New Books : 10 March 2020

New titles this week are by Luke Arnold, Anne Bishop, Patrice Caldwell, Myke Cole, T. Frohock, Kathleen O’Neal Gear, Duncan M. Hamilton, Julian K. Jarboe, Alma Katsu, Marshall Ryan Maresca, Tina LeCount Myers, Mary South, and S.M. Stirling.

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* Arnold, Luke : The Last Smile in Sunder City
(Orbit 978-0-316-45582-4, $15.99, 368pp, trade paperback, March 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Feb 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780316455831
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781549150494
• The Fetch Phillips Archives #1

Fantasy novel, first in a series, about a private detective who works for magical creatures.
• Hachette’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “Actor Arnold, best-known for his role in the TV series Black Sails, invites readers into a richly imagined world in this standout debut. … Winningly combining the grit of Chinatown with the quirky charm of Harry Potter, this series opener is sure to have readers coming back for more.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Bishop, Anne : The Queen’s Bargain
(Ace 978-1-9848-0662-8, $27, 432pp, hardcover, March 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 10 Mar 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781984806642
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9780593165584
• Black Jewels #10

Romantic fantasy novel, tenth in a series following The Shadow Queen (2009), Shalador’s Lady (2010), and the novella collection Twilight’s Dawn (2011).
• Penguin Random House’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “The actual stakes don’t emerge until late in the plot, but the slow-burn buildup pays off with a stirring conclusion that paves the way for a dramatic sequel. Returning readers will be excited to learn what’s next for the people of Kaeleer.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Caldwell, Patrice, ed. : A Phoenix First Must Burn
(Viking 978-1-9848-3565-9, $18.99, 368pp, hardcover, March 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 10 Mar 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781984835666

Anthology of 16 original young adult stories, subtitled “Sixteen Stories of Black Girl Magic, Resistance, and Hope,” by authors “who are truly Octavia Butler’s heirs.”
• Authors include Justina Ireland, Alaya Dawn Johnson, and Rebecca Roanhorse.
• Penguin Random House’s site has this description with a preview function.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review, saying the stories “explor[e] the beauty, bravery, fear, history, and empowerment of being black. Fiercely fantastical and achingly honest, this book delivers a more inclusive means of self-discovery.”
• Colleen Mondor reviews it in the March issue of Locus Magazine: “Final verdict? A Phoenix First Must Burn is an enormously eclectic and entertaining collection. We need more Black girl magic – a lot more. And we need to be demanding why there hasn’t been more available to eager readers all along.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Cole, Myke : Sixteenth Watch
(Angry Robot 978-0-857668-05-9, $14.99, 432pp, trade paperback, March 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 10 Mar 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780857668066

Military SF novel in which the Coast Guard tries to prevent history’s first lunar war.
• Angry Robot’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “The vicissitudes of this training make up the bulk of the book, as the Chinese threat grows in the background. Cole’s capable portrait of a plausible future leaves the door open for a welcome sequel.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Frohock, T. : Carved from Stone and Dream
(Harper Voyager 978-0-06-282564-3, $17.99, 368pp, trade paperback, March 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Feb 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780062825766
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9780062990044
• Los Nefilim #2

Historical fantasy novel, second in a series following Where Oblivion Lives (2019), about a supernatural war in 1932 Spain and Germany.
• HarperCollins’ site has this description with a sample.
• Publishers Weekly gives it, as it did the previous book, a starred review: “Frohock raises the stakes in the battle between angels and demons by entwining their celestial warfare with the simmering human conflict, and the wildly imaginative plotlines are balanced by intimate family struggles as Frohock works toward an explosive ending. Series fans and new readers alike will be enthralled.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Gear, Kathleen O’Neal : Cries from the Lost Island
(DAW 978-0-7564-1578-5, $26, 320pp, hardcover, March 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 10 Mar 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780756415792

