New Books : 21 April 2020

New titles this week are by Barbara Barnett, Robert Jackson Bennett, Camilla Bruce, Sarah Beth Durst, Frances Hardinge, Christina Henry, Stephen King, Kathe Koja, Sarah Kozloff, Mark Lawrence, Madeleine L’Engle, Jon Skovron, Molly Tanzer, and Corey J. White.

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* Barnett, Barbara : Alchemy of Glass
(Pyr 978-1-64506-013-0, $19.95, 376pp, trade paperback, April 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 21 Apr 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781645060147

Fantasy novel, sequel to The Apothecary’s Curse (2016), about an alchemist’s attempts to free himself from the curse of immortality.
• Simon & Schuster’s site has this description.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides previews.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “This ambitious fantasy is strictly for series completionists; new readers will be lost.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Bennett, Robert Jackson : Shorefall
(Del Rey 978-1-5247-6038-0, $28, 512pp, hardcover, April 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 21 Apr 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781524760397
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9780593148068
• The Founders Trilogy #2

Fantasy novel, second in a trilogy following Foundryside (2018), set in a city that runs by industrialized magic.
• Penguin Random House’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “The industrialized magic system is intricate and fascinating (if at times overly detailed), and Bennett’s characterization of the unhinged, all-powerful Crasedes strikes a perfect balance between terror and allure. This thrilling installment will leave readers eager for the series finale.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Bruce, Camilla : You Let Me In
(Tor 978-1250302045, $25.99, 256pp, hardcover, April 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 21 Apr 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781250302052
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781250264275

Suspense novel, the author’s first novel, about the disappearance of an elderly romance novelist whose relatives died in suspicious ways and who leaves behind a manuscript with clues for her heirs.
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “Bruce is especially good at raising goosebumps. Fans of Sarah Pinborough will welcome this new talent.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Durst, Sarah Beth : Race the Sands
(Harper Voyager 978-0-06-288861-7, $17.99, 544pp, trade paperback, April 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 21 Apr 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780062888624
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9780062989390

Standalone fantasy novel about two women determined to become monster racing champions.
• HarperCollins’ site has this description with a sample.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “Durst consistently defies expectations in both plot and characterization while exploring sophisticated themes of found family, integrity, and morality.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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+ Hardinge, Frances : Deeplight
(Abrams/Amulet 978-1-4197-4320-7, $19.99, 432pp, hardcover, April 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 21 Apr 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-1-68335-790-2

First US edition (UK: Macmillan, October 2019)

Young adult fantasy novel, set in a world where the gods destroyed each other decades before, about a 15-year-old boy who finds the still-beating heart of one of those deities.
• Abrams’ site has this description.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides previews.
• It’s currently a finalist for the Lodestar Award on the basis of its UK publication last year.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “Equal parts dazzling fantasy, swashbuckling adventure, and tender coming-of-age tale, this ambitious standalone from Hardinge cautions against xenophobia, zealotry, and greed while using boldly drawn characters to illustrate storytelling’s power and fear’s role in faith.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Henry, Christina : Looking Glass
(Ace 978-1-9848-0563-8, $15.99, 304pp, trade paperback, April 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 21 Apr 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781984805645
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9780593165485
• Chronicles of Alice #3

Collection of four novellas set in the world of novels Alice (2015) and Red Queen (2016), inspired by the works of Lewis Carroll.
• Penguin Random House’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review comments, “These somber, occasionally disturbing novellas offer a mature take on the children’s story but balance the horrors of the City with hope.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* King, Stephen : If It Bleeds
(Scribner 978-1-982137-97-7, $30, 448pp, hardcover, April 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 21 Apr 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781982137991
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781797104799

Collection of four original novellas.
• Simon & Schuster’s site has this description.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides previews.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “King clearly loves his characters, and the care with which he develops their personalities draws the reader ineluctably into their deeply unsettling experiences. This excellent collection delivers exactly the kind of bravura storytelling King’s readers expect.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Koja, Kathe : Velocities
(Meerkat Press 978-1946154231, $15.95, 200pp, trade paperback, April 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 21 Apr 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-1946154248

Collection of 13 stories, two of them original, the others first published from 1995 to 2013.
• The publisher’s site has this description with blurbs and quotes from reviews, and a tour schedule.

