New Books : 28 April 2020
Two books about uplifted dogs, and three trilogy conclusions, are in this week’s New Books!
New books this week, plus a couple overlooked titles from earlier in the year, are by S.L. Huang, Kameron Hurley, James Patrick Kelly, Alastair Reynolds, Michael Swanwick, and April Genevieve Tucholke.
* Huang, S. L. : Critical Point
(Tor 978-1-250-18036-0, $27.99, 368pp, hardcover, April 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 28 Apr 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781250180377
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781250264312
• Cas Russell #3
SF novel, third in a series following Zero Sum Game (2018) and Null Set (2019), about a mathematical genius who fights crime.
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “…Huang still manages to bring this complex, many layered plot to a mostly satisfying conclusion. Cas’s continuing development will please series fans, but new readers may find the backstory overwhelming. This fast-paced sci-fi thriller makes up for its flaws with clever plotting and thrilling action.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Hurley, Kameron : The Broken Heavens
(Angry Robot 978-0857665621, $16.99, 464pp, trade paperback, January 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 14 Jan 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780857665638
• The Worldbreaker Saga #3
Fantasy novel, third in a series following The Mirror Empire (2014) and Empire Ascendant (2015), about a world where people and civilizations are affected by changing stars.
• Angry Robot’s site has this description with a link to an excerpt.
• Publishers Weekly gave the first book a starred review: “Readers will blaze through this opening installment and eagerly await the promised sequel.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Kelly, James Patrick : King of the Dogs, Queen of the Cats
(Subterranean Press 978-1-59606-934-3, $40, 128pp, hardcover, January 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Fri 31 Jan 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: B08465BPCS
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: B0828BV9K1
SF novella about a circus arriving on a planet with uplifted cat and dog populations.
• Subterranean’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Paul Di Filippo reviewed it for Locus Online: “Kelly has a ball telling this story. It’s as full of whimsy, drollery and brio as anything by Jack Vance.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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+ Reynolds, Alastair : Bone Silence
(Orbit 978-0316462754, $16.99, 496pp, trade paperback, April 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 14 Apr 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780316462730
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781549158087
• Revenger #3
Far future SF novel, third in a series following Revenger (2016) and Shadow Captain (2019), about two sisters who become commanders of a spaceship.
• Hachette’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The UK hardcover edition appeared in January.
• Publishers Weekly gave the previous book a starred review: “Reynolds has constructed a huge, dazzling setting for this series, but even more interesting is watching the young Ness women interact with their somewhat untrustworthy crew and their own sometimes treacherous impulses.”
• Russell Letson reviews this book in the April issue of Locus Magazine: “It’s an extravagant, atmospheric, and mysterious world, a concoction of space opera, film noir, and a pulpified version of Stapledonian deep time that stretches beyond the limits of the page.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Swanwick, Michael : The Postutopian Adventures of Darger and Surplus
(Subterranean 978-1-59606-937-4, $40, 200pp, hardcover, April 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Thu 30 Apr 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: B086N4QQBZ
Collection of five novelettes and four vignettes about a pair of con artists in a postapocalyptic future.
• Titles include the Hugo Award-winning “The Dog Says Bow-Wow.”
• Subterranean’s site has this description with the table of contents.
• The Publishers Weekly review comments, “Throughout, melancholy human Darger and passionate Surplus, a bioengineered humanoid canine, blithely get themselves into and out of predicaments with sanguine ease in a future in which most technological science has regressed, while the biological sciences have progressed in often terrifying ways.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Tucholke, April Genevieve : Seven Endless Forests
(Farrar, Straus and Giroux 978-0-374-30709-7, $18.99, 352pp, hardcover, April 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 28 Apr 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780374307103
Young adult fantasy novel, a stand-alone companion to The Boneless Mercies (2018), a retelling of the King Arthur legend, about a girl wh sets out to rescue her kidnapped sister.
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “…Tucholke conjures a mythic, richly described landscape that serves well as the backdrop for familiar names and concepts. The strong focus on found family and feminine strength further enhances this tale’s emotional impact.”
• 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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