New Books : 2 June 2020

New books this week are by Ann Dávila Cardinal, Melissa Caruso, Ellen Datlow, Bethany C. Morrow, Patrick Ness, Daniel José Older, Jerry Pournelle (with David Weber and Phillip Pournelle), Robert J. Sawyer, Peter J. Wacks & Eytan Kollin, and Christopher Woods & Toni Weisskopf.

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* Cardinal, Ann Dávila : Category Five
(Tor Teen 978-1250296122, $17.99, 240pp, hardcover, June 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Jun 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781250296139

Young adult fantasy novel about a series of murders on an island near Puero Rico in the aftermath of hurricane Maria.
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Publishers Weekly said of her previous novel, “The spirit of Puerto Rico is infused throughout Cardinal’s solo debut, which is peppered with accessible Spanglish and a peek into Puerto Rican cuisine and barrios. A gripping horror read.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Caruso, Melissa : The Obsidian Tower
(Orbit 978-0-316-42509-4, $16.99, 528pp, trade paperback, June 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Jun 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780316425070
• Books and Ruin #1

Fantasy novel, first in a series, about the warden of a tower containing an ancient, dangerous secret.
• Orbit’s site has an excerpt.
• Hachette’s site has this description.
• The Publishers Weekly review calls it a “no-holds-barred epic fantasy” and concludes, “Caruso’s new series is off to a promising start.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Datlow, Ellen, ed. : Final Cuts: New Tales of Hollywood Horror and Other Spectacles
(Anchor 978-0-525-56575-8, $16.95, 480pp, trade paperback, June 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Jun 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780525565765

Anthology of 18 original stories inspired by cinema and television.
• Authors include Dale Bailey, Laird Barron, Richard Kadrey, Jeffrey Ford, and Gemma Files.
• Penguin Random House’s site has this description.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides previews.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “The impressive creative range and the authors’ willingness to push their ideas to the limit make this a memorable exploration of the intersection between horror literature and film. Genre enthusiasts should snap this up.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Morrow, Bethany C. : A Song Below Water
(Tor Teen 978-1-250-31532-8, $17.99, 288pp, hardcover, June 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Jun 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781250315311
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781250755025

Young adult fantasy novel about black mermaids.
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “…this triumph of black sisterhood and female resilience is sure to draw readers.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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+ Ness, Patrick : Burn
(Quill Tree Books 978-0-06-286949-4, $18.99, 384pp, hardcover, June 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Jun 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780062869517
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9780063018044

Young adult fantasy novel about a farmer and his daughter who are so poor they’re forced to hire a dragon to work their farm.
• HarperCollins’ site has this description with a sample.
• The UK first edition appeared on May 7th.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “The densely layered, expertly paced plot builds and twists while revealing an alternate universe that cunningly echoes our world and its history.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Older, Daniel José : Thunder Run
(Scholastic Press 978-1338268874, $16.99, 320pp, hardcover, June 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Jun 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: B07VVT14LY
• Dactyl Hill Squad #3

Young adult fantasy novel, third in a series following Dactyl Hill Squad (2018) and Freedom Fire (2019), in which dinosaurs fight Civil War battles.
• Scholastic’s site has this brief description.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides previews.
• Publishers Weekly gave the previous book a starred review: “While Older’s inclusion of dinosaurs adds a fanciful element, the trauma of conflict, the era’s prevalent racism, and the underappreciated contributions of people of color to the war bring verisimilitude to the story.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Pournelle, Jerry : Mamelukes
(Baen 978-1-9821-2462-5, $25, 608pp, hardcover, June 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Jun 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-1-62579-769-8
• Janissaries #4

Military SF novel, final novel in the Janissaries series following Janissaries (1979), Janissaries: Clan and Crown (1982), and Janissaries III: Storms of Victory (1987), the latter two co-authored with Roland J. Green, about human mercenaries transported to the planet Tran.
• This is credited to Pournelle, who died in 2017, “with contributions from David Weber and the author’s son Phillip Pournelle.”
• Baen’s site has this description with a link to a page of samples.

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Sawyer, Robert J. : The Oppenheimer Alternative
(Arc Manor/Caezik SF & Fantasy 978-1-64710-013-1, $16.99, 374pp, trade paperback, June 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Jun 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-1-988415-22-2

Alternate history SF novel in which Edward Teller, working with J. Robert Oppenheimer and his Manhattan Project, discovers that by the year 2030 the sun will eject its outermost layer and destroy the inner solar system.
• The publisher’s site has this PDF excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “…Sawyer’s characterization of the man himself are well done and pull back the layers of Oppenheimer’s morals, genius, and grief. Science fiction fans will devour this smart speculative tale.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Wacks, Peter J., & Eytan Kollin : Caller of Lightning
(Baen 978-1-9821-2463-2, $25, 416pp, hardcover, June 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Jun 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-1-62579-770-4
• Arcane America #3

Alternate history fantasy novel, third in a series following Uncharted: Lewis and Clark in Arcane America by Kevin J. Anderson and Sarah A. Hoyt (2018) and Council of Fire by Eric Flint and Walter H. Hunt (2019), in which America has been sundered from the rest of the world after the magical destruction of Halley’s Comet in 1759.
• Baen’s site has this description and a page with links to samples.

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Woods, Christopher, & Toni Weisskopf, eds. : Give Me LibertyCon
(Baen 978-1-9821-2464-9, $16, 368pp, trade paperback, June 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 2 Jun 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-1-62579-771-1

Anthology of 15 original stories set in the author’s own worlds.
• Authors include David Weber, David Drake, Timothy Zahn, Bill Fawcett, and Larry Correia.
• A portion of the sales will fund a scholarship set up in the name of LibertyCon founder Timothy “Uncle Timmy” Bolgeo.
• Baen’s site has this description and this page with links to several samples.

• 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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