New Books: 20 July 2021
Appel, John: Assassin’s Orbit 
(Rebellion/Solaris US 978-1-78618-915-6, $14.99, 448 pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, audio, July 20, 2021)
Far-future SF mystery novel. An assassination threatens a planet’s vote to join the Commonwealth, and police and private detectives work together to uncover an old threat that could spark interplanetary war.
Ashley-Smith, J.: The Ariadne, I Love You 
(Meerkat Press 978-1-946154-50-7, $10.95, 76 pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, July 20, 2021)
Ghost story/horror novelette. A washed-up alt-country star goes to Australia for a comeback concert to find the woman who once inspired his songs is dead, and her daughter is eerily like her.
Asmodee: The Art of Arkham Horror 
(Dark Horse Books 978-1-506724386, $39.99, 192 pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, July 20, 2021)
Gaming tie-in art book, with art from the Arkham Horror tabletop game inspired by H.P. Lovecraft. Includes art from the expansions.
Bensen, Daniel: Interchange 
(Flame Tree Press US 978-1-78758-469-3, $24.95, 256 pp, formats: hardcover, trade paperback, ebook, July 20, 2021)
SF novel, sequel to Junction. A year ago, Anne Houlihan uncovered a wormhole to Junction, a patchwork planet of competing alien biomes. Now, she and Daisuke are going back to investigate “The Howling Mountain,” the possible location of a wormhole into space.
Bourne, Brianna: You & Me at the End of the World 
(Scholastic Press 9781338712636, $18.99, 368 pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, July 20, 2021)
Young-adult apocalyptic romance novel. Hannah Ashton wakes up to a world where only she and the very charming but selfish boy Leo Sterling seem to be the only people left.
Bowling, Nicholas: The Follower 
(Titan Books US 978-1789094220, $15.95, 304 pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, July 20, 2021)
Supernatural thriller/horror novel. When her twin brother goes missing in Northern California, Vivian Owens follows his trail to the town of Mount Hookey, home to the followers of Telos: a mountain-worshipping cult that offers spiritual fulfilment to those who seek it..
Copeland, Sean: World of Warcraft: Grimoire of the Shadowlands and Beyond 
(Blizzard Entertainment 978-1950366477, $32.99, 208 pp, formats: hardcover, July 14, 2021)
Tie-in art book based on the online game. Journey past this mortal coil and discover the secrets of the Shadowlands. Study the practices around death and dying on Azeroth, then follow a Broker through the groves of Ardenweald, over the gleaming towers of Bastion, and into the depths of the Maw for a detailed voyage unlike any other.
Di Filippo, Paul: The Summer Thieves 
(Skyhorse/Night Shade Books 978-1-949102-51-2, $15.99, 264 pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, July 20, 2021)
SF novel of the Quinary, first in a new series. Two families rule one planet, and the youngest members of each are slated to wed, until trouble takes them away from their inheritance and each other.
Glass, Jenna: Mother of All 
(Penguin Random House/Del Rey 978-0-525-61842-3, $18, 656 pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, audio, July 20, 2021)
Fantasy novel, the third and final book in the Women’s War trilogy. In the once male-dominated world of Seven Wells, women now control their own reproduction, but the battle for equality is far from over. Even with two thrones held by women, there are still those who cling to the old ways and are determined to bring them back.
Harmon, Amy: The Second Blind Son 
(Amazon/47North 978-1-542029728, $14.95, 447 pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, audio, July 20, 2021)
Fantasy novel, the second in the Chronicles of Saylock series after The First Girl Child. Teen Ghisla flees the destruction of her people only to end up in Saylock, where no girls are born. A blind boy Hod cares for her, and when she sings, he can see. But Hod cannot protect her.
Malfi, Ronald: Come with Me 
(Titan Books US 978-1-78909-737-5, $15.95, 400 pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, audio, July 20, 2021)
Aaron Decker’s life changes one December morning when his wife Allison is killed. Haunted by her absence—and her ghost—Aaron goes through her belongings, where he finds a receipt for a motel room in another part of the country. Piloted by grief and an increasing sense of curiosity, Aaron embarks on a journey to discover what Allison had been doing in the weeks prior to her death.
Marcus, Daniel: Bright Moment and Others 
(WordFire Press 978-1-68057-191-2, $24.99, 284 pp, formats: hardcover, trade paperback, ebook, July 12, 2021)
Collection of 24 short stories in a variety of speculative genres.
McBride, Lish: Curses 
(Penguin Random House/Putnam 978-1984815590, $18.99, 448 pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, July 20, 2021)
YA fantasy novel, a gender-flipped version of Beauty and the Beast.
McDonell, Nick: The Council of Animals 
(Macmillan/Holt 978-1-250-799030-6, $25.99, 208 pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, July 20, 2021)
Post-apocalyptic fable/SF novel. Illustrated by Steven Tabbutt. Animals hold a debate on whether to help the last human survivors—or eat them.
Mohamed, Premee: And What Can We Offer You Tonight 
(Neon Hemlock 978-1-952086-25-0, $12.99, 80 pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, July 20, 2021)
Near-future dystopian novella. An undead courtesan wants revenge for her murder and all the other injuries caused by the wealthy clientele of the elite brothel where she worked.
North, Claire: Notes from the Burning Age 
(Orbit US 978-0-316-49883-8, $16.99, 448 pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, audio, July 20, 2021)
Post-apocalyptic SF novel, set after the Earth burned. An archivist holds the secret texts that led to climate disaster.
Parker-Chan, Shelley: She Who Became the Sun 
(Tor 978-1-250-62180-1, $27.99, 416 pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, July 20, 2021)
Fantasy alternate-history novel of Ancient China, a queer reimagining of the rise of the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty and the Red Turban Rebellion. Zhu Chongba takes advantage of her brother’s death to take his identity and fated destiny.
Parry, H.G.: A Radical Act of Free Magic 
(Orbit US/Redhook 978-0-316-45914-3, $28, 512 pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, July 20, 2021)
Historical fantasy novel of magical rebellion in the late 1700s, second of two in the Shadow Histories series.
Qureshi, Aamna: The Lady or the Lion 
(CamCat Books 978-0744303445, $24.99, 400 pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, July 20, 2021)
Young-adult historical fantasy novel. A crown princess works with a foreign spy to investigate a deadly assault on neighboring leaders.
Ryan, Lexi: These Hollow Vows 
(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 9780358386575, $17.99, 448 pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, July 20, 2021)
Young-adult fantasy novel. Bree hates the Fae, but agrees to steal from the Seelie court to free her sister from the king of the Unseelie.
Valente, Catherynne M.: The Past Is Red 
(Tordotcom 978-1-250-30113-0, $20.99, 160 pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, July 20, 2021)
Post-apocalyptic SF novella about Tetley, a young woman living on an island of floating garbage on a flooded Earth, sequel to the included 2016 short story, “The Future Is Blue”.
Wallace, Matt: Savage Bounty 
(Simon & Schuster/Saga Press 978-1-5344-3923-8, $16.99, 400 pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, audio, July 20, 2021)
Military fantasy novel, the second in the Savage Rebellion trilogy.
Wendig, Chuck: The Book of Accidents 
(Penguin Random House/Del Rey 978-0-399-18213-6, $28.99, 544 pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, July 20, 2021)
Horror novel. Something old and hungry lurks in rural Pennsylvania.