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Kozloff, Sarah : The Cerulean Queen
(Tor 978-1250168962, $16.99, 512pp, trade paperback, April 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 21 Apr 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781250168955
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781250243577
• The Nine Realms #4

Fantasy novel, fourth novel of a quartet following A Queen in Hiding (Jan. 2020), The Queen of Raiders (Feb. 2020), and A Broken Queen (Mar. 2020), about an orphaned, exiled princess.
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Liz Bourke reviewed all four books in the quartet in the February issue of Locus Magazine: “This is your reasonably standard monarchist usurpation-restoration narrative with added gods, destinies, and god-prompted invasions, save that unlike most narratives of usurpation and restoration, the legitimacy and right to rule of the usurped monarch is never in question or even contested by her enemies….”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Lawrence, Mark : The Girl and the Stars
(Ace 978-1984805997, $27, 384pp, hardcover, April 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 21 Apr 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781984806000
• The Book of the Ice #1

Fantasy novel, first in a series, set in the same world as Red Sister (2017), about a young outcast struggling to survive.
• Penguin Random House’s site has this description with an excerpt.

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* L’Engle, Madeleine : The Moment of Tenderness
(Grand Central 978-1-5387-1782-0, $27, 304pp, hardcover, April 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 21 Apr 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781538717813
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781549183690

Collection of 18 stories, only two of them previously published (in 1957 and 1991), arranged chronologically by the author’s granddaughter and literary executor, Charlotte Jones Voiklis, who provides an introduction.
• Hachette’s site offers a free short story; scroll down for the description.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Voiklis’s illuminating introduction places many of the stories in the context of L’Engle’s life and points out those that were reworked and integrated into her later novels. The book will obviously attract L’Engle aficionados, but the thoughtful selection and organization recommends the volume to anyone curious about a writer’s evolution.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Skovron, Jon : The Ranger of Marzana
(Orbit 978-0-316-45462-9, $15.99, 528pp, trade paperback, April 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 21 Apr 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780316454605
• The Goddess War #1

Fantasy novel, first in a series, about two siblings who find themselves on opposite sides of a conflict following the death of their father.
• Hachette’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Orbit’s site has this description.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “Skovron does an admirable job balancing large-scale and interpersonal conflicts, and strong supporting characters and cultural specificity add texture. This is epic fantasy done right.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Tanzer, Molly : Creatures of Charm and Hunger
(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt/John Joseph Adams 978-0-358-06521-0, $16.99, 320pp, trade paperback, April 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 21 Apr 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-0358066729
• The Diabolist’s Library #-

Fantasy novel, third in a Victorian-era trilogy inspired by The Great Gatsby and H.P. Lovecraft, following Creatures of Will and Temper (2017) and Creatures of Want and Ruin (2018).
• Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “Moral ambiguity abounds in this dark, captivating coming-of-age fantasy that expertly depicts the painful loneliness of growing up and apart. Series fans and new readers alike will be entranced.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* White, Corey J. : Repo Virtual
(Tor.com 978-1-250-21872-8, $26.99, 352pp, hardcover, April 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 21 Apr 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781250218711
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781250219244

Cyberpunk SF novel about a repo man and thief in a Russian smart city who accidentally steals the first sentient AI.
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt. The description calls it the author’s “debut novel” though Tor.com published three earlier short volumes in The Voidwitch Saga trilogy in 2017 and 2018.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “This quick, solidly constructed tale should satisfy cyberpunk fans who don’t mind revisiting genre staples.”

• 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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