New Books: 26 July 2022

Boorman, Kate A.: Into the Sublime

(Macmillan/Holt 978-1-250-19170-0, $18.99, 368pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, July 26, 2022)

Young-adult horror/mystery novel. Four teenage girls descend into a dangerous underground cave system in search of a lake of local legend, said to reveal your deepest fears.

 

Chen, Gina: Violet Made of Thorns

(Penguin Random House/Delacorte 978-0-593-42753-8, $18.99, 368pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, July 26, 2022)

Young-adult fantasy novel inspired by fairytales and the Asian diaspora, with a morally gray witch, a cursed prince, and a prophecy.

 

Emrys, Ruthanna: A Half-Built Garden

(Tordotcom 978-1-250-21098-2, $26.99, 352pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, July 26, 2022)

Near-future SF novel of first contact with aliens determined to remove humanity from ecologically damaged Earth — regardless of what the humans want.

 

Graham, Heather: Aura of Night

(Harlequin/Mira 978-0-7783-8612-4, $9.99, 336pp, formats: paperback, hardcover, ebook, audio, July 26, 2022)

Supernatural thriller/romance novel, 37th in the Krewe of Hunters series. A recently kidnapped author novelizes her experience in order to get past it, but it seems like the threat isn’t gone.

 

Hickman, Tracy, Garriott, Richard: The Eye of Scales

(Tor 9780765382320, $26.99, 304pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, July 26, 2022)

Tie-in novel based on the game Shroud of the Avatar. A former soldier finds a legendary sword, but the sword might be manipulating him.

 

Isabelle, S.: The Witchery

(Scholastic Press 978-1338758962, $18.99, 384pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, July 26, 2022)

Young-adult horror/dark fantasy novel. Student witch Logan needs to learn to control her powers at Mesmortes Coven Academy in cursed Haelsford, Florida.

 

Kincaid, Paul: Brian W. Aldiss

(University of Illinois Press 978-0-252-08655-7, $25.00, 216pp, formats: trade paperback, hardcover, ebook, July 12, 2022)

Non-fiction, a critical biography. Includes notes, bibliographies, and index. Part of the Modern Masters of Science Fiction series.

 

Liaguno, Vince A., Mason, Rena, eds.: Other Terrors: An Inclusive Anthology

(HarperCollins/Morrow 978-0358658894, $15.99, 368pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, audio, July 19, 2022)

An inclusive horror anthology with 22 stories and two poems, a project of the Horror Writers Association. Authors include Eugen Bacon, Tananarive Due, Stephen Graham Jones, Alma Katsu, and Gabino Iglesias. Poems by Linda D. Addison and Christina Sng.

 

McDermott, Kirstyn: Hard Places

(JournalStone/Trepidatio 978-1-68510-057-5, $19.95, 314pp, formats: trade paperback, July 22, 2022)

Collection of 14 stories, written over the past 20 years, ranging from horror to contemporary gothic. Includes one unpublished novella.

 

McDowell, Dan: Pool Man

(Black Rose Writing 978168433999-0, $18.95, 187pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, audio, July 21, 2022)

Surreal horror novel. A mysterious death at a hotel swimming pool leaves long-time amputee Greg the “Pool Man” unemployed and desperate. He enters a bizarre high-risk game show to make ends meet.

 

McMyne, Mary: The Book of Gothel

(Orbit US/Redhook 978-0-316-39311-9, $28.00, 368pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, July 26, 2022)

Fantasy novel about the witch who put Rapunzel in the tower.

 

Meadows, Foz: A Strange and Stubborn Endurance

(Tor 978-1-250-82913-9, $27.99, 544pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, July 26, 2022)

Fantasy novel. A man facing an arranged marriage fears he’s created a diplomatic crisis when it’s revealed he’s gay — but then he’s offered his intended’s brother instead.

 

Moren, Dan: The Nova Incident

(Angry Robot US 978-0-85766-945-2, $15.99, 408pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, July 26, 2022)

SF novel, the third book in the Galactic Cold War series. A team of covert operatives tries to untangle the plot behind a terrorist attack in the Commonwealth capital.

 

Nesseth, Nina: Nightmare Fuel: The Science of Horror Films

(Tor Nightfire 978-1-250-76521-5, $25.99, 304pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, July 26, 2022)

Non-fiction, reference. A pop-science look into how and why horror films get under our skin, and why we come back for more.

 

Query, Matt, Query, Harrison: Old Country

(Grand Central 978-1-5387-2120-9, $28.00, 320pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, July 26, 2022)

Horror novel about a couple who buy their dream farm in Idaho, but learn a malevolent spirit haunts the valley. Adapted from the authors’ viral Reddit r/NoSleep post “My Wife and I Bought a Ranch”.

 

Rwizi, C.T.: Primeval Fire

(Amazon/47North 978-15420237105, $14.95, 619pp, formats: trade paperback, hardcover, ebook, audio, July 26, 2022)

Futuristic fantasy novel inspired by South and East African mythology, third in the Scarlet Odyssey series. Clan members start experiencing strange phenomena, calling them out to the far west.

 

Showalter, Gena: Ruthless

(Harlequin/HQN 978-1335474964, $9.99, 416pp, formats: paperback, hardcover, ebook, audio, July 26, 2022)

Paranormal romance novel, the second in the Immortal Enemies series. The fae King of the Forgotten meets a feral girl with the terrifying ability to sing monsters to life.

 

Smale, Alan: Hot Moon

(Arc Manor/Caezik SF & Fantasy 978-1-64710-050-6, $29.99, 476pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, July 26, 2022)

Alternate history SF novel, first in the Apollo Rising series about space exploration during the Cold War in 1979. Astronaut Vivian Carter commands the Apollo 32 mission to explore lunar volcanoes, when Soviets attack. Includes notes on the history and technology of space exploration in the period, and a bibliography.

 

Turtledove, Harry: Three Miles Down

(Tor 978-1-250-82972-6, $26.99, 288pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, July 26, 2022)

Alternate history, set in 1970. A Russian sub sinks, leading to the US discover an alien ship on the bottom of the Pacific.

 

Warner, Tiana: The Valkyrie’s Daughter

(Entangled Teen 978-1-64937-148-5, $18.99, 400pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, July 26, 2022)

Young-adult LGBTQ+ fantasy novel about a stable girl who dreams about being a inspired by Norse mythology, the first in a series.

 

Webber, Heather: In the Middle of Hickory Lane

(Tor/Forge 978-1-250-77465-1, $26.99, 320pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, July 26, 2022)

Magical realism/mystery novel. Con artist’s daughter Emme Wynn gets a dream chance to settle down with her estranged grandmother in Sweetgrass, Alabama.