New Books : 25 August 2020
Cursed magicians, coal miners, a hitman from Hell, an immortal race, and children raised by robots.
New books this week are by Gardner Dozois & Michael Swanwick, Kevin Hearne, Richard Kadrey, Jenn Lyons, and Carole Stivers.
* Dozois, Gardner, & Michael Swanwick : City Under the Stars
(Tor.com 978-1-250-75658-9, $14.99, 272pp, trade paperback, August 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Aug 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781250756572
SF novel, an expansion of the authors’ 1995 novella “The City of God,” about a coal-miner in a far future Earth where a walled-off City of God preserves remnants of vanished alien rulers.
• Macmillan’s site has this description.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides previews.
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Hearne, Kevin : Ink & Sigil
(Del Rey 978-1-9848-2125-6, $28, 336pp, hardcover, August 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Aug 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781984821263
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9780593213889
• From the world of The Iron Druid Chronicles #1
Urban fantasy novel, first in a spin-off series from the author’s Iron Druid Chronicles, about a cursed magician.
• Penguin Random House’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Though the mystery plot runs a little thin, the touches of humor and dynamic characters are enough to carry the day. Readers will be eager to see what happens next.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Kadrey, Richard : Ballistic Kiss
(Harper Voyager 978-0-06-267257-5, $28.99, hardcover, August 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Aug 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780062672636
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9780063012653
• Sandman Slim #11
Urban fantasy thriller, eleventh in a series following Sandman Slim (2009), Kill the Dead (2010), Aloha from Hell (2011), Devil Said Bang (2012), Kill City Blues (2013), The Getaway God (2014), Killing Pretty (2015), The Perdition Score (2016), The Kill Society (2017), and Hollywood Dead (2018), about James Stark, hit man from Hell.
• HarperCollins’ site has this description with a sample.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “The prose simmers with Kadrey’s characteristic blend of cynicism and absurdist humor, but the nuanced character development and exciting relationship-building make this feel like a brave new direction for the series.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Lyons, Jenn : The Memory of Souls
(Tor 978-1-250-17557-1, $27.99, 640pp, hardcover, August 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Aug 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781250175564
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781250755117
• A Chorus of Dragons #3
Fantasy novel, third in a series following The Ruin of Kings and The Name of All Things (both 2019), about ancient prophecies that threaten the end of the world, and a ritual to prevent it that requires a race to give up its immortality.
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “The view of the climactic battle is eye-catching, but the casual reader might get lost on the way there as the byzantine plot is filled with switchbacks and turnarounds. Series fans will enjoy revisiting Lyons’s complex world.”
• Liz Bourke reviews it in the August issue of Locus Magazine: “I’m getting fonder and more enthusiastic about this series with every volume, and I have to say I loved The Memory of Souls, and found it effective both in terms of craft and structure and in terms of emotional impact.”
• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
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* Stivers, Carole : The Mother Code
(Berkley 978-1-9848-0692-5, $26, 352pp, hardcover, August 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 25 Aug 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781984806949
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9780593165621
Near-future SF novel, the author’s first novel, in which the survival of the human race, in the aftermath of runaway biowarfare, requires genetically engineer children to be incubated and raised by robots.
• Penguin Random House’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “Stivers’s mythic vision and sound science will strike a chord with readers who fear for humanity’s future. This dystopia is painful, provocative, and ultimately infused with hope.”
• Paul Di Filippo’s review for Locus Online will be posted shortly.
• 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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