New Books : 6 October 2020

New books this week are by A. Deborah Baker, Sarah Goodman, A.J. Hackwith, Sean Patrick Hazlett, Alice Hoffman, Adrian Hon, Ausma Zehanat Khan, T. Kingfisher, Dean Koontz, Ursula K. Le Guin, Gregory Maguire, Sayaka Murata, Joyce Carol Oates, David Quantick, Kim Stanley Robinson, V.E. Schwab, Martin L. Shoemaker, Megan Whalen Turner, David Weber & Jacob Holo, and Jane Yolen.

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* Baker, A. Deborah : Over the Woodward Wall
(Tor.com 978-0-7653-9927-4, $17.99, 208pp, hardcover, October 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 6 Oct 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780765399267
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781250772701

Fantasy novel about two exceptional children who discover a magical world.
• The author is Seanan McGuire writing as Baker.
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review, noting that the book “serves as a metafictional tie-in to [McGuire’s] 2019 blockbuster Middlegame, which features Baker as a character” and concluding, “Readers won’t have to have read Middlegame to enjoy this, but those who have will take pleasure in the multiple layers of meaning behind each scene. With lyrical prose and deep stores of emotion, this grown-up fairy tale works on every level.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Goodman, Sarah : Eventide
(Tor Teen 978-1250224736, $17.99, 336pp, hardcover, October 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 6 Oct 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781250224712
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781250771995

Young adult fantasy novel about an orphaned 17-year-old girl in 1907 Arkansas.
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Hackwith, A. J. : The Archive of the Forgotten
(Ace 978-1-984806-39-0, $15.99, 368pp, trade paperback, October 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 6 Oct 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781984806406
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9780593291610
• A Novel from Hell’s Library #2

Fantasy novel, second in a series after The Library of the Unwritten (2019), about a library of books unfinished by their authors and a librarian responsible for characters that emerge from such books.
• Penguin Random House’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “Writing in stirring prose, Hackwith imbues her high-concept, metafictional tale with color, action, and high-flying emotion.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Hazlett, Sean Patrick, ed. : Weird World War III
(Baen 978-1-9821-2491-5, $15.99, 320pp, trade paperback, October 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 6 Oct 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: B08KHRK549

Anthology of 19 original stories.
• Authors include Mike Resnick, David Drake, Martin L. Shoemaker, Alex Shvartsman, and John Langan.
• Baen’s site has this description and this page linking several samples.

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Hoffman, Alice : Magic Lessons
(Simon & Schuster 978-1-9821-0884-7, $27.99, 416pp, hardcover, October 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 6 Oct 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781982108861
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781797111247

Fantasy novel, a prequel to both Practical Magic (1995) and The Rules of Magic (2017), telling the story of Maria Owens, accused of witchcraft in Salem.
• Simon & Schuster’s site has this description.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Hoffman’s redemptive story of a fiercely independent woman adds an engrossing, worthwhile chapter to the series.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Hon, Adrian : A New History of the Future in 100 Objects
(MIT Press 978-0-262-53937-1, $21.95, 384pp, trade paperback, October 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 6 Oct 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: B084V7Y481

SF novel, or “fiction,” about a curator in 2082 who describes the history of the 21st century through objects and artifacts.
• The publisher’s site has this description.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Casual readers may struggle with the format, but futurists and science fiction die-hards will delight in this impressive feat of imagination.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Khan, Ausma Zehanat : The Bladebone
(Harper Voyager 978-0-06-245925-1, $17.99, 512pp, trade paperback, October 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 6 Oct 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780062459268
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9780063034211
• The Khorasan Archives #4

Fantasy novel, fourth in a four-book series following The Bloodprint (2017), The Black Khan (2018), and The Blue Eye (2019), about a group of female warriors battling a superstitious patriarchy that suppresses knowledge and subjugates women.
• HarperCollins’ site has this description with a sample.
• The UK hardcover edition will appear October 15.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “Fantasy fans will savor the luxurious prose and insights into the profundities of love and sacrifice. Bringing such a complex series to a satisfying end is no small feat, and Zehanat Khan pulls it off with grace.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Kingfisher, T. : The Hollow Places
(Saga Press 978-1-5344-5112-4, $16.99, 352pp, trade paperback, October 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 6 Oct 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781534451148
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781797112152

