New Books : 25 February 2020
Colorful international titles BLACK LEVIATHAN (Germany) and RED MANTLE (Finland) are part of this week’s list of new books.
New titles this week are by Ben Aaronovitch, Nino Cipri, Daniel Kraus, Ken Liu, Seanan McGuire, Margarita Montimore, Bernd Perplies, and Maria Turtschaninoff.
* Aaronovitch, Ben : False Value
(DAW 978-0-7564-1646-1, $26, 304pp, hardcover, February 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Feb 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780756411480
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9780593167359
• Rivers of London #8
Urban fantasy novel, eighth in a series following Midnight Riot (UK title Rivers of London), Moon Over Soho (both 2011), Whispers Under Ground (2012), Broken Homes (2013), Foxglove Summer (2015), The Hanging Tree (2017), and Lies Sleeping (2018), about a London police officer who can speak to the dead.
• Penguin Random House’s site has this description with a preview.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “The suspenseful mystery at the novel’s core is laced with humor and charm. Jim Butcher meets Douglas Adams in this winning series installment.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Cipri, Nino : Finna
(Tor.com 978-1-250-24573-1, $14.99, 144pp, trade paperback, February 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Feb 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781250245724
Fantasy novella about a customer at a Swedish furniture store who slips through a portal to another dimension, and the two store employees who go after her.
• Macmillan’s site has this description.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides previews.
• The Publishers Weekly review comments, “Cipri employs this delightfully unusual setting to explore the soul-crushing nature of retail work and the pain of recent breakups.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Kraus, Daniel : Bent Heavens
(Henry Holt 978-1-250-15167-4, $17.99, 304pp, hardcover, February 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Feb 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781250151681
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781250249081
Young adult SF novel about a girl, whose father disappeared two years ago, who discovers his wild claims about alien abduction are true.
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Kraus’s blend of sci-fi and heart-stopping horror isn’t for the squeamish, but it offers a viscerally terrifying examination of grief, othering, and the price of vengeance.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Liu, Ken : The Hidden Girl and Other Stories
(Saga 978-1-98213-403-7, $26, 432pp, hardcover, February 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Feb 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781982134051
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781797102221
Collection of 17 stories, one original to this book, the others first published over the past decade.
• Simon & Schuster’s site has this description.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “… Liu’s strong sentences and intelligent what-ifs will appeal to fans of Asimov-ian science fiction.”
• Paul Di Filippo’s Locus Online review comments, “This collection highlights Liu, somewhat surprisingly, as a bit of a rigorous Hard SF guy with Humanist underpinnings. Despite certain flareups of topicality, he does not mire his stories in current-day controversies or trends, but always manages to step back for a bigger, more objective take.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* McGuire, Seanan : Imaginary Numbers
(DAW 978-0756413781, $7.99, 448pp, mass market paperback, February 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Feb 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780756413798
• InCryptid #9
Urban fantasy novel, ninth in a series following Discount Armageddon (2012), Midnight Blue-Light Special (2013), Half-Off Ragnorak (2014), Pocket Apocalypse (2015), Chaos Choreography (2016), Magic for Nothing (2017), Tricks for Free (2018), and That Ain’t Witchcraft (2019), about a crytozoologist who’d rather study ballroom dancing than the monsters of the world.
• Penguin Random House’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Montimore, Margarita : Oona Out of Order
(Flatiron 978-1-250-23660-9, $26.99, 352pp, hardcover, February 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Feb 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781250236593
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781250260956
Fantasy novel about a young woman who, on her 19th birthday, faints and awakens in her 51-year-old body, and learns that she will leap to random ages of her life on each birthday.
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Montimore sustains the concept by rooting the story in Oona’s relationships, employing sparkling humor as Oona struggles to make sense of each year’s new circumstances. This witty, fantastical exploration of life’s inevitable changes is surprising and touching.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Perplies, Bernd : Black Leviathan
(Tor 978-0-7653-9830-7, $18.99, 336pp, trade paperback, February 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Feb 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780765398321
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781250264282
Fantasy novel about dragon hunters, inspired by Moby Dick.
• The German original was published in 2017; this edition is translated by Lucy Van Cleef.
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review comments, “Perplies, author of the first German Star Trek tie-in novels, packs the plot with all manner of tropey diversions, among them mysterious derelict ships, floating islands, zombies, prophetic visions, and a mutiny…”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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+ Turtschaninoff, Maria : Red Mantle
(Amulet 978-1-4197-3135-8, $17.99, 320pp, hardcover, February 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Feb 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-1-68335-646-2
• The Red Abbey Chronicles #3
Young adult fantasy novel, third in a trilogy following Maresi (2017) and Naondel (2017) and first published in Finland earlier in the decade, about a young woman returning home from her Abbey.
• Abrams’ site has this description.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides previews.
• Publishers Weekly reviewed this first book: “… the message is clear: knowledge isn’t just power, it can save lives.”
• 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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