Stand-alone fantasy novel about a 16-year-old student from Colorado where the murder of a friend leads him on a quest to Egypt to find the lost graves of Marc Antony and Cleopatra.
• Penguin Random House’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review comments, “O’Neal Gear brings a historian’s flair for details to the dig site and manages to keep her present-day story from becoming overshadowed by ancient Egyptian myth with convincingly flawed young protagonists and numerous red herrings surrounding Cleo’s murder.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Hamilton, Duncan M. : Servant of the Crown
(Tor 978-1-250-30684-5, $28.99, 336pp, hardcover, March 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 10 Mar 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781250306838
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781250264039
• The Dragonslayer #3

Fantasy novel, third in a trilogy following Dragonslayer (July 2019) and Knight of the Silver Circle (Nov. 2019), about a dragonslayer in a kingdom where all dragons are believed to be dead.
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt. There’s a simultaneous trade paperback edition (978-1250306852).
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Hamilton masterfully ties up loose ends while packing this final adventure with intrigue and action, but a sense of emotional connection is occasionally lacking as moments that ought to be wrenching pass in a rush and fall flat. Still, series readers will be satisfied by this suspenseful grand finale.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Jarboe, Julian K. : Everyone on the Moon Is Essential Personnel
(Lethe 978-1-59021-692-7, $15, 222pp, trade paperback, March 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Thu 5 Mar 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: B0857HX64F

Collection of 16 stories.
• Lethe’s site has this description: “In this debut collection of body-horror fairy tales and mid-apocalyptic Catholic cyberpunk, memory and myth, loss and age, these are the tools of storyteller Jarboe, a talent in the field of queer fabulism.”
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “Throughout, Jarboe melds tenderness, humor, and righteous anger into insightful tales of characters navigating the margins of society. Readers are sure to be blown away.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Katsu, Alma : The Deep
(Putnam 978-0-525-53790-8, $27, 432pp, hardcover, March 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 10 Mar 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780525537915
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9780593164075

Fantasy novel about a survivor of the haunted Titanic who later encounters new terrors on sister ship Britannic.
• Penguin Random House’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “The historically predetermined ending may keep readers from connecting emotionally to the narrative, but Katsu’s artful writing and calculated pacing keep the pages turning. This is an impressive, horror-tinged trip back in time.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Maresca, Marshall Ryan : The Fenmere Job
(DAW 978-0756414818, $8.99, 384pp, mass market paperback, March 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Feb 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780756414825
• The Streets of Maradaine #3

Fantasy novel, third in a series following The Holver Alley Crew (2017) and Lady Henterman’s Wardrobe (2018), set in the port city of Maradaine, about two brothers who fall back on thievery following a fire that destroys their shop.
• Penguin Random House’s site has this description with an excerpt

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Myers, Tina LeCount : Breath of Gods
(Night Shade Books 978-1949102352, $14.99, 456pp, trade paperback, March 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 10 Mar 2020
• Legacy of the Heavens #3

Fantasy novel, third in a series following The Song of All (2018) and Dreams of a Dark Sky (2019), set in a world inspired by indigenous Scandinavian cultures.
• Simon & Schuster’s site has this description.

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* South, Mary : You Will Never Be Forgotten
(FSG Originals 978-0374538361, $15, 256pp, trade paperback, March 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 10 Mar 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780374720568

Literary collection of 10 stories.
• Macmillan’s site has this description; “Mary South explores how technology can both collapse our relationships from within and provide opportunities for genuine connection.”
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “South’s stories are both funny and profound, often on the same page, but perhaps her best skill is plumbing the intricacies of loneliness, expertly dissecting what that term means in a technology-driven world. This is an electric jolt from a very talented writer.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Stirling, S. M. : Shadows of Annihilation
(Ace 978-0-399-58627-9, $18, 400pp, trade paperback, March 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 10 Mar 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780399586286
• A Novel of an Alternate World War #3

Alternate history novel, third in a series following Black Chamber (2018) and Theater of Spies (2019), in which Teddy Roosevelt wins the presidency for a second time just before World War I breaks out.
• Penguin Random House’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “This fast-paced spy thriller has impressive depth.”

• 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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