Fantasy/horror novel about a young woman who discovers, in her uncle’s house, a portal leading to alternate realities haunted by creatures who hear her thoughts.
• Simon & Schuster’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Kingfisher has crafted a truly terrifying monster with minimal descriptions that leave the reader’s imagination to run wild. With well-timed humor and perfect scares, this one is a keeper for horror fans.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Koontz, Dean : Elsewhere
(Amazon/Thomas & Mercer 978-1542019859, $28.99, 364pp, hardcover, October 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 6 Oct 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: B086K31XRZ
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 978-1543627381

Fantasy novel about a man and his daughter who come into possession of a device that allows them to jump between parallel planes.
• Amazon’s page has a description, while its “Look Inside” function provides previews.

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Le Guin, Ursula K. : Annals of the Western Shore
(Library of America 978-1-59853-668-3, $35, 672pp, hardcover, October 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 6 Oct 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-1-59853-669-0

Omnibus of three coming-of-age stories set in the Western Shore: Gifts (2004), Voices (2006), and Powers (2007). The last of these won a Nebula Award.
• The publisher’s site has this description.
• The book, edited by Brian Attebery, includes Le Guin’s talks and interviews about the novels, a chronology of her life and career, and helpful explanatory notes.

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Maguire, Gregory : A Wild Winter Swan
(William Morrow 978-0-06298-078-6, $27.99, 240pp, hardcover, October 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 6 Oct 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780062980809
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9780062980816

Fantasy novel inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Wild Swans,” about an Italian-American girl’s coming-of-age in 1960s New York.
• HarperCollins’ site has this description with a sample.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Maguire parallels the swan boy’s story of brokenness to Laura’s own struggles overcoming class and cultural differences. Fans of Maguire’s retellings will love this simple, elegant story.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Murata, Sayaka : Earthlings
(Grove 978-0-8021-5700-3, $25, 240pp, hardcover, October 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 6 Oct 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-0-8021-5702-7

Literary fantasy novel about a Japanese girl who believes she is an alien from another planet.
• This edition is translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori.
• The publisher’s site has this description with numerous blurbs and quotes from reviews.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “The author’s flat, deadpan prose makes the child Natsuki’s narration strangely and instantly believable and later serves to reflect her relationship to Japan’s societal anxiety. This eye-opening, grotesque outing isn’t to be missed.”
• Ian Mond reviews it in the October issue of Locus Magazine: “But for me, it’s the book’s visceral, grim savagery, and those final shocking pages, that makes this such a vital, powerful novel. In the current pandemic haze where it’s easy for the days to blur together, Earthlings is the sort of challenging, confronting fiction that wakes you up with a jolt and leaves a lasting impression.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Oates, Joyce Carol : Cardiff, by the Sea: Four Novellas of Suspense
(Grove/The Mysterious Press 978-0-8021-5799-7, $26, 288pp, hardcover, October 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 6 Oct 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-0-8021-5801-7

Collection of four previously-published novellas.
• Grove’s site has this description.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “four novellas in this spellbinding collection from Oates carefully tread the boundary between psychological and supernatural expressions of the macabre.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Quantick, David : Night Train
(Titan 978-1-78565-859-4, $14.95, 320pp, trade paperback, October 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 6 Oct 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781785658600

SF/horror novel about a woman who finds herself aboard a train full of dead bodies.
• Titan’s site has this description.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides previews.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Quantick throws readers into this off-kilter world just as blindly as his characters, creating a sense of disconcerting dread. As the puzzle pieces slowly come together, the characters and reader alike realize that something horrible has happened to the world. This imaginative horror novel is a page-turner.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Robinson, Kim Stanley : The Ministry for the Future
(Orbit 978-0-316-30013-1, $28, 576pp, hardcover, October 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 6 Oct 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780316300162
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781549186431

