New Books : 26 May 2020

New books this week are by Trudi Canavan, Mark Clifton, Meg Elison, Jeffrey Ford, Nancy Kress, Emily B. Martin, P.W. Singer & August Cole, and Sheree Renée Thomas.

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* Canavan, Trudi : Maker’s Curse
(Orbit 978-0316421201, $28, 544pp, hardcover, May 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Thu 21 May 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780316421171
• Millennium’s Rule #4

Fantasy novel, fourth and final book in a series following Thief’s Magic (2014), Angel of Storms (2015), and Successor’s Promise (2017), set in a world where magic powers an industrial revolution.
• Hachette’s site has this description.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides previews.

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Clifton, Mark : What Have I Done?: The Stories of Mark Clifton
(Dover 978-0486843346, $14.95, 288pp, trade paperback, May 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Thu 21 May 2020

Collection of eight stories first published from 1952 to 1962.
• Titles include “Clerical Error,” “What Now, Little Man?” and the title story.
• Dover’s site has this description with a Google preview.

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Elison, Meg : Big Girl
(PM Press 978-1-62963-783-9, $14, 128pp, trade paperback, May 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 26 May 2020

Collection of six stories and essays, two of them original to this book. This is the latest in the publisher’s “Outspoken Authors” series.
• The publishser’s site has this description and order page.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Elison’s devoted readers and anyone with a love of Atwoodian dystopias should take note.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Ford, Jeffrey : Out of Body
(Tor.com 978-1-250-25015-5, $15.99, 176pp, trade paperback, May 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 26 May 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781250250148

Dark fantasy novel about a small town librarian haunted through his dreams by a serial killer.
• Macmillan’s site has this description.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Ford’s elaboration of the night world is wildly imaginative and his depiction of Owen’s invisible explorations of it verges on the voyeuristic, adding unusual piquancy to the story. Readers will find this well-wrought tale of a mysterious world both eerie and bewitching.”
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews it in the May issue of Locus Magazine: “…Out of Body is most memorable as a dark and lyrical fable of unexpected courage and unwanted responsibility, set in the sort of evocative town that already seems to be fading into memory.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Kress, Nancy : Sea Change
(Tachyon 978-1-61696-331-6, $15.95, 192pp, trade paperback, May 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Fri 22 May 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-1-61696-332-3

SF novel about climate change and GMOs (genetically modified organisms).
• Tachyon’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Kress wisely keeps her global catastrophe on a human scale, eschewing superheroic action for tense realism. This urgent, deeply satisfying story is as tenacious and inspiring as its heroine.”
• Kress wrote a Big Idea post about this book on John Scalzi’s site.
• Russell Letson reviewed it in the February issue of Locus Magazine: “Sea Change includes plenty of old-fashioned science-fictional didaxis… But the book kicks harder because we see and feel the impact of these processes on a whole life, close-up.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Martin, Emily B. : Sunshield
(Harper Voyager 978-0-06-288856-3, $16.99, 432pp, trade paperback, May 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 26 May 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780062888587
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9780063012752
• Outlaw Road #1

Fantasy novel, first in a series, where the luxurious state of Moquoia relies on a system of slave labor.
• HarperCollins’ site has this description with a sample.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “Martin spins a graceful web of intrigue, coups, and budding revolution in this fast-paced, swashbuckling adventure, tying up just enough loose ends to bring this series opener to a satisfying close, while leaving enough mysteries unsolved to have readers chomping at the bit for the next installment. Clever, thrilling, and full of heart, this is epic fantasy done right.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Singer, P. W., & August Cole : Burn-In
(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 978-1328637239, $28, 432pp, hardcover, May 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 26 May 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: B07T4KLT74
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: B084QBR9NZ

SF novel, subtitled “A Novel of the Real Robotic Revolution,” about an FBI agent and an advanced police robot pursuing a terrorist conspiracy.
• The publisher’s site has this description with quotes from reviews and blurbs from Daniel H. Wilson, Max Brooks, and others.

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Thomas, Sheree Renée : Nine Bar Blues
(Third Man Books 978-0997457896, $16.95, 204pp, trade paperback, May 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 26 May 2020

Collection of 16 stories, subtitled “Stories from an Ancient Future.”
• The publisher’s site has this description.
• The author is best known as the editor of two Dark Matter anthologies, both of which won World Fantasy Awards.

• 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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