• Legends of the Alfar #4

Fantasy novel, fourth in a series following Righteous Fury (2014), Devastating Hate (2015), and Dark Paths (2016), about war between the älfar and the elves, dwarves, and humans.
•It was first published as Tobender Sturm in 2013.
•Hachette’s site has this description with an excerpt.

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Kratman, Tom, ed. : Terra Nova: The Wars of Liberation
(Baen 978-1-4814-8416-9, $16, 464pp, trade paperback, August 2019)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 6 Aug 2019
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-1-62579-722-3

Anthology of 12 original stories set in the editor’s Carrera military SF series.
•Baen’s site has this description with a link to several samples.

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Kuang, R.F. : The Dragon Republic
(Harper Voyager 978-0-06-266263-7, $26.99, 672pp, hardcover, August 2019)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 6 Aug 2019
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780062662613
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9780062931559
• The Poppy War #2

Military fantasy novel, second in a series following The Poppy War (2018), inspired by 20th century China.
•HarperCollins’ site has this description with a sample.
•The Publishers Weekly review comments, “Using events from 20th-century Chinese history, Kuang builds an enthralling military fantasy brimming with betrayal and bloodshed. Each battle scene is prefaced by detailed planning stages that only heighten anticipation and help to create a realistic and well-composed world.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Naslund, Brian : Blood of an Exile
(Tor 9781250309631, $16.99, 416pp, hardcover, August 2019)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 6 Aug 2019
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781250309624
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781250227959
• Dragons of Terra #1

Fantasy novel, first in a series and the author’s first novel, about a dragonslayer who’s unable to die.
•Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt. There’s also a trade paperback edition (978-1250309648).
•The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Amid the story’s ecological concerns, the landscape presents as many dangers and opportunities for Bershad and his companions as the human characters do. This opener makes a solid start for what readers will hope is an expansive series.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Powers, Zach : First Cosmic Velocity
(Putnam 978-0525539278, $26, 352pp, hardcover, August 2019)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 6 Aug 2019
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780525539285
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781984887702

Alternate history SF novel, the author’s first novel, set in 1964 in which the Soviet space program is a sham hiding its failures by using twins as cosmonauts.
•Penguin Random House’s site has this description with an excerpt.
•The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Powers’s deadpan depiction of the ruse that drives his tale and the historical figures duped by it will give readers pause to wonder if it really is that improbable.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Schutt, Bill, & J.R. Finch : The Darwin Strain
(Morrow 978-0062835475, $26.99, 432pp, hardcover, August 2019)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 6 Aug 2019
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780062835499
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9780062898159
• R.J. MacCready #3

SF thriller, third in a series about zoologist and adventurer Captain R.J. MacCready following Hell’s Gate (2016) and The Himalayan Codex (2017), in which MacCready teams up with Jacques Cousteau to investigate a volcanic spring said by locals to be guarded by ancient monsters.
•HarperCollin’s site has this description with a sample.
•Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “A detailed and informative afterword lays out the historical and scientific background for the authors’ plausible speculations. Schutt and Finch are worthy successors of Michael Crichton.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Stephenson, Neal : Atmosphaera Incognita
(Subterranean Press 978-1-59606-919-0, $25, 97pp, hardcover, July 2019)
• Nominal Publication Date: Wed 31 Jul 2019

SF novella about the years-long construction of a 20-kilometer tower.
•It was first published in 2014 in Kathryn Cramer and Ed Finn’s anthology Hieroglyph: Stories and Visions for a Better Future.
•Subterranean’s site has this description and order page.

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Weis, Margaret, & Robert Krammes : Kingmaker
(Tor 978-0-7653-8111-8, $29.99, 480pp, hardcover, August 2019)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 6 Aug 2019
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781466877979
• The Dragon Corsairs #3

Fantasy novel, third and final volume in a trilogy following Spymaster (2017) and Privateer (2018), about the adventures of Captain Kate Fitzmaurice and Prince Tom.
•Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.
•The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Fans of the series will likely be able to overlook the authors’ occasionally obvious ploys and information dumps, focusing on interactions among loved and hated characters. Dragons, magic, romance, and political machinations of epic proportions make this a satisfying conclusion to the series.”

• 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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