SF novel about the effects of climate change.
• Orbit’s site has this excerpt.
• Hachette’s site has this description.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “Robinson masterfully integrates the practical details of environmental crises and geoengineering projects into a sweeping, optimistic portrait of humanity’s ability to cooperate in the face of disaster. This heartfelt work of hard science-fiction is a must-read for anyone worried about the future of the planet.”
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews it in the October issue of Locus Magazine: “The Ministry for the Future is… a kind of summing-up of the determined if almost perverse optimism of Robinson’s last several novels – perverse because Robinson sees all too clearly how steep the hill is becoming – but never has he laid out in such complex and precise detail his reasons for hope.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Schwab, V. E. : The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
(Tor 978-0-7653-8756-1, $26.99, 448pp, hardcover, October 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 6 Oct 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780765387585
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9781250777966

Fantasy novel about a woman in 1714 France who makes a bargain to live forever, but is then forgotten by everyone she meets.
• Macmillan’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “This sweeping fantasy is as much a love story as it is a tribute to storytelling, art, and inspiration. Schwab’s diverse cast is beautifully rendered, and the view of human connection on offer is biting and bitter, yet introspective and sweet. This ambitious and hopeful work is a knockout.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Shoemaker, Martin L. : The Last Campaign
(47North 978-1-5420-9140-4, $14.95, 319pp, trade paperback, October 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 6 Oct 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: B07XKS4G3J
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 978-1799754879
• The Near-Earth Mysteries #2

SF novel, second in a series following The Last Dance (2019), about a murder mystery in a colony on Mars.
• Amazon’s page has a description, and its “Look Inside” function provides previews.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “The wonders and dangers of living in space are grounded in the grit of Martian sand and the procedural mysteries that could just as easily have taken place on Earth as in space. This is smart, subtle speculative fiction.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Turner, Megan Whalen : Return of the Thief
(Greenwillow 978-0062874474, $18.99, 480pp, hardcover, October 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 6 Oct 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9780062874481
• Audiobook ISBN [link to Amazon]: 9780062907905
• Queen’s Thief #6

Young adult fantasy novel, sixth in a series following The Thief (1996), The Queen of Attolia (2000), The King of Attolia (2006), A Conspiracy of Kings (2010), and Thick as Thieves, about the thief Eugenides.
• HarperCollins’ site has this description with a sample.
• Publishers Weekly gave the previous book a starred review: “Although this immersive treat is billed as a standalone, those who have read the previous books in the series will get the most from it, as Turner fills out and enriches the expansive canvas on which she stitches her epic tale.”

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Weber, David, & Jacob Holo : The Valkyrie Protocol
(Baen 978-1-9821-2490-8, $27, 592pp, hardcover, October 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Tue 6 Oct 2020
• Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-1-62579-794-0

SF novel set in the world of the authors’ The Gordian Protocol (2019), about transtemporal agents trying to save the known universes from ceasing to exist.
• Baen’s site has this description and this page linking several samples.

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound

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* Yolen, Jane : The Midnight Circus
(Tachyon Publications 978-1-61696-340-8, $16.95, 256pp, trade paperback, October 2020)
• Nominal Publication Date: Thu 1 Oct 2020

Collection of 16 stories, with story notes, an introduction by Theodora Goss, and an afterword by Alethea Kontis.
• Tachyon’s site has this description with the table of contents.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes, “Yolen’s many fans will be thrilled to find her largely true to form. This collection is a gift for fairy tale lovers.”
• Gary K. Wolfe reviewed the book in the September issue of Locus Magazine: “As with her earlier Tachyon collections, Yolen offers not only fascinating story notes, but poems – some published here for the first time – that reflect on and add to the complexity of stories that, like the great story traditions she so knowledgeably draws upon, are never quite as simple as they first seem.”

• 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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