New Books : 7 January 2020

New titles this week are by Sean Adams, Lois McMaster Bujold, Andrew Caldecott, C.J. Cherryh, Patrick Chiles, Genevieve Cogman, Tessa Gratton, Gareth Hanrahan, Marc-Uwe Kling, Seanan McGuire, Daniel José Older, John Ringo, Kacey Ezell & Christopher L. Smith, Sarena Ulibarri, and Django Wexler.

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* Adams, Sean : The Heap
(William Morrow 978-0-06-295773-3, $26.99, 320pp, hardcover, January 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Jan 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780062957740
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9780062988997

SF novel, the author’s first novel, about a nearly 500 story housing project that has collapsed, and a popular radio DJ somehow broadcasting from amidst its rubble.
• HarperCollins’ site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Fans of Borges and other inventive but piercing stories will revel in this offbeat novel.”
• Ian Mond reviews it in the January issue of Locus Magazine: “The Heap is a deeply weird but poignant novel about the extended family we discover amongst the rubble and ruin of a rich man’s folly.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Bujold, Lois McMaster : Penric’s Progress
(Baen 978-1-9821-2429-8, $25, 320pp, hardcover, January 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Jan 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-1-62579-750-6

Omnibus of three previously-published novellas: Penric’s Demon (2015), Penric and the Shaman (2016), and Penric’s Fox (2018), about a young nobleman.
• Baen’s site has this description with a link to several chapters.
• Publishers Weekly gave the middle title a starred review: “…another brief tale set in her World of the Five Gods, this time combining supernatural sleuthing with finely drawn characters and a panoply of emotions.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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+ Caldecott, Andrew : Wyntertide
(Quercus/Jo Fletcher 978-1784298029, $26.99, 496pp, hardcover, January 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Jan 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781784298012
• Rotherweird #2

Fantasy novel, second in a series following Rotherweird (2019), about a town, independent of the rest of England for 400 years, where an ancient plot is about to come to fruition.
• The publisher’s site has this description for the May 2018 UK edition.
• Publishers Weekly said of the first book: “While the focus might be on the oddball inhabitants, Rotherweird is the true heart and soul of the narrative, a character in its own right. Dense language and overly clever riddles complicate a complex story that will nevertheless reward the patient reader.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Cherryh, C. J. : Resurgence
(DAW 978-0-7564-1427-6, $26, 352pp, hardcover, January 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Jan 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780756414290
• Foreigner #20

SF novel, 20th volume in Cherryh’s long-running Foreigner series about humans and the alien atevi, following most recently Visitor (2016), Convergence (2017), and Emergence (2018).
• Penguin Random House’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Russell Letson reviewed it in the December issue of Locus Magazine: “So I can (and hereby do) make my now-standard recommendation to newcomers: find an entry point (ideally, Foreigner itself) and start the long, satisfying journey – though in this case, the triad that begins with the tenth volume, Conspirator (2009), would serve pretty well, for reasons to be revealed below.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Chiles, Patrick : Frozen Orbit
(Baen 978-1-9821-2430-4, $16, 336pp, trade paperback, January 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Jan 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-1-62579-751-3

SF novel about rival NASA and Soviet missions to the outer planets and the Kuiper Belt.
• Baen’s site has this description with a link to a page of samples.

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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+ Cogman, Genevieve : The Secret Chapter
(Ace 978-0-593-19784-4, $26, 352pp, hardcover, January 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Jan 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781984804778
• The Invisible Library #6

Alternate history fantasy novel, sixth book of a series after The Invisible Library (June 2016), The Masked City (Sep. 2016), The Burning Page (US 2017), The Lost Plot (Jan. 2018), and The Mortal Word (Nov. 2018), about a mysterious Library that collects books from different realities.
• Penguin Random House’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The UK edition, in mass market paperback, appeared in November 2019.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Cogman charts the heist with the fluid mix of humor and adventure series readers will expect, while adding new dimensions to fan favorite characters and introducing dangerous enemies. Cogman’s fans will want to snatch up this latest adventure.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Gratton, Tessa : Lady Hotspur
(Tor 978-0-7653-9249-7, $29.99, 592pp, hardcover, January 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Jan 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780765392510
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781250203205

Fantasy novel in the setting of the author’s first novel The Queens of Innis Lear (2018) about rebellion in a kingdom of Lady Knights.
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Gratton’s lush world is full of magic, mischievous spirits, and otherworldly rituals. Readers won’t have to be familiar with either the previous book or the source material to appreciate this well-crafted, if over long, fantasy.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Hanrahan, Gareth : The Shadow Saint
(Orbit 978-0-316-52535-0, $16.99, 608pp, trade paperback, January 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Jan 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780316525343
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781549155833
• The Black Iron Trilogy #2

Fantasy novel, second in a series following The Gutter Prayer (2019), about three thieves involved in a magical war.
• Hachette’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Hanrahan crafts a mind-blowingly complex world governed by capricious deities who actively alter reality. Series fans and new readers alike will delight entering this strange, immersive universe.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Kling, Marc-Uwe : Qualityland
(Grand Central 978-1-538-73296-0, $27, 352pp, hardcover, January 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Jan 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-1-538-73297-7

Satirical utopian novel, first published in Germany in 2017, about a perfect country where algorithms determine the ideal choices for every citizen.
• The publishser’s site has this description.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides previews.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Sharp and biting, the most implausible aspect of Kling’s novel is the relative note of optimism that ends it. This is spot-on satire.”
• Ian Mond reviews it in the January issue of Locus Magazine: “…While these echoes of Adams’s work are a little distracting at times, the novel isn’t a cheap Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy knock-off. Kling’s dialogue is witty and sharp, the relationship between Peter and the droids is handled with a great deal of humour and warmth, and more often than not Kling lands his jokes – Qualityland is incredibly funny – a rare feat for a science fiction novel.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* McGuire, Seanan : Come Tumbling Down
(Tor.com 978-0-7653-9931-1, $19.99, 208pp, hardcover, January 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Jan 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780765399304
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781250263995
• Wayward Children #5

Short fantasy novel, fifth in a series following Every Heart a Doorway (2016), Down Among the Sticks and Bones (2017), Beneath the Sugar Sky (2018), and In an Absent Dream (2019).
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Themes of sacrifice, love, and hope weave through this grim yet achingly tender tale. New and returning readers alike will be enthralled.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Older, Daniel José : Shadowshaper Legacy
(Scholastic 978-0545953009, $18.99, 432pp, hardcover, January 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Jan 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-0545953016
• The Shadowshaper Cypher #3

Fantasy novel, third in a series following Shadowshaper (2015) and Shadowhouse Fall (2017), about a Brooklyn teenager who discovers her ancestral powers of shadowshaping.
• Scholastic’s site has this description.
• Publishers Weekly gave the first book a starred review: “Sierra’s masterful adaptability is most apparent in her language, which moves among English and Spanish, salsa and rap, formality and familiarity with an effortlessness that simultaneously demonstrates Older’s mastery of his medium.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Ringo, John, Kacey Ezell & Christopher L. Smith : Gunpowder & Embers
(Baen 978-1-9821-2428-1, $25, 352pp, hardcover, January 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Jan 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-1-62579-749-0
• Last Judgement’s Fire #1

Postapocalyptic novel, first in a series, about a rancher who leads a group across America in search of lost technology.
• Baen’s site has this description with a link to a page of samples.

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Ulibarri, Sarena : Glass and Gardens: Solarpunk Winters
(World Weaver Press 978-1-7322546-8-8, $15.95, 326pp, trade paperback, January 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Jan 2020

Anthology of 17 original stories about sustainable worlds.
• Authors include Wendy Nikel, Brian Burt, Andrew Dana Hudson, and Steve Toase.
• The publisher’s site has this description with excerpts and the table of contents.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “This anthology is a welcome relief from dystopias and postapocalyptic wastelands, and a reassurance that the future need not be relentlessly bleak.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Wexler, Django : City of Stone and Silence
(Tor Teen 978-0765397270, $17.99, 368pp, hardcover, January 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Jan 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780765397287
• The Wells of Sorcery #2

Young adult fantasy novel, second in a trilogy following Ship of Smoke and Steel (2019), about an 18-year-old ward boss sent on a mission to steal a legendary ghost ship.
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.

• 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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